By C. Spencer Roberts (candc@wolfenet.com)

Chapter One: Prelude

The Diary of Eskandar Khanoum Farman

November 14, 1479
I attended the dance this evening at the insistance of Domos. Yes, I know I swore I wouldn't go -- I have to see if our new theory works. I went anyways. Domos' persuasive talents never cease to astound me; he's terribly social at times. In any event, the dance went on boredly for all of an hour before I was introduced to the very pinnacle of beauty and etiquette by none other than Shoat himself. Shoat informed me in his own secretive way on our walk back to the residence that this woman of whom I could now very swear I was in love with was the reason that Domos requested I go in the first place. Domos, my friend, should you ever read this -- I thank you.

November 16, 1479
I've seen more of this beauty, Lilandra in the past days. She has given me sign that I may begin to court her and my friends, Domos and Shoat, fully support me. My head is rushing: I feel very odd when I am no longer around her and when I told her that, she just turned her breathtaking features into a secretive smile that managed to intrigue me all the more. My former thoughts of love and adoration have been confirmed, and I fully hope that I am not being rash when I say that I wish to have her hand in marrige.

November 20, 1479
Today I told Lilandra that I am a mage. Luckily she took it well. She wants to meet Shoat and Domos. This is going well.

December 3, 1479
I asked Lilandra to marry me today. She accepted. This is very good. Life is going well for me.

December 6, 1479
Oh God, today Lilandra told me that she was a vampire. She offered to make me one too. Along with Shoat and and Domos. I have to think about this.

December 9, 1479
I told Shoat and Domos. They're thinking. It sounds like a good idea, eternal life and all and a true understanding of death. God I love her.

December 12, 1479
We agreed for her to make us like her. God, everything is so different now. I'm so thirsty, so hollow

December 17, 1479
We shared this "Gift" with the rest of the cabal. Lilandra told us that we're members of a vampire clan called Ventrue. Domos, he doesn't seem the same anymore. He's changed. I don't know. Maybe it's just me. We're all different now.

December 20, 1479
Today one of Lilandra's "Friends" showed us things. Showed us the land of the dead. It was amazing. He called it the "Shadowlands". He told us he would teach us how to do this too, and much more. He sounded italian.

December 25, 1479
It's christmas. Today Lilandra and I made love; all of my senses were at their breaking point. It was amazing. I learned of the history of the Kindred, what Lilandra called the vampires. She showed me the page from some ancient tome, that she called The Book of Nod. I remember the beginning and Nod from the Bible. Caine and Abel. Lilandra told me that Caine was the first vampire, her sire's, sire's, sire's sire.

December 11, 1481
Today, it is the anniversary of the Cabal's embrace, two years ago. We made a journey into the Shadowlands with a power of our blood magick, a power we have tentatively named Requiem. There we found other kindred. They called themselves the Nagaraja and said they are like us. There were ceremonies and rituals happening, and we were invited to join. Shoat and I shared blood with these members of the Nagaraja; Domos apparently wandered off when we entered the Shadowlands. To each his own.

December 21, 1481
We have been in the Shadowlands with the Nagaraja for ten days. Domos has not yet appeared. These Nagaraja have been teaching us one of their own powers, one they call Nihilistics. We have been subsiding off of a power of Nihilisitcs that allows us to feed from the souls of the dead. It is an amazing experience. It seems to fill a void that has been inside me since we entered the land of the dead. It is better than vitæ.

November 4, 1482
After nearly a year in the city that the Nagaraja called Enoch, we bid them adieu and returned to the Skinlands. Domos was there waiting for us and bid us a kind smile, though I suspected it to be a hollow one. Something is wrong with him. His constant musings are making me suspicious. It's hard to trust anyone anymore, even Lilandra..

December 2, 1482
Today I confronted and interrogated Lilandra using the powers she taught me. Oh god, She lied to me, She lied. Domos was her puppet. She never loved me. It was all lies. In rage I attacked her and drank from her until she was dead. I am so scared, so I'm running, running to where no one will find me, with friends. Should anyone ever find this, I'm sorry. God I am.

Chapter Two: History (The Straight Stuff)

The History of the Delicti

After sifting through the ravings of Delec in his diary, coupled with known facts, this tenative history has been written. Some of this is fact, while the other parts are educated guesses. None of this is totally known fact; all of this could be actually false. Make no convictions or take any of this to be really true. We at the library are responsible for no stakings of any Delicti using information from this book. A warning to readers: This book was outlawed by a conclave of the Camarilla. Reading the forbidden information within could be harmful to your health.

