Galloi
Vitae contains undeniable power. Each drop offers new potential. The Kindred understand some of this potential — it feeds them, stirs their spiritless limbs and gives life to dead magic. That’s only a fraction of the possibility, though — the Vitae channeled through a Damned vessel offers a world of secret, untapped strength for those desperate enough.
The Galloi know this. These vampires believe themselves to be prime examples of what the Blood can truly do. The Kindred of this bloodline come from the Nosferatu, those monstrous creatures fearsome in fl esh and spirit. The Galloi believe that the Blood has reversed this curse. They claim that Vitae not only feeds them and empowers them but has also literally made the fi endish beautiful once again, if only for a time. To re-form his gruesome carcass, the Galloi bathes in blood, immersing himself completely within it. Once he withdraws from his bath, his monstrous fl esh is replaced with an eerily perfect fi gure. Others call this bloodline the “Pretties,” a bitter sobriquet illustrating the alarmingly unnatural beauty of these monsters. The Galloi do not discourage the epithet.
The bloodline has carried the knowledge of the ritual bloodbath since the primeval nights before Rome’s birth. The Pretties do not question from whence the power or wisdom comes. Revering the goddess Cybele, these blood-smeared cultists act as her voice among the Acolytes of The Circle of the Crone. The goddess’ worshippers long ago bathed in blood and gore to gain her favor, and her children (both Kindred and kine) do the same tonight. Those who do not know her wisdom — even those within the Circle itself — can be made to understand. It’s easy to show them the way, to reveal her veiled power through the offers of blood. The Pretties can grant Cybele’s favor to others, for a time. Of course, there is always a price.
The Galloi know this. These vampires believe themselves to be prime examples of what the Blood can truly do. The Kindred of this bloodline come from the Nosferatu, those monstrous creatures fearsome in fl esh and spirit. The Galloi believe that the Blood has reversed this curse. They claim that Vitae not only feeds them and empowers them but has also literally made the fi endish beautiful once again, if only for a time. To re-form his gruesome carcass, the Galloi bathes in blood, immersing himself completely within it. Once he withdraws from his bath, his monstrous fl esh is replaced with an eerily perfect fi gure. Others call this bloodline the “Pretties,” a bitter sobriquet illustrating the alarmingly unnatural beauty of these monsters. The Galloi do not discourage the epithet.
The bloodline has carried the knowledge of the ritual bloodbath since the primeval nights before Rome’s birth. The Pretties do not question from whence the power or wisdom comes. Revering the goddess Cybele, these blood-smeared cultists act as her voice among the Acolytes of The Circle of the Crone. The goddess’ worshippers long ago bathed in blood and gore to gain her favor, and her children (both Kindred and kine) do the same tonight. Those who do not know her wisdom — even those within the Circle itself — can be made to understand. It’s easy to show them the way, to reveal her veiled power through the offers of blood. The Pretties can grant Cybele’s favor to others, for a time. Of course, there is always a price.
Culture
Culture and cultural heritage
Background: Potential Galloi often hail from desperate situations. The desperate seek answers and control, whether they realize it or not. The Pretties offer answers and control. Sires drag their childer into new misery and give them new perspectives on suffering from within the bloodline. Simultaneously, though, Galloi give hope where none existed before. They grant beauty where only ugliness thrived. They present a different reality in which fl eeting solace lies in the shadows, proffered by secret gods, and where Blood is the key to all doors. The Circle of the Crone, and Cybele in particular, has the answers to life, death and everything in between. When the Galloi fi nd a wretched-enough soul deserving of truth, they may groom him for the bloodline and eventually Embrace him or act as his Avus to allow him entry into this primeval lineage.
The Galloi insist that they have played some role in the spread of Cybele’s worship since that prehistoric time. The Greeks (and later, the Romans) colonizing Asia Minor found that worship of this goddess was prevalent. Legends suggest that when the Greeks fi rst denied Cybele the veneration she demanded, a great plague swept across the city-states. To relieve themselves of the pain, humans cut at themselves in attempts at evacuating the poison from their constricting bodies. The Galloi claim that the blood the humans spilled went somewhere — into the Galloi’s thirsty mouths! — and, potentially, that they took the blood as champions of Cybele rather than passively waiting for the Greeks to cut themselves. Once the Greeks allowed the Cult of Cybele to worship, however, the plague disappeared as if it had never existed. The Galloi claim that their attentions turned from the Greeks to the populace at large, thereby abating the “plague.” From Çatal Hüyük to Phrygia, from Greece to Rome, the Galloi claim that they were among the priests and pious who cultivated reverence of this bloody Magna Mater, Cybele. This interpretation may well have some grain of truth. Among the ancient cultists were a number of Kindred, and these vampires certainly helped foster the religion’s growth. Cybele was a natural fi t for many of the Damned. Her bloody baptismal rites not only gave vampires an ecstatic, religious experience but also fed them. According to the Galloi, Cybele handpicked a number of devout Nosferatu to be her chosen disciples, and, as a reward, she gave them a chance at suborning their curse, at least on a surface level.
Constantine changed everything. The emperor’s conversion to the nascent religion of Christianity would plant the seeds for the eventual persecution for those cultists of the Magna Mater. No longer would Christians suffer among the lions — soon, the heathens would suffer in their stead. An edict of the Theodosian Code in 391 outlawed the worship of Cybele. Her once-august disciples were branded perverts and monsters, demons who dared to betray the ways of God. The mother was dead. The father was born.
Over time, the temples of Cybele were razed (or worse, looted). Any friezes depicting the sacrifice of bulls or the castration of her priests were destroyed and buried. Imperial soldiers captured her worshippers, and if they did not convert as Constantine had, the edict demanded they be burned alive or stabbed with swords. Those Kindred who followed her also became victims of this pogrom, though not always at the hands of mortals. Other Kindred whose fortunes rose with the Empire had gained power. Cybele’s Damned fl ed the civilized world and retreated into shadow. Their time was done. They tookrefuge in fallen temples and abandoned mountain posts, and they managed subsistence Requiems for centuries.
The Dark Ages followed the fall of Rome and the rise of the Church. During this time, Cybele’s vampire adherents lurked in the night as hideous hags, fi nding sustenance at the edges of civilization. Some Kindred were able to form small followings and observe their rites, evading the notice the Church. Most of the survivors found a home, if temporarily, in the pagan kingdom in the region now known as Lithuania. Many Kindred, however, met Final Death or succumbed to Torpor.
The humanism of the Renaissance helped dampen the fires of religious zealotry and open the doors for new ways of thinking. Old ideas were new again; enlightened modes of thought emerged from the fallen world of classical civilization. Ancient concepts synchronized with new desires to form a more progressive zeitgeist, resulting in a renewed interest in mysticism and occult ideas. Magical texts and blasphemous ideas were given room to breathe. Sensing this, Cybele’s Damned crept out of the shadows to see what this world could offer them.
Velnius, a young Lithuanian Nosferatu, discovered a hidden coven of Galloi who had slumbered hostile centuries away in Torpor and then rose to fi nd times more hospitable to them. He sought to appease the vampires of the Magna Mater and gain their favor so he might be initiated into their wisdom. He took it upon himself to steal a trove of Phrygian artifacts from a cabal of sorcerers in the town of Kaunas. Velnius was a repellant fi gure, his right arm twisted into an arthritic claw. None believed he would be successful in his task.
He was successful, but barely. According to the legends of the bloodline, he did not encounter mortal magicians when attempting to recover the artifacts. Instead, he found himself surrounded by a Herd of monsters – creatures with human bodies and animal faces. He stole the items and fl ed on foot, chased by a horde of nightmares. Velnius was “struck down” on the road out of Kaunas and left for dead.
Legend states that Cybele came to him then, and rained blood upon his crippled form. He lay there for several days and nights, protected from the sun by Cybele’s might and grace. When he rose again, his infi rmities had healed. His arm was no longer deformed, and the reek of the grave had abated. Indeed, he barely recognized himself, having seemingly become an androgyne with long hair and perfect skin. He returned to the waking elders of Cybele’s cult and showed them what had happened to him, how the goddess had granted him favor.
Velnius was the fi rst true Galloi, though few Galloi believe the myth literally. Still, his story (a pagan parallel of Paul’s conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus) is told among the Pretties as an example of one who was truly “blessed” by the Magna Mater.
