Bloodlines

This article is a stub. You can help 1d4chan by expanding it

Bloodlines is a series of player's option focused splatbooks for Vampire: The Requiem. As the title suggests, they largely focus on adding new bloodlines - the subrace option for vampires based on which clan you originally had. The original 1st edition run consist of three books, with the naming structure "Bloodlines: The X", as well as fourth book titled "Ancient Bloodlines". 2nd edition revived the series.

Each bloodline usually comes with its own specific bloodline discipline, or at least some unique devotions.

Unless stated otherwise, a Bloodline always retains its core Clan Weakness, but picks up one or more additional mystical weaknesses as well.

Bloodlines: The Chosen

Per the splatbook's introduction, these bloodlines identify themselves as extraordinary agents of kindred destiny,

Agonistes: Mekhet Bloodline. Occult scholars dedicated to finding a way to study and ultimately counteract the effects of Torpor, at least as it existed in Requiem 1e. They don't have a unique Devotion, but do know a number of Torpor-affecting or based Auspex devotions. The downside to this is that the Polemicists are all subtly addicted to Torpor; they treat their Humanity score as -1 to determine how long they'll spend in Torpor (a Humanity 1 Agonistes will spend (200 X Blood Potency) years in Torpor!), and whenever they suffer a Degeneration or Derangement check, they have to pass a Resolve + Composure check to avoid withdrawing and ritually entering Torpor.

Baddacelli: Nosferatu Bloodline. Blind, echolocating Nosferatu who lurk in the sewers, subways, storm gutters ad other subterranean parts of the world, emerging only to drag victims down to their depths. This has at least forced them to work together better than most vampires do. Naturally, their Bloodline Weakness is that a Morlock goes incurably blind once it joins the bloodline (which, in addition to its own sucky rules, may also force them to require Auspex-based Devotions to use Disciplines normally based on eye contact if the storyteller is a dick). To compensate, they get their own Bloodline Discipline; the sound-mimicry and echolocation-based Mimetismo.

Duchagne: Daeva Bloodline. Emerging from the bourgeoisie of 1765 France, the Duchagne, or "Bacchantes", are essentially the stereotypical (1e) Daeva turned up to eleven. Their Bloodline curses them with supernaturally potent ennui, causing them to suffer a penalty to extended efforts or repeated actions, but also imbues them with the unique Discipline of Licencieux, which enables them to manipulate the senses of others. This is a lot more dangerous than it sounds.

Noctuku: Nosferatu Bloodline. The most feared and reviled of all the Nosferatu, these guys are basically Requiem's homage to the Nicktuku of Masquerade; they're not merely haemovores, they're cannibals, with a necro-physiological need to feed on human flesh as well as drink human blood to nourish themselves. They also favor the flesh of other Kindred over human flesh, but they aren't forced to eat it. Their unique Discipline of Phagia augments this ghoulish hunger, allowing them to draw increasing power from the flesh torn from their kills.

Rotgrafen: Ventrue Bloodline. A bloodline of Loki-worshipping vampire vikings who still haunt the seas and coasts of the World of Darkness to this day. Their ties to Loki makes them even weaker than normal to fire (due to the long confusion/conflation between Loki and the fire god Logi), but they have a couple of unique viking-themed devotions.

Sangiovanni: Mekhet Bloodline. Basically, these guys are Requiem's homage to the Giovanni from Masquerade; incestuous, necrophiliac necromancers from Italy. They have an almost Nosferatu-like creepiness, and that's before they start developing necrophilia. They do have one of the few necromantic Disciplines in the form of Cattiveria, though.

Taifa: Gangrel Bloodline. An unusually civilized and sociable bloodline of Muslim vampires who arose from the Islamic cultures of West Africa. In fact, they actually have such a strong pack instinct that they suffer penalties if they aren't hanging around other vampires. They don't have a proper Discipline as such, but have learned to use the innate vampiric affinity for Blood Magic to create a number of mystical binding oaths.

Xiao: Daeva Bloodlines. The Xiao are one of the oddities of The Chosen, and basically owe their origin to the fact that all the Bloodlines in the book were originally created by fan-submission; White Wolf held a contest challenging fans to submit their own interpretations of specific bloodline concepts, and there were two submissions for the Xiao (vampires able to drain emotions) that the authors liked equally well. So they just said "fuck it" and posted them both.

• The California Xiao descend from a mad Asian Daeva who moved to California and started a cult, from which his bloodline developed like scum in a boiling pot of poison.

