During the course of the various stories of this chronicle the coterie has and will meet many characters so I'm therefore creating several profile pages for different groups within my version of kindred Los Angeles to help them keep track. I'll also amend these profiles as new information comes to light...
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The Fight Club
"First to tap out loses, no bets between fighters first time out, no weapons first fight either whether you want to or not, any physical disciplines are allowed, nothing that effects the mind though. You break the rules and you're out of the club permanently and any boons owed to you by any club members are void. If any of those rules are a problem, fuck off now and don't come back..."
- Isaac 'Ike Griffiths' to Daniel Matthews during his first visit to the L.A. Fight Club
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| Isaac 'Ike Griffiths' - Founder of 'The Fight Club' |
The Fight Club is also known as 'the Brujah Fight Club' due to the membership being exclusive to that clan. Though few kindred are aware of it's true origins, most cities with more than a handful of Brujah within have some version of this society within it.
The driving force behind these clubs is the Brujah known as Isaac 'Ike' Griffiths, who scouts location in various cities, recruits members and lays out the rules for combatants.
A Match in Progress - The Fight Club
Fights with weapons are allowed if agreements are made between fighters but fights to the death are frowned upon unless provocation had been severe. Deathmatches were to be okayed by whoever was responsible for that particular franchise and the answer was usually 'No', but not always.
"Duels to torpor or destruction have to be cleared by Ike first. They're rare but they happen. If a challenge is made to someone for a match like that and it isn't prearranged they can turn it down. If they accept, the challenged party gets to pick the weapons used, if any."
- Leo Frost explaining the rules for deathmatches to Daniel
In the wake of the Second Inquisition it is now common for the venues for the fights to be moved every few nights, though as with many things this is usually down to the preferences of the Brujah responsible for that particular franchise.
The Fight Club, L.A.
Los Angeles is not short of either legitimate or criminal sporting venues and the Fight Club is never short of locations in which to base itself.
Rowan ‘Row’ Andrade and Russell ‘Rusty’ Holman - The Fight Club 'Security'
Ike manages this particular club personally with the help of two Brujah, nicknamed 'Row' and 'Rusty', who act as security and the services of the Gangrel known as 'Crow' who scouts out locations and provides additional security as a lookout. Though prohibited from the actual locations of the events due to her clan, she is nonetheless a valuable asset of the Los Angeles branch of this franchise.
Rowan ‘Row’ Andrade and Russell ‘Rusty’ Holman have both been in the organisations employ for at least three decades and act as both personal security for Ike and club security for L.A.
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| Bartosz Harrison - The Fight Club 'Security' |
Many Brujah from the baronies of the Anarch Free states use the club as a way of establishing their credentials and reputations with their counterparts in opposing baronies. Free State politics are prohibited from the club though grudge matches are tolerated as long as the clubs core rules are kept to. Several Brujah whose interests extend more to gambling than fighting also often attend to place wagers on the fights in both money, goods and boons.
Brujah from nearby baronies such as San Diego also sometimes travel to the venues to demonstrate their capabilities and sect differences are put aside during events. Whether you are Camarilla, Anarch, Autarkis or something else, all are welcome to test their strength against others of their clan.
Though many younger kindred believe the clubs to have come into existence around the time of the film of the same name, older Brujah will tell you that the clubs have, under various guises, existed for as long as they can remember. In all instances, the name they know to be that of the originator is 'Ike'.
Fight Club Variants
Some other Clans have formed their own equivalents. The Tzimisce instead are known to battle their Szlachta servants against one another and wager on the outcome. Duelling associations where Venture pit their sword skills against like-minded clan members are common in cities with older rulers and other clans are rumoured to also have formed their own versions. Regardless, it is the Brujah who have most wholeheartedly embraced the concept.
It is possible that Ike also influences these other clans clubs though that is just conjecture on the part of these who voice the opinion, as no firm evidence exists.
Isaac 'Ike' Griffiths
Spiculus, 'Tyler', and many others
Clan
5th Generation Brujah
Haven(s)
Downtown Penthouse (Haven 3: Location, Luxury, Security System 3, Watchmen 1), West Hollywood Penthouse (Haven 3: Location, Luxury, Security System 3, Watchmen 1), Multiple Havens of various qualities in dozens of cities worldwide.
Backgrounds
Ally 5 (Ambrus Maropis), Ally 5 (Paxton, The Pony Express), Ally 4 (Carmelita Neillson), Allies (Personal Security Team: Effectiveness 5, Reliability 3), Allies 1-6 (Multiple), Contacts 1-6 (Multiple), Fame 5 (Kindred), Influence 5 (Global), Herd 1-5 (Dependent upon the size and popularity of the club and his haven location in each city), Mask 4 (Zeroed, Cobbler), Resources 6 (Global Sports Industries), Retainers 1-3 (Multiple)
Ally 5 (Ambrus Maropis), Ally 5 (Paxton, The Pony Express), Ally 4 (Carmelita Neillson), Allies (Personal Security Team: Effectiveness 5, Reliability 3), Allies 1-6 (Multiple), Contacts 1-6 (Multiple), Fame 5 (Kindred), Influence 5 (Global), Herd 1-5 (Dependent upon the size and popularity of the club and his haven location in each city), Mask 4 (Zeroed, Cobbler), Resources 6 (Global Sports Industries), Retainers 1-3 (Multiple)
Merits
Linguistics 7 (Many languages, including a number of 'dead' ones from the last two millennia)
Flaws
Disliked (Gangrel ancient enough to remember the prohibition against their Fight Club membership.)
