Bloodlines: The Chosen

Bloodlines: The Chosen is the third Bloodlines book for Vampire: The Requiem. It details ten bloodlines first mentioned in the core rulebook who consider themselves somehow influential in the destiny of all Kindred.

Uniquely the content of the book is written by players and fans, who were invited in an open contest to submit their versions of 18 bloodlines from the rulebook, which White Wolf had maintained they would never write up themselves.

Summary
From the White Wolf catalog:


 * "They say we are inbred and perverse. They say we are amoral, evil. They are not wrong. But we are chosen." - Benedetto, Sangiovanni Prodigy


 * These vampires shouldn’t exist. Arrogant, violent, and proud, their notorious bloodlines discolor the weave of Kindred society. They are feared and reviled, cursed and low – and almost every single one of them identifies as an extraordinary agent of vampire destiny. For better or worse, they may be right.


 * A character sourcebook for Vampire: The Requiem™


 * Ten new, dangerous bloodlines for your chronicle
 * Unique, mysterious and frightening Disciplines, Devotions and rituals
 * Storyteller’s resource with optional mechanics and sample chronicles for bloodline stories

Prologue: Down in the Dark
Fiction by Ray Fawkes. Abbott of Nosferatu, a former Marshall and football player turned Hound for his local Prince, is captured by "vampire freaks" who wish him to join their bloodline.

Introduction
An overview of the bloodlines in the book, the content of the Appendices, and an explanation of the contest which decided which fan submissions would be published in the book.

Bloodlines
The bloodlines are presented in the usual format, but with developer's notes discussing what about the submission took the selection panel's eye and how it developed through the editing process.

Agonistes

 * by Paul Alexander Scokel

A Mekhet bloodline from the Mediterranean who practice rituals designed to penetrate the Fog of Eternity. They keep secret knowledge of many Devotions which allow them to sift through the memories of those who have slumbered in torpor.

Baddacelli

 * by Brian David Gibson

A bloodline of blind Nosferatu who live in underground warrens of their own construction. They practice a unique Discipline, Mimetismo, which provides them with superb powers of mimicry and other abilities related to sound.

Duchagne

 * by Roger William Barnes

A French Daeva bloodline who can inflict their desires onto others using their unique Discipline, Licentieux.

Noctuku

 * by Randy Ulch

Monsters among monsters, the Noctuku are a Nosferatu bloodline who prefer to feed on other Kindred rather than humans. They practice Phagia, a unique Discipline which enhances their ability to feed on vampire and mortal alike.

Rötgrafen

 * by Ty Bjarnason

A Norse Gangrel bloodline who follow a perversion of the Viking tradition. Masters of the sea, they know many Devotions which assist them when sailing.

Sangiovanni

 * by Sean Smith

Venetian vampires descended from the Mekhet clan, the Sangiovanni are necromancers following in the footsteps of an insane mortal sorcerer, from whom they take their name. Their unique sorcerous Discipline, Cattiveria, grant power over the essence of death, allowing them to create zombies.

Taifa

 * by Zachary Thomas Tyler

The Taifa are an Islamic Gangrel bloodline originating in northern Africa. They are nomads and bards, with strong traditions, including the swearing of Blood Oaths.

California Xiao

 * by Adriano Bompani

A Daeva bloodline who are devoid of all feeling. They crave living emotion and drain it from victims through the powers granted by their unique Kingjan Discipline.

Tianpàn Xiao

 * by Misha James Maroon Handman

A Daeva bloodline whose passions so threaten to overwhelm them that they must let them out at every opportunity. Their unique Discipline Xinyao allows them to manipulate the passions of others.

Yagnatia

 * by David Michael Hubbard

An aristorcratic Nosferatu bloodline with Russian roots, created by the Circle of the Crone; the line has developed a few Cruac rituals of its own. The Yagnatia have an age-old feud with an Eastern line of Ventrue.

Appendix A: Bloodlines in the Danse Macabre
A more detailed examination of bloodlines from the perspective of Kindred society, including player and in-character advice on tracking, contacting and joining bloodlines. Introduces rules for forcing another Kindred to join one's bloodline unwillingly.

Appendix B: Bloodlines in the Story
Advice for Storytellers wishing to include bloodlines in a chronicle.

Appendix C: Sample Bloodline Chronicles
Five sample chronicles which revolve around bloodlines: "The Quiet Invasion", "Marriage into the Line", "The Sudden Pogrom", "Vendetta" and "The Bitter End". Each provides story hooks, a theme and mood, notes on setting and atmosphere, and suggestions for bloodlines which would suit the chronicle well, drawn from all of those already published.

Index of Bloodlines
An index of all the Kindred bloodlines which have received detailed write-ups in published works, grouped by book, and including the parent clan, list of bloodline Disciplines, whether the bloodline knows and unique devotions and with page references.

Background Information
The other bloodlines for which fans could submit proposals were the Acteius, Anavashra, Anubi, Beni Murrahim, Cassius, Licinii, Matasuntha, Mnemosyne and Norvegi.

The book's title originally referred only to the fact that the bloodlines contained within would be chosen from fan submissions, but Ray Fawkes noticed that many of the entries had a common "superiority complex", and decided to develop this theme for the book.

A PDF document containing several bloodline write-ups which very nearly made the cut for the book was proposed for release as a free download on the White Wolf web site - Fawkes' introduction in the book mentions that it may have been made available by the time of the book's publication. It has yet to be released, however.

Prolific White Wolf freelancer Matt McFarland mentioned on the FAQ forum thread that he had submitted three bloodlines to the contest himself; none made the cut.