CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION 1 Credits Special Thanks Justin “BenVereen” Achilli for locking himself out Authors: Justin Achilli, C.A. Suleiman, Eddy Webb, of the chateau with 32 coffee spoons as his adamantium Joseph Carriker, and Christopher Kobar claws. Additional Material: Jeremy Miller and Ben H. Rich “Improvesario” Thomas for rolling out a schedule fueled by faith in freelance. Editor and Indexer: Genevieve Podleski Eddy “Scramble Flight Decks” Webb for scheduling Creative and Art Director: Rich Thomas around rebuilding the combat system. Again. Layout and Typesetting: Ron Thompson Matthew “Silvio Dante” McFarland for being Cover Art: Tim Bradstreet dragged back in and taking on a new WoD project. Interior Art: Tim Bradstreet, Dan Brereton, Michael Meredith “Slashfic” Gerber for provoking the worst Gaydos, Adrian Majkrzak, Marco Mazzoni, Efrem kind of Twitter conversation. Palacios, Steven Stahlberg, Andrew Trabbold, Drew Matt “The Alastor” McElroy for tending the Red Tucker List. Alessandro “This Is Glamorous?” Kelis for seeing how the sausage is made. Ryan “Many Hats” Merritt for fulfilling the responsibilities of Title A with the practices of Title B in prep for Title C. Sabine “Ooops” Heidenreich for being left out of the backers list in V20 Companion. © 2012 CCP hf. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbid- den, except for the purposes of reviews, and one printed copy which may be reproduced for personal use only. Vampire the Masquerade and Storyteller System are registered trademarks of CCP hf. All rights reserved. This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fictional and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised. Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com Check out Onyx Path online at http://www.theonyxpath.com 8 INTRODUCTION Contents Introduction 10 Lados 18 Lizette Cordoba 22 The Nabataean 27 Svein “Azrael” Fortinbras 34 Lady Willoughby 39 Meixiu 46 Edgardo Robbia 53 Dastur Anosh 58 Laurette Morel 66 The Hangman’s Bride 73 Nasch the Circassian 78 Marc de Brabant 85 Roderigo al-Dakhil 90 Andrew Seneca 98 Jaromir Cerny 104 Colm Olliver 111 Esperanza Lucifer 116 Apacia 122 CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION 9 Introduction Revolution is like Saturn, it devours its own children. — Georg Büchner Introduction in times of instant, global communication and the urgency of the modern nights. The Kindred are no strangers to strife. Indeed, most Themes Kindred thrive on the sorrow and discord of the mortal With that in mind, the core theme of Children of the world. Where better to feed than in a domain racked Revolution is that Kindred Embraced in “interesting by rebellion? Where better to make a mortal vessel times” often find themselves as catalysts or casualties of disappear after a chance overfeeding — or an intentional other “interesting times.” indulgence — than in a location known to be suffering a Practically, each of the Kindred detailed in period of chaos, war, or sedition? Children of the Revolution embodies her own theme. Revolution is more than a convenient setting in which Collectively, though, some trends do emerge among to find sustenance for the Kindred, however. Certain the assembled undead. For instance, a great many of Kindred Embraced in times of tumult, whether in the these vampires, many of whom associated themselves at mortal world or the secret world of the Kindred, find one point with open rebellions, have ended up making themselves almost predestined to have an impact on the a very comfortable place for themselves. More than society of the Damned. In the past, Kindred led armies, their Disciplines or Attributes, many of the undead slew kings, begat heresies, and laid the foundations depicted herein have amassed significant collections of for what would eventually become the sects and even Backgrounds — and Resources in particular. Rebellion Traditions. Tonight, though Cainite society may already is a profitable business when played with the cynical exist in a global context, Kindred who arose during realism of the practical Cainite, especially in the World times of dissidence or rebellion may find themselves of Darkness, where the downtrodden — Kindred and the authors of equally significant acts. The times may kine — want a savior. Once the idealism of a Kindred’s be gone for an undead warlord to fearlessly spur his passion of choice wanes under the weight of years, he mount into a column of Charlemagne’s paladins, but can often still commoditize it, trading on a reputation the impact of his actions is surely no less felt, especially 101 0 INTRINOTDRUOCDTUIOCNTION of opposition to a corrupt institution such as the The result is that most Assamites are drawn more Sabbat or Camarilla while enjoying the benefits that from revolutions in the mortal world than they the institution offers. Look at the Sabbat: a fire-and- are in the midst of turbulent Kindred events. The