The Battle for York 1997

The Sabbat Invasion

The Sabbat approached the Tremere clan in Britain. They offered to help the Tremere overthrow the Ventrue in return for posession of a single fief.

The Sabbat negotiator is of fairly low rank and plays up to Camarilla stereotypes of the Sabbat (ie. deranged New World savages). The Sabbat allow the Tremere to make most of the running in the negotiations, agreeing enthusiastically with any suggestions which fit into their plans. The also make sure they have lots of evidence of Tremere complicity, for later use.

What the Tremere think they are getting:

A small Sabbat invasion of a few experienced vampires plus neonate footsoldiers. The Sabbat will try to capture the fief of Edinburgh. Diversionary assassinations will take out prominante Ventrue, allowing the Tremere to sieze control of Britain without personally killing any Ventrue. Of course, the Tremere believe they will easily wipe out the small Sabbat force taking Edinburgh, adding to their status in the Camarilla.

What the Tremere are really getting:

A large Sabbat invasion consisting entirely of experienced True Sabbat plus Black Hand members. They will create many neonates when they get to their targets. Their real targets will be York and Newcastle, with another large attack on Glasgow, meaning that the Tremere counter-attack will be in the wrong place. There will certainly be diversionary assasinations, but not neccassarily the ones the Tremere are expecting. The Sabbat will end up in control of a major fief and will have the Tremere tied to them by blackmail.

What really happens:

The Sabbat launch their attack as planned. In general, they are very successful. This is not surprising as the Tremere are initially 'on their side' and do not counter-attack in force. Many of the assassinations are successful. Newcastle is taken (and Glasgow) with comparatively light losses, largely due to some successful conversions among the anarchs before the invasion begins. The only place their plan falls appart is York

York

The Guardians have become lax in recent years, trusting to the stability of the fief to protect the family linked to their prophesy. They have an evacuation plan for the family which would normally protect it from trouble. However, the current youngest daughter is pregnant and dangerously ill in hospital. Therefore they are driven to the desparate measure of personally destroying the Sabbat.

There is only one active guardian in York at the time of the invasion. The other two are travelling round the world looking for more evidence about the prophesy. The York guardian gets a couple of days warning that something is going on. Perhaps the Garou send a message about seeing strange vampires in the area. He sends special code messages to the others to return immediately. The other two arrive only the day before the invasion begins.

The invasion has been timed to coincide with the Council meeting in York, a yearly meeting of the Prince, Primogen and Elders to sort out Fief matters. Not present are the Tremere and Gangrel Elders. The meeting is held in a hotel in York, which is the main target for the invasion. The hotel is attacked and burned to the ground by elite Black Hand members before the Guardians can respond. When they do counter-attack, the Black Hand is forced to retreat, though many are killed. Shortly after, the Garou arrive in reponse to the Guardians call and the Guardians head for Leeds/Bradford.

In Leeds/Bradford, the Sabbat waited for a signal from York to begin the attack. Before the Guardians leave York they discover the signal to cancel the attack and retreat. They send the signal before they depart and when they arrive in Leeds, they quickly find and destroy the retreating Sabbat troops with the help of the Garou. The Sabbat have completed only the first part of their attack plan therefore most Kindred in Leeds/Bradford are saved.

The Guardians are now faced with the problem of what to do next. They decide to allow the council to reform by itself, including the nomination of a new Prince. However, they watch developments carefully, fearing conflict over the position of Prince. The Guardians will do anything to assure a stable York, except reveal their own existance.