The Anti-Obstructionist Army
The greatest advances of The Carthian Movement began with the untainted innovations of mortal thinkers and scientists. The early nights of the covenant were a sort of golden age of free thought for the Kindred who joined up, a time when any vampire could cast off the fetters of traditional thought and open herself up to the world of possibilities presented by the mortal progressives of the day.
Those nights are gone.
So many Carthian Kindred don’t seem to understand that they are creatures of stagnation. They are never going to come up with anything new on their own. They lack the creative spark that mortals are blessed with, and there is nothing they can do to earn it. The mortals are the ones who come up with advanced philosophies and new ways to apply them. At best, vampires learn to accept these ideas and emulate the mortals they come to admire for their originality and imagination. In many cases, the Kindred ingratiate themselves with these mortals, inadvertently poisoning the well with their influence and subtle (or not so subtle) prodding. The gift of the mortal mind is squandered, set to work on the theories that backward Kindred favor instead of the ones the mortal mind would freely discover if left to itself.
In 1935, a number of mortal scientists were slain by Invictus agents in Miami, Florida. The cause was traced back to a Carthian who had made contact with the mortals, meeting regularly with them in order to better learn from their explorations. Worried that the Carthian was recruiting agents for revolutionary purpose (or preparing a mass Embrace), The Invictus Kindred simply dispatched them, ensuring that they could not benefit the Movement.
Sickened by the disastrous effect Kindred influence had on the mortal thinkers of her domain, one Miami Ventrue by the name of Charlene DeSoto took a cue from the rigorous experimental procedure of a favorite mortal anthropologist, and lay down a set of strict rules for interaction with mortals (the “unblemished subjects” of study) in order to prevent further suffering. She declared that any interference with mortal thinkers was antithetical to the aims of The Carthian Movement, reducing the mortals in question to mere political pawns and confounding their attempts at philosophical exploration by involving them in the world of vampires. Gathering a small coterie of likeminded individuals around her, DeSoto proposed an amendment to Carthian Law in the domain, placing strict restrictions on the interaction of Kindred and mortals. Her amendments were voted down as unnecessarily harsh and a crude overreaction.
Undaunted, DeSoto drew from another mortal source. Inspired by the revolutionary human cells of the Spanish Civil War, she quietly vowed to stop the “toxic tyranny of mortal manipulation,” reimagining her coterie as a dedicated military unit. Calling themselves the Anti-Obstructionist Army, the cell operated from the shadows, striking out at any vampire they found to be intermingling their affairs with those of the mortal world. The AOA members were merciless in their pursuit: within three nights, two Carthian ancillae and one novitiate of The Circle of the Crone were destroyed. The Message of the AOA was left in the Kindred’s havens for all to see: a short manifesto, railing against the “perversion of healthy mortal thought by the corrupt touch of the Kindred.”
Immediately called to answer for the crimes of her coterie, Charlene DeSoto was unrepentant. She took full responsibility for all three deaths, protecting the names and identities of her assistants unto her own destruction. Inspired by her martyrdom, the AOA continued its activities in the following nights, striking out at Ghouls and vampires alike, working wherever possible to sever their ties with the mortal world. The manifestoes continued to appear, and two or three new Kindred joined the cause of their own accord, finding themselves swayed by DeSoto’s writings.
Paranoia overtook the Elysium. The Sheriff was ordered to uncover and destroy every member of the AOA. A harrowing hunt followed, and the ruling Invictus took the opportunity to bring troublesome Carthians to heel, regardless of evidentiary support. Most true members of the AOA decided to flee, splitting off and heading for distant domains. Some did not survive the trip. Some abandoned the cause when they arrived at their new domains, hoping to renew their Requiem as law-abiding citizens.
Some never abandoned the cause. Their new cities became new bases of operation, and the tracts of the AOA were disseminated again. More were recruited to the Army, and more effective tactics were employed. The AOA became a fully covert organization, in some domains populated by Kindred who never appeared before one another unmasked and were thus unaware of the identities of their own collaborators. By January of 1940, there were four independent cells of the AOA operating within the United States. Before the end of the year, the first European cell was formed in Athens, Greece. Before the end of the ’40s, there would be 10 cells scattered across the continent, six more in North America and three in Asia.
