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=Clan Malkavian=
=Clan Malkavian=


Cursed by their unbridled sensuality, the divas are obsessed by aesthetic perfection. A fashion model overdosing on a bad batch of heroin, a YouTube clip of a perfectly executed beheading, the dazed eyes of a child who has seen too much, or the reflection of the moon in a pool of blood – these are the kinds of things that make a Toreador lose themselves. They say the first diva finally died in front of their looking glass, unable to tear their gaze away from the image of their face touched by the reflected dawn. But, to dismiss the Toreador as wanton perverts or shallow artists is the last mistake a Kindred will ever make. Beauty is power, and love can make anyone do just about anything. And that is the promise of the Toreador. They can make even the dead feel something raw, something real.  
Psychologists would diagnose the children of Malkav with schizophrenia, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Sometimes all at once. - In reality, they have all of these things and none. Like the "wise madmen" of poetry their derangement stems from seeing too much of the world at once, from understanding too deeply, and feeling emotions that are too strong to bear. They self-medicate with blood, but that is just a temporary solution.


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'''''I serve my clan – your clan – in unearthing sleeping ancients such as yourself and introducing them to the world as it is tonight.
'''''"We're not clowns, Jeanette. We're not here to amuse the other Kindred."
'''''You seem surprised that a member of the Clan of the Rose would dirty her hands with excavation and study. Let me guess: you thought our clan more suited to parlors, admiring mortal singers, dancers, and artists? It is true, the face of our clan is one of superficial beauty, but we have not lost our core. At its heart, Clan Toreador is the clan of creation. The sculptor dirties her hands with chisel and stone. The painter will accumulate all manner of stains. My calling is in bringing the torpid back to us and asking for their stories. It is my art form.  


'''''Clan Toreador has not missed a step since you fell into torpor. We still ride high, leading a sect known as the Camarilla alongside our peers among the Ventrue and Tremere. Do not believe we take second or third place in that triumvirate. We are the voice, the inspiration, and the soul that binds the sect together.  
'''''"Baloney. We're here to make them laugh, make them cry, make them sticky with delight or embarrassment..."


'''''In these nights, the Toreador are the burning hope for all clans. We are proof that Kindred can be more than slaves to their Beast. Others come to us for guidance and seek to emulate our devotion to beauty and innocence. We teach, but none will master the arts as well as we.  
'''''"You drag our club through the muck. Our clan! Time was, we were the Kindred the others went to for advice, foresight, strategies in times of war."


'''''For every true artist, innovator, and great mind in our clan, we have a sycophant, amateur, and vapid beauty. It is as it should be. Everything is beautiful, old one, including the duality we represent. While the others mistake us for preening fools, we work our wonders to make all of Kindred society a better place.  
'''''"Pull that stick outta your ass, Therese. Unless you like it up there. We've always been jesters."


'''''Welcome back to Clan Toreador.  
'''''"Jesters in times gone by assessed the court and delivered their findings to the Prince."


'''''The night is ours.
'''''"And so do we! God. You see my skirt and makeup, and just think 'slut', don't you?"
 
'''''"Of course. Are you not?"
 
'''''"Yeah, but how many nuggets of gold do you think I pried from the ghoul I was screwing, the repressed warlock I loosened up, or Prince LaCroix when he was bouncing up and down on my love gun? Bang. Bang."
 
'''''"You... God, you disgust me. I acquire intelligence through visions, through sampling the blood, through debate, business transaction, reading emotions, drawing out uncomfortable truths..."
 
'''''"You wear the suit, I wear the stockings. We're mentally impaired as a clan, but hell, if it allows us to both lower our inhibitions and get a little dirty to do what must be done, I say bring on the personality disorders. It's like a cocktail in my head."
 
'''''"There is nothing wrong with me. You're the one with the special needs."
 
'''''"Oh, you need your daddy just as much as I do."
 
'''''"Shut up. Shut up. For one night, could you go without mentioning that we're all headcases and instead focus on what we accomplish?"
 
'''''"Sorry, sis. I guess there's two sides to being a Malkavian. The visionary and the maniac. We're a good team!"
 
'''''"I hate you."
 
'''''"You hate us."
 
'''''"We hate us."
 
'''''"I love you."
 
