79268-v5_The_Black_HandvFinal

PLAyIng THe sABBAt

To bridge an abyss, a sword is required.
But nothing is gained without leaving something behind.

If the prize is everything...
How much of yourself would you cut away?

The Black Hand

The Black Hand: Playing the Sabbat

LEGAL AND CREDITS

W R ITTEN BY Rachel E. Judd, Khaldoun Khelil, and Saskia Liddick
EDITING A N D R EA DING: Rachel E. Judd, Khaldoun Khelil, and Saskia Liddick

A RT DIR ECTOR : Khaldoun Khelil
COV ER A RT: Mark Kelly

INTER IOR A RT A N D ILLUSTR ATION: Mark Kelly, Pexel (Lucas Alves, CottonBro, Dids, Victoria Emer-
son, Eberhard Grossgasteiger, Kourtney Gunderen, ItzyPhoto, Adrien Olichon, Aleksandar Pasaric, Farzad
Sedaghat, Shvets Production, Dima Valko), and UnSplash (Silvana Amicone, Andrew Amistad, David Bay-

liss, Volker Braun, BSD, Noah Buscher, James Coleman, Daniele Colucci, Yoal Desurmont, Hiep Duong,
Cheng Feng, Samuele Giglio, Matt Hearne, Michael Heuss, Casey Horner, Nurlan Imash, Maksim Istornin,
Jr Korpa, Zane Lee, Ed Leszczynski, Stephany Lorena, Testalize Me, Dima Pechurin, Alexander Popov, Alex
Rainer, Jamison Riley, Joshua Rodriguez, Florian Schmetz, Sebastiaan Stam, Nikita Shirokov, Zoriana Stakh-

ni, Pawel Szvmanski, Diana Vargas, Logan Weaver, Simon Zhu)
CH A R ACTER SHEET DESIGN: Chris Leland aka Mr. Gone
GR A PHIC DESIGN A N D L AYOU T: Khaldoun Khelil
SENSITI V IT Y R E A DER : Pam Punzalan

Special thanks to the fans and playtesters that supported us and made this book possible.

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Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents 2 Path of Death and the Soul 19
Path of Power and the Inner Voice 20
Introduction 4 22
24
Themes and Goals 5 Path of Lilith
29
Styles of Play 5 Predator Types

Sabbat Lexicon 7 The Antitribu

Chapter One: Creation Rites 9 Chapter Two: Vaulderie 41

The Last Bridge Over the Abyss 11 Sabbat Packs 43
45
Walking the Path 14 Running in Packs

Path of Caine 15 Pack Types 46
Path of Cathari
17 The Ritae 58

2

T h e B lac k Hand

Chapter Three: Blood Feast 73 Chapter Four: War Party 103

Disciplines 76 Sabbat Chronicles 105

Rituals 89 Faith, Gore, and Sex 110

Sabbat Advantages 93 Safe Play 111
Weapons of War
96 Loresheets 114

Servants and Pawns 99 Pack Map: Non-Stop Disaster Clique 136

Allies and Mentors 100 Worksheet: Safe Play for The Black Hand 137

3

Introduction

Introduction

The great floodgates of the wonder-world swung open...

— HERMAN MELVILLE, MOBY DICK OR, THE WHALE

T he Sabbat have always threatened the status quo. They cast aside all
illusions of humanity and all pretence of deliberation. The vampires
of the Sword of Caine will not waste another second squabbling
over the corpse of a doomed world. This book builds on the ideas
presented in The Sabbat: The Black Hand for the Fifth Edition of Vampire: The
Masquerade as antagonists, but includes systems that allow them to be played as
player characters. While the Sabbat could be called hypocritical, this book pre-
fers to present them as having powerful internal tensions. They want personal
freedom, but the powers they face are too great to fight alone. Only unified,
devoted, and immune to subjugation can the Sabbat stand against the Antedi-
luvians or their pawns in the Camarilla, Ashirra and Anarch movements. To
break the chains of the blood bond the Black Hand had to accept the limita-
tions of the Vaulderie, but there's power in their Packs and communal rituals
as well. Individualism, Clan identity, and personal ambition still exist in the
Sabbat, but those have to be tempered against their culture of self-sacrifice and
wielded in service to the greater goal of defeating the Antediluvians. The Sab-
bat is part death cult, part terror cell, and part revolutionary movement.

These vampires seek utopia. They want a world no longer controlled by a
few callous ancients that are happy to see their children ground to dust and
ash over pointless squabbles. The Sabbat can’t go back to sleep now that they’ve
seen the truth. When the Antediluvians finally reveal themselves and claim
their thrones, neither mortal nor Cainite will be spared. The Sabbat see this
existential threat and have abandoned all half measures.
What crime is too great to commit in the face of Gehenna?
If it’s the end of the world, what are we waiting for?

4

T h e B lac k Hand

Themes and Goals sacrifice everything to stand against them. While
so-called Kindred ignore the warning signs and
The Sabbat in Vampire: The Masquerade explore play their petty games, the Sabbat seeks salvation.
themes that are now central to the entirety of the No price is too great for freedom and losing their
game. Never before has so much of the Sabbat's humanity is only the first cost they are willing to
philosophy, lore, and concerns been such an inte- bear. While all Sabbat understand the importance
gral part of Vampire’s core game play. The Beckon- of Caine and adhere to inhuman Paths of Enlight-
ing, Gehenna, and the nature of the Antediluvians enment, it is ultimately their Pack they fight for
themselves are explored as story elements because on a nightly basis. Their brothers and sisters forged
the Black Hand has opened these wounds and through blood and violence. Against the end of the
probed its fingers into them over and over again. world no one, kine or Cainite, can stand alone. If
The Gehenna War is everywhere and in turn so is the Sabbat are doomed to fail, then they’ll meet
the Sword of Caine. Pieces of their ideals and story their end the same way they've faced everything
are now deeply embedded in the game's DNA. else. Together.

In short, you cannot escape the Sabbat. Styles of Play

The vampires of the other Sects can no longer While the modern Black Hand is fractured and no
hide from what's coming, and in many ways the longer tries to maintain a rigid hierarchy, there are
Second Inquisition is only a symptom of the a few common modes of organization that can be
greater doom over the horizon. A stopgap imple- helpful for players starting out as a Sabbat Pack:
mented by clueless mortals in hopes of eradicating
the blank body plague, but it’s already too late. The The Nomads: The player characters are an estab-
virus is ancient and has deep roots. The Antedilu- lished Pack of Sabbat that travel where they are
vians are coming and bombs and bullets are useless needed. They may have a greater purpose given
against them. The Sabbat: The Black Hand book for to them when they were formed or perhaps they
V5 tackles the question of what it means to win are followers of one of the Seraphim or Warlords.
the Gehenna War. It asks what is an Antediluvian? These Packs are often composed of a mixture of
How can they be defeated? What secrets are the Clans and Paths, and they are unconcerned with
Sabbat searching for in the blood of elders that will following orthodoxies such as calling each other
arm them against monsters clad in the armor of Antitribu or avoiding non-Sabbat vampires.
aeons? The Pack Priest is a player character who is usu-
In this guide for players and Storytellers we ally devout, but their survival and leadership skills
build on that book but provide no answers to are what their brethren truly value. These Packs are
those questions, but we give you the tools needed often concerned with discovering ancients and pry-
to tackle those questions in play. What secrets will ing their secrets from their veins. Nomadic Packs
your Pack uncover in the Final Nights and will it are often very large, some numbering as many as
all be in vain? If you emerge victorious what will 15 Cainites, but they have very high attrition rates.
you do with the power of a methuselah? The core four or five members of a Nomadic Pack
Hope, loyalty, faith, and camaraderie are not remain fairly constant, but their shovel heads (vam-
common themes in Vampire: The Masquerade, but pires mass Embraced as cannon-fodder) lead short
they're arguably the guiding principles of the Sab- and violent unlives. Though those that survive their
bat. The vampires of the Black Hand understand early nights are quickly welcomed as true Sabbat.
that they stand against gods. Their literal crea-
tors come to devour them but they’re willing to

5

Introduction

The Coven: The player characters are tied to a YOUR TABLE, YOUR SABBAT
domain or territory that is usually contested by The Sabbat are visceral and raw, and their stories
another Sect. The Pack is usually dominated by one often focus on the most gruesome aspects of being
or two Paths and Clans, but not always. A Coven's a vampire. Gore, violence, sadism, cruelty, madness,
purpose is usually defined by the circumstances fanaticism, and terror are staples of a Black Hand
of their territory and they can sometimes become game and your players should be aware of that. The
embroiled in ‘politics’, such as supporting the Sabbat deals with mature themes and stories that
overthrow of a nearby Prince or squabbling over can make some players uncomfortable or remind
hunting grounds with other Packs. These Sab- them of traumatic experiences.
bat often go out of their way to pay lip service to
orthodoxies, regardless of their personal beliefs. A Sabbat game should make use of safety tools
Covens are also the most likely to strictly adhere such as Lines and Veils, Session Zero, and the X
to the Ritae as a mystical calendar of holidays that Card. Understanding each player's limits and expec-
guide their nightly unlives. If they follow a Sera- tations can help create a game that challenges and
phim it is usually as a patron Saint they praise and terrifies players without crossing the line into harm.
align with spiritually and politically. Their willing- As with all things, enthusiastic consent is key to run-
ness to uproot the Pack for them will be limited by ning a successful and rewarding game.
the needs of their territory.
The Pack Priest is usually the most devout or For detailed information on the above tools, con-
politically connected player character but some- sent, and respectful play see Safe Play on pg. 111 and
times the eldest rules, especially since Covens are the V5 Corebook pg. 421.
often dominated by the childer of the eldest among
them. Covens usually number around six or seven
Cainites and they only mass Embrace shovel heads
when their territory is threatened or if they have
to relocate. Their shovel heads are used to insulate
their core members from the vanguard of battle
and are often left behind to cover their tracks.

The Removers: The player characters are special-
ists called upon by a Seraphim or other Sabbat
leader. These Packs come from a mix of Clans and
Paths, but are often dominated by members of the
Path of Caine and the Banu Haqim. These Packs
are temporary and formed for the sole purpose
of accomplishing an objective. The Pack Priest is
often a highly accomplished assassin with two or
more dots of Status, or an elder NPC played by the
Storyteller. These Packs are devout but pragmatic,
doing whatever is necessary to accomplish their
goals. They are rarely larger than four or five mem-
bers but their ranks can swell to many times that if
they need to tactically mass Embrace shovel heads.
Those that survive return to their original Packs if
possible or form a new Pack all together.

6

The Black Hand

Sabbat Lexicon

Bond, the: Also known as the Blood Bond or Perfecti: A Cathari spiritual leader, not neces-
the chains. Refers to how Antediluvians and sarily a Priest. They fast, refuse earthly delights,
elders enslave their childer and take on vision quests to see beyond the ma-
terial world. Cathari usually treat them as saints
Book of Nod, the: Fragmentary text collect-
ed by Cainite scholars that tell the tale of Caine Revelations of the Dark Mother: A col-
the first vampire and how he survived the land lection of works that outline the beliefs of the
of Nod with Lilith’s aid Bahari, the followers of the Path of Lilith

Church of Caine, the: The heretical faith Seraphim: Also known as Warlords. A leader of
of the Ashirra and Camarilla that openly wor- a Sabbat Host. These vampires have founded a
ships the Antediluvians, calls Caine a myth and cult of personality who follow their teachings or
denounces Lilith as an infernal diablierist example. Most gained a following after victories
in the Gehenna War. Only a few holdouts from
Dark Mother, the: Lilith. The Bond Breaker the old order have been able to gain the same
and the Gift Giver. The Path of Lilith is small but level of popularity or clout
growing in the Sabbat, and some of its teach-
ings have been adopted by Sabbat Noddists Takbir: A call of faith that is repeated in re-
sponse by all present. In the Sabbat they include
Dark Union, the: The metaphorical joining Praise Caine!, Death to the Antediluvians!, May
of Caine and Lilith. When the Antediluvians are the bonds be forever broken!, and Ahi hai Lilitu!
defeated and vampires openly rule
Uriel’s Promise: Golconda. Although once
Host: A loose alliance of Sabbat Packs that fol- considered a heresy, the large number of Salubri
low or aspire to follow one of the Seraphim Antitribu in the Sabbat and the Sect's fractured
leadership has allowed some new thinking to
Numinous Ritae: A set of secret rituals devel- flourish, especially among Cathari and Unifiers
oped by the Sabbat to prosecute the Gehenna
War and weaponize the Antediluvians secrets Word, the: The collected holy texts of the
Sabbat mostly passed down through oral tradi-
Oaxaca Diaries, the: A collection of notes tion. Foremost among them is the Book of Nod,
from the Diet of Oaxaca, the last Sabbat synod but many Priests also memorize pieces from
before the Gehenna War. The text claims Ante- the Revelations of the Dark Mother, the Oaxaca
diluvians cannot die and predicted that many Diaries, the Erciyes Fragments, and other texts
Lasombra would rejoin their father as traitors

7

Introduction

8

T h e B lac k Hand

Chapter One:

creation rites

I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me.
I cannot even explain it to myself.

