Copyright © 1998 Republic Entertainment Inc.® a subsidiary of Spelling Entertainment Group Inc.® All rights reserved. All images and information Copyright © 1998 Republic Entertainment Inc. Except for the images and information on the Orien clan.

And each has a local leader called a "Primogen". An ancient enmity simmers at all times between the Brujah and the Gangrels, similar to ancient human enmities.

Because Kindred have enhanced senses of hearing, sight and smell, Gangrels and Brujah can detect each other instantly, and their hatred overwhelms all else, existing on a chemical, blood level.

Although the Prince is typically a Ventrue, leaders of all the Clans covet the position, and conspire constantly to seize it.

The peace between the Clans is always tenuous, and it is only through the skill and strength of the Princethat peace is kept. This peace is all-important, because without it the Masquerade is doomed.

Killing Kindred is of course forbidden, but punishment is more variable, since Kindred are often ordered killed by the Prince in order to protect the Masquerade. When such sanctioned "Final Death" is ordained, it is called a "Blood Hunt", and can only be decreed by the Prince, typically after a "Conclave" is held among the Leaders(Julian Cash, Daedalus,Eddieand Lillie) of all the Clans.

They are educated and trained by elite human institutions, which is why the Ventrue are the most human in their attitudes and behavior, making the Ventrue the most like a Brahma cast among Kindred society. It is for these and other reasons that Princes tend to be Ventrue.

They are closely connected to the realms where creativity comes from -- as well as other, darker impulses. For these reasons they are subject to madness. Vincent Van Gogh, for instance, was embraced by the Kindred when he decided he couldn't live among human beings anymore. Kindred of the Toreador Clan have worked themselves into positions of influence in the world of popular culture.

The Toreador Clan have used their influence to promulgate a false mythology of "Vampires" -- the same mythology we know from the Bram Stoker novel, for example -- so that actual Kindred will appear normal and human when compared to the fictional.

It is said that the women of the Toreador clan are sirens... they have the power to make men want them beyond reason.

They tend to live below ground. They collect knowledge: science and alchemy, as well as secrets that can add to their power. The Nosferatu are the most subtle and cunning of the Clans. Since they appear the least human, and have to remove themselves from human society to protect themselves, they are the best advisers to the Prince, being objective and dispassionate in their political judgements. They are also natural enforcers, able to remove emotions from their decision-making.

Skilled in street arts like sleight of hand and confidence trickery. they tend to drift city to city much more than the other Clans. They make excellent bodyguards because of their incorruptibility -- they can't be bought. Unfortunately they have deep difficulties with authority. They have a strong tendency toward rebellion, and struggle to follow even their own leaders.

The least civilized of the clans, they are also the most recent to come into being. Brujah are perhaps most descriptively thought of as mobsters. They are the most likely of all the clans to be led by ambition and greed for money and power.

The newest clan. They are unsensable by other Kindred. And immune to sunlight completely.