Tremere

formerly mages, now working for other means
In nights long lost to the passage of time, the Tremere existed, though they were something else. Those early Tremere then made a bargain — or wrought a spell, or any number of other harrowing methods attributed to the Clan — that changed them from what they had been into the vampires they are tonight. Some claim they stole the Curse of Caine from a torpid Antediluvian, or that they concocted the flawed immortality of the Kindred from the stolen vitae of other vampires. Such mysterious origins, which some describe as treacherous or even blasphemous, haunt the Tremere, as the other Clans look upon them with mistrust and suspicion. The history — and, indeed, the modern legacy — of the Tremere is one marked by Clan war, centuries-old grudges, and the stain of unwholesome mysteries long left unsolved.
Tonight, Clan Tremere is a Clan shaped by its practice of blood sorcery. A flexible Discipline, Thaumaturgy is heavily entrenched within the Tremere, and they maintain cultic havens known as chantries to study its uses and share secrets among each other. To the Tremere, blood is both sustenance and the source of mystical power; they gather in their witchhouses to further their understanding of the vitae that is such a focal point of their unlives.
Beyond the practice of Thaumaturgy itself, the Warlocks are known for their close-knit hierarchy. They hail from the Old World, with an established power base in Vienna to which all members of the Clan answer to some degree. Although they may be one of the youngest Clans — in the terms with which deathless creatures like vampires measure time — they are as adept at the Jyhad as any Kindred. Beset by enemies who call them usurpers and backed by allies who may or may not defend the alliances they force, the Tremere have evolved to be self-sufficient. Indeed, many who eye them warily think they possess too great an edge, with their flexible Discipline and protective Clan and chantry structure, and move against them both secretly and overtly.