-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Vampire: the Masquerade - The Sabbat [Rated R]
- Thread starter Ashrem Bayle
- Start date
KitanaVorr
First Post
well so far we have 4 characters presented
Shali's Kat
Catulle's Ramon
Ash's Ash
And me still dithering between Juan and Mariasha, but it will be one of the two. Hey I could always combine them into one character...er...a vapid assamite playboy? hehehe.....
Tory, Jemal, Reaper, Helen, um...I know there are more but I can't think of the names at the moment...but these are the others who have expressed an interest.
Shali's Kat
Catulle's Ramon
Ash's Ash
And me still dithering between Juan and Mariasha, but it will be one of the two. Hey I could always combine them into one character...er...a vapid assamite playboy? hehehe.....
Tory, Jemal, Reaper, Helen, um...I know there are more but I can't think of the names at the moment...but these are the others who have expressed an interest.
Tory Adore
First Post
I have mine almost finished. I will post her in the afternoon today.
reapersaurus
Explorer
OK, is a Mass Embrace ALWAYS the way Sabbat are made?
It just seems kind of.... silly and random to me.
Could someone explain how it works?
Are Sabbat as particular in who they Embrace, considering that there's probably a lot of attrition in who survives the ordeal, what point would there be in going to huge lengths to make sure the candidate is the 'perfect' fit?
Does the sponser/Sire just bring someone they nominate to "the party", drain them, give 'em some blood, shove 'em in a grave, and see who comes out?
Sounds novel... once.
More than that, and it sounds rather ham-handed to me.
It just seems kind of.... silly and random to me.
Could someone explain how it works?
Are Sabbat as particular in who they Embrace, considering that there's probably a lot of attrition in who survives the ordeal, what point would there be in going to huge lengths to make sure the candidate is the 'perfect' fit?
Does the sponser/Sire just bring someone they nominate to "the party", drain them, give 'em some blood, shove 'em in a grave, and see who comes out?
Sounds novel... once.
More than that, and it sounds rather ham-handed to me.
Ashrem Bayle
Explorer
No. In fact, mass embraces are fairly rare. The Tzimisce, Assamites, and especially the Lasombra, can be very picky. In fact, I'd say the Lasombra are about the most picky clan there is. They often embrace "the normal way".
The reason? If any member of Clan Lasombra can be proven by a fellow member of his clan that he isn't fit to be a member of Clan Lasombra, the clan elders grant the right to diablorize the incompetant vampire. No pressure... really.
However, mass embraces serve several functions. One, it is a bonding experience for new packs. Also, only about a third of the vampires buried make it out. The Sabbat are very strong proponants of "survival of the fittest". They figure that if you didn't make it out, you didn't have what it takes to be a member of the Sword of Caine (fancy name for the Sabbat).
A lot of vampires will spend a bit of time watching their potential progeny. Then they pitch them into the grave and hope they make it out.
Some vampires aren't so lucky though. Sometimes the mass embrace is done for no other reason than to fill the ranks with cannon fodder during times of war. When this happens, the vampires that created them really don't care if the make it out or not. Those who survive the grave are put on the front lines. Then, those who survive the battles are sometimes approached by their sires and welcomed into the clan. Others are just killed or ignored if their sire doesn't want them.
The Tzimisce, Lasombra, and a few other clans try to make sure they don't leave many strays around, but it does happen.
The reason? If any member of Clan Lasombra can be proven by a fellow member of his clan that he isn't fit to be a member of Clan Lasombra, the clan elders grant the right to diablorize the incompetant vampire. No pressure... really.
However, mass embraces serve several functions. One, it is a bonding experience for new packs. Also, only about a third of the vampires buried make it out. The Sabbat are very strong proponants of "survival of the fittest". They figure that if you didn't make it out, you didn't have what it takes to be a member of the Sword of Caine (fancy name for the Sabbat).
A lot of vampires will spend a bit of time watching their potential progeny. Then they pitch them into the grave and hope they make it out.
Some vampires aren't so lucky though. Sometimes the mass embrace is done for no other reason than to fill the ranks with cannon fodder during times of war. When this happens, the vampires that created them really don't care if the make it out or not. Those who survive the grave are put on the front lines. Then, those who survive the battles are sometimes approached by their sires and welcomed into the clan. Others are just killed or ignored if their sire doesn't want them.
The Tzimisce, Lasombra, and a few other clans try to make sure they don't leave many strays around, but it does happen.
Last edited:
Shalimar
First Post
reapersaurus said:OK, is a Mass Embrace ALWAYS the way Sabbat are made?
It just seems kind of.... silly and random to me.
Well, to the Sabbat, its obviously not, or they wouldn't do it. We ARE playing a sabbat game, so things are done the Sabbat way. If you want another camarilla game, I'm sure you could start one, but the Sabbat are a very war minded group. The mass embrace is for a reason, the weak wont survive to make it out of the grave, they'll be torn apart by the strong. It ensures that only the strong will make it out, a good thing for the weak to die quickly like that, otherwise the rest of their unlives would be a never ending hell of torment, the weak are marginalized and beaten up constantly in the quest for dominance in the pack.
