Post by Iota on Jun 4, 2010 16:00:22 GMT -5
* VtM 1st edition depicts Malkavians as jesters and cartoonish, whilst this may be true for some, not all are this way. This was rectified in the 3rd edition, which depicted them as twisted and actually mentally insane as opposed to just prankstars. Both the 1st and 3rd edition are welcomed here.
The Malkavian custom that has the highest profile is the art of pranking, playing "jokes" on other Kindred so as to expand their perceptions. Of course, these jokes can take any form and are usually only funny to the Malkavian playing them; the targets find them to be anything from annoying to fatal. Malkavian pranking doesn’t involve whoopee cushions and buckets of water balanced on doors; rather, it is an inspired attempt to kick the crutch of consensual reality out from under other Kindred. Pranks can range from continually rearranging all of the furniture in a vampire’s haven to careful use of Dementation to siccing a hunter on an unfortunate target, and a vampire who becomes the subject of a Malkavian’s interest rapidly finds his friends abandoning him for fear of being caught in the blast radius.
Malkavian targets for the Embrace tend to be outside the mainstream of society. While not all are clinically insane before the Embrace, none are paragons of stability, and many just need the horror of the Embrace to push them over the edge. Malkavian sires don’t seem to be particularly attentive to their childer, but somehow the neonates end up knowing everything they need to know. Outsiders speculate that the Madness Network must somehow be involved, but since outsiders blame the Malkavian Madness Network for everything since the murder of Abel, such theories are often yawned off.
The Embrace: Malkavians take their childer from all walks of life and for all number of reasons. Anyone can be chosen to further a sire’s twisted purposes, although most Lunatics prefer Embracing those already close to (or subject to) madness. Most other vampires believe that the Malkavians Embrace childer on a whim; however, virtually all Lunatics discover themselves subtly championing some barely perceptible "purpose", the full extent of which none--not even their sires--can properly fathom.
Appearance: Malkavians run the gamut from terrifyingly psychotic to convincingly ordinary in every way — sometimes both at once. Just like serial killers, they could be anyone — the scruffy bum talking to himself, the pleasant but quiet neighbor, the borderline-suicidal musician. These vampires are capable of great subtlety, and rarely show anyone a face other than the one they want people to see.
Haven: The Lunatics by and large take whatever shelter they like, although more than a few find aging hospitals and poorly funded asylums to their tastes. Many seem to enjoy the company of desperate mortals, and prefer slums and institutions to more secluded havens.
Weaknesses: 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 chose 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.
Concerns: Do the Malkavians have unifying concerns? No one knows. There is speculation that the infection perpetrated by the antitribu has sparked at least some discussion among the Malkavians, but if anyone knows the truth, they’re not talking. The more socially adept Malkavians routinely steer conversation away from clan matters, while the less functional ones don’t seem to be worth asking.
If the clan can be said to have a core issue, it is the matter of enlightenment through new perception (or what the unenlightened mistakenly call insanity). By removing the scales of "normal" behavior from their eyes, the Malkavians claim to be able to see true reality more clearly than ever before. Not a few clan members want to share that renewed vision with the rest of the Camarilla and then the world. Such vampires are almost universally feared, as their conversion efforts amount to driving their victims insane.
The Embrace: Inmates of asylums, hospitals for the criminally insane, street bums, lawyers. Malkavian antitribu choose almost anyone from any walk of life. While those outside the clan see no rhyme or reason for the selection of childer, the Sabbat Malkavian looks for individuals who are strong enough to bear the liability of their madness, while developing the clan’s unique insight.
Appearance: A Malkavian antitribu’s mode of dress depends on her dementia, from the very strange to the extremely conservative. A bag lady conspiracy theorist or crack addict holing up in a flop house in stolen thrift-store regalia could be a Malkavian antitribu, as could a stressed-out former Wall Street stockbroker in a rumpled Armani suit or a morose housewife in suburbia. Malkavian antitribu often have a wild, savage look in their eyes, appearing on the verge of frenzy. Many are poorly groomed, wearing unkempt or gore-spattered clothing.
Havens: Better the devil you know when it comes to the Malkavians, reason most Sabbat. Most ducti prefer to keep their crazies where they can keep an eye on them, at communal havens or other acceptable locales. Left to their own devices, the Malkavian antitribu establish havens in asylums, the basements of clinics or in transient hostels. A Sabbat Malkavian with multiple personalities may have two or three very different havens to choose from, depending on which personality is dominant when dawn nears.
Weaknesses: The Malkavian antitribu, like their Camarilla counterparts, are all insane. Many of them are given to bouts of extreme violence with no concern whether the carnage is being directed at packmates or enemies. When a Malkavian character is created, the player must choose a derangement for that character at the time of the Embrace. This derangement can be temporarily overcome with Willpower, but can never be permanently "cured" or eliminated.
Additionally, Sabbat Malkavians are often too undisciplined (or too indulgent in their own monstrousness) to resist frenzy. A Sabbat Malkavian’s player may never spend a Willpower point to avoid her character’s frenzy. As one might think, many Sabbat Malkavians’ unlives are short and punctuated by a great deal of violence. Members of this clan often lead very... dynamic... unlives and end up destroying themselves in one form or another before too many nocturnal years pass.
