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Vampires; duh
Topic Started: Dec 6 2010, 10:12 PM (96 Views)
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THE FIRST TRADITION: MASQUERADE
Do not reveal your true nature to those not of the
Blood. Doing so forfeits you your claim to the Blood.

The masquerade is what protects Vampires and other creatures of the night from the knowledge and interference of mortals. The masquearde is what keeps "rational" humans from believing that Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts, etc. are real. The Masquerade, among Vampires, is the first Tradition, the violation of which, if servere enough, can lead a Prince or Priscus to condemn a Vampire to the Final Death.

THE SECOND TRADITION: PROGENY
Sire another at the peril of both yourself and
your progeny. If you create a childe, the weight is
your own to bear.

Creation of Progeny is ruled by the Second Tradition which states that creating another vampire is, if not forbidden, at least governed by certain burdens or responsibilities. The creation of childer requires an act of will (some say even a physical or spiritual sacrifice on the part of the sire) and a willingness to cruelly condemn another soul to eternal damnation. It, never the less, is a simple act: a vampire simply drains all the blood from a mortal vessel leaving her at the brink of death then, at the last moment, drips a small amount of her own vampiric vitae into the mouth of her victim.

What happens then is a mystical transformation that is not understood even by the most learned kindred scholars. The victims dies, but her existence continues. She becomes a vampire, doomed to walk the nights of earth for eternity, drinking the blood of mortals for her sustenance. Some vampires care little about their progeny, abandoning them to their own devices after their embrace, but the custom of Tutelage ensures that responsible sires prepare their childer for their requiem properly.

THE THIRD TRADITION: AMARANTH
You are forbidden from devouring the heartsblood
of another of your kind. If you violate this
commandment, the Beast calls to your own Blood.

Amaranth, or the prohibition thereof, is the third Tradition. Amaranth, also called Diablerie, is the act of destroying another vampire by drinking all their vitae and then consuming their undead soul (or whatever blasphemous force it is that passes for a soul within a vampire's body). The act, though it can confer greater power, is fraught with peril. In the first place, a vampire can get addicted to drinking the blood of other vampires.

This in itself presents several obvious problems, not the least of which is a Prince calling a blood hunt if he finds too many of his subjects being attacked by a rogue vampire. Second, there is danger in consuming the soul of another vampire, it can, in effect, bite back if you fail, causing severe psychic trauma. Even if the diablerist succeeds in his vile assault, the penalties are harsh, including a loss of Humanity, and an auric taint visible to those who know how to see it.

The upside of Amaranth is the possible increase one's knowledge and power. But to ensure this, one must usually diablerize a more powerful kindred which in itself is a dangerous undertaking, only slightly mitigated by the fact that the victim of amaranth must already be in torpor before the act can even be attempted (of course some blood-addicted kindred just beat their victims into torpor before they drain their souls away).

Clans
Each clan covers a broad range of vampiric archetypes. The Daeva, for instance, are both seductive and predatorial, evoking the image of vampires who glide through society as debonair hunters, much like Lestat in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. The Gangrel encompass the theme of the lone, savage and brutal hunters, much like the vampires of the Blade series. The Mekhet are conspiratorial occultists, vampires who hide in the shadows gathering lore and knowledge while manipulating others from afar. Nosferatu vampires are the alienated or disfigured monsters of legend (such as Count Orlok of their movie namesake), while the Ventrue represent vampires possessed of an aristocratic, 'lords of the night' sensibility, like Bram Stoker's Dracula.



Daeva: Passionate, charming and sophisticated. The Clan of passionate and seductive Kindred, the Daeva represent everything that is physically desirable in mortal terms. Daeva Sires often look for childer who are charming, attractive and passionate, at least from their point of view. Nicknamed Succubi for their predatory charm and supernatural magnetism, the Daeva often toy with other's feelings to achieve whatever end they have in mind, mainly due to their unique Clan discipline, . The Majesty downside of being a Daeva is the Clan Weakness, which coerces them to commit acts of deeply personal Vice whenever the chance arrive.

Nickname: Succubi though Male Daeva are called Incubi
(Required Disciplines)
Majesty: Clan Daeva's special discipline, Majesty is the key to supernaturally imposed attraction, and the source of the Clan's reputation as Succubi.

Celerity: The discipline of enchanced movement embodies the Daeva's swiftness and elegance.

Vigor: Granting Kindred superhuman strength, this discipline helps define the Daeva's motif of physical perfection.

Background: With a growing number of exceptions, Daeva are Embraced from the ranks of society’s elite. Succubus sires look for some combination of charm, culture, seductiveness, desire to achieve, passion and physical beauty. Many Daeva Embrace mortals to whom they have become attached, but this attachment almost invariably proves false, a mixture of lust and simple hunger. Few relationships are as euphoric as those between a Daeva and a newly Embraced childe, and few grow cold as swiftly.

Appearance: Daeva often Embrace out of infatuation — or at least going through the motions of passion — and they rarely choose to involve themselves with unattractive mortals. Thus, most Daeva are surpassingly beautiful. The clan is also highly in tune with trends and fashion, the better to prowl among and attract prey.

Havens: Daeva havens vary, but they’re almost universally comforting… in a subtly alarming way that suggests an artificial appeal to whatever vessels a Kindred favors. Most are convenient to social or political centers. The specific aesthetics vary, but most are intended to impress any compatriots, allies or victims who might be invited in. Penthouses and condominiums are particularly popular. Many Daeva don’t bother to keep up appearances if they don’t think they’ll bring prey home, meaning that some havens are sloppy or cluttered with unsettling reminders of previous vessels’ presence.

Weakness: Perhaps out of some deep longing for the true passions they lost after the Embrace, the Daeva have difficulty steeling themselves against the hedonism they allow themselves as members of the Damned. Any time a Daeva has an opportunity to indulge her Vice but does not do so, she lose Willpower (as opposed to gaining one by partaking in its pleasures).

