Juggler is an 8th-generation Brujah and a prominent Anarch of Gary, Indiana. Juggler has become increasingly ambitious, losing the idealism he entertained until the middle of the 20th century. He will do anything to claw his way to power. Currently, Juggler is a staked victim of Maxwell. He retains sufficient consciousness to crave his freedom, but nobody knows of his whereabouts.
Biography[]
| “ | No Priests. No Kings. | ” |
Mortal Days[]
Iacopo Manzini was the second son of a prosperous merchant family. He attended excellent schools and graduated from the University of Vicenza in 1840. Fascinated by politics, he enthusiastically participated in the revolutionary movement. His family, disapproving of his dangerous ideas, wanted him to settle down, marry, and work in the family business, but that was not the life Iacopo envisioned for himself. After a series of bitter rows, he insisted upon going his own way, and his family cut him off.
He walked to Germany in 1845 to work for the revolution, offering his services as a laborer to farmers along the way in exchange for food and shelter. Along the way, he reflected on the hospitality he received and learned about survival and the virtues of the common man. The revolution of 1848 failed in Germany and, along with many of his Forty-Eighter comrades, Iacopo migrated to America rather than staying to face political persecution.
Iacopo was one of many who settled in Cincinnati. Always ambitious, he worked his way toward a position of leadership in the movement. Independence from the British Empire was not enough. Revolution, to Iacopo, was a continuous process of violent upheaval designed to bring about an improvement in the lot of all mankind. He took part in the Cincinnati riots of 1853, in the course of which he sustained fatal injuries.
One of the 100 women who followed the fatal march was Elle, a Kindred who had been wanting a childe for some years. The mortally wounded revolutionary was too good a prospect to pass over. In the confusion, it was easy to drag him into an alley where she Embraced him.
Kindred Nights[]
Iacopo traveled with his sire, stirring up unrest among the oppressed wherever and whenever they could, until Elle met her end during the New Orleans Massacre of 1866. Iacopo survived by virtue of the color of his skin. It was then he changed his name to Juggler, a nickname his sire had given him due, he believes, to his grace and dexterity.
Juggler came to Chicago soon after Maldavis’s defeat, hoping to channel the Anarchs’ rage into support for himself. They rallied to his side in considerable numbers. However, the size of their group was quickly, dramatically reduced by the savage attacks of the Lupines and Sabbat.
Juggler has never liked Maldavis, hypocritically criticizing her for using the Anarch cause to further her own political ambitions. He always seeks to undermine her in small ways. But he never gave up on his attempts to recruit to the Anarch cause. His success, however, was limited. He lacked the charisma of Kindred like Maldavis, who remained his greatest rival in the race to become the first among equals.
Upon Lodin’s supposed death, Juggler entered the contest for the praxis of Chicago, inspired by his intense rivalry with Maldavis, who was a definite candidate. At that time, though, he was blood-bound to Tyler, who, in her turn, was bound to the Methuselah Helena. Helena wanted Juggler to lead the Anarchs, not to take praxis of Chicago. The subversion of his will may explain why his attempted coup resulted in few casualties. Helena’s schemes protected him but forced him back to Gary, where she wanted him.
Feeling manipulated, though not able to explain by whom, Juggler stuck to Gary, though he still maintains his old haven on Northside. He proclaimed himself Baron and managed well enough. Juggler has become increasingly ambitious, losing the idealism he entertained until the middle of the 20th century. He would do anything to claw his way to power.
When Tyler left Chicago, the bond weakened. At first, he sought her out ever more desperately, and his followers remarked upon his strange behavior.
Then he started to reflect upon his own motivations, wondering why he ever let this individual weave such a web of dependence around him. He concluded that someone else, someone altogether more ominous, forced Tyler to act in this way. He began to wonder if he could discover more about who was controlling him by investigating what was really happening in the Gehenna War. He has not discussed this with anyone. Only Pietr Armstrong, Juggler’s recently created ghoul, knows anything about this planned expedition.
Juggler believed that if he can break his bond to Tyler, he will discover a major secret concerning matters in Chicago. This secret might enable him to unseat Prince Jackson and take Chicago as his Barony. He believed that he will find the key to this mystery by following the Beckoned elders.
About a month ago, Juggler disappeared. His childe, Evelyn, took his place as Baron of Gary.
