Welcome to San Arroyo, Kindred

San Arroyo, California is a fictional city roughly equidistant from the cities of Los Angeles and Las Vegas respectively, hemmed in on all sides by mountains and desert, serving as a major artery of highway travel. It's dusty, derelict, and generally gives off the sense of being built for far more people than currently inhabit it - and it was at one point. The real tragedy isn’t that San Arroyo is in the middle of nowhere, it’s that not that long ago, it used to be somewhere. But those days are long past…

The city sits within the boundaries of the arid Mojave Sector, built in-and-around an intersection of two major interstate routes. People often pass through either while going north to Las Vegas or south to Los Angeles, as on the freeway it's about a 2-3 hour drive from San Arroyo to either. To the immediate southeast lies the Tehachapi Pass and from there the gateway to the California Central Valley. Needless to say, it's a little disheartening when people are in more of a hurry to get to Fresno or Bakersfield than they are to stay in San Arroyo.

Places to Visit

Vermello

Vermello

Chicagoland has Malort, and San Arroyo has Vermello - a type of local liquor made partially from extracts taken from the native datura rubedo nightshade. The liquor to this day is characterized by a distinct reddish hue and an intense taste like burnt sugar and battery acid. Vermello’s time in the cultural spotlight faded around the same time the Sixgun City’s did, reducing it to a very niche beverage rarely seen outside of Yorkshire County. There’s only one distillery in the entire US that still produces the stuff, also located within the county limits, and even native T-Towners consider it an acquired taste at best.

Meet The Neighbors

The Coterie

  • Black and white digital painting of a young woman with dreadlocks and multiple tattoos, wearing a dark hooded cloak, with an intense expression and dark eye makeup.

    Ashleigh "Crowe" Walker

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Clan: Gangrel

    Age: 20

    Crowe was raised in the suburbs of Poway, CA. Her post-high school "gap year" resulted in her moving to San Arroyo with her childhood best friend.

  • A grayscale digital painting of a young person with dark, wavy hair, wearing a blazer, shirt, jewelry, rings, and ear accessories. They have an intense expression and are holding one hand to their chest, with a blue earring and chain detail on their blazer.

    Ash Crawford

    Pronouns: They/Any

    Clan: Ventrue

    Age: 24

    Crawford is a big name in San Arroyo, one of the premier families of the desert, but Ash is always the rebel. A troublemaker with a mile-long juvenille record, a polisci degree from Berkeley, and the meanest left hook you'll see, Ash has returned to their hometown for a gap year after burning out on political internship opportunities. Unfortunately, the city they love doesn't really love them back.

  • A black-and-white digital painting of a young man with curly hair, wearing a white shirt, a black tie, and green earphones, with a serious expression, touching the back of his neck.

    Jeremy Reid

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Clan: Malkavian

    Age: 24

    Jeremy Reid is a child star and former prodigy singer in the pop music charts starting from the age of 12. With parents more interested in him earning his money than in his well being he was kept on a brutal performance and writing schedule for almost six years. To cope with the stress and isolation he increasingly acted out. Finally turning to alcohol abuse and eventually stopped touring when he hit eighteen and drifted from rehab center to rehab center before checking himself out and breaking all contact with his family and manager. Currently no one knows where he is, and he only performs for cash so the money doesn't make it's way to his parents and manager.

  • Black and white digital illustration of a young woman with messy, shoulder-length hair, wearing a tank top and an open jacket. She is gesturing with her left hand, displaying a peace sign, and has dark makeup and a necklace with a triangle pendant.

    Aster Nolan

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Clan: Thinblood

    Age: 28

    "Aster the Disaster", a moniker her sister had hung on her head since she was little. But disaster or not, Aster marched along to her own drum, unafraid of being the black sheep of her comfortable suburban family. She met her future husband while on a research project in the dusty town of San Arroyo, and though they would stay together only a few short years, Aster would one day return to San arroyo grasping at the weathered threads of her old life.

