Favoite Clan?

[Nietzscheserbe]

I thought the Tzimisce clan did not want to have anything to do with Dracula, he must have pissed them off somehow.

Malkavian, why...i feel right at home with them Back in high school I used to LARP alot (i never got into table top though) , well originaly I started Larping becasue they had some really hot goth chicks playing but i got into the whole universe, so iv been playing Malks mostly and somehow always managed to piss off the prince. Was also a good excuse to do really funny things!

Thous where fun times, we acutaly rented a old Southern Plantation House (in bad shape) from some Redneck and played the game in there, we had up to 40 people, alot of SCAD (Savanna College of Art and Design) graduates playing, se we had really kick ass props and costumes in the game.

Then somone decided to burn down the house, it turne dout to be a pissed off larper who lost his favorit character in a Lasombra raid, and he thought it wasnt fair or some crap. Some people take this game WAY to seriusly.

[KRose]

Malkavian all the way! Although I quite liked Toreador and Tremere too. Malkavian was just the funniest. After all, who else gets the unique experiance of conversation with lifeless, in-animate objects? Besides, some of my dialogues with the Prince were fun... "It was gone, but there were lot's of dinosaurs, so I had fun." Teeheehee...

[docking]

To LaCroix about the Ventrue reminding you of Dracula: I know this guy isn't really "Dracula" but according to this website http://vampire49.tripod.com/clans/tzimisce.html Vlad Tepes III (the man who inspired Dracula) was a Tzimisce. Just thought that was an interesting discovery. [/quote]

Who is Vlad Tepes III? he didnt even existed. And the person who started the Dracula mith was Vlad's father Vlad Dracul. He was named that way because he was a knight with the Dragon order and he had a terrifying armour too . So after him the whole family was maned Draculea by the nobility of that time because they considered them cruel( not true , the only wanted the good 4 the simple people). oh and Vlad Tepes( the impales) he got that name because he would impale trators and turks so he was a good man too( with a sick sence of justice but good).
I'm a big fan of the game but i just hate this kind of things justbeend sayd for fiction(that beeing a romanian).
Oh and favourite clan:Malkavian- the most fun to play. Great lines of dialog and the dementation and obfuscate just owesome.I would have prefered thet the Tzimice would have been availeble but... maybe in the future

[Faust]

Originally Posted by Nietzscheserbe

I thought the Tzimisce clan did not want to have anything to do with Dracula, he must have pissed them off somehow.

In WoD v. 1 (he's been respun some in the VtR materials), Dracula was never quite a clan-bound Tzimisce. He and his father, discovering many of the secrets of vampires early on, effectively hunted and killed many Tzimisce in their kingdom, during his life. Dracula even began feeding off some Tzimisce he captured in order to gain their power (i.e. as a ghoul would). This was why staking was a favorite form of torture for him; he would stake Tzimisce vampires - which would not kill them but would incapacitate them (i.e. sending them into torpor) - and feed off them. Eventually, Dracula captures and forces one of the Tzimisce to turn him into a vampire.

This is not to say that this completely alienated him from his clan; the Tzimisce reflected his brutality and personal power. However, Dracula never operated within the perimeters of the clan. He did, as time went on, associate himself at different times with both the Camarilla and Sabbat. Still, he was very good at playing them against one another. As such, he was always more of an independent player than anything. And, like many Tzimisce elders, his personal power was such that his lack of interest in clan politics, never made him an outright target.

As for my personal favorite clan, I found that my favorites to play were not necessarilly my favorite clans. In the PnP mythology I always enjoyed the "old" Brujah (the idealists were always fascinating to me). Likewise, the Gangrel were always an interesting clan. The Tremere, with their closed ways and vast magical reosurcres, were always intriguing as well. Still, as for gameplay purposes, I probably enjoyed Malkavian (the second time through) and Ventrue (I really enjoyed Dominate and Fortitude) the most. I didn't care for Protean as all, so the Gangrel wasn't very entertaining for me, and my system was never quite powerful enough to get full advantage or enjoyment out of the very powerful celerity disciplines of the Brujah and Toreador.

[pennypincher]

I'm, er, not sure where docking is reading what he/she is reading, but Vlad The Impaler.. outside of whitewolf fiction... Was a man who is said to have tourtured people to death over months and months on a simple whim, claiming them to have been traitors, and is said to have nailed turbans to the head of visiting dignitaries who asked to be allowed to ware them inside, and impaled people alive on tall spears outside his gates when asked if they could be ransomed back.

