In ancient days, it is said, the founder of the Lamia was a great king, a philosopher and warrior who ruled with an iron fist, but was also known for having wisdom and a harsh sense of honor. The king sought to learn mysteries of life and death and in his contemplation, he studied mystic arts and had an affinity for serpents. In his musing, he came to believe that humanity like the natural world had natural classes, and that the great should rule over the masses and that the weakest should be eliminated - though also the string had a duty to protect and guide their lessors. The king also had a love for women, and had a harem of many wives, for he believed that a great man such as himself must spread his seed as much as possible. When the founder joined the ranks of the undead, he embraced his wives as well and would only give his blood to those women who he thought worthy of being his brides. To his brides, the founder passed along his knowledge of mysticism, along with his combat prowess and his own philosophical views. In the modern nights, the Lamia are still a Clan of only females, with many viewing themselves as the spiritual brides of their founder and others seeing themselves as dark nobles who have a duty to rule and to exalt the strong over the weak. In many Camarilla cities, Lamia are in positions of leadership, though more generally with their sense of honor and martial mentality, they serve as warriors protecting the Traditions and enforcing the will of the elders. Despite having a strong sense of honor and duty, the Lamia still carry the sensual and hedonistic inclinations of their founder and are known to be pleasure seekers as well as warriors.
Nickname: gorgons, serpents.
Disciplines: Animalism, Potence, Serpentis (replace level 2 with Feral Claws and Level 5 with a serpentine version of Horrid Form)
Weakness: it is said that the founder of the Lamia never wanted his childer to drink the blood of, much less ghoul or embrace a male. A Lamia's bite is poisonous to males causing men who are bitten to lose a point from each physical attribute every hour until they die. If a male human imbibes Lamia blood, the same thing will happen. Living male supernatural creatures who have exceptional constitutions (like werewolves, ghouls, faeries, etc.) take a level of aggravated damage per blood point imbibed or bite delivered - also, male ghouls get no benefit from this blood nor can living males become blood bound to the Lamia. Vampires are immune from this, unless they are embraced by a Lamia in which case, they too become poisoned die the final death mere hours after they are embraced. This means that all Lamia and Lamia ghouls are female. After the embrace, Lamia also develop unusually luminescent green or yellowish eyes.
Appearance: All Lamia are female, they are incapable of embracing males. Potential new Clan members are selected as young women, usually with at least some degree of athletic or combat ability, and so virtually every Lamia appears to be in her teens or twenties. Lamia tend to dress either conservatively, when more formal attire is appropriate, or in lose fitting practical clothing in other situations. As many Lamia have shape changing abilities, their frequently wear clothing that can easily be discarded or removed quickly, such as robes, loose fitting dresses, or overcoats. The Clan’s originated around the Mediterranean and many Clan members have that ancestry, though by no means all.
Haven: Serpents favor communal havens, constructed to be secure and easily defensible. This will usually resemble some large compound or complex that houses not only a region’s Lamia but all of their ghouls and servants. Sometimes these places will have some cover for why so many women live here together, such as a convent, girls’ school, or in modern days, a women’s shelter. These compounds are usually built with a variety of security measures - motion detectors, solid metal doors, barred windows, and maybe even traps. Sometimes large sections of the havens will be subterranean or have secret escape routes.
Background: Before a mortal is embraced into the Lamia Clan, she must spend many decades as a ghoul proving her competence, learning valuable skills, and serving the Clan. The Lamia usually select young women in their teens or twenties who have made great accomplishments as well as shown determination, intellect, and the ability to work hard. These girls are usually highly accomplished students, child prodigies, women who own small businesses, or who have distinguished themselves with some kind of activism or other activity. Mental abilities are most sought after, but physical and social skills are desirable as well. The Lamia favor young candidates who show potential, girls who they can mold into their ideal vision of the perfect Lamia. As a ghoul, the candidate will be taught the Clan's ideology, trained in a variety of combat skills, and her talents will be utilized in serving the goals of the Clan and her domitor. Only a minority of candidates are ever embraced, the others either lose their lives in service of the Clan or fail to distinguish themselves and remain ghouls indefinitely. Over the course of decades of being a ghoul servant, these candidates are gradually drawn away from their lives as mortals - becoming more and more distant from friends and family while they make new friends or contacts that serve the interests of the Lamia Clan.
Organization: The Lamia are one of the most tightly knit and organized of the Clans. They follow their traditions from ancient times of childer being blood bound to their sire, meaning that there is a relatively strict hierarchy enforced by blood bonds as well as tradition. The Lamia have codes of honor and personal conduct which governs how they treat their childer, so only a small number were able to break free during the Great Ritual and many who did remained loyal to the Clan. The Clan is ruled by a handful of ancients, who some say are in direct contact with the founder of their Clan. In theory, there is a chain of blood bound Lamia extending from a newly embraced childe all the way up to the Clan's founder, though in practice deaths within the Clan along with distance and infrequent contact mean that there are many broken links in the chain. The Lamia do not see the blood bond as a necessity, they merely see it as an added bit of protection especially against being blood bound by members of other Clans. The Clan, so the Lamia claim, is held together by loyalty, purpose, and love more than blood. All Lamia start off as ghouls and spend many decades in this state before being embraced by their sires. Childer are relatively well treated as they are taught the ways and powers of the Lamia, though they are still expected to serve and obey. At some point a young Lamia may be released of the blood bond when she has proven herself competent and loyal, especially if she is needed at some location far away from her sire for a prolonged period of time. All Lamia must show complete obedience to their sires, blood bond or no, and to give proper respect for Clan elders as well.
Stereotypes
Ahrimanes: Do they deserve to rule? They must first prove themselves through strife and struggle.
Baali: What treacherous snakes have we invited into our homes? They are of great benefit to the Camarilla, but do we use them or do they use us?
Blood Brothers: Such bravery and martial process wasted in a mad pursuit for violence.
Children of Osiris: What degeneracy could drive any creature to reject strength and embrace weakness.
Gargoyles: A slave with no master has no right to exist. They fight well and shall die bravely.
Kiasyd: To the Kiasyd, to rule is an obligation, they are both our servants and masters. They have honor and nobility, that alone makes them better rulers than most.
Laibon: They are kings without a kingdom, masters of empty land. Until such time as we must destroy them, leave them to their jungles.
Lhiannan: Are these masters of magic or mere slaves to superstition. In either case, they are allies and we must abide their eccentricities.
Nagaraja: Fearsome assassins and killers with no honor or greater purpose. How can such as them be trusted?
Salubri: Scholars and intellectuals or merely sophists? Listen to their words but do not become reliant on them.
Samedi: Hideous monsters with black magic, it is fortunate that we are allies and not enemies.
Sybarites: We understand their love of pleasure and mortal attention, but one must live for more than their own egos.
Caitiff: Judged by their utility or the potency of their blood, they are equally found wanting.
Camarilla: An adequate structure which preserves order while allowing for the wisest and strongest to rule over their inferiors.
Sabbat: So the mortals and the childer would throw off the rule of their betters? Not while we still walk upon the earth.
Anarchs: Like the Sabbat, with greater wisdom but less courage.
Lamia
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