The Reborn Clan

Wanderers
Illusionists
Seekers
Demon Hunters
The Shattered
(derogatory)
Shilmulo
(derogatory, rare)
U nderstood to be tricksters and charlatans by
other Cainites, this represents only part of the
truth of Clan Ravnos. The full story of the Wanderer
ancient: Ravanna will awaken, the asuratizayya will
follow him, and there will come war the likes of
which have not been seen outside the walls of
Clan tells a tale of self-sacrifice and of loyalty to God, Heaven.
of lonely soldiers in a divine war for the souls of all
Tonight, though reduced to a fraction of their former
Mankind. Trickery and temptation are merely the
numbers, the wanderlust that sings in Ravnos blood is
necessary evils by which this war is fought. Long
not easily denied. Ravnos are striking out into the
divided into the western and eastern Ravnos, this
world once again, learning of the changes wrought by
changed when an event that would be remembered as
recent events that have so shaken Cainite society.
the “Week of Nightmares” drove the clan entire into a
They observe and plan, striving to be ready for
self- destructive frenzy. The western Ravnos were
Ravanna’s coming and the reckoning that will follow.
almost annihilated. The eastern Ravnos fared only
slightly better. Perhaps the Ravnos will be prepared by then, in these
new and changed Modern Nights.
But this calamity was a crucible, too, and by its heat
the Ravnos were reforged. Twenty years after the
Who are the Ravnos?
Week of Nightmares, the Ravnos have organized and
united their Clan to a degree not seen in millennia, Prior to the Week of Nightmares, Clan Ravnos was
driven by a looming threat posed by a sleeping much-derided and much-maligned due to the
perceptions of, and the actions of, their most visible
members in Kindred society. Known for being
wandering vagabonds and hucksters, the most prolific
and public Ravnos were charlatans who pervaded
deception and theft. Misunderstood as the clan of
gypsies and tricksters by Cainite society as a whole,
the truth of the Ravnos is much more, for the
vagabonds were not truly the heart of the clan.
The Indian subcontinent houses many supernaturals,
and it is from here that the Ravnos originate.
Subscribing to an origin unlike the Caine myth of
Noddist lore, a myth told by the epic poem
Karavalanisha Vrana (Wounds of the Night's Sword),
which tells a story of their purpose. Their progenitor,
Zapathasura, was a man terribly resurrected by the
gods and charged with a svadharma, a divine purpose:
to rid the world of the asuratizayya, demons that
were once servants the gods created to protect
mankind, who fell from grace and became destroyers
and tempters of men, brought low by the monsters
they were created to destroy. The svadharma of
Zapathusara is borne by all of his childer, burdening
all Ravnos with a threefold mandate from the gods:
To destroy the asuratizayya. To safeguard Mankind
from their foul temptations by becoming tempters
themselves, to find the weak and the easily-swayed
before the asuratizayya come for their souls. To
resist that same temptation as it courses through
their own Blood, calling them to vice, to corruption,
to the Fall.
Rising from this mythic origin, the Ravnos expanded
as Zapathasura created his own childer, and as his
lineage expanded, the clan began to codify societal
roles and duties as they sought out and battled with
their enemies in the regions which would become the
Indian subcontinent and in China, their destiny
leading them into conflict with what they believed
were a current form of the asuratizayya -- the Kuei-
Jin – a conflict which has raged for centuries.
Over the centuries, the Ravnos came into contact with
other Cainites as well, ranging from the pilgrims of
Zao-Lat seeking Enlightenment, to the warriors of the
Eldest attempting to usurp via false divinity, and
Cainites coming on the heels of Alexander the Great.
As is often the case when two predatory species come
into contact with each other, conflict broke out. These
conflicts were eventually won by the Ravnos, whose
larger numbers allowed them to come out better at
the end. However, many Ravnos tired of the fighting,
and coupled with a sense of wonder in many (a
wonder brought on by the existence of Cainites);
some set out to see the world, fleeing the
overcrowded space and ever-escalating conflict.
These Ravnos quickly lost contact with their heritage
as generations got further away from their traditions
and history, becoming the diaspora that would be the
most public face of the Ravnos in Kindred society.
Divided into castes (jati), the Ravnos of India
continued their divine mandate, living as tempters of
the unrighteous and pilgrims seeking their divine
purpose against the asuratizayya. After the Embrace,
Eastern Ravnos is inducted into a caste based on their
natural aptitudes. The four primary castes of the
Ravnos are the Brahmin (priests who maintain
mayaparisatya, the path of the divine purpose, and
advise the other castes), the Kshatriya (military
leaders who run the war effort against the Ravnos'
enemies, primarily the asuratizayya), the Vaisya
(who manage the Masquerade and mortal resources,
often functioning as major-domos) and the Chandala
(equivalent to Caitiff, with no specific role in Ravnos
society dictated by the svadharma). Ravnos ghouls are
called the Shudra caste, servants to their vampiric
masters, and other minor families existed (eventually
being large enough to be considered 'castes' among
the Western Ravnos.)
