Tzimisce

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Tzimisce Clan Symbol

The Tzimisce (pronounced /ˈʒɪmɨsiː/ ZHIM-i-see^[1]) are a fictional clan of vampires in White Wolf Game Studio's books and role-playing games Vampire: The Masquerade and Vampire: The Dark Ages.

The Tzimisce consider themselves apart from and superior to other Vampires, or Kindred, by dint of their unique Disciplines, unnatural ethical views and the inner-structure of their Clan. Many Tzimisce are warriors or religious leaders within the Sabbat, though many lead existences devoid of other Vampiric contact, instead surrounding themselves with servants and slaves. They are obsessed with their birthplaces and graves, usually possessing some of the soil from the location of their Embrace, over which they are fiercely territorial.

The Tzimisce are known for their body altering technique, called Vicissitude or, less formally, "fleshcrafting". Tzimisce can supernaturally alter the bodies of living and undead organisms, even to the point of melting them. For this clan, body alteration is an art and a philosophy. In the modern ages, most Tzimisce are prescriptive social Darwinists. Sooner or later, many Tzimisce become totally lost in this detached and inhuman way of thinking, often losing all contact with the concepts of mercy, compassion, or moral or ethical value as understood by the human mind.^[2][3]

The Tzimisce seek physical and spiritual purification and perfection, though their interpretations of these concepts are often alien or incomprehensible to humans and sometimes even to other vampires. They often "fleshcraft" themselves into forms they believe to be beautiful and/or terrifying. The most common "path of enlightenment" for a Tzimisce is called the "Path of Metamorphosis", and is a replacement for their lost humanity. Tzimisce with this path only have one goal with their whole existence: to become so powerful that the whole world becomes part of themselves — Azhi Dahaka, when the world becomes a part of yourself, a sort of inverted Nirvana.^[4]

History

The Tzimisce were one of the High Clans. In medieval times, it was common for the Tzimisce to hold vast domains in Eastern Europe, and command armies of men, ghouls and monsters of their own making; in some places they were revered or worshipped almost as gods. The most (in)famous Tzimisce was Vlad Ţepeş, commonly known as Dracula.

The Tzimisce were among the preferred victims of the Tremere clan, who often employed Tzimisce as raw material to craft Gargoyles. The Tzimisce of old held the Tremere in utmost contempt.

During the Dark Ages, the younger members of the clan were subject to blood bonds with their elders, until they found a way to break them and slaughtered most of their masters. This ritual is called Vaulderie and consists of a blood bond with the pack members rather than a single elder, thus bonding to a community (or pack) of fellow Tzimisce and breaking their sire's control upon them. The Vaulderie is now one of the Auctoritas Ritae and practiced by all of the Sabbat, in theory at least.^[4]

It was also during the Dark Ages that the Koldun arose as a whole Tzimisce faction. In the modern World of Darkness, Koldun are so rare as to be considered extinct.^[4] The Koldun were later ret-conned into Old Clan Tzimisce.

In Vampire: The Masquerade, the Tzimisce clan is associated with the Sabbat who wage an eternal struggle against their vampiric rivals in the Camarilla. Their symbol is the Ouroboros.^[3]

Vicissitude

Vicissitude is the trademark Discipline of Clan Tzimisce, and one of the most horrifying powers available to Cainites. With it an experienced crafter can sculpt the flesh and bone of a subject, making them a creature of alien beauty or gnarling them into a deformed monstrosity. Tzimisce use Vicissitude on themselves extensively, altering their appearances with their mood or changing their bodies to be as vile as their souls.^[2]

Outside of Thaumaturgy, Vicissitude is the most versatile of the Disciplines, and is often used in tandem with extensive ghouling. Tzimisce tend to deform their servants into war-forms szlachta, which are optimized for combat through extensive bone plating, spiked forearms and other modifications. True masters of fleshcrafting are capable of fusing multiple victims together into mammoth killing machines known as vozhd, but such creations are incredibly rare. Vicissitude was also used to create the Blood Brothers bloodline, and their Discipline Sanguinus is a derivation of the Tzimisce art. While its effects are normally permanent, vampires of lower generation can heal fleshcrafting transformations over time. Likewise, the clan curse of the Nosferatu cannot be removed through use of Vicissitude.^[3]

