Merits
Consanguineous Resistance - 1PT Supernatural Merit
Your character cannot be blood bound by anyone who shares his mortal blood line. That is, if you were born into the Giovanni family, you cannot be bound to anyone else who was born a Giovanni, though you can still be bound by Pisnob of the Giovanni clan, or by Kindred of any other clan. Similarly, a Dunsirn with Consanguineous Resistance could not be bound by others who were born into the mortal Dunsirn family, but could be bound by a Milliner of the Giovanni clan (for instance).
Incidentally, the Giovanni are extremely suspicious of anyone known to manifest this quirk. Although this blood-borne aberration hasn't been documented, a few savvy Giovanni have a rouch and superstitious idea of what it is and does. It's generally associated with being a rebellious young smartass who needs to be put down (that is not as unfair as it sounds; by the time a bond resistance is really obvious, it's probably because a punishment isn't working). A character who is discovered to have this trait probably earns her sire's hostility at the very least.
Proxy Kissed - 4PT Supernatural Merit
Before the embrace, you received the traditional Giovanni Proxy Kiss. This means you have one free do tof Potence, and the other members of your clan tend to be comfortable that you were Embraced in "the proper Giovanni fashion." On the downside, you are partially blood bound to someone -- porbably someone other than your sire. Given the way the Anziani like to balance things out, you may well have been Embraced by someone who dislikes or disagrees with your domitor.
You may take this merit a second time (for a total of 8 pts) to gain a free dot of Fortitude, indicating a very long service as a ghoul. If you do this, it means that you're: (a) partially bound to Three Kindred, (b) one-third bound to one and two-thirds bound to another, or (c) fully bound to the Kindred who Embraced you, who will probably be in deep shit with the elders -- if she isn't an elder herself.
Sanguine Incongruity - 5PT Physical Merit
Giovanni with this atavism are few and far between -- fewer than a dozen reported instances have occurred since the clan rose from the ashes of the clan that preceded them. Kindred possessing it do not bear the Curse of the Lamia; their Kiss causes no more damage than the blood loss itself. These vampires acquire a peculiar pallor upon their Embrace, however -- they look like corpses, and no amount of blood ingestion can flush their features (as other vampires are able to do). Giovanni with this merit are afforded wide berth, as the Giovanni tend to be quite suspicious about it.
Flaws
Inbred (1-5)PT Flaw
Inbreeding, a common occurrence among the incestuous Giovanni clan, can take many forms, and this Flaw is best discussed with the Storyteller before a player takes it for her character. The Inbred Flaw covers all manner of physical, mental and emotional defects. A one-point inbreeding is something simple and unobtrusive, such as eyes too close together or an underbite. a three-point Inbreeding is more severe: a congenital health condition (for mortals) or a crippling physical deformity. Five-point Inbreedings are grossly disabling or emotionally crippling -- everything from uselessly atrophied legs to a permanent Derangement, decided on mutually by the player and SToryteller. Inbred conditions may or may not be immediately discernible, though their point cost should be relative to their magnitude.
Shadow Walker - 6PT supernatural flaw
The Giovanni clan is by its nature inexorably tied to the realm beyond the Sudario. Giovanni suffering from this flaw are so tied to the Shadowlands that even in the lands of the living they are foced to interact with the world of the dead on a nightly basis. TO shadow walkers, objects in the Underworld are as real as anything to be found in the pysical world. Such vampires find that the ghosts of walls may impede their flight, ghostly objects may strike them, and wraiths' powers work as if the Kindred were on the far side of the Shroud. This Flaw is similar to the Ash Path power Dead Hand except that Shadow Walker is always on and in no way allows the character possessing it to perceive beyond the Shroud. (see p. 164 of Vampire: The Masquerade for details).
The Storyteller may determine that cerain Shadowlands topography interferes with you. Unless you have a Merit or power to do so, you can't see into the Shadowlands, so you have to be careful in feeling your way about -- essentially a blind man suject to the Underworld landscape. you may be restriced by immaterial walls or environmental effects at a Storyteller's descretion. More importnatly, wraiths can affect you directily -- a wraith attacking you inflics damage without any special means on his part. Conversely, you can affect things in the Shadowlands with your physical body, though chances are you do so blindly. Your possessions and weapons do not have this special facility, so it's possible for you to swing a sword that passes through a ghostly wall, or to have a gun that can't shoot ghosts wheras their relic guns can put holes in you. Obviously, this Flaw is appropriate only for a game in which interaction with wraiths is fairly common or the Storyteller wants to pay above-average attention to the Underworld.
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Subject: Giovanni Merits and Flaws 
Fri Jun 18, 2010 4:53 am
