Lasombra

Introduction

The Magisters are the unquestioned masters of shadow. Wielders of the fearsome discipline of Obtenebration, Lasombra seek dominion over anything and everything. They are puppet-masters, subtly pulling strings through three or four proxies, rather than domineering directly. Much of the goings on in the world has a Magister's fingerprint on it, for better or for worse.

History of the Clan

The Lasombra have a long history of seafaring, and their blood always encourages them to be near a large body of water. In ancient days they sailed with pirates and assaulted or conquered many territories along the Mediterranean Sea, where they still reside today. It is assumed by some scholars that the name of the clan's founder and thus the clan itself originated from a bastardization of the names of ancient gods of shadow, blood, and power such as "Lau-Som-Bheu" (profiting together by knowledge or profiting together by domination) and "Laza Omri Baras" (The God of the River of Darkness).

When Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world, his empire posed very difficult territories to attack via ship. So, many Lasombra chose to find areas to settle at and take over from within. When Pompey gained enough backing from Rome's senate to attack the pirates that troubled her, the Lasombra's days of piracy were over. Lasombra himself settled down into the Castle of Shadow soon thereafter, and the remaining members of the clan similarly sought lands to meddle in.

The rise of Christianity and the influence of the church has drawn a great many Magisters. Some are genuinely faithful, while others are simply drawn to the potential power they can hold through the subtle manipulations of the church's members. However, many Lasombra are Moorish, and thus the clan comes into conflict. This is especially the case in Iberia, where the Reconquista has raged for over 400 years. Neither Lasombra nor Montano will offer an opinion on the conflict, other than to say that the winner will show who was correct. This continues to encourage a rift in the clan, though rarely does it result in open battle between Cainites. Typically mortal proxy suits the Magister's whims.

Geography

The Lasombra are strongest in all areas bordering the Mediterranean, except Egypt. They have strong Moorish and Christian populations, and thus are the primary strength in most lands on both the northern and southern shores.

The Antediluvian resides in an unnamed castle on the island of Sicily that the local peasants refer to as Castel d'Ombro - The Castle of Shadow. The servants inside never speak, lest they wake up their master, and thus displease him.

Important Figures of the Clan

Antediluvian - Lasombra. A being presumed to be male solely by virtue of its refusal to embrace women, this creature is a manipulator par none, and still very active at this time (for an antedeluvian).

Methuselah: Montano. Lasombra's most loyal childe, and the one in charge whenever Lasombra is away or asleep. He is known for his honorable attitude and unwavering adherence to his sire's wishes.

Gratiano: Lasombra's most recent embrace, less than 200 years old. He has been very vocally impressed with his sire's achievements and activities, but is suspected of less noble plans by Montano.

Boukephos: The only active childe of Lasombra who does not regularly stay in the Castle of Shadow. While he travels broadly, little is recorded of him.

Typical Roads for Members of the Clan

Founders and primary followers of Via Noctis, the Lasombra within the church very commonly follow this road. The original version of the Road of Night suffered many changes between the Dark Ages and the Modern Nights. The original road is a path off of Via Caeli, and deals with the salvation of others by taking sin into the self.

Magisters who do not walk Via Noctis often will follow Caeli, Regalis, or even the Road of Chivalry. Humanitas is typically only an intermediary for Lasombra who are unable to walk one road and are in the process of seeking another.

Priorities of the Clan

The Magisters are a clan of control. Power is a means to an end, and that end is domination. A Lasombra may take a particular interest in politics, religion, animal husbandry, or any other topic wherein they can flex their ambitious muscle and gain control over something.

However, it is considered crude and weak to exert control directly. It is wasteful to control an entire court or to ghoul a king in order to keep him under thumb. The Lasombra prefer to manipulate a king's adviser where possible. Even better is by further proxy, such as an adviser's mistress. The further removed from direct control they can manage, the more impressed a magister's peers will be. Similarly, if one can perform the task without the use of disciplines, they further prove their mastery of manipulation.

The Lasombra philosophy on embrace involves three key elements. A prospective childe must display excellence, nobility, and ambition. One must excel at anything they seek to do; be deserving of the noble lineage by virtue of a preexisting breeding, bearing, mein, or wealth; and desire more than what has been allotted to them already. Thus is the clan full of priests who aspire to be Pope, counselors who govern nations by proxy, bastard nobles who will never rule, and similarly second and third sons who have been put into the church to keep them out of succession struggles. All trained to be great, but lacking a little something that lets them reach for their true goal. When a Lasombra finds a candidate, they observe and meddle in their affairs for a long period of time. The goal is to tear apart the prospect's mortal life one piece at a time, and see how they handle such adversity.

Finally, once the magister is satisfied that their prospect will make for a good Lasombra, they approach the candidate personally and make an offer. It is expected that the offer will be accepted. A refusal may sometimes earn a redoubled effort of motivating, but if the offer is ultimately rejected then the candidate is considered a failure and does not live to tell of it. Unwilling embraces are an atrocity to the clan. Sire is always destroyed and oftentimes so is the childe. If they survive, an unwilling childe is avoided by most others, and they typically avoid the clan in turn. The embrace is a gift to be offered, not a curse to be shouldered.

