OLD CLAN SESAME

By Jacob Williamson (theslin@mail.utexas.edu)

History

The year, 1732. A travelling sideshow wound its way slowly through England, drawing the pennies from the pockets of the peasantry with horror-show freaks, grotesques and monstrosities. Makeshift hallways led the ha'penny crowds along the exhibits -- the malformed, the horrific and the merely odd. And on one side of the hall, the dwarf Rizzo, a mathematical savant billed as the Smallest Cypher. On the other, Bette de Coprot, Nosferatu of the Sixth Generation. While Caine technically forbade it, the two grew close, and fell in love.

As these things inevitably fall, the Nosferatu Embraced her love, and the two fled from the sideshow train into the night. Though his change was agonizing, Rizzo did not grow into the twisted visage of the Sewer Rats -- his small form was indeed twisted, but instead of becoming a figure of horror, he became merely cute -- insanely, unnaturally cute, but cute nevertheless. His Sire was enraged, and cast him away; Rizzo became Caitiff, never learning the secrets of his blood clan.

The dwarf found his way to nearby London-town, and within a year weaseled his way into a position as court fool to a local landed duke. There is no surer path to power than the Royal court, and with his charming personality and unusual talents he captured the attentions of the queen herself. Over the years, he won a title of royalty, and began to draw his power around him.

Though Rizzo -- now the Count von Count -- was cast from the clan, the blood of the Nosferatu still ran through his dead veins. From them, he took the Discipline of hiding, Obfuscation. His prowess at sleight-of-hand and conjure-tricks he eventually hammered into something almost exactly paralleling the Tremere's Discipline of Thaumaturgy. And from his own mathematical talents he developed the Discipline of Enumeration. From his county seat, he established the Bloodline of Old Clan Sesame.

Twice the Count engaged in the foul (but regrettably common) practice of Diablerie. In both instances, a member of Clan Tremere made an attempt on the Count's unlife, and in both instances, the attempt failed. The second botched attack prompted a full-scale bloodhunt, and the Count abandoned his holdings in Britain to flee to the safety of the New World. He arrived in the year 1930. He has once again built his base of power, but to date none have located von Count's suburban demesne. Truly, he is subtle.

Description

There are at least three great truths in Kindred society: you can't trust the Nosferatu with a secret; it's almost impossible to get a comprehensible answer from the Malkavians; it is always easier to be the Tremere's enemy than the Tremere's ally. The Old Clan Sesame bloodline has gone even farther -- they've earned the Warlocks' frothing, rabid hatred, for through their mastery of subtle logicks they possess insights into Thaumaturgy the Tremere have not begun to fathom.

The modern bloodline strongly bears the marks of its founder. Like the Nosferatu, they cloak themselves in illusion. Von Count turned his mastery of prestidigitation into rituals closely paralleling the Tremere's Thaumaturgy, a power the Sesame still carry. The Count developed his mathematical talents into a complex philosophy, giving his Childer their birthright, the Discipline of Enumeration.

Today, the Sesame are the teachers and guides among the Kindred. Like the Nosferatu, they lust for knowledge -- unlike the Nosferatu, they enjoy sharing it. Still, they've earned a reputation for being childlike and trusting -- one could even say the whole bloodline's damned gullible. They are most comfortable around the Kine and each other, and when possible stay well away from the more manipulative clans -- that is to say, all the clans except the Gangrel. A popular misconception of Old Clan Sesame is that of the Ivory Tower; most assume that a bloodline devoted to instruction would be divorced from this reality. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Kindred have their healers, warriors, rulers; but they have no lorekeepers. If the Sesame were allowed to take a place in the Camarilla, they could fill this lost function. They find their value in every life they touch. Instead of being absent-minded academicians, they are as familiar as possible with their subjects -- too familiar, unfortunately, for most Kindreds' tastes. Trust is not a widely-held commodity among the undead.

Against all odds, the Sesame often find positions as confidants. Besides being naturally honest, they look the part. As the generations passed, Rizzo's blood thinned. The Childer of Rizzo lost their line's founder's insanely cute, charming and slightly fuzzy good looks, but they still have wide, innocent eyes and gentle features. One more strike against them in getting any of the other clans to take them seriously. On the other hand, many licks underestimate the Sesame on first glance. Any who fall victim to the line's blood-magic don't make the mistake twice.

