Rökkr
The history of the Rökkr is not well documented. There are rumours of the reason for this reaching from the plausible, perhaps they're just stealing all of them, to the ridiculous, perhaps they're being stolen as part of an alien conspiracy. The truth is though, written records of a line of occulted thieves just aren't going to last long. As a result, most of the clan's history is passed down by oral tradition, spun and twisted and exaggerated as it's passed down through the generations. There are very few things that the Guild all agree on, and even those that are, are taken with a grain of salt.
While the origins of the clan are shrouded in mystery there are a few people who say they have the real story. Some of these rumours say that the clan was founded in Norway and that's why they take their name from the darker pantheons in Norse mythology. Some even say they're the get of Loki himself. That their penchant for thievery and mischief comes from the god's own seed mingling with their blood. Others give a French origin, later and more mundane. That they were thieves locked up in a dungeon with a Mehket and they trained their powers until they could walk through the walls and escape. Others still say that both of these are wrong and the names are simply red-herrings given latter. That the original founders were the forty thieves led by Ali-Baba himself.
Without written records and the guild's well known tendency to lie about their organization the origins will probably forever be a mystery.
What is known is the Rökkr are collectors of other people's things. They tend to have hordes of objects that they have stolen that document their lives as written records and more intangible things tend to fade over time.
Parent Clan: Mehket
Nickname: The Forgotten (by outsiders), The Guild (as referred to by themselves)
Covenant: The Carthians tend to have the largest number of the Rökkr as their lax rules and easy going attitude fit the thieves just fine. That's part of the reason that a large portion of them are actually Unaligned, preferring to live on the edges of Kindred society the same way they live on the edge of mortal society. Of the remaining members of the bloodline, the Ordo Dracul is the most likely to attract them as the Ordo tend to have more curiosity to them than the others. The remaining three covenants don't tend to be good fits, but in a city that is almost entirely made up of one of them, the Rökkr will probably follow suit just to blend in.
Appearance: The Rökkr don't tend to be remarkable. Instead they tend to copy the humans around them. They reflect the human culture around them, but are never on the cutting edge or too far in the past. They tend to dress in neutral colours, things that blend into their surrounding. They tend to be of average height and weight with rather generic features. Truly striking members of the bloodline are almost unheard of.
Haven: Rökkr havens tend to be rather unobtrusive from the outside blending in to their surroundings. The insides though tend to be lavish and filled with things that they've stole or collected over the years. Much like a dragon has a horde, the Rökkr have collections.
What exactly this collection consists of is as unique as the shadow, but most of the Forgotten see them as proof of their existence and the lives that they have lived. With so much of your time spent blending in, it's easy to forget who they are otherwise.
Background: Most of the Rökkr were thieves in life or at least people on the fringe of society. They tend to be good at disguising their true motivations and blending in with the crowd. Most of them are looking for something they don't have and are good at talking what they want into their hands. The bloodline has a very wandering nature and doesn't tend to spend a long period of time in any one place. They have a hard time setting down roots because of how hard they find it to make a place among mortals.
Bloodline Disciplines: Obfuscate, Auspex, Celerity, Oubliette
Weakness: The Rökkr suffer from the Mehket clan weakness.
Because of the way they make the world forget them, the Rökkr have a very hard time maintaining a presence in the mortal world. The cannot purchase fame or status in mortal organizations. Any fame or status they had is lost upon joining the bloodline. Clan, covenant, or city status can be bought, but not any higher than two. Any background that represents a mortal tie such as Contacts, Retainer, Herd, Staff, Allies, or Mentor costs x3 instead of x2. This penalty does not apply if the tie the background represents is to a vampire or a ghoul.
In addition, Rökkr cannot create or sustain ghouls with their blood. Nor does their blood cause a blood bond in anyone who does not have a greater template. (Vampires, Mages, Werewolves, Changelings, and Sin-Eaters are effected normally.) If a mortal or a ghoul drinks Rökkr vitae they might as well be drinking normal human blood.
