Clans and Bloodlines

Brujah
Nicknames- Rebels, the Rabble, Punks
About- Clan Brujah is largely composed of rebels, both with and without causes. Individualistic, outspoken and turbulent, Brujah hold social change near to their undead hearts, and the clan's ranks contain some of the most violent of the Camarilla Kindred. Most other vampires perceive the Brujah as nothing more than punks and miscreants, but the truth of the matter is that genuine passion lies behind their polemics.

Brujah adopt pet passions and causes, which they support with volume and vitriol. Some brujah follow charismatic members of their clan, while others prefer stances of blatant, defiant individualism. The clan claims a history rich with warrior-poets, and it has adapted this concept into the modern night; many Brujah are glad to have an opportunity to speak their minds, then indulge in a bit of destruction afterwards to illustrate their points.

The Rabble's espousal of change unites them, albeit tenuously, in their nightly crusades. Given a common enemy, Brujah with vastly differing ideals will join side by side to oppose their foe. After that foe is defeated, however, all bets are off and it's back to business as usual. A common Brujah theme involves the foundation of a Kindred "Utopia," or the re-creation of a mythical one from nights past, though each Brujah vampire has a different idea of what said Utopia is.

Brujah rely on chaotic behavior and upheaval to get their ideas across, and the Rabble are allowed a certain leeway that other clans do not have. In fact, Brujah are almost expected to be incoherent and bellicose; this stereotype works to the advantage of many eloquent, well-spoken members of the clan, who have no need to resort to violence when making their arguments.

Respected for their martialry and readiness to rally under a banner, the Brujah are the phyisical strength of the Camarilla. Of late, however, many Rabble neonates see their role in the Camarilla as an institution unto itself, and more than a little unrest circulates among the clan.


Malkavian
Nicknames- Lunatics, Kooks
About- The Malkavians are a Clan of Kindred cursed with insanity. Every Malkavian is in some fashion insane; in game terms, they have at least one derangement they can never remove. They are one of the original seven clans of the Camarilla and, strangely enough, a pillar of the organization. Throughout history, the Malkavians have been the seers and oracles of the Kindred, bound by strange compulsions and insight.

Nosferatu
Nicknames- Sewer Rats, Creeps (Sabbat), Lepers (archaic), Nossies
About- The most visibly cursed of all Kindred, the Embrace warps each Nosferatu into a hideously deformed creature; the archetypal Nosferatu resembles Max Shreck's Count Orlok, though the curse has any number of variations. The Nosferatu are the spymasters of the dead, collecting information and selling it for a dear price. They are also the masters of the underground, living in the sewers for protection.

Toreador
Nicknames- Degenerates, Perverts / Pervs (Sabbat), Artisans (archaic), Torries
About- The Toreador are some of the most beautiful and glamorous of the Kindred. Famous (and infamous) as a clan of artists and innovators they are one of the bastions of the Camarilla, as their very survival depends on the facades of civility and grace on which the sect prides itself.

Tremere
Nicknames- Warlocks, Wizards, Mages, Usurpers
About- One of the youngest vampire clans, having just come into existence during the dark ages. In the little time since then they have made incredible inroads within vampiric society and are arguably the most powerful clan in the modern nights. This is due in no small part to their strict heirarchy, secretive nature, and mastery of Thaumaturgy, all of which elicit suspicion, fear, and respect from other Cainites. The Warlocks stand as a pillar of the Camarilla and are one its main defenders, despite the fact that they exist almost as a subsect. Some even go so far as to consider themselves the evolution of vampirism, citing their extreme versatility of blood magic and lack of a true clan curse. The Final Nights have many things in store for the Tremere, however, and the more powerful they grow the more their enemies gather.

Ventrue
Nicknames- Blue Bloods, Patricians, Warlords
About- Has long been one of the proudest lines of vampires, and its members work hard to maintain a reputation for honor, genteel behavior, and leadership. A sense of noblesse oblige has ever pervaded the clan, accompanied by the genuine belief that the Ventrue know what's best for everyone. Considering themselves the oldest Clan, it's no surprise they see themselves as the enforcers of tradition and the rightful leaders of vampire society. Unsurprisingly, they've long been chosen from the ranks of nobility and privilege, traditionally those roles have included kings, knights, and merchant princes; in more modern years, businessmen and lawyers and government leaders have filled the void.

The general belief is that the Ventrue, a clan considered old-fashioned by most, is floundering in these latter nights; however, the Ventrue have a long history of adapting to keep hold of their power. In the modern nights the Ventrue are more politician than warrior, more CEO than baron. They remain the largest supporters of the Camarilla and the Masquerade, believing both institutions to be the surest means of protecting vampires from the mortal masses... and of guarding their own power.

Lasombra
Nicknames- Keepers, Shadows, Magisters
About- The leaders of the Sabbat, clan Lasombra are darwinists, predators, elegant and inhuman. Firm believers in the worthy ruling and the unworthy serving, the Lasombra have maintained their traditions even as they have turned the Sabbat to their own purposes.

