History Characters / VampireTheRequiem

* '''Rizzetti Apparatus:''' This thing isn't undead, on the basis it was never alive-or even mobile. The Rizzetti Apparatus is an old clockwork device from the heyday of Victorian Science, one of the first blood transfusion devices ever created (if not ''the'' first). It never went into full production, though-besides its titular inventor being murdered by his first patient, there's a very rare vital component of coral (and the [[TheSymbiote bacteria]] that live in it) that only grows in one very specific lagoon -- and that the impurity filtering process invariably puts said impurities in the donor, killing them. As for the patient, not so much-in fact, the bacteria -- filtered and infused blood is not only never rejected, but supernaturally potent. The patient [[ImmortalityImmorality ceases to age]], and for a while, is effectively in the prime of youth. Then the bacteria invariably reproduce faster than the body keep up, becoming an impurity themselves, one that consumes the patient's blood. To survive, they need another transfusion. And another. And another...

* AllMythsAreTrue: Played with. It is widely accepted by the Kindred that most mortal myths and fiction regarding vampires draw their wildly-varying interpretations of vampiric behavior and powers from half-true stories of certain clans and bloodlines, such as the Gangrel [[{{Animorphism}} shapeshifting into animals]] and the Ventrue possessing a [[HypnoticEyes hypnotic gaze]]. This also extends to myths that are apparently incorrect - while no modern vampire is averse to crossing running water, the frequency of this particular myth has led Kindred scholars to speculate that there was some long-gone bloodline that had a ban against running water, and that they almost certainly died out [[LogicalWeakness as underground plumbing began to criss-cross cities, preventing them from navigating the urban environments vampires generally rely upon to survive]].

* EmotionControl: The Blood and Smoke version of Predatory Aura does this - by sending out the psychic pulse of the beast to play havoc with fight or flight instincts, a vampire can make people act ''really stupid.''

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: They are divided into [[VampireVarietyPack several subspecies]] called "clans", each with different origins and powers, and these clans can diverge further into "bloodlines" that feature unique traits and mutations. It's unclear ''where'' they come from - the story of their common origin has been lost with time, and while some Covens have their own theories, nobody really is sure of the truth anymore. As a whole, they all share several features; including being undead, immortality, a thirst for blood, a HealingFactor, SuperSenses, the ability to slightly increase their physical abilities, enhanced durability and a vulnerability to both fire and sunlight. Stakes don't kill them, but they do cause them to fall in torpor until you remove them. Finally, being just bitten or killed by a vampire ''doesn't'' turn you into one- they have to drink all of your blood and then inject you some of their own, a process they call "The Embrace".

** '''Blood Requirement:''' Kindred can store vitae within themselves for extended periods of time, but they consume one point of vitae every morning when they sleep and most of their powers also expend vitae. The amount of vitae a given Kindred can hold and spend at a time is determined by their Blood Potency, which also determines what kind of blood they can survive on - Vampires with only 1 or 2 Potency can survive on animals, while vampires at 6 Potency or above can only properly utilize the blood of other vampires. The Beast Within craves blood constantly, and will become restless and angry if a vampire [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire only drinks what they need to survive]].
** '''Craving Type:''' Vampires ([[KissOfTheVampire and their victims]]) receive a euphoric thrill from the experience of drinking fresh blood. Conversely, the Beast Within will quickly become restless if the vampire doesn't regularly feed, which can increase a vampire's risk of experiencing [[UnstoppableRage frenzy]] - something that no vampire ''ever'' wants to happen if they can avoid it.

