Post by Tami on Nov 26, 2006 13:00:45 GMT -5
Kiasyd
The origins of the strange Kiasyd bloodline have been lost to the passage of centuries, but their affection for pomp and their curious powers lead some Cainites to suspect that their roots lie with the Lasombra. The most pervasive theory attributes their creation to unholy experimentation with the blood of the Wild Ones and forbidden deals made with demons. Whatever the truth, the result is one of the strangest consanguinities of vampires in the World of Darkness.
The Kiasyd are scholars and keepers of secrets. They tend to be observers rather than taking an active part in acts such as War Parties. Kiasyd don’t like to take physical actions against an opponent, preferring to spar with wits and words instead. They jealously guard their knowledge and their private collections. While a Kiasyd’s home is always open to visiting members of the bloodline, all Kiasyd are viciously territorial, and most cities house one member of the bloodline at most. Weirdlings don’t like to compete with each other for knowledge. If one encounters two Kiasyd together, it is likely an elder with her childe, who may study with the elder for upward of 50 years. Eventually, however, the time will come when the childe will seek his own haven, almost always in a different community.
The Kiasyd are well known for being very calm and studious. Their raison d’être centers around their collections of scrolls, books, spells and vampiric lore piled high on their library shelves. Their unusual stature and unquenchable thirst for knowledge make for very high-stacked shelves indeed.
As to the Kiasyd’s membership in the Sabbat, the theories again involve Lasombra influence. Whether the Keepers have struck a bargain with the Kiasyd, trading secrets for protection, or whether their relationship is a more sinister brand of master and servant, few can say. Their inquisitive natures hide devious, twisted personalities, warped by massive amounts of forbidden lore and probably the fae blood that contributed to their initial creation. In fact, some Kiasyd are rumored to be addicted to the blood of the changelings, drawing sustenance only from its magical nourishment rather than the pale, tepid taste of mortal blood. Other Kiasyd are suspected of even more perverse tastes, feeding only while violating their vessels in impotent parodies of sexual ravishment or stealing children away under the light of the full moon to eat their flesh in their own libraries. In the end, all that is truly known of them is that they are enigmas, suf fered only for their knowledge.
Nickname: Weirdlings
Appearance: The Kiasyd have retained the unusual beauty of the fae folk. Their skin is a chalky white, which takes on a faint bluish glow in moonlight. Rumor has it that the tone of a Kiasyd’s skin is an indication of the age of the vampire, but the Kiasyd are much too polite to talk about themselves, so no one knows for sure. They are willowy and tall six to seven-and-a-half feet and they have angular noses, cheekbones and ears. The eyes of Kiasyd have been similarly distorted, showing only inky blots with no discernible whites or pupils. Some Kiasyd prefer to dress in Victorian or goth clothing to reflect their studious, somber mood, much to the amusement of more modernized vampires. Long hair or a bandana, and sunglasses hide their unique appearance from prying eyes.
Haven: Permanent, nondescript havens are important to the Kiasyd. They often seclude themselves in their havens, whiling away the innumerable hours in study until forced to leave, either due to the curious prying of unwelcome guests, or to the eventually rundown condition of the haven. They often choose a private library, museum, art gallery, historical ruins or catacombs in which to establish havens. Whatever the style, the haven almost invariably has a very large and well-stocked library, and many of the accouterments of genteel "living." Kiasyd pride themselves being gracious hosts, and some keep vintage vitae for guests.
Background: Kiasyd choose polite and intelligent mortals as progeny. Potential childer are well disciplined in their studies and share the Kiasyd’s love of books and curiousity for unearthing new knowledge. Likely choices include librarians, educators, students or museum curators. These childer (usually have more professional contacts than personal friends, and they value education and learning above self-gratification.
Character Creation: Most Kiasyd come from scholarly or socialite Concepts, as attractive and studious people draw their attention. Demeanors tend toward the conservative, but their Natures are vastly different. Mental and Social Attributes are prized, as are Knowledges and Skills. Few Kiasyd have any backgrounds other than an odd smattering of Resources, Generation, and Mentor, as they rarely traffic with mortals to the degree necessary to grow them. Oddly enough, most Kiasyd still cling to the tenets of Humanity.
