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Recovering Blood Addict
I'm an animal. I don't deserve mercy or forgiveness. I'm a murderer. I couldn't help myself. I loved it. The sensation, the power. I was dead, but I'd never felt so alive. I wasn't human any more. I lost my conscience, I was free, and that was what I was addicted to. I hacked my way through the world. I left a trail of blood, a thousand miles long. And I loved it. I'm a disease. I'm a plague. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
- — Mitchell
John Mitchell is a vampire who was "recruited" during WWI by a man named Herrick. Through the years, he became known as an efficient, brutal and bloodthirsty killer - reaching legend status with the vampires of the UK. He has been having a crisis of conscience as of late, and has been struggling to regain something of his lost humanity. Blood for him is strictly an addiction, one that disconnects him from humanity, but also from the guilt associated with killing. He does not need to drink blood to survive, but it's rather like saying a drug addict doesn't need drugs to survive.
Personality[]
On the surface, Mitchell is an easygoing, personable and cheerful young man. The truth however, is that he struggles every moment of every day to hold on to his humanity. He feels terrible guilt over the things he's done, but despite that, there remains a very real seed of darkness in him. A large part of him enjoyed the killing and the power it gave him over other people. He does not have the excuse of a demon influence to explain his actions - he is simply John Mitchell plus a powerful addiction. He is, at the core, a murderer who is trying not to be one. His friends are a very real reason he has been able to find stability. He needs people around him who will be disappointed in him and get angry at him if he fails to keep control. Otherwise, he can easily drop into a freefall and become a monster again.
SKILLS[]
COMBAT[]
Expert
Mitchell is a hell of a fighter. He was, in his mortal life, a battalion commander during WWI. He is not only a skilled fighter, he's a strategic one as well. He also has an ability to rally troops and inspire confidence.
COOKING[]
Competent
Mitchell is actually a pretty fair cook. He enjoys cooking with garlic, even though it stings him a little to handle it.
ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE[]
Expert
Mitchell has been exposed to the occult underbelly of the world for over 75 years. He knows what supernatural creatures are out there, who the big players are and how magic and demonic forces affect the world. This is more like 'street smarts' for the occult world as opposed to any kind of academic knowledge gained through books.
HUNTING[]
Expert
Mitchell is an expert at luring and stalking prey for the purposes of feeding. He can do so silently, he can do it in a cunning manner. He knows how to pick his targets so they won't be missed. He was a legend in his day when it came to the hunt, not only for his brutality, but for his efficiency.
MANIPULATION[]
Competent
Mitchell can play political games somewhat. When it comes to power struggles within the vampire community and playing one person against the other, he's all right at it. He much prefers to be straightforward, which means his lies and manipulation can sometimes be transparent.
MASTER OF NONE[]
Competent
Mitchell has a whole host of low-level skills in a dozen different areas. This has come from working tons of low-profile jobs over the course of his life. He knows how to gut a fish, how to work a floor polisher, how to repair a pinball machine, drive a delivery truck, tow cars, etc. If it requires a fairly low level of skill and/or is repetitive, chances are he's taken on that job at some point during his lifetime. It can come in handy in certain situations.
WEAPONRY[]
Expert
Mitchell is an expert at many different kinds of weaponry, from blades to guns. He not only knows how to use them to their most deadly effect, but also how to repair and maintain them.
POWERS[]
DURABILITY & HEALING[]
Enhanced
It takes an awful lot to harm Mitchell. Not only can he heal from anything save decapitation, staking and being coated by werewolf blood, but he's also superhumanly durable. Even a punch from a linebacker wouldn't so much as make a mark. If he's severely injured, he'd need to feed from a human to be healed, but would also heal eventually on his own (though it might take years.) If he is sufficiently injured (say, complete dismemberment) he can still be resurrected through a vampiric ritual that involves other vampires sacrificing some of their blood.
FANGS[]
Basic
Mitchell's fangs are a natural weapon. They are very strong and capable of puncturing skin and tearing chunks out of flesh.
PSYCHIC DEFENSES[]
Enhanced
Mitchell is immune to most forms of psychic control and manipulation. His mind cannot be read by psychics. He reads as a 'dead spot.' However, there are spells and certain types of artifacts that can control his vampire mind.
