Among Kindred historians, the Daeva are suspected of being one of the oldest clans of the Damned. Their moniker suggests a Persian mythological origin, and their abilities suggest that they could be related to the demons from which they take their name. A few ancient writings suggest that the progenitor of the line was a Kindred known as Aesma Daeva, but vampiric scholars debate whether this individual was actually undead or the writings merely draw comparisons to the Persian demon of lust and anger.

The name “Daeva” predates the commonly accepted origin point of Kindred society, generally understood to parallel the ascension of Rome. Certainly, some incarnation of the Daeva existed before then, but whether they had their own society or were merely a rabble of lust-crazed revenants is unknown. After the rise of Rome, the Daeva had become an inextricable part of Kindred society, and vampiric history shows that they were very active in the Camarilla, the first known social contract of the undead.

Other Kindred envy their beauty and grace, their ability to incite passion in mortals, the ease with which they glide through the masses — and that envy is almost as potent a draught to the Daeva as blood itself. These Kindred are consummate predators, and they would seem to be the perfect vampires. Alas, most are too dead inside to enjoy it.

Called Succubi by other clans, the Daeva are experts at making their prey come to them, practically offering themselves not merely as food but as playthings. No self-respecting Daeva resorts to attacking transients in alleyways. Rather, these are the Kindred who accompany a smitten young mortal back to her place, leaving her languid and sexually spent by morning (if she’s fortunate) or an exsanguinated husk (if she’s not). Seducers and sensualists, the Daeva could practically charm the unease off a Nosferatu. When the fancy strikes them, they play politics like a finely tuned instrument. Even allies and coconspirators who know they cannot trust a Succubus find themselves lulled into doing just that, caught up in the Daeva’s personal magnetism. Daeva become Harpies more than Kindred of any other clan, and they wield that power mercilessly. A stinging rebuke from a Daeva Harpy can shred a vampire’s reputation faster than a denunciation by the Prince himself.

Most Succubi are overtly sensual beings, drawn by beauty and blood in equal measure, but it’s an artificial passion. Their ability to feel true attachment to other people atrophies over years of manipulating the love of mortals and the respect of their fellow Kindred, until the Daeva can no longer understand those emotions as anything other than tools to be exploited and motions to imitate. For all their apparent fervor, most Succubi are as dead spiritually as they are physically. They claim to understand desire, but all they truly know is need, and it is this deadening of emotions that causes so many jaded Daeva to become depraved in their efforts to feel again.

Daeva move through the circles of society in which their lustful natures best serve them, whether among high society or low culture. Drawn to beauty and congregations of mortals, they often frequent theaters, galleries, trendy clubs, whiskey dives, drug dens, brothels and everything in between. Personal preferences aside, the Succubi are found through all strata of society. Their seductive natures allow these vampires to find willing vessels no matter where they go, and this ability has enabled them to thrive, to become arguably one of the most numerous clans. No single social class has room for them all, so newcomers and losers of political and social games often find themselves dwelling among the poor and unwashed — or at least the middle classes, which, since their blood is as red as any other, means basically the same thing to most Succubi. Few Kindred are as desperate as a Daeva trying to claw his way into his own niche. Wise Kindred know better than to take advantage of a Daeva in such a position, for fear he’ll one night achieve the position and privilege he seeks. The Succubi never forget a slight.

Nickname: Succubi (male Daeva are sometimes called Incubi, but the clan itself is referred to by the more common female sobriquet)

Covenant: The majority of these Kindred are found within the Invictus. They are well suited to the political game, and here they can surround themselves with lessers, becoming ever more jaded and inhuman as they grow older. Most Daeva are too self-centered to feel the religious calling of the Lancea Sanctum, but those few exceptions who are able to channel their sensual drive into matters of faith often obtain positions of prominence, making the clan seem more numerous in the Lancea Sanctum than it really is. Few Daeva bother with the Carthians. Why fight for an egalitarian society when the current system favors the Daeva? The Ordo Dracul covenant is home to a small number of devoted Daeva, and it would have more if the rigors of the covenant’s policies didn’t make being a hedonist among its ranks less than rewarding. The Circle of the Crone has few Daeva for much the same reasons as the Lancea Sanctum, and those who do join often do so more out of a debased and jaded sense of rebellion against societal mores than any real belief in the Pagans’ teachings. A surprising number of Succubi fall in among the unaligned, convinced, in their own self-perceived superiority, that they have no need for the laws and restrictions of society.

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.

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.

Character Creation: Social Attributes and Skills are of primary concern, particularly those that aid in making good first impressions, in persuading and in seducing. Social Merits are equally common, representing the character’s connections to both mortal and Kindred society. Given that most Daeva feed almost exclusively through manipulation and betrayal, a high starting Humanity score is a good idea, since it’s likely to fall precipitously.

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.

Bloodlines: Duchagne (an aristocratic but degenerate European bloodline that seems to have the ability to directly manipulate the senses and sensations of others), Toreador (a branch of the clan that has recognized its loss of passion and tries to re-create it by inspiring mortals either to creative pursuits or extreme emotions; they invariably grow bored and move on, leaving their former wards desolate), Xiao.

Concepts: Bored socialite, club hopper, club owner, cult leader, cultured serial killer, full-time Harpy, jaded vampire who gets off on being a creature of the night (a fairly melodramatic attitude found only among the very young before the weight of the Requiem fully settles on them), Kindred politico, local covenant spokesman, patron of the arts, professional “escort”

Many Kindred believe that the Gangrel clan is an old one, but due to the Gangrel’s bestial nature, few records exist that can connect their origins to any specific time period. While the murky pre-history of the Kindred contains any number of legends about bestial vampires, not all of these tales coincide with the hallmarks of the Gangrel.

Geographically, the Gangrel seem to hail from what is tonight Eastern Europe, where they came in contact with the nascent Camarilla and were reluctantly drawn into that society. As Rome’s holdings moved westward, so, too did the Camarilla and thus the Gangrel. Historians also theorize strong Gangrel roots in what is modern Scandinavia. Since those early nights of society, the Gangrel have chosen the outlying borders of domains for their own territories. As such, Gangrel are often seen as pioneers, eking out an existence where domains will later form, or as scavengers, clinging desperately to territories and refusing to yield once domains have fallen.

While vampires give mortals a reason to be afraid of the dark, there exist things that give even vampires reason to fear — creatures like the Gangrel, the predators among the predators, the most savage of beasts. Perhaps the only clan whose mere mention almost always elicits a chilled shud- der or a reverent nod, the Gangrel are, in many ways, the “noble savages” of the vampiric race. Upon their Embrace (and sometimes before), the Gangrel seek to sever their ties with everything pertaining to their mortal lives. Many prefer the counsel of animals and other beasts, and some eschew contact with the mortal world entirely. While many retain and even value their humanity, they do so within the bounds and context of their newfound existence, and not as an attempt to hold onto what’s been lost, for no other option is practical to a clan whose very soul is so intimately intertwined with its Beast. While others delude themselves about what the Embrace “truly means,” the Gangrel know what they’ve become, so they strive to make peace with it. On the whole, they spend more time in communion with their bestial side than other vampires do, and though such activity more than accounts for their nickname and reputation, few would disagree that the Gangrel truly benefit from their introspection.

Their special bond with the Beast seems to give many Gangrel a unique insight into the Kindred condition, and some of the wisest vampires to be found in all the world hail from this clan. Whereas other Kindred try to become scholars or philosophers, collecting endless data and positing on the theoretical, the Gangrel are its yogis and medicine men, its bodhisattvas and whirling dervishes. The unequivocal and irreplaceable benefit of first-hand experience flows through them, supplanting the theoretical with the practical, and making the Gangrel widely respected among those who recognize the primeval nature of the Kindred soul. This insight makes the clan invaluable, but also makes it dangerous, and some would just as soon silence the Gangrel as hear their frank wisdom.

