Rating: N/A
Characters: N/A
Spoilers: Um…I started this back in Season 4 BTVS/Season 1 ATS, and I’ve updated it since then.
Disclaimer: The characters of the shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel belong to Joss Whedon. The World of Darkness belongs to White Wolf Game Studios. This isn’t a challenge to either copyright. Please don’t sue. My total assets roughly equal your pocket change.
Summary: Hopefully the definitive work on integrating the Buffyverse and the WoD. Warning: No glossary. If you don’t know the lingo, you may get lost.
Note: It’s been done in any number of fics. But I’ve never been exactly satisfied with how it came out. For example, I’ve seen our favorite family of vamps described as Tremere or Brujah. While I’ve described them as a Bloodline here, if I had to choose one of the 13 Clans, they would have to be Malkavians. Think about it: The Master had Delusions of Grandeur (he’s going to bring back the Old Ones and rule the world? You can do one or the other, but not both, bubba); Darla is a masochist; Angel has the ever-popular MPD; Spike has his impulse-control problems; and Drusilla is a walking Malk stereotype. White Wolf should ask if they can use her in their Templates section. Ahem. Just wanted to get that off my chest. Comments?
Anyway, as a big fan of both BTVS and the WoD, I felt called to do my best to make this obvious match made in Heaven and fit the two worlds together properly. I’ve mostly painted it in broad strokes, but if I were to get enough requests, I might be convinced to put out a second supplement with specific stats. Until then, on with the show:
Sunnydale in the World of Darkness
There are few TV shows whose atmosphere matches the WoD as well as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: The Series. They just need a little tweaking to fit in perfectly.
Sunnydale
Sunnydale was founded by a nephandus named Richard Wilkins in 1899 as a feeding place for demons—a sacrificial altar the size of a small city. The area was well-suited for this, the land having already been poisoned by the extermination of the indigenous population. Richard Wilkins served as the mayor of Sunnydale for 100 years, taking the identity of his own son twice. All the while, demons fed on the oblivious population of Sunnydale as part of Wilkins’s ritual to "Ascend"—to become a true demon.
Sunnydale is a small "one Starbuck’s" town on the coast of California, complete with a beach and docks. It has an airport and two colleges, and an incredible number of churches and cemeteries. The population is primarily white and fairly affluent, and remarkably oblivious to the fantastic death and disappearance rate around them, even for the ask-no-questions World of Darkness. It is unknown if this is a side-effect of Wilkins’s ritual, the Hellmouth, or simple willful ignorance. Another possibility is that the people simply don’t talk about it. The students at Sunnydale High, at least, have demonstrated on multiple occasions that they know more than they say. Regardless, the effect of this is that the most outrageously vulgar and public acts of magick count as "without witnesses," and all supernatural occurrences are quickly forgotten in a manner similar to the Garou’s Veil, even by the victims of said occurrences (should they survive).
Despite their willful ignorance and silence, the Sleepers of Sunnydale are not unaffected by the Hellmouth. It’s not blatant, but people are just a little bit less friendly, a little bit less helpful, a little more destructive, a little more violent. Crimes of property destruction and violence are far higher than they should be in a town of Sunnydale’s size and wealth, and not all of them can be explained by the Hell’s Teeth’s feeding habits. People are just that much more willing to act on impulses that they otherwise might not in Sunnydale, and of course the tendency to look away applies to mundane horrors as well.
The Hellmouth
The Hellmouth is the single greatest supernatural landmark in Sunnydale. Its origin is unknown, but it is unlikely that Richard Wilkins created it. Most likely, he took advantage of the fact that it existed, feeding it with his ritual, and one hundred years of death and anguish.
Located beneath the library of the High School building, the Hellmouth is a rank 5 Wyrm Caern. The Gauntlet and the Shroud are both 2 at the Hellmouth itself, and the Tapestry is frayed--with the Gauntlet and Shroud at 2 lower than they should be--throughout Sunnydale. Shallowings are common.
The entire town is flooded with mystical energy, increasing the effects of a successful use of supernatural powers by one success (whether the wielder wishes it or no), and decreasing the difficulty by one.
All of these factors might seem to make Sunnydale highly desirable territory to supernaturals. This is not the case.
The spiritually-disinclined Kindred are uninterested in a place so far from a seat of power. So what if Disciplines are a little easier to use and the Kine pay a little less attention? You can’t get anything done out in the sticks! Besides, there’s just something…unwholesome about the place. The fact that Sunnydale is the stronghold for the Hell’s Teeth bloodline is just another discouragement.
No non-Nephandus mage wants to channel the poisoned quintessence of the Hellmouth—it tends to be both physically and mentally unhealthy. What’s more, the overwhelming resonance twists Effects toward the darker. Kuei-jin are equally repulsed by the defiled chi.
The Umbrascape of Sunnydale is a single gigantic Blight. No Gaian—or any other benevolent--spirits survive: all are destroyed or tainted, leaving Garou and Dreamspeakers with no allies. Rifts like unhealed sores scar the Penumbra, rifts to the Atrocity Realm, the Scar, the Astral Hells, even to Malfeas itself. The Hellmouth is the nexus point where all of these rifts cross. At the same time, the Shadowlands are pocked with Nihils, the greatest of which—a huge pit that some wraiths whisper is above the Well of the Void itself—is, of course, at the Hellmouth.
Gaian Changers cannot regain Gnosis within the city limits of Sunnydale, but their Rage tends to skyrocket (making Frenzy common).
Wyrm-tainted creatures, on the other hand are actively drawn in by the Hellmouth, and work together better than they really should.
The Hell’s Teeth Bloodline
Anyone who watches the show will immediately figure out that the vampires of BTVS are totally unlike the Kindred.
This is because they aren’t actually Cainites. At least, not entirely. The Hell’s Teeth bloodline originated as an experiment.
No one knows which of the three Baali founders is responsible for the Hell’s Teeth. Moloch seems unlikely; he was always more about subversion than unleashing a race of shock troops. It seems more like something Nergal would do—those few ancient Kindred who know the truth sincerely hope so. Nergal is buried deep beneath Crete. If the Third is responsible, then further experiments are possible, and the next may work better.
Whoever is responsible, they were attempting to create a "Doomsday Bloodline" of vampires with the power—and evil--of demons in addition to their vampiric power, who would either bring about the Baali’s goal of world devastation or be so destructive that they would distract from the Baali’s own activities.
The method the Founder used to achieve this madness was to blend demonic ichor with the Founder’s own vitae as they sired the elders of the Hell’s Teeth: The Master, Lothos, Kakistos, and perhaps others. The theory was that the demons’ potent blood would create extremely powerful and demonic vampires.
The experiment failed.
Rather than tainting a person’s soul with the demonic essence, then binding it in undeath with the Curse of Caine, the demonic essence drove out the human spirit entirely, replacing it with a demon that was bound to the flesh in its place. The demons could—and usually did—retain much of their host’s personality (demonically twisted and exaggerated, of course), but they were in no way the person that had once inhabited the body. Thus they weren’t true Cainites. They weren’t even undead: they were demons possessing a corpse, bound in place by the Blood.
The resulting hybrid was highly unstable. A wooden stake in the heart, which only paralyzes true vampires, is enough to destroy a Tooth; and they have the combined vulnerability to holy objects, water, and Faith as both a demon and a Baali. Furthermore, as something other than a true vampire, the Teeth became vulnerable to the Echoes flaw (see Mage) resulting in a violent allergy to garlic, a lack of a reflection, and the inability to enter a private home unless invited. Finally, a Tooth isn’t quite as static as other vampires: as Teeth age, their appearance degenerates, and their demonic aspect becomes more and more visible. By the time of their destruction, both the Master and Kakistos looked totally inhuman.
On the other hand, the Hell’s Teeth do have a few advantages: First and foremost (to the Kindred) is that the demons—not being cursed, decaying human spirits--have no Beast, and thus are affected by neither Frenzy nor the Rötschreck. Nor do they seem to be affected by the desperate need for sleep during the day that affects Kindred. Second, the distorted fusion of Cainite and demon somehow resulted in vampires that were more physically human than the Kindred. All Hell’s Teeth have the Eat Food, Sex Drive (Same cost as Eat Food, the vampire retains the human sexual drives and responses, but remains sterile), and Baby Face merits (obviously, Baby Face is lost when the demon-face becomes permanent).
The Bloodline has suffered a slaughter among the ranks of its elders since Buffy’s activation as the Slayer. She killed Lothos and the Master personally, and assisted Faith in killing Kakistos. Her various friends and allies have killed all of the Elders’ known childer, so the Fifth and Sixth Generation among the Hell’s Teeth have been effectively wiped out. Darla’s resurrection notwithstanding (since she was first human, then re-embraced by Drusilla), Angel is the Eldest existing Hell’s Tooth (in terms of Generation, at least).
The Hell’s Teeth are rapacious feeders, usually going for the throat and killing the vessel, unless they are held prisoner for snacking. The face of the demon replaces the human mask when a Tooth feeds. They can show the demon whenever they wish, usually in combat and for intimidation.
On the whole, the Hell’s Teeth have been a disappointment to the Baali, despite a few success stories (see "prominent members" section). However, they have served one very useful purpose: they have kept the Slayer, who would surely come after a group as destructive as the Baali, occupied. They have also convinced her that all vampires can be killed by a simple stake to the heart—something that will serve her in poor stead if she ever faces a true Cainite.
Almost every Hell’s Tooth is on the Path of Evil Revelations.
