On a chill, cloudy night in 1022, eight of the world's most accomplished Hermetic magi gathered in a hidden room in a hidden castle in Transylvania, stumbling and bleary-eyed from a sleepless week of preparations; poised to conclude a ritual which, they had been promised, would put the Philosopher's Stone--the key to true immortality and limitless power--within their grasp at long last. The promise was kept (after a fashion), but their deed plunged their august house of scholars forever into vilest infamy, damning them as vampires through the usurpation of the Blood of Caine. Even among that cursed eight wondered if even their leader, great Tremere himself, realized how fate would ply him as her tool to alter both Hermetic and Cainite history. They wondered if they would spend the rest of their hunted, harried existences scrambling to escape the consequences of this one fatal act. But then rushing in where angels fear to tread has always been the very hallmark of House Tremere.
Sobriquet:
Appearance:
Haven and Prey:
The Embrace:
Character Creation:
Clan Disciplines:
Weaknesses:
Organization:
The two centuries since have seen bitter theorizing from insider and outsider alike. Is magic truly dying in the world, as Tremere and his seven acolytes said, or did they believe so only because their lust for eternal youth and might outstripped the supply? Did they not know, or not care, what fate they dragged their brothers and sisters toward? Are they improvising their moves now, or is it all some vast incomprehensible plot...and if so, whose?
All anyone knows is that the Tremere grow bolder the harder they are pressed. A once-great house of magi has yielded to a vampiric bloodline--the Hermetic Order banished them in 1202, and the resultant war doomed their forlorn human remnant to Embrace or execution by their Damned brethern. Their Tzimisce foes, from whom they stole the blood but who wavered for just a few precious years too many, are fought to a standstill. Spells and strange beasts drive them back from the heart of the infection they would cauterize. Although the Tremere never officially admitted to butchering the Antediluvian Saulot and guzzling his heart's blood (thus making themselves into a clan), few elder Cainite have failed to notice his progeny dwindling just as the ambitious newcomers wax in power.
And now these usurpers, despite (or because of) their eternal besiegement, cherish a fresh ambition: a place at the Cainite table. In this task they face their steepest odds yet. Even those vampires who don't personally hate the Tremere treat them as unclean. The wizards' hands are stained with sacrilege, and the taint could well rub off. Many a clutch of young Tremere, suddenly helpless as the Embrace robs them of their mortal magics, has been discovered and slaughtered. Still other fledglings have been dragged before princely thrones to answer for their ignorance with their unlives. The Seven--Tremere's seconds and the night-to-night leaders of his House--quickly realized that they must placate their fellow monsters, must learn the rules of this arcane little culture and at least appear to play by them. Surely the Tremere have much to offer. True, their new blood-arts of Thaumaturgy, however effective against the primitive Tzimisce koldun, fall miserably short of the arts they once wielded as breathing warlocks. True, they feel more alone, more vunerable than they ever have. But no outsider ever need know that. Wheedling and making "oneself" useful to others' ambitions does not come easily to the proud Tremere soul. Many chafe at having to smile while Ventrue lordlings use and abuse their gifts with seeming impunity. Yet they bear it in the name of desperation--and enterprise. In private, they scoff. If they must bear the Usurper ephithet, they should earn it.
Unfortunately, neither the clan's tightening hierarchy nor the partial blood oath each Tremere pledges to his superiors has brought the unity the Seven desire, though they only have three of their own to blame: Goratrix the Sleepless, lightning rod for the clan's radical elements; Etrius the Reluctant, whose faction plays clan conscience; and wise Meerlinda, derided as a mere conciliator even as she assembles her own base of support. And there are deeper rifts yet: between those who welcomed immortality and those who feel enslaved and betrayed, between authoritarians and champions of wizardly autonomy, and so on, ad infinitum. Still, most Tremere understand the rest of the world hates them far more than they could ever hate each other. In the face of external threat or scrutiny, even the deadliest rivals close ranks.
Usurpers
Most Tremere consider themselves truth-seekers and dress the part: scholarly robes in sturdy fabrics, a deliberately scant wardrobe. (Clan coffers overflow, but individual luxury is considered frivolous.) Tremere regents tend to keep themselves, their apprentices and their chantries austerely. Usurpers serving as Cainite liasons, however, might wear anything from a court-conjurer's gaudy robes to the silks and ermines of nobility. Apparent ages vary widely, a result of conversion. Tremere can hail from anywhere in Christendom or its bordering regions, though the Germanic and Slavic lands are presently the clan's ethnic center.
Nearly all Tremere dwell in secret houses of thaumaturgic study called chantries, usually along side a handful of their clanmates, through regional headquarters can be larger. Vampirism is forcing chantries into the cities, where, because of their pariah status, Tremere usually get stuck with the dregs: slums, ghettos, foreign quarters and their often underfed inhabitants. Some officially unacknowledged chantries can't even claim that much, and the draining nature of blood-magic complicates things further. Luckily, clan culture discourages gourmands. Many chantries keep a "larder" of mortal prisoners and simply forbid their apprentices to risk hunting.
Despite the proximity of enemies old and new, Tremere still recruit furtively from occultists' cabals, Gnostic cults, cathedral schools, universities, abbeys, nunneries--anywhere the life of the mind is honored. Recruits of all faiths are, however, expected to discard what the Hellenic-influenced Tremere think of as the unlightened aspects of their creeds, especially since the conversion to vampirism. Some regents also create their own mortal secret societies for use as feeding and recruiting grounds. And there are occasional Embraces of Hermetic magi who either looked too promising to pass up or stuck their noses somewhere unfortunate.
Pragmatism rules the seemingly more outre choices: knights for the "Hungarian war" and courtiers or even the odd prelate for diplomatic duty. Such folk are seduced or ambushed as necessary. Regardless of background, the ideal initiate combines a blazing intellect with a hunger for secrets and, above all, a freebooting spirit. Other Cainites, deceived by the fusty exterior, may not recognize until he's too late the scope of a Tremere's daring.
Most Tremere follow the Road of Humanity (or occasionally the Road of Sin) being either ignorant or leery of alternatives. Mental Attributes and Knowledges are usually primary, although concept might dictate otherwise--eg, warriors, diplomats, initiates with a magical "wild talent" but no formal education. Mentor is the most common individual Background, but chantries may enjoy considerable pooled Backgrounds.
Auspex, Dominate, Thaumaturgy
Tremere culture encourages obedience to House leadership, and that obedience is augmented by the forced partial blood oath--one drink of the combined vitae of the Seven--that each new acolyte must undertake. Perhaps more dangerous still, each Tremere surrenders a vial of his blood to his immediate superior, and the High Chantry at Ceoris is rapidly assembling its own exhaustive collection of Tremere blood. The blood magic of Thaumaturgy makes the lesser Tremere a potential target for dark rites of punishment.
Out of a desperate need for coherence (and, supposedly, for the sake of a massive cabalistic working) the Seven are slowly formalizing the House's old hierarchy into something reverentially dubbed the Pyramid. Eventually, they hope to have seven apprentices under each chantry regent, seven regents under each regional lord, seven lords under each of the Seven, and thence to Great Tremere himself--who rests in Ceoris, the High Chantry and greatest fortress of the House, located high in the Transylvanian Alps.
Ascending these degrees is a labyrinthine business, requiring feats both mystical and mundane. With all their looming perils, many Tremere still find the nightly tasks of chantry establishment and survival far more important than impressing some remote superior. But the clan's initiatory oath declares death the price of open defiance, and ranking magi have the means to carry out that threat.