  • A black-and-white digital illustration of a woman with wavy dark hair, wearing dark lipstick, a black lace top, layered necklaces, and a black choker. She holds pink sunglasses in her right hand, has her left hand on her hip, and looks confidently at the viewer.

    Raleigh Asher

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Clan: Toreador

    Age: 27

    Raleigh was always born to be a movie star, coming from a long line of people working in the industry she got involved at a very young age. That is where the problems started, her teenage years were full of getting in trouble and drug use. Though she did the impossible and pulled through to the other side. Now she's known for playing Queen Babylon in Bill Z Bubb and Freya in Storm Saga. Her next project promises to be the most dangerous as she comes to San Arroyo to film Gaspunk Samurai.

The Sabbat

  • A black and white digital drawing of a person with long, wavy hair, sharp teeth, and an intense expression, wearing a sleeveless denim vest and holding a metallic object. They have a gold snake tattoo on their arm.

    Sebastián, aka Sidewinder

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Clan: Gangrel

    Also called "Sidewinder" by local licks due to the prominent serpentine tattoo on his right arm, Sebastián is just one more scruffy Gangrel Autark to most other Kindred, too wild to respect any of the sects' domain boundaries but too wily to ever be held accountable for his flagrant poaching.

  • A monochrome digital portrait of a humanoid alien with pointed ears, bald head, and large eyes, wearing a blazer and a shirt, with one arm crossed and wearing red gloves.

    Maria Winters, aka The Curatrix

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Clan: Tzimisce

    The Stoker known as "The Curatrix" has served as the silent guardian of the J. Connelly Historical Society, an old museum devoted to the Wild West Era "White Gold Rush" that founded San Arroyo way back when. Originally known as the Karlsburg Hotel, the Court still uses the building and its many, many secret nooks and crannies to store valuable artifacts, documents, and so on and so forth. The Curatrix doesn't leave the museum, but she also doesn't seem like she wants to. Those who have interacted with her describe her as friendly if a bit obsessive, especially when it comes to historical trivia about the city.

The Camarilla

  • Black and white digital illustration of a woman with long braided hair, wearing a dark shirt and a light blazer with a blue balloon pin, holding a strand of her hair with one hand and the other hand resting on her waist.

    Mary Gilen

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Clan: Ventrue

    Her nickname of "Hail Mary" comes from Ms. Gilen's former career as a hotshot Criminal Defense lawyer in Los Angeles - in other words, she was the one you called when you needed an out with no questions asked. The Camarilla already controls the local prison-industrial complex, and Mary now stands as the ultimately arbiter of which mortals are useful to the sect, and which are going away for a very long time. Officially, Mary is the founder and senior partner of the law firm of Gilen & Associates in Downtown San Arroyo. You probably can't afford her.

  • Nik Kilpatrick

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Clan: Banu Haqim

    Nik joined the US Army post-9/11 because the judge told him it was either that or juvie. Embraced while fighting overseas, he’s one of the precious few Banu Haqim in Yorkshire county. And a Hound to boot.

  • Anselm Eisenstadt

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Clan: Toreador

    Anselm originally served as the Seneschal and right hand of Jethro Connelly, San Arroyo’s first Prince, right up until his former domain in Little Hollywood became a destitute wasteland on His Majesty's watch. He quit the position in protest back in the 80s and has existed on the fringes of Court politics ever since. Despite being on the outs, he’s the closest thing the city has to a bonafide Elder.

  • Masav

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Clan: Gangrel

    A member of the Mojave Nation and decorated US Army Scout, Masav was one of the original trio of Kindred who first occupied the original Karlsburg boomtown during the Wild West. As Sheriff, he was considered "tough but fair" by many, and often served as a mediating influence between the opportunistic Jethro and the laissez-faire Anselm. He, rather notably, stepped down from his position as Sheriff shortly after Prince Jethro vanished and seems to have truly gone off the deep end since.