Disciplines: Celerity, Potence, and Presence (all members of the bloodline automatically have Presence 2. The demon face is a pretty good approximation of Dread Gaze)
Relations With the WoD:
Vampires: Most of the Kindred are unaware that the Hell’s teeth are anything more than just another minor bloodline. Their utter lack of discretion makes them a threat to the Masquerade, and they have various other annoying habits, but they’re really nothing to worry about.
The few Kindred who are aware of the Hell’s Teeth’s true nature and goals are willing to drop all hostilities of clan and sect to destroy them.
Garou: "Merciful Gaia! They’re even more Wyrm-tainted than regular Leeches! Kill!"
Mages: Once again, most mages are unaware that the Hell’s Teeth are different than other vampires. Those few who know the Hell’s Teeth’s nature and goals are willing to drop all hostilities to fight them. Only Nephandi are willing to deal with the Hell’s Teeth. Usually the relationship is one where the Hell’s Teeth provide muscle for the Nephandus, as they did for Wilkins.
Prominent Members:
The Master: 5th Generation, Childe of the Founder. The Master was the first of the elders of the Hell’s Teeth to be created, and he was the most powerful by far, demonstrating high levels of Thaumaturgy, Daimoinon, Auspex, Domination, Obfuscate, and others. He attempted to open the Hellmouth in the 1930’s, but an earthquake trapped him beneath Sunnydale, plugging the Hellmouth "like a cork in a bottle."
Buffy had just arrived in Sunnydale when he made his first attempt to escape by using the ritual known as the Harvest. He empowered one of his childer (a loyal warrior named Luke) to mass-feed in his stead, transferring the energy to him. Buffy destroyed Luke and ended the ritual. The Master’s second rising was more effective. Buffy, frightened and confused by a prophecy that foretold her death, came to meet him in his lair. He drank from her and left her to drown in a pool, and the power that her blood gave him allowed him to escape, allowing the Hellmouth to open. It’s unknown exactly what the tentacled beast that started to crawl out was. In any case, Buffy’s mortal friend Xander arrived in time to administer CPR. She destroyed the Master, but his skeleton was left behind. The Anointed One attempted a ritual to resurrect him, but she stopped it and smashed the Master’s bones, destroying him for good.
The Master’s known childer were Luke, Darla, and Colin, The Anointed One. All are deceased: Luke was killed by Buffy at the Harvest, Darla was killed by Angel, and Colin was killed by Spike. Darla was recently resurrected by Wolfram & Hart, but as a human.
Lothos: 5th Generation, Childe of the Founder. Lothos is perhaps the youngest of the three elders of the Hell’s Teeth. Regardless, he was the most active and the only one who had not degenerated. Lothos was also the most prolific, and he focused his attention on the mundane world, unlike the mystical Master and the reclusive Kakistos. His particular contribution to the bloodline was to kill as many Slayers as he could. He finally met his match in Buffy Summers, however. Awakening from torpor in Los Angeles, he immediately sensed her and came after her. He also began to build an army of Hell’s Teeth, an action that immediately caught the attention of LA’s other supernaturals. Before they could rally an attack against him, Buffy had staked him and burned down her high school gym with his army inside. Her reputation as a particularly unorthodox and dangerous Slayer began at that point.
For some unknown reason--most likely related to the type of demonic essence used for his creation--Lothos and most of his sub-bloodline possess the same innate Flight discipline as the Gargoyle bloodline. If he had survived long enough to devolve, he most likely would have developed wings. This information is mostly academic, however, as most of Lothos’ descendants died out during his long torpor, and Buffy destroyed almost all that he created upon his awakening. His only known childe, Amilyn, was also destroyed by Buffy.
Kakistos: 5th Generation, Childe of the Founder. Little is known about Kakistos, except that his "name" means "Worst of the Worst." He was ancestor to an entire section of the bloodline, and he was the most severely degenerated of the three known elders—his hands and feet had become cloven hooves. He was destroyed by the Slayers Buffy and Faith. It is unknown if he had any significant mystical powers. If so, he arrogantly neglected to use them in his final battle, where he demonstrated only Fortitude. His only known childe, Mr. Trick, was also killed by Faith.
Angel/Angelus: The vampire who has been known as both Angel and Angelus has been both the greatest success and the greatest failure in the history of the Hell’s Teeth experiment.
Angel was born in Ireland in 1727. In his breathing days, his first name was Liam. His last name is unknown, and is immaterial in any case—he has renounced both that name and that life. He was a drunken layabout in life, an underachieving disappointment to his domineering father. He was Embraced in 1753 by Darla, a childe of the Master whose only achievement of note was to sire him. Angel is 7th Generation.
Angelus’s first act as a vampire was to massacre his family. He then proceeded to earn the title "Scourge of Europe" with a century and a half rampage that horrified even the most callous of other supernaturals. The name of Angelus strikes fear into the brave even today.
It made the Baali truly proud. Angelus had vision and a true passion for destruction worthy of Shaitan himself. If the entire Hell’s Teeth experiment had yielded nothing but Angelus, it would have been considered a success.
Then, in 1898, Angelus made the mistake of killing a beloved child of the Kalderash gypsy clan. They punished him with a curse that returned his human soul.
Stricken with guilt at what his demon had done, Angel dropped out of sight for most of the twentieth century, living in sewers and feeding on rats. Finally, in the ‘90’s, he was approached by Whistler, a "demon" (see below) devoted to maintaining the balance between good and evil (which, in the WoD, and especially in Sunnydale, means he mostly works for good), who told him about the Slayer.
The recent years of Angel’s life are well-documented. The Baali were horrified to watch their finest creation help prevent the Master from opening the Hellmouth twice, and assist in his destruction. They were overjoyed to see Angelus’s return, and deeply disappointed when his attempt to free Acathla failed. And they were enraged when he helped destroy Wilkins.
Angel currently resides in Los Angeles, protecting the helpless, especially from other demons. He is deeply penitent over the actions of Angelus, which seriously offends the Baali. How dare he take credit for Angelus’s great deeds?
Angelus is a legend among the Hell’s Teeth. Any that has had more than a year or two of unlife has heard of him. His legend is well known among other supernaturals as well, though not quite as widespread. Most are unaware of his soul, but even the few who do know don’t make the mistake of thinking he’s any less dangerous. If Angel announces himself as Angelus…well, the name still strikes fear into the brave. Hell’s Teeth may back off entirely.
Angel’s powers are primarily physical—Potence, Celerity, and Fortitude--though his natural stealth is augmented by Obfuscate, his Auspex is sufficient to "smell" the difference between a human and a Supernatural, and he has tomes and a knowledge of individual rituals that could grow into a true knowledge of Thaumaturgy if he were to ever find a teacher. Also, he has a certain psychic link with his childer if they are within the same city/region. He is not as powerful as he could be, a result of the fact that he spent eighty years barely nourishing himself, let alone developing his abilities. He is a devastating combatant nonetheless, with a high Brawl, Dodge, Melee, Alertness, and Athletics. He also has a high Stealth (with a specialty of "Lurking") and he has managed to talk himself out of more than one tough situation, indicating that he has at least some degree of Subterfuge. Both personalities are skilled at Intimidation. Angel has also kept up with the times, and has at least a passable Drive and Computer. On a gentler note, both personalities are skilled sketch artists.
If Angel were ever purged of Angelus (an act more difficult than a simple exorcism) he would become a far more powerful and dangerous foe of evil than he already is. He may become an "ordinary" seventh-generation Cainite (Caitiff or Baali antitribu), or he may keep the merits of the Hell’s Teeth while gaining the stability of a Kindred. This would make him a far more powerful being than his generation would indicate.
Angel has two motivating forces in his life: penitence for Angelus’s crimes and his love for Buffy. The fact that there is so much to atone for and that he is separated from Buffy leave him a grim, brooding person. However, exposure to first Doyle, then Cordelia has begun to brighten his demeanor somewhat. He’s even starting to develop a dry sense of humor. When not in heroic mode, Angel is a rather shy, quiet individual who doesn’t know how to deal with people very well. He likes to spend his nights at home, reading and listening to classical music. He has a deep knowledge and appreciation of art. When "on duty," Angel is extremely brave and determined. He has been known to run into sunlight, grab crosses, and walk brazenly into his opponents’ strongholds when it was necessary. Angel possesses the True Love and Iron Will merits, and he has a Higher Purpose: to protect innocents and fight the forces of Darkness.
Angelus is equally brave and determined, enough so to sneak into the Slayer’s bedroom while she was there. He is extremely sadistic, and believes that all of his killings, even simple feedings (but especially his vengeance against the Slayer who made him feel "human") should have "poetry." He also has the Iron Will merit, as well as a Higher Purpose: to destroy the world. If Angel is used as a PC, then Angelus should be treated as his Shadow, as per Wraith, except that Catharsis is impossible unless Angel experiences a moment of happiness. Certain drugs can cause temporary Catharsis until they wear off, but True Happiness (such as making love with the first person who has ever truly loved him, despite the fact that he’s a monster) is required for a true takeover.
Angel has four known childer: Spike, Drusilla, Penn, and Theresa. Penn is deceased. However, Angelus created Theresa very casually, simply to taunt Buffy. This offhand attitude toward creating progeny indicates that there may be many more.
Update: Angel has recently discovered from the Prophecies of Aberjian, which he recovered from Wolfram & Hart, that he has a destiny to fulfill. Once he has completed it, he will be made human as a reward. He now has the Destiny background. He has also used some of his stashed cash to purchase the Hyperion hotel as a replacement for the office that was destroyed by Vocah’s attack.