** '''Weaknesses:''' [[WeakToFire Fire]] and [[WeakenedByTheLight sunlight]] cause aggravated damage to vampires, which not even their HealingFactor can immediately overcome - though in second edition, vampires that maintain high Humanity can risk sunlight with only lethal damage. Being impaled through the heart can paralyze a vampire, and sufficient non-fatal damage will force a vampire into vulnerable torpor. Kindred are also prone to going berserk and feral when sufficiently angry, thirsty or frightened. Individual clans and bloodlines can also have unique weaknesses or psychological flaws.
** '''Appearance:''' All vampires are universally pale-skinned and cold to the touch, though there exist powers that allow vampires to temporarily alleviate this GlamourFailure. Most kindred remain human in appearance, but Nosferatu vampires often become [[LooksLikeOrlok overtly monstrous]] (or at least [[UncannyValley unsettling]]) upon embrace, while Gangrel can risk developing [[LittleBitBeastly mutations]] if their Humanity drops too low. The friendliness of appearance is also commonly inverted with the Daeva and Nosferatu clans - Daeva are perfectly human in appearance and supernaturally beautiful, but are typically sociopathic hedonists unable to emphasize with the emotions of others. The revolting Nosferatu, meanwhile, are known to become {{Friendly Neighborhood Vampire}}s due to being rather downtrodden in kindred society.

* '''Erzsebet:''' Vampires that [[AgeWithoutYouth still age slowly]] if they don't enter Torpor often enough. They seek to do [[TheHedonist everything they can to enjoy themselves]] during their shortening Requiems, with some even committing suicide by sunlight - just to see how it feels.

The Nosferatu embody the nightmares of the Damned. There's always something unsettling about them. It can be their voices, their smell or even [[CameBackWrong their very souls]] - regardless, the Nosferatu are really hard to like, and it's not really their fault; the Haunts' blood is conducive of PrimalFear, and they [[BrownNote make people afraid]] by simply existing near them. The Haunts are always [[FantasticRacism shunned or at least tolerated]] by the other vampires, the price for being aliens among their own kind. They counterbalance this with considerable strength, espionage mastery (rivaled only by the Mekhet) and sheer horror. As much as the other clans would like, they won't and CANNOT be ignored (unless they want to, of course).

* NightmareFace: No matter how fetching it is - Nosferatu ''are'' nightmares given flesh, and they can't escape that. Also weaponized with their Nightmare Discipline, which allows them to control and amplify it, creating effects that range from merely making yourself too terrifying for your opponents to strike at full power, to ''[[BrownNote scaring someone so much it injures them]]''.

* HypnoticEyes: Dominate, their [[SignatureMove signature Discipline]]. Notably, they didn't even realize it was a unique power until they encountered other vampires who lacked it - [[ObliviouslyEvil The Julii initially assumed people obeyed them due to their obvious superiority, rather than any unnatural compulsions.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}s: The clan was marked by their displays of glory, power, decorum and tradition, but in reality they were growing deranged and depraved. As the ''Requiem for Rome'' sidebox puts it.
--> ''"They are brutes who preach civility. They are decadents who decry perversion. They hold court in glory, yet crumble into madness with time. And though they speak of freedom, they cannot find it for themselves."''

A separate Clan from the core five, introduced in the 2E and unrelated to the Jiang Shi from ''Wicked Dead'' (see Other Vampires for those). Wraith-like vampires, while they should technically be a sixth great clan, the Jiangshi are considerably rarer than their peers because of two major reasons. For starter, their Embrace requires ''two'' deaths, as it requires transfusing to the would-be vampire the blood of [[IncorruptiblePurePureness someone extraordinarily pure]]. Second, the KissOfTheVampire is denied to them (it feels more like a particularly painless frostbite when they chow down), so they have to be really clever and subtle about feeding. Still, there's cities where they've thrived, even joined with the other Kindred - it's not like the whole two deaths thing is anywhere near the worst thing Kindred in general have to do to keep living...

* SmarterThanYouLook: The reason Belial's Brood has survived so long - in a world where serial Masquerade violators (like the stereotypical Brood member) tend to be terminated by the rest of vampire-kind with extreme prejudice, anyone above the most neonate of neonates is going to be ''smart'' about being evil and anarchic.

The Camarilla's fall is mirrored by the fall of the Roman Empire - corruption, decadence, human rioting, the depredations of the Strix and the rise of Christianity all eroded the Camarilla's grip. When the Strix finally eradicated the Julii, the surviving kindred of Dark Age Europe fell into the dis-unified, feudal culture that has colored the Dance Macabre ever since.

