Hostewicks
"Very good, sir."
The first of the Hostewick ghouls were born in the 17th century, but they weren’t called Hostewicks back then. The first Hostewicks were servants of a powerful English Kindred of Quality — some say the Prince of York — even in life. A handful of brothers and sisters from that pre-Hostewick line were given Vitae and invited to serve in the great house of that vampire and his choice allies in the First Estate in exchange for a comfortable life that would never end. Four of those servile siblings agreed and took their first sip of Vitae.
Little did they know that one of the servant girls was with child. Little did their master expect that she would actually give birth to the child — but she did. That child, a daughter, was the first of the true Hostewick family — the family that was invented when an Invictus Meister claimed the child for his own and set out to cultivate the family line. Within a few decades, Hostewick-born servants were at work in Invictus great houses throughout the British Isles. Within a century, the Hostewicks had a reputation throughout the local Invictus as crack servants with an admirable gift for discretion.
At first, the quiet fame of the Hostewicks inspired their Invictus masters to keep their servants isolated and few. Hostewick servants were forbidden to fraternize with any but their own kin, and only then when they instructed to by their lords. The plan among their Invictus masters was to keep the Hostewicks to a prestigiously small number and protect them against molestation over the centuries. It worked, too, for almost 200 years. From 1709 to 1900 there were fewer than 13 Hostewicks in existence at any one time. Just five Hostewick children were born during that 191-year period, each more than 20 years apart and each in the care of a different Society great house. The Hostewicks lived a quiet, sheltered life or book-learning and servitude and, so far as they remember, they were quite happy.
During the First World War, however, almost half of the Hostewicks were either killed or mysteriously “lost” from the remote country manor houses they tended to for their masters. (Some Kindred speculate that, while the Hostewick masters were hiding in the countryside from the worst warfare they had ever imagined, some of the employers devoured their servants to stave off torpor.) The reputation of the Hostewicks remained sterling, but there were hardly any left to admire firsthand.
Since then, the Hostewicks have re-populated themselves and broken up into numerous smaller families throughout Europe, India and the United States. Whenever possible, Hostewicks reside in pairs (whether that means siblings, spouses, simple friends or any combination thereof) within the same Kindred haven. Even with the comparatively large numbers of Hostewicks tonight, they are rare and precious servants.
Little did they know that one of the servant girls was with child. Little did their master expect that she would actually give birth to the child — but she did. That child, a daughter, was the first of the true Hostewick family — the family that was invented when an Invictus Meister claimed the child for his own and set out to cultivate the family line. Within a few decades, Hostewick-born servants were at work in Invictus great houses throughout the British Isles. Within a century, the Hostewicks had a reputation throughout the local Invictus as crack servants with an admirable gift for discretion.
At first, the quiet fame of the Hostewicks inspired their Invictus masters to keep their servants isolated and few. Hostewick servants were forbidden to fraternize with any but their own kin, and only then when they instructed to by their lords. The plan among their Invictus masters was to keep the Hostewicks to a prestigiously small number and protect them against molestation over the centuries. It worked, too, for almost 200 years. From 1709 to 1900 there were fewer than 13 Hostewicks in existence at any one time. Just five Hostewick children were born during that 191-year period, each more than 20 years apart and each in the care of a different Society great house. The Hostewicks lived a quiet, sheltered life or book-learning and servitude and, so far as they remember, they were quite happy.
During the First World War, however, almost half of the Hostewicks were either killed or mysteriously “lost” from the remote country manor houses they tended to for their masters. (Some Kindred speculate that, while the Hostewick masters were hiding in the countryside from the worst warfare they had ever imagined, some of the employers devoured their servants to stave off torpor.) The reputation of the Hostewicks remained sterling, but there were hardly any left to admire firsthand.
Since then, the Hostewicks have re-populated themselves and broken up into numerous smaller families throughout Europe, India and the United States. Whenever possible, Hostewicks reside in pairs (whether that means siblings, spouses, simple friends or any combination thereof) within the same Kindred haven. Even with the comparatively large numbers of Hostewicks tonight, they are rare and precious servants.
Naming Traditions
Other names
Nickname: Valets (properly pronounced in the English fashion)
Culture
Art & Architecture
Havens: Very little space is required to keep a Hostewick happy. Most keep small rooms, sometimes little more than cells, in the cellars and attics of large havens. Hostewicks who serve poorer or more modest Kindred of Quality might reside above a garage or in a laundry room. As might be expected, a Hostewick keeps a tidy room, so space is seldom an issue.
