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. There is no way to fundamentally alter or otherwise affect a Clan Curse, best demonstrated on the visage of the Nosferatu, which stays the same regardless of cosmetic changes made via supernatural means like Vicissitude. The Gehenna scenario "Nightshade" furthermore details how all Clan Curses become more severe and intermingle with signature Disciplines as the End Times progress.

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 draft of Caine's Curse was the limitation of the Third Generation, as well as their weakening Generation, to supplant another revolt of childe against sire.

Below is a listing of the various Clan curses and their alleged origins. Additionally, the Baali, Tremere and Giovanni (and Brujah) are included for their alleged lineage from a member of the Third Generation.

Assamite
The Assamites have been cursed multiple times, altering their original Clan Curse. The Erciyes Fragments state: "Behold my most deadly childe/who loved murder for its own sake/Let him be addicted to the taste of /killing, so that all may fear/and loathe him.". Followers of Set describe the Assamite as children of the hunter-goddes Neith, tied to the astrological sign of Sagittarius, and their discipline over the hungry Beast as their gift, but that the tranquility of their Beast is the result of regular feedings with vampire blood. The Assamites themselves, however, claim that Haqim was never cursed by Caine and that the weakness of his descendants stem from his monomanical fixation on one focus or passion or duty to the exclusion of all else. This defining trait carried itself through the Blood, marking his lines with that aspect of his personality : The Vizier Caste, the first of the line, are solely focused on one scholary task, in a similar manner to the Clan weakness of the Toreador. The Warrior Caste was marked with the black stains of Diablerie from the moment of their Embrace, presumably as visible markings of their duty as Judges to other Cainites. The Sorcerer Caste carried an aura that would betray them as blood magicians, in order to differentiate them from other blood mages. As all Castes are an equal part of the Clan, it is likely that their Antediluvian had a personal hand in shaping the properties of their blood, as evidenced in the "Heartblood" in the heart of Alamut. . Indeed, some Malkavians postulate that Haqim has ceased to exist as a corporeal entity, instead manifesting in the blood of his Children. Their mutability and flexibility of their vitae may have played a role in the susceptibility of the Clan to Blood Curses.

The Assamites have been afflicted by two Blood Curses cast on them by their enemies; the Baali and the Tremere. The first curse was levied in 636 by the Baali, with the aid of the demonic Decani, against the Warrior Caste, in order to fill them with a murderous hunger for Cainite vitae, ruining their reputation among the other Clans and transforming the ritualistic Amaranth of a guilty culprit into the desire to consume. The Assamite began to rationalize the curse as a desire to become One with Haqim, but the Elders among them know the curse's origin. The second curse was the result of the Treaty of Tyre in 1496 and imposed by the Council of Seven from the Tremere Clan. It made Cainite vitae poisonous to Assamites, making Diablerie impossible. In order to sate their craving for vitae and Diablerie imposed by the Baali curse, the Sorcerer Caste developed alchemical potions brewed from vampire blood. The Tremere curse was lifted by ur-Shulgi in 1998, using the Heartblood as a catalyst. The mighty Methuselah now searches for a way to end the Baali curse, but had no successes yet. After abstaining for so long from Cainite vitae, most Warriors quickly become addicted to the taste in addition to their hunger of Diablerie. For a long period of time, the blood magic of the Sorcerers had also been weakened as ur-Shulgi used their blood ties to him in order to fuel his awakening, resulting in a need to expend more blood point in order to cast spells. Additionally, all Assamites succumb to the "Darkening" (except Al-Ashrad for unknown reasons), which turns their skin darker with each passing year, until they have the complexion of obsidian.

Baali
As the Baali have multiple origin myths, so are the explanations for their weakness against the powers of True Faith. The story of the Slave Boy tells how Caine strips Shaitan of his beauty and power, to reveal his wicked heart, and Shaitan makes a deal with the forces of darkness to avenge himself. Others describe a nameless Methuselah, whose soul and that of its childer were condemned to the demons of the Pit. Most pious Kindred insisted that the vileness of the Baali had earned them the ire of God and that they felt his wrath more intense because of this.

The elder Baali themselves were perplexed by the fact that they could be harmed by faiths that they actually predated and ascribed it to an untapped inner potential or even a secret allegiance to forces similar to those of the Baali. Younger Baali often allocate their susceptibility to their dealings with the netherworlds and occupants of strange places beyond the reach of God.