In time, the tradition of the AOA included one of dissemination of DeSoto’s ideals. Every so often, a cell of the AOA would dissolve, sending at least two or three members out to neighboring domains. The Kindred ordered to travel would undertake some pretense of necessity to explain their move, relocating as quickly and efficiently as possible. Since few held ties to the mortal world (as dictated by their beliefs), they found it easier to do so than most Kindred. Some actually chose the rugged, dangerous existence of Nomads, better to spread the word from domain to domain.
The Carthian governments of some domains actually accepted the cause of the AOA as essential to their policy, integrating the AOA cause into their system of laws and putting the AOA to use as a secret police force. Most Kindred in these domains railedagainst the edict of non-interference, claiming it was too harsh and too unnatural. Eventually, the law was repealed in all but one or two domains, precipitating fierce conflict with the secret members of the Army.
In modern nights, the AOA makes use of every available media in spreading its message to vampires around the world. Dancing dangerously close to violation of the Tradition of Masquerade, coded messages are sent out on the Internet and hidden in the content of DIY, “scene” DVDs traded between Kindred. The AOA has evolved into something of a bogeyman for the Carthians, often blamed for violent attacks that have nothing to do with its aims. Since members of the AOA will rarely step forward to deny responsibility (especially if an attack has left Kindred shaken and fearful), they’re an easy scapegoat. They do tend to hunt down those vampires who would shift blame to them, though, and teach those that the AOA catch a hard lesson in respect.
The activities of the AOA are often confused with those of the mysterious and terrifying VII. While individual members of the AOA are happy to hide behind the mistake when they’re in dire need, they are quick to deny a link between the two factions at every opportunity. The Message of the AOA gets pushed aside when fears of VII surface, and that renders the Army’s attacks meaningless. Violence, to the AOA, is a means of elaborating and enforcing their declared intentions, not an end in itself. Indeed, some soldiers may actually step up and claim responsibility for acts of violence that have nothing to do with the AOA, as long as they can tie it to DeSoto’s manifestoes.
DeSoto herself is occasionally rumored to be active, despite the clear and absolute statements of the Kindred of Miami indicating her Final Death before the midpoint of the 20th century. Members of the AOA, declaring that DeSoto escaped the false justice of The Invictus, spread doubt and disinformation at every chance. The AOA say shebecame an American Nomad, punishing “toxic Kindred” all over the Southern states.
The Message and operation of the AOA remains surprisingly close to the dictates of its founder, considering the various Kindred who’ve taken it as their own. Perhaps her theories were correct, and vampires simply aren’t capable of reimagining existing movements without the assistance of mortal creativity.
Those nights are gone.
So many Carthian Kindred don’t seem to understand that they are creatures of stagnation. They are never going to come up with anything new on their own. They lack the creative spark that mortals are blessed with, and there is nothing they can do to earn it. The mortals are the ones who come up with advanced philosophies and new ways to apply them. At best, vampires learn to accept these ideas and emulate the mortals they come to admire for their originality and imagination. In many cases, the Kindred ingratiate themselves with these mortals, inadvertently poisoning the well with their influence and subtle (or not so subtle) prodding. The gift of the mortal mind is squandered, set to work on the theories that backward Kindred favor instead of the ones the mortal mind would freely discover if left to itself.
In 1935, a number of mortal scientists were slain by Invictus agents in Miami, Florida. The cause was traced back to a Carthian who had made contact with the mortals, meeting regularly with them in order to better learn from their explorations. Worried that the Carthian was recruiting agents for revolutionary purpose (or preparing a mass Embrace), The Invictus Kindred simply dispatched them, ensuring that they could not benefit the Movement.
Sickened by the disastrous effect Kindred influence had on the mortal thinkers of her domain, one Miami Ventrue by the name of Charlene DeSoto took a cue from the rigorous experimental procedure of a favorite mortal anthropologist, and lay down a set of strict rules for interaction with mortals (the “unblemished subjects” of study) in order to prevent further suffering. She declared that any interference with mortal thinkers was antithetical to the aims of The Carthian Movement, reducing the mortals in question to mere political pawns and confounding their attempts at philosophical exploration by involving them in the world of vampires. Gathering a small coterie of likeminded individuals around her, DeSoto proposed an amendment to Carthian Law in the domain, placing strict restrictions on the interaction of Kindred and mortals. Her amendments were voted down as unnecessarily harsh and a crude overreaction.