Spike: Spike is a Childe of Angelus, 8th Generation and 126 years old. Almost nothing is known of his breathing days, except that he was known as "William the Bloody." At first glance, he appears to be another credit to the bloodline. He earned his name by torturing people with railroad spikes. He revels in death and destruction, and has killed two Slayers.
In truth, Spike is almost as much of a liability as Angel. The death and destruction he revels in add up to little more than bullying and vandalism in the long run, and in his lack of vision, impatience, and arrogance, he has taken actions that have cost the bloodline, the Baali, and their cause dearly in recent years. He killed the Anointed One, a childe of the Master and a potentially important leader of the Teeth out of simple annoyance; he sabotaged Angelus’s attempt to awaken Acathla and destroy the world out of jealousy over Drusilla and because he liked the world (!); he gained and lost the incredible power of the Gem of Amara; and finally, now that the implant given to him by the Initiative (see below) has rendered him unable to harm humans or any other natural being, he fights the forces of Darkness at the Slayer’s side, simply to be able to kill something! If the Baali have their way, then Spike’s nights are numbered.
Spike is a vamp of simple pleasures: some blood, some beers, something good on the TV, something to wreck and someone to kill. Still, in spite of this simplicity and the fact that he seems to be nothing but a blustering, cockney hoodlum, Spike can be frighteningly perceptive, and has seen right through all three core members of the Scooby Gang. He also has a biting sense of humor. Despite the fact that he has no qualms about calling upon the Slayerettes for aid, Spike has no sense of gratitude, and most likely plans to kill them all as soon as he’s free of the Initiative’s implant. Like his sire’s, Spike’s powers are almost all physical. He has sufficient Potence and Celerity to be a significant threat to Buffy, and enough Fortitude to go about during the day regularly with only his leather jacket pulled over his head for protection. Spike has a high Brawl, but he also has a surprisingly high Leadership and Linguistics (demon)—he has employed and led other demons on a regular basis. In addition, his Subterfuge makes it dangerous to forget that he’s a threat for more than just his teeth. When going after an objective, Spike is methodical and determined, but his impatience tends to betray him.
Spike follows the path of Cathari
Update: Spike has recently fallen in love with Buffy.
Drusilla: Dru is 8th Generation, another of the Childer of Angelus. When alive, she was troubled by prophetic visions, which her mother deemed satanic. Seeking religious help, she had the misfortune of "confessing" to Angelus. He proceeded to drive her insane, killing her entire family, and finally Embracing her on the day she took her vows as a nun.
The result was the one of Angelus’s childer who was closest to his heart, though Penn followed most closely (slavishly and unimaginatively) in his footsteps. She is, in fact, Blood Bound to him. Her dependent Child Nature clung to the Bond despite the near century of separation between periods of Angelus’s dominance. Her obsession with "her Angel" infuriates Spike.
Drusilla is deeply insane, in a permanently childish state, given to babbling nonsense that makes sense only to herself. However, she’s still a Hell’s Tooth, and she tortures and kills with childish playfulness and glee. She has been both Angelus and Spike’s lover, and she looks forward to destroying the world like a kid looks forward to Christmas. She doesn’t have Angelus’s sheer will and vision, so she’s unlikely to do this herself. However, she is dangerously powerful in her own right. She has retained her prophetic visions from her mortal days. If anything, they have increased. In fact, much of her babbling can be explained by her perceiving the world through her oracular ability—still, one can’t always tell between prophecy and baby talk. She also has high levels of Auspex and Dementation (which is pretty much unknown elsewhere in the bloodline), and the claws she killed Kendra with demonstrate at least two levels of Protean. People who underestimate Drusilla because of her immature demeanor usually end up dead.
The Slayer
In every generation, one girl is called to be the Slayer, the one with the power and skill to fight the supernatural and defend humanity. She faces the night alone, and when one dies another is called. That’s how it’s always been.
The current Slayer, Buffy Summers, has changed all that.
When the Slayer is first "Called," her physical attributes all immediately become fives, and she gains a point each of Potence, Celerity, and Fortitude. She can add to these disciplines with training and experience. Her Brawl, Dodge, Melee, Athletics, Archery, and Firearms immediately become threes. In addition, her healing abilities are vastly increased. The Health levels that take months to heal, heal in as many weeks. Those that take weeks, take as many days, and those that take days, hours. She also gains other, less tangible powers: sharper senses (as the merits), prophetic dreams, and the ability to sense vampires.
Throughout history, there has always been one Slayer, with a new one being called as the one before died. However, after Buffy was drowned by the Master, Xander revived her with CPR. She was dead long enough for another Slayer to be called, but she herself survived. Now there are two Slayers, each with the full power thereof.
The primary drawback to being a Slayer (other than the danger and isolation, of course) is the phenomenal potency of her blood. A Slayer has 30 blood points, and a vampire who drinks her blood gains a point of Potence or Fortitude for every three points drunk (alternates between the two—a vamp who drains a Slayer entirely gains five of each. Generational limits are suspended.) for as long as the blood is in his system.
The Hell’s Teeth, created as a warrior-servitor bloodline, have instinctively thrown themselves at the Slayer. Also, as they are the least subtle vampires around, they have occupied most of the Slayers’ attention down through the ages. As a result, the Slayers are unaware that there are any other types of vampires.
Several Garou elders who have heard Calm-of-the-Lake-in-the-Morning’s explanation of Slayers suspect that the Slayers are Kami, empowered by Gaia to act as Her champions. Who knows? They may even be right. After all, Gaia surely counts as one of the Powers That Be.
The Watcher’s Council
The Council is an organization similar to the Arcanum that, according to Wesley (see below) is "older than civilization." Like the Arcanum, they collect as much knowledge about the supernatural world, and as many artifacts, as they can. Originally, their purpose was to protect and assist the Slayer. Over the centuries, however, the Council has stagnated and corrupted. Now, forgetting (or ignoring) the fact that the Slayer is the Warrior and they are her advisors, they have set themselves up in a place of authority. They seek to control the Slayers, a task aided by the fact that most of them are impressionable young girls when the Watchers find them. The girls are isolated (more than their role would naturally do) and subjected to archaic and often sadistic rules.
At present, they have lost control of the Slayers entirely. Faith turned to the Dark Side, and Buffy left the Council when they refused to assist Angel.
In recent days, the Council has proven to be more dangerous than they once seemed to be: they have a Black Ops team, and mention has been made that there are a lot of Alchemists on the "Board of Directors."
The Council is currently headquartered in England.
Update: When Giles and Buffy contacted the Council and asked for information on Glory, the Council attempted to regain control of Buffy. They did this by holding the information they possessed hostage, demanding that Buffy pass some tests, all the while threatening to have Giles deported. However, Buffy eventually realized that she was the one who actually had the power in the situation: the Council could do nothing with their information. Without a Slayer, Watchers are meaningless. She demanded that Giles be reinstated as her Watcher, at his original pay, retroactively to the month he was fired. They accepted her terms, and Buffy once again has the resources of the Council available to her.
Demons
Most of the "demons" that Buffy and the Scooby Gang encounter are nothing of the sort, of course. If the world were overrun by that many demons, even minor ones, then it would be over.
Anya, however, gave us the key when she mentioned that demons on Earth are actually partially human hybrids. Hmmm…a malevolent blend of human and dark spirit. What does that sound like?
Most "demons" are relatively rare breeds of fomori who either actually believe themselves to be demons, or just like how impressive it sounds. Unique and non-humanoid "demons" are most likely Wyrm-beasts of some kind (and, of course, there’s no shortage of non-demonic monsters in either the WoD or the Buffyverse). Some intangible demons like Eyghon, Ovu Mobani (the demon who summoned the zombies in "Dead Man’s Party"), and the false Moloch who attacked Willow, may actually be minor demons or banes.
In LA, however, Angel has started to encounter non-malevolent "demons," most obviously Doyle. These are not fomori, and are not called toward the Hellmouth. Instead, they are "Lost Races" of unknown origin—most likely offshoots of humanity or at least a common ancestor—and varying degrees of magical power. They have been surviving in the cracks of human and supernatural society for as long as they can remember, and will most likely be suspicious of strangers.
Local Landmarks
The Bronze: The Bronze is the social center of Sunnydale. It’s a large, dimly-lit dance club, much like any other. As the only such place in town, it’s the central hangout for high school and college students. Like any place where young people congregate unsupervised, things sometimes happen in the Bronze. In fact, it has been attacked by "Gangs" more than once.
Willy’s Bar: Willie’s bar appears to be nothing more than a run-down and fairly unimpressive dive. And that’s what it is. It’s also a neutral meeting place for Sunnydale’s supernaturals.
Despite the fact that more than half of the clientele are vampires (and half of what remains is some other kind of creature), violence is rare. Everyone respects the neutrality of the place. The Slayer can walk in without being attacked, and she walks out without leaving any piles of dust behind her. Any human patrons come and go, totally unaware of the danger they were in.
Willy himself seems to be a totally normal human. He is the best source of information on supernatural activity in Sunnydale, which he can be bribed, intimidated, or even roughed up a little for without his clientele caring. However, if he is ever seriously threatened or hurt, the perpetrators will answer to his customers. Where else are they going to go to drink?
Caritas: Caritas is a karaoke bar that is the equivalent of an Elysium for the supernatural community of Los Angeles. Metal detectors ensure that no weapons enter the bar, and it can be assumed that sterner measures are available if one of the patrons tries to use their own abilities. After all, a large number of naturally aggressive beings frequent Caritas, and no fights have been seen to date.