The Malkavian custom that has the highest profile is the art of pranking, playing "jokes" on other Kindred so as to expand their perceptions. Of course, these jokes can take any form and are usually only funny to the Malkavian playing them; the targets find them to be anything from annoying to fatal. Malkavian pranking doesn’t involve whoopee cushions and buckets of water balanced on doors; rather, it is an inspired attempt to kick the crutch of consensual reality out from under other Kindred. Pranks can range from continually rearranging all of the furniture in a vampire’s haven to careful use of Dementation to siccing a hunter on an unfortunate target, and a vampire who becomes the subject of a Malkavian’s interest rapidly finds his friends abandoning him for fear of being caught in the blast radius.
Malkavian targets for the Embrace tend to be outside the mainstream of society. While not all are clinically insane before the Embrace, none are paragons of stability, and many just need the horror of the Embrace to push them over the edge. Malkavian sires don’t seem to be particularly attentive to their childer, but somehow the neonates end up knowing everything they need to know. Outsiders speculate that the Madness Network must somehow be involved, but since outsiders blame the Malkavian Madness Network for everything since the murder of Abel, such theories are often yawned off.
The Embrace: Malkavians take their childer from all walks of life and for all number of reasons. Anyone can be chosen to further a sire’s twisted purposes, although most Lunatics prefer Embracing those already close to (or subject to) madness. Most other vampires believe that the Malkavians Embrace childer on a whim; however, virtually all Lunatics discover themselves subtly championing some barely perceptible "purpose", the full extent of which none--not even their sires--can properly fathom.
Appearance: Malkavians run the gamut from terrifyingly psychotic to convincingly ordinary in every way — sometimes both at once. Just like serial killers, they could be anyone — the scruffy bum talking to himself, the pleasant but quiet neighbor, the borderline-suicidal musician. These vampires are capable of great subtlety, and rarely show anyone a face other than the one they want people to see.
Haven: The Lunatics by and large take whatever shelter they like, although more than a few find aging hospitals and poorly funded asylums to their tastes. Many seem to enjoy the company of desperate mortals, and prefer slums and institutions to more secluded havens.
Weaknesses: 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 chose 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.
Concerns: Do the Malkavians have unifying concerns? No one knows. There is speculation that the infection perpetrated by the antitribu has sparked at least some discussion among the Malkavians, but if anyone knows the truth, they’re not talking. The more socially adept Malkavians routinely steer conversation away from clan matters, while the less functional ones don’t seem to be worth asking.
If the clan can be said to have a core issue, it is the matter of enlightenment through new perception (or what the unenlightened mistakenly call insanity). By removing the scales of "normal" behavior from their eyes, the Malkavians claim to be able to see true reality more clearly than ever before. Not a few clan members want to share that renewed vision with the rest of the Camarilla and then the world. Such vampires are almost universally feared, as their conversion efforts amount to driving their victims insane.
Antitribu
The Embrace: Inmates of asylums, hospitals for the criminally insane, street bums, lawyers. Malkavian antitribu choose almost anyone from any walk of life. While those outside the clan see no rhyme or reason for the selection of childer, the Sabbat Malkavian looks for individuals who are strong enough to bear the liability of their madness, while developing the clan’s unique insight.
Appearance: A Malkavian antitribu’s mode of dress depends on her dementia, from the very strange to the extremely conservative. A bag lady conspiracy theorist or crack addict holing up in a flop house in stolen thrift-store regalia could be a Malkavian antitribu, as could a stressed-out former Wall Street stockbroker in a rumpled Armani suit or a morose housewife in suburbia. Malkavian antitribu often have a wild, savage look in their eyes, appearing on the verge of frenzy. Many are poorly groomed, wearing unkempt or gore-spattered clothing.
Havens: Better the devil you know when it comes to the Malkavians, reason most Sabbat. Most ducti prefer to keep their crazies where they can keep an eye on them, at communal havens or other acceptable locales. Left to their own devices, the Malkavian antitribu establish havens in asylums, the basements of clinics or in transient hostels. A Sabbat Malkavian with multiple personalities may have two or three very different havens to choose from, depending on which personality is dominant when dawn nears.
Weaknesses: The Malkavian antitribu, like their Camarilla counterparts, are all insane. Many of them are given to bouts of extreme violence with no concern whether the carnage is being directed at packmates or enemies. When a Malkavian character is created, the player must choose a derangement for that character at the time of the Embrace. This derangement can be temporarily overcome with Willpower, but can never be permanently "cured" or eliminated.
Additionally, Sabbat Malkavians are often too undisciplined (or too indulgent in their own monstrousness) to resist frenzy. A Sabbat Malkavian’s player may never spend a Willpower point to avoid her character’s frenzy. As one might think, many Sabbat Malkavians’ unlives are short and punctuated by a great deal of violence. Members of this clan often lead very... dynamic... unlives and end up destroying themselves in one form or another before too many nocturnal years pass.
