Malkavians

Introduction

The Malkavians are cursed by insight and madness, damned to see the world as a shattering mosaic. Long ago, they were Cainite oracles, foretelling the future and seeing things other could not. Now, they are pariahs because of their madness – cast from court and cities for fear their lunacy will affect others. They are heralds and prophets of a coming darkness.

Malkavians often served in the role of advisor - political or spiritual - to princes of other Clans during the Dark Ages. Chances are, if the prince didn't consult with the Cappadocians, they instead turned to the Malkavians.

There are those whose vision drove them completely mad. These broken vampires haunt the dark places, crying out for salvation or damnation or screaming truths that are too terrible to bear.

History of the Clan

Before his fall, and some say even before his embrace, Malkav was a great oracle. He was a gifted seer whose vision was not clouded by the madness his name heralds today. There are dozens of tales of Malkav’s fall and no one knows the truth of it, but the most common is that the curse was sent down by Caine as punishment for prophesies that angered him and the rest of the Thirteen, inciting them to violent infighting. Malkav’s mind was fractured by the curse. Never again was the truth to come to him clearly and his bloodline’s insights would forever be tainted by madness. Another widely spread tale suggests that it was Lilith, not Caine, who shattered Malkav’s mind. It is said that when Caine angered Lilith, she went to the bed of Malkav, who had long desired her secrets. There, she told him one terrible but unknown truth that forever fractured his mind. Caine later turned on him and had his tongue burnt out to stop his horrific mad rantings after the revelation. Whatever the truth, Malkav’s curse of madness struck all those of his blood and has been passed on through all of his progeny.

Malkav’s whereabouts today is unknown. Elders of the clan claim that this is because he does not have one single resting place. He was attacked and torn asunder by another Cainite after the fall of the Second City, but not consumed for fear of contracting the madness of the blood. Legend has it that while his body turned to ash, his heart’s blood seeped into the earth so that the rising sun could not touch it and when the sun set, three of his childer, the Coronati, crept to the place that he fell and partook of the red earth, taking him into themselves so that he lives on within them, broken apart, but unable to be slain in a single blow.

After the fall of the Second City, the Malkavians migrated with the rest of the clans, sticking primarily to the cities. These ancient times were good for the family and Malkavians ruled many of the ancient cities due to their resemblance to the legendary baalim or city-gods, reputed to be tempestuous oracles of wonder and great power. Over time the tradition of rule shifted to the Brujah and the Ventrue, the Assamites in the East and the Setites in Egypt. (The elders assert—privately—that these high clan bloodlines coveted power of the Malkavians and claimed it for themselves through mimicry.) The Malkavians were relegated to their now more familiar role of advisors and outcasts.

The Malkavians played a significant role in the destruction of Carthage. Disgusted at the Brujah customs of wanton, wasteful human sacrifice and the institution of the rites of Baal-Hammon (not to be confused with the baalim) Tryphosa, the Malkavian seeress, warned the Prince that he must strike at the city to avoid a great doom. The city was decimated. The Brujah still hold this against them, though their blame is misplaced.

Many madmen of history have been presumed to be of the Malkavian blood and the clan has been falsely blamed for their misdeeds. Famously, Roman Cainites attributed Caligula and Nero to the Malkavians (not, in fact, part of the clan) and at the fall of Rome a court was called in which all Malkavian attendees were slaughtered in vengeance. This was not an unusual turn of events. Malkavians have been scapegoats for many of history's tragedies and the clan has often been persecuted for crimes it has not committed.

With the emergence of Christianity, things shifted significantly for the Malkavians. Seers and oracles both kine and Kindred were reviled in the Western world and were pushed even furter to the edges of society by the institution of the Church. During this period, many Malkavians began to hide their nature out of fear and shame. Others, less capable of concealing or suppressing their madness, adopted—and some say invented—the role of court jester, a position accorded freedom to act outrageously or even offensively toward the powers that be. Princes and nobles will sometimes accept harsher criticisms from their fools than from their counselors, a tradition that lasted long into the Renaissance. Malkavians as fools are tolerated so long as they are entertaining, but are looked down upon by some other Malkavians unwilling to bear such humiliations in the name of comfort. Many feel that the clan is already derided enough without lowering itself further in this fashion.

Geography

Malkavians tend to stick to the cities, where there are plenty of people and, more importantly, minds about. Historically they followed wherever humans went, building cities along the Mediterranean and North Africa into Europe and India.

Malkavians will find hostility and scorn in most lands, but may find havens in some of the following:

Germany – boasts a Malkavian Prince, Midian, in Hamburg, though his madness has lately gotten the best of him. Two high clan Cainites are actively trying to attract more Malkavians to the region by making it friendlier to low clans.

Iberia – several of the taifas (Muslim city-states) boast large Malkavian populations, who try to avoid the attention of the Lasombra and Assamite princes more common in the region. Pamplona has an unusually stable Malkavian Prince, Roque. The Nosferatu and Malkavians of Iberia, both of which groups rarely organize to take on external issues, have united and are engaged in guerilla warfare against the Toreador and other Cainites trying to tighten ties between France and Navarre.

