The Clans of Caine

Quote :

For what you have done I will curse you all
Not merely with a handful of words,
But each according to his nature,
Each one according to his crime.
Let my curse reign in his blood forever,
Let it be passed down through his embrace,
To each of his childer, and to their childer in turn.
- The Erciyes Fragments. VI (Transgressions)

The embrace is both a death and a rebirth. The fledgling is ripped from the mortal coil, and her breathing days end. Matters of family, rave and gender all fade before the Curse and the Blood. But just like a human child arrives in this world with his inheritance of its sire’s blood and takes a great deal from it. This legacy includes a propensity for certain Disciplines and certain curses passed down from the Antediluvians. Clan also has a social implication just as mortal parentage does. Some clans are thought to be made for rulership, others for scholarship, others for less savory tasks. These beliefs are most obvious in the divide between the High Clans and Low Clans.

The High Clans

In all societies, there are those who are destined to rule, even among the Damned. Especially among the Damned, some would say, as the Beast drives many Cainites to dominate, influence and enslave those around them. Over the millennia, this quest for power has taken many forms. In the ancient cities of Mesopotamia and Greece, Cainites stood as nocturnal gods and demigods, pagan monsters who exacted a price in blood for their favors. In Rome, they were emperors and senators of the night, ruling in councils and holding the grandest – and most depraved – of orgies. In the frozen woods of the far north, vampires lurk as spirits of war and wood. In Eastern Europe, they are ancient masters of inbred families both noble and villainous.

Brujah

The Brujah are warriors – but always warriors for a cause. The fierce heat of passion burns within their cold, dead breasts and it drives them to champion causes that they believe can set the world to rights. When Caine slew his brother, he threw the world from its intended course. The horror that it has become must be corrected, and the Brujah intend to do just that. Each member of the clan has her own vision of the way the world should be, and she strives to make that vision become a reality through argument, manipulation and force of arms.

In the earliest nights, passion was not a trait of the Brujah. Indeed, the founder of the clan, Troile, was actually Embraced for his cold wisdom. His ability to assess the virtues of an idea without emotional involvement was valued by his sire and grandsire. However, in his long years banished from the sun, he grew ever more remote from both the humans of the First City and his own childer. What few emotions he had left atrophied completely. As he developed theories, his experiments to test them became ever more cruel. He would use and sacrifice the living and the Damned, just to satisfy an idle whim.

One of his childer, whose name is lost to time, could no longer stand by and watch this cruelty. He dreamed of a world in which the humans and Cainites had at least an understanding. Even then, he thought that genuine peace was too much to ask. He tried to convince his sire to abandon his ruthless behavior. Troile’s arrogant dismissal of the childe’s arguments drove the childe to the very edge of frenzy, and he threw himself at his sire. Long out of practice in hand-to-hand combat, Troile eventually fell beneath his childe’s fists and fangs. Once he had tasted his sire’s blood, the childe was unable to stop himself drinking. Within minutes, Troile was no more.

From the shadows stepped Caine himself, his face clouded with fury. “Never before has one of my progeny drunk the very soul of another. I curse you ever to aspire to your sire’s wisdom, but also to be prey to the very fury which led you to this diabolic act.”

The childe took his sire’s name and position among the third generation. He assumed the burden of Caine’s curse, but also strove toward his own vision of a better world. His passion seemed to spread like wildfire through the line of his childer, and at first he rejoiced in their crusading zeal as they worked to make the world a better place.

In the city of Carthage, Troile (the younger) and his childer worked to establish what he had dreamed of in earlier times: a society in which mortals and Cainites coexisted for their mutual benefit. But again and again he saw those of his clan start to repeat his mistakes and give in to their anger. In despair, he left the city and was never seen again. Carthage fell far from that ifeal, until even some of the demon-worshipping Baali were welcomed within its walls. Soon, the other clans acted under the guidance of Roman Ventrue to destroy this abomination.

