Mortifiers of the Flesh
I have sinned, I must repent. I have sinned, I must repent. I have sinned, I must repent.
The Mortifiers of the Flesh are, in some domains, as much a faction within The Lancea Sanctum as they are a bloodline. Dedicated to penitence through personal pain and tribulation, as well as to the religious dogma of the covenant, the socalled Flagellants are often as feared as they are misunderstood.
The bloodline is thought to be as old, at least, as the Black Abbey. Some claim it was begun by the Monachus himself, and that the bloodline’s accessibility from any clan is evidence that its founder was not too far removed from Longinus himself. The more popular history of the Mortifiers, as put forth by more mainstream factions of the covenant, claim that it was founded by enlightened and penitent members of clan Daeva, who gathered after the fall of the Black Monastery and punished themselves for the loss of the Monachus. Some scholars of the Curse — including occultists of The Ordo Dracul — have suggested that Flagellant Blood does not carry the power of any sire (and so is not strictly a bloodline) but can only be transmuted through a force of will. Whatever the truth is, the genealogy of the Mortifiers has clearly been lost to time.
Despite its bloodline’s lost origins, the Mortifiers can trace their history back centuries into the medieval nights. It seems clear that the Mortifiers were inspired by heretically extreme flagellant movements of the mortal church; the eldest Mortifiers claim to have practiced flagellation prior to accepting the Curse. Though members of the line may have had power over the Blood before being subsumed by the covenant, Mortifiers have been included in the membership of The Lancea Sanctum by default since the late fourteenth century. Flagellation movements did not last long in the churches of the kine, but they have no yet died out among the Sanctified. Modern Mortifiers, like those in centuries past, are assumed to be Sanctified, though a few Flagellants must exist outside of the covenant somewhere.
Mortifiers believe that the Curse is a divine punishment in addition to a conscription into holy service, and that vampirism a sin for which the Damned must eternally repent. Taking the Sanctified dogma to the extreme, Mortifiers show penitence through scarification and painful rites that inflict horrible wounds upon themselves. Some Sanctified theologians argue that such penitence reveals a terrible lack of acceptance of the vampire’s earthly role — how can the Sanctified exalt a role he feels ashamed of? Many wise Anointed have come to conclude, however, that guilt and penitence — even when they are counted as weaknesses — can exist alongside reverence of the predatory role.
As Giancarlo of Naples, a Flagellant Priest, wrote to his Archbishop in 1611: “It is not that I believe my earthly service to be shameful, for I strive to fulfill the expectations held for me in Heaven, but how can I deny that my earthly state is sinful? As I have been Damned by the Lord, I am stretched in two ways, as if on the Rack: I must strive to serve as best I can even while I must be punished for the crimes that have led me into service.”
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Mortifiers were more influential within the covenant — seen as admirably deranged devotees on the extreme border of selfless penitence —but their single-minded dedication to spiritual matters slowly withered their political relevance as The Lancea Sanctum’s union with The Invictus grew more solid. Sanctified authorities have found that such gruesome extremism is often best kept “off the recruitment poster,” so to speak. Flagellants are still sometimes found in political positions within the covenant, however, particularly in more conservative domains.
To Flagellants, the flesh is sinful. The flesh is the domain of the Devil and the Curse’s fuel. By filling the body with pain, they can drive the Devil out, for a time. Flagellants draw out their Vitae to free themselves from it, but must always search for more. “The Blood was given to us,” wrote Giancarlo, “so that we would have more to spend in penance.”
But the soul is pure. The soul can never be touched by the pain inflicted upon the body. The more pain a Flagellant experiences, the more he knows about the limits of the body. In time, he may learn where the body truly ends and the soul begins. One night, he may find that his body finally gives up his soul to Heaven, even while it continues to toil for Vitae on earth.
