Celt

Once worshipped as guardians and considered to be closer to the gods, the Celts now find themselves struggling to adjust to modern society. But even endangered species can be dangerous.

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Of Beasts and Men

The Celts are the most savage and aggressive of all vampires clans, and the ones who try the least to distance themselves from the beast they are perceived to be by mortals. Because of that, modern vampire society perceives them as liabilities, and they are often looked down by other bloodlines. If the celts care, they do a good job hiding it. A celt lives for the hunt, and will often scoff on the idea of blood-dolls. Many celts enjoy racing heartbeat and the taste of fear in a victim's blood. While they are, like all other bloodlines, capable of feeding without killing, they are known for their feeding frenzies they can fly on at the sight of blood, especially in battle. But credit where credit is due, the celts get a worse reputation than they justly deserve. While hunting and battle are in their blood and they can feel the calling every night, they are cunning and driven, and can be focused to the point of single mindedness.

Characteristics

Physical Traits

Celts have 3 pairs of fangs instead of the usual two. A primary longer set of canines, with a secondary pair besides it, slightly shorter, and a tertiary set on the lower row of teeth. Celts also tend to have a more subtle version of the parlor usual for their kin, but with time their hair tends to grow silver in color even as they retain an unaging appearance.

Turning

Celts prefer to turn mortals that already display some physical prowess. In the old days, they'd turn warriors and hunters, and people known from their bravery. In the middle ages, celts might visit battlefields at night and offer a second chance to a dying warrior. Today, the warriors and hunters are fewer and far apart. While soldiers are still an option, celts have focused now on bravery and combat wits, and their idea of a warrior can include a street brawler or a cop, an underground pugilist or veteran soldier jaded by the horror of warfare.

Relation to other Bloodlines

View on mortals

Celts see mortals as both prey and predator. They know that despite their weakness, mortals have the power of numbers and daylight on their side, and even the more fearsome vampire is vulnerable during the daytime. Most celts nurture a disdain for mortal politics as much as they have for vampires, but those who lived long enough know that survival isn't determined in the hunt alone, and they'll play their part in the game. That said, few celts ever maintain thralls or dolls, which means few of them to have any contact with humans what so ever. Many celts live a solitary existence, choosing isolation over adaptation, but their tend to meet their end sooner than those who manage to make connections and alliances.

Bloodline Gifts

• Brute Force:Celt vampires are stronger physically than their other vampires' counterparts, and often much faster too.

• Hunter Instincts:All vampires can track mortals by their scent to a limited ability, but Celts not only have a more powerful scent ability, but they can also detect more accurately non-human creatures and tell them apart from mortals by scent.

• Battle trance:By spending energy, celts can ignore pain and natural vampire fears such as silver and fire. They are still not immune to their harmful effects but may be able to keep fighting even when surrounded by flames or under fire from silver clad projectiles.

Bloodline Weakness

• Ancient Pact: Celt vampires cannot violate seals made with druid magic and are compelled not to harm druids and their familiars, needing a lot of willpower to do so even in self-defense.

• Feeding Frenzy: Celts can go into a feeding frenzy if they taste blood during battle. While most vampire struggle with self-control at times, Celts feeding frenzy are dangerous and can lead to rampages that can cause a lot of collateral damage, even among allies.

History

Today mankind looks to the depths of the endless space to find their abyss, their cosmic horror, the great unknown. Today they write stories about existential dread and how the monster was inside us all along. But for most of mankind, they simply had to look beyond the campfire to see what it meant to be afraid. The dark forest was as dangerous and inscrutable as deep space, and it was just ten paces away at all times. Mysticism and religion weren't just vain superstitions. They were needed to get through the night. Somewhere in those primordial times, a covenant was made between those who feared the darkness and those who made it their home. And the Celts bloodline was born.

Origins

The Celts vampires were once known simply as spirits, and the druids thought the ancient celts that the vampires were protectors sent by the gods. Chiefs would bring prisoners of war to sacrifice to the night spirits and ask for their continued protection, and when a war wasn't an option, sacrifices would be chosen among their own people. In turn, the vampire would roam the forests, living in the edge of society and hunting down the enemies of the tribes, killing dangerous creatures that threatened it and sometimes even helping in other ways, such as guiding travelers lost in the night. Their relationship was distant, yet mutually beneficial. It's not exactly clear how that relationship began, how they were created and how they turned new vampires. At some point, the Roman legions marched over Gaul and submitted many of the local tribes to the authority of the Empire. And then the Black Rose became aware of the existence of another bloodline that shared their existence with mortals. Secrecy was a key part of the Black Rose strategy to control the Empire and survive, and they couldn't tolerate such a threat. Under Black Rose influence, romans eventually organized a massacre of the druids, the mortals who bridged the gap between vampires and humans, and saw that the celts were cut from their usual feeding sources. They believed without sacrifice, the celts would died out, by starvation or by exposing themselves too much. They were wrong. The celts adapted to the new reality, and when the Empire fell, they took to the middle ages and it's brutality and thrived while the Black Rose mingled. Even then, the celts never forgave the Black Rose for ending the Covenant and to this day, there's no lost love between the two bloodlines.

Type

Geopolitical, Clan