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2 – 06/14/2020
Canada at Midnight
Vampire: the Masquerade
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Vampire: the Masquerade

Clan Guide: Giovanni
Cousin. It’s so great to see you survived the trip.

Now, being a ghoul for so long, I know you’ve

been shown the ropes - but we don’t tell our
ghouls everything, so you’re here to finish your
initiation. You look good, but hey, everyone
looks good in Armani right? Grab a drink.
Siddown. We’ve got a lot to cover, and La Dona
is gonna want to see what you’ve learned
before we send you out to mingle with the rest
of the Family.

Our family has a long and rich history dating

back to Roman times and continuing well into
the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, and in modern
day. We were merchants, running cargo and goods throughout most of the known world,
following behind legions and slaves as they built Rome’s roads and trade lanes. We made
connections everywhere we went and we developed a reputation for getting things done. This
brought us to the attention of the Cappadocians in the Dark Ages. We were their servants for a
time, but when they turned on us… well. Our Founder took good care of us, and like a phoenix
rising from the ashes of the Gravediggers came the Giovanni. Cool, right?

What you’ve got to understand is that hundreds of years of history laboring under a Promise of
non-interference, mastering our Necromancy and getting our fingers into all the pies, has made
us plenty of friends and foes. There have been setbacks, to be sure. The Sabbat took their shot,
but we survived it. Our Founder has gone missing in the wake of FIRSTLIGHT’s attacks, and
we’ve survived that, too. Shit’s a little tense with the Elders, you get it? And just when the timing
couldn’t get any stranger...

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Cometh the invitation. The Camarilla doesn’t just need us. They ​want​ us. Centuries of being the
outsiders, and now suddenly, they’ve paid respect… and they’re rolling out the red carpet for us
to join them. Why? Why now? Is this going to be good for us? What do we get out of it,
long-term? What are the consequences of such major change?

A lot of big decisions are coming, and they’re going to affect us all. Where are you going to
stand when they call for the vote?

Codice della Famiglia

1. Blood​ ​Above All​ - This doesn’t just mean be loyal to your Sire. It means loyalty to our
mortal cousins, our different branches, and all. Centuries of exchanges, ghoul
apprenticing and Embraces being decided by the ​Anziani​ tie us all together.

2. Pride in the House -​ Everyone has skeletons in their closets that they don’t care for...
except us. We’re proud of who we are, proud of where we come from. If you’ve got a
problem with another Giovanni, you handle it behind closed doors.

3. Everybody Serves​ - Whether it’s as a necromancer, a mook, a financier, or whatever

-- everyone finds their place. Everyone fits in somewhere. Everyone works for
someone. If you don’t, you’ll make a great ghost servant.

4. Pruning the Tree​ - Loyalty to the Family as a whole means we deal with our own
problem children. Our Family is a big, beautiful tree, you see. Sometimes, though, a
branch gets rotten. It is better to trim it and destroy a couple of bad apples than let
them turn us all to rot. You get me?

5. Pick Your Moment​ - ​You need to balance politeness and blending in with a
willingness to get rough when you need to, cousin. Sometimes, you gotta be nice.
Sometimes, you gotta beat the shit out of people to make your point. Don’t be afraid to
do either.

Lessons of Recent Nights

Single Blood, Double Blood
We’ve been trading and travelling since the beginning, and throughout it all, we encountered
like-minded families who shared the same interests and values as we do. Most importantly,
they had their own versions and interpretations of the great mystery that is necromancy. The
Dunsirn, the Pisanob, the Putanesca, the Milliners -- they’re family and they deserve to be
respected and honored, but they’re families under the Giovanni name.

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Unico sangue ​- “single blooded”. Giovanni blood ran through our veins from birth, and then
through us during the Embrace. That’s us, cousin, as opposed to the ​doppio sangue​ who were
Embraced into our Blood. All of them are part of Clan Giovanni, too, but we’re the originals. This
means two things.

First? For the really important shit, the Family is likely to assign responsibility to a
single-blooded Giovanni… even if there might be a double-blooded who might be more
informed or suited. Second? That’s a privilege, but also a deep responsibility. If a single-blooded
Giovanni fucks it up, the Family is going to come down harder on them than they would on a
double-blooded. We expect more from our own.