As members of The Circle of the Crone, the vampires of this bloodline adhere strongly to the core Acolyte precepts, punctuated by the Galloi’s own interpretations. Creation is power, to be sure — Cybele is a fertility goddess, and, therefore, many Pretties raise animals, tend gardens and even steal and raise mortal infants. Core Galloi philosophy, though, maintains that creation shouldn’t be unfettered or undertaken without Meditation. One doesn’t simply raise a dog or water a plant because the covenant demands. No, the vampire must honor the act of creation and give the creature or plant the reverence it deserves. A living thing is a blessed being, grown with the consent of the goddess. For this reason, after several years of looking after pets or plants, many Galloi sacrifi ce the beings they raise, as a show of this reverence by giving the creations back to the goddess.
The Galloi also accept that tribulation brings enlightenment. Forcing arbitrary trouble on another, however, isn’t helpful. It’s sadistic. The Galloi favor a system of reward. They prefer to bless those who need blessing — they offer succor in times of crisis, help others foster their dreams and can make others beautiful. Reward is often enough trouble on its own, for few truly understand the consequences of such desires. Beauty comes with complications. With it, one can no longer dwell in the shadows. Money can be a similar burden, as can a successful career. Every fortune brings new misfortune, and the realization of that is enlightenment. Moreover, when the Galloi put themselves in the positions of offering such fortune (such as through favors or through the Taurobolium bloodbaths), they also give themselves the power to withdraw those fortunes at their own discretion. This is another manner of delivering illumination to fools. One can only realize his true self when he is given everything, and then it is all taken away. What’s left is raw, bare and bloody. Only then is he ready to understand and worship.
Galloi hate to be alone. They know that power exists in numbers, so they gather together in domains. If a city has one Pretty, it probably has two or more. Most domains that Galloi call home support three to six Pretties, almost always attached to The Circle of the Crone. If a Galloi fi nds herself alone in the city, she may make a desperate attempt to bring others into the fold (either through the Embrace or as an Avus) or may leave the city to find others of her kind.
The Pretties in a domain often bind themselves together via a Vinculum in deference to the power of the Blood. They realize that a complete Vinculum can exist only on a one-to-one exclusive basis, and, as a result, may attempt “second-drink” Vinculums with one another, thus fostering a strong communal connection.
In some domains, vampires of the bloodline separate into two cliques. The cannophori (reed-bearers) are responsible for maintaining the bathhouses, sacred vessels and other relics, as well as providing animal sacrifi ces. The dendrophori (tree-bearers) maintain libraries and ancient texts, and often tend to elaborate gardens. Galloi do not choose to which “society” they belong. The archigallus of the local bloodline determines this, when appropriate.
Those Damned who aim to join the Galloi in worship of Cybele rarely do so lightly. The bloodline offers a number of trials, some legendary in their awfulness, to test a vampire’s devotion. Typically, most of these trials involve either social or physical ordeals (or a combination of the two). Male Kindred may be required to castrate themselves, whereas female Kindred may have to mutilate their own feminine features (breasts, genitals). Usually, such wounds are then burned with fi re, to keep them painful and lingering. Alternately, a vampire might be required to abase himself at Elysium or in front of prominent Galloi. Once the Pretties together have determined that a candidate has successfully broken himself down and has reached a state of subservience to the cult, they will begin his teaching and initiation into the mysteries of Cybele.
Of course, the Tradition of the Masquerade impedes the involvement of mortals unless the introduction of those mortals to Cybele’s cult occurs subtly and gradually. The Galloi seek out desperation. They might fi nd it among self-help groups, religious services, methadone clinics, even on the streets or casting couches of Hollywood. The Galloi seek out addicts, the ugly, the powerless, the sexually confused. The Galloi watch these poor, vulnerable souls and, like spiders, they patiently move in for the kill. Except here, the “kill” comes in the form of an offer. What the human wants, the Galloi can provide, whether it’s youth, beauty, money, whatever. Perhaps she offers the benefi ts of the Taurobolium, or maybe she’s connected enough to offer the mortal unique opportunities (recording contracts, book deals, sexual re-assignment surgery).
Of course, these desires do not come free. Often, the mortal is required to accept a Vinculum to the vampire. If not that, then she must offer something else to the Pretty: a future favor, an infl uential ally, even a child. Should the mortal attempt to renege on the deal, the vampire is quick to remind her that what is given can be easily taken away — or worse.
Mortals of particular promise (or who become deeply enthralled) end up as more than just connections or pawns: they make up the living contingent of the cult. These mortals not only devote their faith to Cybele but also perform menial work that the Pretties themselves don’t wish to handle, such as cleaning up after animals, disposing of old and rotten blood or scouting new locations for temples.
Most of these individuals are allowed to have seminormal lives outside their servitude to the cult. They can go home, hold a job and eat dinner with the family. Such normalcy has a time limit, however. As is often the case with Ghouls, cultists often become addicted to the vampires’ Vitae. Attempting to maintain a mundane existence becomes a doomed effort, over time. When this happens, Galloi Regnant accept service on a fulltime basis. At this time, the thralls become known as korybants. Their full transition into the cult often comes at a steep price: many Galloi mutilate or remove their cultists’ sexual organs, and korybants wear clothing that crosses the spectrum of sexual identity. They are expected to serve the vampires hand-and-foot, bringing them blood, entertaining them, even providing the fi rst line of defense if the Pretties face threats. Needless to say, full-fl edged cultists are usually quite mad.
All of this behavior comes very close to breaking the Masquerade, even more so than the normal creation of Ghouls. If these practices don’t shatter the Masquerade outright, they bend it beyond a reasonable point. Although the wise Galloi never claim to be vampires — many often tell their mortal servants that they are demi-gods put upon this plane to enact Cybele’s will — they do fl aunt their monstrous natures more than they should.
Concerned about the integrity of the Masquerade, many Princes refuse to allow the Cult of Cybele to take root in their domains. Consequently, many Galloi tend to gravitate toward domains where the Acolytes have already consolidated power. In these places, the Pretties can occasionally infl uence the powers-that-be to allow the Galloi’s particular iteration of Crone veneration. Of course, some Acolytes at odds with a domain’s current regime may attempt to fi nd Galloi outside the city and invite these Pretties to help them wrest political control from the dominant hierarchy.
The reasoning behind this look and attitude is multifold. Perhaps the primary reason is simple Narcissism. The Galloi are a Nosferatu bloodline, and they believe themselves fortunate enough to appear outlandishly beautiful in spite of their curse. Flaunting this bizarre splendor seems a natural response, but the pagan robes of ancient religions offer little in the way of exhibition. Moreover, modern couture allows the vampire to dress in whatever styles fl atter her androgynous body. Beauty is extremely important to these Kindred, and they seek to showcase it whenever and wherever possible.
In the Pretties’ minds, modern art and fashion are little more than drastic re-interpretations of the past. The Pretties, like much of the art that hangs upon their walls, are vehicles for ancient traditions, re-imagined for the contemporary world.
The fi nal reason for this adherence to fashionable trends is pragmatism. The Galloi see themselves as the mouthpieces for The Circle of the Crone. The Acolytes, according to many Pretties, don’t do enough to strengthen their ranks and consolidate power. The Kindred of this bloodline seek to change that and see new vampires accept these old traditions. The Acolytes have a lot of competition. The Invictus offer temporal power to neonates. The Sanctifi ed hang their hats on the dominant patriarchy of God and Heaven. The Carthians promise terms young vampires can wrap their heads around because they’ve experienced them in the mortal world. The Dragons offer a chance to transcend the cycle of Damnation and dependency. The Pretties know the Circle needs an edge, and they think that they’re it. They pursue the latest, greatest trends in fi ne art and fashion, and they make sure everybody knows. The Pretties attempt to be trendier than the trendiest First Estate Daeva and offer themselves as stark contrasts to the stodgiest Sanctifi ed Priests. To the Pretties, fashion and art are as much tools as elements of expression, and the Pretties wield these tools with facility.
Not all Galloi are so consumed with this contemporary edge. Certainly, a number are content to wear dark robes or subtle dress, and dwell in austere, minimalist havens. It’s important to remember, though, that these vampires are highly communal. They bond together, and as such, act together. If three dress themselves to the nines in the latest Vivienne Westwood ensembles, and the fourth is content to wrap himself in a cultic shroud, his broodmates will likely “encourage” him to conform to the others.
