How to play Clan Tremere.

I am exceedingly unsubtle in my love for the Tremere of Vampire: the Masquerade. I just designed a city for them in my last post, and I even love their concepts so much, I dedicated an entire article to their nWoD counterparts, the equally cool Tremere Liches, mages who eat souls and gain eternal life. Clan Tremere is my second or third favorite clan, (as cool as they are, they cannot top the body-horrortastic Tzimisce or Baali for me) and after a brief discussion on the internet that quite shockingly didn't degenerate into a flamewar, I was somewhat disappointed to see that there are a quite vocal, and not insignificant part of the Vampire: The Masquerade community that see the Tremere as easy powergamer fodder, citing their admittedly very powerful discipline, Thaumaturgy, and their 'lack' of a true clan weakness (that one made me laugh because it's in-universe Tremere propaganda). So, I'm about to do my thing where I jump on a bandwagon and throw in my two cents about how to play the Tremere. This was inspired by a series of awesome guides by Secrets of the Masquerade, but I wanted to give my opinion, because I think that the Tremere are one of the most difficult clans to play well, even more than the usual bullshit of the Malkavians and Assamites.

Character

More than most other clans, the Tremere are defined by their character. It's a complete mistake to assume that all Tremere were magicians or occultists or scholars or whatnot before their embrace, because, quite honestly, the Tremere don't need people like that. They go for nerdy types, yes, they go for people that obviously will be able to adapt to an unlifetime of cloistered studying, because their discipline and ace in the hole requires a huge amount of commitment and study. The thing is though, the Tremere already know magic. They have a tendency to embrace people that are creative and can think outside the box, but already have enough knowledge of the box to be able to make their insight useful. A Tremere may embrace a lawyer, to help him or her weasel out of their latest inevitable breach of the Traditions. They might embrace an art-student, to see what new ways Thaumaturgy can be expressed. Now, the key to a Tremere is that, they're all people, but the Tremere structure tries, paradoxically, to mold them into perfect servants. The key to the Tremere clan, and it's psyche, is contradiction, and the struggle to be creative, free and innovative while toeing the party line and being slavishly bonded to your hidebound superiors. Every single Tremere is a human first, and it was those human qualities that the vampire was embraced for.

Weakness

People who say that the Tremere lack a true clan weakness are usually Tremere themselves. The reason for that is, while they may not have a curse passed down from Caine, like all the other clans, anyone with two brain cells and a pair of eyes can look at the Tremere and see their weakness, plain as day. To be a Tremere is to cease being an individual. To the outside world, a Tremere is a Tremere. They are backstabbing, they are untrustworthy, they are usurpers, diabolists and will funnel anything you tell them straight to their sires. Tremere, depending on the edition, have had several weaknesses, but I like the one from V20, because it incorporates them all. Firstly, Tremere are more vulenerable to blood bonds. This is universally accepted to be a good weakness, as far as I've seen, and I think it makes sense, since their entire house structure focused on heirarchy (especially if we're going from their Ars Magicka backstory). The second weakness is that Tremere automatically undergo a ritual called the Transubstantiation of the Seven as soon as they are embraced, which automatically binds them to the Inner Circle, the leaders of Clan Tremere. This simple change makes all the difference in the world, because it means that unlike every other clan, the Tremere are loyal to their founders. They are, to a certain extent, loyal to each other. Tremere have to obey their elders because they are loyal to the Clan. Tremere cannot knowingly harm their fellows unless they can convince themselves that it would be for the good of the clan. These little things mean that the Tremere have to be extra vicious, and extra rules-lawyery to get what they want from their clanmates. I'll expand on this later, but the competitive nature of the clan finds every Tremere in the situation where they want to hurt one of their own, but need to find a better way.

Finally, the main Tremere weakness, the unspoken one that has lasted through all the editions is the weakness of social censure. No one likes the Tremere, no one trusts them, not even their allies in the Camarilla. In their rise to power, the Tremere screwed over a vast majority of people, many of whom were very powerful in their own right, and the clan has hung on to existence by a string. From their origins, they destroyed many powerful Tzimisce. They devoured the Salubri, painted them as demon-worshippers and had them exterminated. They cursed the Assamites. Any of those three clans would make for pretty horrifying enemies, but altogether, without support, the nights of the Tremere are numbered. Tremere style themselves as a pillar of the Camarilla, but what they don't like to admit to themselves is that they need the Camarilla. They need friends and support, which is why they are such staunch supporters of the Ivory Tower and why they interact with vampire politics at all. If the Camarilla were to hang the Tremere out to dry, the sheer amount of enmity toward them from so many extremely dangerous people would reduce Vienna to a smoldering crater in a matter of weeks. They can't do that, of course, because the Tremere have made themselves virtually indispensable to the Camarilla, but it's a thought that exists in the head of every Tremere, especially when conflicts with other clans leads to destabilization of the local Cam.