Covenant: Many Gangrel are largely unconcerned with matters of Kindred politics, but that’s not to say they don’t have their own views. Perhaps surprisingly, a significant percentage of the clan is active in the Circle of the Crone, which provides spiritually minded Gangrel with a ready-made forum for their rituals and beliefs, and a great many of the Circle’s leaders hail from the clan’s ranks. Some of the more proactive Gangrel find the Carthian mindset appealing, and a number of highly motivated Savages have taken up the cause in recent years. A few Gangrel fall in with the Lancea Sanctum and Invictus, due to the nature of each covenant’s beliefs. Those who are active in the latter group usually work for important elders or are elders themselves, while the few Gangrel of the Lancea Sanctum are among the most frightening and relentless Kindred anyone would ever (not) want to meet. Likewise, the Ordo Dracul sees few Gangrel, though some who join do so not to learn the blood magic of the covenant but to pursue mysteries of their origin without the hauteur of the Lancea Sanctum. A great many Gangrel also find their place among the independent and un- aligned Kindred, whose lack of structure and love of freedom are attractive to Savages who prefer that elders of other clans keep their politics to themselves.

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 func- tion over form, and are rarely caught clad in anything that restricts movement to any great degree. Due to their clan weak- ness, 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.

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.

Character Creation: Gangrel are very honest with themselves about what is and is not their forte, and they seek to improve those things to which they are especially or innately suited. Many Gangrel come off seeming hyper-specialized, their players having devoted significant dots to those Attributes and Skills in which they are focused. This rule is a very general one, however, and numerous exceptions apply. Due to temperament, the aptly named Savages are rarely very strong in the Social department (though entire bloodlines of sociable Gangrel probably exist somewhere), preferring instead to hone body and reinforce the mind. An even mix of Physical and Mental Skills is always good, erring toward the Physical side.

Example: The Gangrel Unholy is chasing Loki, who manages to elude her, but not before he drops a mystic artifact he stole from one of her other old enemies in the Ordo Dracul. The Unholy has a chance to figure out what the artifact is, her player rolling a dice pool of Intelligence + Occult (seven dice). The dice come up 10, 8, 7, 7, 6, 3 and 1. Normally, the player would roll the 10 again, but not in this case, as this dice pool involves the Unholy’s Intelligence Attribute. Furthermore, the 1 rolled cancels out one of the player’s two successes, leaving only one. The Unholy knows that this is an item of mystic significance, but she has no inkling as to what it does or what might activate it.

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.

Bloodlines: Anavashra (mysterious ritualists who claim domains in India and Bangladesh); Anubi (Egyptian cultists who have feuded long with the Lancea Sanctum); Bruja (a rogue biker gang that slakes its thirsts at will and terrorizes Baja Mexico and Southern California); Matasuntha (a bloodline of warriors descended from an ancient warlord of the Huns); Taifa (sociable and sophisticated, these Middle Eastern Gangrel are known for their political savvy and social aptitude).

Concepts: Archeologist, bodyguard, bumpkin, circuit rider, guru, mercenary, nomad, shaman, survivalist, urban predator, zookeeper

Some of the oldest Kindred known to the vampiric world are members of Clan Mekhet, though most spend their time harrowed by the cold sleep known as torpor. While most are predisposed toward solitude, some have traveled with mortal armies and are even suspected of forming undead mercenary factions of their own. As with most other clans, nothing verifiable is known about the progenitor of the Mekhet line. Many stories depict reclusive Mekhet cult-leaders or masters of schools of stealthy soldiers, so the clan might have origins that abut the Pharaohs or philosopher-kings of the Classical or Ancient worlds.

The name Mekhet itself gives some clues as to the clan’s origin, as it is an Egyptian word for “amulet.” Some of the most venerable elders certainly bear features that might be described as Egyptian, while a few have classical Hellenic complexions, which isn’t surprising, considering Greece’s proximity to Egypt. The commerce between the Egyptians and Greeks, and later the Romans, corresponds with the legendary travels of members of this clan, as well as their formative role in the nascent Camarilla. Since that time, the Mekhet have traveled wherever shadows have fallen, wherever secrets lay hidden, and wherever Kindred call upon others to give them counsel.

Vampires have always been creatures of the night by design, but none more so than the dwellers in darkness who compose Clan Mekhet. Darkness is the hallmark of this lineage, and its members surround themselves with it like a corpse wears a shroud. The hallmarks of the clan are stealth and wisdom, so it is entirely fitting that they are associated with darkness — the better to hide them and the source of the knowledge they exhume.

Clan Mekhet comprises one of the most cosmopolitan memberships among the great families of the Kindred. Although they compose a clan born of darkness, these Shadows, as they are known, interpret that darkness in many ways. Some of the clan’s members are masters of the night, using their gifts and undead powers to make a place for themselves within the aristocracy of the Damned. Others are literal skulkers in the shadows, ready to plant a stake in a rival’s heart or steal the wealth from a rival’s haven. Still others are poets or painters, heirs to darkness of a more personal nature. Yet more Mekhet are diviners of secrets, questing after information itself forgotten and thus relegated to the darkness of memory. Clan Mekhet runs the gamut from filth-streaked murderers to enlightened philosopher-Princes and everything in between.

While the clan certainly has coarse members, the Mekhet are, by and large, marked by a certain degree of finesse with whatever aspect of tenebrous unlife they choose to pursue. A Mekhet bodyguard, for example, is unlikely to be a brawling brute, but more likely to know an ornate fighting style. A Mekhet infiltrator is gracious or invisible, not a sloppy vandal. A sage or scholar might have such supernatural acumen that his abilities are downright oracular instead of merely archival. Mekhet Kindred very much consider themselves paragons of the vampiric state, so whatever they do, they devote themselves to it and refine their capacity almost to the point of second nature.

Covenant: A great many Mekhet fall in with the Carthians or the Lancea Sanctum, both of which have strong traditions of politics and secrecy to which the Shadows can lend their talents. The same can be said of the Circle of the Crone, which typically draws Mekhet by virtue of its underlying message of redemption and meaning in the unlives of the Damned. Less philosophical and more viscerally impassioned Shadows are often drawn to the ranks of the unaligned, whose ideology of freedom (or anonymity…) is an easy fit for the wild at heart. This is not to say that the clan is weak within the Invictus, though. Invictus Shadows are simply quieter about their covenant affiliation than their boastful brothers, or are at least more reserved about the reasons for their affiliation, which typically coincide with those of the Carthians or Lancea Sanctum. More than a few Mekhet find themselves among the Ordo Dracul, as the study of its esoteric principles often coincides with artifact-finding expeditions or secrets to be gleaned from other Dragons.

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.

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.

Character Creation: Most Shadows prize those traits that best assist them in furthering their passion or their cause. Violent or politically motivated Mekhet typically favor Physical and Social Attributes and Skills, to improve their dealings with others and to allow them to strike from their namesake. Scholarly or philosophical clan members tend to acquire as many dots worth of Mental traits as they can. For many Shadow players, the process of assigning new traits is like being a kid in a candy store — just about everything looks good, but you don’t have a whole lot to spend. The best solution is to keep your character’s personality in mind when deciding what to take.

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.

Bloodlines: Agonistes (Mediterranean historians and philoso- phers who seek to record and retain the knowledge Kindred lose over time and in torpor); Mnemosyne (fervent vampires who pos- sess the ability to share memories and experiences through blood ties); the Morbus lineage of European origin that suffers the Requiem with tainted Vitae; Norvegi (an inbred, degenerate cult of spies and thieves); Sangiovanni (Venetian necromancers who maintain a tight family structure that Embraces exclusively from its own mortal stock).

Concepts: Antiquities scholar, assassin, Casanova, diplomat, enforcer, fence, ghetto Harpy, pilgrim, policeman, power behind the praxis, seer

Studies of Nosferatu legend suggest that the clan is relatively young, possibly originating not too long before the rise of Rome, and possibly among the peoples it conquered. Certainly, the Nosferatu were active among the clans of the Camarilla, but proof of their presence before then is spotty at best. And yet, claims occasionally surface about very old Kindred who, if not Nosferatu, are strikingly like the Nosferatu. Whether these vampires are indeed members of the same clan, are Kindred of some “proto-clan” that became the Nosferatu, or are entirely unrelated can only be guessed at.