Clan Disciplines: Dominate, Mytherceria, Obtenebration
Weaknesses: The Kiasyd’s shortcoming can be attributed to their mixed blood. Pure iron causes great discomfiture in the Weirdlings. Being in the presence of iron--within a number of yards equal to the Kiasyd’s Stamina--raises the Kiasyd's frenzy difficulties by one. Touching it causes an immediate frenzy, and wounds caused by iron weapons inflict aggravated damage.
Organization: Weirdlings have almost Victorian organization based on numerous distinctions that have meaning only to other Kiasyd. Every 50 years, all Kiasyd attend a formal affair at the Haven of duly-selected member of the bloodline, where they discuss new lore they've unearthed and new mysteries they've unraveled. Very rarely, the Kiasyd invite an outsider or Sabbat pack, who are expected to converse intelligently in the matters the Weirdlings raise. Boorish or obstinate packs are dealt with in appropriately malevolent fashions, from wicked snubbing to unbreakable curses.
Quote: Be very careful. That's an original Gutenberg Bible you’re holding. If you damage it, I shall have no choice but to exact reparations; I doubt you'd live long without your skin.
A WORD ON THE KIASYD
Kiasyd interact with others rarely — they are better implemented in a story as wise, eccentric vampires sought out for knowledge than players’ characters amid desperate, violent cities where rape and murder sometimes outnumber annual births.
Storytellers should exercise discretion when permitting players to assume Kiasyd roles. Although they are not as disruptive or limiting as some other clans (for players in the hands of a Storyteller they work fine as dramatic devices), the Kiasyd are content to spend their unlives in research and contemplation, which hardly makes for an exciting chronicle. ("You wake up again. What do you do?" "I read for 300 years.") Players, here’s the usual caveat: Don’t pretend your characters know much, if anything, about the Kiasyd.
(Guide to Sabbat)
The origins of the strange Kiasyd bloodline have been lost to the passage of centuries, but their affection for pomp and their curious powers lead some Cainites to suspect that their roots lie with the Lasombra. The most pervasive theory attributes their creation to unholy experimentation with the blood of the Wild Ones and forbidden deals made with demons. Whatever the truth, the result is one of the strangest consanguinities of vampires in the World of Darkness.
The Kiasyd are scholars and keepers of secrets. They tend to be observers rather than taking an active part in acts such as War Parties. Kiasyd don’t like to take physical actions against an opponent, preferring to spar with wits and words instead. They jealously guard their knowledge and their private collections. While a Kiasyd’s home is always open to visiting members of the bloodline, all Kiasyd are viciously territorial, and most cities house one member of the bloodline at most. Weirdlings don’t like to compete with each other for knowledge. If one encounters two Kiasyd together, it is likely an elder with her childe, who may study with the elder for upward of 50 years. Eventually, however, the time will come when the childe will seek his own haven, almost always in a different community.
The Kiasyd are well known for being very calm and studious. Their raison d’être centers around their collections of scrolls, books, spells and vampiric lore piled high on their library shelves. Their unusual stature and unquenchable thirst for knowledge make for very high-stacked shelves indeed.
As to the Kiasyd’s membership in the Sabbat, the theories again involve Lasombra influence. Whether the Keepers have struck a bargain with the Kiasyd, trading secrets for protection, or whether their relationship is a more sinister brand of master and servant, few can say. Their inquisitive natures hide devious, twisted personalities, warped by massive amounts of forbidden lore and probably the fae blood that contributed to their initial creation. In fact, some Kiasyd are rumored to be addicted to the blood of the changelings, drawing sustenance only from its magical nourishment rather than the pale, tepid taste of mortal blood. Other Kiasyd are suspected of even more perverse tastes, feeding only while violating their vessels in impotent parodies of sexual ravishment or stealing children away under the light of the full moon to eat their flesh in their own libraries. In the end, all that is truly known of them is that they are enigmas, suf fered only for their knowledge.
