Overview
The Watch is a clandestine organization of several hundred individuals spread out across the globe dedicated to protecting humanity from the Others and the Gloom itself. It was established in the 1950's, making it a relatively recent obstacle for the Gloom (although many of its members speculate that it is not the first organization of its kind, which does not bode well for its long-term survival). Its founders were Touched individuals who found one another and banded together, believing there was safety in numbers, and that they might be able to use their paranormal abilities to hold the Gloom at bay by destroying Others that cross from their world into ours, and by keeping the Gloom a secret lest other organizations try to harness its power.
The Watch's home base is in London itself and consists of several different buildings in the metropolitan area. Because of the organization's nature, most of its members hold multiple jobs, although the Watch has some friends in very high places and can afford to pay its core staff full-time wages that they can live on. Oftentimes, members of the Watch find themselves coming up against not only the Others and the Gloom itself, but other Touched individuals who either do not know how to control their powers, or are using them for destructive purposes.
Hierarchy
The Watch's leadership is a closely-guarded secret for obvious reasons. Most members do not know who they are or where they're located for the sake of everyone's protection — the individuals who handle the organization's day-to-day operations are the visible authority figures, and are in charge of making sure the Watch's facilities and safehouses run smoothly. They are the ones who hand out assignments to the organization's field operatives, resolve disputes between its members, and make the calls that do not affect the Watch as a whole.
A character's authority depends on their role within the Watch. Decisions made by its leadership will be passed down to players through staff when required. The rest of the time, characters are responsible for what happens under their specific purview.
Lead Supervisors
Senior Field Operatives
Safehouse Operators
Researchers
Administration
Cleanup Crew
Medical
Security
- (Levi Ambrose, temp.)
Other Associates
Locations
The Watch's headquarters are located in the East End across the street from across the street from Tower Hamlets Cemetery. Tower Hamlets Cemetery opened in 1841, closed for burials in 1966, and is now categorized as a nature reserve. The Watch owns the cemetery's administrative offices, which act as a front for the organization (although the Watch must maintain the property in order for aforementioned front to be effective).
The Watch also runs several safehouses in the London area for the newly Touched or those who haven't entered the Gloom itself but are unfortunate enough to have attracted the attention of the Other. These safehouses, like almost everything about the organization, are a secret, not to be divulged to anyone outside the Watch except those who are being sheltered there. On occasion, these safehouses may also offer sanctuary to members of the Watch who are wanted by Interpol for breaking the law during their fight against the Gloom, or because they simply have nowhere else to stay.
See also: Safehouse Protocol
Joining the Watch
The Watch is made up of individuals who have been Touched, but also a large number of people who have not. It is impossible to keep the existence of the Gloom completely secret, and it's common for the organization to hire people who have been targeted by Others at some point in their lives, whether haunted, possessed, or generally terrorized by the paranormal.
It's rare that someone seeks out the Watch and asks to join it. More often, the organization finds them. One of its goals is to track down people with paranormal abilities and help them learn to control their powers if they don't already know how — it's in this way that most of the Watch's members are recruited. Some examples of roles within the organization:
- field operatives
- safehouse operators
- clean-up crew
- researchers
- administration (technical support, finance, etc.)
- armory acquisition and maintenance
Allies
The Devil's Court
The Devil's Court Motorcycle Club or the DCMC has been around since somewhere in the mid 1950s and they've been working in an unofficial capacity with the Watch almost since the beginning. The club itself was founded by Christan's father and a few of his friends and is an international MC with chapters all over the world including the US, Germany, France, and Ireland. They have their hands into everything from illegal drugs and firearms to prostitution to illegal street races. Here in London the club runs a bike shop called Devil's Hogs and they own a clubhouse called The Courtroom; the basement of the Courtroom is a known safe haven for Watch Members that need a place to lay low.
While the Watch may not be overly fond of the idea, sometimes they need what the Court has to offer. The DCMC isn't afraid to break the law and break it violently when the need arises. They have an ear to the ground in the seedier underbelly of London, they have connections only an outlaw could have. They may not seem to be the most trustworthy bunch, but they are a necessity, and so far they've proven more than loyal to the Watch's cause.
Interested in apping a character into the Devil's Court? Contact anyone listed below for more details. One thing that should be noted is that there are no female patched members of the DCMC; this in no way reflects our OOC views on women, it's a reflection of the culture in general and could, possibly, change in game. This doesn't mean that we don't welcome female characters with connections to the club with open arms.
- Alfie Jones - Sgt. at Arms
- Bonnie King - Queen Bee
- Christian Hammons - Vice President
- Gwyn Henderson - Doctor
- Noah Wright - Treasurer
- Naz Khan - Mechanic
The Karaba
The Karaba originated in Mali several generations ago, and spread in a web over the continent of Africa; they remain an elusive, secretive, and resourceful clan of individuals who have fought against the Gloom and its creatures for those several generations.
Clansmen are often related either by blood or by marriage; children of the Karaba are schooled as normal children, the occult and supernatural maintaining a continuous presence in all studies; as they get older, the training becomes physical, mental, and emotional. As they reach a certain age- usually around seventeen- they are sent to entice the entity to take them in, and to test them. If they are able to find their way back to the world, they are brought properly into the ranks of the Karaba. From there, they are trained to function similarly to the Watch of other lores; the Karaba themselves tend to be darker of heart and small in number, stretched thinly over the continent of Africa, cast into regional territories not unlike the raw concept of a ranger.
While the rangers have many languages between them- including English- they have learned to share certain words within themselves, and adopt from other organizations. The Karaba usually call the vision of the 'true' Touched baada-ya, ‘the After’. They also use this term for those who are Touched. Many have also learned to use the term wengine, 'other', for the sake of translation, even though most still refer to such beings as spirits; some additionally refer to the Gloom as Giza-Nafasi, or 'the Dark-Space'.
In the end, each steward of the clan retains a great deal of individual freedom; the clan only directly interferes when deemed necessary, to make collective decisions, or to gather forces together. Their relationship with the Watch is guarded, though not for lack of goodwill; due to the private nature of the Karaba, the Watch knows considerably less than it could- or should- about them.