Culture

Of all the clans, the Tremere arguably have the most culture. Any Tremere, anywhere in the world, unless they are Anarchs or Caitiff, can tell you exactly where they stand within the insular organization of Warlocks called the Pyramid. Tremere are a hierarchy that is built on absolutely brutal competition, for power, magic, lore and mentors. Tremere certainly don't have enough of all this to give to everyone, so at each rung, every Tremere from the most lowly apprentice to the highest Pontifex is getting strung along by the person one step above him or her, being made to jump through hoops just to get that one additional scrap. Picture a competitive university, the most overworked and overstressed uni students imaginable, and add in an urge to drink blood, a predatory monster living within them, and the inability to express their frustrations any way other than abusing their direct underlings. It's a complete mistake to think of the Tremere as just another vampire clique in the city, like you would for the Toreadors or the Brujah. The Tremere are constantly stressed out and competing, and they often despise other people of their level, abuse those beneath them, and are abused by the superiors they constantly need to suck up to. This really doesn't make any kind of healthy mindset, and Tremere are desperate, almost rabid for any edge over their competition. Within the clan, Thaumaturgy is very much a privilege, not a right, and a Tremere's elders will make him work for every scrap that he earns.

In kindred society, The Tremere occupy a very unique position, very often taking up rolls behind the scenes, where they act largely as consultants, though there is nothing preventing a Tremere from taking up positions like that of a Harpy or a Sheriff. The main thing that stops many Tremere from being more active participants in Camarilla society are the twofold problems of prejudice and their own bosses. As mentioned above, no one really trusts the Tremere, and no one really likes the clan of unholy mages who diablerized the nicest (probably) Antediluvian and is constantly trying to keep a monopoly on all blood magic. The second thing is that, due to their pyramidal structure, Tremere can only really take positions that are deemed appropriate by their superiors. If the Regent doesn't want you to be a Sheriff, then too bad, even if every other vampire in the city supports you. The Tremere operate as a subsect within the Camarilla, and politics within the Pyramid always supersede those without.

All of this adds up to make the Tremere one of the most insular and xenophobic group of people imaginable. More than any other vampire, a Tremere has no friends, only enemies he hasn't quite gotten around to screwing over yet. What would be unreasonable paranoia to anyone else is just par for the course for Tremere, who's elders are constantly trying to control them, who's peers are constantly trying to outmaneuver them, and who's species hates them just for being what they are. Weirdly for such an authoritarian, draconian society, Tremere are completely out for number one. They have to be. If they were anything less, they would have fallen to their enemies millenia ago. 

Thaumaturgy

One cannot speak about Clan Tremere without talking about Thaumaturgy, which is the birthright, basis of, and ace in the hole of the entire clan. Thaumaturgy is a reflection of magic in the vampiric blood. Many argue that it doesn't belong in the game or that it doesn't feel vampiric enough, but that's arguably the point. Thaumaturgy is not some natural discipline, evolved to make the vampire a better predator. It is a point by point developed system of blood magic, whose purpose is to force reality itself to alter through the expenditure of Vitae. Thaumaturgy cannot really hold a candle to True Magick, as it is static, and path based, but the sheer versatility of the discipline makes it essentially ten separate disciplines in one. This is the main thing that makes the Tremere seem very overpowered, and to a certain extent I would agree. As discussed above, however, the Tremere have to put ip with some absolutely horrible weaknesses in order to wield the Blood in such a fashion. The Tremere seem like a minmaxer's delight, as all their weaknesses are roleplay based, and all their strengths are mechanical, but it really is the onus of the GM and the player, in any game, but especially a roleplay heavy one like Vampire, to allow the character to have weaknesses and be vulnerable. I would encourage storytellers who are playing Regents of the Tremere to bully the younger ones. Make them dance for every ritual and pit them against each other without mercy.

