Independent Clans

Assamite
The Assamites are know as murderous ‘Assassins’, working for whomever can pay the price for their services in blood. Originating form eastern deserts, the mere mention of them breeds fear. Working within the Sabbat as well as the Camarilla in pursuit of their own goals, they tend to stay away from either sect’s affairs; on the whole they have a wide range of skills that most find useful. The Assamites tend not to form trues alliances with any kindred, seeing them as unworthy. They claim that their founder was in fact a member of the Second Generation, making all other kindred inferior copies. In nights past the Assamite’s delved deeply into Diablerie, seeing it as a way to bring them closer to the ‘One’ who founded them. After the night of the formation of the Camarilla and the Sabbat, many elder grew nervous about the assassins and turned to the Tremere for help. The Camarilla had their blood cursed through ritual, making them no longer able to ingest kindred blood. Due to the strength of the unified Camarilla, the Assamite’s had no choice but to suffer this indignity. However, there were a few that refused the curse, went into hiding, and joined the Sabbat. In recent nights, the clan has found away to be released from the curse, and now on the whole has become more ruthless then ever before. They no longer bind themselves by contracts to kill. Neither is the clan bound by constraint, whereas before if a target bested the assassin they would be allowed to go free, now the clan is free to pursue them relentlessly. The trues motivations of the clan is unknown. Once the clan was seen as honourable and with useful functions, but now they are just seen through the eyes of dread.

Clan Weakness:Now they are freed from the Tremere’s blood curse, the Assamites are free to consume Kindred blood. Assamites that now feed on kindred blood find themselves easily addicted, however. Every time an Assamite drinks or even tastes the blood of kindred, he or she must make a self-control test difficulty at the number of blood points ingested +3. If this roll is failed, the next time the character comes in contact with kindred Vitae, failing this sends the Vampire into a sanguinary frenzy, were they will do anything they can to consume as much blood as possible. When the addiction manifests, the consuming need for blood should be role-played. Assamites no longer see the need to hide their vampiric natures.

Organization: Assamites organize themselves into unites known as Falaqi, typically consisting of two or three Kindred who infiltrate a city and gain a foothold there. Assamites in a city engage in activities common to many Kindred (establishing power bases, cultivating herds), but also weaken rival Kindred through selective assassinations, for they do not see the Sixth Tradition as applying to them.

Clan Disciplines: Celerity, Obfuscate, Quietus.

Daughters of Cacophony
The daughters are distinctly modern phenomena despite their classical name. no kindred claims to have heard of them before the 1700's, and if they had existed, vampires feel sure they would have known. the daughters are such masters of song that most kindred believe they are an offshoot of the toreador, though those who have been on the receiving end of their powers think the malkavians had more influence. They are now all female, but once they were both. The Sons of Drake the male version were culled by their female counterpart for a reason only known by some of the clan.

The daughters of cacophony are singers without peer, but their melodious harmonies are not their main claims to fame. it is the damage their songs can do to the mind that causes their kindred concern. The daughters songs can be as horrid as they can be beautiful, and there is no way to know their intentions until they act.
the daughters are a small bloodline, centered mainly in the new world, and members embrace only those who show real singing talent. most create no more than one or two childer. the childer learn from their sires for years before being released into the world.

Clan Weakness:Every Duaghter hears a constant song in their mind, every one is distinctive from one another. Due to this music, no Daughter of Cacophony may ever have more than 3 in their Perception rating. They are also +1 Difficulty in any Perception based test.

Organization: The bloodline has no formal organization, but younger members generally follow the lead of the older, more talented members. Occasionally a number of Daughters gather to give a concert of great beauty.

Clan Disciplines: Fortitude, Melpominee, Presence.


Giovanni
The Giovanni are respectful, genteel and well-mannered. Affluent beyond imagination, Clan Giovanni traces its roots back to before the Renaissance, to a family of merchant princes. The clan still maintains its original home in Venice, in a thousand-year-old loggia just outside the heart of the city. No other clan makes such a spectacle of humility and propriety as does the Giovanni. And no other clan hides its blasphemous secrets as well.

According to tales whispered in Camarilla salons and Sabbat esbats, the Giovanni's money spoiled the family, and the Venetians turned to necromancy out of perverse boredom. Surprisingly enough, the family demonstrated a great aptitude for trafficking with the dead, and their newfound abilities caught the eye of a forgotten Antediluvian. The vampire Embraced the head of the family, Augustus Giovanni, and brought him into the world of the Damned. This particular Antediluvian, the legends say, had a profound interest in death, and the Embrace of Giovanni and his family was intended to further the vampire's knowledge of what lay beyond the wall of mortality.