Organization: Status among the Daeva is entirely a social issue, and many young ones resemble squabbling cliques more so than undying creatures of the night. Not even elder Daeva are strangers
to petty vendettas and long-nursed grudges. While a Succubus is likely to join with one of her own in the face of an outside threat, they compete with one another as much as they do with other Kindred, if not more so. The Daeva therefore have no true formal structure. Those who are dominant in the Danse Macabre’s social and political scene are dominant among the clan as well.

Thoughts on the others
Gangrel: They are beasts, to be sure, but their animal bodies contain a terrible ferocity.
Mekhet: They confine themselves to the shadows, but out of comfort or fear?
Nosferatu: They wear on the outside what all Kindred are within.
Ventrue: Which is the greater curse to bear, weakness of mind or the responsibilities of keeping one’s fellows?
***
Lycans: No thank you. The Gangrel are quite feral enough.
Mages: The idea of a mortal with that sort of power is… fascinating. Surely they wouldn’t mind conversing for just a bit.
Mortals/Hunters: Such simple creatures. I’m grateful not be one any longer. Still… I do wish I could remember just a bit more clearly what it felt like.

Gangrel: Savage and primal, yet noble. Gangrel are consummate survivors. Though stereotyped as primitive and uncultured, they are the Kindred Clan best adapted to the rigors of existing outside the comforts of a city, outside "The Gilded Cage." Nicknamed Savages, the Gangrel are far more honorable than such a cognomen would imply. Self-reliant and courageous, their shape-changing Discipline of Protean is a prime example of their ability to adapt to survive. Their weakness is reflected in a primal, bestial instinct that clouds their minds.

Nickname: Savages
(Required Disciplines)
Protean: Clan Gangrel's signature discipline, Protean, is key to their survival. It allows them to alter or adapt their physical form.

Animalism: With this discipline the Gangrel form bonds and control all manner of beasts for companionship, protection and food.

Resilience: This discipline of supernatural endurance is another tool that further defines the Gangrel as the ultimate survivors.

Background: Potential Gangrel can come from nearly any former life, but few Savages would choose a mortal who did not possess a strong survival instinct. Beyond this, most are quite particular about those they sire. Gangrel loathe personal weakness and those who are soft of body or mind (especially given their weakness), particularly those with a paper-thin or disconnected sense of being. Clan members most admire those whose greatest strengths are the strengths of the self — self-awareness, self-confidence and self-reliance. While it is not unheard of for a Gangrel to Embrace someone who lacks these qualities (usually as a cruel test to see whether the Embrace will sufficiently toughen the person up), most Gangrel hold to their standards, as not doing so is often more effort than it’s worth.

Appearance: The archetypal Savage is rarely concerned with his appearance, though most recognize the need to both blend in and put potential prey at ease. As a rule, Gangrel prefer function over form, and are rarely caught clad in anything that restricts movement to any great degree. Due to their clan weakness, they must always be wary of just how bestial they appear to others, and some especially
old (or angry) Gangrel typically learn some amount of Obfuscate to avoid potentially disastrous situations.

Havens: One of the clan’s greatest strengths is its deft maneuverability, a good portion of which stems from its Discipline of Protean, which allows the Gangrel to take rest in any natural soil. Sleeping
in the ground does, of course, have its drawbacks, and even the most feral of Savages comes to appreciate having an actual place to hang his hat after a while. A number of the more urbane (or at least urban) Gangrel therefore elect to take traditional havens, though their restless spirits and mistrust of other Kindred tends to keep them moving.

Weakness: As befits their sobriquet, the Gangrel are more closely tied to their Beasts than are other Kindred. The more they feel the call of the Beast, the more bestial they become, and the more their minds become those of less principled animals.

Organization: The Gangrel are perhaps the least organized of the clans. They have no hierarchy per se and are largely disinterested in either clan structure or intra-clan activity for its own sake. The only nod they give to such matters comes in the form of an event called a Gather. These meetings serve a twofold purpose. First, as an opportunity for Gangrel to unite and update one another on the events of the intervening time. Second, as a forum for official intra-clan dispute resolution. Before this practice began, ferocious Savages visited their rage upon one another at will and without process, and the clan as a whole suffered. Thus began the practice of settling disputes at gatherings of the clan before a Priscus or Primogen, where any conflict (or combat, if necessary) could be moderated and monitored by the peers of both Savages. As a result of this practice, the clan has grown more cooperative over time, leading to markedly fewer intra-clan kills. The majority of such disputes now stop short of Final Death.

Thoughts on the others
Daeva: Primp and preen all you want, but you’re more like us than you imagine.
Mekhet: Fine. Stay hidden.
Nosferatu: Proof that not all Kindred are created equal; some are way more fucking scary than others.
Ventrue: I’ll piss blood on their boots and wear their skins as a trophy.
***
Lycans: Next time you think you’re the shit, I’ll show you
one of these and we’ll settle the matter for good.
Mages: Under that mask of power lies a human face, warm and flush with blood.
Mortals/Hunters: They move in flocks, so never forget what they are to us wolves.


Mekhet: Mysterious, silent and deadly. The Mekhet's connection to shadows and darkness is stronger than other Kindred's resulting in a greater susceptibility to sunlight and fire -- just as shadow cannot exist without light, so too does light banish shadow. The often called Shadows are superb spies and information gatherers. Stealthy and quick, masters of Auspex, the Kindred discipline of supernatural perception, the Mekhet are unsurpassed when it comes to uncovering the secrets of the world.

Nickname: Shadows
(Required Disciplines)
Auspex: The Mekhet's prized Clan discipline. Its powers of observation help them learn the hidden secrets of the world.

Celerity: The Mekhet move as swiftly as they are silent.

Obfuscate: Used by the Mekhet to hide themselves from prying eyes, unhindered in their observations and other morally dubious behavior.

