Jake McCloud

[Black Philip]

Jacob McCloud, District Leader of the Central District

The Basics:

Name: Jacob "Jake" McCloud
Age [appearance]: 16-18
Age [actual]: 280
Gender: Male
Species: Vampire
Clan: Ventrue (Antitribu), the Clan of Kings. Blue Bloods, the Cult of Mithras
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Core Concept: Peter Pan the Darkling
Status: District Leader Central District, Anarch Legend
Nickname: The Black Prince
Childer: Samantha “Sammy” Rede (by blood), Scott Pierce (ward)
Sexuality: Queer (masculine attracted)
Quote: “It's a mistake to underestimate me."

Permissions Given in reasonable Roleplay:
(Yes = you don't have to ask before acting in RP, No = you ask first)
Feeding: YES
Wounding/Cursing: YES
Killing: NO

Looks:

Hair: Jake has short, messy-looking hair, that is neatly styled in the modern fashions of US gay culture. In order to look a bit more contemporary and younger he cut his hair down to a side fade. He left his length on top and has been swooping it over his eye. He can also slick it back or part it to the side if he needs to look “professional.” The color is a light, chestnut brown. Jake’s Scottish heritage shows up in his hair too, with certain lighting drawing out hues of red.

Eyes: Jake has large, doe like eyes that look a bit too large for his head. They are grey in color, but pick up blues and greens quite easily. His eyes have an almost supernatural pull if one stares too long and can change from kind to cruel at the drop of a hat.

Frame: Jake is five foot, seven inches tall, and weighs 145lbs. He has a slim build that gives him a twenty-seven inch waist, small wrists, and makes him read younger than his age at siring. His skin is smooth and hairless. He has no facial hair and looks more boyish than mannish, his human development not quite completed before his death.

Tattoos/Distinguishing Marks: Jake has a scar of supernatural making across his chest. The mark looks black, and starts at the top of his left shoulder and moves down and across his chest ending just above his navel. It is the one flaw in his skin. Rarely does a Kindred bare a mark of battle, but the particular weapon that cut him was designed to end the children of Cain. He doesn’t mind it though. As a warrior, he is proud of his battle scar.

Jake also has two supernatural tattoos given to him by Sabrina the witch. The first is on his waist, just below his abs and slightly above his thigh. A heart is covered in roses and thorns. The thrones are piercing the heart and black drops of blood drip from it down his leg. Written across the heart are the words “True to my love.”  The second is his former Oligarch tattoo, which he would like to transform into the Anarch symbol.

Personality:

Jake’s personality hinges on two contradictory convictions with a third conviction to provide harmony.

1. People should be free and not subjected to oppression.
2. It is my divine right to lead. It is in my very blood.
3. Leadership is a responsibility that I must be worthy of by being fair, just and humble.

Jake has noble blood from both his human and vampire lineage. This has conditioned him into the belief that he has a divine right to be a ruler among Kindred society. Throughout his relatively short eternity he has been a Sheriff to a Camarilla prince, been the Anarch Baron of New York for a brief time, and almost as soon as he arrived in the city was made the Oligarch for vampires. No matter where he goes Jake tends to rise to the top of the ranks, and nothing less would satisfy him. While he views himself as having a right to lead he believes that the right is equally a duty he is qualified for, and seeks to rule his subjects well and not just for his own personal benefit.

Jake was converted to the Anarch cause by Lisa-Joe Hampton, a prominent Brujah who convinced him that people should have more rights and freedoms than current governments allowed. He betrayed the Prince of London in a way that led to his sacking which branded the young vampire as a traitor to the blood. While Jake believes constitutional monarchy is the fairest system of government, he has dropped all but the most important laws from the books, letting his constituents explore more freedoms than when they lived under the Oligarchy.

