Toreador

Clan Toreador
Nicknames: The Roses, The Degenerates
Disciplines: Auspex, Celerity, Presence
Sect: Camarilla

Clan Toreador is one of the oldest and most intricate of all the clans. It is a haven for artists and socialites; its members are chosen from the ranks of the most talented artists and most beautiful mortals to be found in every age, making any gathering of the clan a dazzling collection of bejeweled butterflies and entrancing courtiers. A few Toreador are Embraced purely on the strength of their stunning beauty, but it is seldom that one of the clan does not have a talent worth immortalizing through the ages. As one of the founding members of the Camarilla, they are dedicated to its laws and traditions (although, like all Kindred, they're not above breaking the rules when there's an advantage in it). Almost all Toreador are concerned with the social connections and web-like politics that make up Kindred life; if there's something juicy to know about, they'll know it.

Clan Advantage and Weakness

Advantage: Because of their relations and environment being steeped so strongly in culture and high society, Toreador are exceptionally good at all things social. Even if they are not normally particularly good at the Academics, Crafts, Expression, Performance or Subterfuge skills, they can make credible enough social moves with them so that they seldom embarrass themselves. (Except when it comes to the judgment of other Toreador, of course.) Toreador are also easily loved and impressive to normal mortals, so they effectively have a little more blood at all times as a result of being more easily able to feed whenever necessary.

Disadvantage: Toreador are not just art lovers; they're mesmerized by all things artistically impressive. If they witness any piece of art or artistic performance, they are distracted and unable to function properly while they want to focus all their attention on the display before them. If a Toreador is confronted by a truly impressive artistic piece or performance (usually this means it was created by another Toreador, although exceptionally talented mortals and members of other clans can also occasionally achieve true greatness), they enter a trance-like state, oblivious to everything around them except for the beautiful art. They cannot function normally during this time and have no memory of anything but the art once the performance ends or the artwork is removed from their presence.

The Toreador in DC

If you ask any of the Toreador, it was their clan that originally invented Washington DC; it was Toreador visionaries and servants who traveled from France to design the city's layout and silently back the mortals pushing to create it as a new center of civilization in the New World. Unfortunately, the advent of the French Revolution caused so many complications for them that their plan to remake North America into a Toreador paradise was stalled, and by the time they could turn their attention back to DC, other clans (particularly the Ventrue) had already staked claims of their own. After centuries of bitter attempts to regain power in the city, the Toreador are more than a little disgruntled that the Prince is still of another clan - and a Lasombra, at that, as if any further insult needed to be added to their injury.
The Toreador Primogen of DC is Chas Voyager, a gifted musician who pays lip service to Prince Vitel but not-quite-secretly plots to remove him from power. He and his adherents believe strongly that Vitel will defect back to the Sabbat as soon as the opportunity presents itself, and spend much of their energy trying to convince others in the city that the Prince and his childer are villains masquerading as Camarilla steadfasts. The city's Toreador are also ideologically opposed to most of the city's Tremere, whom they believe are supporting Vitel too openly and whose attempts at seizing power themselves they do not appreciate, although so far there have been no open hostilities between the two clans.

Bloodlines

The only known bloodline of the Toreador are the Daughters of Cacophany, whose artistry is elevated to such a level that they have performance powers beyond even those of their parent clan. Daughters of Cacophany possess the Melpominee Discipline, and through some strange quirk of their blood, only women can be Embraced into their ranks. There are occasional rumors of a male convert... but thus far, none have ever proved to be true.

Notable Toreador

Angelique Stravinsky, Harpy of Washington DC
Chas Voyager, Primogen of Washington DC
Maeve Glaistig, daughter of the recently deceased Black Rose of Milan