Undaunted, DeSoto drew from another mortal source. Inspired by the revolutionary human cells of the Spanish Civil War, she quietly vowed to stop the “toxic tyranny of mortal manipulation,” reimagining her coterie as a dedicated military unit. Calling themselves the Anti-Obstructionist Army, the cell operated from the shadows, striking out at any vampire they found to be intermingling their affairs with those of the mortal world. The AOA members were merciless in their pursuit: within three nights, two Carthian ancillae and one novitiate of The Circle of the Crone were destroyed. The Message of the AOA was left in the Kindred’s havens for all to see: a short manifesto, railing against the “perversion of healthy mortal thought by the corrupt touch of the Kindred.”
Immediately called to answer for the crimes of her coterie, Charlene DeSoto was unrepentant. She took full responsibility for all three deaths, protecting the names and identities of her assistants unto her own destruction. Inspired by her martyrdom, the AOA continued its activities in the following nights, striking out at Ghouls and vampires alike, working wherever possible to sever their ties with the mortal world. The manifestoes continued to appear, and two or three new Kindred joined the cause of their own accord, finding themselves swayed by DeSoto’s writings.
Paranoia overtook the Elysium. The Sheriff was ordered to uncover and destroy every member of the AOA. A harrowing hunt followed, and the ruling Invictus took the opportunity to bring troublesome Carthians to heel, regardless of evidentiary support. Most true members of the AOA decided to flee, splitting off and heading for distant domains. Some did not survive the trip. Some abandoned the cause when they arrived at their new domains, hoping to renew their Requiem as law-abiding citizens.
Some never abandoned the cause. Their new cities became new bases of operation, and the tracts of the AOA were disseminated again. More were recruited to the Army, and more effective tactics were employed. The AOA became a fully covert organization, in some domains populated by Kindred who never appeared before one another unmasked and were thus unaware of the identities of their own collaborators. By January of 1940, there were four independent cells of the AOA operating within the United States. Before the end of the year, the first European cell was formed in Athens, Greece. Before the end of the ’40s, there would be 10 cells scattered across the continent, six more in North America and three in Asia.
In time, the tradition of the AOA included one of dissemination of DeSoto’s ideals. Every so often, a cell of the AOA would dissolve, sending at least two or three members out to neighboring domains. The Kindred ordered to travel would undertake some pretense of necessity to explain their move, relocating as quickly and efficiently as possible. Since few held ties to the mortal world (as dictated by their beliefs), they found it easier to do so than most Kindred. Some actually chose the rugged, dangerous existence of Nomads, better to spread the word from domain to domain.
The Carthian governments of some domains actually accepted the cause of the AOA as essential to their policy, integrating the AOA cause into their system of laws and putting the AOA to use as a secret police force. Most Kindred in these domains railedagainst the edict of non-interference, claiming it was too harsh and too unnatural. Eventually, the law was repealed in all but one or two domains, precipitating fierce conflict with the secret members of the Army.
In modern nights, the AOA makes use of every available media in spreading its message to vampires around the world. Dancing dangerously close to violation of the Tradition of Masquerade, coded messages are sent out on the Internet and hidden in the content of DIY, “scene” DVDs traded between Kindred. The AOA has evolved into something of a bogeyman for the Carthians, often blamed for violent attacks that have nothing to do with its aims. Since members of the AOA will rarely step forward to deny responsibility (especially if an attack has left Kindred shaken and fearful), they’re an easy scapegoat. They do tend to hunt down those vampires who would shift blame to them, though, and teach those that the AOA catch a hard lesson in respect.
The activities of the AOA are often confused with those of the mysterious and terrifying VII. While individual members of the AOA are happy to hide behind the mistake when they’re in dire need, they are quick to deny a link between the two factions at every opportunity. The Message of the AOA gets pushed aside when fears of VII surface, and that renders the Army’s attacks meaningless. Violence, to the AOA, is a means of elaborating and enforcing their declared intentions, not an end in itself. Indeed, some soldiers may actually step up and claim responsibility for acts of violence that have nothing to do with the AOA, as long as they can tie it to DeSoto’s manifestoes.