— FRANZ KAFKA, THE METAMORPHOSIS

I had often thought of death, where my soul would go after

it left my body. Maybe an angel would take me away or I’d stand
on some shore waiting for a ferryman to deliver. But it was actu-
ally just me, buried under thousands of others, bodies all writh-
ing, all scared, all hungry. A tangle of limbs, clawing through
each other and the dirt pressing down on us, writhing to break the
soil over our heads. I pushed myself out of that gore-filled hole, I
wanted to wipe the dirt and offal out of my face, but the others
kept crawling out of our communal grave. Surging forward, shov-
ing me along with them.
There were voices around me, shouting, pushing me and oth-
ers who could only stand and be bewildered away from the crater
in the earth as more of the mangled and bloody scrambled out.
The voices screamed, “For the Dark Father!” and “Bathe in their
blood”. Battle cries, but I couldn’t see the battle yet. A hunger
drove me after that, the shouts around me became muffled as one
voice cut through, the voice that told me to feed. I could smell the

9

Creation Rites

blood on the wind, just up a winding trail. The others were run-
ning that way, blazing a path, leaping over corpses and piles of
ash as everything around us burned. The fire lit up the sky like a
sunrise. The rising moon was framed by mountains and I could
smell the blood pouring from the tallest peak. That was where my
hunger wanted me to go, but my body ached at the thought of the
climb.
“Do not falter, child, go. Prove yourself to the Sword and
you may survive to see the bounty.” A woman’s voice said and
she gave me a firm push forward. She wore a gray robe, her face
covered in tattoos, including one of a third eye, but that eye was
alive. She was calm and still and out of place in the chaos. I knew
the crowd of bewildered people around me. They'd been pulled
from my tour bus and now they were charging up the hill, some of
them running on their hands and feet like wild animals.
“Where are we going? I’m so hungry.” That was all I could
manage and her mismatched eyes took me in. “We go to our fate.”
she said and gave me another push. I staggered into a half run, as
something else, that thing in me that hungered, put me into action.
Her words didn’t make sense to me and I lost her in the crowd, but
that thing in me... the Beast... seemed to agree, and I climbed.

— OSCAR ABADÍA, SERAPHIM AND HOST OF THE 'OUR BLOOD' PODCAST

10

T h e B lac k Hand

The Last Bridge PTSD-like symptoms of hyper-vigilance, paranoia,
Over the Abyss and sudden swings in mood and energy. Most
will be too far gone to reclaim any of their former
Within the Sabbat there are few crimes as grave self and without a Priest to guide them will likely
as retaining your mortal identity. The Black Hand succumb to the Beast. While Packs dominated by
has many Paths, but a common belief among them Unifiers and Noddists hunt down such runaways,
is that Cainites must leave behind their mortal life Cathari and other Sabbat assume that the lure of
or they will become trapped between the gnawing the Vaulderie and the pains of withdrawal will
hunger of the Beast and the false illusion of their bring back the worthy.
old self. This dilemma is exploited by the grasping
elders of the Camarilla and the lost sheep of the Those vampires outside the Sabbat who attempt
Anarchs. These so-called Kindred pretend that a to adopt a Path will be hard pressed to find their
compromise between life and death is possible, but way without the guiding hand of a Priest, the pow-
why compromise when you can be free? Accept er of the Vaulderie or the time tested trials of the
that you have been perfected by Caine’s blood. Ritae. While it is rumored that some ancient vam-
Learn from Mother Lilith and discard the chains pire Sects also used Path of Enlightenments, their
of your mortal life. Take up the only struggle that teachings and practitioners have likely all been lost
matters. The war against the Antediluvians. to torpor, final death, or the so-called Beckoning.
Despite the Gehenna War, or perhaps because of it,
Pretending to be alive and wearing the rags the Sabbat has not only retained its knowledge and
of your old life will not save you when the elders practice of the Paths of Enlightenments but has
scour the Earth. Only when the ancients are no seemingly stripped its ranks of all Humanity.
more and the way prepared for the Sabbat's open
rule will vampires be free. The first step in the System: Adopting a Sabbat Path of Enlightenment
process of adopting a Path of Enlightenment is the requires a teacher. Trying to learn such a new mind
stripping of one’s Humanity. In the Sabbat this set from books or scanned PDFs would take several
process is usually instigated by the Creation Rites, mortal life times, and a single misstep would likely
where ritual burial uses trauma to enrage the Beast result in wassail or final death.
and lowers a recruits capability to hold their moral Once the vampire’s Humanity has been eroded
center. to 6 or lower, they may take a new Conviction
related to the Path of Enlightenment they are
Newly Embraced and psychologically fragile, pursuing. If they already have 3 Convictions, they
they are goaded by their Sire and the Beast to may replace one of them with this new Conviction
commit horrific crimes on the living and the dead. as long as they no longer have a living Touchstone
They are then rewarded with the exhilarating first connected to the Conviction being replaced. Many
drink from the Vaulderie chalice, binding them to Sabbat Packs force new recruits to murder or even
their Pack and making them further susceptible to Embrace their Touchstones for the purpose of
the teachings of their Priest; a Cainite well versed “making room” for a Path of Enlightenment to take
in sculpting monsters out of mortals. Every new root. Once a Cainite has their first Path Convic-
crime is justified and praised by their new breth- tion (see pg. 16-23) they must tie it to a Touchstone
ren until they find a Path of Enlightenment to call Ritae (see pg. 13). A Sabbat with one or more Path
their own. It is the last bridge over the abyss. Convictions is considered to be walking that Path
of Enlightenment and this may give them access to
Only madness and wassail awaits those that Loresheets and other Advantages.
cannot find a Path before the last of their Humani-
ty is destroyed. The rare vampire who escapes their Each Path has differing methods of scraping off
Pack before this process is complete suffers from a recruit’s mortal identity and the Sabbat’s Ritae

11

Creation Rites

are designed to not only dehumanize but also to Sabbat Tenets
teach the basic tenets of the Sect, Noddism, and
veneration of Caine. A Sabbat chronicle formulates Tenets (see V5
Corebook pg. 172) in the same manner as any other
The Creation Rites (see pg. 62) even allow a vampire game, but requires the Storyteller and
vampire to take on a new Conviction when they players to synthesize the goals of their Pack with
are Embraced. In this way mortals who had few the moral philosophies that guide their individual
Convictions in life will often become zealots of Paths of Enlightenment. While this means that a
the Black Hand. Many adopt the Path followed by Pack composed of vampires all on the same Path
their Priest, but all Sabbat are free to choose any will likely have fewer crises of faith, it’s often bet-
Path that serves the Sword of Caine. ter if all players negotiate for Chronicle Tenets that
align with the themes of the story they’re telling. In
Once a Sabbat no longer has any Convictions a Sabbat game the player character taking on the
tied to a mortal Touchstone, they are fully commit- role of the Pack Priest should also take a leading
ted to their Path. While they retain their current role in advocating for Chronicle Tenets that will
Humanity rating and gain Stains normally, they provide dramatic boundaries for all of their Pack-
can no longer buy dots in Humanity. As long as mates, not just themselves.
they faithfully walk their Path, anytime they would
lose their last Humanity dot they take one Ag- Pursuing a Path of Enlightenment means the
gravated Willpower damage instead. This triggers destruction of a vampires’ mortal identity and
their Path Compulsion. A Sabbat who has filled the death of, or estrangement from, their mortal
their Willpower track with Aggravated damage Touchstones. Though their new Path Convictions
becomes Impaired. If they take any Aggravated mitigate the Stains they accrue, the perverse pas-
Willpower damage while in this state they lose times of the Sabbat ensure they will regularly gain
their last Humanity dot and enter wassail. The last Stains. Without mortal Touchstones, the Sabbat
of their mortal identity is lost to the Beast. instead rely on Touchstone Ritae to guide their
Convictions and cleanse themselves of the Stains
NO PATH RATINGS they do incur. Some sample Tenet sets for a Sabbat
In previous editions a Path rating replaced a vam- chronicle are listed below:

pire's Humanity trait. Instead of creating a new LAWS OF WAR

mechanic, this book retains V5's Humanity and ■ Never surrender
■ No one gets left behind
Stain system. This means that playing a Path in V5 is ■ Never kill “civilians”

reflected in a Chronicle’s Tenets and in a character’s CODE OF THE JYHAD
■ Never deny the truth
Convictions and Touchstones. While this means that ■ The guilty must be punished
■ Always struggle for freedom
a Sabbat must still keep track of their Humanity,
CULTIST CREED
they gain certain advantages that mitigate the dan- ■ Fangs before blood bags
■ Never deny your beliefs
gers of Degeneration. Humanity in a Sabbat game is ■ Without a cause you’re nothing

not a track of their morality, but a measure of how

much of their mortal and personal identity they’ve

retained. An Albigensian Tzimisce with a Humanity

of 2 may not recall their mortal name, where they

grew up, or may have long forgotten their original

face. They've kept enough of their mortal self to

ward off the Beast and no more. The rest has been

sacrificed in the service of the Sword.

12

T h e B lac k Hand

IN ENEMY TERRITORY living Touchstone.

■ Never snitch System: Once per Session, a Sabbat vampire may
■ Never use the enemies’ weapons make a Remorse roll (see V5 Corebook pg. 239) or
■ Freedom requires sacrifice remove one of their Stains when their Pack partici-
pates in one of the vampire’s Touchstone Ritae.
GOTH CLUB
■ Always wear black (perfect your inhumanity) PLAYING PRIESTS
■ Love will tear us apart (never deny yourself) In the Sabbat the role of Priest looms large. These
■ Death is fleeting (glory is forever) Cainites are not just a Pack’s nominal leader but also
their spiritual guide and their link with what remains
Touchstone Ritae of the Sabbat hierarchy beyond their Pack. Such a
meaningful role requires special consideration when
Instead of pairing their Path based Convictions a player takes it on. They should be cognizant of the
with living Touchstones, Sabbat vampires pair power they wield not only over the other players
them with specific Auctoritas Ritae (see pg. 58). but over the course of the game. A Priest leads most
Even Packs that are composed of vampires all on of the Pack’s ritae and will be called upon to prove
the same Path may have members with wildly dif- their faith and devotion repeatedly. Signs of weak-
ferent Convictions and Touchstone Ritae. Though ness could lead to a Monomacy challenge or even
most Sabbat revere the Vaulderie regardless of the disintegration of the bonds holding the Pack
Path, a Cainite can never connect different Convic- together. A player taking on the role of the Pack’s
tions to the same Touchstone Ritae. Priest should be aware of the unique challenges they
are likely to face. They will be expected to lead and
This also means that when these Ritae are they will also be expected to counsel their Pack-
disrupted or disrespected, Sabbat can gain Stains mates when they have to deal with the psychological
or Frenzy as if a Touchstone had been damaged and spiritual turmoil that comes with walking one of
or threatened. This reverence for the Ritae also the Sabbat’s inhumane Paths.
extends to any implements the Pack requires to
perform these Touchstone Ritae. The destruc-
tion of such an item could result in the loss of
the Conviction associated with that Ritae if the
implement is irreplaceable. This means that Sabbat
Packs guard their Vaulderie chalices, Noddist text
fragments and ritual weapons with great care. In
all other ways Touchstone Ritae operate in place of
a Sabbat vampire’s normal Touchstones.

This is another reason that Sabbat Packs often
target the mortal Touchstones of their recruits,
to prevent them from regaining their Humanity
if they find the trials of their Path too great to
bear. It is exceedingly rare for a vampire who has
successfully embarked on a Path to find a way
to return to Humanity but reconnecting with a
Touchstone seems to be a necessary part of the
process. What seems certain is that no vampire has
ever been able to reclaim their Humanity without a

13

Walking the Path

Walking the Path

We are now loosened from the gravity of identity’s land.
What will we do… what will we do without exile, and a long night.

— MAHMOUD DARWISH, WHO AM I, WITHOUT EXILE?

E ach Path of Enlightenment has its own ethics, dogmas and doc-
trines, but how an individual Sabbat vampire is guided by those ele-
ments is a deeply personal matter. The Sword of Caine understands
that the Paths are all that stand between a vampire and their Beast.
There is no standard or perfect method for how to reconstruct a vampire’s
identity after they’ve stripped away the human. So while all Devourers revere
Caine, they will individually pursue the teachings of their Path in different
ways. Some will loudly proclaim Caine as their literal Father in their takbirs,
while others see Caine as a multitude - a savior beyond gender or morality. No
holy office or orthodoxy sniffs for heretics among their ranks. A Sabbat vam-
pire answers only to their Pack, their Priest, and their personal convictions.
The Beast settles the difference, consuming those that fall by the wayside.

14

T h e B lac k Hand

The suggested Path Convictions and Touchstone by most Bahari, who have long been persecuted by
Ritae below are examples but not exhaustive, some the Noddists and the heretical Church of Caine.
Sabbat will have very different interpretations of
their Paths. Roleplay: Noddists see vanity as a mortal weakness
and tend to wear solid colors such as black, red, or
System: When a Path follower’s Compulsion (see white unless celebrating a High Holiday. They are
V5 Corebook pg. 208) is triggered the player can Cainites of few words but can become very animat-
choose to trigger their Path Compulsion in its ed when observing Ritae or when feeling Caine's
place. Similarly, when a Path follower risks Fury or presence. Devourer's speak of Caine with rever-
Hunger Frenzy some Paths require them to Ride ence and often repeat a takbir whenever saying his
the Wave in certain situations (see V5 Corebook name. They often keep dogs or wolves as retainers
pg. 219) instead of resisting. Lastly, every Path has and prefer the company of animals to mortals.
Advantages a character can buy if they have a num-
ber of Path Convictions equal to the cost of the Nicknames: Devourers, Noddists
Advantage. All Packmates get the benefit of these
Advantages, though some require a Path specific Takbir: Praise Caine!, All praise to Caine!, Reclaim the
blood Resonance to activate. blood!, The throne awaits!, Dark father hear me!