The nature of Vicissitude is shrouded in mystery, with even the most elder Fiends only speculating as to its origins and true potential. More than just a Discipline, it seems to act as a virus that "infects" others through transmission of blood. It is assumed to be invented by the Tzimisce Antediluvian, with some speculating that Vicissitude itself is an extension of the Elder Tzimisce and that it continues to learn and experiment through those that fleshcraft. The Tzimisce themselves view the control over physical forms granted by the Discipline as proof of their superiority over mortals who are slaves to their bodies. Practitioners of the Path of Metamorphosis go a step further and consider Vicissitude the path to achieve individual evolution and transcendence through a somewhat scientific approach of research and experimentation.

In Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand, Vicissitude was said to be a parasite that originated in the Deep Umbra and was brought back by a Tzimisce named Andeleon. As a disease, it eats away at the body, mind, and soul of an infected individual until they are consumed and taken over by it, becoming a Souleater. Supposedly the Old Clan Tzimisce were the few Fiends able to isolate themselves and avoid becoming infected. The True Black Hand was devoted to wiping out the alien invasion, while at the same time keeping it a secret from the world.^[5]

The idea of Souleaters and Vicissitude as an alien plague received a great deal of criticism and was a divisive element of canon. The Vampire Storytellers Handbook Revised stated the idea was merely the result of a "lunatic fringe" within the Old Clan Tzimisce, and to be disregarded. However, the Guide to the Sabbat reintroduced an optional rule with Vicissitude as a disease that can infect anyone that comes into contact with tainted blood. Infection is necessary for learning Vicissitude, and the degree to which one is afflicted influences the difficulty of learning levels of the Discipline. Instead of taking over a practitioner's mind, however, the disease makes it more likely those infected gain a derangement.^[2][4]

The Cathedral of Flesh

The Cathedral of Flesh is a gigantic living being formed into a cathedral. Tzimisce legend and aesthetics hold it the most beautiful creation ever. It is said that the high priest was part of the cathedral and that he spoke with its walls instead of showing himself in person. The cathedral has moved several times since it was created and is now located under New York City.^[2]

The Cathedral of Flesh is, in some versions of the canon, claimed to actually be Tzimisce itself, the clan's Antediluvian founder. However, it is also mentioned in the final list of all the founders that it was intended to be one of his shells or husks, still overflowing with the founder's power of Vicissitude. It has transcended humanity and vampirism to become a gigantic blob of constantly mutating flesh. In one Gehenna scenario, Tzimisce erupts from the sewers of New York City and devours vampires and mortals alike.

In the last chapter of the official PC game Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption, the player's Brujah character has to go into the Cathedral of Flesh and fight one of Tzimisce's childer, Vukodlak, to rescue New York.^[3]

Minor bloodlines

Nagloper

Laibon Legacy of Clan Tzimisce.

Old Clan Tzimisce

Old Clan Tzimisce Symbol

Old Clan Tzimisce are the members of the Tzimisce clan who did not join the Sabbat or cultivate the use of Vicissitude; they do not consider themselves a bloodline. They are old (at least 500 years, as most predate the formation of the Sabbat), of low generation, and rule small domains almost exclusively in Eastern Europe. In the Old World of Darkness, Dracula is a member of this bloodline.

The majority of Tzimisce elders met Final Death when the clan joined the Sabbat but a fair number escaped their vindictive progeny. Securing their demesnes against the ravages of the Sabbat, these vampires continue to exist much as they had for centuries, albeit more warily.

Though some refer to these Tzimisce as the "Old Clan," that is a misnomer. These hoary vampires have little use for sect, clan, or other ties. They remember well the nights of old, when each vampire was a law unto itself, and any other vampire was a potential enemy. (Note that Old Clan Tzimisce do not call themselves "antitribu," as do the surviving non-Sabbat Lasombra.)

