Clans

If the myth of the Antediluvian is to be believed, Caine sired a number of progeny, who then sired childer themselves. These childer, accordingly of the Third Generation, were the progenitors of the modern clans, and all vampires descended from them shared common traits and
characteristics. Certainly this is true to some degree, as each clan has
 a set of vampiric powers its members learn more readily than others,
and each clan also has a distinguishing weakness or character flaw by
which its members may be identified.

Lineage is important to the Kindred. Though they are loners and typically shun each other's company by nature, the Damned place great value on their heritage. The
honor a vampire is due stems from clan as much as generation, and even the most dull-witted Kindred is afforded some modicum of respect if his legacy demands it.

There are 13 known clans, each supposedly spawned by one of the Antediluvians, but whispers circulate through the Kindred world about "lesser" clans or bloodlines that branched off from
their parent genealogies somewhere in the nights of history. Few vampires have ever met Kindred claiming to hail from these mysterious bloodlines, and few of these have turned out to be anything other than Caitiff with delusions of self-importance. It is widely accepted, however, that of the 13 "great" clans, seven claim membership in the Camarilla, two belong to the Sabbat, and the remaining four abstain from sects entirely.

Along with the main seven clans of the Camarilla, Caitiff or 'clanless' are playable as well. Their Disciplines will need to be rolled for at creation, and they are generally looked down upon as worthless trash.

## Clans of the Camarilla

The Camarilla claims that all vampires are under its purview, whether they wish to be so included or not. The Camarilla realistically comprises seven clans, though any Kindred may be recognized as a member if she so declares. The clans in the Camarilla are the only clans playable in this chronicle.

### **Brujah**

As the Brujah
 tell the tale, they were once philosopher-kings of Mesopotamia, Persia
and Babylon. They controlled an empire that spanned from the cradle of
civilization to northern Africa, and collected lore and knowledge from around the world. Now they are perceived as little more than spoiled childer who
have no sense of pride or history. One of the mainstays of the Great Anarch Revolt, the Brujah were barely brought to heel by the founders of
 the Camarilla, and the clan as a whole still resents the elders. Though
 nominally in the Camarilla, the Brujah are the sect's firebrands and
agitators, testing the Traditions and rebelling in the name of whatever
causes they hold dear. Many Brujah are outright anarchs, defying
authority and serving no prince.

### **Gangrel**

The night-prowling Gangrel are feral vampires and possess disturbing
 animalistic tendencies and features. Rarely staying in one place,
Gangrel are nomadic wanderers, satisfied only when running alone under
the night sky. Distant, aloof and savage, Gangrel are often tragic
individuals; although many hate the cities' crowds and constrictions,
the presence of hostile werewolves prevents most Gangrel from living
outside their confines. Gangrel vampires seem to support the Camarilla
solely because it intrudes upon their unlives less than the Sabbat.

### **Malkavian**

Clan Malkavian has suffered throughout history, and continues to do
so to this very night. Every member of this clan is afflicted with
madness, and all are slaves to their debilitating lunacy. Throughout Cainite history, Malkavians have
been alternately feared for their bizarre behavior and sought out for
their even more bizarre insight. Kindred who have regular dealings with
the Malkavians report that the clan is now more morbidly unstable than
ever, spreading madness in its wake like a contagious disease.

### **Nosferatu**

The members of Clan Nosferatu suffer the most visible curse of all.
The Embrace hideously deforms them, twisting them into literal monsters. In the
modern nights, Clan Nosferatu is known for levelheadedness and calm in
the face of adversity. Nosferatu have reputations as information brokers
 and harvesters of secrets, as their horrid appearances have forced them
 to perfect their mystical ability to hide, sometimes in plain sight.

### **Toreador**

Prodigals of the Kindred, Clan Toreador indulges in excess and
degeneracy, all while claiming to maintain patronage of the arts. To a
great degree, this patronage is true, as the clan claims many talented
artists, musicians, writers, poets and other gifted creators. On the
other hand, the clan possesses just as many "poseurs," those who fancy
themselves great aesthetes but lack the ability to create at all.
According to legend, the Toreador's support of the arts dates back to
the clan founder's Embrace of a pair of twins. The twins pursued unlives
 of beauty and indolence while their sire, Arikel (if the tale is to be
believed), doted on them, protecting them from the ravages of plague,
famine and parricide that swallowed the First City.

### **Tremere**

No clan is so shrouded in deliberate mystery as the Tremere. The
inventors and practitioners of terrible blood magics, the secretive
Tremere have a tightly knit political structure based on the acquisition
 of power, as well as a fanatical clan loyalty practically unknown to
any other Kindred. Because of the veil of secrecy that surrounds the
clan, disturbing stories have surfaced as to the nature of their
vampirism. Some Kindred claim that the Tremere are not truly vampires at
 all, but rather mortal wizards who cursed themselves for eternity while
 studying the secret of immortality.

