Christof Romuald is a renowned Brujah and a former Crusader Knight Embraced by Ecaterina the Wise, in Prague during the Dark Ages. He had several adventures in Eastern Europe before falling into torpor and waking many centuries later in the Final Nights. Christof is an elusive figure, lacking allegiance to any sect, shrouded in rumor and modern legend.
This character was the main protagonist of the Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption video-game released in the early 2000.
Biography
In life, Christof was a French knight of the Eastern Crusades, member of the Order of the Sword Brethren. In 1141 CE, during a battle in the Moravian hills, Christof's courage helped win the day but he was wounded by an arrow. Near death, his Swordbrethren (led by his kinsman Sir Cuthbert) left him in the care of the nuns at the Convent of the Knights of the Red Cross in Prague, while they continued to pursue their pagan enemies.
His wound was great, and most of the sisters gave him up for dead, but he was nursed back to health by one nun named Sister Anezka, with whom he quickly fell in love. When he learned that Prague was plagued by hideous szlachtas after dark, he headed to their lair in the nearby Bonn Silver Mines and slew them all, along with their mistress, Ahzra The Unliving.
Though celebrated as the hero of Prague, Christof had learned from Ahzra that she was a Tzimisce vampire, and that her clan sought to dominate Prague and the world. Although Christof wished to protect the convent and St. Thomas' Cathedral, the Archbishop Geza was jealous of Christof's burgeoning love for Anezka, and so sent the knight into the streets to defend the town after dark.
During Christof's absence, Premysl revenants attacked the convent in retaliation for Ahzra's death. Christof returned just in time to save those within, although Geza insisted that it was Christof's own tainted soul that had brought the evil upon them. That night, Christof confessed his love to Anezka, who revealed that she also loved him. Fearing that they were both damned for their lust, and unwilling to put Anezka's soul in danger, Christof fled the convent.
Embrace
He was accosted in a back alley by one of Prague's local Kindred: Ecaterina the Wise, a Promethean and leader of the Brujah. Impressed with his accomplishments, she Embraced him before the other clans had a chance. Brought to Ecaterina's haven at Prague University, Christof lamented his lost soul, but pledged himself to the Promethean cause, hoping to find redemption and his love, Anezka.
Modern Nights
While storming a castle, he is trapped under some rubble and enters torpor. He awakens in the modern era in the Society of Leopold headquarters in London. After acquiring some new companions and fighting a werewolf, he heads to New York City. There, he enters the Vukodlak's Cathedral of Flesh and fights the methuselah Vukodlak, who has captured Anezka. Three endings follow this: in the first, he kills the Methuselah and Embraces Anezka; in the second, if Christof chooses to serve the Methuselah, he commands Christof to slay Anezka; and in the third, Christof commits diablerie and gains the powers of the Methuselah.
Christof later made several appearances in the Clan Novel Saga. There, he fought alongside a group of his Brujah clanmates during the Camarilla-Sabbat sieges of 1999. Most notably, he participated in two major battles in New York City: the betrayal of Marcus Vitel, the treacherous ex-Prince of Washington, D.C., and later the destruction of Leopold, the Kindred host of the Eye of Hazimel. The final blows against Vitel were struck with Christof's own sword (presumably the Ainkurn Sword), albeit wielded by Archon Theo Bell at the time.
Finally, he has a brief write-up in Clanbook: Brujah Revised. In Clan Novel: Gangrel, he is still searching for Anezka, but by the time of his entry in Clanbook: Brujah, he is often seen in the company of a mysterious and beautiful woman who is rumored to be Tzimisce. Presumably, the canonical ending of Redemption is the "good" ending in which Christof Embraces Anezka.
Three story endings
Ultimately, the fate of Anezka depends on Christof. The actions he takes during his personal crusade to save her may render him more (or less) humane.
In the "good" ending, Christof succeeds in keeping his Humanity, he defeats Vukodlak and embraces Anezka (who, to this point, was surviving through the Blood of the main antagonist).
The "bad" ending is the one that Christof fails to hold on his humanity, he diablerizes Vukodlak, assuming his evil persona in the process. He then drains Anezka of her blood and begin his quest for domination.
Alternatively, the "neutral" ending presents a scenario in which Christof is blood-bonded by the Tzimisce Methuselah and forced to feed from Anezka until she is dead. In this scenario Christof mourns the loss of his beloved, but is powerless to fight the influence of Vukodlak.
Trivia
- Christof Romuald is the protagonist of the game Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption. He was voiced by Nicholas Guest.
- His first name is consistently misspelled as "Christoph" in the Brujah and Nosferatu novels. This misspelling was retained when the relevant segments of these two novels were reprinted in Clan Novel Saga Volume 4: End Game.
Gallery
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References
- ↑ The year of Ecaterina's Embrace is given as 1150 in Transylvania by Night (p. 64). However, she also appeared as a powerful Kindred in the game Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, which was set in 1141 according to the game's opening cinematic. The game's timeline presents several such inconsistencies with both in-setting and real-world history, so Transylvania by Night is probably more accurate.