Path of Caine The Priesthood: The clergy of the Path of Caine
are seen as traditionalists within the Sabbat and
Vampires on the Path of Caine consume the blood prefer to be called Father or Mother. Old fash-
of the powerful to bring themselves closer to the ioned Noddist will even insist on using Latin in
Dark Father. Though they look to the Book of Nod the performance of the Ritae, a tradition that was
as a guide, they are not a scholarly creed but one of born out of the mockery of the First Inquisition.
action. Devourers respect the Beast and the power Younger Priests are more open to innovation and
of the blood above all things. They go out of their many have even adopted Bahari teachings into
way to hunt elder vampires, lupines and other their sermons. Though this has had mixed respons-
supernatural creatures. The elders and few ancilla es, as some Bahari are wary of being co-opted into
who follow this Path often dedicate themselves to a belief structure that has only recently shed its
delving into the deeper mysteries of ancient texts most patriarchal ways. Packs led by a Devourer are
and reconciling the many myths that surround often deeply invested in the Gehenna War and are
Caine and Lilith, but the majority of the Noddists always on the lookout for elder blood. They are also
within the Sabbat are more interested in the here the most likely to lead sedentary covens as a way
and now. They see how the false Church of Caine to praise Caine the mason and the builder. While
has perverted their teachings into the blind wor- they are not obsessed with power, Priests on the
ship of the Antediluvians and understand that only Path of Caine are rarely replaced without a Mono-
stolen blood will redeem them. macy, a Ritae they revere above all others save the
Vaulderie.
Noddists have mixed understandings about
Lilith’s role in the Book of Nod, but in the Sabbat Touchstones: Devourers often connect Convictions
they’ve adopted some of her teachings and accept to the Monomacy, Vaulderie, or War Party Ritae.
her as Caine’s greatest teacher if not an equal. At-
tempts by Noddists to reconcile Caine and Lilith in Frenzy: Devourers never resist Fury Frenzy, they
a Dark Union have so far been met with contempt Ride the Wave and target the strongest enemy in
hopes of absorbing their strength.

15

Walking the Path

Path Compulsion: Voracious. The Devourer must Enochians: Devourers are natural urban
feed immediately, and will subdue mortals or predators and can effortlessly make their way
weaker vampires if necessary. If they fail to reduce through the densest cities without being detected
their Hunger by 1 step by the Scene's end they suf- by modern surveillance. No roll is required unless
fer a -2 penalty to all rolls for the rest of the night. the Pack is being actively hunted, in which case
their pursuer’s difficulty is increased by 2.
Convictions: Devourers choose Convictions that
uphold vampiric supremacy, devalue mortals, and Strange Blood: The Pack has tasted the
seek to emulate a perfected vampiric existence blood of a variety of monsters and it has changed
with Caine as exemplar. them both physically and spiritually. Any attempt
to discern their nature or scry their souls through
Example Path Convictions Auspex, Blood Sorcery, or magic has its difficulty
increased by 2.
■ Follow Caine’s example in all things
■ Never put a mortal before a Cainite Feast of Dreams: Whenever a Packmate
■ Failure is not an option successfully commits Diablerie, the Diablerist
■ Faith requires action and all Packmates present gain +1 Experience. The
■ Reject the mortal world victims' presence lingers in the Pack's dreams for
■ The strongest eat first many days after the deed is done. If the Diablerist
confesses their sins before committing the Dia-
Path of Caine Advantages blerie they take one Aggravated Willpower damage
instead of losing a dot of Humanity, though their
Devourers look for portents and omens to guide Priest may inflict the Status flaw Suspect on them
them, especially in dreams. Some see this as an for the rest of the Story.
acknowledgement that the Land of Nod can be
glimpsed in sleep, and that Cainite spirits leave Lessons from Nod: All Packmates can
their undead bodies to wander there during the buy Blood Sorcery as if it was a Clan Discipline.
daylight hours. Since the Dark Father was also the Once per Story when the Pack Priest performs the
builder of Enoch, the First City, they also tend to Vaulderie, they can place a beneficial Blood Sor-
think of themselves as the natural predators of the cery Ritual they know upon the entire Pack. Cast-
modern world. The city is Caine’s gift to mortals ing a Ritual of level 3 or higher in this way requires
and Noddists take whatever they want from those the entire Pack to have the proper Path Resonance.
dwelling there without remorse or gratitude. Lastly
the Devourers covet the taste of rare blood, the Path Resonance: Phlegmatic
possession of ancient relics and mystic powers such
as Blood Sorcery. Noddists credit Lilith as Caine's We have defied our false family and yet, here we
teacher and see Disciplines as tools to gain freedom are brothers and sisters.
from all laws, divine and mundane. We deny their poisoned blood and make a Clan of
shared sacrifice. When they think their triumph
Dream Warriors: The Pack can send short is at hand we shall stand together. Come the day
messages to each other through their dreams of Gehenna we shall raise our voices as one and
during the day sleep. Pack Priests can attempt to say… FATHERS! Look behind you!
communicate with other Noddists or even trigger Have you forgotten your cast off children?
a prophetic dream by gorging themselves on blood
tinged with the proper Path Resonance.

16

We are the flood you will not survive.

T h e B lac k Hand

Path of Cathari even refraining from crimes against their Human-
ity are all acts of deprivation Albigensian Priests
The followers of Cathari make up the major- regularly use to spiritually purify themselves. The
ity of the Sabbat, and they exult in feeding the highest among these devout are known as the Per-
Beast’s cravings for blood, lust, and violence. To fecti, and Cathari often seek these holy vampires
their enemies and detractors the Albigensians are out when they wish to progress on their Path or
hedonists on their way to wassail, but the Path’s find deeper meaning in their unlives.
deeper mysteries instill a respect for fate and their
role as vampiric agents of a divine plan of corrup- The clergy of the Cathari prefer informal titles
tion. It is their place to feast on the material world unless they have attained the prestige of a Perfecti.
and tempt others unworthy of the spiritual world They usually reject all appellations other than
to do the same. Others call them Devils, but they Priest. In their Ritae they use whatever language is
see themselves as the angels of a lost demiurge. The most common among their Packmates and prefer
Embrace was their fate and they constantly seek ritual implements that are overtly occult in nature
out new potential worthy to Embrace into their such as goat heads, stone altars, pentagrams, blood
ranks. These Cainites believe the Antediluvians chalices, and curvy daggers. Devils usually lead
wish to shatter this preordained cycle of fate by nomadic packs and see the Gehenna War as a
consuming all things profane and divine. This is a chance to prove their devotion and to call Caine
perversion of the role Caine was chosen to perform back from occultation so that he may reshape the
and when he returns to his throne he shall reveal a natural order or shatter the wheel of fate. Priests
new kingdom to his faithful children. on the Path of Cathari are usually willing to step
down in favor of a Packmate they see as worthy,
Roleplay: Cathari prefer a flashy style that draws but will plot and scheme to block the ascent of an
attention or shows off their material possessions. unworthy rival.
Diamond grills, designer clothes, and expensive
cars are favorite accessories. They are often loud Touchstones: Cathari usually connect their
and talkative Cainites who depend on sharply Convictions to the Creation Rites, Blood Feast, or
honed social skills to draw in victims. They rarely Vaulderie Ritae.
keep retainers and mortals don't survive their mis-
treatment for long. Frenzy: Devils only resist Hunger Frenzy when
keeping up a mortal facade, otherwise they Ride
Nicknames: Albigensians, Cathari, Devils the Wave (see V5 Corebook pg. 219) and attack the
most vulnerable targets to demoralize their foes.
Takbir: Praise Caine!, The flesh is false!, Our souls are
eternal!, Turn the wheel!, Death to the false fathers! Path Compulsion: Exhibitionist. The Albigensian
exposes their vampiric nature for all to see in a
The Priesthood: The spiritual leadership of the grand display and demands attention, subservi-
Cathari are paradoxically organized but eschew ence, and fear from all mortals present for the rest
a formal hierarchy, instead deferring to members of the Scene. The Devil suffers a -3 die penalty to
who have proven their spiritual purity through acts any actions not involved in cowing a mortal audi-
of devotion or contemplation. While followers of ence.
Cathari indulge all of their desires and see the sev-
en deadly sins as a weekend checklist, the Priests of
their Path tend to an almost monastic asceticism.
Fasting from blood, prolonged vows of silence, and

17

Walking the Path

Convictions: Cathari prefer Convictions that Path of Cathari Advantages
indulge their vices, cast mortals as victims, and see
the physical world as a place beyond redemption. The Albigensians enjoy crossing lines and push-
ing others beyond the edges of their own comfort.
Example Path Convictions They have a preternatural sense for what their
enemies hold dear and few Sabbat can mimic the
■ Rules are meant to broken living as well as the Cathari.
■ Indulge every temptation
■ Seek out and test the worthy Infectious Desires: The Pack's very presence
■ Punish the unworthy has an intoxicating and morally deleterious effect
■ Never harm the spiritually pure or the innocent on mortals. While it is rare for humans to live
■ You can’t change fate, destiny is everything long in the presence of a Cathari Pack, those that
are exposed to them for prolonged periods find
their inhibitions quickly stripped away. Mortals
find their Desires beginning to match those of the
Cathari over the course of a Scene and their blood
Resonance will turn Sanguine.

Angels of Destiny: Embracing never causes
Stains or Humanity loss for your Pack. Cainites
on Cathari can reduce their Stains by one if they
Embrace a particularly perverse mortal.

Strike at the Heart: By observing a Cainite
interact with a mortal, Packmates can sense if
the mortal is a Touchstone. Cathari often use this
power to blackmail their enemies or sniff out Sab-
bat still clinging to their Humanity.

Angels of Desire: All Packmates can buy
Presence as if it was a Clan Discipline. Once per
Story when the Pack Priest performs the Vaulderie
they can place a beneficial boon upon the entire
Pack. As long as a Packmate has the proper Path
Resonance they gain a +2 die bonus on any roll to
resist Presence powers for the rest of the Session.

Party Animals: Packmates with the
proper Path Resonance can use Blush of Life as if
they had a Humanity 8. While under the effects of
Blush of Life they suffer no penalties to their rolls
when interacting with mortals (see V5 Corebook
pg. 237).

Path Resonance: Sanguine

18

T h e B lac k Hand

Path of Death and Touchstones: Reapers almost always connect their
the Soul Convictions to the Creation Rites, Festival of the
Dead, or Vaulderie Ritae.
In the Sabbat the Reapers have a reputation as cold
and their Ritae are often reserved. They see Caine Frenzy: Reapers always attempt to resist Frenzy as
as a rebel and explorer unwilling to compromise or they see the loss of control to the Beast as a tactical
be held back by the limits of death. Those on this mistake, if not a weakness. They gain the standard
Path seek the secrets of death and undeath, not to bonus to rolls to resist Frenzy equal to one third of
better understand their own condition but to con- their Humanity rating (see V5 Corebook pg. 219).
quer it. While Necronomists perform experiments
and research the mysteries of undeath, they see Path Compulsion: Necro-Curious. The Reaper be-
themselves more as artists than cold practitioners. comes obsessed with the spiritual and necromantic
They are inspired by the restless dead and fre- properties of something in their immediate vicin-
quently welcome possession and communion with ity. If the target of their interest is a mortal they
the spirit world. Reapers believe the Antediluvians may kill it and study it elsewhere, but otherwise
have grown too powerful to succumb to traditional they will investigate the location with obsessive
methods of destruction and that stories of their interest. If they do not satisfy their curiosity by the
demise are a great lie meant to hide them until end of the Scene they suffer a -2 penalty to all rolls
Gehenna’s closing act. It will take more than stake, for the rest of the night.
fire, or sunlight to kill these blood gods and death
itself must serve the Sword if they are to prevail. Convictions: Reapers prefer Convictions that
focus on the restless dead, deny existential dread,
Roleplay: Reapers prefer functional clothing and and devalue all living things.
a few, especially in the US, believe that restless
spirits are drawn to a goth aesthetic. Reapers are Example Path Convictions
quiet and even their takbirs are understated and
matter of fact. They see emotions as a weakness of ■ Never fear death
the living. Reapers prefer undead servants but are ■ Never leave a loose end
notorious for fleshcrafting monstrous ghouls. ■ Never deny your curiosity
■ Never refuse the dead their due
Nicknames: Necronomists, Reapers ■ Never side with the living
■ Never deny the inevitable

Takbir: Death is a doorway, Caine's blood conquers all, Path of Death and the Soul
(quiet lyrical chant of) Undead, Undead, Undead.
Advantages
The Priesthood: The clergy of Death and the
Soul is almost non-existent outside of individual Reapers are tied to the dead, and their rituals are
Pack Priests. Their Ritae are often marked by the the perfect play ground for malevolent spirits,
symbology of death. Skulls, keys, and grave dirt ghosts, and the restless dead. Though they Embrace
are common implements and dead Packmates are their recruits with the Creation Rites, Reapers are
ritually invited to celebrate the Ritae alongside creative experimenters and have found other ways
their old comrades. Reapers are superb caretakers to make use of this Ritae.
and will often relinquish power without any hard
feelings if approached respectfully.

