RIN

By Nick Desveaux (psycho_punk_boy@hotmail.com)

Description

When a person thinks of clan Rin, the first thing in their mind is Azrael Rin. The second, is his draconian form. While Azrael Rin is the most well known and notorious of the Rins he by far is not the definitive Rin. This clan is made up of three forms, humans, draconians, and dragons. Each for has its abilities and weaknesses. All within this clan are mortal, yet mistakenly, people think they are immortal. The word clan is also false, as the clan has no blood relation at all. Both of these facts tie in with what the Rin are. Back in pre-history, when dragons still roamed the earth practicing their magic skills, there arose a cult of demonic dragons who was rather bent on destroying their children. These dragon children were cursed, making their souls something different. At the time of death, a Rin soul leaves the body, but instead of going to the Shadowlands, it goes to another fetus. Two problems arise here. One, yes, that means the Rin's are eternal, if not immortal. And two, the Rin soul could only be reborn into a human child. As the child grew, it would know nothing of its history. But as it reached adolescence, memories would arise. At the time of puberty, one of three things could happen. It could remain human, but gain all its previous lives memories, and go insane, or it could metamorph into a draconian, vile and evil, filled with hatred because if its dragon parents, or finally, it could become a dragon, wise and powerful.

The process of metamorphosis is unknown, as many Rins seek solitary shelter during this time. Many people only know of the draconian Rins, and wrongly think that is all they are.

Nickname

Lizards

Sect

The dragon and draconian Rins, not being kindred, rarely associate with any Kindred sects. But it has happened in the past where a draconian will aid one sect in a time or war. But the insane human Rins will occasionally be embraced by the Malkavians, and thus, enter into the Kindred arena of politics, and like a Malkavian, cause havoc.

Appearance

Human Rins have no discernible likeness. Except one thing. This is the only trait they share with the draconians and the dragons. Their eyes glow as long as they have their original Rin soul.

Draconian Rin all look the same in essence. Due to how a Draconian's disciplines work, each Rin will appear different, but only in non-consequential ways. The draconians stand at about 7 feet tall, all have 6 foot long tails, a wingspan of 40 feet, and have dragon scales. Their hands and feet are claws, and all of them have a similar trait with the humans. As long as they own their Rin soul, their eyes glow, usually a deep blood red.

The dragon Rins are dragons in the most traditional sense. Ranging from 10 feet to 100 feet head to tail, they all look like the usual mythical dragons. Massive wings, claws, scales, all the usual. But they do not breathe fire, as legend suggests. But, like their draconian and human family, their eyes glow, usual a deep blue or green.

Haven

There is no preferred haven among the clan. They are solitary and make their havens where they wish, in what manner they wish.

Background

Because the Rins are not embraced but born, this aspect is not central to character creation. Also, because the Rin is born not knowing anything of its history, it will develop individually, most likely opposite its previous lives. So a single Rin could be good, loving, and caring in one life, but evil, hateful and violent in the next. In effect, one Rin is a different character in each life.

Character Creation

Character creation is the least definite process in creating a Rin. For the mortals, there is nothing at all specific. For the dragons though, they usually favor knowledges, mental attributes, and scholarly natures and demeanors. The draconians are usual evil, favor either mental or physical attributes, and skills or talents. The humans have 10 blood points, the draconians 25 blood points, and the dragons have 30 to 60 blood points depending on their size.

Clan Disciplines

Being mortal, the Rins don't share any Vampiric Disciplines. But this isn't to say they are without abilities. The dragon Rins are magi, and may take any Mage sphere available to them. In each life, the spheres end with the dragons life and must be relearned in the next one as this is an ability of the dragons body. The humans, are completely without natural abilities. But if the human Rin is embrace, usual by the Malkavian Clan, that clans disciplines are gained.

