Critias
Brujah Primogen (a.k.a. Doctor)
Mien
Critias is an elderly-looking gentleman. He’s a little on the plump side, and he stands no more than five feet tall. “He is mostly bald (though often wears a thick wig), with a little white hairs and a thick white beard. His face is deeply wrinkled, and in recent years he has a haunted look in his eyes. In the privacy of his haven he still prefers to wear Athenian-style robes. Students have caught him like this a few times, but each time he comes up with an elaborate excuse.Mental characteristics
Personal history
MORTAL DAYS: A LIFETIME OF STUDY AND DEBATE
In Athens, the Sophists constantly questioned the morality of their society. One of the most hated Sophists was Critias, due to his keen, incisive questioning and intense wit, making him both compelling and entertaining to the intelligentsia and the masses alike. He acquired a substantial following, many of whom went on to become renowned philosophers, and grew indolent on his growing wealth and prestige. Indeed, Critias considered philosophy to be an elaborate scam — intellectual ephemera that could be used to acquire very real comforts and social standing. Then a plague hit, which killed over a third of the city’s populace. The surviving leaders desperately needed to deflect attention from themselves, so they accused Critias of corrupting the city’s youth with propaganda. They gave him a choice: death or exile. Critias had grown to appreciate the comforts of life over dying for the truth, so he packed up his things and took one final bath before fleeing to Delphi. Before he could depart, however, he was visited by a strange man — the Brujah known as Menele. The vampire had been an ardent follower of Critias’ rhetorical games and wanted the Sophist as his childe. Menele confronted Critias in the baths, using his formidable powers of domination to keep the Sophist calm. They spent the night in vigorous debate over the nature of life, death, and the role of philosophy in both. Before the dawn, Critias became the victim of his own method, and he realized that his own edicts and philosophy were real, substantial, and worth dying for. Or, perhaps, worth living for, for the first time. After admitting defeat, Menele offered Critias a new choice: die for the truth, right then and there, or live for eternity and act the gadfly to the world. Critias chose the Embrace.KINDRED NIGHTS: HIS MASTER’S VESSEL
The two Kindred traveled across Mediterranean North Africa. Menele taught his childe about the secrets of Kindred society, while Critias met with the greatest thinkers of the age, spending nights debating philosophy and logic. Between visits, he would drink from Menele, not realizing the dangers of the Blood Bond. Eventually, Critias made his way to Carthage — the center of Clan Brujah’s plans to control the world. They used the city to plan for a new golden age of Kindred and kine, where philosopher-kings would rule with logic, respect, and democratic debate. Critias was quickly swept up by the grand vision, and he became passionately devoted to the cause. He was exploring China when he heard the news of Carthage’s fall, as well as rumors of his sire’s death. He was heartbroken — this time by the brutal prejudice of the Ventrue and Malkavians — and he frequently fell into frenzies. It was only when he tore the throat out of a child that he realized his monstrous deeds. He decided to leave civilization and became a nomad, feeding only on animals and refusing the blood of mortals. Unbeknownst to him, his travels were manipulated by Menele, through their unusually strong bond. Eventually, in 1942, he came to Chicago. Unwittingly, he became enmeshed in the city’s ornate and complex web of politics, forcing him to settle there — or so he thought. Critias’ deep political skill and wit, sharpened on millennia of intellects, caused him to quickly ascend to the position of Primogen. In his spare time, he taught a few courses at Chicago University to mortal students, often inviting good-looking and intelligent male students to his apartment for intellectual debate, sex, feeding, and occasionally conversion into ghouls. The entire time, he continued to be the pawn of Menele in his eternal fight with Helena. When Prince Lodin was killed, Critias convinced the Primogen to rule the city until “a suitable candidate was found” — a state that lasted for nearly two decades. Menele grew tired of fighting. He started to believe that some force — perhaps the Antediluvians, perhaps another — was manipulating them into conflict. Inspired by his childe’s eternal efforts to educate others, he turned his puppet to a loftier goal: the education of young Brujah to return them to their original incarnation as intellectuals, rather than brutish thugs. Critias started the so-called “Entelechy School.” And then it all fell apart. Menele succumbed to the Beckoning. Critias felt the ancient Blood Bond snap and knew with terrible certainty that he had been manipulated for millennia. He was no longer certain how much of his life was his, and how much was at the behest of his twice-dead sire. He spent three nights in frenzy, injuring several in the Entelechy School in the process. For a month afterward, the elder Brujah refused to leave his haven as he examined every action, every decision, trying to determine how much of his life was his, and how much was the manipulation of his sire. He feels the Beckoning himself, but believes the breaking of his Blood Bond has somehow delayed the effect. Then, letters implicating him and Annabelle as the Primogen supporting Maldavis leaked out. In fact, that small incident is what brought Critias back to the council. He realized he had lost much of his grip over Chicago, and had to embed himself more deeply in the city. Thinking the pull of the Beckoning was another manipulation by Menele from beyond the grave, Critias has trapped himself in the web of politics and obligations within the city. He’s even gone so far as to increase his connections with the mortal realm and will only feed from people born in Chicago — both to rebuild his fleeting humanity, and to assure he has no desire to ever leave Chicago.Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Ambition
Discover the real CritiasConvictions
Never be manipulated by anyone ever againTouchstones
Mahavir, his most devoted mortal student. In him, Critias sees freedom.Social
Contacts & Relations
- University Faculty (Contacts 3, Herd 2, Influence 3, Resources 2) Students (Contacts 2, Herd 3, Influence 2) Critias has controlled the University of Chicago for decades, to the point that some younger Brujah joke he is the Prince of Hyde Park, despite the other Kindred in residence there. Critias has never shown any interest in controlling other areas of the city, but has recently (and aggressively) been expanding his control over the university. His command over faculty and students alike serves him both as a herd and as retainers who see him as just another member of staff.
