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Hi there, everybody! Haberdasher here with another bloodline conversion.
After working through the bloodlines in the 1e corebook, I decided to start tackling the bloodlines in the clan books, starting with the Gangrel book. The bloodlines featured in the Gangrel book are similar in that they are bloodlines that focus on differing feeding strategies, they each have a unique devotion that is kind of nullified by 2e disciplines, and no unique discipline. I tried to craft each of them by using their devotion as inspiration, and they ended up being rather complimentary. This week, I'm sharing the Hounds of Actaeon, a Gangrel bloodline who elevate the Hunt to a sacred rite, and go about it with all the sophistication and equipment of mortals.
As always, leave thoughts, comments, and suggestions. Enjoy!
Bloodline Conversion- The Hounds of Actaeon
Good shot. He isn’t making it far, and he won’t lose too much blood before we catch up to him. Then we dig in. You get the first bite, kiddo.
All Kindred are faced with the regular need to feed on blood to survive. Some prefer stability in their feeding supply, and either keep dedicated servants (well, slaves, but that’s a little too honest) as a food supply; others prefer to frequent areas that promise a regular presence of prey. Others venture out into the night when desired or needed, and pick the first person who takes their fancy. Many Gangrel prefer to turn the matter into a hunt. Some hunt in groups, herding a victim into a corner and descending upon the unlucky mortal; others allow themselves to feed in a fit of frenzy. To the Savage bloodline known as the Hounds of Actaeon, the hunt is not merely a tiresome burden, or a bit of sport: it is a feeding ritual, one that the bloodline has carried out with religious reverence down through the millennia. They hunt humans as humans hunt animals: with rifle and shotgun, bow and spear, camouflage and blind.
Background: A lot of bloodlines, particularly ancient ones, like to plant a mythological figure at the roots, perhaps to grant them some sort of metaphysical legitimacy. The Hounds of Actaeon are no different. Back in the days of Ancient Greece- before the Romans claimed it as part of the empire, anyways- a Thracian Savage appeared before the Kindred of Corinth, claiming to be a childe of one of Actaeon’s hounds. According to Greek myth, Actaeon was a hunter who once happened upon Artemis, goddess of the hunt, as she was bathing in a lake. She commanded him to never speak a word again, but when he saw his hunting companions, he called out to them. Artemis transformed Actaeon into a stag, and his companions into hounds; Actaeon was ripped apart by his own friends.
The story may sound farfetched to Kindred nowadays, but back then, it was common practice to claim to be of the same lineage as Typhon, or Hecate, or any host of figures. The Gangrel offered his skills as a huntsman to the Prince; the Prince accepted the offer, and the Gangrel began to plan elaborate hunts to amuse the Prince. With time, the Gangrel came to be nicknamed “Actaeon’s Hound,” and the name stuck to his childer when he received the right to start a brood. The Hounds of Actaeon eventually found use as assassins for the Prince, turning the methods they used on humans against their fellow Kindred. However, the Hounds suffered an unfortunate reversal of fortune when the Kindred of Corinth discovered that the Hounds all shared an unfortunate tendency to lose control of their Beasts when they became hungry. This wasn’t much of an issue, so long as the Hounds were kept fed, but the last straw came with the bloodline’s founder devoured the Prince’s favorite ghoul, the last surviving child of his dearest mortal sibling.
The Hounds of Actaeon were cast out of Corinth that night, and it has been a shame for the entire bloodline to this night. To the Hounds, that fateful Wassail was a perversion of the hunt; an inelegant mauling that was a far cry from the ideal of a methodical, purposeful hunt. Tonight, the Hounds hunt with the implements of the kine, the better to separate them from their animalistic urges.
The Becoming: The Hounds of Actaeon typically Embrace from among people whose profession or pastimes suit them to be hunters of humans; conventional hunters are common, but more than a few hitmen, covert agents, and the like have joined the bloodline’s ranks. Physical Attributes are almost always primary, particularly Dexterity and Stamina; Mental and Social Attributes are either secondary or tertiary, with Wits and Resolve being prioritized over Intelligence, and Composure being favored over Presence and Manipulation. Physical Skills are most useful, particularly Firearms, Stealth, Survival, and Weaponry; Crafts and Medicine are also useful, and some Hounds who employ animals in the hunt benefit from Animal Ken.