- See Juggler's fate in Rusted Jungle.
Description[]
Juggler has been a pain in the Chicago Camarilla’s ass and a thorn in Modius’s side for the better part of a century. He ruled the Anarchs before Maldavis came along, and he directed much of their activity from Gary. During some of the tensest periods in the War of Chicago, Helena and the powerful Brujah Tyler controlled his actions. Juggler may have a sense of this, especially since Tyler’s disappeared from Chicago, but it’s not something he’d ever let slip to his followers.
In recent nights, he’s orchestrated the Anarchs’ takeover of Gary, relishing his rival Modius’s rage as the pauper Prince’s power ebbed away. Rumor had it he’d triumphantly captured Modius — whose own childe turned Anarch and gave him up — and may at last have destroyed his enemy. This move made Juggler the Baron of Gary at last, but a month into his reign, he disappeared.
Unlike his disorganized Camarilla counterpart, Juggler understands how to run a revolution. His childe, Evelyn Stephens, was privy to his plans. He kept some secrets, but he ensured that the schemes he’d set in motion could carry on in his absence. As much of a blow as it was to the Anarchs to lose their leader, Evelyn has stepped up and rallied them right back to the cause.
Loresheet[]
For the Cause: You’ve run with the Anarchs in Chicago under Juggler’s direction. Gain one reroll per session on Brawl, Melee, and Streetwise rolls when going up against members of the Camarilla.- Guns to a Knife Fight: When a Prince starts losing, he blames the Anarchs first and tries to wipe them out. Juggler learned that lesson with Lodin, and in more recent nights, when Modius ratted out his enemies to Sullivan Dane. Once per story, you have access to a weapons cache that Juggler has secreted away in Gary and can buy up to Resources (•••) worth of gear.
- Rabble Rouser: You have a knack for dirty fighting. Juggler put you in charge of a group of Anarchs who Get Shit Done around Gary. Once per story, you can call upon a small group (3-5 people) to sow chaos in Gary’s streets or back you up in a brawl. This counts as a temporary Allies Background rated at an effectiveness of two dots, with the benefit of their being Kindred and carrying Disciplines. They cease following you for the rest of this story.
- Coordination is Key: Juggler set you up as a key part of Anarch communications. Other Kindred slip you information about their activities, which you pass along to those who need to know. This grants you significant cachet in the Movement, manifesting as Status: Anarchs (•••) and Influence: Gary (•••). Once per story, ask your Storyteller for a piece of intel that’s recently come across your desk.
- Rust Never Sleeps: Juggler trusted you with his plans and valued your input in his strikes against the Camarilla and Modius. He is your four-dot Mawla (in his absence, Evelyn Stephens fills this role). Once per story, work with your Storyteller to name a member of the Movement in another city whose skills or access are useful to you. A friend of Juggler’s is a friend of theirs, and they’re eager to help the Anarchs rise. They act as a three-dot Contact for you until the end of that story.
Appearance[]
Juggler is slightly below average height and light in build. He has long, shoulder-length dark blonde hair and dark grey eyes with green-flecked irises.
He constantly fiddles with whatever is to hand — car keys, a pack of cigarettes, a handful of small change. He has practiced prestidigitation, and sometimes, whatever he is playing with just disappears between his fingers.
Juggler comes across as earnest, intense, and enthusiastic. Some find this charming. Some find it merely indicative of immaturity.
Bertrand Koster was the identity Juggler used among mortals just before he disappeared. Bertrand was a street performer, specializing in prestidigitation and conjuring tricks.
Once an audience assembled to watch him pull colorful scarves out of hats and find silver dollars behind children’s ears, he would launch into political rants. Rather than listen, the audience would melt away from this white fool, without putting money into the hat he passed round.
Not that he cared greatly for money. Any he earned from his performances he swiftly gave away to the homeless and dispossessed of Gary.
Sheet[]
† Vampire: The Masqurade applicable stats
‡ Vampire: The Masqurade Second Edition applicable stats
Note: Juggler has few friends in Gary but is tolerated because of his strange relationship with Modius. It is suspected that Modius, though obviously not his sire, owes Juggler some debt that has yet to be repaid (and Juggler may, in fact, be deliberately holding off payment of that debt). Neither discuss the subject.