'''''"I love me too."
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==Who Are the Toreador==
==Who Are the Malkavian==


Clan Toreador has ever preached selectiveness in its rituals of the Embrace. The clan elders stress time and again that the clan requires pioneers among the arts and every kind of avant-garde. The clan is at its strongest when comprised of the freshest thinkers and those who desire experimentation and aesthetic discovery. For this reason, many Toreador emerge from the ranks of accomplished artists, both new and faded. But not all artists need wield a brush: To the Toreador, art encompasses all forms of entertainment and stimulation. The clan courts the greatest actors, singers, writers, dancers, and even sex workers, if the degenerates believe such mortals will offer something new to their clan. Despite the custom of Embracing only the best, the Toreador fixation on beauty and innocence has caused many a diva to make a fledgling in haste. Many a moonlit night, new clan members have emerged as shallow hedonists, one-hit wonders, or just a stunning body with nothing else to offer. The greatest mistakes are erased and forgotten. Still, the clan is diverse, its members considering the ensemble as a kaleidoscope of talent and beauty.
It has long been the misconception that few Kindred families are as disparate as the Clan of the Moon. Other clans see them and reason, "they are each mad, so why should their respective origins matter?" To the Malkavians, origins matter a great deal. Though sires may pick childer from all walks of life, age groups, ethnicities, and genders, every mortal selected for the Embrace possesses something only visible to a Malkavian.  


===Toreador Archetypes===
One of the gifts the Malkavians look for in a mortal is what they call "second sight." If a person interprets dreams, can perceive spirits, or unerringly predicts future events, the Malkavians take notice. Such a person acts as a beacon, calling out to every member of the clan that sees them.


'''L'Artiste'''
Another gift revered by the Malkavians, is that of "insight." A high level of empathy, finely-tuned knowledge of complex subject matter, or just an obsessive drive to pursue the answers to philosophical questions each appeal to the clan. As insight is often tied to profession, the clan benefts from a range of academics and doctors - especially therapists and psychologists.


The Toreador indulge in the beauty of all art forms and strive to be creators themselves. Whether competent on the strings of the violin, weaving notes as lustrous as the subtle glow of the crescent moon, or wielding a spray-can to form harsh prismatic lines on back-alley walls, this Kindred is an artist revered intensely by their clan.
Finally, the Clan of the Moon are fascinated by the "broken" - individuals who have been changed by traumatic experiences or who were simply born slightly detached from themselves and the rest of society. To the Malkavians, they are but one gentle push away from having access to an altogether different plane of reality. Rather than treating them as burdens, the clan sees them as having great potential.  


'''Stage Manager'''
All Malkavians suffer mental illness following the Embrace - sometimes accentuating an existing condition, other times adding a new dimension to their instability. As if their thoughts and actions were based on otherworldly logic, there seems to be no knowing when their condition will manifest destructively or when it will offer important perspectives where such were previously lacking. As a rule, no other Kindred feels completely comfortable around a known Malkavian, often viewing them as unpredictable maniacs whose flashes of insight are rarely worth the fits of insanity.


Without a puppeteer to pull the strings, the puppet would not know how to dance. This diva’s finger is constantly on the pulse of the night. They know every happening at every club and bar worth a visit, and likely has great influence over several such places and the people who go there. Deeply connected to a city’s social atmosphere, they have the knowledge to help others gain or lose the spotlight as they please.
Some Malkavians claim there is a common factor to their madness; that they are all psychically linked through a communal wavelength, a shared consciousness of sorts. Those who are aware of its existence refer to it as the cobweb or, more recently, the madness network.


'''Gadabout'''
===Malkavian Archetypes===


With charisma, social intellect, and a cunning smile, the world is yours to conquer. The gadabout hedonist masters the art of manipulation, attraction, and empathy so well that even shy Cainites desire their attention or take pleasure in watching as they effortlessly mingle into every clique and category. This Toreador fits into any profession in which handling customers, patients, or clients is key, and they use every trick in the book to get their targets exactly where they want them.
'''Influencing Presence'''


'''Patron of the Arts'''
This visionary is addicted to the thrill of reinventing and presenting themselves in different ways, thriving on the attention they get through the stories they tell. They seek to influence others through words, images, or the use of their Disciplines - whether it be for the purpose of pleasure, to forget their problems, or to comply with the whispers of the cobweb. As a mortal they might have had an extended network of followers on social media or led the destructive life of the mythomaniac.