Jake values cleverness, a sense of humor, prowess in battle, and someone who can shut him up. He does not value disrespect, foolishness, or those who would disagree with his right to leadership. His dating life has been non existent, as he cannot find a man he views as his equal. He is very sexually active though, a touch of Henry the Eighth in how he selects his partners. He doesn’t view humans as equals. To Jake, humans are children who die before they grow up and while he uses them for his amusement he doesn’t kill them or permanently harm them. A farmer doesn’t murder all his chickens at once. He cares for them, and Jake views dealing with humans in a similar fashion He also uses his advanced powers of memory modification to improve their recollections of time spent with him and to remove traces of the supernatural. Jake discourages vampires from killing humans as it is both a masquerade risk and finds it a  generally undesirable trait in an immortal.

Jake is a trained warrior specializing in swordplay of various kinds. He understands the roll violence must play sometimes in conflicts of governance and will kill quickly if it protects his borders. He will also show a special respect for those he deems warriors and will allow them to say and do things common folks would be punished for. Jake takes the enforcement part of his job seriously and while he is okay giving warnings he is also okay tearing out a vampires fangs if it means keeping balance in the city. 

Jake has a kind side brought out mostly by his children. They remind him of his own humanity and as he moves forward in the city he seeks to use their example to be a better man. His arrogance, hotheadedness, and impulsivity are all being worked on to be a better sire. He believes that he can avoid the mistakes of his line, and wants both Sam and Scott to find their own paths.

Political Beliefs:

1. Status> Age -  Jake despises the ranked system of ancient over those currently putting in the hard work. Jake does not see age as a reason to give deference and inherited this belief from the Anarch movement which is more collectivist for a vampire sect. This belief also comes in response to Clan Ventrue, who are obsessed with age when defining worth.

2. Hawk - Jake comes from a military background and therefore is often accused of using too much force when it is not needed. He is often quick to intervene in conflict, including those not in his district. This has given a reputation as a foreign policy hawk.

3. Harpy - Debts owed should be debts paid. Jake favors the boon system for solving civil conflicts and has placed a harpy in his court to play the roll of boon keeper and conflict resolver.

4. Interseconality - Jake promotes a social justice government that extends rights to all, regardless of age or species. While this is Jake's goal, the Anarchs were vampire only for a long time, so integration of species and prioritizing age are still big issues.

5. Crown - Jake believes his responsibility as monarch is to ensure proper governance and feels it is his duty to be the last defense against corruption from others, and that he must ensure all are accountable. He has created the symbol of the Black Prince to give his people a dark figure to speculate about and hero worship like they have about Anarch heroes like Tyler or Theo Bell. Offically, Jake no longer calls himself the Black Prince, but just because he's changed his title doesn't mean it changed his beliefs.

6. Order > Law - Jake thinks laws should be changed if it helps keep order, and because he sees himself now as elected by the people, he believes that he should have the power to change laws if he thinks it's in his peoples best interest. This belief puts him at odds with other districts.

7. Delegate - Jake is intelligent enough to know his limitations and has assembled a team of talented individuals to help him run the district. This is why he has hired three prominent advisers; the sheriff, who handles military matters, security and enforcement of laws; the harpy, diplomat, lawyer, judge, gossip; and the Keeper who manages the day to day functions of the government. Jake sees his role as a leader to bring all the parts together, make big decisions, and to play a ceremonial role for his people. He doesn't need to be good at everything. He has people for that.

8. Pay the bills - Jake pays for the operation of the district out of hedge funds, stocks and bonds, investments, taxes on very wealthy residents (income above ten million a year), and allows residents to donate to the districts. He has also cultivated a wealthy donor class, who pay for his ear. He believes a central goal of supernatural government is paying for itself and passing only a little cost or no cost to people who live there.

