Society of Leopold

Society of St. Leopold
Nicknames	Father Leo/Pai Leo/Otets Lev (Other Hunters)
Type	Religious Org
Founder	Leopold von Murnau
Founded	1231
Affiliation	Society of Saint George (Former branch; retconned in V20)
Allies	Celestial Chorus Society of Saint George Knights of St.George Arcanum
Allegiance	The Inquisition
Predecessor	Michaelites

The Society of St. Leopold (just the Society of Leopold prior to 2005) is a faction within the Inquisition who exist to pursue and fight supernaturals. They are a major threat to every group of supernaturals because of their extensive knowledge, training, equipment, preparation and fanatical zeal.

Overview

The Society of Leopold fully believes that the Apocalypse is drawing near and that all supernaturals, willing or not, are part of the army of the Antichrist. As self-appointed soldiers of Christ, they believe it is their divine duty to slay or otherwise neutralize as many supernatural threats to Christianity as possible before Christ returns to the world.

Description

Chicago is a city of faith as much as high finance and haute couture; the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, centered on the Holy Name Cathedral, serves a flock of more than two million—most of whom are alive, some of whom are not.

Scattered among the ecclesiastical ranks, hidden among the priests and nuns, the vicars and deacons, the missionaries in training, and the lay brethren, is one of the oldest threats known to the Kindred: the righteous and implacable vampire hunters of the Society of St. Leopold.

Named for their spiritual founder and inspiration, the Dominican friar Leopold von Murnau, the Society has existed in one form or another since the formation of the Holy Inquisition Contra Diabolus enim et alii Daemones in the 13th century CE. It is the very earliest of the mortal forces to turn their hands to the pursuit and destruction of the Kindred and all their works.

The organization has changed shape considerably over the centuries as its fortunes have risen and fallen in the regard of cardinals and pontiffs. At some points, it was regarded as an invaluable tool in the battle for men’s souls; at others, as an embarrassing relic of the past, best left to molder forgotten in the darkest corner of the Vatican archives.

Never, however, has their mission changed, nor has it entirely ceased attracting the service of those in the Church who have looked more deeply into the darkness than most and found horrors gazing back at them—even if their numbers slowly dwindled nearly to extinction over the years.

The Society of St. Leopold is no longer fading away. Since 2008, and the development of the joint program to ferret out and destroy the undead—referred to as “blankbodies” by the sort of individuals who can accept the existence of paranormal entities abroad in the world but can’t bring themselves to speak the word “vampire” aloud—the Society’s membership has swelled from a few dozen to several thousand members worldwide.

Their extant mass of accumulated knowledge of the undead, collected and guarded and disseminated down the centuries, has formed the basis of much of the modern research into Kindred physiology and capabilities currently underway in blacksites the world over, now aided by science as well as faith.

The organization’s members now primarily function as specialist knowledge resource officers and field investigation agents for joint SOCOM/ESOG task force operations, the “first boots on the ground” when FIRSTLIGHT’s Analysis Division indicates the need for more information from a suspected nest of “anomalies.”

As a Kindred resident of Chicago, you possess some knowledge of the Society of St. Leopold, how it is organized, and how it functions—or, at the very least, how it did prior to the last decade—and may have some idea how or capacity to ferret out more current information.

