Vampire - The Masquerade: The Final Nights Guide

[Vanilla Fire]

Nominally a faction within the Camarilla, most “Anarchs” are still under the authority of the Ivory Tower. The Camarilla would say that the Anarchs are under the protection of the Sect, while the Anarchs would likely call it oppression. Still, many in the Anarch Movement understand the usefulness of the structure, with only the most radical calling for total withdrawal from the Camarilla. The Anarchs seek to change the Ivory Tower from within, turning it into the benevolent Kindred society it so often claims to be.

What needs to change? Ask twelve Anarchs, and you’ll get thirteen different answers. They agree that change needs to happen, but they aren’t collectively
committed to any particular plan. Common threads pop up, such as the redistribution of power from the elders to all vampires, and for political authority to be based on merit rather than age. Whether those changes come through passionate debate in Elysium or guerrilla action against specific elders, however, depends on the Anarch in question. Unlike the Sabbat who rebel because vampires should be superior, the Movement’s goals are at least nominally egalitarian.

Naturally, it’s that very sense of equality that makes the Anarch Movement so dangerous to vampire society. This resistance to change isn’t unique to the Camarilla; elders in the Sabbat or the independent Clans have just as little desire to relinquish their power, and ancillae have worked equally hard to be next in line for the elders’ station. If the Anarch rhetoric takes hold, all that work will have been for nothing. So it’s not surprising that Anarchs spend much of their time frustrated, and they tend to adopt a siege mentality.

Despite their integration within the Camarilla, the Anarch Movement is essentially a Sect, although they don’t have the level of organization that would keep them from being on the same level as the Camarilla, Sabbat, or the independent Clans. The only thing that unifies them is that they know what they don’t want to be. That’s helpful as a rallying call, but doesn’t work well as an organizational chart. Moreover, structure quickly leads to stagnation, and that’s exactly what the Anarchs are against.

That doesn’t meant that Anarchs are against organization, however. Despite their name, not all Anarchs are actually anarchists; many seek to change the Camarilla or the Sabbat into some sort of new structure, usually based on mortal governmental ideas. Most of these structures tend to revolve around some form of democracy, but variations of neo-feudalism and even fascism have been tried (with varying success) throughout the Movement. One of the few things that Anarchs seem to agree on is that at some point there needs to be someone at the top, and that vampire is commonly called the Baron.

But it’s only been recently that the Anarchs have been able to have any kind of common identity. After the Second Anarch Revolt in 1944 that led to the creation of the Anarch Free State in California, the Revolutionary Council decided to adopt a set of principles of self-governance for the Free State before dissolving itself — the “Status Perfectus,” or “The Perfect State.” This was a revolutionary document, the first to state the Anarch dream clearly and unequivocally in modern times. It called on Anarchs everywhere to protect one another, regardless of Clan affiliation. It promised a Kindred nation free of political oppression and elder
prejudice, and swore to extend that freedom to all Kindred everywhere. They declared that free will, or “libertas,” is an inherent part of Kindred spiritual nature,
and that all vampires must work to free themselves from the forces that would rob them of their libertas. Some Anarchs disagree with parts or the whole of the Status Perfectus, but it has proved to be a massively influential document for the Movement, and the closest the Sect has had to a unifying set of principles.

Regardless, what the Anarchs lack in organization, they more than make up in passion. From the most in-your-face angry neonate punk to the most eloquent and soft-spoken intellectual, Anarchs are collectively driven, which provides a momentum that most Kindred simply aren’t used to. Even more terrifying to most vampires, the Anarchs appear to actually believe in what they say. Elders try to pass it off as naiveté or inexperience with the Jyhad, but these young vampires seem to accomplish things that centuries of manipulation and power couldn’t do. And change terrifies those in power.

The Anarch Revolt from centuries ago is flaring back up in the modern nights, and many Anarchs think the time has come for them to take the night back.

[Vanilla Fire]

Over the past few centuries, the fatal dance between the Camarilla and the Sabbat has changed vampire society. Their bloody Jyhad has shaped the secret history of the world, destroying millions of mortal lives in the process. However, there are some Clans who witness both Sects tear at each other’s throats in the name of their ancient feud and decide that they would prefer to watch from the sidelines.

