Toreador

The Toreador are called many things - "degenerates," "artistes," "poseurs" and "hedonists" being but a few. But any such lumpen categorization does the clan a disservice. Depending on the individual and her mood, Toreador are alternately elegant and flamboyant, brilliant and ludicrous, visionary and dissipated. Perhaps the only truism that can be applied to the clan is its members' aesthetic zeal. Whatever a Toreador does, she does with passion. Whatever a Toreador is, she is with passion.

To the Toreador, eternal life is to be savored. Many Toreador were artists, musicians or poets in life; many more have spent frustrating centuries producing laughable attempts at art, music or poetry. Toreador tout themselves as cultivators of all that is best about humanity. Occasionally, a particularly gifted or inspired creator is Embraced into the clan, to preserve her talent for eternity. In this manner, Clan Toreador has inducted some of humanity's greatest artists, poets and musicians into its ranks; of course, if one thing can be said about the Toreador, it is that no two of them agree on precisely what "gifted" or "inspired" means.

Of all clans, Toreador are the vampires most connected to the mortal world. While other vampires view the kine as pawns or simple sustenance, Toreador glide gracefully and effortlessly through the society of the Camarilla, sampling the delights of each age as a gourmand savors rare delicacies. Toreador are the Kindred most likely to fall in love with mortals, and they surround themselves with the best, most elegant and most luxurious things - and people - that the world has to offer. It is, thus, acutely tragic when a Toreador succumbs to ennui and discards aesthetic pursuits in favor of pointless hedonism. Such Kindred become decadent sybarites, concerned only with indulging personal whims and vices.

Toreador are committed to the Camarilla and share the Ventrue's love of high society, though not for them the tedium of actually running things - that's what functionaries are for, after all. Toreador know that their place is to captivate and inspire - through their witty speech, graceful deeds and simple, scintillating existence.

Clan Disciplines[]

The Artists' Disciplines reflect their tastes, being Auspex, Celerity and Presence.

Clan Weakness[]

Toreador are preternaturally attuned to the aesthetic and beautiful, but this sensitivity can prove dangerous, When a Toreador views, hears or even smells something that is truly beautiful - a person, a painting, a song, a particularly lovely sunrise - he must make a Self-Control roll (difficulty 6) or become entranced by the sensation. The Toreador will stand in rapt fascination for a scene or until the beautiful thing withdraws. Enraptured Toreador may not even defend themselves if attacked, though being wounded allows them to make another Self-Control roll to "break the spell."