The local Galloi customarily keep the bathhouse, known as a caldarium hidden. It’s never public or easy to fi nd. They don’t even make its presence known, and usually openly deny its existence. For this reason, many Kindred (and mortals “in-the-know”) assume that these strange places are little more than myth, the product of scurrilous reputation. Only those willing to follow the faint trail of clues have any chance at all of gaining access to the Pretties’ bathhouse. A rundown prostitute hears from her pimp that “some bitch” on Vine Street visited one, and the visit made those switchblade scars disappear. Maybe some artist hears from his Oxycontin connection about “this place” where the artist can get his muse back, if he wants it badly enough. Uncovering the location and gaining entry requires working through byzantine channels. By the time someone has found the caldarium’s unlisted phone number, he’s had to talk to seven go-betweens, track down a street address marked on the ceiling of an opium den bathroom and fi gure out a password from a rebus printed up as a nightclub fl yer. Only then might he receive a pre-recorded phone call directing him to a different phone number, which he can call and then plead with the voice on the other end for a way in.
The Galloi establish these caldariums off the beaten path, such as in a room in a dubious motel, in the subbasement of an old brothel or behind a bankrupt amusement park. Such places are unlikely to be stumbled upon, and, if they are, the interloper is probably no one anyone will miss when he turns up missing come sunrise. It’s worth noting that some Galloi put their bathhouses in very obvious places, as few expect such blatancy. The Pretties might establish the caldarium in a penthouse of a posh condo development or maybe even below a popular sex club where the local Damned feed.
The bathhouses themselves act partly as physical manifestations of the Pretties’ own personalities. Some Pretties make their caldariums sterile, spartan affairs, all concrete floors and simple stone tubs. Others design elaborate affairs offering Persian tile, velour mats and soft music, not to mention ornate tubs of brass, porcelain or marble. Most Pretties make some effort to mark the bathhouse with art or other ornamentation honoring Cybele, though some favor a degree of austerity that eschews even sacred iconography.
A caldarium is usually staffed by korybant cultists, and at least one of the local Galloi can typically be found here at any given point in the night. In this place, the vampires generally invoke their ritual blood magic (the Taurobolium) for others. The Galloi wash those they care to bless in the Galloi’s own Vitae, pouring it upon the blessed or fi lling up an entire tub with blood, water and a number of strange herbs and reagents. The air in the caldarium grows thick with the heady scent of warm blood and spices, inciting lusty pangs of hunger in most Kindred. The blessed may luxuriate in their baths or stand in the showers for as long as they wish. The blood usually runs out a local drainage system (though some Galloi allow the blood to coagulate upon the fl oor and dry into the tile or stone). Each tub is generally paired with a smaller basin of cold, fresh water, which the Pretty uses to clean the subject.
Some Galloi are more exclusive than others. Some Galloi allow other Acolytes to come to and take part in the baths freely, a perquisite of membership in the Circle, whereas other Galloi make access to the bathhouses as tortuous as for any non-Galloi Kindred. Usually, this decision comes down to whether or not the vampire feels that the local Acolytes are devout enough. Many of the Circle seem content to provide little more than lip service to the actual gods and goddesses, and that sort of worship doesn’t sit well with most Galloi. The tenets and ideals of the covenant are important, but equally important is the active veneration of gods and spirits (Cybele chief among them).
Bathory (she chose to keep her own family’s name out of stubbornness) grew bored and restless. She languished in her castle, taking care of the family’s business while her husband was away in battle. Such duties required little from a girl so smart and well-bred.
One of her primary tasks was to keep the servants in line, a job she came to relish with sadistic zest. She punished those who disobeyed terribly. She poked needles through the lips of chatterboxes and peeled away the fi ngernails of lazy and clumsy girls. She locked some in rooms naked while snow blew in from open windows. She ordered others left outside to starve for days on end. Erzebet saw her husband as he returned for a few days here and there. They had enough time together to conceive several children, few of whom entertained her beyond a couple of months. When Ferenc left again for war, she would return to her pet project of brutalizing and tormenting the servants.
Time passed, and Erzebet grew older. Before she knew it, she was in her early 40s and her beauty was waning. Then she made a discovery. Upon beating one of the servant girls, her nails raked the waif’s chin. Blood spattered upon her hand, and the crimson fluid left her skin soft and supple. Erzebet believed that the blood even helped diminish her deepening wrinkles. After that, Bathory took her abuse of the servants to a diabolical level. At first, she simply cut them and washed herself in their blood. Over time, that was not enough. She took to hoisting them in cages above her, and had male servants stab upward with sharp spears. The blood rained down upon the countess, and she felt rejuvenated and young once again.
Erzebet Bathory was caught, eventually, but not before hundreds of servants perished at her expense. She was royalty and could not be punished with death, so she was locked in the highest tower of her own castle, trapped in a cold room with a tiny window. As time went on, age and ugliness consumed her. Her hands grew arthritic and bent inward. Her face became etched with cavernous lines. Her fi gure shriveled. One night, years after her isolation began, she died.
The bloody countess’ death was not permanent, however. Under the light of the moon, a fi gure came to her, a shadow with yellow eyes and a wide smile calling himself Kupolé, the Lord of the Ladies. He granted her a favor in return for a commitment. If she would serve him in undeath and act as the Devil’s agent in this horrible world, then Kupolé would allow her to stave off death for a time. More importantly, she would be made beautiful once again, more so than she had ever been. Erzebet agreed, and the Devil called Kupolé cursed her with the Requiem.
Legend suggests that Bathory is still out there, siring many monstrous childer. She and her “babies” are wretched beasts — until they bathe in blood, that is, at which point they reclaim their lost beauty and appear as beauties to all who see them. They call themselves the Csejthe (pronounced tsee-AY-thay), after the family castle in which Erzebet died and was reborn. Their focus in this ugly world is only to make it uglier, for then they are all the more beautiful in comparison. They invoke the name of Kupolé, pray to it and act in accordance with its silent wishes. They are debauched and depraved, predators of the most grisly order. Rumors swirl around them, and some believe that they are a driving force behind the bloodthirsty cells of Satanic Kindred calling themselves “Belial’s Brood.” The Csejthe have heard that others are out there like them, disfi gured beasts who bathe in blood to fi nd unearthly splendor, but these wayward Kindred are little more than pretenders. If Bathory and her children find them, they will be butchered like beasts, their blood made to fi ll the tubs of the Csejthe vampires.
History
The Galloi claim an extensive history, and believe that their lineage goes back nearly 8,000 years, to the Neolithic city of Çatal Hüyük, considered by some to be the first city in the world. In this city, archeologists have found a number of voluptuous fertility statues that some believe represent early worship of the goddess Cybele. Being adherents of this goddess and accepting that vampires are far older than some Kindred claim, the Pretties accept on blind faith that they must’ve been present in that prehistoric city, acting as corporeal liaisons between Cybele and her human consorts.The Galloi insist that they have played some role in the spread of Cybele’s worship since that prehistoric time. The Greeks (and later, the Romans) colonizing Asia Minor found that worship of this goddess was prevalent. Legends suggest that when the Greeks fi rst denied Cybele the veneration she demanded, a great plague swept across the city-states. To relieve themselves of the pain, humans cut at themselves in attempts at evacuating the poison from their constricting bodies. The Galloi claim that the blood the humans spilled went somewhere — into the Galloi’s thirsty mouths! — and, potentially, that they took the blood as champions of Cybele rather than passively waiting for the Greeks to cut themselves. Once the Greeks allowed the Cult of Cybele to worship, however, the plague disappeared as if it had never existed. The Galloi claim that their attentions turned from the Greeks to the populace at large, thereby abating the “plague.” From Çatal Hüyük to Phrygia, from Greece to Rome, the Galloi claim that they were among the priests and pious who cultivated reverence of this bloody Magna Mater, Cybele. This interpretation may well have some grain of truth. Among the ancient cultists were a number of Kindred, and these vampires certainly helped foster the religion’s growth. Cybele was a natural fi t for many of the Damned. Her bloody baptismal rites not only gave vampires an ecstatic, religious experience but also fed them. According to the Galloi, Cybele handpicked a number of devout Nosferatu to be her chosen disciples, and, as a reward, she gave them a chance at suborning their curse, at least on a surface level.
