The Children of Osiris

The Children of Osiris trace their lineage back to ancient Egypt, to the vampire called Osiris. The Children of Osiris did battle with a rival bloodline known as the Followers of Set over the heart of the Nile and the people who drew sustenance from it. It is said that while Osiris himself was slain, that his childe Horus took revenge for their founder's death and destroyed all of the Followers of Set. Since those days, the Children of Osiris have seen themselves as champions against evil, fighting against the most evil elements within the world of the undead, all while striving to be more human as well as humane. For millennia, the Children of Osiris dwelt in Egypt and slowly spread across much of Europe and the Middle East, trying to stay hidden from the mainstream of vampire society while pursing their dreams of combining the immortality of vampirism with the humanity of the living, while also taking action against the worst offenses within the world of the undead. When the Anarch Revolt took place on the heels of the Inquisition, the Children of Osiris saw their opportunity to move against the other vampire Clans who had become thoroughly corrupt and monstrous. They performed a great ritual which broke thousands of blood bonds all over Europe, instantly freeing many of the young vampires who had been slaves of the elders along with the bloodline of Gargoyles who had been created to be servants by vampiric warlocks. As the young vampires joined together to fight against their elders, the Children of Osiris joined their ranks and helped them to overthrow the elders. Eventually, a peace would come between the elders and the young. The Camarilla would form under the rule of the elders. Those who would not bend their knee to the elders formed the Sabbat, lead by the Children of Osiris and the newly freed Gargoyle Clan.

Nickname: acolytes, monks, boy scouts.

Disciplines: Presence, Auspex, Bardo (this is treated as a Thaumaturgy of sorts, Bardo is always the main path and the only three others available are the Path of Ra, the Path of Horus, and the Path of Isis. The Path of Horus is the Path of Father's Vengeance, the Path of Isis is Obeah, and the Path of Ra is like Lure of Flames but instead of fire uses beams of sunlight that do similar damage but only to vampires and not to humans or other creatures not adversely affected by sunlight. For the Path of Ra, clothing provides soak dice, 1 for light clothing, 2 for heavy clothing, and 3 for full body protection. Bardo also allows for the use of rituals, but only those that are defensive, healing, or otherwise "good" in nature)

Weakness: Children of Osiris take damage just as humans do, meaning they do not take half damage from basing weapons or firearms and they cannot soak lethal damage with Stamina. Should of Child of Osiris' Humanity ever drop below 6, they lose this disadvantage and instead find their Willpower reduced by 2 until they recover their Humanity - if this reduces their Willpower to zero or below they commit suicide or slip into a torpor until some magical intervention saves them.

Advantage: Children may use their Humanity score over 5 as soak dice against sunlight damage. This is not cumulative with Fortitude. In addition, because of their increased humanity, the undead bodies of the Children of Osiris have greater nervous function, their hearts beat, their blood flows, and they feel warm to the touch. This provides major advantages when dealing with humans. If their Humanity should ever drop below 6, then they lose all advantages, including those associated with living flesh.

Appearance: The Children of Osiris are largely based in Egypt and surrounding nations, and so the majority of the Clan is Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, or African in ethnicity. The Children of Osiris do not discriminate in their embrace, so they select men and women, black and white, or rich and poor. The great majority of the Children of Osiris are middle or old aged, as the Clan has a distaste for cutting short a young mortal’s life. Though some Clan members come from privileged backgrounds, most eschew ostentatious attire in favor of conservative practical clothing. Of course, Middle Eastern Acolytes will often wear clothing appropriate to their cultural standards, meaning that females of the Clan may often wear head coverings. Alternatively, in western nations, they will wear more appropriate styles. 

Haven: Groups of Children of Osiris usually dwell together in large communal havens that serve not only as safe houses for local Sabbat members but as a Temple to Osiris in which the acolytes can conduct rituals or arrange for Sabbat to meet. Usually these buildings will either have fairly humble or mundane appearance, such as a meeting hall or small business, though some will have a special section for religious rituals that has Egyptian style decor. 

