Followers of Set

*Addiction, debasement, corruption, and desperation strike fear into many Kindred who worry that theirs will become an unlife of ruin, but to the Followers of Set, these and more are the tools of the trade. Pimps, pushers, and priests, the Setites cater to the needs of the desperate, and convert them to a nihilistic cause in doing so. Whether one needs flesh, money, drugs, or dark secrets, the Followers of Set can provide it, and when they do so, they all but guarantee themselves a return visit from those who seek them.*

*The Followers of Set are as much a chthonic religion as they are a Clan, though the faith includes the Clan. Its mythology is complex and convoluted, an impenetrable pantheon of god-monsters. At the apex of this worship stands a syncretism of the Egyptian Lord of the Underworld Set and the Greek hydra Typhon, as much spiritual guardians of secret places as they are the “liberators” of other’s souls. To outsiders, this is all blasphemous religious affectation, but to devout Setites, the cult and cause are real, and their dark lord works his will through them.*

*Needless to say, the politics of desperation and the placation of evil gods place the Serpents on the outside of Kindred society. The Setites are fine with this. The Kindred can often find themselves in need of what the Followers of Set purvey, and the extra “service” of secrecy is one the Setites are happy to provide — at a premium. The Setites offer a devil’s deal, but on their own terms. That way, when they collect their due and feed blood and souls into the maw of the Typhonic beast, all of its sacrifices have been given willingly.*

**Nickname**: Setites, Serpents

**Sect**: Externally, none of the Sects will have the Followers of Set. Internally, the Setites sometimes describe themselves in terms of both Sect and Clan. They have no real impetus to join either the Camarilla or Sabbat, and their goals are different from those of the Anarchs.

**Appearance**: Many older Setites hail from the North African and Mediterranean ethnicities native to the Serpents’ historical territory, but they freely Embrace from among the mortals of their adopted homes. Some long-standing Setite temples are tied to locations where “Egyptian” Serpents might seem out of place, but where some aspect of serpent mythology is present, as in Mesoamerica or even far-flung Nordic locales, and thus draw their membership from local populations. Red hair is considered a mark of Set’s favor.

**Haven**: Where their hidden temples stand, the Setites make their havens, either individually or communally. These may be anything from “churches” with never-before-heard-of denominations or they may be outright cults that have to hide their existences. The secretive Serpents sometimes hide individual havens in places where other Kindred don’t often go, such as insular ethnic neighborhoods, abandoned domains, “the rough part of town,” and so forth. Some Setites also haven in secret mystical places that have value to the Clan, guarding them from outsiders.

**Background**: Prospective childer for the Followers of Set often spend some time involved with a Setite cult, so they’re indoctrinated in the mysteries of the Clan before becoming one of its Kindred. They may come from any cultural origin, though many are outsiders, loners, or otherwise marginalized by society, which is often what led them to the forbidden fruits offered by the cult of Set in the first place.

**Character Creation:** Sires choose those who demonstrate acumen in Social and Mental Attributes, as the Clan needs its proselytizers and its priests to be charismatic and quick-witted. Knowledges are almost always primary, though Talents may be so instead, especially among those Serpents engaged in dealings with others. Setites focus on Backgrounds that give influence over others whether subtly or overtly, making Allies, Contacts, Influence, Resources, and sometimes Retainers popular.

**Clan Disciplines**: Obfuscate, Presence, Serpentis

**Weaknesses**: Given their origins in darkness, the Serpents react negatively to bright light: Add two health levels to damage caused by exposure to sunlight. Setites also lose one die from dice pools for actions taken in bright light (police spotlights, stage lights, flares, etc.).

**Organization**: Setite organization is mostly local, with a single temple or network of cults representing a city’s Serpent presence. Setites in the cities rarely scheme among each other, preferring to face outward threats in unity rather than the schismatic self-interest of the Sects. Whispers persist of a massive temple devoted to Set located somewhere in Africa, with a terrible terrible Methuselah who claims to be the childe of Set himself at the head. If this is true, then the Clan’s higher agenda probably originates here, but the Setites themselves remain silent on the topic.

Alternative Children of Damballah
They also gain the following Weakness: The Children of Damballah have dealings with the spirit world, and such contact requires nightly offerings to avoid offending the spirits. The offering requires a ten-minute ritual and a Charisma + Occult roll (difficulty 8). Should the player fail the roll or refuse to make the offering, the character suffers from the Haunted Flaw (see V20, p. 495) for the rest of the evening.