The Sabbat are most definitely not as discriminating in who they choose, but even then, they can still influence who makes it out. Give the one you want to survive more blood then the others give to theirs. Also lower gen vamps are a lot more likely to survive, they can heal faster, they can get strong quicker, and more importantly they are probably the recepients of the extra blood from their sires. That said, as far as I know there a lot of randomness as to who gets picked. The Tzimise have their revenant families that they embrace from, but they wouldn't be very interested in weak offspring either so mass embrace there too. Its possible to get done one on one, but not in this game obviously since Tokiwong said we have been mass embraced. Since that is what was said, I'd just as well have no one be given special treatment, as we all know what we are signing up for.
Opinion noted, but hey, thats what the Sabbat is like, the weak don't survive, the strong dominate. It doesn't have the social rules of the Camarilla to keep the week protected. The Sabbat for the whole period of its existance has been at war against the Camarilla, Mass embraces are standard tactics to create shock troops to assault Camarilla cities. Embrace a hundred people maybe 50 survive, send them all in to assault the Cammies and there is no net loss when they all die, and when they kill maybe 3 or 5 Camarilla higher ups its a big gain, the mass embracees are replaced easily, the experienced elders they kill are not.
Ashrem Bayle
Explorer
A little history:
The Sabbat was created because the elders of the Dark Ages treated their progeny like crap and used them as stake sponges against their enemies.
The younger vampires soon grew tired of this. The younger Brujah rebelled against their elders. The Tzimisce got wind of this and created the Viniculum to destroy existing blood bonds. The Lasombra hopped on board during this time as well as many many younger vampires of all the different clans who where tired of being oppressed. The rebels, or anarchs as they where called, began to purge their clan of it's elders.
Lasombra himself was killed. Tzimisce was thought to have died as well, but he had basicly became a god by that point and simply killed and took the form of the vampire (Lugoj) that was thought to have killed him. With the exception of only about 5 people in the whole world, everyone thinks Tzimisce is dead.
So anyway, the elders of the other clans called the Convention of Thorns. At the convention, the elders called a truce to what had then been dubbed "The Anarch Revolt".
They tell the young rebels that all is forgiven and that they should cease conflict. (Note that during this time, the Assamites have been on an unholy killing spree and have killed many many elders for their blood.)
Unfortunatly, some vampires had done things so horrible that they knew the elders would never forgive them. As killers of their founders, the Lasombra and Tzimisce rejected the truce as a whole. Many other vampires of other clans decided that they would face similar repercussions and so they sided with the Lasombra and Tzimisce and became the Antitribu.
By this time, the Assamites had become extremely addicted to vampiric blood and had no intention of calling off their hunt. The Tremere took care of this and cast a curse upon the entirety of the Assamites who attended the convention. The curse caused them to become violantly allergec to vampiric blood. Because of the curse, they decided to submit to the elders.
However, some of the Assamites decided to join the Sabbat and did not attend the Convention. Free of the curse, they joined the Sabbat and played a big part in the creation of the Black Hand. The Hand is sort of a special forces team within the Sabbat.
It was at this time that the Tremere cast another curse. They put a mark upon the head over every member of their clan that sided with the Sabbat.
Since that time, a lot has changed. Most notably in the time period ranging from about 1998-2001. During this time, one of the remaining vampires of Clan Salubri joined the Sabbat and created over a hundred Salubri Antitribu.
The Ravnos founder arrose and was killed. this time was called the Week of Nightmares as the vampires of clan Ravnos attacked each other in insane frenzy. The clan was almost wiped out.
The Harbingers of Skulls arose seemingly from nowhere. When asked where they came from, their response was that they had crossed the Veil into the world of the living from the world of the dead. They joined the Sabbat.
Clan Gangrel left the Camarilla and went anarch after their Justicar encountered what he beleived to be an Antediluvian. Many joined the Sabbat.
The Tremere Antitribu were all destoyed in a rituel enacted by Soulot, the founder of the Salubri.
The Malkavians of the Camarilla regained use of the discipline Dementation. Up until recently, none knew the power and only the Malkavians of the Sabbat used it. None know why.
Whew... I'm sure I forgot a lot. I'm a bit rusty.
The Sabbat was created because the elders of the Dark Ages treated their progeny like crap and used them as stake sponges against their enemies.
The younger vampires soon grew tired of this. The younger Brujah rebelled against their elders. The Tzimisce got wind of this and created the Viniculum to destroy existing blood bonds. The Lasombra hopped on board during this time as well as many many younger vampires of all the different clans who where tired of being oppressed. The rebels, or anarchs as they where called, began to purge their clan of it's elders.
Lasombra himself was killed. Tzimisce was thought to have died as well, but he had basicly became a god by that point and simply killed and took the form of the vampire (Lugoj) that was thought to have killed him. With the exception of only about 5 people in the whole world, everyone thinks Tzimisce is dead.
So anyway, the elders of the other clans called the Convention of Thorns. At the convention, the elders called a truce to what had then been dubbed "The Anarch Revolt".