Loresheet

• Postulant: Your relationship with your former (or current?) Church is that you once seriously considered taking Holy Orders. During the process of consideration, you dove deep into the history of the archdiocese and its constituent organizations, which may or may not have already included an office associated with the Society of St. Leopold. Once per story, you may ask the Storyteller for a piece of known information about the Society.
• Novice: Your interest in entering into a profession of faith went deeper than most: you were on the verge of entering into your novitiate when that life was permanently torn away from you. Whether you resent this or have accepted it, you retain a considerable amount of interest in and potential contact with members of the local church. These Contacts (equivalent of ••) naturally include your confessor, the members of the order you were seeking to enter who oversaw your training, fellow novices, or members of the local congregational volunteer groups.
• Brother or Sister: Before your Embrace, you were a member of the Church, sworn and consecrated to a religious community of contemplative, monastic, or apostolic character. Your current state of existence no longer allows you to pursue your vocation, but you nonetheless retain the knowledge you acquired during the period of your existence when you actively served the Church. You possess detailed knowledge of the local diocese, including its members and properties, when groups meet and where, and which are affiliates of the Society. Gain two extra dice on all Academics and Occult rolls relating to the religious district of your expertise. Once per story, you may use this knowledge to find a safe place to hide among the various properties belonging to the Church (equivalent of Haven •).
• Father or Mother: You were a fully professed and ordained priest or the senior canoness overseeing a community of nuns prior to your Embrace. While you are separated now from your former profession of faith, you still possess many of the advantages gained while in service. You know exactly who the members of the Society of St. Leopold are in the city, where they meet, how often, and which secular forces they are affiliated with. You have strategies to avoid or misdirect them, granting you Influence (•••) with the diocese when dealing with the Society. Additionally, you retain access to church properties that can act as a permanent Haven (••) where vampire hunters are unlikely to look for you. This loresheet comes with the Infamy Flaw (•): while the local diocese might trust you, the broader Society does not. They know what you were and that you stepped back from that life—they just don’t yet know why.
• Inquisitor: You are a former, fallen member of the Society of St. Leopold or one of its constituent organizations (e.g., the Condotierri, the Gladius Dei, the Office of the Censor, or the Order of St. Joan). You may have chosen to accept the Embrace for treacherous reasons or been Embraced against your will for some purpose of your sire’s. You possess deep personal knowledge of the Society and its inner workings, including historical and current functions, and its potential cooperation with the Entity Special Operations Group. Once per story, you may ask the Storyteller for one piece of true and accurate information about the Society and its current activities. Whether you are a traitor or in bondage, congratulations! Your position may yet bear fruit—be it treachery or vengeance.

History

The Society of Leopold claims that their ideological roots lie in the Michaelites, a secret order founded by a converted Roman soldier that was dedicated on protecting the early Christians that hid in the Roman catacombs from the monsters that lurked within.

Their official formation, however, came with the advent of Leopold von Murnau, a German dominican who was granted special dispensation by Pope Gregory IX in 1231 to combat supernatural evil. Under Leopold's guidance, the society grew, encountering several strange supernatural creatures that abused and toyed with humanity for their own amusement. Although the Society was also pursuing "regular" heretics, like the Albigensians, they also attacked supernaturals of every faction. Among their victims, accusations and imputations flew around, as each group suspected their rivals of pulling the strings behind the new threat, unaccustomed to the fact that humans had began to realize their presence in their midsts.

First Inquisition

When Innocent VIII published the Summis desiderantes affectibus in 1484, the Society had reached its peak, raging across Europe in a merciless crusade against the powers in the shadows. However, as the methods of detecting supernaturals were far from rarified, countless innocents burned alongside mages and vampires. It was during these times that the Society were turned into a secret society within the Church, out of fear of infiltration. The Testament of Leopold became the canon for the society, who was granted the Monasterio di San Michele in Rome as headquarters.

In 1658, the Society faced its first schism. Raffaele Renzi, a Florentine Franciscan, was charged with treason, as he had been found consorting with the enemy. Renzi tried to persuade his officials that some of the supernaturals were able to overcome their inherent evil nature by honest remorse and accused the Society of pride for judging who among the remorseful had the right to live. Renzi was sentenced to death and the Florentine Decree was commissioned to further define the orthodoxy of the Society.

Suspended Hostilities

Following the 18th century, the Society waned in both influence and power, as the Catholic Church had other problems to deal with. Some Inquisitors even considered breaking away from the Vatican, but realized that they depended too heavily on financial support from the Church. The Parisian Cenaculum even had to be disbanded due to troubles during the Revolution and the membership dropped to 50 active Inquisitors for all Church territories.

In the 19th century, the Society slightly recuperated. Pius X reorganized the Society in 1908 and officially released them from service to the catholic Church, allowing them to act more freely. Now unconcerned with doctrinal issues, the Society has dedicated it whole power to cleanse the world of what they believe to be the servants of the Adversary and prepare the world for the Parousia.

Second Inquisition

In 1998, the Austrian inquisitor Ingrid Bauer, also known as the Iron Maiden, ascended to the position of Grand Inquisitor and immediately began a crusade against the Kindred. She reactivated old Cold War contacts between the Entity and the CIA, and with the U.S. military through Italian and Polish NATO liaison teams. When the NSA and IAO discovered the existence of vampires in the years immediately following 9/11, Bauer’s assets were already in place to shepherd their analysts toward understanding them.

The Americans repaid Bauer’s efforts tenfold, providing the Society of Leopold with military grade materiel (thermobaric rocket-propelled grenades and mass detection optics especially) and a few deniable billions for the collection plate. Bauer could now sideline or buy off opposing factions in the Society and devote it entirely to carrying out and coordinating the Second Inquisition.

