Edgardo Robbia, also known as the Robber, is an 8th generation Brujah who tries to pit the Sabbat and Camarilla (and the Anarchs) against each other to help further his own arms deals.
He was a supporter of various terrorist groups that he uses to staff out and then slowly bleed dry. Edgardo has managed to convince himself over the centuries that he is not like other Brujah. He views both the Idealists and Iconoclasts of his clan as gullible, all while involving himself in the latest nationalist cause.
Biography[]
Born in Sicilia when it was turned over to Austria, Edgardo saw his father raging against the occupiers and when his father killed an Austrian, was forced to provide for his family. He got into fights with anyone who held any kind of nationalist stance, each time unaware of the irony. His mother and younger brother suffered the sharp edge of his tongue and, increasingly, the back of his hand. They became afraid of Edgardo, all while he claimed to be protecting them. Events took a turn for the worse in 1734, when Sicily was conquered again by Charles III of Spain.
Edgardo's brother died in the crossfire as a bystander and his mother committed suicide a short time afterward. Edgardo had finally had enough. One night in 1736, he had been shouting in the local square after a long evening of drinking, cursing and slandering Charles III at the top of his lungs. A couple of men from the Bourbon army, tired of listening to the insults to their king, dragged him into a dark alley. One stood watch while the other drew his sword and held it to Edgardo’s throat. Edgardo simply spat in his face, defiant in the face of his own murder. The lookout screamed. Edgardo's assailant turned to see a well-dressed woman with chestnut hair standing over him. A scarf, unseasonably warm for the time of year, had slipped from her face, revealing a twisted jaw and jagged scars on the lower half of her face — and her fangs. Edgardo stared in awe as his attacker died, taken down by the inhuman speed and strength of the scarred woman.
The woman introduced herself as Katherine and granted him a way to never again be powerless in the face of the mighty. She talked with Edgardo over the ancient ideals of the Brujah and the fabled city of Carthage. She had been watching Edgardo's passionate dismissals of conquering empires, even in the face of immediate prosperity, and it appealed to her inherent hatred of the nobility. Over the years their relationship became more and more troubled, and by the start of the 19th century, she released him from her patronage and they went their separate ways. He tried to stay out of politics, Kindred and mortal alike. This however, changed with the coming of the Red Shirts and Giuseppe Garibaldi, who wanted to unify Italy for the first time.
Edgardo, by now a veteran backer of anti-royalist rebellion, arranged to meet with Garibaldi. He told himself that he wanted to Embrace Garibaldi, to crush his idealism like his own had been crushed, to show the mortal leader that all of his struggle and ferocity would wither and die under the weight of empire. Instead, Edgardo found an honest, passionate man who firmly believed that socialism would help the wounded kingdoms of his home. He was not bitter and angry like Edgardo, but sincere and devoted.
Edgardo realized that Garibaldi was the kind of man Katherine thought he had been, and he was ashamed. Instead of Embracing him, Edgardo donned a red shirt and fought alongside Garibaldi for years, taking up arms alongside his brothers to fight for a united Italy. As Garibaldi's socialism degraded into fascist ideals, the movement lost its flavor for Edgardo. During the First World War, he traveled the fighting nations, courting them. He refined his nationalist speeches, parroting their hollow words to convince each faction that he firmly believed they were right before draining them of money and supplies, then moving on. He sold experience, tactical knowledge, intelligence, arms — whatever rebels wanted. He became known as Robbia the Robber, a mysterious highwayman among the enlisted men fighting all over Europe.
After the war was over, Edgardo did not want his business to end. He attached himself to some peacetime militant organizations and molded them into factions that he could bleed dry. Eventually, he returned to his native Italy and fell in with Mussolini's Fascist movement. He supported various nationalistic and anarchistic movements all across Europe, using each one for his personal gain. After World War II, global culture did not have much call for visible fascist groups anymore. He tried to retire, to take what he had used his blood, sweat, and tears to steal and start building something of his own.
He became heavily involved with the Baader-Meinhof Group in the 1970s. Although he told himself that he was just making another profit, bleeding another group dry, he knew had been lying to himself. He does not need the money anymore, but there is a little voice in the back of his head or deep within his blood that keeps telling him that he should support just one more cause, poison just one more government. Through much of the late 20th century, he went from terrorist group to terrorist group in Europe, each one more radical than the last, though he always pursued nationalist causes instead of religious ones.
After 9/11, he was forced to abandon his practices, moving to New York and reunited with his sire, who told him of the conflict between the Sabbat and the Camarilla within the city. He has not chosen any sect to fully support, but he is actively involved in Kindred politics, unlike most Autarkis. He tries to stay out of sect politics, but knows, as the Final nights have begun and Gehenna comes, that he will be forced one day to finally pick up a side.
Character Sheet[]
References[]
- VTM: Children of the Revolution, p. 54-58