Disclaimer:
This is not, nor is it intended to be, World of Darkness canon.  This is my interpretation of fictional Russia, based on materials identified in the References section. The GM reserves the right to say 'No' to any aspect of character design or any character action that he feels violates the intention of the game.

Setting:
Russia, circa 1868.  This will be a Dark Ages/Sorcerers Crusade crossover World of Darkness campaign.  Contact with the world outside of Russia will be minimal, except as history dictates, and the global influence of such World of Darkness groups as the Camarilla and the Sabbat will be ignored.

For most of Russian history, there has been tension between the Tzimisce and the Silver Fangs.  In some times and places, this was demonstrated by all-out warfare and, in other eras and locations, by a sort of cold war.  Wraiths, the fae and mortal sorcerers attempt to be independent third parties, with only the best intentions for their mortal friends and family at heart, but more often than not find themselves drawn into an uneasy alliance with the Shape Shifters of the region.  Kindred, for the most part, can be assumed to behave as described in Vampire the Dark Ages.  True Mages hold themselves aloof from all and manipulate all parties for their own cryptic purposes.

For Wraiths, the campaign era is a time between the Third and Fourth Great Maelstroms.  Details of 'life' in the Shadowlands can be gleaned from Wraith, 2nd edition, pages 71-73.

By 1868, the Faerie have experienced the Shattering, and have mostly adapted to the new way of things as described in Changeling: The Dreaming.  However, their numbers and diversity are limited, and the Sidhe have not re-appeared in Russian lands.

Additional Background Information:

The Campaign:
The campaign has been shifted to Play By E-mail mode.  For character e-mails, look here.

This will be a campaign of political intrigue and Machiavellian manipulation.  The overall story will revolve around the life of Nicholas II and the shift from Imperial Russia to Soviet Russia.

Each player may run two or more characters.  Their primary character will be either an elder vampire created using the rules in Elysium, an experienced mage using house rules based on Sorcerers Crusade and modified in accordance with the Elysium rules or some other elder style character developed with the input and approval of the Storyteller.  This character will be akin to the Magi of Ars Magica in that they will run their household and have their underlings deal with the outside world.  These characters have been active for at least a human lifetime, granting them significant influence and their increased abilities.  They are likely secretive, and known only to outsiders by name, if that.  If you wish to play a character other than a kindred or mage as your primary, contact the Storyteller privately.

Your secondary character(s) [companions] will be the way in which your primary character interacts with the world.  As such, one or more must be able to interact with the mortal court easily, ie., during the day, in normal dress, etc.  Your companions must be tied to your primary character in some way, and you must be able to explain to the Storyteller's satisfaction why each companion complies the primary character's wishes.  Companions will have no script immunity and can be killed over the course of the story, so you may wish to develop more than one such minion before play begins.  In general, each player will only have one companion active in any given scene, but companion characters can be mixed and matched between scenes as appropriate. Your first secondary character is "free", that is, there are no requirements for use or cost to possess.  Any additional secondary characters should be represented appropriately by background and/or merit pruchases by the primary character.  For example, if you wish to have a group of three revenets under your (the player's) direct control, the first is free and the additional two would likely be purchased as two dots of the Background Retainer.  On the other hand, if you merely wish to have a Revenent clan at your beck and call (but under the Storyteller's control) this will either be free or purchased (for instance) as dots of Military force, depending on their intended use/usefulness.  Other than these restrictions and the Storyteller's overall veto ability, you may create any sort of character native to the World of Darkness (see Character Generation for more details).

All characters should be fully fleshed out with histories and the like.  All characters and character concepts must be individually approved by the Storyteller before play begins.  Players will be expected to understand the capabilities of their characters.  If you don't understand something, clear up your confusion with the Storyteller outside of the session.

Additional experience may be awarded to players who write narratives of the campaign from their perspective.  Such awards will be based on the Storyteller's subjective evaluation of the quality of the story (not necessarily of the writing).  These awards will be made as the narratives are read by the Storyteller.  These narratives may be added to this web site at the Storyteller's discretion.
 

House Rules:
Due to the nature of the area portrayed, the Gauntlet is thinner and all rolls should reference Vampire: The Dark Ages for difficulties.
In the battle between the Mages, Russia is behind the rest of Europe and the difficulties described in Mage: Sorcerers Crusade should be used.
Character Generation

Eras Of Interest:
600 - 862 A.D.    Prologue: Slavs and Varangians

pre-600         Prior to this era, the region was closely tied to the umbra, and tales of mortals or heroes traveling to the Otherworld were more often than not based in reality.  Silver Fangs ruled the land and Clan Gangrel called the forest their home.  An outcast Nosferatu Methuselah roamed the land and aided in resisting the intrusion of Clan Tzimsce, who enter from the Carpathians with their mortal kinsmen.
862                Rurik comes to Novgorod; beginning of the Varangian Dynasty.
Rurik's brothers claimed by the Kindred; Uvoldin joins clan Gangrel and Severyan is embraced by a Tzimsce Methuselah.  Rumor holds it that Severyan is the power behind Rurik's throne.  The female Nosferatu enters topor, but is not forgotten.  Her actions are the basis for mortal legends and the antipathy Tzimsce hold for Nosferatu.  Clans Tzimsce and Gangrel declare a lasting truce - Tzimsce will control the settled areas, and Gangrel hold the forests.