SENSES[]
Enhanced
Mitchell has exceptionally keen eyesight and sense of smell. He can smell human blood from a great distance away, and his keen eyesight allows him to react more quickly to things than humans. Werewolves are extremely easy for him to sense. He can smell one from several feet away.
SPEED[]
Enhanced
Mitchell is faster and more agile than any human being. He can dodge and hit with great speed, and can run at a full tilt for a very long time without tiring (since he doesn't need to breathe and his regeneration heals any muscle fatigue.)
STRENGTH[]
Enhanced
Mitchell is considerably stronger than a human being. He can lift and toss people with one hand. He can hit with the force of a truck. He is very fast and agile. Combined with his combat skills, this makes him a force to be reckoned with.
ADVANTAGES[]
BLOOD MONEY[]
Although Mitchell prefers not to touch it (because of the way it was acquired) he has a very tidy nest egg. This money was ill-gotten, either through theft of his victims or other morally reprehensible things. He prefers to work for his money (in low-paying, low-profile work) in order to earn his keep. Still, he can draw on that money if he needs to.
LONG LIVE THE KING[]
Due to a series of circumstances, Mitchell has become the king of a group of about 30 vampires of varying strength. They will listen to him - to a point - though hardly any actually want to give up killing. His control however, is tenuous, as is his own self-control.
REPUTATION[]
Mitchell was Herrick's enforcer for decades. He has a reputation among other vampires as a fearsome killer and a commanding presence. Even though he's off the blood and doesn't consider himself part of the community any longer, he can still trade on that reputation. The positive side of it is that he has made contacts and friends over the decades. He can also trade on the fearsome nature of it to intimidate others into helping him. The downside of that is, he's trying very hard not to be that fearsome killer anymore, and it could stop people from trusting him.
THE PROCESS[]
Vampires have survived for so long because they have systems in place to cover up kills. Key figures are bribed, vampires or their allies are placed in various police forces. Coroners are bribed or outright threatened. Often, the humans involved cooperate because the vampires promise to only feed on those who won't be missed, or repeat offenders whose deaths makes their jobs easier. This means if Mitchell does slip up and kill, there are people who will cover it up for him, in the name of keeping all vampires safe. This process exists in a handful of places around the globe where his breed of vampire has clustered. It existed in Bristol, and the first order of business is to set up something similar in San Francisco.
TWO LIFETIMES OF KNOWLEDGE[]
Mitchell is over 100 years old. He has been young and fit and able-bodied for that entire time. He's been able to pick up a host of skills in that time - partially out of necessity, partially due to happenstance.
WEAKNESSES[]
BLOODLUST[]
Although Mitchell does not need to drink blood to survive, the urge to do so is extremely strong. He lives day-to-day with an extreme addiction, with temptation walking around him everywhere. When he's 'on the blood,' all negative emotions drain away. He feels no guilt, remorse or compassion. Once he starts coming down, those feelings (and guilt associated with his deeds) come rushing back. The urge to drink blood is not only physical, it's mental. He knows if he drinks blood, he will chase the guilt away. It takes every ounce of his strength to both live with his addiction and with the guilt of his past deeds. He will never be free of this addiction. If he gives into it, he will become a merciless killer once again.
GAME FACE[]
Mitchell's vampiric face is decidedly inhuman and can give away not just that he's a vampire, but what 'breed' of vampire he is (and all associated weaknesses.) His fangs extend and his eyes go jet black. For the most part, he can control this reaction, except when under extreme duress or when claimed by bloodlust.
INVITATION[]
Mitchell must be invited into a person's residence in order to enter. He can force himself across the threshold, but it will cause severe pain and burns (though it will not kill him.) Once an invitation has been granted, it does not have to be issued again. The invitation can be revoked at any time, which will cause him to be pushed out of the residence. He can enter public buildings, uninhabited buildings and businesses (ie, anything not a primary residence).
OLD NICK'S WINK[]
Mitchell has no reflection in cameras or in mirrors. His reflection does show up in distorted or unpolished surfaces such as windows or against unpoilished silverware. The legend says that this is 'Old Nick's Wink,' a reminder from the Devil that he owns their souls.
RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS[]
Any symbol of faith will repel Mitchell. It does not matter what religion the symbol is connected to as long as the wearer has faith. Verses from holy books will also repel him. He cannot step foot on hallowed grounds, either. Those grounds could be any religious building - a hall used by Wiccans performing spiritually-significant rituals (rather than Wiccans performing spells) or touch an altar inside a home that has religious symbols. Graveyards are exempt from this protection. Religious symbols and verses will also have no effect on him if the wearer or reciter has love or affection for him. For instance, he is able to handle George Sands' Star of David without issue. That also means that the symbol will have no effect if the wearer/conjurer does not have personal faith behind it. Objects, such as a permanent cross inside a church will have an effect on him because of the focused efforts of many believers imbuing the object with power.
STAKING[]
This is the only method (aside from being doused in werewolf blood) that will completely destroy Mitchell. Any other type of injury, he can recover from or be brought back from via ritual (including near-total dismemberment.)
SUNLIGHT SENSITIVITY[]
Mitchell is perfectly capable of walking around in daylight, but not without some discomfort. He is very photosensitive and will wear sunglasses and remain covered up even on overcast days. He is weakened slightly by being in the sun, but not to any significant degree.
WEREWOLF BLOOD[]
The blood of werewolves is incredibly toxic to Mitchell. Drinking it or being doused in it can kill him. The effects of it on his skin are very similar to acid. Wounds from werewolf blood take longer to heal and may even scar for decades.
John Mitchell is part of the Lost Generation - a man who came of age during WWI and was sent to the trenches. He was the only child of working-class Irish parents. Whatever else he might have wanted to be was put on-hold when war broke out. He moved to the UK and joined the British Army. He showed a knack for the military, and was soon put in charge of a battalion.
While on a mission deep in the forests of Belgium, Mitchell came across a group of vampires picking over the sick and wounded and feeding on them. He witnessed their fangs, their coal black eyes and their feeding frenzy. A vampire, Herrick, offered Mitchell a deal - offer himself willingly to become a vampire and he would spare the lives of the rest of Mitchell's battalion. He accepted, and was made a vampire.
With immortality and increased strength and durability also came the bloodlust. While 'on the blood,' Mitchell did not experience guilt or shame or regret. He kept himself high for decades, acting as Herrick's attack dog in territorial dispute and his wingman in kills for sport. He gained a reputation as a fearsome and ruthless killer, capable of slaughtering anyone who stood in his way.
Sometime around the 1960s, Mitchell started to change. By chance, he ended up off the blood for a stretch of time and began to experience those emotions the bloodlust had drowned out. Guilt, shame, regret - all those things came flooding back. He reacted by going on another killing spree to purge the sensations, but then they would creep back again.
Eventually, approximately ten years ago, he vowed to go off the blood entirely. Although there have been some close calls, he hasn't had a drop of blood in all that time. Since then, he's been struggling to regain something of his humanity. He has worked in a shop, a car wash, and finally as a hospital janitor - all low-paid and low-responsibility jobs that keep him around people, but without drawing too much attention to himself. At one point, he saved George Sands, a newly-infected werewolf, from a vampire attack. The two became friends and then flatmates in Bristol, each trying their best to live normal lives. Their flat was also home to Annie, a ghost who had been murdered some time before and who was unable to cross over.
This unlikely family struggled to be normal, but the supernatural politics and their own respective conditions continuously interfered. George was forced to kill Herrick, Mitchell's old mentor, because of his continual threats to him and Annie and his attempts to get Mitchell back on the blood. The death of their king sent the Bristol vampires into a freefall, and a series of safeguards called The Process that kept vampires in good with local authorities started to fall apart. Things were further thrown into chaos when Bristol and its entire population of supernaturals (which was unusually significant for the UK given the history of the area) was relocated to San Francisco. Their headquarters of B. Edwards Funeral Directors and presumably the Bristol house he shared with his friends have also been relocated.
Mitchell has lost his friends. George and Annie no doubt have been carried to the US along with the vampires. He now searches for them, while fighting to keep control of a clan of scared and disoriented bloodthirsty vampires who have suddenly found themselves in a new country. He has become their de facto king, a position he neither relishes nor wants. He leads them out of a sense of obligation and to protect humanity from a completely uncontrolled pack of vampires. His ultimate goal is to get them all off the blood like him, but that goal has taken a back seat to simply maintaining order.