| Contents |
| History • Strongholds • Advantages and Weaknesses • The Dunsirns in DC • Dunsirn Characters |
| Dunsirns | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pseudonyms | Cannibals |
| Sect | Independents |
| Disciplines | Auspex Fortitude Necromancy |
| Rarity | Rare |
The Dunsirns are a peculiar bloodline; an offshoot of the Giovanni, they are like them more of an extended family than a larger fractured clan, with most of them related to one another in life as well as in death. Rumored (correctly, in some cases) to have a penchant for cannibalism, they arose to become the dominant business power among vampires in Scotland, heavily affecting trade and politics in their small area and forcing even large Camarilla domains such as London to treat them with at least basic civility. (Of course, this civility is somewhat limited as soon as a Dunsirn sets foot outside their own strongholds, especially since cannibal necromancers are no one's favorite party invitees.)
In spite of the enduring rumors of cannibalism, not all Dunsirns actually partake; like other vampires, most of them cannot eat solid food, although it is notable that there are more among them who have the ability to do so than there seem to be in most other bloodlines. The Dunsirns are generally amused to annoyed by the rumors, and often point out that all vampires are cannibals and that it's very silly to make a distinction based purely on whether or not they chew.
History
The Dunsirns were originally a family of revenants under the control of Clan Giovanni, who leveraged their business contacts and ready supply of thugs-for-hire for their own nightly business endeavors, but the Dunsirns chafed under this hierarchy from the start. While the Giovanni claim that they Embraced the first Dunsirns in the eighteenth century and that they only recently became a bloodline of their own, the Dunsirns themselves claim to have created themselves by partaking in an unholy communion in which they ate the flesh of a powerful vampire elder, so strong that it essentially Embraced them when it entered their already ghouled bloodstreams. This story is very seldom told in public for good reason: it doesn't make the Dunsirns look very good, and even if it did, the Giovanni are vehemently in opposition of anyone taking it as truth.
Of course, if the Dunsirns did eat a powerful ancient elder, the question is how they were able to do so when vampiric flesh generally crumbles to bone and ash after they have been dead for a few years, and furthermore which elder. Some scholarly vampires theorize that the Giovanni may have given their shock troops access to some of the blood of the slain Antediluvian Cappadocius, and that they discovered to their dismay after the fact that they might have granted a little too much of a gift.
Strongholds
The traditional Dunsirn stronghold is near Inverness, where they occupy the ancestral castle of the Dunsirns and are generally pleased that the inhospitable highlands and treacherous seas around them keep them relatively unbothered. Unlike many other bloodlines, who keep their places of power secret, the Dunsirns are loud and proud about their location; they say it's because they need people to know where to come for their business deals, but it's also likely that they simply know they have no chance of hiding it. A long and checkered history of incursions from the British vampire clans, especially the Ventrue, have led to a certain stubborn pride in being able to keep their territories while remaining visible for so long.
Advantages and Weaknesses
Advantages
Having once been exclusively revenants, the Dunsirns still maintain their own revenant family, with the understanding that those from it who distinguish themselves are likely to be chosen for the Embrace if they play their cards right. This gives any Dunsirn an extended network of help; they seldom bother with creating their own individual ghouls, since they know that they can call on multiple revenants at any time and probably see them compete for the privilege of being of service.
Interestingly, the Dunsirns also have some ancestral ties to the local werewolves: there are Black Spiral Dancers far back in the mists of the revenant family's genes, and as a result about one in a hundred children has a chance of becoming a shapeshifter. While the Dunsirn mercilessly destroy such potential dangers, they still have the ability to meet and negotiate with werewolves occasionally (even if such meetings are incredibly stressful and prone to going wrong), as opposed to being targeted for death on sight like most vampires. A handful of Dunsirns also seem to exhibit the talents of sorcerers, although most of their elders assume this is another genetic misfire from their shapeshifter blood.
Disadvantages
Every Dunsirn will tell a stranger if asked that they are not cannibals, and that these are ancient slanderous rumors and preposterous aside... but they are all lying, even those who think they technically aren't. Dunsirns are not necessarily career cannibals - they don't have to eat flesh all the time and most of them find the very idea disgusting - but they are stil all occasional cannibals. Dunsirns must consume human flesh along with blood at least once per decade; those who do not begin to suffer from breakdowns, lose blood much too quickly, become prone to Frenzy, and other ills that make it very difficult to stay alive in their cutthroat nighttime world. Even worse, those Dunsirns who do not have the specialized ability to eat flesh (which is most of them) become severely ill as a result for several days, although unlike most vampires who eat solid foods they do not automatically vomit the flesh back up, merely suffering while it is digested.
Most Dunsirns partake of the smallest amount of flesh they can as infrequently as possible, usually no more than a handful, but this contributes to their reputation as volatile bullies, since it makes many of them short-tempered and unstable as they enter withdrawal. Eventually, a Dunsirn who waits too long to eat will enter a Frenzy in which they have no choice, and most know that the results will be far more horrific than if they had just taken action when they started to feel the urge.
The Dunsirns in DC
Officially, there are no known Dunsirns in DC; in fact, the city's recent contentious Camarilla vs. Sabbat hostilities have made it largely inhospitable for most Independent clans, and even the Giovanni themselves only have one or two representatives on the ground. Unofficially, Diarmid Dunsirn is living in the city unrecognized by its Prince, slowly gathering intelligence to find out whether or not the bloodline can find a way to grab a piece of the action in the capitol for themselves.
Dunsirn Characters
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| Alastair Dunsirn | Bez Dunsirn | Chloe Dunsirn |
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| Diarmid Dunsirn | Felicia Dunsirn | Kyle Dunsirn | Maggie Dunsirn | Randal Dunsirn |