We used to have a fair number of the ​doppio sangue ​before FIRSTLIGHT. The reality is that
while the single-blooded might have greater expectations when it comes to responsibility, the
double-blooded tend to bleed first for the Family, and so many have died...

Storyteller Note:​ The Double-Blooded Families

In canon, Clan Giovanni has had quite a few families that it has absorbed over the years. For
the Brave New World chronicle, most of these have been destroyed. Only the Giovanni, the
Pisanobs, the Millners and the Rothsteins are known to still be alive and playable as player
characters. Though others may still exist, they have not been heard from.

A Home Destroyed: How We Survive

Venice. Our ancestral home. Our compound held hundreds of members of our Family: mortal,
Proxy-Kissed, and Kindred alike. At the very top was our Founder, Uncle Augustus. We thought
we were untouchable, and for centuries, we were right. Our enemies didn’t dare; even when the
Sabbat took their shot about a decade back, they didn’t get as close as our front gates.

The Family held. It always held. Fuckin’ crazy that it was a bunch of Kine that changed that,
right? It all happened so fast. We’re still not sure all of the particulars, but here’s how we think it
went down.

A young guy named Lorenzo Giovanni, who had been Proxy-Kissed less than a year, was out in
town for whatever reason. He went missing. We put out feelers, and found out he’d been
grabbed by the police. Here’s the crazy part: the cops denied ever having him. We went looking.
Turns out, they were right. It wasn’t the police. Somehow, they’d traced our networks, got our
name, and ran us down. Lorenzo was just the first to go missing. That was December, 2017.

We don’t know exactly what they know about us, but a month later, shit hit the fan. Some sort of
ordinance hit the place hard, opening up the depths of our family’s vaults at high noon. We had
no idea what was coming, and our ghouls didn’t stand a hope in hell at holding back hundreds

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of special forces operators and Catholic witch-hunters from the Society of St. Leopold. We lost
hundreds of people and incalculably valuable occult relics that day, and even now, we have no
idea where Uncle Augustus is. All we know is that he’s alive… somewhere. Could you imagine if
they had him in custody? What the fuck could that mean?

In North America, the ​Anziani​ got together and figured out what we’re doing now. Isabel
Giovanni is now ​Dis Pater​, the head of the Clan, and she helped us get our shit together.
We’ve always been organized, and that organization saved us in the end. Our mortal
accountants and Prestation movers really earned their keep in those days, securing many of our
assets before the Government could pull them.

Storyteller Note:​ The Independent Alliance

In ​By Night Studios: Vampire the Masquerade c​ anon, the Giovanni joined forces with the
Followers of Set to form the Independent Alliance. This organization never formed in the
Brave New World canon; the Giovanni hunkered down and weathered the storm of the
Sabbat until their destruction, and the Followers of Set joined the Anarch Movement when
their bid to become part of the Tower failed.

Here’s what you need to take from this, cousin.

First: we survive by being organized and prepared. You get in touch with other Giovanni in other
cities, and you stay in touch, both through your Padrone and through interpersonal ties with your
cousins. We need each other now more than ever, and going it alone doesn’t work. Do the
work, and help each other out when a cousin calls.

Second: part of the reason we were able to get back up after what happened was because we
had mountains of Boons owed to us. We follow a simple rule: ​get paid what you’re worth.​ You
decide what that is, and you make sure you get it. Doing shit for free here and there for goodwill
is nice and all, but it’s a real good idea to get people used to paying you.

Want to give someone a discount? Sure. But you get something in your pocket for your efforts,
and you grow your wealth. Unless we join a Sect, nobody gives a fuck about us. Being able to
call in a Boon to get cash, influence or a friend when you need one is everything. Boons smooth
shit over and Boons help you get what you need. Remember that.

Third: unless you’re in one of very few Domains, you’re living in Camarilla or Anarch territory.
Remember what I said? Everybody serves? You serve your Family by politically surviving and
thriving wherever you live. You can do that in Tower or Movement towns by ​helping them do the
shit they can’t or won’t do themselves​. Whether it is due to political red tape, the fear of getting
caught, the optics of a situation, the fact that they don’t really know how to deal with ghosts,

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they’re simply too humane to do a particular thing they want done, or they simply aren’t as
skilled as you are… whatever. Help them out, get paid for doing it, and make sure your clients
know how lucky they are that you were around.

You build a reputation of being a person who can get shit done, and you’ll go far, cousin.

