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Tyrant
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Aug 5 2016, 01:07 AM
Post #1
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The Malkavians are a clan of Kindred cursed with insanity. Every Malkavian is in some fashion insane; in game terms, they have at least one derangement they can never remove. They are one of the original seven clans of the Camarilla and, strangely enough, a pillar of the organization. Throughout history, the Malkavians have been the seers and oracles of the Kindred, bound by strange compulsions and insight.
Due to their inherent clan weakness, every last vampire of Malkav's blood is irredeemably insane in some form or another. Some attribute this to a curse of the blood, while other Lunatics actually call it a special blessing, a gift of insight. When a Malkavian character is created, the player must choose at least one derangement for that character at the time of the Embrace; this derangement can be temporarily fought with Willpower, but can never be permanently overcome. They are also pranksters, with their "jokes" ranging from benign to sadistic.
Organisation
On the surface, clan Malkavian is barely a clan. The majority of Malkavians are only marginally aware they belong to a clan; Sabbat Malkavians generally claim to be Panders. What connections Malkavians generally have are informal and generally paternal, sire-childe relationships being the most common, although Malkavian sires are prone to abandoning their childer.
Scratch the surface, however, and the Malkavians become a smörgåsbord of paranoid delights. Malkavians operate on their own timescale, and will gather spontaneously for incomprehensible events. Malkavians usually don't explain how they know these gatherings are occurring, and when they do the explanation isn't necessarily worth anything. Scratch deep enough and it appears that the Malkavians are highly organized, so highly organized they don't even know they are, and instead they continue to pursue incomprehensible and arcane goals that even they aren't aware are relevant.
This organization is generally termed the "cobweb", "Malkavian Time" or the "Malkavian Madness Network" and is a form of shared consciousness unifying all Malkavians. The strength of the voices varies from Malkavian to Malkavian, however all of them are at least aware of its call and capable of interacting with it. Dead Malkavians' memories live on in the cobweb, and it is implied heavily that Malkav himself is this network. The cobweb is only accessible by Malkavians, and they themselves only marginally understand it - most of them merely listen to the voices, but elders have demonstrated a powerful capacity to manipulate the rest of the clan through it. |
Malkavian Antitribu
The Malkavian antitribu are, if possible, even more insane than their Camarilla sibling. This is in no small part due to the brutal (un)living conditions associated with being a member of the Sabbat.
While all Malkavians suffer from some sort of mental illness, be it depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, the members of the Sabbat have two (in early editions; in Revised Edition, this is changed to Sabbat Malkavians never being able to avoid Frenzy by spending Willpower) |
Culture
Malkavians have traditionally fulfilled two roles in Vampire society: seers and jokers. In the former role, the Malkavians have relied on advanced Auspex and the Cobweb to provide information. Malkavians being Malkavians, this information is generally jaundiced, incomplete, filtered through cracked lenses or a total lie.
The joker role is somewhat more complex: Malkavians have a clan tradition of pranking. The exact purpose of these pranks is open to debate; they often appear intended to readjust the target's perceptions, but are also often sadistic.
In the Camarilla, Malkavians are tolerated; they are rarely princes but often are important primogen or otherwise figures of authority. Given their obvious insanity, princes traditionally give the Madmen a certain amount of latitude; in return, Malkavians are generally expected to demonstrate enough self-control to not break the Masquerade. This is not a benevolent arrangement but largely driven by fear on both sides: fundamentally, Malkavians are unknowable and the general attitude among princes is that its better to keep them quiet and happy, since unhappy Malkavians have a tendency towards introducing bizarre and inexplicable incidents to the equation. Conversely, Malkavians need the protection of the Camarilla, and have been modified as discussed above to make them more amenable to it. |
Embraces
The Malkavians are one of the more intellectually focused of the Camarilla clans (with the Tremere arguably being the only clan as interested in cerebral pursuits). As a result, Malkavian candidates for the Embrace tend to be intelligent and more than a little...odd. While the Malkavian embrace guarantees insanity, they do tend to choose candidates who are already halfway there. |

Obfuscate
Obfuscate is a Discipline that allows vampires to conceal themselves and create some manner of illusions. It is one of the more popular Disciplines practiced by Cainites, and is the source of legends surrounding the ability of vampires to vanish and appear seemingly from nowhere. Obfuscate is mentally based; its powers achieve their effects by manipulating the minds of others, not in creating any real changes, and thus will not work against creatures immune to such mental effects or technological sensors. Vampires with levels of Auspex may also bypass the effects of Obfuscate, as described on pg. 152 of Vampire: The Masquerade Revised Edition.
Official Abilities
Standard Abilities
- Level One - Cloak of Shadows : Remain hidden so long as you do not move.
- Level Two - Unseen Presence: Become invisible to others so long as you do not attract attention
- Level Three - Mask of a Thousand Faces: Change your appearance and mannerisms to mimic someone else
- Level Four - Vanish/Fade from the Mind's Eye: Disappear right from in front of someone
- Level Five - Cloak the Gathering: Extend your Obfuscate powers to a group.
If you wish to know more about Obfuscate, please click here to visit White Wolf Wikia. |
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Auspex
Auspex is a Discipline that grants vampires supernatural senses. It is one of the most common and favored Discipline among Cainites due to its versatility and overall usefulness in just about every facet of vampiric existence. In addition to the individual powers granted at each level, Auspex allows someone the opportunity to see through illusions, such as from Obfuscate or Chimerstry, so long as the user possess at least an equal mastery in Auspex as the Discipline in question. Furthermore, it has been known to grant some degree of oracular ability, particularly when alerting a Cainite to danger, even if they are in torpor.
Official Abilities
Standard Abilities
- Level One - Heightened Senses: Raise one of your five senses to superhuman levels
- Level Two - An Ear for Lies: Know when someone lies to you
- Level Two - Aura Perception: Learn various qualities of a person from their aura
- Level Three - Artist's Intent: Learn details of an artist's state of mind in relation to a piece of art
- Level Three - The Spirit's Touch: Learn something of an object and its previous owner from its resonance
- Level Four - Telepathy: Briefly probe someone's mind or project a telepathic message to them
- Level Five - Psychic Projection: Free your mind to travel the world in astral form
If you wish to know more about Auspex, please click here to visit White Wolf Wikia. |
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Dementation
Dementation is a Discipline widely known as the hallmark of the Malkavians. It draws on the vampire's own insanity and uses it achieve profound insights or inflict madness upon others. Such powers are one of the primary reasons the clan is often considered both insightful and very dangerous. It also seems to grant a more powerful link to the Madness Network (though a non-Malkavian who learns Dementation cannot access it), and many have suspicions about its connection to the Malkavian Antediluvian.
Official Abilities
Standard Abilities
- Level One - Incubus Passion: Greatly amplify emotions present in a victim
- Passion: Amplify or dull emotions present in the victim, increasing the difficulty of frenzy
- Level Two - The Haunting: Inflict maddening visions upon a victim
- Level Three - Eyes of Chaos: Gain insight into the nature of something through seemingly random patterns
- Level Four - Confusion: Make someone wander around in a daze
- Silence the Sane Mind: Suppress part of the victim's mind, making them confused, enraged, catatonic, etc.
- Voice of Madness: Provoke extreme fear or anger in victims
- Level Five - Total Insanity: Give someone five temporary derangements.
If you wish to know more about Dementation, please click here to visit White Wolf Wikia. |
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Malkavian Antitribu
Malkavian Antitribu possess the same disciplines as the original Malkavian. |
[ * Credit to Caine of Vampire: The Masquerade Roleplay on Habbo. * ]
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