These four lineages can claim their place as proper Clans, but share a strong disinterest in getting involved in the war between the Camarilla and the Sabbat. Granted, individual members of these Clans (usually younger Kindred) show up in the ranks of both Sects from time to time, but the elders of the independent Clans have their own goals in mind, goals that would conflict with allegiance or loyalty to a Sect.

Of course, independent Kindred are vampires first and Clan members second; they don’t all possess mindless, unwavering devotion to the ideals of their Clan. Most of them focus on their personal goals first, whether or not they coincide with their Clan’s goals. This has the side-benefit of confusing outside Kindred even more, since it’s never clear whether a particular independent will act with their Clan’s interests in mind, their personal interests, or some hybrid of the two. (She may even pretend to serve one set of interests while secretly serving another). Individual independents are always wildcards, with no set of laws or politics forcing them into a clear, defined path.

At least, that's the outside perspective.

It’s believed that the elders of the independent Clans are active in greater numbers than those that dominate the Sects. One Clan has an Antediluvian that has been actively assisting their goals for centuries. Another seems to benefit from murdering other Kindred. The terrifying Methuselahs of a third are rumored to be waking and possibly organizing their childer for some terrible purpose. As for the fourth….

Regardless of the rumors, the independents continue as if nothing is wrong, working with and against their Clans in the same measure as any Sect vampire. If they are indeed the pawns of their ancient masters, they act as if they are ignorant of it.

[Vanilla Fire]

I’ll give you a head start. You’re the tortoise and I’m the hare —
a pissed-off, fuck-the-world hare with a score to settle and a thirst like the devil’s own.

The legacy of the Brujah is one of halcyon greatness marred by their own fiery natures. Theirs was the glory of ancient Carthage, but Ventrue treachery in ancient Rome brought the dream to an end. Since then, the Brujah have borne a grudge.

Tonight, the Brujah are rebels and provocateurs, bat-swinging hooligans and agents of change in a society long crippled by stasis. As rebels, it’s in their nature to challenge the status quo — though sometimes, without adequate opposition, they embody the status quo themselves. It works out fine, because there’s always a hot-blooded Brujah waiting in the wings to bring down an uppity Clanmate grown too comfortable in the role of rebel-turned-dictator.

More so than any other Clan, the Brujah still feel the flames of the passions that once inspired them as mortals. Clan Brujah loves a cause and is quick to act on a stirring speech, accusation of injustice, or a call to arms. This connection to passion can be a blessing, but inspiration can also yield to the madness and hunger of the Beast.

No wise Prince turns his back on the Brujah, and rare is the Brujah who would allow themselves to be manipulated or pandered to. A Brujah is their own master, first and foremost, and those who would bring them to heel face a terrible task. A Brujah who thinks they're getting the short end of the stick will tear an enemy to ribbons first and maybe remember to ask questions later, no matter if they're a Primogen or a mortal authority.

Some Kindred historians claim that the Brujah have parlayed their ancient betrayal into a role as agitators against the very order that they help support. Others claim the Brujah have long since submitted to the will of that same order, being little more than loyal opposition rendered impotent. Most Brujah don’t care either way, as long as someone needs a good ass-kicking and they can be the ones to deliver it.

Strengths: All Brujah are naturally faster and stronger then other Kindred, and can invoke powerful emotions in the kine and, in some cases, other Kindred.

Drawback: All Brujah are more susceptible to the Beast's whispers, and frenzy with little provocation if their blood supply is too low. Older Brujah may resist this somewhat, but the end result is usually the same.

[Vanilla Fire]

This is not a place for you, and it is too late to turn back. Run , little man.

A glint of red eyes in the darkness, the scent of a predator’s musk, a flash of fangs, the sound of flesh tearing: These mark the presence of the Gangrel. More than any other Clan, the Gangrel resemble the beasts associated with the legends of vampires: bats, wolves, and other creatures of darkness. Indeed, the Outlanders may develop the ability to transform themselves into these and other, more primal forms.

The Gangrel have other characteristics in common with animals as well. Many shun the elaborate social constructs of both Kindred and kine. A number of them prefer to move alone or as a member of small packs or coteries. Most are tough and, when pressed, ferocious. And when Gangrel succumb to the depredations of the Beast, they are left with some feature redolent of the animal kingdom.

As a Clan, the Gangrel are wary and aloof. Most would prefer to spend their nights stalking prey or wilding on the rooftops than minding Princely edicts or lobbying
for recognition of domain. Theirs is a tense relationship with vampire society, and Outlanders are among the most frequent to turn Anarch or Autarkis. In some localities, the Gangrel have collectively abandoned membership in any Sect — insofar as the Gangrel truly ever do anything collectively.