Tzimisce
Nicknames- Fiends
About- The Tzimisce were once the most feared of all clans. With the downfall of feudalism, and the rise of the usurper Tremere, they are a shadow of their former selves. Disjointed as any clan in the Sabbat, they don't even fill the majority of the leadership positions. Still, they hold a great deal of power, regardless of who realizes it. The clan has access to many powerful sorceries, Disciplines, and eldritch lores.

The clan has many dark points of its history. However, bargains with demons, twisted experiments, and unforgivable sins have yielded powerful weapons.


Assamites
Nicknames- Assassins
About-The time of the Anarch Revolt was a good one for the Assamites. The Clan's modus operandi changed not in the slightest, and yet they could openly diablerize to their hearts' content, while the elders of the other bloodlines were too busy fighting off their own childer to worry about other assassins. When younger vampires assaulted their sire's haven and broken into his secret lair but discovered nothing but a freshly-made pile of ash, it's a fair bet than an Assamite was responsible.

Unfortunately for the Clan, but fortunately for everyone else, this open season on all other vampires forced the newly-formed Camarilla's hand, and faced against the combined power of seven Clans, even the Assamites took a step back and were forced to re-judge their position in things. The prospects were not favorable: in addition to the Camarilla, the remaining Anarchs cared not where they obtained their blood, so long as it was more powerful than theirs (an attitude not uncommon among the Assamites themselves). This may not have been incentive enough if it were not the case that many Assamites had suffered at the hands of the Inquisition as well, who were more than happy to eliminate creatures of the night who just so happened to also be heretics and heathens.

Thus it was that the elders of Clan Assamite ended up choosing the lesser evil over the greater (at least from their point of view): instead of being hunted down by the whole of vampire society, as well as the mortal, they agreed to submit to a blood-curse cast by the Tremere. In addition to solidyfing the Tremere power in the sect, this spell also prevented Assamites from gaining nourishment and power from Cainite blood, thus rendering diablerie pointless. Rumored additional affects hold that the Assamites would have to feed more often, since even the mortal blood they supped would drain from their bodies in order to feed the curse. This, as well as the fact that Assamites often gave up their vitae to their elders, ensured that every single Assamite on the globe was going hungry, even when they were "full".


Followers of Set
Nicknames- Set/Seth/Typhon
About- The Followers of Set are one of the most universily reviled clans. Although not much is known about this secretive clan, much of their lore and history hints at a dark origin.

Gangrel
Nicknames- Outlanders, Beasts
About- There are many ways to describe the vampires who make up Clan Gangrel, but few of them are overtly complimentary. The phrases "feral", "bestial", "violent", "animalistic", and "god damn those furry loner bastards" are the most common. However, these terms are also very appropriate for the Clan that is infamous for its strong connection to the animal kingdom and the natural world. Since the nights of prehistory, the Gangrel have been the Clan that has shunned civilization and all the comforts that make the other Clans soft. The Gangrel are a clan of survivors and hunters, who enjoy the chase at least as much as the hot rush of blood as they tear into their prey.

Few Clans get along with the Gangrel, but this suits the Outlanders perfectly fine. They have little presence in the Jyhad, and prefer to keep it that way. Where other Clans may focus on the nightly social oneupsmanship called Elysium, or the orgiastic rites of the Sabbat, the Gangrel generally prefer to spend time on their own, purusing their own agendas. Many Gangrel go completely wild, and scorn all human and vampire contact for decades at a time. The eldest Gangrel seek out the most isolated and undeveloped places in the world they can find. As long as they have a regular supply of blood and a safe place to rest for the day, few Gangrel have political aspirations beyond keeping their territory safe from Cainite poachers.

The reason why the Gangrel are shunned by the other Clans is their penchant for delving too deeply into their animalistic and predatory natures. Where a Toreador luxurizes in the pretensions of high society, or a Brujah wallows in an ear-pounding rave, a Gangrel looks to the dark, close forests and the beasts of the night which occupy them for inspiration and emulation. Gangrel are frequently associated with wolves, to the extent that most vampires recognize a wolf's head as the symbol of the Clan. However, Gangrel have lessons to learn from the rest of the animal kingdom as well, and there are scavengers, ambush predators, and even vampire "vegetarians" among the Clan.


Giovanni
Nicknames- Necromancers, Necrophiles/iliacs
About- The usurpers of clan Cappadocian and the youngest clan of Caine, the Giovanni are both a clan and a family. They Embrace exclusively within their family (one of many things kept within the family), and are heavily focused on two goals: money and (necromantic) power.

Ravnos
Nicknames- Gypsies, criminals, deceivers
About- Nobody in the west understood the Ravnos, and now in the Final Nights, its too late to do so. Misunderstood as a clan of gypsies and tricksters, the western Ravnos are a minor and heretical branch of the undead lords of India. Gifted with the power to manipulate maya, the Ravnos saw themselves as tempters and avengers, replacing the fallen Kuei Jin in the scheme of the universe. All that is irrelevant now, however, as Zapathasura rose from his slumber in the Week of Nightmares and in his own death throes, wiped out nearly all of his clan.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 05.04.2012

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To the fans of the White Wolfe Series.