Hostewicks cannot abide sleeping far from their charges, however. It’s the rare Valet who sleeps under a different roof or on a different lot than his Invictus master.
To this day, Valets think of England as home, even if they were born in another country and have never visited the island. Somewhere in the English countryside is a great house once — or still — owned by an Invictus of note that was promised to the Hostewicks as a gift for retirees. Yet, none of the few Hostewicks who have retired since that promise was made in 1921 have ever been allowed out of the secret manor to report its location or condition.
Valets aren’t stupid. They suspect there is no manor house. Perhaps there never was. What’s clear is that the Hostewicks should keep working, rather than ruin their simple, comfortable lives in the shadows of wealth and power.
Hostewicks cannot abide sleeping far from their charges, however. It’s the rare Valet who sleeps under a different roof or on a different lot than his Invictus master.
To this day, Valets think of England as home, even if they were born in another country and have never visited the island. Somewhere in the English countryside is a great house once — or still — owned by an Invictus of note that was promised to the Hostewicks as a gift for retirees. Yet, none of the few Hostewicks who have retired since that promise was made in 1921 have ever been allowed out of the secret manor to report its location or condition.
Valets aren’t stupid. They suspect there is no manor house. Perhaps there never was. What’s clear is that the Hostewicks should keep working, rather than ruin their simple, comfortable lives in the shadows of wealth and power.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Appearance: Most Hostewick ghouls have a distinctly British quality to their appearance: pale, narrow and subtly featured. Valets are all slender-boned, with arms and legs like twigs tied together; when a Hostewick woman gets pregnant, her swollen belly seems almost grotesquely out of place on her waifish body. All Hostewicks have dark hair, and most have gray or green eyes. The small number of Hostewick generations over the years has yielded very little variation in their features as yet.
The Hostewicks dressed like all servants of their time up until the Edwardian era, when the eldest members developed an appreciation for modern servants’ uniforms. To this night, Hostewicks favor high-class, elaborate uniforms from yesteryears, especially the beginning of the 20th century. In domains and under circumstances when such formality is startlingly out of place — as is the case with many American domains — Valets tend toward outdated uniforms of a less severe vintage, such as the 1960s or 1970s.
The Hostewicks dressed like all servants of their time up until the Edwardian era, when the eldest members developed an appreciation for modern servants’ uniforms. To this night, Hostewicks favor high-class, elaborate uniforms from yesteryears, especially the beginning of the 20th century. In domains and under circumstances when such formality is startlingly out of place — as is the case with many American domains — Valets tend toward outdated uniforms of a less severe vintage, such as the 1960s or 1970s.
Major organizations
Clans: The first ghouls associated with the Hostewicks — those first four blooded siblings — served a Ventrue regnant in the 1600s. For many years the Hostewicks served only that Ventrue and his relatives through Vitae, but eventually a rare Hostewick child was shared with other Kindred of other clans. Tonight, the Hostewick family has a great deal of experience with Kindred of every stripe. Although it’s often not considered proper for the Hostewicks to do so, some categorize the behavior of vampires by their clan (e.g., “You know how a Daeva can be near the morning hour” or “All the Haunts behave that way, in my experience.”) This is not considered unreasonable by the strictly formal Hostewicks, however — they simply see their masters’ clans as a kind of family, and the Hostewicks assume that most families are as like-minded as theirs.
Covenants: The Hostewick line has always served the vampires of the First Estate and always will. Though even the existence of Hostewick ghouls is unknown to most Kindred, those who know of the Valets think of them as members of the Invictus. Historically, a few Hostewicks have been “loaned out” to allied Kindred of the Sanctified cloth, but these gestures of generosity are exceptions to the rule. A Valet outside of an Invictus household thinks of himself as being “away,” and longs to return home to work.
Organization: Within an Invictus house, Hostewicks organize according to the duties to be fulfilled. Usually, the practice and experience of a servant as prized as a Hostewick earns the Valet a choice position in the downstairs hierarchy of the home. Whether that means a Hostewick is the butler or cook or governess or something else depends on the job the Valet most desires — and the job the master assigns.
Modern nights see fewer and fewer estates in the hands of Kindred of Quality, for such houses are much less common among the kine as well, and the Invictus does not want to attract attention to itself among those simple folk. As a result, there are fewer servants — mortal or ghoul — in the knowing or unknowing employ of Invictus vampires than, perhaps, ever before. The Hostewicks, of course, have no fear of being let go; no servant can match a Valet for discretion, loyalty and expertise. Thus, tonight, many Hostewicks work alone, sometimes even shared by multiple masters. The Hostewicks may not have the downstairs and the staffs they have been proud of for so long, but at least they have their work.
