WATCHERS

By Anelli26@aol.com

Description

The Curse of Caine manifests in many different ways. Physically, it is visible in the Nosferatu. Mentally, it appears as the derangement of Malkav. Very few vampires are cursed another way, with an inability to speak normally. The Watchers are cursed to an eternity of observing, listening, but never taking part. They are incapable of coherent speech with humans and Cainites. The only beings that understand them are their animated Minions.

The clan was founded in the eleventh century by a sixth generation Lasombra elder named Malachi. Malachi was lonely as a result of his being ostracized by Cainite society. He was guilty of a crime that is now long forgotten. To hide from the race that first had spawned him but now hated him, he retired to a reclusive cave somewhere in northern Europe. There he contemplated and prayed for three centuries, feeding off the blood of animals, only stopping to sleep during daylight hours. During this time his ability to speak verbally slowly declined, while at the same time he developed the Animus Discipline to ease his loneliness and aid him.

Now Malachi and the clan he founded lead lives of separation. Their only company are their Minions created by their Animus Discipline. They are entirely neutral and not widely known. Many are religious, turning to God for help. Because of their past association with the Lasombra, the few who exist are widely hated by the Camarilla. Contact with others is limited and organization is almost non-existent. Unlike their parent clan, the Watchers have little political power, hiding from in the shadows rather than ruling from them.

Nickname

Loners

Appearance

A Watcher may have any appearance. Some pretend to be deaf-mutes. Typical Watchers dress in black-anything, while some wear clerical garments of the Catholic Church if they were clergymen during mortal life.

Haven

Loners often hide from the sun in monasteries or hospitals. Some wealthier Watchers keep their mortal homes.

Background

Very few Loners ever Embrace. The few that do often choose childer from monastic orders, prisons and hospital wards. Scientists and visionaries are also chosen.

Character Creation

Watchers often have outsider, clerical, or criminal concepts. Fanatic, Loner, and Visionary are the most common Natures. Mental Attributes, especially Perception, are important, as are Knowledges. Most have Humanity, though a few still follow the Dark Age's Road of Heaven. It is rumored that Malachi and his immediate childer posses True Faith.

Clan Disciplines

Auspex, Animus, Potence

Weakness

All Watchers' speech is garbled and unintelligible to all other creatures, except for their Minions. They cannot have a Charisma of more than * and may never learn Dominate. A few of their elders are able to understand simple phrases made by other Watchers.

Organization

Clan members rarely see each other. When they do, they occasionally talk with telepathic communication via Auspex.