Background: Prospective Mekhet can come from just about any walk of mortal life. The only common thread linking potential candidates is an affinity for the night itself or some metaphorical darkness, such as a pained soul or a thirst for knowledge. Many Mekhet are tutored heavily by their sires post-Embrace, in order that they understand the nature of the clan and its duties. A Mekhet sire who leaves a new childe to the misinformation of other Kindred is a rarity indeed. Some prefer to let their progeny discover the Kindred world on their own, but not even these sires stray so far that they can’t watch a protégés’ progress.

Appearance: Of all the clans, the Mekhet are perhaps the least uniform in the way they appear to others. Some play the clan archetype to the hilt, dressing in black clothing and adopting styles that allow them to blend into the scenery. Others choose from popular mortal styles and fashions, attempting to blend in with the crowd by evading individual notice. This practice is particularly common among Mekhet who associate with one particular subculture, thereby becoming an iconic,
though rarely outstanding, example of that group’s tastes.

Havens: Of all the clans, the Mekhet are typically the most polarized by their preferences and proximity to the mortal world. Some Mekhet prefer to keep close to where the action is. In large cities,
where their numbers are strong, many take flats in the downtown core, or at least within short distance of various urban hot spots or the Rack. Older or more withdrawn Shadows are often preoccupied with security, and many elect to dwell in large homes on the outskirts of populated areas. Such Kindred often keep dogs and other servitors, made strong by the cursed Vitae of their masters. A few paranoid Shadows even take havens underground, where they cohabitate (or compete) with Nosferatu for shelter from the sun.

Weakness: As creatures of darkness even more sensitive to light than most of the Damned, the Mekhet suffer certain banes of vampiric existence more acutely than do their fellow Kindred.Mekhet suffer twice as much damage from sunlight or fire. Just as shadow cannot exist without light, so too does light banish shadow.

Organization: While Mekhet is not the most tightly organized of clans, it does have some structure. The majority of it falls in line with the clan’s various bloodlines, which are generally more independent than those of other clans. Nonetheless, some clanwide structure does exist. In addition to the Primogen in any Mekhet heavy city, the Shadows often give more deference to a Priscus in clan affairs than do members of other clans, particularly if a Priscus has earned a reputation for wisdom.

Thoughts on the others
Daeva: They thoughtlessly despoil what they once were, and
shamelessly mock what they’ve become.
Gangrel: Noble in their own way, but sadly disconnected from
their roots.
Nosferatu: Brothers in darkness — but beware sibling rivalries.
Ventrue: Great company until events conspire to put one
of you in an elevated position, at which point they quickly
grow intolerable.
***
Lycans: I suspect there is more to them than the savagery we
witness from afar.
Mages: Some secrets the Kindred should not know, yet the
mages wield them with such grace.
Mortals/Hunters: See them for what they are: the source of our sustenance
and the bane of our existence.


Nosferatu: Rejected, outcast and disturbing. Even the damned have their nightmares and the Nosferatu, quite literally, embody them. Something in the Embrace, something in the blood of the Nosferatu lineage, distorts every member of the clan, twisting them in either body or aspect as deeply as the Embrace malforms their soul. A Nosferatu may display one or more physical deformities; these can range from simple to complex, from the merely repulsive or unsettling to the downright horrifying. Nothing and no one can predict what the Embrace will do to a given Noseferatu, and no two look exactly the same; some of these horrors still look completely human but are unsettling, unnerving, or just simply creepy in some intangible way. Notably, certain traits seem to follow in certain "families."

Among the deformed members of this clan, some common disfigurements are: mottled or piebald skin, attenuated or stunted limbs, club feet, hollow-cheeked, cadaverous features, total baldness, blotchy, mold-like excrescences on their skin, pointed, flapped or cauliflower ears, elongated noses (or no nose at all, just slits), needle-like fangs, broad flat tusks, blackened, split or claw-like fingernails, a multitude of warts, skin that is grey, green or blue, eyes that bulge or that are yellowed, red, solid black or pallid white. Their skin may sag or bulge, look rubbery or leathery, like translucent parchment, or be deeply wrinkled with prominent, ropey veins. All these deformities and more may appear in any given Nosferatu. And then there is the smell. Not all Nosferatu have a particularly offensive odor, but some smell like death or rotting flesh, feces, or like graveyard mold or acid. Sometimes this is just an unavoidable result of where they choose to make their havens.
Nosferatu tend to dwell apart from most other Kindred or humans, choosing as their lair or haven the kinds of places others do not wish to go, or even fear to go. The abandoned places, undesirable places, places as shunned as the Nosferatu themselves: sewers, storm tunnels, abandoned subways, crumbling access tunnels, sub-basements, steam tunnels, abandoned or "haunted" houses, attics and storage rooms, mausoleums, crypts and catacombs -- any place that sees few, if any, visitors. Some have the influence and wherewithal to turn their lairs into vast warrens filled with traps to deter or kill the unwary intruder. Nosferatu are sometimes called Haunts.

Nickname: Haunts
(Required Disciplines)
Nightmare: The Nosferatu's unique Clan discipline helps them strike fear into the hearts of their adversaries.

Obfuscate: Allows the Nosferatu to move secretly and unobserved.

Vigor: Gives the Nosferatu superhuman strength.

Background: Nosferatu normally choose progeny from among society’s castoffs, such as the homeless, the mentally ill and criminals. Many Nosferatu Embrace out of spite, using the curse to punish vanity, cruelty or other such “sins.” Assuming a sire wants a childe to survive — which isn’t always the case — Haunts tend to choose self-reliant individuals who might actually be able to manage their new condition. Few Nosferatu Embrace out of love or affection, though even this is not unheard of. Rare but heartbreaking are the tales of a Nosferatu determined to “gift” his love with the Requiem, only to find himself the object of his beloved’s loathing when she learns what’s been done to her.

