Sebastian LaCroix is a French Kindred of the Ventrue clan and Camarilla Prince of Los Angeles in the Final Nights.
Biography[]
LaCroix was born, presumably in the in late 1700s, in Calais, France. He received his military education at the Royal Military Academy before joining the ranks of Napoleon's Grande Armée. LaCroix ascended in the ranks of Napoleon's army until he was embraced by a Belgian noble, "shortly after the Battle of Waterloo". He spent his vampire years making allies, ruining his enemies and brokering deals. He traveled extensively, from Africa, where he encountered his bodyguard, the mysterious Sheriff and killed Grünfeld Bach's grandfather, to London, where he killed Bach's father.
He eventually came to America in 1930.
He became Prince in Los Angeles sometime between 1994 and 2004. It is shrouded in mystery how LaCroix, a vampire of the Camarilla, became the second prince of Los Angeles, the capital of the Anarch Movement. It is likely, however, that he became prince when the Camarilla responded to the Kuei-jin's defeat of the Anarchs in the city. He is head of the LaCroix Foundation, and resides in the Venture Tower in downtown Los Angeles, commanding the city from his penthouse office.
By Camarilla tradition, he is the prince of all Kindred within his domain, though few acknowledge his authority. According to the Anarchs of Los Angeles, LaCroix's position in vampire society was not earned naturally but by other means; additionally, they believe that the Camarilla's laws cannot be applied to them by the prince, seeing as they are free.
Toward the end of October in 2004, events were set in motion which led to LaCroix's destruction. One of the Kindred in his domain had sired without permission, and both sire and childe were to be executed as a public warning. While the sire was killed, local Anarch leader Armando Rodriguez protested, and LaCroix allowed the childe to live as a demonstration of his clemency. As "payment" for his generosity, the childe was made to serve as the Prince's pawn, a pawn which rose in importance as the prince learned of the arrival of the Ankaran Sarcophagus.
The prince became increasingly obsessed with the Sarcophagus, eventually becoming convinced it held an elder, maybe an Antediluvian, or perhaps even Caine himself. He wanted to possess the Sarcophagus in order to diablerize whoever he found within.
Unfortunately, he found nothing within but his own destruction.[1]
Personality and Traits[]
LaCroix is a charismatic yet power-hungry vampire. He cared only for himself, and wanted the Ankaran Sarcophagus to gain its incredible power, though he claimed he wished to use it in order to protect fellow Kindred from the Kuei-jin.
He is unapologetically demanding, lofty in his mannerisms, scheming and at times childish. He is also clever, reflective, tenacious and accepts his possible fate at the hands of the Kuei-jin with uncharacteristic humility that might be construed by some as defeat.
Quotes[]
“ | The folly of leadership is knowing that, no matter what you do, behind your back there are hundreds, certain that their own solution is the sounder one, and that your decision was the by-product of a whimsical dart toss. | ” |
“ | I pronounce the blast sentence, and I soak the critical fallout. I make the decisions no-one else will. Leadership... I wear the albatross and a bullseye. | ” |
“ | Power is life to our kind. Those without power disintegrate into the nights of the past, hundreds of names I know once instilled fear, now unknown. You see it's not enough to attain power, one must also maintain power. | ” |
“ | Each minor problem like a grain of sand, each night I inherit the desert. | ” |
“ | GIVE. ME. THE. KEY! | ” |
Game notes[]
LaCroix is the ruler of Los Angeles in VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines , so the player will generally have to work for him, whatever their true loyalties. LaCroix provides many of the storyline's main quests, and also offers several sidequests through e-mail. He will grant you access to a dwelling in the Skyline apartment building, unless the player's character is rude to him or a Tremere or Nosferatu.
Quests[]
- Santa Monica
Though technically not a quest, the entire city of Santa Monica was a quest given by the prince for the player to complete. It acts as a sort of extended tutorial area.
- Explosive Beginning
- Bloody Mess
- Elizabethan Rendezvous
- Calling Dr. Grout
- Patron of the Ancient Arts
- The Epic of the Ankaran Sarcophagus
- A Dish Best Served Cold
- Hell at the Hallowbrook Hotel
- The Enemy of My Enemy
- Ming Must Die!
- Royal Flush
Trivia[]
- According to Therese Voerman's computer, LaCroix can be reached at (213) 555-4508, ext. 702.
- LaCroix likes to bend his subjects to his will, including those he works with. Much like Velvet Velour, he prefers to extend his dominion through others.
Jan Pieterzoon by John Van Fleet
- Canonically, LaCroix dies. Out of Bloodlines five major endings, he dies in four and is held captive in one (and presumably, later destroyed).
- Prince LaCroix's recent destruction is referenced to in the novel VTM: Gehenna: The Final Night , the first book of the Time of Judgment Trilogy and the final Vampire: The Masquerade novel of the line's original run. Thus, the appearances of Smiling Jack and Beckett (and possibly Caine) occur in Bloodlines before their appearances in the Gehenna novel.
- Although purely speculative, it should be noted that LaCroix's tone of voice when he mentions being "Embraced by a Belgian noble" is not a pleasant one and might allude to an unwanted or troublesome Embrace. This is interesting as the Ventrue tend to take pride in their heritage.
- LaCroix is probably named after Lucien LaCroix, the head vampire from the mid-'90s vampire series Forever Knight, although that LaCroix's name is pronounced in a more proper French fashion (la crwah) rather than the Anglicized version (la croy). The name translates to "the cross," an ironic name for a vampire. It's one of several references in Bloodlines to Forever Knight.
- LaCroix never says his own name to the player, so it's possible that the Anglicized pronunciation of his name is unintentional on the part of LA's Kindred, or an intentional slight.
- According to writer Brian Mitsoda, LaCroix is based on the character Lord Bullingdon from Stanley Kubrick's film Barry Lyndon.
Gallery[]
References[]
- VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
- VTM: Gehenna: The Final Night, p. 43 (mentioned only)
- The Dialogue Interview by Vault Dweller, RPGcodex.net
- ↑ VTM: Beckett's Jyhad Diary, p. 117