Legends of the nosferatu are historically heaviest in central Europe, particularly in Germany, northern Italy and eastern France. Early records describing what seem to be broods of Nosferatu also originate in modern Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, with some indication of presence in north Africa as well. Like the Gangrel, Nosferatu tend to either seek out territories before or after most of Kindred culture bothers with them. Unlike the Gangrel, though the Nosferatu adapt relatively quickly to the presence of other vampires, relying on their monstrous nature to make a place for them in the society of the Damned.

Not all curses are created equal, and even the Damned have outcasts. These are the Nosferatu, the most overtly disturbing of the undead. Only sometimes able to pass as human, the Haunts are horribly warped by the Embrace, either physically or… otherwise. They dwell in shadows that other vampires would not dare. Even other undead fear the Nosferatu, for their unsettling seemings are constant reminders that those Kindred who look mortal are not. They grudgingly respect the Nosferatu as well. These blighted creatures have incredible powers of stealth, terrifying strength, and they embody the monstrous destructive force that every one of the Damned can muster if pushed too far. If they had their druthers, most other clans would prefer never to associate with the Nosferatu at all, yet the Haunts’ inarguable talents and brute force make them too dangerous to ignore. So other Kindred offer them a tense hospitality, hide their unease behind wary diplomacies and pray that the Nosferatu leave as soon as possible.

Many Nosferatu conceal their loneliness and resentment behind masks of indifference. They scoff in turn at those who recoil from them, belittling pretty vampires with soirées and silly political games, all the while seething at their exclusion. This isolation has fostered strong familial bonds among the Nosferatu. To those outside their ranks, they put on a unified front, creating the impression of a single extended network. The truth, of course, is that Nosferatu squabble and compete with one another as much as members of any other clan — but when faced with an outside threat, they close ranks.

The Nosferatu’s inability to blend in with society forces them to dwell apart, often congregating in places others shun. Some find sanctuary in the sewers, using influence with mortal government and construction, as well as their own substantial strength, to expand simple maintenance tunnels and sluiceways into vast underground warrens. Others lurk in cemeteries, sharing aboveground crypts with sedentary occupants. Still others prefer abandoned homes, often giving rise to neighborhood urban legends of haunted houses, or exist in the basements or boiler rooms of modern office buildings. Tradition holds that any Nosferatu is welcome in any warren until she provides her brethren reason to expel her. The Haunts might not all get along, but they recognize their common bond — not that they have any choice, since it follows their aspect like a miasma.

Feared by and therefore ostracized from society, many Nosferatu become as alien as their demeanor. Others choose the opposite path, becoming surprisingly cultured, well mannered and well spoken to compensate for their unnerving seeming. The latter are the Haunts most frequently found playing politics with other Kindred. The Nosferatu are also known as purveyors of information. Not only do their supernatural powers make them foes to be reckoned with, but many elder Nosferatu are keepers of an- cient lore, rivaling anything preserved by the Ventrue or Mekhet. Sophisticated Haunts trade knowledge the way other Kindred trade favors, and if a Nosferatu doesn’t know some- thing, he can probably scare someone who does into telling him. It is this trade in terror, more than anything else, that makes the Nosferatu too valuable — and too dangerous — to ignore. After all, one never knows what the horrid Haunts tell one’s enemies, or how many of them wait in ambush.

Covenant: The Nosferatu are everywhere. The Invictus nervously welcomes them as enforcers, informants and soldiers. Those Nosferatu who obtain power in the First Estate tend to extremes; becoming relatively benevolent rulers, remembering what it was like to be downtrodden, or attempting to make up for the anguish they suffered by heaping it upon others. Haunts who seek to understand why God has done this to them, and those penitents who feel that they must atone for whatever sins drew the curse upon them, find solace in the ranks of the Lancea Sanctum. Haunts often find a place among the Ordo Dracul, where their disturbing bearing has little immediate effect on their achievements in the covenant (and might even aid them, as it discourages casual social calls). The Carthians appeal to those who are concerned with constructing a society in which everyone, no matter how unsettling, has a voice. Those Nosferatu who truly suffer beneath the weight of their curse often find the redemptive teachings of the Circle of the Crone far too tempting to resist. Even the unbound attract those who accept their terrifying nature and who want to tear down the system that quakes at their passing — or those who just want to get away.

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.

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.

Character Creation: Physical and Mental Attributes are more useful to most Haunts than Social. Nosferatu frequently make use of Skills such as Stealth and Survival. It’s unwise to begin with too high a Blood Potency; until a Nosferatu has obtained some experience in the Requiem, he might be forced to rely on animal blood. Although Nosferatu aren’t social creatures, certain Social Merits such as Contacts can be useful for gaining information from inaccessible areas.

Bloodlines: Acteius; Baddacelli; Noctuku (violent cannibals who dwell near rural areas and who prefer to feed on other Kindred); Yagnatia (a Russian family that claims unbroken lineage from both ancient nobility and witches); Burakumin (an Asian lineage that might possess necromantic powers, but information on Asian vampires is regrettably scarce even by Kindred standards).

Concepts: Bogeyman, circus freak, crude sadist, guardian angel, leg-breaker, parvenu, petty thief, rat king, reclusive eccentric, snitch, sycophantic servant

Surprisingly, the Ventrue are understood to be the youngest of the clans, almost certainly originating in Rome itself, probably in tandem with the formation of the Camarilla. While their history is relatively short (in vampiric terms), it is also distinguished, as the Ventrue are made to rule. Although none remember the name of the first Ventrue, various vampiric histories do ascribe the origin of the clan, which was believed to once be a covenant, to a single female vampire. A darker history implies that this Kindred was not the first of the Ventrue line, but that she consumed the soul of her own sire, and in so doing founded a new bloodline that rose to the status of a proper clan.

As might be surmised, the Ventrue have historically been strongest in Europe, from which they grew into North and Central America, but their presence elsewhere in the world has been relatively minor. As a clan, their numbers are probably fewer than those of any other clan, but such things vary by domain, as one vampire community might consist of nothing but Ventrue — likely all the preeminent Kindred’s progeny.

The Ventrue offer a very simple boast: They win. They always win.

Other Kindred often despise the Lords, but they seldom dispute the clan’s boast. All too often, a Kindred works and schemes to win some prize, only to find that a Ventrue owned it all along. The officers who lead a city’s Kindred almost always include several highly placed Ventrue. The Lords acknowledge no defeats, only setbacks. The clan shares a ruthless will to power and the power to enforce its will.

Their favored Disciplines account for some of their success. The Ventrue learn to command the thoughts of other beings almost by instinct. Their mastery of lesser animals harks back to nights of domains in which the Lord was a master of beasts as well as men. Although they do not especially cultivate the arts of combat, they often prove remarkably hard to kill. Ventrue regard their supernatural gifts, however, as merely a tool to begin the acquisition of real power — the power of money, property, corporate stock, political contacts, rank in Kindred society and large numbers of mortals, at every level of society, begging to lick their boots and fulfill their commands.

The Ventrue take the feudal nature of Kindred society very seriously. Every sire tells her childe that some people rule, and some are ruled. As Lords, they should strive to place themselves among the rulers. Most Ventrue neonates already believed this before their Embrace. Throughout the clan’s his- tory, the Ventrue have sought power in whatever forms mortals offered. Kindred historians say that in ancient Rome the clan Embraced senators and patricians. In the Middle Ages, they brought knights and churchmen into the fold. As commerce became an avenue to power, they cultivated merchant princes, bankers and magnates. When states grew more bureaucratic, the Lords Embraced high-ranking civil servants. The rise of organized crime brought mob bosses and drug kingpins into the clan. At the start of the 21st century, Ventrue elders ponder the merits of Embracing scientists, engineers and computer wizards. No matter where in society the power lies, the Ventrue vow to exploit it before other Kindred even know it exists.

Covenant: Many Kindred see the Ventrue as almost synonymous with the Invictus. Indeed, Ventrue tend to rise to leadership positions within that covenant. Almost as many find a place in the Ordo Dracul, acquiring immediate power of a different stripe, which the Lords ultimately turn toward the same ends. They also rise to leadership among the Sanctified, however, and some Ventrue find the power they crave within the Carthians, the Circle of the Crone or even amid the ranks of the unbound. Some Ventrue neonates hardly bother to hide their intent to use a gang of unaligned Kindred as a stepping-stone to power within another covenant.

