Tremere

ℹ️️**Attention!**This is AU content. Not canon

**Clan Tremere** is the second youngest of the vampiric clans, having just come into existence during the Dark Ages.

## Tremere

### Nicknames

The Broken Clan,Warlocks, Wizards, Magi, Usurpers, Grayfaces, Tremores ("Trembling Ones"), the Pyramid

## Overview

In the (comparatively) little time since their founding, the Warlocks have made incredible inroads within vampiric society and are arguably the most powerful clan in the modern nights. This is due in no small part to their strict hierarchy, secretive nature, and mastery of Thaumaturgy, all of which elicit suspicion, fear, and respect from other Cainites. The Warlocks stand as a pillar of the Camarilla and are one of its main defenders, despite the fact that they exist almost as a subsect. Some even go so far as to consider themselves the evolution of vampirism, citing their extreme versatility of blood magic and lack of a true clan curse. The Final Nights have many things in store for the Tremere, however, and the more powerful they grow, the more their enemies gather – and in their bid for power, the Tremere have accumulated more enemies than most.

## History

In 1998, the Tremere *antitribu* were wiped out. After being called to a chantry in Mexico City, they were completely destroyed in an unknown ritual. If any of the *antitribu* remain, those who did not attend the gathering, they are undoubtedly in hiding. For more information, see the *Transylvania Chronicles IV* and *Nights of Prophecy* supplements or the entries for Tremere and Goratrix.

More problematic was the increasing number of free Gargoyles making themselves known within the Camarilla and those clamoring for more freedoms and rights despite the Tremere's attempts to keep them under their control. Far worse, the Tremere were beginning to take notice of a growing instability in Thaumaturgy with frightening similarities to the failure of the Hermetic arts that spurred Goratrix's experiments and the transformation into vampires. The curse placed upon the Assamite clan failed, with subsequent efforts to renew it unsuccessful, and the Assassins hunted them with renewed vigor, even as a new faction of sorcerers and scholars sought membership within the Camarilla. The advancements made by the Tremere seemed to be met by further setback, and little reassurance was given from the top of the pyramid.

#### The Fall of Vienna

When the Second Inquisition raided the Vienna Chantry in 2008, with presumably the destruction of the Inner Council of Seven, Blood Bonds were shattered. Tremere fell from gray eminences to *personae non gratae* in many regions. Without the strict internal hierarchy, individual Tremere compete heavily for the lore, artifacts, and secrets that the united Clan once possessed, fearing their clanmates as much as their enemies. To this end, they often sell their services as mercenaries to third parties. Their former monolithic structure has splintered into several rival groups, with the Camarilla-loyalists under Karl Schrekt at the head on the one side, a resurgent House Goratrix on the other, and the upstarts of House Carna who are at least for the time being still aligned with the Camarilla. A fourth house, Ipsissimus, can be found among the Anarchs.

## Organization

The Tremere are the most strictly organized clan bar none, and every member knows where they stand in authority amongst their peers. This creates the illusion of total unison and cooperation for other Cainites, who rarely know anything of the Tremere hierarchy or inner politics. Their Founder and namesake, the nominal Antediluvian Tremere, sits at the top of the Pyramid and supposedly directs the entire clan, though very few have ever seen him or witnessed his hand in action. Many do not believe he is even a real person, but perhaps an ideal of the Tremere cause or a symbol of their unity. Beneath him, the importance of the number seven is emphasized, as each successive rank down is comprised of seven to one, starting with:

* **Councilors** - the members of the Inner Council of Seven and the true rulers of the clan, each of whom is responsible for directing clan efforts in a particular portion of the world. Each councilor appoints seven Pontifices.
* **Pontifices** - a pontifex oversees a large region, such as parts of a nation or groupings of smaller countries and islands, and in turn oversees seven Lords.
* **Lords** - each lord is responsible for a small country or group of states and uses their influence and knowledge to sway the Tremere in their domain, specifically the Regents.
* **Regents** - the most visible figures of Tremere authority. A regent runs an individual chantry and is charged with the supervision of it.
* **Magisters** - a term to describe a Tremere that has not sought power but instead has become a trusted advisor who manages inter-chantry disputes. Magisters educate and see to the well-being of Apprentices.
* **Apprentices** - the youngest and most numerous Tremere. Apprentices must spend much of their time training, serving some need within their chantry, or playing the politics of the clan as best as their inexperience allows. Some never advance beyond this rank, either because they are more interested in Camarilla politics or their own affairs to rise among the Tremere or because the lord of the region sees no need to create a new chantry and regent.
* **Acolytes** - the ones who lie below Apprentices, a rank that includes Tremere that have not yet been accepted as a part of the clan, as well as groups that are bound to the Council of Seven (such as the Trimira). Below Acolytes are ghouls and servitors like Gargoyles.

