Royal Order of Edenic Groundskeepers

The Royal Order of Edenic Groundskeepers is a secret Gehenna cult within the ranks of the Camarilla and Ashirra, which seeks to arm its members against the threatening onslaught of the Third Generation. A splinter group of them are the Imperial Order of Master Edenic Groundskeepers.

Overview

Though the Order was originally populated primarily by elders, recent events have driven many ancilla and neonates into their ranks. It is armed with neutral territory in over thirty domains, a cavalcade of wealthy Kindred with memberships, and a pretentious title. The Order has been around for nearly half a millennium, which means it is nearly as old as the Camarilla itself.

The Groundskeepers think of Earth as a bounteous place, with plenty of kine from which to feed and little need to war with one another when impossibly hungry monster are poised to ruin paradise. The leaders of the Royal Order of Edenic Groundskeepers have recast the Antediluvians as subterranean vermin and themselves as vigilant gardeners. Elders are prone to despair in even the best of circumstances: by revising the terms of the conflict, they attempt to keep their last vestiges of hope from dying.

They seek out knowledge about the resting places and supposed weaknesses of their forefathers, attempt to interpret the signs of Gehenna correctly (the Week of Nightmares terrified most of them to their core), and seek out more information about how they could survive it. They consult not only Noddism, but also various nature spirits and wraiths, the arcane superstitions of the Lupines, and even mortal lore like that of Gypsies and other secluded societies. Areas that have been deemed threatening are under constant patrol from ghouls and blood-bonded vampires, together with various traps and ways to immobilize the progenitors when they are still confused from torpor.

Most elders are aware, however, that all these preparations will be futile in the end and their only purpose is to delay the ancients long enough so that the Groundskeepers can hide. The Groundskeepers are pathologically afraid of meeting the Antediluvians in the elders' own havens, even though the elders would have a territorial advantage there. Instead, they prefer to take the battle to their progenitors.

Black Hand Manipulations

The Black Hand has spies inside of the Groundskeepers, using the cult as a source of information on the locations of antediluvians, which it then protects. It also uses the organization as a means of laundering money for its own operations. The Black Hand only noticed the cult in 1756 CE after Karnof encountered the ghoul of a Ventrue who traces his line back to Cretheus.[1]

Known Members


  • Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers VTES card. Art by Pat Loboyko
    Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers VTES card. Art by Pat Loboyko
  • The Black Hand first notices their rivals, the Groundkeepers
    The Black Hand first notices their rivals, the Groundkeepers

References

  1. ↑ VTM: The Black Hand: A Guide to the Tal'Mahe'Ra, p. 42-43
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