History:

Lineage(Human)
Jake carries royal blood from both his mortal and vampire family trees. The McCloud family was a clan in Northern Scotland that held the title of Lord of the Isles. The clan's main fortress was on the Isle of Lewis. The title Lord of the Isles survived many different monarchy’s, including Galec, Norse and Scottish kings, but the title was mostly independent from whatever kingdom ruled it. The origin of their power was in making fleets of ships to control the waters between Scotland and Norway, and they traded in fish, oil, and other maritime goods. When the Viking King Olaf the Black took the Islands in the 7th century he bestowed the title on Jake’s ancestor William the Cruel, who’s use of ships impressed the Viking King. As the islands traded hands the Lord of the Isles always managed to remain in power, promising to represent the lands but defer to the kingdom. For a few brief moments in history the title controlled the third most powerful fleet in that hemisphere after England and Norway. The culture of the McCloud clan was influenced by their viking progenitor Olaf the Black, and so Norse gods were worshiped on the Isles until the invasion of Christianity. The clan elders stuck to Odin,Thor and Loki long far longer than the isles peasants, and the storm crow is still a symbol of Jake's family.

The McCloud clan's power began to weaken however when James the Fourth of Scotland invaded and stripped the McCloud family of their estate, title, and power. The Lord of the Isles became a subsidiary title of the King of Scotland. The clan stayed on as nobles and watchers of the Island territories Rebellions were common in the years after their defeat and several members of the McCloud line were executed at the hands of the Kingdoms of Scotland and later Great Britain. The family went on to symbolize Monarchy in a state of rebellion. In modern culture the McCloud family serves as figures of popular culture within Scotland. There descendants are often called the Romanov's of Scotland, and several are rich and influential players in the region. Some have stood for parliament. Other's lead in business, and some have excelled in the arts. All in all, the family line is strong, if contained to one central region. McClouds who live in the US are likely not connected to Jake's pedigree.     

Several of Jake’s Anarch tendencies come from his human blood and the spirit of his family’s resistance to reclaim their homeland inspired Jake to reject the policies of the Camarilla. Jake was born at a time when his family’s power and influence had faded considerably. The McClouds ended up watching the British king end up with their title, and Jake is determined to do his human lineage proud by becoming a ruler of supernaturals. Jake is not in touch with his human descendants, but has visited Scotland a few times to observe if any are worth being sired. He is intrigued by one or two prospects and will be considering mixing more of his mortal line with his vampire line. Jake has a copy of the McCloud family crest on display in his apartment.   

Lineage (Vampire)
Jake is a member of Clan Ventrue, an ancient house of Vampire royalty who claim to be the original bloodline of Cain, the fabled first vampire. Jake's clan believes that it is their destiny to rule Kindred society and as a member of this clan Jake believes this as well. Jake's family line has also been very influential in vampire history, with many Ventrue sitting atop the thrones of Europe. The clan specializes in mind control, and claim that all other vampires learned it from them. They are also very defensive of their techniques and don't often instruct outsiders. Ventrue normally sire from human royalty, the wealthy and the ultra successful. They are known for having a type A personality and being aggressive deal makers. Ventrue are also known for being Nodists, or worshipers of Cain. Like many monarchy's Ventrue claim much of their power from God, who in their religion is Cain. It helps justify their dive towards leadership. The Ventrue also excell in the ability to protect their bodies and minds and in the manipulation of their aura to rebel, entrance, and seduce. Ventrue are normally affiliated with the vampire sect the Camarilla, but Jake is not. He was labelled a blood traitor and is considered Antitribu. Jake's line is called the House of Alexander, as their lines progenitor was Alexander of Paris. Jake's vampire lineage will now be written.

Cain - The first vampire. The killer of Abel, the son of Adam, and God's first murder. He was thrown from the house of his father into the land of nod, where the shadows lie. While there, cold and alone, he met Lilith, Adam's first wife. He drink of her blood and gained her power, then spurning her and leaving her to rot. The angels of God came to Cain and begged him to repent, and with each refusal he was cursed. One to walk the night, another to burn in the sun and fire, and another to  thirst for only blood. One final angel, Gabriel, offered Cain a promise, that all of his children may find their way back to God. Cain then grew lonely and sired the second generation. Enoch was the oldest and the next in the line that leads to clan Ventrue.

