Assamite Vampire Clan

The Assamite Clan is one of the Vampire Clans in the game *Vampire: The Masquerade*. They are identified with the medieval Order of Assassins.

## Fictional History

### Myths

The Assamite Clan claims to be the oldest clan. Haqim was the leader of the armies of the First City, and witnessed Caine turn the king and queen of the city into vampires. With some of his associates, he killed the pair, draining their blood into a goblet. He then drained his own blood to the point of almost dying, and then had his companions feed him the blood from the goblet before laying him to rest in the mountain fortress of Alamut (Eagle's Nest).

After he recovered, he turned his companions into vampire, and went to war with the other vampires turned by Caine, drinking the blood of these other vampires when possible. Though they were initially secret, the other clans eventually learned of them, and the Ventrue clan tried to destroy them, though they were unsuccessful.

### History

The Assamites made an alliance with a group of Muslims, helping them fight against the Byzantine allies of the Ventrue clan. They later fought against the Knights Templars during the crusades, while the other clans were dealing with the inquisition. The Assamites refused to join the Camarilla in the 15th century, instead helping spread the Ottoman Empire westwards into Europe as far as the walls of Vienna.

Their Muslim allies eventually turned on them and attacked the Alamut. In response to this, the Assamites made peace with the Camarilla 1496, but were forced to allow the Tremere clan to use their magic to make the blood of other vampires poisonous to them, preventing them from functioning as assassins who consumed vampire blood.

Until 1746 all Assamites were male, with the first female being turned that year.

## Practices

The Assamites only turned humans who already were skilled in combat (or another skill the clan needed at the time) into vampires. They had to view enemies of the clan as their personal enemies and kill without remorse. They were trained to be loyal over the course of seven years, during which time they were known as *fida'i* ("those who sacrifice themselves") before being turned at the end of their training. During the turning, they were given a mixture of blood from fallen Assamite heroes which had been collected and stored, as well as some of the blood of Haqim. Actual vampires in the clan are known as *rafiq*.

The clan was led by a counsel of elders known as the S*ilsila*, and the three most senior members of the clan, known as the *Du'at*. The *Du'at* consisted of the Caliph (military leader), Vizier (senior scholar), and Amr (chief magician). The *Du'at* serve as advisors of the Old Man of the Mountain, known as the master. The clan as a whole follow a code known as *khabar*, which emphasizes loyalty, brotherhood, honour, vengeance, secrecy, faith in the *khabar*, and community. They follow the Path of Blood, with their goal being to eliminate all other vampires aside from their own clan. They seek knowledge in order to circumvent the 1496 treaty and regain their ability to drink the blood of other vampires.

## Further Reading

* *Clanbook: Assamite*, Davis, G.
* *The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries*, Heckethorn, C.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Melton, J. G. (1999). *The Vampire Book*. 2 ed. p.23-25