It is possible that Caritas is a level 1 or 2 Caern of Humor, which the local Bone Gnawer sept allows the Host to maintain, since he’s so good at keeping the level of good cheer so high. It would explain why the various supernaturals are so disinclined to fight. Garou bouncers would explain why those who are so inclined never do.
The primary attraction of Caritas is the Host, a green-skinned "demon" with small red horns. He is friendly, flamboyant, a fine singer and very good at making sure everyone has a good time. He also seems to be gay. But none of these are the reason he’s so popular. When someone sings for him, the Host can read their aura. He is able to glean far more information from this than the average Aura Sight ability. He can read minds in detail, and see the future to a degree that has not yet been revealed. He then offers advice based on what he sees. His customers aren’t very concerned about him having this knowledge, as he has a Code of Honor: he refuses to reveal any information he discovers from his reading, except in the event of an extreme emergency (like the patron who was going to destroy the world).
It is unknown if the Host has any other powers. He has a passable Brawl, but his Sing and Carouse are both 5 or better.
Update: It has been revealed that the Host is named Krevlornswath of the Deathwok clan. He prefers to be called Lorne. He hails from Pylea, a world where humans are cattle, music doesn’t exist, and life revolves around martialry and heroism. In addition to his Brawl, he has Melee, but he doesn’t like to use it. He can survive decapitation if his body suffers no further damage, and his heart is in his left buttock—both things that can really throw off someone used to fighting things with human anatomy.
The Initiative
The Technocracy couldn’t ignore a hole in reality like the Hellmouth forever. On the other hand, they couldn’t send in any significant number of mages or magically-constructed servitors either. The danger of corruption in Sunnydale’s toxic atmosphere was just too great. Instead, the N.W.O had their pawns in the U.S. government send a special task force to Sunnydale under the auspices of controlling the demonic threat, and perhaps even harnessing it for military purposes. The only Technocrats to enter the area were Professor Maggie Walsh, a zealous Progenitor, and her assistant.
The Sleeper operatives of the Initiative were fed drugs in their food to make them a match for what they would face on the Hellmouth. These drugs make them immune to the Delirium, boost their physical stats and wits by one, and make them heal as if they possessed the Spark of Life Merit. Unfortunately, if this feeding schedule is significantly disturbed, the result is withdrawal, whose symptoms include trembling, cold sweat, chills, weakness, and paranoia.
It didn’t work.
It is unknown exactly what happened. Perhaps Maggie Walsh was Barabbi from the start, or perhaps the Hellmouth affected her despite her zeal. Or because of it. Maybe the U.S. government added its own agenda, or maybe Project 314 was a (misguided and foolish) part of the plan from the beginning. If so, it might have been Professor Walsh’s superiors who were Barabbi. One thing is certain, accusations will be flying for years.
In any case, the concept for Project 314 was simple: Walsh would construct a force of super-soldiers, hybrids of human, demon, and machine. It worked too well: the prototype, Adam, killed her and escaped. He rampaged over Sunnydale for a time, before he decided to fulfill his original purpose and complete the 314 project. To this end, he started acting as a Messiah to the demons of Sunnydale. At his instigation, they allowed themselves to be captured by the Initiative (as opposed to being slain by Buffy) until the holding pens were full to capacity. Then he shut the Initiative’s power off and let the demons loose. Ideally, humans and demons would slaughter each other, and he would be left with a pile of bodies to make into demonoids like himself. He had particular plans for converting Buffy and his "brother," Riley Finn.
His plan failed. Buffy, using a spell of Willow’s to channel her friends’ power, was able to defeat him, and the only demonoid he got to create was Forrest, a friend of Riley’s that he had killed earlier.
Nevertheless, the Initiative was wrecked, and both the government and the Technocracy decided to give up on it as a failed experiment.
Adam: Adam was the prototype of Project 314. He was a Frankensteinian amalgam of human, demon, and machine.
On a personal level, Adam was devastatingly powerful. He was incredibly strong (enough so to rip a vampire’s head off with his bare hands—most likely 8+ with some Potence) and tough. His ability to absorb a Slayer’s blows without flinching indicates a superhuman Stamina, plus Fortitude. To top that off, he could absorb electrical attacks. His left arm, from a polgara demon, sported a retractable bone spear that allowed him to cause Strength +3 aggravated damage. By the end, he had added a gattling gun and a grenade launcher to his right arm. His power source—a core of Uranium 235—ensured that he would live "essentially forever," and that the only way to kill him was to destroy him completely, or to remove it.
He also had several other unusual abilities that weren’t geared toward total destruction. Thanks to his power core, he never needed to eat or sleep. He had a computer disk drive in his chest, and could jack into computers from the electronics in his head. More importantly, he had a "total awareness" of himself and his surroundings that seemed to be similar to the first level of several mage Spheres, including Correspondence, Time, and Life.
Still, it was none of these things that made Adam as dangerous as he was: he was a compelling speaker, able to get vampires and demons to put aside their traditional hatred and work toward a common goal…his. Worse, he had total knowledge of the Initiative.
Adam’s personality was quirky. No doubt it was a combination of the several people who had contributed parts. It’s known that some parts of him had been in the Boy Scouts, and that he liked the Beatles’ "Helter Skelter." The key to his personality is that he did everything with the confidence of one who truly believes himself invincible. He did everything—even killing—with a smile and good humor. And, for a demon, he acted with a fair amount of honor, and he treated his underlings reasonably well. Still, in the end, everything could be sacrificed for "mother" ‘s plan.
It is unknown just who contributed parts to Adam, so he could have any number of demon powers that he never tapped, and any abilities. We have witnessed him demonstrate Leadership, Firearms, Computer, and Medicine.
Wolfram & Hart
The greedy and unscrupulous lawyer who doesn’t care what side they’re on as long as they get paid is even more of a stereotype in the World of Darkness than it is in the real world. The law firm of Wolfram and Hart take that stereotype to new heights.
Wolfram & Hart remain mysterious. At the moment, all that is known is that they specialize in supernaturally evil clients, though they also accept certain mortals—all of whom, in both categories, are guilty as sin. They murder, intimidate, and bribe witnesses and other opposition. Of course, they have other supernatural tricks up their sleeves beyond raw force (like the Talking Stick in Sense and Sensitivity). And, if all else fails, they are very good, very ruthless attorneys who can completely separate the law from justice.
Wolfram & Hart is totally aware of the supernatural world, and their corporate building has a host of supernatural defenses: wards, sensitives who can detect a vampire the second he enters, security guards who know how to deal with vampires, mind readers, demon guards—plus the usual vaults, locks, and alarms.
Of course, Pentex is one of Wolfram & Hart’s major clients.
Prominent Characters
Buffy Summers: Usually, a potential Slayer is trained from a very young age by her Watcher. Buffy, however slipped through the cracks and was undiscovered by the Watcher’s Council until she was activated at the age of 15. Since then, she has broken all the rules: she has worked with vampires, compromised her secret identity, and involved mortals in her fight.
As a result, she is the longest-lived, most successful, and most powerful Slayer in history. She destroyed two of the elders of the Hell’s Teeth personally, and had an assist on the third. She has thwarted three major attempts to destroy the world, as well as several minor ones.
For a long time, Buffy resented her destiny and wished to be a normal girl. She has since come to accept her role, and only occasionally complains of the demands it makes on her time and the secrets it forces her to keep. Indeed, where Giles once had to force her to patrol and train, she now does them of her own volition, since he no longer has any authority over her. She has come to be proud of Slayerhood, and is glad to be able to help and protect people.
In many ways, Buffy is an ideal warrior and defender: she is quick-thinking, resourceful, courageous, and determined. She is selfless: she tends to think of others before her own safety, and she doesn’t raise her hands in anger or use her powers for personal gain. She’s even witty, with a quip on her lips whenever she fights. She has an enormous sense of duty, enough to send her True Love to Hell when that was the only way to prevent Acathla from devouring the world. That incident broke her, but she was able to recover even from that.
Buffy became the true leader of the Scooby Gang when she defied the Watcher’s Council and "graduated." Giles, once her commander, has become her advisor. Merlin to her King Arthur.
Of course, Buffy isn’t perfect. She’s rash, and sometimes makes snap judgments and assumptions. She is intelligent, but somewhat mentally lazy, especially academically. She also tends to be overprotective of her friends, preferring to go it alone and "protect" them when she actually needs their help. By the same token, she has difficulty confiding in them and properly expressing her concern for them, resulting in frequent, and sometimes severe, breakdowns in communication. She can also be a bit too trusting, the Initiative being a case in point.
The Slayer is in the front lines of the war against the Darkness. She doesn’t have a great life expectancy. But no one doubts two things: 1) that when Buffy falls, it will be against some terrible threat to the world and 2) that she’ll take it with her.
Buffy possesses the Iron Will and Higher Purpose merits.
If not immediately attacked, Buffy will at least listen to what supernaturals, even Kindred, have to say. The Slayerettes will follow her lead in whatever decision she makes.
Rupert Giles: Giles became Buffy’s Watcher after Merrick’s death and her move to Sunnydale. At first, he tried to maintain firm control and do everything according to Watcher’s Council protocol. That started to slip almost immediately, when Willow and Xander joined the party. It went out the window entirely when Angel joined.
For a long time, the kids thought that Giles was merely stuffy and bent on ruining their fun. Then they discovered his Dark Secret: he had once chafed against his destiny, just as Buffy did. He had wanted to be a fighter pilot or a grocer, not a Watcher, and he rebelled. In addition to the normal forms of youthful rebellion (during the course of which he somehow earned the nickname "Ripper"), Giles and his friends (who included Ethan Rayne) dabbled in the Black Arts, allowing the demon Eyghon to possess them for thrills. He abandoned this practice and embraced his destiny when one of his friends was killed, but the demon followed him. The Scooby Gang was able to save him (Eyghon, who could only possess unconscious and dead bodies, made the mistake of jumping into Angel, where the far-fiercer Angelus was waiting), and his bond with them has grown since then.