### Circles of Mystery

Each rank, save for the Inner Council itself, is further divided into seven levels called circles of mystery. One's circle of mystery denotes one of several characteristics that have earned them prestige and further responsibility, such as skill in Thaumaturgy, years of experience and hard work, successful political machinations, or simple favouritism. The higher one's circle of mystery the more authority and power they have access to, but they are also expected to provide more for the clan and are given less tolerance for failure. Those of the fifth circle or above are also commonly called "high" members of their rank, such as high apprentice, high regent, or high lord—although few bother with such awkward parlance as “high apprentice”. Promotion and demotion is dealt by members of higher rank, though tribunals may also be called where accomplishments and failings are examined. The pursuit of promotion is one of the most motivating factors for the clan's members to excel and obey Tremere doctrine, though advancement is rarely as simple as that.

### Secret Societies

The Tremere pyramid teems with conspiracies since the creation of the clan and the feud between Goratrix and Etrius. Many of these societies are tolerated as long as they do not threaten the foundation of loyalty to the clan. Known and accepted societies are:

* **Astors** - a secret organization that hunts traitors and infiltrators within the pyramid;
* **Brothers of Absinthe** - those who believe in the usage of certain drugs to elevate their consciousness and awareness in Dreams;
* **Children of the Pyramid** - those who revere the spiritual concept of the Pyramid;
* **The Covenant** - a group that seeks knowledge of Necromancy to combine it with Thaumaturgy;
* **Elite** - a group of Tremere that believe that they are the next step in vampiric evolution and are dedicated to show the supremacy of the Clan;
* **Guardians of Traditions** - those who stand opposed to any change in policy and oppose all modern technology and conventions;
* **The Praesidium** - Traditionalists who seek a return to the Pyramid, after the fall of the Prime Chantry, aligned with House Tremere.
* **Quaesitori** - a remnant from House Quaesitor that act as independent judges;
* **The Unbowed Mundanes** - a group of Tremere that lobbies for a better inclusion of those Tremere that show no aptitude for Thaumaturgy.

Besides them, there exist groups like the Eye of the Serpent, which is a cell from the Followers of Set; the Third Eye, a group of Tremere that seek to atone for the genocide against the Salubri; and, the Illuminated Brotherhood and the Order of the Wyrm, who are rumoured to have connections to the demonic Baali. Membership in one of these societies can be punished with Final Death once it is known, and so these cults hide among the other members of the Clan. Other societies die out due to lack of interest, such as the Humanus League or the Golden Path of Harmony.

### Houses

The houses of Clan Tremere are little more than cults of personality at their worst, but are distinct colleges of magic or philosophy at their most valid.

#### Major Houses

After the Fall of the Vienna Chantry in 2008, the Clan has reorganized into 4 Houses, as many Tremere scramble for unity outside the Pyramid:

* **House Tremere** - Camarilla aligned, loyalists of the Pyramid, traditional Hermetics, led by Karl Schrekt;
* **House Carna** - Majority of them Camarilla aligned, with some in the Anarchs, pagan nonconformists, wiccans and other modern witches, led by Carna;
* **House Goratrix** - Camarilla aligned, with little information known about them, presumably led by Goratrix;
* **House Ipsissimus** - Anarch aligned, though not generally considered to be a major house. Decentralized and leaderless.

#### Minor Houses

Prior to the attack, the clan used to consist of an unknown number of houses, some claiming only a handful of members, while others — the House of Tremere — claim every childe of the clan. Listed below are a few of the more prominent — or notorious — houses of Clan Tremere:

* **Trismegistus** - symbolism and numerology
* **Hashem** - Kabbalah
* **Rodolfo** - divination
* **Daughters of the Crone** - birth and death magic
* **Horned Society** - infernalism (allows non-Kindred members)
* **High Saturday** - voudoun and necromancy (allows non-Tremere members)
* **Auram Guild** - alchemy
* **Etrius** - Thaumaturgy

Not all of these are common knowledge; some exist only as rumours and may well be fictional, while others are august and prestigious. The fate of these Houses following the Fall of Vienna is unknown, but it can be assumed that they joined — either in part or completely – the major houses above.