Tianpan Xiao: Daeva Bloodline.

Yagnatta: Nosferatu Bloodline.

Bloodlines: The Hidden

These bloodlines are characterized as particularly secretive, reclusive and, well, hidden from greater vampire society than is normal for vampires.

Alucinor: Mekhet Bloodline.

Anvari: Daeva Bloodline.

Architects of the Monolith: Ventrue Bloodline.

Bohagande: Gangrel Bloodline.

Gethsemani: Nosferatu Bloodline.

Khaibit: Mekhet Bloodline.

Morotrophians: Nosferatu Bloodline.

Nahualli: Ventrue Bloodline.

Nelapsi: Daeva Bloodline.

Oberlochs: Gangrel Bloodline.

Qedashah: Mekhet Bloodline.

Rakshasa: Nosferatu Bloodline.

Bloodlines: The Legendary

In contrast to the Hidden, these vampiric bloodlines are famous - or at least infamous, with a notoriety that sees them talked about far and wide in the Requiem, even if only as myths.

Bron: Ventrue Bloodline.

The Carnival: Daeva and Nosferatu Bloodline.

Children of Judas: Daeva Bloodline.

Galloi: Nosferatu Bloodline.

Gulikan: Deva Bloodline.

Kuufukuji: Mekhet Bloodline.

Macellarius: Ventrue Bloodline.

Melissidae: Ventrue Bloodline.

Players: Mekhet Bloodline. A tongue-in-cheek poke at the fanbase of Vampire: The Masquerade, Players are Mekhets who wish they were Daeva (aka, the "cool, sexy vampires") so much they try to forcibly emulate the inherent abilities of that bloodline.

Ancient Bloodlines

This book examines a number of bloodlines that appeared during specific periods of history, which may or may not have vanished when those times ended. As a result, it also includes non-bloodline content in the form of unique organizations and NPCs.

Caporetti: Nosferatu Bloodline. During the Great War, vampires with the unique ability to burrow through earth, stone, ice and snow developed in the Isonzo, from whence they have spread. These icy Nosferatu manifest their curse in the form of emanating supernatural cold; in addition to the standard Nosferatu weakness, this temperature drop (5-10 degrees within a 10ft radius!) also prevents them from using the Blush of Life, and a -2 penalty to attempt to use the 2nd, 3rd and 4th dot powers of Obfuscate.

Brothers of Ypres: Mekhet Bloodline. In the chaos of the Great War, a vampire named Private Jones took to feeding during the chaos of the gas attacks, and eventually found himself and his childer adapting to feed on toxin as much as on blood. As a result, they can only feed from those whose blood has been conceptually poisoned, whether by actual poison, disease, or radiation; pure blood tastes vile and offers them no nourishment. On the bright side, they've developed the discipline of Asphyx, which allows them to create mustard gas.

Shepherds: Gangrel Bloodline. These vampires believe they have a divine obligation to protect humanity and ensure it thrives, if only to make certain that there are always plentiful meals for vampires. Arising during the Montrose Party, the Shepherds suffer for their spiritual closeness to humanity; it takes them 100 years to gain a point of Bloodline Potency, purchasing new dots costs (new dots * 10) EXP, and to successfully commit diablerie requires double the normal succeses.

Sta-Au: Any vampire can join this strange Bloodline, which inhabits the literal and metaphysical badlands of North America. Believing themselves chosen to seek purity of spirit through rejection of their mortal lives, the Sta-Au can never regain Humanity as a result. Nobody knows when they first arose, but Kindred society first met them during the era of the Montrose Party.

Amara Havana: Daeva Bloodline. Claiming, like most Indian vampires, to be an unfortunate side-product of the war between the goddess Durga and the asura lord Mahishasura, the Amara Havana are the pinnacle of the kshatriya caste. Unfortunately, this pride in themselves as the divinely-chosen warrior-kings of Indian Kindred made them vulnerable to internecine strife during the Age of Treachery. Vampires of this bloodline leave illusory bloody handprints on whatever they touch, but they also have access to the unique discipline of Sakti Pata, which lets them manipulate their blood into a physical weapon.

Canda Banu: Ventrue Bloodline. Though they claim to be the most spiritually pure and upstanding of the brahmin caste bloodlines, the Canda Banu are in fact the children of an ancient betrayal, created when an interloper fleeing the fall of the Camarilla was welcomed into the domain of the prince who ruled the domain where the original Canda Banu dwelled - and who hated their interference in his affairs. The true Canda Banu cursed their inheritors, and as such vampires using their Disciplines against a Canda Banu find their powers more effective, as if they possessed a blood tie to the traitor-brahmins.