The Jyhad seems less pronounced among the Gangrel than it is among other Clans, and the Outlanders have little regard for the eternal conflict. Differences between Gangrel more often fall along the lines of domain and feeding rights than they do on generational mistrust, and the things that concern young Outlanders are matters that concern Gangrel ancillae and even elders. Still, one would be hard-pressed to consider the relationship among Gangrel of different generations amicable, except in isolated sire-childe situations. The Beast is ever suspicious of those who would take sustenance from it.

Strengths: Gangrel can converse and even controls animals (older Gangrel can manipulate the Beast of other Kindred), are hardier than other Kindred and can intere themselves beneath the soil with no protection (coffin, etc) to gain safe haven from sunlight.

Drawback: Whenever the Gangrel frenzy, they gain a temporary characteristic of an animal, whether physical or behavioural. Please confer with a GM if your Gangrel has frenzied.

[Vanilla Fire]

I was trying to turn water into wine. Where the fuck did all
this blood come from? Oh, well — waste not, want not.

Clan Malkavian is twice damned: once by the curse of being Kindred, and again by the turmoil that disturbs their hearts and minds. Upon the Embrace, every Malkavian is afflicted with an insurmountable insanity that fractures their outlook for every night thereafter, making their unlife one of madness. Some consider this a form of oracular insight, while others simply consider them dangerous.

Make no mistake: Malkavian insanity is a painful, alienating phenomenon, but it occasionally provides the Lunatics with bursts of insight or heretofore unknown perspective. Madness for the Malkavians may take the form of any clinical form of insanity, or it may be a hyperacuity of senses others don’t know they have; a supernatural puppeteer pulling the Malkavian’s strings, or a sense that the Malkavian is somehow ahead of evolutionary schedule. A Malkavian may believe herself to be an idea given physical form or an avatar of some concept the world of darkness has yet to encounter. She may be a nonstop ravening psychopath, or may be a mostly lucid individual sometimes rendered catatonic by fear of an impending cosmic cataclysm.

Their precarious stability makes it hard for other Kindred (or, indeed, any vessels with whom they may meet) to interact with Malkavians. The Clan sometimes indulges in elaborate, terrifying, and dangerous “pranks” which do little to endear them to other vampires. These incidents are nominally meant to educate the target, but the lesson can often be lost between the vampire’s scramble for safety and the inability to parse the Malkavian’s inner logic. Common pranks might be to replace a vain Toreador’s haven door with a guillotine or to redistribute a Brujah elder’s wealth while he’s at Elysium, or it might take the form of giving a hunter the location where the Nosferatu gather. Kindred both dread and resent the word “prank” almost as much as they do the Lunatics themselves.

Strengths: Malkavians possess greater senses than other Kindred, may conceal themselves in plain sight and may inflict their madness upon others with the unique gift of Dementation.

Drawback: Every Malkavians is incurably insane, and as a result, players must choose an ailment that their Malkavians suffers from. This can be a deranged amount of paranoia to speaking in riddles, to even seeing the world a different way. Malkavian players are also subject to "messages" from The Messenger, at GMs discretion (some will be more susceptible then others)

[Vanilla Fire]

Nobody down here but us boogeymen.
Hey, whose head is this?

Those who doubt that the Embrace is a curse need look no further than the Nosferatu. Twisted by the mark of Caine, members of Clan Nosferatu are warped by the Embrace into hideous monsters. As such, they skulk and keep to the shadows, and they often rouse the ire and mockery of other Kindred for their nightmarish appearances. Still others are so terrified or revolted by the Nosferatu that these warped Kindred have little social interaction at all.

To their credit, the Nosferatu come to possess many of the whispered secrets of their reluctant fellows. The Sewer Rats enjoy a grudging respect as the information-brokers of the Kindred, given their supernatural acumen at stealth and the fact that many Kindred would rather ignore them than acknowledge them. Savvy Nosferatu exploit this for all it’s worth, turning the hypocrisy of other vampires to their own profit.