Mortifiers do their best to keep their spirits pure and strive to keep the Devil out of their body by avoiding frenzy. They seek to avoid all violations of The Traditions, believing they were given to the Kindred as a test — just three commandments to obey, but for all eternity. (“No matter how many or how few laws are held up, sinners shall sin,” wrote one Mortifier.) As a result of their strict piety and avoidance of the Blood, Mortifiers also avoid The Vinculum and all tastes of Kindred Vitae whenever possible. Many Mortifiers undertake voluntary Torpor to diminish the demands of the Blood, so they may never have to feed on vampires.
The Mortifiers have, over the centuries, developed a Discipline called Scourge, tied to their knowledge of pain and the flesh. It is this supernatural power, itself caused by a change in the Blood, that proved the Mortifiers to be a bloodline despite their unknown origins and lack of a parent clan. Still, relatively few of the Sanctified who are categorized as Flagellants are able to learn the Discipline, because so few have the will to change their Blood. So it is that many Kindred who are thought to be Mortifiers having difficulty mastering Scourge have not, in fact, even become a part of the bloodline. As a result, those Kindred who are rumored to have left (or failed out of) the Mortifier bloodline were more likely never truly a part of it.
The Flagellants do not recruit Kindred into their ranks, but neither do they keep their ways secret. Vampires who wish to become Mortifiers of the Flesh are challenged to exist as Flagellants for a year and a day before they attempt to transform their Blood through the Ritual of Initiation. During this year, the petitioner is overseen by a Mortifier Avus and guided through philosophical contemplations of penitence and sin, of the body and the soul. The Avus guides the student through the Testament as it appears to a Flagellant, challenges him to undergo new extremes of penance (lashes with barbed wire, swallowing razor blades to symbolize the pains of Kindred service and braving red-hot nails through the flesh) and prompts him to identify his own sins. Only when this year of trials has passed can a Kindred undergo the Ritual of Initiation (see “Organization,” below).
The bloodline is thought to be as old, at least, as the Black Abbey. Some claim it was begun by the Monachus himself, and that the bloodline’s accessibility from any clan is evidence that its founder was not too far removed from Longinus himself. The more popular history of the Mortifiers, as put forth by more mainstream factions of the covenant, claim that it was founded by enlightened and penitent members of clan Daeva, who gathered after the fall of the Black Monastery and punished themselves for the loss of the Monachus. Some scholars of the Curse — including occultists of The Ordo Dracul — have suggested that Flagellant Blood does not carry the power of any sire (and so is not strictly a bloodline) but can only be transmuted through a force of will. Whatever the truth is, the genealogy of the Mortifiers has clearly been lost to time.
Despite its bloodline’s lost origins, the Mortifiers can trace their history back centuries into the medieval nights. It seems clear that the Mortifiers were inspired by heretically extreme flagellant movements of the mortal church; the eldest Mortifiers claim to have practiced flagellation prior to accepting the Curse. Though members of the line may have had power over the Blood before being subsumed by the covenant, Mortifiers have been included in the membership of The Lancea Sanctum by default since the late fourteenth century. Flagellation movements did not last long in the churches of the kine, but they have no yet died out among the Sanctified. Modern Mortifiers, like those in centuries past, are assumed to be Sanctified, though a few Flagellants must exist outside of the covenant somewhere.
Mortifiers believe that the Curse is a divine punishment in addition to a conscription into holy service, and that vampirism a sin for which the Damned must eternally repent. Taking the Sanctified dogma to the extreme, Mortifiers show penitence through scarification and painful rites that inflict horrible wounds upon themselves. Some Sanctified theologians argue that such penitence reveals a terrible lack of acceptance of the vampire’s earthly role — how can the Sanctified exalt a role he feels ashamed of? Many wise Anointed have come to conclude, however, that guilt and penitence — even when they are counted as weaknesses — can exist alongside reverence of the predatory role.
