Brujah

Brujah
Pseudonyms	Agitators; Punks; Rabble; Rebels
Sect	Anarchs Camarilla
Disciplines	Celerity Potence Presence
Bloodlines	Eloi
Rarity	Common

With wild tempers and the physical power to match, Brujah are well-known as a clan of rebels, revolutionaries, protestors and malcontents. They are almost always agitating against those in power, whether by making impassioned speeches and fighting to change the laws from within, or by staging riots and destructive demonstrations in pursuit of more immediate action.

The Brujah were widely considered to be a clan of scholars and rhetoricians in times past, but since the advent of the modern world, they have mostly given up the idea of debating philosophies and rules, instead insisting on direct action to force change to come more quickly where it is needed. Not every Brujah is clear on exactly what change is needed, of course, nor do they all agree, and many of them seem to be rebelling almost for the sake of fighting against those in power, not because they have any real reason to want to do so. The Brujah are one of the founding clans of the Camarilla, but their constant struggle against authority causes a greater percentage of them to defect to the Anarchs or even the Sabbat than most other clans.

History

In ancient times, the Brujah were revered as patrician scholars and poet-kings, often encouraging art and culture and debate as easily and casually as they conquered new territories. The clan's identity began to solidify in the new Greek polis-states, where the new concept of human ethics was fascinating to them; although some concepts did not carry over to the undead condition, they found the human attempt to create better and more pleasant societies exciting, and began to invest themselves heavily in the emerging art of philosophy.

While the original Brujah Antediluvian was a formidable rhetorician and logician, his eldest childe, often referred to as Troile in ancient records, was fractious and rebellious, eventually attacking and diablerizing her sire. This act split the clan into various factions, a loss of unification from which it never really recovered, although Troile's many descendants pride themselves on marrying the best of both progenitors - the logic and philosophy of the Antediluvian and the passion and rebellion of Troile - in a single boisterous package.

Carthage

In approximately 800 BCE, the Brujah created a powerful stronghold in the human city of Carthage, which they used as a grand experiment: an attempt to see if they could create a utopia where human and vampire could live alongside one another and justice could not be preempted simply by strength of arms. The success of the experiment depends upon who you ask; while some Brujah elders maintain that Carthage was the paradise it was always meant to be and was laid low by the jealous machinations of outside forces, there are also accounts of hideous blood sacrifices and deadly bloodsports played in packed arenas. Who is telling the truth, and who is simply spreading propaganda, is a matter of such antiquity that no one short of a methuselah who was actually present could say for sure.

Either way, Carthage was overthrown and destroyed during the Third Punic War, in which Roman forces backed by members of clans Ventrue and Malkavian crushed the city and destroyed its foundations to be rebuilt later. The famous sowing of salt in the earth was a ploy by these vampiric agitators to prevent Brujah elders (some claim even Troile herself) who might be slumbering in torpor beneath the city from being able to awaken and rise up again.

The Anarch Revolt

Clan Brujah was heavily involved in the Anarch Revolt in the fifteenth century, which came as no surprise to anyone familiar with their rebellious nature (in fact, many elders to this day primarily blame the Brujah for the existence of the Anarchs and Sabbat). Recognizing that the ironclad control of the ancient elders prevented their descendants from experiencing true freedom or trying to build anything new of their own, they helped lead the charge against the entrenched ancient powers, fighting for a utopian ideal of a vampire society built on equality and skill.

After the Convention of Thorns put the nail in the Anarchs' collective coffin, many Brujah remained with the fledgling sect, hoping to nurture the battered and disillusioned members into building it into something that could one day approach the dream of freedom again. Others, infuriated by the Anarch concessions to the Camarilla and what they saw as an attempt to defang their movement, were instrumental in founding the Sabbat (although many now point out that the Sabbat's system of rigid religious hierarchy really didn't turn out to be all that much freer than the Camarilla system was).

