Tyler Gaines, Sheriff

 Image: Tyler dresses in all manners of abnormality: dyed leather coats, Pucci shirts, oversized shades; his fashion-sense is as brash as his personal outlook on life.  He is however, undeniably attractive and possesses an intensity that only those who are truly completely confident in themselves can have.

Background:  Brash, arrogant, cocky, combative, aggressive.  An anarchist, social terrorist, revolutionary, thug.  Tyler Gaines is the archetypal Brujah, a rebel with a cause and a chip on his shoulder. 

 Gaines was the de facto anarch leader in New York, taking on all comers.  He waged guerilla urban war against the Sabbat, the Camarilla, the Giovanni, the Setites, etc…              Loving nothing so much as a “decent spot of violence” Tyler managed to possess just the right combination of brains, brawn, charisma, and sheer psychotic tendencies to become a major thorn in the side of local Cainites.  Alas, his luck ran out when he attempted to infiltrate the New York Chantry.  Apprehended within moments of his infiltration, he was brought before Aisling Sturbridge and her guest at the time, Nicholae.   Enjoying a bit of humor, Aisling and Nicholae made a bet.  Nicholae would take Tyler as his newest “employee” and Aisling would review Tyler’s service to Nicholae. If it proved to be profitable, then Nicholae would be the victor of the bet, if not, Aisling would lord it over Nicholae for years to come.

To everyone’s surprise (except maybe Nicholae), Tyler proved to be an extraordinary contact to keeping Nicholae appraised to the “word on the street.” Tyler’s experience in fighting the Sabbat and his ability to tap information sources anywhere on the street made him invaluable in locating Sabbat infiltrators.  His ability to recruit and unite diverse forces towards a common goal only adds to his utility.  In this capacity, Tyler has been able to aid Nicholae in earning great status with the princes in Moscow and St. Petersburg by alerting them to possible Sabbat incursions and eliminating them. 

  Tyler and Nicholae thoroughly enjoy irritating each other, Tyler with his brash and cocky manner, Nicholae with his consummate professionalism.  Yet, during a sneak attack on Moscow by the Sabbat, in which Nicholae was ambushed by a Lasombra war party, Tyler managed to rescue the regent and together, the pair engaged in a game of urban cat-and-mouse, eventually eliminating the Sabbat Cainites.  Since then, the pair has treated each other with a little more respect.  But not much.   However he is quite smitten with the mad seer Ilyana (the feelings are confusingly, but sincerely returned), protecting her quite possessively to the point that Tyler’s been known to grumble quite a bit with Nicholae when the later calls upon Ilyana to perform some service for him.  The fact that Ilyana also fawns over Nicholae doesn’t ease tensions much either.

Now Tyler finds himself in quite a different position.  He’s the Sheriff, charged with keeping order within the city and within the ranks of his newly-christened “Gray Posse” This has been more difficult than it sounds since his second-in-command, Biley, has recently become more and more antagonistic and inflammatory, tossing out terms like “Sell-out” and “Stooge”.  While the older members of the pack know Biley for what he is: an empty-headed nihilist and toady, the younger members of the pack are beginning to listen to what he has to say.  Couple with that Jacen Crane’s constant pressure to “re-evaluate” his relationship with the prince and Tyler is in tight straits indeed.  Nevertheless, the young man’s luck holds as he continues to be the one calling the shots within the posse and doing his best not to let a full-out civil war erupt.

           Roleplaying Hints: It’s tough to go from the rebel to the cop.  It used to be so much easier, the prince was the bad guy and it was always “us against them.”  Now things have changed; murky politics, divided loyalties, and hidden agendas make it hard to trust those who were once your brothers.  You know who you can trust and you know who you can’t.  The dilemma being how to weed out those you can’t without sparking off a civil war within the posse.  It’s enough to make you want to turn in your proverbial shield but hey, you never backed down from anything before, you sure as shit aren’t going to start now.

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