Clans of the Masquerade: Prt 2
#2 of Vampire: Masquerade
The second part in my list of the clans in Vampire: masquerade
Toreador: although the Brujah know what it is like to feel human, the Toreador know what it is like to live among them. Seeing themselves as artists and visionaries, the Toreador effortlessly glide through the masses of humanity, much to the envy of the other clans who often run into difficulties with such things. Although they have pretty boy faces and school girl bodies, the Toreador are far more dangerous than they appear. They know how to inspire emotions of longing in others and are skilled at manipulating others like puppeteers.
The Toreador are renowned for their addiction to the fine arts. If this were a school yard setting, the Toreador would be the popular kids. Most of them are beautiful and charismatic. If an ugly person joins the clan, it is because they are extremely talented in the clan's eyes. They dress themselves in the latest fashions and fill their homes with nothing less than brand name interior decorating. Their ability to blend in seamlessly with humanity has fooled the other clans into believing that the Toreador are the most in touch with their humanity.
This is could not be further from the truth. Toreador do not merely appreciate fine art, they are addicted to it. They crave it, and might even start to go crazy without it. From the moment of their embrace, a Toreador becomes obsessed with a particular art form if they were not already. This art becomes their driving focus in undeath and they devote their free time to perfecting it. Unfortunately their unnatural lifespans cause them to lose their creativity over the years, or worse as they are forced to watch their particular art form go out of style in the eyes of the masses.
When selecting a progeny, the Toreador are driven more by a sense of fashion and popularity than any real consideration for their well being. Those who are embracing into the clan are often taken from stock of whatever is most popular in the public eye at that time. But the moment it starts going out of style, a Toreador has been known to abandon their Progeny out of shame or disgust, leaving them alone and confused.
Most of the Toreador have allied themselves with the Camarilla, believing their structured organization is a more preferable alternative to the Anarchs and Sabbat. Of course that does not mean that there aren't exceptions to this, especially among younger members who are trying to make a statement about individuality.
The Toreador clan disciplines are as follows.
Auspex - The power of supernaturally enhanced senses both physical and spiritual.
Celerity - The power of supernatural speed
Presence - The power of supernatural charisma, inspiring fear or awe in others.
Tremere: the least trusted of all the clans in the Masquerade setting. The Tremere were not naturally created vampires, but rather they were once mages of the Hermetic Order who used magical potions to extend their lives. When magic began to dwindle in the world and the belief in science took over, they attempted to steal the immortality of vampires for themselves. The ritual they used to do so ended up turning them into vampires and stripping them of their previous magical talents, and thus the clan Tremere were born.
Although they lost their original magic, the Tremere returned to power with something far more sinister. Their unique discipline of Thaumaturgy is a form of magic that uses blood sacrifices to perform its rituals and spells. The Tremere guard the secrets of Thaumaturgy jealously, and they have been known to hunt down and exterminate others who openly practice it. This blood magic gives the Tremere a vast host of powers to throw against their enemies, and their dedication to keeping it out of the hands of others means few understand its capabilities until it is turned on them.
The Tremere have a very strict ritual when it comes to embracing others into their clan. Every single Tremere is required to drink the blood of their elders at least once, putting them on the first step to a blood bond. Every single Tremere exists to serve the will of their clan founder. Those who do not undergo this ritual or attempt to rebel against their founder are destroyed. In fact, the clan actually performed a world wide ritual that obliterated all renegades on the planet, so now only loyal Tremere exist!
Around the time the Camarilla was forming, they were unsure whether to invite the Tremere or the Salubri into pillars of their organization. Realizing the clan needed allies if it was to survive, the Tremere manipulated the other clans into turning against the Salubri, claiming they were demon worshipers and soul eaters, which drove the Salubri to near extinction. Since then, the Tremere clan have been firmly rooted in the Camarilla.
The Tremere clan disciplines are as follows.
Thaumaturgy - A style of magic that requires blood to fuel its spells and rituals.
Auspex - The power of supernaturally enhanced senses, both the physical ones and those of a more spiritual nature.
Dominate - The power to subjugate the minds of others, bending them to your will.
Nosferatu: Even the damned have their outcasts and almost every clan chooses to avoid the Nosferatu whenever the possibility exists. Hideously warped by their embrace, the Nosferatu can never again live among human society without drawing immediate attention to vampire existence. And so they live on the outskirts, forced to scrape by in order to survive. And yet, for all their misery, they are one of the most respected clans in the world.
The progenitor of the Nosferatu was the strongest warrior among the clan founders, and the Nosferatu inherited his strength. A Nosferatu who enters a fight can rip a man to pieces as if he were made of tissue paper. But a Nosferatu who enters a fight is a Nosferatu who has fucked up and needs to make an immediate exit. The true threat the Nosferatu pose is their vast information network. The Nosferatu know everything, they are hacked into every electronic device on the planet, they monitor every camera, browser history, email and satellite. They know everything you do and they will blackmail the hell out of you if you get on their bad side.
When it comes to choosing progeny, the Nosferatu have only two requirements that they go by. The first reason is that the mortal has something the Nosferatu deem valuable and wish to add them to the clan as an asset. The second option is because the Nosfeatu wishes to punish the mortal for their vanity and pride. The clan takes immense pleasure in making others feel uncomfortable, and watching a newly sired Nosferatu spiral into madness when they were prom queen just hours ago always brings a smile to their disfigured faces.
The reason behind the Nosferatu's desire for knowledge stems from their extreme fear of the Nictuku, their cousins who are said to have been created for the exclusively purpose of destroying the Nosferatu down to the last member. The clan hopes that by monitoring everything that goes on in the world, they will learn about a Nictuku attack before it happens, and can plan ways to retaliate.
When it comes to the Nosferatu, clan loyalty trumps all other affiliations. The Nosferatu will side with the faction that holds the most power within a given territory because that is usually the faction that can provide the greatest advantage to their clan. Because they pride themselves on clan loyalty above all others, the Camarilla and Sabbat members share a surprising number of characteristics to one another.
The Nosferatu clan disciplines are as follows.
Obfuscate - The supernatural power to deceive the bodily senses, invisibility is one of its tricks.
Animalism - The power to communicate with and control animals.
Potence - The power of supernatural strength.