The Gargoyles are a vampiric bloodline created by the Tremere as their servitors. Although technically not a Tremere bloodline, the bloodline is largely under their control.

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“A slave is one who waits for someone to free him.”
— Ezra Pound

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Nickname: Traditionally Slaves, though free Gargoyles have been known to crack heads over it. Other common nicknames are Rockheads, Runaways, Freemen, and Grotesques.

 

Clan Disciplines: Flight, Fortitude, Potence, Visceratika

 

The Tremere unveiled the Gargoyle bloodline in AD 1167, and the Slaves have been a steady, if infrequent, part of Kindred society ever since. Gargoyles might, in fact, be one reason that the Tremere weren’t exterminated entirely in their first few centuries of existence. These odd quasi-Kindred often look like their stone namesakes — rocky-skinned, ugly, winged creatures that exist only to serve their masters. 

 

Or such was the case for several hundred years. Recently, though, many of the Slaves have thrown off their chains and joined the Camarilla. Why the Gargoyles choose to ally themselves with the Sect that also protects their former masters is anyone’s guess. One of the going theories is that it’s a slap in the Warlocks’ collective face, but most Kindred don’t give the Gargoyles credit for being that sophisticated. More likely, the Rockheads simply realize that in the Camarilla, their talents will be recognized and no one will try and order them around (at least not directly). 

 

Gargoyles are created out of other Kindred, and this ugly fact makes their creation a seldom-discussed topic in polite vampiric society. The Tremere start with a Gangrel, Nosferatu, or Tzimisce vampire and perform obscene, bloody rituals using its blood, heart, and skin. Vitae from another vampire (from one of the other two Clans) is used to provoke a violent mutation, with the result that some Gargoyles look purely hideous (Nosferatu base), some look feral (Gangrel base), and some look fleshy and sport bony protrusions (Tzimisce base). No Gargoyle can pass for human. 

 

The Tremere tolerate the Gargoyles’ presence in the Camarilla as best they can — it’s not as though they can easily re-enslave them, after all. But relations are obviously strained. The Gargoyles’ revolt and induction into the Camarilla has all but doomed the remaining slave Gargoyles, as their masters now monitor them ruthlessly for any sign of betrayal. The Tremere also aren’t above planting hypnotic suggestions in their Slaves’ minds, so that if they ever do rebel, they still serve a function for the Clan.

 

Weakness: The Slaves are hideous. That grotesquery takes different forms, but always results in an Appearance of zero. They are also highly susceptible to mind control from any source. A Gargoyle’s Willpower score (current or permanent) is considered two points lower when used to resist such powers.
 

Concepts, Traits, Merits, and Flaws