Tremere

Politically speaking, the Tremere contrive to present themselves a unified front to the rest of the Camarilla and display themselves as operating from a position of strength. All setbacks are brushed off as minor, all rebellious elements simply the separation of the wheat from the chaff. Privately, they know the precariousness of their situation; the strength of the Tremere in the Camarilla depends in part on its alliance with the Ventrue, an alliance that has been quietly going sour for the past century. If the Ventrue decide the Tremere are more liability than asset, they’ll go looking for a more equitable arrangement - just like they did with the Salubri and the Cappadocians. That makes the presence of the Banu Haqim even more uncomfortable - some Tremere wonder if their replacements have already been brought into the company.

Now the Tremere have to find a solution to their situation. The simplest answer is to kiss the master’s ring and grovel at the feet of the Ventrue until they’ve weaseled their way back into their traditional place of prominence, but there’s no guarantee that will work a second time, and also it was pretty fucking humiliating the first time. Now, if they could build a political bloc in the Camarilla that would let them face the Ventrue on equal footing, that would be a much better arrangement. The elders of Clan Tremere have learned the hard way that they must betray before they are betrayed, after all. But to do that, they’d need an ally that plays to all their strengths - say, a clan of intelligence experts, scholars, and warriors - one with an ancient mystical pedigree that complements the Tremere’s own thaumaturgical excellence. It’s absurd. It’s unthinkable. But the Tremere know better than anyone that it’s only unthinkable until you think it, and it’s only absurd until you do it…

On Modern Nights, the Tremere remain overwhelmingly a Pillar Clan of the Camarilla. Though Carna's rebellion grows in the shadow cast by the Pyramid over its slaves, it remains an existential threat to most Warlocks, who find the Anarch Movement to be no safe haven. Though House Telyav has emerged to take House Goratrix's place in the Sabbat, its strongholds are far away in Eastern Europe.

The Code of Tremere

The Tremere DO have an internal code of rules, purportedly written in blood through Thaumaturgical ritual as it was spoken aloud for the first time by Lord Tremere. The eldest Tremere roll their eyes at this - they know that the whole thing is pretty much lifted straight from the Old Form of the Code of Hermes with minor tweaks to reflect the Tremere’s vampiric existence. Tremere is remembered as being many things, but he was never much of an original thinker.

Some Tremere ultra-loyalists use the Code as the ironclad rule and guide for their nightly existence. Most Tremere know that the code is really only going to get enforced if they screw up, and note the fact that the Code has very few prohibitions, mostly admonishments not to get caught or injure the House and Clan through one’s Maleficia.

I, [initiate's name], hereby swear my everlasting loyalty to House and Clan Tremere and all its members. I am of their blood, and they are of mine. We share our lives, our goals and our achievements. I shall obey those the House sees fit to name my superiors, and treat my inferiors with all the respect and care they earn for themselves.

I will not deprive nor attempt to deprive any member of House and Clan Tremere of his magical power. To do so would be to act against the strength of our House. I will not slay nor attempt to slay any member of the House and Clan except in self-defense, or when a magus has been ruled outlaw by a properly constituted tribunal. If a magus has been ruled an outlaw, I shall bend all efforts to bring such magus to justice.

I will abide by all decisions of the tribunals, and respectfully honor the wishes of the Inner Council of Seven and the wishes of my superiors. The tribunals shall be bound by the spirit of the Code of Tremere, as supplemented by the Peripheral Code and interpreted by a properly constituted body of magi. I have the right to appeal a decision to a higher tribunal, if they should agree to hear my case.

I will not endanger House and Clan Tremere through my actions. Nor will I interfere with the affairs of mundanes in any way that brings ruin upon my House and Clan. I will not, when dealing with devils, or others, in any way bring danger to the clan, nor will I disturb the faeries in any way that should cause them to take their vengeance on the House and Clan. I also swear to uphold the values and goals of the Camarilla, and I will maintain the Masquerade. Insofar as these goals may conflict with my goals, I will not pursue my own ends in any way that would endanger the Masquerade. The strength of the House and Clan Tremere depends on the strength of the Masquerade.

I will not use magic to scry upon members of the House and Clan Tremere, nor shall I use it to peer into their affairs. It is expressly forbidden.

I will train only apprentices who will swear to this code, and should any of them turn against the House and Clan, I shall be the first to strike them down and bring them to justice. No apprentice of mine shall be called magus until he first swears to uphold the code. I shall treat my apprentices with the care and respect that they earn.

