Clans in Vampire: The Masquerade
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World of Darkness |
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Vampirism |
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Masquerade society |
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Masquerade lore |
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Masquerade history |
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Requiem |
In White Wolf Game Studio's role-playing game Vampire: the Masquerade, a clan (often spelled Clan, with capitalization) is a group of vampires "related" by blood; i.e. the vampiric equivalent of an extended family or lineage. A clan is usually a large group, acknowledged widely in the vampiric society, and not a small offshoot (which is called a bloodline).
It is assumed that each clan descended from a single progenitor (called Antediluvians in Vampire: The Masquerade and Vampire: The Dark Ages, who passed to each of his descendants, or childer, his unique gifts and flaws. However, in the original World of Darkness, it is also assumed that each of these Antediluvians came from a common source: commonly accepted to be Caine, the first murderer.
The Book of Nod names certain clans as the original thirteen; the Kingship Clan (Ventrue), the Clan of the Beast (Gangrel), the Moon Clan (Malkavian), the Clan of the Hidden (Nosferatu), the Wanderer Clan (Ravnos), the Clan of the Rose (Toreador), the Night Clan (Lasombra), the Clan of Shapers (Tzimisce), the Snake Clan (Setites), the Clan of Death (Cappadocians), the Healer's Clan (Salubri), the Clan of the Hunt (Assamites) and the Learned Clan (Brujah). Other fragments have alluded to the possibility of there being other clans who did not survive into the final nights.
Each clan within a domain will send a representative, called a Primogen, who is usually the eldest and most powerful member of the clan, to attend the prince's advisory council.
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[edit] Clans
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[edit] Assamite
Assamites are mostly an Independent clan with antitribu in the Sabbat and Schismatics in the Camarilla. The clan consists of three castes: Warriors, Viziers and Sorcerers. Their progenitor is Haqim and their clan disciplines are Celerity, Obfuscate and Quietus, with the Viziers replacing Obfuscate with Auspex and Sorcerers replacing Celerity with Assamite Sorcery. Much of the Assamite symbology is Arabic in origin. Even their clan stronghold Alamut, which was once occupied by the Hashashin cult that inspired the first version of the clan. Each of the three castes have their own weaknesses: Warriors are extremely susceptible to become addicted to vampiric vitae, Viziers have an obsessive-compulsive disorder that is related to a specific creative or intellectual trait, and Sorcerers have practiced their blood magic for so long that their aura is soaked with the magical energies.
[edit] Baali
Baali are an infernalist clan, who are called "monsters" and "demons" even by other vampires. Much of the Baali symbology is Mesopotamian and Phoenician in origin. The very name Baali is originated from the Phoenician word Ba'al, meaning "great lord". They fear and are repulsed by religion and the trappings therein, even more so than the rest of the Kindred. Their progenitors are Ashur and allegedly Saulot and their clan disciplines are Daimoinon, Obfuscate and Presence.
[edit] Brujah
Brujah are a clan that is characterized mostly as anarchists in the modern setting. They are warriors and brutes, idealists and iconoclasts. In the past they were warrior-philosophers who engineered the creation of Carthage, a city where kindred and kine walked freely amongst each other. Most of them are descendants of Troile, who supposedly diablerized Ilyes; the remaining vampires of the so-called True Brujah clan are practically extinct. Their clan disciplines are Celerity, Potence and Presence, and their weakness is their susceptibility to frenzy.
[edit] Cappadocian
Cappadocians are an extinct clan, who were driven by their desire to understand the limits between life and death. Their progenitor was Cappadocius, who unlike the other Antediluvians, sought peace, understanding of the world and of the curse of his blood in order to hopefully escape from its grasp. Their clan disciplines were Auspex, Fortitude and Mortis.
Around the time of the Dark Ages, Cappadocius had his second in command bring to him a powerful man named Augustus Giovanni to him to be Embraced into the clan. Augustus Giovanni turned on Cappadocius and diablerized him, thus making himself a third generation vampire. Augustus then founded the clan Giovanni and had nearly all Cappadocians hunted down and killed. It is believed that a few Cappadocians live on as the Samedi bloodline, cursed with the appearance of death. The Sabbat bloodline calling itself the Harbingers of Skulls also claims descent from the Cappadocian clan.
[edit] Followers of Set
Followers of Set are an independent clan who trace their origin to ancient Egyptian god Set. They are known as corruptors and keepers of secrets. Their clan disciplines are Obfuscate, Presence and Serpentis, and their weakness is their extreme vulnerability to light.
[edit] Gangrel
Gangrel are a feral and independent clan, who once were members of Camarilla but then abandoned it. Their progenitor is Ennoia and their clan disciplines are Animalism, Fortitude and Protean. As they grow older and frenzy their appearance becomes more animalistic.
[edit] Giovanni
Giovanni are an independent clan of necromancers. Their progenitor is Augustus Giovanni[1], and most of the clan members are members of his family and their descendants. Their clan disciplines are Dominate, Necromancy and Potence and their weakness is the pain their Kiss causes to mortals, instead of the pleasure usually produced by feeding a kindred. Giovanni also have close ties to organized crime.