Giles has become a father figure to the younger members of the Scooby Gang, all of whom seem to have absentee or otherwise neglectful fathers. He seldom expresses this affection—he’s hugged Willow all of twice—but it is clear. It is this affection that cost him his position as Buffy’s Watcher when he compromised her Cruciamentum on her 18th Birthday. Sadly, what comradeship might have been developing between him and Angel was destroyed when the latter lost his soul and Angelus murdered Jenny Calendar, Giles’s love interest at the time, and tortured Giles for the ritual to awaken Acathla. But they can still work together for Buffy’s sake.
Giles is in his mid-40’s, and seems to favor an intellectual life—he has been a librarian (which ended when the Sunnydale High School was destroyed) and a museum curator, reads in his spare time, and remains Buffy’s primary researcher (high Linguistics, Occult, and "Demon" Lore). He has stereotypical British stoicism, keeping his affection for his "children" mostly under wraps, and acknowledging his own distresses with little more than a dry comment. On the other hand, he’s good on the guitar, and a gifted singer.
Nonetheless, Ripper is still a part of him, and he is more than capable of fighting at Buffy’s side. He is both brave and physically strong, and he has high scores in Brawl, Melee, Firearms, and Archery (Crossbow). Unfortunately, as all the head trauma he suffers on the show testifies, his Dodge could be better.
Giles knows the Hedge Magic paths of Daimonic Summoning, Binding, and Warding; Ephemera; and Divination. He also possesses the Iron Will merit, and has a fair-sized stash of minor talismans and relics.
Update: Giles now runs a magic shop. This provides him with a Resources of 3+ and the ability to more easily order magical resources and texts. The back of this shop is a training gym for Buffy.
Willow Rosenberg: Willow is Buffy’s best friend. She, along with Xander (her friend since babyhood), is one of the founding members of the Slayerettes. She has been through thick and thin with Buffy since then.
Willow’s original service to Buffy (she once angrily told Buffy that she is not her sidekick. She’s correct, though not the way she thinks. As far as the Powers That Be are concerned, the Slayerettes are Buffy’s servants, and will be treated as such if a direct meeting ever occurs) was in her hacking and investigation skills. Along the way, however, she Awakened—most likely during the process of restoring Angel’s soul. Though Giles originally tried to discourage her magickal studies, he now turns to her whenever he needs assistance, often in lieu of performing a spell himself. Willow remains heavily dependent on her foci, but her ability to improvise and innovate, as well as do entirely without in some cases (the floating pencil and the floating flasks during her attempt to curse Oz) marks her as a true mage. It’s most likely a question of self-confidence. Strangely enough, Willow doesn’t seem to suffer any ill effects from the poisoned Quintessence of Sunnydale. Perhaps it’s because she’s lived there all her life. In any case, both her self-confidence and her skill have increased under Tara’s tutelage.
When she first met Buffy, Willow was painfully shy and lacked any confidence at all. Four years of saving the world has changed that. She’s now a confident, if quiet, young woman. She’s highly intelligent, and very friendly, until someone gives her a reason not to be (thus, she’s wisest person for supernatural who is desirous of peace to approach). She’s also extremely compassionate, and will attempt to take care of anyone who is suffering (as she did when Spike found himself unable to bite her). Regardless of how strong her feelings are, Willow will almost never use strong language.
Willow has loved Xander her whole life, and most likely always will. For a time, she wanted him to be more than her best friend, but after years of frustration, she transferred that affection to Oz (with one notable incident of backsliding). Oz was good for Willow, and his adoration did wonders for her self-esteem. Willow was shattered when he left, but his return has allowed her to make peace with the end of their relationship (though they still do love each other) and move on to Tara.
Willow has a high Computer, Science (Chemistry), and Investigation. She has the Life, Mind, Spirit, Prime, and Forces spheres, as well as the Merit: Sanctity and the Flaws: Soft Hearted and Life Saver.
Xander Harris—Alexander Lavelle Harris is the only truly normal human among Buffy’s entourage. For the most part. He has been ensorcelled numerous times, and some have left permanent effects. The Halloween where people became their costumes left him with an expertise in military procedure, behavior, strategy, technology, and weaponry. He is also immune to the Delirium, though it’s uncertain whether this is a result of the time he was possessed by a Hyena-spirit, or a simple accumulation of supernatural weirdness that has affected him.
Xander has been Willow’s best friend since childhood. He fell in crush with Buffy the first time he saw her, but that has since become a deep devotion and loyalty. However, he hates Angel almost to the point of compromising the group.
Xander is amazingly brave, considering the fact that he is the lone mortal in a group of supernaturals. He has, on numerous occasions, thrown himself into battle, heedless of his own safety, to protect his friends, especially Buffy and Willow. There is little more he wants in life than to make a useful contribution. In any case, Xander is the self-appointed Jester of the group. He covers his own insecurities and attempts to ease everyone else’s fears with wit and humor.
Paradoxically, two of his greatest flaws are his selfishness and insensitivity, despite his equally great selflessness. In a non-slaying situation, he only thinks of the effects of his (sometimes downright cruel) words and actions after things blow up in his face, if ever. Especially in any situation that involves Angel in any way. His well-known tendency to back supernatural beings into corners and verbally lash the skin from their backs—something he has done to Buffy, Angel, and Spike—may get him killed if he ever confronts a supernatural that suffers from Frenzy.
The greatest chink in Xander’s armor, however, is his insecurity. He’s surrounded by superpeople and trying to be useful. He can’t hold down a job and his friends have all gone off to college. He fears that the world, and his friends, will leave him behind. This has already been used against him by Spike, the demon Gachnar, and the First Slayer.
Xander has a passable Brawl and Melee, a high Firearms and Archery (Crossbow). He has poor academic skills, but in his time with the Scooby Gang, he has picked up some Research and Investigate.
The lie Xander told to Buffy in Becoming part II is a Dark Secret, as the Flaw. His attitude toward Angel is Intolerance, or perhaps even Hatred. Consciously or not, he always seems to set up a situation that will cause the maximum amount of trouble between Angel and Buffy (his "slips" in Pangs and The Yoko Factor).
Update: Xander now holds down a job in construction. He has a Carpentry skill of 3, and a Resources of 2. He has moved out of his parents’ basement and into his own apartment. This has done a great deal to alleviate his insecurity. As he continues to mature, his insensitivity decreases.
He has recently become engaged with Anya.
Daniel "Oz" Osbourne: Oz is a Lost Cub of the Children of Gaia. He currently suffers from the "Twisted Upbringing" Flaw, with no clues about the powers and behavior of a werewolf, except TV, movies, books, and Giles’s tomes. The result is that he has a mental block against transforming at any time except the three nights around the full moon, despite the fact that he’s actually a Galliard. At these times, he’s very dangerous, as a month of suppression and the skyrocketing Rage of Sunnydale leaves him in a night-long Frenzy.
The rest of the month, Oz’s calmness is legendary. In fact, he has the Calm Heart merit. He is something of a slacker (guitarist in a garage band), but highly intelligent, and his computer skills are matched only by Willow, whom he is deeply in love with.
Oz believed for a time that he contracted his condition from being bitten by his cousin Jordy. This is obviously not the case. The fact that Jordy bit him means nothing, it is the fact that Jordy is his cousin that counts. Both of Jordy’s parents are Kinfolk.
After cheating on Willow with another Lost Cub named Veruca, killing Veruca when she threatened Willow, and nearly killing Willow himself, all while under the influence of the Beast, Oz fled Sunnydale to try and reconcile himself to the wolf. Away from the Hellmouth, he has succeeded to some degree. Nevertheless, he is dangerously close to Lunacy, and if someone doesn’t find him and explain what’s happening, his control may dissolve entirely when he returns to Sunnydale.
Oddly enough, Oz somehow retains his lupine sense of smell in human form.
Update: Oz recently returned to Sunnydale after six months of wandering the world. He met a "woman in Tibet"—most likely a Stargazer—who taught him how to control his transformations. However, as predicted, that control began to slip almost as soon as he returned, especially when he discovered that Willow was in the beginning stages of a relationship with Tara. He has since departed Sunnydale once more, though he and Willow parted on much more amiable terms this time.
Strangely enough, Oz’s transformation remained stunted, and he apparently told Willow nothing about the Garou’s true purpose. Most likely, he has not discovered the whole truth yet.
Future: If and when Oz learns the full truth about the Garou, he will most likely return to Sunnydale with his pack, maybe even representatives of even larger sectors of the Garou Nation. The Hellmouth is trouble for everyone, and an alliance between the Garou and the Slayer would be mutually beneficial.
When this happens, his tribal name will be "Calm of the Lake in the Morning," or "Morning Lake" for short. His guitar and his van may have become outright fetishes—at the very least, their spirits will be awakened.
Cordelia Chase: The self-professed "Nastiest Girl in Sunnydale History," Cordy came from the richest family in town, and ruled the school as bitch-queen of the In Crowd for most of her life. She was (to all appearances) a ditz, and her sole concerns were boys (only the right ones, of course), fashion, cheerleading, and popularity—which often involved crushing the less popular.
