| Contents |
| History • Strongholds • Advantages and Weaknesses • The Pisanob in DC • Pisanob Characters |
| Pisanobs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pseudonyms | Children of Tenochtitlan |
| Sect | Independents Teteoh |
| Disciplines | Auspex Fortitude Necromancy |
| Rarity | Rare |
The Pisanob are a young bloodline, coming into existence in the sixteenth century as the native Mesoamerican vampires of the Teteoh recognized that the invading Europeans were beginning to threaten their long-standing powers and traditions. Necromancers who fight to keep their native traditions surrounding the dead alive amid the whirlwind of repercussions from the invaders, they are few in number and secretive about their powers, and have in recent years begun to ally themselves with the Giovanni in order to find backing independent of the warring Camarilla and Sabbat who have so often decimated their herds.
History
The Pisanob were intentionally created by their sister bloodline, the Xotoli, in response to the invasion of European clans; as their mortal populations struggled against Spanish conquistadors, so did the undead of the Teteoh struggle as the Ventrue- and Toreador-led vampiric forces that came with them attempted to assert their dominance over the nighttime world. Fearing that their necromantic secrets would be lost if enough of them were killed or driven into hiding, the Xotoli performed a mass ritual, using the blood of sacrificial volunteers from among the bloodline, and Embraced a number of revenants, stolen from the Giovanni due to their pre-existing connection to death, to become new creatures never before seen in Mexico. The resulting vampires were the first of the Pisanob, and their calling was solely to preserve and guard the secrets of necromancy as well as to wield them in the service of the Teteoh wherever possible.
This desperate move worked surprisingly well for a few centuries; the Pisanob successfully managed to preserve and restore their practice to thriving, and the addition of them bolstered the ranks of other native blood sorcerers such as the Xotoli or Coconeh Pochtli, preventing European vampires from gaining more than a foothold in the world beyond the Mexican Shroud. Unfortunately, they could not prevent the tsunami of underworld disaster that came with the Maelstrom, and soon found themselves more occupied with fighting the truly dead than twilight creatures like themselves.
Modern Nights
Ironically, the strongest ally the Pisanob have in modern times are the Giovanni, who with characteristic pragmatism have decided to view the young bloodline as essentially part of the family due to their origins. This is frought with friction, of course - the Pisanob retain their mistrust of the European clans and are none too happy to be considered subordinate to any of them - but it's undeniable that without the Giovanni, they would have considerably more trouble affecting things in Mexico, especially since the Sabbat destruction of Mexico City and ensuing chaos across much of the country.
Recognizing that dangerous things are coming, the Pisanob have begun to ramp up their necromancy in secret, recreating many of their ancient sacrificial rituals and stealing the hearts of other vampires to add to their store of power. This is kept strictly secret from all but the most trusted of allies; the bloodline is all too aware that the European clans would come for their blood in turn if they knew, and that the Giovanni would be some of the first among them.
Strongholds
The original and still traditional strongholds of the Pisanob are crumbling jungle ruins left behind by the Maya and even older civilizations, kept alive and functional by vampires who have little interest in what might be going on among the unruly humans. Most of them are cunningly hidden with use of blood sorcery, making it rare for human archaeologists to stumble across them (or survive to tell the tale if they do), which in turn has given fuel to traditional myths about lost cities and secret treasures in the jungle.
Due to the scattered nature of the Pisanob temples and ruins, they operate in a decentralized fashion, sending information (usually by means of necromantc servants) to one another from a distance but seldom appearing in the same place in any force. This is part of their mission statement, they would say; they have to protect their ancient powers, and putting too many of them in one place is just asking for a crisis to leave them with critically low numbers.
Advantages and Weaknesses
Advantages
Pisanob were created to be consummate necromancers, and they are. Pisanob always begin play with one additional level of Necromancy than they could normally have, and they are also frequently able to avoid mistakes and disasters that would strike them if not for a deathly servant that automatically swoops in and saves them at the last minute. Some vampires, if they are able to look past the unsettling otherworldliness of the bloodline, consider them to have an almost divine level of good fortune to explain their constant narrow escapes and close shaves.
Disadvantages
The Pisanob may be good at death, but they're equally bad at life. Pisanob are perceived by mortals as if they were ghosts; they look ghastly, horrifying, and in all ways utterly dead, no matter how they try to disguise themselves or look normal, and therefore cannot move among mortals without causing panic and confusion wherever they go. Even other supernatural creatures have been known to occasionally see the Pisanob to "flicker," as if they become insubstantial and horrifying wraiths when glimpsed out of the corner of one's eye.
The Pisanobs in DC
There are currently no known Pisanob in Washington, DC, although there are a few members of the Teteoh lurking in the darker portions of the evening.
Pisanob Characters
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| Raoul Pisanob |