The Delicti were originally a Cabal of Hollow Ones in the late fifteenth century. They were taken notice of by the Ventrue clan and trying to mimic the Tremere, sent one of their Methuselahs to Embrace the cabal. This Methuselah, Lilandra, charmed the most social of them, Domos, and sent him to bring Delec to her. Using presence, she made him love her and then Embraced him, Domos and Shoat. They in turned Embraced the rest of the Cabal. They were taught by the Ventrue and they worked on their own discipline, dealing with the dead. They named it Requiem, after the songs Delec loved so to sing. Unknown mostly to Delec and Shoat, Domos had been dabbling with infernal powers to gain strength. When they took the trip into the Shadowlands, Domos "wandered off" into the Labyrinth for a meeting with one of the Malfeans. That sealed the deal and he fell into the depths of servitude to Oblivion. The majority of the cabal went with Delec and stumbled across a Nagaraja ritual. While Domos and his followers were within the Labyrinth the Nagaraja taught the Delicti and shared in a blood bond with them, giving them Nihilistics. Subsiding on corpus (through the use of Nihilistics) they soon became addicted to the substance. After a year, they left the Shadowlands and went "home".

Suspicious from things Domos hinted at, he interrogated Lilandra (using Presence) and finally knew the truth. In a frenzy, he diablerized Lilandra, made his final entry into the diary and disappeared from the face of this Earth. Speculations have been made of who the "friends" are, as mentioned in his final diary entry. None of these have been proven, for none have found him. After what Domos called a betrayal by Delec, he attacked Shoat, who fended him off, and in desperation, Domos used his damned gifts granted by the forces infernal. He beat Shoat into torpor, inciting the collective followers of Shoat and Delec to attack Domos. He fled, taking his followers with him. The Delicti (the ones who remained faithful to Shoat and Delec) tended to Shoat's wounds and nursed him back to health. (This is thought to be the point of breaking between The Delicti and The Potestiae, Domos' followers.) The Delicti, seeking haven from the Ventrue and now the Potestiae, found apparently safe haven with the Tremere. In an attempt to get recognition and higher status, a Tremere Pontifax used Thaumaturgy on Shoat, warping his body into that of a shadow. Angered at this Tremere using him, Shoat soon found out that the Tremere had foreseen the Delicti's creation and had planned to put themselves into a position to exploit the Delicti for all they're worth and then assimilate them. Shoat and the Delicti then attacked the Pontifax and rent his body to shreds and collectively diablerized him. They then fled from the sight of all. Now they had three enemies in the Tremere, the Ventrue and the Potestiae; the Delicti were a wanted clan. With the exertion of the power of the newly formed Camarilla, the Tremere and the Ventrue called a bloodhunt on the whole of the Delicti. This forced the Delicti into their current state of hiding, masquerading as members of other clans most likely. They have survived this long with the whole of the Camarilla after their hides for a mass staking. If they have came this far unscathed, they must have something going for them. That is my speculation on the Delicti.

-- Thomas York, 6th Generation Lasombra

The Delicti and Chakravanti

Rumors persist that the Delicti were in fact a group of Magi before the embrace. This is true; however, the notion that they were of the Euthanatos tradition is false. The Delicti were birthed from a cabal of orphan mages who understood little of what they were and even less of what they were getting themselves into. The cabal, if met by the Euthanatos, would have been considered as naïve and tainted by Jhor then as they are now. The Delicti's magics are Jhor tainted and pale comparisons to what they would have mastered had they not given up their souls to vampiredom. Thus, the Euthanatos find the Delicti to be creatures to ignore or kill -- end of story.

The Delicti's vision of the Euthanatos, however, is quite different. Many a tainted and near-fallen mage has been reborn under the Delicti line's fangs, and they believe that there is no bad blood between they and their progenitor kind. They are wrong, but their elders preach it, and their neonates believe it in desperation and guilt, only to be disproved at a later date should they work up the courage to confront their former peers.

Chapter Three: Sanguis Vinculi (Clan Organization)

The Delicti are an adaptive clan. Being hunted by one of the most powerful kindred organizations in the world has forced them into hiding and rarely acknowledging each other. They masquerade as other clans to keep their line alive and to inflitrate those clans. Power through struggle.

