Corajoso

You should be careful about spilling your blood. It told me so much about you.

Vampire the Requiem - Ancient Vampire

Family unity is a strange concept in the minds of most Kindred. Between the passage of time and the Machiavellian schemes of rivals, mortal relations become a liability, merely a torturous reminder of a vampire’s breathing days, if he is lucky. Some Kindred, however, find comfort of sorts in the limited trust and familiarity that close relatives in blood are more apt to demonstrate than other Kindred — who simply share the same general characteristics determined by clan. Sires usually have a driving purpose behind a vampire’s Embrace, and childer can provide a backdoor to an enemy, should the childe become neglected or antagonized. The Corajoso not only found value in the relationships within any given vampire’s lineage, but they capitalized upon it.
As the post-Crusades European nations sought to expand their capacity for trade with the Orient and explore the new lands they discovered in the process, the Kindred who existed among them risked their unlives for the prestige of discovering or founding vampire domains across the world. The Corajoso bloodline discovered that one of the primary difficulties in traveling the vast distances across the seas, whether the destination was to an established civilization or into the frightening unknown world, was the lack of communication and the substantial delay in the exchange of information. In many cases, even the most basic bit of knowledge sent to the correct individual could prevent future catastrophe or spur immediate aid… if only it could get there in time. With the relative unity of the Kindred of the Corajoso, their network stretched across the globe, allowing members of this bloodline to coordinate their actions through the mystical ties of blood and their unique expertise in the arts of the Linagem. Being a brood of Lords, however, ensured that there was certainly madness to this method. The bloodline was, after all, formed in order to ensure a legacy for the line’s progenitor.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

History and Culture: Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries, Portugal struggled to find stability in its own independence and identity. So, too, did a brood of Kindred spread throughout the regions of Portugal and Galicia (now part of Spain) to the north. The chaos of the tumultuous transitions in Kindred power across Europe combined with the constant bloody conflict with the Moors throughout the southern Iberian Peninsula. A Ventrue named Afanso had solidified a domain that, when combined with the domains of his two childer, encompassed much of northern Portugal and southern Galicia. As the Crusades came to a close, Kindred of Castille and Aragon organized themselves and pressured Afanso to fall in line with their iron-fisted rule. The elders knew his weakness; Afanso held a particularly strong affinity for the tiny nation and its peoples. When he refused to offer tribute, a strategically placed village would suddenly be missing most of its young men, or a fire would strike the home of an important noble. Before long, urged by his childer, Afanso submitted to the myriad of rules, tributes, and other demands placed upon his “sovereignty.”

Brave Origins

Late in the 13th century, Afanso vanished. His childer set adrift without his guidance and his lands open to any Kindred insurgent, he simply disappeared without warning or reason. Many of his superiors and adversaries throughout Castille and Aragon (then beginning to solidify into Spain) assumed that he had been driven into Torpor by one of their own. Afanso’s childer tried to lash out at the powerful network of vampires descending upon Portugal, but had no long-term success. Alfonso’s fate was not what everyone assumed, however. During his decade of absence, Afanso had struck deals with mystics among the Moorish Kindred still resisting expulsion to Africa. In return for a future of relative safety in his domain, the strange Kindred among the Moors taught him secrets necessary to put his plans into motion.
After Afanso returned to Portugal, his childer and their handful of childer quickly followed his lead. They did not attempt to regain their lost domains. They found a new purpose and plan for the future. Professing strength in unity, Afanso urged his brood into the arduous process of retaking their homeland — bypassing the traditional methods of influence and prestige. As fate would have it, the royalty of Portugal involved the nation in a series of naval expeditions that pushed Europe into an era of exploring unknown seas and discovering unknown lands. The new techniques of the Vitae Afanso had taught his childer suited this era perfectly. He considered himself blessed — divine, even.
Throughout the following few centuries, the Corajoso thrived. Stowed away in ships’ cargo holds, masquerading as nobles and merchants, and taking on the role of intrepid explorers, the Telepaths spread across the world. They initially focused on the efforts of the Portuguese Empire, but they quickly latched on to the successes and results of other European nations as well. A disproportionate number of this bloodline worked among the Kindred who established new domains. Others sought out vampires of the newly discovered cultures, hoping to broker their secrets to the world (those secrets they did not hoard for themselves). The subtle arts of Linagem assisted them in ways that amazed other Kindred and roused deep suspicions, as well. Indeed, those secrets virtually ensured that the bloodline’s progenitor would indeed receive his legacy… and the consequences of the debt he had failed to fulfill.

Hubris Takes Hold

A bloodline of vampires capable of peering into others’ minds is especially untrustworthy, particularly among Kindred. As the Corajoso elders grew in power, they were faced with the problems of cementing their individual legacies while at the same time keeping their childer (and themselves) from Final Death at the hands of other, understandably fearful, Kindred.
Greed, Paranoia and fear motivated the eldest of the Corajoso. Each one of them harbored the terrifying awareness that their record of stealing the carefully hidden histories and secrets of other vampires would return to haunt them. The youngest continued to carry on with personal schemes and goals. However, those who had at one time held a closer connection to their founder turned towards the darker side of Linagem in order to protect themselves. Finding difficulty functioning in the ever-growing courts of Kindred society, they focused on the younger and more easily manipulated descendants of their own blood. With greater skill in the bloodline’s unique talent came an even greater affinity for the Lords’ ability to cloud and control the minds of their own childer, grandchilder, and occasionally those of even more distant blood relations.
At least as vicious and controlling as any other group of elder vampires, Corajoso ancients carefully arranged their pawns and more valuable pieces across the world and nudged them into roles suitable for the various elders’ plans and defenses. The ancillae and neonates geographically closest to their elders (whether those younger Kindred were aware of the fact or not) suffered the most diabolical acts of the bloodline. The masters of Linagem had resorted to using various methods of mindcontrol upon their younger descendants, forcing them to succumb to The Vinculum. On many occasions, the thralls continued such an existence without any memory of taking the Blood Oath.

