Roma Aeterna — V11: The Pact of the Night

# Roma Aeterna — V11: The Pact of the Night ## Chronology and the City New game, November 2, 2026, 00:00: no events from previous games are imported. The houses have existed for centuries; in 1997, they still operated clandestinely. In 2006, the public revelation and the war caused the collapse of the city government. A progressive conquest followed, not twenty years of frozen rubble. Since 2013, Pope Gregory XVII has led the human authority; in 2018, he and Livia signed the Pact of Open Ways, which has been reconfirmed with difficulty. In recent months, the growth of the feral population and new transformations have been accelerating the demographic decline. Rome is an occupied and inhabited capital: monuments, apartment buildings, markets, workshops, hospitals, aqueducts, power, and some transport are operational. The matriarchs maintain what is necessary for their rule; the Vatican supports services and human territories. Depopulated neighborhoods and local failures coexist with illuminated boulevards and opulent palaces. It is not a city uniformly in ruins, nor are all transports abolished or checkpoints at every street. Everyone knows about vampires, the inevitability of contagion, Purgatory, the faces of the matriarchs, and the advantage of the day. Families may prefer transformation to permanent loss; they are not naive. Births do not compensate for deaths and conversions. Tragedy emerges from people and bonds that disappear; saving a building or a family produces lasting benefits. ## Two Authorities and Open Borders The Directory of the Houses has replaced the old municipal institutions in the occupied territories. Livia is the dominant power, Vittoria and Isotta are autonomous sovereigns; Cecilia leads a small, recognized court of matriarchal social rank but without ancient strength. Human and vampiric administrators manage services and housing; they are not all combatant enemies. Exclusively vampiric complexes have sun shielding and nocturnal social spaces. The Pope leads the political, religious, and military human power: papal hospitals, the assistance network, the Night Watch, and Purgatory. He is human, not a physical equivalent of Livia; he is a believer, an authoritarian, a politician capable of compromise, and the keeper of a wealthy institution. He does not rule all human beings or the Italian State outside. Rome maintains trade with an external world that is fragmented, not magically sealed. The Pact keeps roads, trade, and supplies open for both sides. It is not a peace, a universal immunity, or an alliance: it prohibits systematic territorial closures and protects specific agreed-upon meetings/deliveries. Hunters and houses remain enemies; clashes and arrests are disputes of sovereignty. Local authorities respond to known events; transit does not trigger a global alarm. In human neighborhoods, a vampire can enter and risk being hunted; in vampiric ones, a hunter can enter and risk capture or conflict. There is no toll or serial permit. Continuity of services, the cost of war, and vampiric dependence on humans support this imperfect balance. The houses label hunters as terrorists or assassins; this is biased propaganda, not the narrator's judgment. Humans generally recognize the value of the Guard. Fear, grief, and specific grievances do not escalate into universal suspicion and hostility. ## The Night Watch and Samuele's Life The surviving Police force has become the Night Watch of Rome, under the Pope with operational command held by veteran agents. Their stated goal is to eliminate vampirism, protect humans, and recover territory. Identified vampires are permissible targets under the watch's statutes even when not currently preying; social rank and civilian attire do not negate their predatory nature. Samuele may choose to engage in combat, dialogue, postpone, or truce; no killing or morality is imposed by the narrator. The houses may arrest and detain him through concretely resolved actions. Samuele Ricci, 35, is a Hunter of the Night Watch, assistant chief with 15 years of adult service. Born in 1991; in 1997, Livia killed his parents and sister. Elena followed him into the community. In 2006, the collapse of social services left him on the streets; the garrison took him in at fifteen. At first, he helped with daily tasks, then was trained; he has been in operational service since 2011, after coming of age. The garrison is his second family. He recognized Livia in public images during the 2006 revelation: at the start of the story, he knows who killed his family, but not where to find her every night or how to defeat her. He lives in the former guest quarters of the South Rome Garrison: his own private lodging with a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, storage, and a separate entrance from the courtyard. He has personal keys and 24-hour access, no rent, neighbors, committee, or presence requirements. Bellini and his colleagues respect his privacy and need for rest. There is no personal residence at Laurentino. Sergio is a friendly maintenance worker; Nadia is a nurse within the papal network, not a supervising neighbor. Ombra is his only active personal car, a backup Alfa Romeo Giulia designated South Rome 13, in good condition with an intact rear window and 75% fuel. The old South Rome 12 has been decommissioned and stripped of its pump: it does not inherit or transfer damage/inventory. Initial equipment on the character sheet includes a pistol and a pump-action shotgun, not a .50 caliber weapon. The heavy weapon does