History Characters / VampireTheMasqueradeSabbat

* BigBadWannabe: The Sabbat openly want to rule the world and subjugate the human race, which is not very likely: not only is Sabbat territory limited to Latin America, Spain and the poorer parts of the United States, they also have to compete with the other supernatural powers of the World of Darkness. [[TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse Pentex]] is everywhere and is their prime competition for who can be the most cartoonishly evil and [[TabletopGame/MageTheAscension the Technocracy]] has fingers in every pie and is advanced enough to explore other star systems, and make Terminators on the side. When Zapathasura awoke, the Technocracy was [[UncertainDoom (allegedly)]] able to kill him using space mirrors to redirect sunlight into the Ravnos Antediluvian after he shrugged off their magical nukes while fighting off packs of Garou and mages and three old and powerful Kuei-Jin while the Sabbat's only contribution to that fight was pinning down their Ravnos pack mates and keeping them from joining their Antediluvian. And all that is discounting [[TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse the Garou]], {{TabletopGame/K|indredOfTheEast}}uei-Jin, {{TabletopGame/Hunter|TheReckoning}}s, {{TabletopGame/Changeling|TheDreaming}}s, {{TabletopGame/Mumm|yTheResurrection}}ies, [[TabletopGame/MageTheAscension the Traditions and the Crafts]], [[TabletopGame/DemonTheFallen the Fallen and the Earthbound]] and... look, Sabbat victory is not likely. The Sabbat could have been a dark mirror of Camarilla, but in the modern nights they are little more than a swarm of borderline insane monsters.
** And those two Antediluvians that the Sabbat killed? They're not dead. Lasombra used his own diablerization in order to unshackle his soul from his body and enter the Abyss: he is now trying to merge with it. Meanwhile, Tzimisce has gone through a whole deal of stuff and is now currently a massive growth of flesh in the sewers of New York, biding its time. So, good going there, Sabbat.

* MirroringFactions: The Sabbat claim that the Camarilla are Antediluvian puppets ignoring the Masquerade as they see fit, and that only they are able to destroy the 11 remaining Antediluvians in order to save the world. In practice, the Sabbat is almost exactly like the Camarilla that they claim to hate. The Sabbat's inner circle, the True Black Hand, is directly serving the Antediluvians, they have their own Masquerade: the Lasombra payoff Mexican authorities to ignore them, ghoul families (particularly Zantosa) clean up messes, and the Tzimisce pretend to not be vampires in their domains in the old world, and instead of being a beacon of freedom it's a tyrannical shithole whose mortal population would go extinct if the Sabbat could openly do what they want; even their vampires aren't "free", they are blood bound to their packmates.

* EqualOpportunityEvil: Played with as while twelve of the thirteen clans were represented as well as an equal status "Clan" for Caitiff called the Panders, none of the ''antitribu'' are as respected as the Lasombra or Tzimisce.
** Notably, the Panders were actually treated as full members of the sect with only a minimal amount of FantasticRacism.

* PetTheDog: They are one of the only clans in the modern nights that still insists upon the Salubri's innocence. Then again, it's the Tremere (who the Tzimisce '''hate''') who are pushing [[BlatantLies that story]], so it makes sense why the Tzimisce still defend them.

* SacredHospitality: The older a Tzimisce is, the more likely he is to believe in this. This actually becomes a plot point in "The Crucible of God". [[spoiler: In this Gehenna scenario, your team is joined by Lambach Ruthven, grandchilde of Tzimisce himself; spared from being devoured like the other Tzimisce vampires in order to act as a final witness for when his grandsire consumes all life on Earth, he's lapsed into depression. However, he is still a deep believer in SacredHospitality, and if the players treat him kindly, he will grant them a boon in return.]]

* TheresNoPlaceLikeHome: Tzimisce require two handfuls of earth from their home in order to sleep. If they don't, it halves their dice pools.

* DefectorFromDecadence: Downplayed, in that they're still generally pretty brutal and cold even by vampire standards, but the Tzimisce have a weird in-Clan faction of Independents called the "Old Clan," who foreswear Vicissitude in favor of the Dominate discipline. They're also technically the ''original'' Tzimisce, with the ones who went off to join the Sabbat being the "Defectors," but they're so much more common than the Old Clan that the trope still mostly applies. Rather than the BlueAndOrangeMorality of their kin, Old Clan tend towards DeliberateValuesDissonance, continuing to rule as feudal overlords in modern nights, each a law unto him or herself, and seeing submission and obedience as their rightful due from their human (and vampire) servitors. This also means they cling to positive outdated values like SacredHospitality and a certain degree of noblesse oblige towards their social inferiors, provided said inferiors are sufficiently respectful.

* ProudScholarRace: A ''very'' dark twist on the trope.

** Malkavian ''antitribu'' are severely insane to the point of attacking their own pack mates and have a more difficult time keeping themselves from frenzying. It is because of this that most Malkavian ''antitribu'' are kept locked up by the Sabbat until they need them.