Appearance: No two Nosferatu have exactly the same air, though troubling characteristics often follow patterns within “families.” Discolored leathery skin, gaping maws, rubbery skin, misshapen heads, odors like grave earth, bulging eyes, queasy stares and personal habits, gnarled hands, ineffable feelings of dread, sagging flesh — all these and more are the hallmarks of the clan. Not every Haunt is physically deformed. Indeed, many are not, instead discomfiting those who look upon them with indescribable unease. The darkness and filth in which many Nosferatu dwell make their foul miens (and fouler odors) even worse.

Havens: Most Nosferatu dwell in places far from mortals, such as abandoned warehouses,
graveyards, basements and of course the ever-popular sewers and subway tunnels.
That said, some few Nosferatu choose to flout tradition and take their havens in penthouses,
fantastic manors — anyplace where they can enjoy the luxuries of wealth yet
still count on substantial privacy.

Weakness: All Nosferatu are repulsive or at the very least uncomfortable to be around. The cause need not be a physical deformity. A palpable aura of menace, a charnel odor or the undeniable manner of a predator is just as compelling as a twisted body.

Organization: The Nosferatu have little formal organization, but as stated previously
they do tend to band together in the face of outside threats. The clan is
almost tribal, with differing “families” of Nosferatu often sticking together or warring
against one another. Clan hierarchy, such as it is, is usually determined by a combination
of seniority and actual merit.

Thoughts on the others
Daeva: Got themselves fooled into thinking they can fuck the pain away.
Gangrel: Just pat ‘em on the head, pretend you’re grateful, and
whatever you do, don’t call ‘em on their idiocy. You may be a creep,
but your face looks better on the front of your head than hanging
from some animal’s claws.
Mekhet: Moths are drawn to flame just like shadows. Do shadows
burn, too?
Ventrue: They want to play king of the mountain? Fine. Haven’t
seen one yet willing to come over here and enforce his “rule.”
***
Lycans: Scarier than this? I sure fucking hope not.
Mages: They know something… I’m just not sure I want to know
what it is.
Mortals/Hunters: Yeah, it sucks having to hide from your food.
Yeah, you could take any mortal out without thinking about it.
When you can take out a few thousand of ’em, then come talk to me.
Until then, keep your fucking head down.

Ventrue: Lordly, commanding and corrupt. "Among the Kindred we are the masters. Understand this, resign yourself to it. It is as true now as it was when the world was young and it shall be so until the stars burn out. We are the Lords of all." The will to power drives every Ventrue from the moment of their Embrace until the final death. Pride is the besetting sin of every member of the Clan. In every city, every domain, in every covenant, you will find Ventrue among the leaders. They are the movers and shakers, the driving force behind almost every political activity among the Kindred. Often a member of another clan will attempt to rise to a position of power only to discover that all her plots and plans have been anticipated, manipulated and, ultimately countered by a rival Ventrue. The Ventrue are born to win at all costs.

(Required Disciplines)
Animalism: With this discipline the Lords form bonds and control all matter of beasts, as they do all other creatures of the earth.

Dominate: The piercing stare that commands minds and the ability to break the will of others.

Resilience: The discipline of supernatural endurance allows the Ventrue to survive and win.

Background: The Ventrue most often seek childer among the ranks of professionals or the cream of high society. Some Lords prefer childer from “old money” families or political dynasties, as the closest the modern world comes to feudal nobility. Other Lords prefer self-made leaders such as millionaire entrepreneurs, politicians, military officers or even crime bosses. As new professions and new forms of power arise, the Ventrue bring them into the clan. The rise of the computer industry, for instance, has prompted a wave of tech-sector childer.

Appearance: Ventrue often adopt a conservative, lowkey appearance that expresses high status without being flashy. Young Lords sometimes favor a “preppy” look, the timeless suit-and-tie uniform of business, or (for female Lords) elegant gowns or business skirt-suits, with unobtrusive jewelry. Ventrue elders might keep the styles of long ago, at least in their own havens, and in public they still
tend to look decades out of date. Even rebellious young Ventrue wear their metal-studded jackets like a uniform, asserting their dominance. A Lord surrounds himself with other trappings of wealth and status, too, from the big, fancy car in the garage to the wine cellar full of vintages he will never again have the opportunity to enjoy.

Havens: If a Ventrue did not possess great wealth before the Embrace, she often becomes rich afterward. Ventrue select their havens to reflect their wealth and power. Many Lords dwell in mansions or actual walled estates. Few would settle for anything less than a classic townhouse or penthouse
apartment (with secure curtains, of course). Clan tradition holds that any Ventrue may claim sanctuary from the sun at any other Lord’s haven and not be refused, but few Lords ever invoke this right. Not only do proud Lords hate to beg another Kindred’s aid, a supplicant henceforth owes a debt of honor to the Ventrue who provided refuge. Great shame would befall any Lord who denied a clanmate or who could not provide a comfortable rest, however, so a prudent Ventrue makes sure his haven can accommodate a Kindred guest or two.

Weakness: Power corrupts, and among the Ventrue, even the thirst for power can corrode an ambitious Kindred’s moral bearings. Over time, some Ventrue grow paranoid, ever more wary of rivals’ desires (real or imagined) for their own holdings. Others become willing to do whatever it takes to acquire the smallest iota of additional power. Still others turn inward, delude themselves as to their ability and
importance, or trouble their minds with other maladies. Ventrue Kindred suffer a penalty to Humanity making it hard to avoid derangement

Organization: The Lords track their ties of blood and obligation through an old-boy network that extends across generations, bloodlines and continents. A respectable Ventrue knows his fellow Lords’ ancestors, their broodmates, allies, enemies and Kindred owed and owing favors (though the information might be a century out of date). Two Ventrue often compare lineages and acquaintances when they first meet. Thus do they establish their relationships and status within the clan. The Ventrue also take clan offices very seriously. Ventrue Whips, Prisci and other clan leaders often try to hold monthly meetings of all clanmates, regardless of covenant. The Lords use these meetings as opportunities to brag, size up the competition, cut deals and chide clanmates who seem to show insufficient ambition. After all, the Ventrue have a reputation for steel-fisted power to uphold. One does not want other Kindred thinking that any Lord might go soft.