Appearance: Ventrue often adopt a conservative, low-key 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.

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.

Character Creation: Ventrue favor Social Attributes and Skills — the traits needed for leadership — though they also value Mental Attributes and Skills such as Politics and Academics. The clan excels at Social Merits such as Resources, Contacts and Status. Most Lords possessed great social influence in life, and they acquire more in undeath.

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.

Bloodlines: Much of the clan consists of lineages that claim descent from famous Ventrue of the distant past, such as the great Cassius. These “bloodlines” merely express pride in ancestry: A Cassian Ventrue, for instance, does not differ greatly from other Lords. Other prestigious lineages include the Licinii, the Beni Murrahim and the Rötgrafen. The comparatively new Malkovian lineage suffers even more debilitating madness than the parent clan.

Concepts: Corporate CEO, crooked cop, gang chief, military officer, old-time ward boss, patron of the arts, political consultant, rave promoter, realtor, society matron, technical wizard

The bloodline known as the Filhos des Bruja (or Bruja’s Sons, or simply the Bruja) seems like something out a nightmare or drug trip from the ’60s. It’s a motorcycle gang of vampires, ghouls and a few handfuls of blood dolls — all dirty, mean-as-hell, leather-wearing monsters tearing up the American Southwest on roaring black American motorcycles when the sun goes down. It might almost be funny to those who’ve never seen the Bruja in action, but this isn’t some bullshit Sunday-afternoon club for impotent middle-aged men, or another overcommercialized Big Red Machine. These guys are locusts who hate you and who have no respect for notions of domain or the Kindred Traditions.

The gang first formed in the late ’40s around a charismatic punk bastard named Carlos Saavedra. Growing up a lazy, no-account orphan during the Depression, Saavedra kept himself amused with petty crime, animal cruelty and a burgeoning love of violence. Yet, no matter how many of his friends got roughed up or hauled down to juvenile detention for going along with his illicit whims, Carlos was never caught, arrested or even so much as charged for anything he did wrong. His uncanny luck earned him the nickname Hijo de Bruja (“witch’s boy”), which later became just Bruja. His knack for staying out of trouble couldn’t last forever, though, and shortly after he was drafted into the army to fight in the war, he was drummed right back out for drunkenness and incompetence. He was sent back home in disgrace, where he fell in with the Booze Fighters motorcycle gang.

It was some years later when Carlos caught the attention of an iconoclastic Gangrel who became obsessed with transforming Carlos “Bruja” Saavedra into a compliant but violent weapon who could threaten the established Prince in the Gangrel’s home domain. He Embraced Carlos and tried to urge him toward the Carthian cause, only to learn that his childe would have none of it. Bruja saw his cursed condition as a newfound power, and immediately went back to his gang to “gift” his six closest friends and accomplices with more of that same power. The seven of them then broke off from the Booze Fighters to form their own gang, the Filhos des Bruja. When Carlos’ sire tracked his errant progeny down and tried to correct his mistake, the entire gang jumped him and Carlos diablerized him on the spot.

Since then, the gang’s been growing slowly and getting worse. Where it once comprised just seven troublemakers whose nastiest crimes included vandalism, assault and disturbing the peace, it’s now become a fairly widespread criminal organization. It makes money in drug-trafficking, prostitution, illegal arms dealing, extortion, smuggling, murder for hire and transporting illegal immigrants across the border, just to give a handful of examples. These activities draw customers and potential victims to them, but they also risk drawing Masquerade-shattering attention from local and federal authorities.

What’s worse, Bruja himself has disappeared in the last five years, which hasn’t helped to calm the gang down one bit. Before he left, Carlos demanded at least a modicum of restraint when the gang pulled in somewhere to feed — he even advocated keeping the gang’s Blood Potencies low in order to maintain the option of feeding on animal blood to take the edge off the Hunger. Without him, though, that restraint is dust in the wind, and it’s only a matter of time before the Bruja start descending on isolated Southwestern towns like modern-day Vikings, murdering everyone in sight and razing everything to the ground. It’s possible that a more mature Carlos Saavedra saw this potential arising in the gang and rode away from it all in disgust, but it’s just as likely that one or two of his treacherous cronies took that option out of his hands.

Regardless, the bloodline remains, and even the youngest, meanest, most ignorant members proudly uphold the values of greed, willfulness and sloth that Carlos espoused before he disappeared. In his name, they do what they can to make his gang a symbol of fearsome power and hell-bound eternal freedom.

Covenant: This bloodline is really too small and too young to include members representing all the covenants. In fact, most members’ only loyalty (half-hearted and cloudy though it might be) is to the gang and to the ideals of the founder. While that technically makes the entire bloodline unaligned — or unbound, which is the term Bruja preferred — the odd member drifts away and winds up with one of the established covenants. Some members of the gang have gotten it into their heads somehow that Bruja hooked up with the Ordo Dracul and won’t come back until he’s become something else altogether. Their conviction inspires some jaded or gullible deserters to follow in his supposed footsteps. Others try to hook up with the Circle of the Crone, convinced that Bruja’s nickname means something, man. More rational Bruja make contacts with the Carthians when members of that covenant work hard to unseat power players and are willing to turn a blind eye to what the gang is up to in exchange for help. Sometimes said Carthians’ passion turns into revolutionary fervor, and a particularly charismatic movement-leader can lure away young, excitable Bruja. No Bruja has ever hooked up with the Invictus or the Lancea Sanctum, though, except as a result of brainwashing, blackmail or forced conversion and acceptance of the sacraments. For the most part, the Bruja try to stay the hell away from those two covenants, lest powerful elders of either (or both) crack down on the gang’s whole operation. Not even Bruja himself pushed his infamous luck that much.

Appearance: Most Bruja are black, white, Hispanic or of mixed heritage, anywhere on the spectrum among those three. They’re generally big, loud, hairy, tattooed, unkempt, bristling with body piercings and covered in road dirt (if not blood from a sloppy feeding). The way they dress comes across as an homage to every outlaw biker movie that’s ever been made since the ’50s. They wear heavy leather or denim jackets, hobnail boots, metal helmets (if any), torn-up jeans and T-shirts, with “accessories” like aviator goggles, studded fingerless leather gloves, chain epaulets and bandanas to ward off flying dust. None of them wears any insignia to indicate what gang they belong to, but the bloodline is still small enough that most Kindred members recognize each other on sight. No self-respecting Bruja would ride anything but a burly, growling American bike — no rice rockets — or keep it in anything less than prime running condition. They might be rabble and scum, but they still have standards.

Haven: The Bruja own and/or subsidize several out-of-the-way roadhouses and all-but-abandoned motels out there across the wastelands of the Southwest. They paid for the places with drug money or took them over as a result of too-successful protection rackets, and they’ve converted them into serviceable, sunlight-proof flophouses. These places aren’t much to look at and they have a fair market value of zero dollars, but they aren’t on any maps, and they’re within easy riding distance of (if not each other, at least) some great places to hang out, to have a drink or to get into a fight.

Background: At its current size, the Bruja gang has adopted a fairly strict rule about not Embracing anyone else unless existing vampires drop out. It happens, though, and when it does, it usually happens to people who are already like the rest of the gang. That is to say, big, tough, hard-riding sons of bitches (or just actual bitches) who want to drink blood and kick ass for the rest of eternity. They’re not above occasionally Embracing (or at least creating Vinculums for) criminal contacts for the sake of expediency, and a handful of the really tough hangers-on were random hitchhikers, family men or police officers who got picked up and turned on some cruel whim.

The Bruja are somewhat lax about taking Gangrel they’ve never met before into the gang, since it hardly ever happens anyway. All a prospective Bruja has to do is earn the local head man’s respect (likely by surviving a surprise Bruja beatdown), prove he’s connected by blood to Bruja himself, then pony up a bike and get ready to ride out and meet the other boys and girls. Sounds easy, but if the rest of the gang doesn’t like him, the Bruja-wannabe starts back over at step beatdown.