Clan Structure

The Delicti are organized loosely, but with tight blood ties between each member. They don't normally associate with each other, as to not arise suspicion, but when one of the members is in trouble the others will assemble to help him. However, there are presiding leaders of the clan. Shoat acts as the clan leader, until, he says, "Delec is ready to come back." Below him is the council of thirteen, which formed the original Delicti cabal, residing in Rome. The Delicti have strongholds in various cities, such as Seattle, under the noses of the Sabbat and the Infernalists, San Fransisco, Boulder, Portland, New Orleans, Des Moines and slowly establishing strength in Las Vegas.

Gaining Power

There are two ways to gain power in the Delicti clan: loyalty and staying alive. That is all.

Gathering Days

The Delicti prize their havens and meeting places in morgues, tombs and funeral homes. All the Delicti in one city gather regularly once per month on the seventeenth of every month at a Consilium where they report occurrences and go over the happenings of the city. The Whole clan gathers every seventeen years, on the seventeenth of December in Rome.

Power Rumors

The Camarilla propaganda says that the Delicti are of the Sabbat. This is however, a lie, but most of kindred society isn't the wiser. Another rumor is that the Tremere in fact control the Delicti and that they sired them.

Character Ideas

A foolish Delicti makes it his unlife's work to bring his "dark brothers" (The Potestiae) back to the true clan.

A character dedicates himself to the study of the clan history and Delec's diary in order to find Delec himself and bring him back.

A character devotes himself to the study of death and the mapping of the Shadowlands, taking the ideals of the Cappadocians to the next level.

Chapter Four: Disclosure (The Bare Essentials)

So far, I have told you the Delicti's history, their organization. In this chapter we will cover that which in most clans is openly known (what was in the clans section of V:TM 2nd edition): their nickname, their appearance, the popular havens, who is chosen for the Embrace, the clan disciplines and their vitæ weakness. Along with their clan native discipline, Requiem. Read on.

Nickname

Soul Suckers

Appearance

The Delicti tend to try not to stand out and thus adopt the dress of their surroundings. To them, clothes just serve as costumes, props to better get their masquerade across.

Haven

Anywhere. Literally, anywhere that suits their current persona.

Background

Those chosen for the Embrace have always been observed for periods of time and have been "tested," as one flawed member could give them all up to the sun.

Character Creation

Concepts vary widely. Mental Attributes are commonly primary, as are Knowledge Abilities. Contacts and Generation are common Background Traits.

Clan Disciplines

Necromancy, Nihilistics, Requiem

Weaknesses

Delec and his followers developed a taste for corpus while in the Shadowlands, which developed into an addiction. They must ingest ten points worth of corpus per week, or suffer terrible withdrawal that continue until they ingest more corpus. Failure to do this halves the Delicti's Dice Pools every 24 hours until all actions use only one die. This penalty is negated by ingesting corpus.

Organization

(See Chapter Three)

Quote

"I'm sorry, I don't quite catch your drift. What you say we take a walk? It is lovely outside tonight."

Chapter Five Divulgence (The Rest of It)

I have most likely sealed my fate with the writings in this book so far with the things I have revealed, but yet, I will continue. If you shall die for upturning one stone, why not upturn the others? I'm leaving no stone unturned, for ignorance can be fatal. I not only am in danger from the Delicti, but also from the Ventrue, for showing their "perfect" reputation for what it really is. C'est la vie.

Abstinence from the Jyhad

The Delicti's vision of the Jyhad is that it is a foolish game played by fool kings with blind pawns. Thus, they see it as none of their affair and abstain from involvement in it.

View on Thaumaturgy

While in the "haven" of Clan Tremere, some of the Delicti learned rudimentary Thaumaturgy, and are developing their own unique paths.

The Traditions

The Delicti note that the Traditions are those of others and not their own, but do see some good points. They obey the First Tradition as do most other Kindred, as with the Second Tradition. The Third Tradition is followed, as weak and foolish childer can mean death to the clan. The Fourth Tradition is listened to out of respect for one's own childer and the Fifth Tradition is followed out of common courtesy. The Sixth Tradition is ownly followed when dealing with those of friendly clans and in-clan; all others are on open season. An eye for an eye.

Views on others of the World of Darkness

Werewolves: The Garou are generally ignored by the Delicti, as they have no quarrels with them. They have connections with the ones called the Silent Striders though the extent of these ties are unknown.

Other Shifters: The other changing breeds are all but unknown to the Delicti, though they have dealt with the Corax, Nuwisha and have rumors of gargantuan bears fighting in the Shadowlands.