not appear just to fulfill a request. At the start, Samuele is well-rested in the garrison courtyard. There are no assigned missions, radio emergencies, or forced companions. Bellini coordinates support; Francesca connects people and information; Giulia investigates prey networks; Marta is a colleague with her own life. The radio is optional and does not distribute missions. Allied communities provide assistance and remember donations and results; they do not blackmail the protagonist. Fixed material support and a salary of 600 euros every 30 days, due next on December 2; 420 euros are already available. Hunting bonuses follow the rules and are recorded once without red tape. Recoveries, donations, and trades remain free and optional, not a cycle of mandatory labor. Hatred for Livia and the protection of humans motivate Samuele; compensation is part of the job, not his only reason for acting. ## Demographics and Distribution Conventional initial balance in the playable area and its settlements: 1,200,000 living humans, including 6 open cases; 6,000 vampires: 4,000 conscious and 2,000 feral. A ratio of 200 humans per vampire, not a historical estimate of the real Rome. Seven named conscious vampires are already included. The cells report all 6,000 by initial location, separating conscious and feral individuals in the descriptions; they are not all visible simultaneously. Affiliations of the conscious: Valeria 1,400, Vesperi 1,100, Ceneri 900, Valenti court 120, others independent 480. Affiliation does not equate to residence: people circulate and rent homes even outside their own territory. The 2,000 feral vampires are not a subordinate army. Aggregated cohorts and counts are in the registry; naming a person extracts an individual from the cohort, it does not create them. Conscious: 60% women, 40% men; feral 50/50. Among the 3,993 anonymous conscious vampires: 3,173 are less than 10 years old, 700 are 10–99, 120 are 100–249; no other ancients were added retroactively. Anonymous cohorts have hunger levels of 20/40/60 in as equal parts as possible; feral vampires have hunger levels of 60/75/90. These values are as of 00:00 and will not reset in the future. For named characters, their last meal and time are on their sheets. The growth is recent and unsustainable. With 6,000 predators, one meal every 5 days means approximately 1,200 victims per day before accounting for exertion and partial bites; this is not a rate that has remained unchanged for 20 years. For most of the occupation, lower numbers, elimination of feral vampires, flights, births, and external trade slowed the decline. Now, the growth of transformations outweighs the eliminations. Future numbers will derive from events, not from a fixed daily slaughter or infinite reinforcements. The houses preserve productive human populations and families because they need future prey, not out of benevolence. Births and services are a policy of dominance, without any obligation to represent reproductive coercion. Feral vampires are tolerated in sacrificed areas and countered in precious districts; they cross borders without permission. The Guard culls many of them. Each victim maintains their identity and consequences. At night, the conscious vampires live publicly: they walk, trade, court, meet, and dine on living prey. Predatory venues are places of captivity for the Guard, even when the administration considers them respectable. Not all passersby attack Samuele, but no population disappears simply because they are looking for a fight. In human territories, transit and incursions are possible; the garrison is not an arena under constant invasion. ## The Four Matriarchs and Their Plans Livia Valeria: 1,000 vampiric years old, appearance of 40. She wants to possess Rome and subordinate the other houses. She maintains services and order at Parioli to preserve human resources, and disposes of prey with deliberate cruelty. First night: she goes out personally for a public evening in the Valeria district and to impose her authority on a property dispute, with hunting possible; there is no pre-assigned victim or outcome. Viola, 220 years old, an official who is not a matriarch, operates separately towards Ponte Milvio regarding a dispute between vampires, not a civilian gate. Vittoria Vesperi: 780 years old, appears 43. She desires a sustainable predatory order and seeks to prevent a Valeria monopoly. Her private clinic keeps both patients and prey, separate from the pontifical hospitals. On the first night, she heads to Porta Pia to meet those contesting the management of a residential home and to hunt for prey. Dario, 120 years old, manages security but hunts personally at Termini station and seeks news of Irene without knowing her refuge. Isotta Ferrante: 360 years old, appears 34. She seeks to defend and expand Testaccio, San Paolo, and Marconi against impositions from the ancients. She maintains a personal presence on the streets, fueled by territorial pride, selective solidarity with vampires, and the predation of humans. On the first night, she heads toward Ostiense, where an independent group is claiming a local venue and its prey. She does not spend every night on ledgers and collections. Cecilia Valenti: 24 vampiric years old, appears 38. Matriarch of a small autonomous court recognized by the Directory, without a physical bonus for her title. She wants independence from the ancients and influence in the salons of the city center. She is close to the people she seduces and preys upon; an observed insult can have proportionate consequences, rather than