Thoughts on the others
Daeva: Our only serious rivals. Watch them as you would a deadly viper.
Gangrel: Stray dogs with sharp teeth. Train them when you can.
Mekhet: Acknowledge their wisdom, but be sure they know they have their place.
Nosferatu: What was it Machiavelli said about love and fear?
***
Lycans: You can no more rule their kingdoms than you can rule a wildfire.
Treat them with care — or avoid them if you want to see another night.
Mages: Do not try to understand their powers. You cannot.
Do not use your powers upon them. Their revenge, should you fail, will be terrible.
Their fears and desires, however, remain human — and so you can bend them to your will.
Mortals/Hunters: Rule them, use them, feed upon them without pity.
They are born to serve and suffer and never know why.

Malkavian: The Malkavians are cursed with insanity and are a bloodline of the Ventrue whose progenitor was Malkav, that eternally suffer from the Malkavia disease. Every Malkavian is in some fashion insane; they have at least one derangement they can never remove. Throughout history, the Malkavians have been the seers and oracles of the Kindred, bound by strange compulsions and insight. Sometimes you hear of an elder Ventrue going mad, displaying one or more bizarre eccentricities. It seems endemic to the clan. On the other hand, a few Kindred know that some Ventrue are just "born" that way; these are the Malkavians. Every Malkavian has at least one derangement that will be with them throughout their Requiem no matter what else happens to them. Many pick up a few more odd behaviours or obsessions along the way. "Mad?! You call me mad? Well, it does make eternity so much more interesting, after all, don't you agree?"

Nickname: Psychos
(Required Disciplines)
Animalism: With this discipline the Lords form bonds and control all matter of beasts, as they do all other creatures of the earth.

Dominate: The piercing stare that commands minds and the ability to break the will of others.

Resilience: The discipline of supernatural endurance allows the Ventrue to survive and win

Dementation: causes dementia and insanity in a target using the disease of Malkavia they suffer.

Background: Naughty Lords overwhelmed by the stress of power and the sins they’ve committed
in the pursuit of it find the Man gets weak and vulnerable to the Beast, and a big chunk of the human part gets eaten by the animal part of the Kindred “soul.” (Let’s say.) This is sort of the equivalent of a nervous breakdown, except it’s also a breakdown in the mighty power of Vitae –– the pieces of the broken mind get carried into the rest of the body by the Blood, and can then be spread on to other Kindred and kine. The metaphor’s imperfect, but the general idea sticks with what we know about the Blood: It absorbs qualities of the cask it’s kept in, like a wine absorbs flavor from a wood barrel, and that taint gets passed on to whoever drinks it. The difference here is that the “flavor” lasts a lot longer –– like forever –– once a piece of some Demented mind gets lodged in yours. The point is that the Affliction is a contagious weakness caused by the personal failings of a few pathetic Lords who broke under the great pressures of their noble burden. (It’s like a parable: You weak pussies are going to bring us all down if we don’t lock you away.)

Appearance: This new medical spin on the Affliction, just in the last hundred years, has changed the Malkavian Requiem in a big way. With Big Pharma making brain drugs all the vogue, Malkavians throughout the States are claiming lots more kine as their own. If everyone who takes Valium, dilaudid, Xanax, or Quaaludes is considered to be mentally ill, the Malkavians have a huge new crop. If, like most Princes I’ve heard of, these people are just considered drug-users, then the Duke of Drug-Users
(or whoever) gets to claim them. I know lots of Malkavians who have tried to ease their symptoms, or shut out their Demented visions for a few nights, by swallowing drugged blood. A few claim it helps, but who’s to say the same power of the blood to distill fractured minds into contagious blood can’t also react to desperate placebos? Regardless, it seems to take a lot of drugged blood to help any Malkavian. Usually enough to kill the donor, and putting that on the conscience of a strained brain seems to do more damage than good in the long run. After all the tests and torture, the drugs and deranged treatments, the confusion and the castigation, the mystery and the misery, the last few thousand years have been the same for us 100 – terrifying and sad. We used to be wise women and prophets, visionaries and soothsayers. We might not have been understood, but at least we weren’t reviled.

Havens: What all this has done, though, is turned “insane” mortals into a kind of reserve stock for Malkavians. In cities where Afflicted Kindred are well known, a fear of drinking from the mentally ill tends to spread alongside the general distaste for Malkavians. This keeps most vampires from lapping at the necks of easy prey, restrained in mental wards. This also leaves that prey available and tempting to already-Afflicted outcasts. No small number of Malkavians have turned this to their advantage, by convincing Princes and Regents to give them official lordship over asylums, mental hospitals, and special-needs schools. This gives the Malkavian real power over the fields he’d be harvesting anyway, and it creates a kind of de facto leper colony for the Afflicted. Plus, if something bad does happen at one of these institutions (and it seems like something bad always happens), the Prince has the Malkavian landlord as a scapegoat. This saves the leadership from having to vilify every Malkavian in the city for the fuck-up, and prevents everyone else from having to deal with angry, defensive, crazy vampires looking to prove something. Anyway, Malkavians tend to be drawn to crazy prey. Some of the Afflicted vampires I know think the Vitae of schizophrenics, psychopaths, and sociopaths can help a vampire master the mystic powers of the Demented. (Others say only autistic blood, or bipolar blood, or whatever, is of real help.)

Weakness: Sometimes you hear of an elder Ventrue going mad, displaying one or more bizarre eccentricities. A few Kindred know that some Ventrue are just "born" that way; these are the Malkavians. Every Malkavian has at least one derangement that will be with them throughout their Requiem no matter what else happens to them. Many pick up a few more odd behaviours or obsessions along the way. All Malkavians start below 4 with humanity.