brimstone doomsday cult sword worshipping the Assamite Embrace is rarely one given in haste or destruction of the Antediluvians and elder tyranny… without consideration, and many Assassin sires watch yet guided by a clashing confederation of those their potential childer for years if not decades before selfsame elders and even Methuselahs, many of whom performing the act. Even when great events shake the possess a material comfort notably lacking among the foundation of Kindred society, the response of the shovelheads and field agents who fight and burn and Assamites is more often to vanish into the shadows and die under the banner of the Sword of Caine. At least formulate a plan than to throw cannon fodder in front the Camarilla is (somewhat) honest in its “Fuck you, I of the problem. This pragmatism surprises few who was here first” rhetoric. Not that anyone inclined to an know the ways of the Assassins. attitude of revolution would accept that sort of logic. One notable exception colors the history of Assamite But once the revolution in question equilibrates, often stoicism in the face of upheaval. After the Convention becoming much like the event or situation it replaced, of Thorns, when the Assamites deliberately placed the ideas of the revolution almost certainly still themselves outside the Camarilla, a period of open resonate. That’s when they become a byword, a brand, war between the Assassins’ Clan and the Ivory Tower or even a pillar of the new regime’s stability. And that’s began, and lasted for almost a decade. During this where the revolution becomes a tradeable identity. Now period, the Assamites performed the Embrace with that we’ve chased the corrupt Ventrue conspiracy out of uncharacteristic profligacy. To hear them tell it, they town, well, it certainly couldn’t hurt to confiscate some had no choice: The combined might of seven clans had of their assets or lure their contacts, could it? Otherwise been turned against them, and the only thing saving they’re just going to waste…. them from extinction was the ability to induct new That corruptive influence frequently proves too members into Haqim’s brood. Comparatively few of tempting for most Kindred to resist, especially when the Assamites Embraced between 1493 and the early urged by the Beast or indulged by a crumbling Morality. 16th century still exist, having succumbed to torpor or After all, how does denying yourself help others who met Final Death during this wartime, but those who do might be suffering? If a Kindred finds an advantage, survive have been tempered in the flames of the single even if it’s at odds with the party line of his rebellion most defining conflict in the clan’s history — which, or outlook, who does it help for him not to take it? when discussing the Assassins, speaks greatly to these Wouldn’t the opposition, whoever that is, seize it vampires’ acumen, guile, and tenacity. for themselves if they found it? When your players’ Brujah characters meet the characters in this book, will they buy into the ideology? And if their personal revolution Unsurprisingly, Clan Brujah has no few of its succeeds, will the pendulum swing the other way? Will members brought into the night during periods of the old revolution prove to be the corrupt enemy of the mortal or Kindred conflict. Given the passion with next revolution brewing among the next generation of which the Rabble hurl themselves into the closest the undead? History suggests it’s so. available violence, it might even be argued that most Brujah Embraces occur in times of revolution, with Assamites the only question being the scope of the revolution The Assamites play both sides of revolution. Some that spawns them. “Revolution,” to a Brujah, can be of their most lucrative contracts for assassination come a tremendously personal thing, and a one-Kindred in domains in the midst of rebellion, power struggles, vendetta against a hated Prince, entrenched Elder, or or other dangerous détentes among powerful but ambitious movement among a domain’s fledglings vicious Kindred. At the same time, in domains where might constitute a small-scale sedition that demands Assamites hold sway, the Path of Blood and the codes of the punitive or proactive Embrace of a new Brujah. The Haqim make for an orderly society, at least to outsiders’ other clans may see such Embraces as ill-considered or view. Internally, the Clan of Assassins is as rife with even quixotic, but few are the Rabble who give a flaming schism as any other, but the clan practices a philosophy fuck what those other clans think. that places common external enemies before enemies within the Assamite order itself. CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION 11 Hypocrisy characterizes many Brujah Embraces as the potential of changing the way the world thinks? well. While the Rabble are quick to align themselves What better time to become a vampire that at the apex as agents of change and fighters of the privileged