House Tremere, or simply the Tremere, are one of the thirteen Great Clans of vampires from White Wolf Publishing’s World of Darkness setting. Born from a cabal of mortal sorcerers, the Tremere have a mastery of blood magic rivalled only by their insular nature.
History[]
The Tremere are unusual amongst the Clans of the Kindred in that their origin lies not with a vampire from the City of Enoch, but rather with the machinations of a group of human magicians.
The Dark and Middle Ages[]
Once a House of mortal mages during Europe’s Dark Ages, as True Magick slowly ebbed from the world, these sorcerers found their powers of immortality beginning to lose effect as well; try as they might, they could not recapture the use of these abilities. After many long years of research, the seven heads of the House finally found what they thought to be a solution through experimentation on captured Tzimisce vampires, an act which would soon lead to the conflict known as the Omen War. However, upon drinking their potion, the group found that while it gave them the immortality that they sought, this gift came at a terrible price: they had become vampires, and had lost all use of their magickal abilities.
Tremere and his followers quickly set about researching new ways to use the powers inherent in their blood, and in doing so uncovered the unique Discipline of Thaumaturgy (See main article: Vampire (World of Darkness)). This came none too soon as the Tzimisce, infuriated by the Tremere’s use of their fellows in the experiments, launched a full-scale war upon the severely weakened House Tremere. Horrified by this turn of events, the seven leaders began to Embrace the mortal remnants of the House in hopes that having greater numbers would help to stave off the Tzimisce assault.
The war continued to go badly for the Tremere, however, and this caused them to conduct more experiments, this time not only on captured Tzimisce, but on vampires from the Nosferatu and Gangrel Clans as well. These experiments resulted in the creation of the Gargoyle bloodline, which the Tremere would use as front-line troops in their many battles. Whilst this helped to stabilise the conflict, the Tremere realised that this was only a stop-gap measure as both the Nosferatu and the Gangrel had by this point joined the fight against them.
Through much research into vampiric lore, Tremere had now discovered that by draining another vampire dry of their blood, it was possible to also consume their essence and thus the power held within that vampire, an act known as Diablerie. Armed with this knowledge, he set about tracking down one of the Antediluvians, the ancient and powerful founders of the Clans. Eventually locating Saulot, the head of Clan Salubri, Tremere committed Diablerie on him and thus assured himself a place as a Third Generation vampire.
By this point, the Tremere had managed to insinuate themselves into the courts of many European vampires, and this combined with Tremere’s Diablerie of Saulot had convinced many Kindred of the legitimacy of House Tremere as a Clan. Whilst the Omen War was still fought intermittently, this was finally put to rest with the founding of the Camarilla (See main article: Camarilla), the formation of which the Tremere were instrumental in bringing to pass. However, the Gangrel, Nosferatu and Tzimisce still harbour a deep-seated enmity over the whole affair to this day.
The Renaissance[]
The Tremere used this period to hunt down Saulot’s descendants, the Salubri, with many of that Clan being diablerized by the Tremere, further strengthening their position as a Clan proper. This blood hunt, combined with a vicious program of Tremere propaganda, ensured that the Salubri as a Clan would not exist into modern nights.
The Victorian Age[]
The Victorian Age saw yet another rise in the fortunes of the Tremere as more and more mortals became enthralled by the occult. They used this enthusiasm to establish many secret societies, gaining power and influence through the many affluent individuals who indulged in such practices, not only spreading across Europe, but migrating to the Americas and taking full advantage of all the opportunities offered by this New World.
Modern Nights[]
In the modern era the Tremere are one of the most powerful of the Clans, their influence amongst the Camarilla, the largest and most powerful of the vampiric sects, rivalled only by that of the Ventrue. They have largely eliminated their greatest threat, that of the Tremere who had defected to the Sabbat, through magical means, and are now firmly entrenched in vampiric society.
Things have not gone all their way, however; the Assamites, a Clan which the Tremere long ago placed a curse upon, have thrown off the burden of that curse and now many Assamites have sworn to hunt down and destroy them for their prior acts.
In addition, the increasing numbers of free Gargoyles within the Camarilla is causing the Clan much consternation. These Kindred, mindful of many long years of forced servitude to their former masters, are a rising threat which the Tremere cannot ignore for long.
Organisation[]
The Tremere are the most strictly organised Clan without exception, and every single member knows his exact standing when it comes to interaction with others of his Clan. This hierarchy allows the Tremere to act with much greater cohesion than other Clans, making them all the more powerful; whereas other Clans can be susceptible to squabbling and infighting, the Tremere typically respond to events as a united whole.
Most Tremere are members of a Chantry, the name given to all Tremere within the bounds of a city or other properly-defined territory. Chantries are normally tasked with a specific agenda, usually simply to ensure the power of the Tremere in a given locale.
Whilst their Clan is entirely devoted to the goal of achieving power, there exist many, many secret societies within the Tremere. Although These are largely informal, and created more for the purposes of sharing knowledge than anything else, there are a handful whose aims appear to be something far more sinister. What the purposes of these cabals are may never be truly known, although their members face Final Death at the hands of their Elders if they choose to risk the welfare of the Clan as a whole.
Ranks[]
Whilst there are countless ranks within the Tremere hierarchy, some of the most important are given below.
- Councilors: These Kindred comprise the Inner Council of Seven, the ruling body of the Tremere. Each is responsible for a specific geographical region, such as North America, Europe or Russia.
- Pontifices: Each of the Coucilors has under his management seven Pontifices, each Pontifex being responsible for either a region of the Councilor’s domain or an aspect of its rule, for example Politics, Economy, etc.
- Lords: As the Pontifices are to the Councilors, so the Lords are to Pontifices, with each charged with the care of a smaller area, or a collection of Chantries.
- Regents: The Regents represent the Tremere’s local authority. Each Regent heads a Chantry, and is accountable to a Lord.
Embrace[]
The Tremere are highly selective when it comes to Embracing new vampires. Candidates are universally of a scholarly bent, and a background in the occult is a desired, if not compulsory, trait. Upon creation, new Tremere are required to give an oath swearing their loyalty to the Clan, and vowing that everything they do is in the Clan’s best interests. Permission from ones’ Regent is a prerequisite of giving the Embrace.
Clan Weakness[]
Kindred from Clan Tremere are far more susceptible than other vampires to the Blood Bond, a condition whereby the bonded is incapable of resisting the commands of its “master.”