Oberloch

The Oberlochs are a rural Gangrel bloodline which remain on the fringes of American cities, often ignorant even of the existence of other Kindred.

The line began in the mid-19th century, when workers at a Pennsylvania coal mine were incited to riot against their oppressive bosses. Most of the family who owned the mine were killed horrifically; the Gangrel who had start the riot decided to Embrace the survivors, assuming they would be driven mad by hunger and destroy each other. Instead, after a period of wandering, the three Oberlochs decided to settle in the tiny town of Harmony, Pennsylvania, which they could rule as a tiny kingdom of their own. They figured out how to Embrace childer, and when the "family" became too large to sustain themselves on the kine of Harmony, they began to spread out to other rural towns where they could exercise their influence.

Unlike other Kindred, the Oberlochs continue to age after the Embrace, losing strength and stamina as their body degrades. "Old Alice" Oberloch, one of the original three, is rumored to still exist in Harmony, too weak to survivor without constant caretakers. They are obsessively loyal to their "family" and require any initiates to undergo horrific tests of endurance both before and after the Embrace. Local leaders are referred to as "Grandmother" or "Grandfather" and childer must show proper subservience to their sire. Collectively the Oberlochs are almost entirely ignorant of the existence of other Kindred, never mind their society, as they shun the large cities where most vampires make their homes. They have some limited knowledge werewolves, who they occasionally encounter in territory disputes. Their havens often take the form of "horror houses" full of bloodstained furniture and feral animals, and they prefer to prey on travelers and those at the fringes of their adopted communities.