The Eastern Ravnos kept to themselves, entertaining
the unusual Camarilla delegate, but otherwise rarely
interacting with the rest of Kindred society, and
continued in the ways they had for centuries. Until
the Week of Nightmares, which upended everything
for all Ravnos the world over. The destructive
madness that brought low the Western Ravnos also
afflicted the Eastern Ravnos. Unlike their Western
cousins, however, the jati had support systems in
place, as the Kindred rulers of the region, which
lessened the blow to their numbers significantly. As
the Ravnos lost their minds and set upon each other,
the Shudra and other mortal servitors of the Ravnos
worked to contain the madness. And while many died,
many more were subdued and kept in torpor until the
madness had passed. And after the madness had
passed, the Eastern Ravnos took stock of their
situation and drew their resources close, not only to
ensure their society would survive, but for protection
against their Cathayan enemies who might strike in
their hour of weakness.
The Eastern Ravnos spent just over a decade
rebuilding their numbers in India, led by a council of
Brahmin under the watch of two of their eldest,
survivors of the Week of Nightmares. The Ravnos had
lost time and resources, and a decision was made. A
number of Ravnos were dispatched into the world,
beginning to reintegrate slowly into Cainite society,
learning of what had happened and all the changes
that came after the Week of Nightmares. These
pilgrims – often in disguise, calling themselves Caitiff
to not arouse the ire of the Clans of Caine – were
charged with studying Cainite society as it exists now,
to inform their future diplomatic reintroduction as
one of the thirteen Great Clans, and to inform their
search for allies. A reckoning is coming, or so their
eldest have said, as the rise of their lost and fallen
sibling Ravanna is soon to happen. And with
Ravanna’s rise, the asuratizayya will move on the
world, calling the Ravnos to fulfill their ancient
duties.
Now, in the shadow of the Inquisition and the
Gehenna War, events have brought two of their
remaining eldest together, in search of a third
ancient, their sister, in order to combat the coming
asuratizayya and the fallen ancient, Ravanna. At the
order of these ancients, the clan began to increase
their numbers, even as some of their elders began to
succumb to a 'call' and disappear into the night. In
the past decade, the eastern Ravnos have begun to
organize in an unprecedented manner due of this, and
are slowly becoming a more common sight in Cainite
society as their neonates and ancillae wander into the
world, their pilgrims and warriors venturing out into
the world looking for the Lost Sister and to see the
influence of the asuratizayya on the world.
Generation, sent into the world by their elders (or by
their own wanderlust) to see exactly how Kindred
society fared in these nights. Though some Ravnos
have chosen to ally themselves with the various sects
of the Kindred, the Ravnos as a whole maintain their
independence, as they always have. Their historical
territories and the support network afford them the
opportunity to maintain independence, but the
biggest factor is that Kindred society has no
knowledge of their true numbers. In this, the Ravnos
have an advantage, and keep those cards close to the
chest.
The majority of the Ravnos that are seen by
Kindred society are independent, eschewing
membership in any of the sects in order to
perform their duties. These Ravnos engage
with the sects when and where they can, but
are outsiders, viewed by much of modern
Kindred society as a curiosity. Still, many of these
Ravnos have shown their usefulness in domains
suffering from the taint of the infernal.
The Anarchs, accepting of Kindred from all
walks of life, have been accepting of those
Ravnos that have chosen to throw in their lot.
Within the Anarchs, the Ravnos have begun
to show their usefulness in a way that older
Kindred are often surprised by, with Vaisya keeping
mortal herds in line or Kshatriya working tirelessly to
keep their fellow Anarchs in line and safe from
Camarilla pogroms or rival Anarch gangs and
factions.

Ravnos in Kindred Society

The Ravnos have had next to no presence in Kindred
society since the Week of Nightmares; with time, the
Ravnos of the east began to grow their numbers and
reassert their control over India against the incurring
Wan Kuei and the Camarilla that had small footholds
in India. In the early 2010s, new pilgrimages began,
young Ravnos of Neonate and Ancilla age and
 Very few Ravnos have been accepted into the
Camarilla; the few that have sought to join the
Ivory Tower have been exceptional members
of the Brahmin and Kshatriya, most often the
journeying Ancilla, offering their external
knowledge as a new viewpoint on internal
conflicts, or their decades of military knowledge to
deal with the Inquisitors and unruly Anarchs.
