Brothers of Ypres

Brothers of Ypres
Nicknames	Jones, Trenchers
Parent clan	Mekhet
Disciplines	Asphyx, Auspex, Celerity, Obfuscate

“

It isn't the cough that carries you off. It's the coffin they carry you off in.

”

The Brothers of Ypres are a Mekhet bloodline.

Overview

The Brothers of Ypres were descended from World War I, from a soldier who internalized the various poisons and toxins used in the war. They have the unique ability to manipulate poisons and toxins. They have access to the unique Discipline Asphyx.

History

As their name suggests, the bloodline has its origins in the First World War, in which chemical weapons were widely used. The first Brother, Private Owen Thomas Jones, was Embraced after the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915. Jones claimed he was already dead from a cocktail of poison gases when he was Embraced. Jones managed to manipulate his sire into an accidental Final Death and then journeyed across Western Europe, taking advantage of the chaos and hunting across the trenches for blood.

Jones quickly realize that gas attacks didn't affect the undead, thus began to use it as a cover for his attacks. Without even realizing it, his diet began to change, becoming only able to feed from the poisoned, and also gaining the ability to manipulate various poisons as well.

He also Embraced many childer, which gained the same abilities as Jones himself. As Jones was a loner, he eventually cut his childer loose to fend for themselves.

The Brothers of Ypres spread quickly, more so than any other bloodline with less than a century. They followed the British to Mesopotamia, influenced the Russian Civil War, involved in battles in Ethiopia and Morocco and even fought in World War II. After the war, they are known to congregate at sites of disasters such as Bhopal and Chernobyl, and there are rumors that some of the older members of the line maintain their own private stocks of chemical weapons as insurance in case the herd gets thin.

Culture

The Brothers tend to see each other as competition, only cooperating in times of mass poisonings or pandemics. They only Embrace when there is a good reason to do so, and they tend to not share much of the bloodline's history with their childer.

A vampire comes into the bloodline spontaneously when their blood thickens enough, sometimes without even realizing it. It is unusual, although not impossible for a Jones to induct an outsider into the bloodline, as they only see other vampires as competition.

Owen Jones passed down the only tradition of the bloodline, that being that the Brothers of Ypres should only profit from tragedies, not be the cause of it. Nevertheless, most still stockpile various poisons and toxic substances to use for their benefit.

Covenant

The covenants collectively consider the Brothers of Ypres a nuisance, as their powers are useless against other vampires, only making their food taste horrible. The fact that various members stockpile toxic substances is kept a secret in order to maintain the bloodline's reputation.

Weakness

The Brothers of Ypres suffer from the Tenebrous Curse, as do all other members of the Mekhet clan.

Other than that, they can only gain vitae from those suffering from various kinds of poisons, which can include bacterial, chemical, respiratory or radiation. If they feed from a healthy human, they cannot gain any vitae, and they taste foul for a Jones.

Discipline

Main article: Asphyx

Asphyx is the Discipline unique to this bloodline. It allows the Jones to manipulate poison gas and recreate the symptoms in the bodies of living humans. At higher levels, the Joneses can even transmute their own bodies into poison gas to slip into areas that are otherwise inaccessible.

Asphyx Toxin

The powers of the Discipline from dot 2 to 5 are the result of a supernatural poison. It works similarly to mustard gas, by direct contact on the skin. Mundane hazmat suits and other protective clothing are sufficient to protect oneself from the poison.

A Brother can gain vitae from those afflicted by the poison. The poison can affect other supernatural beings as well, as long as they are not considered undead like other vampires or ghosts.

References

• VTR: Ancient Bloodlines, p. 22-26