The draconian Rins again, are the least simple of the clans. They have the discipline equivalents of Potence, Fortitude, and Temporis. But even this isn't clear cut. While the Rin works its way up through Temporis, the only level it can use is Level 7, Domain of Evernight. Where Kindred disciplines are based in their blood, a draconian Rins disciplines are based in the soul. This allows the Rin to take its disciplines from one life to the next. As well, the draconians have a special ability. The have the Skill of Soul Buying. This allows the Rin, through a specific Ritual, to buy a soul from anyone and own it as their own. This soul is not their Rin soul, and cannot be used as such if their Rin soul is stolen. This ability is outlined below.

Weaknesses

Again, there being three different forms of this Clan and no blood ties, there seems to be little or no unity in the weaknesses. All suffer from the flaw of Dark Fate (Rin) for 5 points. Also, if any Rin has its original Rin soul taken, it will begin to rot physically, and eventually die. Usually, in this instance, the Soul is imprisoned, so the death of the Rin is final, thus ending its Eternal rebirth.

A human is the weakest of all, having no special abilities, but if the human is embraced, it gains the weakness and strengths of that clan. As well, all human Rins are insane. The dragons, as they grow older, grow more and more reclusive and paranoid. The draconians again, are the least simple. They suffer from the flaws of Driving Goal for 3 points and Hatred (of good) for 3 points.

Organization

There is little to no organization within the clan. This is due to both the solitary nature of the Rins, as well as the fact that many of them never come into contact with one another. When two Rins meet, is it usually accepted that the one with the oldest soul is in charge.

Bloodlines

Because the Rins are born of humans, there are no bloodlines beyond the human, dragon, and draconian aspects of the clan.

Path of Draconis

Every draconian Rin follows this path. No other path will be followed by the draconians, as to the draconians, the only thing worthwhile is evil and demonic activity. Appropriately, followers of this path are best noted for associating with demons, fallen angels, and Baali, and possessing traits quite similar to them.

Hierarchy of Sins

10	Treating another on the path with disrespect.
9	Failing to harm an old friend at the earliest chance.
8	Being Embraced by Kindred.
7	Committing Suicide.
6	Treating any Rin with disrespect.
5	Not experimenting with new forms of torture.
4	Acting honourably.
3	Not pursuing chaos as the ultimate goal in life.
2	Making a new friend under civilized pretenses.
1	Doing a good deed.

Soul Buying (New Skill)

This ability is available only to the draconians in clan Rin. It allows the person to buy the soul while following a specific ritual. The ritual is simple. The person must sign a contract, a handshake is required, and then the Rin must touch the person's forehead to absorb the soul. The pleasure a Kindred gets from feeding is nothing compared to this. Many Rins buy souls only to feel the pleasure in this. The soul must be given freely, or the entire ritual is useless.

*	You manage to purchase every 1 in 5 souls you attempt. The cost is extravagant.
**	You manage to purchase every 2 in 5 souls you attempt. The cost is expensive.
***	You manage to purchase every 3 in 5 souls you attempt. The cost is high.
****	You manage to purchase every 4 in 5 souls you attempt. The cost is about average.
*****	You manage to purchase every soul you attempt. The cost is almost nothing.

Rin Age (New Background)

This background is available to any Rin. It marks the age of the soul, and the level of discipline equivalents that Rin may hold.

*	1-500 years. Discipline maximum is 4.
**	500-1500 years. Discipline maximum is 5.
***	1500-3000 years. Discipline maximum is 6.
****	3000-6000 years. Discipline maximum is 7.
*****	6000-10,000 years. Discipline maximum is 8.
******	10,000+ years. Discipline maximum is 9.

Notes on draconian discipline equivalents: A draconian carries its disciplines from one life to the next, no penalty. It grows regardless of use or learning, as the disciplines are a manifestation of the Rin Soul's strength. Sometimes, if a Rin learns a certain discipline, the Rin body will reflect it. For example, Obtenebration may cause the Rin to appear like a shadow or even absorb light. Or Obfuscate may cause the Rin to become invisible. But despite this physical reflection of the disciplines, the draconian's eyes will always glow red, visible unless the eyes are closed. Temporis must be purchased as if the Rin was using levels 1-7, but the Rin may only use level 7. The Rin cannot use higher or lower than this level of Temporis.