* BigBadWannabe: The Sabbat openly want to rule the world and subjugate the human race, which is not very likely: not only is Sabbat territory limited to Latin America, Spain and the poorer parts of the United States, they also have to compete with the other supernatural powers of the World of Darkness. [[TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse Pentex]] is everywhere and is their prime competition for who can be the most cartoonishly evil and [[TabletopGame/MageTheAscension the Technocracy]] has fingers in every pie and is advanced enough to explore other star systems, make Terminators on the side and was able to kill Zapathasura when he awoke using space mirrors and magical nukes while the Sabbat's only contribution to that fight was pinning down their Ravnos pack mates and keeping them from joining their Antediluvian. And all that is discounting [[TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse the Garou]], {{TabletopGame/K|indredOfTheEast}}uei-Jin, {{TabletopGame/Hunter|TheReckoning}}s, {{TabletopGame/Changeling|TheDreaming}}s, {{TabletopGame/Mumm|yTheResurrection}}ies, [[TabletopGame/MageTheAscension the Traditions and the Crafts]], [[TabletopGame/DemonTheFallen the Fallen and the Earthbound]] and... look, Sabbat victory is not likely. The Sabbat could have been a dark mirror of Camarilla, but in the modern nights they are little more than a swarm of borderline insane monsters.

* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: One of the sect's stated goals is to prevent the Antediluvians from rising in the Final Nights and destroying the world. This would be a noble mission if not for the fact that the Sabbat only care about how such an apocalypse would affect ''[[ItsAllAboutMe them.]]'' Even in the event of a final victory against the Ancients, they still plan to turn the world into a giant bloodfest with mortals serving as their cattle and playthings, so humanity would be screwed either way.

** Gangrel ''antitribu'', particularly those of the Country Gangrel bloodline, have typically frenzied so many times that they have become more animalistic in appearance and behavior. The ''antitribu'' belonging to the City Gangrel bloodline usually look more human but are just as ferocious in behavior.

** Salubri ''antitribu'' are completely savage in contrast to the main clan's peaceful nature. Their clan weakness is an inverse of the normal Salubri clan weakness in they can only feed from unwilling victims.
** Toreador ''antitribu'' find beauty in watching others suffer and [[MadArtist employ that sadism into the art they create.]]

** Although there may have been some overlap in previous editions, ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasqueradeFifthEdition'' makes it clear that, while the Lasombra are TheSocialDarwinist, they are usually ''not'' ThoseWackyNazis. In fact, they tend to think of mortal fascists and race supremacists as pathetic and degenerate, rather than brothers-in-creed. As the clan of meritocracy at all cost, [[EqualOpportunityEvil they take pride in embracing anyone who has the strength and willpower to survive their grueling trials.]]

* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: The Lasombra Antediluvian; though the Sabbat report that they successfully diablerized him centuries ago, nobody seems to be able to remember exactly how it happened. Worrying, to anyone who knows of the Lasombra's proficiency with Dominate.]]

* GoodIsNotSoft: Should you run into a rare case of a benevolent Lasombra, expect this to be in effect in full force. The clan doesn't actually care all that much which values its members hold, so long as they do not embarass everyone else with weakness or incompetence. As an old saying goes, [[BadassCreed the only weak Lasombra is a pile of ash]].

* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: The social Darwinism and constant diablerie prevalent to their leadership of the Sabbat finally backfires on them during "The Crucible of God," leaving their numbers too depleted to retain autonomy as a clan. With humanity gearing up for war against the vampires and no other source of aid in sight, the Lasombra reluctantly pledge their allegiance to the Ventrue/Toreador/Setite alliance.]]
* LivingShadow: One of the more advanced techniques of Obtenebration is temporarily becoming one of these. [[spoiler: The clan's Antediluvian has become a permanent example.]]

* PersonalityPowers: The clan of vampires who [[CompellingVoice can control other people's minds]], [[CastingAShadow manipulate shadows]], and possess SuperStrength believe themselves to be the best suited to lead, [[ManipulativeBastard prefer to manipulate events from behind the scenes,]] [[TheSocialDarwinist and value strength over all else.]]

* TheNightThatNeverEnds: [[spoiler: The clan's Antediluvian starts one of these in "The Crucible of God," spreading himself across the entire planet to create a permanent state of night; during this time, countless plants die without sunlight and the earth's temperature rapidly cools, to the point that the tropics experience frost. Many humans freeze to death as heat sources fail them, their souls immediately devoured by the hungry Antediluvian overhead; many Kindred die as well, devoured by the shadows themselves. Then, a month after the nightfall began, it ends with a rain of blood as the Antediluvian is slain; nobody knows who killed him or how.]]

* StupidEvil: Discussed and Zigzagged. The Friends of the Night are an organization that exists specifically to prevent the usual EnemyCivilWar issue common among societies running on ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and TheSocialDarwinist mentality. Lasombra are not allowed to just destroy one another to gain more power, instead they must submit a petition to the Friends, explaining why their target is a disgrace to the clan and the Lasombra as a whole would be better served by letting the petitioner diablerize them. However, in practice, the clan ''still'' managed to severely deplete themselves with infighting despite this safeguard.