I concede to my elders the right to take my apprentice should it be found that my apprentice is valuable to an elder's work. All are members of the House and Clan and valuable first to these precepts. I shall abide by the right of my superiors to make such decisions.

I shall further the knowledge of the House and Clan and share with its members all that I find in my search for wisdom and power. No secrets are to be kept, or given, regarding the arts of magic, nor shall I keep secret the doings of others which might bring harm to the House and Clan.

I demand that, should I break this oath, I should be cast out of the House and Clan. If I am cast out, I ask my brothers to find and slay me that my life may not continue in degradation and infamy.

I recognize that the enemies of the House and Clan are my enemies, that the friends of the House and Clan are my friends, and that the allies of the House and Clan are my allies. Let us work as one and grow hale and strong.

I hereby swear this oath on [current date]. Woe to they who try to tempt me to break this oath, and woe to me if I succumb to such temptation.

Tremere Hierarchy

Each faction of the Tremere is highly organized, and the Tremere are possibly the most organized and hierarchical clan in the Jyhad. The capstone of the pyramid is Tremere himself, and beneath him the Council of Seven. The hardest workers in the Pyramid’s scheme are probably the Regents and Magisters. Lords and Pontifices occasionally coordinate multi-chantry or regional rituals, but mostly do a little paper pushing, compiling reports and shifting around Apprentices or appointing new Regents. While the hierarchy of the Pyramid is ostensibly clear-cut, in practice where you’re assigned matters. Aisling Sturbridge is High Regent of the New York City chantry network, giving her as much power as the Lord who technically commands her. When Carna was forced to step down as Prince of Marseilles and reassigned to sit as regent of the Milwaukee Chantry, it was technically a promotion within the clan though it was a massive demotion in terms of her personal power.

Gaining Status

• Do whatever it takes to get ahead. Understand that the rules are only strictly enforced on failures, betrayers, or people the Regent doesn’t like.
• Pursue secrets of other blood magic methodologies, such as Necromancy or Dur-An-Ki.
• Complete tasks handed down to you by clan elders.
• Increase the clan’s influence in your domain
• Foil the schemes of rivals and enemies of the clan, such as the Banu Haqim and the Tzimisce
• Do something helpful for the chantry.
• Take credit for someone else’s success in doing something helpful for the Chantry.
• Increase your knowledge of Thaumaturgy
• If pursuing your own goals, make sure your superiors get a juicy kickback from your successes, especially if using clan resources to pursue said personal goals

Losing Status

• Get caught with your hand in the cookie jar
• Fail without someone else to blame it on
• Cause the clan to lose face to the rest of your sect
• Pursue knowledge of Thaumaturgy your elders have decided they don’t want you to have (and get caught)
• Expend clan resources on personal goals with nothing to show for it that profits the clan
• Pursue your personal goals while neglecting or ignoring orders from your superiors
• Let secrets slip to outsiders… with nothing to show for it
• Show a lack of aptitude for blood magic or some other way of pulling your weight

Tremere Ranks and Titles

Beginning beneath the Council, from the top-down, the main body of the clan is organized as follows:

• Pontifices - Tremere who govern large stretches of territory (the United States has a Pontifex orientem and a Pontifex occidens) or several smaller countries and report directly to the Council of Seven.
• Lord - Tremere who govern a subdivision of a territory and answer to a Pontifex. Ex. Lord of California, Lord of Spain.
• Regent - Tremere responsible for leading a chantry, effectively the Tremere leader of a domain. May or may not also sit as Primogen - if they don’t, the Tremere Primogen is subordinate to the Regent. The Tremere recently implemented a new organization plan where a large metropolitan area under Camarilla control will have a central chantry that controls smaller satellite chantries. The head of the central chantry in these networks is given the honorific of “High Regent.”
• Magister - Tremere who are sufficiently advanced to no longer be called Apprentices but are not (currently) Regent of a chantry. May be traveling Tremere agents, direct representatives of a Councilor, Pontifex or Lord, or be assigned to a chantry to support a Regent and instruct Apprentices.
• Apprentice - the majority of House Tremere are organized in the seven circles of Apprenticeship, ranging from the First Circle (newly-minted Apprentices with almost no freedom or responsibility) to the Seventh Circle (well-seasoned apprentices with complex duties and a high degree of personal freedom)
• Fledgling - unreleased neonates.

