I am generally not a fan of playing around with the Clan Disciplines and weaknesses as presented in the Revised edition and afterwards; the clan concepts are balanced and fit with the lore and function of each bloodline. I do have a problem specifically with the Cappadocian, Tremere, Salubri, and Gangrel weaknesses, and rather than an overhaul, I think just a slight touch makes them fully consistent. One of my key motivations is the idea that clan weaknesses are tough, tenacious curses that cannot be easily subverted or modified within a bloodline. I haven't seen these particular homebrew ideas mentioned anywhere, and would love feedback.
Cappadocian - same as Giovanni weakness:
The Cappadocian weakness of deathly pallor just seems like a less debilitating version of the Nosferatu weakness and thus isn't balanced; but it's still very conceptually good. I like to have the excruciating bite be the original weakness of the Clan of Death, and part of what they are. They have a much greater motivation for and likelihood of killing each time they feed because of this flaw, and they have generally the highest bodycount on a regular basis of any clan. As for the Cappadocian pallor, I like it as a permanent side effect of learning the Mortis path, Corpse in the Monster, which makes them take on aspects of actual corpses. This is similar to how Abyss Mysticism tends to permanently mark its practicioners. Giovanni no longer exhibit the Cappadocian appearance because they deliberately abandoned this Mortis path; while it is powerful, the Giovanni have a more modern and less mystical outlook, and would be severely inconvenienced in their dealings with mortals otherwise.
Tremere - no weakness!
There have been many attempts to introduce some sort of weakness for the Tremere, including greater susceptibility to blood bonds, and pointing out that they start out partially blood bonded. The whole point of going through immense efforts in the creation of the Tremere - the assistance of Kupala, the expertise of Saulot - was to create and then take over a Clan with no curse-borne weakness. A less sophisticated, solely Mage-involved effort created the Nagaraja, which aggravated the painful kiss flaw of the Clan of Death into actual flesh-eating, and was therefore a failure. I have the Tremere flat-out have no clan weakness, which sets them apart from all the other clans and leads to the atmosphere of jealousy and suspicion that surrounds them. If there is an obvious flaw, it's that they have Thaumaturgy as a clan discipline. While it is awesome of course, Thaumaturgy is unlike the other disciplines in that it cannot be developed and improved instinctively and independently, until the practicioner has centuries of experience. Thus, Tremere have to be obedient and servile to develop this power; any independent Tremere effectively has only two in-clan disciplines rather than three, and is therefore at a severe disadvantage.
Salubri - Attacker takes damage:
The Salubri weakness as it stands is just a specific version of the Ventrue clan curse of feeding restrictions. It makes Healers healers, and Warriors warriors, but this is no different than the Ventrue, and is not lore-motivated. I like to have the Salubri take a level of lethal damage, soakable, every time they directly inflict damage on another, up close or from a distance. There is also a lot of pain, regardless of whether this lethal damage was soaked. Thus, an incautious Salubri flailing around could literally beat itself into torpor. First of all, this would be why the Salubri have Fortitude as a clan discipline, as vital for their survival. Second, this is why they cultivate Obeah/Valeren, as debuffs that allow the Salubri to even the playing field, giving the opportunity to escape or to finish the fight quickly. Third, this would account for why Healers are perceived to have the weakness of feeding only on willing vessels: they are obviously reticent to smack around or otherwise physically dominate their Herd. This also accounts for why Warriors have the self-sacrificing, tragic knight concept, and why Humanity/Heaven is preferred for Healers and Chivalry/Kings for Warriors. Salubri are also socially restricted to spiritual development and generally excluded from power by this flaw. This weakness could be interpreted as a curse on Saulot as a big blow to his enormous ambitions, forcing him to take very roundabout, sorcerous and lore-based paths to power.
Gangrel - Retooling of animal features:
The Gangrel weakness is obviously excellent, but in Revised and before it was extremely debilitating (permanent animal flaw after EVERY frenzy), and too weak in later editions (temporary animal flaw after every frenzy). I like to first of all have a temporary animal flaw after every frenzy, which fades in 10-(path rating) days. However, every time a Gangrel drops from a given Humanity rating for the first time, the next frenzy will be especially severe and will lead to a permanent animal flaw. If the Gangrel starts out at a low Humanity rating, then it eventually acquires all the cumulative flaws as if it had dropped to that Humanity, starting from 10. Thus, any Gangrel will have at most 10 permanent animal flaws. At higher Humanity, the flaws could be merely cosmetic and concealable, while at low Humanity, much worse flaws like a propensity to drop on all fours or a distorted growling voice can appear.