Character Creation: Bruja vampires don’t tend to be intellectual powerhouses, but neither are they entirely thuggish, apelike brutes. Granted, the bloodline does boast a high percentage of that ilk, but its nominal leaders are just as charismatic and commanding as they are powerful and tough (if not more so). As such, Physical and Social Attributes run a tight race with each other, with Mental ones lagging behind. Most Bruja rely on Physical Skills above all others, followed by Social and Mental as the individual sees fit. Various Social Merits help represent the breadth of the Bruja’s criminal operations and the influence and impact they have on the communities they terrorize. It also makes sense to buy at least a second dot of Blood Potency since a character’s just a punk Gangrel without it.

Organization: The extended pack mentality of the gang is the extent to which the Bruja adhere to any form of organization. The founder’s closest companions are nominally in charge for now, but only until Bruja deigns to come back and start tearing up the road with his boys again. Said companions constantly vie for dominance among one another, and their bickering polarizes the followers around them, but the gang as a whole puts up a pretty unified front. They’re practically of one mind against outsiders who try to give a Bruja any shit, and even the occasional knockdown, drag-out between Bruja rarely results in more than somebody getting a baseball bat across the teeth or a switchblade under his collar bone.

Concepts: Bar brawler, blood-doll pimp, coyote (in the illegal-border-crossing sense), dealer in drugged blood, dragracer, drug dealer, loan shark, motorcycle mechanic, perpetual omega wolf

The Nosferatu bloodline that has come to be known as the Burakumin originated in feudal Japan within the social stratum of the same name. Beneath the samurai and the soldiers and the priests and even peasant farmers were those mortals whose professions were considered “spiritually unclean” by the tenets of the Shinto and Buddhist religions. Such professions included tanning, leather-working, butchery and the handling of dead bodies. People who made their living from these professions were declared unclean and legally worth less than other people, and grouped in small hamlets far from their spiritually poor neighbors. (Roughly translated, in fact, the word burakumin means “hamlet people.”) Considered equally impure and valueless by the Kindred Princes of the Eastern domains, Japanese Nosferatu were restricted from feeding on or Embracing from anyone outside that same class of mortal. In time, all of Japan’s Nosferatu were referred to as Burakumin, and the name and stratification spread throughout much of Eastern Asia as Burakumin Nosferatu expanded their influence under the cover of various Japanese imperialistic advances.

Strictly enforced by Kindred of higher station, these mandates kept Burakumin numbers small and hemmed in what influence they could garner over mortal politics. Their low numbers and popular concentration greatly aided in the development of their uniquely grisly necromantic Discipline. As more Burakumin throughout the Eastern Courts learned it, they found that they were able to exert greater influence in their society and even to wrest occasional grudging concession from their superiors. One such concession was the right for their Prisci to petition the Princes of their domains for redress of grievances committed against individuals by younger Kindred of higher station.

The Meiji Restoration abolished official discrimination against mortal burakumin in Japan in the late 1800s, but where mortals have been slow to do away with their prejudices, vampires are stagnant. The changes in the social climate that have swept past them in the century since have not alleviated the restrictions and conditions placed on Kindred Burakumin. Instead, they have had to strike out on their own and forge their own destiny. Leaving their home domains by the handful ever since Commodore Perry “helped” open trade with the West to Japan, Burakumin have worked subtly to insinuate themselves into positions of influence over major exporters of raw materials. They also worked to gain a small but significant degree of influence over certain manufacturing concerns in the early 1900s as Japan became thoroughly industrialized.

Although their status in the East was limited, the Burakumin’s wealth and influence in the West grew considerably. And when Japan struggled to rebuild its collapsed economy and industry after World War II, the Burakumin’s various holdings and enterprises were best suited to bouncing back and achieving relative stability. It was also the Burakumin who were most willing to leave their home domains and seek wealth and influence overseas in areas of exporting and industrial outsourcing. In the West, they’ve come to find status and respect that has long been denied them, and the support they are able to lend their compatriots back East has greatly improved their standing in the eyes of many local Princes.

And in domains where the Burakumin’s industrial and financial influence (or meddling, depending on who you ask) is not as welcome, they can still earn respect and recognition for teaching their unique Discipline or using it to profitable effect.

Covenant: In the Far East where it originated, this bloodline has traditionally been forced to remain unaligned. Most remnants of the Circle of the Crone covenant were wiped out long ago in favor of Shinto and Buddhist belief structures (or ones as similar to them as local Kindred could bring themselves to uphold). For much the same reason, the Lancea Sanctum has only very recently taken root there, and thus has never been of much interest to the Burakumin — though Kindred roundly disapprove of the unwholesome practice of their necromancies. The local version of the Invictus still proves resistant to accepting the Burakumin, but Western members of that covenant are considerably less so. Many Western Princes fear the strange power that the Burakumin wield, so they graciously invite Burakumin into their domains and grant them rights undreamed of back home. They do so largely to distract and placate these outsiders in an attempt to keep them docile, content and under control, but most Burakumin have been slow to realize how they are being played. The Ordo Dracul goes largely unnoticed by the Burakumin, but the ones who know about it find it baffling and more than a little oblique. The covenant that has had the most impact on Kindred of this bloodline, though, is the Carthian Movement. It proposes a state of true equality in which every vampire is entitled to an equal share in the spoils of the night, which is what the most vocal and active Burakumin have fought for since well before the Meiji Restoration. Carthian ideals have caught on like wildfire in the once-closed Eastern domains, and the Burakumin who introduced them enjoy an upwelling of underground status and influence unlike any they have ever known.

Appearance: All Burakumin Kindred tend to exude the same disturbing, unclean, inhuman presence, which grows more obvious as their age and Blood Potency increases. As they age, they begin to reek of grave soil, and a stifling tomblike quiet emanates from them when they don’t consciously speak or make noise to counteract it. What’s more, their bodies take on a corpselike aspect that no amount of Vitae can ever banish completely. Over time, their skin withers and grows leathery until it’s no more than a parchment-thin veneer stretched taut over knobby bone. Out of dignified indifference to this condition (or sometimes out of a sense of perverse irony), most Burakumin dress and comport themselves with fastidious attention to detail. They do the best they can to make favorable impressions on Kindred around them so as to set prospective allies and business partners at ease (in the West) and to keep from giving anyone specific evidence to support unfavorable prejudices (in the East). Elder Burakumin in the East tend to favor garb that harks back to the mortal styles of the late Tokugawa Shogunate and early Meiji Era, while younger and more progressive Burakumin prefer more severe and formal Western professional attire.

Haven: Eastern Burakumin have traditionally been restricted to communal havens in isolated hamlets populated by those mortals who are considered “unclean” by the tenets of the Shinto and Buddhist religions. Young and more urbanized ones dwell in and beneath large cities, yet well away from Kindred of higher station. Westward-looking Burakumin often wind up competing with local Nosferatu for havens, but as they grow more successful, their new homes come to rival those of the Daeva and the Ventrue.

Background: Elder Eastern Burakumin mostly select progeny from among the societal class of the “unclean from which they themselves were once chosen. More cynical, bitter ones choose from among the beautiful, noble, powerful or traditionally pious in order to spite those who consider themselves so much more pure than the Burakumin. Bloodline members in the West have not made it a habit by and large to Embrace childer, but when they do, they choose those who can help them achieve their business and political goals and to adapt to their foreign environment.

Character Creation: Burakumin don’t tend to have high Social Attributes, especially those who remain in Eastern domains. Neither do they place a particularly high priority on Physical Attributes. Their mental prowess has won them the niche in which they thrive, which leads them to favor Mental Attributes and Skills. Many of them tend to value Social Skills as well, although those propensities do not come as naturally to them. According to their weakness, Status is not a particularly economical buy up front, but other Social Merits (as well as certain Mental ones) can be worthwhile. It also makes sense to buy a second dot of Blood Potency since a character can’t officially join this bloodline or learn Getsumei until then.

Organization: In their Eastern homes, Burakumin have little choice but to come together with others of their own kind, lest they face a Requiem of maddening solitude. Individual Burakumin defer to regional Prisci, who communicate with ministers responsible for passing on edicts from local Princes. Priscus is usually the highest station to which a Burakumin can hope to rise in the East, and though it conveys significant status among other Burakumin, that status isn’t worth quite as much to anyone else. Moving West, these Kindred stick together for the sake of familiarity among strangers and in strange lands, but they adhere to no established internal hierarchy. Some scatter to the four winds, never looking back, while others fall in with other kinds of Nosferatu, lacking the ability to adapt sufficiently to their new environments to forge their own destinies.

