Zantosa

On the surface, the Zantosa family doesn’t seem to have a purpose or provide any benefit to the Sabbat, other than the occasional entertainment they provide for the Toreador antitribu, Serpents of the Light, and Tzimisce Clan. In fact, if the average Cainite was asked for her opinion, assuming she had heard of revenants, she would likely reply with a blank look. By all accounts, the Zantosa family appears to have outlived its usefulness shortly after their creation. Those who knew of the Zantosa during the height of their power believe it is a miracle that they’ve survived to present day given their hedonistic, decadent lifestyles.

The Zantosa were originally known as the Szantovich, and were one of the original revenant families engineered by the Tzimisce Clan. Well regarded, the family was not only known for its abundance of wealth and cruel inclinations, but for their trustworthiness as well. While no Cainite would take a Zantosa revenant seriously in the modern era, this wasn’t always the case. During the Grimaldi family’s meteroic rise to power, for example, the Zantosa expressed their disdain for them, and managed to thwart the Grimaldi’s efforts to intermarry with other revenant families in Eastern Europe.

For many years, the Zantosa family enjoyed the heights of power, and held this position until the demise of their patrol Clan. Following the devastation during the Anarch Revolt, the Zantosa revenants withdrew into their chambers, forsaking long term sociopolitical schemes for short-term gratification. Their vices soon became legendary, for they ranged from alcoholism and drug abuse to rare forms of kink and self-mutilation.

Laughed off as an embarrassment to the Clan, the Zantosa family has largely been left to their own devices for centuries. The revenants have fallen so far from their former glory that they are often met with disdain until they introduce a new drug or suggest an experimental way to drink the Blood. This, however, has given the Zantosa revenants an advantage no other family has, for there is not a single ghoul, revenant, or vampire who believes them to be a threat.

In modern nights, the Zantosa revenants continue to seek out new thrills and pleasures in the company of their “friends”. While they may have once feuded with other revenant families, such as the depraved Bratovich and the resurging Grimaldi, they have set their differences aside in favor of a new goal: making allies. It seems that, for whatever reason, the Zantosa revenants are wining and dining other revenants and their patrons in exotic locales and among the social elite. To most Cainites, however, the Zantosa family is an unpredictable lot, and sudden changes in their behavior are not a cause for concern. Zantosa revenants not only encourage this view, they continue to play the fool while trading arms with the Oprichniki or asking for handouts from the Grimaldi to entertain Sabbat leaders.

Despite their addictive tendencies, the Zantosa are aware that they cannot survive for much longer in their current state. Recently, they’ve been intermarrying with families connected to the criminal underground, such as the Yakuza’s Yamaguchi clan, to continue the Zantosa line and impress the Sabbat. Though they may remain unnoticed and, in many cases, unwanted by the Sect, a growing faction of Zantosa revenants desperately pins their hopes on retaining the status and position they once held.

**Appearance:** The Zantosa bear the signs of their addiction. Their skin is often dull, their eyes rimmed with red, and their hair tends to be stringy. While they refuse to let themselves slide into depravity, their clothes are often wrinkled and unkempt. Many Zantosa revenants fit the stereotype of an addict, and intentionally dress to play the part to put their powerful guests at ease.

**Character Creation:** Of all the revenant families, the Zantosa boasts the widest variety of characters, though many of them cannot hold down a job. They tend to have charming personalities, and often work in fields related to entertainment as opposed to scholarly or more athletic positions. Those who cannot hold down a job tend to be con artists and thieves, fleecing off of mortals to fund their habits. The only aspects that all Zantosa revenants share are related to their addictive tendencies.

**Disciplines:** Auspex, Presence, Vicissitude

**Weakness:** Zantosa revenants have a challenging time resisting temptation. Whenever a Zantosa revenant is exposed to a particularly pleasurable experience, she must make a Willpower roll. The difficulty is determined by the Storyteller, depending on the experience in question. Failure indicates that the Zantosa is now obsessed with or addicted to that particular sensation. This might relate to doing a new drug, performing a particular sexual position, enjoying a sumptuous wine, or being fed upon. Obsessed, the revenant will do almost anything to experience that sensation again.

Zantosa revenants are also unable to spend Willpower to resist any supernatural power that entices them to indulge in a new source of pleasure, no matter how dangerous. Many have met untimely ends at the hands of vampires, fae, and stranger creatures.

**Quote:** “If I can snort it, I will. If I can’t, I’ll try anyway.”