  • Rafe Patton

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Clan: Tremere

    Nobody really knows much about this guy. He more-or-less "showed up" in the 1950s, dipping in and out for decades, before eventually establishing a foothold in the Mira Loma Airport due to his supposed background in aviation engineering. Having a Chantry inside an airport was certainly a novel idea, but one that he made work, transforming the dingy outpost into a clandestine travel hub for nearby Kindred. Even in the era of the Second Inquisition, Mira Loma is one of the few places where a lick can land a private jet without it immediately showing up on SI’s radar.

  • William Langford II

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Clan: Nosferatu

    Langford was the first Warden of Yorkshire State Penitentiary, and was renowned over his four-year tenure for running a tight ship. So when when he "died" in a suspected home invasion in 1997, not a lot of tears were wept. Privately he likes to think he was tapped to become Sheriff because of his prior expertise, or because he's responsible for taking the trophy of "The Reaper" - an infamous Sabbat warlord - just a few years after his Embrace. The man has a thing for the pecking order and really likes enforcing "discipline" in the lower ranks.

  • Tiernan "Toad" McCloud

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Clan: Nosferatu

    Tiernan McCloud was a teamster at a time when the occupation was practically synonymous with corruption, particularly when it came to the Las Vegas Mafia. His whole career within the Southwest Trucking Union was built on a foundation of bribes and "guys who know other guys", and that in turn got him out of more than a few legal debacles over the course of the late 20th Century. The guy had the nickname "Toad" long before becoming a Nosferatu - that should tell you pretty much everything you need to know. His new racket, the ironically named Southwest Teamsters United Delivery (STUD for short), gives him influence over almost anything and everything coming over the interstate.

  • Arlene "The Terror" Terrazas

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Clan: Nosferatu

    They don't call her "The Terror" because it sounds cute. Arlene Terrazas is - or at least was - an unapologetic monster, barely tolerated by her own sect despite her many transgressions due to both her age and her sway over the many Nosferatu that infest San Arroyo's flood tunnels. When the Church of Caine began cementing its influence, it's said that in the midst of a Red Pentecost, Arlene succumbed fully to her Beast only to be miraculously brought back from the brink. Ever since, she's been making an earnest attempt to clean up her act with the straight-laced fervor of a born-again Christian (or born-again Gnostic, rather). For some, she's proof that even the most irredeemable vampire can be given a second chance through the Dark Father. For others, she's terrific PR for a religion that already has too much sway as is.

The Anarch Movement

  • Ambella Castillo

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Clan: Ministry

    Expatriate of the Castillos: rumored to be the oldest family still living in Yorkshire County. The fact that one of the eldest daughters of this conservative, ultra-Catholic dynasty is a lynchpin of San Arroyo's burner scene is the source of quite a bit of salacious gossip. The fact that Ambella is a Minister, therefore, is a surprise to almost no-one. She's made it her unlife's goal to light a fire under the burnt-out ranks of the Anarch leadership. At present, she leads the coterie she’s named The Dispersed.

  • Hygeia Lark

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Clan: Thinblood

    Her real name is actually Harriet Park, but she's one of Tabula's Duskborn vagabonds, and they do love their "craft names". Even has the Hugieia pentagram tattooed on her neck. Study in contrasts that one: you know she works a full-time night shift as a nurse at Sacred Mercy Medical, but when she's out on the town the demure healthcare worker mask completely sloughs away. She's almost as much of a party animal as you are.

  • Fredrick "Freddy" Worth

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Clan: Ventrue

    A classically American tale of rags-to-riches with a twist ending: Fryderick Warzawski managed to avoid the inevitability of death, but not the perfidies of the real estate market. Some claim Mr. Worth was never that grand of a business magnate to begin with, but did enough of convincing impression of one to earn himself the Embrace. The testament to his ultimately failure in the eyes of his clanmates still lies rusting off the interstate: "Jackalope Jim’s Adventure Canyon" - a defunct theme park patronized only by coyotes and local burners.