Enoch - Cain's first son, founded the great city of vampires. It bore his name and according to the legends he was the first king of vampires. He fell in love with his sister and she became his wife, an undead King and Queen ruling other undead. Enoch was considered a fair and noble king, but he grew weak from his fighting children, and went deep in torpor. It is unknown if he is destroyed or not.

Ventru - Enoch's first son, and the founder of Clan Ventrue. He is known as one of the thirteen antediluvians, the founders of all the vampire clans. As the eldest of the thirteen Ventru presided over the others, replacing Enoch as King once he went into the ground. Cain had vanished as well, tired of his fighting grand children. Ventru and the other antediluvians used human civilizations to fight bloody wars for power and land. Ventru eventually landed in Rome, and there sired many children, starting with Alexander. Ventru would end up ruling in Rome until he was defeated by the Setite high priestess, Nefertiti, in 59 BCE. Her magic forced him into torpor beneath Rome, and Ventru has not been seen since. 

Alexander - Alexander of Paris was sired in 700 BCE, in Greece. He was picked by Ventru because of his extraordinary good looks and prowess in battle. His master spent a few centuries training him before the pair split. Ventru stayed in Rome, while Alexander moved to what would become rural France. He ruled the city from the departure of the Roman Empire in 400 CE to 1236CE, before he was murdered by Diablerie.

Sophie DuBeck - Sophie was sired in 1099, in the French countryside. Jake's sire was an eccentric sort, accused of being a better fit for both clan Malkavian and Toreador. Picked from French noble stock by Alexander for her beauty and cunning, Sophie played the part of the mad witch well at court. She quickly became the Harpy for Alexander's blood sibling Mithras and relocated to medieval London to serve him. Sophie inherited much of Alexander's incredible wealth on his death, and used that wealth to sway members of Mithras's court. Sophie was named Prince of Northumberland in 1545, and likely would've succeeded Mithras as Prince of London if not for her death. In 1748, while traveling in Scotland, she noticed a beautiful young man from a formally noble family. Jake's sire is dead, and the details of her death will be covered in Jake's history below.

Mortal Years
Sophie
Jonathan
The Trial of Sophie
The Cult of Mithras
Betraying the Camarilla and Escape to America
Anarchs
Baron of New York
Freedom Fighter
Hunting the Sabbat
The Oligarchy
Children, Friends and Kisses
The Fall of the Oligarchy
The Central District
The Conclave of Thrones
Return to the City

Awareness of Supernaturals: In his role as a District Leader Jake is aware of all the supernaturals reported to be in the city. This by no means makes him an expert on every species, but does give him a certain insight when dealing with supernaturals. Also, within the Central District he has a census and population team that keeps track of who lives where and what they are. 

Occupation/Job:  The Black Prince rules the Central and now Western District. His less impressive title of District Leader identifies him as a person in control of a domain within the city. Jake controls the Central District or Downtown and has recently made a claim on the West, which is mostly unopposed at present. For more on Jake's job, see the Hierarchy of Blood.  Prior to this position Jake was one of two vampire Oligarhs. He was appointed by Luminary Kerr Galvin after Jake defeated the Sabbat cell within the city. Before this, he was a Anarch revolutionary. Jake inherited the fotune of his Grandsire Alexander of Paris, and is therefore independently wealthy. It is a common trait among Ventrue. Jake is also a smart investor and plays the stock market, funding the District through low risk stocks and private equity funds. He mostly has people to manage his money at this point, but he does possess the skill need to know if he were getting taken advantage off. Jake owns the White Rabbit, a biker bar and gay dance club. The Rabbit also serves as his District Headquarters.
   
