In an RPGnet forum thread on the world's likely reaction to the discovery that vampires exist, here, frequent World of Darkness writer Greg Stolze made enough interesting points that they could easily spark a chronicle.

(The immediate reaction was covered in Gehenna, but this post suggests a long-term reaction if the world is not thrown into a related crisis as the truth is revealed.)

Read more to see what he had to say.

Re: Newspaper Headlines: Vampires exist! - Reactions...

See, I'm going to take this seriously. I think there could actually be a really fun V:tR campaign in this. You're neonates, you're scheming and feeding and things seem tough enough...

...and then Belial's Brood or some other pack of ignirint jamokes lets the cat out of the bag and ruins it for everyone.

I'm going to assume that this headline is the worst case scenario. (Okay, hm, what would the worst case scenario be?) A pack of a dozen Belial's Brood dumbunnies get captured by obsessed FBI agent Fawkes Muldrake and his skeptic-but-converted partner Diane Tully. They segregate the twelve and scatter them across the country in various lockdown wards, military instillations and CDC research centers -- but not before Muldrake alerts the press and splashes his proof across the internet. He's not letting this get covered up AGAIN. He's too smart, been burned too many times.

So the CDC gets one to examine, so does the FBI, so does DIA. The one who tries to roll over and tell everything to the Chicago Tribune in order to get some protection gets ashed, as do about five others. These "damage control" efforts by Kindred society only make it worse. When the captives are getting assasinated from the middle of intense protective custody, and when their guardians show evidence of mind control, things get REALLY paranoid.

So, to recap. The public now knows...

1) That vampires are real and they suck your blood, citizen.
2) Their reflections are hinky.
3) Sunlight kills 'em but good.

The government additionally knows that...

1) Fire is the cleanser.
2) They can do instant hynosis, just like in that "Blackula" movie.
3) Guns are only marginally more effective than slapping them with a Hot Wheels track.
4) Stakes paralyze but don't destroy.
5) Destroyed vampires turn to ash.

I'm thinking events would progress in stages.

STAGE ONE: HYSTERIA

Bluntly put, everyone goes batshit. Riots, witch-hunts, massacres, people going psycho on the neighbor who cuts his grass at night despite his protestations that he WORKS all day, dude! Lots of finger pointing and false accusations and score settling. Enough real vampires get dusted to throw the Kindred into a tizzy. This, ironically, is the beginning of the hysteria's end. The public finally digests the fact that vampires TURN TO ASH and realizes that, oh hell, I just DID MURDER on my neighbor who really HAD Schere's Syndrome.

STAGE TWO: ORGANIZATION

The Kindred regroup and start tapping into a new and potentially huge resource: Mortals who want in, now that they know vampires exist. (Tell me you don't know a few people who'd want to be one if they were sure they were real.) A few figureheads pop up to speak for "the oppressed vampire underground" (really!) and legal challenges begin. At the same time, some governments worldwide are attempting to organize official pogroms to root out and destroy the undead. (In a number of cases, these provide a cloak for ethnic/religious/political persecution. "I was sure he was a vampire. Most of those guys in the Muslim Brotherhood are, you know!")

STAGE THREE: STASIS

Countries eventually move towards one of three states.

"No vampires here -- really!" Some places succeed at eliminating 80+% of their Kindred and, through rabid vigilence, stay clean. Authority figures make much hay over the "I kept you safe from the Kindred!" issue.

"No vampires here... officially." Some places scythe off the dumbasses and the smart vampires make a separate peace in order to keep things on the lowdown with the gubmint. Authority figures enjoy the benefits of employing bodyguards, assassins and secret police who can turn into bats and tear apart a Honda with their bare hands.

"The vampires here keep there noses clean." A very few democracies decide that vampires deserve legal rights. Maybe they're registered and required to check in every few days, maybe there are lots of heavy legal restrictions on their behavior, but they're tolerated. As the public starts to hear about the Kiss bliss and ghouling that can keep you young forever, there even starts to be a certain vampire-faddishness in certain circles. See "Anno Dracula" and, to a lesser extent, "Cast a Deadly Spell" and its sequel, whose title escapes me.

-G.