Mid-MO/Cross Genre CofD

Key Locations

 * '''The Guitar Mansion


 * '''The Boonville Ranch


 * '''Ellis-Fischel

History
The city of Columbia was founded in 1821. Kindred didn’t move in to the area until the founding of the University of Missouri in 1839. The Invictus were first, followed by the other covenants. The kindred survived the chaos of the Civil War and reconstruction by a strict adherence to The Traditions, a practice that continues to this night.

Many have held the title of Prince through the years, mostly Invictus. In 1998 the sitting Prince met with final death under very mysterious circumstances. After that, a string of Kindred trying to claim Praxis also died, and by thoroughly unexpected means -- spontaneous combustion, pulled into a wheat thresher, pulverised by a falling jet engine, crushed and then electrocuted beneath a vending machine, etc. Some even tried to skirt the strange curse by claiming praxis over other cities in the region -- Jefferson City, Fulton, etc -- but all met the same mysterious end. Some have started calling this phenomenon the "Praxis Scourge" or just "The Scourge".

As a result the Kindred moved to a council system led by the heads of the Covenants. Elders left the city in 2013, after the last attempt to claim praxis failed, leaving the ancillae in charge. While the views toward the Scourge varied from covenant to covenant one thing was clear, whoever solved its mystery would be Prince of the City.

Recent History:

In the winter of 2016, "The Scourge" took a turn for the worse. No longer was it limited to declarations of Praxis; now any Kindred in the area who tried to commit an act of violence -- of any sort -- would burst into flame.

Faced with this dire new threat, the handful of Kindred who did not flee picked up on leads left by those who had, and traced the problem to its source: a mortal with mental talents who had been bound somehow to a spirit of fire. Despite the risk, this band of Gangrel took on the threat... and finally, despite grave burns, brought an end to "The Scourge".

Afterward, they started putting together the rudiments of a society again. Other Kindred, hearing of the end of the problem, have begun cautiously returning to the city, making their way to the longstanding Elysium of the Guitar Mansion to introduce themselves. But with an Unaligned Prince, stability has been hard to secure.

But all of this activity, all the turmoil with the final death-throes of The Scourge, alerted the hunters. They arrived well-armed, well-trained, and with what appeared to be government backing. The small court of Columbia was insufficient to deal with the threat. As a last resort, the vampires reached out to other creatures of the night...

...and to their surprise, they responded. Initial discussions were tense, to say the least. But eventually, they agreed that mutual defense was the best option. And a protectorate was formed.