On the whole, the Nosferatu condition is lonely and alienating. How they react to the Curse of Caine varies with their outlook and mental stamina, but it’s hard to be an object of utter revulsion and not let it shape one’s disposition toward one’s “Kindred” in some way. Some of the Sewer Rats are cruel, as blighted on the inside as they are on the outside, while others are tragic, wretched creatures who have been cursed with eternal outsider status through no choice of their own. A few of the Sewer Rats even position themselves as prophets or avatars of the Damned, physically embodying the haunting riddle, “A Beast I am, lest a Beast I become.”

Strengths: Nosferatu are stronger than most of the Kindred, and may commune with the rats and vermin they share their warrens with. Nosferatu are also masters of stealth, able to hide in plain sight of the kine and Kindred alike.

Drawback: All Nosferatu suffer from physical deformations as a result of the Embrace, and break the Masquerade if a human sees them. Nosferatu are twisted representations of what nightmares look like.

[Vanilla Fire]

Long after you die, I will still be young, beautiful, and adored by everyone whose life I touch.

From the Toreador perspective, when the sun fades, darkness gives rise to an eternal and wondrous world. Everything is fraught with wonder and terror, low politics and sensual glories, the profound and the profane, and an undeniable undercurrent of the sanguinary. These Kindred are the Toreador, and they spend unlives ensconced in pleasure.

Of course, for vampires of this disposition, it’s easy to become jaded and bitter. More than the other Clans, Toreador often succumb to ennui, or fight the eventual boredom of unchanging immortality by playing at rivalries. An excess of stimulation turns them into slaves to the sensations they seek. The most debased Toreador can become true monsters, sinking to unimaginable levels of depravity in order to feel anything at all.

The Kindred of Clan Toreador often involve themselves greatly in the world of mortals. They have any number of reasons, whether enjoying proximity to the blush of life, cultivating veritable cults of doting followers, or influencing and following the trends that their own kind simultaneously mock and venerate. To hear the Toreador tell it, they are the Muses of a desperate mortal world, inspiring through their beauty or patronage.

Toreador culture is a mixture of sybarites, dilettantes, and visionaries. Some Toreador, with echoes of mortal passion, Embrace lovers or “project” progeny who seem to fly in the face of every Toreador custom. These either don’t last long or rise to great prominence as subversives and individualists. Ideas, trends, and “the next great thing” spread through the Clan, and other Kindred often look to the Toreador to guide them. The Degenerates know this, and many become Harpies, Princes, and other key figures in vampiric society.

Strengths: Toreador possess greater senses and agility then other vampires, and can manipulate the emotions of kine and Kindred alike.

Drawback: All Toreador may become enthralled by a person, an object or an event that truly speaks to the Man within them. A Toreador that has become enthralled will not move or only work on this thing until the enthrallment ends, whether it was destroyed, moved, or if the Toreador is wounded. This can be avoided, at GMs discretion, but the more it is avoided, the harder it is to do so in the future.

[Vanilla Fire]

When the world refuses to give,
he who makes himself a master of the world may still take.

In nights long lost to the passage of time, the Tremere existed, though they were something else . Those early Tremere then made a bargain — or wrought a spell, or any number of other harrowing methods attributed to the Clan — that changed them from what they had been into the vampires they are tonight. Some claim they stole the Curse of Caine from a torpid Antediluvian, or that they concocted the flawed immortality of the Kindred from the stolen vitae of other vampires. Such mysterious origins, which some describe as treacherous or even blasphemous, haunt the Tremere, as the other Clans look upon them with mistrust and suspicion. The history — and, indeed, the modern legacy — of the Tremere is one marked by Clan war, centuries-old grudges, and the stain of unwholesome mysteries long left unsolved.

Tonight, Clan Tremere is a Clan shaped by its practice of blood sorcery. A flexible Discipline, Thaumaturgy is heavily entrenched within the Tremere, and they maintain cultic havens known as chantries to study its uses and share secrets among each other. To the Tremere, blood is both sustenance and the source of mystical power; they gather in their witch-houses to further their understanding of the vitae that is such a focal point of their unlives.

Beyond the practice of Thaumaturgy itself, the Warlocks are known for their close-knit hierarchy. They hail from the Old World, with an established power base in Vienna to which all members of the Clan answer to some degree. Although they may be one of the youngest Clans — in the terms with which deathless creatures like vampires measure time — they are as adept at the Jyhad as any Kindred. Beset by enemies who call them usurpers and backed by allies who may or may not defend the alliances they force, the Tremere have evolved to be self-sufficient. Indeed, many who eye them warily think they possess too great an edge, with their flexible Discipline and protective Clan and chantry structure, and move against them both secretly and overtly.

