Les Gens Libres

Les Gens Libres ("The Free People") are a Haitian bloodline of Kindred originating from the time of the Haitian Revolution. Originally made up of former slaves, the Gens Libres now welcome anyone fleeing any form of oppression, and believe their vampiric powers are a tool to turn the tables on their former oppressors.

The first wave of Kindred settlement in Haiti were whites who co-opted the native Voudoun religion as a means of controlling their enslaved herds. This outraged the Lancea et Sanctum, and on the even of the Revolution a second wave of Europeans arrived in Haiti to purge the blasphemers. They took ruthless advantage of the handful of former slaves who had been Embraced, turning their anger against the first wave to drive them out.

This did not mean the second wave saw the Freedmen as equals; in fact, they planned to use the black vampires as feeding stock for elders who could no longer draw adequate vitae from mortal vessels. To this end, they quietly developed a device called a Blood Compass to allow them to track the bloodline, and took measures to breed out their original predisposition for the Protean discipline to make them easier to control. It is unlikely that any modern Freedmen are aware of this, and only a few Blood Compasses remain in the world tonight.

Les Gens Libres are, first and foremost, freedom fighters, and they will oppose anyone and anything they see standing in the way of someone else's freedom. Initiation is open to Kindred of any clan, provided they prove their commitment to the cause by rescuing someone from oppression. (Note that the person they rescue doesn't necessarily get a say in whether they're being oppressed.) In addition to their original clan weakness, those who join this bloodline lose the ability to form a Vinculum. In the minds of most Freedmen, that's a good thing, since blood bonds are tantamount to slavery.

In modern nights, the Gens Libres can be found around the world, and they are formidable when they manage to gather in large numbers. Their Devotions allow them to break another's blood bond, evade mind control, and communicate telepathically.