The patron is a collector of raw talent and promising beauty that just needs a guiding hand. They shape not clay or glass into intricate forms but people, and they see it as their gift to the world to pick out the best before they wither. Te patron may pose as an eccentric heiress whose home is open to struggling poets and painters or they may take on the role of the talent scout or critic, aiding their pupils with funding and guidance in return for their blood.
'''Medium'''


'''Thespian Spy'''
The ability to sense and register more than any other Kindred afflicts the members of Clan Malkavian with its infamous instability but it can also reward them with great insight. Some find ways to use and benefit from their curse openly without breaching the Masquerade, such as the medium who reveals fictitious or existing spirits attached to objects, areas, and individuals - to help the grieving or for personal gain.


The Toreador love a performance, and the one who plays at being a spy knows how to pry valuable chunks of information from a target, often taking more time than they need to properly enjoy the game. Perhaps over-dramatic, yet rarely suspected due to an affable nature, the thespian spy inserts themselves in multiple domains to entertain, observe, and compile libraries of information to exchange for other pleasures.
'''Bad Analyst'''


Some Malkavians instinctively know how to pick apart and reassemble minds, whatever state they are in. Maybe the analyst was a therapist in life, excelling in helping others through personal crises. Or maybe they use the experiences of their own agonized psyche as a guiding light, prying open the minds of their patients and victims with the purpose of finally healing themselves. The analyst is respected as well as feared for their ability to travel the labyrinth of the mind - and trap another inside it.
'''Fanatic'''
Malkavians are prone to fanaticism fuelled by mental instability. Fanatics each have one purpose that consumes most of their existence. This could be anything from a strong religious or political convictions to an immense passion for detective novels or 9/11 conspiracy theories. Devoted to this one passion, it is safe to say the fanatic knows almost all the details and information there is to obtain about it.
'''Pure Blood Addict'''
Defined by bizarre insight and fringe beliefs, many Malkavians feel that certain blood calms their symptoms or derangements. For the blood addict, this has become a constant goal and all they think of. In life, they abused prescription drugs, had hypochondria, or was perhaps a gourmand, and now they cannot help but drink and drink until the gnawing noises quiet down or the anxiety lessens. They know which vessels to pick to obtain the best, most filling blood, and they take every meal seriously.


==Disciplines==
==Disciplines==


===Auspex===
===Auspex===
[[Auspex]]: Toreador are ever on the hunt for exquisite experiences and use Auspex to identify the most susceptible vessels and those who might, through their feelings and temperament, offer new tastes and sensations to the drinker during the feed. Toreador also frequently use the Discipline on other Kindred, catering to their desires or antagonizing them with truths they should not know.
[[Auspex]]: Malkavians use Auspex to enhance their senses, strengthening their sight or hearing to a supernatural level, or to determine a mortal's fears, illusions, and mental weaknesses, so they can play on them horribly as they prepare to feed. Many a Malkavian has persuaded a vessel to "tell them all about it," before draining their weeping victim not ten minutes later.


===Celerity===
===Dominate===
[[Celerity]]: The Toreador claim they are not combatants, but few move as swiftly as the degenerate using Celerity to cut an opponent to ribbons before they have even had time to draw their weapon. Toreador often use Celerity to enhance artistic or performative skills. In feeding, they use the Discipline to take what they need from a vessel and vanish before the mortal realizes the truth of what has occurred.
[[Dominate]]: Some Malkavians use Dominate to lift all distractions from a victim's mind, completely enthralling them; others use the Discipline to draw forth or inflict psychoses, through the infamous variant known as Dementation. While some do it mainly for the sake of experimentation, getting into a mortal's head and convincing them that they want to give up their blood greatly assists the clan in surviving night to night.


===Presence===
===Obfuscate===
[[Presence]]: The Toreador master the Discipline of Presence, often using it in concert with Auspex to manipulate the emotions of Kindred and kine. Presence can guarantee an appreciative audience or cause the failure of another artist. Some Toreador will use the Discipline to indulge in carnal pleasures with an unnaturally enthusiastic partner or to lure a vessel into their arms and under their fangs. The members of the clan adore willing vessels, even if the willingness is a supernaturally induced façade.
[[Obfuscate]]: The Malkavians do not advertise their use of Obfuscate, conveniently allowing many Kindred to forget they even have access to this Discipline. What they use it for differs vastly. While some Malkavians might want to observe the court from secluded corners or play tricks on their prince, others secrete themselves in the houses, wards, and care homes of the kine, watching the sleeping faces before discreetly feeding.