Concepts: Ancestral avenger, aspiring upstart Primogen, blackmailer, forensic pathologist, grave robber, importer, mortician, private investigator, spectral intercessor, tanner

Most Kindred are still unaware of the so-called “Malkovian” bloodline and its peculiar, threatening gifts. The Lunatics are few — a state of affairs that those who are aware of them would like to perpetuate, by whatever means necessary.

Among worried Ventrue elders, the story of the Malkovians’ origins is now verified. It seems that a certain Dr. James Griffin Hartleigh of England’s Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum once became a bit too interested in one of his patients, an Anton Malkov. Malkov was rumored to be related to the czars of Russia, which was a chief reason, Hartleigh believed, why Malkov had been transported to Broadmoor under cover of night. (After all, the asylum hosted many such inmates whose whereabouts were a secret to all but their embarrassed and wealthy families.) Hartleigh never learned the details of the wretch’s crime, but the director had strictly enjoined him never to touch Malkov nor look him in the eye. Moreover, despite being a recluse who rarely left his dark cell, Malkov seemed to exert a strange fascination over the other madmen. Hartleigh found him an intriguing case, and their rambling interviews only fired his interest. Evidently Malkov felt the same way. Or, at least, it’s the only reason anyone can think of why he chose to Embrace the staid doctor.

Hartleigh stumbled home that same night and murdered his wife. Even now he cannot precisely recall what moved him to do so. True, he had always entertained certain doubts about her and the cook, but… well, never mind that. When he came to and found himself greedily sucking her blood, even such a font of Reason had to admit that something was much amiss. After hastily covering up his deed (which unfortunately required a further murder), Hartleigh stole back to the asylum to demand an explanation from Malkov. The lunatic drove him away with his mocking, echoing laughter. The doctor never dared return.

After some months of painstaking investigation, Hartleigh tracked down a solitary old gentleman whom he had seen mentioned in Malkov’s papers. This worthy was, alas, unforthcoming. Indeed, he seemed quite piqued to learn where the errant Malkov had secreted himself, and he waxed outright wroth as Hartleigh inquired whether he and Malkov were kin and whether there was any family history of insanity or blood-diseases of which he was aware. At last the Ventrue grew exasperated with this embarrassing mistake of a grandchilde and reached into Hartleigh’s mind. But in the intimacy of psychic contact, Hartleigh reflexively reached back — and found something he could twist. With startling ease, he sent the elder Kindred into a fugue state not at all unlike the one in which he himself had behaved so regrettably.

Hartleigh has since Embraced several childer — doctors to “consult” and lordlings to infiltrate the Ventrue to seek the answers he himself was denied by his scandalized clanmates. In time, some of those childer have gone astray from the fold, much as Malkov did, and begotten lineages of their own.

To date, the bloodline has made no serious attempt to claim the status theoretically due it as an innovation of the Blood; its particular creation seems profoundly unwelcome. The Ventrue resent the attention the Malkovians draw to their own mental instability, and since Ventrue and Malkovians are sometimes hard to tell apart, few Lords dare discount the horrifying possibility of a hidden contamination of the entire clan. Many vampires of other broods are also inclined to go mad with time, and they certainly don’t want any “help” in doing so. For those who aren’t so inclined, their minds are the last sanctuary they have, the one thing they can still rely on after their bodies have transformed so monstrously and their instincts have fallen prey to the Beast. And so most Lunatics wisely endeavor to pass their Requiems in such a way as to avoid rousing their fellow Kindred’s ire. Of course, even the most unassuming Malkovian occasionally find himself plagued by someone who seems to deserve a taste of the curse he’s tried so hard to bear nobly.

As for Malkov, Broadmoor records claim that a fellow inmate killed him in 1889.

Nickname: Among those rare non-Ventrue who know of them, the Malkovians are nicknamed Lunatics. When the Ventrue mention them at all (generally only to other Ventrue), they refer to them obliquely as “our most charming cousins,” or sometimes as “the escapees.”

Covenant: A fair majority of Malkovians pretend to be something else (generally Ventrue), so they usually favor whatever covenant allegiance makes the most sense for their assumed identities. As a result, many (if not most) belong to the Invictus. The fanatical bent of the Lancea Sanctum also appeals to some Malkovians, particularly those who suffer obsessions or visions. Some petition to join the Circle of the Crone or the Ordo Dracul, hoping for the relief that mystic wisdom might bring, but they are usually marginalized sometime during the initiation process. Rare indeed is the Malkovian whose madness strikes either covenant as an aid to enlightenment rather than a sad liability. After all, the tests and trial periods that both covenants set are explicitly designed to ferret out just such inner obstacles. As Malkovians grow weary of vainly searching for acceptance in the more established circles of Kindred society, it’s likely that more and more of them will show up in the ranks of the Carthians and the unaligned.

Appearance: Malkovians with enough self-command to recognize what they are and what afflicts them often go to some trouble to appear as anything but. Clothes might be fastidious and well coordinated — indeed, even suspiciously pristine. Among those who aspire to Ventrue status, styles appealing to elder tastes are favored. Other Lunatics are too… preoccupied with other matters to attend to such trivialities as vestment. Some can explain the etiquette of gloves and soliloquize on why stirrup pants are an abomination before God and man, but they haven’t the slightest idea what’s wrong with a morning coat that hasn’t been dry-cleaned or mended since 1932.

Haven: Discretion is the key consideration for a Malkovian haven. After all, most Kindred require privacy, but should a Malkovian start to have a bad evening, he really needs a safe retreat where neither easily shocked mortals nor judgmental Kindred can pry. Many Lunatics adapt family homes or vacation homes to this purpose. Such places are often left to slide into a sort of genteel decay, which helps the isolation along. Others rely on the comforting anonymity of cookie-cutter apartment complexes. More outré domiciles like old fallout shelters or church attics aren’t unheard of. In any case, once settled, a haven quickly comes to enshrine its resident’s quirks, manias, idols and fears. While one area within might be scrubbed clean of incriminating detritus and kept suitable for entertaining, the greater part of any Malkovian’s home is a veritable treasure trove and museum on the subject of him.

Background: Motivations for Malkovian Embraces vary as widely as those for any other clan or bloodline. Company in misery is a frequent one. Sometimes a Lunatic hopes that his new childe (be that childe a psychiatrist, priest, mother or simply someone who made the mistake of being kind to the vampire once) will be able to help him with his ailment, or at the very least will have the psychic strength to somehow overcome the madness and so purge the bloodline of its taint. Other sires, like their Ventrue forebears, pride themselves on selectivity, so erudite scholars and folk of “quality” are inducted.

At present, the very idea of a willing Ventrue seeking adoption into the ranks of the Malkovians is an absurdity to both bloods. Occasional rumors surface, however, of Malkovians who have made “converting” a certain Ventrue — in other words, fracturing her mind to the point where joining the Malkovians seems like a good idea, or the only idea — their pet project. So far, no such catechumens have shown up on the doorstep of Dr. Hartleigh. Much to his relief.

Character Creation: Mental and Social Attributes are usually primary. (After all, there’s no correlation whatsoever between being mad and being dumb, though ignorant Kindred frequently make the mistake. The line hosts many an adroit manipulator and charming psychopath.) Malkovians whose Physical Attributes predominate are uncommon but not unheard of. Malkovians generally favor Mental and Social Skills as well; Academics, Science, Expression, Empathy and Investigation are particularly useful. Malkovians often possess the same Social Merits as their Ventrue cousins. Most Mental Merits are appropriate (except for Common Sense). Also, be sure to take at least a second dot of Blood Potency, to allow the character to be at all eligible for a bloodline.

A Malkovian’s core derangement is key to her makeup. Mortals with mental illnesses are far more than the sum of their ailments, but a Malkovian’s curse is no mundane affliction. It runs in her very Blood. In all likelihood, it eventually consumes her soul. Accordingly, much care should be given to choosing and understanding it. Read up on mental illness; steep in literary traditions of madness, particularly the gothic tradition. Mental illness is a serious real-life issue that should be regarded respectfully, but don’t feel obliged to make your character a textbook DSM-IV diagnosis. It’s more important that derangement amplifies and enriches character, theme and story (rather than derails them).

