The Carnival

The Carnival
Plural	The Carnival
Nicknames	Freaks
Parent clan	Daeva
Disciplines	The Show, Celerity, Vigor and Majesty

“

Look at me and know what it truly means to be cursed! What is it you feel? Revulsion? Horror? Pity? No matter, for you cannot turn away, can you?

”

The Carnival are a Daeva bloodline.

Overview

This Daeva bloodline is a nomadic cult of carnival freaks. They have access to the unique Discipline The Show.

History

The progenitor of the Bloodline, Anulka, was a Slovak girl born in 1742 with both of her legs fused together. Her mother rejected her, and she was placed in an church-run orphanage. As she experienced her first menses, she was expelled from the orphanage and sold to a local businessman, who acted as a middleman to Josef Gensch.

Josef Gensch ran a circus that travelled throughout Europe, Anulka was placed in the circus as a freakshow attraction. Josef also lusted for Anulka, and as he forced himself upon her, he attracted the attention of Hagal, a Kindred who drained Josef dry and Embraced Anulka. Taking over the carnival, Hagal and Anulka enslaved members of the circus and it continued as if nothing happened, but now the spectators also paid in blood, which satisfy the owner's undead urges. When the circus returned to Prague, the owners, who put Josef in-charge, tried to reassert control but failed.

For three decades the circus travelled, but they drew the attention of influential Kindred, concerned of the midnight vampire shows threatening the masquerade. In a performance in the outskirts of Strasbourg, the audience included Kindred. As word reached the king of the performers using their Kindred powers in their performance, he was enraged and ordered the owners to be captured. Hagal was captured, tried and executed. Meanwhile, Anulka managed to escape with the help of her retainers. What remained of the circus was destroyed. Anulka retreated back to Slovakia, and started a smaller, more discreet carnival. She created her own brood of Childer, which began to mutate and gain freakish appearances.

By the mid-19th century, the Carnival had more than two dozen members, with many more Carnival groups spinning out of the original. However, the Carnival remained a secretive and limited lineage. As the Carnival started to be prosecuted in Europe, some migrated to the United States and signed up with the local circuses.

By the 1800s, large circuses waned in popularity, in favor of carnivals and sideshows. The Kindred in America were far more accepting, and the wide-open country allowed them to operate largely unopposed.

In the modern day, the Carnival remained a mostly closed society. The majority are concentrated in North America, where the Bloodline had over three dozen members. There are still small families in Europe and in the Mediterranean. There are rumors of a group in the Far East, but they are unsubstantiated.

Appearance

Physical appearance may vary, but they are always deformed or mutated in some way. Their appearance prior to joining the Bloodline is irrelevant, their appearance had been irreversibly changed into something inhuman. Each change is unique, and there is no factor to determine what kind of change someone will get. Some Freak were changed so much that they become disabled.

Discipline

Main article: The Show

Weakness

Every Freak suffer a deformity, making them standout amongst the rest of the Daeva Clan. Their bodies are twisted in a way that disgusts onlookers. Those that choose a freakier mien gain the weakness of the Nosferatu (VTR) Clan, while those who choose a physical handicap Speed is reduced to one-quarter of its standard value rounded down after any adjustments are made. Storytellers should work with players to devise appearances that both serve the interests of the players and, at the same time, fittingly impair the characters to a degree justified by the mechanics of the weaknesses. Note that a Freak cannot possess the Crippled or Deformity Flaws.

References

VTR: Bloodlines: The Legendary, p. 23-37