The Brujah have fought to improve the world ever since, but the failure of their grand experiment has made their blood boil even hotter. As the centuries pass, the world seems to fall ever further from what it should be. As kine philosophies, religions and ideas multiply, proliferate and die, the clan becomes more divided as to what should be done to make the world right – and even as to what that right should be. Many of the younger members of the clan no longer heed to the wisdom of their elders. Their blood calls to them to do something now, not watch and observe for a few centuries until the patterns of society become apparent to them. The elders merely shake their heads and recall the misjudged dreams of their own youth.

Some Brujah follow the great philosphies and religions of the past, while others adopt new faiths and ideals with equal vigor and convince themselves that the salvation of the fallen world lies there. Some even jump from idea to idea in search of the one that fires their imagination and drives them toward a better world. All of them pursue their ideals with a vigor and commitment that would put a hardened crusader to shame.

Sobriquet: Zealots

Appearance: The Brujah have always chosen among the best of humanity for their childer, so most of them are strong, well built and imposing. However, they tend toward the ideal of fitness, rather than simple transitory notions of beauty. The women are strikingm rather than beautiful, for example. The clan’s adoption of, and commitment to, mortal philosophies and ideas keeps the Brujah in touch with mortal fashion, and most dress in ways that match the local area. Most tend to be extremely neat in their dress, as if perfection in attire could help their quest for perfection in the world.

Haven and Prey: Almost without exception the Brujah choose to live amid the bustle of humanity, usually in a city or busy town. They pick places where exceptional thinkers or believers make their homes. Often a sire and childe haven together, with the sire subjecting the fledgling to long periods of tuition and physical training. In recent years, small groups of young Cainites with similar beliefs have set up communal havens. Most Brujah prey on the dull, the weak, the ignorant or those who choose to take a stand against the idea that the vampire espouses. The dullards should perform some small service, even it they can’t see the truth.

The Embrace: The Brujah look for three qualities in recruits: commitment to a cause, the intelligence to comprehend that cause and the passion needed to make it a reality. Most choose their childer from the upper echelons of society, assuming that the most capable can be found in their number. A small but significant number of the clan, however, were low-born in life but showed enough drive, belief and spirit to attract the attention of an undying Zealot.

Character Creation: Te majority of the clan takes either Physical or Mental Attributes as their primary group. Younger members of the clan are slightly more likely to have Physical Attributes as their primary choice. Social Attributes almost always fall a poor third. Their Demeanors are often cool and aloof, but all have Natures that are passionate, even aggressive. Most have a decent balance of martial Skills and Knowledges. The newly Embraced sometimes have Talents in their primary group, as their sires plan to mold the development of promising childer so that they come to espouse the correct ideals. Most of the clan can be found charging along the Road of Humanity, the Road of Heaven or even the Road of Kings.

Clan Disciplines: Celerity, Potence, Presence

Weaknesses: Thanks to Caine’s curse upon the first diablerist, the fury of the clan’s founder runs through the veins of all Brujah. Their tempers are always close to the surface, which makes them even more prone to frenzy than other Cainites. The difficulty of a Brujah’s roll to resist frenzy is always two higher (four higher in d20 systems) than the listed number.

Organization: The Brujah have found so many different ideals to espouse in the Dark Medieval world that they find it increasingly hard to work together. Often a sire and her fledgling stay together for some years, with the childe acting as an apprentice to his sire. The childe usually finds his own cause and sets off alone to pursue it wherever he thinks best, rather than waiting to be formally released. In some major cities, groups of Brujah gather every few years for grand councils in which each puts forth his or her view of the world and the clan’s role within it. Sometimes they achieve great things at these councils, and a great and passionate speaker wins over many of her fellows to a particular cause. More often than not, though, they become week-long exercises in circular debates and all-out conflict.

Quote: With the wisdom of a few more years behind you, you will be able to see why what you propose is wrong. I truly believe that my way of addressing this challenge will achieve the best results for us all.

Stereotypes

The High Clans: They cling to some ideals, to be sure. Too often, though, these ideals are selfish and achieve nothing more than the advancement of a single Cainite at the expense of his fellows and the world itself.