Interesting Facts / Quirks: Jake was sired at such a young age that biologically his brain is that of a teenager. Despite extensive education and a maturing intellect,  cultural pallet and morality system, he has the emotional brain of a much younger person. This leads him to behaviors like impulsively, disorganized thinking, fits of rage, and emotionally based decisions. The Ventrue clan flaw restricts Jake to a special kind of blood type. Jake can only take blood from men who have lain with another man. Anything else his body will reject. It is why Ventrue are called bluebloods.

Hobby/Hobbies: Jake enjoys reading, listening to music, history, art, and learning. His favorite subject matters are the history of Scotland, the Norse people, and ancient weaponry. He also enjoys partying with his mates, and routinely crashes bars like Ventrue with a group of followers and friends. Jake also practices his combat training daily, most notably his swordsmanship.

Likes: Anarchs, sex, fighting, weapons, books, drugs, smut, politics, power, love, poetry

Dislikes: The Camarilla, ancients, having his authority questioned, straight edge people, deferring to anyone

Strength: Jake's greatest strength is his heart and that he wants, and tries, to be a good person. He doesn't always succeed, and despite claims to the contrary, he's not a malicious person, although he can be quite ruthless. His age and impulsiveness lead most to underestimate him, but seeing as how his power has only increased in recent years, Jake has decided he likes being underestimated.

Weakness/Flaw: Jake is a black and white thinker, and has difficulty picking out the nuances in situations, even when they benefit him. When combined with his impulsive nature, and hot head, this leads to political blunders and half baked strategies. He tries to condition against his worst impulses by having a large circle of advisers, family and friends to help him.

Mystical Objects:

1. The Blade of Ieyasu (徳川家康)
2. The Amethyst Ring

Pictures:

[Black Philip]

Vampiric Disciplines:

Dominate - Dominate is the backbone of Clan Ventrue, and Jake is a powerful user considering his age. Dominate is the subjugation of one's self by the self of another. It is a violent act, that at best is an intrusion and at it's worst a complete violation. Jake has broken the will of many, and uses this power when he needs something and asking is not an option. Below are the full list of what he can do with Dominate.

A. Compel - This power allows for the vampire to issue simple commands in the form of a sentence. This is the most basic form of Dominate and can be learned by even young ones.

B. Mesmerize - Jake can hypnotize victims and put them in trances. While in a trance the subject will simply follow the vampire and do what they are told. This power also leads to the way to conditioning thralls or servants

C. The Forgetful Mind - The power of memory manipulation. Jake can erase memories, implant them, view them without consent, and otherwise do with them what he wants. He uses this power constantly on mortals.

D. Submerged Directive - Can implant post hypnotic suggestions that the thrall must carry out when the trigger occurs. Only works if the victim is fully hypnotized.

E. Terminal Decree - While Dominate normally can not be used to make someone kill themselves, Jake has achieved the ability to bypass the basic human instinct of survival. Mortals will kill themselves at Jake's order.

F. Chain the Psyche - Jake can make it extremely painful to disobey him, causing horrid psychic pain at disobedience.  When they resist the power hurts them. He first used this power on Lazarus when he banished him.

Weakness: Dominate can be resisted by vampires who are older than Jake. Younger vampires can have some resistance based on age. Witches, Dark Angels, and Fae are resistant but not immune. Too much Dominate rots the soul and destroys the user's ability to have empathy. Jake often doesn't ask. He commands.

Fortitude - Fortitude is the vampire power of supernatural resistance. It has been said the secret to Jake's survival is his training of this discipline. It allows not only for him to have resistance to fire, sunlight, and other damage, but the power also prevents mental attack. He can resist powers like Dominate, witches magic, and keep his aura and thoughts hidden.

A. The Unswayable Mind - Jake has the ability to push back against attempts to control his mind. Dominate, magic, intimidation are all stopped by this mental resistance to suggestion. It has it's limits however, as a being with much more powerful magic or a Dominate from a much older vampire will make the technique fail.