Organization: The relative level of cooperation among Malkovians varies. There are now Malkovians who don’t consciously realize their true heritage. In some lineages, a series of desultory or irrational Embraces has produced neonates who feel only disregard for others of their bloodline — or even outright hatred for them. In others, however, sires and grandsires still maintain a more secretive version of the age-old bonds. They gladly provide mentoring, counseling and comfort in exchange for their descendants’ compliance in their schemes. Malkovians with sires who are too distracted to cultivate them often seek out an “aunt” or “cousin” to fulfill that role instead.

Occasionally, sophisticated collaborations to study and cure the bloodline’s maladies arise. Doctors, pharmacologists, psychologists, mystics and historians keeping each other informed of their discoveries through discreet correspondence. Of course, close contact among Malkovians has other hazards besides just the danger of interference from fearful Kindred. Madness can be contagious, and often it only takes one brilliant mind’s descent into unreason to drag the entire effort down.

Concepts: Absinthe-addled roué, Arsenic and Old Lacestyle death angel, conspiracy theorist, eccentric scholar, failed suicide, health professional, idiot savant, mumbling beggar, religious visionary, scion of decaying noble line, tortured artist

For as long as the Kindred have been aware of the existence of the Morbus, bloodline historians and vampiric genealogists have been frustrated by them. Owing largely to the rarity of extensive records cataloguing Mekhet lineage over the centuries, no one can pin down exactly who the founder of this bloodline might have been or where the first niche was in which the Morbus began to thrive. The idea of constructing a truly inclusive history of the Kindred (especially as regards the Mekhet clan) from which one might solve this mystery conclusively is a pipe dream at best, but some aspire to it nonetheless. Those Morbus who choose to concern themselves with the subject consider this ongoing failure a relief and a legitimatization of their entire existence. They see themselves as simply Mekhet who are afflicted or cursed with a singular variety of rarefied tastes.

The particular preference to which the Morbus are all suspect is that they must feed on the blood of the ailing and diseased in order to sustain their vital undead state. In fact, the name Morbus comes from a Latin root meaning “diseased,” which was ascribed to afflicted Mekhet by non-afflicted ones during the reign of Justinian in the sixth century AD. According to records from that period unearthed centuries later by Kindred archaeologists, the Morbus were suspected of either spreading or helping to spread a virulent plague across the Mediterranean in one domain after another. Less solvent data has linked named Morbus from Roman records with Mekhet who were active in Greece and Egypt as far back as 430 BC, a year in which plague was said to have struck Athens. The connection this data implies is tenuous as best, and possibly wholly fabricated as propaganda against the Morbus. Nonetheless, it might have been possible for the Kindred to accept the Morbus condition as just a peculiar feeding preference if it were not for records recovered from Constantinople dating back to AD 1334. At that time, one of the most widespread plagues in history swept across Europe and Asia, aided by large numbers of soldiers and captives returning from the Crusades. The records in question describe the “righteous wrath” of a Mekhet pilgrim who traveled in secret with the Christian army. He returned to his domain once the campaign was ended to find his Kindred subjects in rebellion and his mortal herds mired hopelessly in sin. To punish them, records say, he blighted his people with a wasting sickness from within him that killed everyone for miles within a matter of days. This incident blended in with concurrent reports of blight and plague that swept the continent at the time, but Kindred historians pin it down as the first known instance of the use of the Morbus Discipline known as Cachexy.

When captured and put to the question by Kindred Inquisitors for the act, this Kindred denied being the founder of a bloodline at all. He claimed that he had learned his unusual abilities from his sire, who had long since succumbed to the sleep of ages. When he awoke much later, the Kindred’s sire also denied developing the Discipline or founding a bloodline, but his memories of his own sire or brood brethren were too hazy to offer any more definitive leads. These records are the closest any historian has come to finding the bloodline’s true founder or tracing its evolution. Tonight, most Morbus are not as concerned with their origins as they are with survival. Once they discover their condition and the unique power that derives from it (or they have both explained to them by an older Morbus), they must decide whether to hide it or admit what they are and try to redefine their niche. Their ability to do either varies by domain, but if nothing else, periodic outbreaks of severe infectious diseases throughout history and all over the world provide sufficient vessels on which to thrive. All they have to do is keep informed and be willing to risk travel to areas in which untreated strains of infectious disease defy the cutting edge of First-World medicine.

Covenant: Many Carriers find it difficult to make a respected name or to carve out a fruitful place among the undead of the Invictus or the Lancea Sanctum once their affliction becomes known. Kindred consider them threats to the Traditions and claim that hundred-fold damnation awaits any Morbus who breaks the Third Tradition. Princes of the Invictus simply don’t want Carriers polluting their domains and weakening the mortal pillars of their power structure with careless feeding. Some Morbus take perverse pleasure in testing the limits of Carthian egalitarian tolerance, but most would just as soon cultivate as much power and influence as they can and tell the Carthians to go to hell. Repentant or remorseful Carriers turn to members of the Circle of the Crone in hopes of finding some way to undo the curse they’ve wrought upon themselves, but no member of the bloodline or the covenant in general has yet uncovered any hope that such is possible. Others join the Ordo Dracul in an attempt to progress beyond the weakness that their blood inflicts, but no Morbus has yet achieved the true transcendence that the Order espouses. The rest of the bloodline hide out among the Kindred of the Invictus or the Lancea Sanctum — guarding the secret of their heritage for all their unlives are worth — or go it alone among the unaligned.

Appearance: Most Morbus adopt attire based on how they intend to interact with Kindred society vis-à-vis their condition. Those who try to pass as “normal” often play to the stereotypes that they feel are expected of their clan in their chosen covenant and domain. In fact, they often overdo said stereotypes and give themselves away. Those whose nature is fairly common knowledge try to keep a low profile in “urban camouflage” (i.e., plain, baggy, off-brand clothes in neutral colors), so as to not stand out and risk being social lightning rods. Those who are outright cavalier about their bloodline — and have found acceptance in a Prince’s domain — often play to Mekhet stereotypes. They do so out of a desire to show how successful they can be despite their condition.

Haven: Whether they’re covert or open about what they are, Morbus make just as much of an effort to make their havens a reflection of their personal purposes as other Mekhet do. The only way in which they choose havens that differs is they look for ones among or offering easy access to diseased mortal vessels.

Background: It is a more frequent for a Mekhet to Embrace a childe who then realizes he is a Morbus than it is for a confirmed Morbus to Embrace a childe. Most Morbus childer therefore have the same backgrounds as non-afflicted Mekhet. When the Morbus do Embrace deliberately, they tend to choose doctors (whom they vainly hope can help cure them), dying vessels to whom they’ve formed obsessive attachments, or people with influence over policymakers.

Character Creation: The priority assigned to Physical Attributes and Skills is largely a matter of personal taste, as these vampires do not necessarily need sterner constitutions to balance the diseases they carry. The choice between Mental and Social Attributes and Skills should depend on how open a character is to revealing his lineage and how he intends to adapt to his condition. It is also wise to buy up or sell off Humanity dots based on how cavalier uses of Cachexy will be, or how humane a function he considers feeding from the sick and infirm to be. Also, don’t forget to buy a second dot of Blood Potency since a character can’t officially join the bloodline before then.

Organization: The tradition among certain elders and Kindred genealogists of tracking descent and lineage both informs and works against the Morbus. A few members trace lineage and determine intra-bloodline status based on the relative fame or notoriety of sires and grandsires. Some consider the achievements of only their confirmed Morbus forebears worthy of consideration, while others uphold any Mekhet ancestors’ accomplishments. Morbus who manage to keep their membership in this bloodline a secret, and earn status and respect from other Mekhet, earn the same again (and more) from their Morbus peers for their cleverness.

Concepts: Angel of mercy, cult leader, demon of retribution, doctor, hospice manager, medical researcher, New-Age holistic healer, plague dog, retirement-home orderly, seemingly philanthropic political activist

To the unwashed, ignorant masses, the Daeva are sleek, haughty, alluring, idealized predators who’ve been gifted with eternal youth, beauty and undying style because they’re just that much better than regular mortals. The Kindred of the Toreador bloodline see themselves in much the same way, only they elevate themselves above the thrashing, hedonistic, uncultured Daeva as well. They’re too well mannered and aloof to say as much to the Daeva, but what they leave unsaid in mixed company could fill volumes.