* AncientConspiracy: And a fairly successful one - The Camarilla began close to Rome's founding, and ruled from the shadows for nearly a thousand years; only falling when the Empire itself was breaking down around them.
* ArmyOfThievesAndWhores: The Peregrine Collegia was essentially the dumping ground of the Camarilla - foreign vampires and embraced immigrants/criminals/slaves all fell under this loosely-defined Wing, which collectively represented the impoverished lower classes of ancient kindred society.

* CulturalPosturing: Much like the Romans in real life, the vampires of Rome - and the Julii in particular - held to a manifest-destiny that placed themselves and their way of life as superior to all others; [[MoralMyopia frequently to hypocritical extents]]. A Roman vampire using a physical discipline like Vigor was demonstrating his righteous power compared to lesser beings. A 'barbarian' doing the same is accused of drawing the power from vile sorcery or pacts with the Strix.

* OminousOwl: The one thing anyone is sure about them - the appearance of the Strix always precede their operations... when the Strix aren't there for other reasons. But hey, it's ''something.''

* {{Retcon}}: Averted; White Wolf allegedly intends to keep them mysterious and will not confirm any specifics. [[LyingCreator Allegedly...]]

* OurGhoulsAreCreepier: The vampire servant variant- they are humans who were fed vampire blood, granting them a weaker version of a vampire's powers while still keeping them mostly humans, but causing them to become addict to Vitae, thus making them an excellent ServantRace. They still have human appearances, and, aside from being TheAgeless as long as they keep drinking Vitae, having a small amount of SuperStrength and being capable to learn Disciplines, they still function like human beings as well.

** ''Rogue'' ghouls, those few who have figured out how to get vampire blood without the Viniculum, are even more prone to being this - most vampires think rogues are desperate one-use mercenaries, while neglecting that said mercenaries have to be ''very smart'' about blood intake and wasting as little vitae as possible. See: Inoue, the effective Invictus Prince of Tokyo - and rogue ghoul who is running most of Tokyo's supernatural underbelly, and is the leader of a ''[[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil hunter conspiracy]]'' he founded during the Meiji Era.

* YourVampiresSuck: See above.

* '''Neglatu:''' While revenants don't have bloodlines, there is a strangely universal (as in, all of them have a branch of it) bloodline among the five Clans that [[MonsterLord style themselves parent-kings of revenants]], and if you believe them, are in fact the progenitors of all full Kindred, the first revenants to stabilize their powers and ascend to something capable of enjoying their unlives. The Neglatu (who generally think of themselves as Neglatu first and Kindred second) have the ability (not Discipline) known as the Agah, which allows revenants who sleep next to their keeper to retain more blood from night to night, the Neglatu to bestow potent buffs on their families, and even to Embrace one without losing Humanity, so long as they induct the revenant into the bloodline in the process. For all the Masquerade breaches such a group often causes as Neglatu gather more revenants than they can reasonably support and hide, their caring attitude [[BenevolentBoss is actually genuine]]. It has to be - Neglatu blood can't form Viniculum, meaning that said revenants are quite capable of [[TheDogBitesBack objecting]] to a master worse than existence as an orphan revenant.

* {{Dhampir}}: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Obviously]]. The exact details of ''how'' they are born vary - a few rare cases are born from a natural union, many are created through Blood Sorcery rituals, and some are made like ComicBook/{{Blade}} through Embracing a pregnant woman- but they always are, in some way, the child of a vampire with a living being.

* ForTheEvulz: They have no motivation at the moment, beyond pure, selfish hedonism. Even the whole "herald of disaster" bit is something they do subconsciously.
** Changed in ''Blood and Smoke''--the ''race'' has lost its purpose, but individual Strix have free will to chose their own goals, and usually do. This is ForTheEvulz as often as not, but a few have saner motivations.

* MotiveDecay: They supposedly caused the fall of vampire society in Rome. Now they're back, and no-one knows why - including the Strix themselves. Averted completely in ''Blood and Smoke''-- they have individual agendas now.

