Download - Bloodline - Malkovian
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Malkovian
By Chris Falco
The definition of a Lunatic is someone who is mentally ill. Think about that for a moment; those
of us that see beyond the veil, see the truth of things, we are called ‘ill’ because we refuse to be
as ignorant as the collective masses. But don’t worry, in a moment you’ll see firsthand just hownaive your viewpoint really is...
The Malkovians are madness incarnate, Kindred not only detached from humanity, but so
distant in their mannerisms and behavior that many wonder if they’re the result of some disease
of the blood rather than the machinations of an Elder. At least, most are…
Or rather, that’s the assumption made throughout Kindred society (Those that know of them, at
least). Many, though, are so subtle in their insanity that they can pass as any other Ventrue,
until the moment when their complex machinations are unveiled in a bloody revelation that’s
been known to bring a city’s Vampiric organization to its knees.
Background: Compared to the more commonly known bloodlines, the Malkovians are fairly
young, born of the machinations of a doctor only decades ago that took a bit too much interestin a criminally insane patient in the Asylum they worked in. A mutual interest, it appeared, when
one night the doctor found himself stumbling home, hungering for blood. The specific details are
said to be lost to history, but it’s well known that his wife and kids were killed shortly thereafter,
and ever since then that lineage has begun a slow trickle of expansion.
The Malkovians have since remained a well kept secret within the Ventrue, a rarity of the blood
that most seek to eradicate but that never seems to entirely go away. Part of their success lies
in the fact that it can occasionally be difficult to tell the difference between a badly detached,
inhuman Ventrue and a Malkovian, leading to the occasional ‘witch hunt’ within the clan itself.
Some say that the Malkovians aren’t truly children of a specially designed lineage, so much as
the victims of a blood-born pathogen or supernatural illness that permanently seem to rewritehow the Kindred mind sees things, and that is easily passed between sire and childe. Those
believing this theory are known to apply the term ‘Malkavia’ to the condition itself, when not
speaking of the Vampires themselves.
The Becoming: Misery loves company. That’s the assumption most make about why a
Malkovian embraces, and many times, it’s true. However, there are countless other reasons a
Lunatic might wish to continue their mad lineage. Some wish to share their ‘insight’ with one
they feel can truly appreciate. Some embrace those that could be of direct use, having skills the
sire himself lacks. Some embrace for the same reasons other bloodlines or clans might
embrace. And some, well, some create childer for reasons nobody can quite figure out.
Requirements: Malkovians are all from the Ventrue clan… unless rumors of its bloodborne
nature are true, and an enterprising Lunatic finds a way to share that with one of another
lineage.
Interactions With the Danse: Malkovians often fall into two categories, depending on their
specific delusion (see below); they tend towards either playing the game of control like any other
Ventrue, working their own beliefs into the enterprises they build, retainers they build up, and
targets they seek out to eliminate or absorb, or they tend to find themselves lurking in the
shadows, out of the way of the ‘public’ eye of their clan and perhaps Kindred society itself. In
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either case, the Malkovian bloodline is said to be more ‘insightful’ than your average Ventrue,
seeing things before they happen, or plucking secrets from places nobody could know they
even existed within, and either putting that information to their own use or passing it along to
someone they figure will do the work for them.
Malkovians are most often found within the Invictus, where they can act as any other Ventrue
would within, within the Carthians where they can disappear amongst the ‘rabble’ in the eyes ofothers, or within the Circle, where their insightful ‘gifts’ are more likely to be appreciated.
Clan: Ventrue
Bloodline Bane: The Malkovians are permanently under the influence of a personal delusion,
as described in the Delusional persistent condition, and so long as their Humanity is low
enough, they can never ‘disprove’ or otherwise be rid of it; even if they seem to temporarily, it’s
not long at all before they’ve found new ‘evidence’ that proves what they’ve been saying all
along. With Storyteller permission, their Delusion might change over time, but never completely,
and is never negated entirely.
Bloodline Disciplines: Dominate, Animalism, Resilience, Obfuscate
Dementation
The Malkovian ‘gift’, known as Dementation, is one of insight, revelation, and truth; or madness,
delusion, and chaos, depending on who you ask. Every Malkovian has access to the gift, and
some of the similarities to Auspex are why comparisons to the Mekhet have been occasionally
drawn. However, unlike Auspex, where the user asks a question and then receives an answer,
Dementation gives you the answers to questions you didn’t know existed in the first place.
Mechanically, the character may gain one piece of insight for ‘free’ in a scene, but thereafter
must pay a point of Vitae for each additional piece of information gleaned. The nature of this
information is entirely up to the Storyteller; some common possibilities include allowing a Clash
of Wills against an invisible character (Use the character’s Wits instead of a discipline rating),revealing the true form of a supernatural being, displaying ephemeral entities to the character’s
vision, learning of danger in the area, discovering the object in the room most relevant to the
current task, learning a mortal’s Virtue or Vice, or learning what to say to improve an Impression
in social conflict. For the character, the information should always be conveyed as some
alteration of their senses; seeing a mage’s nimbus, feeling sudden anger towards a threat, the
smell of sweat on an easily intimidated individual, an object seeming to sparkle a little brighter,
and similar.
However, the Malkovian has no say in what information is gleaned; this is left entirely to the
Storyteller. Alternatively, if the Storyteller wishes to leave it to chance, they may roll on the chart
below (But shouldn’t feel limited by these options otherwise). In the case of a revelation notbeing applicable, roll again.
Dementation Chart (Roll a d10 and gain the insight listed below).
1 - The character learns of the most imminent threat, whether that’s physical or otherwise.
2 - The character learns of the presence of a supernatural entity; invisible, ephemeral, or
otherwise (May require a Clash of Wills). Alternatively, if none are present, they might learn of
other supernatural phenomena, like a supernatural location or relic, weakened barrier between
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realms, or anything similar.
3 - The character learns how to immediately (but perhaps temporarily) improve the Impression
of an NPC by one step.
4 - The character learns the general emotional ‘mood’ of the room, even if it’s veiled or hidden
by the majority of inhabitants; for instance, they could tell when a riot might be about to start, or
if a party’s going badly despite pleasantries.5 - The character sees past some type of illusion, whether innate to a template (Like a Demon’s
Cover), created by supernatural powers (Such as a Mage using Prime magic), or somehow
‘natural’ in the world. This may require a Clash of Wills.
6 - The character gains the ability to communicate with somebody or something they normally
couldn’t; understanding and temporarily speaking a foreign language, understanding the strange
words of spirits, speaking to animals, learning who or what has gone by a building recently in a
flash of insight, or anything similar.
7 - The character is lead to those suffering some sort of madness or mental illness; low Integrity,
the Delusional condition or certain other mental conditions, and anything similar might apply.
This of course reveals other Malkovians.8 - The character learns of a Bane or similar weakness of another individual (For mortals, this
may simply be a severely impeding Condition or low Attribute score).
9 - The character learns of either mundane or supernatural control over someone, whether
through blackmail, memory alterations, threats of violence, disciplines like Dominate or Majesty,
the blood Bond, the powers of other Supernaturals, or whatever else might apply.
10 - The character discovers some inner secret of another character in the scene, or of the
current location, whether mundane or supernatural.