status of one’s revolutionary career? quo in calcified domains, they rarely extended such Of late, the unrest in the ancestral home of the Setites progressive outlooks to include the kine. Oppression on the African continent has provided no shortage of works just fine for many Brujah when it’s a question rebellions, coups, upheavals, and dictatorships against of mortal influence versus vampiric dominance. It’s which to cast their neonates’ Embraces. On the one one thing to strike out against a hated Elder, but, hand, this is a boon to those fledglings, who are often hey, a Kindred needs blood. Rejuvenating an area of emboldened by the spirit of independence that tonight urban blight might be the way to counter The Man’s sweeps across northern Africa and who feel a lesser influence, but it sure makes it a pain in the ass to feed. sense of oppression than Kindred Embraced into the In light of this, many Brujah Embraces come from a clan during less democratic periods. To the detriment misguided attempt at correcting the mistake of killing a of the other clans and the greater world, however, this mortal vessel while engaging in some personal crusade bold mindset comes draped in one of the most secretive, against a foe. Indeed, some Brujah even Embrace in sinister, and immoral clan cultures among the whole of the hopes of preserving a rapidly dwindling Humanity, the Damned. These young Kindred have seen firsthand reasoning that it’s better to “save” an individual via the that revolution works and that striking out against a bleak doom of the Embrace rather than letting her die. corrupt order can yield results — and those results are During times when the Rabble consume a great deal of the chilling ideology of the Setites. blood — such as when using their Disciplines frequently to fight, well, whomever — such backhanded salvation Gangrel occurs frequently. In many cases, the Outlanders’ concept of revolution comes as a result of outside forces. As Clan Gangrel Followers of Set rarely undertakes any course of action as a unified entity, The Setites are no stranger to times of upheaval, even on a local level, the Clan of the Beast experiences and, especially among Kindred society, are responsible upheaval only when events conspire to drag them for creating no small share of their own. To a certain into it. Too few of them care for Kindred politics or segment of the clan, the ultimate Setite goal is arguably even mortal events enough to bother with such things a revolution: the resurrection of their dead god- when more pressing, primal needs consume them progenitor that may presage (or prevent) the rising of nightly. Rare exceptions do occur, but the most notable the rest of the Antediluvians. To the opposite-aligned revolution-born Kindred of the clan found themselves faction of the clan, the dark secrets of the world, Embraced during mortal or territorial struggles more including the inscrutable movements of their deathless so than in the shadow-games that consume the more founder are mysteries to be protected. Whether for or cerebral clans. against, the Setite oeuvre deals with changes on a scale This means that when overlap between Kindred so great that the world shudders when the Snake Clan’s and mortal interests occur, though, that the Gangrel shadow falls across it. may find themselves siring progeny in an effort at When the Followers of Set Embrace, they do so with self-preservation. Those Gangrel who have given it a purpose often absent from the less cultic lineages of much consideration often feel that such “protective vampires. However, like the other independent clans, Embraces” are the height of irony, however, for the their isolation from mainstream Kindred society gives truth of the matter is that while there may be safety in them a narrow focus into which to Embrace and numbers, those numbers mean that a greater number inculcate their childer. In many cases, Setite Embraces of Kindred are sharing the same, finite amount of vitae. end up a victim of the corruptions they peddle, but in More wolves in the pack may make it easier to bring many more, the outsider status of the clan meshes well down the prey, but it means a lesser share for each of the with dramatic world events. The Setites are masters predators. The ugly truth of this is that, just as certain of taking these opportunities wherever they may find members of the animal kingdom kill their own young, potential new clanmates. What better way to ensure an Outlander may well find it prudent to destroy his devotion and even fanaticism from their childer than own progeny after she’s served her purpose in the wake to expose them to the dark powers and pleasure of the of revolution. Such is the way of the War of Ages. Kindred condition at the same time they’re heady with 12 INTRODUCTION From the perspective of such progeny, however, fuck capable of predicting such disruption in domains not that. Just because some gnarly old creep wanted to their