The Low Clans: Some are dullards, worthy of neither our attention nor of the effort it would take to disdain them. A few bring new ideas that we would do well to examine.

Lasombra: These shadow lurkers are everything that is wrong with the world, locked up in an animate corpse.

Malkavians: Where wisdom drives us to anger, insight drives Malkav’s children to madness. You can learn much from their words, as long as you stay wary of them.

Toreador: Like us, they seek wisdom in the ways of man. Unlike us, they seem to find nothing but distraction and games.

Ventrue: We hate them for bringing an end to our greatest chance to make this world right. We pity them, for they are unable to do anything but shore up

Cappadocian

For members of Clan Cappadocian, bloodline is often as much a philosophy as it is a lineage. The vast majority of Cappadocians are fascinated by the concepts of death and undeath – most specifically with what remains once the eternal soul has left the body. Some were scholars in their mortal lives, while others were men of faith of philosophers. Such inquisitive natures remain vital even after the Embrace, and although the Cappadocians’ bodies resemble those of the dead, their minds are quite alive with the metaphysical secrets of the night. Their studies and obsessions manifest most potently on their twisted Discipline of Mortis.

Within this archetype, however, these so-called Graverobbers vary widely. For every one who was a priest following the events of the Crusades, there is a clanmate who was a knight fighting in those same holy wars. While the Cappadocians are not politically powerful as a clan, they do earn their place among the High Clans with their knowledge, wisdom and contacts. The most politically active act as advisors to princes, viziers to mortal kings and even tutors to royal families, while the scholarly more typically haunt monasteries or plunder graveyards for the “subjects” of their inquiries beyond the veil of mortality.

The clan is suspected of originating in the depths of Anatolia or Armenia; several clan legends mention desert sands, subterranean cities and rolling plains. The progenitor og the clan, known only as Cappadocius (“of Cappadocia”), gives his childer great berth, merely asking that they uphold the quest for answers to the undead state. Scholars believe that many Cappadocians either spend their nights in the cold arms of torpor or have immigrated into the Saracen East, as Cainite history implies that they were once far more common than they are tonight.

Although they are disorganized and far-flung, many revere knowledge and congregate at certain times in temples, libraries and universities. There, they consult with one another on what they have learned, trading secrets and blasphemies, sainted truths and gossip. The clan’s spiritual center is said to be in the great temple at Erciyes in Anatolia, where Lady Constancia acts as priestess and oracle, and where fragments of The Book of Nod were gathered at the end of the 12th century. Despite the fact that no outsiders – and very few Cappadocian neonates – have seen Erciyes, there are rumors of temples more secret and more terrible still, including buried necropolises of ages past.

With its broad scope and well-travelled members, Clan Cappadocian has Cainites all over Europe and even to the south and east. Coptic monasteries in Africa are havens to Graverobbers, as are the courts of pashas beyond the Levant and even the halls of the Giovanni, a Venetian merchant family rumoured to be skilled at the arts of nigrimancy. It is a cosmopolitan clan, with as many of its members claiming humble origins as hail from noble or clerical stock. To the Cappadocians, a keen mind is more important than breeding, and any Cainite with an inquisitive nature earns the esteem of his sire and peers.

Other clans often regard the Cappadocians as secretive and morbid, which is true to some extent. Indeed their practice of Mortis and related studies require patient research and a plentiful supply of dead flesh. Members of the clan have been known to cloister themselves for decades, emerging from their laboratories and havens onl to procure sustenance and subjects for their experiments – often one in the same. Beneath this dark side, however, lies a serious spirituality in many Cappadocians. Although their practices tend to make them cold, alien and withdrawn from the mortal world, they delve into mysteries that lesser Cainites and kine couldn’t begin to fathom.

Sobriquet: Graverobbers

Appearance: Afflicted as they are by their clan weakness, the Cappadocians all exhibit a ghastly pallor and emaciated frames. Many try to hide this corpselike appearance, though it is not so pronounced in some cases. They tend to affect the garbs of their station, from the cassocks of simple monks and scholars to the fine robes of a chamberlain or even the rotting rags of a gravedigger.

