Brazil (cWOD)

Brazil is a federal republic composed of a union of the Federal District, 26 states and 5,570 municipalities. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and numerous other sovereign states to the west, Brazil is the largest country of South America.

Overview
Brazil stretches almost 2700 miles from the foothills of the Andes Mountains eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. In area, Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world; it borders on every country of the continent except for Chile and Ecuador. Despite dwelling within borders almost the size of the United States, the country's population is barely half as large.

Brazil gained independence from Portugal in 1822, and during the 19th century enjoyed a political stability unusual for Latin America. As the 20th century dawned, however, the area fell into social turmoil. Brazil's vampires claim no part of the chaos; the violent overthrow of a dozen different administrations is entirely the work of the kine. Brujah, Gangrel and others were, of course, more than happy to batten on the turmoil.

Brasilia, the capital city, was built in the highlands beginning in 1957 in order to encourage development of the interior. Brazilian Nosferatu took advantage of the construction, and have a well-fortified warren hidden deep beneath the city proper. The Warren Amaganti Warren is well protected by the natural geography of the area, and this protection is supplemented by specially designed vault doors designed to withstand the blast of a hydrogen bomb. Amanganti is allegedly guarded by land mines, flame-throwers and phosphorus grenades. The Nosferatu speak proudly of their impenetrable fortress, but seldom make mention of why they felt the stronghold was necessary. Those who have asked have simply been informed that "She Who Screams in the Forests" has arisen.

Brazil's lowlands are composed primarily of undisturbed sedimentary rocks and harsh terrain. For this reason, much of Brazil's interior is still uninhabited, despite advances in technology that would allow for easy access. Brazil's kine prefer to remain concentrated along the coast or on the major rivers. This lush panorama of untamed forest has made Brazil very popular with the Gangrel. No one is certain just how many members of clan Gangrel dwell in Brazil, but most suspect the numbers are high. Fear of the havoc the Gangrel could wreak if antagonized has prevented Brazil's other vampires from pushing harder for expansion into new areas.

The Amazon
The Amazon is the second-longest river in the world, extending 3900 miles from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. It supports a jungle of such size that parts of it remain unseen even today. This jungle houses 30% of the world's flora and fauna, and its trees, which are disappearing at an alarming rate, produce 40% of the planet's oxygen. The Amazon's myriad varieties of fauna include 30 million species of insects; 15-foot boas, 30-foot anacondas and deadly poisonous vipers; peccaries; spider and howler monkeys; enormous jaguars; alligators and caimans; sloths and tapirs; giant pirocuru fish, schools of vicious piranhas and electric eels.

As for the plants-one hectare of rainforest supports an average of 300 trees. In some places the trees grow up to 200 feet high and are so thick that sunlight cannot reach the ground. These trees in turn support lianas, clinging vines, wildly colorful flowers and fungi of all sorts. Few vampires dare to venture into the Amazon Basin. The Amazon is a battleground between the Lupines and their enemies, the creatures of the Wyrm. The continuous corporate destruction of the tropical rainforest has sparked the Lupines to Rage, and vampires are wise to avoid the conflict.

The strange and savage war for the Amazon has precipitated several unpleasant surprises. Reports of odd, nocturnal migrations away from the jungle have alarmed many of Brazil's vampires. Great winged beasts, half-human and half-bat, have reportedly been seen flapping away from the rainforest. Those few who claim to have seen the creatures aver that the bat-things drink blood. Some even whisper they prefer the flavor of vampiric blood over all others. No proof exists, but vampires seldom leave behind evidence after they've been drained of their unlife.

Stranger creatures still are supposedly moving toward the coastline, and thus the cities, but their descriptions are so fantastic that most tend to discount them as myth. Efforts to halt the destruction of the rainforests - just in case the rumors about monsters are true have had no real effect to date.

Prominent Cities

 * São Paulo
 * Rio de Janeiro
 * Brasilia