## Culture

Over the centuries, the clan has fostered the image of an authoritarian society ruled by a stifling hierarchy and by tyranny. Most outside the clan take it as a fact that the Tremere hegemony is strict and unforgiving. And for the most part, Clan Tremere almost encourages this reputation by simply never acknowledging *or* correcting it directly. In actuality though, the clan as a whole is less rigid and less uniform than most know—and its power structure is both more intricate and more delicate than most realize. Superiors set expectations for their underlings—and any who prove a direct threat to the clan are hunted down and neutralized. But while some Regents and Lords can be brutally draconian, others are far more liberal. In fact, many are smart enough to realize that seeding needless discontent only motivates rebellion. And while the pyramid is meant to compel obedience, each member is still an individual who harbours their own ambitions. As such, superiors regularly use promises of advancement, occult teachings, and access to the Thaumaturgical secrets that the clan places its monolithic monopoly over to motivate said individuals to stay in line and to placate their thirsts for power.

To the rest of Kindred society, they always present a unified front. Given their history as usurpers and power-grabbers, they are obsessed with the image and reputation of their clan. But underneath the veneer, the close-knit hierarchy of the pyramid breeds ruthless competition (something the upper echelons actively encourage). As such, night-to-night existence for many Tremere becomes a labyrinth of Byzantine politics where endless scheming and cut-throat manoeuvring lurks at every corner from those below and those above. Aside from the clan hierarchy, Tremere also sometimes form political factions and houses within the clan, which range from cults to distinct colleges of magic or other intellectual pursuits. These groups are generally highly informal and maintain their own organization, if any at all, and some may even be at odds with one another.

The Tremere are one of the primary pillars of the Camarilla in the modern nights, arguably second only to the Ventrue in terms of the support and influence they possess (most of this power comes from the Tremere's near-monopoly of Thaumaturgy, but also from the encouragement for individual Tremere to place clan interests high on their list of priorities). The clan is synonymous with blood magic, a fact that they use to instil fear and envy in others. While they are surely not the first thaumaturges in Cainite history (despite claims to the contrary), their paradigm is one of the most flexible and expansive. The Tremere differ from the other thaumaturges by adopting a uniquely scientific approach to magic, and they encourage active experimentation – the result being a staggering array of thaumaturgical paths and rituals. Of course, no single individual knows every application of blood magic, and such knowledge is naturally one of the main forms of barter within the clan.

The Clan places great value at the numerological value of the number seven. Seeing the mind ordered akin to a pyramid ordered in seven steps, the internal discipline of the mind mirrors the structure of the Clan itself. Thoughts, desires and fears have to be ordered in these seven steps. Likewise, the pyramid teaches seven lessons, those of Discontinuity, Hierarchy, Apathy, Favour, Authority, Documentation and Surveillance, in order to shape their members into the desired form.

### Embraces

The Tremere are very selective in who they Embrace and normally do so with a mind for the clan's needs, a condition reinforced by the fact that the local Regent must give permission for an individual to be sired. Individuals of strong will or aggressive personalities are normally sought, provided they have a clear head and can learn to be a part of the greater whole that is the clan. Candidates were scholars in life, and many dabbled in the occult to one extent or another, though that is not a prerequisite. Of course, there are "rogue" Embraces for the usual reasons – love, political gain, or accident. Regents often have these mistakes killed immediately, with suitable punishment levied against the sire, but there are always exceptions.

Soon after being Embraced, Tremere neonates are made to commit to the Tremere Code – which elaborates on what is expected of a Tremere and what activities would earn disfavour. The neonate has to drink the blood of the Inner Council of Seven through a ritual called the *Transubstantiation of Seven*, bringing them one step towards a Blood Bond to the clan's leaders and ensuring some degree of loyalty to their peers. Afterwards their training begins, even as they continue to grapple with their transformation into a vampire, memorize the Traditions, learn to feed, and so on. These factors lead to a high rate of failure in newly Embraced Tremere, who may go mad or commit suicide.

## Weaknesses

### Classic

The original Tremere clan weakness consists of an initiation, which requires all neonates to drink from the blood of the seven elders of the clan when they are created. This means that all Tremere are at least one step toward being Blood Bound to the clan, and therefore must watch their step very carefully when around their leaders.

### V20 Edition

Vampires of Clan Tremere are blood bound by only two draughts of another Kindred's vitae. The first draught is treated as if another vampire had two.

### Fifth Edition

#### Bane

**Deficient Blood**: The Tremere are no longer able to create Blood Bonds with other Kindred through normal means. A Tremere can still bind mortals and ghouls, though the corrupted vitae must be drunk an additional number of times equal to the vampire’s Bane Severity for the bond to form.

#### Compulsion

**Perfectionism**: nothing but the best satisfies the vampire. Anything less than exceptional performance instils a profound sense of failure, and they often repeat tasks obsessively to get them "just right". Until the vampire scores a critical win on a Skill roll or the scene ends, the vampire labours under a two-dice penalty to all dice pools. The penalty is reduced to one die for a repeated action and removed entirely on a second repeat.

## Trivia

"*Tremere*" means "*to tremble*" in Latin.