Frederick de Gorizia
| Pronouns | He/Him |
|---|---|
| Clan | Ventrue |
| Sect | Camarilla |
| Social Class | Master Elder |
| Morality | Humanity |
| Lineage | House of the Griffon |
| Position(s) | Prince of Pittsburgh |
Further Information
Frederick de Gorizia appears to be a white man in his late 30s. He is just below average height for men based on modern standards. He is slightly heavyset. His left leg is unusually stiff, leaving him with a limp for which he uses a walking stick. He typically wears "timeless" fashions that allow him to blend in with mortal society without actually keeping up with the latest fashion trends. He is typically seen wearing clothing of black, burgundy, and gold with gold and ruby jewelry. Since moving to the New World in 1812 he has hidden his face behind a golden masquerade mask.
- 1266: Born to Meinhard II, Count of Gorizia and Elisabeth of Wittelsbach on June 10th.
- 1300: Sent to serve Grifo Leon Pippen Martel.
- 1303: Ghouled by Grifo Martel.
- 1307: Embraced by Grifo Martel on September 17th.
- 1330: Released from the Accounting. Acknowledged by his grandsire, Julia Antasia, Prince of Frankfurt.
- 1300s-1500s: Led battles against inquisitors throughout the Burning Times and anarchs throughout the Anarch Revolt.
- 1493: Present at Thorns as attaché to his sire Grifo Martel.
- 1495: Relocated from Frankfurt to London. Continued to travel to cities in need of tactical aid.
- 1513: Embraced his ghoul, Maxwell Berk.
- 1812: Led a group of Camarilla kindred to the New World for the purpose of doing battle with the Sabbat and claiming domain over North American cities.
- 1816: Succeeded in driving the Sabbat out of the municipality of Pittsburgh. Claimed praxis and influenced the mortal government to declare Pittsburgh a city. Left leg was bonecrafted during the final battle, leaving Frederick with a limp.
Frederick was born in the city of Gorizia to the House of Gorizia on 6/10/1266. Frederick was the third born, and second son, of Meinhard II, Count of Gorizia and Elisabeth of Wittelsbach. Frederick’s parents were retainers to the Ventrue lord Grifo Leon Pippen Martel. In exchange for their lord’s favor, Meinhard and Elisabeth swore the life of their second born son to the vampire. Frederick was raised with the same love, care, and education of his siblings, but was intentionally left off the genealogies. His education focused on the knowledge needed by stewards such as etiquette, finances, and politics as well as the education of a military general with a heavy focus on military strategies and tactics. Frederick found a great deal of fun throughout his life playing games of strategy such as chess or stones as well as training in swordplay.
Frederick continued this education in his 30s, even serving for a time as his father’s steward and leading his father’s bannermen into battle on a few occasions that they were called upon. However, in 1300 Grifo Martel called upon his retainers to send their son to serve him as agreed upon. Frederick quickly made himself invaluable both as a steward running Grifo’s manor and as a keen mind offering military advice. In 1303 Frederick’s service was rewarded when he was made a ghoul, taking over the running of part of Grifo’s business interests and being placed in charge of the household guard. Again Frederick proved to be an indispensable asset, leading Grifo to seek permission to embrace Frederick. On the 17th night of September in the year of our lord 1307 Frederick de Gorizia’s heart ceased beating. Frederick was now a member of clan Ventrue.
Grifo spent a great deal of time ensuring that Frederick truly understood the ins and outs of what it means to be a vampire and how to survive the nights that had become quite dangerous with the rise of hunters. Frederick was under the Accounting for nearly 23 years during which time Grifo, Frederick’s grandsire Julia, Grifo’s other childer, and other trusted kindred took part in teaching Frederick the history and reality of what it means to be a vampire and more specifically a Ventrue. Frederick especially felt a kinship to his grandsire Julia who would often chastise Frederick for butchering her native Latin tongue, to the point that Frederick’s Latin even going in to the modern nights is far more Roman than is typical for one born so far removed from the fall of the Western Roman Empire. During this time Frederick also spent a great deal of time listening to Julia’s stories of the hated Brujah and learning of that clan’s history and treachery.
Finally, in 1330 Frederick was released from the Accounting and Acknowledged by Julia Antasia, Prince of Frankfurt. Frederick then spent most of the rest of that century and the next acting as a tactical leader in many cities, especially across the Holy Roman Empire and France, discussing with other vampiric tacticians how best to beat back the threat of hunters and how best to avoid their attention going forward. When some young vampires began to rebel against their elders and form the start of the Anarch Revolt Frederick again continued to use his tactical acumen to help protect domains allied to his sire and grandsire. During this time Frederick met many other tactically and militaristically minded kindred that he would count as allies, and in some rare cases friends, for centuries to come.
