Clan Curse

At the core of the defining traits of a vampire are the limitations that are the result of their Clan Curse. It is what sets them apart from Caitiff and rogue bloodlines. These deficits have often a deep psychological impact on the new vampire and often force him to reshape his nightly existence completly. Various Clans, however, rationalize their Curse away, others interpretate it as a hidden gift or the secondary effect of a great enlightenment or advantage to delude themselves.

According to the Book of Nod and the Erciyes Fragments, the traditional Clan Curses are the result of Caine's wrath against the Third Generation after the destruction of the Second Generation. Each participant received a curse to mark him for his betrayal. The Erciyes fragments also introduce the concept that the original concept of Caine's Curse was the limitation of the Third Generation, as well as their weakening Generation. During the time of the Second City, all Kindred had equal potential.

Below is a listing of the various Clan curses and their alleged origins. Additionally, the Tremere and Giovanni (and Brujah) are included for their alleged succession of a another Clan.

Malkavian
The Clan Curse of the Malkavians is their madness. As one of the more obvious Curses, many speculations and statements have been made on the subject. The Book of Nod states: "He cursed [Malkav]. when that one/defamed his image/and doomed him to insanity.forever.", while the Erciyes Fragments describe the cursing in the following words: "Behold, my most foolish childe./who claims madness for his/pleasure./Let him become mad in truth, so that/all may fear his company." Bahari myths tell that Malkav was cursed by Lilith along [Ventrue] and [Lasombra], when they ignited the trees of her garden and defiled her rivers. Another of the curse include that Malkav was a notorious liar and his lies nearly caused the death of Zillah. Caine, enraged, cursed Malkav with telling an infinite number of "truths" thereafter. Different tales point to Malkavs alleged ties to Lilith, claiming that she revealed a secret to him that broke his mind. Some even say Malkav was visited by an angel or angels of the Lord, who imparted unto him certain revelations that were meant to secure Caine's repentance, and that he then approached Caine and spoke to him and his brothers. Caine, in rage, was said to have struck him down for this attempt and to have then cursed his descendants with insanity. Other Clans try to explain the Malkavian Curse in their own terms, like the Followers of Set; who say that the Malkavians are the creation of Isis, who tried to grant supreme wisdom to their founder, and instead shattered his mind and all his descendants likewise, while some Tzimisce compared the Clan to the architecst of the Tower of Babel: The Malkavians have seen Heaven, but they cannot describe it to others. Most others give the Clan's peculiarities a wide berth and hope it is not infectious.

The Malkavians, for their part, seek to use their insanity for good use, referring to it as "The Sight" or "The Gift", describing it as the power to see beyond reality, aconnection to the primal chaos that would give them a connecton to life that othe Clans lacked. Some claim that Caine had no hand in cursing the Clan, and that their madness is a result of the insight that rushed through Malkav when he drank deeply from the blood of the Second Generation. Others describe their Antediluvian as more than a mere human by the time of his Embrace, as a prophet or divine messenger. Others tie it back to the Malkavian Madness Network and the psychic link between them, something explored by medieval Ordos and Oracles in Antiquity.