Apollinaire: Ventrue Bloodline. Arising in Haiti, these Vodoun-praciting vampires claim to have been chosen by the loa Ghede, guardian of the gates between the living and the dead, to serve as his helpers and assistants. Though membership in the bloodline costs the Apollinaire their left eye, which melts away into a misty-white orb, they gain the power to see and communicate with ghosts, and the powerful ghost-controlling discipline of Carrefour.

Les Gens Libres: Gangrel Bloodline. During the Haitian Revolution, many vampires joined their living counterparts in expelling the slavemasters from their nation, and became the Freedmen bloodline as a result. They still view themselves as champions of freedom to this day, and even hold up their inability to use the Vinculum in any of its forms as a symbol of their devotion to freedom... they are sadly ignorant of their true origin as a breed of cattle crafted by hungry elder vampires.

Geheim: Ventrue Bloodline. Equal parts depraved extended family, bizarre esoteric society and cunnining aristorats, the Geheim rose from the most twisted households of the Austrian aristocracy, but somehow survived their origins and even their tangled ties with the Nazis. Practitioners of Blut Alchemie, the Geheim believe that only through a mixture of alchemical purification and devoted hedonism can they find spiritual perfection. As a result, they suffer a -1 penalty to attempts to resist Vitae addiction, and also suffer a -2 penalty to Anger Frenzy rolls on any night where they did not successfully feed the night before.

Septemi: Daeva Bloodline. Part bloodline, part fledgeling covenant, the Septemi are deeply religious vampires who reject the teachings of the Lancea et Sanctum and seek to actively replace it, promoting their own message that vampires are chosen by God to shield and protect humanity from the worse things lurking in the shadows. The Lancea et Sanctum despises them, especially because their unique discipling of Abjurism grants them the ability to counter and protect against all manner of magic, including the blood-fueled miracles of the Lancea. However, the Septemi suffer with an inherent calling to both the heights and depths of humanity; in addition to the standard Daeva weakness, they also must spend 2 Willpower to resist the urge to engage in any virtuous act that would normally refill their Willpower, even if they've already benefited from that once-per-day effect.

Corajoso: Ventrue Bloodline. A bloodline of telepathic vampires bred by the Spanish kindred of the Gremio de Corajoso to form a living communications network in an era when messaging was slow and unreliable. This grants them their unique discipline of Linagem, but also their unique weakness; when in the presence of 2 or more non-Corajosa vampires, a Corajoso suffers the inability to take 10-again on Resolve or Composure rolls (unless it's to activate a Discipline, though Perception is affected), and also treats their Resolve value as -1 when attempting to use it as a defense trait.

Androanzi: Nosferatu Bloodline. This African bloodline wasn't discovered by European kindred until the Gremio de Corajoso. Their unique discipline of Nburu gives them powers to control plants and insects, but they suffer an instinctive compulsion to maim and mutilate those they feed upon, cause 1 Lethal Damage per Vitae point gained unless the Androanzi spends a Willpower point to restrain themselves.

Kinnaree: Daeva Bloodline. Dating back to the First Kingdom of Thailand, these vampires believe themselves to be chosen by Durga to ultimately slay the Asura and Devi both when those races grow too old and feeble to continue their duties. As such, they believe frenzy is a holy gift given from their patron goddess, and so treat "riding the wave" of frenzy as another vice for their Daeva weakness.

Mayarap: Nosferatu Bloodline. Dating back to the First Kingdom of Thailand, these vampires follow their own bloody take on the path of the Buddhist Monk. Their desire for detachment finds a mocking expression through their curse; even the most normal-looking Mayarap comes off as sociopathic, completely incapable of expressing any understanding of feelings. They also cannot enter rage frenzy, nor ride the wave, instead entering fear frenzy when sufficiently provoked. In return, they have access to the discipline of Bhumispara, a passive discipline that makes them all but impossible to hurt.

Mystikoi: Gangrel Bloodline. Somehow, this Gnostic bloodline-cult has survived ever since the days of the Crusade, and continues seeking perfection through their vampiric nature. This has manifested both in their unique discipline of Spiritus Sancti, which manipulates and draws upon the Beast in unusually intimate ways, and their unique curse; the Mystikoi are slaves to the Beast, and so cannot spend Willpower to resist either frenzy (though they can spend Willpower to "Ride the Wave") or powers that would force them into a Frenzied state.

