Brujah

WHO ARE THE BRUJAH?

The Learned Clan | Rabble | Prometheans | Hellenes

The dream of the learned clan is a world where all injustice has been eliminated and the living and the undead can coexist in peace. They say it is for love of the mortals that they lead them against their masters. In truth, they may simply rage against a distant or non-existent God they can never fight, against a curse they can never end. Theirs is a dream that poisons everything it touches. As they infiltrate or instigate revolutions, their hunger and passion ensure that blood will flow, innocents die, and peace never be attained.

Clan Brujah have always Embraced from the ranks of those sympathetic to counterculture and revolution. They seek out allies who question normative ideas, and recognizing the fire of the oppressed, they gravitate toward the underdog.

Common perception place punks, gang-members, maladjusted immigrants rejected by the society that should protect them, and placard-carrying and Molotov-wielding rioters among the Brujah. While the clan definitely includes substantial numbers of vocal and visible outsiders, their desire for rebellion reaches as deep as the fraudster ripping off his own company, the lawyer representing the poor pro bono, and the basement-dweller downloading thousands of movies illegally for redistribution on streaming sites. Fledglings Embraced to fight and protest are commonly known as rabble.

The Brujah can be passionate fighters but also critical thinkers; the clan activists are often very different from the clan theorists. On many occasions, the latter are Embraced from former gender studies or sociology students, those who have survived near-death experiences, and people who have in other ways suffered and endured great personal loss. The philosophical Brujah, known as Hellenes, believe the best method of dismantling the establishment is to understand the social and cultural systems that allow it to exist in the first place.

DISCIPLINES

Brujah use Celerity to strike fast and escape uprisings they have started. They hunt with it to snatch vessels from the streets, feeding from them savagely, or to rapidly dispose of a mortal before vanishing into the night.

Brujah use Potence as a devastating weapon, cutting short any confrontation with destructive finality. Though the clan preaches a connection to humanity, its members often take what they want by force, as it is simpler to hold a kine in place or crack their skull open and drink its insides than to negotiate for a mouthful of blood.

Brujah use Presence to win the hearts of the crowd, turn a threatening mob against itself, or send a dangerous opponent fleeing into the night. Brujah intellectuals prefer feeding with Presence to convince vessels to give up their blood voluntarily. Other clan members use Presence to terrify their prey, as it apparently adds “an exquisite, bold taste” and fuels the less subtle powers of their curse.

BANE

The Blood of the Brujah simmers with barely contained rage, exploding at the slightest provocation. Subtract dice equal to the Bane Severity of the Brujah from any roll to resist fury frenzy. This cannot take the pool below one die.

Clan Bane Variant

Violence: Unliving vectors of revolt, the Brujah cannot help but change things — often violently and not always for the better. While all vampires harbor a capacity for destruction, a hungry Brujah always does some kind of damage. On a messy critical result on any Skill test, a Brujah vampire causes damage (physical or mental, depending on the situation) to the subject of their interaction equal to their Bane Severity, in addition to any other result of the Hunger dice. The damage is Aggravated unless the player spends a point of Willpower, making the damage Superficial instead.

_{Players Guide, pg. 56}

COMPULSION

Rebellion

The vampire takes a stand against whatever or whomever they see as the status quo in the situation, whether that’s their leader, a viewpoint expressed by a potential vessel, or just the task they were supposed to do at the moment.

Until they’ve gone against their orders or expectations, perceived or real, the vampire receives a two dice penalty to all rolls. This Compulsion ends once they’ve managed to either make someone change their minds (by force if necessary) or done the opposite of what was expected of them.

ARCHETYPES

Cancer in the System

This Kindred exists as a cog in a corrupt system. They may be a night worker for a mortal corporation known for treating its employees like dirt, a staffer in a broken political party, or one of the remaining Brujah in the Camarilla. They work to bring the system down from within, maybe hoping to replace it with something better, but often having the process of rebuilding as the last of their priorities.

Voice of the People

The Brujah have always strived for progress in Kindred society. Many of them were progressives in life and follow the same path in undeath. The voice of the people might be a former feminist activist, eco-warrior, or an anti-capitalist protester who channels their passion into speaking out against the Ventrue and Toreador or fomenting political unrest among mortals. Their ambitions may come back to hurt their clan, but sometimes they form the core of revolutionary movements.

Blood Worshipper

The Brujah were once considered a High Clan, superior to most and respected by all. Some Brujah still believe their Blood is stronger than that of other clans, and that they have the right to apply their doctrine on others. Brujah who uphold this form of blood idolatry often come from fundamentalist backgrounds, right-wing groups, and the academic elite.

Trolling Punk

Clan Brujah includes many vocal and physical activists who follow the zeitgeist uncritically, reveling in their righteousness. The trolling punk cares about the fight, not the cause. They are an aggressor who provokes confrontation with minority groups, a squatter who just wants to party to piss off the police, or a fourth-wave token “feminist” who spent more of their mortal time attacking other feminists and their allies than coordinating responses to oppression. Short-term action yields massive results, but does not always benefit the Brujah.

Monster in Disguise

The Brujah claim there is no clan closer bonded to humanity than their own, which is why they exhibit such fiery passions. But some take it further than that, and strive to live like mortals by keeping up to date with modern culture, forming relationships, and building families. The payoff for this behavior is a startling duality of dream and reality. The Beast will not be denied for long, and undead family men and working women must slip away from their fake lives ever so often to avoid seeing red, returning only after they have satiated their dangerous urges.