As Giancarlo of Naples, a Flagellant Priest, wrote to his Archbishop in 1611: “It is not that I believe my earthly service to be shameful, for I strive to fulfill the expectations held for me in Heaven, but how can I deny that my earthly state is sinful? As I have been Damned by the Lord, I am stretched in two ways, as if on the Rack: I must strive to serve as best I can even while I must be punished for the crimes that have led me into service.”
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Mortifiers were more influential within the covenant — seen as admirably deranged devotees on the extreme border of selfless penitence —but their single-minded dedication to spiritual matters slowly withered their political relevance as The Lancea Sanctum’s union with The Invictus grew more solid. Sanctified authorities have found that such gruesome extremism is often best kept “off the recruitment poster,” so to speak. Flagellants are still sometimes found in political positions within the covenant, however, particularly in more conservative domains.
To Flagellants, the flesh is sinful. The flesh is the domain of the Devil and the Curse’s fuel. By filling the body with pain, they can drive the Devil out, for a time. Flagellants draw out their Vitae to free themselves from it, but must always search for more. “The Blood was given to us,” wrote Giancarlo, “so that we would have more to spend in penance.”
But the soul is pure. The soul can never be touched by the pain inflicted upon the body. The more pain a Flagellant experiences, the more he knows about the limits of the body. In time, he may learn where the body truly ends and the soul begins. One night, he may find that his body finally gives up his soul to Heaven, even while it continues to toil for Vitae on earth.
Mortifiers do their best to keep their spirits pure and strive to keep the Devil out of their body by avoiding frenzy. They seek to avoid all violations of The Traditions, believing they were given to the Kindred as a test — just three commandments to obey, but for all eternity. (“No matter how many or how few laws are held up, sinners shall sin,” wrote one Mortifier.) As a result of their strict piety and avoidance of the Blood, Mortifiers also avoid The Vinculum and all tastes of Kindred Vitae whenever possible. Many Mortifiers undertake voluntary Torpor to diminish the demands of the Blood, so they may never have to feed on vampires.
The Mortifiers have, over the centuries, developed a Discipline called Scourge, tied to their knowledge of pain and the flesh. It is this supernatural power, itself caused by a change in the Blood, that proved the Mortifiers to be a bloodline despite their unknown origins and lack of a parent clan. Still, relatively few of the Sanctified who are categorized as Flagellants are able to learn the Discipline, because so few have the will to change their Blood. So it is that many Kindred who are thought to be Mortifiers having difficulty mastering Scourge have not, in fact, even become a part of the bloodline. As a result, those Kindred who are rumored to have left (or failed out of) the Mortifier bloodline were more likely never truly a part of it.
The Flagellants do not recruit Kindred into their ranks, but neither do they keep their ways secret. Vampires who wish to become Mortifiers of the Flesh are challenged to exist as Flagellants for a year and a day before they attempt to transform their Blood through the Ritual of Initiation. During this year, the petitioner is overseen by a Mortifier Avus and guided through philosophical contemplations of penitence and sin, of the body and the soul. The Avus guides the student through the Testament as it appears to a Flagellant, challenges him to undergo new extremes of penance (lashes with barbed wire, swallowing razor blades to symbolize the pains of Kindred service and braving red-hot nails through the flesh) and prompts him to identify his own sins. Only when this year of trials has passed can a Kindred undergo the Ritual of Initiation (see “Organization,” below).
Culture
Culture and cultural heritage
Background: Mortifiers very rarely Embrace, as any existing vampire can be inducted into their ranks. Most Mortifiers don’t believe it is their place to bestow the Curse on others; they hold The Traditions to be inviolate. Mortifiers who do choose to sire a childe suffer a –2 penalty on degeneration and derangement rolls resulting from the Embrace. In the rare cases when Mortifiers do Embrace, they always choose deeply spiritual childer — they need not be Christians, but they must possess a degree of devotion and piety that can withstand the centuries.
