Samedi

Overview
A bloodline within Vampire: The Masquerade, the Samedi have a relatively short but immensely curious history within kindred society. Originating most likely in the Carribean, the bloodline's members all seem to resemble a zombie or a corpse. Unlike the Nosferatu, who merely become disfigured, the body of the Samedi appears to be in a constant state of decay. Social interactions often fail miserably, as do attempts to integrate into mortal society. Rotting chunks of flesh fall off of their bodies with increasing frequency as they age, and the smell of death clings to them wherever they roam.

History
The Samedi were first encountered in Italy and Carribean, and the bloodline has only been known to exist for the last several hundred years. While there is not a wealth of information available on the bloodline's history, they seem to have some sort of kinship with both the Giovanni and the Nosferatu. Like the Giovanni, they possess Necromancy and exhibit a morbid fascination with death and dying. Like the Nosferatu, they are absolutely hideous to behold. Each member of the Samedi bloodline appears as a corpse in an advanced stage of decomposition, and their bodies radiate the smell of rotting flesh.

The clan has spread slowly across the globe, though they remain quite small in number. Most progeny are picked from mortals obsessed with death and dying. Those who worked in the mortuary field during their mortal lives appear to be very common, and many members of the clan seem to possess some sort of tranquility with their own mortality.

Organization
The Samedi very rarely congregate as a clan, and those chance occurances where they meet are merely informal gatherings of two or three members who gossip and then go their separate ways. The bloodline claims absolutely no affiliation with any sect or cause, though it has members within the ranks of both the Camarilla and the Sabbat.

Many Samedi find employment among kindred society in the form of assassins or bodyguards. While not as skilled in the ways of battle as the Assamites, they prove to be potent foes. Their use of Thanatosis and Necromancy cause other clans to adopt a healthy fear of the Samedi, if not respect.

The members of the clan are often very solitary in nature, and they don't often seek out companionship. Those lucky enough to have actually conversed with a member of this bloodline often recall a certain wisdom and intelligence within them that otherwise would have been overlooked or dismissed outright. While obsessed with death, most of these vampires still seem to possess a wisdom that betrays their short existance.