Haven and Prey: Cappadocians usually make their havens away from the mortal world and even other Cainites, where they may study in seclusion or conduct morbid experiments without unsettling other residents. Such havens include disused chambers of castles, out-of-the-way monasteries, neglected cellars and Roman-era sewers or cisterns.

Of all the High Clans, the Cappadocians are probably the least exclusive when it comes to choosing prey. Indeed, many Cappadocians see the Kiss as little more than a function, and they deny the emotional charge it gives to both predator and prey. Few Cappadocians have any reservations about feeding from animals or even corpses, but fresh human blood is still more delectable. When they do feed from mortals, Graverobbers are often as unobtrusive as they are in Cainite society, discreetly feeding from the dregs and untouchables of humankind.

The Embrace: Being possessed of somewhat morbid mindsets, the Cappadocians usually Embrace those who are interested in death or work with it in some fashion, or those whose scholarly talents may be turned to the Graverobbers’ own intellectual and spiritual pursuits. Soldiers, priests, hermits, pilgrims, gravediggers and supposed witches have all been Embraced into Clan Cappadocian. Additionally, the clan seems inclined to less of the European prejudices then the other clans exhibit, Embracing such far-flung folk as Persians, Moors and other foreigners.

Character Creation: Mental Attributes and Knowledges tend to be primary among Cappadocians. Concepts, Natures and Demeanors lean toward the introspective and contemplative, while Virtues lean toward one extreme or the other, either very developed or callously ignored after the Embrace. Backgrounds, like other aspects of the Cappadocians’ personalities, usually focus on making the Cainite self-sufficient or at least well regarded by others. There are Cappadocians on every major road, but most tend toward the Roads of Heaven or of Sins. The clan’s most spiritual and morbid members follow their own Road of Bones.

Clan Disciplines: Auspex, Fortitude, Mortis

Weaknesses: The Cappadocians bear the visage of death, which makes their skin appear cold and corpselike. No matter how much vitae a Cappadocian imbibes, she never shows the “flush of life” that other Cainites may choose to display. This grim condition also exacerbates with age, and some of the most venerable Cappadocians literally resemble nothing so much as shrunken cadavers. Difficulties of Social rolls for Cappadocians – any roll involving a Social Attribute – increase by one (2 in d20 systems).

Organization: While Cappadocians may seem solitary, their inquisitive nature leads them to seek at least correspondence with others. In some cases, they form fraternities or societies of like-minded scholars, while others form coteries whose journeys may lead to the recovery of a lost relic. Others are simply cabals of fellow intellectuals who share their observations. The clan as a whole has no formal hierarchy (although most voice respect for the priests at Erciyes), so it is up to individual Graverobbers to provide for their social urges individually.

Quote: Is our undeath a curse or an exultation? No easy answer exists. It is the question that has plagued us since God cast out Caine.

Stereotypes

The High Clans: Our station is among them, but I don’t recall ever being offered a choice.

The Low Clans: Even were I capable of sympathy, I probably wouldn’t spare any for these mongrels.

Brujah: Too many of them have forgotten the first half of their roles as philosopher-kings.

Tzimisce: They are cruel and deluded; the mysteries they seek are merely of the transcendent flesh.

Ventrue: Arrogant and vain, but nonetheless strong leaders made stronger by our own counsel. Their positive qualities are often offset by their selfishness, however.

Special Note: The Cappadocian clan has become a minor bloodline following the Feast of Folly in 1444 when a large gathering of them including Cappadocious were diablerized by the Giovanni. Players wishing to play a Cappadocian character should submit a reasonable request to the administration complete with a well written background and reason for wanting to play one. Only serious requests will be considered. Otherwise, you are free to play a Giovanni clan character without a request.

