MORPHOS

By Florian Bansac (flobansac@aol.com)

Description

Dating back their origins in Eastern Europe around the middle of the XIIIth century, the Morphos bloodline of Clan Gangrel is the result of the mix of Tzimisce blood with Gangrel during the time these two clans were allied with the Nosferatu against the newly self-created clan Tremere. How that happened is not exactly known. Some speak of a Gangrel who diablerized a Tzimisce, while Morphos of the Camarilla speak of Tzimisce experiences to make an "anti-Tremere" warrior, while Sabbat

Anyway, the result was even closer to his beast, very territorial and easily frenetic vampire who had a resistance to magic.

Nickname

Animals

Sect

Most of the Morphos Gangrel claim to belong to the Camarilla, but several Morphos are in the Sabbat. They rarely involve themselves in both sects, as they don't often leave their territories.

Appearance

As the rest of the clan, they lack interest for fashion. But as they are masters of Vicissitude, Sabbat members tend to look very ugly in order to be more intimidating, while members of the Camarilla often look better.

Haven

As they are very territorial, the Morphos Gangrel often keep one (or several) havens within their territories, almost always out of the urban places, and often guarded by ghoul animals (which have sometimes been transformed in monsters via Vicissitude). With sufficient Protean mastery, they also ouse Earth Meld to sleep, but in general prefer their havens.

Background

Identical to the Gangrel.

Character Creation

Refer to the Gangrel character creation. There are around 70 Morphos Gangrels. About 65 of them live in Eastern Europe and the other 5 were tourists recently Embraced there to extend the Morphos bloodline to other places. Of the 5,the oldest lives in Lyon (France), 1 in Oslo (Norway), 1 in Osaka (Japan), 1 in Mexico City and the last one is in Boston (USA).

Disciplines

Animalism, Protean, Vicissitude (often multi-discipline powers involving Protean and Vicissitude)

Weakness

The Morphos Gangrel have a +2 difficulty on any roll to resist frenzy and Rötshreck, as the animal instinct of the Beast is way more present in them than in any other Kindred. Furthermore, due to this instinct, they claim areas to be their hunting grounds, and react aggressively to trespassers. If a Kindred enters a Morphos's territory without being invited, the Morphos must make frenzy roll. If this roll is failed, he'll attack the intruder until he's dead or has left the territory. Outside their territory, they suffer a +1 difficulty on any roll involving a social attribute.

Advantage

The Morphos have a supernatural resistance to the rituals of the Tremere and the spells of mages of other creeds and orders. The difficulty of all such magic, both malicious and beneficial, is +2 when directed to one of them.

Morphos Multi-discipline powers

Disciplines Required: Protean 2, Vicissitude 3

Experience cost: 22

Description: Every spike and talon created via Bonecraft (Vicissitude 3) inflicts aggravated damage instead of lethal.

See Vampire: The Dark Ages

Disciplines Required: Protean 4, Vicissitude 4

Experience cost: 15

Description: The Morphos can assume the shape of every mammal via Shape of the Beast (Protean 4).

Disciplines Required: Animalism 5, Presence 4 (or Animalism 5, Vicissitude 3, Protean 3)

Experience cost: 13

Description: This power gives the Morphos an important advantage over other vampires within his territory. By cutting his skin and setting out some of his blood in at least 3 different places (the territory's limits), the Morphos can make other vampires who enter within the delimitated territory feel that they are within another's domain. They don't know whose domain it is, but as they feel ill-at-ease as they know they are within another vampire's territory they suffer a +1 difficulty on any roll involving a social attribute, difficulty +3 if dealing with the Morphos who used this power.

System: The edges of the territory must be delimitated with a total of one blood point for a territory of 1 square km (other blood points can be set out, 1 more blood point can be set out to delimitate a territory of of 1 more square km, to a maximum of 10 blood points). But blood must be set out in this manner every 2 nights to keep the territorial demarcation.