Nicknames

Numerologists, Muppets

Appearance

While not as unnatural-looking as their Sire, the Sesame are categorically cute; wide, bright eyes seem as much a part of the Change as fangs and the cessation of bodily functions. The numerologists tend to dress in the trappings of Academia--tweed is a favorite.

Haven

Most live near the vast information resources and all-night activity of a major university -- a little data-manipulation can get a dorm, no questions asked. Some adopt primary or secondary education as their stalking grounds (though in the World of Darkness, the high-schoolers tend to be well-armed...)

Background

They tend to see the Embrace as a reward; they pass their gifts on to philanthropists, or more often to teachers of every stripe. Often working around youth, and being somewhat childlike themselves, the Sesame have more "children" in their ranks than their numbers should warrant.

Weaknesses

Due to their apparent innocence, the Sesame have trouble instilling the mortal terror the rest of the Kindred can. They suffer a +2 difficulty in Intimidation contests, and may be penalized in staredowns, seductions or when trying to provoke someone to anger. This aura of innocence isn't cosmetic, either -- the Sesame are the most trusting of the Kindred. In tests of Subterfuge, manipulators receive a -2 difficulty against them.

Character Generation

The Sesame are highly social, and generally well-read. Social attributes and Knowledges are primary. The talent of Instruction is almost obligatory, as is a study in mathematics. The Merits: Baby-face and Innocent are both good choices, while the Flaw: Child is unfortunately common. Caregivers, Judges and Directors dominate the bloodline.

Organization

They're a pretty tight club -- in general, all of a city's members know one another. They rarely have formal meetings, but instead adopt a "hitching post" arrangement -- an informal gathering spot and message center. In the times of crisis that unite the similarly organized Toreador together, the Sesame collapse.

Gaining Bloodline Prestige

As a line of guides and mentors, the Sesame judge their own value by their worth in the eyes of the other clans. The prestige of a member of Old Clan Sesame is judged by how many others would speak of his guidance and wisdom.

LARP Conversions

Disadvantages: The Sesame must spend two traits to initiate any challenges of Intimidation or Subterfuge. All members of this bloodline have the negative Mental Trait: Gullible, which cannot be bought off.

Advantage: In the subtle intrigues of the Kindred community, the Sesame are the confidants. They gain the Social Traits: Compassionate x3, even if this brings them above their normal trait limits. They cannot use these traits against anybody whose confidence they've violated.

Antitribu: Antitribu Sesame use their positions as confidants to their own ends, digging up information and hoarding it as passionately as any Nosferatu. Given the Sesame's reputation for honesty, known traitors to the bloodline are 3 Traits down in any Social contests with "loyal" Sesame. Antitribu gain a free retest when using Subterfuge to uncover an opponent's flaws. Their Disadvantage is as above.

Disciplines

Enumeration, Thaumaturgy, Domination

Preferred paths

The Path of Caine, the Path of Honorable Accord

Bloodline Founder: Count Von Count

Nature: Fanatic

Demeanor: Caregiver

Bloodline: Old Clan Sesame

Generation: FIFTH! Fifth generation! Ah, hah, hah...

Haven: An undisclosed urban in America (previously, London)

Embrace: 1712

Apparent Age: 40s? 50s?

Concept: Dabbler in Esoteric Numerologies

Physical	Social	Mental
Strength: **	Charisma: ***** (Cuddly)	Perception: ***** (Insightful)
Dexterity: **	Manipulation: **** (Eloquent)	Intelligence: ******* (Brilliant)
Stamina: ***	Appearance: ***** (Cute)	Wits: ****** (Sharp)

Talents	Skills	Knowledges
Acting ***	Animal Ken **	Computer **** (educational applications)
Alertness *****	Drive *	Finance ***
Dodge ***	Etiquette ***	Investigation *****
Empathy **	Melee **	Linguistics **
Leadership *****	Stealth ****	Science **
Diplomacy ***	Dancing ***	Mathematics *******
Instruction ***** (Children)	Psychoanalysis **	Psychology **
Style ***	Singing ***

Disciplines	Backgrounds	Virtues
Animalism *	Allies ******+	Conscience ****
Celerity ***	Fame ****	Self-Control *****
Enumeration ********	Generation ********	Courage **
Fortitude ****	Herd ***** (So many children)
Obfuscate ********	Influence **
Thaumaturgy *****	Status 4
Path of Weather Control *****

Humanity: ********
Willpower: ******
Blood Pool: 40 (maximum)

Reference

Visit the Old Clan Sesame home page to see images of the clan founder as well as its symbol: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Labyrinth/3595/sesame.html