* '''Jiang Shi''': [[ChineseVampire Chinese hopping corpses]], formerly human mages as well. They only have access to [[SuperSpeed Celerity]], [[MadeOfIron Resilience]], and [[SuperStrength Vigor]], but in return they're not destroyed by anything other than [[KillItWithFire fire]] ([[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist upon "death," they teleport to their graves, torpid, at full health]]). They are like ghosts in that they cannot stray too far from their anchors, otherwise they'd teleport back. Of course, they can use living beings as anchors...
** There's actually two varieties of them, one from ''Wicked Dead'' (above), and one from ''Blood & Smoke''/2e, described above

* '''Penanggalan''': A Malaysian variety of vampire that [[TechnicallyLivingZombie can exist as a relatively normal human during the day]]. At night, [[BodyHorror its head lifts up from its body, dragging along its internal organs and leaving its hollowed-out body behind]] as it goes hunting. To keep the body from rotting whilst the head and guts are away, it has to pickle it, and so even in human form [[GlamourFailure it tends to stink of vinegar (or sometimes booze)]]. It loves the blood of pregnant women and [[EatsBabies children]], and so [[PickyPeopleEater it prefers to go after these prey]]. It can be killed by [[KillItWithFire burning it]], exposing its head-and-guts form to sunlight, or [[CruelAndUnusualDeath stuffing its hollowed torso full of blades, broken glass, thorns, etc. so that it tears its entrails apart when it squeezes inside at dawn]]. A sadistic end, perhaps, but unfortunately perhaps the best; the bite of the Penanggalan contains a [[TyphoidMary vicious wasting illness]] that often kills people the vampire would much rather leave alive (and in particularly bad cases, even Embraces them spontaneously as new Penanggalan). The only known cure is the initial vector's liver-something they are understandably reluctant to part with, even given the HealingFactor.

* '''Rizzetti Apparatus:''' This thing isn't undead, on the basis it was never alive-or even mobile. The Rizzetti Apparatus is an old clockwork device from the heyday of Victorian Science, one of the first blood transfusion devices ever created (if not ''the'' first). It never went into full production, though-besides its titular inventor being murdered by his first patient, there's a very rare vital component of coral (and the [[TheSymbiote bacteria]] that live in it) that only grows in one very specific lagoon-and that the impurity filtering process invariably pits said impurities in the donor, killing them. As for the patient, not so much-in fact, the bacteria-filtered and infused blood is not only never rejected, but supernaturally potent. The patient [[ImmortalityImmorality ceases to age]], and for a while, is effectively in the prime of youth. Then the bacteria invariably reproduce faster than the body keep up, becoming an impurity themselves, one that consumes the patient's blood. To survive, they need another transfusion. And another. And another...

They're {{expies}} of the Ventrue (or is it the other way around?). [[DealWithTheDevil Created by the Strix]], servants of the [[WarGod god Mars]], in return for sweet, bloody glory. The clan was wiped out when the Julii started to humanize as a whole. There's a few ideas about how both the Ventrue and Gangrel may have descended from them, among other theories. As revealed in ''Thousand Years of Night'', the Strix were not as thorough as they would have liked-a few Founders managed to escape the final purge and now insist ''very stringently'' they are Ventrue and Daeva, only revealing their true relations to their future childe, and the people they have thoroughly blackmailed.

* AnimalisticAbomination: Demonic bird creatures made of shadow that possess a knack for sadism and murder, the Strix are seemingly native to a place called the Lower Depths, a plane of existence so dangerous and alien that anyone who knows of it avoids even thinking of it if they wish to stay safe from its influence.

** EldritchAbomination: They seem to come from [[TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening Lower Depths.]] [[DrivenByEnvy Which explains a lot.]]

* NietzscheWannabe: They're a philosophical bunch, Forsworn. Most of it is "there is no great moral purpose for us, our point is to burn down the world."

* CompositeCharacter: Mekhet are the only vampire clan in Requiem that lacks a clear counterpart in ''[[TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade Masquerade]]'', instead incorporating aspects from various old clans. These include the Settites' AncientEgypt roots, the Tremere's "scheming mystics mage" edge, and the Lasombra's connection to shadows and darkness. They also inherit the KnowledgeBroker aspect that was associated with ''Masquerade'''s Nosferatus, and to a lesser extent, the MadOracle archetype of some Malkavians.