The End of the Promise?

In 1528, we signed the Promise: a treaty in which we promised not to interfere with Camarilla
politics in exchange for being left out of their political machinations. We could visit Camarilla
domains, and socialize, but we were not a part of their society. This suited us fine because
Camarilla domains are chaotic in bad times. We never wanted that kind of instability. We had
our own problems and priorities to deal with, and we were able to maintain neutrality in their war
with the Sabbat for centuries. We helped with the Masquerade, got paid our due, and focused
on developing our assets and our necromancy. It was perfect, until the Sabbat and
FIRSTLIGHT turned their eyes on us.

Still, we had our shit together. Auntie Isabel and the ​Anziani​ kept us preparing, and it was only a
year before our moment came. While the attack on Venice was awful, the global financial crisis
of 2009 was an absolute coup for us. It only took a year for us to go from rags to riches again,
We’d been getting ready to dive in on the Ventrue’s holdings for decades, and when the
moment struck, we caught ‘em off guard and got control of all kinds of shit. We made billions in
those months, and the Kings couldn’t do shit about it.

And then they woke up Purissimma Geiss. That was awkward. An ancient Ventrue with an
incredible reputation for being a mediator of disputes, she had helped us out in the Victorian
Age to work out disputes with the Kings. ​Lots​ of Giovanni owed her, and she called those boons
in hard. We honor our debts, cousin - always. Reputation is everything, see?

She sure thought so. It wasn’t long before we found that we were being approached by the
fucking Camarilla. They gave us an offer to join them! Can you imagine? Five hundred years of
wanting nothing to do with us, and now they’re offering us entry? Believe you me, it is on
everyone’s m​ ind, and everyone from the youngest Embrace to the ​Anziani ​are talking about
what to do.

We’ve got a year to decide - and rumor has it that in two years, they’ll be picking a new Pillar
Clan. What do you think we should do?

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 Storyteller Note:​ The Camarilla

The Camarilla have offered entry to the Giovanni as a non-pillar Clan. Should this happen?
Should the Necromancers stand apart? It is up to you!

The decision of whether or not the Giovanni join will be by Clan Giovanni characters at the
end of the first year of the Chronicle.

Clan Culture
How We Organize
Our Family has hundreds of years of tradition and structure that bind us together. In the face of
all that has happened recently, this is a big part of why we’re doing so well.

❖ The Giovanni of each Domain answer to a ​Don​ or ​Dona.​ Whether a massive city or a
tiny village doesn’t matter - these cousins command respect for their role. They lead,
guide and set the direction for the Clan in any Domain, and answer to the ​Padrone
above… for good, or for ill. If the Family is doing well in a Domain, the ​Dona​ can expect
to receive laurels. If they’re not doing so well… well, they can expect to hear about that,
too.

❖ The ​Padrone​ are respected figures that oversee wide swathes of territory on behalf of
the ​Anziani​. Each ​Padrone​ is a combination of a supervisor and a troubleshooter,
correcting Giovanni who go wrong and overseeing the operations of their ​Dons​. Politicos
and mooks alike find roles as ​Padrone​ that are usually flexible based on their skill set
and priorities. They have significant authority within our Clan, and they answer to the
Anziani d​ irectly.

● The ​Anziani​ are respected Elders who advise ​Dis Pater​ in all things and decide the
​ f the last few years are new to the role, as
long-term direction of the Clan. Most ​Anziani o
most of the former ​Anziani​ perished when FIRSTLIGHT attacked Venice. They provide
direction to the ​Padrone​.

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 Storyteller Note:​ Clan Positions

One character per Domain can be ​Don​ or ​Dona​ of that Domain at Low Approval, representing
the Giovanni therein. While it is gauche to grant oneself this title as the only Giovanni in town,
it has been known to happen.

While the ​Padrone​ are NPCs currently, PCs can eventually earn the position of ​Padrone​. This
position will be offered by the National Storyteller office to characters who have demonstrated
exceptional merit and leadership within the Clan on a limited basis after the first year of play.
This position requires Global Approval and is a high risk for PvP.

Anziani​ are NPCs only.

Traditions: The Proxy Kiss and the Fourth of April

We don’t fuck around with tradition.