All of that changed at the end of her sophomore year of high school, when the Scooby Gang rescued her from Marcie Ross, a girl who had become invisible as a result of her social "invisibility" and the reality-warping powers of the Hellmouth. She then witnessed, and took some small part in fighting, the Master’s final rising. After that, she was a member of the Scooby Gang, much to the dismay of everyone involved.
She stood with the other Slayerettes through the ordeals of Angelus and the Mayor’s Ascension. Her courage and combat skill increased over those two years, until she was able to acquit herself with honor against the vampires in the Graduation Day battle.
For a time, she dated Xander. This ended when his brotherly love for Willow suddenly erupted into something else at Homecoming of senior year, and he cheated on her. Humiliated, her former position of social power gone and her relationship with the Slayerettes strained, Cordelia was truly alone for a time. It was about this time that her family lost all their money to the IRS after 12 years of non-payment of taxes.
Unable to attend the colleges that had accepted her, Cordelia fled to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actress. She was in desperate straits (and about to be eaten by a vampire) when Angel found her and hired her as "secretary" at his detective agency.
Since then she and Angel have become close friends. She was at the very beginnings of a romantic relationship with Doyle when he died, and she’s still grieving for him. With his last kiss before he died, he passed his visions on to her. She is now Angel’s connection to the Powers That Be.
Cordelia’s hardships seem to have forced her to mature a great deal. She now realizes how cruel she was in high school, and is attempting to be more careful of people’s feelings. Nonetheless, she remains tactless and blunt, though she does have the virtue of honesty. Though she remains somewhat materialistic, and still has a veneer of ditziness, there is a truly strong, tough, intelligent, loyal, and resourceful young woman beneath it. Though she has some combat skills, her high Subterfuge, Wits, and Manipulation have served her better.
Update: Cordelia recently suffered an attack that opened her to visions of all the suffering in the world. It nearly destroyed her, but Angel and Wesley were able to save her. Now Cordelia is privy to just how much pain and evil there is in the world. No one comes away from that unchanged: she now knows what they’re really fighting for. Most likely, this has destroyed the last vestiges of her selfishness. Also, she now considers Angel, Wesley, and herself to be a family.
Note: Phantom Dennis keeps himself mostly hidden away from Wraith society. The apartment is both a rank 3 Haunt and his primary Fetter. He has resolved his Passion to Destroy his Mother (Revenge), but has taken on a new Passion: to take care of Cordelia (Friendship). He has an Outrage of 5, but has demonstrated no other Arcanoi.
Faith: Faith is the Slayer who was called after Kendra’s death. Her past is a mystery. All that is really known is that she grew up in Boston, that she dropped out of high school, she’s an orphan, her original Watcher was tortured to death by Kakistos, and she took his eye during her escape, after which she fled to Sunnydale.
At first, Faith was a welcome addition to the Scooby Gang. Another supernatural juggernaut facing the Hellmouth took some of the pressure off of Buffy and increased everyone’s life expectancy. However, her recklessness and enthusiasm for the violence involved in slaying was a concern from the very beginning.
Over the next several months, Faith became jealous of Buffy and resentful of living in her shadow. She also had the dangerous belief that the Slayers, as humanity’s champions, were entitled to do and take whatever they wanted.
Everything went bad when she accidentally killed the mayor’s aide during a fight with some vampires. For whatever reason, something snapped. She joined the mayor, acting as a double agent within the Scooby Gang until a ruse by Buffy and Angel revealed her treason. She then became the mayor’s enforcer openly. A battle with Buffy just before the mayor’s final defeat left Faith in a coma for eight months.
Recently, Faith awakened, came after Buffy, and stole her body. With Willow’s aid, Buffy recovered it in short order; but while Faith was in it, she was reminded of what being a Slayer really means. She was last seen fleeing town.
Faith is irresponsible, reckless, and sexually promiscuous (there is some suspicion that this is a result of childhood molestation). She is also delusional, having rewritten the past to an enormous degree to make it so that she was the wronged party. She seems to have had real feelings for the mayor. After all, he’s the only one to ever devote his full attention and affection to her. She’s extremely dangerous, but apparently not entirely Fallen yet. Maybe there’s still hope.
Update: Faith recently arrived in LA, where she was promptly hired by Wolfram & Hart, a law firm operated by malevolent forces and their willing human servants, to kill Angel. She appeared to do so, but was actually attempting to force him to kill her. He refused, and she collapsed into his arms. She seems to have repented. Indeed, when last seen, she had turned herself in to the authorities to protect Angel from being charged with aiding and abetting the escape of a known felon. Her future is unknown, but she has begun to atone.
Ethan Rayne: Little is known about Ethan except that he is a friend of Giles’s from the latter’s "Ripper" period (he still calls Giles this). He was a member of the group that summoned the demon Eyghon and allowed it to possess them for thrills. Giles learned his lesson from this disaster and returned to his destiny, but Ethan went on to "worship Chaos." It’s uncertain exactly what this means, but he doesn’t seem to be a Marauder in the sense that he has no visible derangements. On the other hand, he has been known to perform huge, incredibly vulgar displays of magick with no sign of Paradox. Perhaps his willing service to Chaos has allowed him access to the benefits of being a Marauder while sparing him Quiet. Nevertheless, he lacks the will and courage to accomplish the great deeds this might allow him to do, and most of his attacks are little more than magical pranks (but potentially fatal for all that). He has been described as "a pest with some spells."
Ethan has demonstrated proficiency in the spheres of Spirit, Life, and Mind.
Alan Francis Doyle: Doyle is the son of a human mother and a Brakken "demon" father. He grew up unaware of his supernatural heritage, married before he was twenty, taught third grade, worked at a soup kitchen, and was otherwise an upstanding member of the community.
That all went down the tubes when his demon side manifested at the age of twenty-one. Horrified and ashamed of what he could become, Doyle separated from his wife and lived by his wits, luck, and connections for several years, picking up Contacts and debts out the wazoo. During this time, he failed to protect a group of his demon kin from "the Scourge," a Nazi-like organization of demons bent on racial purity. "The Powers That Be" turned him into a Seer as penance, sending him painful visions to guide the Warrior to whom he was assigned—Angel.
During his short time working with Angel, Doyle fell in love with Cordelia and became Angel’s first close friend since he regained his soul. His determined sense of humor won them both over, and he even managed to pull Angel out of his brooding. Doyle was not an inherently brave person. He preferred to avoid confrontation if he could. But, like Xander, he was able to muster courage if it was needed. In the end, he was able to atone for his earlier sin of omission by "fighting the good fight" and giving his life to rescue a boatload of refugee half-demons from a Scourge artifact-weapon.
Doyle could shift to his Brakken shape at will, though he hated doing so. In this form he had greenish-brown skin and blue spikes all over his head. These spikes added an extra die to head-butt damage, and made that damage aggravated. He also gained an extra point of strength and two points of Potence as well as undefined sensory powers (he was able to sense the Ring of Amara in the sewers).
Anya: Anya is Xander’s current girlfriend. Once a wronged woman herself, the sheer malice of her revenge led to her being contacted by D’hoffryn, a vengeance spirit (his lack of malice toward a failed underling like Anya and a refusing mortal like Willow makes his "demon" status questionable. Like all spirits, he just does his job—it’s just a nasty, frightening one) and transformed into Anyanka, the patron "saint" of wronged women, an avenging demon. She used the power of the Wish to punish men for 1200 years.
She met her Waterloo when she was summoned to punish Xander for cheating on Cordelia with Willow. Cordelia wished that Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale. In the resulting alternate reality, Anya’s power center was destroyed. The Wish was undone, and Anya became human. For some reason, she became attracted to the man she came to punish, and now works with the Scooby Gang.
Anya was a demon for longer than she will ever be human. The adjustment is somewhat difficult. She doesn’t understand many social rules that humans take as given, so she is beyond blunt. She says what she wants to—minus common euphemisms—whenever she wants to, regardless of company. She has a highly-charged libido and sees no reason not to discuss it. She is very demanding on Xander’s attention, but also protective of Xander himself, and will react the way he wishes her to react about things he cares about (ex. being nice to Willow after Oz’s departure, despite the fact that there is no love lost between the two).
Anya has no supernatural powers, and has apparently forgotten all the magic she ever knew (1200 years of not practicing while you’re using other powers will do that), and will have to relearn it. If she learns hedge magic instead of Awakening, the Path of Cursing will most likely come first. However, she hasn’t forgotten anything from her demon days, and has Occult and the following Lores at a minimum of 5 dots each: Demon (both true demons and the Buffyverse "demons"), Spirit, Wyrm, Kindred, Mage, and Changing Breed. She knows everything there is to know about the Hell’s Teeth, except who the Founder is. She could be a treasure trove of knowledge, but no one thinks to ask, and she’s too involved with banging Xander.
Update: Anya now works for Giles in the magic shop, and so has a Resources of 2. She apparently lives with Xander now. She owns a gun, and has a Firearms of 1. She and Xander have recently become engaged.
Riley Finn: Riley is Buffy’s current love interest. He is an officer in the Initiative, as well as a TA for Professor Walsh’s psychology class, which is how he met Buffy. For a while they were able to maintain their respective secret identities, but they found each other out during the Gentlemen’s siege. For a brief time, Riley acted as a liaison between the Slayerettes and the Initiative, and he was very proud of his organization and the good he was doing. Then Buffy started asking too many questions and Professor Walsh tried to have her killed, with Riley catching her in her lies immediately afterward. Soon after that, Walsh was killed by Adam, and Buffy was initially blamed. Riley was injured by Adam, but the physical damage was a minor problem compared to the shock of learning that 1) Professor Walsh had been drugging him and 2) The Initiative had ulterior motives beyond protecting humans. Recently, he was tricked when Faith came to him in Buffy’s body. He’s only now beginning to figure out the true magnitude of what’s going on in Sunnydale.