An Alternative View
Some Kindred historians (a number of Galloi among them) maintain a somewhat different position, however. Yes, a number of Nosferatu probably worshipped at Cybele’s subterranean temples and gorged themselves on the heady blood of sacrifi ced beasts and zealots. The Galloi probably walked among the mortals as more than humans and less than gods. However, while the bloodline’s precepts have their foundation in prehistoric or classical times, the truth of the matter is that the bloodline didn’t really come into existence until the Renaissance, nearly two millennia later.Constantine changed everything. The emperor’s conversion to the nascent religion of Christianity would plant the seeds for the eventual persecution for those cultists of the Magna Mater. No longer would Christians suffer among the lions — soon, the heathens would suffer in their stead. An edict of the Theodosian Code in 391 outlawed the worship of Cybele. Her once-august disciples were branded perverts and monsters, demons who dared to betray the ways of God. The mother was dead. The father was born.
Over time, the temples of Cybele were razed (or worse, looted). Any friezes depicting the sacrifice of bulls or the castration of her priests were destroyed and buried. Imperial soldiers captured her worshippers, and if they did not convert as Constantine had, the edict demanded they be burned alive or stabbed with swords. Those Kindred who followed her also became victims of this pogrom, though not always at the hands of mortals. Other Kindred whose fortunes rose with the Empire had gained power. Cybele’s Damned fl ed the civilized world and retreated into shadow. Their time was done. They tookrefuge in fallen temples and abandoned mountain posts, and they managed subsistence Requiems for centuries.
The Dark Ages followed the fall of Rome and the rise of the Church. During this time, Cybele’s vampire adherents lurked in the night as hideous hags, fi nding sustenance at the edges of civilization. Some Kindred were able to form small followings and observe their rites, evading the notice the Church. Most of the survivors found a home, if temporarily, in the pagan kingdom in the region now known as Lithuania. Many Kindred, however, met Final Death or succumbed to Torpor.
The humanism of the Renaissance helped dampen the fires of religious zealotry and open the doors for new ways of thinking. Old ideas were new again; enlightened modes of thought emerged from the fallen world of classical civilization. Ancient concepts synchronized with new desires to form a more progressive zeitgeist, resulting in a renewed interest in mysticism and occult ideas. Magical texts and blasphemous ideas were given room to breathe. Sensing this, Cybele’s Damned crept out of the shadows to see what this world could offer them.
Rebirth
The story goes like this:Velnius, a young Lithuanian Nosferatu, discovered a hidden coven of Galloi who had slumbered hostile centuries away in Torpor and then rose to fi nd times more hospitable to them. He sought to appease the vampires of the Magna Mater and gain their favor so he might be initiated into their wisdom. He took it upon himself to steal a trove of Phrygian artifacts from a cabal of sorcerers in the town of Kaunas. Velnius was a repellant fi gure, his right arm twisted into an arthritic claw. None believed he would be successful in his task.
He was successful, but barely. According to the legends of the bloodline, he did not encounter mortal magicians when attempting to recover the artifacts. Instead, he found himself surrounded by a Herd of monsters – creatures with human bodies and animal faces. He stole the items and fl ed on foot, chased by a horde of nightmares. Velnius was “struck down” on the road out of Kaunas and left for dead.
Legend states that Cybele came to him then, and rained blood upon his crippled form. He lay there for several days and nights, protected from the sun by Cybele’s might and grace. When he rose again, his infi rmities had healed. His arm was no longer deformed, and the reek of the grave had abated. Indeed, he barely recognized himself, having seemingly become an androgyne with long hair and perfect skin. He returned to the waking elders of Cybele’s cult and showed them what had happened to him, how the goddess had granted him favor.
Velnius was the fi rst true Galloi, though few Galloi believe the myth literally. Still, his story (a pagan parallel of Paul’s conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus) is told among the Pretties as an example of one who was truly “blessed” by the Magna Mater.
The Legacy of Cybele
The Cult of Cybele still exists tonight in a handful of domains. In some cities, the cult is little more than a meager cadre of vampires struggling to compete in the Danse Macabre. In other domains, cult members hold a great deal of temporal and spiritual power, guiding the actions of local Acolytes while claiming any number of political positions within the region. Universally, however, regardless of size, this particular cult’s presence is always shepherded by Kindred of the Galloi bloodline. The Pretties are the Cult of Cybele, in spite of the other Kindred or kine within its ranks.Society and Culture
The Galloi are an inscrutable mix of the modern and the ancient. They favor contemporary dress and progressive art, and yet call upon quasi-civilized rituals and traditions. In a Pretty’s Haven, a dusty chair made from dried skin and the skulls of sacrifi ced bulls may sit beside a sculpture by the futurist Umberto Boccioni. The vampire may listen to Philip Glass or Le Tigre while translating monarchic records of Phrygian kings. The Galloi are creatures of wild dichotomy: They are dead, but they venerate fertility. They are both monstrous and beautiful, and feature the characteristics of men and women. They straddle the opposite ends of time, immersing themselves in the past while participating in the present.The Cult of Cybele
Cybele is a bloody fertility goddess of the Phrygian pantheon (Rhea in the Greek pantheon) who was the mother of all the gods. She holds sway over birth and death as well as resurrection. Worshipers revere Cybele as a creature of great beauty and terrible retribution, a wild monster-goddess who demands love from her devout in the form of gore-stained celebrations and orgiastic frenzies. The blood spilled in her name makes the earth fecund and her cultists blessed. The Galloi are the modern-day adherents of Cybele, spreading the veneration of the goddess to both Kindred and mortals alike.As members of The Circle of the Crone, the vampires of this bloodline adhere strongly to the core Acolyte precepts, punctuated by the Galloi’s own interpretations. Creation is power, to be sure — Cybele is a fertility goddess, and, therefore, many Pretties raise animals, tend gardens and even steal and raise mortal infants. Core Galloi philosophy, though, maintains that creation shouldn’t be unfettered or undertaken without Meditation. One doesn’t simply raise a dog or water a plant because the covenant demands. No, the vampire must honor the act of creation and give the creature or plant the reverence it deserves. A living thing is a blessed being, grown with the consent of the goddess. For this reason, after several years of looking after pets or plants, many Galloi sacrifi ce the beings they raise, as a show of this reverence by giving the creations back to the goddess.
The Galloi also accept that tribulation brings enlightenment. Forcing arbitrary trouble on another, however, isn’t helpful. It’s sadistic. The Galloi favor a system of reward. They prefer to bless those who need blessing — they offer succor in times of crisis, help others foster their dreams and can make others beautiful. Reward is often enough trouble on its own, for few truly understand the consequences of such desires. Beauty comes with complications. With it, one can no longer dwell in the shadows. Money can be a similar burden, as can a successful career. Every fortune brings new misfortune, and the realization of that is enlightenment. Moreover, when the Galloi put themselves in the positions of offering such fortune (such as through favors or through the Taurobolium bloodbaths), they also give themselves the power to withdraw those fortunes at their own discretion. This is another manner of delivering illumination to fools. One can only realize his true self when he is given everything, and then it is all taken away. What’s left is raw, bare and bloody. Only then is he ready to understand and worship.
Duties and Traditions
The Galloi observe a few precepts that all members of the bloodline generally uphold, unless regional custom varies.Galloi hate to be alone. They know that power exists in numbers, so they gather together in domains. If a city has one Pretty, it probably has two or more. Most domains that Galloi call home support three to six Pretties, almost always attached to The Circle of the Crone. If a Galloi fi nds herself alone in the city, she may make a desperate attempt to bring others into the fold (either through the Embrace or as an Avus) or may leave the city to find others of her kind.
The Pretties in a domain often bind themselves together via a Vinculum in deference to the power of the Blood. They realize that a complete Vinculum can exist only on a one-to-one exclusive basis, and, as a result, may attempt “second-drink” Vinculums with one another, thus fostering a strong communal connection.
