Baali

The Baali are one of the more influential Clans within the Camarilla. They hold a great deal of social and political power and like to exploit their abilities to their fullest extent. They are known as the Clan of dark secrets, of treachery and deceit, or forbidden vices, and of other dark elements of unlife. They run criminal empires based on drugs, prostitution, pornography, kidnapping, and other unspeakable activities - they also have many politicians and influential mortals in their pockets, likely those who sometimes indulge in forbidden pleasures. The Baali strive to make mortals as immoral, degenerate, violent, and debauched as they themselves are. This gives vampires as a whole better feeding opportunities but ultimately leads to more power for the Baali. Baali believe in completely embracing the evil nature of vampires, to take pleasure in inflicting pain, to use deceit and trickery to exploit others, and to place one own welfare above all others. They might be uncontested rulers of the Camarilla if they were not so generally mistrusted by their fellow vampires. Despite this, Baali know that there is a great value of having allies and that the stability of the Camarilla is vital to their safety and prosperity, so they try their best to balance their own selfishness with the interests of the Sect. In fact, without the wealth and influence of the Baali, the Camarilla would be in a much weaker position and other Clans will reluctantly acknowledge this fact if pressed. The exact origin of the Baali is largely shrouded in mystery, with a mix of legends, lies, and half truths. Many say that the Baali worship demons or that they are demons themselves - there is some truth to this as some Baali do indeed gather together to perform dark rituals, especially the elders of the Clan.

Nickname: demons, devils, imps.

Disciplines: Obfuscate, Presence, Infernalism (Like Thaumaturgy, though Path of Corruption is the always the primary Path and other Paths cannot be learned until Coruption is at level 5. Other paths available are Lure of Flames, Daimoinon, Way of Fire, and Path of Conjuration. All Paths use Manipulation + Occult instead of Willpower rolls. Infernalism allows for rituals to be learned as well, as long as they are suitably evil and as long as Infernalsim is at level 5 or higher)

Weakness: The standard Baali weakness.

Advantage: The Baali are more resistant to fire than other vampires are. They take lethal damage from fire instead of aggravated damage and can soak it normally, plus they do not suffer from Rotschreck from fire.

Permutations: Many younger Baali have abandoned demons in favor of merely pursuing their own power and pleasure. Instead of Infernalism, these Baali have Dominate.

Appearance: The Baali love to accumulate wealth and power and their clothing choices often reflect this fact. They adorn themselves with expensive clothing, from conservative power suits   to sexy designer dresses. Often Baali are physically attractive, as those with great beauty have one more tool at their disposal to use in manipulating others, though older or less attractive Clan members are by no means rare - as intellectual or social ability always trumps mere physical beauty. Many members of the Clan like to deliberately cultivate a dark or menacing appearance, wearing black, red, or dark grays - though just as often some may adopt a false veneer of conservatism or piety.

Haven: As a Clan that accumulates great wealth and power, the Baali favor large mansions or lavish estates. Each Baali will likely have his own haven, though many cities with a number of Baali will have a large communal haven in some remote region of the city or surrounding area where the Baali can conduct dark rituals far away from the prying eyes of mortals. Some Baali like to connect their havens to clubs, brothels, or other dens of iniquity so that they may surround themselves with the forbidden pleasures they so enjoy. 

Background: The Baali choose mortals for the embrace who have shown themselves to be highly competent manipulators. Lawyers, politicians, con men, lobbyists, pimps, captains of industry, investors, leaders of organized crime, pornographers, and many others. Essentially, the target must have shown his ability to successfully interact with people, make great fortunes, and must have very few scruples. Often the Baali choose long time business associates who they have seen the competence of first hand. Most candidates for the Baali embrace are middle aged, old enough to have proven their ability and build up a sizable fortune, but not so old as to significantly decline physically or to lose their hunger for power. The Baali of a single city must get together and discuss the candidates, deciding together which is best. When the decision is made, they then select which Baali among them will perform the embrace. The potential childe is then approached, offered a choice to become a vampire or continue on as if nothing had happened - most agree to become a vampire, those who refuse are usually ghouled so that they can continue to be useful but wont talk to other humans about the Baali.

Organization: The Baali have a looser organization than some of the other Clans of the Camarilla. Baali fear competition and so have some reluctance to embrace new Childer, but alternatively they understand that if they do not expand and replace new members that their Clan will wither and die. In the past, many young Baali were kept as blood bound thralls to their sires, used as slave labor and expected to be obedient. In the modern age this tradition has virtually disappeared. Baali now fear the power that being a sire gains in creating a childe and when the childe is embraced, he is expected to be cut loose from the sire relatively quickly so that there is no real bond of loyalty. The Baali neonate is then usually watched over by other Baali in the city, none taking too active of a hand but all providing advice and trying to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with the young Baali. The world of the Baali is cutthroat and personal interest always takes precedent over Clan loyalty. Despite this, the Baali know that they are neither loved nor trusted by the other Clans and realize that working together is more beneficial to the Clan than is fighting amongst themselves. For this reason, the Baali try avoid stabbing Clan mates in the back, unless of course the potential benefits of doing so are too enticing. For the most part, seniority in the Baali Clan garners no inherent respect or obedience, the Baali respect power and the degree to which that power can harm or benefit them. Among older Baali, there exist various cults that worship and claim to be able to commune with demons. These cults tend to be more tightly knit than the Clan in general and are looked upon somewhat suspiciously by the more independent members of the Clan. Despite embracing evil and selfishness, the Baali can still form personal friendships with others, especially their fellow Baali with whom they share common interests and often enjoy the company of. In a strange way, the shared experience embracing hedonism or inflicting pain helps to maintain a semblance of Clan unity.

Stereotypes

Ahrimanes: Why do they think that they deserve power that they are too incompetent to seize?    
The Brotherhood of Blood: An aged lion, still dangerous but their nights are numbered. 
Children of Osiris: Their struggle for humanity and virtue is their greatest strength and most easily exploitable weakness.
Gargoyles: In throwing of the chains of the warlocks, they have become unwitting servants to the Children of Osiris. 
Kiasyd: These honor bound relics live in the past, but they do have their uses.
Laibon: They are welcome to rule over jungles and primitives. 
Lamia: Fearsome warriors and stalwart allies, though I can’t help but contemplate what forbidden pleasures they partake of in their communal havens.   
Lhiannan: They have potential, if only they would open themselves to the path to true power.
Nagaraja: They have neither intellect nor ingenuity, merely useful powers.
Salubri: Seemingly benign and useful allies, which is reason enough to be wary.
Samedi: Frightening to behold, but they command great power and possess valuable knowledge.
Sybarites: Occasional allies and useful pawns, they are too easily enamored by mortal attention. 
Caitiff: Potential pawns, their desire for acceptance makes them easy to manipulate. 
Camarilla: There is power in numbers, we are well served by these pawns and protectors. 
Sabbat: These lunatics would destroy us all, tearing down all order and making of slaves instead of masters to humanity.
Anarchs: Spoiled children who expect all the advantage of wealth without having to earn it.

Baali