| The Clans |
| If the myths of the Antediluvians is to be believed, Caine sired a number of progeny, who then sired themselves. These childer, accordingly of the Third Generation, were the progenitors of the modern 'clans', and all vampires descended from them shared common traits and characteristics. Certainly this is true to some degree, as each clan has a set of vampiric powers its members learn more readily then others, and each clan also has a distinguishing weakness or character flaw by which its members may be indentified. Lineage is important to the Kindred. Though they are loners and typically shun each other's company by nature, the Damned place great value on their heritage. The honor a vampire is due stems from clan as much as generation, and even the most dull-witted Kindred is afforded some modicum of respect if his legacy demands it. There are 13 known clans, each supposedly spawned by one of the Antediluvians, but wispers circulate through the Kindred world about "lesser" clans or 'bloodlines' that branch off from their parent geneologies somewhere in the nights of history. Few vampires have ever met Kindred claiming to hail from these mysterious bloodlines, and few have turned out to be anything other then Catiff with delusions of self-importance. It is widely accepted, however, that the 13 "great" clans, seven claim membership in the Camerilla, two belong to the Sabbat, and the remaining four abstain from sects entirely. |