Villian Templates: Alice Haverford, Ventrue Neonate

Summary: Swords-woman and diplomat. A pawn of an extremely powerful elder, who struggles with concepts of free will and obligation.

History: Born in 1902, Alice was the second daughter of a very aristocratic British family. She learned to hunt, ride, shoot, sail, and even fence - as her father had no sons, and her height, build and temperament made her the most adept at these skills. When her parents offered her the chance to get a 'real' education by sailing herself around the world, rather than going to some ornamental women's college, she leapt at the chance and succeeded brilliantly. As the first woman to sail alone around the world, her toughness and self-reliance came to the attention of a ghoul of the Prince of London. Her blood connections and her character merited the Prince's personal attention, and after a number of tests of her ability - the Embrace, in 1927.

For the last seventy years, she has been living with her sire, though she rarely sees him - getting a grounding in the diplomatic and social arts. She interacted occasionally with Kindred society, but she had great difficulty doing so, as people often attempted to use her to get to her sire in one way or another. Now that she has been sent away from her sire's city, she finally has a chance to prove herself and make it on her own.

Personality: Alice's core personality is tough, self-reliant, and wary. She expects people to try to use her, and they have to prove themselves before she will consider extending them any trust or friendship. While she is a competent diplomat, she is much more comfortable with actions than with words. She is a bit of a loner, especially for a Ventrue, but her sire's political needs keep her enmeshed in Kindred society. The strength of her blood and her intensive training make her as powerful as many ancilla, but she does not have the social standing of an ancilla. Neither the neonates nor ancilla accept or trust her, and she herself does not know which world she belongs to. She often wishes she could give up her power in return for acceptance, but she is savvy enough to know this is not possible. However, the chance of independence is something that could definitely lure her to act foolishly, if it were presented properly.

Influence/Activities: Alice's main influence is with her sire. While she does not want to call him in lightly - especially as she has no idea how he will react to anything she brings to his attention - it means that she is at a great advantage in the petty political and social games of the Kindred, as no one wishes to be known as the one who interfered with his childe. Her other main capacity is physical. She is a more than competent warrior and an excellent strategist and tactician.

Nature:	Soldier
Demeanor:	Survivor
Attributes:	Alice has physical primary, with an even balance between mental and social.
Abilities:	She has skills primary, talents secondary, knowledges tertiary. Focus: Melee, Diplomacy, Alertness.
Disciplines:	In her disciplines, she focuses on Fortitude, with Dominate secondary and Presence tertiary. (She finds being liked next to useless, as she has had few positive experiences with others.)
Other:	Alice's weapon of choice is a two-handed sword circa 1450, an Embrace gift from her sire. She is highly skilled with its use.

Quotes:
On mortals: I'm glad there are some people who aren't trying to suck up to my sire through me.
On ghouls: My sire sure has a lot. It's a bit creepy, sometimes.
On the Sabbat: I've never seen them before, but I hear they're tough. Well, I'm tougher.
On the Camarilla: I haven't quite figured this whole thing out, but I don't see anything wrong with it.

In A Game: Alice can be used effectively as either an ally or an antagonist. She has been sent to the city on a mission from her sire, who is watching her actions and possibly controlling her intermittently. The players can be encouraged to aid her in her quest or, alternately, stop her from completing it.

Using Alice as an ally can be done in two ways. Either the players can be co-opted to aid her in her mission in the city, or they can be given the opportunity to aid her mission and thereby gain debt over her. Her social problems may gain her compassion from the PCs as well, since she will likely be more powerful than they, but have fewer companions and allies. Her sire's control over her can also be a good plot point to make them sympathize with her, as the PCs may be in similar situations.

Using Alice as an antagonist can also be quite effective, as she doesn't particularly care about being liked. If the PCs get in her way, she will dispose of them in the most effective way possible. While she won't like what she has to do to them, this inner conflict can actually make her a better antagonist: she may hurt them repeatedly, but she does it out of a sense of duty, making it much harder for them to justify destroying her. (And they will have to be very clever in attacking her in order not to incur her sire's wrath.) If the PCs try to take advantage of her and she finds out, on the other hand, she will be an implacable enemy. Alice is not the forgiving sort.