The Proxy Kiss is a ritual that we do when we introduce someone to the deeper mysteries of our
Family by making them a ghoul. A mortal given the Proxy Kiss knows they are part of a family of
Kindred, and they know that there are rewards for serving well as a ghoul. The Kiss is given as
a reward for good service; most Giovanni don’t die of old age, but those mortal family members
who screw around might find that their Proxy Kiss takes a long time, indeed.

Now, just because you’ve been given the right to give a Proxy Kiss doesn’t mean that you are
going to be Embracing that mortal. That decision is made by the ​Anziani​, who decide when an
Embrace is to come and who is going to give it. We move people around, you see - it keeps the
Family tied together in loyalty to have service move from person to person.

The life of a Proxy-Kissed is usually challenging and stressful. Do you remember? You are in a
family of mafiosos and necromancers, and they are put to work. Whether it is clean-up, a
murder, or a high-stakes negotiation, the Proxy-Kissed often find themselves the perpetrators. Is
it fair? Hell, no. The upside of going through this is that it puts you one step above others. You
proved yourself. You ​earned​ it. You’ve got the right to be proud to be a Giovanni vampire.
April the 4th is an important day in our history. It is the day we became a Clan. In the blood of
the Cappadocians came our freedom, and we celebrate it in style. Most Giovanni are Embraced
on April 4 in celebration of our Founder.

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Respect: What Does It Mean?
The art of paying respect is more complicated than you think. Ultimately, every Giovanni shows
respect to their Elders and their cousins; it is something every single one of us cares about as
more than just lip service. Among our kind, respect is a living concept, a tool, and a ​way of
​ ow do you show it?
being. H

Understand that there is a hierarchy everywhere. You’d be wise to have a healthy fear of
anyone above you, and you should treat everyone below like you are considering them for a
promotion. Those equal to you could be promoted above you at any time, so treat them
accordingly. Base decency is ​expected,​ but you must do more.

We believe in tithing. You need to give the gift of a percentage of what you’re gaining to your
betters. People should get what they are due, and the higher they are, the more they are due.
The giving of the right gift in this way is a significant symbol of respect. If you are sent before
one of your Elders or betters, bring them a gift: a boon from another, a rare artifact, or whatever
you believe ​they​ would want. Take the time to research who they are and what they care about,
and you’ll find that a reasonable tithe that is meaningful to them goes further than a massive
tithe that does little for them.

If you give too little to your betters, they will either believe you are not doing enough, or you are
deliberately not ​giving​ them enough. However, if you give a good gift… that is the sort of thing
that makes a great impression. Take the time. Show a little effort and care. It goes a long way.

Necromancy
Our Clan’s legacy is our mastery of Necromancy. We took it for ourselves, and it is one of our
greatest secrets. We do not teach it outside the Family, and we severely punish those that learn
it from us and those that teach it. Why? Why do we care so much about it?

Our Gift is incredibly powerful and remarkably rare. We have developed networks and rolls of
favors all because of our power over the dead. By getting our due, we have developed great
strength as a Clan. Even those that hate us can’t deny how good we are with the restless dead,
and we have developed some prestige for it.

We do not want to dilute this strength, or have it used against us. It isn’t like our Family hasn’t
pissed off other descendents of the Cappadocians for taking their place. Rumor has it some
have resurfaced, and if they want to take their revenge, they will use Necromancy to do it. How
would we know if one of them was after us if everyone else had Necromancy?
Third, it is one of our strongest bargaining chips in our relationships with the Camarilla and the
Anarch Movement. This matters more to us now than it ever has. In the past, the now-dead

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Anziani​ were focused on rending the Shroud permanently in a terrifying ritual that would allow
the dead and living to mingle and exist at the same time. The world would be wrapped in eternal
darkness, et cetera, et cetera…

Don’t worry about this. It isn’t what the new ​Anziani​ want, and honestly, getting a hundred
million souls together to sacrifice for some ritual isn’t likely in a world where FIRSTLIGHT is
kicking everyone’s teeth in. Maybe we’ll talk about that again in a hundred years. Forget about
it. Don’t talk about it. This is the kind of thing we don’t say a word about. We’re trying to rebuild
and fix our relationships with the other Clans so they don’t decide we’re the problem that needs
to be snuffed out, got it?

Storyteller Note​: Teaching Necromancy

A Giovanni who is caught teaching Necromancy to an outsider can expect significant

consequences from the Clan hierarchy, up to and including character death.