DeSoto herself is occasionally rumored to be active, despite the clear and absolute statements of the Kindred of Miami indicating her Final Death before the midpoint of the 20th century. Members of the AOA, declaring that DeSoto escaped the false justice of The Invictus, spread doubt and disinformation at every chance. The AOA say shebecame an American Nomad, punishing “toxic Kindred” all over the Southern states.
The Message and operation of the AOA remains surprisingly close to the dictates of its founder, considering the various Kindred who’ve taken it as their own. Perhaps her theories were correct, and vampires simply aren’t capable of reimagining existing movements without the assistance of mortal creativity.
Structure
Covenant: The AOA is a small organization of likeminded Kindred, ostensibly all Carthian. The AOA allows its members to pledge allegiance to other covenants, so long as service to the covenants in question never supercedes the requirements of the AOA and never prevents participation in the ongoing war against the corruption of mortal emotion and intellect. If a member of the AOA receives conflicting orders, the expectation is that the vampire in question will defy his covenant and serve the needs of the AOA.
Organization: The AOA operates in small cells of four or five, and each member performs tasks as determined by her skill set and inclination. The founding member of a cell is normally referred to as the Commanding Officer (or CO), and is deferred to in military style. The CO organizes acts of enforcement or sabotage and distributes orders to operatives within the cell. Some cells will designate positions for each member, naming second-in-command Executive Officers (XO), information-gathering Intelligence Officers (IO), equipment-securing Resource Allocation Officers (RO) and deepcover Covert Operatives (VO).
Regardless of his position, every member of a cell is expected to participate in raids on Kindred who violate the tenets of the AOA. To that end, every member of every cell is trained in some sort of combat ability and equipped with the necessary weaponry (often something concealable, such as a hidden blade).
Operatives of the AOA meet frequently to discuss their activities and their intended targets. There is little in the way of ceremony to these meetings. They are often quick, furtive affairs, as most of the members of the group take pains to conceal their identity, and would have trouble explaining extended, regular absences. Each cell is small enough that members can greet one another with a simple exchange of password and then move straight into the business at hand.
The signals of the AOA change frequently, and are layered with a “verification sign.” Every time a signal changes, the verification sign is displayed before and after the new signal. This follows with the display of a new verification sign, which is to be used for the next transaction. Each sign may be transmitted in any number of ways: visually, verbally, through touch or smell. While the system is relatively simple (and could easily be cracked telepathically), it is altered so quickly and so often that keeping up with it would be very difficult for all but the most dedicated spy.
Organization: The AOA operates in small cells of four or five, and each member performs tasks as determined by her skill set and inclination. The founding member of a cell is normally referred to as the Commanding Officer (or CO), and is deferred to in military style. The CO organizes acts of enforcement or sabotage and distributes orders to operatives within the cell. Some cells will designate positions for each member, naming second-in-command Executive Officers (XO), information-gathering Intelligence Officers (IO), equipment-securing Resource Allocation Officers (RO) and deepcover Covert Operatives (VO).
Regardless of his position, every member of a cell is expected to participate in raids on Kindred who violate the tenets of the AOA. To that end, every member of every cell is trained in some sort of combat ability and equipped with the necessary weaponry (often something concealable, such as a hidden blade).
Operatives of the AOA meet frequently to discuss their activities and their intended targets. There is little in the way of ceremony to these meetings. They are often quick, furtive affairs, as most of the members of the group take pains to conceal their identity, and would have trouble explaining extended, regular absences. Each cell is small enough that members can greet one another with a simple exchange of password and then move straight into the business at hand.
The signals of the AOA change frequently, and are layered with a “verification sign.” Every time a signal changes, the verification sign is displayed before and after the new signal. This follows with the display of a new verification sign, which is to be used for the next transaction. Each sign may be transmitted in any number of ways: visually, verbally, through touch or smell. While the system is relatively simple (and could easily be cracked telepathically), it is altered so quickly and so often that keeping up with it would be very difficult for all but the most dedicated spy.
Culture
Appearance: Night to night, the members of the AOA are indistinguishable from ordinary Kindred. The pressures of disapproval and the psychological advantages of covert operation combine to provide all the motive soldiers of the AOA need to remain unidentified.
