Damien

Sheriff of Chicago

Kill them, or have them join the Hounds so we can throw them at the Anarchs.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

MORTAL DAYS: ANYTHING TO SURVIVE

Damien’s first memories were of pain, loneliness, and persecution. He doesn’t remember his parents, celebrated musicians of the Chicago Black Renaissance who sang to him daily, or their tragic deaths. He does remember the rapid blows of a beefy fist to his face and his head slamming into the ground over and over and over again, until a fuzzy adult-sized figure intervened. Jeremiah, 12, five years his senior and Damien’s personal demon, at Wayward Retreat Orphanage in the Glover Park Neighborhood. The daily beatings preceded Damien being scolded by the staff until he escaped the orphanage at the age of eight.
On the street, he did anything to make money to survive. He sang, recited poems, stole food from dumpsters outside grocery stores, and pickpocketed nightclub-goers. Damien fell in with a small band of other kids like himself led by an older boy, Taylor Rich. A year or so later, he was a runner for Policy, the illegal numbers game; his youth and size let him escape most people’s attention. The few times he was caught, Damien would act like a big man, frequently getting a laugh or distracting his captors just enough for a quick escape. Policy used him less after it came under Mafia control. Taylor, Jen, and Chad were the last of his found family. They all had to make money, or else. Needing more money, he turned to his primary talent, singing for some quick cash or whatever he could use to get by. Maybe it was his voice, his passion for life at age 14 that drew Critias to him, but Damien would be the next member of his ragtag family to vanish without warning. The ancient vampire Embraced the child, gifting him with immortality — then left him sireless, with no memory of who Embraced him.

KINDRED NIGHTS: AN UNLIKELY VOCATION

For years, Damien raided Mafia safehouses for cash to pay for his lifestyle — until Capone’s goons started to carry stakes. One raid nearly led to his final death, had it not been for the timely intervention of Johann Keller, a Malkavian elder who believed Damien to be his son. Keller taught the boy about vampiric traditions and the Camarilla. Shortly afterward, Damien befriended Victoria McCoy, a Caitiff actress, and the two became Blood-Bound lovers.
In the 1980s, Damien joined the already-established band Baby Chorus as the new lead singer. The War of Chicago raged on in the streets, while Baby Chorus entertained the masses packed into the Cave. Damien leapt down into the crowd to sing when he saw the war firsthand. Fans were cheering their names when Damien turned back toward the band and saw a 10-foot-tall fur-covered nightmare of death rendering Garwood to ash. A half-dozen more Lupines emerged from thin air. The fake “little big man” syndrome vanished, as Damien’s Brujah blood boiled and he soared into a blood rage. The battle at the Cave left many dead, mauled, or broken. The wake of the war left Damien alone again, with no mentor, friends, or band. Johann died at the hands of the Sabbat. Victoria, his Caitiff lover, perished in battle with Lupines, as did Baby Chorus in the Cave. He saw magic before that death; he yearned to understand it and began researching the occult to better prepare for the next war.
The music called to him, and he knew the only thing that mattered was Baby Chorus. He spent the next decades appealing to Kathy Glens to come back to the band, to no avail. He would restart the band multiple times, only to fail.
In the late-2000s, Prince Jackson offered Damien the role of Sheriff of Chicago. Damien refused, but before Jackson left, he asked the Prince why he would want him in that role. He remembers the Prince’s long laugh at the naivete of such an obvious question. “Damien. To protect the city, I need someone who is not beholden to any of the old guard. Someone who will follow his Prince’s orders, who can endure hardships and be my right hand. I could command you to do this, but would rather you choose it. The position shall remain open with the Hounds enforcing the law until a Sheriff is found.” Damien once again pleaded with Kathy to restart the band, and she refused. With little holding him back, Damien wandered the states, playing music in Anarch and Camarilla cities alike. One night, he heard the first whispers of the Lasombra making moves toward the Camarilla. An Anarch spoke of one of their number in Chicago monitoring an approach of Keeper dignitaries. Unknown to Damien, the Anarch was speaking of Maldavis. Damien headed back to Chicago with a plan to get the band back together.
For a number of years, the position of Sheriff remained unfilled. Damien went to Prince Jackson to request that Baby Chorus be placed center stage, and in return, Damien would accept the role. The Prince agreed, and Damien became Sheriff of Chicago. It’s taken him surprisingly little time to start punishing other Kindred to the fullest extent of his power, leaving him to wonder if this was his destiny all along

Chicago By Night    Kindred, Kine & Others    The Camarilla      Damien

Species

Brujah

Age

18

Date of Birth

1948

Date of Death

1962

Parents

Critias

Aligned Organization

The Camarilla

Related Reports

• CbN003: Party Animals

Character Prototype

Sire: Critias
Embraced: 1962 (born 1948)
Epitaph: Reluctant Sheriff. Anything to get the band back together

Ambition: Get Baby Chorus trending (despite the risk to the Masquerade)
Convictions: Maintain order for the Prince
Touchstones: Julia and John Rich — the grandchildren of his childhood friend Taylor Rich reinforce his need to keep the Kindred away from mortal eyes
Humanity: 6
Generation: 9th
Blood Potency: 4

Secondary Attributes: Health 8, Willpower 8
Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 5; Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Composure 4, Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 4
Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl (Armed Opponents) 4, Drive 3, Firearms 3, Larceny 2, Melee 2, Stealth 4,Survival 2; Intimidation 2, Performance (Singing,Guitar) 4; Awareness (Ambushes) 3, Investigation(Deduction) 3, Law 2, Occult 1, Politics 2
Powers

Potency surge 3 dice, heal 3 SP, add 2 dice disciplines, reroll level 2

Auspex 1 Heightened Senses

Celerity 3 Free minor actions, add celerity to defense once a turn, no MAP

Potence 4 Leap, Prowess, Relentless Grasp, Brutal Feed

Presence 3 Daunt, Awe, Dread Gaze