[edit] Lasombra
Lasombra are the rulers of Sabbat. Their power over shadows is unnerving to most as well as the fact, that unlike other vampires, they don't cast a reflection nor appear in photographs or videos. In addition to casting no shadow, they are also more vulnerable to sunlight. Some Lasombra do cast a reflection, but it is of a decomposing corpse or a skeleton depending on how long the Lasombra has been a vampire. Their progenitor is Lasombra and their clan disciplines are Dominate, Obtenebration and Potence.
[edit] Malkavian
Malkavians are a clan known for their insanity. All members of this clan have a permanent derangement that cannot ever be completely overcome. In addition to their insanity, or maybe even deriving from it, Malkavians can gain immense insight to mysterious and unknown things. Their progenitor is Malkav and their clan disciplines are Auspex, Dementation and Obfuscate.
[edit] Nosferatu
Nosferatu are a secretive clan, whose weakness is their horrid appearance, inspired by Count Orlok from the movie Nosferatu. It is said that these deformities even "heal" back over time after being affected by Vicissitude Fleshcrafting. They are gatherers of knowledge and secrets, who usually sell their information to the highest bidder. Their progenitor is Absimilliard and their clan disciplines are Animalism, Obfuscate and Potence.
[edit] Ravnos
Ravnos are an independent clan often seen as compulsive gamblers, thieves, liars, and criminals in general. They trace their origins to India. Each member of the clan is addicted to a specific area of criminal or otherwise disruptive activity. Their progenitor is Dracian (also called Zapathasura) and their clan disciplines are Animalism, Chimerstry and Fortitude.
[edit] Toreador
Toreador are a clan of artists and lovers of beauty. They are often enthralled by the beauty they see around them, even becoming immobilized with fascination. Toreadors are probably more in touch with the mortals than any other vampire clan. Their progenitor is Arikel (also known as Ishtar) and their clan disciplines are Auspex, Celerity and Presence.
[edit] Tremere
Tremere are a tightly hierarchical clan of blood magicians. Unlike other clans, the Tremere of Vampire: The Masquerade did not all descend from a single progenitor. Rather, they were mages that used the blood of Tzimisce to become vampires. The wizard Tremere then gained the status of an Antediluvian by performing diablerie on Saulot, the Antediluvian father of the Salubri clan. Despite this, the Tremere are still considered a clan by most modern-day vampires, presumably because of their usefulness to the Camarilla. All Tremere must drink from the blood of the seven elders of the clan, thus bonding them to the clan as a whole. Their progenitor is Tremere[2] and their clan disciplines are Auspex, Dominate and Thaumaturgy.
[edit] Tzimisce
Tzimisce are flesh crafters and the spiritual leaders of Sabbat. Their weakness is their intense bond to their home, unable to sleep properly without the presence of familiar soil. Their progenitor is referred to only as "The Eldest" and their clan disciplines are Animalism, Auspex and Vicissitude.
[edit] Ventrue
Ventrue are the founders and leaders of Camarilla. They are natural leaders and business-oriented individuals, who are in charge of many aspects of power and society. They have very exquisite feeding habits, unable to gain sustenance from blood that isn't from their preferred victims, e.g. only young men, no animals, only virgins, etc. Their progenitor is Veddartha and their clan disciplines are Dominate, Fortitude and Presence.
1 Augustus Giovanni was the patriarch of a wealthy family of necromancers, who stole the power of the Cappadocians.
2 Tremere was a powerful mage who stole the power of the sleeping Saulot.
[edit] Bloodlines
It is worth noting that not all vampires belong to one of the major clans, some belong to smaller familial groupings of vampires, called Bloodlines. While some bloodlines are descended from the great clans, others origins are more mysterious and obscure.
[edit] Clanless
In the World of Darkness, there is an increasing number of "clanless"—vampires who were abandoned by their sires immediately following the Embrace and who are ignorant of their clan status; a vampire cannot choose to become clanless. They are called Caitiff by the Camarilla, and are regarded as a sign of the Masquerade spiraling out of control, therefore gaining little respect from their elders. The Sabbat, on the other hand, gladly embraces the clanless (which they call Pander) into the sect. The more superstitious see the growing numbers of these vampires as an omen of the coming Gehenna, the Final Nights of prophecy when all children of Caine will be destroyed.
[edit] New World of Darkness
For the clans that appear in the vampire game for the new World of Darkness, Vampire: The Requiem, see Clans in Vampire: The Requiem.
[edit] Links
- NPC clan gallery NPC (non-player character) gallery with examples of characters of every clan
- White Wolf Wiki - Clan (VTM)
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Vampire: The Dark Ages and Vampire: The Masquerade · Clans and Bloodlines |
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Assamite · Brujah · Caitiff · Daughters of Cacophony (V:TM) · Followers of Set · Gangrel · Giovanni (V:TM) · Kiasyd · Lasombra · Malkavian · Nosferatu · Ravnos · Salubri · Samedi (V:TM) · Toreador · Tremere · Tzimisce · Ventrue |