In some domains, vampires of the bloodline separate into two cliques. The cannophori (reed-bearers) are responsible for maintaining the bathhouses, sacred vessels and other relics, as well as providing animal sacrifi ces. The dendrophori (tree-bearers) maintain libraries and ancient texts, and often tend to elaborate gardens. Galloi do not choose to which “society” they belong. The archigallus of the local bloodline determines this, when appropriate.
Admittance to the Cult
The Cult of Cybele is not restricted to the Galloi. While the Pretties believe themselves to be the most favored children of the bloody goddess, they don’t automatically restrict others from worshipping at her altars and in her baths. Indeed, the Cult of Cybele is a faction of The Circle of the Crone that occasionally rises to prominence in certain domains. The cult upholds the same tenets that all Acolytes advocate and adds other precepts and rituals to the core ideologies of the Circle. In some cities, the cult stands as a zealous alternative to the Circle, offering a place for those Acolytes seeking more “extreme” or alternative devotion. In other regions where the Galloi have more power, the cult is indistinguishable from the Circle because a Galloi Hierophant has established dominance and dogma over the local Acolytes.Those Damned who aim to join the Galloi in worship of Cybele rarely do so lightly. The bloodline offers a number of trials, some legendary in their awfulness, to test a vampire’s devotion. Typically, most of these trials involve either social or physical ordeals (or a combination of the two). Male Kindred may be required to castrate themselves, whereas female Kindred may have to mutilate their own feminine features (breasts, genitals). Usually, such wounds are then burned with fi re, to keep them painful and lingering. Alternately, a vampire might be required to abase himself at Elysium or in front of prominent Galloi. Once the Pretties together have determined that a candidate has successfully broken himself down and has reached a state of subservience to the cult, they will begin his teaching and initiation into the mysteries of Cybele.
Mortal Adherents
Few Galloi are content to let worship of their goddess remain accessible to only Kindred. Mortals have belonged to Cybele’s cult since ancient times, and the vampires of this bloodline see no reason to disturb that trend.Of course, the Tradition of the Masquerade impedes the involvement of mortals unless the introduction of those mortals to Cybele’s cult occurs subtly and gradually. The Galloi seek out desperation. They might fi nd it among self-help groups, religious services, methadone clinics, even on the streets or casting couches of Hollywood. The Galloi seek out addicts, the ugly, the powerless, the sexually confused. The Galloi watch these poor, vulnerable souls and, like spiders, they patiently move in for the kill. Except here, the “kill” comes in the form of an offer. What the human wants, the Galloi can provide, whether it’s youth, beauty, money, whatever. Perhaps she offers the benefi ts of the Taurobolium, or maybe she’s connected enough to offer the mortal unique opportunities (recording contracts, book deals, sexual re-assignment surgery).
Of course, these desires do not come free. Often, the mortal is required to accept a Vinculum to the vampire. If not that, then she must offer something else to the Pretty: a future favor, an infl uential ally, even a child. Should the mortal attempt to renege on the deal, the vampire is quick to remind her that what is given can be easily taken away — or worse.
Mortals of particular promise (or who become deeply enthralled) end up as more than just connections or pawns: they make up the living contingent of the cult. These mortals not only devote their faith to Cybele but also perform menial work that the Pretties themselves don’t wish to handle, such as cleaning up after animals, disposing of old and rotten blood or scouting new locations for temples.
Most of these individuals are allowed to have seminormal lives outside their servitude to the cult. They can go home, hold a job and eat dinner with the family. Such normalcy has a time limit, however. As is often the case with Ghouls, cultists often become addicted to the vampires’ Vitae. Attempting to maintain a mundane existence becomes a doomed effort, over time. When this happens, Galloi Regnant accept service on a fulltime basis. At this time, the thralls become known as korybants. Their full transition into the cult often comes at a steep price: many Galloi mutilate or remove their cultists’ sexual organs, and korybants wear clothing that crosses the spectrum of sexual identity. They are expected to serve the vampires hand-and-foot, bringing them blood, entertaining them, even providing the fi rst line of defense if the Pretties face threats. Needless to say, full-fl edged cultists are usually quite mad.
All of this behavior comes very close to breaking the Masquerade, even more so than the normal creation of Ghouls. If these practices don’t shatter the Masquerade outright, they bend it beyond a reasonable point. Although the wise Galloi never claim to be vampires — many often tell their mortal servants that they are demi-gods put upon this plane to enact Cybele’s will — they do fl aunt their monstrous natures more than they should.
Concerned about the integrity of the Masquerade, many Princes refuse to allow the Cult of Cybele to take root in their domains. Consequently, many Galloi tend to gravitate toward domains where the Acolytes have already consolidated power. In these places, the Pretties can occasionally infl uence the powers-that-be to allow the Galloi’s particular iteration of Crone veneration. Of course, some Acolytes at odds with a domain’s current regime may attempt to fi nd Galloi outside the city and invite these Pretties to help them wrest political control from the dominant hierarchy.
High Art
Why does this ancient bloodline cling so dearly to the modern? For creatures who continue to venerate a Phrygian blood goddess and believe that their history runs all the way back to one of the first known cities in the entire world, it seems peculiar that they make every effort to appear contemporary and cosmopolitan.The reasoning behind this look and attitude is multifold. Perhaps the primary reason is simple Narcissism. The Galloi are a Nosferatu bloodline, and they believe themselves fortunate enough to appear outlandishly beautiful in spite of their curse. Flaunting this bizarre splendor seems a natural response, but the pagan robes of ancient religions offer little in the way of exhibition. Moreover, modern couture allows the vampire to dress in whatever styles fl atter her androgynous body. Beauty is extremely important to these Kindred, and they seek to showcase it whenever and wherever possible.
In the Pretties’ minds, modern art and fashion are little more than drastic re-interpretations of the past. The Pretties, like much of the art that hangs upon their walls, are vehicles for ancient traditions, re-imagined for the contemporary world.
The fi nal reason for this adherence to fashionable trends is pragmatism. The Galloi see themselves as the mouthpieces for The Circle of the Crone. The Acolytes, according to many Pretties, don’t do enough to strengthen their ranks and consolidate power. The Kindred of this bloodline seek to change that and see new vampires accept these old traditions. The Acolytes have a lot of competition. The Invictus offer temporal power to neonates. The Sanctifi ed hang their hats on the dominant patriarchy of God and Heaven. The Carthians promise terms young vampires can wrap their heads around because they’ve experienced them in the mortal world. The Dragons offer a chance to transcend the cycle of Damnation and dependency. The Pretties know the Circle needs an edge, and they think that they’re it. They pursue the latest, greatest trends in fi ne art and fashion, and they make sure everybody knows. The Pretties attempt to be trendier than the trendiest First Estate Daeva and offer themselves as stark contrasts to the stodgiest Sanctifi ed Priests. To the Pretties, fashion and art are as much tools as elements of expression, and the Pretties wield these tools with facility.
Not all Galloi are so consumed with this contemporary edge. Certainly, a number are content to wear dark robes or subtle dress, and dwell in austere, minimalist havens. It’s important to remember, though, that these vampires are highly communal. They bond together, and as such, act together. If three dress themselves to the nines in the latest Vivienne Westwood ensembles, and the fourth is content to wrap himself in a cultic shroud, his broodmates will likely “encourage” him to conform to the others.
Bathhouses
Bloodbaths are central to many Galloi Requiems. The act of bathing in blood and offering those baths to others is part of their legacy and legend. If the Pretties dwell in a city, it’s a good bet they operate a bathhouse somewhere in the region.The local Galloi customarily keep the bathhouse, known as a caldarium hidden. It’s never public or easy to fi nd. They don’t even make its presence known, and usually openly deny its existence. For this reason, many Kindred (and mortals “in-the-know”) assume that these strange places are little more than myth, the product of scurrilous reputation. Only those willing to follow the faint trail of clues have any chance at all of gaining access to the Pretties’ bathhouse. A rundown prostitute hears from her pimp that “some bitch” on Vine Street visited one, and the visit made those switchblade scars disappear. Maybe some artist hears from his Oxycontin connection about “this place” where the artist can get his muse back, if he wants it badly enough. Uncovering the location and gaining entry requires working through byzantine channels. By the time someone has found the caldarium’s unlisted phone number, he’s had to talk to seven go-betweens, track down a street address marked on the ceiling of an opium den bathroom and fi gure out a password from a rebus printed up as a nightclub fl yer. Only then might he receive a pre-recorded phone call directing him to a different phone number, which he can call and then plead with the voice on the other end for a way in.
