Tzimisce Facts

Nickname: Fiends

Sect: Most Tzimisce serve the Sabbat. A few powerful Tzimisce elders retain their independence; these are believed to be Inconnu. Almost no Tzimisce are in the Camarilla; even those Fiends unsympathetic to the Sabbat find the Camarilla's skulking among the masses to be distasteful.

Appearance: As masters of the Vicissitude Discipline, Tzimisce often have striking appearances whether strikingly beautiful or strikingly grotesque depends on the whim of the Fiend in question. Younger Tzimisce, seeking to explore their inhuman natures, perform all manner of body modifications on themselves. Their elders, though, often affect flawless, symmetrical forms; the body is merely a passing useful machine, after all. Tzimisce faces often resemble masks of blank perfection, and the Fiends typically laugh little, though some have been known to chuckle during particularly elaborate experiments.

Haven: Tzimisce are exceedingly private beings, placing great value on the sanctity of the haven. In fact, the clan has an entire series of elaborate protocols based around hospitality. Guests invited into a Fiend's haven are protected with the host's unlife; trespassers are pursued to the ends of the earth and punished in gruesome and lingering fashion. Surprisingly, Tzimisce havens, or "manses," are not necessarily comfortable or well-kept in the manner of the Ventrue or Toreador dwellings. The amenities of mortals matter little to the Fiends.

Background: Tzimisce rarely Embrace capriciously; choice of childer reflects on the sire, thus Fiends choose only those who they feel have the capacity to improve the clan as a whole. "Brilliance" and "insight" are particularly prized; whether a childe's brilliance and insight manifest in scientific theory or serial murder is a trifling distinction.

Character Creation: Mental Attributes are most prized among the clan. Although descended from a background of nobility, the typical Fiend is unconcerned with petty social interplay; thus ttributes (with the notable exception of Appearance) are rarely primary. Knowledges are favored, and Tzimisce are as likely to follow a Path of Enlightment as they are to retain Humanity. Tzimisce often have Status (in the Sabbat), Resources and Retainer (ghouls).

Clan Disciplines: Animalism, Auspex, Vicissitude Discipline information

Weaknesses: Tzimisce are very territorial, maintaining a particular haven and guarding it ferociously. Whenever a Tzimisce sleeps, she must surround her herself with at least two handfuls of earth from a place important to her as a mortal--perhaps the earth of her birthplace or the graveyard where she underwent her creation rites. Failure to meet this requirement halves the Tzimisce's dice pools every 24 hours, until all her actions use only one die. This penalty remains until she rests for a full day amid her earth once more.

Organization: Despite the Tzimisce's pride in their heritage and customs, little organization exists among the clan. Sires and childer remain closer than most Sabbat vampires do, but in general each Fiend makes her own way in the world. One among the Fiends' number bears the ancestral title of Voivod; the Voivode is nominally the clan leader, though in practice he acts more as a "priest" or rite leader than a temporal ruler.

Bloodlines: Many Tzimisce are descended from specialized "ghoul families" who have long served the clan as minions. Tzimisce descended from the ghoul family Bratovitch replace Auspex with the Clan Discipline of Potence, but suffer +1 difficulty on any roll to avoid frenzy. Certain Tzimisce are koldun, or sorcerers. These Kindred replace the clan Discipline of Vicissitude with Thaumaturgy, but suffer + 1 difficulties to resist magic as well.

(VtM 3rd Ed)