==Bane==
==Bane==


Toreador exemplify the old saying that art in the blood takes strange forms. They desire beauty so intensely that they suffer in its absence.  
Afflicted by their lineage, all Malkavians are cursed with at least one type of mental derangement. Depending on their history and the state of their mind at death, they may experience delusions, visions of terrible clarity, or something entirely different.
 
'''When the Malkavian suffers a Bestial Failure or a Compulsion, their curse comes to the fore. Suffer a penalty equal to your character's Bane Severity to one category of dice pools (Physical, Social, or Mental) for the entire scene. This is in addition to any penalties incurred by Compulsions
 
You and the Storyteller decide the type of penalty and the exact nature of the character's affliction during character creation.


'''While your character finds itself in less than beautiful surroundings, lose the equivalent of their Bane Severity in dice from dice pools to use Disciplines.
==Pics==


The Storyteller decides specifically how the beauty or ugliness of the Toreador’s environment (including clothing, blood dolls, etc.) penalizes them, based on the character’s aesthetics. That said, even devotees of the Ashcan School never find normal streets perfectly beautiful. This obsession with aesthetics also causes divas to lose themselves in moments of beauty and a bestial failure often results in a rapt trance, as detailed in the Compulsion rules.
[[File:Malkavian_examples.jpg]]


{{Clan_List}}
{{Clan_List}}

Latest revision as of 11:00, 19 March 2024

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Clan Malkavian[edit]

Psychologists would diagnose the children of Malkav with schizophrenia, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Sometimes all at once. - In reality, they have all of these things and none. Like the "wise madmen" of poetry their derangement stems from seeing too much of the world at once, from understanding too deeply, and feeling emotions that are too strong to bear. They self-medicate with blood, but that is just a temporary solution.

"We're not clowns, Jeanette. We're not here to amuse the other Kindred."

"Baloney. We're here to make them laugh, make them cry, make them sticky with delight or embarrassment..."

"You drag our club through the muck. Our clan! Time was, we were the Kindred the others went to for advice, foresight, strategies in times of war."

"Pull that stick outta your ass, Therese. Unless you like it up there. We've always been jesters."

"Jesters in times gone by assessed the court and delivered their findings to the Prince."

"And so do we! God. You see my skirt and makeup, and just think 'slut', don't you?"

"Of course. Are you not?"

"Yeah, but how many nuggets of gold do you think I pried from the ghoul I was screwing, the repressed warlock I loosened up, or Prince LaCroix when he was bouncing up and down on my love gun? Bang. Bang."

"You... God, you disgust me. I acquire intelligence through visions, through sampling the blood, through debate, business transaction, reading emotions, drawing out uncomfortable truths..."

"You wear the suit, I wear the stockings. We're mentally impaired as a clan, but hell, if it allows us to both lower our inhibitions and get a little dirty to do what must be done, I say bring on the personality disorders. It's like a cocktail in my head."

"There is nothing wrong with me. You're the one with the special needs."

"Oh, you need your daddy just as much as I do."

"Shut up. Shut up. For one night, could you go without mentioning that we're all headcases and instead focus on what we accomplish?"

"Sorry, sis. I guess there's two sides to being a Malkavian. The visionary and the maniac. We're a good team!"

"I hate you."

"You hate us."

"We hate us."

"I love you."

"I love me too."

Who Are the Malkavian[edit]

It has long been the misconception that few Kindred families are as disparate as the Clan of the Moon. Other clans see them and reason, "they are each mad, so why should their respective origins matter?" To the Malkavians, origins matter a great deal. Though sires may pick childer from all walks of life, age groups, ethnicities, and genders, every mortal selected for the Embrace possesses something only visible to a Malkavian.

One of the gifts the Malkavians look for in a mortal is what they call "second sight." If a person interprets dreams, can perceive spirits, or unerringly predicts future events, the Malkavians take notice. Such a person acts as a beacon, calling out to every member of the clan that sees them.

Another gift revered by the Malkavians, is that of "insight." A high level of empathy, finely-tuned knowledge of complex subject matter, or just an obsessive drive to pursue the answers to philosophical questions each appeal to the clan. As insight is often tied to profession, the clan benefts from a range of academics and doctors - especially therapists and psychologists.

Finally, the Clan of the Moon are fascinated by the "broken" - individuals who have been changed by traumatic experiences or who were simply born slightly detached from themselves and the rest of society. To the Malkavians, they are but one gentle push away from having access to an altogether different plane of reality. Rather than treating them as burdens, the clan sees them as having great potential.