Organization: Very little structure is found in the current version of the Malkavians. Beyond a coterie of 3 to 5. The disease as ravaged them beyond the point of building meaningful bonds. Those Malkavians lucid enough to have structure are often little more than scapegoats and backroom seers for the other clans when things go a rye. Within their havens though, these mostly mad, psychologically malfunctioning kindred are given to many different structural fits. Some demand fierce loyalty and heavy tradition like the Ventrue they descend from. Yet others are little more than half mad hatters, treating their domain or haven like something that would strike fear into the cheshire cat.

Thoughts on the others
Daeva: All around them is the vanity of bygone humanity.
Gangrel: They are slaves to the beast within, we are masters of the beasts about
Mekhet: They may belie the truth of our condition. Honor them and you shall survive.
Nosferatu: They wear our pain on their faces.
***
Lycans: Even a beast can fear.
Mages: Do not try to understand their powers. You cannot. Do not use your powers upon them. Their revenge, should you fail, will be terrible.
Their fears and desires, however, remain human — and so you can bend them to your will.
Mortals/Hunters: Rule them, use them, feed upon them without pity. They are born to serve and suffer and never know why.

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Flaws

Each Vampire is required to have at least 1 flaw, and custom flaws are allowed, but require approval along with your app. Adding flaws over the course of the Rp experience can mean additional positive benefits provided by the staff to your character. However this is done at their discretion and should not be used as a power gaming method of getting free gifts from the staff.

In the end what does it mean?: Put a flaw in, and then see where your character takes you.

Light Sensitive: Common among the Mekhet and their Bloodlines, this flaw is a natural outcome of the ability to see in shadows and darkness. Whenever you are in a brightly lit area: a supermarket at night, a brightly lit art gallery with white walls, etc. you suffer movement and perception restrictions similar to those experienced by people with normal sight when the light is dim or dark. You can mitigate this by wearing sunglasses at night (which has its own unfortunate connotations and downside, poser).

Deep Sleeper: You do not rise until the sky goes black and the stars come out and you must be back in your haven before the first hints of twilight color the pre-dawn sky. This can make you vulnerable to Vampires who can rise earlier or stay awake longer.

Limited Food Source: You can only feed from a certain type of mortal. This can be purely psychological or it may be something inherent to your personal requiem. You may be unable to feed from persons of your own gender or the opposite gender. You may be able to feed only on beautiful people, old people, children, people of a given race or religion. It's up to you to decide. Whatever it is, it will make feeding more difficult for you. (List it Here)

Child: You were innocent until a vampire had their way with you. Now you have to rely on your knowledge of the kindred world, all the while being underestimated by physically older kindred. Ordinary people don't see you as much as a threat but it's difficult to be taken seriously by most people

Traumatic Embrace: A favorite practice among the some Gangrel is to Embrace a human, then subject them to some horrendous test or situation that grinds away at their humanity. Some violent or inhuman sires also force their childer to go through a similar episode. Characters with this Flaw may not start the game with a Humanity rating higher than 5, and may never raise their Humanity above 8, due to a singular lack of sympathy for their fellow creatures.

Lackluster: It's just so hard to work up the energy for anything - and it's almost never worth it in the end. Characters with this flaw aren't lazy per se, but they're not the people jumping up and down at the front of a crowd, either. If they can ever find something that piques their interest, they're perfectly willing and able to see the job well-done and completed in a timely manner. Lackluster characters have trouble beginning things.

Easily Distracted: Characters with this flaw are typically mentally simple and noncomplex. On the other hand, perhaps their mind moves so quickly that they easily skim over the mundane problems they face. Either way, it's difficult for them to fixate on problems, and their concentration is negligible. Certain life-threatening situations might make them pay attention, but otherwise, they are easily led by interesting, surprising, or unconventional things.

Nuisance: You are not popular even among the Damned, and putting up with you is regarded as an act of penance by most high-society Kindred. You could be a social clutz, blurting out secrets and openly criticizing the leadership of your sect; you might have another Social or Mental Flaw that impedes your ability to get along with others; or you could simply refuse to put up with the ritualistic bullsh*t that Kindred seem to gather around themselves.


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Merits

Each Vampire gets up to 5 Merits from this list. Ranking up Merits is separate from Disciplines and points for them come as your rank and effect on the RP increase. Admins decide when a player has gained additional merit points and will place a comment in your app for you to add the number given to you.

In the end what does it mean?: It means be active and as your grow more IC powerful we will give you some Merit points.

Herd (• to •••••)
Makes it easier to feed.
Haven-Size (• to •••••)
Improves the circumstances of your resting place. How large the living space is.
Haven-Location (• to •••••)
How close it is to food sources. This will aid in your nightly hunts.
Haven-Security (• to •••••)
Decreases the chances of others to find or enter your resting place.
Status (City) (• to •••••)
Makes you more well-known and respected/feared within the city.
Status (Clan) (• to •••••)
Makes you more well-known and respected/feared within your clan.
Status (Covenant) (• to •••••)
Makes you more well-known and respected/feared within your covenant.
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Needed Info

Vitae: In it's most basic sense, vitae is a term vampires use to refer to blood. More specifically, it is the source of a vampire's unlife and powers. The "blood" in a vampire's body is more than the admixture of plasma, platelets, hormones and whatnot which courses through the veins of mortals. When blood enters a vampire's body it is mystically transformed into vitae, giving it the power to form blood bonds, create childer, and infusing it with a power that is attractive to mages. Furthermore, vitae is almost always more "condensed", meaning that while vampires have the same amount of blood in their systems, they possess more blood points. The maximum amount of vitae a vampire can have at any given time is determined by their Blood Potency

Blood Potency: The greater her Blood Potency, the more total Vitae she can store in her body and the more Vitae she can expend

Childe: A Childe is the progeny of a vampire; a mortal being Embraced by a vampire making them a vampire as well. Childer is the plural of childe, referring to all a vampire's immediate descendants. The term can also be used as an opprobrium suggesting another kindred is being foolish or naive.

