Drowned Legacy

The Drowned Legacies are the half-cryptid vampires rumored to have once inhabited South America. Similar to the Laibon of Africa, they are believed by some to be bloodlines or variants, while others see in them a phenomenon similar to the Kuei-jin of East Asia.

The Drowned Legacies allegedly possess the ability to mask themselves as Kindred and mask their true origin. Like chameleons, they are able to hide within Kindred society separated by their own Masquerade, waiting for the right moment to emerge. Those who believe in their existence suspect that they have been the secret rulers of South America's Kindred populations, playing the Sabbat against the Camarilla for their own inscrutable goals while operating independently from both.

Some believe that their blood allows them to emulate other supernaturals as well, and that the imitation of Kindred is just one shape their blood has taken over the centuries.

Known Legacies

Below are the common rumors about the Drowned Legacies.

Cipactli

The Cipactli are an ancient line of reptilian predators that spread from Mexico to Venezuela. They exhibit crocodilian features, similar to the Setites' ophidian affinity, and often have crocodile cults. They possess Serpentis, with the crocodile replacing the snake theme. Regarding themselves as the warders of men, they raise entire villages only to devour them in fits of mass-sacrifice.

Karai Pyhare

The Karai Pyrahe are native from Peru to Argentina. They recognize a forthcoming descendant named Tunchi, who gifted them the powers to imitate the sounds of any creature, walk without making a sound or leaving a trace, and contort their way through impossibly small spaces. Tunchi has not yet been born. When he is, he will reclaim his power.

Karai Pyrahe are believed to be prolific spawners of Dhampirs. When significant parts of their bodies are exposed, they fall into Rötschreck and retreat until they find a suitably-enclosed space.

Kalku

The Kalku are native to Argentina and Chile. They are rumored to possess a Discipline that allows them physical control over the blood in their victims, puppeteering them according to their will. The greatest Puppeteers claim they pull spirits from bodies of the wicked with their skill. Kalku are particularly vulnerable to attacks from mortals, explaining their desire to remain on good terms with the kine.

Lostundo

The Lostundo live in Ecuador and Colombia, although they are rumored to have spread along with the native drug cartels. The Lostundo can take on the traits and appearance of those they feed from, using this ability to lure their prey outside of the safety of their homes. They cannot use any of their undead abilities while in the home or haven of another, unless they consume the homeowner's blood.

Titlacauan

The Titlacauan are a Legacy without a clear point of origin, being generally active in high society. Their unique gift gives them power over reflective surfaces, allowing them to peer through reflections, and ultimately pass between them. They believe that they have no singular progenitor, instead citing a group of vampires as responsible for their creation. Their curse links to their Willpower. As the Titlacauan grows close to Frenzy, a trail of salty smoke oozes from her shoulders and head.

Tlahuelpuchi

The Tlahuelpuchi (Nahuatl for "luminous ones") are a Mexican bloodline, strongly implied to be Drowned, that possess a total immunity to fire and its effects. Only one, Efraín Barrera, has made his nature known, and nobody is quite sure if others besides him still exist, himself included. Supposedly, the majority (or entirety, save the one remaining exception) of the Legacy was wiped out by the Camarilla. In addition to their immunity to fire, the tlahuelpuchi can outright breathe fire and possess shapeshifting abilities, which they can use to turn into animals and clouds of flaming mist.

Unhudo

The Unhudo originate in the Amazon where they originally lived in trees and their canopies, preying on the humans that went by. In the modern age, their ability to climb up walls like a spider makes them effective predators in the city. The Unhudo resemble corpses mummified by intense heat, and they use their appearance while lying completely still to attract inquisitive mortals that want to investigate them. They are most common south of Nicaragua, but there is talk of Unhudo appearing as far north as Phoenix, Arizona, and one is said to be acting as the Sheriff of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Rumored Legacies

• Some believe that the Samedi, rather than being an offshoot of Cappadocian Infitiores or Nosferatu, are a Drowned Legacy.
• Mictlantecuhtli is speculated to be a member of a yet undisclosed Legacy by enthusiastic scholars.

Speculation

• The Baali methuselah Huitzilopochtli was attended by three other entities, Tezcatlipoca, Toci, and Tlaloc, which the early Sabbat conquistadors classified as vampires, but who did not clearly fit any of the established Clans.
• The Tlacique may be a Drowned Legacy.
• Pochtli may have been part of a yet undisclosed Drowned Legacy native in the Aztec Empire that later found admission into the Giovanni Clan.
• Solomon Grey, a Caitiff scholar, mentions a bloodline called "Pasdoranitas" native to Colombia. This might refer to the Drowned Legacies.

References

• VTM: Beckett's Jyhad Diary, p. 492, 495, 499, 501, 503-508
• VTM: Cults of the Blood Gods, p. 143
• HTR: 5th Edition Core Book, p. 170-172