Riley is a great guy on many levels. He’s honest (when he can be), intelligent, friendly, compassionate, brave, and a tender lover. With his military training and drug-increased strength, he’s a good mate for Buffy and a good friend to have. If he has a flaw, it’s that he’s too much of a Good Soldier. He doesn’t just follow orders, he blindly trusts his superiors at the exclusion of thinking for himself. A bad quality in a field-leader in a battle against supernaturals. As it stands, he will react with hostility toward any supernatural he is confronted with unless Buffy prevents him from doing so.
Riley is an officer in the Initiative, and has a high Leadership, and a reasonable ability to call on military authority and resources (such as a key to all the shops in Sunnydale and the authority to arrest Ethan Rayne). He also has high Alertness, Brawl, Dodge, Melee, and Firearms. Thanks to the drugs the Initiative feeds him, he is immune to the Delirium and has the Spark of Life merit. Unfortunately, he goes into withdrawal if he misses more than a day’s worth of the Initiative’s drug-laced meals.
Update: Apparently, Professor Walsh planned for Riley to be turned into another demon hybrid, like Adam. As part of this plan, she implanted a chip on his Thoracic nerve which allowed her—and Adam—to control his body, but not his mind. During Adam’s endgame, Riley was able to cut this chip out with a piece of glass and thus join the fight against Adam.
With the Initiative gone, Riley no longer has the benefits that he derived from the drugs, the resources of the Initiative, or his position of authority. His Abilities remain, however, and in the final battle, he proved himself to be both strong and resourceful without the drugs. He is no longer the Good Soldier that he once was, but he has started to show human foibles and imperfections.
Riley’s first reaction to supernaturals is still hostility, but his encounters with Oz and Angel have taught him not to automatically assume that all of them are evil. He will most likely be more "forthcoming with the benefit of the doubt" in the future, but he’s still a poor choice for the troupe to approach.
Final Update: Riley felt directionless after the destruction of the Initiative, and useless compared to his superpowered girlfriend. He has departed Sunnydale and left Buffy (who he felt he was growing away from) to join a government-sponsored demon-hunting squad.
Mayor Richard Wilkins: Wilkins founded Sunnydale, and apparently held the office of mayor for most of it’s hundred-year history. It’s not 100% certain whether Wilkins is a true Nephandus, a non-aligned Infernalist (he seemed to act pretty much alone, Faith and his Hell’s Teeth servants aside), or even a sleeper Diabolist. His three major supernatural acts—his hundred years of agelessness, his hundred days of total invulnerability, and his transformation into an Olvikant demon—would be extremely vulgar and require enormous power if they were acts of true Magick, and could just as easily be Investments and gifts from his demonic patrons. On the other hand, mages can receive Investments just as easily as Sleepers. Besides, the creation of Sunnydale would seem to require a greater warping of reality than a sleeper could manage with the most powerful Pit Craft, and a hundred-year ritual would seem to require an Awakened perspective. In the end, it’s up to the storyteller.
Mayor Wilkins is a terrifying opponent precisely because he doesn’t act "evil." He’s a family-values type of guy who worries about the youth of today, leaving Faith in a hotel where "immoral liaisons" take place, and swearing. He treats his followers with fairness, generosity, and mercy. He’s a bit too concerned about germs and hygiene, despite his immortality. But what’s worst is the fact that he’s an unrelentingly nice, cheerful guy. He can order an assassination in the same tone—and, indeed, in the same breath—as he suggests a nice, cheering game of miniature golf.
He was capable of true affection, though. He "adopted" Faith, and it was his fatherly grief over her injury that Buffy was able to use to manipulate him into the library to be destroyed.
Wesley Wyndham-Price: Wesley was assigned to be Buffy’s Watcher after Giles was fired. He was unwelcome on general principles, but he didn’t help matters by acting with a smugly superior attitude toward Giles, and trying to enforce his own and the Council’s authority over Buffy. Of course, he failed. He was also a hopeless geek, and more than a little bit of a coward (though perhaps this can be blamed on his inexperience—he had only ever faced one vampire, and that under controlled conditions). His only friend was Cordelia, who took a liking to him—he arrived soon after her breakup with Xander, and he served as a rebound guy. He had a crush on her, and she was legal (if only barely). The breaking point came when he screwed up horribly when Faith accidentally killed the Mayor’s aide.
To Wesley’s credit, he learned quickly. He adjusted to the looseness that was necessary—and actually more effective—with Buffy, and he learned that the Council didn’t necessarily have anyone’s best interests in mind but its own. He did his best to aid in the final battle against the Mayor despite Buffy’s defiance of the Council.
Soon after, the Council fired him. He spent some months as a "rogue demon hunter" until Angel hired him. Though he remains a hopeless geek, Wesley has improved a great deal since his tenure at Sunnydale. His combat skills and courage have both increased—he’s getting to be a pretty good shot, and he stood up to Faith’s tortures--but he is most valuable to Angel as his primary researcher. He has a high Investigate, Research, and Linguistics (including several demon languages); Science score, including Biology (human and demon) and Chemistry; and a high Occult, Demon Lore, and Hell’s Teeth Lore.
With his increasing confidence, Wesley has started to demonstrate a knowledge of Hedge Magic, something he didn’t have the will for before. He has some knowledge of Ephemera and Daimonic Summoning, Binding, and Warding, but his primary talent seems to lie in Alchemy. In addition, he possesses an Occult Library and several minor relics, though his resources don’t match Giles’s.
Tara MacRae: Tara is Willow’s lover. They met in Wicca group, the only two serious members. They became friends after joining forces to save themselves from the Gentlemen.
Little is known about Tara. For a long time, she was unwilling to talk about herself or her past. It was recently revealed why: her family, and especially her father, had told her all her life that the women of her family had demon in them, which was the source of their magical power. Spike exposed the hoax, and Tara has been adopted into the Scooby Gang. Her confidence is increasing, and she’s begun to tell (ineffective) jokes and interact with the rest of the Gang.
At first, it was Tara that taught Willow about magick, but Willow has quickly surpassed her. Nevertheless, she is well-read and has a high Occult. Furthermore, it was her high Awareness that revealed Faith’s possession of Buffy in Who Are You?
Tara has the Flaw: Shy.
Tara has demonstrated some ability in the Spheres of Mind, Spirit, Correspondence, Prime, and Forces.
Kate Lockley: Kate is one of the first people that Angel befriended in Los Angeles. When they first met, she mistook him for a serial killer she was tracking (actually a demon that burrowed from body to body, leaving hollowed husks behind). Once that was behind them, she actually took a liking to the heroic P.I. with no license or last name, and she helped him in any way she feasibly could.
That all changed when Penn came to town and forced Angel to reveal his true nature. She put her investigative skills to impressive use, and discovered a great deal of information on Angelus in short order. Needless to say, she wasn’t pleased. Nevertheless, when the time came, she destroyed Penn, but not Angel.
For a time, their relationship remained professional, if strained. Then her father, who had been using his police connections to transport contraband for a demon crime ring, was killed by vampires. She blamed Angel and the entire supernatural world. For a long time after that, she harassed Angel in whatever legal ways she could. She also became obsessed with the "X-Files" cases of the LAPD.
Eventually, after the incident with the Shroud of Rahmon forced her to see the shades of gray, she became willing to work with him again. Unfortunately, one such case got her fired. Angel saved her from committing suicide, and the two of them reconciled fully before she left LA for greener pastures.
Kate has a high Firearms and Investigation, and is surprisingly strong—strong enough to push a blunt board through two vampires, neither of whom were small men. Early Kate also has Police Ties and law enforcement powers.
Charles Gunn: Gunn grew up on the street, taking care of his little sister Alonna. As he grew, he took leadership of a group of his fellow street kids. Rather than fall to the common traps of crime and gang activity, they fortified a squatter and began to defend themselves and the community from any supernaturals that attempted to prey on them.
He met Angel during a particularly vicious vampire siege of his people, and they became allies. Unfortunately, his sister was captured and Embraced in this siege, and he was forced to kill her. After that, he started to lose his heart for leading his people. He has since retired and become a full member of Angel Investigations, where, in Angel’s absence, he is the group’s muscle.
Gunn is an extremely brave individual—in fact, he often goes beyond brave, straight past reckless to Daring Death. He has agreed to attempt very dangerous feats, simply because they were dangerous. However, he also has a strong sense of responsibility and, despite his own criminal record, he has little patience for those whose crimes degrade the community, like drug dealers.
Despite his abdication, Gunn retains the Underworld Ties merit. He also has a high Brawl, Dodge, Melee, Archery, Drive, and Investigation. His most prized possession is an axe made for him by his old gang, which causes Strength+5 Lethal damage.
Fred: Winifred Burkle came to LA to complete her education in physics. Unfortunately, while working in the library one night, she read aloud from the wrong book and found herself transported to Pylea. She spent five years there, first as a slave, then as a fugitive in the wilds. She had been recaptured and was on the verge of execution when she was rescued by Angel and returned to Earth.
Not surprisingly, she was traumatized by the whole experience, and retreated into a room in the Hyperion for several months, developing a serious fixation on Angel at the same time. She has recently started to recover and integrate herself into Angel Investigations. She lacks combat skills, but she has much else to offer: she is unquestionably brilliant, making logical leaps and connections that the other team members cannot. She has a high Investigation and Research, and a fair amount of "Demon" Lore that she picked up in Pylea and continues to learn at a phenomenal rate. Also during her time in Pylea, she did a bit of experimenting with, ahem, "esoteric physics" in her attempts to escape, which could serve as a solid basis for learning Hedge Magic, or even Awakening (Correspondence Sphere Natural). If nothing else, her ability to Craft weapons, traps, and other interesting devices provides Angel Investigations with a varied and surprising arsenal.