The Russo Council

Seeking solidarity with movements among mortals, who in their brief lives were motivated to move quickly and intensely rather than spending centuries in contemplation, the Brujah turned east to Russia, where the first stirrings of what would become the USSR had begun to brew near the end of the nineteenth century. Seeing the country as a similar grand experiment to their own - a proposed utopia of equality where citizens would never need to fear being oppressed by their fellows - the Brujah invested considerable resources into founding the Russo Council, an all-Brujah vampiric council that managed and oversaw almost every vampiric initiative in northern Asia, even managing to occasionally gain footholds against the hostile Kuei-Jin courts throughout the continent. Unfortunately for those hopefuls among the Brujah contingent, the council was destroyed nearly overnight when the Nosferatu ancient Baba Yaga awoke and summarily destroyed everyone she considered interlopers in her lands.

Strongholds

Unfortunately for their overall cohesiveness, the Brujah have not had a unified base of power in some time; with Carthage destroyed and the more recent Anarch base of Los Angeles now completely overrun by Sabbat and Kuei-Jin forces, they have been forced to operate from various ad-hoc command centers and without a great deal of internal clan organization. Some say this is for the best; there is no Brujah-built plan or structure on earth that some other Brujah isn't probably in the process of planning how to destroy out of rebellion against what it represents.

Several cities are informal "Brujah cities" in Camarilla-controlled areas, making them informal rallying points when the clan needs somewhere for its elders to meet and discuss (or deconstruct) philosophy. Chicago was considered one of the most important of these until the recent destruction of the elder Alphonse Capone, but existing enclaves include Salt Lake City, Moscow, and Stockholm.

Clan Advantage and Weakness

Advantages

The Brujah are used to everything being about them versus the world, so they can rely on one another the way other clans seldom can. Brujah can ask for help from other Brujah without needing to supply any Boons and regardless of Status; often, their clanmates will help, no questions asked, although they're not likely to do so if the person asking them wants something that directly conflicts with their own goals. Any Brujah who abuse this benefit will find themselves losing it when their clanmates get tired of them, however, and once lost this regard is extremely difficult to regain.

Disadvantages

Brujah have violent, hair-trigger tempers, a side effect of their consuming passion. They are much more likely to enter Frenzy at any given time, especially rage frenzies, and have no ability to distinguish between friend and foe while frenzying. They're also more likely to lose Humanity if they lose their temper and do something terrible to others, so Brujah generally attempt to be as calm and patient as possible (even though they're not very good at it).

The Brujah in DC

The Brujah of DC have trouble exerting any true influence over the city as a result of their fractured, disorganized state; no one truly takes much of a leadership role except in times of great danger, and as a result all the city's Brujah are busy chasing their own causes and arguing among themselves. It doesn't help that the Prince intentionally fosters in-fighting and bad blood between the Brujah of his city, making sure that they never organize effectively enough to rise against him.

As is traditional in many areas of the world, the Brujah of DC are only a polite whimper away from outright hostilities with the Ventrue, whose adherence to outdated rules and smug assurance that they alone are meant to be in autocratic power over everyone else always causes dislike or even outright hatred among the Brujah ranks. In particular, the aged elder Bjorn Garinson remembers the Ventrue invaders driving his clan out of traditional territories in Europe centuries ago and has never forgiven them, and although allying with the Lasombra would be unthinkable for many Brujah under normal circumstances, some are beginning to mutter that even the Shadow Lords would be preferable to deal with instead of the Blue Bloods.

Brujah Player Characters

Aidan MacNeill	Astrid Ivarsdottir	Barbosa

Brian O'Keefe	Caesar Marino	Casper Iversson	Charisma Tiang	Connor Barr	Cyrus Warren	Damien Knight
Davin Creech	Frank Gymenez	Jackson Dupree	Jade Sirkov	Jean-Claude Valdeaux	Jenny Ginetti	Jessi Thatcher
Jessica Tybalt	Johnny Dirnt	Jon O'Henry	Julian Sandhurst	Kaylani MacGregor	Kiera Uplander	Killian Barr
Marcus Domitius	Marie Montclaire	Marlena Horsmanden	Mila Kross	Mindy Eads	Octavio Popodopolus	Pham Hong
Philippos de Grecia	Santiago Ramirez	Solomon Hodge	Stephen Patrick Maslowe	Tobias Albrecht	Trent Cunningham	Vincent d'Lamente

See Also

Brujah Antitribu
Eloi

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