Friends and Enemies

Ventrue
Throughout our history, there has been one clan that has given us our due, albeit begrudgingly:
Clan Ventrue. From our earliest days as merchants, they were often behind the orders we were
running. We didn’t realize it at the time, but eventually, a business relationship was established.
We’ve been trading with the Ventrue since Roman times, dating back to Rome and Carthage to
the modern ports of Vancouver, B.C. and in the halls of power in New York City. We may not be
best friends, but we have their respect and their business. One thing that brings us together is
our love of money and our love of order. It is likely due to their influence that we have an
invitation at the table with the Camarilla.

Malkavian
Clan Malkavian also ranks among our friends. As with the Ventrue, our relationship with the
Malkavians dates back to Rome and Carthage. We weren’t players in their games back then;
we were still moving cargo and troops across the Mediterranean. We believe that the
Malkavians had some sort of grudge against the Cappadocians back in the day, but when we
came out on top, they started to get closer to us. Their powers of prophecy combined with our
ability to communicate with the dead made for interesting alliances, for whatever their twisted
goals and motivations were. One story is that the Malkavian elder Jotun and Dame Marcella
Giovanni had a relationship forever ago. Their love carried on even after Marcella lost Jotun,
and when Marcella passed, she shared the mausoleum with Jotun. Who knows? The
Malkavians aren’t saying, but they seem to be showing respect and supporting the move.

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Brujah
The Brujah, on the other hand, hate us for a few reasons. First off: the young Anarchs that learn
about Necromancy don’t usually like the notion of pressing souls into service, and they’re not
quiet about it. Among the older Camarilla Brujah, there are long memories. Apparently, Uncle
Ambrogino betrayed their Founder back in the Dark Ages, and there have been spats with the
Brujah ever since. Throughout history, the Brujah have used their mortal influences and
immortal influences against us. They’ve killed family, they’ve burned homes and warehouses -
hell, they even subverted our influence in Italy before FIRSTLIGHT. It’s disrespectful. We’re not
going to forget it.

Tremere
The other ones you’ve got to watch out for are the Tremere. History is history, and the Tremere
are pragmatic as hell. They’ve never wanted us sharing their club; Thaumaturgy is ​their thing​,
and they don’t need Necromancers competing with them. We get it, but life is hard sometimes,
and we’ve been invited to go where they don’t want us. The Tower wants us, and the Tremere
are salty about it. They’ve even tried to cozy up next to the Ventrue to see if they can’t sway
things their way in years to come. We’ve won this point against them, but vampires have long
memories and plan years in advance.

That might be the biggest lesson of all, cousin. When you play political games, go slow and
work the angles. Your opponents will.

Remember. You’ve got all the time in the world. Good luck.

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 Lexicon
Getting to know some terminology is going to help you in your new life. Some of it has fallen
out of use with so many of our ​anziani​ dead, but some are going to be helpful.

● Anziani​ - Honored Elders on a council who determine the future plans of the Clan and
advise ​Dis Pater.​
● Catene​ or ​Catena​ - “Fetters”: a thing that binds a ghost or spirit to the Material Realm.
This is usually an object, and finding it can give you a lot of power over a ghost.
● Dis Pater​ - The head of the Family. After the fall of Venice and the disappearance of
Augustus, the mantle has been given to Isabel Giovanni. ​Dis Pater​ is always chosen
by the ​anziani​.
● Maelstrom - A storm in the realm of the ghosts. These cause significant complications
for necromancers managing ghosts and souls.
● Mooks - Members of the clan who focus on physical combat.
● Premascine - Cursed with the corpse-like appearance of the Graverobbers, these
cousins are distrusted unless they are very, very old. Be careful with them.
● The Proxy Kiss - The moment of becoming a ghoul in the family trying to earn the
Embrace.
● Rovinato​ - Restless ghosts and spirits who lash out against Necromancers. Be careful.
They can do some real damage.
● Spiriti​ - We deal with wraiths and spirits, and these are the ones that we deal with in
stock and trade, often for information or intelligence.
● Sidario​ - The Shroud; the barrier between the living and the dead.
● Tithing - No matter how big you become, no matter how much you make, no matter
what, you give the family what is theirs. You give us a taste, a percentage, whatever
is right.
● Zombies - The living dead, raised by the Path of Bones. Mind the Masquerade.

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