* CompositeCharacter: A merger of three ''Masquerade'' clans: Toreador, Brujah, and Setite, with the humanity and high-mindedness of the former two significantly downplayed, while their worst elements are in turn played up. Specifically, they have the Toreador's general aesthetic of beauty, class, and sensuality, but also the Brujah's combat prowess, short temper, dissatisfaction with stagnancy and drive towards extremes, plus the Setites' gimmick of snakes, decadence, and cults.
* {{Expy}}: They are basically a darker take on the [[TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade Toreadors]] (who have been reimagined as one of their bloodlines).

* CompositeCharacter: A merger of three ''Masquerade'' clans: Toreador, Brujah, and Setite, with the humanity and high-mindedness of the former two significantly downplayed, while their worst elements are in turn played up.

* '''Bron:''' Arthurian themed Vampires cursed by the Holy Grail to become literal [[FisherKing Fisher Kings]] in their own realms. Divided between Christian and Pagan branches (those who associate themselves with KingArthur and the Holy Grail and those who associate themselves with Pagan mythology such as Bran the Blessed).

Introduced in ''Wicked Dead'', revised to be playable in ''Half-Damned.'' [[HalfHumanHybrid Born of a vampire and living parent]] (or occasionally a vampire influencing a normal fetus to embody some of his nature) dhampirs are gifted and cursed by the occult significance of their birth; besides the smallest embers of a Beast and blood toxic to vampires, dhampirs are [[TheChosenMany at the center of a whirlwind of fate]], each one possessing a Destiny that can be embraced or denied for willpower. Their close relationship with fate and omens makes them natural {{Seer}}s, and gives them [[WindsOfDestinyChange subconscious control over omens]], as well as a unique form of BloodMagic, the [[CastFromHitPoints Malisons]].

* '''Duchagne:''' A group of French sadists and hedonists that have power over the sensations of others.

* '''Agonistes:''' Scholarly vampires that are driven to find the history behind the Kindred.

* '''Morbus:''' Disease carriers that [[PlagueMaster spread]] disease in order to survive.

* '''Sangiovanni:''' A SpiritualSuccessor of the last edition's Giovanni clan, only they're now inbred mafia necromancers with a [[TakeThat tendency]] to [[PerverseSexuallust date]] [[{{Squick}} less animate]] [[ILoveTheDead dead]], often with family [[UpToEleven approved]] [[IncestIsRelative partners]].

* RedRightHand: All of them have ''some form'' of uglyness, though it's sometimes more subtle than others.

* '''Burakumin:''' Japanese Necromancers from the social class of the same name.

* '''Yagnatia:''' Vampires of Russian nobility. Most are actually very attractive; their Nosferatu curse manifests as an aura of horrible dread surrounding them. They are exclusively allied with the Circle of the Crone, and though they present a patriarchal front to outsiders, the truth is that they're TheMatriarchy: only the female members of the bloodline can learn and perform the Cruac ritual that temporarily alleviates a Yagnatia's sterility and allows him or her to Embrace.

* '''Rotgrafen:''' Vampiric viking pirates who revere Loki and Hel, and fear fire.

* '''Moroi:''' Despite their relatively small numbers, these vampires are mostly unknown, and the Ordo Dracul intend to keep it that way. Reputedly developing on their own from both Gangrel and Nosferatu in a remote area of rural Romania, they were visited by Dracula, who shared his knowledge and spoke with them on many topics. The Hunters, as they would one day be known, promised to serve him if he ever had need and called for them. Some time after he vanished, they reappeared, having hunted down and slain many of those who attempted persecution of the Dragons in the covenant's early, vulnerable years. Those who joined the covenant have since been used as hunters and assassins. Those who did not were either hunted down... or escaped. Brutal and malicious, the mingled blood of Savages and Haunts has produced a perfect killing machine--but the machine is decidedly imperfect at doing anything else.

* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Well, if you have a female Ventrue as a Prince (especially if she belongs to the [[DeadlyDecadentCourt Invictus]]), she'll most likely be this.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: They ''pioneered'' it. The entire Covenant consists mostly in either elder vampires who are in powers and trying to stay so, or younger one who are trying to make their way to the top, frequently through backstabbing.

* {{Teleportation}}: A limited form; Jiang Shi are capable of instantly teleport to their "grave" if needed (read: the point they chose to mark as their grave).

* EmotionControl: The Blood and Smoke version of Predatory Aura does this-by sending out the psychic pulse of the beast to play havoc with fight or flight instincts, a vampire can make people act ''really stupid.''

* {{invoked}} {{Magnificent Bastard}}s: They tend to see themselves as this, and about half of them actually are.

Also known as Seven, [=Se7en=] or Clan Akhud. A covenant and sometimes a clan or some other group that are alien and monstrous even by Kindred standards. They don't provoke the Beast when meeting Kindred, they're known mostly by graffiti left at crime scenes and are a total enigma to the rest of Kindred society. When the origin being used defines them as a clan they're Clan Akhud, and have a literal demon trapped inside them instead of the Beast that afflicts other vampires. The other "canonical" (such as it is) origins are that they're a completely different variety of vampire with Russian origins. Or they're a failed creation of the Sanctum turned [[MoreThanMindControl brainwashed]] [[KnightTemplar moralists]].

* '''Order Of St Martin:''' Originally a [[KnightTemplar Crusading Order]] [[KnightInShiningArmor Of Knightly Lepers]]; now a loose network of, rightfully, distrusted hired thugs, [[NeverLiveItDown with leprosy.]]

* [[invoked]]'''Geheim:''' Vampires chosen from the ranks of Austrian nobility, they can use their own blood to power a strange form of alchemy. [[NeverLiveItDown They lost much of their status and influence]] [[ThoseWackyNazis when they cast their lot with the Nazis in WWII]].

* ReligiousVampire: Obviously their hat; despite acknowledging themselves as damned, the Lancea Est Sanctum believe they have a place in God's plan, and still worship him through the Testament of Longinus.

** EvenTheGirlsWantHer[=/=]EvenTheGuysWantHim: Because their attractiveness is based at least partially in mystical charms, ordinary sexuality isn't enough to protect you against being attracted to them.
** HelloNurse

* '''Qedeshah:''' A line of MamaBear nurses, thoroughly the opposite of HelloNurse. Attempting to induct men into the bloodline ends with a failed {{Squick}}.

** Any vampire with the [[HelloNurse Striking Looks]] may qualify as well, but once again [[BeautyEqualsGoodness Beauty]] may [[BeautyIsBad not equal goodness]].

* EvilIsDeathlyCold: Their main theme; they lived in Siberia (one of the coldest parts of Europe), were nicknamed ''Winter'' Kings, and their Clan Bane causes them to fall in Torpor during the spring equinox.

A particularly bizarre brand of Slavic Kindred, the Pijavica distinguish themselves by their very strange and complex life cycle; upon being Embraced, the would-be new vampire seemingly dies, his corpse bloating. Unless burnt, they then eventually burst, producing [[BlobMonster an animated, sentient mass of blood]] with the same weakness than a vampire, who then has to feed by drinking blood dipping on the ground, before slowly maturing into a human form as it gains in power. It is believed they disappeared due to this strange cycle of life, which made it hard for them to survive. Their name means "Leech".

A particularly bizarre brand of Slavic Kindred, the Pijavica distinguish themselves by their very strange and complex life cycle; upon being Embraced, the would-be new vampire seemingly dies, his corpse bloating. Unless burnt, they then eventually burst, producing [[BlobMonster an animated, sentient mass of blood]] with the same weakness than a vampire, who then has to feed by drinking blood dipping on the ground, before slowly maturing into a human form as it gains in power. It is believed they disappeared due to this strange cycle of life, which made it hard for them to survive.

* MultipleChoicePast: In their sourcebook 3 are given, but WordOfGod says they're neither true nor false and encourages [[GameMaster Storytellers]] to create their own twisted backgrounds.