In the Danse Macabre: Even among the Gangrel, the Hounds of Actaeon have a reputation for being brutal, callous hunters. The Hounds aren’t particularly humane in their feeding habits, but they aren’t precisely cruel either: they favor granting their quarry as quick and painless a death as possible, and always pay their respects to their prey when they catch up to it, whether or not the prey is dead or alive. But above all else, the Hounds don’t “play” with their food. The hunt is sacred and at times intimate, but it isn’t personal. Torture of prey is frowned upon, as is repeating their founder’s misdeed of Wassail. Hounds who become active in the politics of a domain often find themselves as Sheriffs or, appropriately, Hounds, though they may find their abilities employed by any covenant who needs a mortal or troublesome Kindred eliminated. The Hounds’ spiritual emphasis on the hunt and feeding makes them a good fit for the Circle of the Crone, though it also meshes quite well with the teachings of the Lancea et Sanctum.
Clan: Gangrel
Nicknames: Hounds, Hunters
Bloodline Bane: The Hounds of Actaeon are creatures of the hunt, and their predatory instincts are irrepressible. If a Hound is foolish enough to let her Beast off its leash, it will run rampant, and no amount of effort will reign it in. If a Hound of Actaeon succumbs to frenzy due to hunger or the sight of blood, she is unable to ride the wave.
Bloodline Disciplines: Animalism, Obfuscate, Protean, Resilience
Bloodline Blessing: Stalker’s Countenance
The Hounds of Actaeon’s affinity for actively hunting their quarry gives them a unique insight into the nature of predators who use stealth, speed, or both to catch their prey. Whenever a Hound wishes to change her adaptations from Predatory Aspect (Protean 2) or Unnatural Aspect (Protean 4), she may do so immediately, and does not need to sleep in order to change them, so long as the predator she wishes to emulate uses stealth and/or speed to hunt.
Camouflage
The Hounds of Actaeon have wedded knowledge of Obfuscate to their mastery of Protean, use it to transform themselves into preternatural stalkers. Every time a Hound uses Predatory Aspect (Protean 2) or Unnatural Aspect (Protean 4), she may spend an additional Vitae to invoke Camouflage. This power gives a -2 to any vision-based Perception rolls to locate and identify the Hound.
After working through the bloodlines in the 1e corebook, I decided to start tackling the bloodlines in the clan books, starting with the Gangrel book. The bloodlines featured in the Gangrel book are similar in that they are bloodlines that focus on differing feeding strategies, they each have a unique devotion that is kind of nullified by 2e disciplines, and no unique discipline. I tried to craft each of them by using their devotion as inspiration, and they ended up being rather complimentary. This week, I'm sharing the Hounds of Actaeon, a Gangrel bloodline who elevate the Hunt to a sacred rite, and go about it with all the sophistication and equipment of mortals.
As always, leave thoughts, comments, and suggestions. Enjoy!
Bloodline Conversion- The Hounds of Actaeon
Good shot. He isn’t making it far, and he won’t lose too much blood before we catch up to him. Then we dig in. You get the first bite, kiddo.
All Kindred are faced with the regular need to feed on blood to survive. Some prefer stability in their feeding supply, and either keep dedicated servants (well, slaves, but that’s a little too honest) as a food supply; others prefer to frequent areas that promise a regular presence of prey. Others venture out into the night when desired or needed, and pick the first person who takes their fancy. Many Gangrel prefer to turn the matter into a hunt. Some hunt in groups, herding a victim into a corner and descending upon the unlucky mortal; others allow themselves to feed in a fit of frenzy. To the Savage bloodline known as the Hounds of Actaeon, the hunt is not merely a tiresome burden, or a bit of sport: it is a feeding ritual, one that the bloodline has carried out with religious reverence down through the millennia. They hunt humans as humans hunt animals: with rifle and shotgun, bow and spear, camouflage and blind.
Background: A lot of bloodlines, particularly ancient ones, like to plant a mythological figure at the roots, perhaps to grant them some sort of metaphysical legitimacy. The Hounds of Actaeon are no different. Back in the days of Ancient Greece- before the Romans claimed it as part of the empire, anyways- a Thracian Savage appeared before the Kindred of Corinth, claiming to be a childe of one of Actaeon’s hounds. According to Greek myth, Actaeon was a hunter who once happened upon Artemis, goddess of the hunt, as she was bathing in a lake. She commanded him to never speak a word again, but when he saw his hunting companions, he called out to them. Artemis transformed Actaeon into a stag, and his companions into hounds; Actaeon was ripped apart by his own friends.
