Jason Newberry, better known as Son, is a particularly nasty Malkavian and the Primogen of Chicago. In his new, influential role, Son attempts to control Clan Malkavian by commanding them to share territory, havens, information, and weaknesses, mandating obligatory group counseling with him as the therapist. His actions have impressed the other Primogen, who see him as a guiding force for an often-disunited clan.
Biography[]
“ | There are such nasty things out there about me, and all of them are true to a point. We should go somewhere quiet and talk about it. | ” |
Mortal Days[]
Sometimes, mortals are worse than most vampires.
Jason Newberry was born a monster, though his parents worked hard to try and help him. He started with torturing small animals and insects. His curiosity with death and torture continued on to his classmates, and it led him to poke another child’s eye out with a stick. It was a troubled upbringing, though Newberry didn’t show it. He enjoyed the thrill of violence, the attention accompanying it, and the challenge of the next act in his long sadistic play.
Newberry’s parents were wealthy and were able to keep him from going to jail by sending him to an institution. While incarcerated, he caught the attention of his soon-to-be sire, who was intrigued by his unabashed curiosity. It wasn’t until Jason murdered his parents and dismembered them that she Embraced him, his parents’ rotting corpses next to him.
Kindred Nights[]
“Son” was born into the world, so renamed by his sire, and his bloodlust grew. Son was one of the instigators of the Great Fire of Chicago, working with Lodin to oust Maxwell in the chaos. As repayment, Lodin turned a blind eye to Son’s future activities, letting him do as he pleased, no matter how depraved.
Son developed a curiosity regarding the vampiric condition as the 20th century wore on and found the perfect vampire on which to perform some experiments. During the War of Chicago, Son convinced a fledgling Caitiff named Neon that he was able to protect him from harm. Neon soon disappeared. Son kept this Caitiff in seclusion, torturing him constantly to the point of insanity. Once the Caitiff’s mind broke, Son consumed Neon’s soul slowly, allowing himself to indulge in the feeling of heart’s blood entering his soul. Son has indulged in diablerie twice more since then and has no regret surrounding his cannibalistic urges.
Son’s latest atrocity involved the death of his sire and former Malkavian Primogen, Maureen O’Leary. Tired of his sire’s lamenting over her failure to kill herself, he plotted to take her soul, if only to indulge his own interest in the experience. When O’Leary resisted and begged for him to stop, he hesitated, perhaps because no matter what monstrous acts he performed, she always accepted him and loved him as a son. In that moment, she crumbled to ash, and Jason was denied the diablerie.
Son knows he will now never know what it’s like to consume his own sire, and so he continues to escalate his aspirations, finding other ways to possibly experience that moment.
With his sire dead and no other Malkavians angling for the Primogen role, Son beseeched the Primogen Council and his clanmates to permit his appointment. Though support was slim, objection was slimmer, so Son took the clan’s seat. Despite every sin he’d committed, only O’Leary and Lodin knew the whole truth of his crimes. The former was dead and the latter was supposed to be so. To the rest of the city, Son was a charming young man with good manners and a calmer disposition than most Malkavians.
Son builds up support for himself within the city, outshining his sire in his competence. He has proven his use to several others within the court of Chicago, and so his actions in private continue to get overlooked. While many within the city are suspicious of his true intent, not many want to go looking too deep, fearing he will strike out ruthlessly against them.
Description[]
Being Embraced as a Malkavian in Chicago brings with it an almost instantaneous new family. Many of their number look upon one another as kin: Jason Newberry’s sire considered him like her own son; Bronwyn and Corbin grew up like sisters in their mortal days.
While other clans allow their members their autonomy, Son wields his authority as Primogen to micromanage his clanmates’ lives. He hosts mandatory group counseling sessions, which he leads. Attendees bare their souls at his behest, providing information the others could use against them.
Son also requires the Malkavians under his control to share territories and havens, giving them little respite from one another. They know one another’s weaknesses the way only a close-knit family can, and Jason Newberry positions himself as their domineering patriarch.
These ties have also caused some Malkavians in Chicago to form close bonds. Having many members of the clan in the same territory makes guarding it easier, and when one of their number puts out a call via the Web, chances are someone is close by to answer.
Though Son has duped outsiders into thinking he’s an upstanding member of Kindred society, his abuse of power within the clan gives its members someone to unite against, should the time come to get rid of him.
Loresheet[]
Family Secrets: Attending Son’s therapy sessions gives you glimpses into your clanmates’ schemes and goals. As careful as most attendees are not to spill everything, over time the shapes of their plans come clear. Gain two dice on an "Awareness' or Insight roll involving another Malkavian.