Lasombra

Devious and refined, the Clan of Shadows sees itself as the superior bloodline in a world governed by superior blood. Lasombra believe that where the Low Clans exist to shoulder the burden of Caine’s curse, the High Clans – led by their highest clan, naturally – function as the inheritors of his majesty. They are the embodiment of Divine Right, and the absolute epitome of Cainite existence. As a result, the Lasombra accept no other Cainites as equals, although they readily admit that each clan has its place in Cainite society. That place simply lies beneath that of the Lasombra.

From its earliest nights, Clan Lasombra has been associated with the lands around the Mediterranean Sea, where the clan’s founder is said to have been born and first brought into undeath so many millennia ago. Since then, his dark seed has crept outward, touching all the surrounding coastal lands and isles, including Iberia, Italy, North Africa and Byzantium. The center of this dark domain is the Castel d’Ombro (Castle of Shadows) in Sicily, wherein the Eldest himself is rumored to lie in fitful sleep. To this night, pilgrims of Lasombra’s line come from all over to visit the shadowy isle in search of an evening’s discourse with the patriarch of their blood – the Cainite king of kings – or his venerable regent, Montano.

One characteristic endemic to the Lasombra character is an insatiable appetite for power in all its myriad forms. From the bushed quarters of cloisters to the glimmering halls of royal rule, Lasombra seek to entwine their shadowy tendrils around every realm of influence available to them. According to clan lore, however, such ambition is merely the outward manifestation of their internal struggles. The Lasombra claim that it is their curse to exist as eternal conduits to the Abyss itself, that they might be perpetually confronted by the inner darkness of the undead form. This curse has given the Lasombra an instinctual awareness that undeath is much more than mere feral subsistence, and many seek their own mastery of this eternal conflict through a reconnection with the divine. One clan tendency feeds into another, as spiritual revelation drives many Lasombra into the arms of the Church – the greatest single source of power in the Medieval world. As such, the entire monolithic organization, from its lowliest parishioners to the papacy itself, crawls with the machinations of the clan and its numerous mortal agents. Indeed many of the clan’s most prominent members are those with the strongest ties to mortal religious institutions, such as Archbishop Ambrosio Luis Monçadam a Castilian ancilla with a great deal of power across the clan.

The spread of Islam throughout the Iberian peninsula, however, saw a terrible rift appear throughout the clan. During the golden age of Córdoban Caliphate, many Muslim Lasombra claimed vast demesnes in al-Andalus, signaling the dawn of a shadow war with entrenched Christian clan members already in residence. Even the Amici Noctis (“Friends of the Night”), the secretive ruling council of the clan, was split by religious difference: Just as many clan elders supported the mortal Reconquista as rallied against it. The Christian faction mounted a “Shadow Reconquista” to eject their Muslim clanmates and the tide of mortal fates have turned their way in recent times. Rumor has it that Montano has brokered a secret accord to ensure that Muslim Lasombra who accept the mounting Christian victories (and abandon their Muslim allies of other clans) can maintain their domains in the expanding Castile-León. If this afreement does exist, there are certainly Lasombra who reject it, such as the zealous Sultan Badr of Granda.

Although they are bitterly divided over Iberia, Christian and Muslim Lasombra find common cause in hatred for their clanmates in the Cainite Heresy. While the notion that the clan itself is of superior breeding appeals to even religious Lasombra, they draw the line at the system of beliefs those in the Heresy adopt. Lasombra Heretics have proven both subtle and powerful, and they comprise the majority of the Crimson Curia that rules that twisted church. However, since the recent death of Narses of Venice, one of the sect’s most prominent Lasombra, the Heresy has suffered many losses and found itself in a state of turmoil. Some feel that the end of the heretical movement may now be in sight, and pious Lasombra are debating putting aside their sectarian difference in order to crush the Heresy once and for all.

Sobriquet: Magisters

Appearance: Lasombra hail almost exclusively from noble families, particularly those of Italian, Moorish or Spanish extraction. Features are often fine and well-bred, with dark or olive skin draped in the finest raiment wealth can provide. The Exception to this rule lies in those Lasombra connected with holy orders, who often dress in vestments or other simple attire as befits their service to God.