Embrace: The Embrace, also called the Becoming, is the process by which vampires are created. When a sire chooses to Embrace someone they pass their brand of vampirism to the chosen mortal, cursing them to haunt the night as a nocturnal blood drinker. The experience is incredibly traumatic as the subject is brought to the brink of death only to be thrown into a nightmarish world unlike anything they've experienced before.

The Initiation is when a vampire desires a childe, due to loneliness, regret at an accidental feeding, the need for a pawn, or any other reason. The first step is to drain the candidate dry. Any technique that results in a bloodless corpse will do, and unlike many vampire myths the act of biting itself does not spread vampirism. As they on the brisk of death, the sire gives the candidate a small amount of vitae, which transforms the candidate into one of the undead. This process is almost always instantaneous and only rarely fails, but strange things have been known to happen.

The first reaction most vampires have after an Embrace is raw hunger. With little blood in their system and no experience dealing with a fully raging Beast, the fledgling will most likely enter a hunger frenzy at the first sight of blood. For most, this means that the Embrace is followed immediately by a moment of degradation. After the Embrace, the fledgling may take several days before the full impact of the curse is apparent. A newly Embraced childe starts with a Blood Potency of one and belongs to the sire's clan, Embraces also cost a permanent willpower point, making Mass Embraces all but impossible.

Rules of The Embrace:
Animals cannot be Embraced.
Vitae must flow directly from the sire to the childe. It cannot normally be placed in an intermediary vessel or otherwise delayed
Any activity which completely drains the corpse is acceptable; drinking from a mortal alone doesn't cause the Embrace, the vitae does.
Pregnant women always miscarry when Embraced.
While two vampires can theoretically feed their vitae to a candidate for an Embrace, the resulting vampire will take on traits derived from the sire with more potent blood.

Tutelage
Tutelage: A custom which derives from the Second Tradition. The custom decrees that the sins of the childe are the sire's to repay. What this means, in practice, varies from domain to domain but, at the very least, it requires a sire to properly prepare her childer for their role in kindred society.

The First Nights: The first nights of a vampire's requiem are heady with power, fraught with danger and, often, a great deal of fear. The first hunger, the first hunt, the first feeding from a mortal's veins, the first stirrings of her beast are often confusing, even horrifying events. Without a sire to guide her a new vampire is prone to make mistakes, endanger the masquerade and even risk her sanity. It is a sire's duty to teach her childe the lessons she must learn in order to avoid revealing her true nature to mortals, to avoid leaving too many bodies behind, and to learn to control her hunger and her beast.

A sire's burden: Some vampires care little about their progeny, abandoning them to their own devices after their embrace. However most Princes ensure that new vampires behave by ensuring the mistakes and missteps of neonates are the responsibility of the sire, who must pay for or be punished for their childer's misdeeds. A sire keeps their childer in line through a combination of fear and guile. Until she chooses to release a neonate, a sire has significant controls, at least under kindred law, over her childer. She may punish them as well as teach them and, considering the nature of kindred, punishments can be severe.

Release: When a sire feels her childe has reached a level of control and knowledge sufficient to keep her reasonably safe and secure within kindred society as a whole, she releases the childe. From this point on, a neonate's actions are her own to answer for. She goes from serving her sire, to serving her own conscience (such as it is). Some childer chafe under the control of their sire. Some sires keep their childer bound for unreasonable lengths of time, making them little more than servants or even slaves. Some childer have even been known to run away, travel to another domain to be free of their sire's influence. Few sires suffer such insults with good grace and, should they ever cross paths with their errant childer again, will likely take some form of revenge. If a childe feels she has been unduly kept subservient by her sire, and does not wish to run away, she may petition the Prince for release. This action should not be indulged lightly.

A sire has broad rights as well as burdens when it comes to progeny. A Prince will not lightly set aside those rights. But if a childe can prove she has been unreasonably restrained or abused, the Prince may overrule the wishes of the sire and grant the childe release. This, almost inevitably, leads to conflict and ill will between Prince and sire, not to mention between sire and childe. Few Princes will undertake such action without very good reasons which are obvious to all involved, including her court and subjects at large. In extreme cases of abuse, she may even forbid the sire from creating more childer. A Prince who denies such a petition almost certainly condemns the childe to severe punishment at the hands of her sire, for such a petition is a slap in the face and a very public insult to the childe's sire.


Humanity: Humanity is driectly related to Morality, the mortal trait which describes a person's relationship to good and evil. For a Vampire the issue is not so much one of mere good and evil, but how closely they can retain a link to the morality that once defined their mortal life, their former Humanity. The less a Vampire can remember of the moral restraints associated with her mortal existence, the more likely she will succumb to her Beast. As with Morality, Humanity is rated on a scale of one to ten, with one being the most bestial and ten be the most saintly (a state that is probably not attainable by a vampire, short of some versions of Golconda).

Blood Bond: A Blood Bond is a mystical state that exists between two (some say "or more") vampires that comes as a result of one or both drinking three times from the other. The blood must be drunk on three separate occassions (three separate nights), and can lasts for years at a stretch before needing to be reinforced.

First: the drinker becomes favorably inclined towards their donator

Second: the drinker considers the donator a best friend, family member, or similarly trustworthy individual

Third: the drinker "falls in love" with the donator; they will literally do anything to make the donator happy. Stories speak of particuarly sadistic vampires who form Blood Bonds, then order the love-slave to kill themselves or those they cared for.

Note that the Blood Bond only creates "love" - it does not remove hate or fear. This can lead to some passionate and complicated relationships between the drinker and the donator. Some vampires willingly engage in Blood Bonds simply for the emotional rush.

