Wiki of Darkness

"What? Those aren’t bones. They’re wind chimes. Everything is going to be fine. Relax."

The Ravnos move like the rumors that surround them. They are the thief in the night, the raksha chased by the wind, the nightmare-dream too fearful to be real. Kindred society burdens the Ravnos with the unfair prejudices of foulness, uncleanliness, and wickedness.

With reputations like these, the Ravnos are considered outsiders even among those Kindred who do not ally themselves with Sects. Many young Ravnos tend toward nomadic unlives, moving from one domain to the next or hiding on the fringes of established territories where they can escape if local Kindred sentiment turns against them. This exacerbates their reputations as transients and vagrant scourges, but Ravnos vampires adapt well, thriving in their marginalized role. In fact, many choose to make themselves into the raving terrors that other Kindred believe them to be.

The more enlightened among the Ravnos follow a Clan ideology inspired by the cycle of reincarnation espoused by many faiths. Among some young and unprincipled members of the Clan, however, this philosophy becomes a penchant for capriciousness or an excuse for chaos. It is these latter Kindred who give so many Ravnos a bad name, but even the devout seem bizarre to many vampires.

The Ravnos practice a unique Discipline known as Chimerstry that convinces their enemies that they see things that do not exist. Chimerstry does much to convince Kindred that the Ravnos trade in lies and misdirection, but it can also prove to be a Deceiver’s salvation and ease the vagaries of an outcast unlife.

NICKNAMES: The Deceivers

SECT: Clan Ravnos often has a difficult time heeding the rigorous order of many Camarilla cities, and has no inherent love for the violence of the Sabbat. Thus, the Deceivers find themselves independent for lack of a more suitable option.

APPEARANCE: Some young Ravnos come from Eastern European stock. What few elders of the Clan may remain are presumed to come from Indian or Middle Eastern origins. Given that the Clan is widely spread and holds no traditional central domain, no consistent look can be said to be predominant, and any mendicant Kindred might be of Ravnos origin.

HAVEN: Many Ravnos take to the road instead of establishing permanent havens, dwelling temporarily among itinerant communities, at roadside rest stops, or even in vehicles. When a Deceiver does put down roots in a domain, his permanent haven is often away from high-profile Kindred territories. Havens in ghettos, industrial outskirts, and isolated geography are safest and most easily cultivated for the Ravnos.

BACKGROUND: The Ravnos are scattered and suspicious, and those childer who don’t have the tendency toward self-sufficiency don’t last long. In many cases, a Ravnos will either never sire, or sire for companionship or safety, with little concern for how well a childe will fare as a vampire. Ravnos rarely seek out childer actively, instead drawing from those whose paths they cross on any given night. As such, the hardluck drifter reputation tends to follow the Deceivers.

CHARACTER CREATION: Outsider and selfish Natures are common among the Clan. Physical and Social Attributes predominate, as do Talents and Skills. Savvy Ravnos develop a breadth of Backgrounds that can give them an edge when they’re on the move or in a tight spot, such as stashed Resources, defensible Domain, and a few Allies or Contacts.

CLAN DISCIPLINES: Animalism, Chimerstry, Fortitude

WEAKNESSES: A turbulent history makes the Ravnos slaves to their vices. Each Ravnos has a penchant for some sort of vice — lying, cruelty, or theft, for example. When presented with the opportunity to engage in that vice, the Ravnos must indulge it unless her player succeeds on a Self-Control or Instincts roll (difficulty 6).

ORGANIZATION: The Ravnos are a far-flung Clan, with little to unite them and an open acknowledgement that each Deceiver looks after his own interests first. That said, Ravnos often like to make a great show of Clan camaraderie and cultural ritual, even though they know that promises made to one another are as fleeting as whispers on a night wind. Deceivers have been known to ally against common enemies such as tyrant Princes or Sabbat pogroms, but these alliances quickly fade once the threat no longer exists.

The information on this page was collated and edited from the Vampire the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition sourcebook.