Let me know what you think!
Cappadocian - same as Giovanni weakness:
The Cappadocian weakness of deathly pallor just seems like a less debilitating version of the Nosferatu weakness and thus isn't balanced; but it's still very conceptually good. I like to have the excruciating bite be the original weakness of the Clan of Death, and part of what they are. They have a much greater motivation for and likelihood of killing each time they feed because of this flaw, and they have generally the highest bodycount on a regular basis of any clan. As for the Cappadocian pallor, I like it as a permanent side effect of learning the Mortis path, Corpse in the Monster, which makes them take on aspects of actual corpses. This is similar to how Abyss Mysticism tends to permanently mark its practicioners. Giovanni no longer exhibit the Cappadocian appearance because they deliberately abandoned this Mortis path; while it is powerful, the Giovanni have a more modern and less mystical outlook, and would be severely inconvenienced in their dealings with mortals otherwise.
Tremere - no weakness!
There have been many attempts to introduce some sort of weakness for the Tremere, including greater susceptibility to blood bonds, and pointing out that they start out partially blood bonded. The whole point of going through immense efforts in the creation of the Tremere - the assistance of Kupala, the expertise of Saulot - was to create and then take over a Clan with no curse-borne weakness. A less sophisticated, solely Mage-involved effort created the Nagaraja, which aggravated the painful kiss flaw of the Clan of Death into actual flesh-eating, and was therefore a failure. I have the Tremere flat-out have no clan weakness, which sets them apart from all the other clans and leads to the atmosphere of jealousy and suspicion that surrounds them. If there is an obvious flaw, it's that they have Thaumaturgy as a clan discipline. While it is awesome of course, Thaumaturgy is unlike the other disciplines in that it cannot be developed and improved instinctively and independently, until the practicioner has centuries of experience. Thus, Tremere have to be obedient and servile to develop this power; any independent Tremere effectively has only two in-clan disciplines rather than three, and is therefore at a severe disadvantage.
Salubri - Attacker takes damage:
The Salubri weakness as it stands is just a specific version of the Ventrue clan curse of feeding restrictions. It makes Healers healers, and Warriors warriors, but this is no different than the Ventrue, and is not lore-motivated. I like to have the Salubri take a level of lethal damage, soakable, every time they directly inflict damage on another, up close or from a distance. There is also a lot of pain, regardless of whether this lethal damage was soaked. Thus, an incautious Salubri flailing around could literally beat itself into torpor. First of all, this would be why the Salubri have Fortitude as a clan discipline, as vital for their survival. Second, this is why they cultivate Obeah/Valeren, as debuffs that allow the Salubri to even the playing field, giving the opportunity to escape or to finish the fight quickly. Third, this would account for why Healers are perceived to have the weakness of feeding only on willing vessels: they are obviously reticent to smack around or otherwise physically dominate their Herd. This also accounts for why Warriors have the self-sacrificing, tragic knight concept, and why Humanity/Heaven is preferred for Healers and Chivalry/Kings for Warriors. Salubri are also socially restricted to spiritual development and generally excluded from power by this flaw. This weakness could be interpreted as a curse on Saulot as a big blow to his enormous ambitions, forcing him to take very roundabout, sorcerous and lore-based paths to power.
Gangrel - Retooling of animal features:
The Gangrel weakness is obviously excellent, but in Revised and before it was extremely debilitating (permanent animal flaw after EVERY frenzy), and too weak in later editions (temporary animal flaw after every frenzy). I like to first of all have a temporary animal flaw after every frenzy, which fades in 10-(path rating) days. However, every time a Gangrel drops from a given Humanity rating for the first time, the next frenzy will be especially severe and will lead to a permanent animal flaw. If the Gangrel starts out at a low Humanity rating, then it eventually acquires all the cumulative flaws as if it had dropped to that Humanity, starting from 10. Thus, any Gangrel will have at most 10 permanent animal flaws. At higher Humanity, the flaws could be merely cosmetic and concealable, while at low Humanity, much worse flaws like a propensity to drop on all fours or a distorted growling voice can appear.
Let me know what you think!
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