Lore: Tzmisce

Secondary Abilities

This Lore represents knowledge of the social structure, traditions and myths of the Tzimisce. It also represents how well a character might be able to recognize the names of famous Tzimisce and know the trends of the Clan within given regions.

Generally Possessed By: Tzimisce, Tzimisce Revanents

Potential Specializations: Bratovich Lore, Children of Dracon Lore, Koldun Lore, Grimaldi Lore, Obterus Lore, Old Clan Lore, Tzimisce Culture, Tzimisce History, Tzimisce Physiology, Zantosa Lore

Sources Consulted for this List: Clanbook: Tzimisce (2nd Ed.), Clanbook: Tzimisce (Rev. Ed), Libellus Sanguinis I: Masters of State (2nd Ed), Player's Guide to the High Clans (Rev. Ed)

Lore: Tzimisce *

You know that the primary Tzimisce Disciplines are Animalism, Auspex, and Vicissitude, and that Vicissitude is generally unique to their Clan.

You know that all Tzimisce are apparently spiritually tied to their point of origin, and that no Tzimisce may rest peacefully without two handfuls of his or her native soil.

You know that the Tzimisce Antediluvian is seldom given a name or gender, and that the Tzimisce claim that it has been destroyed.

You know that the Clan was originally settled in the Carpathians and Transylvania where it tended to organize itself in a feudalistic fashion. You know that many "movie" vampires share characteristics in common with the Tzimisce.

You know that the Tzimisce are often cited as the spiritual leaders of the Sabbat, and that they are credited with the creation of the auctoris ritae, most especially the Vaulderie.

You know that the Tzimisce are often considered the least humane of vampires, and that they are the ones most commonly on Paths of Enlightenment and willing to teach them to others. You know that the Path most often associated with the Clan is the Path of Metamorphosis, a transhumanist philosophy in which initiates strive toward some state known as Azhi Dahaka.

You know that some Tzmisice, known as the koldun practice Sorcery.

You are familiar with the terms voivode (the Tzimisce lord of a region), szlachta (Vicissitude modified ghouls serving a Tzimisce master), manse (a Tzmisice's primary haven) and tirsa (land or territory).

You are aware that the Tzimisce are said to have bred their ghouled serfs into bloodlines known as Revanants, mortals who show the aspects of ghouldom at birth and without ingesting vampiric blood.

Lore: Tzimisce **

You know that the Tzimisce progenitor was said to have left the company of the other Antediluvians before the flood, because it sought to free itself from the ravages of the Beast through exploration and experimentation. It is said to have eventually settled in the Carpathians, the lands to which the Tzimisce have the strongest ties.

You have heard of Kupala's Night, the evening upon which Lugoj Bloodbreaker gathered his allies and clanmates together and broke the blood bond upon them using some mystical ceremonies from which eventually evolved the auctoris ritae and Vaulderie. You also know that it was later Lugoj who is said to have diablerized the eldest in it's manse.

You are familiar with the War of Omens, and know that it was a conflict between Clan Tzimisce and the newly created Clan Tremere.

You know that most Tzimisce refuse to diablerize those of their own Clan.

You know that not all Tzimisce ally themselves with the Sabbat, and that many of the Eastern European elders (known to some as the Old Clan Tzimisce) claim independence from the affairs of Sect. You also know that some of these elders seem to have an irrational paranoia regarding the Vicissitude Discipline.

You are aware of the order known as the Children of Dracon which operates within the Sabbat, and know that they both seek to "atone" for some sort of sin committed by the Clan and tend to eschew the use of koldunic sorcery.

You know that the Path of Metamorphosis is unique among Paths as the concept of Azhi Dahaka is never clearly defined, and that each initiate must discover it for themselves.

You know that the term voivode formerly referred to the lord of a given Domain, but in the modern nights it is most commonly used to refer to the voivode for the entire Clan who essentially acts as it's head. You know that the current voivode is Minerva Schwalke-Wojtkiewicz.

You know of the , those Tzmisce who are generally considered worth leaders and advisors. You know that the requirement for being a is that one must have mastered their zulo form.

