Tzimisce

The symbol of Clan Tzimisce.

The Tzimisce are the most overtly monstrous and least pronounceable clan in Vampire: The Masquerade. Their signature Discipline is Vicissitude, the power to shape flesh and bone like clay, which these Fiends use on themselves as much as their unwilling victims. A strong part of the Sabbat, the Fiends are the faction's scholars and spiritual leaders.

Their history stretches back to the early days of eastern Europe, when their Antediluvian and namesake made a pact with a powerful demon known as Kupala, freeing it from its earthen prison in exchange for magical knowledge. The pact bound Tzimisce's blood to the land, creating the clan's great weakness: the Fiends must sleep with earth taken from their mortal homelands to maintain their power. During the Dark Ages, the Tzimisce came into heated conflict with the fledgling clan Tremere over the latter's use of Tzimisce blood to unlock the secrets of vampirism. The Anarch Revolt saw the clan's hierarchy severely weakened and most Tzimisce have taken to a solitary existence since then, studying the vampiric condition, the extent of their powers, and the limits of human morality. The Tzimisce are the innovators of the Paths of Enlightenment, codes of conduct intended to handle the Beast in ways that don't require aping the niceties of human society.

Unlike the Ventrue, they don't have affinity for Dominate, so the Fiends rule through sheer terror. Vicissitude is the key to the Tzimisce's dominance. It is the power to shape flesh and bone in ways nature can't even imagine in its worst nightmares. Fiends make use of furniture made from living (in most cases, still living) human slaves and can merge multiple creatures together to create engines of war such as the dreaded vozhd. When applied to themselves, Tzimisce can reshape their bodies in any way imaginable, creating utterly inhuman forms as the whim strikes them.

There are exactly two nice things that can be said of them. The first is that they're about the only vampires left that will loudly and openly proclaim the innocence of the Salubri and the crime of the Tremere in framing and destroying them. Admittedly, this is almost certainly part of their eternal hatred of the Tremere, but baby steps. The second is their belief in old-world traditions of hospitality and proper conduct. If a Tzimisce's offering you the chance to stay in his house, sup on his larder, and suffer no trouble or injury while you're there, he means it.