Lasombra

Clan Lasombra
Nicknames: The Nobility, The Shadows
Disciplines: Dominate, Obtenebration, Potence
Sect: Sabbat
Status: RESTRICTED for new characters

The Lasombra are the epitome of inhuman elegance, a clan of old-world nobility, rulers, warlords, and seafarers who have carried the glorious mantle of their once-indisputable control over mortals with them into the afterlife of vampirism. They believe utterly in their own superiority, and like the Ventrue are able to trace their royal and noble blood back hundreds or even thousands of years (although unlike the Ventrue, they do not consider petty merchant-class ideas like "being a good businessperson" to count for anything). Their haughty arrogance would rankle other clans if it weren't so obvious that the Lasombra are exactly what they say they are: lords and masters of whatever domain they choose to possess.

In the Middle Ages, battle lines were clearly drawn between the Ventrue and Lasombra, with the former controlling secular power and nobles and the latter exercising their influence through the sprawling reach of religion. In modern times, the Lasombra are one of the official founding clans of the Sabbat, and consider themselves its rulers, directing the rabble of the other clan members to their goals without much caring whether they like it or not. Only the Tzimisce can challenge the Lasombra within the Sabbat, but since most of the Fiends are busy with their weird experiments or holed up in their Transylvanian castles, the Lasombra continue to reign supreme.

Clan Advantage and Weakness

Advantages: Lasombra always wield influence over their environment, and automatically have up to three areas of influence in any given city where they choose to make their home (for example, a Lasombra might choose to have influence in the criminal underbelly, the court system, and the shipping and manufacturing delivery lanes). They also automatically have one Status that they can never lose, thanks to their prestigious clan, and this Status is equally in effect no matter what sect those who interact with them belong to. All Lasombra are able to automatically gain an official position in a city they inhabit, whether Camarilla, Anarch, or Sabbat, although what position depends on what openings there are and who else might be in a position to take advantage of them.

Disadvantages: The Lasombra are invisible to themselves; they do not appear in mirrors, pools of water, or any other reflective surface, a problem that occasionally makes preventing mortals from recognizing their true nature difficult. They also do not appear on film or digital recordings, making them effective "ghosts" that, although larger than life when encountered in person, leave no trace of their existence behind to be experienced again.

The Lasombra in DC

DC is a rarity: a Camarilla city with a Lasombra Prince. Although the vast majority of Lasombra are leaders who control the movements of the Sabbat, the Lasombra themselves maintain that they are above sect, and do not identify as any of them. They are simply Lasombra, and will do whatever they choose to do as Lasombra, and the other clans can call that whatever they like.

Marcus Vitel, an elder Lasombra who had until then been masquerading as a Ventrue, seized power as Camarilla Prince after the previous Prince was ousted. He immediately declared his true clan, which caused the Camarilla residents of the city to flee and all nearby Sabbat members to charge inward, believing that the city was theirs; but Vitel, after welcoming the entire Sabbat contingency of Washington DC and surrounding areas into his court, promptly had the entire place firebombed, single-handedly wiping out the Sabbat resistance in the area for some time to come. After this demonstration, the Camarilla was forced to accept Vitel's Princeship and claim to membership in the Camarilla in spite of his clan, although many are still extremely uncomfortable with the arrangement.

The only known Lasombra in DC are Vitel and his two daughters; all others were Sabbat-aligned and perished in the conflagration. While this creates an impressive Camarilla Lasombra power bloc, it is unlikely that they would welcome any other members of their clan arriving to set up shop, preferring to keep the power in their hands alone, and avoiding any less-scrupulous clan members from accidentally giving the Camarilla any reason to doubt their motives.

Notable Lasombra

Marcus Vitel, Prince of Washington DC
Monica Black, Seneschal of Washington DC
Cynthia Black, Harpy of Washington DC