Keepers of the Gate

Domains: Tremé, 7th Ward, Bayou/Faubourg St John, Marginy, Dillard, Fillmore, St. Bernard, Storyville, Tulane, St. Roch

Krewe Nicknames: Keepers, Hogwarts, The Coven.

Member Nicknames: Keeper, Witch, Priest/ess, Doctor, Professor.

Color: Green

Symbol: The Veve of Papa Legba

Spheres of Influence: Academics, Occult, Religion.

Factions: Camarilla, Independent.

Clans: This krewe favors the Hecata and Tremere, but does allow the rare few others, if they meet the requirements. They notably do not allow Nephilim.

Purpose: The Keepers of the Gate exist to monitor occult and religious activity in the city, as well as to grow their own knowledge in the mystical arts, lore, and the supernatural world. Because of their ties to the religious communities in the city, they are usually the first to see the signs of religion-based hunters, and can alert the Eyes or War Path as needed. Though they are a stronghold for the Tremere and Hecata communities, they've been known to take in academics, archeologists, linguists, mystics, shaman, fortune-tellers, preachers, oracles, and the like.

New Orleans is definitely a city that believes in magic and superstition. Though there are fewer followers of Voudon than there were a century ago, its belief system has left it's mark on the Creole and African-American populations, allowing for plenty of history, lore, traditions, folk medicines, beliefs, and a hodge podge of rites that's blended with Catholicism, Native American beliefs, and the Pentecostal fear of God. The strength of this history and this community has attracted many Kindred over the years, for better or worse. Before they went Anarch, the Brujah of New Orleans were largely African-American and backed by this community, in competition with the Ministry, since the Tremere just couldn't find a good foothold in the traditionally black community. Into the fray came Mother Love, a Samedi priestess Embraced near New Orleans centuries before, but who had been away in the Caribbean for a long time among her allies in the Ministry. When the Brujah left the Camarilla en masse, those that declared Anarch became a big problem for the city and few had the influence to fight them where they slept. With a mercenary ambivalence and an eye for whatever would improve the newly forged Hecata's power in the city, Mother Love made a deal with the other forming krewes and the Ministry to undermine the Brujah's hold in her community, joining together with the newly formed House Carna and a few other academic stragglers to form The Keepers of the Gate. It is by her convincing at all that some Brujah remained, declaring Independence from the Movement so that they might stay close to the people and home they cared for. The rest were largely driven from town instead of killed, though they return under the threat of death and permanent subservience as a ghost.

Instead of competing for the occult factions within the city, the Hecata and Tremere share equally, to the point where lines would surely be crossed only a few decades before. There are rumors of crossover rituals and new paths being developed, or perhaps that's just a distant goal.

Initiation: The Ties That Bind
Each hopeful must demonstrate their magical prowess or special knowledge or ability to be considered for this krewe. All incoming characters must write about what they did to impress the krewe before their initiation! Once this is done, they take part in an initiation rite in which the recruit brings a piece of rope, string, yarn, cord, etc. to the leader of the group and together they tie it into a knot, symbolizing the bond they are forging. They will both press a bleeding finger to the knot, which is ceremoniously hung (along with everyone else's) on a small, decorative tree in their headquarters.

This knot is not merely symbolic, but ties the initiate to the other rules of the coven (see below).

Loose Lips Sink Ships
Secrets and mysteries are very important to the Keepers, and as such, initiated members are magically unable to betray their own. Not by word, or look, or deed. A person's thoughts are their own, however. A poppet is constructed of each initiate, and ritually bound in ribbon and cord, sealed with a drop of their blood. If ever a Keeper seeks to betray the coven in the ways mentioned above, they will find their will (and the source of their magical prowess if they are casters) begin to deplete. This is a stacking debuff of -1 Willpower per instance of betrayal (multiple betrayals within a scene will provoke further loss). This lasts until the character actively seeks out the leadership of the Keepers to confess their sin and ask forgiveness. Should they be believed, they will be allowed to bathe in Cleansing Waters (a cleansing ritual), which removes their ailment. Otherwise, they may be cast out of the krewe for good, and thus removed from the ties that bind them.
A Chill in the Night
Whenever a member of the Krewe is in danger, each of their coven mates feels a distinct chill run down their spine.

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  Mother Love
  

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  Blythe Adams
  

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  Isaac Edgefield

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  Arya Mishra

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  Jean Baptiste Duvalier

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