Vampire - The Masquerade: The Final Nights Guide

[Vanilla Fire]

Why on earth would you think I wanted you to stop screaming?
I find the results so much more melodious when you indulge your fear.

A blood moon casts a crimson light over the land beyond the forest and something fearsome howls its agony into the night. The Tzimisce call these lands their ancestral home. Since time out of mind the Fiends have been masters and lords of the domains of much of Eastern Europe. But theirs is a proud, selfish Clan for which tradition goes only so far despite their aristocratic origins. In fact, the Clan claims to have destroyed its Antediluvian, and in the wake of that momentous event, helped establish the foundations of the Sabbat.

Tzimisce practice a strange Discipline known as Vicissitude that allows them to twist the skin and bone of their victims. In many cases, they refine their fleshly arts by practicing upon themselves, but they just as frequently use it upon their lackeys and retainers, turning their boyars and szlachta into monstrous thralls. Vicissitude itself is a much misunderstood Discipline, and debates over its origins occasionally plunge the Clan into vicious partisan rivalries.

Clan Tzimisce is a Clan of extremes, and long, cold nights spent in remote castles have turned the Fiends’ perspectives both greatly inward and outward. Mystics of the Clan study a philosophy of metamorphosis, seeking to discover what lies beyond the state of vampirism. An alien attitude of spiritual secularism characterizes many Tzimisce. Young members of the Clan often find themselves detached from the historical role of the Fiends as terrifying landed lords, and throw themselves wholly into a cause of their own choice, whether as Sabbat zealots, fleshcrafted horrors, or transcendental koldun sorcerers.

Strengths: Tzimisce have heightened senses and can incite the Beast of the Kindred, as well as the unique power of Vicissitude, the ability to craft flesh to their will, be it on themselves or their followers.

Drawbacks: Tzimisce must rest in areas with at least two handfuls of native soils, from either the place of their birth or place of their Embrace. Every day spent resting without this precious soil grows weaker until they can barely move (ten days).

[Vanilla Fire]

Your blood is anathema to me, but the act of spilling it brings me closer to Haqim.

The childer of Haqim, known as Assamites to the rest of the Kindred, are a silent knife in the dark, an order of bloodthirsty assassins who participate in the secret wars of the undead by operating as killers for hire. Outside the purview of the Sects, the Assamites are true independents and mercenaries, hiring out to whoever can pay their blood-price and ungoverned by the will of Prince or Priscus. By the time a mark realizes that he’s being hunted by an Assamite, it’s often far too late. Needless to say, this makes the Assamites both feared and reviled by many of the other Clans.

In truth, the Assamites are more than simple thugs and killers. Theirs is a complex but insular Clan predicated upon the three principles of wisdom, sorcery, and diablerie. Most Assamites that other vampires encounter are members of the warrior caste, however, so Kindred society has painted them all with that brush. For their part, the Assassins have done nothing to stop this misunderstanding. If it helps them acquire contracts and it occludes the true nature of their Clan, the better for them.

Long ago, the Assamites were brought to heel by a powerful curse to curb their bloodlust, levied by the Tremere at the behest of the Camarilla. They cannot taste the vitae of vampires without it causing them harm. In their ongoing quest to lower their Generation and bring themselves closer to their holy figure, Haqim (whom some outside scholars claim was of the Second Generation, while others insist he was a judge appointed by the other Antediluvians), the Assamites must refine the blood of Kindred into an alchemical solution. Were it not for this mystical yoke, the Assamites would surely be unchecked on a crusade of unholy diablerie.

Strengths: Assamites are faster then other Kindred, and can hide in plain sight from kine and Kindred. They also possess the unique gift of Quietus, the ability to know exactly how to kill the most efficiently and the quietest way possible.

Drawback: If an Assamite consumes the blood of another Kindred, they get incredibly sick. If they do this a total of three times, they die.

[Vanilla Fire]

I know what you need.

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.

Strengths: Setites may hide in plain sight and manipulate the emotions of others, and wield the power of the Snake of Eden, a gift of Set himself

Drawback: Setites can, under no circumstances, survive in the sun. Whereas some Kindred can survive for several seconds to several minutes (one even lasted an hour), Setites that are exposed to the sun achieve final death instantly.

[Vanilla Fire]

You misunderstand the situation if you think you’re important to me alive.

Achieving prominence during the Venetian Renaissance, the Giovanni family built their fortune on the rise of the middle class and the ready profit of banking and Mediterranean trade (and the criminal enterprise that came with it). However, with the family’s rise came hubris, as its paterfamilias sought ever more power, and with that hubris came horror. With his earthly power at its apex, Augustus Giovanni turned to the arts of controlling the dead, and in doing so, gained the Embrace from a forgotten Antediluvian. With a conclave of conspirators, the Giovanni plunged a now-forgotten Clan into oblivion and built their own legacy on its corpse.