There are seven circles of Apprenticeship and seven circles of Magisterium through which a Tremere can advance. Promotion through these circles is controlled by the Chantry Regent, and promotion brings with it increasing trust and freedom, along with greater access to more sensitive materials.

The Tremere hierarchy being parallel (some might say perpendicular) to the Camarilla complicates matters of organization a bit. For instance, a Primogen is supposed to sit as leader of the clan in a domain, but if the Regent doesn’t take the job for themselves, a Regent being seen pushing the Tremere Primogen around can cause the clan to lose face. A Lord has administrative authority over a region and enough personal and political power to get what they want from a Prince usually, but not always. And Tremere Pontifices have to contend with Justicars and Archons who aren’t beholden to them at all. The Tremere Justicar is a sort of floating clan authority, mostly as a stick the Tremere can use to beat non-Tremere princes into submission.

Tremere Houses

House Tremere	Affiliated with the Camarilla. Available for play.
House Carna	Affiliated with the Anarch Movement. Not currently available.
House Telyav & Unbound Tremere	Affiliated with the Sabbat. Applications limited.

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Disciplines

Blood Magic	Thaumaturgy
Tremere	Auspex, Dominate, Thaumaturgy
Telyavelic Tremere	Auspex, Prsence, Thaumaturgy
Viziers	Auspex, Celerity, Quietus

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Relevant House Rules

• Auspex
• Dominate
• Learning Rituals

Worldbuilding content by H.A.R.D.A.C. (treeOfWoe)

House Tremere (The Camarilla)

Outsiders find the most confusing distinction within the Tremere the one between “Clan Tremere” and “House Tremere” as both ostensibly mean the same thing. “Clan Tremere” enfolds the whole of Tremere’s bloodline, including all rebel sects. Even when a Kindred has renounced House Tremere, they are still Clan Tremere.

House Tremere are those Tremere who are loyal to the Pyramid and as such are part of the Camarilla. Technically, it even includes their ghouls. While for centuries their position as a dominating force within the Ivory Tower was unchallenged, now their footing is once again precarious. A series of setbacks has dogged House Tremere for more than two decades - a war with the Tremere’s mother Order of Hermes cost them precious resources and left them unable to prevent what turned into a cascade of disasters. After the war with the Hermetic Order, the Tremere’s enemies within the Camarilla made their move, cashing in boons and making political maneuverings to dig more bloody chunks out of the clan. This left House Tremere completely blindsided when a huge faction of the Banu Haqim petitioned to join the Ivory Tower - while the Tremere were able to slow down the admission of their enemies as a pillar clan, they were unable to stop it.

Then, just as House Tremere crushed the Antitribu of House Goratrix and prepared to rebuild their power, Carna the Princess Witch found a new way to cheat the blood bond and led a faction of rebels to the West Coast and the Anarch Movement. Carna’s rebellion continues to threaten the unity House Tremere needs, as it represents a temptation to disaffected Apprentices in a way the Sabbat never could.

Despite these setbacks, House Tremere remains strong. Its chantry network is vast, its resources tremendous, its Kindred are organized, its influence within the Camarilla second to none. It’s clawed its way to the top from more precarious positions than the one it’s in now - and as they say, challenge defines the magus. Magically speaking, the Tremere rigidly follow the precepts of Thaumaturgy (which they created) and practice blood magic that follows the classic Hermetic correspondences, though they do allow some deviation from the Hermetic model within the Thaumaturgical framework in the minor houses.

Despite their reputation as D&D wizards, the leaders of the Tremere understand that “power is power.” They had a monopoly on reliable magical power within the Camarilla for centuries (and in the opinion of many, they still do) - but they leveraged that into money, favors, and access. They retain home-field advantage in the Camarilla, and they’ll use it - ruthlessly. Just like they always have. Whatever it takes.

Concordant Bodies

Each of the Concordant bodies of the Tremere bring with them some benefit of membership and additional risks and responsibilities. To join one of the concordant bodies, Tremere must take the 1 point "Secret Society Member" feat.

The Leopards of Zion

“I survived Bergen-Belsen, and devoted the rest of my mortal life to hunting down the monsters who sent my people there and killed my family. My sire slit Roman throats in the dead of night. Her sire crept down from the mountains to knife Philistines asleep in their tents. Go back to your demonic master on its mountain, and tell it ‘Judges 6:31.’ We’ll be waiting.”