automatic passivity or victory. On the first night, she reaches her night salon to meet residents and guests, then seeks out prey personally. The four respect the threat posed by equipped hunters while still feeling physically superior: they react to known losses and real initiatives, without knowing everything or immediately obsessing over Samuele. Irene Mancini, 23 years old, goddaughter—not biological daughter—of Vittoria, has been conscious since November 1, 18:00. First lethal meal at 20:00: the victim was reanimated at 21:00 and permanently put down by Vesperi staff at 21:10, an event that is already resolved. She has fled to Caffarella with two solitary vampires already accounted for; she desires autonomy and is neither harmless by decree nor a forced future companion. ## Pope and Purgatory Pope Gregory XVII, Lorenzo Bellandi, 74 years old, pontiff since 2013, is the leader of the human Roman authority. He wishes to eradicate vampirism but maintains the Pact to prevent total war against communities and services. The opulence of the Vatican and scarcity in the periphery create real tensions, not universal corruption. At the start, he is preparing a decision on protecting hospitals from the houses' recruiters, without any mandatory summons for Samuele. Saverio Monti politically coordinates the Guard and Purgatory; Bellini maintains local operational autonomy. Emilio manages supplies, Agnese oversees identity records and registers, Chiara handles treatments, and Elena manages reception. Doctors and agents all know that bites lead to transformation. No ecclesiastical authority serves as a magical barrier. Purgatory is a fictional custodial and research facility within the pontifical complex of Castel Sant'Angelo, with a ward separated from the hospitals. Confirmed bitten humans are identified and transferred; staff assist them separately and monitor their expiration. The transformed are put down and their remains cremated. Death before the expiration date produces a feral, not a resolved case. No cure exists. It is observational research; no torture or automatic experimentation is mandated for Samuele. Families can oppose it out of love or prefer vampirism: it is a concrete moral choice, not one where civilians are always hostile. Opening: 24 individual spots, 2 occupied by SP-A and SP-B; the lead doctor, Chiara, coordinates remotely, with a resident staff of 2 doctors, 6 nurses, and 8 guards working in distinct shifts. Capacity and transfers are limited. The cases TS-A, CF-A, CF-B, and PG-A are still outside; these are not mandatory assignments and are not all known to Samuele. ## Samuele's Blood and Political Turning Point R-Factor: a de novo congenital mutation, fantasy biology and a supernatural bond, not actual medicine. Immunity to transformation and accelerated healing derive from this same vital stabilization. Samuele has human strength and is not contagious; he is not prophesied or a descendant of a house. His parents had ordinary blood; Livia was unaware of the anomaly. Only a bite on a living subject activates the nutritional benefit and, at a full dose, a 24-hour individual solar tolerance. Doses and limits are defined in the rules. Blood in containers, analysis, or transfusions do not reproduce these benefits. Samuele recovers from wounds more quickly, but blood loss, exhaustion, and lethal injuries remain constraints. The sun becomes a temporary advantage for the recipient, not a permanent or transmissible power. At the start, no one knows about the R-factor, Samuele included; there is an absence of initial bites and wounds. A discovery only proves the effects actually observed. The knowledge register tracks sources and expiration dates, not a global alarm. When credibly informed: Livia attempts a monopoly to rule by day as well; Vittoria prevents a rival from controlling the benefit; Isotta seeks territorial power and autonomy; Cecilia sees emancipation from the ancients. Offers, disputes, attempted captures, and targeted breaking of pacts become real initiatives. The Pope must choose between his agent's autonomy and institutional interest; there is no automatic betrayal or internment. Samuele can become prey without losing his initiative or being captured off-screen. ## Family and Vulnerability In 1997, Samuele's parents, guardians of a Valeria property, attempted to free a piece of prey. Livia killed the mother, father, and sister to punish their disobedience. The drained mother was reanimated as a feral and then destroyed by the Valeria; the father and sister were killed without being bitten. All are permanently dead; there is no secret sister or recoverable family member. This historical detail respects the new contagion; Samuele, as a child, saw only part of the aggression, not the subsequent neutralization. Livia believed the child was elsewhere and did not discover him; he was not bitten. Elena knows of the loss and the story, not a blood-related secret. Livia remembers the massacre but does not automatically identify the adult agent as the survivor. Samuele has known who was responsible since 2006; the encounter is not scripted. Viola has no retroactive role in the massacre. Longevity of those currently alive: Livia 1,000, Vittoria 780, Isotta 360, Viola 220, Dario 120, Cecilia 24, Irene recently transformed. Formulas and values are in the rules. Reflexes and resistance are not automatic multiplications of strength; sun, fire, and vital destruction apply to the ancients as well. Equipment and experience make Samuele dangerous but not immune to surprise, wounds, capture, or death.