# Session Zero Primer — What Every PC Knows Before Session 1

*vbn-game · Phoenix, Arizona · **Saturday, October 8, 1994** · Laws of the Night Revised (MET)*

**Audience:** Player characters at **Acknowledged** or **pending presentation** status — in-character orientation only.  
**Out of scope here:** Storyteller plots, killer identities, intro-scene twists, and `[LATER-ARC]` seeds (Mesa tower, confirmed Sabbat, deep Giovanni ops).

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## Tonight

- **Date:** Saturday, **8 October 1994** — first chronicle night (`chronicles.in_game_start_date`).
- **Your status:** Neonates (or recently arrived Kindred) called to **Hawthorne Estate** in **Northern Scottsdale** for **formal presentation** to the Prince's court.
- **What you expect:** Recognition by the Camarilla, Harpy notation, sire or patron vouching where required, and the usual Elysium performance — clothes, manners, and Masquerade discipline on display.
- **What you do not know yet:** Anything that has not happened in play. Rumors are rumors; court is court until you see otherwise.

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## The City (1994)

Phoenix is Sun Belt sprawl: strip malls, gated communities, dry air, and neon that never quite fills the empty lots. The domain is **large enough to hide in** and **small enough that names travel**.

Kindred geography (common neonate mental map):

| Zone | What PCs hear |
| --- | --- |
| **Hawthorne Estate** | Primary **Elysium** — Camarilla court nights; Northern Scottsdale wealth and visibility. |
| **Downtown / court machine** | Ventrue-facing governance between Elysium sessions — Seneschal process, Harpy accounting, Sheriff warrants. |
| **24th Street / Van Buren band** | **Anarch** density — hospital corridor, tiki bars, strip politics; not a safe Camarilla stroll but not open war on a normal night. |
| **Arizona State Hospital ±1 mi** | **Do not hunt, do not poach** — even Anarchs steer clear of the grounds; a Malkavian elder's quiet claim (name unknown to most neonates). |
| **Dunlap corridor** | Coterie turf, herd logistics, pharmacy-and-lot street life — mid-tier domain holders argue over blocks. |
| **Mesa** | Setite **vice** reputation — temple talk disguised as nightclub mythology; wise neonates avoid casual debt. |
| **Scottsdale / Camelback** | **Giovanni** wealth and neutrality — polite, expensive, not Camarilla and not quite enemy. |
| **Tempe / ASU edge** | Youth scenes, cameras, gossip velocity — Masquerade risk in crowds. |
| **Guadalupe / south sprawl** | **Street rumor** of Sabbat scouts — unconfirmed on any Prince's ledger; paranoia fuel, not court fact. |
| **Desert east** | Empty highway myth — **Garou** territory in whispers; elders say stay out after dawn approaches. |

Hub reference: [`agents/hub_agent/phoenix-hub-specs.md`](../agents/hub_agent/phoenix-hub-specs.md) · clan geography: [`reference/docs/clanbooks-phoenix-INDEX.md`](docs/clanbooks-phoenix-INDEX.md).

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## Elysium (Locked Schedule)

Stored in chronicle canon and enforced by the Time Agent:

- **When:** **2nd and 4th Saturday** of each calendar month.
- **Where:** **Hawthorne Estate** (`locations.id` **19**).
- **Tonight (1994-10-08):** Saturday, **2nd Saturday of October** — a scheduled **Elysium court night** and your presentation.

Etiquette every neonate has been told (even if they fail it):

- No feeding on Elysium grounds without explicit permission — ever.
- Do not draw steel, fire, or obvious Disciplines in the salon; disputes go to Harpy, Sheriff, or Prince's process.
- Status is **performance** — insults are remembered; boons are currency.
- Mortal staff and ghouls are not props; the Masquerade includes **their** ignorance.

---

## The Prince's Court (Public Faces)

What reputation and court gossip supply **before** you take the floor:

| Role | Name | Neonate-level knowledge |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Prince** | **Solomon Reaves** (Brujah) | Rules Phoenix since **1973** after prior Prince **Elijah Crenshaw** vanished; stability-minded, bruising when challenged. |
| **Harpy** | **Cordelia Fairchild** (Toreador) | Social standing is **her** ledger — praise and exile both stick for decades. |
| **Sheriff** | **Roland Cross** (Toreador) | Arrived **1989**; precision, patience, and a long Southwest resume — order or final death. |
| **Primogen** | Clan faces | You know **titles** exist; internal clan politics are opaque until you earn access. |

Names PCs may have **heard** (not necessarily met): Misfortune (Malkavian Primogen — boons and debts), James Whitmore (Tremere Regent), Alistaire (Nosferatu — information, drains), Piston (Anarch Brujah — Surprise operations), Bayside Bob (Anarch Toreador — **Kon Tiki** on Camelback).

---

## History You Were Taught

Public chronicle dates (Harpy-safe, primer-level):

| Year | Event |
| --- | --- |
| **1973** | Prince Elijah Crenshaw disappears; **Solomon Reaves** claims Princedom. |
| **1981** | Bayside Bob establishes **The Kon Tiki** — Anarch-friendly social anchor. |
| **1989** | **Roland Cross** appointed Sheriff. |
| **Early 1990s** | Anarch muscle (e.g. Piston) entrenches in west-valley operations. |
| **1993** | Mill Avenue art scene tightens — Sarah Hansen's coterie named in Toreador gossip. |
| **1994-10-08** | **Game start** — your presentation Elysium at Hawthorne. |

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## Masquerade & Survival (Neonate Catechism)

Every sire or patron repeats variants of:

- **The First Tradition** is not abstract in Phoenix — cameras, highways, and desert silence all fail differently.
- Feeding is ** logistics**: herd, vessel, alley — not entitlement; domain holders remember poaching.
- **Humanity** is what keeps you from becoming a story Anarchs tell about Camarilla monsters.
- **Prestation** begins the moment you accept a favor; the Harpy writes faster than you lie.

---

## What You Do **Not** Know (By Design)

Keep these **out of Session 0** character knowledge — discover in play:

- Who will benefit if tonight goes wrong at court.
- Whether Tremere wards, Giovanni contracts, or Setite hooks are active **inside** Hawthorne tonight.
- Full Primogen agendas, Shrecknet topology, or chantry internal politics.
- Confirmation of Sabbat, mage towers, or Garou treaties — **rumor tier only**.
- Any intro-scene beat from [`reference/Scenes/Character Teasers/`](../Scenes/Character%20Teasers/) marked **ST-only** or post-assassination.

---

## Session 1 Entry

1. Arrive at **Hawthorne Estate** dressed for Elysium, not for war.
2. Present yourself (or be presented) to the court; Harpy notes your standing.
3. Observe — who stands with whom, who avoids whose eyes, who owns the servants' routes.
4. React when the chronicle **actually** breaks — not before.

**Player tooling:** Complete the [pre-session questionnaire](../pre_session_questionnaire.php) per PC before chat access.  
**Ruleset:** Laws of the Night **Revised** only.

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*Canon lock: `public.chronicles` slug `vbn-phoenix-1994` · start **1994-10-08** · Elysium **2nd/4th Saturday** @ **Hawthorne Estate** · [`includes/chronicle_canon.php`](../includes/chronicle_canon.php)*