Strengths: Tremere possess heightened senses and may dominates the minds of kine and lesser Kindred. Tremere also possess the unique ability of Thaumaturgy, or Blood Magic.

Drawback: All Tremere are bound to the will of their elders, through a sacred, and forced, blood-bond. This can be broken through tremendous amounts of willpower, but Tremere that are not blood-bound to their elders are outcast from their chantries, for all eternity. (Tremere elders are also blood-bound, but those Kindred have long since achieved Final Death... at least that's what they tell themselves)

[Vanilla Fire]

There is no shame to bending the knee to one such as myself,
so pay your fucking tribute before I lose my temper

Throughout history, while the other Clans have skulked about their petty intrigues, the Ventrue have curried favor with Caesar, whispered into the ear of Charlemagne, bankrolled the Age of Exploration, and even swayed policy in the Holy See. Theirs is a legacy of rulership, from Ventrue fledglings starting their climb to the top to the mightiest elders whose influence spans the world. Long have they played kingmaker in the shadows in the mortal world, and long have they been the Clan of Kings among the Kindred.

Kings among the Kindred.Other Clans, of course, find all this insufferably pompous at best, punishably tedious at worst. Someone has to lead, surely, but why does it always have to be some long-winded, self-aggrandizing Ventrue? The Blue Bloods try to bear the criticism of their lessers with a sense of noblesse oblige — ever heavy hangs that head that wears the crown — but even the most munificent of Kindred leaders occasionally succumbs to tyranny and bloody rage.

Tonight, the Ventrue are a synthesis of the modern and the ancient, often in stark contrast within the Clan and among one another. Theirs is money of old, from the vaults of Croesus, but their young manipulate stock markets and influence currencies. Elders may command armies or even whole governments, while neonates conjure their assets from a website or smartphone app. But for all their wealth, their distinguished history, and their status among the Damned, each and every Ventrue must still seek that one resource that makes Kindred society egalitarian: precious blood.

Strengths: Ventrue are hardy Kindred, able to dominate the minds of kine and Kindred alike, and provoke the emotions needed to get their way.

Drawback: Ventrue Kindred are picky about their eating habits, and can only feed upon one type of blood. Whether this be the blood of virgins or the blood of children, it is permanent and cannot be changed. A Ventrue that drains blood not of their preferred type vomits and gains nothing.

[Vanilla Fire]

Wielding the shadows is an extension of controlling the darkness into
which we are all Embraced.

To the mind of a Lasombra, it is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven. Fear, frenzy, the power to determine whether another lives or dies: these are at the root of the power that the Lasombra hold dear. Whereas other vampires try vainly to hold the Beast at bay or give themselves wholly to it, the Lasombra beat the Beast into submission, invoking it when it suits them but leaving it trapped inside when they wish to govern themselves.

It is with these predilections that the Lasombra style themselves a “dark nobility,” an aristocracy of the night that chose the supremacy of the Cainites over veneration of the Masquerade. Their regard for such ideas as redemption and salvation are cynical at best, and much of the pomp that shaped the Clan’s pre-Sabbat outlook remains only with a sense of blackest irony or open mockery. The grandeur and rituals of the Church and aristocracy remain dear to the Lasombra, however, and the Clan was instrumental not only in establishing many of the rituals of the Sabbat, but in the institutions that keep it from descending into chaos each night.

Whether they see themselves as God’s instruments or as outcasts from His creation, the Lasombra believe they have a duty (whether to Sect, Clan, pack, or even just themselves), and obligation to their responsibilities gives them a wicked sense of purpose. Even a Lasombra shovelhead may consider himself a cut above the rest; a surprising number of Lasombra mass Embraces survive, perhaps owing to the intervention of their sires.

While the night belongs to all Kindred, the Lasombra are truly born to darkness, to the degree that their very Clan name reveals their tie to shadow. Theirs is the Discipline of Obtenebration, and it allows them to wield the stuff of shadow and darkness, and even reach beyond the darkness of the physical world into the abyss that lies beyond.

Strengths: Lasombra are strong Kindred, and can dominate the minds of lesser kine and Kindred. They also possess the unique ability of shadow manipulation.

Drawback: Lasombra Kindred do not cast reflections, whether in a mirror, in a body of water or the rear-view of a taxi cab, their image cannot be seen.