Character Notes for Gustav Taviani

Character Sheet Notes: Again, not sure what the gen limits are in Sabbat. Also feel guilty
over going for Celerity/Fortitude/Potence (though not so much the latter as it's in-clan) -
but can't get away at for combat-class characters, these are basically a no brainer. Let me
know if you want to tweak away from these.

Gustav Taviani - Sheriff

In many ways, becoming Lasombra 'antitribu' was an accident of embrace. Gustav was
embraced several centuries ago, just before Gratiano diablerised Lasombra and initiated the
Great Rebellion. At the time, Gustav was still a neonate under his sire's wing, and so had
little choice but to side with his sire when the latter decried his allegiance to Montano.
Gustav was fully embroiled in the ensuing battles and formation of the sects, and found
himself conflicted. On the one hand, Gustav, being of noble decent, believes in structure
and heirarchy. However, he is deeply religious, and is strongly against the idea of
mythologically-powerful dark denizens - indeed, he believes the destruction of the
Antediluvian was for the best. Against this mindset, however, Gustav is fiercely opposed to
the Sabbat. Following the rebellion, Gustav saw the Sabbat Lasombra turn on their erstwhile
brothers, slaughtering his sire and many of his allies using brutal and depraved tactics.
Further, he has seen the Christian rites which he holds as sacred, twisted into the mockery
that are modern night Sabbat Ritae. Although his ultimate aims might be aligned with those
of the Sabbat, he views the sect and sick and twisted, lacking in ideal and, on the whole,
little more than monsters. The fact that they have been hounding him for centuries seeking
his destruction has reinforced this view, and it's now unlikely to change. He is a high-profile
target for Lasombra in the Sabbat, giving rise to his Enemy 4/5 Flaw - however, he has
been able to maintain his cover in the Camarilla (i.e. most people don't know who he is) and
the Sabbat as a whole don't know much about him, as Clan Lasombra are keen to hide the
fact that there are still Lasombra Antittribu at large. Hence the reason behind such attacks
are kept secret on both sides.

What initially started as simply self-preservation, fending off repeated attacks by the
Sabbat, has become a long-standing niche in the Camarilla. Since non-core clans are held
somewhere between contempt and extreme suspicion, having proven his skills against the
sabbat numerous times has left Gustav in good standing within the Sect. It has also given
him a lot of combat experience, as most of his time has been spent in frontier domains.
Believes in making the most of the local resources, which includes deputising local kindred
with useful skills, using technology to improve surveillance and detection within the city,
and using influence to here about unusual goings on and any unexplained disappearances.
Most often in combat, Gustav will make use of the protean skills he was taught in exchange
for his Obtenebration power many decades ago (he needed more aggressive powers, his
teacher needed more escape options).

Gustav's personality is very matter-of-fact. When talking with other Cainites, Gustav's main
aim is to keep a handle on what's going on, both within his own domain, and in the outside
world. He does not enter into 'pointless' small talk and politicking, as far as this is possible
in any Camarilla court. Gustav is pretty much the only kindred in Cambridge that will listen
the the Sabbat's warnings about Antediluvians (though for the sake of face he will dismiss it
and warn them about spreading such propaganda). Although pushed into the arms of the
Camarilla, and despising the Sabbat, Gustav is concerned how much the Camarilla is in
denial about the Antediluvians - after all, Gustav was around (though only a neonate)
around the time his own Antediluvian was destroyed, and although there was much arguing
and fighting over whether it was a good or bad thing, no-one was denying their existance.
Not that Gustav has a plan per se. Instead, Gustav believes in the strong self-preservation
instinct of vampires, and the best approach is to blur the lines to 'generic evil creature' and
that most Camarilla vampires aren't willing to sacrifice themselves.

Within the city, Gustav maintains strong influence within the Church and is a devout (if
somewhat modified in light of being a vampire) Catholic. He uses his influence to protect the
Church from interference from other denizens of the WoD and also uses them as a weapon,
but only where he can justify to himself that it serves the greater good. Police influence has
been built up as a must within the city, particularly for dealing with masquerade breaches,
etc. Although there is no formal influence (they don't think Gustav is MI5 or anything), a
combination of dominate and good old fashion bribery and blackmail ensures Gustav can get
the police to do whatever's needed - the police are usually quite happy with this, as when
they get reports of particularly nasty incidents, they always seem to sort themselves out
when they get the call from Gustav to keep away or leave it alone. Gustav also maintains
contacts within the city council and utility boards, and regularly makes sweeps of disused
housing or office complexes that seem to have fallen off the radar, as these are choice
places for no-gooders to hang out. Finally, Gustav has a number of dealings with industrial
contractors for speciality manufacturing and to help with prototype design, such as the anti-
vampire cameras around the city.

Influence Briefs
Church - Numbers have gone up 10-fold since these events began. The clergy are doing
their best to calm fears, but rumour has it among the ministers that centuries old records
do make several references to an Unholy War of Cambridge, which discovered blood-soaked
fields outside of Cambridge, weapons, armour... but no bodies. An extended period of ritual
blessings was carried out, but much of this seems to have been forgotten.
Police (3+) - The trouble in Cambridge has brought unwanted attention from the Home
Office, who have sent in extra support - there are now a number of police units in
Cambridge that are outside your control and report to a civilian specialist from London.