[cWoD] How to Tzimisce?

[Yael]

I am apparently running two games of WoD, one with a Brujah, and another one that I'll start up soon. So I decided on a Tzimisce. I wanted to test this clan for the first time, but we are limited to the Core book (Vampire - The Masquerade 3rd Edition Revised, I think it is). Which Disciplines should I use (obviously other than Viscisitude, that I wont use because it is obviously useless, duh)? Any merit/flaw in the book that actually is useful for a Tzimisce? Halperinoe? Not using blue color for sarcasm, but I think it explains itself.

[Pilo]

Eat food is nice, because you can rezise your stomach(s), so is Huge Size. if you plan to take auspex, color affinity and medium can be nice.

Slow healing and Flesh of the corpse are not that bad as flaws because you can heal yourself and change your appearance.

All disciplines are nice, but they are very situationnal if the campaign is combat heavy, fortitude and celerity are nice, so is animalism because you can do some nasty things to create combat beast. If it is more social, auspex and presence might be wise, as you can cheat your appearance.

[comicshorse]

I am apparently running two games of WoD, one with a Brujah, and another one that I'll start up soon. So I decided on a Tzimisce. I wanted to test this clan for the first time, but we are limited to the Core book (Vampire - The Masquerade 3rd Edition Revised, I think it is). Which Disciplines should I use (obviously other than Viscisitude, that I wont use because it is obviously useless, duh)? Any merit/flaw in the book that actually is useful for a Tzimisce? Halperinoe? Not using blue color for sarcasm, but I think it explains itself.


Disciplines depend on the game that is being run. I presume it's a Sabbat game as you're playing a Tszimisce but even then does the ST intend you to be in the trenches going toe-to-toe with the Camarilla or manipulating you're less....evolved brethren
For more political games then Dominate, Auspex and Presence are the way to go for combat you will need as much Celerity as you can get, and Fortitude and Potence too. Although some Obfuscate and Vicissitude and sneak up on foes and cause their rib cage to spear their heart is always fun

[A_Man]

Really depends on the group. If you have a good number of combat ready kindred, Id suggest presence/dominate and Auspex, since with Vissectitude (which is definitely worthless :smalltongue:) you could gather a large batch of willing servants who'll get a lot of body modifications, as well as the ability to sense when someone's on to you as a Sabbat.

[Nerd-o-rama]

1) Be as creepy and pretentious as possible
2) Yes, even more than Ventrue or Toreador. They are wet-nosed upstarts at being pretentious compared to the Tzimisce.
3) It's not a horrifying sin against nature and basic humanity, it's ~art~

Basically the only way I'd play a Tzimisce is as a sociopathic hipster art student with superpowers and Bruce Wayne money.

[sktarq]

You can a play a fiend in many many ways. They have deep connection to land-you can use that as a base for many types of characters. Gang Leaders, Slumlord, Master of the country club, Monster in the woods,
Animalism? The forgotten pillar. You can do many things with connections to Animalism and play it to so many ends-and can manipulate those animals in both body and mind.
And just because you were bit by that clan at the shovel party and you pulled of a crazy stunt or two that made you a true sabbatt doesn't mean that your experience was much different than an anti-brujah or anti-toreador. So if you want to play whatever-you can. The. The twist comes in that a fiend can often reshape themselves to maximize what they going after.
As for the whole snobbery pretentious thing? IMO I find that fiends work best when that is played somewhat more low key. You are better than others because you are-you don't have to flaunt it, you don't have to say it (those thing are for vampires insecure of their dominion)-if anyone challenges you about this don't treat them as a threat-don't explain-kill or use their tissues as raw materials as that is all they are good for if they forget their place-and such things are not worth getting annoyed over, unless you have Auspex on and he is yelling then by all means remove his mouth, or larynx, or lungs.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Well, I have to admit, 90% of my experience with Tzimisce comes from Dark Ages games, where they are the top of the feudal order, especially east of Germany, and tend to not shut up about it. The other 10% is with the guy from the Bloodlines video game, who I recognize is not really a standard Tzimisce in any sense of the word.

[comicshorse]

The Sabbat Tsimisce are very different from the Clan of the Dark Ages (particularly the younger members which I presume the OP will be playing). A friend and I transfered two characters from a Dark Ages game to one in the modern nights. He was playing a Tszimisce and was planning on running as a Sabbat undercover agent then read the stuff on the modern Tszimisce and declared there was no way he's old school fiend would mix with what he dubbed 'that blobby rabble'.

[sktarq]

Actually the Dark Ages book brings up a neat point about the fiends. Look at the High Clans- amongst those are known for holding domain they are unique in something they lack. They don't have Presence or Dominate. So they have to hold territory via knowledge, blood bonds, and fear. That trio is still their favorite tool kit. It's a good one too.
I do recommend lots of Intimidate.

[comicshorse]

There is one book where Old Clan Tszimisce do actually get Dominate I think
They also hold the land through Koldunic Sorcery which makes them much better in defence of their land than outside it

[sktarq]

Yup "old clan" does but since that bloodline basically was ignored in the core games (and is basically extinct outside the true black hand) their control of Eastern Europe and Russia and the culture associated with the clan developed without it. So the main clan still managed to take more territory as a dominant clan than any other in spite of not having presence or Dominate. - only challenger would be the Ravnos preeminence in the Indian subcontinent.

So yes some Tzimisce have in clan Dominate-but the main culture did not. So "how to play Tzimisce" can basically ignore them-by canon (my homebrew has them rather prominent in Russia)