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In the earliest years of the Tremere clan, the Warlocks were assaulted on all sides. Ancient vampires, enraged at the usurpers' theft of immortality, circled the new clan like a pack of wolves. Only with strong allies could the fledgling vampires hope to survive their first nights. These allies would have to be powerful, vigilant and utterly loyal. Intimate with betrayal, the Tremere knew that any allies they found had to be beyond reproach. The Tremere could find no such allies anywhere on Earth, so they created them. After years of experimentation, a new rite was created that would transform captive Tzimisce, Gangrel and Nosferatu into a monstrous bloodline. These new horrors had the strength, tenacity and patience of stone. They had the features of demons and the wings of nightmares. Most importantly, they were easy for the Tremere to Dominate into submission. These were the Gargoyles, and their existence guaranteed the survival of the young Warlock clan. For nearly a thousand years, the Gargoyles have faithfully served their Tremere masters. In recent nights, however, something has happened, and somehow a few Gargoyles have managed to slip their leashes. They have become free creatures, unfettered by the Warlock's chains. Now the Gargoyle Clan is split into two camps. The first, called Slaves, still follow the orders of their Tremere masters. The second, who call themselves Freemen, no longer serve the Tremere, but are often without places to roost. Like Frankenstein's monster, the Gargoyles wander the earth looking for a place in a world that treats them as abominations. Oddly, the Free Gargoyles have chosen to remain in the Camarilla. Whether this choice is due to a need for order, a desire to spite the former masters or simply force of habit is not known. But just as the Gargoyles once seemed unshakably loyal to the Tremere, the Free Gargoyles seem utterly loyal to the Camarilla as a whole, for now. In recent years, Gargoyles have taken to embracing mortals, often by impulse or accident. They still perform the ancient rites, however, and new Gargoyles are occasionally created from Nosferatu or Tzimisce stock. Whether Embraced or created, a Gargoyle's past is lost to her once she joins the bloodline. Many Gargoyles pursue their lost identity obsessively, while others are glad for the new start. In their own way, the Gargoyles are even more alien than the hideous Nosferatu. They are shunned by both Kindred and kine as monsters that have no ties to humanity at all, and the process of creation, which wipes away their memories, is no help. Most Gargoyles are as unruffled by this as befits their stoic natures. However, even the hard shell of a Gargoyle can crack, and many are known to secretly yearn for the touch of kindness or friendship in their lonely lives. Most players will want to portray a Free Gargoyle. While a Slave Gargoyle can be an interesting character for a while - and an escape chronicle is always entertaining - eventually, being at the continuous beck and call of the entire Tremere clan can get boring. Slave Gargoyles are in far deeper thrall to the Tremere than any ghoul, and blind obedience rarely makes for an interesting long-term character. |
Roleplaying Hints: Like the stone you embody, you possess great patience and stoicism. The Free Gargoyles won their liberty only after years of careful planning; they are not going to risk that freedom on hasty action now. You weigh and consider each action, but when planning is done, you can act with remarkable speed and decisiveness. Like a mighty train, you're slow to start, but when you're on course, slowing down is even more difficult.
Advantages: All Gargoyles automatically begin the game with the first level of Flight for free. In addition, the Gargoyles are natural guards, sentries and spies. As a consequence, they posses a free level of Awareness.
Disadvantages: Gargoyles are hideous, misshapen monsters, even more alien in nature than the Nosferatu. No Gargoyle may possess Appearance-related Social Traits such as Alluring, Gorgeous or Seductive without calling upon special powers (such as Obfuscate). Furthermore, all Gargoyles suffer from the Negative Traits Repugnant or Bestial whenever their true forms are apparent. These Traits may not be removed with Experience Traits or Free Traits. A Gargoyle cannot initiate any Social Challenges in his true form except for the purposes of intimidation, although he may defend against Social Challenges. The Gargoyles have a natural weakness built into them by their Tremere masters: They easily succumb to Dominate and other mind-controlling effects. All Gargoyles possess the Negative Trait Submissive x 2 when attempting to resist Dominate or any other mind-controlling effects.
Bloodlines: Tremere prefer to create their Gargoyles from existing Kindred stock. The surge of competing strains of vitae and the magical effects of the transformation ritual result in wiping away almost all traces of the new Gargoyle's old memories and leaving him as a blank slate to be written upon. Free Gargoyles have taken to Embracing new members into the bloodline; the process is only somewhat gentler for them, as they still lose most of their pasts, but at least retain a vague sense of their former selves. Exact features of each
| Gargoyle's particular hideousness are dependent upon the combination of blood that created the Gargoyle's original ancestor, whether Tzimisce-Nosferatu, Tzimisce-Gangrel or Gangrel-Nosferatu. |
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