Romain Vallentin (WoD)

SchreckNet Data File

• Real/Birth Name: Romain Vallentin
  
• Known Identity/Mortal Alias: Valentine/Roman Valentine
  
• Place of Origin: Paris, Île-de-France, France
  
• Height: 173 cm (5'8")
  
• Occupation: Comedy Club Owner
  
• Apparent Age: Indeterminable
  
• Embraced: 1887
  
• Kindred Status: Ancilla
  
• Sire: Phantomas
  
• Clan: Nosferatu
  
• Clan Status: Respected ancilla
  
• Sect: Camarilla
  
• Sect Status: Clan Whip
  
• Player/Type: NPC

Appearance

Valentine post-Embrace

Prior to his Embrace, or when using his Obfuscate to appear as he (believes) he did whilst mortal, Valentine was a handsome Frenchman of average height and build, although good physique, with a thick head of hair and beard - even for a man in his 40s. The Embrace stripped him of all this - turning him into, as Genevieve Montclair once described him, ##"the love-child of a human chihuahua and a rabbit." He had lost all his once-lush hair, even his eyebrows (and other more private areas) and his skin has become gaunt, withered and wrinkly not unlike a mortal centenarian, with a green-grey tinge. His eyes retain most of their human appearance, but the pigmentation has drained from them and mutated, leaving them an odd colour that resembles violet or lilac depending on the lighting conditions. His nose has twisted and gnarled and his ears have grown and bent, resembling miniature-gargoyles stuck to his head. Like many nosferatu, his nails and incisors have grown and sharpened, although his elongated nails don't provide any real benefit.

In life, Valentine was a player and still dresses the type. He usually wears fashionable clothing popular in France (he is proudly French), typically polo necks and trousers or fashionable jeans. He usually wears a stylish leather coat over this, especially when out in public, He likes to accessorise and allows his sense of humour to shine through, often sticking pin badges and doll heads to his clothing (they amuse him and are often conversation-starters, which aids his nightly hunts). When at Elysium, it is common for him to wear a cracked porcelain mask. This is not only done for the benefit of kindred that would be repulsed by his visage, but to add an air of mystique to himself and - those in the know have noted - as a nod to his sire, the famous Phantomas]], better known as the Phantom of the Opera.

Background

Valentine was born as Romain Vallentin in Paris, the son of an engineer-architect father and a dancer mother of Swedish descent. He studied music at university but decided to follow a career in theatre when he became romantically involved with an actress in the Opéra-Comique which led to him becoming involved with their production of Mignon in 1866. He had a good career with the Opéra-Comique until the tragic 1887 Salle Favart fire which resulted in the death of 84 people by asphyxiation - Romain one of them. Or at least, he would have been had he not been "saved" by Phantomas, the famous Phantom of the Opera who was a regular visitor to their productions and felt that it would be a waste to allow death to take Romain so soon. Phantomas was unable to prevent death claiming Romain, but at least he was able to keep him around longer.

Always relatively good looking and charismatic, Romain had been too much of a lothario to be able to settle down with one person (although he had various children with different women nonetheless), so the transformation into the horror he saw in the mirror was jarring to him. He found comfort with some of the Cleopatras, developing a respect for the closeness and support of the Nosferatu community and living his life vicariously through ghoul proteges. But he focused his efforts to master the power of Obfuscate until he learnt his sire's ability to use it to mask his appearance. But why limit himself to blending into the background, when with Obfuscate he could be a star again? And the best part is, he could be whoever he wanted to be, whenever he wanted, and walk away within minutes. It was a dream come true in many ways, although it occasionally grinds him the fact that he cannot show his real face and, in the modern nights, has to be careful to avoid electronic surveillance capturing his visage. Nevertheless, his combination of social acumen, flexibility with Obfuscate all led to him becoming an Elysium regular and making various connections useful to the clan. One of these connections he would make would be a fellow Nosferatu known as Marina Vasilyeva - who he found some commonality in their pasts as both having once been beautiful but struck by tragedy (although he admits, hers was far worse) and both living in the shadow of prestigious sires.

When the infamous events of the Masquerade of the Red Death occurred, Romain felt powerless as the Nictuku Gorgo, She Who Screams in Darkness, ran rampage through the Nosferatu warrens and felt pride when his sire trapped the ancient creature by burying her in his lair. This was a rude awakening as to the threats of the legendary Nictuku, and Romain became interested in learning more about kindred genealogy (his sire's passion) and the Nictuku. But he chose to follow his friend Marina and her own sire in their move to America in 1995, where he set up The Valentine Lounge and legal persona of Roman Valentine (with the name Valentine sticking as a casual name amongst both the kine and the kindred) and immediately began visiting the new city's Elysiums. Although he did not actively support Marina and her sire assuming control (not bloodlessly) control of the Nosferatu clan, he didn't really do anything against it - after all, it suited him to have a friend as the clan Whip.

