by Ian Grey (Vampire: The Masquerade | The Chronicles of Nod | Columns)
Bloodlines have always been a popular alternative to playing one of the 13 main clans. But, rare as they are, people often seem to forget how easy these clan deviations can come about. Bloodlines can develop for a number of reasons - tight family bonds, magical rituals, a peculiar method of educating ones childre... Even the accidental or intentional embrace of one who is not quite human can result in a bloodline variant of a traditional clan.
Although often defined by new Disciplines & Clan Weaknesses, Bloodlines needn't be so radical. Just by using the optional Merit & Flaw rules (and maybe a few special tweaks here & there) anyone can make their Clan-bound character a member of a unique lineage.
A Bloodline Cookbook
Voila! Instant Bloodline!
To show you what I mean, here are a few examples:
Sybil's Children (Assamites)
Having noticed the increasing intuitive awareness of the Jyhad that many Caitiff seem to have in recent nights, an enterprising young Assamite has used her poor generation as an asset to better her position in the clan. Instead of diablerising down in the normal fashion, she specifically sought and devoured the heart's-blood of only those of the 14th & 15th generation. With the permission of her elders, she then attempted to imprint the results in her children. The resultant bloodline, though not as good at being assassins as their parent clan, have gained a slight advantage in the Time of Thin Blood with their ability to catch glimpses of the future.
Sammachi (Brujah)
Symmachus was the last pagan senator of Rome. Turned in the 5th century by the Methuselah Brecheau, Symmachus looked after his family in the ensuing years, guiding them invisibly as they spread outward with the Empire. 15 hundred years later Symmachus' mortal descendants can be found across the globe, as can the Kindred of his line. The Sammachi have always served as mercenaries and soldiers, though in time they have moved into related businesses such as Arms dealing & manufacture. In America family factions can be found on both sides of the Law as Mob and Police members. Passed on since ancient days from Sire to Childe are the Olympic ideals and the study of Philosophy - in holding to these values few of his line have become Anarchs, preferring to support the Camarilla structure and work towards a better future. Often shunned by younger Brujah and accused of being 'sellouts', more stodgy Camarilla clans (such as the Toreador & Ventrue) often find they make good business partners and allies.
Technothropes (Gangrel Antitribu)
The Technothropes are both a triumph and a failure. Mixing his own blood with that of a Gangrel Antitribu who'd broken from the Sabbat, the strange Methuselah-childe of Pandora Richard Benson attempted to create a bloodline of masterful hunters to act as weapons in his crusade. The plan backfired. The Gangrel Antitribu Thomas Moon had been infested with Banes, resulting in this mixed progeny becoming Fomori. The infecting Banes & the Vicissitude in the Gangrel's blood created a new virus-like entity, causing those of the failed bloodline to merge with machines, and even in extreme cases, to become hideous mechanical monsters for short periods. Benson was forced to declare the project a failure and had all the test subjects destroyed. A few have escaped however...
As you can see, there are a lot of different ways you can come up with bloodlines, without resorting to the creation of yet more disciplines and worrying about balancing them or strange new bloodline weaknesses. As can be shown with the Sybil's Children & the Sammachi Family, it doesn't take much tweaking to transform a Clan-member into a rare and distinctive Bloodline. Just so, some truly disturbed variants can come about with a little more work (thus the 'Technothropes').
Before you make new bloodlines though, always keep your chronicle in mind: will a new Bloodline add to the chronicle, or detract from it? There's no point to creating a monstrous variant Tzimice from the bowls of Balkan mythology if the game revolves around the delicate court politics of a Camarilla city - such a freakish threat to the Masquerade would quickly derail such a theme.