Contrary to the stereotype, very few Mortifiers are masochists. Mortifiers do not endure their sufferings because they enjoy pain; quite the opposite. As penitents, they humble themselves through mortification of the flesh. While some twisted individuals among the Mortifiers do get some strange pleasure out of self-flagellation, their love of pain develops after the Blood has been changed. A vampire could not summon the strength of will of change his Blood into that of a Mortifier of the Flesh if his motives were based on anything but spiritual penitence — you cannot lie to the Blood. Mortifiers experience a sad, spiritual comfort from their penitence, but it cannot rightly be considered pleasure.
Contrary to the stereotype, very few Mortifiers are masochists. Mortifiers do not endure their sufferings because they enjoy pain; quite the opposite. As penitents, they humble themselves through mortification of the flesh. While some twisted individuals among the Mortifiers do get some strange pleasure out of self-flagellation, their love of pain develops after the Blood has been changed. A vampire could not summon the strength of will of change his Blood into that of a Mortifier of the Flesh if his motives were based on anything but spiritual penitence — you cannot lie to the Blood. Mortifiers experience a sad, spiritual comfort from their penitence, but it cannot rightly be considered pleasure.
Common Dress code
Appearance: Flagellants traditionally avoid wearing fancy or expensive clothing, preferring simple, muted and colorless fabrics. They avoid any kind of worldly luxury and do not wear jewelry or other mammon. Most Mortifiers remove any tattoos and piercings left over from their mortal days. Though Mortifiers may keep plainly visible scars as evidence of their piety (or reminders of their sins), such marks are not displayed as a social distinction — they’re possessions kept for the Mortifier’s benefit and no one else’s. Mortifiers often wear minimal clothing (wellworn pants or shorts, for example) when away from mortal eyes, so as not to protect their bodies from simple pains.
Some Mortifiers believe it is an essential act of will to retain scars from important bouts of flagellation. Others believe the unnatural capacity for the undead body to revert to its unscarred state is a defining facet of the Curse: a Flagellant can never be penitent enough. Each night demands new sufferings in pursuit of wisdom and piety.
Some Mortifiers believe it is an essential act of will to retain scars from important bouts of flagellation. Others believe the unnatural capacity for the undead body to revert to its unscarred state is a defining facet of the Curse: a Flagellant can never be penitent enough. Each night demands new sufferings in pursuit of wisdom and piety.
Art & Architecture
Haven: In domains with at least a few Mortifiers, there may be a communal Haven (often called a monastery), where Flagellants can retreat and perform their penitence. Such communal havens are generally well equipped with the tools of mortification, but are otherwise notably bare. Flagellants usually sit and sleep on hard, undecorated floors. Because they have such simple needs, Flagellants can make use of any remote and private space as a Haven. Abandoned factories and industrial sites, littered with rusted and rotten hammers, hooks, wrenches, chains and other tools attract Flagellants. Stone or cement buildings and cold or dark environments are favored over more comfortable options.
Kindred who ask for hospitality within a Mortifier monastery are only turned away if the monastery’s de facto decisionmakers have reason to believe the visitor is an outright enemy. Few Kindred, however, seek hospitality at a Mortifier monastery if she has any idea of what goes on there. Mortifiers don’t pressure others to behave as they do, but even many vampires lack the nerves to look on as flesh is beaten and flayed. Visiting Kindred who are susceptible to frenzy may be turned away. Flagellants who do not stay in a monastery maintain simple havens of their own. In the rare case that a Mortifier keeps a Haven more elaborate than a single, bare cell, he may set aside a room for flagellation.
Kindred who ask for hospitality within a Mortifier monastery are only turned away if the monastery’s de facto decisionmakers have reason to believe the visitor is an outright enemy. Few Kindred, however, seek hospitality at a Mortifier monastery if she has any idea of what goes on there. Mortifiers don’t pressure others to behave as they do, but even many vampires lack the nerves to look on as flesh is beaten and flayed. Visiting Kindred who are susceptible to frenzy may be turned away. Flagellants who do not stay in a monastery maintain simple havens of their own. In the rare case that a Mortifier keeps a Haven more elaborate than a single, bare cell, he may set aside a room for flagellation.
