View source for Prince Douglas Martin

{{Template:Wod Character
|image         =  <!-- the image should likely be in the format [[file:image.jpg|px250]] as this would not change the size of the window -->
|type          =  vampire<!-- Type of supernatural creature. -->
  <!-- This variable is not displayed directly, but affects layout. -->
  <!-- Supported: hunter, mortal, vampire, ghoul, werewolf, mage, promethean, changeling, other -->
|player        =  <!-- Omit for NPCs. Player characters should indicate who the player is -->
|nature        =  <!-- This is a free-form way of indicating supernatural "type" -->
  <!-- while the "type" parameter should ONLY use supported types, you may indicate type here free-form -->
  <!-- You may use terms specific to the supernatural if they are an unusual type. -->
  <!-- "Kitsune," for example, is under the werewolf "type" for template purposes. -->
|name          =  Prince Douglas Martin<!-- Name; defaults to the name of the article -->
|gender        =  Male<!-- Gender -->
|age           =  100(?) (apparent age 41)<!-- Age -->
|titles        =  Prince of New York<br />Duke of Manhattan<!-- Titles -->
|occupation    =  Newpaper Editor (former)<!-- Occupation -->
|dob           =  March 5th (Year Unknown)<!-- Date of Birth; may be inappropriate for certain supernaturals -->
|dod           =  <!-- Date of Death; may be inappropriate for certain supernaturals -->
|family        =  <!-- Family; everyone has one, but most are not important. -->
|home          =  <!-- Home; where they live -->

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|clan          =  Ventrue<!-- Clan; currently only the five major clans: no Julii or VII variant support -->
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|covenant      =  Invictus<!-- Covenant -->
|coterie       =  <!-- Coterie, typically a powerful named coterie, but it's acceptable to put companions here -->
|embrace       =  1900's(?), exact date unknown<!-- Embrace -->
|initiation    =  <!-- Initiation; for ghouls -->
|sire          =  [[Susan Kinderhook]]<!-- Sire -->
|childer       =  [[Edward Noneman]]<br />[[Michelle Muir]]<!-- Childer -->
|regnant       =  <!-- Regnant; include if the vampire is bound by (or believed to be bound by) a Vinculum. -->
  <!-- note that the above section may be useful for ALL characters, not merely vampires and ghouls -->
|thrall        =  [[Michelle Muir]]<br />[[Sheriff Elmer Redwood]]<!-- Thrall; include if the vampire has a thrall bound to them by the Vinculum -->
|ghoul         =  [[Freebird Jones]]<br />others(?)<!-- Ghoul(s) -->
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|kin           =  <!-- Kin -->
|ban           =  <!-- Ban; very powerful shapechangers develop bans; totems may also impose them. -->
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|lair          =  <!-- Lair -->
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<!-- End Promethean Section -->

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|taken         =  <!-- Taken; this is when the character was taken by the true fae -->
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<!-- End Changeling Section -->

<!-- Start Hunter Section -->
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}}

<!-- Optional -->
Douglas Martin is the Prince of New York and Duke of Manhattan.

==Background==

Not a great deal is known about the Prince prior to his arrival in New York in the early 1900's. He was a reporter in Waltham, MA for at least the first decade of his adult life. He was Embraced by a Ventrue Firebrand named Susan Kinderhook, mostly because of his coverage of various socialist and feminist movements. His reporting had been unbiased and, as such, she mistook him for a would-be member of such movements, rather than a reporter doing his job well. He remained a casual member of the Movement until the 1920's; he ended his association with the Firebrands, relocating to New York in search of a fresh start.

In New York, he acquiring an interest - both in the personal sense and a monetary investment - in the New York Times. He became an editor, where he used his position to faithfully server Prince Malcolm Minister (Prince of New York at the time) in working to cover up any evidence of the supernatural. He served in what was, by newspaper standards, a relatively lackluster capacity, but from the perspective of the Masquerade, his work was brilliant, cutting off investigations before they even began. As he put effort into pleasing the Invictus, he was awarded the Duchy of Manhattan, which boomed with wealth under him.

