“Look, ya may have heard some wicked untrue shit about us. But, ya need to trust me right now. It’s just a drop of blood, ya got nothing to worry about . . . I promise.” 

– Sully “The Star” Kelley 

The Warlocks have a unique origin story from every other clan: During the 8th century, Tremere, a mortal mage, wanted to unlock the secrets of eternal life. Fueled by ambition for immortality and power, he began his studies and blood rituals, conducting horrifying experiments that left a trail of bodies both mortal and Kindred. Finally, after sacrificing enough blood to feed a vampire for years on end, he found some semblance of success; however, the immortality Tremere discovered was the vampiric sort. Unwittingly, Tremere and his followers traded their magicks for Hunger, the sun for eternal night, and life for permanent undeath . . . And created a new clan of vampires. 

Clan Tremere was structured in a rigid hierarchy known as the Pyramid, led by its founder. The Warlocks of a region would group into chantries in which to study their magic. Clan roles ranged from Apprentice to Master locally, Regent and Lord beyond, all the way up to the Council, which ruled the clan from the Prime Chantry in Vienna. Loyalty was demanded at every level and enforced with each member of the clan partially Blood Bound to the Council. 

In modern nights, however, the Tremere have seen the most shocking changes to their clan. The mortal hunters of the Second Inquisition destroyed their Prime Chantry. Their ability to continue the Blood Bonds so integral to the rigid hierarchy of the clan vanished, and the ability to organize as they once did has weakened greatly. Since then, the Pyramid has been fractured, with individuals separating out into one of three major Houses: House Carna, House Goratrix, and House Tremere. 

Major Houses 

House Tremere: All members of House Tremere are Camarilla aligned. Traditional Hermetics remain fiercely loyal to the House and their clan Justicar. This House maintains a semblance of the Pyramid and has a complex internal hierarchy (see Loresheet: The Pyramid on page XX). 

House Carna: This House includes both Camarilla and Anarch vampires.. Members of House Carna are non-conformists with no required loyalty to House Carna or the Pyramid. They often practice pagan, Wiccan, and other spiritual beliefs. 

House Goratrix: There is very little known about this House, and do not usually admit to their allegiance. Rumors claim an ancient vampire of the clan, who has avoided the Beckoning, rules this House secretly. Their goals are unknown at this time. 

Each Warlock typically finds themselves serving in one of three ways: they serve the Camarilla with their Blood Sorcery, they serve the clan by being experts in the Occult, and they serve themselves in their pursuit of more power. How each Warlock does this is up to them now, with the choice of what to do with their future ahead of them. The staggering weight of free will sits on their collective heads. Only the future will tell if Clan Tremere can survive it. 

Disciplines 

Auspex: Clan Tremere makes good use of Auspex. They can read auras, study spiritual residue, discover traces of supernatural essence, and perceive other things beyond the world of the mundane. Not only that, the secret communication given by Telepathy allows the Warlocks to discuss their plans in ways that can never be accidentally overheard. 

Blood Sorcery: A poor replacement for the magicks of the clan founders, but a replacement nonetheless, the Warlocks quickly became masters of Blood Sorcery. The Tremere are constantly learning and experimenting with it, trying to create new rituals and discovering ways to manipulate Blood as both a weapon and tool.

Dominate: If power and knowledge lie at the end of a path, a Tremere is sure to be found walking along it. The Warlocks will do nearly anything to further their plans, and Dominate helps them shore up the Masquerade throughout that process. 

Archetypes 

Antique Book Dealer: With a brilliant mind that picks up new information like a sponge, this Warlock has always thrived on structure. Their love of books, of all things old and the mysteries held within, makes them a fount of esoteric knowledge. They are at the forefront of all enterprises to obtain new, obscure information and artifacts, peddling their knowledge and understanding of the occult for the betterment of themselves and the overall survival of their clan. 

The Mentalist: When they were alive, they made their living through observation and confidence tricks, playing the numbers of statistical likelihoods and watching the subtle cues of their marks. Now that they are a Warlock, they have gained power that augments their natural talent. Leaning heavily into the powers of the clan, they excel at reading minds and subtly manipulating the actions of others. Already used to a life built on lies, these vampires tend to fall into step quite readily as spies, investigators, and interrogators – all for the good of the clan, or so they might say. 

Paranormal Investigator: The Warlocks are ideally suited to investigate the things that go bump in the night and to protect vampiric society from these things. Using their access to some of the greatest libraries and minds in the world, these monster hunters hire themselves out to protect members of their clan and their allies. Just as at home in a library as they are in a brawl, they show an innovative and creative use of all the powers the clan has to offer, making them a frightening opponent. 

Bane 

Discipline and hierarchy enforced by Blood Bonds was once core to the Tremere way of life. With the destruction of the Prime Chantry, the clan realized that the ability to Blood Bond others, relied so heavily upon, had suddenly disappeared. Clan Tremere can no longer subject another vampire to the shackles of the Blood Bond. They are still subject to the Bond themselves. 

Ghouls and humans can still be Bound, though with great difficulty. To establish a successful Bond, the ghoul or human must consume their domitor’s vitae an additional number of times equal to their Bane Severity. 

Compulsion: Perfectionism 

Nobody is perfect, but the Warlocks insist on being the best they can be. When this Compulsion is triggered, they cannot suffer anything but perfection. They will try again and again when they fail,

forsaking all other duties, until they get it right. Until the end of the scene, or until the Tremere scores a critical win on a Skill challenge, she suffers a -2 penalty to all non-Discipline pools. Reduce this penalty by one if the Tremere has attempted the same action, using the same pool in the scene. On the third attempt of the same action with the same pool, remove the penalty altogether.