There is also the additional problem that in order to even awaken to the blood the vampire must first pull away from the world. A Rökkr is required to purchase at least one dot of Occultation before joining the bloodline.
Concepts: Cat Burglar, Spy, Covert Ops, Pick Pocket, Collector, Con Man
Oubliette● Forget the PathCost: -
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Stealth + Oubliette
Action: Instant
Dramatic Failure: The character believes their path has vanished, when in fact it has not.
Failure: The power fails to work but the character can try again at a -1.
Makes the ground forget you were there and not keep a record of your passing.
Success: The Forgotten leaves no clear physical trace of their passing, such as footprints, finger prints or other physical disturbances. It's as if they were never there.
Exceptional Success: An exceptional success leaves no trace of their passing, even minute details requiring trained study or special capabilities/equipment, or supernatural senses. It does not wipe spiritual traces.
Suggested Modifiers:
Pavement or Stone +4
Crosses Stream +1
During Heavy Rain +2
Mud or Snow -2
Fresh Snow -3
Soft Ground -1
●● Forget the SealCost: 1 blood
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Larceny + Oubliette
Action: Instant
Makes locks forget they were locked and lets the vampire open boxes and get through doors as if they were unlocked. The doors return to their locked state as soon as the vampire passes through them.
Failure: The door continues to bar the vampire's progress.
Success: The vampire can move through the door or object as if nothing is there. Clothes and objects that the vampire is carrying travel with the vampire, but other people cannot. The vampire appears to open the door and walk through, but the door remains locked and they type of lock does not matter. Anyone attempting to follow the vampire will find themselves confronted with a locked door.
Exceptional Success: The door acts as if it's unlocked for the vampire for the rest of the night.
●●● Forget the ShieldCost: -
Dice Pool: Wits + Larceny + Oubliette
Action: Instant
Dramatic Failure: The character believes he is hidden from the traps and alarms, when in fact he is not.
Failure: The character does not vanish at all, and knows it.
Success: The character is not recorded by cameras and does not trigger traps or alarms. The devices work fine and are not disarmed. This power does not hide him from mortal eyes, but a security guard watching through a camera will not see him as he is never recorded. Success lasts for one scene.
●●●● Forget the WallCost: 1 blood
Dice Pool: None out of combat. In combat Resolve + Larceny + Oubliette
Action: Instant
The vampire does not need to see where they are going, but there are risks in not knowing. Gravity still effects the Rökkr when this power is active and it's embarrassing to fall down elevator shafts. The vampire needs to spend one blood for every round that they are in the wall and they move at their standard movement rates. If they run out of blood they become stuck.
Clothes and objects that can be carried in one hand can travel with a vampire as can small back packs, but other people and objects that require two hands cannot. Objects in bags cannot be taken out while phasing.
Exceptional Failure: The vampire runs head-first into a wall and takes a point of bashing.
Failure: The vampire loses their nerve and doesn't manage to move through the wall but stops short and doesn't take damage.
Success: The vampire moves through the wall at their standard rate of speed.
Exceptional Success: The vampire can move carrying larger objects than they would otherwise be able to.
Suggested Modifiers:
Glass +1
Lead -2
Wood -
Brick or Concrete -1
●●●●● Forget the BladeCost: 1 blood
Action: Instant
Forget the Blade allows the Oubliette-user defense against attacks that it normally cannot, as long as they are weapon-based (so even if they are totally immobilized they get their defense, and several other situation such as against firearms).
In addition it grants the user a bonus to defense against weapon-based attacks equal to their dots in Oubliette (+5, since its the 5th power). This includes firearms.
Finally Weapon-based attacks do not count as an attack for the round for the purposes of giving the Oubliette-user penalties from being the target of multiple attacks. If 5 people came at her with flailing swords her defense would stay the same for all of them and not be reduced.
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