In 1493 many kindred were invited to a gathering at the Abbey of the Sacred Crown near the village of Thorns in England. Frederick went along with Grifo as Grifo’s attaché and was enraptured by the enlightened debates of the various kindred around him. Frederick’s experiences battling the hunters and Anarchs already had him of the same mind as those kindred of the Camarilla, but these conversations lit a fire within him. By the time the Convention of Thorns had ended, Frederick found himself a fanatical supporter of the Ivory Tower, the Traditions, and all the ideals its members espoused.
After the Convention of Thorns Frederick felt the need to strike out on his own for a time and develop new relationships with other kindred of the nascent Camarilla. To this end, he relocated to London and began developing relationships with the Kindred of England. While London was the location of his haven, he nonetheless continued to serve as a tactical leader to Camarilla cities throughout Europe that found themselves embroiled in conflicts with those Anarchs that did not submit to the Treaty of the Convention of Thorns and especially those of the newly formed Sabbat. These were trying times while the Sabbat broke the Masquerade left and right and the Inquisitors and other hunters remained hot on the trail of any potential vampires. Eventually as the light of the Ivory Tower spread to more domains and more kindred began to follow the Traditions the threat of the hunters lessened. The Sabbat however continued it’s war on the Camarilla throughout Europe and even made their way to the colonies of the New World.
While fighting the various threats to his existence, Frederick embraced a pair of young nobles that showed tactical brilliance and whom he was told showed skill upon the field of battle. In Dresden in 1392 Frederick embraced Liutward Villicus. Then in Lyon in 1458 Frederick embraced Regnault Dannoy. Some few decades following the formation of the Sabbat it came to Frederick’s attention that one of his broodmates had turned traitor and joined with the scum. Frederick sent his childe Liutward to search for this traitor’s location. Some time passed before word finally arrived to Frederick that Liutward had not met his final death as Frederick feared, but had himself been lured to the Sabbat. Frederick vowed to hunt down his wayward childe and reclaim his blood, but no matter how many cities across all of Europe he hunted the Sabbat to he was unable to cross paths again with his childe or his broodmate. Sadly, while fighting against the Sabbat in Toledo in 1520, Frederick had brought along his childe Regnault, who met his final death in the battle.
To Be Continued...
- Frederick is rumored to have had a childe that defected to the Sabbat. Possibly a broodmate that defected as well. It is possible that this is what led to Frederick hunting the Sabbat to the New World.
- The Great Fire of Pittsburgh is rumored to have been an attempt on the Prince's life.
- Some believe Frederick to be, or possibly have been in the past, a member of the group known as Teloah de Canilu.
- Frederick exhibits rather extreme hatred towards anyone identifying as an Anarch, possibly dating back to the Anarch Revolt.
- The number of childer Frederick has created over the years is unknown. It is believed that almost all of the kindred he sired perished in combat with hunters, Anarchs, or the Sabbat.
- Louis IX , King of France, speaking to his eldest son: “I would rather have a Scot come from Scotland to govern the people of this kingdom well and justly than that you should govern them ill in the sight of all the world.”
- "Vie Victus - Woe to the Conquered. And woe to any who step in Frederick's way. Ruthless on the battlefield as he is in the boardroom. Cross at your own peril." - Grifo
- We have agreed and we have disagreed in the past. However, Prince de Gorizia continues to show that he is a Kindred who understands that the strength of the Tower lies with the strength of its Domains and its Praxis holders. - The Mastiff
- "A stern traditionalist and knowledgeable strategist, he has kept Pittsburgh safe and stable for its citizens and a bastion of Camarilla power. What more can we ask?" - Malcolm Crane
- "In battle, one must feint. One must be willing to turn into a blow, to suffer the hit, and to use it to maneuver to a place of greater advantage. Frederick de Gorizia brings the tactical mastery of a Ventrue Elder to every encounter before him, be it a battlefield, a boardroom, or a ball. Watch him, and you will learn much about the long game." - Beatrix
| Player | Steven Shaffer |
|---|---|
| Pronouns | He/Him |
| MES # | US2019100129 |
| Domain | PA-020-D |
| Storyteller | Kevin Tapper |