Cappadocians
The Clan Curse of the Cappadocians was their deathly pallor. The Erciyes Fragments state: "He, who loved death for death's/own sake/Shall wear death's coutenance for/all to see and fear." Bahari myths tell that [Cappadocius] was cursed by Lilith along [Ravnos],[Gangrel] and [Saulot], when they feasted on the flesh of her children .Cappadocius himself, however, was one the more reclusive Antediluvians, apparently content with reading books, making his execration difficult to understand in Noddistic concepts, especially since other Antediluvians (Haqim, Saulot) were apparently spared from Caine's wrath. Other accords claim that something during Cappadocius Embrace went wrong, that when he died, vengeful shades from the netherworld clung to him and fragmented his soul during the Embrace, causing his obsession with death (due to the unconscious desire to reunite his soul) and the paling of his body. Caine merely cursed his childer to share Cappadocius incomplete Embrace. The Followers of Set associated the Clan with Anubis and the astrological sign of Virgo, who granted them their affinity to the afterlife, but could not shield them from the taint of the death-realms that would disfigure them.

With the extinction of the Cappadocians and their devolvement into separate bloodlines, who often have a derived weakness (the skeletal appearence of the Harbingers of Skulls, the rotten appearence of the Samedi etc.), the Cappadocian weakness has nearly vanished. Some Giovanni, however, exhibit the traits of their old Clan and are called Premascine. Most of these are ancient and have been Embraced directly by Cappadocians (Ambrogino Giovanni is one exemple).

Followers of Set
The Clan Curse of the Followers of Set is their higher vulnerability to the effects of bright light. The Erciyes Fragments state: "He who reveled in the darkness/of his own foul hunger/Shall be bound to that darkness/forever, kin to the most vile,/accursed by God". Bahari myths tell that [Set] was cursed by Lilith along [Brujah] and [Tzimisce], when they slaughtered Lilith's children. The Setites themselves, with their different orgin myth distanced from the biblical tale of Caine, have their own explanations. Their myth retells the story of Set and Osiris as detailed in the various Osiris myths myths within Egypt, but they continue Set's story after he was defeated by Horus and banished into Duat, cursed by Re to never abide his sight again. By accord of the Setite Elder Shenebti, he battled and killed Apep, the Devourer, during his stay in the Underworld. With Apep’s death he took on Apep’s dark wisdom (along with further vulnerability to bright light) and learned secrets hidden from the beginning of the world. When Re created the world, he gave it life through his own semen, creating gods and the souls of human beings alike. Souls differed in size but not in kind. Set realized the truth: All souls could grow as mighty as their tyrant father and become creators themselves. He returned to the living world disguised as a serpent, vowing to topple Re and his tyranny. He gathered disciples, but was betrayed by the Moon and found himself betrayed again by them, as they pleaded for mercy before the other gods when Re cursed them to flee the light of the sun, becoming unable to carry children and feed on blood only. Other stories among the Clan are similar, mainly that Re is the one who cursed Set. These myths also feature the river of Duat as source of Set's power, in contrast to the heart of Apep, and that he struggles against the falsehood of civilization to lead people back to the simple days of the hunter-gatherer cultures, where no distinction made by moral was made and the Underworld was a much more tranquil place. The Clan's mythology also explains the orgin and weaknesses of the other Clans: In order to combat Set's hold on the world, Ra commanded Seker, the god of darkness and eternal death, to take water from Duat and bless it. Then Ra poured the water into twelve bowls and gave it to twelve gods, who each added their own immortal blood. Each god chose one of the treacherous disciples and made him drink the divine blood and deathly water, turning him or her into an undead god like Set, with whom they shared the original curses from Re to drink blood, hide from the sun and becoming half-dead. The gods then bade their twelve apostles to sire childer, as Set did, and lead them in war against their creator. In order to ensure continuity, they bound their existence to the Dodecad of the Zodiac, so that even if one of their numbers would be destroyed, another would rise. The Setites are tied to the hidden sign of the Ophiuchus, outside the dodecad and yet a part of it. Even Noddists among the Clan believe that Set suffered from sunlight not because of Caine's curse, but because he opposed Osiris (a vampire in this tale, embraced by an unknown Antediluvian who envied Set)reign, who was favored by his own grandfather, Re (a deified figure).