Lore
Ambrus Maropis (5: On Another Grid Entirely), Convention of Thorns (1: Thorns Historian), Fiorenza Savona (2: Breakfast With Fiorenza), Goblin Roads (1: Night Rider, 2: Summon the Ferryman), Kindred Duelling (1: Honourable Combatant, 2: Fight Club, 3: Stake Fighter, 4: Fire Eater, 5: Trials of Death) Kindred Iconography (1: Iconographer), Ruins of Carthage (1: Clan Historian), The Circulatory System (3: Farm Upstate), The First Inquisition (1: Mistakes of the Past), The Pony Express (1: Access to the Network, 4: World Tour, 5: Passenger Service), Victoria Ash (1: Ashen Kiss).
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| The Gladiatorial Arena |
In fact, Spiculus had been embraced by an ancient Brujah enemy of the Roman Ventrue who objected to their support of Nero, so the gladiator was turned purely out of spite. Fortunately as a man of substance due to Nero's patronage, Spiculus could hide what he had become behind the illusion of a decadent lifestyle, feigning nights of debauchery, followed by a daytime sleeping them off. When his sire made contact with his childe, Spiculus bided his time, then, once he had learned everything of note he took his revenge. He used his superior fighting skills combined with the disciplines taught to him by his sire to beat them into torpor and then to diablerise them.
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| Gladius Hispaniensis - Ike's Weapon of Choice |
Careful investment of his wealth over the centuries has allowed him to indulge this interest to it's limit and he has personal havens in most of the cities where he also has clubs. He also uses his wealth to locate appropriate venues should the local populace be unable to do so. In addition he has a considerable property portfolio, consisting of thousands of properties worldwide. In particular sporting venues or arenas relating to the fighting arts.
Due to his need to travel, Ike has a close, but business-like, relationship with Paxton, the creator of a delivery service amongst the kindred known as the Pony Express. He also has a highly trained personal security team of ghouls who guard him during the day.
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| Ike's Humvee - Armed and Armoured Vehicle |
In the modern age, Spiculus, now 'Ike', travels from city to city to establish and monitor his so-called 'fight-clubs' where he uses the combats to learn new fighting techniques and test himself against worthy foes. His current favourite locale is Los Angeles and he spends a considerable amount of time there. The large Brujah populace of the Anarch free States means that the club is one of the biggest in the world and provides him with many new and interesting experiences.
Due to the recent mass exodus of Brujah from the Camarilla to the Anarchs, Ike has been spending more time focussed on Anarch domains as various Camarilla clubs have closed due to diminished membership. This probably explains his recent focus upon the club in Los Angeles with which he has shown particular interest and unusually frequent attendance at it's events.
Ike's Penthouse Apartments in Los Angeles - Downtown and West Hollywood
When resident in the city he stays at either his penthouse apartment in Downtown or his similar property in West Hollywood, both atop buildings he has owned for decades. He is one of the few kindred visitors to those Baronies who isn't required to make their presence known to their Barons, Marius Walker or Isaac Abrams. Ike is far too well connected for such considerations to be necessary though he does let them know if he has an event within the confines of Downtown or Hollywood, purely as a courtesy.
It was recently revealed that Marius Walker and Ike had a disagreement four centuries ago that ended in a physical confrontation, a confrontation which Marius freely admits he lost.
"Of course my blood was far less potent so that gave him the advantage despite the fact that, in my opinion at least, we were equal in skill. He had the edge in experience as well of course. Now I have the edge in raw power, but I doubt he's got worse at combat, quite the opposite in fact, so it's possible that his improved skills could counter that. It's a battle the result of which gains me nothing, so it's pure conjecture."
- Marius's assessment of Ike's fighting skills.
Despite his low generation, Ike has shown no signs of being drawn to the Middle-east by the phenomenon known as the Beckoning, making him one of the oldest and most powerful Brujah active in America in the modern nights. Fortunately for the local populace he has zero interest in any political considerations accept those that might threaten his passionate commitment to 'The Fight Club'. He also needs to travel to maintain his other interests and so is by no means a permanent resident of the city, making his involvement in the interactions between it's barons, minimal at most. Nonetheless, the Barons of the city show him due respect as his influence and power are not something to be taken lightly.
Storytellers Note - A Story featuring 'The Fight Club' can be found HERE
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Should you be interested in the chronicles and stories associated with these pages then links to them all can be found HERE.
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Acknowledgements
I've used pictures of real people to represent some of the characters and art for others so in no particular order Isaac 'Ike' Griffiths is Jason Statham, Rowan ‘Row’ Andrade is Adam Joseph Copeland, Russell ‘Rusty’ Holman is Kevin Nash and Bartosz Harrison is Quinton Jackson.
Acknowledgements
I've used pictures of real people to represent some of the characters and art for others so in no particular order Isaac 'Ike' Griffiths is Jason Statham, Rowan ‘Row’ Andrade is Adam Joseph Copeland, Russell ‘Rusty’ Holman is Kevin Nash and Bartosz Harrison is Quinton Jackson.
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