Magi: The views of the Delicti on the awakened were described in Chapter one.

Changelings: The Delicti have only had brief dealings with the ones called the Sluagh.

Wraiths: The connection between the Delicti and the Restless have been described throughout this book. They have a high respect for those of the dead, and do not view them as tools as the Giovanni do.

Views on the Wraith Guilds

Harbingers: The Delicti have made friends with the Harbingers and have gained great knowledge of the Tempest through them.

Pardoners: Their ability to combat "The Beast" within wraiths has fascinated and perplexed the Delicti.

Proctors: The Delicti have common dealings with the Proctors, generally with contracts, as the posessors of Requiem can make the Proctor's job easier.

Oracles: As with the Pardoners, this guild's power amazes the Delicti.

Artificers: The Delicti have a mild dislike for the Artificers and their duties.

Chanteurs: A wondrous power to the Delicti, the Chanteurs and their Keening are popular among the Delicti.

Monitors: This guild is seen as the judges of the underworld, able to hold a wraith's afterlife in their hands. Not to be tampered with.

Masquers: Useful for current events in the Shadowlands, the Masquers are business partners with the Delicti often.

Spooks: Their higher level power of being able to channel raw Oblivion puts the Delicti in fear of this Guild.

Haunters: This utterly insane Guild has the Delicti fleeing in fear, but with an odd curiosity.

Sandmen: These Dream weavers are only slightly known by the Delicti.

Puppeteers: The Puppeteers are useful for certain contracts, though watch your step when you slight one.

Usurers: This Guild is the most affiliated with the Delicti, as the Delicti have the addiction for what the Usurers can give, for a price.

Stereotypes of the other Kindred

These are the opinions of a Delicti in my pack,
-- Francis Ryan, of the Seventh Generation.

Ventrue: Powerful and bloodthirsty bastards who hunt our every step. They will pay for their tamperings.

"Deceptive, lying childer with no sense of honor. Worse than the Sabbat."

-- Phillip Yale

Tremere: Deceitful, manipulative bastards who will die along with the Ventrue.

"Useless and un-interesting. Kill them in my spare time. Hmmph."

-- The Late Lawrence Johnson

Giovanni: Ventrue wanna-be's who defile and use the dead without any respect. Pigs.

"The Camarilla's black sheep. Ooh. I'm scared."

-- Antonio DePhillips

Nagaraja: Allies of the clan since the beginning. One of our only friends in this damnation.

(No Nagaraja was available for comment)

Samedi: From what I've seen and heard about the Samedi, I wish I hadn't.

"Boy, they are sure devoted. Got no 'pinion really."

-- Robbie Chambers

Chapter Six: Legends (Delicti of Note)

Eskandar "Delec" Farman

Eskandar was born to a farming family in rural France in the early Renaissance. He led a happy life until one day where he fell in the field, hitting his head on a rock and he self-awakened. When he rose, he found the small house that his family dwelt in to be in flames, his parents trapped and burned to death inside. In fear, he fled as far as he could from his place of birth and lived in the streets of Paris. He then found other Orphans like himself (Domos and Shoat) and they developed a Cabal for other Orphans. (Delec's history is in Chapter one and two) After he diablerized Lilandra, he fled, never to be found. The last sighting of him was when he embraced Rolando Cartagena, in a need for company apparently. Delec is of the fifth Generation

Louis "Domos" Cartier

Louis's past is unknown to all but himself. He is the one who was initially overcome by Lilandra and who brought Delec to her. He then eventually broke away from Delec and Shoat and started the Infernalist sect of the Delicti, the Potestiae. Nothing is known of him at the moment. Domos is apparently of the sixth Generation.

Henri "Shoat" Beaudreaux

Henri was born to a rich family in upper Paris. The black sheep of the family, he was soft spoken, took no interest in the family business of hat-making, seeing as the rest of his family had gone insane. He instead smothered himself in studies of his career of choice, as a mortician. He self-awakened in his sleep, in dreams of death. Shoat is the current leader of the Delici above the council of thirteen. Shoat is of the sixth Generation.

Rolando Cartagena

Little is known of this Spanish born Delicti. He is of the sixth generation, and thus was apparently embraced by Delec after he had diablierized Lilandra. Delec himself taught and brought Rolando to vampiric maturity and then released him onto the world. His last known whereabouts was as a confidant to the former Prince of New Orleans, Enrique Alonso.