own, and thus remain somewhat parochial. sacrifice a fledgling to the torches of a mob or the fangs As a general rule, the Giovanni Embrace their of the Archons doesn’t mean they have to shut up and childer from a different pool than the other clans do, take it. Given their ferocity and their unholy resilience, given their familial structure, so the timing of those even a Gangrel neonate is tough to kill, and not at all Embraces corresponds less to times of revolution. Still, likely to bare her throat to a selfish sire just because he when duress demands undead “boots on the ground,” thinks she’s outlasted her usefulness. As such, times of the Giovanni have little trouble managing to conscript revolution see the Embrace of many Outlanders, and enough grunts from the more brutish branches of the also see hostilities flare within the clan, rather than the family tree, and if one survives the tumult and matures usual survival apathy that characterizes the Outlanders’ into a promising neonate, more’s the better. bestowal of the Curse of Caine. Tangentially, the supernatural power of the Giovanni Giovanni often waxes during times of revolution, especially revolutions that yield violence. The passionate dead What have the Giovanni accomplished that they are a unique currency for the Necromancers, and a haven’t actually stolen from someone else? They steal battlefield or riot site where lives suddenly ended is a power by compelling the dead, steal influence by well of power that the Giovanni, via their unwholesome blackmail and threat of violence, steal wealth from Disciplines, are uniquely suited to tap. Supernatural legitimate producers, and even stole vampirism from power garnered in these tragic revolutions usually yields the dead heart of their patron progenitor. They are the results suited to the physical world rather than any deep carpetbaggers of Kindred society, the whores traveling connection to the Underworld because of the “fresh” in the wake of the marching army, the lice on a wretched nature of the souls harvested, but no advantage is so beggar. narrow that the Necromancers can’t exploit it. The Giovanni play to their strengths, of course. They’re not the most numerous clan, but they possess Lasombra vast resources for a faction so comparatively small. As is ever the way, those who wield power are loath Culturally, the Italian Necromancers are used to seeing to share it, and this adage is certainly true when the change and taking advantage of it. In a positive context, Lasombra are involved. The Keepers have a long and the Renaissance that spawned the initial wealth of the aristocratic history, and very few mortal movements Giovanni family represented a massive humanitarian culminate in the restoration of aristocracies to power, revolution, to which the Giovanni attached themselves especially in these preposterously democratic modern and by which they became rich in lucre and influence. nights. Thus, when a Lasombra aligns himself with a Numerous mortal political shifts over the intervening rebellious movement, he does so with much to gain. centuries have also given the Giovanni not only When a Lasombra Embraces a childe during a time of ample opportunity to capitalize on changes in power tumult, she does so in order to fortify her own position. structures, but also to observe what happens before Case in point: The Sabbat. Who would have guessed those shifts. Forewarned is forearmed, and the that the Keepers would be one of two nominal leaders Giovanni have witnessed enough mortal revolution of such a movement? But when the fire in the Kindred of all scales to know when to cease relationships with blood rose, the Lasombra saw their opportunity and, allies who are about to be exposed as cronies or cut off striking down their own leader, placed themselves at commerce with agencies that are about to be exposed as the forefront of revolutionary thought and action… corrupt. For some Giovanni, turning over interests in …into which they promptly installed themselves as an these compromised contacts to younger Necromancers aristocracy. is a test of a low-status vampire’s mettle. If the Kindred can eke out some last burst of utility from the disgraced The Lasombra character is one of individuality flunky or, better, restore a ruined moneymaker to and sufficiency, however, and the revolutions that profitability, that’s a fast-track to esteem in the clan. call to them are much less of the bomb-tossing and The weakness of this facet of the Giovanni lies in their beheading ilk, and much more of the kind that subtly limited numbers. Their experience is deep but not but significantly change behavior. During the Age of broad: They know how to watch for signs of change on Exploration, much Lasombra money and influence, the wind in their immediate environs, but they’re less and many Lasombra childer poured into the New CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION 13 World. (Even tonight, the “privateer