So it was a surprise when Marina's sire left to return to Russia and Marina became the Nosferatu Primogen. She immediately ousted the previous Whip who had been appointed by her sire that, whilst competent, was a paedophile in life (and not much better in death) and not someone she wanted to represent her when he had to deal with the other clans. Whilst that structure may have worked well for the Nosferatu as they stood alone, Marina had other plans that required a more... delicate... touch, especially involving the Malkavian and Senya clans. She made Valentine her whip as, despite their differences, she respects his social and political acumen and he has a certain tact and soft touch that she lacks, especially regarding the other clans - and she values his counsel. Whilst Marina is known to have united the Nosferatu and formed the Nosferatu-Malkavian power alliance, as well as good working relationships with the Brujah and Senya clans, the reality is that it would have not been possible without Valentine preparing the groundworks and smoothening the path for Marina.

Mortal Society

Valentine obfuscated to appear as he did pre-Embrace

Valentine has a popular club known as The Valentine Lounge (commonly simply referred to as Valentine's). It operates as a restaurant during the day, run by mortal staff led by his ghoul, with an open-mic area and occasional in-house entertainment. At nights it operates as a stand-up/comedy-club with stand-up comedians, poets, improv actors, small theatre groups and the likes performing on the small stage. This includes the in-house Valentine Troupe which performs on Friday nights, of which Valentine is a performer under his mortal alias of Roman Valentine. Though occasionally they may get a professional performing, Valentine prefers to use his club as a way to showcase new talent and more than one career has been made by a performance at Valentine's spotted by a critic, talent scout or other media influencer who writes about them... as well as Brujah and Toreadors scoping out for potential talent to provide patronage, or seeking potential progeny...

Valentine is rarely hands-on, however, acting as a patron and mentor to his staff and, especially, theatre troupe, rather than an owner-manager and is popular with clients and staff. The restaurant has a strict "no cameras" policy. He claims this is to prevent people from stealing talent although, in reality, it's mostly to protect the Masquerade when he is on stage. Although Valentine is able to transfer his Obfuscated image to photographic media (or rather, to those who view his Obfuscated image via media), he figures - why risk it? In practice, this policy is regularly lifted (especially for journalists) simply by asking Valentine's permission (which he will grant whenever he himself is not going to be photographed, although he asks the performers if they mind too).

He enjoys being socially active with both kindred (especially in Elysium, where he is a regular) and the kine - in particular, he enjoys seducing beautiful young kine (of any gender, as he self-identifies as pansexual), however, and to this end uses Obfuscate to take on fake personas and names (or stealing identities of lovers) to aid his activities.

Personality

Valentine is a friendly guy who loves people (often, literally) and is gallant and flamboyant, always seeking attention and the chance to be the brightest star. He constantly seeks the company of others, if only to earn their adoration, and little drives him as much as the chase after a pretty mortal to seduce, or a new audience to woo.

Having been involved with a Parisian Opera troupe before his Embrace, and his own theatrical activities since, Valentine loves any kind of theatrical and operatic performance. Many have pointed out that were it not for his visage, one could mistake him for a Toreador (a comment Toreadors find preposterous and insulting). Indeed, he claims that after his Embrace he discovered he'd been considered for the Embrace by the Toreadors, but Phantomas got to him first (Toreadors, of course, will claim this as hyperbole, saying that he had a 20+ year career in theatre and if they'd really considered him for the Embrace he would have been turned during his prime, not once he'd gotten older and his looks faded somewhat). Still, his passion for the arts at least gives him common ground with the Toreador clan who see him as an oddity. Various of them see him as a kindred spirit (no pun intended) of refinement, with similar passions and worthy of respect. The more haughty Toreadors scorn him as an interloper who should know his place and leave the arts to his betters. Spending most of his unlife in a domain with a Toreador Prince (and dominant clan), Valentine is very experienced in dealing with the "high clans" and not easily offended, whilst being good at dealing with them in return.

Other Notes

No information in database.

Combat Style

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Social Style

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Signature Equipment

• No information in database.

Signature Quotes

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Gallery

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  Valentine post-Embrace

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  Valentine obfuscated to appear as he did pre-Embrace

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