The City of Sinope in the former Byzantine Empire is a haven for Malkavians (though they are still a minority of the population.) The city is ruled by the madman seer Prince Razmik who is currently in a prophetic trance-induced torpor. His childe, Shavarash currently rules in his stead.

Important places:

• The Underground Library of Valentinus in Marseilles, a repository of prophesy
• The Well of Mirth in Northern Germany, a spring that spews hallucinogenic waters
• The Church of Saint Herod the Bloody in Palestine
• The “Great and Magnificent Court of Carthage” (though no one is sure exactly why)

Important Figures of the Clan

The Coronati: The 3 of Malkav’s children purported to have taken the clan’s progenitor into themselves. They serve as saints/bogeymen to the family. They are each known to be dangerous to call upon for help as attracting their attention can bring either rich rewards or nightmarish trouble. Often both: Quintessentially Malkavian.

The Plague Bride, Temple-Whore of the First City: Malkav’s lover; sweet, charitable, roaming the land, giving the “gift” of madness; a mother figure who brings care and comfort but leaves behind fresh madness Nissiku, the Clever Prince: Trickster; Oracular Charlatan; A good ally against one’s enemies, but dangerous lest his mischievous eye fall on you instead.

The Nameless One/The Eater: He who devours all things lost and forgotten. He is said to devour the very names of people and Kindred to consume them utterly and absorb their power into himself.

Apostles of the Reborn Malkav: When Jesus roamed the countryside preaching, several Malkavians had visions of him as Malkav reborn and traveled to see him in person. These gave rise to the Apostles of the Reborn Malkav, a group that persists to this day, though they are looked upon with outright horror by Cainites born and raised in the Christian Era. There are Cainites out there devoted exclusively to eradicating adherents to the order.

Order of the Crooked Cross: A military-religious order that claims to serve Caine the Father, Jesus the Son and Malkav the Holy Ghost. Similar to the Apostles of the Reborn Malkav, but more militaristic and with a different trinity.

Andreas: Malkavian disciple of Jesus who wrote the gospel asserting that Jesus was Malkav reborn, redeemed by God himself to preach his vision to kine and Kindred. The Book of Andreas relates the tale of Jesus/Malkav charging one of our clan with the task of finding Father Caine and seeking his redemption in the eyes of God. The Book of Andreas has influenced both the Apostles of the Reborn Malkav and the Crooked Cross along with other Malkavian-Christian groups. Note: While most contemporary Malkavians reject Andreas’ claims about the connection between Jesus and Malkav, some still believe in his holy mission to find Caine.

Brotherhood of Skellig: Malkavian scribes who weave madness into their manuscripts via Dementation

Typical Roads for Members of the Clan

It is nearly impossible to generalize a typical road for a Malkavian as each tends to choose based on his or her particular derangements. There are, however, a few remaining Malkavian ordos, or cults, which each have their own typical road affiliations. Long ago, all Malkavians belonged to one of these many secret orders, but they have faded into obscurity. Few still exist and those are those that do are kept hidden even from most members of the clan.

Priorities of the Clans

The Malkavian clan is only loosely affiliated. They have disparate, fractured priorities that vary from individual to individual. There are very few priorities that are universally held within the family and there is not much of a clan culture as there is in the other bloodlines. There is no such thing as a “typical” Malkavian. It is an oxymoron. There are, however, a few general trends.

Malkavians are typically social creatures. They value (or are at least fascinated by) the insights and perceptions of others. They are always looking to understand and piece together the holes in their own minds by seeking the knowledge needed to fill them outside of themselves. They seek and speak truth, sharing their visions of past, present and future, though some part with their wisdom less readily than others, demanding steep tolls of those who seek it.

Most have a strong sense of destiny and have little patience for clanmates who don’t share this sense.

They embrace when they recognize some spark of madness or insight, but have no rigid clan structure enforcing this. There is always meaning in selection of someone to embrace. A Malkavian selects someone they feel worthy of Malkav’s blood. However, the rationale behind the selection may only be clear to that particular Malkavian.

Opinions

Humans and Ghouls

Malkavians seek out the insights and perspectives of anyone outside themselves. Those perspectives don’t have to come from Cainites. (Though the methods of inquiry may not be terribly benign depending on the Malkavian.)

Other Vampires

Other Cainites view us with suspicion or outright hatred. At best, we tell them things they do not want to hear. At worst, they fear our madness may be contagious. Assamites: There is a sort of mutual respect between our clans. We lose ourselves to madness, they lose themselves to blood. They tend to understand the need for seers and thus do not mistreat us.

Brujah: There is bad blood between the clans. We do not understand each other. They seek their enlightenment only through reason while we seek it through insight and prophecy. They blame us for Carthage, continuing to punish our clan for this erroneous charge. The clans have met in battle often.