Matters of internal conflict are handled by the Amici Noctis, the Friends of the Night. The Amici is a matter of membership, and any of the clan in good standing can be selected to join. The Friends will preside over cases of disagreement between two Magisters (as long as the matter is not based on faith or the Reconquista), and will even on occasion endorse Amaranth upon a member of the clan. It is recommended that you read Libellus Sanguinis 1: Masters of State for details before involving the Amici Noctis in a back story.

Opinions

Humans

Herds to feed from, cultures to control, and individuals of sufficient excellence to embrace from. The fragile mortals are tools, and of little concern to the clan as a whole. Only one's road will determine whether one should care about one's lunch.

Ghouls

Useful tools, each ghoul is made for a specific purpose. The Lasombra do not typically embrace their ghouls.

Other Vampires

Assamite: The Moors agree to disagree with the finer differences of faith, and the Christians rarely cross a Saracen's path peacefully.

Brujah: The Zealots hate the Magisters as much as they hate the Ventrue, and the Lasombra tend to destroy those Brujah who settle too close to centers of Magister power.

Cappadocians: Lasombra cannot comprehend the Graverobbers. They admire the devotion to study and faith, but the complete lack of an end result drives Magisters mad to consider. Lasombra endeavors always have a point in time they can consider a turning point of either success or failure, whereas the quest for knowledge can never be marked as such. So, Lasombra tend to avoid the Graverobbers, and for the most part the Cappodocians are satisfied with this.

Followers of Set: Christian Lasombra hate the Setites and their reverence for their dark god of corruption. The Setites believe they can convert the Lasombra en masse to their way of thinking, and have had just enough success in the past to keep the Magisters wary.

Gangrel: Beasts are never worth the trouble. Gangrel live in the uncivilized areas, Magisters in the civilized ones.

Malkavians: The Lasombra blame Malkavians and Ventrue equally for the fall of Rome's Republic, as well as the empire as a whole. Elders sometimes hold this grudge to a point of violence. Younger Magisters occasionally consult with one of the Madmen. Cautiously. And anonymously if possible.

Nosferatu: Christian Nosferatu make Lasombra uncomfortable with their fervor of self-flagellation and penance. Some Magisters avoid the Lepers outright, while others leverage the church to get more out of the particularly devout Nosferatu than would normally be reasonable. The diseases that tend to follow Lepers into towns have resulted in some Magisters placing bans on the Nosferatu in their domains. While such restrictions never really stick, it ensures that any Lepers who do visit are more careful about who they feed from.

Ravnos: Bringers of chaos always ruin well-laid plans. Unlike the Ventrue however, the Lasombra know well enough to encourage the Charlatans to move along rather than ban or kill them outright. And so those who come to Italy are helped migrate - due north into the Germanic Ventrue lands.

Toreador: Magisters see the Artisans as feckless and are seen by the Toreador as soulless in return. Most interaction between the two clans is through the church, where pieces of art will be commissioned through a Lasombra to be created by a Toreador.

Tremere: The Lasombra have a grudging respect for the Usurpers. They successfully took immortality for themselves. However, just because they respect the act does not mean they respect the performers. Most Magisters see the Tremere as a more dangerous version of the Cappodocians, less learned but more willing to put their knowledge to use. Lasombra himself is happy to let the Tremere and the Tzimisce fight out their war, and hopefully destroy one another in the process.

Tzimisce: The Fiends and the Magisters have a similar viewpoint of being masters over the mortals, but that is where their commonalities end. However, it is enough to establish an unspoken understanding, though nothing more.

Ventrue: Brazen brutes too stupid and uncivilized to hold true power. The Magisters see the Ventrue as honorless and bloodthirsty, petty nobles who only know how to take power by way of the sword. The Lasombra see the Ventrue as pale imitations of themselves, mistaking rulership for dominion, mandates of behavior for honor, and the occasional triumph of brute force for skill.

Baali: Fools. To exchange freedom for power, even the power to break heaven, is a fool's bargain. A coward sells himself to the devil. Should Satan step forth on Earth, many Lasombra will greet him with respect but without subservience. The Lasombra see the Baali as borrowed power acquired in a poor trade; empty shells. Dangerous vermin.

Salubri: The clan's opinion is split, and mostly due to the rumors surrounding Salot's trip east. The tales that followed him back tell of very dark and evil deeds, and of horrible creatures bent to his will. However, the fact that the Healers hate the Tremere make it worthwhile for some Magisters to support, if only for the impotent rage such efforts instigate in the Usurpers.

Kiasyd: The creation of the Scarlets is known within the Lasombra, but the details aren't widely spread. Those who own libraries have found that they have little choice but to allow members of this bloodline to peruse them, because the Kiasyd can simply walk through walls to reach them. Other than at these libraries, the two have little interaction.

Other Supernaturals (Shifters, Wraith, Sorcerers, Mages, Fae.)

As a rule, Magisters know little detail about the other types of supernaturals, and tend to avoid delving too deeply for the sake of their own well being. A little is known of Fae, but only so far as the part the Lasombra played in the creation of the Kiasyd.

Other Resources

Libellus Sanguinis 1: Masters of State

Clanbook Lasombra: Revised

Dark Ages Vampire: Revised