Sibling Bond: You’ve grown extremely close to another member of your clan, someone who is like a favorite sibling to you. You share a two-dot Haven and a one-dot Herd, and once per story can call on this person for a significant favor. However, they will ask for your assistance in turn and may lay their burdens at your door.
Tangled Web: Your frequent contact with other Oracles has heightened your ability to sense and use the Cobweb. Once per story, you may extend your perceptions along it to locate a specific clan member in the city. You may either catch a short glimpse of where they are and who they’re with, or deliver one short sentence (“Meet me at the Blue Velvet,” “A Hound came looking for you.”) into their mind.
A Little Peace and Quiet: With Son constantly forcing you to share space and secrets with other Malkavians, you’ve had to carve out creative ways to get some alone time. Once per story, you may use an Auspex, Dominate, or Obfuscate power you haven’t yet learned (at your current level or below) to hide in plain sight, escape a crowded area, or avoid detection.
Favorite Childe: A respected elder member of the clan has taken a shine to you and appointed themselves your surrogate parent, your favorite aunt or uncle, or doting grandparent. They’re intensely interested in helping you achieve your goals, possibly cloyingly so. Gain them as a five-dot Mawla. Once per story, this person will act as a buffer between you and Son, relieving you of whatever obligation the Primogen was attempting to impose.
Appearence[]
Son has the appearance of an 18-year-old, good-looking male, with swept-back blonde hair, clear blue eyes, and tidy, sharp clothing buttoned up to the neck. He is generally well-dressed when in public and is very polite to everyone.
Character Sheet[]
CbN 1st & 2nd Edition[]
† Chicago by Night applicable stats
†† Chicago by Night Second Edition applicable stats
Notes: This is an extremely sick individual, and you must be careful about how you employ him in your stories. The full depth of his aberration has not yet been reached, though it is likely that he will be put down long before he can ever reach the full range of his plunge into depravity. On meeting him, have the players make Humanity rolls (difficulty 9). The more successes they roll, the more uncomfortable the characters feel around him. If they botch, they genuinely like him.
Image:Son appears to be a vaguely handsome 18-year-old, though mortals (and some high-Humanity Cainites) tend to be put off by him. He is a little under six feet tall, with sandy blond hair. He dresses like a well-off preppie.und him. If they botch, they genuinely like him.
Roleplaying Hints:Start ingratiating yourself with characters immediately upon meeting them. Praise and flatter them almost constantly.
Haven:He currently makes his home in a small house in Skokie but occasionally resides in a shelter for abused children there.
Secrets: A-
Influence:Son has a number of Contacts, mainly mortals he has abused in the past. He still retains some control over them and will sometimes use them to affect the political affairs of the city.
He especially likes to write notes to Ballard, threatening to destroy or destabilize certain businesses or halt construction on certain projects if Ballard does not perform some inane task. At first, Ballard refused, but the results were so severe that now he reluctantly agrees.
This blackmail usually takes the form of very minor but embarrassing demands for Ballard to perform certain actions. It started with Son asking Ballard to put a picture of himself on Page Two of a certain newspaper, but the latest instruction was to attend a XXX movie in the Rack, wearing nothing but a raincoat and wingtips.
Ballard is outraged by this blackmail and would pay nearly any price to find the culprit.
Fifth Edition[]
Backgrounds Sheet[]
Chicago-Read Mental Health Center (Haven 3, Herd 3, Influence 2). Son’s preferred feeding grounds are Chicago-Read Mental Health Center and Lakeshore Hospital (Herd 3, Influence 2). He inherited the hunting territory from his “disappeared” sire, without objection from the Prince or the others on the Primogen Council. Depending on his mood, he feeds from the comatose or from those from whom he can savor the screams.
Coya Dream (Contacts 2). Son has learned to recognize when someone has been misdiagnosed and mistreated, and has started to draw those individuals under his influence. One such individual is Coya Dream, a drag performer from the Red Noº 5 who was forced through conversion therapy. Son stepped in, took Coya, and tortured the doctor. Coya now helps Son find doctors who are doing the same.
Harry Magnotta (Allies 1, Retainers 1). Son keeps several of the orderlies and nurses in various mental hospitals under his sway so he can move freely in their establishments. Harry Magnotta is a cruel, brutal nurse with whom he has cultivated a relationship over the years. Harry’s approach to dealing with the residents in his hospital has captured Son’s interest.
Gallery[]
References[]
- VTM: Chicago by Night, p. 90-91
- VTM: The Chicago Folios, p. 166
- VTM: Chicago by Night Second Edition, p. 93-94
- VTM: Chicago by Night 5th Edition, p. 139-142