Tzimisce

The Tzimisce have left the human condition behind gladly, and now focus on transcending the limitations of the vampiric state. At a casual glance or a brief thumb|left|200 pxconversation a Tzimisce appears to be one of the more pleasant vampires. Polite, intelligent and inquisitive they seem a stark contrast to the howling Sabbat mobs or even the apparently more humane Brujah or Nosferatu. However on closer inspection it becomes clear that this is simply a mask hiding something alien and monstrous.
They lead with the Lasombra the masses of the Sabbat, and many Kinred fear being captured by Tzimisce instead of meeting final death, for fear of what will become of them. The Tzimisce are known to tinker with flesh the way a clock maker may tinker with gears, pulling this, changing that, just to see what happens, and the younger neonates are the most eager to learn.
Despite this oddity, Tzimisce are impeccably polite, and almost never rouse their idd, lest they suffer the rank and file to see them behave ignobly and impolite. This does nothing to assuage their reputation and true monsters that would make the eldest Nosferatu compete for the title. Still, while under the graces and hospitality of a Tzimisce who would consider one his mortal enemy, one need not fear while he is a guest. No true Tzimisce would be so uncouth as to be nothing less than a perfect host to a guest, regardless of who they are.
Their discipline of Vicissitude, or flesh-crafting allows them truly monstrous creations and practices that rare other Kindred can truly appreciate until they are the surgeon operating on the unwilling.
Tzimisce are known to fleshcraft Kindred and Kine together to create amalgams and beasts of burden to do their bidding. Of great concern are Once so fused, gnerally it would require years of work from another more skilled Tzimisce to undo it, and even then the unwilling participants will never be the same.
Some Tzimisce have taken to a sort of vampiric plastic surgeon, as their discipline allows them to overcome the curse and permanently alter the undead. Their price is usually too rich for most Kindred, as they have little need for money, and a Tzimisce antitrube is almost unthinkable.
==The Clan==
Historically, the Tzimisce embraced broods who maintained a particular plot of land. Tied to the land, Tzimisce broods were incestuous, violent hierarchies of hateful creatures who maintained a bare modicum of civility through raw power and the blood bond. The central government of the Tzimisce, so to speak, was the Council of Voivodes, guided by the Viceroy. The Viceroy was elected by his peers, but his tenure was set "for life". However, given the jealousy and suspicion among the Clan, there was a fairly regular progression of Viceroys, as one after another fell to the political or physical traps set by another ambitious clanmember. The Council had anywhere from less than a dozen to nearly a hundred members during the Dark Ages, making it the single most influential factor in Clan politics.
With the elimination of this hierarchy during the Anarch Revolt, the Tzimisce have become intensely solitary creatures. They now tend to embrace more....unusual individuals, psychopaths and sadists are common choices as are people who indulge in self-mutilation, however intelligence and dignity are still key concerns: the Tzimisce would choose Hannibal Lecter over Leatherface any day of the month.
In the modern era, the Tzimisce have a recognized clan head, the voivode, but the office is largely religious. For most Tzimisce, authority is a function of power.
Tzimisce who have awakened their zulo shape (i.e.:, have achieved the fourth level of Vicissitude), who have at least one level of Koldunic Sorcery, and who have demonstrated wisdom and loyalty to the sect and clan are known among the clan as zhupans. Zhupans are respected for their knowledge and power, and may "suggest" courses of action to lesser Tzimisce. The lesser Tzimisce are not required to heed a "suggestion," but ignoring a zhupan is considered extremely rude and will almost inevitably alienate the zhupan so snubbed.
Within the Sabbat, the Tzimisce are the spiritual leaders and scholars, in contrast with the Lasombra's preference to leadership and temporal power. While the Lasombra are the Cardinals and Bishops, the Tzimisce prefer being pack priests, Prisci, or even not having titles at all and focusing on personal development. Some people even ponder (out of earshot, of course) that the Tzimisce are not very sincere in their attachment to the sect, and that the only reasons they are even present amongst the Sabbat is their dislike of Camarilla clans (especially the Tremere) and not fitting with the Camarilla's policy of hiding among humans (Tzimisce tend to see humans as mere plaything below their consideration). However, those Tzimisce who show genuine dedication to the Sabbat ideal are paragons of their sect, impressing (and even scaring) other Sabbat with their fervor and contributions.
However, in Eastern Europe, many Tzimisce give only lip service to the Sabbat, and prefer to live solitary unlives following their own pursuits. Most Sabbat give these Tzimisce leeway, since most of them are very old and very powerful. More than one upstart neonate has been toyed into an unrecognizable visceral mess by angry Tzimisce wanting to be left alone.
