Giovanni
“You work with me, I’ll work with you. You don’t, I snap my fingers, and Vito snaps your neck. This is a simple proposition, I tell ya. Nothin’ but math.”— Vito Alonso de Caperio Giovanni, Don of Genoa, Italy
Nickname: Necromancers
Disciplines: Dominate, Potence, Necromancy: Sepulchre Path
The Giovanni began their history as a house of mortal Venetian merchants. Embraced by scholars of Clan Cappadocian, the Giovanni were intended to be the clan’s liaison with the mortal world during the Renaissance, but the crafty and power-hungry merchants quickly turned against their sires. The downfall of the Cappadocians was only the beginning of their ambitions.
The Giovanni built a vast fortune over the centuries, using their keen grasp of politics and a great deal of sharp financial acumen. Further, they mastered the secrets of Necromancy, exercising control over the spirits of the dead. Giovanni pride grew along with their rise in power, and they quickly cornered the market on Necromantic ability in the vampire world. For centuries, the Giovanni parlayed their talents, forcing other clans to accept their independence and ignore the dark deeds of their past. While the rest of the vampiric world judges the Giovanni for the destruction and diablerie of the Cappadocians, it cannot reasonably ignore the Necromancers — nor turn its back on the power that the young clan wields.
To those outside the clan, the Giovanni put on a great show of humility and friendship. However, within their cloistered walls, the family is cutthroat and incestuous, willing to perform vile acts in order to gain more power. They make no true alliances, but are willing to mouth pretty words in order to pacify other vampire clans. In the end, Clan Giovanni’s only loyalty is to itself.
Organization: True to their Renaissance roots, the Giovanni have a strict internal organization. Elders command those of weaker blood, and keep the clan’s younger members in strict order. The clan does not adhere to traditional gender roles, however; both women and men hold positions of power within the Giovanni. The internal structure is further complicated by incestuous relationships, heretical death cults, and strange relationships with the ghostly spirits of deceased family members.
Clan Weakness: A Giovanni vampire’s bite causes excruciating pain in the mortals who receive it. When a Giovanni feeds upon a mortal, she inflicts 3 points of damage for every blood she drains instead of the standard 2.
Clan Merits: Giovanni may purchase any of the following Giovanni-only merits.
- Necromantic Expertise (1 point merit): You can purchase an additional path of Necromancy, except for Necromancy: Mortis Path).
- Mook (2 point merit): You can learn the powers of Celerity and Fortitude without a teacher.
- Ghostly Retainer (3 point merit): You have a loyal wraith Retainer. This wraith is the ghostly spirit of a departed family member.
- Bloodline: Premascine (4 point merit): You are a throwback to an older lineage of the clan. You do not suffer from the normal Giovanni clan disadvantage, and you can learn Necromancy: Mortis Path.
Bloodline: Premascine (4 point merit)
Disciplines: Dominate, Potence, Necromancy: Sepulchre Path
You are a throwback to an older lineage of the clan. You suffer from a ghastly pallor reminiscent of the Cappadocians, and you can learn Necromancy: Mortis Path. This path is learned without a teacher, is purchased at out-of-clan costs, and is not considered an in-clan discipline. This merit provides an exception to the rule that prevents non-Cappadocians from learning Necromancy: Mortis Path. Other Giovanni (especially old ones) are extremely suspicious of characters who demonstrate the ability to harness the Mortis Path, believing that such an individual may still be loyal to the Cappadocians. Your disciplines are the same as those of your parent clan (Giovanni), save that you can purchase the discipline Necromancy: Mortis Path without a teacher.