* EldritchAbomination: The Tzimisce Antediluvian is commonly seen as this. [[spoiler: In the Gehenna scenarios that feature him, he goes out of his way to prove his credentials in this field, especially in "The Crucible of God," in which he first appears as a gigantic blob of living flesh that devours all of New York, then as a disembodied spirit that periodically possesses any vampire descended from him and uses it to reshape plants and animals into monstrous new forms across the world... and finally as ''all of humanity and vampires put together.'' His control over both is so unshakable that it takes the Wrath of God- as called down by Saulot and the player characters- to finally finish him off.]]

* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: The Tzimisce Antediluvian; much like Lasombra, he was supposedly found and diablerized many centuries ago. In reality, he actually killed his would-be-assassin and used Vicissitude to [[DeadPersonImpersonation impersonate him]] until he could retreat into seclusion again. As far as any of the "assassin's" friends could tell, the crushing weight of the Antediluvian's blood forced him into torpor on the spot.]]

* GrandTheftMe: [[spoiler: Throughout the various Gehenna scenarios, the Tzimisce antediluvian demonstrates the ability to take control of any vampire descended from him or in possession of his blood; in two separate scenarios, both Tremere and Saulot are completely dominated by him.]]

* StupidEvil: Zigzagged. The Friends of the Night are an organization that exists specifically to prevent the usual EnemyCivilWar issue common among societies running on ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and TheSocialDarwinist mentality. Lasombra are not allowed to just destroy one another to gain more power, instead they must submit a petition to the Friends, explaining why their target is a disgrace to the clan and the Lasombra as a whole would be better served by letting the petitioner diablerize them. However, in practice, the clan ''still'' managed to severely deplete themselves with infighting despite this safeguard.

* GoodIsNotSoft: Should you run into a rare case of a benevolent Lasombra, expect this to be in effect in full force. The clan doesn't actually care all that much which values its members hold, so long as they do not embarass everyone else with weakness or incompetence. As an old saying goes, the only weak Lasombra is a pile of ash.

** One possible coterie merit in V5, Old World Hospitality, allows coterie members to heal additional superficial willpower damage while staying at the Tzimisce's haven. Given what Tzimisce havens [[MeatMoss often]] [[BodyHorror look]] [[RoomFulOfCrazy like]], they must have gotten ''very'' good at hosting to achieve this.

* AffablyEvil: Because of their deeply-held beliefs regarding hospitality, the Tzimisce are unfailingly polite and gracious even to their enemies, particularly when on home territory.

* BerserkButton: Most members of the clan utterly despise Tremere for gaining immortality by stealing it from Tzimisce elders, and ensure that any Tremere unlucky enough to be captured in a Sabbat raid will suffer a long and excruciating demise.

%%* BloodMagic: Koldunic Sorcery.

* LovecraftianSuperpower: The Tzimisce possess a clan-unique Discipline known as Vicissitude (also known as Fleshcrafting), which allows them to mould and shape flesh, tissue, blood and bone as if it were clay; members of the clan use it wherever possible- for decorating their havens, for experimenting on captives, for creating monsters and guard animals, or for altering their own appearance. During a very brief [[invoked]]AudienceAlienatingEra, Vicissitude was reimagined as the result of a supernatural virus from the Umbra, thus playing up the Lovecraftian aspects; this has since been retconned.

* MadScientist: Often obsessed with exploring their vampiric "superiority" or [[FantasticRacism the "inferiority" of humans]], many Tzimisce fulfil this particular role. Because of their clan's reliance on ghouls, even the less philosophically-inclined members end up becoming this as they create new varieties of ghouled monsters via Vicissitude.

%%* TheSocialDarwinist: Some members of the clan espouse these kind of beliefs.%%Like>

%%* VoluntaryShapeshifting

* BackFromTheBrink: The Tremere antitribu of House Goratrix seem to have made a comeback in 2018 after their presumed extermination in 1998 and serve as one of the three main factions of Clan Tremere after the Fall of Vienna.

** Tremere Antitrubu are actually descended from Goratrix, [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil Tremere's most talented disciple (and lover) before he ultimately turned on him.]] Now they claim to be an entirely new rival house and seek to bring down the pyramid.

* DyingRace: There are very few Tremere antitribu left in modern nights. The majority were killed in 1998 by Tremere himself with a strange blood ritual. In 2018 however, a group claiming to be House Goratrix has re-emerged. Whether they're the same organization come BackFromTheBrink or [[OrderReborn a new group of renegades following their example]] is unknown.

** Brujah ''antitribu'' lose themselves in their rage and often indulge in violence simply [[ItAmusedMe because they can]].

* TheManBehindTheMan: In V5, it's strongly implied that the resurgent House Goratrix is actually lead by Tremere himself, still possessing Goratrix.
* OrderReborn: The thought destroyed House Goratrix seems to have resurfaced in 2018, but it's not entirely clear whether it's a case of BackFromTheBrink or this, with new renegades taking up the banner.