The Ancient's plan worked better, albeit differently, than he'd intended. Augustus, a cutthroat and mercenary merchant, saw the opportunity to seize his doddering sire's power and did so, hunting and killing all of the Antediluvian's descendants as well. After drinking the Ancient's blood, Augustus became a member of the Third Generation and founded his own clan, the Giovanni.

Other vampires reacted in horror, and, for a century, the "Devil Kindred" Giovanni were rooted out and destroyed wherever they went. Finally, the Giovanni sat down with the newly formed Camarilla and formed a mutual truce. This truce guaranteed the Giovanni would not participate in the Jyhad and would leave other vampires to their affairs. The Giovanni agreed, thus averting the genocide they surely would have otherwise met.

Taking advantage of other vampires' lack of involvement with them, the Giovanni quietly continued to amass wealth and power, practicing their Discipline of Necromancy all the while. Few believe the clan is engaging in either practice for altruistic purposes, and recent global movements by the Giovanni have many Kindred worried. With all that money and all those harvested souls, something is on the horizon; it is an ill wind that blows out of Venice.

Members of the Giovanni clan are also members of the Giovanni family, and those not Embraced often serve their Kindred relations as ghouls. This familial tie - members of the clan are related by blood twice - ensures complete loyalty on the part of the Giovanni. While concentrated primarily in Europe, the Giovanni have recently been expanding into, the world market, and the clan seems to be more prolific in recent nights.

Clan Weakness:The Giovanni Kiss causes excruciating pain in mortals who receive it. In fact, the bite of a Giovanni vampire often kills its mortal victim from shock before the poor soul has a chance .to die from blood loss. The Necromancers do twice as much damage as any other vampire to mortals (and only mortals) who suffer their Kiss. Thus, if the Giovanni in question took one blood point from a mortal vessel, that vessel would suffer two health levels of damage. As such, Giovanni vampires are quite likely to feed from already dead corpses or from resources like hospital blood reserves.

Organization: Giovanni clan affairs are handled in Venice, in a vast loggia colloquially known as the Mausoleum. As is to be expected, the clan has a familial structure. Inbreeding, necrophilia, favor-currying, ancestor worship and carefully cultivated guilt riddle the family; by the time most Giovanni Kindred are Embraced, they've seen more than enough to inure them to the vagaries of undead existence. The clan's nonintervenrion in the Jyhad allows members to focus on their own vendettas and better their knowledge of Necromancy. The Giovanni Antediluvian, Augustus Giovanni, reportedly still maintains direct control over the clan, though none outside the clan is known to have seen him in the past 400 years.

Bloodlines: The Giovanni do not have antitribu - they are all loyal to the family as a whole, if not individual members. However, the clan has brought several other families into its fold. These include the Pisanob (Central and South American witches), the Dunsirn (Scottish bankers who practice cannibalism), the Milliners (a prominent New England family dating back to the turn of the 20th century) and a host of minor families. Not all Giovanni are surnamed Giovanni.

Clan Disciplines: Dominate, Necromancy, Potence.


Ravnos
These Cainites are deceivers of the first order, weaving illusion and lies into elaborate schemes to part the foolish from whatever it is the Ravnos might fancy - be it wealth, blood or even their victims' freedom. Like Mephistopheles or Old Scratch, the Ravnos ply their devil's deals with whomever they choose, be it human or Kindred, and woe to those who wind up unable to pay the hidden costs.

Although many Ravnos see themselves as great tricksters, the generally benevolent tricks of Coyote and Raven aren't so much their style. Instead, they draw on a tradition of illusion and deceit inherited from the rakshasas and ghuls of the Middle and Far East. A Ravnos is a highly dangerous being with whom to sup or bargain. And these devils have been making their wagers and bargains for a long time indeed The Ravnos are nomadic to the core and care little for permanent havens or positions in a city's established power structure. Even those who have chosen a given city for their home tend to establish and abandon havens as the mood strikes them, taking whatever lairs they like, doing as they please, and moving on when bored. This habit infuriates princes across the world, who resent the Ravnos' disregard for the Tradition of Hospitality. Few punish violators, though, for fear drawing the malice of the clan as a whole.