The Leopards of Zion are Jewish Banu Haqim who have dedicated themselves to the protection of the Jewish people and the preservation of the nation of Israel. Almost a sub-sect in and of themselves, they effectively rule the Kindred domains of Israel, where they have aligned themselves with the Ashirra and accept non-Banu Haqim whose views align with theirs as full members of their faction. Outside of Israel, the Leopards have joined their clanmates in the Camarilla. When ur-Shulgi and the Web of Knives sent seasoned killers to purge the Leopards, the bags of ash sent back to Alamut were each tagged with a note in Hebrew containing the text of Judges book 6 verse 31:

“And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.”

The Shango

The Shango are a lineage of the Banu Haqim who journeyed into Sub-Saharan Africa millennia ago via the clan’s presence in Egypt (before the Followers of Set came to dominate there) and the Kingdom of Kush. As time passed these vampires grew more distant from the Mountain and eventually their ties to it atrophied completely. Now the Shango see themselves as wholly Laibon and not part of the struggle between the Schismatics and Loyalists, though they have welcomed the Dispossessed seeking refuge in their domains as long-lost cousins, especially the sorcerers.

The Shango practice a version of Dur-An-Ki heavily influenced by the animistic beliefs of the Yoruba peoples of West Africa, where their domains are strongest. Dispossessed who have renewed ties with the Shango find it curious that the entire bloodline has been infected with the Curse of Hunger, when most of the Sorcerer Caste avoided it. The lack of strong lineages of Banu Haqim warriors and viziers in West Africa indicates the three bloodlines may have at some point co-mingled back into what are now the Shango. The Schismatics and the Loyalists have both sent emissaries to these powerful sorcerers asking for their allegiance, but all such emissaries have thus far been politely dismissed. Some Shango have begun to journey abroad in order to gain knowledge of the Schism and the Jyhad for themselves.

Note: If you want to play a ‘Shango’, pick the Sorcerer bloodline, hail from West Africa in your backstory. You are effectively Dispossessed now that you have journeyed to America. Take the 3 point ‘Multiple Curses’ flaw to reflect the bloodline’s infection with the Curse of Hunger. Remember: the Disposessed are neither Camarilla nor Sabbat, and so you will want to choose Anarch as your Sect.

The Thousand-Meter Club

A sort of informal society among Banu Haqim warriors who practice the arts of modern soldiery, the Thousand-Meter Club is a mutual recognition society of Assamite snipers. Both the Schismatics and Loyalists have chapters of the club, and Assamites of any bloodline can join - all you have to do is take down another vampire at a distance of 1,000 meters or more without using blood magic or an offensive discipline power (enhanced senses from Auspex are legitimate).

Note: To play a member of the Thousand Meter Club, take the Thousand-Meter Killer merit.

House Telyav and the Unbound Antitribu (Sabbat Faction)

The Telyavs were a sect of Lithuanian Tremere thought destroyed during the War of Princes, as their domain fell to Ventrue invaders. Originally, the Telyavs were a cabal of Tremere sent to experiment with syncretizing the methodology of Thaumaturgy with pagan correspondences and practices, and were also charged with studying the magic of the Tzimisce Kolduns. The Telyavs eventually “went native” and became independent from the main body of the clan, though they still paid tribute to Ceoris. They also developed a distinct bloodline, evincing different proprietary disciplines than the main branch of the clan, and a distinct weakness. When the Ventrue invaded Lithuania during the War of Princes, the Telyavs fought back, violently; as the Tremere were pursuing an alliance with the Ventrue at the time, they quietly withdrew their support from their errant bloodline, left the Telyavs to their doom, and spoke of them no more. Most who knew of the Telyavelic Tremere assumed they had been wiped out, but on the Winter Solstice in the year 2012, a group of these Tremere emerged from a misty otherworld and were greeted by a group of Tzimisce Kolduns. No one is sure precisely what arrangement was struck between old enemies that night, but the Telyavs then joined the Sabbat.

Most Telyavs remain in Eastern Europe, though some have traveled abroad. When questioned, members of House Telyav say their goals are revenge on the Ventrue that plundered their domains and the House and clanmates who left them to die. Their version of Thaumaturgy takes the conceptual framework of Tremere practices and replaces Hermetic correspondences with Slavic pagan ones, though they are capable of studying and practicing traditional Hermetic thaumaturgy with no difficulty. Structurally, House Telyav organizes itself into packs called “circles” and often prefers to maintain enclaves away from civilization, using spirit allies to protect themselves from lupines and other enemies.

