Mystery Cult: Children of Haqim The Children of Haqim seek enlightenment through the teachings of their leader,

whom they call The Old Man on the Mountain. They are fanatically loyal to The Old Man, above all else. For most mortal cultists, this is as far as they will advance along the Path of Enlightenment in their lifetimes, but those fortunate enough to be granted his dark gift may exist long enough to learn more. Their ultimate goal is to “become One”, the true meaning of which is a secret known only by the highest among the order, the Assamites.

: The Children of Haqim operate under a caste system. When a character is

initiated into the cult, her player chooses which caste she is being trained to enter. Sorcerers gain an Occult specialty in sorcery, Viziers gain a Politics specialty in assassination, and Warriors gain a Medicine specialty in poisons.

: All Children of Haqim, regardless of Caste, seek enlightenment. Meditation is a regular practice for all followers of the path. Members at this level gain the one dot version of the Meditative Mind Merit.

: As their training continues, the Children of Haqim learn to apply their specialized training to all aspects of their lives. They gain the Interdisciplinary Specialty Merit for their caste specialty.

: The hierarchy of the Children of Haqim is a complex multi­tiered structure. Their upper ranking members each command a group of subordinate members and initiates, reflected by three dots of Allies within their caste. Typically, mortal cultists do not advance this high in the ranks, but Embrace is not technically a requirement to do so.

: Only the most influential members of the Children of Haquim receive their orders directly from The Old Man on the Mountain, a four dot Mentor.

Bloodline: Assamite Background: As Kindred members of the Children of Haqim, the Assamites’

background cannot be separated from that of the cult itself. Originating in the Middle East, they sought to distance themselves from the movements of the Danse Macabre in favor of their own philosophical pursuits. In the interest of this goal, they established a fortress for themselves at Alamut, and trained a caste of warriors to defend themselves and their way of life. These warriors became the first of the Assamite bloodline, though tonight there exist Assamites among the Sorcerer Caste and Vizier Caste as well. However, their ultimate goal is the same regardless of caste: enlightenment. Only those members chosen for embrace ever learn that the path to that goal is one of blood. Their purpose is to “become One” with other Kindred; absorbing their very being through Amaranth in the hopes that one day, all Kindred souls will be reunited within the body of The Old Man on the Mountain.

The Becoming: Any Child of Haqim willing to swear her requiem in unquestioning

loyalty to The Old Man on the Mountain is welcome to join the bloodline. Traditionally, Haqim himself acted as Sire and Avus to each new Assamite, but as the bloodline has grown, this practice has mostly died out, except among those who still reside in the Eagle’s Nest. These nights, all that is required is an oath sworn before a ranking Assamite, who acts as Avus on Haqim’s behalf.

Requirements: An Assamite must be a member of the parent Clan, Mekhet, for her blood to accept this variation of the curse. As well, only members of the Children of Haquim Mystery Cult are permitted to join the Assamite bloodline. Renegades and betrayers of the bloodline are sought out and executed with unparalleled zeal, usually by Diablerie.

In the Danse Macabre: At one time, all Assamites were Haqim’s Childer, and answered to The Old Man alone. In modern nights, however, the bloodline has expanded to the point where this is no longer an option. Most Assamites act with relative autonomy, as mercenaries or killers for hire, and are even permitted to join the Kindred Covenants. However, as Children of Haqim, they are loyal to the cult above all else, and most are willing to betray even their most trusted allies without question if a superior within the cult gives the order.

Bloodline Bane (The Aversion Curse): In addition to the Bane of their parent Clan, an Assamite treats Kindred Vitae as a poison with Toxicity equal to 10 – her Humanity Quietus The Assamite gift is Quietus, the “silent death.”

Just as other Kindred’s Vitae is toxic to Assamites, their blood is poisonous to others. An Assamite’s blood is treated as a poison with Toxicity equal to her Blood Potency, which deals lethal damage, even to other vampires.

At the cost of 1 Vitae, a Childe of Haquim can spit her poisonous blood as a Stamina + Athletics attack. This attack has a close range of her Strength + Dexterity, doubled for medium range, and doubled again for long range. On a successful hit, the attack deals no damage, but does introduce the poison into the target’s bloodstream.

When an Assamite makes a bite attack, she can reflexively spend a point of Vitae to inject her venomous blood into her victim through her fangs.

An edged or pointed weapon can be coated in an Assamite’s deadly Vitae. A weapon can hold a number of doses up to its size, and each dose costs the Assamite 1 Vitae. Whenever an attack with a poisoned weapon hits, one dose of the toxin is consumed, and the poison is delivered into the target’s bloodstream.

Bloodline Devotions The Assamites have developed a few Devotions that incorporate their unique blood.

In theory, these Devotions could be learned by any Kindred, but they would not actually do anything without the poisonous Vitae of the Assamites. Silence of Death (Obfuscate )

By combining the virulent nature of her blood with the sensory dampening power of Obfuscate, she can “poison” a sound, causing it to carry the effects of Face in the Crowd on the soundwaves.

Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: None Action: None Duration: Scene When activating Face in the Crowd, the Assamite can bleed 1 point of Vitae from

her finger (included in the cost), hold it up to her lips, and whisper “hush”. All sound within a 6­yard radius of the Assamite is affected by Face in the Crowd. People simply fail to notice any sound that originates from within the affected area, even if it is being screamed directly in their ear.

This Devotion costs 1 experience to learn.

Dragon’s Call (Obfuscate ) With the power of Touch of Shadow, an Assamite can Obfuscate a dose of her

poisonous blood and leave it on an unsuspecting victim to be “activated” at a later time, preferably when she in the company of a sufficient alibi.

Cost: 2 Vitae Requirement: The Assamite must touch the victim. Dice Pool: Wits + Larceny + Obfuscate Action: Reflexive Duration: Scene After touching her intended victim, the Assamite leaves behind a point of Vitae

(included in the cost) and rolls to activate Touch of Shadow on the blood, rather than the victim. At any time before the end of the scene, she can make a Blood Sympathy roll (Wits + Blood Potency + 4) or spend a point of Willpower as an instant action to call out to her own hidden Vitae. If the Blood Sympathy roll is successful, or if she spent the Willpower to force Blood Sympathy, the obfuscated Vitae hears and reacts to her call. It seeps into the victim’s bloodstream through his pores and administers the poison in the Assamite’s Quietus Vitae.

This Devotion costs 1 experience to learn.