[docking]

Sorry ti dissapoint u penny but i don't know were did u read all of thet. Half of my home library is aboaut the medieval history of romania, and half of this material speaks of Vlad Tepes and his father Vlad Dracu. So i should have a preety good idea of what i am talking about, plus the material is writen bi romanian historians and not by some outside historians who write only to increase they sales of books. Yeah he was cruel bun only with the trators and that after a trial, and with the turks constantly invading our contry. if u want more i can send u more on ur email because i dontwant u to thing i say all this for no reason( did i meation that i was romanian )

[Dominic Brujah]

As the name implies: Brujah.

Brujah vampires are the backbone of the camarilla whether the cammies would like to admit it or not. Who will save the camarilla from Sabbat raids? The Ventrue? The Toreador? These clans simply cannot match the effectiveness of an angry brujah in combat. Anybody who messes with a brujah is either dead meat or dust. The Gangrel? They're independent now. Not in the game, but on pnp. They care little for the politics of the other vampires. The Brujah fight for change. They do not sit in a tower like LaCroix, or hide like the Toreador. As for those of the clan that are with the anarchs, they are doing something about the situation. Malkavians are crazy, the nosferatu are scared, whereas the clan Brujah is out on the front lines defending their cause.

In my book, that deserves the title of best clan.

Although they do have their obvious flaws... nobody's perfect. The other clans have their uses, but without the Brujah (Camarilla or Anarch), the Sabbat would win.

[Lucita]

Brujahs are nice frontline fighters....but there are other weapons to employ...

A Toreador fighter ( probably someone who loves the art of fencing, or swordfighting ) is awesome too. There are some Celerity 6 powers that are nasty....
A Nosferatu killer is a bad thing too....first he sneaks up on you and his potence makes him a badass melee fighter. In one of the Vampire Clan Novels, there was a Nosferatu who used a flamethrower with great effect. Hiding with Obfuscate and then killing everyone with fire.

[Faust]

I think Dominic is certainly right in the case of Camarilla fighting with other sects such as the Sabbat or Kuei-Jin. In most cases for the Camarilla, the Brujah have been the troops on the battlefield. The Brujah clan, by and large, is made up of people who are not afraid of a good fight (and, as such, their clan disciplines lend themselves to the battlefield). As a result of this, they are generally the ones on the streets doing the battle with the Sabbat packs or what have you.

Its for that reason that the Anarchs are moreorless tolerated in moderation. The Princes like to use the rabble for their purposes, because the Anarchs are willing to get their hands dirty. Occasionally,disgruntled Ventrue or Toreador will throw their hats in with the Brujah, but the point remains - the Brujah are the ones who typically are holding the front lines. Certainly other clans are capable of it, but they don't do it. The only exception would be the Gangrel, who are also born fighters. The problem is that the Gangrel are generally far and few between in the cities. And, of course, in the later White Wolf mythology, they leave the Camarilla.

All of this is not the question the potential or power of individual clans. Certainly, each clan is capable of terrible power. It's simply to say, that for the most part, in the sect wars, the Brujah tend to make up the major troops of the Camarilla. The Nosferatu remain the information gatherers, the Ventrue and Toreador are the "generals" and "benefactors," the Tremere are ususally working behind the frontlines some terrible magic to give the Camarilla the upper hand (the more powerful magic, remember, comes from rituals and "team rituals," at that, so Tremere typically aren't at the front lines by necessity rather than choice), the Malks are wild cards, and the Gangrel are often scouts or on the frontline as well.

[Celacena]

OK - first - there were a lot of cruel despots who used terror as a weapon - firing the heads of decapitated enemies into a beseiged city did not start with LotR - fearsome cruelty was part of statecraft and remains so - think of Chechen/Mujahadin tactics (against the Russians/Soviets) and A-Q or even Nero - fear of cruelty is a powerful weapon in the hands of the amoral. Vlad was simply a more famous user of terror - Tamerlane and others rivalled him for fame.
It is always difficult to gain a fair impression of historical figures from so long ago when literacy was rare and those who could write were usually involved in politics. Vlad may have been as bad as rumoured, or worse, but it is difficult to separate legend from fact.
let us agree that his reputation was for what we would regard as excessive cruelty.

Dracula, the Bram Stoker character, was a fairly modern fictional character. He was not 'merchandised' or 'franchised' and nobody tried to develop formal RPG rules or incorporate him into a milieu until modern times. He was not a T-Clan Vamp, unless the T were devised around him. Even so, by appearance he appears to have little in common with the COMPUTER GAME version of them. in terms of the C-G, he would be most like a Ventrue with a few added disciplines and with weaknesses that the game characters do not have.