As a result, few Setites are startled by their weakness, instead, it reassures their existence as the children of a divine being who rebelled against a tyrant. The Modern Nights, however, introduce much more bright light than those of antiquity: floodlights, fluorescent light, glaring illumination of buildings and similar sources of bright light have become ever-present in the modern world, driving the Setites even more into hiding. Some Clan Elders, assembled in the House of Eclipse, have begun to plot to blot out the sun, supporting various figures around the world with similar goals, all the while encouraging the emission of vapors and smoke to generate clouds to achieve their goal at least partially.

Gangrel
The Clan Curse of the Gangrel are bestial features that disfigure them permanently after every Frenzy. As the curse of the Gangrel is difficult to overlook (and the Gangrel are a rather fractured Clan), many stories are told over the origin of these "Beast Marks", as they are called. The Erciyes Fragments state: "She who used the wild beasts for/allies in her killing/Shall become a Beast herself/that all men revile her.". Bahari myths tell that [Gangrel] was cursed by Lilith along [Ravnos],[Saulot] and [Cappadocius], when they feasted on the flesh of her children .Different accounts state that the Gangrel Antediluvian, usually called Ennoia, was brougt into the fold of the undead against her will and she fled the First City, only to be pursued by Caine. These sources claim that Ennoia gained her bestial features by feeding only from animals for an extended period of time or that it was a gift from God himself. Other Noddists claim that Caine punished Ennoia for the sin of coupling with animals. Some Gangrel myths claim that Ennoia was the one who spoke the curse upon her wayward children for deserting their duty to fight against Churka, commonly believed to be the Ravnos Antediluvian, with hunger for blood, aversion against sunlight and the loss of their connection to the creatures of the wilds, although she later taught repentant members of her line how to re-access them. Other Clans have other stories that tie into their respective mythologies: The Followers of Set state that the goddess Tefnut, as well as the zodiac sign of Leo, gave the Gangrel their powers. She enjoyed taking the form of a lion and wandering through desert places, losing herself in her beast form until Thoth found her and brough her back. The Gangrel take after her: they love to travel, and with time theirappearance and mannerisms become more bestial. The Ravnos of India, however, claimed that Ennoia was created by the gods alongside Zapathasura to fight against the asuratizayya. She, however, abandoned her duty and cursed the gods for bringing her into existence, leaving her to be cursed in exchange to "dwell among the beasts and find no safe haven anywhere in the world" along with marking her with bestial features, so that she could be reckognize by everyone. The Romani Ravnos claim that Ennoia betrayed her progenitor (the Ravnos Antediluvian) after having been accepted into his extended family and that Caine cursed her with restlessness and to become the Beast she had proven herself to be.

Other clans speak derogatorily of the Gangrel's animalisticfeatures as the results of "losing control." This is not strictly true: Any frenzy, whether entered willingly or fiercely resisted, inflicts the same penalty upon the Outlanders. Gangrel entering Rötschreck may not suffer thiscurse; so long as the vampire obeys the "flight" tenet of the Red Fear, she does not acquire an animal feature. A cornered Gangrel who resorts to the "fight" half of the equation will regain her senses to find another feral feature, as even necessary violence brings the Beast bubbling to the fore. Most of the features caused by the Beast are visible and clearly animal or even insectoid in origin. Others can be smelled or heard, like a pungent musk or shrill, cawing voice. In some cases, the Gangrel is left with animalistic impulses and behaviors as result of frenzy. These are psychological aberrations, similar to derangements, but far less crippling individually. The variation of animal features within the clan is astonishing. No two Gangrel have ever developed the exact same set of features, although basic trends may be passed from sire to childe. The pagan Gangrel believed these features to be manifestations of the beast-soul, the shape that the soul assumes after death or during sleep, and that each Beast Mark was a sign that the Gangrel had become closer to the connection to the living world he lost during his Embrace. Lack of any bestial features has been seen as a sign of a weak soul-beast among these Gangrel.