The name “Toreador” reflects not only the bloodline’s noble history, but its members’ fascination with the fine arts that they hold dear even tonight. Its founder, Garcilaso de Castillejo, was the second son of a moderately influential Spanish nobleman and a peer and rival of the innovative torero (bullfighter) Francisco Romero, whose grandson Pedro carried on the tradition and is legendary even today. Castillejo might have even surpassed Romero in skill and innovation in the eternal escalafon of Spanish bullfighters had he not been seduced and Embraced by an influential Andalusian Daeva while he was still in his prime. He adapted quickly to his undead state and impressed his Kindred peers with his charm, wit and grace. He even continued to fight bulls in secluded, hidden arenas for the delighted Kindred nobility until King Philip V decried the sport as barbarous and pressured a compliant pope to threaten willful noble toreros with excommunication. Fickle Spanish Sanctified chose to enforce Philip’s will among their own kind, denouncing the entire spectacle as a sacrilegious mockery of Abel’s sacrifice, largely at the urging of a Daeva Bishop in Seville who was jealous of Castillejo’s growing fame.

Yet Castillejo disregarded this slight with his characteristic aplomb and looked for other ways to fill his time at ease. He became a patron of the arts and a nigh-obsessive student of them, arranging travel into Italy, France, Greece, Portugal and even England to track down artists or to follow exciting new movements that caught his fancy. His adventurous spirit and unshakable will attracted cultured, indolent Daeva from all over Europe to his side, and they emulated every opinion and behavior of their charismatic torero in attempts to curry his favor. In time, amused outsiders came to refer to not only Castillejo but his growing cult of personality as El Toreros. When Castillejo finally chose to Embrace childer and those progeny demonstrated an aptitude for Dominate —which iron-willed Castillejo had learned from a Ventrue patron and lover in Venice — the nickname was applied to them as well.

When the bloodline gained recognition among European Kindred societies, it was known as the Torero line, and it remained thus for almost a century. Then, in the last quarter of the 19th century, Castillejo’s favorite childe, Cristóbal de la Vega saw the opening-night performance of Bizet’s opera Carmen. He was so profoundly moved by the performance of Jacques Bouhy as the bullfighter Escamillo that he convinced Castillejo to come see the performance with him the next night. When he did, Castillejo was so pleased by Bouhy’s performance that he insisted upon the adoption of the inexpertly translated word “Toreador” in place of Torero in reference to his bloodline. Ever eager to please their founder and paragon, vampires of the line and associated Daeva hangers-on eagerly followed suit.

In the century-and-a-quarter since then, however, Castillejo has grown jaded and bored by the evolution of what passes for fine art. He has withdrawn into seclusion somewhere in the mountains of Andalusia to pray that the inspired artists of the Age of Enlightenment will be reborn soon so he’ll have a reason to travel the world again as he did as a young Kindred. Yet his haughty sycophants can be found all over the world, insinuating themselves among the mortal elite in cultural centers of high art (such as New York, Paris, Milan and Madrid). Many of them spend their nights seeking inspired, classically trained artists and attempting to groom them into talented Kindred prodigies whose works will shake Castillejo out of his ennui. Others slavishly try to hone their own talents to perfection in hopes of doing the same thing. Some have even realized they don’t need Castillejo’s constant attention and approval to enjoy the status and influence they’ve garnered as Toreador. Possessed of their inceptor’s will, determination and grace, they’ve set their sights on supplanting the disconsolate old Kindred in the affections of their adoring brothers and sisters.

Covenant: The Toreador believe any covenant would be lucky to have them, but not every covenant is worthy of them. Nonetheless, no self-respecting Toreador is so gauche as to go slumming among the unaligned. (Honestly….) The closest many Toreador come to thumbing their noses at established authority and going their own way is joining the Carthians, though they usually do so only to spite a rival in an opposing covenant or because the Carthians have the most sway in the Toreador’s chosen domain. Members of the bloodline traditionally shy away from joining the Circle of the Crone because of a story their elders hand down about a member of that covenant whom their founder held in particular contempt and openly derided at court. Likewise, they both fear and respect devout members of the Lancea Sanctum, though they are wary of the intentions of certain hypocritical or overzealous Sanctified. And yet, piety and passion have inspired some of the most profoundly moving works of art in history, so finding the odd Toreador among the Lancea Sanctum is not unheard of. Many Toreador can be found among the Ordo Dracul, although many members of the Order consider the Toreador effete dilettantes who don’t have the capacity to master the Coils of the Dragon (which is not generally an inaccurate estimation). The covenant that attracts most Toreador is the Invictus. Not only is the Invictus accepting of them, but it aspires to the ideal of the undying feudal elite, of which the Toreador naturally account themselves.

Appearance: The eldest and most influential Toreador come from Spanish or Italian stock (including Sardinia and Corsica). They show the same range of appearance as south European mortals, from the duskiness of a part-Moorish Andalusian to the blonde hair of a part-Nordic Lombard. Young Patrons display a wider variety of ethnicity, but all of them represent the ideals of classical or exotic beauty to which men and women of the era in which they were Embraced aspired. In public and among their few accepted peers, they dress as paragons of the styles most popular at the time. In private, many Toreador cling to the bygone high-style fashions of their breathing days.

Haven: Toreador havens come in two varieties: the disarrayed studio of the self-absorbed artist, or the lavishly appointed haven of the elite socialite patron. The latter is far more common, and all such spaces have at least a couple of objets d’art on display. Most Toreador consider it gauche to display their own artwork (or not to display that of their guests) when entertaining fellow Kindred.

Background: The Toreador aren’t quite — quite — as picky about selecting physically beautiful people for the Embrace as the Daeva are. Charm, wit and grace are far more important than simplistic concerns about symmetry or bone structure. They also look for artistic talent that inspires them or at least a consummate love and learned understanding of the fine arts. The Toreador are just as prone to Embrace out of guilt or passion as the Daeva, but they don’t make a habit of welcoming those illegitimate childer into the bloodline afterward.

As for adopting other Daeva into their august ranks, it simply isn’t done. It takes at least two Toreador in good standing to propose and second a novillo (a neonate Daeva of Toreador lineage) for inclusion within the bloodline, and a Toreador elder (known as a diestro) must give his blessing in a ceremony called the alternativa. If the novillo doesn’t have a traceable pedigree of respected Toreador ancestors leading directly back to the founder, it would take a miracle for him to get a Toreador to even acknowledge him, much less support his dreams of adoption.

Character Creation: The Toreador rely primarily on Social Attributes across the board, although few can be accused of lacking in Wits or Resolve. Intelligence and the Physical Attributes are not quite as important to them as making a powerful and lasting first impression, but few Kindred can honestly claim to have met an especially weak, stupid or clumsy Toreador. Social Skills are often primary, with a notable preference for Expression, Socialize and a haughty, unspoken style of Intimidation. Social Merits predominate, as do ones such as Status, Haven and Herd — all of which reflect the decadent opulence with which the Toreador surround themselves and the allure such trappings have for mortal victims. It also makes sense to buy a second dot of Blood Potency unless you intend to play the character as a novillo Daeva struggling for acceptance among his Toreador betters.

Organization: Since the Toreador don’t strive as a unified front to achieve a specific goal, they don’t tend to hew to a strict hierarchy. A handful might gather in an informal group called a salon, a peña or simply a clique until jealousy or petty disagreements drive them apart. These groups most often form around particularly charismatic diestros, and the internal pecking order is determined by each member’s status. These groups sometimes include fascinating or promising novillo Daeva, but only in the minority. The fickle, flighty nature of the Toreador doesn’t lend itself to long-term compatriot loyalty, so the thing that best holds a Toreador group together is an enemy or victim in common.

Concepts: Bullfighter, buyer for a museum, character assassin, gallery owner, Harpy, Master of Elysium, promising young artist, reclusive retired maestro, sycophantic courtier, vicious critic