Dawn Summers: Dawn is Buffy’s little sister. She’s more or less the same as little sisters the world over: she wants to do what her older sister gets to do, has a crush on one of her sister’s male friends, keeps a diary, and enjoys tormenting her elder sibling. She’s maybe a bit brave for her own good, which translates into a tendency to get captured and used as a hostage. Just about what you’d expect from the Slayer’s sister.
Or so everyone thought.
Dawn is the Key, a mystic force whose purpose is to open the gates between the universes. The monks who were guarding the Key were found by Glory, and as a last resort transformed her into a human—the Slayer’s sister, so they knew that Buffy would protect her to the death. They mystically cloned her from Buffy, and created false memories for everyone who would have known Dawn, so she had the illusion of an actual life. They did a very thorough job—only seers and the insane can tell that Dawn is something other than what she appears. Malkavians, being both, see right through it.
Dawn has no control over her ability to open dimensional gates. The only time she has been used to do so, it involved a special ritual that involved cutting her, and the gate opened where her blood fell. Since she doesn’t open holes in the Gauntlet every time she skins her knee, it seems that the rest of the ritual was necessary as well. If she ever did gain such control, she would have the ability to open gates to all three umbras, and any Realms therein. Be afraid.
Joyce Summers: Joyce is Buffy’s mother. She was unaware of her daughter’s calling for the first several years, thinking that she’d merely become a juvenile delinquent. She didn’t take it well when she did find out. Still, after a period of trying to forbid, prevent, or get her daughter out of Slaying, she finally accepted Buffy’s calling.
Joyce has had moments of remarkable bravery, such as the time that she used a fire axe to defend Buffy from Spike. Unfortunately, she has neither her daughter’s strength of will, nor her supernatural mind-protection. She remains vulnerable to the Delium and the Fog, and she has been mentally controlled to be a weapon against Buffy on several occasions.
Despite her faults, Joyce can be understanding and forcefully caring, and she has become the matriarch to the Scooby Gang, taking the same place as their collective mother that Giles took as their father.
Joyce owns an Art Gallery, which provides her with a Resources of 4.
Update: Joyce has recently passed away of natural causes: an aneurysm suffered after she had a brain tumor removed.
Glorificus/Ben: Once upon a time, three gods ruled a hell-dimension jointly. One was so mighty and so cruel that the other two decided to attack her before she could do so to them. They succeeded in banishing her from her home plane and binding her in the body of a newborn human male. That male grew to adulthood and tried to live a normal life, but a human is hardly a suitable prison for a god. Glorificus—or Glory, as she preferred to be called—began to manifest more and more often, gathering her followers about her and searching for the means to return to her Hell. Meanwhile, Ben was continuing his desperate attempt to live the normal life of a medical intern.
Glory—as should probably be expected of an evil god—is a cruel, selfish, arrogant, loud-mouthed spoiled brat of an entity. The humans who fail to give her what she wants instantly (usually because it would be fatal to them personally, or the universe as a whole) are simply being selfish. Being balked in her whims results in tantrums that level buildings. She hates this reality, and feels that it would be better off destroyed. None of this is helped by the fact that she’s genuinely mentally ill: inhabiting a human body and our dimension causes mental degeneration and fragmentation, which she can only "medicate" by devouring the energy that keeps a human mind as a coherent whole. This leaves the human in question totally insane and subservient to Glory.
Ben is a basically kind, decent individual, though he has occasionally committed heinous deeds to cover up for Glory, such as summoning the Queller demon—though this may have been Glory’s selfishness showing through. He helped the Scooby Gang on several occasions, but in the end he was doomed.
For a long time, Ben and Glory were totally separate. Indeed, it was impossible to make any connection between the two. A Sleeper could be told repeatedly, be shown such obvious evidence as Ben’s bedroom in Glory’s apartment, and even witness the transformation, and still not realize that "Ben is Glory." Glory’s magic erased the information from their minds. Not even all Awakened beings are immune. The ability to perceive the connection is not a matter of Willpower, but of the supernatural’s degree of separation from the normal human mindset. Vampires and Wraiths, who are no longer human in any degree, are unaffected. The Garou, who are partially human, roll their Gnosis against a difficulty of 7 (4 if she transforms in front of them). With a total of five successes, they make the connection. Changelings do the same with their Glamour. Mages, being fully human, have much more difficulty. They roll their Arete against a difficulty of 9, with no bonus for seeing her transform, and they must garner a total of 10 successes.
As the end approached, however, the two beings started to blend together, engendering a previously-unseen degree of mercy in Glory, and cruelty and selfishness in Ben. At the same time, then enchantment fell, allowing people to perceive the connection between the two.
Glory is an Incarna, and she would have been far too much for the Scooby Gang to handle if she’d had all of her power available to her. However, she is crippled by her imprisonment in Ben and her exile from her home plane. Even if she were free, she would still be greatly weakened by the fact that she has so few worshippers. Nonetheless, her strength and speed are nearly limitless. Anyone she hits suffers at least ten dice of damage, and she regularly smashes buildings with her tantrums. At the same time, she is effectively invulnerable. She cannot be harmed by any mundane weapon or event: falling buildings and being hit by a truck only pushes her around a little. Only sources of Aggravated damage (the natural weapons of supernatural beings, prime-charged magicks, and talisman or fetish weapons—not fire) affect her at all, and even these heal at the rate of one health level per turn—until her stolen energy starts to run out. This is how the Scooby Gang managed to beat her: drain away her energy, then pummel her into submission.
Glory’s one great weakness is Ben: when he dies, so does she.
Story Ideas:
The Doomsday Scenario: This one is always an option when you’re dealing with Sunnydale. Handle with care: potentially the greatest cliché, but if done well, it can be the capstone to a chronicle.
The Tapestry in Sunnydale has been savaged in recent years. The Hellmouth has been opened at least twice, with at least as many near-misses. Acathla opened his mouth here, if only briefly. Two fifth-generation vampires, an Olvikan demon, and a Hellgod were destroyed here, and two alternate realities have been created, then uncreated. Reality can’t handle much more abuse. The signs are starting to build: earthquakes, bizarre weather, perhaps even an Atrocity Wave (see Midnight Circus). Perhaps some group is aggravating the situation, perhaps not. Perhaps there’s a prophecy. Perhaps not. Regardless, the facts are these: the Hellmouth is about to tear wide open, creating a gate from Sunnydale straight to the Deep Umbra. Things are liable to get bad after that.
The players may be either members of the Scooby Gang, or outside supernaturals come in to help (such as Oz’s pack. See below).
LA Nights: Angel has declared LA "his," and placed all the humans therein under his protection. So far, all he’s really done is kill demons and Hell’s Teeth, so the other residents don’t really mind. But the time will come when they must deal with him in one way or another. They aren’t looking forward to this. They know he can’t be "controlled" like they might control another threat. He has no fear of his own Final Death, and any threat to his friends will be met by a firestorm of wrath. He has proven himself brave, ruthless, powerful, and perfectly capable of destroying any individual, and almost any group, that threatens him or his. Any attempts to get him had better not miss. So perhaps an alliance? The Sabbat, with their brutal attitude toward humanity, have no hope of that, and he’s not liable to be impressed by the Camarilla’s social posturing. The Anarchs may have a chance, but they’d better all behave. The Kuei-jin aren’t impressed by a barbarian’s reputation. Until they try to remove the annoyance.
Alliance: Oz returns to Sunnydale, a full Rank 1 garou. He brings his pack with him, and a message: the elders of the Garou Nation have heard of Buffy, and feel that she could be a valuable ally. They, in turn, might be able to weaken or purify the Hellmouth
Extreme Prejudice: The Watcher’s Council wants control of the Slayers back, and they know very well that neither of the current Slayers will ever willingly return to them.
The Council has repeatedly demonstrated themselves to be a callous, power-hungry group who see the Slayers not even as soldiers, but as mere weapons. That being the case, they have no qualms about killing Buffy and Faith so they can take control of the next Slayers.
The Council is on the attack: sending assassins both human and supernatural, while the mages or sorcerers on the Inner Circle attack in their own way. Angel, Giles, and others who would protect or avenge the Slayers are also targets. The PCs can either be the besieged Slayerettes, or supernatural allies helping in the defense.
Return of the Beast: Through spell or drug, Angel has once again lost his soul and Angelus is free. He may resume tormenting Buffy, or he may immediately turn to destroying the world. Or he may simply begin a bloody rampage. Angel’s allies in LA—Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn--will be in particular danger. Angelus may also decide to show Kate what a real vampire—not the fledglings she’s used to fighting or the ensouled wimp she’s used to antagonizing—can do. Whatever he chooses to do, the long and short of it is that the most vicious of the Hell’s Teeth is once again on the loose.
There will be differences of opinion about what to do about this situation. Some—Xander, Kate, possibly Giles, and any Garou besides Oz who are present (Angelus is a walking wyrm-blight)—will no doubt want to kill him. The problem with this is that he’s necessary. He’s apparently a major figure in the Prophecies of Aberjian.
Will the characters attempt to restore his soul yet again? How will they protect the innocent while they do so? Will they attempt to capture him? Will Willow, Tara, or an allied mage be able to fix his soul more firmly in place? How will the supernaturals of LA respond?