Vampire Society.

The Vampires, or Kindred (as they prefer to be called) claim 
to be descended from Caine, the First Murderer.  For his sin, 
Caine was cursed to become the first vampire.  From him came 
all that followed, splitting into Clans and Bloodlines.  Then 
Caine's grand-childer, the Third Generation, arose and slew 
the Second Generation of vampires.  Caine left his childer, 
wandering into the wilderness.

Most Kindred belong to one of 13 Clans.  These Clans are 
defined by a common weakness and a common talent for certain 
magical powers called Disciplines.  There are also some minor 
bloodlines which lack the size and influence to be called true 
Clans.  Of the 13 Clans, 7 belong to an organization called 
the Camarilla.  Two belong to another organization called the 
Sabbat.  The remaining 4 are independent.

The 13 Clans are:

Assamite: Assassins from the Middle East, they easily become 
addicted to the blood of other vampires.  Their Discipline of 
Quietus helps make them silent, efficient killers.

Brujah: Rebels with too many causes, Brujah lose their tempers 
very easily and their Discipline of Potence gives them the raw 
strength to back it up.

Followers of Set: The Settites take corruption and vice to a 
religious extreme and often deal with drugs and other 
perversions.  Their Discipline of Serpentis helps them be more 
like the snakes they worship.

Gangrel: Solitary Kindred who prefer the wilderness, Gangrel 
begin to take on animalistic features as they grow older.  
Their Discipline of Protean enables them to change their form 
to a wolf, bat, or mist.

Giovanni: Merchant Princes and Mafioso who keep their 
vampirism within their own family, the Giovanni are a 
mysterious clan whose practice of Necromancy gives them an 
edge.  The Dead DO tell tales...

Lasombra: Masters of shadows and darkness through their 
Discipline of Obtenebration, the Lasombra cast no reflections 
in mirrors.  They rule the Sabbat, but keep their own counsel, 
and keep their secrets shrouded.

Malkavian: To all members of this Clan comes madness, and with 
their Dementation Discipline they do their best to share their 
madness with others.  But some whisper that their is hidden 
wisdom in their lunacy.

Nosferatu: All of these vampires are hideously ugly and 
deformed.  They keep to the sewers and are masters of 
information gathering and use their power of Obfuscate to hide 
themselves.

Ravnos: Originally of Gypsy stock, the Ravnos are masters of 
trickery and deceit, and their Discipline of Chimerstry allows 
them to cast incredible illusions.  They cannot resist 
stealing and pranks.

Toreador: Lovers of art, Toreador can become entranced by 
beauty, staring at it to the exclusion of all else.  The 
Discipline of Auspex gives them all forms of extrasensory 
perception.

Tremere: Warlocks and mystics, the Tremere were once Mages who 
took on the curse of Vampirism willingly.  They practice 
Thaumaturgy now, using their blood to simulate the magicks 
they lost.

Tzimisce: Beings of inhuman beauty and monstrous ugliness, the 
Tzimisce can mold the flesh and bones of themselves and their 
foes with their Discipline of Vicissitude.  They need to sleep 
in the earth of their home each night.

Ventrue: Suave and dignified, the Ventrue use their power of 
Presence to awe the masses.  They have restrictions on who 
they can feed from, however.

There are other bloodlines, such as the mysterious Salubri, 
the demoniac Baali, the Daughters of Cacophony, the rotting 
Samedi, the winged Gargoyles.  There are also other 
Disciplines, some common among the clans, such as Animalism 
(power over beasts), Celerity (which grants superhuman speed), 
Fortitude (which grants superhuman stamina), and Dominate 
(which allows vampires to control other mortals and vampires) 
and some not so commons, such as Obeah, Daimonon, and Bardo.

Most vampires are members of the Camarilla, a vampiric sect 
evoted to the idea of the Masquerade.  The Camarilla was 
formed in the days of the Inquisition, when it seemed likely 
that humans would wipe out the Kindred.  The scars of that 
time run deep, so the Camarilla hides to this day.  The 
Camarilla is a sect of cities, each one ruled by a Prince who 
alone may dictate when and how the Kindred of his city may 
make more of their kind... and who alone has the legal right 
to destroy other vampires.  Even most anarchs, the vampire 
equivalent to social protesters/juvenile delinquents, give lip 
service to the Masquerade.  The seven clans of the Camarilla 
are the Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, 
Tremere, and Ventrue.  

The monstrous Sabbat, however, rejects the Camarilla policy 
and revels in their Beast.  Rather than clinging to humanity, 
the Sabbat use other methods to keep the Beast at bay, and 
they run in packs like wild animals.  Their stated goal is to 
destroy the Antediluvians, the Vampires of the Third 
Generation who are prophesied to return one day to slay their 
descendants and drink their blood, and whom the Sabbat claims 
pulls the Camarilla's strings.  The Lasombra and Tzimisce 
clans are totally Sababt, and a few antitribu (anti-clan) of 
the other clans also exist in the Sabbat.  The antitribu are 
often radically different from their "orthodox" clans.

The Independents are just that, independent.  They make their 
own way in the night.  The Assamites, Followers of Set, 
Giovanni, and Ravnos are independent.

This is just a short synopsis.  If you want more information, 
check out White Wolf's website at www.white-wolf.com




The Inde