Giovanni
The Clan Curse of the Giovanni is their excrutiating painful Kiss. As the family usurped control of the Clan from the Cappadocians in the 14th century, they have not been cursed by Caine (although the Prophecies within the Erciyes Fragments tell about the eventual fate of the Clan, which is not very assuring ) When Augustus Giovanni received the blood of Cappadocius, Japheth, arbiter of the Embrace, spoke: ''"He who partakes of this boon shall forever be judged by this blood and by the will of God. Color this viate with the deeds of its drinker. Let him sup with his soul every time he feeds. Deliver this blight upon him as the Founder delivers this stigma to us." ''When Augustus betrayed the Cappadocians and diablerized his sire, the curse took hold. Other call the curse of the Giovanni "Lamia's Kiss", claiming it to be the curse from the Lamia bloodline, who were servants to the Cappadocians, when their leader was diablerized by Augustus.

As their feedings is most often lethal and can severely endanger the Masquerade, most Giovanni are discret, feeding from blood banks and other secondary sources like corpses. Also, Giovanni are under no illusion that they are anything but inhuman, as each feeding session proves again.

Lasombra
The Clan Curse of the Lasombra is their lacking reflection. The Erciyes Fragments state: "Behold my darkest childe, who/killed with shadow./Let the shadows veil his soul, so/that all may know his crime." Bahari myths tell that [Lasombra] was cursed by Lilith along [Ventrue] and [Malkav], when they ignited the trees of her garden and defiled her rivers .During the Middle Ages and Lasombra influence in the Church, rumors circulated about the Devil as source behind their curse, who punished all of the Clan of Night for their vanity in daring to call on a power darker than his own, and hence stole all of their reflections or claimed that their true curse was to exist as eternal conduits to the Abyss, that they might perpetually confronted by the inner darkness of the undead form. The Followers of Set tell that the Clan is the creation of Amon, tied to the zodiac sign of Aries, who impressed their lust of power into their blood, and that [Lasombra] casted his own shadow out so that no one could see him approaching from behind. Most Lasombra, however, do not concern themselves with the origin of their curse, instead wearing it as a badge of pride that separates them from other Clans and the Kine.

The lack of a reflection, however, has real psychological consequences most Lasombra rarely speak about. An obsession with one's appearence, using ghouls to keep it unchanging, as well as regulary pose for portraits as the only way to see if they have changed, are regular results and some Lasombra are reported to sit in mirrored rooms for hours, contemplating their apparent non-existence before storming again into the world to prove that they, in fact, exist and that their existence has an impact, regardless what the mirrors tell them. There are, however, some Lasombra who manage to cast a blurry and shadowy reflection, although they appear like Spirit photographies.

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, under the influence of the zodiac sign of Cancer, 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.

Tremere
The Tremere, as creations of a hermetic potion that resulted in their Embrace, used to not having a Clan Curse (although the Prophecies of the Erciyes Fragments mention their usurpation of the Salubri and their eventual judgement and destruction ). For fifteen years, the Clan existed without a weakness, until Tremere reorganized the growing Clan into the Pyramid, after a nasty incident in Thessalonicia in 1036 that resulted from the infighting of Etrius and Goratrix. To ensure secrecy and obedience to his word, Tremere blood-bonded the first seven members of the Clan, who would blood-bond their childer to themselves as well as Tremere, who in turn would use the Blood Bond on their childer in addition to that of the Council of Seven and so forth. In the Modern Nights, each fledgling is bound to the Council in a ceremony called the Transsubstantiation of the Seven, in which a chalice with the blood of the Council is inbibed into him right after the blood the future sire provides for the Embrace itself. After that, the childe is indoctrinated into absolute loyalty to the Clan and the Code of Tremere before it is formally introduced to the local Prince. Ascendance within the Clan goes hand-to-hand with more blood bonds, ensuring the loyalty of the Clan member and safeguarding the secrets of the Clan. In Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, the Tremere dependency on blood is even more pronounced than that of other Kindred. It takes only two draughts of another vampire's blood for a Tremere to become blood bound instead of the normal three -- the first drink counts as if the Tremere had taken two drinks. As a result, those rare vampires, who are immune to the Blood Bond are able to negate the Clan Curse of the Tremere altogether.

As a result of their tight organization, as well as deliberate misinformation, the Tremere seem to be one of the most uniform Clans, as their internal hierarchy, such as Circles of Mysteries, are known only to themselves and their superior. The Tremere antitribu suffered from a similar curse, casted by the Council of Seven, who would mark their foreheads with magic, allowing them to be located by any loyal member of the Clan (some voices within the Clan, however, ask why the Council did not outright destroy the rebels) until their destruction by an unknown party in 1999. Additionally, each Tremere carries a seed of the Tzimisce Antediluvian within him, as they used Tzimisce blood for the potion that turned them, meaning that the Eldest can also willingly control and access their bodies, if he would choose to reform himself.