Order of Sir Martin: Nosferatu Bloodline. Tracing their lineage back to the First Crusade, the Order of Sir Martin are infamous mercenaries who suffer a deep corruption of the soul; whilst they don't all appear as diseased or even mutated, they risk potentially vomiting precious blood whenever they try to feed, as their bodies rebel against the most basic act of undead survival.

En: Daeva Bloodline. Symbiotically linked with soul-eating demons called alu, the En were the rulers of Babylon for the myriad powers their alu symbionts gave them, most notably the ability to indulge in diablerie without fear of consequences... save that they might make their demon too strong, allowing it to devour them from the inside out and take their place. Combined with their natural sociopathy (-3 penalty to untrained Social skills, can't take 10-again on non-discipline-activating Empathy, Persuasion or Socialize rolls) and it should be no wonder that most believe they devoured themselves to the last when Babylon fell.

Iltani: Mekhet Bloodline. Having survived since the days of Babylon, the Iltani are defined by their mastery of Merges Sorcery, which transmutes a caster's own malice, spite and rage into mystical poisons. The downside is that their minds are naturally predisposed to wallow in rage and resentment, meaning that if an Iltani fails a discipline roll, the Storyteller gets roll a dice and, on a 1, the Iltani must make a roll against Frenzy (2 successes).

Bak-Ra: Mekhet Bloodline. One of the craziest things to come from Ancient Egypt, the Bak-Ra are vampire sun worshippers. Yes, you read that right. As a result, they suffer greatly with their new status as creatures of the dark, requiring +1 Vitae to wake for the night.

Usiri: Nosferatu Bloodline. In the days of ancient Egypt, these Osiris-worshipping vampires formed a cult devoted to harnessing secrets and protecting the dreaming realm. They achieve this through their dream-manipulating powers of Hypnogagia, but their curse is that they spend their own daysleep battling in fierce battles in the underworld, causing them to lose 1 Willpower each time they wake.

Bloodlines: The Devoted

The 2e revival of the series, "The Devoted" is a 2nd edition update for assorted 1st edition bloodlines that appeared in either the Bloodlines series or in the 1e clan or covenant splatbooks, specifically updating the following:

• Agonistes (Mekhet), from Bloodlines: The Chosen
• Asnâm (Daeva), from Circle of the Crone
• Azerkatil (Nosferatu), from Ordo Dracul
• Baddacelli (Nosferatu), from Bloodlines: The Chosen
• Bohagande (Gangrel), from Bloodlines: The Hidden
• The Carnival (Daeva), from Bloodlines: The Legendary
• Deucalion (Ventrue), from Carthians
• Dragolescu (Ventrue), from Ordo Dracul
• Gorgons (Ventrue), from Circle of the Crone
• Icarians (Ventrue), from Lancea Sanctum
• Kallisti (Daeva), from Invictus
• Libitinarius (Mekhet), from Ordo Dracul
• Lynx (Mekhet), from Invictus
• Macellarius (Ventrue), from Bloodlines: The Legendary
• Morotrophians (Nosferatu), from Bloodlines: The Hidden
• Mortifiers of the Flesh (Any), from Lancea Sanctum
• Nepheshim (Gangrel), from Lancea Sanctum
• Sotoha (Ventrue), from Invictus
• Spina (Daeva), from Invictus
• Therion (Any), from Belial’s Brood
• Tismanu (Mekhet), from Ordo Dracul
• Vedma (Gangrel), from Ordo Dracul
• Dunia (Akhud), mentioned in VII

Bloodlines: The Resurrection

The second Bloodlines splat for 2e, this book converts another 10 1e bloodlines, and offers suggestions for converting another 20.

The fully converted bloodlines are:

• Alucinor (Mekhet), from Bloodlines: The Hidden
• Annunaku (Gangrel), from Invictus
• Apollinaire (Ventrue) from Ancient Bloodlines
• Burakumin (Nosferatu), from the 1e Vampire corebook
• Galloi (Nosferatu), from Bloodlines: The Legendary
• Nahualli (Ventrue), from Bloodlines: the Hidden
• Sangiovanni (Mekhet), from Bloodlines: The Chosen
• Septemi (Daeva), from Ancient Bloodlines
• Tianpan Xiao (Daeva), from Bloodlines: The Chosen
• Zelani (Daeva), from Carthians,