You have heard of hellhounds (great dogs bred for ferocity and augmented with Vicissitude), bogatyri (monstrous servitors the Tzimisce held during the middle ages) and the vozhd (gigantic war-ghouls built out of numerous animals and people grafted together with Vicissitude and spiritually linked with koldunic sorcery).

You are familiar with the basic Revenant families that serve Clan Tzimisce. You know of: the Bratovich, an inbred and violent family of Polish animal trainers and fighters; the Grimaldi, a family with heavy mortal connections adept at helping to keep vampiric activity secret; the Obterus, a Byzantine family of secretive and reclusive scholars often associated with the Children of Dracon; and the Zantosa, a notoriously debauched bloodline which has heavy ties to assorted vice trades.

You have at least heard, in passing, of legendary Tzimisce, such as: Lambach Ruthven, an elder who continuously seems to be present during crucial moments regarding the Antediluvian's movements; Yorak, one of Tzimisce's original childer and voivode of the Clan for most of it's history; and Veyla the Vivisectionist, who along with Lugoj helped to create the Vaulderie and now serves as Cardinal to the "Lands Beyond the Forest."

Lore: Tzimisce ***

You have heard that the Antediluvian fell into slumber for several centuries after being attacked by warring Salubri. Oddly, some accounts of this event have Tzimisce being killed in the fray, although this clearly cannot be true if Lugoj managed to diablerize him centuries later.

You know what Kupala is, a demon spirit native to the region in which Tzimisce settled, that the eldest supposedly made a pact with. You know that it is because of this spirit (who is itself bound to the land) that the Tzimisce are likewise bound to their native soil. You also know that it is supposedly the origin of koldunic sorcery.

You have heard of the legend of Kupala's fire flower, which was the key ingredient that Lugoj needed to break the bond.

You know that the War of Omens originally was said to have started when the Tremere, using Tzimisce vitae, gave themselves the Embrace, and that the local Gangrel and Nosferatu of the region allied themselves temporarily with the Tzimisce.

You that the Old Clan Tzimisce have created an organization known as the Ordea League, consisting of twelve of their eldest. You know it is unwise to meddle in their affairs.

You know a bit about the structure of the Children of Dracon. You know that it operates from the Hagia Sophia and that it resembles a monastic order in practice. You know that the order is split into two branches, the scholarly branch (Akoimetai) and the knightly branch.

You have heard of such movements as: the Neofeudalists, Tzimisce who seek to recreate their Lord/serf hierarchies in a modern setting; the Exsanguinists, Tzimisce who believe that drinking blood impedes enlightenment and engage in ritualistic vampiric anorexia as a result; and the Reclaimists, those who believe diablerie to be essential to understanding the vampiric condition, and spend most of their time in zulo form waiting to commit it.

You have heard legends of the Cathedral of Flesh, a fantastical structure created by Yorak out of thousands of human victims. You know that it disappeared from it's place in Transylvannia centuries ago and many rumors abound as to what became of it.

You know that each of the Revanent families have a specific disposition for certain vampiric Disciplines and that each House also bears certain inherited weaknesses. You know that the Bratovich employ the Disciplines Animalism, Potence and Vicissitude and they have inherently bad tempers and are prone to flying into rages. You know that the Grimaldi employ the Disciplines Celerity, Dominate and Fortitude and each one of them serves on Sabbat member as a thrall to a blood bond. You know that the Obterus employ the Disciplines Auspex, Obfuscate and Vicissitude and have a tendency to become engrossed in their work to the point of derangement. You know that the Zantosa employ the Disciplines Auspex, Presence and Vicissitude and find it very easy to succumb to mortal temptation.

You have heard of the Oprichniki, a rare Russian Revanant bloodline that maintains it's loyalty only to those Tzimisce unaffiliated with the Sabbat, particularly the Ordea League.

You are familiar with the Romanian Legacy foundation, a group masquerading as a mortal genealogy studies organization which seeks to track down mortals with Revanent blood that the family has "lost".

You are aware that Schwalke-Wojtkiewic is generally considered another link in an ongoing chain of progressively weaker voivodes and that she actually wields little power in the Clan.