Although the clan has long-standing ties with the Gypsies, few Ravnos enjoy the hospitality of their mortal kin. Perhaps the Gypsies know these vampires' true natures too well, and are loath to offer friendship to the undying. Perhaps the Ravnos themselves alienate their mortal families through their dangerous tricks. Whatever the reason, a Ravnos typically has no allies he can rely on regularly. His charm may win him a few temporary companions, and clan loyalty may draw fellow Ravnos to his side in times of dire need, but the vampire's path ultimately lies alone

Naturally, the princes of many cities are leery of allowing such tricksters free rein in their domains. The Ravnos' eccentric code of honor is strong, but rarely coincides with another Kindred's definition of the term. A Ravnos may break her word at will, unless she's spit in her palm and shaken on the deal. She'll defend her "good name" for all it's worth - depending on what she considers slander. And she'll usually come to the defense of a clanmate, and vice versa; the Ravnos may take advantage of one another, but they consider it their privilege. Outsiders aren't allowed the same.

Clan Weakness:The Ravnos have indulged in their particular vices so long that they have become addicted to them. Each Ravnos has a weakness for some form of trickery, deceit or mischief, whether it be gambling, lying, theft, blackmail or even cleverly framed murder. When the opportunity to indulge presents itself, a Ravnos must make a Self-Control roll (difficulty 6) or succumb to her compulsion.

Organization: Most Ravnos trust nobody, not even their own clan mates, but work together when necessary to bilk, rob or topple an outsider enemy. They often make grandiose pledges of family loyalty to one another, although neither party expects very much to come of the vows. The recently awakened clan elders, however, are beginning to contact Ravnos on all continents. Although the typically chaotic clan structure has yet to see any real change, it may be only a matter of time before the Ancients’ will becomes manifest through the younger Ravnos

Clan Disciplines: Animalism, Chimerstry, Fortitude.


Follower of Set
According to most Setites, their clan founder was none other than the dark god of ancient Egypt, a hunter without equal in the desert night. Other tales state that Set was an Antediluvian - at feast - who enshrined himself as a god among the Egyptians. In either case, Set's rule went unquestioned until he was challenged by a being named Osiris - whom some call a vampire, and others something else. Their war lasted for centuries, but ultimately Set was cast out of Egypt, into the darkness. And yet, his followers claim, it was in the darkness that wise, ancient Set began his rule in earnest. Although great Set has vanished from the world, his childer work to ensure that the world will be in a suitable state for his return - advancing their own schemes in the process, of course.

To achieve their goals, Setites master several potent tools. To their thinking, the weapons of addiction, seduction and decay are the oldest and finest of means to an end. Setites use drugs, sex, money, power - even vitae and supernatural lore - to draw others into their coils. To date, the Followers' methods have proved terribly effective. Kindred and kine alike succumb to the Setites' charms, gladly doing whatever their new masters bid in return for the Serpents' reptilian patronage. Indeed, in some cities, entire subcultures and economic strata are under one or more Setites' sway. Neutrality is far too valuable for the Followers of Set to bother with sects. They find the Camarilla pretentiously idealistic, and the Sabbat exactly the same. Setites prefer to barter their secrets to both sides, but reserve their truly significant finds for the clan's exclusive use

The Followers of Set cryptically refer to themselves as the "eldest among clans,"

Clan Weakness:The Setites, as creatures of the most ancient darkness, have a severe allergy to bright lights of all sorts, and sunlight in particular. Add two health levels to any damage inflicted by exposure to the sun. Followers of Set also subtract one from all dice pools while in overly bright light (spotlights, magnesium flares, etc.).

Organization: Individually, Setites act much more like other vampires, maintaining herds, acquiring power and suborning rivals. Nor is one Setite automatically immune to the predation or a rival – the clan takes a Darwinian approach even among its own ranks. Communally, though, Serpents usually organize themselves into temples where they can exchange lore and practice their rites. Their hierarchy tends to be organized by age, with the eldest and wisest among them officiating. Rumor has it that somewhere in Africa exists the Grand Temple of Set, the dwelling place of the clan’s Dark Hierophant. This Methuselah is said to be the more powerful of Set’s personal childer and the first vampire Embraced into the clan; if rumor is correct, his knowledge has no equal, and his authority over the clan is absolute.

Clan Disciplines: Obfuscate, Presence, Serpentis.