You're going to get what you deserve"
- Nine Inch Nails, "Head like a Hole"
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(Parting Gifts through Post Mortem) |
"The
members of this clan are dedicated and extremely well-organized. Others,
however, think of them as arcane and untrustworthy. They are aggressive,
highly intellectual and manipulative, and respect only those who struggle
and persevere against all odds. The Tremere believe they must use the
other clans in order to prosper. "Be friendly with them, let them think
that we are one with them, but never forget that we serve our clan first
and foremost," the Tremere elders whisper to their progeny. "If you must
use your friends in service to the clan, then you know that your time was
not wasted."
The Tremere are
an odd lot indeed. They claim to have once been wizards who voluntarily
gave up their "art" for the powers and eternal life of the vampire. They
have never named a founder, and some claim they have none, having instead
harnessed mystical powers to achieve their state. Most elder Kindred discount
this claim, however.
Their link to the
substance of blood apparently runs deep, and they are rumored to be able
to use blood in special ways to gain extraordinary powers. Many also believe
that the knowledge of those practices has been passed down from generation
to generation, and that it is now viewed by the younger Tremere as natural
and commonplace - certainly not magic.
The leaders of
this clan are based in Vienna, though they have chantries ("guild houses"
for the practice of magic) on every continent of the world. A council of
seven elders is said to control the entire clan from the Vienna chantry.
From that locus, they maintain a tightly ordered, highly heirarchal group,
one that allows no outsider to view their inner workings.
Tremere typically
have immense love for and loyalty to their clan, and the younger members
of Clan Tremere are expected to obey the elders without question. This
is not as true in practice as it once was, however. Though there are some
rebels and anarchs from the Tremere line, it is thought that they are posing
as such on the orders of the clan, as part of its long-term plots." (Vampire:
The Masquerade, 2nd Edition)