- Mahavir Chakrabarti (Retainers 1) Mahavir, one of Critias’ mortal students, is a bright and passionate philosophy major, and his debates in class evoke memories of the passionate discussions in Carthage. Mahavir also struggles with his attraction to Critias, afraid his conservative family will disown him should they find out their son is gay. This has caused Mahavir to become even more dependent on Critias. The elder, however, is reluctant to turn Mahavir into a ghoul — he knows all too well the prison of the Blood Bond and is loath to subject another to it.
Relationships
History
Critias has been educating some of the younger (and Anarch-sympathetic) Brujah in the city, particularly Anita and Gérard. He doesn’t agree with their philosophy but loves debating them
History
Critias has been educating some of the younger (and Anarch-sympathetic) Brujah in the city, particularly Anita and Gérard. He doesn’t agree with their philosophy but loves debating them
History
Critias has always felt loyal to the Camarilla and therefore loyal to the Primogen and Prince, when the latter role is occupied. He reports back to Prince Jackson on potential neonate and fledgling threats to the Masquerade if he feels he can’t hammer out their kinks in his academy.
Wealth & Financial state
- University Housing (Haven 2, Retainers 1) Critias has abandoned his haven on South University Avenue, believing it to be a trap Menele set up. Now he lives in a small house maintained by the University of Chicago Commercial Real Estate Operations (CREO). The house is maintained by his prize student, Mahavir, who lives with him and watches over him during the day.
Species
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Philosopher, Polemicist, Brujah Primogen, "Prince of Hyde Park"
Age
55
Date of Birth
478 BCE
Date of Death
423 BCE
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Quotes & Catchphrases
“Old ideas can rejuvenate. Carthage, the ideal, is old and new again.”
Aligned Organization
Related Reports
Character Prototype
Mask
Critias’ Mask is as Professor Dimitris Calombaris, a semi-retired teacher of philosophy at the University of Chicago. Before this disguise, he was Professor James Kazan, another semi-retired teacher of philosophy, and before then it was Professor Manos Papagianno. Few vampires would have gotten away with simply changing a name and address, and that acting as sufficient cover, but few vampires in Chicago possess the powerful mental skills of Critias or his sire (Mask 2).
Traits
Humanity: 6 Generation: 6th (fixed from 5, down from 7th because of diablerie) Blood Potency: 7 (fixed from 8) Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 4, Stamina 5; Charisma 3, Manipulation 5, Composure 2; Intelligence 5, Wits 5, Resolve 5 Secondary Attributes: Health 8, Willpower 7 Skills: Athletics 2, Melee 3; Etiquette 3, Insight 3, Intimidation 5, Leadership (Oratory) 4, Persuasion 4; Academics (Philosophy, Sophistry) 5, Awareness 3, Occult 4, Politics (Camarilla) 4, Science 2 Disciplines: Auspex 4, Celerity 2, Dominate 4, Fortitude 2, Potence 3, Presence 5
Whispers
Discriminatory: Critias is sexist and gay. He originally only taught male Brujah, and even to this night clearly prefers them over female students.
Hearing Voices: Critias is ancient and insane. Once in a while you can hear him talking to someone named “Melanie” or something, even if no one else is around.
Many Faces: Critias is an Anarch, or damn near. He’s been quietly supporting the Anarchs since the ‘80s, and his Eternal Academy is just a way of getting recruits.