### **Ventrue**

The nominal leaders of the Camarilla, the Ventrue claim to have
created and supported the organization of the sect since its inception.
The clan suspects that its founder was slain by a member of the Brujah
clan, which is a great blow to its members' pride. In any event, the
clan almost certifiably has no founder any longer, and has thereby
achieved untold independence from the Antediluvians. Much curiosity
exists among the Kindred as to the inner workings of this well-organized
 clan, as rumors of dark mysteries and slumbering Ancients sometimes
slip out from under the Ventrue's austere façade.

## Clans of the Sabbat

Like the Camarilla, the Sabbat welcomes any Kindred who wishes to become
 a member -- provided the vampire in question subscribes to the sect's
inhuman philosophy. Indeed, almost every Camarilla clan has an
antitribu, or "anti-clan" analog, in the Sabbat; these rebels reject the
 tenets of the mainstream clan in favor of the monsters' way of
thinking. Both of these clans are not available for play, and are listed for completion's sake.

### **Lasombra**

The Lasombra are masters of darkness and shadow, and possess a knack
 for leadership as keen as that of Clan Ventrue. Indeed, many Kindred
see the Ventrue and Lasombra as twisted reflections of each other. Once,
 the Lasombra were nobles, but the chaos of Kindred history and the
formation of the Sabbat have caused most of them to turn their backs
upon their origins. Now, the Lasombra give themselves wholly over to the
 damnation of being vampires. The Sabbat has affected this clan as
profoundly as the Lasombra have affected the Sabbat, and without the
rulership of these fallen aristocrats, the Sabbat would likely
disintegrate.

### **Tzimisce**

Formerly the tyrants of Eastern Europe, the Tzimisce (zhi-mee-see) have
been uprooted from their Old Country manses and relocated into the
clutches of the Sabbat. Possessed of a peculiar nobility, coupled with
an evil that transcends mortal perception, Clan Tzimisce leads the
Sabbat in its rejection of all things human. Certain Kindred apocrypha
claims that the Tzimisce was once the most powerful clan in the world,
but that history and other Kindred conspired to bring its members down
to their current state. More than any other vampires, the Tzimisce revel
 in their monstrousness. They practice a "fleshcrafting" Discipline that
 they use to disfigure their foes and sculpt themselves into beings of
terrible beauty.

## Independent Clans

The independent clans claim membership in no sect, instead
following the legendary tenets of their mythical founders. Independent
clans tend to be the most cohesive and sociable Kindred of all, as their
 clan duties ensure that they interact with other vampires almost
nightly. The independent clans are not playable, and they are listed here for completion's sake.

### **Assamite**

The Assamites are feared assassins from lands far to the east. No
other clan has earned such a deserved reputation for diablerie, though
they also sell their murderous services to other Kindred, acting as
contract killers. Kindred who regularly deal with the
clan have noticed an increased bloodthirstiness on the part of the
Assamites, as well as a disregard for their former codes of honor. Some
Kindred believe that the Assamites now act at the behest of older
powers.

### **Followers of Set**

Originally hailing from Egypt, the serpentine Setites are said to
worship the undead vampire-deity Set, serving him in all their efforts.
The Setites seem intent on "corrupting" others, enslaving victims in
snares of their own weaknesses, but for what inscrutable purpose, none
can guess. Other Kindred despise the Followers of Set, and the clan
claims no allies. Nonetheless, many vampires seek out the Setites, as
the clan is whispered to possess arcane gifts and secrets from elder
nights. Inevitably, sin and debasement follow in the Setites' wake, and
many princes refuse to allow them in their cities.

### **Giovanni**

Reviled almost as much as the Setites, the Giovanni is a clan of
financiers and necromancers. Trafficking in the commodity of souls has
give this clan a disproportionate amount of power, while trafficking in
world finance has made the clan sickeningly rich. Other Kindred are
loath to trust the mercenary Giovanni, who seem to be using their
influence toward some unknown end. Part of Clan Giovanni's unhealthy
reputation stems from the fact that it is a very insular clan, drawing
almost all its members from its incestuous mortal family.

### **Ravnos**

Like many misunderstood nomadic peoples of history, such as the Rroma, the Ravnos are spurned due
 to their reputations as thieves and vagrants. Many princes and Sabbat
leaders persecute the Ravnos because of the chaos that follows these
Kindred. The Ravnos return the scorn of their peers manyfold, holding
Camarilla and Sabbat in equal contempt. The Ravnos are also know for
their ability to create amazing illusions, the better with which to
trick their marks.

## Clanless

### **Caitiff**

Seduced and abandoned by their sires, the Caitiff are everywhere on the
fringes of Camarilla Society. Clanless and unwanted, the Caitiff are the
 results of one-night stands, infatuations, frenzied Embraces and
outright mistakes. Most have hazy recollections, at best, of sire and
Embrace; some have none whatsoever. Stumbling along in the haze of a new
 existence, each eventually discovered the keys to survival – usually in
 the form of other Caitiff looking out for the newcomer – or died
trying.