Since those first nights, the Giovanni have accepted no limits on their ambitions, despite opposition from Kindred outside their Clan and a well-deserved reputation as “Devil Kindred.” They studied forbidden arts, becoming formidable in the necromancy that allowed them power over the spirits of the departed, and degeneracy followed in the wake of unclean ritual. To this night, the Giovanni are known for the insular nature of their Clan and the incestuous practices by which they populate it. A few outside families and factions fall under Giovanni auspices, but the vast majority of the Clan comes from the debased mortal family. The family remains successful despite all of their ghastly peccadilloes, and has amassed a vast wealth through crime, politics, and the secrets of the dead that keeps them in their position of degraded opulence.

In public view, the Giovanni make a great show of humility and respect. Part of this gentility is a habit of centuries, still in place from when the other Clans hunted the usurping Necromancers (and to preserve their hard-won neutrality from the conflict between the Camarilla and the Sabbat). Another part of it is the velvet glove hiding the iron fist of their nature, remarkable for forcing ghosts, minds, and bodies alike to bow to their needs. To hear the Giovanni tell it, Princes and Archbishops alike owe them favors, and anyone with something to offer may earn their patronage.

For the most part, the Giovanni participate little in the Jyhad, pursuing their own agenda of cultivating wealth and building a foundation of power in the lands beyond the veil of death. Outsiders rarely comprehend the goals of the Necromancers, but only the most trusted of the Giovanni know that the Clan wants to plunge the world into a state where the dead and the living commingle. And with their mastery of Necromancy, the Giovanni would be positioned to rule it all.

Strengths: Giovanni can dominate the minds of kine and Kindred, and evoke powerful emotions in allies and foes. Giovanni are also versed in necromancy, and can control the dead, as both tools and weapons.

Drawbacks: Giovanni vampires can only Embracce with intense pain, and their Kiss is not as intoxicating as other Kindred, but rather painful.

[Vanilla Fire]

What? Those aren’t bones. They’re wind chimes.
Everything is going to be fine. Relax.

The Ravnos move like the rumors that surround them. They are the thief in the night, the raksha chased by the wind, the nightmare-dream too fearful to be real. Whether associated with the Romani folk of Europe or the grave-robbing ghûl of Western Asia, Kindred society burdens the Ravnos with prejudices of foulness, uncleanliness, and wickedness.

With reputations like these, the Ravnos are considered outsiders even among those Kindred who do not ally themselves with Sects. Many young Ravnos tend toward nomadic unlives, moving from one domain to the next or hiding on the fringes of established territories where they can escape if local Kindred sentiment turns against them. This exacerbates their reputations as transients, gypsies, and vagrant scourges, but Ravnos vampires adapt well, thriving in their marginalized role. In fact, many choose to make themselves into the ravening terrors that other Kindred believe them to be.

The more enlightened among the Ravnos follow a Clan ideology inspired by the cycle of reincarnation espoused by many Indian faiths. Among some young and unprincipled members of the Clan, however, this philosophy becomes a penchant for capriciousness or an excuse for chaos. It is these latter Kindred who give so many Ravnos a bad name, but even the devout seem bizarre to many vampires.

The Ravnos practice a unique Discipline known as Chimerstry that convinces their enemies that they see things that do not exist. Chimerstry does much to convince Kindred that the Ravnos trade in lies and misdirection, but it can also prove to be a Deceiver’s salvation and ease the vagaries of an outcast unlife.

Strengths: Ravnos are one with animals in the wild, and are hardier due to their lifestyle. They also practice Chimerstry, the ability to create illusions that can fool kine and Kindred alike.

Drawbacks: Ravnos are slaves to vice, and whenever presented with the opportunity to partake in a vice they are slave to, they must do so. Exceptions can be made, but the more a player puts it off, the harder it is to resist in future.

[Vanilla Fire]

Anarch: 1) A member of the Anarch Movement. 2) Any Kindred rebel who opposes the tyranny of elders. Anarch Movement, The: The Sect within the Camarilla comprised of Anarchs who want to reform or overthrow the rule of the elders.

Barrens, The: The areas of a city unfit for life, including graveyards, abandoned buildings, industrial wastelands, and areas of irreversible urban blight.

Becoming, The: The moment one passes from being a fledgling into “full” vampire status as a neonate. In the Camarilla, one may not Become until her sire deems her ready and gains the Prince’s approval.