Soon after his elevation in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI brought the Society of Leopold back under Vatican control, recanonized and carefully re-integrated with the Entity and the Church. It now formally exists as a personal prelature, becoming the Society of St. Leopold, the patron saint of Austria. Operationally, the Society’s black ops Gladius Dei act as the Entity Special Operations Group (ESOG). Previously, the Entity primarily engaged in conventional intelligence gathering and used the CIA and other deniable agents for direct action; the addition of the Gladius Dei to its ranks gave the Vatican a true covert operations capacity.

Organization

Like the Roman Church, the Society of Leopold is made up of a number of smaller divisions. The members of the Inquisition share a common goal — to deliver humanity from supernatural evil — but their interests and modus operandi vary and even clash. The four official sub-orders within the Society are:

• Condotierri - protectors and defenders.
• Gladius Dei - attack corps.
• Office of the Censor - investigators and judges.
• Order of St. Joan - intelligence and information processing.

But while some Inquisitors remain generalists, many find intellectual support and mutual ideology in smaller organizations known as "sects". Inquisitors are not required to join any sect, they only exist for mutual support regarding these ideological matters. There are 7 known sects among the Society of Leopold:

• Sons of Tertullian
• Order of St. Michael
• Sisterhood of St. Claire
• Sanbenito
• Fathers of the Good Death
• Children of Lazarus
• Brethren of Albertus

Hierarchy

The Society of Leopold is led by the Inquisitor-General, who has absolute lifetime authority over its members and resides in Rome near the Vatican. Beneath him serve the Provincials, who are chosen by the General and assigned to specific geographical regions, where they supervise and coordinate the local Cenacula. Most Provincials refrain from joining their brothers in the field, instead acting as advisors, mentors or scholars. All Provincials meet annually in Rome to discuss the previous year's activities and plan for the next year. Even prominent witch-hunters outside the Society are invited to these Councils.

The contacts of the Provincials are the Abbés, who are responsible for maintaining and stewarding their Cenaculum. They are aided by the Censors, who are part of the Office of the Censor, who ensure doctrinal orthodoxy and rout out infiltrators, but also ensure that individual Inquisitors do not abuse their powers or Society funds.

Councillors are Inquisitors that have proved themselves as experienced and outstanding warriors against the forces of evil and are given this honor-title to reflect their progress. The ordinary Inquisitor usually holds the rank of Tertiary, pointing him out as one who has passed his novitiate. Inquisitors usually work together in cenacles, centered around their Cenaculum.

Below the Tertiaries are the Novices, who are educated over the various supernatural creatures that roam the night. Many Novices come from clerical ranks, but there is also a great population of laypersons, who have not been ordained as priests, as well as several women that have been included into the Society.

Culture

The ways Inquisitors act have changed over the years. The Society now acts in absolute secrecy, reflecting more modern-day detective work than medieval jurisdiction. Most Inquisitors use subtle clues (missing persons, strange mass-blackouts etc.) to search for their enemies. After a case is continually researched and deemed proper by the Cenacle, the auto-da-fé begins. Following this, the subject is hunted until its death or a truncation coming from a Censor.

Unlike the rest of the Entity, but like the Opus Dei (through and with which the Leopoldites and the Entity often work) the Society of St. Leopold can initiate lay and female members, although its higher Provincials have all been Catholic clergy since the late 2000s.

Personnel

• Grand Inquisitor Ingrid Bauer
• Monsignor Walter Stanford
• Priest Francis Olsmont
• Donatella Ulfila, Antiquities Curator at the central vault
• Emmet Olsen, Novice

Gallery

Loresheet in Chicago by Night 5th Edition

The Testament of Leopold in H5

Society of Leopold VTES Card. Art by Durwin Talon

Society of Leopold Old VTES Card. Art by Lawrence Allen Williams

References

• VTM: The Hunters Hunted, p. 47-49
• VTM: The Inquisition, p. 13-21
• VTM/WTA/MTAs: The Chaos Factor, p. 22, 32, 34
• HTR: Hunter: First Contact, p. 27-32, 36, 38, 41-42
• VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 370-371
• VTM: The Hunters Hunted II, p. 117-122
• HTR: Hunter: The Reckoning 5th Edition, p. 235-237
• VTM: Chicago by Night 5th Edition, p. 284-285