Accordingly, Old Clan Tzimisce society is structured around individual broods comprising a sire and one or more Blood Bound childer. Childer, for Old Clan Tzimisce, fill the roles of lovers, family, friends, bodyguards and servants. Tzimisce mastery over the Blood Bond allows the sire to attune the emotions of his childer to a desired pitch. Thus, a vampire lover may be Blood Bound to feel all-consuming desire for the sire, a guard may be Blood Bound for loyalty, and a mate may be "programmed" for love. The fact that these emotions are artificial and one-sided rarely bothers the sire.^[5]

Old Clan Tzimisce rarely congregate. Other Tzimisce are, if anything, even less trustworthy than other vampires. Indeed, many Old Clan Tzimisce spend more time brooding over some millennia-old, centuries-forgotten slight by one of their "peers" than they do worrying about the very real threat that the Sabbat poses. This is not to say that Old Clan Tzimisce have forgotten their traitorous progeny. On the contrary, many Old Clan Tzimisce have gone so far as to disown younger Tzimisce entirely. These Tzimisce, the Old Clan claims, are not vampires at all, but fleshly hosts for otherworldly parasites called "Souleaters." This distinction seems to be based on the possession of Vicissitude, although some ancient non-Sabbat Tzimisce have verifiably possessed Vicissitude for millennia.^[5]

Some Sabbat whisper that a few Old Clan childer have been rendered immune to the Vinculum by their elders and sent into the world with the purpose of infiltrating the Sabbat and bringing it down. The clan publicly scoffs at these rumors, but some high-ranking Sabbat have expressed private unease about such a prospect.^[3]

Members of Old Clan Tzimisce rarely concern themselves with vampire politics; the bloodline has no organization of its own, and its members concentrate on ruling their domains.^[3]

Old Clan Tzimisce practice Koldunic Sorcery, similar to Thaumaturgy in idea but very different in practice. Major differences include Koldunic Sorcery requiring the service of the living earth rather than memorized routes and rituals, Koldunic Sorcery tending to be much more subtle than Thaumaturgy, and Koldunic Sorcery requiring not so much an extension of will as being a master of the very material a Fiend wishes to manipulate.

Practitioners of Koldunic Sorcery are known as Koldun and are almost exclusively Old Clan Tzimisce. Many "regular" Tzimisce are unable to practice Koldunic Sorcery, having turned away from the spirituality and perfection this form of sorcery requires to master. However, Koldunic Sorcery is by no means "good"; constant use will cause the very land and earth to eventually warp around the user. There are five primary paths of Koldunic Sorcery: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Spirit. Lesser paths, such as the Way of Sorrow, do exist, but are rarely followed and are usually specialized extensions of the five primary paths.

It is hinted that Koldunic Sorcery is made possible through the Tzimisce connection with the earth demon Kupala, who helped drive the Garou away from the Carpathians and allowed the Fiends to establish the area as their homeland.

Old Clan Tzimisce also appear as a bloodline in the the card game Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.^[6]

Tremere

Clan Tremere can be argued to be a bloodline of the Tzimisce. The Tremere were originally a group of human mages from House Tremere of the Order of Hermes. When they found their magical life-extending elixirs started failing due to the growing lack of belief in magic, they started looking elsewhere. They captured vampires of the Tzimisce clan and conducted experiments on their bodies and blood, and they found how to become immortal with the help of a fellow patron named the Comte de Saint Germain.

This fact proves vital in several Gehenna scenarios as all descendants of Tzimisce host, in some form, are seed of the Tzimisce antediluvian. In more than one Gehenna scenario the Tzimisce antediluvian used this fact to reconstitute himself and take over Tremere's body.^[7]

Tzimisce of Note

• Andrei, Sabbat leader based in LA
• The Dracon, eldest child of The Eldest
• Lambach Ruthven, Sire of Dracula, [Tzimisce]'s chosen
• Vlad Tepes / Dracula, Son of the Dragon
• Myca (later known as Sascha) Vykos, Caine's Angel, Priscus of the Sabbat
• Velya the Vivisectionist (and Elaine Cassidy), Cardinal(s) of the Land Beyond the Forest
• Righteous Endeavor, Inquisitor of the Sabbat
• Radu Bistri, Cardinal
• Yorak, High Priest of the Cathedral of Flesh (deceased)
• Vladimir Rustovich, Former Voivode of Voivodes
• Kartarirya
• Ratti-Ben, Sister of Blood

References

• Steven C. Brown & Jeff Starling, A Players Guide to the Sabbat (White Wolf Game Studio, 1995, ISBN 1-56504-042-2)

External links

• Vampire NPC gallery NPC (non-player character) gallery with examples of Tzimisce characters