Cappadocian: They treat us with contempt, failing to see the hypocrisy in finding the disintegration of death noble and while finding that of madness loathsome.

Gangrel: Gangrel and Malkavians get along well, both being outcasts. The Gangrel do not look down on us for our madness, their animal sides being open to alternate forms of perception. We can generally count on each other for help and companionship.

Lasombra: They fear us because we threaten the order they strive for. Cowardly and greedy with no vision of their own. Even in the old days they waited for visionaries—Malkavians and Ventrue working together--to build kingdoms and then took them over for themselves.

Nosferatu: Cursed and misunderstood, like us, but in many ways they have adapted to it better than we have, banding together into a close knit brotherhood.

Ravnos: We have much in common with the Ravnos. They are mysterious folk, treated with suspicion. We are fascinated by their gift of making the imaginary real. We often seek them out hoping they have a cure to our affliction.

Followers of Set: Set and Malkav were once great friends, but fought early on, with conflicting philosophies on the source of revelation of truths. Setites and Malkavians are respectful enemies, both perceptive and wise, both knowing full well the dangers the other represents. Setites would destroy us if they could, rather than risk having us around to interfere in their machinations. Luckily, the Setites are despised by the other clans and so are generally able to pose too much threat. Nevertheless, one should always be wary of the Setites.

Salubri: It is said that Malkav and Saulot were brothers or even lovers. Legend speaks of Malkav giving Saulot his eye for questing after knowledge. Today, the clans are distant with a sense that they cannot help one another. We have all but turned our backs on them in the face of the Tremere threat. Nonetheless, there is a long standing kinship.

Toreador: Varies from Artisan to Artisan. Some treat us kindly, valuing us as muses, poets, jesters, endeavoring to understand us. Others are cruel and contemptuous, turning their noses in the air.

Tremere: To be feared. They hunt down our cousins, the Salubri, and there is no saying whether they will come after us next.

Tzimisce: We feel a bond with the clan, seeking release from the mind where they seek release from the flesh. The union of these two secret knowledges would be a powerful thing, and we avoid them for this reason, sensing that such a union would be an abomination. They make us uneasy.

Ventrue: Many of their young treat us with contempt, ignorant of the past, but we have a long, proud history ruling beside the Ventrue, serving as their advisors. Together we have built the greatest empires the world has known and most remember this. There is very little that a Ventrue and a Malkavian cannot accomplish together.

Other Supernaturals

Shifters, Wraith, Sorcerers, Mages, Fae

Malkavians have an affinity for the fae as creatures of dreams.

Other Notes

It is common that Malkavians do not become numb and cold as they age the way other vampires do. They can preserve some more sparks of life through their madness than other clans.

Perception of Madness in the Middle Ages: Insanity in the Middle Ages was not viewed as an illness as it is today. It was regarded with fear and awe, believed without doubt to be supernatural in origin. It was something that came from the Devil or God, or some combination of the two. Depending on the type of madness, the insane were occasionally cared for by their families or by charitable religious orders. On even rarer occasions they were revered as prophets from God if they could rouse a following, cults and crusades amongst the peasantry being common at the time. But they were generally presumed cursed or possessed and as a result ostracized, persecuted, or worse.

On Derangements: It’s easy to reduce a Malkavian and her derangements to caricature, but remember that this is simply part of your character’s personality and is something that should be seamlessly integrated into the way in which she interacts with the world. Your character is more than her madness. The derangements are only one facet. Malkavians have varying degrees of lucidity and may have precipitating “triggers” that make their derangements better or worse, fluctuating over time. Most of the time, derangements should manifest primarily in your thought and decision making processes and as subtle personality and behavior “quirks.” Malkavians are not simply raving lunatics. They are much more complex and nuanced than that. As such, when roleplaying your derangements, it is best to use a subtle hand in most situations. Derangements must be roleplayed at all times, but that doesn’t mean they must be ostentatiously roleplayed at all times.

As it would be impossible to go into great detail about all about all the possible derangements in the scope of a Malkavian wiki, it is up to the player to look into their particular derangement independently. It is strongly suggested that players actually research their mental illnesses and play them respectfully. Keep in mind that players at game may have or know someone who has the mental illness you are choosing to portray, so again, please implement it respectfully. Also bear in mind that you will be using this in your Derange discipline. It’s strongly recommended that you choose derangements that are either self explanatory or that other players will be familiar with so that you do not have to issue long OOG explanations when using the Derange discipline. You can take other obscure derangements for roleplay purposes, but it can be disruptive to the game if you have to explain that derangement every time you use the power.

Wikipedia’s Mental and Behavioral Disorders Directory provides a good starting place for derangement ideas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mental_and_behavioural_disorders

A Few Possible Derangements:

• Delusions of Grandeur
• Hallucinations
• Melancholia (Depression)
• Mania
• Multiple Personalities
• Paranoia
• Megalomania
• Amnesia
• Various Obsessions
• Various Phobias
• Various Compulsions