The Galloi establish these caldariums off the beaten path, such as in a room in a dubious motel, in the subbasement of an old brothel or behind a bankrupt amusement park. Such places are unlikely to be stumbled upon, and, if they are, the interloper is probably no one anyone will miss when he turns up missing come sunrise. It’s worth noting that some Galloi put their bathhouses in very obvious places, as few expect such blatancy. The Pretties might establish the caldarium in a penthouse of a posh condo development or maybe even below a popular sex club where the local Damned feed.
The bathhouses themselves act partly as physical manifestations of the Pretties’ own personalities. Some Pretties make their caldariums sterile, spartan affairs, all concrete floors and simple stone tubs. Others design elaborate affairs offering Persian tile, velour mats and soft music, not to mention ornate tubs of brass, porcelain or marble. Most Pretties make some effort to mark the bathhouse with art or other ornamentation honoring Cybele, though some favor a degree of austerity that eschews even sacred iconography.
A caldarium is usually staffed by korybant cultists, and at least one of the local Galloi can typically be found here at any given point in the night. In this place, the vampires generally invoke their ritual blood magic (the Taurobolium) for others. The Galloi wash those they care to bless in the Galloi’s own Vitae, pouring it upon the blessed or fi lling up an entire tub with blood, water and a number of strange herbs and reagents. The air in the caldarium grows thick with the heady scent of warm blood and spices, inciting lusty pangs of hunger in most Kindred. The blessed may luxuriate in their baths or stand in the showers for as long as they wish. The blood usually runs out a local drainage system (though some Galloi allow the blood to coagulate upon the fl oor and dry into the tile or stone). Each tub is generally paired with a smaller basin of cold, fresh water, which the Pretty uses to clean the subject.
Some Galloi are more exclusive than others. Some Galloi allow other Acolytes to come to and take part in the baths freely, a perquisite of membership in the Circle, whereas other Galloi make access to the bathhouses as tortuous as for any non-Galloi Kindred. Usually, this decision comes down to whether or not the vampire feels that the local Acolytes are devout enough. Many of the Circle seem content to provide little more than lip service to the actual gods and goddesses, and that sort of worship doesn’t sit well with most Galloi. The tenets and ideals of the covenant are important, but equally important is the active veneration of gods and spirits (Cybele chief among them).
Legends of the Csejthe
In the year 1575, a young Hungarian countess married a brash and stubborn boy in the small town of Cachtice. She was Erzebet Bathory, he Ferenc Nadasdy. She was said to be an exceptional youth, fl uent in a half-dozen languages, graceful in dance and beautiful beyond compare. Nadasdy, on the other hand, was less extraordinary. While by no means weak, he did not possess the lion’s share of Erzebet’s gifts. The two were not well matched, but the marriage was a marriage of much convenience orchestrated largely by the boy’s mother. At the time, the man was the one with the power of choice and destiny. Ferenc chose his destiny to be war, and only a few years after the wedding, he left his bride behind to pursue life as a warrior and a leader.Bathory (she chose to keep her own family’s name out of stubbornness) grew bored and restless. She languished in her castle, taking care of the family’s business while her husband was away in battle. Such duties required little from a girl so smart and well-bred.
One of her primary tasks was to keep the servants in line, a job she came to relish with sadistic zest. She punished those who disobeyed terribly. She poked needles through the lips of chatterboxes and peeled away the fi ngernails of lazy and clumsy girls. She locked some in rooms naked while snow blew in from open windows. She ordered others left outside to starve for days on end. Erzebet saw her husband as he returned for a few days here and there. They had enough time together to conceive several children, few of whom entertained her beyond a couple of months. When Ferenc left again for war, she would return to her pet project of brutalizing and tormenting the servants.
Time passed, and Erzebet grew older. Before she knew it, she was in her early 40s and her beauty was waning. Then she made a discovery. Upon beating one of the servant girls, her nails raked the waif’s chin. Blood spattered upon her hand, and the crimson fluid left her skin soft and supple. Erzebet believed that the blood even helped diminish her deepening wrinkles. After that, Bathory took her abuse of the servants to a diabolical level. At first, she simply cut them and washed herself in their blood. Over time, that was not enough. She took to hoisting them in cages above her, and had male servants stab upward with sharp spears. The blood rained down upon the countess, and she felt rejuvenated and young once again.
Erzebet Bathory was caught, eventually, but not before hundreds of servants perished at her expense. She was royalty and could not be punished with death, so she was locked in the highest tower of her own castle, trapped in a cold room with a tiny window. As time went on, age and ugliness consumed her. Her hands grew arthritic and bent inward. Her face became etched with cavernous lines. Her fi gure shriveled. One night, years after her isolation began, she died.
The bloody countess’ death was not permanent, however. Under the light of the moon, a fi gure came to her, a shadow with yellow eyes and a wide smile calling himself Kupolé, the Lord of the Ladies. He granted her a favor in return for a commitment. If she would serve him in undeath and act as the Devil’s agent in this horrible world, then Kupolé would allow her to stave off death for a time. More importantly, she would be made beautiful once again, more so than she had ever been. Erzebet agreed, and the Devil called Kupolé cursed her with the Requiem.
Legend suggests that Bathory is still out there, siring many monstrous childer. She and her “babies” are wretched beasts — until they bathe in blood, that is, at which point they reclaim their lost beauty and appear as beauties to all who see them. They call themselves the Csejthe (pronounced tsee-AY-thay), after the family castle in which Erzebet died and was reborn. Their focus in this ugly world is only to make it uglier, for then they are all the more beautiful in comparison. They invoke the name of Kupolé, pray to it and act in accordance with its silent wishes. They are debauched and depraved, predators of the most grisly order. Rumors swirl around them, and some believe that they are a driving force behind the bloodthirsty cells of Satanic Kindred calling themselves “Belial’s Brood.” The Csejthe have heard that others are out there like them, disfi gured beasts who bathe in blood to fi nd unearthly splendor, but these wayward Kindred are little more than pretenders. If Bathory and her children find them, they will be butchered like beasts, their blood made to fi ll the tubs of the Csejthe vampires.
Common Dress code
Appearance: A Pretty’s appearance is dictated in part by his weakness (see below). When freshly bathed in blood, the vampire appears eerily beautiful, his form almost unearthly: skin like virgin porcelain, lips the color of fresh blood, long, delicate limbs and wide, bright eyes. Perhaps more importantly, the vampire appears androgynous. The creature appears not so much without gender as possessing both male and female aspects — roundness of breasts, a subtle musculature, an Adam’s apple upon a wine-stem neck. Many Galloi accentuate this gender ambiguity through fashion, wearing severe suits or overt confi gurations of haute couture. Some wear clothing that shows a surprising amount of skin, thus confusing the issue more. Others sport hairless bodies, shaving themselves bald or wearing wigs and penciling in their eyebrows.
When the vampire has suffered time away from his bloodbaths, however, he looks truly monstrous, like a skeleton swathed in rotten cloth. His skin becomes etched in deep wrinkles, and, sometimes, bones poke through frail fl esh. At this point, the gender-ambiguous appearance also fades – the vampire’s original masculinity or femininity becomes more obvious beneath the monstrosity.
When the vampire has suffered time away from his bloodbaths, however, he looks truly monstrous, like a skeleton swathed in rotten cloth. His skin becomes etched in deep wrinkles, and, sometimes, bones poke through frail fl esh. At this point, the gender-ambiguous appearance also fades – the vampire’s original masculinity or femininity becomes more obvious beneath the monstrosity.
Foods & Cuisine
Haven: Most Galloi favor modern (even minimalist) havens located in places of desperation. The Galloi realize that they have much to offer the hopeless. The Galloi can bring youth, beauty and other advantages to those who need them most, and that puts the Galloi in a position of power. Therefore, many Galloi establish havens near artist communities, within seedy neighborhoods, even among the struggling middle class. The Galloi obviously prefer to dwell within the cities, with the rest of the Kindred, though some Galloi enjoy the comforts and opportunity of more remote existence.