All Malkavians suffer mental illness following the Embrace - sometimes accentuating an existing condition, other times adding a new dimension to their instability. As if their thoughts and actions were based on otherworldly logic, there seems to be no knowing when their condition will manifest destructively or when it will offer important perspectives where such were previously lacking. As a rule, no other Kindred feels completely comfortable around a known Malkavian, often viewing them as unpredictable maniacs whose flashes of insight are rarely worth the fits of insanity.

Some Malkavians claim there is a common factor to their madness; that they are all psychically linked through a communal wavelength, a shared consciousness of sorts. Those who are aware of its existence refer to it as the cobweb or, more recently, the madness network.

Malkavian Archetypes[edit]

Influencing Presence

This visionary is addicted to the thrill of reinventing and presenting themselves in different ways, thriving on the attention they get through the stories they tell. They seek to influence others through words, images, or the use of their Disciplines - whether it be for the purpose of pleasure, to forget their problems, or to comply with the whispers of the cobweb. As a mortal they might have had an extended network of followers on social media or led the destructive life of the mythomaniac.

Medium

The ability to sense and register more than any other Kindred afflicts the members of Clan Malkavian with its infamous instability but it can also reward them with great insight. Some find ways to use and benefit from their curse openly without breaching the Masquerade, such as the medium who reveals fictitious or existing spirits attached to objects, areas, and individuals - to help the grieving or for personal gain.

Bad Analyst

Some Malkavians instinctively know how to pick apart and reassemble minds, whatever state they are in. Maybe the analyst was a therapist in life, excelling in helping others through personal crises. Or maybe they use the experiences of their own agonized psyche as a guiding light, prying open the minds of their patients and victims with the purpose of finally healing themselves. The analyst is respected as well as feared for their ability to travel the labyrinth of the mind - and trap another inside it.

Fanatic

Malkavians are prone to fanaticism fuelled by mental instability. Fanatics each have one purpose that consumes most of their existence. This could be anything from a strong religious or political convictions to an immense passion for detective novels or 9/11 conspiracy theories. Devoted to this one passion, it is safe to say the fanatic knows almost all the details and information there is to obtain about it.

Pure Blood Addict

Defined by bizarre insight and fringe beliefs, many Malkavians feel that certain blood calms their symptoms or derangements. For the blood addict, this has become a constant goal and all they think of. In life, they abused prescription drugs, had hypochondria, or was perhaps a gourmand, and now they cannot help but drink and drink until the gnawing noises quiet down or the anxiety lessens. They know which vessels to pick to obtain the best, most filling blood, and they take every meal seriously.

Disciplines[edit]

Auspex[edit]

Auspex: Malkavians use Auspex to enhance their senses, strengthening their sight or hearing to a supernatural level, or to determine a mortal's fears, illusions, and mental weaknesses, so they can play on them horribly as they prepare to feed. Many a Malkavian has persuaded a vessel to "tell them all about it," before draining their weeping victim not ten minutes later.

Dominate[edit]

Dominate: Some Malkavians use Dominate to lift all distractions from a victim's mind, completely enthralling them; others use the Discipline to draw forth or inflict psychoses, through the infamous variant known as Dementation. While some do it mainly for the sake of experimentation, getting into a mortal's head and convincing them that they want to give up their blood greatly assists the clan in surviving night to night.

Obfuscate[edit]

Obfuscate: The Malkavians do not advertise their use of Obfuscate, conveniently allowing many Kindred to forget they even have access to this Discipline. What they use it for differs vastly. While some Malkavians might want to observe the court from secluded corners or play tricks on their prince, others secrete themselves in the houses, wards, and care homes of the kine, watching the sleeping faces before discreetly feeding.

Bane[edit]

Afflicted by their lineage, all Malkavians are cursed with at least one type of mental derangement. Depending on their history and the state of their mind at death, they may experience delusions, visions of terrible clarity, or something entirely different.

When the Malkavian suffers a Bestial Failure or a Compulsion, their curse comes to the fore. Suffer a penalty equal to your character's Bane Severity to one category of dice pools (Physical, Social, or Mental) for the entire scene. This is in addition to any penalties incurred by Compulsions

You and the Storyteller decide the type of penalty and the exact nature of the character's affliction during character creation.

Pics[edit]

Clans
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