Book of Nod, The: A collection of Kindred legend and history.

Beast, The: The inchoate drives and urges that threaten to turn a vampire into a mindless, ravening monster.

Blood: A vampire’s heritage; that which makes a vampire a vampire. Usage: I doubt her claims to such esteemed Blood.

blood bond: A mystical power over another individual engendered by partaking of a particular vampire’s blood thrice; accepting blood from a vampire is an acknowledgment of her mastery.

Caitiff: A vampire of unknown Clan, or of no Clan at all. Caitiff are typically of high Generation, where Caine’s blood is too diluted to pass on any consistent characteristics.

Camarilla, The: A Sect of vampires devoted primarily to maintaining the Traditions, particularly that of the Masquerade.

childe: A vampire created through the Embrace — the childe is the progeny of her sire. This term is often used derogatorily, indicating inexperience. Plural childer.

Clan: A group of vampires who share common characteristics passed on by the blood. There are 13 known Clans, all of which were reputedly founded by members of the Third Generation.

coterie: A small group of Kindred, united by the need for support and sometimes common interests. In the Sabbat, coteries are called “packs.”

diablerie: The consumption of another Kindred’s blood, to the point of the victim’s Final Death. Vampires may lower their Generation permanently through this abhorrent practice.

domain: The area of a particular vampire’s influence. Princes claim entire cities as their domains, sometimes allowing lesser vampires to claim domain within.

elder: A vampire who has experienced at least two or more centuries of unlife. Elders are the most active participants in the Jyhad.

Elysium: A place where vampires may gather without fear of harm (although some Sects, such as the Sabbat, respect Elysium less than the Camarilla does). Elysium is commonly established in opera houses, theaters, museums, and other locations of culture.

Embrace, The: The act of transforming a mortal into a vampire. The Embrace requires the vampire to drain her victim and then replace that victim’s blood with a bit of her own.

Final Death, The: When a vampire ceases to exist, crossing the line from undeath into death.

fledgling: A newly created vampire, still under her sire’s protection.

Gehenna: The rumored Armageddon when the Antediluvians will rise from their torpor and devour the race of vampires and the world.

Generation: The number of “steps” between a vampire and the mythical Caine; how far descended from the First Vampire a given vampire is.

ghoul: A minion created by giving a bit of vampiric vitae to a mortal without draining her of blood first (which would create a vampire instead).

haven: A vampire’s “home”; where she finds sanctuary from the sun.

Hunger, The: The urge to feed. For vampires, the Hunger replaces all other drives with its own powerful call.

Inconnu: A Sect of vampires who have removed themselves from Kindred concerns and, largely, the Jyhad. Many Methuselahs are rumored to exist among the Inconnu.

Jyhad, The: The secret, self-destructive war waged between the Generations. Elder vampires manipulate their lessers, using them as pawns in a terrible game whose rules defy comprehension.

Kindred: The race of vampires as a whole, or a single vampire. According to rumor, this term came about in the 15th or 16th century, after the Great Anarch Revolt. Sabbat vampires scorn the term, preferring the word “Cainite” instead.

Kiss, The: To drink blood, especially from a mortal. The Kiss causes feelings of ecstasy in those who receive it.

Lupine: A werewolf, the natural and mortal enemy of the vampire race. Plural Lupines.

Lush: A vampire who typically feeds from drugged or drunk mortals in order to experience their inebriation.

Life, The: A euphemism for mortal blood. Many Kindred regard this term as affected and effete.

Man, The: The mote of humanity that a vampire maintains; the spark of mortality that distinguishes him from the Beast.

Masquerade, The: The habit (or Tradition) of hiding the existence of vampires from humanity. Designed to protect vampires from destruction at the hands of mankind, the Masquerade was adopted after the Inquisition claimed many Kindred unlives.

Prince: A vampire who has claimed a given expanse of domain as her own, generally a city, and supports that claim against all others. The term can refer to a Kindred of either sex. In the Sabbat, this Cainite is called the “Archbishop,” and in Anarch cities she is called the “Baron.”

Rogue: A vampire who feeds upon the vitae of other Cainites, out of necessity or depravity.

Sabbat, The: A Sect of vampires that rejects humanity, embracing their monstrous natures. The Sabbat is bestial and violent, preferring to lord over mortals rather than hide from them.

Sect: A group of vampires arguably united under a common philosophy. The three most widely known Sects currently populating the night are the Camarilla, the Sabbat, and the Anarch Movement.

sire: A vampire’s “parent”; the Kindred who created her.

vessel: A source of vitae for sustenance or pleasure, primarily mortal.