Tremere “Solutus” (meaning unbound) isn’t a real political entity - it’s a disparaging term for the few Tremere post the decimation of House Goratrix who’ve defected to the Sabbat, taken the Vaulderie and received the Betrayer’s Mark. These sorcerers have got a hard lot; the Telyavs look down on them and most members of the Sabbat pause only long enough to spit on them (sometimes quite literally). Theirs is an existence of singing for their supper, practicing Thaumaturgy for the Sabbat and teaching it to those rare Cainites of the Sword of Caine with the inclination and desire to learn it. But Tremere have wills of iron, and to these rare defectors the harshness of the Sabbat is exhilarating freedom compared to the crushing weight of the pyramid.

The Dispossessed (Anarch Faction)

In the wake of the Schism a large number of Banu Haqim chose no side. While they could not bear bending the knee to ur-Shulgi, neither could they stomach joining the conniving Camarilla or the monstrous Sabbat. They chose to strike out on their own. The Dispossessed come from all three castes in a roughly equal mix. They seek shelter where they can, and patronage where they can find it - among the Ashirra, in the Red Courts of India, the Ebony Courts of the African Laibon, and in the places where it is strong, among the Anarchs.

Dispossessed Banu Haqim will often hide their light under a bushel, downplaying their abilities and pretending to be Caitiff or another clan (young viziers can easily pass for Toreador and will often do so). Both the Schismatics and the Loyalists have a vested interest in finding their dispossessed clanmates and convincing them to come in from the cold. Most simply want their freedom, if the Jyhad can be said to have such a thing.

Modern Nights Game Lore

The Heart's Blood

Though they do not speak of it to outsiders, one of the secrets of the Assamites was that at the heart of the fortress of Alamut the Banu Haqim maintained a massive pool of vitae, including the blood of countless Banu Haqim all the way back to the Eldest himself. This vitae unified the clan, enabled the elders to maintain control over it, and provided mystical insight to the Sorcerers charged with tending it. In theory ur-Shulgi could use this pool to strike at every Schismatic who contributed blood to it, and that is most of them. So why hasn’t it?

Al-Ashrad stole a large amount of the Heart’s Blood before his departure from Alamut and used it to incept a second pool; between al-Ashrad and Tegyrius, any attempt to strike at the clan through the Heart’s Blood would result in mutually assured destruction. No one except the Amr and the Grand Vizier know where the second pool is: speculation runs rampant, from a secret temple in the Amazon rainforest to a hidden lair beneath an ordinary Midwestern town to a compound in the Appalachian Mountains.

This new Eagle’s Nest is in many ways more of a secret than Alamut itself. Some of the Assamites’ most important Dur-An-Ki rituals depend on this blood, and tiny vials of it are provided to the eldest of a domain by agents of the Amr to dole out as needed. Needless to say, they are not to be used lightly or cavalierly by sorcerers.

The Goddess of War and Love

“In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!”
-Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Canaanites called her “Anath”, and they worshipped her as a goddess. Clan lore says she may have been Haqim’s first childe, an outspoken scholar and star-gazer who he saved from being stoned to death during the time of the Second City. The historical texts describe her as a dervish of death like Mother Kali incarnate when roused to battle, but also passionate and deeply intellectual, prized by Haqim for her inquisitiveness and commitment to reason.

She is Tegyrius’ sire, and it is said that she is the blood-mother of both the Vizier and Warrior Castes. She departed the Mountain for the last time more than two thousand years ago when Tegyrius was still a neonate, and vanished into history. If Anath were found and awakened, she would be able to easily challenge ur-Shulgi’s personal and political power, as the clan records state she is more than two thousand years the Herald’s elder. As the Mother of Warriors and the Eldest Childe of Haqim, the Caliph of Alamut would be honor-bound to surrender his sword to her should she demand it.

Some say that one of the motivations driving Tegyrius and al-Ashrad to join the Camarilla is to use its greater global reach as a means to search for Anath’s resting place. Perhaps they’ve already found her, and the fear that they will awaken her is another factor staying the hand of ur-Shulgi. If they find her, or have found her, that leaves the Banu Haqim with the ramifications of awakening a seven thousand year-old Methuselah, one remembered for being as deadly as she was brilliant - with no guarantee of what she might do should she assume leadership of the Clan of Killers.