Prince Malcolm was killed by VII in 1924, and a general election was chosen as the method of selecting the new Prince. Douglas ran on a platform of tolerance, and celebrating the diverse power of the Kindred. His Firebrand opponent, [[Charles Dexter]], who went by "Romus" as a ''nom de guerre'', ran on a platform of ensuring the strength of the City through careful central planning. It is generally agreed that Charles would have won handily were it not for the Ordo Dracul third-party candidate [[Misha Strasdyns]], whose platform was also Central-planning, only shrouded in esoteric mysticism. Douglas managed to eke past with only 41% of the popular vote, and some have speculated that the Dragons only ran a candidate to block Romus.

The Great Depression struck hard, but Vampire society thrived amid the human misery. Deaths weren't investigated with the gusto they once were. The economic depression that crushed humans was not nearly as painful for the long-lived Kindred who knew they could wait for the storm to pass. Douglas served well as Prince in these circumstances, working to balance the economic collapse against Kindred needs, and tapping the very opponents of his Princely campaign as resources for keeping the city afloat.

When the war struck, a new threat loomed over the Kindred. Some of them had human identities which could have been drafted for the war. Before the US even entered the war in any force, Douglas began a program that would work to exempt any drafted Kindred from going to war and, though his detractors claimed he was wasting his effort, when Pearl Harbor was attacked, the grateful Kindred of the city were able to maintain their vile stranglehold without the risk of being dragged into a draft office to explain that "I sunburn easily" should really be a factor in deciding their qualifications.

Even so, Douglas was a proponent of the "America First" philosophy prevalent among the upper class up to and during the war. The Invictus in Europe generally backed the Axis powers, seeing the consolidation of Europe as an opportunity to enrich themselves. While Douglas distanced himself from direct support for the Axis powers and openly rebuked the Invictus abroad after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was still openly critical of Communism and Democracy as political philosophies, and believed that right wing authoritarian regimes were best for Kindred Society.

Despite this, Douglas made his most controversial proclamation, the Axis Purge, in 1940. The Purge, meant to prevent divided loyalties, proclaimed the mandatory summary destruction (or Embrace) of all ghouls with German, Japanese, Russian or Italian heritage. As a result, dozens of ghouls joined the ranks of the Kindred with little opportunity for the Principality of New York to adjust to the influx. In total, 37 ghouls, primarily Italian and Russian were Embraced, 7 ghouls were killed<ref>Including one Romanian ghoul, mistaken for a Russian.</ref>. A group of 9 Carthians who attempted to stage a coup in response were put down, 3 suffering Final Death during the struggle, 4 being executed for treason, and 2 being sentenced to enforced torpor for an indeterminate period of time.

The influx of Vampires brought with it threats to the Masquerade and substantial vampire hunter activity within the city. While it is generally believed that the majority of hunters have been found and slain, the Vampire population of New York suffered a measurable decline, even considering the massive influx of Embraced ghouls.

After the War, however, there was a decade of general stagnation, where the Prince took little action, and requests for Embrace were rubber-stamped, and, some argued, the City grew bloated once again. There was no general change in the nightly business until Saturday August 9th, 1952, when a thirteen Strix owls were spotted roosting upon the relatively new Museum of Modern Art. Three '''VII''' attacks followed, one of which killed popular Harpy [[Donovan Shepkin]] (incidentally, one of the ghouls embraced during the Axis Purge). Since that night, the Prince has been on the warpath, seeing Strix, VII and Belial's Brood everywhere. Some have suggested that his accusations are largely reactionary and frequently dangerously unfounded, while others site his frequently eerily insightful decisions as proof that his paranoia must be warranted.

==Appearance==

Douglas is a white male was dark parted hair with salt and pepper accents. He appears to be of Greek / Sicilian heritage. He appears to be in his mid-40's, but looks pale and sickly at most times, as he very seldom wastes effort on the Blush of Life when not dealing with mortals (a pastime that he seems to avoid). When he does Blush, his skin is not-quite olive, but not-quite fair. He is seldom seen without a crisp grey suit with a bowtie in a playful earth-tone such as a clay brown-red or hunter green. His jaw is wide and his ears stick out a bit - comically so if one were inclined to laugh at the most powerful man in New York. He always wears a platinum band on his left pinky.

==Involvement==



[[Category:World of Darkness]] [[Category:Vampire the Requiem]] [[Category:City That Never Wakes]]
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