They tell the young rebels that all is forgiven and that they should cease conflict. (Note that during this time, the Assamites have been on an unholy killing spree and have killed many many elders for their blood.)
Unfortunatly, some vampires had done things so horrible that they knew the elders would never forgive them. As killers of their founders, the Lasombra and Tzimisce rejected the truce as a whole. Many other vampires of other clans decided that they would face similar repercussions and so they sided with the Lasombra and Tzimisce and became the Antitribu.
By this time, the Assamites had become extremely addicted to vampiric blood and had no intention of calling off their hunt. The Tremere took care of this and cast a curse upon the entirety of the Assamites who attended the convention. The curse caused them to become violantly allergec to vampiric blood. Because of the curse, they decided to submit to the elders.
However, some of the Assamites decided to join the Sabbat and did not attend the Convention. Free of the curse, they joined the Sabbat and played a big part in the creation of the Black Hand. The Hand is sort of a special forces team within the Sabbat.
It was at this time that the Tremere cast another curse. They put a mark upon the head over every member of their clan that sided with the Sabbat.
Since that time, a lot has changed. Most notably in the time period ranging from about 1998-2001. During this time, one of the remaining vampires of Clan Salubri joined the Sabbat and created over a hundred Salubri Antitribu.
The Ravnos founder arrose and was killed. this time was called the Week of Nightmares as the vampires of clan Ravnos attacked each other in insane frenzy. The clan was almost wiped out.
The Harbingers of Skulls arose seemingly from nowhere. When asked where they came from, their response was that they had crossed the Veil into the world of the living from the world of the dead. They joined the Sabbat.
Clan Gangrel left the Camarilla and went anarch after their Justicar encountered what he beleived to be an Antediluvian. Many joined the Sabbat.
The Tremere Antitribu were all destoyed in a rituel enacted by Soulot, the founder of the Salubri.
The Malkavians of the Camarilla regained use of the discipline Dementation. Up until recently, none knew the power and only the Malkavians of the Sabbat used it. None know why.
Whew... I'm sure I forgot a lot. I'm a bit rusty.
Shalimar
First Post
I think you left out the fact that the Sabbat and Camarilla are at war with one another over the possession of cities in America, and elsewhere, although I believe the fighting in Euroupe is much lower key. In the same set of novels that played out what Ash was talking about the Sabbat were on a roll on the East Coast, I believe that they took Washington DC, Atlanta, and a few other major cities, no mention on the minor ones.
reapersaurus
Explorer
Thanks for all the info.
And Ash, that last post of yours, summing up the history, was incredibly helpful!
Just to list what I've been working on, I'm planning on now playing a Crusader-type, Brom Van Doran, who personality-wise is similar to a Ventrue antitribu, and who is Embraced by a (City) Gangrel antitribu. The Gangrel Sire is interested in ridding the world of the Antideluvian that the Gangrel Justicar saw, and sees Brom as a tool of convenience he can use to tear down the Camarilla, and get access to money.
Brom is from great wealth and priviledge, who learned how great wealth can corrupt and ensnare the good deeds that men may aspire to. He views greed, and the acquisition of material goods as a prime motivator for doing Evil in the world. He sacrificed all his fineries to hang out with the homeless and disenfranchised, once he finally made his decision to leave the lap of luxury (his family estate). He dedicated his time and efforts to good causes, doing local charity work, and helping where he could. He eventually fell on hard times, and even hung out in Gangrel territory, where his uniqueness and drive to tear down the corrupt establishment stood out.
He would view the Camarilla as hypocrites, and degenerates who have no honor, with their lying, deceptive ways.
He who will do the things that other, more deluded individuals, are unwilling to, to affect actual change.
He is a Good man, who will not hesitate to use Evil means to justify the greater good.
If it was D&D, he'd be a Lawful Neutral paladin.
And Ash, that last post of yours, summing up the history, was incredibly helpful!
Just to list what I've been working on, I'm planning on now playing a Crusader-type, Brom Van Doran, who personality-wise is similar to a Ventrue antitribu, and who is Embraced by a (City) Gangrel antitribu. The Gangrel Sire is interested in ridding the world of the Antideluvian that the Gangrel Justicar saw, and sees Brom as a tool of convenience he can use to tear down the Camarilla, and get access to money.
Brom is from great wealth and priviledge, who learned how great wealth can corrupt and ensnare the good deeds that men may aspire to. He views greed, and the acquisition of material goods as a prime motivator for doing Evil in the world. He sacrificed all his fineries to hang out with the homeless and disenfranchised, once he finally made his decision to leave the lap of luxury (his family estate). He dedicated his time and efforts to good causes, doing local charity work, and helping where he could. He eventually fell on hard times, and even hung out in Gangrel territory, where his uniqueness and drive to tear down the corrupt establishment stood out.
He would view the Camarilla as hypocrites, and degenerates who have no honor, with their lying, deceptive ways.
He who will do the things that other, more deluded individuals, are unwilling to, to affect actual change.
He is a Good man, who will not hesitate to use Evil means to justify the greater good.
If it was D&D, he'd be a Lawful Neutral paladin.
Last edited:
Similar Threads