spirit” still holds Thermidorian reaction clubs the revolt into docility. sway among certain Keepers — see Esperanza Lucifer Still others see the opportunity in overthrow to seize on p. 116.) When the Sabbat was on the ropes in the the power that they have long craved — much like any New World, Lasombra interests found a home for it in opportunistic Kindred would — but do so looking Mexico. Lasombra clergymen leveraged the weight of two steps ahead, anticipating the return swing of the their prayers in numerous wars and schisms during the pendulum into the revolution’s subsequent radical or Dark Ages, and among certain Kindred historians, no reactionary phase. small activity during the Burning Times did so as a result Malkavian childer Embraced in times of paradigm shift of Lasombra “suggestion.” Although the Keepers have are often icons of the zeitgeist. The arch morality of the no great facility with Eastern culture or philosophy, the Victorian era, the psychedelic boundary-pushing of the Chinese principle of weiji has its adherents among many late 1960s, the angry nihilism of the punk movement, Lasombra seeking to sire: that crisis or instability often and the distant humanism of the Renaissance — all carries opportunity in its wake. In a clan that reveres of these times and their periods of recalibration all lineage and accomplishment as much as the Lasombra represent the broad spectrums in which Malkavian do, a Cainite’s legacy may be greatly augmented by an minds oscillate. Their highs and lows echo the manic equally meritorious childe. movements of the Lunatics’ influences, and when the And if that childe must spill blood to realize her dust of the revolution has settled, the Malkavians often potential, well, the Lasombra see no reason to apologize find that they’ve gravitated toward the dark sides of the for being vampires. events into which they were Embraced. Malkavian Nosferatu While many think of revolution in its own terms, For the Sewer Rats, revolution is often a moot point, the fractured wisdom of the Malkavians posits that because no revolution ever turns out in their favor. Even revolution is not a single act or moment, but rather a if, in the short term, something happens to benefit the Möbius band, traveling forward and ultimately turning Nosferatu, eventually things will correct themselves and in on itself before returning to the exact point at they’ll end up on the bottom of the Kindred’s collective which it began. When the Clan of the Moon imagines boots again. Whether it’s a mortal uprising that revolution, it does so in the horrific context of the deposes a hated tyrant or a coup among the Damned French Revolution, which radicalized ever more greatly that declares a new one, the Nosferatu know to take until it ultimately installed the imperial monarchy of advantage while they can, because before long, they’ll Napoleon, or the workers’ Bolshevik Revolution that be sneered at, spat upon, and abused again. From the resulted in the foundation of the USSR, in which Sewer Rat perspective, though, that actually works out crucible the depravities of Stalin became the norm. The okay. When a chaotic interlude occurs, it’s every Sewer Malkavians know very well that revolution all too often Rat for himself in a race to do whatever the fuck he consumes its adherents, as the titan Cronus devoured wants while everyone else is distracted with whatever his own children. overwrought upheaval demands their attention at the moment. It is with these understandings that Malkavians sometimes Embrace in their greatest moments of clarity For these reasons, times of rebellion and revolution during times of mortal or Cainite upheaval. Surely no provide the backdrop to many Nosferatu Embraces. one would expect that the same revolutionary fervor In times of open Jyhad, the Nosferatu bolster their motivates them all, but no few ulterior motives have ranks, for even the Book of Nod suggests that the “first driven the Lunatics to choose the height of rebellion to to die in any conflict are the Nosferatu.” In times of sire new progeny. Some do so hoping to realize Cronus’ underground subversion, the Nosferatu spawning pits fears, that their childer might one night grow so bold as teem with blasphemous unlife, calling forth the sorts to strike them down and thus earn redemption for their of hellish, fractured monstrosities best able to weather sins. Others do so out of the challenge to boundaries the coming storms. Tumult among mortals often draws that exists during times of tumult. If a lonely Lunatic the kine’s attention away from the more immediate creates a childe when the whole domain is going to hell horrors of the Nosferatu warrens that yawn beneath in a handbasket, well, that’s the least likely of personal them, and the Sewer Rats often find unrest in kine transgressions to be prosecuted when the inevitable circles to be a boon — for no one expects anything 14 INTRODUCTION other than political intrigue