Blood hunt
Blood Hunt: a blood hunt is the persecution of a vampire by the rest of the vampiric society in order to kill him. Another name to a blood hunt is the word Amaranth, in reference to the flower. In the past, an Amaranth flower was given to a vampire who will be killed a week before the hunt began as a warning.
The blood hunt must be officially declared by the local prince. Once the order is given, it is customary to allow the vampire to flee the city. This mercy is extended until midnight, after which any vampire is free to hunt down and destroy the persecuted subject. On occasion, a reward might be offered to the one who delivers or kills the victim.Any vampire who helps the subject of a blood hunt in any way is considered an accomplice and may himself become an additional target. In some cases it is traditional to let the victim's sire, who is then allowed to perform diablerie on his childe, perform the execution.


Time Honored Ranks

Ancient: A vampire whose requiem lasts more than 1000 years is called an ancient. Such vampires are quite rare and their real powers can only be guessed at by lesser kindred. For a vampire of such age, the petty power struggles of the elders are of little importance: for an ancient, power is a given. Their concerns are far greater and often inscrutable. As such, many elders fear they are little more than pawns in a greater game played among the ancients. In some cases they are right. In others, the ancients could not care less about the fears, concerns or games of mere elders.

Elder: Elders are the power elite among the kindred. Having spent more than 150 years as a vampire, they have generally amassed significant personal power and, if they have any sense at all, a goodly portion of political power as well. It is among the elders that the true Danse Macabre takes place as they vie for ever greater power and dominion over both kindred and mortal society alike.

Ancilla: A Latin term, "ancilla" refers a handmaiden or female servant: the term "ancillary" has come to mean "of secondary importance," or having a supporting role. Such it is with these vampires. Old enough to have some power, they are not to be taken lightly, but they haven't the power or prestige to take on the elders head to head. Ancilla (plural Ancillae) applies to any vampire whose requiem has lasted between 50 and 150 years.

Neonate: A newly created vampire. This term (hardly a title, really) generally applies to any vampire whose requiem has lasted less than 50 years.

Domains
Domain: A domain is usually comprised of a single city and a certain, limited, raidus outside its borders, Within such a domain a single Prince will have absolute authority. And like any unlimited power, it has its limits. The power of a Prince is curtailed by the power of other Elders such as the Primogen, and the Prisci. A Domain derives its authority through the First Tradition, the Masquerade. It is in order to protect the masquerade that a Prince commands the obedience of those who exist within her domain.

Princes hold the right to assign hunting grounds, define Elysium, the right to call Blood Hunts, appoint Officers, set feeding restrictions and the right of final justice over any vampire within her purview, which includes the right to refuse to let any individual vampire come to or remain within her domain, the right to banish a given kindred, clan, bloodline or covenant, and the right to subject a kindred to the Final Death. As always, such rights are points of contention within the political Factions of a domain. A Prince may have rights, but only those she can enforce by power, influence or guile.

Tenurial Domains: There are times when a Prince may find she can not control an entire city on her own. In such cases she may appoint one or more Regents to command portions of her domain. Such a Regent is a Prince in all but name and her rights within her domain (called a Tenurial Domain) are as absolute as any Prince's, though subject to the approval of her Prince and the usual political maneuvering. A Regent rules at the will (or whim) of her Prince and her regency can be dissolved or assigned to another at any time, depending, of course, on a regent's own power relative to that of her Prince. Circumstances may be such that, once bestowed, a given Prince is not powerful enough to take back a tenurial domain or that doing so would cause more problems than it solves. This usually presages a larger power struggle which might put the entire domain into play.

Elysium
Elysium: A neutral ground for the vampires of a city. It is typically chosen by the local Prince in areas of artistic or intellectual worth that promote calm reflection, such as theaters and museums, though nightclubs and even a Kindred's haven may suffise. The Keeper of Elysium is responsible for everything that happens in their jurisdiction and for scheduling or cancelling events, a position that involves both great prestige and scrutiny.

Violence is strictly prohibited within Elysium, and individuals are expected to keep tempers in check. Any grievances between vampires are to be left outside, and the Keeper of Elysium or the sheriff will forcibly remove those who cannot control themselves if need be. While this provides opportunity for both neonates and elders to relax, social conflict is often at its peak and what happens in Elysium can easily lead to reprecussions off ground.

Though Elysiums often serve as gathering places for Kindred, the Masquerade must normally be maintained at all times for any mortals that may be around. Similarly, while refreshments are sometimes served, it is bad taste to come to Elysium hungry as it often leads to shorter tempers. Some Princes go so far as to forbid hunting nearby, as a concentrated population of vampires could easily result in a suspicious number of deaths in the area.

Torpor
Torpor: The word torpor refers to the state of deep slumber that vampires enter into for prolonged periods of time. Torpor may be entered into voluntarily, such as when one seeks to escape the monotony of eternal life and awaken in a different age, or, more commonly, involuntarily when a vampire starves, is staked, or suffers damage sufficient to kill a mortal. The amount of time one spends in torpor depends on the reason for hibernating and the vampire's strength against the Beast.

Torpor is often a disturbing experience where the vampire's mind wanders through memories of one's requiem and her mortal existence. These events are relived over and over, each time seeing different outcomes, different participants, different precedents. This can cloud a vampire's memory to such an extent that they cannot clearly remember events that occurred before their last stint of torpor, an effect called the Fog of Eternity.

During this time the body swiftly dries out and takes on the appearance of being mummified. The skin contracts around the bones, the eyes dry out and sink into their sockets, hair become fine and brittle. The muscles of one's mouth retreat, forming a rictus around the teeth. To all appearances, the vampire is a long dead corpse.


Final Death
The Final Death: For a vampire, Final Death is just what it implies: the true and final death which ends their undead nights forever. Though a vampire has already died in a purely mortal sense, they remain relatively immortal as undead creatures roaming the night. Through vicious fighting, exposure to the banes of vampires, or incredible accident a vampire may suffer enough physical damage to sever the bonds of unlife which maintain their undead existence. If that happens they die a second, final time: the Final Death. There is no known way to restore a vampire who has suffered the Final Death, and most assume damnation or oblivion consumes them.
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