In the eyes of many Society vampires, Hostewicks organize within the covenant in the same ways as any other ghouls, in some variation of the regnant-thrall relationship. In some cases, this is true, but with virtually all Hostewick servants, the appearance of a normal relationship is like the servant’s wardrobe: designed to impress or appease guests. Hostewicks, very often, fulfill the role of a regnant’s servant in addition to other, less common tasks.
Many Hostewicks serve their regnants as spies, messengers, protectors, informants, counselors or even lovers. Behind closed doors, a Hostewick enjoys the benefits her ancestors became ghouls for: a taste of finery, a bit of the wealthy life, a shred of inside gossip and a few private moments with her cherished master. Valets, as right-thinking and proper folk, seldom strike up outright affairs with their lords — such things have certainly happened, but the Hostewicks look down on such behavior — but they do often have much closer relationships than they let on. A Hostewick may give her master a shoulder to cry on or an ear to bend or a vein to sip from, but that is the business of the Valet and her lord and no one else. Hostewicks do not, typically, hide such relationships because they are ashamed of them; these relationships stay hidden because they are the most precious part of the Valets’ existence. Such relationships are private treasures, like heirlooms kept locked away in the bedroom, not crass and gaudy jewelry to put on the benefit of the glitterati.
Covenants: The Hostewick line has always served the vampires of the First Estate and always will. Though even the existence of Hostewick ghouls is unknown to most Kindred, those who know of the Valets think of them as members of the Invictus. Historically, a few Hostewicks have been “loaned out” to allied Kindred of the Sanctified cloth, but these gestures of generosity are exceptions to the rule. A Valet outside of an Invictus household thinks of himself as being “away,” and longs to return home to work.
Organization: Within an Invictus house, Hostewicks organize according to the duties to be fulfilled. Usually, the practice and experience of a servant as prized as a Hostewick earns the Valet a choice position in the downstairs hierarchy of the home. Whether that means a Hostewick is the butler or cook or governess or something else depends on the job the Valet most desires — and the job the master assigns.
Modern nights see fewer and fewer estates in the hands of Kindred of Quality, for such houses are much less common among the kine as well, and the Invictus does not want to attract attention to itself among those simple folk. As a result, there are fewer servants — mortal or ghoul — in the knowing or unknowing employ of Invictus vampires than, perhaps, ever before. The Hostewicks, of course, have no fear of being let go; no servant can match a Valet for discretion, loyalty and expertise. Thus, tonight, many Hostewicks work alone, sometimes even shared by multiple masters. The Hostewicks may not have the downstairs and the staffs they have been proud of for so long, but at least they have their work.
In the eyes of many Society vampires, Hostewicks organize within the covenant in the same ways as any other ghouls, in some variation of the regnant-thrall relationship. In some cases, this is true, but with virtually all Hostewick servants, the appearance of a normal relationship is like the servant’s wardrobe: designed to impress or appease guests. Hostewicks, very often, fulfill the role of a regnant’s servant in addition to other, less common tasks.
Many Hostewicks serve their regnants as spies, messengers, protectors, informants, counselors or even lovers. Behind closed doors, a Hostewick enjoys the benefits her ancestors became ghouls for: a taste of finery, a bit of the wealthy life, a shred of inside gossip and a few private moments with her cherished master. Valets, as right-thinking and proper folk, seldom strike up outright affairs with their lords — such things have certainly happened, but the Hostewicks look down on such behavior — but they do often have much closer relationships than they let on. A Hostewick may give her master a shoulder to cry on or an ear to bend or a vein to sip from, but that is the business of the Valet and her lord and no one else. Hostewicks do not, typically, hide such relationships because they are ashamed of them; these relationships stay hidden because they are the most precious part of the Valets’ existence. Such relationships are private treasures, like heirlooms kept locked away in the bedroom, not crass and gaudy jewelry to put on the benefit of the glitterati.
All Valets have two automatic dots in Composure and no automatic dots in Presence as new characters. A Valet pays only four times the target dots in experience points when raising his Composure Attribute. In contrast, it costs a Valet six times the target dots in experience points to purchase a new dot of Presence.
Weaknesses: All Hostewicks, since the first Valet daughter born all those years ago, have weak and deformed vocal chords. A Hostewick cannot speak any words at all during a scene without spending a Willpower point to do so. Even then, the Valet’s broken, shallow voice is an unsettling thing to hear.
Concepts: Suspicious valet, loyal footman, scheming servant, well-hidden spy, doting toady, traitorous spy on the inside