19

Walking the Path

Zombie Rites: The Pack can use the Crea- Path of Power and
tion Rites to raise savage undead from recently- the Inner Voice
deceased corpses. No more than two or three can
be created per Session and they can be difficult to Cainites on the Path of Power and the Inner Voice
control. Often Packs leave them behind to rampage are obsessed with the trappings of dominance
as they make their way out of a domain. Use the and increasing their own power. Bending others
Unbirthed (see V5 Sabbat pg. 43) or Wight (see V5 to their will is a core tenet of the Path, but so is
Corebook pg. 375) for their stats. honorably serving those more powerful. Until they
falter and the roles are reversed. Those new to this
Corpse Eaters: Everyone in the Pack with Path often rely on raw power to subjugate others,
the proper Path Resonance can feed on blood but the greatest Unifiers know that loyalty given
from corpses as if they had the Iron Gullet (●●●) freely is where true power and respect lies. These
Feeding Merit. Bagged or preserved blood from the distinctions are only a concern in regards to other
living is still inedible though. Cainites of course. Whether a mortal is controlled
through trust or by blood servitude is immaterial
Safe Passage: Reapers are keen strategists to them.
and some have maintained a strange web of alli-
ances and ceasefires among other creatures inhabit- Unifiers believe that vampires are not only apex
ing the World of Darkness. As long as they do not predators, but the rightful rulers of the world.
transgress, the Pack can pass unmolested through Mortals who resist or hunt them are actively deny-
the territory of lupines and other creatures that ing their role in the natural order. They recog-
recognize treaties with the Sabbat. nize Caine as their king not because he may have
spawned them, but because he created and codified
Deeply Haunted: The Packs’ haven and this model of vampiric rule over mortals in the city
ritual sites always attract Spectres (see V5 Core- of Enoch. When the Antediluvians rebelled against
book pg. 377) that see them as allies. These angry Caine and went into hiding, they also destroyed the
ghosts lash out at intruders and make short work First City and the dream of a Cainite utopia.
of any uninvited spirits entering their territory.
If the right favors and observances are met, these Roleplay: Unifiers dress to convey their power and
Spectres could be tricked or compelled into per- dominance. Symbols of authority such as canes,
forming other tasks for the Pack. clubs, crowns, tiaras, and riding crops are often
part of their wardrobe. Unifiers are among the
Shadow Souls: The Pack is infused with few Sabbat who prefer mortal retainers, but often
necromantic energy. All Packmates can buy Oblivi- make use of brands, tattoos, leashes, or collars to
on powers as if it was a Clan Discipline. Once per mark them as possessions.
Story when the Pack Priest performs the Vaulderie
they can place a beneficial boon upon the entire Nicknames: Unifiers, Uhlans
Pack. As long as a Packmate has the proper Path
Resonance they are resistant to Oblivion for the Takbir: Caine is king!, The First City and the last!, All
rest of the Session as any hostile Oblivion Ceremo- serve the Sword!, The blood redeems!, Break the bonds!
ny that targets or includes a Packmate in its effect
automatically fails.

Path Resonance: Melancholy

20

T h e B lac k Hand

The Priesthood: Unifiers are organized but their Convictions: Unifiers choose Convictions that
hierarchy has suffered greatly since the start of the value domination, submission, and loyalty as vir-
Gehenna War, as the mortal servants and ghoul tues with vampires naturally ruling over mortals.
families they depended upon have been scattered
and devastated. Now Unifiers are mostly limited Example Path Convictions
to exerting control locally with few able to claim
a title greater than Archbishop. Only Seraphim ■ Loyalty is earned
can gather Hosts as large as the Cardinals of old. ■ Might makes right
Unifier Priests believe in rank and insist that they ■ Always respect power
be addressed as Teacher, Master, or Mistress, and ■ The ends justify the means
those who have authority over other Packs are ■ Never break your word to a Cainite
quick to lay claim to the title of Bishop as well. ■ Always reward success and punish failure

Unifier Ritae make use of ghouls as props and Path of Power and the Inner
assistants, and they prefer ostentatious implements Voice Advantages
such as silver chalices, stacks of money, and thrones
to echo Caine's rule. Packs led by a Unifier can Followers of the Path of Power and the Inner Voice
resemble sedentary covens as they gather mortal are always willing to use mortal pawns in pursuit
pawns and influence, but they have no qualms of their objectives. Though the Unifiers are some
about liquidating their assets and moving on when of the most inhumane vampires in the Sabbat they
the Gehenna War calls. Unifiers see mortals as use- pride themselves on being able to dominate any
ful tools, but only glory and victory won in service situation and will use any tool necessary to do so.
to the Sword of Caine will see them reach the pin- They even see their own Beast as something that
nacle of power. Priests on the Path of Power and must be weaponized for use against their enemies
the Inner Voice are never replaced without a power and rivals.
struggle or Monomacy, though these conflicts
rarely result in a final death as Unifiers will submit Vassals: Once per Session the Pack can call
when confronted by a worthy leader. upon blackmailed mortals to provide them with
cash, favors, or weapons as the criminal or police
Touchstones: Unifiers prefer to connect their Contacts (●●) background.
Convictions to the Blood Bath, Fire Dance, or
Vaulderie Ritae. Vile Threats: When Unifiers are drawn
into a test of personality they do not rely on grace.
Frenzy: Unifiers never resist Fury Frenzy as they Willpower damage inflicted by Packmates in the
see the Beast as a powerful weapon and as a pure first round of Social Combat are Aggravated if
subconscious extension of their will. When frenzy- they have the proper Path Resonance. Also the
ing they Ride the Wave (see V5 Corebook pg. 219) Pack gains a mortal Retainer (●●) background.
and seek out their enemies’ leaders.
Leashed and Unleashed: Unifiers let their
Path Compulsion: Supremacy. The Unifier is tired Beasts loose when needed. When a Packmate
of waiting and serving others, they take what they frenzies during combat they inflict +1 Aggravated
deserve and demand obedience from their lessers. health wound that round if they have the proper
They suffer a -3 die penalty to any actions for the Path Resonance. Also the Pack gains a mortal Re-
rest of the Scene that don’t involve seizing power tainer (●●) background.
or taking their rightful place.

21

Walking the Path

Victims on Tap: All Packmates can buy more wary of Noddists attempts to co-opt their
Dominate as if it was a Clan Discipline. Also the teachings as their own. The uneasy relationship
Pack gains a Herd (●●) with a Choleric resonance. between the two Paths has been papered over by
the Vaulderie, the Gehenna War, and the common
Conditioned into Submission: Mortals enemy they both see in the false Church of Caine.
serving the Pack have been abused into abject Not all Bahari believe in Gehenna, but those who
submission. They are servile to a fault and won’t do, see the Sabbat as their best hope of avoiding it.
hesitate to sacrifice themselves for their masters.
These mortals act as Allies (●●●) and will comply Roleplay: Bahari are an eclectic and expressive
with suicidal commands without hesitation. If creed that dress in modern styles. They tend to an-
called upon to sacrifice themselves for the Pack, swer questions with questions and can come off as
treat these mortals as a Broken Servant (see V5 evasive and overly fond of riddles. Lilins cultivate
Sabbat pg. 41). an air of mystery and wisdom, but usually prefer
to let others exhaust themselves before providing
Path Resonance: Choleric their hard won answers on a problem. Unlike most
Sabbat, Bahari treat both their mortal and animal
Path of Lilith retainers well but are quick to punish disloyalty
and incompetence. Bahari often use moths, owls,
Sometimes called a forsaken Path, the Bahari are and a black crescent moon as their symbols.
believed to have more followers outside of the Sab-
bat than within it. Both mortals and vampires fol- Nicknames: Bahari, Lilins
low Lilith and call themselves Bahari, but Sabbat
Bahari usually avoid their living sisters. Bahari be- Takbir: Ahi hay Lilitu!, For the Dark Mother!, May our
lieve pain is the best teacher and the Dark Mother bonds never be reforged!, Our chains are forever broken!
never spares them from the truth regardless of
the consequences. Vampires who were powerless The Priesthood: The Bahari are small in number
as mortals are drawn to this Path, as their mor- but growing within the Sabbat, making their
tal tribulations are recast as empowering lessons clergy a disjointed collage of Priests and scholars.
against the systems and societies that oppressed Sabbat Bahari are almost completely cut off from
them. Sabbat Bahari exult in their freedom as their non-Sabbat sisters and this split has created
vampires and accept their mortal life as a necessary some suspicion between them. While Bahari have
chrysalis, discarded but never forgotten. traditionally taken a Path before Sect approach to
Within the Sabbat, the Bahari have always had a their allegiances, the Gehenna War has meant that
contentious relationship with the Path of Caine. In only the most committed Lilins have stayed in the
the past they were accused of heresy for daring to Sabbat. The few Bahari leaders that have stayed
see Lilith as Caine's equal. Now splintered, the Sab- within the Black Hand have dedicated themselves
bat no longer enforces orthodoxy and the Bahari to spreading Lilith's teachings and preventing the
have re-emerged. From a seed of secretive devotees absorption of their faith into Noddism. Bahari
they've become the fastest growing Path within Priests also do their best to warn the Sabbat about
the modern Black Hand and Bahari no longer fear the dangers of the so-called Church of Caine and
being suppressed by Noddists. In fact Bahari are their twisted devotion to the Antediluvians.

Touchstones: Lilins almost always connect their
Convictions to the Creation Rites, Fire Dance, or
Vaulderie Ritae.

22

T h e B lac k Hand

Frenzy: Lilins only resist Hunger Frenzy if they’re Cultists: Once per Session the Pack can
attempting to hide their true nature, otherwise call upon mortals dedicated to Lilith's cult, as Al-
they Ride the Wave (see V5 Corebook pg. 219) and lies or Herd (●●●). Abusing this cult can draw the
try to wound or cripple their enemies. wrath of their other supernatural allies.

Path Compulsion: Pain Seeker. The Lilin becomes Mother of Monsters: All Packmates can
obsessed with something dangerous in their im- buy Protean as if it was a Clan Discipline. Also if
mediate vicinity. This may be a bonfire, a lupine, they have the proper Path Resonance and have the
or even a weapon. Usually the Lilin wishes to be Level 3 Protean power Shapechange (see V5 Core-
harmed by the object of their obsession, but in book pg. 270) they can opt to transform into a cat,
some cases controlling, stealing, or seducing it may an owl, or a snake.
satisfy them. If they do not satisfy their curiosity
by the end of the Scene they will suffer a -2 penalty Dance before the Flames: Bahari Pack-
to all rolls for the rest of the night. mates can turn up to three Aggravated Health
damage caused by fire into Aggravated Willpower
Convictions: Bahari Convictions revere Lilith, the damage once per Scene. Also all Packmates with
magic of creation, or the learning of painful les- the proper Path Resonance or on the Path of Lilith
sons. automatically resist Terror Frenzy caused by fire.

Example Path Convictions Path Resonance: Sanguine

■ Follow Lilith’s example in all things LOST PATHS
■ Never give up your freedom Many Paths are no longer common within the Sab-
■ Pain is the greatest teacher bat. Others have been absorbed or co-opted into
■ Rules are meant to broken the faith of others. The Path of Night favored by
■ Never fear the truth Lasombra is now a sub-Path of Cathari focused on
terrorizing mortals. Other Forsaken Paths could also
Path of Lilith Advantages survive as a subset of another. The Path of the Beast
and Honorable Accord share much in common with
Bahari see Lilith as not only the mother of vam- Power and the Inner Voice. A Player could take Con-
pires, but as the patron of witches and supernatu- victions that focused on dominance and cruelty for
rals that haunt the dark. The lupines, mages, and the former and those focused on loyalty and honor
fey creatures all seek Lilith's wisdom and Bahari for the latter. The Path of Blood is a sub-Path of
feel a kinship with this sisterhood of the night. Caine that exults in Diablerie and believes the Banu
Haqim blood addiction is a blessing to emulated.
Lilith's Favor: Bahari and others who honor
Lilith grant your Pack aid and safe passage through The Path of the Sun (see V5 Sabbat pg. 28) is un-
areas they control. This favor can be rescinded if finished. It is not yet coherent enough to provide the
your Pack is caught teaching Noddism or aiding benefits of a Path and only Thin-bloods have been
the Church of Caine. able to weather its contradictions so far. A vampire
taking Convictions based on it wouldn't be able to
Moon Blooded: Members of your Pack can take Ritae Touchstones, and would still need mortal
instantly sense when lupines or other shapechang- Touchstones. Fully developing it into a true Path
ers are near. Packmates are also immune to any of could be an interesting story for an ambitious Pack.
the usual drawbacks when drinking lupine blood.

23

Predator Types

Predator Types reclaimer (sabbat only)
Only vampire blood satisfies you and when you
Sabbat vampires usually feed with their Packs, hunt alone it’s Diablerie that you seek. The gift of
turning the hunt for blood into ritual and sport. Caine cannot be entrusted to the unworthy and
When left to their own devices, they use brutal your fangs cleave it from those found wanting.
methods that are perversions of the tactics used by
more subtle Cainites. Common Paths: Caine, Death and the Soul
Hunting Roll: Strength + Brawl or Occult
System: When hunting as a Pack, Sabbat vampires
often default to succeeding with a cost. They slake ■ Add a specialty: Brawl (Vampires) or Occult
their hunger but leave a bloody mess in their wake. (Vampires)
If the Pack wishes to have a quieter hunt, the Priest
makes a hunting roll as determined by the Story- ■ Lose two dots of Humanity
teller (see V5 Corebook pg. 306 ) and adds an extra ■ Gain one dot of Blood Sorcery and gain one dot
die for each Packmate assisting. Though letting
their Pack go hungry in the name of discretion is a of Potence or Protean
quick way for a Priest to lose their place or worse. ■ Increase your Blood Potency by one
■ Gain the Methuselah's Thirst (●) Feeding Flaw
scavenger (sabbat only)
You haunt cemeteries, mass graves, and morgues or the Stigmata (●) Mythic Flaw
looking for scraps of life buried in the dirt or ■ Gain two extra dice when rolling to commit
thrown away with the refuse. Dead blood and
spirit ephemera sustain you, and you don’t mind if Diablerie (see V5 Corebook, pg. 234)
you have to dig to get the good stuff. ■ Gain the Sweet Tooth (●●) Flaw: Only diablerie

Common Paths: Cathari, Death and the Soul can set your Hunger to zero
Hunting Roll: Stamina + Athletics or Occult
hedonist (sabbat only)
■ Add a specialty: Occult (Ghosts) or Athletics Immortality has its benefits and being undead
(Digging) means the party never has to end. The Gehenna
War can claim your unlife at any moment and
■ Lose one dot of Humanity when you're not fighting in the front lines you cut
■ Gain one dot of Oblivion and gain one dot of loose to soothe yourself.