Tzimisce
The Clan Curse of the Tzimisce is their need to rest in "native soil" - earth from a place important to it as a mortal. The Erciyes Fragments state: "Behold, my most loveless childe/who fed upon his brother's pain./Let him know equal torment in /any domain but its own." Bahari myths tell that [Tzimisce] was cursed by Lilith along [Set] and [Brujah], when they slaughtered Lilith's children. The Followers of Set believe that the Tzimisce are the creations of Geb, who placed their lineage under the dominion of Scorpio. The Earth-God gave them the dominion over flesh, but tied them to the soil of their homeland in exchange. The Clan itself claims that [Tzimisce] left the First City long before the Deluge, however, and Caine cursed them in absentia, for dealing with the demon Kupala under the Carpathians and their inhospitability to their brethren following the Deluge. Koldun believe the weakness is a debt to the land-spirits of their native domains, whose power affects all that falls under the shadow of the Carpathians and had nothing to do with Caine's cursing of the other Antediluvians. Some more arcane researchers state that Vicissitude's tendence of fluctuating creates the need of a stabilizer in order for the Tzimisce to retain his shape, which is supplied via the sympathetic connection of native soil. Whatever the case, their dealings with the soil-bound entity Kupala, as well their territorial nature, became the clan’s anathema when the curse forced them to sleep upon their native soil for true rest. Some Tzimisce are so attuned to it that they can only rest in the soil touched by Kupala.

The Clan Curse of the Tzimisce is one of the reasons for their unwillingness to travel. Their power is tied to the earth they inhabit and if they leave they weaken, which could be lethal in the werewolf-infested Old Country. Agoraphobia is common among the more sensitive members of the Clan, as their connection to the earth makes them uncomfortable in open spaces. The Voivodes of old would exist in symbiosis with the spirits, offering blood sacrifices to renew the earth, infusing the land with his essence and practically ghouling it in exchange for strength and shelter. In addition, Vicissitude is sometimes seen as a entity in itself of parasitic origin - either as a manifestation of alien creatures from strange spiritual realms or as a manifestation of the presence of the Tzimisce Antediluvian within the vampire afflicted, in order to spread itself enough to achieve Azhi Dahaka.

Ventrue
The clan weakness of the Ventrue are their exquisite tastes of blood that forces them to cultivate humans with the trait that makes them digestable. The Erciyes Fragments state: "Behold, my proudest childe whose/own pride betrayed him./Let the blood of the humble/ sicken him and give him no/substenance." Bahari myths tell that [Ventrue] was cursed by Lilith along [Malkav] and [Lasombra], when they ignited the trees of her garden and defiled her rivers. The Followers of Set believe that the Ventrue are the chief jailers of Creation, formed by Atum-Ra and under the dominion of the Capricorn, and that their weakness is simply a result of their closeness to the stifling influence of the Aeons, ehich brings about habituality and stagnation. Those Ventrue versed in Noddism tend to deny that they were cursed, and insist that their feeding restrictions must have different origins. Indeed, many see [Ventrue] as favored of the Third Generation, chosen by Caine to be his successor (though other Clans dispute that claim). Some presume that it is a defect that spread after the Clan fed and lived among destabilized nobles for so long. Others dispute that it is a curse at all and that their taste is simply, rarefied to the point of exclusivity, something the lesser Clans cannot understand.

The clan weakness of the Ventrue is mutable; if a given mortal demographic dies out, another fills it niche; as the Ventrue Andrew Seneca and Democritus demonstrate. Others tell of crippling overspecializations, of Ventrue who could only drink the blood of one specific mortal. Fledgling Ventrue are able to ingest any blood, but when they make their first decision to prey upon a human, they are unable to change it, leading some Ventrue to speculate that a neonate on the constant verge of Frenzy might have a chance to bypass their curse (although few of the rarified Ventrue would ever choose such an existence). There are groups among the Ventrue that take pride in consuming only the blood of the finest specimen, so called Vintage Clubs. Vampire blood, however, is exempt from the clan weakness.