when agents of sedition well be performed as an ultimate act of defiance or disappear. The clan is often drawn to these idealists, as even a declaration of war, and to hell with whatever they represent childer with the ability to think critically inflated Lick thinks the domain belongs to him. More and withstand adversity. They don’t always make for than one Prince or Priest has been ruined by one of the best Nosferatu, who must eventually, as thousands the “low” kshatriyas over whom he would presume to of years of Kindred history have shown, knuckle under act as authority, and more than one hunter has stood to the primacy of almost any other clan, but little by over the bloody corpse of his companion, having little, they may well be able to improve the clan’s lot. incontrovertibly believed that she looked like the very creature they hunted. Ravnos Tremere It’s not that the Ravnos Embrace in patterns counter to this of other clans, it’s more of a question of the The Tremere have had quite enough of revolution, Deceivers not really caring one way or the other about thank you, since the last two revolutions in which they an Embrace outside the sire and childe. Greater participated yielded such favorable results for them. concerns for the potential Ravnos sire are whether the History is written by the victors, as the saying goes, and childe is being removed from her cycle of samsara. If the the Tremere managed to somehow vilify the Salubri for Ravnos childe is an auspicious Embrace, that’s far more having the temerity to be hunted and diablerized in of a motivating factor for Ravnos siring ideal than if the the Tremere pogrom of their fallen clan, and have also Peshawar Lancers lay dying on the palace steps or if the quietly assumed a guiding role in the Camarilla. Why Sepoys refuse to load their rifles. tempt fate now? For many Ravnos, the entirety of unlife is an The pragmatism of the Tremere sometimes wins insurgency, and dire times may call for dire action out over their comfort, though, and no one would when it comes to the question of progeny. What Prince ever accuse the Warlocks of being complacent. If the would grant a Deceiver the right to sire another? What indications in interesting times show that a prospective Bishop? Even domains of arguably greater personal new childe might be in the offing, or, worse, the liberty, such as Anarch territories, see an increasing Tremere detect another clan’s interest in a potential number of Kindred as a threat rather than a cause fledgling, they may well seize the opportunity to create for celebration, and itinerants often tax the already- progeny that will disappear into the hierarchy of the strained resources of such domains when they visit. Pyramid rather than proving to be a paragon of another Indeed, for many Ravnos, the act of Embracing itself clan’s ideals. Some accuse the Warlocks of “playing is a form of rebellion. Those few great and terrible dirty” in this regard, but has anyone ever heard of a Ravnos who establish themselves as the demon kings of Tremere with hurt feelings? It’s far better to write the the eastern domains are rarely better disposed toward rules than to follow someone else’s, in the outlook of the lesser Kindred of their ancestral lands, whether of most Tremere. the same lineage or not. So it goes that many Ravnos From a completely different perspective, many Embraces are performed while moving from territory modern Tremere (and forward-looking Tremere of to territory, without heed of the Traditions of any one previous eras’ Embrace) cite the disruptive nature domain. Their nomadic nature is somewhat of a boon of Thaumaturgy as a revolution in the function of to Ravnos sires and their get in this regard, for who Disciplines, or at least a breakthrough. According to knows exactly where a Deceiver was when she sired her blood magic’s practitioners, given enough time for brood’s latest member? Who’s to say that the Prince study and development, Thaumaturgy can emulate — assuming the Ravnos was in a claimed domain — or even improve upon any of the other existing denied her the petition? The fact that she sired without Disciplines. “There’s a Path for that,” as some of the anyone’s permission merely shows her commitment to more modern and technically savvy Usurpers joke. her own purpose. If the assertion is true, if Thaumaturgy can replicate This certainly isn’t to say that the Deceivers are or supersede the function of other Disciplines, and hapless victims in the ugly Jyhad. They’re vampires, if the Tremere are willing to abandon some of their as much as any other clan of Kindred, and despite lingering medieval practices of hoarding their arcane (or perhaps because of) their diminished status in the research to themselves, the Information Age may see Kindred’s more formal courts, Ravnos Embraces may a rapid increase in Tremere power and prominence. CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION 15 With enough “revolutionaries” of