Major organizations
Covenant: The Mortifiers of the Flesh are considered a unique part of The Lancea Sanctum, first spawned by the monks of the Black Abbey. From time to time, Flagellants do leave The Lancea Sanctum, but most are subsequently excommunicated from the society of the bloodline and no longer considered Mortifiers, despite the retention of the bloodline’s mystical qualities. Such outcasts seldom feel welcome anywhere else and become unbound.
Organization: Flagellants are (theoretically) all sworn to follow The Lancea Sanctum leadership and, as such, faithfully follow any Sanctified with a rank within the covenant or city hierarchy. As for the internal relations of the Mortifiers, most cities with sizeable Flagellant populations have a formal or informal leader, called an Abbot. This leader, usually the eldest of the domain’s Mortifiers, is expected to guide the spiritual growth of (and command absolute loyalty from) her fellow Flagellants. The Abbot is also in charge of the monastery, overseeing those decisions that affect the Haven as a whole. A Flagellant who disobeys her Abbot or a member of the Anointed is expected to perform an act of atonement (such as the Ritual of Piercing, see below) and can be excommunicated if she refuses.
The Ritual of Piercing is performed as penance for transgressions against earthly authorities, such as a failure to respectfully follow the Bishop’s orders or an insult against the Prince. It uses a nail with a length of barbed wire affixed on to one end. The nail is pushed through the flesh of the penitent Mortifier’s hand or arm, and then the barbed wire is pulled through the wound. A successful Resolve roll is required to begin the ritual, followed by three or more Strength rolls (depending on the length of the barbed wire) to complete the ritual. Each success on each of these rolls causes one point of bashing damage to the penitent Mortifier.
The Ritual of Initiation, held by the Mortifiers of the Flesh to be the most sacred rite a Kindred can attempt, is not actually a ritual at all. After a year and a day spent preparing for the Ritual of Initiation, a petitioner is released to police his own behaviors and administer his own punishments to himself. As a blessing, the Avus bestows a single Vitae (and a dot of Willpower) to the petitioner so that he may join the Mortifiers of the Flesh. Normally, such blood-sharing would be taboo among the Flagellants, so this act is kept secret — hidden behind the fictitious Rite of Initiation.
Organization: Flagellants are (theoretically) all sworn to follow The Lancea Sanctum leadership and, as such, faithfully follow any Sanctified with a rank within the covenant or city hierarchy. As for the internal relations of the Mortifiers, most cities with sizeable Flagellant populations have a formal or informal leader, called an Abbot. This leader, usually the eldest of the domain’s Mortifiers, is expected to guide the spiritual growth of (and command absolute loyalty from) her fellow Flagellants. The Abbot is also in charge of the monastery, overseeing those decisions that affect the Haven as a whole. A Flagellant who disobeys her Abbot or a member of the Anointed is expected to perform an act of atonement (such as the Ritual of Piercing, see below) and can be excommunicated if she refuses.
The Ritual of Piercing is performed as penance for transgressions against earthly authorities, such as a failure to respectfully follow the Bishop’s orders or an insult against the Prince. It uses a nail with a length of barbed wire affixed on to one end. The nail is pushed through the flesh of the penitent Mortifier’s hand or arm, and then the barbed wire is pulled through the wound. A successful Resolve roll is required to begin the ritual, followed by three or more Strength rolls (depending on the length of the barbed wire) to complete the ritual. Each success on each of these rolls causes one point of bashing damage to the penitent Mortifier.
