Part 1: I - Beginnings
Who are we?
Bloodlines begins with a choice that almost no vampire actually gets to make (there are very few exceptions). Which clan to we belong to?
To put this into perspective, it's a question equivalent to another question we get to answer in character creation: are we male or female? I'm speaking in the biological sense, not the social construct sense that Troika confuses with sex.
What clan a vampire belongs to is determined by the clan of the vampire's sire. A human is turned vampire (made into a childe) by a process known as the embrace. We'll learn more about this in just a little bit. Know that a human does not get a choice as to who their sire is, since it's likely they didn't even know vampires existed before their own embrace. This is because of the Masquerade, how vampires blend into human society without their presence being known. The masquerade is not something that all vampires follow, nor it is something that vampires always did follow, but that's a discussion for another time.
I ask three questions of you: to which clan do we belong to, what is our sex, and what are we called? To answer the first question, knowledge of which clans we can choose from is necessary. To answer the second question, know that it is more of a cosmetic choice than anything else. Certain encounters with certain characters can be a little different, and the seduction skill is infinitely more useful for someone playing as female than male, but it's more of a superficial choice than anything substantial. As for the third question, the name I select will be my favorite of the names suggested by the thread. It will not be decided by popular vote.
Let's get to describing the clans. Note that is is not meant to be a comprehensive list of each clan's history, lore, backstory, etc. It's only meant to introduce them, to give the reader an idea of what they are about.
The manual doesn't explain Clan Brujah very well, so let me quote the white wolf wiki:
quote:
Clan Brujah is largely composed of rebels, both with and without causes. Individualistic, outspoken and turbulent, Brujah hold social change near to their undead hearts, and the clan's ranks contain some of the most violent of the Camarilla Kindred. ...
...The clan claims a history rich with warrior-poets, and it has adapted this concept into the modern night...
...The Rabble's espousal of change unites them, albeit tenuously, in their nightly crusades. Given a common enemy, Brujah with vastly differing ideals will join side by side to oppose their foe. After that foe is defeated, however, all bets are off and it's back to business as usual. A common Brujah theme involves the foundation of a Kindred "Utopia," or the re-creation of a mythical one from nights past, though each Brujah vampire has a different idea of what said Utopia is. ...
bloodlines' Manual posted:
The Brujah are passionate idealists. At times, this passion can lead them to trouble since they tend to make their arguments with their fists and not words. Their rage means the Brujah start with a -2 to Frenzy checks, but they get a +1 to their Unarmed Feat.
Disciplines: Celerity, Potence, and Presence.
Each clan has different Disciplines, which are essentially special powers every vampire is granted by virtue of their condition. Note that each clan has separate bloodlines, which each have their own disciplines, but Bloodlines (the game) glosses over this.
Every discipline has five levels, and each increasing level of Celerity just makes the increase in speed more dramatic. Another point of criticism for Bloodlines is that it oversimplifies disciplines. Celerity in the actual table top game has a multitude of different powers. There's no way that Bloodlines could take all of these into account, but, still, Troika didn't have to simplify it as much as they did.
Each increasing level of potence increases the bonus to melee and unarmed attacks.
Bloodlines' Manual posted:
If any clan were close to the Beast, it would be the wildly nomadic Gangrel. Usually preferring to be loners, the Gangrel clan has recently severed its ties with the Camarilla. With their feral nature, the Gangrel are much more attuned to animals and have the ability to take on animal forms. Like the Brujah, members of Clan Gangrel receive a –1 to Frenzy checks. When Frenzied, the Gangrel receive a +5 to strength on top of the regular +5 that all vampires receive as well as +5 bonuses to Wits and Stamina.
Disciplines: Animalism, Fortitude, and Protean
Animalism has different effects at each level:
Each level of fortitude increases the amount of damage that can be soaked.
bloodlines' Manual posted:
Insane by nature, the Malkavians see the world in a different light than anyone else. This “insight” allows Malkavians to see the true intentions of others. However, it also means they have a much more difficult time communicating with others on occasion. The nature of the Malkavians gives them a +2 bonus to the Inspection Feat.
I won't be spending much time on the Malkavians since I will not be accepting votes for playing as a malkavian. This is due to conversations not making any sense if you play as a malkavian. All normal dialogue options are replaced with nonsensical, arbitrary responses that make the game hard to follow unless you already know what's going on.
bloodlines' manual posted:
Hideous and disgusting, the Nosferatu are cursed with a grotesque form. Forced into the shadows of the night, the Nosferatu have learned to adapt and hide from society. Due to their hideous nature, the Nosferatu start with an Appearance of zero and their Seduction Feat can never be any higher than zero. Relying on rats for blood, the Nosferatu get 3 blood points when feeding on them.