The story may sound farfetched to Kindred nowadays, but back then, it was common practice to claim to be of the same lineage as Typhon, or Hecate, or any host of figures. The Gangrel offered his skills as a huntsman to the Prince; the Prince accepted the offer, and the Gangrel began to plan elaborate hunts to amuse the Prince. With time, the Gangrel came to be nicknamed “Actaeon’s Hound,” and the name stuck to his childer when he received the right to start a brood. The Hounds of Actaeon eventually found use as assassins for the Prince, turning the methods they used on humans against their fellow Kindred. However, the Hounds suffered an unfortunate reversal of fortune when the Kindred of Corinth discovered that the Hounds all shared an unfortunate tendency to lose control of their Beasts when they became hungry. This wasn’t much of an issue, so long as the Hounds were kept fed, but the last straw came with the bloodline’s founder devoured the Prince’s favorite ghoul, the last surviving child of his dearest mortal sibling.
The Hounds of Actaeon were cast out of Corinth that night, and it has been a shame for the entire bloodline to this night. To the Hounds, that fateful Wassail was a perversion of the hunt; an inelegant mauling that was a far cry from the ideal of a methodical, purposeful hunt. Tonight, the Hounds hunt with the implements of the kine, the better to separate them from their animalistic urges.
The Becoming: The Hounds of Actaeon typically Embrace from among people whose profession or pastimes suit them to be hunters of humans; conventional hunters are common, but more than a few hitmen, covert agents, and the like have joined the bloodline’s ranks. Physical Attributes are almost always primary, particularly Dexterity and Stamina; Mental and Social Attributes are either secondary or tertiary, with Wits and Resolve being prioritized over Intelligence, and Composure being favored over Presence and Manipulation. Physical Skills are most useful, particularly Firearms, Stealth, Survival, and Weaponry; Crafts and Medicine are also useful, and some Hounds who employ animals in the hunt benefit from Animal Ken.
In the Danse Macabre: Even among the Gangrel, the Hounds of Actaeon have a reputation for being brutal, callous hunters. The Hounds aren’t particularly humane in their feeding habits, but they aren’t precisely cruel either: they favor granting their quarry as quick and painless a death as possible, and always pay their respects to their prey when they catch up to it, whether or not the prey is dead or alive. But above all else, the Hounds don’t “play” with their food. The hunt is sacred and at times intimate, but it isn’t personal. Torture of prey is frowned upon, as is repeating their founder’s misdeed of Wassail. Hounds who become active in the politics of a domain often find themselves as Sheriffs or, appropriately, Hounds, though they may find their abilities employed by any covenant who needs a mortal or troublesome Kindred eliminated. The Hounds’ spiritual emphasis on the hunt and feeding makes them a good fit for the Circle of the Crone, though it also meshes quite well with the teachings of the Lancea et Sanctum.
Clan: Gangrel
Nicknames: Hounds, Hunters
Bloodline Bane: The Hounds of Actaeon are creatures of the hunt, and their predatory instincts are irrepressible. If a Hound is foolish enough to let her Beast off its leash, it will run rampant, and no amount of effort will reign it in. If a Hound of Actaeon succumbs to frenzy due to hunger or the sight of blood, she is unable to ride the wave.
Bloodline Disciplines: Animalism, Obfuscate, Protean, Resilience
Bloodline Blessing: Stalker’s Countenance
The Hounds of Actaeon’s affinity for actively hunting their quarry gives them a unique insight into the nature of predators who use stealth, speed, or both to catch their prey. Whenever a Hound wishes to change her adaptations from Predatory Aspect (Protean 2) or Unnatural Aspect (Protean 4), she may do so immediately, and does not need to sleep in order to change them, so long as the predator she wishes to emulate uses stealth and/or speed to hunt.
Camouflage
The Hounds of Actaeon have wedded knowledge of Obfuscate to their mastery of Protean, use it to transform themselves into preternatural stalkers. Every time a Hound uses Predatory Aspect (Protean 2) or Unnatural Aspect (Protean 4), she may spend an additional Vitae to invoke Camouflage. This power gives a -2 to any vision-based Perception rolls to locate and identify the Hound.
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