The Rossellini (formerly Rosselini), also referred to as the Piccoli Fratellini ("Little Brothers") by the main Clan, are a branch of the Giovanni family that originated in Italy. They share many traits of the main family, being another family that practiced Necromancy since the Roman Empire. They are a bloodline of clan Hecata.
Overview[]
Like the Giovanni, the Rossellini had strong ties to Venice, where both families practiced necromancy. By other mages of the Middle Ages, the Rossellini were regarded as the more talented necromancers. In addition to the ways of necromancy, many Rossellini were Sorcerers. Even then, the Rossellini were often regarded as hysteric or otherwise unbalanced. After the conversion of their Giovanni rivals into a Cappadocian Bloodline, the Rossellini were, at first, unaffected, except that they began to push themselves and their arts harder in order to compete with their rivals. They were assimilated into the family after a nasty incident with Claudius Giovanni in Rome during the 16th century, who ripped out the souls of the ruffians and forced the family to swear an oath of fealty to the Giovanni.
Among the Clan, the Rossellini are known for their cruel (even by Giovanni standards) treatment of their wraith servants. More than one Giovanni secretly suspected that the reason the Rossellini wound up serving the Giovanni (and not the other way around) was philosophical more than tactical. The Giovanni pursue necromancy for the power to exalt the family. The Rossellini do it because they simply like it. It is an end in itself, and consequently, the Rossellini often try to do as much as they possibly can, as sadistically as possible, just to push the envelope. Following the Sixth Maelstrom, many Rossellini found their end when their servants turned against them, turning into hateful Spectres who sought only to destroy their tormentors.
As Revenants[]
As of V20, a part of the Rossellini has been carefully bred by Augustus Giovanni (with the use of Necromancy, as some whisper) to become Revenants, after they approached him seeking a cure for a terrible illness that had plagued them. The existence of these revenants is kept a secret even from many members within the Clan, and some fear that the Rossellini will one day usurp the Giovanni in the same way the Giovanni usurped the Cappadocians. For this reason, the Giovanni responsible for the project seek to experiment on the other branch families to form revenants more loyal to the Clan.
Family Disciplines: Dominate, Necromancy, Fortitude
Weakness: Rossellini Revenants have an inverted sight, which constantly manifests as Deathsight. Growing up in the belief that the world of the living is a nightmarish landscape filled with death and decay, many develop further derangements and have a harder time during social events or Perception rolls.
Bloodline Abilities (V5)[]
As a member of Clan Hecata, a Rossellini can purchase the following abilities:
Grave Attitude: Commanding wraiths taught you that even the Kindred will eventually cross the Shroud. This certainty gives you peace. In any attempt to intimidate or manipulate you, your aggressors always suffer a one die penalty, which stacks with other penalties.
- Ghostly Dominance: When you damage a wraith’s fetter, loved ones, or ectoplasmic form, you receive three bonus dice to any rolls to command them.
- Necromantic Expertise: When you perform an Oblivion Ceremony, decrease the Difficulty level by one.
- Stolen Will: When you bite into the fetter of a ghost under your command hard enough to damage it or cause it injury, the fetter bleeds ectoplasm drawn from the ghost’s corpus. Consuming this bitter, stringy substance mends an amount of Aggravated or Superficial Willpower damage equivalent to the ghost’s Willpower rating.
- Purge: You shred corpuses with ease. Any attack made on a ghost always causes Aggravated Health damage, even outside of the Shadowlands. You are also capable of striking them when they are intangible.
Trivia[]
The name Rossellini could be an homage to the Italian actress Isabella Rossellini , due to her role as Lisle Von Rhoman in Death Becomes Her .
Gallery[]
References[]
- VTM: Clanbook: Giovanni, p. 34
- VTM: Clanbook: Giovanni Revised, p. 32-33
- VTM: Rites of the Blood, p. 92-93
- VTM: Lore of the Clans, p. 102
- VTM: Ghouls & Revenants, p. 107-108
- DAM: Dark Ages: Mage Rulebook, p. 160
