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How to Create a Tremere for Vampire: The Masquerade

Tremere are arguably the hardest clan to play in any "Vampire: The Masquerade." With a bureaucracy that makes Washington, D.C., look simple, the player must understand the ins and outs of this clan better than any other. This is definitely not the best clan for a first-time player. However, Tremere are also arguably the most powerful of all the clans, with blood magic at their disposal. The Tremere are, according to game history, an ancient sect of mages that sought eternal life and so made themselves into vampires. With a back story like that, what could go wrong?

Things You'll Need

Notecards
Pencil
Character sheet
Player's handbook
"Ars Magica" role-playing game
Lots of 10-sided dice
Tremere clan book

Instructions

- 1
  Talk with your storyteller to find out how closely she is going to adhere to the background information created by "Vampire" and "Ars Magica." Mark Rein-Hagen, one of the primary authors of the "Vampire" game system, first wrote "Ars Magica," a game set in the Middle Ages about a magical group called the Tremere. When White Wold release "Vampire:The Masquerade," much of Rein-Hagen's original "Ars Magica" background was incorporated into the clan.
- 2
  Read the books thoroughly. Since the Tremere are so thoroughly based on bureaucracy and loyalty to the clan, it is important that the player understand the rules and regulations of the clan well so that the character doesn't accidentally violate them.
- 3
  Create an interesting backstory. In any role-playing game the essence of the character is in his history. What made him become a vampire? Unlike other clans, most Tremere serve as human acolytes in the clan before they are Embraced, so a background involving a random act resulting in the character becoming a vampire is not likely to work.
- 4
  Study the magic system and discuss what magic you can have with your ST. Because there are many paths of magic that Tremere can study, they are more experience point heavy than other clans. To make a truly stellar Tremere, you will need much more experience than if you were a clan that only has three disciplines available to them.
- 5
  Focus on your mental abilities. Most of the disciplines--the special abilities--of the Tremere are based on mental traits. In a LARP that means Tremere should be mental primary, and in tabletop that means Mental stats should be better than physical or social stats.

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