Some Pretties choose to dedicate their havens as shrines to the goddess Cybele. Cybele’s temples used to be underground; such subterranean sanctuaries represented the dark and earthy womb. In homage, particularly ardent Galloi choose havens beneath the ground, such as abandoned chambers off abandoned subway tunnels, the cellars of old houses or neglected bomb shelters. Even these subterranean dwellings tend to show off the vampires’ bizarre tastes in fashion, art and décor.
Some Pretties choose to dedicate their havens as shrines to the goddess Cybele. Cybele’s temples used to be underground; such subterranean sanctuaries represented the dark and earthy womb. In homage, particularly ardent Galloi choose havens beneath the ground, such as abandoned chambers off abandoned subway tunnels, the cellars of old houses or neglected bomb shelters. Even these subterranean dwellings tend to show off the vampires’ bizarre tastes in fashion, art and décor.
Major organizations
Covenant: With few exceptions, the Galloi belong to The Circle of the Crone. Moreover, many Galloi make particularly zealous Acolytes. A small minority of this bloodline makes their homes among The Invictus or the Carthians, eschewing any kind of spirituality and enjoying cosmopolitan Requiems of politics and power. Only the most marginal Galloi ever end up in the ranks of The Ordo Dracul or The Lancea Sanctum, however. Those Galloi who end up in the Order do so to understand (or exploit) their own mystic proclivities. The rare Galloi who becomes Sanctifi ed generallydoes so to rebuke his own “heathen sins” and to fi nd a new Requiem as one of God’s cursed children.
Organization: The Galloi bloodline doesn’t have much in the way of formal organization. This bloodline’s hierarchy is that of the Circle as a whole, and many among the Pretties aspire to leadership roles among the Acolytes. The Galloi tend to feel that they are more dearly committed to the precepts of the covenant than the hoi polloi, and, therefore, consider themselves deserving of authority. (Those who don’t respect the hard-earned accolades of Galloi among the hierarchy will, at the very least, intimately learn the tenet that “tribulation brings enlightenment.”) Ambitious individual Pretties often seek to become Hierophants of the local covenant. The key advantage of this is that the Hierophant essentially sets the local focus of the Circle’s worship. In this way, the Pretties can establish Cybele as the core divinity of the Circle’s veneration. The Galloi grant Cybele favor (and in return, purportedly gain advantage themselves) by “enlightening” others with regard to her celestial power and dominance.
Individual Galloi broods occasionally follow minor rules of organization, some spoken, some not. Unspoken is the fact that Galloi do not operate alone. They almost universally support one another in discrete domains (braving a temporary itinerancy when necessary), for such a collective helps them establish ascendancy within the local Circle. The bloodline also celebrates holidays specifi c to Cybele. The Galloi tend to celebrate in these festivals and revelries only with each other. Other Acolytes participate in these venerations only by invitation, which can be either easy to obtain or hard to come by depending upon the Pretties’ political or religious agenda. The vampire who orchestrates these ritual celebrations is generally the eldest Galloi in the region, though not always and is called the archigallus. Occasionally the archigallus is simply the Kindred who has carried that responsibility for the longest time, whether new elders have graced the domain or otherwise.
Organization: The Galloi bloodline doesn’t have much in the way of formal organization. This bloodline’s hierarchy is that of the Circle as a whole, and many among the Pretties aspire to leadership roles among the Acolytes. The Galloi tend to feel that they are more dearly committed to the precepts of the covenant than the hoi polloi, and, therefore, consider themselves deserving of authority. (Those who don’t respect the hard-earned accolades of Galloi among the hierarchy will, at the very least, intimately learn the tenet that “tribulation brings enlightenment.”) Ambitious individual Pretties often seek to become Hierophants of the local covenant. The key advantage of this is that the Hierophant essentially sets the local focus of the Circle’s worship. In this way, the Pretties can establish Cybele as the core divinity of the Circle’s veneration. The Galloi grant Cybele favor (and in return, purportedly gain advantage themselves) by “enlightening” others with regard to her celestial power and dominance.
Individual Galloi broods occasionally follow minor rules of organization, some spoken, some not. Unspoken is the fact that Galloi do not operate alone. They almost universally support one another in discrete domains (braving a temporary itinerancy when necessary), for such a collective helps them establish ascendancy within the local Circle. The bloodline also celebrates holidays specifi c to Cybele. The Galloi tend to celebrate in these festivals and revelries only with each other. Other Acolytes participate in these venerations only by invitation, which can be either easy to obtain or hard to come by depending upon the Pretties’ political or religious agenda. The vampire who orchestrates these ritual celebrations is generally the eldest Galloi in the region, though not always and is called the archigallus. Occasionally the archigallus is simply the Kindred who has carried that responsibility for the longest time, whether new elders have graced the domain or otherwise.
Nickname: Pretties
Character Creation: Some Pretties value sharpness of mind, whereas others rely upon keen social wiles. Thus, individual Galloi tend to be particularly dominant in either the Social or Mental categories (both Attributes and Skills). Few Galloi devote any attention at all to the Physical, and, as a result, many vampires of this bloodline appear winnowed or gaunt. Favored Skills include Intimidation, Investigation, Occult, Persuasion and Socialize, the better with which to ply the Pretties’ cultic trades. Galloi often favor Social Merits, as well, and often have high Allies and Contacts, with Herd coming in a close third.
Bloodline Disciplines: Majesty, Nightmare, Obfuscate, Taurobolium
Weakness: The Galloi are called the “Pretties” for a reason. Some Nosferatu might be monstrous, eerie or freakish in subtle ways, but few of them would be called beautiful. This bloodline, on the other hand, is beautiful, in a manner of speaking — if the vampire bathes in her own blood.
A Galloi must spend a number of Vitae equal to her Blood Potency and mix it with water, perfumes, oils and other arcane emollients. She must then immerse herself beneath the surface for a full hour. If she does this, she emerges from the bath changed. No longer hideous, she is a creature of alien beauty, a fi gure featuring the bizarre auspices of both genders. This beauty lasts for a number of nights equal to 10 minus the vampire’s Blood Potency.
If she does not immerse herself in another appropriate bloodbath before that time runs out, she wakes up the following night with a mien more unsettling than that of other Nosferatu. Her appearance becomes skeletal, her body a set of bones draped with a shriveled veneer of chalk-white skin. She also emits an odor of moldering earth and putrescence. Mortals within fi ve yards of her are subject to a Stamina + Composure roll to avoid nausea. Worse, when in this state, the vampire suffers from the Inferiority Complex derangement (mild), or Anxiety (severe) if she already has the mild version (see p. 98 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). The derangement and desiccated corpse-form transform into beauty once she again bathes in blood.
The paradox is that, even when beautiful, the vampire still suffers from the normal Nosferatu weakness. The creature’s looks are now too perfect, and such perfection is disturbing. As such, the vampire’s dice pools in social situations (specifi cally those based on Presence or Manipulation Attributes) remain hampered. The 10 again rule doesn’t apply, and 1’s subtract from successes. Note that the latter part doesn’t affect dramatic failure rules. Also, the weakness doesn’t apply to pools involving the Intimidation Skill, the Composure Attribute or the Nightmare and Taurobolium Disciplines.
Concepts: Art dealer, burn victim, club owner, dominatrix, Harpy, makeup artist, pawn broker or fence, pimp or madam, public eccentric, record producer, transsexual
The “Days of Blood” (March 15th through 25th) comprise the Pretties’ holiest of festivals. These 11 days and nights are devoted exclusively to the worship of Cybele and her castrated consort, Attis. The Days do not have many formalized practices tonight. Mostly, the festival involves 10 days of orgiastic celebration. The Galloi dress exquisitely, wearing elaborate costumes, dresses and other finery. They often commit self-mortification, whipping one another with barbed fl ails, biting at one another, even going so far as to incur genital mutilation (in observance of Cybele’s fertility connotations and their own sexual impotency). Some sacrifice any number of sacred animals (bulls, rams, raptors), then consuming the blood and bathing in it. Others sacrifi ce mortals, but most Galloi find this practice both dangerous and outmoded.
The Galloi usually share tales of Cybele and Attis, either recounting legends or singing personal stories about how the goddess has blessed them with blood and beauty. By and large, the Days of Blood are for the Pretties only. The vampires of the bloodline sequester themselves away from the rest of the world for these 10 days, usually in one of their bathhouses (see p. 58), provided one exists locally, and do not emerge until the festival is complete. On rare occasions, highly prized mortal thralls, in addition to closely aligned Kindred members of the cult, partake.
