Tzimisce
    Potent sorcerers, crumbling castles, forbidding mountains, villages of huddled and fearful peasants these images play through the history of the Tzimisce.  The scholarly Fiends trace their roots to the demesnes of Eastern Europe, where they ruled as feudal lords over a superstitious populace (and, in some places, they still do, it is whispered). Even in the modem day, anachronistic behavior and uncommon occult insight are hallmarks of the Tzimisce. Once the preeminent sorcerers of Cainite society, they now serve the Sabbat as terrifying, alien creatures that epitomize the traditional characteristics of vampires. The great Vlad Dracul himself is said to be one of the Tzimisce, though in the Sabbat, he is counted a traitor to the clan.  The Tzimisce have existed since time immemorial, ruling for generations in the fiefs and provinces of Eastern Europe. There, they extended their taloned hands over the mortal villages and authorities, brooking no resistance. Their broods of blood-bound childer exacted fearsome tribute, while the koldun sorcerers performed hideous rites, calling on the black-stained power of the twisted lands. With the coming of the Anarch Revolt, legions of childer broke away from their domineering masters, putting castles and elders to the torch.  The mystical ritual of the Vaulderie, corrupted from koldun rites, broke the blood bonds and sent childer screaming as bands of terror ravaging the landscape. At last, the anarchs destroyed the Tzimisce Antediluvian, and together with the Lasombra, the remaining Fiends formed the core of the Sabbat. The few surviving voivodes and  koldun shut themselves away in their castles, avoiding the strife and closeting themselves in an earlier age.  Now, the Fiends' influence in the Sabbat is second only to the Lasombra clan's, and many believe that the Tzimisce manipulate the Lasombra as well.  Few can understand the motives of the Tzimisce. Many are insane or simply alien to human or vampiric minds.  Uninterested in secular power yet wrathful and deadly when balked, incredibly intelligent but unwilling to grasp the modern age, by turns courtly and torturous, the Tzimisce are a study in contrasts - yet the Fiends themselves admit to no dichotomy. Other vampires treat the Tzimisce with a guarded sort of respect. The Fiends take the greatest insult when their domains are trespassed, yet they hoard insights that the other clans have long since lost.  Once angered, a Tzimisce never fails I to exact retribution. To their allies, they seem erratic, yet their knowledge is useful and their minions are potent in battle. Suffice to say that few would want Tzimisce "friends," and none would want Tzimisce enemies.  In keeping with their bizarre predilections, the Tzimisce Embrace from an eclectic selection of mortals. The insane are sometimes chosen, but most often the Fiends choose those whose minds were broken by some terrible insight. More often, the Tzimisce Embrace those strong wills who were twisted but unbowed by unusual knowledge, whether scientists, magicians or philosophers.  In some cases, the Tzimisce will Embrace their  revenant relatives or mortal minions as a gift or reward for devoted service. Though the Embrace does not alter the fledgling Tzimisce physically, it exacts its price on the mind; few Tzimisce have the capacity to empathize with their former mortal days, while more than a few pick up disturbing new habits, sharper tempers and more territorial natures.

    Roleplaying Hints: Existence is a process of learning and evolution. You have evolved beyond simple humanity, and through further work and study, you can evolve past the vampire condition, too. However, all of your work is still built fundamentally on the blocks that you have already laid. The ways of the past, those which have stood for centuries, have withstood the test of time and shown themselves correct. Therefore you mix anachronistic tradition with bizarre speculation and thought. If other Cainites do not understand you, that is their own problem; they have not reached your level of insight. You act with the elegance and politeness of a higher creature, but by the same token, you do not brook failure - you are a superior being) after all.
 
  Disciplines: Animalism, Auspex, Vicissitude

 Advantages: Because of their feudal heritage and ancient ways, the Fiends keep secrets long since thought lost by the other clans. All Tzimisce start with one free Ability Trait of Occult, and they can also purchase Lore Abilities with greater ease than most vampires - at Storyteller discretion, the Fiends may learn the first two levels of any Lore Ability without the need for extensive work or specialized resources, since the clan's libraries and holdings usually include such knowledge.  Tzimisce may have revenants as Retainers. A revenant Retainer can be treated like a ghoul, except that the revenant does not require regular upkeep with vitae.

 Disadvantage: The warped Carpathian Fiends exhibit some inexplicable tie to the lands of their birth. Whether this tie is a result of the ancient demonic pacts levied there in the Dark Ages, or a result of their bodies' craving for stability in response to their mutable Discipline of Vicissitude, the results are the same. A Tzimisce must sleep within at least two handfuls of soil from his grave or his native homeland. Each day that a Tzimisce fails to get such rest, he suffers a one-Trait penalty on all challenges. These penalty Traits are removed on a one-for-one basis as the Tzimisce regains rest in a safe haven with the appropriate earth.  For this reason, many Tzimisce keep multiple havens, and they are loath to travel. A Tzimisce whose haven is compromised is in dire straits indeed.

 Bloodlines: Many Tzimisce come from the revenant families, ancient lines of mortals transformed into ghoulish creatures through centuries of ingestion of vampiric vitae. The Bratovich Tzimisce hail from a family known for its brutality and animalistic tendencies; they learn Potence instead of Auspex, but they suffer a one-Trait penalty on their Self-Control / Instinct tests against frenzy. Also, the Tzimisce claimed a heritage as sorcerers unparalleled among vampires until the eminence of the Tremere clan. These ancient sorcerers called themselves koldun, and some young Tzimisce take this title while studying the more modern magics of Thaumaturgy instead of Vicissitude. The modern koldun endure a one-Trait penalty when defending against opposing magic, though, since they must attune themselves to magical energies in order to learn Thaumaturgy.  Almost no Tzimisce are found in the Camarilla - the Fiends' distaste for the humanistic trappings of that organization is tremendous. Any Tzimisce who works with the Camarilla does so merely to further a particular personal agenda. More often, a Tzimisce without Sabbat leanings simply remains a cloistered independent.




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