Even before the rise of the Sabbat, the Tzimisce viewed their mortal charges as little more than a sophisticated form of herd beast; following the Anarch revolt, the majority of Tzimisce have abandoned lordship in favor of their own projects. To purify their thought and detach themselves from human subjectivity, Tzimisce either founded or developed the various Sabbat Paths of Enlightenment. These beliefs and rituals serve diverse purposes: engendering solidarity among vampires, providing new habits to replace human-learned ones, and fostering an understanding of what it means to be a vampire. As a result, the Tzimisce are intensely focused on the Vampiric condition: they gladly abandon their Humanity in favor of the Paths of Enlightenment, and they have spent more time thinking about their state than any other clan. One of the immediate results of this is that Sabbat culture is derived from medieval Tzimisce culture; traditions such as Vaulderie derive from Tzimisce custom.
Tzimisce culture, philosophy and self-image is intimately tied with their practice of Vicissitude. The Tzimisce view Vicissitude as a key to unlocking higher mysteries of the vampiric state, and consequently see deeper mastery of Vicissitude as part and parcel with vampiric enlightenment. Tzimisce almost invariably modify their own appearance using Vicissitude, sometimes on a nightly basis.
Tzimisce also use Vicissitude as a solution to a variety of problems that wouldn't occur to a vampire possessed of a conscience. Unlike most rulership clans (e.g., the Ventrue or Lasombra), Tzimisce have no particular facility for Dominate. As a result, they rule their subjects not by mind control, but through sheer fear, using creative applications of Vicissitude to strike that fear home. Giant sculptures of living flesh, tables made from ghouled children, lovers glued together and transformed into dogs, all of these are tools for a sufficiently insightful Tzimisce. The most infamous of these creations, the szlachta and vozhd, are used as bodyguards and tanks.
A particularly interesting phenomenon which is practically exclusive to the Tzimisce is the existence of Revenants. Revenants are families of ghouls constantly maintained by the Tzimisce, who serve as mortal pawns and possible candidates for the Embrace.
==Bloodlines==
===Old Clan Tzimisce===
Old Clan Tzimisce are the members of the Tzimisce clan who did not join the Sabbat or cultivate the use of Vicissitude; they do not consider themselves a bloodline. They are old (at least 500 years, as most predate the formation of the Sabbat), of low generation, and rule small domains almost exclusively in Eastern Europe.
Though some refer to these Tzimisce as the "Old Clan," that is a misnomer. These hoary vampires have little use for sect, clan, or other ties. They remember well the nights of old, when each vampire was a law unto itself, and any other vampire was a potential enemy. (Note that Old Clan Tzimisce do not call themselves "antitribu," as do the surviving non-Sabbat Lasombra.) Some of them have gathered in the Oradea League to fend off the sects who threaten their autonomy.
===Tzimisce Antitribu===
The Camarilla? Oh no. These vampires have no more interest in the Tower then their Sabbat counterparts. The self styled Tzimisce Antitribu are those who were convinced by Dracula himself to abandon the Sabbat and join him. Join him in finding a way to truly become a better vampire, instead of wallowing in some juvenile desire to shock their fellow Cainites and wasting their time chasing phantoms in the dark.
These Tzimisce were the founding members of the the Ordo Dracul, where they, and their childer still remain today. Oh but make to mistake, they are no more humane then their sabbat counterparts. You simply wont hear stories of seven foot flesh-crafted grey, horned, blobs waltzing through the city if they show up in your domain.
Tzimisce Antitribu do not flesh-craft themselves into monstrosities, instead they use the Coils of the Dragon to evolve vampirism on a larger, grander, and more internal scale. They consider their parent clan short sighted. Far to obsessed with the physical.
The Antitribu tend to not reveal their true clan, especially when they operate within Camarilla cities. Typically only other Dragons will know of their Lineage. Its simply far to dangerous, their Sabbat counterparts want them dead, the Vantrue would love to pump them for information, and who knows what the damn Blood Mages would do to them.
==Mechanics==
Clan Disciplines: Vicissitude, Animalism, Auspex
Favored Attributes: Intelligence or Composure
Weakness: The Tzimisce clan weakness dictates that whenever a Tzimisce sleeps, they must surround themselves with at least two handfuls of Earth from a place important to them as a mortal. Failure to meet this requirement halves the Tzimisce's dice pools every 24 hours, until all their actions use only one die. This penalty remains until they rest for a full day amid their earth once more.
==Tzimisce in Portland==
No Tzimisce are known in the Portland/Vancouver area. A sabbat incursion did lead the coterie to conclude that a single Tzimisce did accompany a Lasombra to scout Portland, however the identity of this Kindred is unknown.
Category:Clans/Bloodlines