B. Resilience - Users of Fortitude develop a healthy and resilient frame that can take a serious beating. Jake sometimes wins fights through attrition as his resilience means he never really goes down. This is considered the most basic form of Fortitude. At his level, Jake can only be cut by non magic blades that are incredibly sharp, however will still take damage from fangs, supernatural claws and Angel weapons.

C. Toughness - The vampires flesh becomes hard like stone, and therefore takes far less damage from combat and other forms of damage. Hitting a Kindred with this ability will feel like punching rock, and it makes the level of strength needed in opponents much higher. This is another basic form of fortitude, present in many vampires. Punching Jake would hurt your hand. That being said, his skin is still soft to the touch.

D. Fortify The Inner Facade - This ability lets Jake protect his thoughts, emotions, aura, and memories from intrusion. The vampires mind appears either false - false thoughts, feelings, etc. - or blank and empty. Either way, Jake only lets those he wants see his thoughts.

E. Defy Bane - By focusing power the vampire can resist fire, sunlight, or any other supernatural damage that would result in final death. Jake would take thirty to forty seconds to destroy with sunlight, and he has a low resistance to fire. This power is draining, and often leaves Jake vulnerable to attack. Jake is currently training this ability. 

Weakness: Fortitude gives its users a false sense of security. Being hard to kill doesn't mean you can't be killed, and Jake is aware that one bad day could put him down for good. Also, older vampires can overcome mental defenses.

Presence - Jake has what some vampires call, “The Lingering Kiss.” Presence allows Jake to manipulate his aura in a variety of ways to create certain effects. Jake can use this form of supernatural charisma to get information, food, or intimidate an attacker.

A. Awe - Jake can make himself more physically attractive to onlookers. Those who are not sexually attracted to him would at least find his company pleasing and interesting.Mortals in particular are strongly affected.

B. Dread Gaze - Jake can for a brief time show his fangs and spark terror in mortals and and send an intimidating message to supernaturals. Jake uses this ability when he needs to intimidate an attacker or to strike fear in an opponent or subject.

C. Entrancement - This ability allows Jake to cause a single person to become obsessed and infatuated with him. This more advanced ability is how  kings made peasants bow to them, and how Mata-Hari was a whore for espionage. People have died while under the effects of entrancement, making it a risky ability to use. 

D. Summon - Jake can call forth a person who he has previously used Presence on before. The person simply stops what they are doing and in the quickest route possible makes their way to Jake. Useful for setting up meetings secretly, or proving your power over someone, summon can be resisted by the mentally strong. Jake loves to show off with the ability and makes sure to use it at the most inconvenient moments.

E. Irresistible Voice - (requires dominate) Jake's ability to mix Dominate and Presence is complete, and now commands no longer require eye contact and can be issues with just the sound of his voice. It also makes Jake's voice intoxicating and inviting.

Weakness: Presence further cuts off the vampire from humanity as it makes all interactions based on worship, love and fear. That is such a limited way to live in the world. The powers can be countered with magic, or by vampires who are older.

[Black Philip]

Thread History: WIP

The New Guy - Jake first comes to the city
The Fleshcrafter's Secret - Jake leads the charge against the Sabatt cell.
A New Appointment - Jake becomes the Vampire Oligarch as a reward for his service to the city.
The Masquerade Ball - Jake attends a ball, but Kerr has other plans.
Opening Night - Jake attends Venture's opening night, but Scott has other plans.
Chaos Theory - The Oligarchy falls. Jake gains a new rival in Zoheret.
The Solitary Hunter - Jake defeats and captures Mitch
The Dark One - Conner and Jake interrogate Mitch.

... 18 Month Gap (Jake left the city to assist the Anarch movement with destroying the last remnants of the Sabbat, and severely weakening the Camaraila)

Return to the City:

http://www.roleplaycity.com/forum/index.php?topic=7101.msg86781#msg86781 A New Age - Jake returns after winning the war. (Lisa-Joe, Scott, Sam