Malocusian
From London Requiem
Current revision as of 01:30, 28 February 2009
Template:Bloodline
Nickname: Spiders
Covenant: Invictus (and, rarely, Ordo Dracul)
Many Kindred take their freedom to roam the night for granted. They prowl the Rack, vie for prestige and power in Elysium and return to their Havens to feed or pass the day, never realizing that there are others who are not so free as they.
Scattered here and there, on the edges of cities, in withering neighborhoods of failing wealth or in crumbling communities with vanishing populations, there are houses -- old houses -- that still exude the odors of wealth, nobility, and prestige. Occupied, and yet not occupied, haunted and yet not haunted, these grand old mansons of brick and oak are lairs for the nigh-sessile Kindred called the Malocusians.
Malocusians are bound to their havens by bonds of blood. Outside their havens, they are weaker than many Kindred, but, within the bounds of their territory, the Spiders are truly masters of their domain, and woe unto any Kindred who picks a fight with the Spiders on their own ground.
Appearance
On the whole, Malocusians represent the quintessential landed gentry. They manifest all the traits common to the erudite and wealthy.
Their sartorial tastes are profoundly conservative, almost to an extreme: Malocusians are known to wear clothes 50, 60, or even 70 years out of fashion. Depending on the dates involved, this might make them seem "retro" or simply crazy.
Haven
Malocusians build their entire unlives around their havens. Their sires only release them from their oversight after the childer acquire suitable havens of their own and, to the Malocusians, "suitable" may as well be a synonym for "palatial". Few Malocusian sires would ever release childer who had not found themselves havens with several rooms, a den, a comprehensive library, several salons, and, possibly, a ballroom.
Contrary to the assumptions of those Kindred who know the ways of the Spiders, however, Malocusians have a much greater interest (and ability) in adapting to modern or decrepit spaces than they may imply. Some Spiders nest in palaces that seem, from the outside, to be bombed-out firetraps or holes in the ground. Outright grandeur is not the only tool a Malocusian has for luring flies.
Background
Wealth, isolation, and intellect are the key features of those who become Malocusians. The son of a wealthy family who didn't have the advantage of primogeniture, the reclusive widow who inherited her husband's fortune and estate after his tragic accident, the eccentric scholar whose work proved unexpectedly lucrative -- any of these would be ideal candidates for the Malocusian line. (The bloodline does show a slight preference for families from "old money" over the nouveau riche, however.) Political families, eccentric artists, and scions of debauched dynasties comprise the core of the Malocusian line. Ideal candidates for this kind of Requiem are, for obvious reasons, rare, but so are members of this bloodline in general. Some elders have been known to adopt optimistically if they find souls who don't have the estates or the money but who seem to have many of the other traits individual Spiders consider ideal.
Character Creation
Brilliant (if somewhat crazed) minds are a hallmark of the Malcousian bloodline. Mental Attributes (and Skills) are primary. Some of these Kindred pass decades, even centuries, without leaving their Havens. As a result, their Physical Attributes are almost always tertiary; it takes a certain kind of mind (and physique) to acclimate to that existence
Many Malocusians are at least moderately wealthy at the time of their Embrace. Most should have at least three dots worth of Resources, and preferably four or more. Likewise, many Spiders already have homes worthy of five dots of Haven Size when they are Embraced.
Weakness
The Requiem of a Malocusian vampire takes place almost entirely in his haven -- and necessarily so. In addition to the weakness of the Ventrue clan, Malocusians suffer from a debilitating dependence on their havens. To even cross the threshold of her haven and enter the outside night, a Spider must spend a Willpower point. Every Willpower point spent in this way enables a Malocusian to operate away from her haven for a number of hours equal to her Humanity. Once those hurs are up, she must spend another Willpower point to remain out and about. If the Malocusian does not make this expenditure, she suffers a -1 penalty to all Mental and Social dice pools until she does.
Organization
Despite rarely leaving their havens, Malocusians maintain tight networks among themselves. Once upon a time, they managed this through written or oral correspondence delivered by animal messengers, although in the modern era, they use telephones and the Internet. They're quite aware of the danger this network of theirs presents to the Masquerade, but they're fastidiously attentive at cryptography. Still tonight's most sensitive messages are deleivered by animals, as the communications were centuries ago.
Known Malocusians
Alder Meister Baltasar Sargon
Bloodline Devotions
The Lovely or Loathsome Web
Domus oo, Majesty oo
The Spider channels the power of her Majesty through the land to which she has attuned herself. By doing so, she influences the ambience of the place in accordance with her wishes, manipulating the emotional responses of those who see the place. If she wishes for her haven to seem terrifying, then it appears dark, twisted and foreboding. On the other hand, if the vampire wishes for her residence to seem attractive, it appears clean welcome, and inviting; passersby will be entioced to trespass through curiosity, fascination, or just a sense of being welcome.
This Devotion is an all-or-nothing effect; it affects everyone looking at the Kindred's haven. The Spider can't target some subjects and not others; consequently, a modicum of strategy is required if the Malocusian doesn't want to bring herself trouble.
Cost: 1 Vitae per scene
Dice Pool: This Devotion is not actively rolled. When activated, it simply allows the Spider to use Majesty powers in subsequent turns against subjects who look at her haven, as though her haven were her own body.
Those within sight of the Spider's lair are inexorably pulled to, or repelled by, the Spider's web. Those affected may rationalize their behavior any way they like: "It just feels creepy to me," "I just want to see if its occupied," "It has a bad reputation," "Let's break in and steal shit" and so on.
Action: Instant
This power costs 9 experience points to learn.