Nickname: Weirdlings
Appearance: The Kiasyd have retained the unusual beauty of the fae folk. Their skin is a chalky white, which takes on a faint bluish glow in moonlight. Rumor has it that the tone of a Kiasyd’s skin is an indication of the age of the vampire, but the Kiasyd are much too polite to talk about themselves, so no one knows for sure. They are willowy and tall six to seven-and-a-half feet and they have angular noses, cheekbones and ears. The eyes of Kiasyd have been similarly distorted, showing only inky blots with no discernible whites or pupils. Some Kiasyd prefer to dress in Victorian or goth clothing to reflect their studious, somber mood, much to the amusement of more modernized vampires. Long hair or a bandana, and sunglasses hide their unique appearance from prying eyes.
Haven: Permanent, nondescript havens are important to the Kiasyd. They often seclude themselves in their havens, whiling away the innumerable hours in study until forced to leave, either due to the curious prying of unwelcome guests, or to the eventually rundown condition of the haven. They often choose a private library, museum, art gallery, historical ruins or catacombs in which to establish havens. Whatever the style, the haven almost invariably has a very large and well-stocked library, and many of the accouterments of genteel "living." Kiasyd pride themselves being gracious hosts, and some keep vintage vitae for guests.
Background: Kiasyd choose polite and intelligent mortals as progeny. Potential childer are well disciplined in their studies and share the Kiasyd’s love of books and curiousity for unearthing new knowledge. Likely choices include librarians, educators, students or museum curators. These childer (usually have more professional contacts than personal friends, and they value education and learning above self-gratification.
Character Creation: Most Kiasyd come from scholarly or socialite Concepts, as attractive and studious people draw their attention. Demeanors tend toward the conservative, but their Natures are vastly different. Mental and Social Attributes are prized, as are Knowledges and Skills. Few Kiasyd have any backgrounds other than an odd smattering of Resources, Generation, and Mentor, as they rarely traffic with mortals to the degree necessary to grow them. Oddly enough, most Kiasyd still cling to the tenets of Humanity.
Clan Disciplines: Dominate, Mytherceria, Obtenebration
Weaknesses: The Kiasyd’s shortcoming can be attributed to their mixed blood. Pure iron causes great discomfiture in the Weirdlings. Being in the presence of iron--within a number of yards equal to the Kiasyd’s Stamina--raises the Kiasyd's frenzy difficulties by one. Touching it causes an immediate frenzy, and wounds caused by iron weapons inflict aggravated damage.
Organization: Weirdlings have almost Victorian organization based on numerous distinctions that have meaning only to other Kiasyd. Every 50 years, all Kiasyd attend a formal affair at the Haven of duly-selected member of the bloodline, where they discuss new lore they've unearthed and new mysteries they've unraveled. Very rarely, the Kiasyd invite an outsider or Sabbat pack, who are expected to converse intelligently in the matters the Weirdlings raise. Boorish or obstinate packs are dealt with in appropriately malevolent fashions, from wicked snubbing to unbreakable curses.
Quote: Be very careful. That's an original Gutenberg Bible you’re holding. If you damage it, I shall have no choice but to exact reparations; I doubt you'd live long without your skin.
A WORD ON THE KIASYD
Kiasyd interact with others rarely — they are better implemented in a story as wise, eccentric vampires sought out for knowledge than players’ characters amid desperate, violent cities where rape and murder sometimes outnumber annual births.
Storytellers should exercise discretion when permitting players to assume Kiasyd roles. Although they are not as disruptive or limiting as some other clans (for players in the hands of a Storyteller they work fine as dramatic devices), the Kiasyd are content to spend their unlives in research and contemplation, which hardly makes for an exciting chronicle. ("You wake up again. What do you do?" "I read for 300 years.") Players, here’s the usual caveat: Don’t pretend your characters know much, if anything, about the Kiasyd.
(Guide to Sabbat)