BEAST RIDERS

By Michael Blank (mblank@utcvm.utc.edu) (8 Nov 93)

Description

The bloodline known as the Beast Riders appeared in the middle 1500's in Western Russia. They began when a Brujah, whose name was never recorded, reached Golconda and then, through a heinous act of revenge for a family insult, he lost the state he had fought so long to achieve. In his horror over the act he had committed, he lost the understanding of the Beast that had allowed him to work with it. But since he had come to terms with his Beast once, he tried to regain it by force. He did not succeed, but instead created the discipline of Mastery. Once he began to work with the Beast again, he decided not to make it a part of himself as he once did because, in his words, "A mind at peace is a mind without growth."

As he gained knowledge of his own Beast, he decided to teach his discipline to others. He then took on a student, a Gangrel searching for Golconda who couldn't control her Beast enough to reach it. He taught her along with two of his progeny how to master the Beast inside and still keep its primal power. This is a unique bloodline in that the decendants are actually from three separate "ancestors": Marina, the Gangrel he taught, whose childer have the discpline of Fortitude, Joseph, his quick-tempered progeny, whose childer have the discipline of Celerity, and Tatayana, his young but tough lover, whose childer have the discipline of Potence.

Nickname

Animals

Appearance

The appearance of the Riders is as varied as the reasons for their Embrace. The one feature that all have in common, however, is a distant look in their eye, as if they are listening to an inner voice only they can hear.

Haven

Usually somewhere with an area where they can let the Beast run loose for a time. It can be a mansion with a reinforced gymnasiam or a country ranch house with a lot of wild land.

Background

Most of the Riders have had some great trauma in their past, other than the Embrace, which has hardened their will.

Clan Disciplines

Animalism, Mastery, One of the physicals (Celerity, Potence, or Fortitude)

Weakness

Because of the difference between their psychology and that of most other beings, the difficulty of all social rolls are two higher. They cannot purchase the flaw of Eerie Presence or the merit of Pitiable. Also, for every week that they do not allow a frenzy, the difficulty to contain the Beast increases by one. If they frenzy and allow it to end naturally then they can avoid this.

Quote

"If I must possess the Beast, I will use it to my own ends."