For the most part, the Imbued of London are as loosely organized as anywhere else in the western world. They gather only when they need to, and walk the streets alone as much as they do in groups. For the most part, the Imbued are comprised of Judges, Redeemers, and Avengers in London, with very few Waywards or Visionaries. Defenders and Martyrs are uncommon, but more and more have immigrated to join the war for the night in the past year. There are a few small collections of Hunters that tend to stick close to one another, but these only constitute about 10% of all the Hunters in the city.
Note: Players can choose to join a specific faction of Hunters listed below or not. Doing so, however, will afford certain character creation bonuses such as limited weapon access and starting trait bonuses. Being a member denotes that you have constant contact with the faction and its other members.
Guild of St. George
This collection of Hunters was established sometime within the past two years,
previously governed by Father Douglas Finn. Finn was imbued as a Redeemer,
affording the 'demons' of the night a chance to repent for their sins. When
he first stumbled across other Hunters like himself, he felt it was his calling
to rally the Imbued of London together to do God's work. Sadly, an assault
on the St. George Cathedral in 2003 by a group of Kindred ghouls left Father
Douglas with a mortal wound. He died two nights later, but the Guild of St.
George did not die with him. Father Francis Masterson took his place as a
younger and less skeptical caretaker. Masterson was a Judge from the States
who came to assist Father Douglas. Now he resides in the sub-levels of the
St. George Cathedral, directing the guild members in fighting the "holy
war" against the beasts. They have two Hunter packs, one which is led
directly by Father Masterson himself.
The Brothers
This group is composed of nothing but Waywards. It is speculated that these
are all the Waywards in London, and that for some unknown reason, something
has brought them all together. They are mysterious, cunning, and tight-knit.
Little is known about them, and keeping tabs on them is a bitch. They have
opted to forget about other problems and focus on the Vampire phenomenon that
plagues their streets. They hunt strictly Kindred.
The Ushers
This group of Hunters consists of mainly Avengers and Martyrs. They were created
sometime in the past year, most of them coming from other cities or nations.
They hunt all manner of Supernaturals, including other Hunters. Some speculate
that they are quite insane, but this is just a rumor. Some describe them as
megalomaniacal, vowing to crush all other Hunters because the Ushers are destined
to cleanse the earth of evil, and other Hunters are just getting in their
way. Whatever the case, they are as mysterious as the Brothers, and those
seeking to learn more about them usually wind up missing.
The Inquisition (Society of Leopold)
Holy Crusaders or religious bigots? It is hard to say what exactly the Society of Leopold are. One thing is for sure; religious conviction and vampire hunting are a deadly combination. The Society of Leopold is one of the biggest threats facing the Kindred and many other supernaturals.
The Inquisition started some time in the 13th century when Leopold of Murnau received direct proof of supernaturals. Leopold created the society and was ordered to keep it a secret. So the Society of Leopold was created and continued to hunt supernaturals along with other heretics of the Catholic Church through out the centuries.
Today they remain a secret from humanity and The Catholic Church. They are a separate entity though the church has a major influence on the society. Many members are chosen straight from the Catholic Church though they do except members with no Catholic background. The non Catholic members are treated with less respect and probably many of the secrets of the society are kept from them.
Though the Society of Leopold plans on ridding the world of all supernaturals their major war is with the Kindred. Of all the organizations they know the most and they know how to kill them (The movie Vampires by John Carpenter is a good example of how the Inquisition works.) They are willing to march through anyone to make all blood suckers extinct. If a person dies in the process of a vampire hunt then he was a casualty of war. Many members of the society have strong faith in God and their mission which vampires react to making it easier for the society to weed out and destroy vampires.
Society of Leopold Hunters
Most PCs of the society are going to be Catholics though it is not necessary.
A PC will probably start out with some combat skills (firearms, melee), a
point in Linguistics (latin) and a couple points in occult and/or vampire
lore. Remember that most of the society has a bias against vampires so the
character knowledge should reflect that, there is no such thing as a good
vampire.
The Arcanum
Mystics and scholars mostly. The Arcanum is more interested in studding the supernatural then destroying it. The Arcanum does not threaten any supernaturals but some may fear them because they know a lot about the secrets of the world. They can also be allies to supernaturals who are willing to except or use them. The price of knowledge can be expensive one.
The Arcanum was created in 1885 in London by a number of occultists who found their original organizations annoying and trivial. They decided to form their own organization that was based on knowledge instead of occult ritual nonsense. The Arcanum started to grow as more members were introduced, some with psychic and magical powers. The Arcanum started to expand all over Europe and to America. In 1910 a chapter house was burned down by kindred. The Arcanum went through some problems but continued to grow.
Currently the Arcanum has 300 official members (Journeymen) and 200 associate members. They are world wide but a more focused in Europe and America. Headquarters is located in London (The Foundation House) but has many smaller bases throughout the world (Chapter Houses.) The Arcanum is still a secret organization that look for members who have studied or witnessed the supernatural. Beginning members go threw a time of learning and then become Journeymen to study on there own.
Arcanum Hunters
Most PCs of the Arcanum will have a scholarly background. A PC will start out with a number of knowledges including occult, linguistics, and investigation. As associate member will be less focused and can be just about anything but will have less status in the Arcanum.
Government Agencies
Throughout the years the worlds governments have not been completely blind to supernatural activity. However, it is usually covered up, or given an alternate explanation. Some governments have taken the time and resources to look further into the activities of the supernatural. Some US government agencies that have discovered evidence of the supernatural are the FBI, NSA, CIA, CDC (Center for Disease Control,) and the DEA. Of course other governments may have discovered and investigate the supernatural.
The two US agencies that know the most are the FBI and the NSA. The FBI has a subgroup known as "Special Affairs Department" or SAD. Originally created in 1952 SAD was created specifically to investigate the supernatural. SAD has had its up and down since then and almost disappeared due to a lack of funding, but it currently manages to stay afloat and continue investigations. SAD and its agents are looked upon with suspician by the rest of the FBI and some members of SAD have to wonder what they got themselves into. SAD is not clumsy and will pick level headed but open minded individuals and give them though background checks and interviews.
SAD has now got a brance placed within MI5, although limited in man power and number, they're increaseing funding with the number of "creatures" they've found within the City of London.