From time immemorial the Tzimisce have haunted Europe beyond the Elbe. Along the Oder and Danube, through the Pripet Marshes, amid the Carpathian crags stalk the Fiends, each claiming its lair and wreaking a terrible vengeance on intruders. Millennia of defending their holdings from all sides have made Tzimisce extremely vicious, and Tzimisce cruelty is infamous even among vampires. (Travelers’ legends of cynocephali, vrykolas and other monsters can often be traced to some wretch disfigured by an annoyed Tzimisce.)

Of all clans, the Tzimisce is perhaps the least human. Tzimisce are scholarly, even brilliant beings, but their studies (and their Vicissitude Discipline) have led them to the unequivocal conclusion that vampires are superior to humans and Tzimisce are superior to other vampires. The “best” (by Tzimisce standards) humans are to be elevated; the rest are fodder. Unlike many vampires, Tzimisce do not see themselves as damned or accursed. If God has damned them, they say, then perhaps it is time for new and better gods....

During the years immediately following Rome’s fall, the clan made vassals/slaves of various Eastern European hereditary chieftains, thereby creating “ghoul families” with noble lineage and inbred supernatural powers. These families provided the Tzimisce with great temporal power, and thereafter the inhabitants of the East have groaned under the yoke of their Tzimisce masters. For centuries Tzimisce dominance in the East remained unchallenged, and the clan itself was arguably the most powerful in Europe. But recent times have proved troubling for the Fiends. A skirmish with the sorcerous Tremere (who gained immortality using stolen Tzimisce vitae) quickly blossomed into a full-scale war. At first the Tzimisce’s raw power and terror tactics gave them the upper hand, but the Usurpers’ superior organization and magical might have recently turned the tide. Moreover, the Fiends’ distress has been balm to the hearts of rival clans. Under the cover of mortal invasions, other vampires have begun to jockey for the Tzimisce’s dwindling holdings. Fearful voivodes increasingly send their young to fight and die in their names, and the Blood Oath-bound progeny dutifully go, though for the first time ever they have begun to grumble at their servitude....

SobriquetFiends
Appearance
Few Tzimisce appear normal; most are either angelically beautiful or freakishly weird. Many Tzimisce, particularly those skilled in Vicissitude, change their shape nightly. Some displaced Tzimisce, enraged by their subjects’ “betrayal,” ravage their former herds as hideous monsters. Most Tzimisce dress in noble finery, though some prefer tattered shrouds or nothing whatsoever.

Haven
Tzimisce voivodes maintain ancestral castles, where they live amid decaying splendor with their broods. Woe to any who trespass on a Tzimisce’s fief! The rare visitor (mortal, vampire or otherwise) who is invited onto Tzimisce grounds is feted like a prince — but should take care to display extreme courtesy in return. Tzimisce cherish their havens, but rarely bother with upkeep (many Tzimisce keeps are the spitting image of the classic crumbling Transylvanian castle).

Background
Tzimisce are most often chosen from the clan’s “pet” noble families, and no few are ghouls prior to the Embrace. Occasionally a particularly brilliant or learned outsider is brought into the clan, and a voivode often takes whoever strikes his fancy (as a “bride” or the like). Particularly in the Baltics, many still worship (or are worshipped as) the pagan Slavic gods.

Character Creation
Most Tzimisee are of Eastern European origin and tend to have noble or scholarly concepts. As the war with the Tremere rages, more and more Tzimisce are chosen for their martial prowess (or sheer brutality). Mental Attributes are often primary. Many Tzimisce have Retainers in the form of monstrous, Vicissitude-sculpted ghoul servitors. Herd and Influence are also common Backgrounds. Tzimisce follow a variety of Roads, though the Road of the Beast is most common, and few openly profess allegiance to the Road of Humanity. Some Tzimisce, particularly the pagan ones, follow obscure Roads combining aspects of Devil, Beast and Blood.

Clan Disciplines
Animalism, Auspex, Vicissitude

Weaknesses
Tzimisce are very territorial and tied to the lands they knew in life. When a Tzimisce sleeps, she must surround herself with at least two handfuls of earth from a land important to her as a mortal (the land of her birth, the soil of her demesne, the earth of her grave, etc.). Failure to do this halves the Tzimisce’s Dice Pools every 24 hours until all actions use only one die; this penalty is negated by eight hours’ rest amid the special soil.

Organization
Tzimisce are very hierarchical but very insular creatures. The clan is subdivided into smaller units comprising one landholding vampire sire (voivocle) and a host of progeny, many of whom have been required to submit to a Blood Oath with the sire. Progeny are expected to obey their voivode in all things. Relationships among voivodes are governed by a complex protocol and fractious at best; strife among these elders is the main reason why the clan has been unable to best the Tremere. Of late, as more and more voivodes have fallen, Tzimisce progeny have been forced to travel into exile in the West.

Quote
Good evening, traveler. I bid you welcome to the demesne of my voivode, Count Vladimir Rustovitch, whose fiefdom you crossed into at the ford a league back. You are in luck — we have ample accommodations and a surfeit of choice entertainments awaiting you at our castle.
(V:DA pg 76-77)