The Tzimisce clan is
renowned for its evil. Among the most renowned of this line is Vlad Tepes, the
Impaler, who split from the clan and the sect. Tepes is especially infamous for
his cruelty, but this trait is common among the members of the
clan.
The Tzimisce clan stretched
across the Baltic regions of Eastern Europe for many centuries. It established a
great power base until the Tremere, then a house of mortal wizards, established
covenants in what is today northern Bulgaria. The two coexisted for a time, not
intruding upon one another. Eventually, the power-mad Tremere captured some
Tzimisces and used them in perverse rituals aimed at extracting the essence of
their immortality. Some Tzimisces believe this was the beginning of the Tremere
as a clan.
The Tzimisce had also
suffered at the hands of the Tremere by the time of the war between the wizards.
Seeking revenge against the Tremere, the clan offered aid to House Tytalus. The
Tzimisce offered support and, in exchange, House Tytalus promised to ensure that
no mages encroached any further into the clan's territory. The two groups began
working together against the Tremere.
The Tzimisce anarchs went a
long way in destroying the elders of their own clan, but gave up all major
efforts to destroy the remaining few. The remaining elders live as Inconnu in
Bulgaria, Rumania, Austria and Hungary, sitting alone in their mansion and
castle havens. They have accumulated so much magical and political power that
they have no fear of their former clan, and fear the Camarilla even
less.
Tzimisces have a strong
appreciation for learning. They are some of the most educated beings on earth.
They seek to understand magic as well as science, but have not reached the level
of the Tremere in this understanding. While they are inhuman, they show it to a
lesser extent than do the Toreador antitribu, for instance. Most Tzimisces are
grim and serious, noted for their lack of a sense of humor (or a twisted one, at
best). They are also known for the high value they place on
privacy.
The Tzimisce is the second
most powerful and numerous clan of the Sabbat. The Lasombra hold the top
position in both categories. However, the Tzimisce is a driving force behind
Sabbat ideology, goals and planning. The Tzimisce clan appears happy to let the
Lasombra take the lead in carrying out sect plans.
Weaknesses
Due to the effects of the
Vicissitude Discipline, Tzimisces are in a continuous state of physical flux
often they forget their original form over the centuries. Thus, something deep
within the Tzimisces craves stability and permanence. As a result, each time the
Tzimisces sleep, they must surround themselves with at least two handfuls of
earth from a land important to them as mortals usually their homeland or the
graveyard where they underwent their Creation Rites.
