A member of the Sabbat has takeri control of a troupe of Kindred actors known as the Black Curtain Theater (BCT) and, unknown to them, plans to use it as a recruitment tool. The primary culprit is a Toreador antitribu named Claire Rosewood, drawn to the idea of a vampiric theater.

She eliminated the old director and assumed his place, producing more "radical" plays. These are designed to test the appetites of local Kindred, looking for recruits who might be biased against the Camarilla or who could support Sabbat philosophies. Once these individuals have been marked, the her pack and a second combat ready pack proceed to recruit as many targets as possible before moving on to the next city. Those playing this story will soon be targetted for abduction.

Background of the Black Curtain Theater

The BCT owes its origins to a young Toreador in Chicago nicknamed the "Sage". This brilliant dilettante decided the best way to assure true immortality would be to sponsor other artists, and consequently Embraced several Kindred illegally, without asking permission of Prince Lodin. One of his progeny was Godwin, then a brilliant but elderly theater director with a crippled body and failing health. Godwin created a private underground theater named the Black Curtain, and embraced several young up-and-coming actors (also illegally).

The group put on a variety of difficult and experimental productions (lavishly funded by the Sage), all to be shown to a select audience.

Along with mortal favorites, the audience occasionally included other Kindred (mostly Toreador), who were careful to preserve the secret of the Theater lest Lodin discover them and put them to death. Otherwise, the coterie remained isolated from contact with other Kindred.

After Lodin's death, these young Toreador began to emerge from their collective shell. Word of their plays trickled to other Kindred. Mr. Godwin and his troupe received much praise for their innovative work, and it appeared his status within the clan would rise accordingly. This was particularly -impressive considering the reputation of Chicago's Toreador as nothing but Poseurs. Here was a true Artiste, willing to stretch the bounds of his medium.

Unfortunately, his troupe also came to the attention of Claire Rosewood, a daring Toreador antirribu of the Sabbat. Claire enjoyed sneaking into Elysium and other cultural centers in Camarilla territory under the guise of a curious neonate. She did this primarily as a secret joke, to thumb her nose at the foe, but in doing, so she stumbled upon the Black Curtain Theater.

Seeing them perform sparked an idea to turn the group to Sabbat use. Accordingly, she sought and attained permission from the Archbishop of Toronto (her pack's home city) to capture Godwin and take his place. With the help of her pack, she has turned the BCT into a touring production with an insidious hidden agenda: weeding out weak-minded neonates and converting them to Sabbat.

The Transition Pack

There are three members of a Toronto Sabbat pack who are involved in the BCT intrigue: Claire, Valasky, and Lucas. The others arle still in Toronto, waiting to see if Claire's experiment will pay off.

Claire Rosewood

Claire Rosewood is the Toreador antitribu who has usurped the Black Curtain Theater. She is not an actress, her primary art being morbid painting. However, she fancies herself a talented playwright, and was a theater buff in her mortal days. Her work is good, if melodramatic and gruesome. She hopes to use the BCT to increase Sabbat strength while simultaneously depleting the foe.

This necessitated turning Claire's established pack into a nomadic pack, which most of the others (including their Lasombra leader) are not thrilled about. They eventually agreed, knowing it'd gain them status. Claire has enjoyed working with the BCT more than she anticipated. She likes writing the plays and seeing them produced, and has encouraged Thomas Barber to collaborate with her writing. She has used her morbid artistic talent to improve the props and stage decorations. During the play, she uses her Auspex to watch the audience for Kindred and gauge their reactions to the carefully chosen themes of the play.

Valasky Derudivich

Valasky Derudivich is a Tzimisce of Claire's pack. He has a strong friendship with her, and is one of the few members who supports her plan. He will not play a major role, but is important for several reasons.

First, he was involved in Godwin's capture, and used Vicissitude to adopt his guise long enough to introduce Claire to the rest of the actors before "retiring on an extended sabbatical to take care of personal issues and recharge his creative "energies".

Since that time, Valasky is responsible for keeping an eye on Claire, mostly for her own safety. The pack knows she is playing a dangerous game. Valasky is never far from Claire' although he remains unobtrusive.

He watches the audience using Auspex during the plays and gives his opinions about potential tar, gets. He is in regular contact with the rest of the pack, who could be called into the region on short notice if there was warning of upcoming trouble.

Lucas Hall

Lucas Hall is a Lasombra, the progeny of the leader of the pack, a young but ambitious man who is very competent in combat but also intelligent and devious. Lucas is expected to help in case of a serious problem, and is well equipped and armed. He can be reached via cellular phone by Valasky at any time. During performances, Lucas is often positioned unobtrusively in the BCT itself, sometimes in the audience but more often hiding in the rafters or backstage.

Lucas, in the guise of a Brujah from out of town, often scouts the Kindred bars and hangouts in a city prior to the arrival of the BCT in order to mark the neonates, Caitiff, Anarchs, and other young malcontents. Those who seem promising are invited to a play. Should Claire be discovered, it is Lucas' primary duty to get her and Valasky out of the city and to Sabbat territory. He will fight fiercely to do so, but destruction of his foes is not his first concern. Lucas is authorized to coordinate efforts with the combat oriented pack, which is expected to cover their escape.

The Combat Pack

Aside from Marc Sivak, individual members of this pack will not be detailed. Instead, a generic template will be provided, and numbers should vary according to the strength of the part (ideally, they should be more than capable of handling any one or two PCs, but not necessarily capable of taking on the entire coterie).

The pack is not expected to interact with the PCs in any way save combat. They serve a direct function: capturing targets for recruitment and passing them through the horrors of induction.

Marc Sivak

Marc Sivak is a proud Pander (a coalition of Sabbat Caitiff), and has encouraged others of his "clan" to join his pack. They are a rough and combat ready group of Panders and the occasional Malkavian, whose madness

Marc endures as long as they back him up in combat and can follow commands when given. His group is still relatively new, but they show promise. They enjoy capturing Camarilla scumbags and submitting them to Sabbat rituals.

Marc is a fanatic loyalist to the Sabbat, and he longs to prove himself to the sect and earn honor for the Panders. He chafes at being ordered around by Lucas Hall, who is both less experienced and only recently turned nomad.

Marc can sometimes be exceptionally cruel in his treatment of recruits, but he considers this the only way to ensure they do not revert to their former selves. He has no fear of death, and has tried to instill this in his fellow packmates.

Black Curtain Theater Vampire Adventure

Introduction
Chapter One: A Night at the Theater
Chapter Two: A Case of Missing Person
Chapter Three: Digging Up Some Old Friends
Appendix 1: NPC Stats
Appendix Two: Alternate Scenarios