So far as this thread began, the Malks are both the most fun and the most frustrating, the Tremere are the most awesome with the best Haven and the Toreador have been the best 'rounded', so I'll vote for Ventrue, just to be quixotic.

[pennypincher]

I reckon White Wolf made Vlad Tzimisce because of:

1) Location Location Location. They made the Tzimisce to be the heartless rulers of the viovods (sp?) of the "darker lands" like Russia and Transilvania, Romania and what not in times when they were ruled by local lords who, as you pointed out, usualy ruled through terror and fear of "justice".. Which could come at any time for no reason at all.

2) His penchant for tourture and bloodshed made him fit in with the ideals of the local fuding Timzisce, but they also wanted him to be a slightly set apart, rebellious figure so that he would stand out in history the way he did IRL.

As far as the more modern incarnation of Vlad as Brams Dracula, yeah it's all pretty much just the classic vampire powers lumped into one person. Turns to mist, commands the wolves, controls mortals minds, sees through the bats, changes his apperance at will, is strange and twisted or perfect and beautiful, becomes a giant blood drinking bat demon at will... Suffice to say, these powers closely imitate the ones White Wolf gave Clan Tzimisce. Observe!
Animalism: Grants the power to see through the eyes of animals and commands them, however it also grants the power over the INNER beast, turning mortals into putty in your hands without the strength to fight back
Auspex: Allows him to see for miles and be one with his kingdom, read minds, hear whispered conversations and tell someones entier past just by touching their favourite ring or watch.
Viccisitude: "It is the man himself, see how he has grown young!" It allows you to change your apperance or the appaerance of someone else with a little nip and tuck, but also latter allows the transformation into a giant bat/man monster.
So, yeah, that was White Wolf's excuse anyway.

[Faust]

Yeah, White Wolf did make Vlad a Tzimisce (and all of penny's reasons are pretty much the reason why). And, no, this doesn't mean that he necessarilly resembles the modern incarnation of that clan. As I said earlier, he was never a typical Tzimisce. Moreover, he was embraced prior to some of the "monstrousness" of the clan really becoming en vogue. That's been, moreorless, a product or devise utilized by some of the modern Sabbat Anyway, you can find White Wolf's version of Dracula in the "Children of the Inquisition" book as well as the Transylvania Chroncles, which is a Vampire: Dark Ages adventure.

Actually, the Children of the Inquisition book was made available by White Wolf as a free download a few years ago. It's still on their website: http://www.white-wolf.com/Download/Pages/Books2.html in both html and text format. You can read their history of Dracula there, if it suits you.

[Scurifer]

If you ask me although Tzimisce seems most appropriate for Dracula he can pretty much fit the role of most clans from Ventrue to Baali, Tremere to Lasombra to even Ravnos, Giovanni and some extent Setites. Dracula for novel purposes is supposed to be the Devil or Dragon (hence the name son of Dragon) clad in human flesh. His disciplines also fall a little short, no mist form or necromancy. Overall though white wolf's version is probably more realistic.

[docking]

I bow before ur knowledge abaut the game and the rules of the game wich i probabli never learn or read any of the books,because i dont think i can get them, but please please if u r not up to date with ur history leave it that way. please dont make any omment abaut something u gat an idea from a single book or something like that. Romania a darkland ruled with terror? PLEASE!!! not even close . And why pu romania and Russia in the same sentance? Romania=latin country , Russia=slav country. Just because they are near oneonother doesnt mean they r alyke.
Oh and to set everything clear the most things u read about vlad is from some books writen by some englys and french hystotians wich are based of some letters send by local barons to the hungarian and turckysh courts to discredit vlad and to take the throne from him( lies lies lies).
that is all and this is my last post on this thread regarding this subject. if anyone needs more details i'll send material over email, but i doubt anyone would. Have fun with this great game
MALKAVIAN RULE!!!!!
P.S. VOIVODS spells VOIEVOZI(PL) AND VOIEVOD(SG)

[Celacena]

Although I am in no position to criticise, only being able to communicate properly in English (albeit with some German, French, Italian, Spanish, American, Dutch and Flemish) I would find it hard work reading more than a posting in the version of English that PP writes in.

I do have a considerable interest in history (and have written fact-based drama set in previous eras following considerable research) - so if you want to enlighten me (!) point me at a website that will correct any misunderstandings about Vlad the Impaler.

Fair enough?