Giovanni Ghouls

Giovanni ghouls and the Clan’s fabled Proxy Kiss are often whispered about with equal amounts of curiosity and dread. Unlike other bloodlines, Clans, and Sects, the family professes to observes ritualistic protocols that are so strict, punishment for breaking any one of these traditions may end in death of the ghoul, domitor, childe, or sire.

Most vampires mistakenly assume that all Giovanni ghouls are destined for the Embrace, since the Clan does not have to ask the Prince for permission to create childer, and the Proxy Kiss ceremony is a way of reassuring potential ghouls of their value to the family. However, most vampires are not clear on the ratio of ghouls-to-vampires among the Giovanni families, nor do they know how many mortal allies they possess. Some vampires suspect there might be more Giovanni vampires than they initially realized.

Scholars within the Giovanni family estimate that more than half of the current vampires with the name “Giovanni” did spend some time as ghouls before their Embrace, Bound to a domitor who was not their sire. In addition to creating childer, however, the Proxy Kiss is also used a means of exerting control over misbehaving or overachieving family members.

Though the Giovanni Clan creates ghouls by feeding them vitae like all other vampires, the circumstances surrounding this act are highly ritualized. In years past, all candidates were presented before the Giovanni elders in Italy, as a way of introducing them as future members of the Clan. Many Clan members believe that these ceremonies, despite their necromantic and sacrilegious overtones, were largely designed to strengthen familial bonds and relationships. Others were drawn into the spectacle, and secretly suspect that the Proxy Kiss is but one of seven blasphemies performed by the Clan elders to draw on the power of the murdered Cappadocius and all his childer.

Over time, as the Giovanni family flourished and its minor families spread, it became less practical for the Proxy Kiss traditions to be upheld as they were originally intended. Thus, the minor families do not share the same rituals as their relatives in Italy do, and often lure ghouls with the promise of Embrace, but rarely fulfill that wish out of necessity. Due to their low numbers, the minor families supplement their ranks with ghouls.

Located in Italy, the Rossellini family is the Clan’s best kept secret, for they are a line of revenants. To prevent the Rossellini from becoming too powerful, however, some Rossellini each year are selected for the Proxy Kiss and sent to live with their Giovanni domitors. The Scottish Dunsirn, another minor family, tends to select ghouls who can increase their wealth and holdings, and keep prying eyes out of their cannibalistic activities. They often choose bankers, lawyers, bodyguards, butchers, farmers, coroners, and doctors to become their servants. In Germany, the Koenig family are much more discriminatory, in part because they are rumored to be working closely with the Giovanni. In addition to creating ghouls, the Koenig family may also be experimenting with other, more mundane means of drawing in allies.

The Pisanob in South America, on the other hand, finds candidates among police officers, archaeologists, doctors, nurses, professors, occultists, librarians, and collectors, while the American Milliner family opts for socialites, bankers, spies, celebrities, entertainers, lobbyists, and con artists. Lastly, the Rothstein family, who is centered in Las Vegas, is infiltrating casinos and establishing connections to organized crime in order to funnel profits back to the main Clan. Of all the minor families, they’ve been granted the most amount of leeway to create ghouls as they see fit.

In theory, all family members must seek the approval of a Clan elder before creating a ghoul, even if that ghoul is not destined for the Embrace. However, when they do so, they put themselves at risk because they might run afoul of their elders. For example, say a Pisanob domitor wishes to turn a local police officer into a ghoul. This decision, provided it helps that vampire be a more productive family member, would be deemed practical and overlooked. However, if a Milliner domitor selects her cousins to become ghouls as enforcers, the elders would view that as a possible threat due to the close ties between them. Repercussions of running afoul of the Giovanni can be severe and range from being Bound to serving the family as a ghost after the domitor’s death.

**Appearance:** Giovanni ghouls who are blessed by Clan elders tend to be impeccably dressed, but often wear more durable, sensible clothes in their day-to-day duties. Other ghouls, however, are chosen for their ability to blend in and not be noticed, so they tend to have a plain, unremarkable appearance.

**Character Creation:** Giovanni ghouls are divided into three groups: candidates for the Embrace, family members, and useful acquaintances. The duties of most Giovanni ghouls, however, are geared to fit their natural talents. However, those who are geared for the Embrace might be embroiled further into family politics or encouraged to increase their knowledge of Disciplines.

**Weakness:** Giovanni ghouls tend to think and act as if they were related by blood, even if they are not part of the Giovanni lineage. While they are not a revenant family, Giovanni ghouls retain close ties, and even go so far as to fight each others’ battles. All Giovanni ghouls suffer from the Vengeance Flaw found on p. 486 of V20. This Flaw manifests whenever the player character discovers that a member of the extended Giovanni family, either herself or another mortal, ghoul, revenant, or vampire, has been wronged. The player will take on other vows of vengeance as if she herself had been hurt. This Flaw may be resisted for a day by spending a Willpower point.

**Quote:** “You think you can take me? Try taking on me and my whole family, asshole.”