Juggler can most often be found haunting the streets of the Lincoln Park area (inside Chicago proper, a risky practice), often attaching himself to late-night revelers, mystifying them with his presence, and then clouding their memories of him as sunrise approaches.
Nonetheless, there are stories among certain circles in the area of "The Party Man," who appears suddenly, bedazzles the revelers, and then fades back into the night. He has no respect for mortals and places little value in their lives. He has been known to maim with barely any provocation when a mortal is involved.
Juggler has little patience with those who hinder him. Like many other Kindred, he speaks little of his history. His English/American dialect is nearly perfect, but in moments of rage, he is known to lapse into bursts of raw Neapolitan Italian.
Juggler has a secret identity. He visits Chicago very often and is the leader of the Anarchs there. Because he himself is from Gary, he has much more leeway than the other Anarchs, who are all from Chicago. The primary base of this group is, in fact, in Gary, in an abandoned steel mill located in the Wasteland. Juggler has contacts with a number of gangs in the Wasteland and is in the process of subjugating their leaders.
Image: Juggler is of slightly below average height and lightly built. He has shoulder-length dark blond hair and dark gray eyes with green-flecked irises. He has average, undistinguished features. Those who remain around him for a time may be unnerved by the fact that he never blinks.
Roleplaying Hints: Be dramatic and bold with every action you take. Juggler will be most vivid if you work up a strong rivalry between him and the most dominant and aggressive character in the players' brood. Throughout the chronicle, you can play and expand upon this rivalry, and it can provide new twists to your stories.
Backgrounds Sheet[]
Gary Anarchs and Their Army
Juggler still has followers in Gary and, indeed, in Chicago. These include his childe, Evelyn, although lately she has been getting ideas of her own, along with dozens of mortal street-level criminals. None of his allies are currently able to contact him.
Pietr Armstrong
(Retainer 2)
Recently bound to act as a bearer and companion on Juggler’s journey, Pietr knows next to nothing. Juggler is aware the path he is following is dangerous and sacrifice may be necessary along the way. Pietr would, he thinks, be an adequate sacrifice. Equally importantly, no Kindred are aware of Pietr’s existence. Pietr is currently unable to contact Juggler.
Trivia[]
- He's notably less violent than most Anarchs, at least against fellow Kindred.
- He has a Humanity of 7 despite being said to have little regard for human life and prone to maiming people on a whim.
- Despite being a minor player in Chicago's Jyhad, actually has figured out he's under the control of a Methuselah.
- Juggler, unlike Modius, has a significant number of assumptions about his disappearance, listed below. The Kindred of Gary simply accepted Modius' death, while the Brujah share multiple theories.
- Juggler’s always defended the Anarch cause. Why would he just up and disappear and leave they at the Vanguard’s mercy? They not believe he’d do that. He must finally be dead.
- Modius and Juggler were contenders for the praxis of Chicago. Both lost. Subsequently, they were rivals for Gary. Juggler won. There is scant chance that these two will ever be reconciled.
- There has never been any love lost between Juggler and Maldavis. Juggler often makes snide comments about “the Anarch who’d rather be Prince.” As Maldavis is Menele’s tool and Juggler has been Helena’s, it is unlikely the two will ever work together, which is not good news for the Anarchs of Chicago. Unless, of course, they can find a way to break those bonds.
- Eric Sharpe told he’s seen juggler's ashes, though how the Ventrue can tell the difference between a Kindred’s ashes and the ash that fell from some mortal’s fancy cigar.
- Some believe it was only a matter of time before someone eliminated Juggler. Over 80% of the Kindred in Gary are black. How long were they going to kneel before yet another white elder?
- The anarchs know he’s not in any of his usual havens or hangouts, but he’s still very much in charge of his own fate. He’s scheming or plotting something, or laying low until he gets everything in place for his next move. As soon as Juggler is ready, he’ll take his Barony back from his childe.
- Some say Juggler heard the Beckoning. He’s close enough to Caine for that. They sure he resisted for as long as he could before he succumbed. A pity, that. There are still plenty of elders around, so there must be some way to resist. Maybe if they do enough research, can track him to wherever it is the elders have fucked off to and persuade him to come back.
Gallery[]
References[]
- VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade Rulebook, p. 217-218
- VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade Second Edition, p. 248-249
- MTAs: The Book of Chantries, p. 169
- VTM: Let the Streets Run Red, p. 156-158