You are aware that the Tzimisce have been credited with embracing such historical figures as Vlad Tepes, known more popularly as Dracula.

You have at least heard, in passing, of famous Tzimisce, such as: Byelobog, a Methusaleh who masqueraded as the Slavic "White God"; Demdemeh, an African Methusaleh who supposedly sired a bizarre variant bloodline; Gruunhild, a witch queen who allegedly helped to facilitate the Sabbat's exodus to Scandanavia post Revolt; Katarirya, a Methusaleh that settled in Sri Lanka and is supposedly responsible for spawning many of the native "demons" of the region; and Righteous Endeavor, a former witch-hunter who now serves as a Priscus.

Lore: Tzimisce ****

You have heard legends that state that the Tzimisce Antediluvian placed some of it's flesh into each of its childer, and that through this, the creature may experience the sensations of each member of the Clan. You have also heard very unsettling rumors that indicate that due to this the Antediluvian would be able to consume or control any of it's descendants as well. Legends say it did this to the first of its childer, Gallod.

You know that the War of Omens actually was started by a conflict between the Ventrue Nova Arpad and the Tzimisce methuselah Ionache over the territory of Hungry, and that it was Jürgen of Magdeburg, another Ventrue, who briefly led one of the major onslaughts against the Clan.

You are aware that many Tzimisce were used during the War of Omens in Tremere experiments to create the bloodline of the gargoyles.

You have heard legends that Kupala once opposed the shape shifting Lupines of the region, and that they sought to imprison it by burying it under the earth. They required so much earth to be heap on top of it though, they they formed the Carpathian mountains in the process.

You know that the connection to Kupala and to sorcery is often mirrored in a Tzimisce's connection to the soil, and that some Tzmisice are said to be quieted in their rest only by the soil of Kupala's lands, even if they weren't born there. It is said that these childer, if not killed for perceived weakness, make excellent koldun.

You've heard that Ruthven has made wild claims stating that Lugoj was somehow overtaken by the eldest during the diablerie and that something terrible (and yet strangely reminiscent of the Cathedral of Flesh) lurks under New York's sewers. Few believe him.

You know that the Oprichniki favor the Disciplines of Auspex, Obfuscate and Vicissitude, and that each one of them is said to be under a curse where they are pursued by the ghosts of the dead.

You have heard of the Revanent bloodlines which now longer serve the Tzmisice or who went extinct. THese include: the Krevcheski, who defected to the Tremere and became the Duschevsky; the Khavi, who served the elder Bylebog, but were eventually slain by invading Teutonic Knights; the Vlaszy, who sided with the nascent Camarilla during the revolt and were hunted down and killed; and the Basarab, who were systematically slaughtered due to the interventions of Vlad Tepes (Dracula) who came from their lineage.

You've heard of some of the fairly obscure Tzimisce of note, such as: Doktor Tötentanz, a Nazi sympathizing torturer of the Black Hand; and Corine Marcón, a renowned fashion designer, who even boasts some Camarilla clientele.

Lore: Tzimisce *****

You've heard that some of the Old Clan believe Vicissitude to be a disease, inflicted by terrible creatures known as Soul Eaters. You may wonder if this has anything to do about the legends of Tzimisce's flesh being in each of his childer.

You know that the Children of Dracon regard Kupala as a curse upon the Clan and this is why they forfeit any koldunic knowledge. You hear that they also believe that Tzimisce was killed during the Salubri wars, but it was the Dracon who managed to use his embryotic remains to breed another incarnation. This lends some credence, if true, to the theories that the eldest survived Lugoj's diablerie.

You've heard that Lambach Ruthven indicates that Tzimisce somehow transferred it's consciousness either to Lugoj to into the Cathedral of Flesh or in some cases to both. You know that several members of the Clan, taking stock in Rutheven's words, suspect that the Antediluvian isn't dead.

You've heard stories that further imply that Kupala's fire flower, was in fact an extension of the Antediluvian himself, and that the Vaulderie only serves to help place even more under Tzimisce's sway.