The other thing to remember about Thaumaturgy is that nobody wants to teach it. At all. Teaching someone else Thaumaturgy inherently allows them to use one of your tricks against you, and eventually, you will run out of tricks, especially if your would-be apprentice manages to overtake you. Tremere mentors worry about this constantly, as they know that their clan is a meritocracy, and need to be seen to be giving out just enough knowledge so that their superiors don't punish them, but not so much as to make their apprentices a danger of being promoted above them. Thaumaturgy should be regulated and it should be earned by inches. Elder Tremere will come up with all sorts of excuses as to why they cannot teach, and if you have an apprentice, it's only clever to keep strining them along.

All that said, the Tremere guard Thaumaturgy so jealously because it really is the only ace they have up their sleeves. Thaumaturgy can do things that make other vampires terrified, because it literally goes against the laws of nature and undeath. Thaumaturgy can break blood-bonds. It can trace lineages. it can see if a person has EVER diablerised, even if all the telltale traces have faded, and it can be used to ward places against vampires themselves. Vampires fear this discipline because it can violate the very laws that govern the undead, and that is scary for a race of utter control freaks. Thaumaturgy is the strength of Clan Tremere, and while they may say that only they have the responsibility to use it, or that they are the only ones qualified, the truth is that, if they allowed the discipline to leak out into the Camarilla as a whole, there would be no further need for them, and when that happens, the Camarilla will discard them. 

How to Play Tremere

The meat of this article, is obviously, how to play the Tremere. I've given everyone a lot of background on their culture and their powers, but this section will get into the mind of the average Tremere. This is what you need to be thinking about. You know your status in the Pyramid, and if you're a player character, its very likely that of an apprentice. You want to advance, but you know that your fellows want to as well. You stick with them because they're the only ones you can somewhat predict. The other vampires of the Camarilla are wrapped up in their nightly drama pageant, and they all want something different, from money, to status, but at least with your fellow Tremere, it's the same thing. We want power, we want rank and we want magic. The problem is that they're thinking the exact same thing.

So you have your Prince, who treats you with disdain, but tolerates and consults with you and your Regent, who clearly sees you as a tool for his own advancement, but due to your mutual loyalty to the Pyramid, you'll serve him and he'll teach you. Hopefully he gets promoted before you become powerful enough to challenge him, because very few people are in as good a place to sabotage you as your own teacher. These two masters compete constantly for your attention and loyalty. The Prince wants everything he can get out of the Tremere, and will take advantage of any show of weakness to make you do more stuff for him because 'only you can.' Meanwhile, your Regent wants everything that he can get out of the Prince, and is happy to use you to do it. This loyalty to two masters is stressful as anything, as they both try to use you to weasel favors out of the other, but who are you going to complain to? Your fellow apprentices who'd likely tattle on you to the Regent? Other neonates of other clans? Like they'd understand, and anyway, what happens in the Pyramid stays in the Pyramid. You need to maintain a show of solidarity for the outsiders.

Say you manage to juggle these mad responsibilities, and not only does your Regent get promoted, but so do you. You're now the Regent of your own Chantry, perhaps with your own slew of apprentices to train. Perhaps you think that this is a good opportunity to get some freedom. well, you would be wrong, sir. Being Regent basically makes you the clan Primogen, which means interacting with all the other backstabbing shits in the Primogen council. You have power over your apprentices, yes, but remember that every one of them is eyeing your job, so best make sure they only get powerful enough to take it when it is well behind you, or they disappear before they get the chance. Other vampires are constantly trying to get favors from the entirety of your clan, and you need to juggle the responsibilities of a Primogen to the Prince and the Cammarilla court, your responsibilities to your apprentices, and your responsibilities to your Tremere superior, who holds you directly responsible for the power and happenings of Clan Tremere in that area.

The point of all this is that being a Tremere is a full time job. A path to incredible power, yes, but a very long path that very few can succeed at without being truly exceptional people. The average Tremere languishes at the bottom for centuries, barely ever learning Thaumaturgy or even seeing the end of the tunnel.

Some neat works of fiction to inspire Tremere characters and a Tremere game.

The Wolf of Wall Street: Bit of a weird one, as it involves no vampires at any point, but each character, especially Jordan Belfort himself, is a perfect Tremerem being a combination of a brilliant schemer, an ambitious ubermensch, a creative genius, and an utterly amoral bastard. I think this movie is a really good one to inspire an up and coming Tremere character, and Belfort's ideas about playing fair and cheating to victory are something any Tremere would secretly applaud.

The Ninth Gate: I've probably referenced this one before, but it's a really smooth, cereberal thriller about occultists fighting over a satanic grimoire, all of them trying to manipulate a luckless investigator. This is a perfect representation of a clan struggle, and how elders will treat neonates in their service.

- Kephn