Some radical Galloi cells don’t allow others to join them in worship of Cybele. These Pretties maintain that no other vampire can offer the goddess proper veneration, and, thus, other Kindred are kept at arm’s length and out of this exclusive group.
April 4th is Megalensia, one of Cybele’s holy days. On this night, the Galloi celebrate the day the Magna Mater was said to be revealed to the mortal world. Megalensia is, to the Galloi, a day of mirth and festivity, less severe than the Days of Blood. All Kindred may partake in the festival, regardless of their covenant, clan or bloodline. The Galloi offer games of sport, music and a banquet of blood.
In reality, the Galloi use this holy days as a celebration and a pulpit. The celebration demonstrates to other Kindred that the Galloi are not monstrous fanatics and that joy can be had in service to Cybele. Then again, unless the Galloi hold specifi c social or political power in a city, few vampires bother showing up to this strange celebration.
Thesmophoria (November 1st through 3rd) is the Day of the Beautiful Newborn. This three-day period celebrates the fertility granted by Cybele.
On the first night, local Galloi abscond with a newborn child. Some Galloi take these infants from hospitals or hospice care while other Galloi brusquely abduct children from private residences. The infants are too young to consciously remember such trauma, but Cybele herself only knows what this wicked ceremony wreaks on the child’s mind or body. They keep the child for the full three nights, feeding him or her only their Vitae. At the end of the third night, they return the child to his or her parents.
Or, at least, most Galloi do. Some keep the child and attempt to raise him or her, whereas others offer the child as a sacrifice to Cybele. But these actions are to be considered unorthodox.
Galloi bathhouses are bloody sites. Although the blood spilled often contains a number of other elements and ends up being unusable as “functional” Vitae (useless as sustenance, does not cause a Vinculum), the sweet scent incites any vampire’s hungry Beast. Vampires in these places gain a +3 dice bonus in resisting hunger frenzy because caldariums are places of decorum and protocol. On the other hand, a –2 penalty also applies because the bathhouses provide constant reminders of blood and hunger. The cumulative modifier is then +1 to resist frenzies. Vampires are subject to other modifi ers (such as penalties for starvation) as normal. The Galloi themselves can ignore the –2 penalty (only in their bathhouses) because they have become acclimated to the environment, thus allowing them a full +3 bonus in resisting frenzy. Storytellers should indeed make thirst a matter of dramatic impact for Kindred visiting a caldarium.
Parent ethnicities
Bloodline Disciplines: Majesty, Nightmare, Obfuscate, Taurobolium
Weakness: The Galloi are called the “Pretties” for a reason. Some Nosferatu might be monstrous, eerie or freakish in subtle ways, but few of them would be called beautiful. This bloodline, on the other hand, is beautiful, in a manner of speaking — if the vampire bathes in her own blood.
A Galloi must spend a number of Vitae equal to her Blood Potency and mix it with water, perfumes, oils and other arcane emollients. She must then immerse herself beneath the surface for a full hour. If she does this, she emerges from the bath changed. No longer hideous, she is a creature of alien beauty, a fi gure featuring the bizarre auspices of both genders. This beauty lasts for a number of nights equal to 10 minus the vampire’s Blood Potency.
If she does not immerse herself in another appropriate bloodbath before that time runs out, she wakes up the following night with a mien more unsettling than that of other Nosferatu. Her appearance becomes skeletal, her body a set of bones draped with a shriveled veneer of chalk-white skin. She also emits an odor of moldering earth and putrescence. Mortals within fi ve yards of her are subject to a Stamina + Composure roll to avoid nausea. Worse, when in this state, the vampire suffers from the Inferiority Complex derangement (mild), or Anxiety (severe) if she already has the mild version (see p. 98 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). The derangement and desiccated corpse-form transform into beauty once she again bathes in blood.
The paradox is that, even when beautiful, the vampire still suffers from the normal Nosferatu weakness. The creature’s looks are now too perfect, and such perfection is disturbing. As such, the vampire’s dice pools in social situations (specifi cally those based on Presence or Manipulation Attributes) remain hampered. The 10 again rule doesn’t apply, and 1’s subtract from successes. Note that the latter part doesn’t affect dramatic failure rules. Also, the weakness doesn’t apply to pools involving the Intimidation Skill, the Composure Attribute or the Nightmare and Taurobolium Disciplines.
Concepts: Art dealer, burn victim, club owner, dominatrix, Harpy, makeup artist, pawn broker or fence, pimp or madam, public eccentric, record producer, transsexual
Bloody Times
The “Days of Blood” (March 15th through 25th) comprise the Pretties’ holiest of festivals. These 11 days and nights are devoted exclusively to the worship of Cybele and her castrated consort, Attis. The Days do not have many formalized practices tonight. Mostly, the festival involves 10 days of orgiastic celebration. The Galloi dress exquisitely, wearing elaborate costumes, dresses and other finery. They often commit self-mortification, whipping one another with barbed fl ails, biting at one another, even going so far as to incur genital mutilation (in observance of Cybele’s fertility connotations and their own sexual impotency). Some sacrifice any number of sacred animals (bulls, rams, raptors), then consuming the blood and bathing in it. Others sacrifi ce mortals, but most Galloi find this practice both dangerous and outmoded.The Galloi usually share tales of Cybele and Attis, either recounting legends or singing personal stories about how the goddess has blessed them with blood and beauty. By and large, the Days of Blood are for the Pretties only. The vampires of the bloodline sequester themselves away from the rest of the world for these 10 days, usually in one of their bathhouses (see p. 58), provided one exists locally, and do not emerge until the festival is complete. On rare occasions, highly prized mortal thralls, in addition to closely aligned Kindred members of the cult, partake.
Members Only
Some radical Galloi cells don’t allow others to join them in worship of Cybele. These Pretties maintain that no other vampire can offer the goddess proper veneration, and, thus, other Kindred are kept at arm’s length and out of this exclusive group.
Megalensia
April 4th is Megalensia, one of Cybele’s holy days. On this night, the Galloi celebrate the day the Magna Mater was said to be revealed to the mortal world. Megalensia is, to the Galloi, a day of mirth and festivity, less severe than the Days of Blood. All Kindred may partake in the festival, regardless of their covenant, clan or bloodline. The Galloi offer games of sport, music and a banquet of blood.In reality, the Galloi use this holy days as a celebration and a pulpit. The celebration demonstrates to other Kindred that the Galloi are not monstrous fanatics and that joy can be had in service to Cybele. Then again, unless the Galloi hold specifi c social or political power in a city, few vampires bother showing up to this strange celebration.
Thesmophoria
Thesmophoria (November 1st through 3rd) is the Day of the Beautiful Newborn. This three-day period celebrates the fertility granted by Cybele.On the first night, local Galloi abscond with a newborn child. Some Galloi take these infants from hospitals or hospice care while other Galloi brusquely abduct children from private residences. The infants are too young to consciously remember such trauma, but Cybele herself only knows what this wicked ceremony wreaks on the child’s mind or body. They keep the child for the full three nights, feeding him or her only their Vitae. At the end of the third night, they return the child to his or her parents.
Or, at least, most Galloi do. Some keep the child and attempt to raise him or her, whereas others offer the child as a sacrifice to Cybele. But these actions are to be considered unorthodox.
Bloodbaths, Hunger, and Frenzy
Galloi bathhouses are bloody sites. Although the blood spilled often contains a number of other elements and ends up being unusable as “functional” Vitae (useless as sustenance, does not cause a Vinculum), the sweet scent incites any vampire’s hungry Beast. Vampires in these places gain a +3 dice bonus in resisting hunger frenzy because caldariums are places of decorum and protocol. On the other hand, a –2 penalty also applies because the bathhouses provide constant reminders of blood and hunger. The cumulative modifier is then +1 to resist frenzies. Vampires are subject to other modifi ers (such as penalties for starvation) as normal. The Galloi themselves can ignore the –2 penalty (only in their bathhouses) because they have become acclimated to the environment, thus allowing them a full +3 bonus in resisting frenzy. Storytellers should indeed make thirst a matter of dramatic impact for Kindred visiting a caldarium.
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