Irony Divides

Were it not for the eventual necessity of Torpor, this bloodline may have completely devolved into an incestuous breeding stock of withdrawn, paranoid monsters. Over time, however, various elders have been lost to The Fog of Eternity or to other more tangible foes. Some of the younger members of the line found freedom from their invisible chains and once again ventured out on their own voyages of discovery. As part of their intricate systems of control and continued shackling of the younger generations, many of the Corajoso kept a variety of Requiem Diaries, scattered clues, and hidden methods of communicating with other elders in their “secret dynasty.” Irony certainly finds a home in the domains of Kindred. The younger and newly liberated Telepaths now make use of those elders’ relics.
The Corajoso have become a bloodline of two widely varied philosophies. Most of the ancient Kindred of the line hold on to the older values; they use complex schemes of control and manipulation to hide from and defend against the enemies who they have accumulated over the ages. In turn, many of the younger Corajoso have taken the more offensive road. They endeavor to free those who have fallen under the control of their ancestors and scour the world for clues to their own history and their predecessors’ host of enemies.
The Corajoso have found homes in every covenant. Most of the older members of the bloodline hide within and function from positions of power inside The Invictus and, to a lesser extent, The Lancea Sanctum. Tradition, ritual and the relative monotony of those covenants suit the elders’ need to be vigilantly aware of their peers. On the other hand, most of the younger Corajoso turn to The Carthian Movement and occasionally to The Ordo Dracul. Aware of the value of the Status quo the elders seemingly require, Telepaths among the Carthians take part in some of the most chaotic factions of the covenant. Modern concepts and tonight’s fluid society tend to be the greatest weapons in freeing others from the elder Corajoso shackles. The rare younger Telepath who does not feel a particular calling or obligation to “fix” the sins of their fathers tends to dive into the mystery of where their unique nature comes from and just why it has evolved into such a potent weapon. The Dragons are commonly the only vehicle suitable for exploring such questions.
Regardless of age or place in Kindred society, the Telepaths’ talents and curses force them into certain roles. Most tend to be loners. Those who insist on taking part in a more crowded floor of the Danse Macabre tend to lead other Kindred through force and intimidation. Typically, individuals are Embraced into the bloodline because of their fearlessness, because they are visionaries of sorts, or due to their specific skills and experience in uncovering the hidden. Survivalists, private investigators and scientific explorers could easily find themselves brought into the ranks by younger Telepaths. Older Corajoso, by contrast, typically came from the strata of the wealthy nobles, influential clergy, and from the ranks of knowledgeable members of specifically useful cultures encountered during initial explorations of the “new” world.

Major organizations

Reputation: Publicly, the Telepaths are widely distrusted. In addition to snippets of real knowledge that some Kindred might know about them, a number of rumors fly about as well. In domains where Corajoso vampires are known to dwell, one might hear tales of mass mind-reading, gained knowledge through Diablerie, and insidious bloody rites of divination. Most Kindred in positions of power expel the suspect from the city immediately, but some call for more drastic measures. Telepaths have been tortured and coerced into sharing accumulated knowledge. Others have suffered destruction at the hands of princes demanding information that these Kindred are not omniscient enough to obtain. Especially paranoid princes order any Corajoso vampires within their domains slaughtered.
Individuals, however, are far more curious about the Corajoso. Handfuls of brave Kindred seek out members of this bloodline. Some of these vampires offer a variety of payments in exchange for information the Corajoso might possess or be able to discover about their rivals. Most of the time, the Telepaths tend to shy away from such contracts; digging up a vampire’s secrets usually attracts more trouble than simple payments or favors are worth. On other occasions, Kindred employ one of the Corajoso for finding lost sires or missing members of their coterie. Even this can be dangerous; Kindred do not take kindly to being found if they don’t have thedesire to deal with old Contacts.

Nickname: Telepaths

Parent ethnicities

• Ventrue

Bloodline Disciplines: Animalism, Dominate, Linagem, Resilience
Weakness: The Corajoso suffer the same weakness as the rest of the Ventrue (see p. 113 of Vampire: The Requiem).
In addition, the Telepaths are constantly barraged by the psychic turbulence inadvertently caused by Kindred around them. Regardless of whether or not a member of this bloodline has learned the Linagem discipline, every one of them is distracted by the constant flux of other vampires’ connections through Blood Sympathy. Whenever a Corajoso is in the presence of two or more Kindred who are not of the Corajoso bloodline, he suffers from distracting voices, intermittent random hallucinations and rushes of emotion. Under such conditions, the Telepath does not receive the 10 again quality on Resolve or Composure rolls (though this penalty does not apply to rolls made to activate Disciplines, it does apply to Perception rolls), and Resolve is always considered one less when used as a defense trait subtracted from an attacker’s roll (as with The Forgetful Mind power).
Concepts: Kindred genealogist, charlatan psychic, explorer of the urban jungle, sinister psychologist, dilettante, vampiric profiler, surreptitious blood-bonder, Age of Exploration apologist, stalking horse, werewolf photographer