The Ritual of Initiation, held by the Mortifiers of the Flesh to be the most sacred rite a Kindred can attempt, is not actually a ritual at all. After a year and a day spent preparing for the Ritual of Initiation, a petitioner is released to police his own behaviors and administer his own punishments to himself. As a blessing, the Avus bestows a single Vitae (and a dot of Willpower) to the petitioner so that he may join the Mortifiers of the Flesh. Normally, such blood-sharing would be taboo among the Flagellants, so this act is kept secret — hidden behind the fictitious Rite of Initiation.
Nickname: Flagellants
Character Creation: Mortifiers come from all walks of life and all manner of Requiems. A Mortifier’s Requiem puts his Resistance Attributes to the test. Most Mortifiers are academics, however, who rarely resort to violence against others, so Mental Skills are typically favored. While their reputation might suggest a high Willpower score, many Mortifiers turned to flagellation because they consider themselves to be lacking in it. As a result, many Mortifiers begin with an average Willpower score, then build it up over time. Despite the frequent use a Mortifier gets from the Weaponry Skill, most consider proficiency with weapons to be beside the point. Subterfuge, however, is useful for hiding grotesque scars from narrow-minded Kindred and skittish prey. Remember, also, that a character must have at least a second dot in Blood Potency to be eligible for a bloodline.
Bloodline Disciplines: Mortifiers retain the Disciplines of their parent clan in addition to gaining access to the Discipline of Scourge.
Weakness: In addition to the weakness inherited from his parent clan, a Flagellant feels the weight of his sins on his flesh. Once a Mortifier feeds, he is unable to spend Willpower points until he flagellates himself. For his penitence to overcome his weakness, the Flagellant must make a Resolve + Weaponry roll against himself (ignoring his own Defense) and accept whatever damage he does. (The Mortifier can use any weapon he likes; he does not have to use a Whip or Scourge.) If the Mortifier feeds later on during a night when he has already flagellated himself, he must repent again with a new Resolve + Weaponry roll or be unable to spend Willpower points.
In addition, a Flagellant who fails a degeneration roll suffers a –1 penalty to all actions until he endures penance through pain. To overcome this nagging guilt, the Flagellant must cause damage (of any type) to himself, equal to his Health and delivered by a weapon in his own hand. A short and simple flagellation session isn’t enough: The character must undertake his penance slowly, like a Meditation. Treat this penance as an extended Resolve + Weaponry action, with each roll requiring one hour. At the Storyteller’s discretion, such penance may aid in the resolution of any Derangements resulting from the loss of Humanity.
Concepts: Fallen Priest, Father Confessor, prison warden, reclusive monk, religious advisor, religious prisoner, spiritual guide, torturer, visionary.
Parent ethnicities
Bloodline Disciplines: Mortifiers retain the Disciplines of their parent clan in addition to gaining access to the Discipline of Scourge.
Weakness: In addition to the weakness inherited from his parent clan, a Flagellant feels the weight of his sins on his flesh. Once a Mortifier feeds, he is unable to spend Willpower points until he flagellates himself. For his penitence to overcome his weakness, the Flagellant must make a Resolve + Weaponry roll against himself (ignoring his own Defense) and accept whatever damage he does. (The Mortifier can use any weapon he likes; he does not have to use a Whip or Scourge.) If the Mortifier feeds later on during a night when he has already flagellated himself, he must repent again with a new Resolve + Weaponry roll or be unable to spend Willpower points.
In addition, a Flagellant who fails a degeneration roll suffers a –1 penalty to all actions until he endures penance through pain. To overcome this nagging guilt, the Flagellant must cause damage (of any type) to himself, equal to his Health and delivered by a weapon in his own hand. A short and simple flagellation session isn’t enough: The character must undertake his penance slowly, like a Meditation. Treat this penance as an extended Resolve + Weaponry action, with each roll requiring one hour. At the Storyteller’s discretion, such penance may aid in the resolution of any Derangements resulting from the loss of Humanity.
Concepts: Fallen Priest, Father Confessor, prison warden, reclusive monk, religious advisor, religious prisoner, spiritual guide, torturer, visionary.
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