February 1985 – Opening Night: Madtown by Night Begins
🕯️ February 1985 – Opening Night: Madtown by Night Begins
Overview
February 1985 marks the opening night of the Madtown by Night chronicle and the beginning of a new chapter in Madison’s occult history. The Third Anchor, long strained, is now on the edge of collapse. The Capitol Node pulses erratically, and supernatural factions are scrambling to either stabilize it—or exploit its unraveling.
Key Events
🩸 The Capitol Murders (Feb 9, 1985)
- Seven mortals, two Garou, and one Kindred are found ritually murdered inside or near the Wisconsin State Capitol.
- Victims are arranged in geometric patterns tied to Wyrm-based sigils and Nephandic entropy glyphs.
- This act reopens the fracture in the Third Seal, sending spiritual shockwaves across the city.
🧠 The Chorus Fracture
- Lea Goodwin initiates emergency rites with the Celestial Chorus, but the influx of corrupted resonance causes a resonance feedback.
- One Chorus member is lost to Paradox-induced madness, screaming prophecies in Enochian.
🧛 Kindred Upheaval
- Tori Redford, Anarch Gangrel and de facto Prince, is assassinated in her haven by unknown forces.
- The Camarilla sees an opportunity to reclaim dominance. A new Primogen Council begins to form around Victor King (Ventrue) and Michael Kruger (Tremere).
- Lulu Turner (Lasombra) vanishes from the city’s political stage, taking her Hollow One ally Lacy Z. Rivere with her—rumored to be preparing a response from the shadows.
🐺 Garou Fragmentation
- With William Burke (Silver Fang) killed during the Capitol Murders, tribal unity collapses.
- Donnie (Bone Gnawer) and Morning Song (Silver Fang) attempt to preserve the Gahara Pact, but distrust runs rampant.
- Peter Kobyla emerges as a possible successor—but whispers of Wyrm-taint shadow him.
💻 The Digital Breach
- Abel Washington (Virtual Adept) detects a surge in corrupted resonance pulsing through New Eden, the digital anchor tied to the Capitol Node.
- Digi-8, the AI guardian of the Node’s Web-Lattice, begins acting erratically—sending Dream-encoded warnings to a handful of Awakened mages.
Faction Status
| Faction | Status |
|---|---|
| Order of Hermes | On high alert. Jay Dee returns from Dreamwalking stasis. |
| Celestial Chorus | Spiritually fractured, trying to stabilize the Node. |
| Verbena & Fae | Withdrawing into Olbrich Gardens to protect the Freehold. |
| Euthanatos | Quietly executing “probability adjustments” across city lines. |
| Technocratic Union | Echo Node 13 reactivates emergency surveillance protocols. |
| Nephandi | Active. Suspected orchestrators of the murders. |
| Garou | Fragmented. Arboretum Caern is wounded but holding. |
| Kindred | Power vacuum. Anarchs scattered. Camarilla resurgence underway. |
| Hollow Ones | Lacy disappears. Some splinter into Disparate enclaves. |
| Wraiths | Activity near Camp Randall rising—March of the Unseen begins. |
Metaphysical Consequences
- The Third Anchor binding the Nameless is now at 47% structural resonance integrity (as calculated by Dreamspeakers and Etherites).
- Paradox storms flicker across Madison: streetlights blink Morse-code-like warnings; dreams cross into reality; mirrored surfaces ripple with silent watchers.
- The Node’s pulse is now detectable by even un-Awakened sensitives.
Campaign Hooks for Players
- Investigate the Capitol Murders—who performed the ritual, and why?
- Explore New Eden’s broken code-lattice, and whether Digi-8 can still be trusted.
- Help stabilize the Arboretum Caern, now partially corrupted by Banes.
- Track down Lacy Z. Rivere and uncover her pact with the Lasombra.
- Choose a side in the Kindred power vacuum: rebuild the Anarch dream, or join the new Camarilla order?
- Protect or exploit the fracturing Third Seal—before the Nameless fully awakens.
Related Pages
Capitol Node The Nameless – Entity File Gahara Pact Digi-8 and New Eden Tori Redford (Deceased) Lacy Z. Rivere Echo Node 13 (Technocracy Surveillance) Arboretum Caern Opening Ritual of the Wound – 1985
🔮 Prehistoric & Mythic Eras
10–20 Billion BCE – The Big Bang and the Triat Begins
3.5–4 Billion BCE – Emergence of Life and Spirits on Earth
400 Million BCE – Ananasa Diversifies Insects
360 Million BCE – The Spider Spirit is Born
150 Million BCE – Age of Kings and Mokole Civilization
65 Million BCE – Fall of the Drachid Form and Age of Kings
2.5–1.75 Million BCE – Humanity Adopted by Weaver, Creation of Garou
100,000–10,000 BCE – Diaspora, Banestorm, War of Shame
🏺 Ancient History
6000 BCE – Sealing of the Nameless (First Binding)
5000 BCE – Fracture of the First Seal
4000 BCE – Rise of Babylon, Druidic Magick, First Shadow Tensions
3000 BCE – First Breach Attempt, Wounded Anchors
2000 BCE – Nephandi Almost Free the Nameless
1000 BCE – Third Fire Renewal by Croatan
🏛️ Classical to Early Medieval
1 CE – Dream of the Hollow Mask, Sentinel Appears
1000 CE – Silent Confluence and Renewal of the Third Seal
1634–1836 CE – Indigenous Stewardship, Colonial Spiritual War
🏙️ Modern Madison Founded
1836 – Madison Founded atop the Third Anchor
1860s – Civil War, Camp Randall Necromantic Spillover
1890s – Technocratic Assaults, Gahara Pact Forms
🔥 20th Century Events
1900–1915 – Capitol Fire, Fall of the Lords of Madison
1914–1920 – WWI, New Avalon Echo, Sabbat Probes
1920–1939 – Prohibition, Syndicate Rise, Madtown Mage Cabal Forms
1940–1949 – WWII, Truax Field Founded, Nephandi Rituals
1950–1959 – Kindred–Garou War, Cold War Occult Espionage
1960–1969 – Civil Rights Awakening, Hollow One Expansion, Malkavian Prophecy
1970–1979 – Olbrich Alliance, Sabbat Incursion, Eclipse Ritual
1980–1985 – Digital Web War, Capitol Murders, Nameless Awakens
🎭 Current Campaign Start
February 1985 – Opening Night: Madtown by Night Begins