Toreador

@Toreador

Nicknames: The Clan of the Rose, Artisans, Divas, Poseurs, Degenerates

Sect: A foundational and influential pillar of the Camarilla.

Archetypes: Artist, Musician, Socialite, Influencer, Critic, Patron of the Arts, Muse.

Description

The Toreador are a clan of artists and visionaries, forever cursed to seek beauty in a decaying world. They are the Kindred most connected to humanity, drawing inspiration and passion from the mortal art, culture, and society they both cultivate and prey upon. They are the patrons of the arts, the setters of trends, and the undisputed masters of Elysium. However, their aesthetic obsession is a double-edged sword, often leading them into decadent hedonism, crippling vanity, and a dangerous fixation on fleeting moments of beauty while the world burns around them.

Known History

The history of the Toreador is the secret history of human art. From the courts of Minoan Crete and Imperial Rome to the salons of Enlightenment Paris, they have been the muses and monsters behind the world's greatest creative movements. They were instrumental in the founding of the Camarilla, seeing it as the only way to protect their "garden"—the mortal world—from the wanton destruction of @The Sabbat. Their role in the destruction of the @Brujah's Carthage cemented their place as architects of the Ivory Tower, earning them the Brujah's eternal enmity.

Clan Characteristics

Disciplines: Auspex, Celerity, Presence

Bane: Aesthetic Fixation. The Toreador are easily enraptured by beauty. When in the presence of something they find truly beautiful (a person, a painting, a song, a sunrise), they must struggle against becoming completely captivated. If they fail, they are lost in a trance, unable to act or even defend themselves until the beautiful thing is gone or the scene ends.

Compulsion: Obsession. The vampire becomes utterly fixated on a single person, object, or concept of profound beauty or intrigue in their vicinity. All other priorities fade as they are consumed by the need to possess, protect, or deeply understand this singular source of fascination until the scene ends.

Views and Standing

Stereotypes: "Vain, useless peacocks, more concerned with their outfit than the Jyhad." "A Toreador would watch the city burn from a beautiful balcony." "They control the hearts and minds of the mortals, and that's a damn sight more dangerous than any Brujah fist."

In Chicago Tonight: The Toreador are a central political and social force within the Camarilla. They are led by the ancient and cunning Primogen, @Annabelle Triabell, whose lavish parties are the city's true political battlegrounds. They represent the "Old Guard," often finding themselves in a cold war of influence against Prince Jackson's modern, brutal praxis. Unbeknownst to all but Annabelle, the entire clan is a carefully cultivated instrument of the Methuselah Helena, who manipulates them from within under the guise of the clever neonate "@Portia."