a modern outlook Tzimisce and research techniques, Thaumaturgy may increase To the eldest Fiends, revolution is nonsense. What in potency and versatility at an exponential rate. And does it matter which mortal pretends to hold the reins? at some point the Tremere will question whether they The only power that matters is the Master of the Dom, need the Camarilla at all. Some among the pyramid the lord in the castle on the craggy mount. The lives have already looked at the realities of secession and the and governments of mortal pass in such ephemeral associated benefits of becoming an independent house, periods as to merit little attention, and the things that clan, and sect. Who wants to be fettered by lesser motivate them — where they commit their repulsive acts vampires who are little more than remnants of the past? replete with their most noxious fluids and excretions — And if even the limitations of the undead state can be are of no interest to one seeking transcendence from set aside, a revolution in what it means to be Kindred such base muck. may loom on the horizon. Again, all of this takes effort, Should a Tzimisce lord want a tool particularly and a new generation of Tremere acolytes may help suited to a time of rebellion, he may stir himself from develop these God-challenging advancements. his eldritch lair to foist the Curse of Caine upon some Toreador unfortunate, then shove the fledgling back among his In general, the Toreador respect the traditions of the former fellows with an indelicate purpose to perform. domain when it comes to siring progeny, for what is the (See Jaromir Cerny, p. 104.) Alternatively, should Camarilla that they have so graciously helped to build if the Fiend find himself irked by the cattle’s outsized anyone can simply flout its order? That said, Toreador ambitions at shaping their fates, he may simply send a also likely lead the other clans — perhaps cumulatively — brood or a vicious ghoul to hammer down the ragged in claiming mitigating circumstances that surrounded lot of them. an Embrace during the horrors or heights of a revolt. Among younger Tzimisce, the distance of the Cainite For a Toreador, it’s easier to ask forgiveness than mind from that of mortals becomes most evident during permission, and with a deft enough tongue, asking a period of revolution. The politics and philosophies of forgiveness itself can be performed with such grace that the Damned take on a gravity to which, in comparison, the authority may be embarrassed to receive the redress. the ambitions of mortals are the dreams of swine. The Unsurprisingly, passion plays a great role in the realization of what they have become often manifests Toreador Embrace, and it’s undeniable that revolution itself at an accelerated rate during mortal rebellions or signifies a time of great passion for its participants. Kindred upheaval. For a clan already so far removed Perhaps more than any other clan, the Clan of the from its once-living origins, the separation grows Rose sees its ranks swell with new issue during times more quickly when the clan’s critical priorities are so of tumult. It has been lamented at the Degenerates’ evidently on display. A Tzimisce who once suffered expense that the Toreador Embrace during “interesting the physical cruelties of a totalitarian regime as a man times” like mortals conceive in winter; it’s what they do would find those times foolish and squalid, even as he to express the moment. hurls himself through a wall of fire in order to sink his fangs into the bleeding throat of a faltering Kindred Consider the Toreador state of mind during a elder. Times change — until they no longer do. revolution: Passions run high, times are uncertain, and the next night might be the world’s last. The Ventrue revolution may well have come paired with an artistic Few observers of Kindred society are surprised to movement or philosophical shift that the Toreador find that Ventrue Embraces during times of dissidence themselves sponsored. Quick-witted philosophes trade often take on a distinctly counter-revolutionary cast. insightful epigrams with salt-of-the-earth proletariat Given the Ventrue penchant for holding power, what as the Degenerate herself luxuriates on a velvet chaise possible cause could a Blue Blood have for rebellion? in the salon where this particularly brilliant flame of The Ventrue rule because they have always been the clan cultural wonder first flared into genesis, the world of rulership, which is as close to a syllogistic mandate outside burning with the flames of inspiration, shining as the Kindred care to observe. And as such, Ventrue redeeming light upon he superstitious shadows of a don’t Embrace to foment revolution, they Embrace to barbaric age. Under such heady influence, who wouldn’t crush revolution. The emperor must have his guards and take a lover and Embrace him in the moment’s throes? chamberlains, after all. What if tomorrow never came? 16 INTRODUCTION