Haven and Prey: Often born into wealth, many Lasombra take refuge in the manors of landed estates of their own mortal families. Some Magisters simply engage in clever transfer of title by masquerading as their own inheritors after their transition into undeath, allowing them to retain pecuniart control over any former holdings. Such maneuvers also allow for convenient feeding, as significant numbers of live-in mortals are required to maintain such domains. Lasombra lurking among churchmen often feed from the lay of the congregation, although some feel a compunction against this sort of behavior and seek out sinners to punish with feeding.

The Embrace: Lasombra typically Embrace from among the most highly regarded members of whatever society they belong to. In these nights this distinction includes individuals of title and station or (equally as often) men and women of the cloth. Innate aptitudes are highly regarded as well, as the Lasombra then to view the Cainite condition as merely a magnification of an individual’s latent capabilities. Many Lasombra take pride in those whom they would Embrace, wooing their would-be-childer for months or even years at a time. Indeed, the length of this dark courtship is a good indication of the sire’s esteem for her fledgling.

Character Creation: Magisters respect only excellence. Therefore, they price Mental Attributes and Talents most highly, followed closely by whatever traits the cmpire requires in order to excel at his duties. Although many Natures are appropriate for Lasombra characters, those that favor ambition or guile (such as Autocrat or Pedagogue) are the most common. Influence and Resources are common as Backgrounds among Magisters, as are either Domain or Mentor, but rarely both; Lasombra do not appreciate being openly vassal to anyone. The majority of the clan walks either the Road of Heaven or the Road of Kings, although a dedicated few preach the clan’s own puritanical Road of Night.

Clan Disciplines: Dominate, Obtenebration, Potence

Weaknesses: Magisters cannot be seen in mirrors or in other reflective surfaces, such as pools of still water or quicksilver. In addition, as creatures of darkness and shade, the Lasombra are greatly pained by the garish presence of bright light, and they suffer an additional level of aggravated damage from any exposure to sun-light.

Organization: On the whole the clan’s organization is a structured one, with position often stemming from a combination of factors such as age, ancestry and past accomplishments. Although few decisions that affect the entire clan are made in formal gatherings, the presence of the Amici Noctis provides an overarching semblance of order for the clan at large. Specifically, the Friends are responsible for the disposition of the Courts of Blood, a method of clan jurisprudence whereby one Lasombra may call for the blood of another, petitioning the Friends for the right to commit the Amaranth. Otherwise, much of clan policy is established in private chambers between a single Lasombra and his visitors, or in secret, between a trusted Magister and his Cainite liege…or prey.

Quote: Naturally, I would like to be of assistance, and your argument is indeed a compelling one. Whether or not I can convince his Lordship of your innocence is another matter. Perhaps if there were good enough cause for me to intercede on your behalf…

Stereotypes:

The High Clans: Those who fancy themselves pretenders to the Lasombra throne. What more need be said?

The Low Clans: In every society there are those who lead and those who must follow. If they do not like it, they can always return to the leprous pit from whence they came. It is high time that the underlings of the night recognized that they have masters in eternity.

Assamite: ‘Tis a shame that the Children of Haqim have not learned from the failings of their contemporaries. In their fervor, they have become as blind as those against whom they would spend an eternity at bitter ends.

Brujah: In taking up the sword, they passed the torch of scholarship to those better suited to such pursuits; a decision they rue to this very night. Indeed, it would seem that the Zealots spend a great deal of time nursing regret.

Ravnos: Graciously welcome one into any court at which you may be an advisor, then graciously watch as the Charlatan tightens the noose around his own incompetent neck.

Tzimsce: The epitome of the vampire noble-savage, although typically a trifle heavy on the savage part. Watch their war with the Tremere Usurpers closely, for it may determine our outlook regarding further interaction with these warlords.

Ventrue: Always stay at least one step ahead of these Teutonic curs, and at all times, lead them to believe that they are at least three steps behind you.