The Nosferatu are the same as the Malkavians in the respect that they are more suited for a gimmick run of the game. You have to avoid being in the near vicinity of a human or else you get a)attention drawn to you or b)a masquerade violation if multiple people see you at the same time. Conversations, when playing as a Nosferatu, usually open with the NPC noting how disgusting you look and then the conversation continues as it would with any other clan. I will not be accepting votes for playing as a nosferatu.
bloodlines' manual posted:
The Toreador envision themselves as artists and visionaries. They seek the best of refinements, believe in being on the cutting edge and wearing haute couture. With their close ties to human society, the Toreador can buy humanity at half the cost. Additionally, the Toreador gain or lose double the amount of humanity when committing acts that benefit or harm human society.
Disciplines: Auspex, Celerity, and Presence.
See the above clans for descriptions of Celerity and Presence.
Each increase in Auspex increases a)the bonus to Wits b)the ponus to Perception (beginning at 1 point at level 2) c)the distance in which auras are revealed d)the duration of the effects.
bloodlines' manual posted:
The least trusted of the Camarilla clans, the Tremere are blood sorcerers. Using blood magic, or Thaumaturgy, the Tremere guard their secrets quite religiously and do not take outsiders into their confidence. Relying on their blood magic, the Tremere can only have a maximum of 4 for their physical attributes.
Disciplines: Auspex, Dominate, and Thaumaturgy
Would you believe me if I told you that Clan Tremere is an artificial clan? What I mean is that the Tremere were made vampires by a magic ritual. Allow me to quote the white wolf wiki again.
quote:
The Tremere began as House Tremere, Mages of the Order of Hermes named for their leader and founder, Tremere. At the end of the first millennia, the members of House Tremere realized the Hermitic arts were failing and found its immortality potions no longer working. Facing the possibility of losing everything, Tremere ordered research into alternate methods of sustaining their lives. House Tremere undertook numerous experiments, but it was Goratrix who devised a solution in his investigation of vampires.
In 1022, Goratrix invited Tremere and six of the founder's closest advisers to participate in the completed ritual, which promised true immortality. Whether Goratrix knew what would happen is known only by him and, perhaps, Tremere, but at the completion of the ritual the participants fell unconscious and were reborn as vampires, their avatars destroyed and magical abilities lost. The mages had gained their immortality but lost the power they lived for. Though the others would likely have slain Goratrix for his folly (or trickery), Tremere ordered them to halt and declared that they would remain at his side, leaving their chantries in the hands of subordinates while they discovered the powers of their new forms in secret.
In time [...] [t]hey would slowly begin Embracing the rest of the House, with each initiate being bound to the Inner Council to ensure their loyalty. In time, all members of House Tremere would die or become vampires.
See Clan Toreador for an explanation of Auspex.
Unfortunately, the Tremere don't get very many options to use Dominate in conversation.
Thaumaturgy is ridiculously powerful, and the only thing that offsets it is its high blood cost.
The bloodlines' manual does a poor job at explaining the Ventrue. To again quote the white wolf wiki:
quote:
Clan Ventrue has long been one of the proudest lines of vampires, and its members work hard to maintain a reputation for honor, genteel behavior, and leadership. A sense of noblesse oblige has ever pervaded the clan, accompanied by the genuine belief that the Ventrue know what's best for everyone. Considering themselves the oldest Clan, it's no surprise they see themselves as the enforcers of tradition and the rightful leaders of vampire society. Unsurprisingly, they've long been chosen from the ranks of nobility and privilege, traditionally those roles have included kings, knights, and merchant princes; in more modern years, businessmen and lawyers and government leaders have filled the void.
The general belief is that the Ventrue, a clan considered old-fashioned by most, is floundering in these latter nights; however, the Ventrue have a long history of adapting to keep hold of their power. In the modern nights the Ventrue are more politician than warrior, more CEO than baron. They remain the largest supporters of the Camarilla and the Masquerade, believing both institutions to be the surest means of protecting vampires from the mortal masses... and of guarding their own power.
Disciplines: Dominate, Fortitude, and Presence
See Clan Tremere for Dominate, Clan Gangrel for Fortitude, and clan Brujah for Presence. The Ventrue get the most opportunity to use Dominate during conversations.
So, let me recap. Three votes are to be cast.
1. Which clan do we belong to?
2. What is our sex?
3. What is our name?
The first two questions will be decided by popular vote. The last question will be selected by me from the thread's options.