Fortitude or Potence Common Paths: Cathari, Lilith
■ Gain the Iron Gullet (●●●) Feeding Merit Hunting Roll: Charisma + Athletics or Subterfuge
■ When you feed directly from a corpse or spirit, ■ Add a specialty: Athletics (Partying) or Subter-

gain the Melancholy Resonance. Draining a fuge (Seduction)
corpse can set your Hunger to zero ■ Lose one dot of Humanity
■ Gain the Bad Taste (●) Flaw: Only draining a ■ Gain one dot of Presence and gain one dot of
freshly exhumed corpse sets Hunger to zero
Auspex or Potence
■ Gain the Beautiful (●●) Looks Merit or the Eat

Food (●●) Mythic Merit
■ Treat your Humanity as two higher when using

Blush of Life (see V5 Corebook, pg. 237)
■ Gain the High life (●) Flaw: Only draining in-

toxicated mortals can set your Hunger to zero

24

T h e B lac k Hand

domina (sabbat only) masochist (sabbat only)
Deep within their beings mortals wish to be You seek out cruel mortals, and brave discom-
ruled, controlled, and treated as cattle. Whether fort and pain so that you can get close enough to
by divine providence or an unholy curse, their strike. While it is dangerous to keep mortal ties
fear of Cainites has led them to rebel against their in the Sabbat, you maintain a weak and unassum-
true masters. While the natural order cannot be ing mortal mask that you use to lure in your prey.
changed, mortals need not fear the rule of the You play the victim to bait the trap and then show
Black Hand. You feed off mortals that yearn to be them what a true monster looks like. You don't like
freed of the burdens of authority, independence, to play with your food, but often keep the most
and responsibility. Their gifts of blood and treasure interesting specimens as pets or playthings.
are repaid with your stern guidance. Through you
they can catch a glimmer of the utopia to come Common Path: Cathari, Lilith, Death and the Soul
once Gehenna is won. Hunting Roll: Resolve + Insight or Subterfuge

Common Path: Lilith, Power and the Inner Voice ■ Add a specialty: Insight (Empathy) or Subter-
Hunting Roll: Composure + Insight or Intimida- fuge (Playing the Victim)
tion
■ Lose one dot of Humanity
■ Add a specialty: Insight (Empathy) or Intimida- ■ Gain one dot of Fortitude and gain one dot of
tion (Bullying)
Auspex or Blood Sorcery
■ Lose one dot of Humanity ■ Gain Mask (●●)
■ Gain one dot of Potence and gain one dot of ■ Gain Herd (●●) or Retainer (●●)
■ Gain the Dark Secret (Mortal Ties) (●●) Flaw
Animalism or Dominate ■ Gain the Death Wish (●●) Flaw: Only draining
■ Gain Resources (●●●)
■ Gain the Stalkers (●) Retainer Flaw or the a willing mortal can set your Hunger to zero

Known Corpse (●) Mask Flaw ripper (sabbat only)
■ Gain the Death Wish (●●) Flaw: Only draining You track your chosen prey relentlessly and butch-
er them with precision when you corner them. You
a willing mortal can set your Hunger to zero prefer to take your time with your victims and
savor every last moment. You're not a subtle hunter,
but what you leave behind doesn't leave a lot to be
identified or traced back to you.

Common Path: Caine, Power and the Inner Voice
Hunting Roll: Wits + Animal Ken or Survival
■ Add a specialty: Animal Ken (Predator) or

Survival (Tracking)
■ Lose two dots of Humanity
■ Gain one dot of Protean and gain one dot of

Animalism or Obfuscate
■ Increase your Blood Potency by one
■ Gain the Organovore (●●) Feeding Flaw
■ Slake one extra Hunger when you hunt alone
■ Gain the Bestial Hunger (●) Flaw: You can only

set your Hunger to zero by consuming your
victim's heart

25

Predator Types

executioner (sabbat only) absolver (sabbat only)
You may have been a spiritual leader, a manipula-
You act as a guardian to the Children of Seth, prey- tive abuser, or even a therapist in your breathing
ing on mortal criminals to remind them that they days. As a Cainite, you gaslight and undermine
are not the true monsters in the night. Or perhaps your victims until they see themselves through your
you simply find the blood of predators delicious. eyes and willingly give themselves to you for the
You feed on mortals who have betrayed, cheated, absolution that comes from your forgiveness and
or killed their own kind. Whether it's petty theft your sublime Kiss. Many Sabbat Bahari and Hecata
or murder, the crime makes little difference to you. take a special interest in cleansing mortals of their
After tracking your victims down you often pose spiritual or moral sins. Mortals thank you through
as their guilty conscience or wear the face of their tears of pleasure and pain as you bleed them.
victims before passing your sentence upon them.

Common Path: Cathari, Power and the Inner Voice Common Path: Cathari, Lilith
Hunting Roll: Wits + Intimidation or Streetwise Hunting Roll: Wits + Academics or Persuasion

■ Add a specialty: Intimidation (Threats) or Street- ■ Add a specialty: Persuasion (Gaslighting) or
wise (Bad Neighborhoods) Academics (Psychology)

■ Lose one dot of Humanity ■ Lose one dot of Humanity
■ Gain one dot of Potence and gain one dot of ■ Gain one dot of Dominate and gain one dot of

Auspex or Obfuscate Celerity or Presence
■ Gain Police or Criminal Contacts (●●●) ■ Gain Herd (●●) and Haven (●)
■ Gain the Dark Secret (Mortal Ties) (●●) Flaw ■ Gain the Dark Secret (Mortal Ties) (●●) Flaw
■ Gain the Death Sentence (●) Flaw: Only draining ■ Gain the Death Wish (●) Flaw: Only draining a

a murderer can set your Hunger to zero willing mortal can set your Hunger to zero

26

T h e B lac k Hand

On the third night I dream of you childe.
You are in the crypt of the fallen, but it has changed.
No statues or candles or ashes. Only an abandoned stone room
with walls adorned with ancient tapestries and a well swept floor.
The hanging textiles depict a cup filled with a deep red wine, a city
of strange angles and architecture in the background.
In the wall is a door you have never seen before.
It is open, and a tall pale woman in a rich blue gown steps into the
empty room. Dark blood is smeared on her lips and a wild bes-
tial look is on her face. Her head tilts as if she hears a faint sound
above her, she begins to move her well-muscled body rhythmically
as if to a silent song. You sense above her there is revelry and the
blood of the dead. Behind her you see the shadowy shapes of other
vampires crossing the threshold, you sense their great hunger as
they rush as a blur towards a song only they can hear and the
hunger for blood only they can smell.
The blood of their children.

— ABRAHAM TILLINGHAST, VISIONS FROM A MAZE: NOTES ON THE OAXACA DIARIES

27

Predator Types

28

T h e B lac k Hand

the antitribu

Clans in the Sabbat and brotherhood. Our founder gave us his blood
and his wisdom, which has guided us for centuries.
There are no clans in the Sabbat, only the Anti- Although he shall fall under our fangs one night,
tribu and the clanless. This oft repeated dogma his Path echoes within us for it was passed to him
is not so much a lie as an unrealized ideal within from Caine himself, all praises to the Dark Father.
the Black Hand. While the vampires of the Sabbat It is clear how we ought to treat our kin, the other
struggle to reimagine themselves without being Cainites, and the mortals. Other Cainites fear this
tied to their Antediluvians, the simple truth of the Path for it demands much. It is a cruel way, but it
matter is that they cannot cleanse themselves of is our duty to Caine, all praises to the Dark Father.
the powers or Banes of their clan founders.
The other Cainites are the engineers of their
While many Sabbat Cainites proudly call own downfall. When the whole world is against
themselves Antitribu in larger gatherings, among us, you have only your kin to rely on. We under-
their Packmates they have no qualms about speak- stand brotherhood better than any other clan, and
ing plainly about the blood running through their though we must call ourselves Antitribu, blood
dead veins. Sabbat usually draw clan symbols calls to blood. Brother always knows brother.
defaced with an inverted ankh or a black crescent.
Though openly advancing your clan's interests or No, these are not the secrets you are bound to
showing favor based on the same is a sure way to keep. This is. The night will soon belong to us. It is
being punished or even destroyed. time for us to take up the mantle long-denied but
well-deserved. It is time for us to guide the Sabbat.
Banu Haqim
I see the look on your face, and you must be
What I say to you now, are for your ears only and realizing how self-evident this is. The Sabbat is
the ears of trusted kin. You know well the punish- our faith, is it not? And have we not drawn on the
ment for treason, threats only waste our time. faithful for our childer for generations? Do we
not revere our own founder, who through Caine,
As I have taught you the history of our line, two all praises to the Dark Father, laid out the Path
things should have be clear to you. The first is how of blood? Were we not the true Black Hand? Our
the other clans have been desperate to keep ours legacy of service proved, time and time again, that
small and powerless. How they came together to the Sabbat could not survive without us?
curse us because they feared us so.
We have been servants and spies for too long.
The second is how that fear was justified. Not We must seize our due. So many Lasombra aban-
because we are the ‘mysterious, bloodthirsty as- doned the Sabbat and it has created a vacuum only
sassins.’ No, they are right to be afraid as we have we can fill. Seek power, but not openly. Let your
mastered the two things which ensure success and competence speak for itself when your Pack must
which the other clans still struggle to accept: duty select a new Priest. Be not afraid to claim the title
of Bishop when weaker packs gather. Make allies

29

The Antitribu

of the Tzimisce, who will play kingmaker. Accrue
debts of gratitude with those of other clans. Guard
over your loyal childer and bring them in to this
plan when the time is right, as I am doing with you.

Brujah mortal brain all marinated and brined in Brujah
pickle juice?!? That only wants to fight, feed and
They can swear up and down that it's the strength fuck? Maybe in that order, though my fucking
of thousands gathering under the Sword of Caine days are long gone since I accepted Caine into my
that makes us strong, but let’s keep it 100. It isn’t heart and all that. Just, chef’s kiss, baby. Sit back
the blue bloods or the shadow people or the flesh and watch a shovel head tear it up in the blood and
freaks and their creepy crawlies keeping the Black dust.
Hand in the fight.
Now me, I’m past all that. No seriously. I’m on
Nah baby, it's us. the Path, kid. Caine’s touched my heart and filled
We’re the reason Cainites get anything done. me with a passion I’ve never felt before - better
Sabbat, Cam, Anarch. We’re always at the heart than Diablerie son. Fuck, don’t tell my Priest I
of shit. The hands that get dirty and the minds said that either. Must be that suit we ate earlier,
making up the reasons why we even bother get- those fuckers are always micro-dosing LSD at work
ting out of the coffin. We sharpen the Sword like nowadays. You know that father and son shit don't
a whetstone is the way my Priest puts it. Brujah fly, but I’m just looking out for you like a brother
rallied the broken Black Hand and it was our zeal right now OK? Cool? Now I’m on that Caine high
that rebuilt our Father’s house. Our temper may and nobody can tell me nothing. We got our hands
scare you, but at the end of the night it's us keeping on some scraps of the Word, and I devoured that
everyone honest. We’re here to pull down the old shit like a Cam Lasombra eating a Ventrue’s ass. I
system and make sure the elders never get back on got in there and walked in the shoes of Adam’s son,
top. The Lasombra tried to turn this thing of ours son. Now I’m thinking, why can’t I be the Priest?
into their own little fucked up Cam Club, and we It’s not all hanging people on hooks and making
tossed them out on their ass like Michael archangel them walk through fire. It’s lighting a fire in their
bouncing old Lucifer down the hell hole. Back to hearts, and I got that kinda power in spades, baby.
the abyss for the brave ones that fought and slaves
to the Ivory Tower for the traitors that ran. We
kept the good ones but watch out for their off-
brand hentacles.
You wanna know what makes us Brujah? Oh
sorry, makes us Brujah Antitribu. My Priest keeps
reminding me, old habits. Don’t rat me out kid or
she’ll have me hanging on hooks for the night till I
get it right. What makes us… us, we show up. That’s
what it’s about, baby. We show up when shit gets
real and everyone is happy to have us when their
unlife is on the line. No one can split through the
front lines like we can. We’ll train you up and you’ll
see new blood. When it comes to shovel heads too,
you want our blood in the mix. That tiny little

30

T h e B lac k Hand

Caitiff The Sabbat called to me. My less in name and blood now. It's
own personal Beckoning. Before ok if you don't believe me, I've
The first Caitiff I met was my our first Vaulderie, I was asked got nothing to prove to you or
Sister. I don’t know what else my clan, I told them the truth. anyone else.
to call her. We were created Caitiff. Clanless.
within weeks of each other, born THE CAITIFF BANE
in blood as each other’s rivals. You might think that too Sabbat Caitiff begin with the
Forced to compete for every clever by half, but as I met oth- Suspect (•) Flaw with the Cama-
drop of blood and moment of ers, I realized my situation was rilla, Ashirra or Anarchs and can
our sire’s attention. Only one of not unique within the Sword. only buy positive Status in the
us was going to make the cut. We don’t speak of our sires or Sabbat during character creation.
heritage, and know better than
The details don’t matter but to ask. I suppose one might Gangrel
I won. I’d bled and fought and think of it as a political state-
bled some more. But I’d won. ment. A few even still call us The Beast is my brother. It is
Panders, but it's an unpopular not my true face or my father.
The three of us hit Elysium nickname these nights and I'm It is not a guide or a rival for
together. I was presented as my not even sure where it came control of my soul. It is my twin.
sire’s childe, and welcomed into from. Before my time I suppose. Awakened by the blood of Caine
the ‘loving’ arms of the Cama- To be honest, I'm not even sure on the day that I died so that we
rilla. My sister was not so lucky. what clan used to hold sway over could be reborn together. Now
She could recite the same lines of me. Perhaps it was the teachings we are family. We wrestle and
descent, could manifest the same of the Perfecti or the Vaulderie curse each other, but nothing
powers of the blood. But with- itself that cleansed me of the can stand between us. We need
out a sire to vouch for her, she curse... but the banes of my Sire each other and there must be
was clanless. Caitiff. They gave no longer deter me. I'm clan- trust or we shall both fall to the
her three nights to run before madness of wassail. Our cousins
they let the Scourge loose. It was fear the Beast and how close
an amusing game to them. we are to the monster within
our own hearts. The terror and
Our bloodline was ‘pre- hunger that claws within us, it
cious' and this was one of many is no simple thing. We must find
sick traditions that went along a balance, a harmony with this
with it. Serving the elders was thing or we will find ourselves
another. My Sire and I lived like mindless and feral at the end of
kings and nobody crossed our the world. Unaware and howling
path without permission. But as the ancients stride victorious
then our benefactors started over the burning Earth.
disappearing. One by one elders My Beast is a weapon. Per-
vanished and when the court haps yours is something else,
took notice they started calling little sister. But for me the Dark
it the Beckoning. A manufac- Father’s blessing awakened
tured story to cover up whatever
they were up to. Whatever they
were really hiding from in the
night.