While enforcing the views of the AOA on a directed mission, soldiers tend to wear dark, armored or reinforced clothing. They prominently display the symbol of the AOA: a red zero on black field, worn most often as an armband or painted on a jacket. Most of the members of the AOA wear masks or scarves while engaging in their duties so as to avoid identification later on.
The Red Zero of the Army is a curious symbol. Nobody knows exactly where it originated, and it appears nowhere in the manifestoes of DeSoto. Somewhere along the line, it simply became associated with the AOA as a signature of sorts, and the Zero has spread out with the traveling members of the Army ever since. Some theorize that the Zero actually represents a subset of the Army with loyalties to one another above and beyond the nightly function of the group.
While enforcing the views of the AOA on a directed mission, soldiers tend to wear dark, armored or reinforced clothing. They prominently display the symbol of the AOA: a red zero on black field, worn most often as an armband or painted on a jacket. Most of the members of the AOA wear masks or scarves while engaging in their duties so as to avoid identification later on.
The Red Zero of the Army is a curious symbol. Nobody knows exactly where it originated, and it appears nowhere in the manifestoes of DeSoto. Somewhere along the line, it simply became associated with the AOA as a signature of sorts, and the Zero has spread out with the traveling members of the Army ever since. Some theorize that the Zero actually represents a subset of the Army with loyalties to one another above and beyond the nightly function of the group.
Assets
Haven: Members of the AOA take pains to keep their havens as ordinary and unremarkable as possible, ensuring that there is little to distinguish them from the homes of non-members. AOA members try to select locations central to the territories of the local Carthian Movement, making certain that they can quickly and easily respond to a call anywhere within the borders of their purview (and just as quickly make it home afterward to avoid the suspicion of their fellow Kindred). Many soldiers spend quite a lot of time in their havens, establishing themselves as solitary types so as to excuse hourlong disappearances when necessary.
History
Background: The AOA tends to select from the ranks of established Kindred, very rarely bothering to Embrace a mortal and induct him directly into the AOA. The only mortals who do get selected in this manner are often bitter failures who can subsequently trace their ineffectiveness in life to the interference of meddling Kindred. These vampires tend to become the most fanatic members of the AOA, working fervently to ensure that their former compatriots are released from the shackles of undead obstruction. However, these Embraced are also the least careful, often becoming so dedicated to their cause that they begin to see secrecy as strictly secondary to the enforcement of Kindred isolation.
More often, a vampire who has seen the damage done to mortal development by her counterparts both within and without The Carthian Movement will gravitate to the AOA, eventually approaching a member (if she can find one) or being approached by one for recruitment. Some actually adopt the Red Zero of the cause and begin enforcement without being officially inducted into the ranks. Those who do quickly attract the attention of actual members, and are either welcomed into the AOA or are quite strongly advised against their current course of action.
On rare occasions, a Carthian vampire who fears the AOA will contrive to have his childe join the AOA, hoping to discern the identities of its members and wipe out any cells in the domain. This is a risky proposition, though: Final Death surely awaits the childe if he is discovered, and there is always the possibility that he will convert to a fully loyal member of the AOA, betraying his sire and revealing her treachery to his newfound comrades.
More often, a vampire who has seen the damage done to mortal development by her counterparts both within and without The Carthian Movement will gravitate to the AOA, eventually approaching a member (if she can find one) or being approached by one for recruitment. Some actually adopt the Red Zero of the cause and begin enforcement without being officially inducted into the ranks. Those who do quickly attract the attention of actual members, and are either welcomed into the AOA or are quite strongly advised against their current course of action.
On rare occasions, a Carthian vampire who fears the AOA will contrive to have his childe join the AOA, hoping to discern the identities of its members and wipe out any cells in the domain. This is a risky proposition, though: Final Death surely awaits the childe if he is discovered, and there is always the possibility that he will convert to a fully loyal member of the AOA, betraying his sire and revealing her treachery to his newfound comrades.
"Your toxic ideals will no longer influence the good Doctor Harrison. He is free to complete his work in peace now, a pure work of human genius unmuddied by the sick recursions of a Kindred mind. You have allowed your arrogance to make you an enemy of the Movement and must be eliminated before you can do any more damage."