Background: Many Children of Osiris are loath to embrace new childer, to give a human the potential to become such a monster. Though the elders understand that to combat the truly evil undead, that the Children of Osiris must remain a strong and prosperous Clan. The Children primarily look for people of accomplishment or strong moral character in selecting a childe, people who have helped others with their lives, made great sacrifices, or helped make the world a better place. The acolytes also have a distaste for cutting short mortal lives before they have run their course, so many choose older candidates for the embrace - men and women who have lived most of their lives and who could still continue their good work if they were allowed more time. This also sometimes extends to people who have had terrible accidents or are suffering from terminal diseases. There is not one particular set of skills that the acolytes look for, making their Clan relatively diverse in ability if unified in ideology. A potential sire will usually try to get to know the human to be embraced before the final choice is made, and will slowly try to gauge if the person would agree to become a vampire or if they would react well to gaining so much power.

Organization: Through out the ages, the Children of Osiris have gathered in small groups lead by a single priest, who helped guide the members of the group in the ways of Bardo and helped them to maintain their humanity. The various groups would keep in touch through messengers and come to aid each other in time of need. The Clan's organization of the past has now largely been replaced by the Sabbat, which the acolytes have helped to form and build the structure of. Many of the priests of the Sabbat are Children of Osiris and the old organization of the Clan has transformed itself into the organization of the Sabbat. There are more elders amongst the Children of Osiris than any of the other Clans of the Sabbat, and it's customary for young members of the Clan to show deference to their elders. Elders of the Clan also hold occasional ceremonies which younger members attend, which is a chance for members of the Clan to strengthen ties, share information, and make plans as a Clan. Depending on the elders involved, sometimes members of other Clans are allowed to attendant sometimes not. The Children of Osiris essentially lead the Sabbat and have unified goals and a single ideology that unites them, the interests of individual acolytes seldom collide beyond minor disagreements. There are some truly ancient Children of Osiris who are still active and while they claim no authority over the Clan or Sabbat, when they speak younger vampires listen.

Stereotypes

Ahrimanes: The tyrants chase after smoke and shadows, they will never find peace in such empty pleasures.
Baali: Evil made flesh, the worse among us and our greatest foe.   
Blood Brothers: Dangerous animals that shall destroy themselves in their fury. 
Gargoyles: They have suffered much and still bear scars upon their souls. We must help them to rise above their origins.  
Kiasyd: With each passing day, our rivals grasp on power gets weaker and weaker. Eventually their grip will fail and the world shall be free of their dark reign.
Laibon: The shamans live more closely to nature than most of our kind, they are at peace with themselves and the world, and deserve some measure of respect. 
Lamia: Their contempt for weakness and exaltation of strength shall one day hold less appeal when the serpents should misfortune befalls them.   
Lhiannan: Priests who reject compassion and humanity worship a false god.
Nagaraja: They thrive on terror and power. This symbolizes their own weakness, for their monstrousness is merely a mask to conceal their own fears.
Salubri: How can a true scholar reject the greatest truths - love, compassion, forgiveness.
Samedi: As sinister as they may seem, they meddle with forces that they cannot understand and that will eventually destroy them.
Sybarites: They thrive the presence and adoration of mortals. How can they live among humans and yet forget their own humanity?  
Caitiff: It is unfortunate that they should be despised for the purity of their blood. Show them the respect that they are due and you shall earn their friendship 
Camarilla: A terrible confederation of the worst among our kind. They enslave kindred and kine alike under the heel of the cruelest of elders. It is our duty to destroy them and put and end to their tyranny. 
Sabbat: The only hope for humanity to avoid slavery and for the undead to avoid damnation. We only hope that we show enough wisdom to lead the Sabbat responsibly.  
Anarchs: They see the sickness of the Camarilla, if only they could find the cure.

Child of Osiris