The Bogatyrs are particularly active starting during this period and this increased activity continues through the fifteenth century.  Though they were known before 863, they turned their attentions to hunting Kindred, as well as other montrous foreigners, during the 9th and 10th centuries.  Kindred lore has it that the Bogatyrs were exterminated at the beginning of the Muscovite era. Kindred Lore is distinctly unclear as to the true nature of the Bogatyr.
888 to 898    Cyril and Methodius travel as missionaries into the Slavic countries, and create the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet.

963                Svyatoslav, grand prince of Kiev, acting as ally to Byzantium, annexes eastern Bulgaria.
The annexing of Bulgaria was at the behest of the Kindred prince of the region as a favor to his Tzimsce brethren in Byzantium.  Later, Kiev's Kindred prince found himself in opposition to Byzantium's Kindred prince.  This was the beginning of a breaking of Russian kindred from the world politics of their brethren.
971                Tzimisces, emperor of Byzantium, defeats Svyatoslav's forces at Presthlava and Dorystolum.

988               Vladimir devotes himself to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and begins imposing it on his citizens.
Clan Toreador enters the region with the Eastern Orthodox Church.  These kindred support the isolationism of the region, but without the support of the rest of their clan are unable to grab a significant amount of power in the region Kindred politics.  They continue to be an influence until the fall of the Church in Russia.

1223             First Mongol invasion of Russia; battle at Kalka River ends in near total destruction of the Russian forces.
Riding as advisors to the invading Khans, Clan Cappadocian discovers Russia.  They establish themselves in small numbers as advisors to both the various rulers of the land and to the Tzimsce, but never gain a political foothold of any true significance.
1241             Alexander, prince of Novgorod, defeats the Swedes at the Neva River and is named "Alexander Nevsky" (Alexander of the Neva).
1328            Ivan Kalita (Ivan I) becomes grand prince of Russia, makes Moscow his capital and has the seat of the Church moved there.
1453            Fall of Constantinople to Ottoman Turks; Russia becomes center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Clan Brujah enters the region, seeing Kiev as a chance to rebuild Carthax.  They maintain this view that kindred and mortals can live in peace, despite opposition from the Tzimsce and the changing views of their clansmen outside of Russia.  With the strengthening of the Church in Russia, Clan Toreador makes gains in political power, but are still unable to break the Tzimsce majority in Kindred politics.
1492            The predicted end of the world, according to Orthodox belief.

Any number of the murders and atrocities committed from this period forward might be laid at the feet of Clan Tremere, who begin operating in secret in the region during this era.  During this era, rumors about Changeling support of the Romanov clans begin.
1560            Anastasia Romanov dies, Ivan IV is distraught.
1565            Ivan founds the oprichina, beginning an eight year reign of terror.  The Black Riders, Ivan the Terrible's secret police, are founded during this period.
1589            Job of Moscow is appointed first Russian metropolitan and patriarch of the Orthodox Church.
1591            Dmitri (Ivan IV's remaining son) found with his throat slit, possibly assassinated by Godunov.
1601            A false Dmitri appears in Poland, winning support for an attack on Russia.
1649            The ulozhenie is established, codifying Russian social strata and binding peasants to land creating serfdom in Russia; the trading privileges of the Muscovy Company are revoked.
1670-1671    Don Cossack Stenka Razin leads a peasant revolt that is crushed by Alexis.

Most of the primary players in the supernatural politics of the region were born during the reign of Peter the Great.  All other players have been active for much longer.  Drawn by signs only they could interpret, Clan Malkavian began an influx during this time.
1698            Revolt of the streltsy and the beginning of Peter's obsessive campaign of Westernization.
1703-1708    Construction of St. Petersburg; thousands dies, and no man may come into the city without a building block.
1721             Peter the Great abolishes the position of Patriarch and replaces it with the Synod, a council of 10 priests who answer directly to the tsar.

1762-1796    The Reign of Catherine the Great
1881-1894    The Reign of Alexander III
1894-1917    The Reign of Nicholas II; Nicholas and Alexandra; Gregory Rasputin

1917-1921    War Communism
1941-1945    The Second World War
1953-1983    The Soviet Union After Stalin
1983-1990    The Fall of Communism

References:

• Mage: Sorcerer's Crusade
• Vampire: The Dark Ages
• Vampire Revised Edition
• Werewolf: The Apocalypse(2nd ed.)
• Werewolf Player's Guide (2nd ed.)
• Changeling: The Dreaming
• Wraith: The Oblivion (2nd ed.)
• World of Darkness: Sorcerer
• The Risen
• War of Ages (particularly Elysium)
• Ghouls: Fatal Addiction
• Kindred of the East
• World of Darkness: Demon Hunter X
• Crusade Lore