So I left, abandoned my sire
and our distinguished bloodline.

31

The Antitribu

something old and hungry. I together. The man I was would Hecata
sense it has ridden in the breast have cried out in revulsion at
of many Cainites before me, such an act. I know, for I heard It is as good a name as any for
my sire claimed his grandsire him wail within my soul. That’s us, especially now that it is
was a berserker. A Black Hand all the man is now. A ghost. A no longer fashionable to label
Remover so feared the Assamites whispering spirit that haunts the oneself by your blood. Honestly,
of the Mountain placed a great edges of my soul. I always found the old monikers
bounty on her blood. She was I stand before you as a Priest so uninspired that any change
destroyed decades before my in service to the Dark Father. I was welcome. Skulls, hoodoo,
Embrace, but maybe her Beast tend to my Pack and show them mafiasos, and ghost stories. It
simply slept through the ages. Caine’s glory and I even share was all so gauche. Now Hecata
A seed of destruction hidden Lilith’s wisdom when I must, but Antitribu, that has some meat
within the blood she passed onto no one can stand before their to it, a name I can sink my teeth
my sire. A seed that found fertile Beast but them. In their hearts in to.
soil within me and blossomed they must stand alone before the
with such a need for violence monster and find their own way. Resurrection is our curse
that I’m surprised I survived my They must shed the man and and our greatest gift. Crossing
early nights. Before I understood embrace their true brother or from living to dead and back
the Path before me and came to they shall not survive the dark again was the first trick we ever
an accord with the thing. Once nights that are to come. learned. Why should it come as a
I Embraced my brother, then all surprise that we've returned yet
things became possible. again? In truth we never left. We
I struggled with shedding my simply were elsewhere, gather-
mortal self, but my brother the ing our strength for the Final
Beast helped me. I found myself Nights. There is no method of
as the lupines often do, moon destruction we cannot over-
mad and sky clad in the wilder- come, for death serves us and she
ness. I tore out the throat of my has left the key to her kingdom
old self. I visited those closest to in our capable hands. A key that
him and silenced their pull on the Sabbat must master, for if
my heart. It was no easy thing, we can cross the river between
but my brother was there to life and death, what can the
steady my shaking hands. The Antediluvians accomplish? The
Beast held me close even when years have poured over them
I was slicked with the blood of without end, each millennia has
those who I had once held dear- marked them with unimaginable
est. So it was whenever I feared power, each lifetime a new secret
I didn’t have the strength or of creation revealed. Perhaps it
stomach to accomplish a great falls to us alone to discern their
thing. There is no greater ally few weaknesses. The stains and
or confidant, and even when unwanted curses that came with
I stood over my sire’s mangled all that power. For there is no
body I knew what needed to be witness we cannot interrogate
done. My brother guided my beyond the beyond. Give us the
fangs and we reclaimed his blood names and we will give you the
answers.

32

T h e B lac k Hand

Lasombra Malkavian

Once we thought we were shad- Malkavian Antitribu? Nah, I’ve
ows. Now we are a shadow of never seen one. Most Malks I
what we once were. The Sword knew back in the day used to
of Caine was ours to command call themselves whatever they
and the world was going our way felt like at the moment. Angry,
at last. But our elders faltered, then it’s a Brujah kinda night.
chicken shits to the last. They Ate a yuppie that made you
abandoned the work and the gassy? Ventrue till you work it
most craven among us even tried out. You get it. No, I’m a blood
to butcher those who remained brother. Like we’re talking old
loyal. Few succeeded, but many school, first edition kind of stuff.
sought refuge in the gilded They made me in a lab or some-
slaughterhouses of the Camarilla thing with all my creepy twins.
anyway. They’re around here someplace,
you can’t miss ‘em. Though come
We once claimed that we to think of it, maybe I’m the last
preferred to rule in hell than of my kind. What a fuck job that
serve in heaven. Now our proud- would be. Maybe I should ask
est brethren are slaves to slaves. the Malkies if I can join after all.
The friends of the night slipped
on the shackles without fuss or Oh, we always knew it was
regret. They so feared the hard gonna happen, it was just a mat-
work ahead, they sought the ter of time before we all got with
peace of the conquered among the program. It was part of the
our most ancient rivals. I wear plan from the first Vaulderie,
the brand of Antirtibu proudly they’ve been prepping us for it.
in the face of that betrayal. The whole Antitribu clanless
While the number of us who cult thing. Ya know shovel heads
turned coat has been greatly used to be all about pouring
over stated, I rebuke the blood mixed blood in body pits and
of so-called leaders that pre- seeing who crawled up. You
ferred comfort to truth. should try it sometime, creating
a childe. It’s something else. I’ve
I am Antitribu now. I re- made a few myself, though this
nounce my former titles, rank, was back before I was a... You
and status. Ill-gotten by the keep saying Malkavian Anti-
privilege of my blood, which tribu but that’s not it. Watching
is undeserving of esteem. I am mortals crawl out of the pit, you
a shadow of myself, and there get to see them transform. To
is where the true power of my become what they were always
blood lies. meant to be. It's a metamorpho-
sis. It’s Kafkaesque. Well not
really, but my Pack called me
Kafka for like 20 years so I try

33

The Antitribu

to sneak that into a conversation Ministry to Caine, horrified at what she
whenever I can. is being made to do, the corrup-
The blood will tell. The blood tion she must embrace as virtue,
My first Priest was a Seer. will always tell. The Ministry she falls into the same cadence
She was a wild Malk. Really wants you to think that there as her sire. It’s just too easy.
stepped outside of the old box, are none of us in the Sabbat.
can’t remember her Path but I Only old traitors and the rare, I never meant to deal in vice
will tell you one thing, she did savvy infiltrator. None who re- and lies. But my Pack needed
not give a rat’s ass if I fell off my jected our sires and fled the Cult money and information, and the
own. I must have gone through of Set for the Sword of Caine. mortals haunting the corner just
two or three before we figured happened to be the first I stum-
out what was going to work for There are more of us here bled across. Talking to them felt
me. Lilith. That was it. She was a than either cares to admit. After easy, like we’d been friends for
Bahari and she whipped my ass a few years it’d be impossible years. By the end of the night,
non-stop. Like emotionally and not to notice. Even for those of I had a small gang of dealers
psychologically. The real whips us who reject the costumes and working for me.
were strictly a reward system, snakes the blood outs in the end.
the lessons were all about starva- Lying comes easy to me. I
tion and hunting down my fam- Even when a neonate comes know, I know, we are equally
ily. You know, the usual. damned before Caine and lying
is in our nature. But my fellow
She was smart though, not Cainites know they’re lying.
sure why she wanted to Embrace Those of us with Ministry blood,
me but who knows with those it feels different. As if we can
types. In the Gehenna War, you adopt, even for just the length of
need all kinds. You get my drift. a statement or two, the mind-
Scouts, leaders, cannon fodder, set that we’re not lying. That we
cooks and butchers. You need have imposed our own truth
to be able to get into the other upon the world.
guy’s head, see what those boot
licking Cammies are thinking. At first I thought the Sabbat
You gotta see everything all at leaders must be idiots, to not
once, as it was and will be. You see these ‘Caitiff’ and ‘Tore-
need a guiding hand that leads ador’ and ‘Ventrue’ (my god,
to unlikely successes. Let them seriously, Ventrue?!) who were
laugh, we all know it’s going to clearly Ministry. I thought our
come down to a riddle. A secret sires must be equally dim, to not
so sweet and twisted that you’re clearly know where their errant
going to have to find a Malka- childer had escaped to.
vian to crack it, if only we had
some around here. These nights, however, I
worry. One does not become a
leader in the Sword of Caine by
lacking a certain cunning. The
same is true, of course, for the
Ministry. And I can’t help but
wonder why they allow this.
And I fear the night I find out
the truth.

34

T h e B lac k Hand

Nosferatu made Rat is shipped off to the a brave soul will make it known
nearest Sabbat outpost. And for they’re breaking up with us. Oh,
The nice thing about being this a little while, everything works they’re still loyal to their fellow
ugly is that you don’t have to out just fine. The neonate gets a Nosferatu in Caine, of course.
keep up the pretence about not better handle on everything, and But they’re going to have to cut
being a monster. That’s what we we trade information back and contact with ‘outsiders.’ You try
tell ourselves, anyway, hidden forth. not to take it personally. Espe-
down in our warrens and gos- cially if in five or twenty years
siping about who’s sharing vitae Then things change. Little the kid comes back, and if not
with whom up on the surface. things at first. The kid stops say- exactly seeing the error of their
Some of us believe it more than ing ‘I’ or ‘me’ so often, and says ways, is ready to resume trading
others. ‘we’ and ‘us’ instead. Dead drops info again. These, we handle on
end up empty, messages go un- a case by case basis. It usually
To live in strenuous har- answered. Every excuse comes takes something stellar to get
mony with what would seek to out sounding like a garbled back into the clan’s good graces.
kill you is unsettling in its own. Sunday school lesson. Sometimes
Sure, you get the vampire who they ghost us. That can be literal; Ravnos
can’t quite cope with losing a lot of Sabbat die at war and we
their looks, the ones who end up tend to die first. Those kids I feel They thought we'd all gone
living like Lasombra in mirror- for. The others are still up and at mad when the nightmares
less havens. They stay up in the 'em but deliberately forget where came and the red star shined
Tower, honing their abilities they came from. Once or twice, its blood stained light into our
until they can pretend to have dreams. We burned and tore
a normal face for a few hours a each other apart in this world
night. The ones who stay angry and the other, but we survived.
about it, they get sent to the They thought we were finished,
nearest Barony after just enough but they forgot we are the clan
combat training to be useful. of nightmares and the Sword of
Caine has always accepted us as
Then you get the ones who we are, not as others wanted us
stared a little too long into the to be. We are empowered by fear
mirror, and decide they actually and our undead blood brings
like being a monster. Now, I’m the very stuff of stolen dreams
all for self-acceptance, but some to life. Illusions made real life
of these kids take it a little too nightmares. We make servants of
far, thinking they’re the next the things hiding under the bed
Leslie Vernon. These, we send and lurking within the hearts of
to the Sabbat. They get to learn men.
how to control their Beast in a
way that won’t totally fucking Some of us found a place
overwhelm them, and in return in the twice cursed Ashirra
we get intel on what they’re up but they are beggars, rootless
to. The intel doesn’t always last, wanderers that must appease the
though. I’ve seen it happen so powerful to sleep unharmed in
often that it’s become damn near another's land. Just as we fed and
predictable. After more than a used the nomads and refugees of
few messy murders, the new-

35

The Antitribu

old to sustain us on our jour- her down and this war was not false sins because my accusers no
neys, they have become refugees. hers, but mine. She would not longer have the time to uphold
That is not our road, for like Li- deny me my due and my Pack the lie. For us it is a moment
lith, we are masters of our own their Priest. As she had feasted long hoped for, but empty of any
fate. We claim the land of Nod upon her sire and he on his and meaning or victory. It is ashes
as the wellspring of our blood- so on, they all dwell within me in my mouth to think the hate I
line, not some ancient father or now. This is the old way and few had to endure had no purpose.
sun fearing grave ghoul. honor it these nights. That we were hunted to near
extinction and now we are to
You've come to me to learn The last act of the Jyhad lies forget? No. The Sword makes no
the powers of my former clan before us. This so-called Ge- such claims on me. I am bidden
and I say you must accept pain henna War was as unavoidable to put down my allegiance to my
and suffering without regret. as our own fate. So long have we blood and elders, but the slights
The Dark Mother is not kind, been the pawns of the ancients, against me I remember. I shall
but that is no slight. She loves that it’s strange to feel the power repay the Camarilla for their
survivors above all others, even and consequences of my own de- hatred measure for measure.
those who endure her own dis- cisions. We live in the shadow of We were hunted and culled like
pleasure. I can deny my blood, a sin we didn’t commit and that sheep to the slaughter.
but it flows through me still most no longer remember. My
and I accept the pain of that. It sire and I were on the run for so Now I hold the sword. My
strengthens me to be stained by long before we found the Sword, soul burns for vengeance. Not
this curse, and I shall endure. I running from one domain to an- for myself or even the founder
shall not fall victim to fear, it is other. Rats. Disgraced. Unclean. of my blood, but vengeance for
a weapon I've mastered. Infernal. To have all that hate the multitude that dwell within
and history disappear like a fog me. Vengeance for my Pack-
Salubri as the ancients lose their grip mates lost in untold battles. Fire
and the young no longer care. burns in my eyes and there is no
Of all of the Antitribu clans To be absolved of my blood’s forgiveness left within me.
that seek to break free of what
makes them vulnerable to the Toreador
threats of the Antediluvians,
we have the most to prove, and I have no memory of my Sire.
the farthest to go. In these Final They were destroyed the night
Nights our affinity for self sacri- I was Embraced. My Pack were
fice hasn’t gone unnoticed. Our surprised when I survived, but I
bloodline demands much of us, think they felt protective of me
even as we seek to cast it aside. after that. Not a mascot, for I
When my Sire heard the call, she had to prove myself like all Sab-
bid me to take of her flesh and bat, but a memento. I never had
blood as a sacrament, to eat her any clan wisdom or tips passed
heart’s blood and become my down to me, but I felt the hold
Pack’s Priest. Some called it the my blood had over me. A diffi-
Beckoning, but it was something cult thing when travelling rough
else within her. Now that her on the road for weeks on end.
heart and mine rest as one, I
see it now. The years had worn I’ve heard most Toreador