Nickname: Isolationists. Not a lot of people talk about the AOA in direct terms — the organization is something that most Carthians don’t want to admit exists and most outsider Kindred have never heard of. By referring to the AOA as “isolationists,” many Carthians are attempting to reduce the AOA’s militaristic initiative to another simple experimental ideal, hoping that it can be quietly eliminated before it becomes a more widespread feature of the Movement. Unfortunately, most Carthians are operating under the assumption that the AOA is much smaller than it actually is, assuming that most of the bombastic language of their manifestoes is exaggeration.
Character Creation: Physical Attributes are almost always primary, but soldiers with Mental Attributes as secondary (at least) are usually the most successful enforcers. Skills will vary with the style of operative, but every member of the AOA has some rating in Brawl, Weaponry, or Firearms. Physical Merits are common, most especially fighting styles such as Boxing or Martial Arts.
Faction Disciplines: The AOA encourages the development of Vigor in its members, the better to strike at a foe quickly and decisively. Obfuscate is also a favored Discipline, allowing soldiers to stage effective masked ambushes and retreats in high-pressure situations. Concepts: Angry former philosopher, conservationist politician, fanatic saboteur, genuinely concerned idealist, hidden defender of Humanity, nostalgic burnout, opportunistic agent of a rival covenant, principle-cloaked bully
Spinoza and Rousseau, Voltaire and Marx — human beings all, and UNDIMMED in their brilliance. Unstained, they SPOKE to us, and we hearkened to their words because we knew them to be PURE and TRUE. It should not be any other way.
This Movement was founded on a FRANK and TOTAL admiration for the changing ways of the world and our desire to remain a part of it. But keeping pace is difficult for us because we are not creatures of change — we are POISONED by stagnation and we carry it with us. Everything we touch, everything we bring into our long nights is SUFFUSED with it and GRINDS to a halt in our rapacious presence. There are those among us who IMAGINE that they can guide the thinkers of the world, make friends with them and encourage their development. But that encouragement is FALSE, it is DOOMED to fail because of our CURSE and we can’t allow it to continue. The world will never grow if we attach ourselves to its brightest and best, dragging them down to our level even if we only INTEND to help.
Our friends and compatriots will not listen to REASON. They are lost in fantasies of life, hoping to recapture their days gone by. But that which is CAPTURED is never FREE and human beings pay the price. If these people cannot be swayed with talk, then we have no choice but to make WAR! DEATH to the TOXIC tyrants over living purity! DEATH to the MANIPULATORS of free thought! We are the ANTI-OBSTRUCTIONIST ARMY, and we are among you!
Type
Political, Activist
Ruling Organization
Parent Organization
Faction Disciplines: The AOA encourages the development of Vigor in its members, the better to strike at a foe quickly and decisively. Obfuscate is also a favored Discipline, allowing soldiers to stage effective masked ambushes and retreats in high-pressure situations. Concepts: Angry former philosopher, conservationist politician, fanatic saboteur, genuinely concerned idealist, hidden defender of Humanity, nostalgic burnout, opportunistic agent of a rival covenant, principle-cloaked bully
The Isolationist Manifesto: An Excerpt
Spinoza and Rousseau, Voltaire and Marx — human beings all, and UNDIMMED in their brilliance. Unstained, they SPOKE to us, and we hearkened to their words because we knew them to be PURE and TRUE. It should not be any other way.This Movement was founded on a FRANK and TOTAL admiration for the changing ways of the world and our desire to remain a part of it. But keeping pace is difficult for us because we are not creatures of change — we are POISONED by stagnation and we carry it with us. Everything we touch, everything we bring into our long nights is SUFFUSED with it and GRINDS to a halt in our rapacious presence. There are those among us who IMAGINE that they can guide the thinkers of the world, make friends with them and encourage their development. But that encouragement is FALSE, it is DOOMED to fail because of our CURSE and we can’t allow it to continue. The world will never grow if we attach ourselves to its brightest and best, dragging them down to our level even if we only INTEND to help.
Our friends and compatriots will not listen to REASON. They are lost in fantasies of life, hoping to recapture their days gone by. But that which is CAPTURED is never FREE and human beings pay the price. If these people cannot be swayed with talk, then we have no choice but to make WAR! DEATH to the TOXIC tyrants over living purity! DEATH to the MANIPULATORS of free thought! We are the ANTI-OBSTRUCTIONIST ARMY, and we are among you!