Banu Haqim · Clans · One World of Darkness

"Now that the Blood Curse has been broken, the Banu Haqim once again thirst for Kindred blood. They bear our clan a great enmity, and the secrets of the Blood are known to them. We must step ever carefully in the Night lest their vengeance be realized."

– Santiago de la Casa de Tremere, Primogen

The Banu Haqim is a clan balanced between judges, warriors, and scholars, representing a triad of decision, action, and knowledge. Some members of the clan act as unbiased judges working to solve constant infighting and bickering within the growing Kindred population. The Judges have produced many lawmakers and rational thinkers who examine all sides of a situation before acting. Some take on martial roles, acting as deadly executioners who carry out judgments swiftly and silently. Others are scholars Embraced for their hunger for knowledge that is carried beyond life, while some are accomplished sorcerers who experiment with blood magic to battle threats that swords cannot touch.

The one constant among all Judges is a strong sense of justice. With the changing times, most have branched outwards from the clan’s original laws of conduct, but every one of these Kindred subscribes zealously to some code of ethics – religious doctrine, a constitution, a personal ideology, and so forth. They follow this code in every aspect of their unlives, and they expect others to do the same or pay for their crimes in blood.

In modern nights, the Judges still play a pivotal, often unseen role in vampiric society. They follow in their progenitors’ footsteps as defenders, judges and executioners of the Kindred world, and they tend to keep themselves at a neutral distance from politics and Courts so they can better carry out those duties. The clan has earned a well-deserved reputation as assassins, for when someone has been judged guilty, the Banu Haqim are quick to strike them down and take payment in blood.

Bane

The Banu Haqim have been cursed with an incredible lust for the vitae of other vampires. From the first sip, they are on the edge of losing control and drinking everything they can, even to the point of committing diablerie, the act of devouring another vampire’s essence. When a Banu Haqim tries to Slake one or more Hunger with vitae from another Kindred, they must immediately test for Hunger Frenzy against a Difficulty of 2 + Bane Severity. If they fail this challenge, they will enter a Frenzy and continue gorging on their Kindred meal. If not stopped, they will attempt to drain their victim and commit diablerie.

Compulsion

Judgment

Each member of the clan has their own code of ethics that they follow, and that they expect others to follow. Blood or ‘public trial’ is the only appropriate payment to absolve the judged of their transgression. When this Compulsion is triggered, for the rest of that scene the Banu Haqim is compelled to pass judgment on anyone they observe acting against one of the Banu Haqim’s Convictions. In combat, this can be satisfied by Slaking at least one Hunger from the offender. Out of combat, this can be satisfied by making a public declaration in front of the Banu Haqim’s peers about the perceived ‘crime’ that has been committed. Until they do so, or until the Scene ends, the Banu Haqim suffers the Impaired Condition.

Laws of the Night