36

T h e B lac k Hand

are Embraced because of their now, then I say good riddance to we've wasted enough time on the
artistic vision, I’ve never met any a cursed name. pawns.
of those, though I’m told my Sire
was pretty good at drawing. I’ve I have nothing to prove. I know our numbers are
always been a bit of a dabbler When Goratrix and their scions few in the Sword of Caine and
myself. Not an artist, but I write gathered the survivors to form we've never been a bloodline
and draw and post some of my their house, they came to me but that inspired trust or devotion,
stuff on the internet. I love to I declined the offer. I knew my but as Antitribu we are reborn.
dig around on the web and mix place was with the Sabbat, not Already we rise in the ranks as
it up with the people. A blog in some poor copy of the Pyra- our power is recognized in battle
post here or a subreddit there, mid. The Final Nights are here after battle. The old prejudices
just keeping tabs on what’s going and though our clan's Antedilu- have begun to fade as the power
on in the real world. Setting up vian is false, the others hunger and control of the Lasombra
meet ups and connects for my still. I don't intend to have my and Tzimisce are diluted by the
Pack when we roll into town on blood on the menu. Though new orthodoxy of clanlessness.
short notice. You’d be surprised I don't doubt the power of Whether the Priests intended it
what you can find if you’re curi- Goratrix and their followers. No or not, our power and prestige
ous and careful. Let me say that other warlock has worked such grows with anonymity.
again, you have to be careful. magic, creating the Tremere
The web is a sea of sharks, even clan from a vial of stolen blood. HOUSE GORATRIX
if you’re some kinda hacker or But they seem intent on playing After the Vienna Chantry was
crypto-bro. Maybe especially if the Jyhad, while we wish to flip destroyed, the Tremere's Pyra-
you’re a hacker. The web belongs the table. Topple the game to mid splintered into numerous
to the Inquisition now but I do the ground and eat the players, factions. These so-called Houses
what I can to keep my Pack up lined up behind violent fascists
to date on the latest. like Karl Schrekt and vapid back-
water pretenders such as Carna.
I don’t know if it’s in my The most secretive of these is
blood or what, but I just get House Goratrix, named for the
mortals. I can read them like a Clan's greatest blood mage and
book, no powers necessary. How most infamous traitor.
they talk and play, how they
communicate. It’s not musical, Although some of its mem-
but there’s something to it that’s bers are former Sabbat and
hard to explain. I’d have to draw progeny of Goratrix herself,
you a picture. House Goratrix is an independent
faction of Tremere whose alliance
Tremere with a number of the Seraphim
is an open secret in the Black
Power is our birthright. Better Hand. Unlike the other Houses of
than blood, magic runs through Tremere, they have no interest in
us and that is the only legacy rebuilding the Pyramid but go out
of which I care about. What of their way to pit the other fac-
has labelling myself as Tremere tions against each other to spoil
brought me but derision and any chance of reconciliation.
infamy. If we are to be Antitribu
House Goratrix has dealings

37

The Antitribu

with both the Camarilla and the those legacy books. In The Black doned the cause and fled the
Sabbat, but the other Tremere Hand: Playing the Sabbat Gora- field, we remained true. While
Houses seem willing to ignore trix's gender is not disclosed, but it is our power over flesh that
their past treachery for some un- their name does imply a charac- has so fascinated and repelled
known reason. The Seraphim and ter that prefers feminine presen- the other Cainites, our greatest
Prisci of the Sabbat on the other tation and the rest we leave to strength has always been our re-
hand are confident that Goratrix Players and Storytellers. Perhaps solve. Our blood is drawn from
herself is still one of them and the old stories are crude propa- the most ancient mountains and
playing the Camarilla for fools. ganda concocted by the conserv- deepest forests. In our souls we
ative and patriarchal Tremere? are constant and unchanging,
GORATRIX'S PRONOUNS even as flesh ripples with chaos
The most famous Tremere, other Tzimisce at the touch of our breath. They
than Tremere. Goratrix had to call us the old clan and we re-
be in The Black Hand: Playing the It is no exaggeration to say that main unmoved as our foes break
Sabbat but some of their legacy we are the Sword of Caine. Not against our shore.
content was based on problem- just because we are so numer-
atic stereotypes. We had to give ous , but because we have given We are the soul of the Sab-
players and Storytellers "per- so much of ourselves in crafting bat and never again will we let
mission" to reimagine Goratrix the heart of the Sect's ritae and another bloodline claim them-
without erasing their identity. rituals. From sacred Vaulderie selves king or magister. We need
on down these are our gifts to no masters and the throne of
Using she/they pronouns for the Black Hand. We broke the Caine shall remain empty until
Goratrix was a creative decision chains and set the night afire. the first of us claims it. The Final
that had to do with the ambigu- Nights are here and Caine shall
ous nature of Goratrix’s gender When so many others aban- reveal themselves soon. Perhaps
as presented in the Second Edi- they already stride the blood
tion of the Sabbat and the First soaked fields of the Gehenna
Edition Tremere Clanbook. We War, wearing the face of an un-
took a V5 approach with this assuming recruit or shovel head.
book and that meant some lore, Who among us could deny it if
especially from Clan Novels and Caine chose a vessel from among
Dark Ages books, were reinter- the least of us. It would be fit-
preted or left in the shadows. ting for our king to crawl from
earthen grave to basalt throne.
In the case of Goratrix, some
books presented them as a bi- We remain and we keep the
sexual or gay character who was faith. Tzimisce. Antitribu. Clan-
deeply misogynistic and keen on less. Cainites. We strip ourselves
pursuing powerful men or men of everything unnecessary. The
they had power over. Goratrix is fat of our souls trimmed clean in
castrated in a ritual, eventually service and absolution to Caine,
betrays their lovers/friends to the neither father nor mother. We
Sabbat, and is ultimately pos- await Caine the king, a god to
sessed by their old lover/master. rule over a new world. If only we
have the faith to fashion it from
This didn’t fit into our vision our flesh and our souls.
for the character and we didn’t
want to delve into the weeds of

38

T h e B lac k Hand

Ventrue Many of us Sabbat, especially have to pay taxes or whatnot?
those who have been around Yeah, those guys. Only instead
The Sabbat claims lineage awhile, despise the company of of getting tazed by cops, you’re
doesn’t matter, but that’s a lie. It mortals. Some of us can barely now signed up to fight just about
matters, just in different ways. keep it together long enough to everybody and their brother.
Better ways. Up in the Tower, hunt. Many Cainites can't stand Get good fast, I guess.
every Ventrue neonate bears keeping up a herd or controlling
responsibility for the sins of a politician, it's shit work but I But there’s some good news,
their entire lineage. A thou- love it. But maybe that's still the You can be a real boy! Or vam-
sand years ago, some asshole Ventrue in me talking. pire, as the case may be. Only
blood relative failed to protect not so much, because no one
a group of pilgrims from a Pack Thin-Blood can ever catch a break. It turns
of feral lupines, and that’s why out the only way to get better
a Ventrue born and Embraced Life sucks and then you die. from being a Thin Blood is to
in Potomac Maryland must now And then it really starts to suck. commit a sort of murder so bad
put in overtime impressing her Yeah, bad pun, I know. Anyway, they don’t even have a real word
Prince. Every Ventrue knows congrats, you’re now part of this for it. That's the way out a lot of
childer from that lineage can’t 1000 year old conspiracy, the Big Sabbat expect you to take, but
be trusted after all. Answer to the Big Question of you gotta know what you can
who ‘they’ are who seem to be handle before you go that way.
Come to the Sabbat, it’s all running everything. Surprise, it’s Even if you can sort of figure out
inverted. Not one other Ventrue vampires all the way down. Sort how to survive without resort-
ever mentioned my lineage, but of good news, now you’re on the ing to that, there’s still a lot to
we all know who's who. I caught other side of the curtain. deal with. We’re talking treat-
myself deferring to a shovel head ing people like kegs at a frat. I
related to Dymoke, even though Bad news, turns out you’re am not kidding, I have seen real
she was fresh out of the body pit. the embodiment of the apoca- live screaming people with taps
Eventually I realized it wasn’t lypse and everyone hates you. stabbed in them.
enough to reject the Tower, I Oh, and the conspiracy club
had to over turn the table. I had is divided into a lot of smaller That shit wears on you real
to flip my heritage upside down clubs and you’re not in any of fast. You can give up, even
if I was ever going to be free. them. Back to the good news, though that’s the soul destroying
is that as long as you’re the shit we’re trying to avoid, or you
Once I realized this, I embodiment of an apocalypse can accept a moral education.
became a far more honorable prophecy, you might as well go Get on a Path and fly right with
Cainite than I had ever been check out the apocalypse cult Caine or Lilith or worship the
within the Tower. By rejecting down the street. They just can’t Sun like in a video game.
the blood of a failed templar, I want to celebrate their blood
became a knight of the Sabbat. sacraments with you. What I’m trying to say is the
good news is that the people
By inverting what my blood More bad news. The apoca- here won’t kill you. At least, not
had been known, I cultivated a lypse cult turns out to made up just for being you. The bad news
reputation for loyalty, honesty of vampire sovereign citizens. is, you’re probably going to get
and duty. I'm Antitribu now You know, those dumbasses who yourself killed anyway. Because
and that's fine by me. My blood think they’ve figured out the life sucks, and then you die, and
doesn't define me, I'm a king cheat codes so that laws don’t then you die again.
because that's the way I treat my apply to them and they don’t
Pack, my family. We're unified. God, please don’t let there be
anything else after the ‘again.’

39

Introduction

40

T h e B lac k Hand

Chapter Two:

vaulderie

It feels so... good, Brigitte. It's like touching yourself.
You know every move... right on the fucking dot.
And after, you see fucking fireworks. Supernovas.
I'm a goddamn force of nature. I feel like I could do just about anything.

— KAREN WALTON, GINGER SNAPS

As this world is a prison for the corrupt and impure, so are

our bodies a prison of the mind and soul. In our perfected states we
may hone the mind to undreamed of excellence, but this is a false
immortality. For our souls rot in unliving flesh, shaped by the ide-
als of a corrupt world.
Caine protect us from the unseen forces.
We tend this garden but must be ever vigilant of snakes that
dwell in the tall grasses. As Caine is more than any of us, broth-
ers and sisters, so are the Antediluvians more than men or even
other Cainites. We seek Caine behind the veil of this world for
the secrets of the Antediluvians will not be revealed to us without
Caine's guidance. They are unbroken, unburnt, and untouched by
the banes of our kind. Even Diablerie seems unable to cast their
souls into the abyss.

41

Vaulderie

If we are to survive then we must become the masters of Gehenna
and pry the secrets from the sleepers most trusted servants.
The bonds forged over us so long ago were broken by Caine's
will, and they shall never be reforged so long as we seek the death
of our false fathers and seek the path of our true creator. The hid-
den masters remain for the greatest masquerade was convincing us
they were vulnerable to fang, fire and the endless sleep of the long
night. Now is the last measure of our freedom. Now we can sink
into despair or sacrifice all and rise for the glory of Caine's throne.
Give me death!
Cast my heart into the fires of freedom! My heart, my blood, my
soul! Unchained! Shall we live forever as slaves? No! I want to
burn!
Give me death and break the bonds forever!

— THE OAXACA DIARIES

42

T h e B lac k Hand

Sabbat Packs Arena

The Sabbat are organized into Packs. These are Co- The Sabbat no longer concerns themselves with
teries of vampires dedicated to a particular Path, taking territory. Any ground they hold is only kept
ideology, mission, or unlife style. Packs are strictly as long as it’s advantageous and abandoned the
composed of only Sabbat vampires and they are led moment the cost becomes too great. The Sword
by a Priest, a vampire that commands the respect knows that their power lies in the stolen blood and
of their brethren either through force, cunning, unearthed secrets of the Antediluvians. It was a
or spiritual purity. To run with a Pack, a vampire hard-learned lesson. A Sabbat Pack cultivates an
must accept not only the creed of the Sword of Arena of influence, a sometimes nebulous combi-
Caine, but the Vaulderie and all of the other Ritae nation of their nomadic range, spiritual reputation,
revered by the Sect. The Pack is the most basic unit and mortal influence. Unlike Domain, Arena is
within the Sabbat, and given the Sect’s occulted not a measure of how deeply they are embedded
leadership and cell-like structure, their Packmates in a territory but how much authority they hold
may be the only Sabbat vampires they encounter over something important to the Sect. The fo-
on a nightly basis. Only Packs that have pledged cus of a Pack’s Arena is often determined at the
themselves to a Seraphim’s Host find themselves in Pack’s founding and is abstracted by Pack Type.
regular contact with their scattered brethren. For example a Ritualist Pack might be considered
an authority on Noddist prophecy. This would be
Many Sabbat Packs are composed of a tight- their Arena and others would defer to them on
knit group of veterans at their heart. Survivors led such matters unless they proved false or incompe-
by a trusted Priest who have seen countless battles tent. Unlike Status which marks an individual, a
and tasted ancient blood. When necessary their Pack’s Arena is a measure of collective respect and
numbers swell through wanton mass Embrace and influence.
the capricious use of the blood bond. A Pack of 5
Sabbat can quadruple in size in a matter of nights System: As with Domain, this is an abstraction
with shovel heads and ghouls added to their van- and each Arena trait is bought with Pack Dots.
guard. Most of these recruits meet messy and quick The three Arena traits are Rove, Clout, and Grasp.
deaths, but the nucleus of the Pack carries on. Most Pack Types require a certain level of an Are-
na trait to unlock the Pack’s feature.
Thus the Sabbat survives despite tremendous
losses. Veterans of the Gehenna War accumulate Rove
monstrous power within their dead veins. Often
the real danger faced by a Pack are in moments of In the Final Nights Sabbat Packs are nomadic by
internal crisis, when a Priest is destroyed or found nature, and even those that settle into sedentary
lacking by their brethren. The Monomacy usually covens do their best to keep a few escape routes
decides such tests of leadership cleanly, but some- primed. A Pack’s Rove determines how far they
times Packs fall to scheming and faithlessness. can safely and quickly travel within a few nights.
Alternate Havens, good feeding spots, hidden
System: All Sabbat vampires start with one Pack supply caches, negotiated safe passage, and secure
Dot that they can collectively use to buy Pack vehicles are all aspects of a Pack’s Rove trait. A
Advantages and Arena traits. Characters can also Sabbat Pack never puts down deep roots, because
spend Advantage points on these Pack traits. their enemies are many and powerful. A Pack’s
Rove is also an area they regularly monitor with
spies, mystical surveillance, and allies when not on
the move.

