V20 Dark Ages: Lamiae

Vampire: The Masquerade

Hi everybody!

Right now, we’re closing in on a lot of drafts of V20 Dark Ages. Many are in editing. Some are getting some last-stage polish. In the mean time, I wanted to share one of my favorite V20 Dark Ages bloodline writeups: The Lamiae. We have about a dozen bloodlines, and a few transitional bloodline/clans (like the Tremere, Salubri, Cappadocians, and Giovani).

Anyway, here’s the Lamiae, as presented by the wonderful J Dymphna Coy, who is also providing the Cappadocian content, Necromancy, much of the introductory fiction, and some of our Antagonists content.

Lamia

Ages ago, Lazarus, the wandering childe of Cappadocius, discovered a cult of mortals who worshipped in Egypt a woman named Lamia, a powerful sorceress who claimed direct descent from the Dark Mother, Lilith. Fascinated by her knowledge, awed by her power, and perhaps even entranced by her beauty, Lazarus Embraced Lamia upon the altar of her temple.

The legend becomes murky here. Rumors persist that, after her Embrace, Lamia gently beckoned Lazarus over and whispered a few words into his ear. Upon hearing them, Lazarus fled the temple and has rarely emerged since. Regardless of what transpired between them, Lazarus has gone into hiding since that day, and his maggot-white skin turns paler still when the name of Lamia is mentioned.

Lazarus is not the only one of the Kindred to fear the Lilin. They are renowned for their martial prowess and mental discipline. Their place among the Kindred is complex. They do not seek out mortal power or influence, nor do they care for the petty rivalries and factionalism of the Jyhad. They rather prize learning and knowledge — specifically of the occult. Their studies make them well-matched with their Cappadocian clanmates, though they are more likely to learn through ritual, direct experience, and meditation than by a more scholarly approach. It is not uncommon for a Lamia to live as an itinerant scholar or duelist, traveling between Domains, only returning home to impart the wisdom earned on her travels to her flock.

Appearance: The Lamiae do not possess the corpselike pallor of the other Cappadocians. Older Lamiae are generally descended from the people of Egypt and the Holy Land are thus as diverse as its peoples: Copts, Arabs, Jews, Kurds, Turks, Nubians, Berbers, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans alike are found in the elder generations. Younger generations tend to also include some members from Western and Northern Europe, but they’re comparatively rare.

When not in a ritual space, most Lamiae dress in armor or practical clothing that allows them to move quickly and freely. For women, this often means affecting masculine dress.

Haven: In general, the Lilin take their Havens in remote areas mortals are reluctant to visit. Crypts, graveyards, shrines, and abandoned plague-villages are ideal locations for a Lamia to rest. Lamiae who are closely aligned with a local cult will often make their havens in the ritual space of the temple, if one exists.

Background: It is commonly assumed that the Lamiae Embrace women almost exclusively. This is incorrect. Like their female counterparts, male Lamiae are typically Embraced because they are mortal cultists, magicians, or scholars. They must, however, recognize and venerate the feminine aspects of the divine, and consider women to be –at the very least– equals to men. The clan attracts members who find themselves stifled or persecuted under patriarchal norms. Although our modern concepts of gay men, lesbians, transgender persons, or bisexuals do not exist as such in the Dark Medieval, Kindred who might be considered as such by modern eyes are frequently encountered among the Gorgons.

Character Creation: Nearly all Lamiae are trained in combat, though many receive this training after the Embrace. Survival, martial prowess, and Stamina are highly valued by the group. Knowledges, particularly involving the occult, as similarly valued.

Though they may have mortals as followers or magi as allies, the Lamiae seldom have Backgrounds that relate to status in Kindred courts outside of their own clan Even by Kindred standards, the Lamiae who deign to swear fealty to a Prince seldom seem to take their oaths particularly seriously. It is currently fashionable among the Kindred for a Prince to keep a Lamia as an enforcer.

Nicknames: Gorgons, Lilin

Clan Disciplines: Fortitude, Necromancy, Potence. The Lamiae have developed their own branch of necromancy — the Path of Four Humors — which is guarded carefully and only taught to those who have come to venerate the Dark Mother.

Weakness: The Lamiae are not touched by death in the way that the Cappadocians are. No, the Gorgons say, they are blessed by that great and terrible Mother that lies beyond death, and her merciless and terrible love brings ruin to those who are weak enough to not withstand it.

The bite of the Lamiae brings the Seed of Lilith, a wasting plague that rots away the members of a still-living body until eventually killing mortal victims, causing one lethal damage per night (nightly Stamina roll, difficulty 7 to resist) for a fortnight. Any Kindred that consume Lamiae blood will also be carriers of the disease until all Lamia blood is purged from their bodies.

Organization: The Lamiae are organized in small cults throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Holy Land. They will typically be found wherever the feminine divine is worshipped; many shrines to Mary have a cult of Lilith hidden behind them. These groups are typically secretive, tight-knit cells composed of less than a dozen Gorgons and their mortal worshippers. It is not uncommon for childe and sire to stay in close contact even long after the Embrace. A few high-ranking representatives of the Lamiae will make the annual pilgrimage to Ericyes with the rest of the Cappadocians, but most Gorgons convene instead at the Temple of Lamia.

Stereotypes

Assamite: Your sanctimony won’t save you.

Brujah: Delight in the pain. Don’t rage against it. You might actually learn something that way, if you even care about learning anymore.

Cappadocians: They will never admit it, but they truly fear the darkness. Why else would they hide behind their cadavers and their musty books?

Followers of Set: There is only one Serpent, little hatchlings, and She is greater than your pathetic little god.

Gangrel: Feed and fuck and breed and suffer. Know the world with the dark animal of your body.

Giovanni: They think themselves unnoticed.

Malkavian: Wisdom is to be experienced, not learned. They know this.

Nosferatu: If you have the patience to suffer their quasi-sincere groveling, you may learn much from them.

Ventrue: You were given the night, and this is what you’ve chosen to do with it?

Baali: Demons are our brothers and sisters, and we do not fear them. We do not serve them, either.

Caitiff: Get up. You will endure, and grow strong.