43

Vaulderie

System: Each dot of Rove increases the Difficulty the nature of their need.
by 1 of any attempt to detect the Pack or prevent Clout also increases the Willpower damage
them from reaching their destination when trav- inflicted on Sabbat rivals during a social combat
eling. Their Rove level also represents how much on a 1 for 1 basis (see V5 Corebook pg. 305), though
distance the Pack can cover without needing to it does not stack with damage bonuses gained from
make additional rolls. Rove is rarely added to rolls, the audience.
but could aid in a Pack’s attempts to locate other
Sabbat or infiltrate enemy domains. When a Pack Grasp
hunts in their Rove area they always succeed at
a cost (see V5 Corebook pg. 307), but the default The Packs ability to bully mortals into doing their
hunting Difficulty is 6 otherwise. Once outside the bidding or ignoring their crimes. Since dealing
established area of their Rove, a Pack's Clout and with mortals is seen as dishonorable, Sabbat Packs
Grasp traits still function normally but only when only sully themselves with mortal ties when their
concerning the core purpose of their Arena. core mission and values are threatened in a way
they cannot solve with overwhelming force. Grasp
rove packs nomadic range also determines how quickly the Pack can move its
base of operations.
● A small wild area or few blocks,
●● Downtown or Hidden Valley System: Each dot of Grasp gives Pack members a +1
●●● die bonus on any attempt to subvert, undermine,
●●●● A landmark or large wilderness, or intimidate a mortal group threatening their
●●●●● Champs Elysee or Black Forest Arena. For example, Ritualists might use their
Grasp to keep police from patrolling around the
A city or important highway, warehouse where they perform their ritae, but it
Budapest or I-95 would have no use when hunting.
Grasp also sets how long it takes to relocate and
A very large major metropolitan re-center a Pack's Rove. This often entails setting
area, Los Angeles or Seoul up supply drops, false Havens, and bolt holes.

A large territory or region, Ne-
vada or Southern France

Clout grasp time needed to relocate
none
The Packs' reputation concerning their area of ex- Three months per dot of Rove
pertise and their ability to call upon large numbers ● One month per dot of Rove
of Sabbat and Sect allies for aid. Priests that lead ●● Three weeks per dot of Rove
Packs with a great deal of Clout have an easier ●●● Two weeks per dot of Rove
time claiming titles such as Bishop or Archbishop ●●●● One week per dot of Rove
because of the sway they hold over other Packs. ●●●●● Three days per dot of Rove

System: One dot of Clout gives the Pack a default
Difficulty of 7 when calling upon other Sabbat
Packs to aid them against the Sect’s enemies or
in pursuit of their Arena. Each additional dot of
Clout reduces this Difficulty by 1. The type of roll
required depends on how the Pack calls for aid and

44

T h e B lac k Hand

Running in Packs The Pack Map

A Sabbat vampire is often defined by their Pack As with Coteries in any other vampire Chronicle,
as much as by their Path of Enlightenment. When a Sabbat Pack should make use of the Relationship
creating characters, Players should discuss what Map concept to draw and define their group objec-
kind of Pack they are hoping to create and if any of tives, dynamics, assets, and flaws (see V5 Core-
them have a desire to play the Pack Priest or have book 142). This Pack Map should list all the active
some other designated role within the Pack (see Packmates, their positions within the Pack and any
Picking a Priest pg. 53). While Priest is the only backgrounds and flaws they share. This is a living
formal role all Packs recognize internally, some document that the Pack can reference as they gain
have informal titles or positions that they expect allies and enemies (see Pack Map pg. 136).
Packmates to fulfill by Pack tradition. For in-
stance, many Packs consider regularly dealing with Non-Stop Disaster Clique
mortals to be lowly or dishonorable work, so the
task of taking care of the Packs' Herd or Retainers JYHAD CELL PACK
is often given to newer recruits or formalized as
a punishment role with names like Rector, Dog Fatima “Buzzsaw” Arslan--Twisted flesh shaping shovel head-> Darva “Doll”
Catcher, Flesh Wrangler, or Blood Mopper. --Not a scholar, but a leader--> <- Literally mheystbaeresstatfrmieenadl-o-t--
<--Limitless zeal, but they require direction --poor substit<u-e-Cfaonr’ttwheinirasisrtea,rinbgutcotnhteeyst<-Fun to mess with. He’s so serious all the time--Feeds Pickles
When several Packs work closely together or Allies with a have ptrhoismgisuey.-A>nd the possum
share a common territory or Rove for a prolonged Bahari Cult with ---Hard to kill, that’s useful-> with and master
period of time, one of the Priests claims the title of Occult ties <-A powerful warrior, Would make a terrible Priest-- spy
Bishop or Archbishop. This declaration is then ce- Prof. Samal, a --A <-We agree to disagree --
mented with a Blood Bath (see Ritae pg. 60) unless Touchstone that CTahsseisPriest
disagreements arise between the Priests over who reminds Fatima “Eyes” Oldson -- <-Caine sees your lack of faith -- Laurent “Sis”
shall ascend to leadership. These disagreements of her mortal life with a god complex->
are often settled bloodlessly, but a Monomacy puts Clanless brute
the matter to rest if two contenders are too evenly Eric
matched in prestige or bravado.
Mawla is a Salubri Priscus Pack Goals Keeps a ghoul
PACK DOTS that helps the pack out named Filth, who
when they need to travel ■ Let’s eat the Prince and blame it on the Anarchs! guards the haven
A Sabbat player can buy Backgrounds for their Pack ■ Steal Book of Nod fragments from the Tremere!
■ Uncover who's running the local Gehenna cult!
as communal Resources that any Packmate can

access, but Merits cannot usually be bought this way.

The Pack Priest can veto any Background purchase

that goes against the Pack's focus. These dots are

refunded back to the player, though a Priest should

be careful not to alienate their Pack by denying them

something they depend on. Flaws are taken by the

Pack through consensus guided by their Priest with

the Storyteller's approval. Just as with Backgrounds,

Pack flaws are communal. Pack flaws grant dots that

must be spent on the Pack.

45

Running in Packs

Pack Types ■ Arena: Rove (●●●) and Clout (●●)
■ Allies: (●) or Resources: (●)
As long as a Pack communally or individual- ■ Mawla: (●●)
ly meets the Arena trait, Advantage, and Flaw ■ Status: (●)
requirements of their Pack type, every Sabbat ■ Enemies: (●●)
within the Pack gains the benefit of the Pack Ritae.
At the Storyteller's discretion a Pack can come Common Arenas/Roles: Blood Scented Letters,
up with its own signature Pack Ritae that differs Graffiti Artists, Heralds, Viral Twitter Bats
significantly from the norm. It's best to use the
mechanical power level of the other Pack Ritae as Pack Ritae: Carriers train with ancient Black
a guideline to what is possible. Modifying a Pack's Hand Ritae that guard their minds and dreams
Ritae should only require the Storyteller's permis- against supernatural invasion. As long as a Cainite
sion and the Pack Priest's invocation of the Binding in a Carrier Pack maintains their Vinculum with
(see Ritae pg. 58). A Sabbat can only benefit from their Packmates they gain +3 dice on any roll to
one Pack ritae at a time. A Pack that wishes to resist being compelled to betray a message or Sect
change its type completely must seek out a Bishop secret, regardless of the means used against them
or other prestigious Sabbat to perform the Binding (Chimerstry, dominate, torture, etc.). If the Carrier
to rededicate the Pack to a new cause. is not allowed a resistance roll, then the Difficulty
of such attempts are increased by 2 instead.
Carriers
Crypt Ticks
Messengers have always been a necessity among the
Sword of Caine because of their distrust of mortal Also known as Amaranthians or Cenotaphiles,
technology. Now the dispersed structure of the these Sabbat have one desire... to personally devour
Sect and the rise of the Second Inquisition have the blood and souls of the Antediluvians. The rev-
given the mail carriers a new prominence. While elation that many of the Sabbat's founding myths
these Packs are rarely pledged to a single leader, were false, that elders that claimed to have tasted
they always maintain contact with luminaries the blood of their Antediluvians were fools or
within the Sabbat who have need of their expertise. liars shocked the Sword of Caine to its core. Many
Carriers not only deliver personal messages be- turned on the Sect's Lasombra leadership and
tween the isolated members of the Sabbat leader- rallied to the banner of the Gehenna War, accept-
ship, they also disseminate important information ing the renewal and direct action promised by the
through coded graffiti, geo-cached dead drops, and Martyr of Caine and other such spiritual leaders
viral social media posts.
While only a few of the original Cainites that
A few Carriers act as mustering forces for the answered that call still survive, their Packs still
Seraphim or other powerful leaders in the Gehen- seek out the blood of the ancients in the name of
na War. These heralds pass the rallying cry and power and deliverance. Crypt Ticks are the true
collect Packs eager for battle as they travel back to believers of the Gehenna War. They hunt elders
the front lines. While these Carriers are technically wherever they may hide. More than a few claim
still not subservient to these leaders, their impar- that the Beckoning is nothing but a ruse. These
tiality could easily be questioned by those vying for master diablerists often find their best meals not in
the throne of Caine. Gangrel and Ravnos Anti- wilderness caves or far-off battlefields, but in smart
tribu are common in their ranks and often find penthouses and fortified compounds in the heart
themselves taking on the mantle of Pack Priest. of enemy territory.

Crypt Tick Priests are usually bloated with the

46

T h e B lac k Hand

blood of dozens of diableries and reserve the right Hacktivists
to feast on the soul of their most select prey. Dis-
putes over leadership in these cannibal Packs are An era of technological warfare unlike any other
often violent and end in final death, as the stakes is at hand, and the Sabbat was often behind the
are too great to risk festering resentments within curve, disdaining mortal artifice as beneath them.
their ranks. When other Sabbat call upon them for Now that the Sect has become decentralized, this
aid it is usually for their knowledge of Ashirra lin- Luddite orthodoxy no longer holds any power over
eages or their ability to extract information from the younger recruits of the Sword. In the face of
Camarilla pawns. Few want to linger long among Gehenna, no weapon can be shunned. Just like
them, for their unquenchable hunger for Cainite the mortals themselves their tools can be made to
blood is well known and even the power of the suit their purposes. Digital viruses, armed drones,
Vaulderie has its limits. biological pathogens, cyber harassment, and killer
robots may be the spear the Sabbat needs to finally
■ Arena: Rove (●), Clout (●●●) and Grasp (●) sweep the board of the Antediluvians' pawns.
■ Resources: (●●) or Mawla (●●) Hacktivists specialize in turning mortal tech-
■ Status: (●●) nology to their advantage. Stealing data from a
■ Enemies: (●●) or Methuselah's Thirst (●●) server or smartphone is often only the beginning of
their mischief as they use the information to create
Common Arenas/Roles: Ancestry Experts, Black- harm in the real world. These Packs often become
mailers, Blood Trackers, Interrogators experts in burglary and sabotage to put their
stolen secrets and compromised systems to more
Pack Ritae: These Sabbat are master soul stealers targeted use. Overloading transformers to blackout
and have developed numerous Ignoblis Ritae that neighborhoods, stealing identities, and unwittingly
allow them to sift through the memories of mortals turning mortal authorities against their vampiric
and even other supernatural creatures by draining masters with unnecessary SWAT raids. While they
them of blood. Once per Session, when a Packmate usually are uninterested in mortal affairs beyond
ritually drains a non-vampire victim they can ask their latest tech, a few Hacktivists have even
the Storyteller to reveal a specific memory or to dabbled in social media engineering and online
recount their victim's most recent memories. Ex- psychological warfare.
periencing a Cainite's memories through diablerie Hacktivist Priests are often the least technolog-
requires a Numinous Ritae (see The Sepulchre Key ically literate members of their Pack. Their role is
pg. 67). often that of translator with other Sabbat Packs
that may discount the Hacktivists work in the
Gehenna War as cowardly or lacking in spiritual
grounding. While not all Sabbat are technologically
illiterate, their focus on tangible results can make
it hard for the tech savvy to prove their worth.
Dealing with humans online is tedious work. Nos-
feratu, Toreador, and Ventrue Antitribu are often
drawn to Hacktivist Packs because it allows them
to make use of their talents without having the
taint of constantly associating with mortals "irl".

■ Arena: Rove (●) and Grasp (●●●)
■ Resources: (●) or Mask (●)
■ Haven: (●●)

47