The Ravnos have had an extraordinarily
troubled past with the Ashirra due to the
actions of the diaspora. In centuries
past, three particular families of Ravnos
lived within the Ashirra's territory; one
known widely for their debauchery, one
for their evolution into a failed doomsday cult, and
one known only through their entirely reasonable
dealings with the Ashirra's authorities. In the modern
nights, the Ashirra have been the first sect to really
have interaction with the new Ravnos expansion, as
pilgrims ventured among them, presenting
themselves in a different manner than the Ashirra
were familiar with. The Ravnos that have been
accepted into the Ashirra have been granted a form of
probation; Kindred are long-lived and many have long
memories, and those Ravnos are being watched
carefully due to their sordid history.
Ravnos Archetypes
Wandering Priest
This Ravnos, a member of the Brahmin jati, is one of
the first out into the world after the eastern Ravnos
began their recovery. A wanderer who is often a new
arrival in a given Domain, this Ravnos is relearning
Cainite society in the new nights. The Beckoning, the
Second Inquisition, the Fall of the Sabbat, the
Gehenna Crusade... the extent of much of this is
unknown to her, and she is taking it in stride. In
addition to learning, she is slowly attempting to
'advise' other Kindred of the eastern Ravnos in order
to make her brethren's transition into Cainite society
proceed as smoothly as possible. And though she
doesn't talk about it to many, if any, she is searching
for information on their wayward ancient, the blood-
sister of Hazimel and Chandraputa, Marizhavashti.
Advance Soldier
A member of the Kshatriya jati who was sent out into
the world to see how the asuratizayya have been on
the move, the Advance Soldier comes from modern
military stock. Trained in both human military tactics
and in tactics to deal with Cainites, the Advance
Soldier seeks a domain where the influence of the
asuratizayya is undeniable, and in that domain, the
Ravnos plans to bring information back to the Clan as
a whole and, if possible, destroy the asuratizayya
where they are. Subtle and soft-spoken, the Advance
Soldier simply refers to themself as a traveling
Ravnos, in order to throw off suspicions and keep the
truth of the rising numbers of the Clan from the
general Cainite populace.
Aspiring Major-domo
Insinuating themselves into a Domain, this well-read
and well-educated Ravnos of the Vaisya jati has been
seeking a domain to ingratiate themselves into. Taken
from mortal stock with strong political leanings and
great training in oratory and business, the Embrace
and being drawn into Cainite politics (both inside the
Ravnos clan and outside) has made this Ravnos an
even more eloquent speaker, with a keen and
discerning mind for political minutiae. This Ravnos
seeks to find out the new state of affairs in Cainite
society, while using their political acumen to perhaps
set themselves, and their Eastern brethren, in a
future position of usefulness or power.
Disciplines
Animalism: As wanderers, the Ravnos are no
stranger to wild lands. Through the use of this
Discipline, the Ravnos has a two-fold capability; those
young enough to take sustenance from animals have
an easily-accessible emergency source of blood, and
an easy method of information gathering (and
defense, in a pinch).
Fortitude: Many Ravnos claim that their mastery of
Fortitude is a gift from their progenitor, the strength
of their bodies supporting them in their battles
against the asuratizayya. And while this may be true,
Fortitude has borne up many Ravnos being driven out
of domains, weathering both the physical and mental
assaults against their persons.
Obfuscate: Careful application of Obfuscate has given
the Ravnos their signature capability: the ability to
cloud the minds of others and make them see what
they want, to the point of those 'illusions' being given
a 'physical' substance of a sort. Mastery of Obfuscate
not only allows the Ravnos to travel undetected, but
to put these mental tricks to work in their 'duty' as
tempters, and in defense of themselves and their
allies.
Ravnos often utilize the Amalgams Mithya, which
allows them to project their Obfuscate as independent
illusions that affect all five senses, and Maya, which
takes the projected illusion and grants it a form of
substance by drawing on their Fortitude.
Variants by Caste
The eastern Ravnos often (but not universally) have
developed slight differences in the powers they
possess between the castes, due to the duties that
they naturally gravitate towards. At Storyteller
discretion, a Ravnos of a specific caste may replace
Disciplines as follows:
 Brahmin may replace Animalism with Auspex
 Kshatriya may replace Animalism with Protean
 Vaisya may replace Animalism with Presence
Bane
The Ravnos believe that their Bane is not a
punishment so much as a trial. In their role as
tempters, they too are tempted; each Ravnos, upon
Embrace, becomes afflicted with a temptation. This
temptation should be discussed with the Storyteller;
often, something that would cause a character to
move towards violation of a Chronicle Tenet or
Conviction is most appropriate, though it mustn't
always be. Most Ravnos believe by overcoming this
temptation of their blood, they will come closer to
their mythic origin, bettering themselves and moving
beyond their own limits, essentially 'purifying'
themselves and moving further along their svadharma
-- their divine purpose. The Ravnos takes penalties
equal to the Bane Severity to any pools involved in
avoiding indulging in this temptation.
Clan Compulsion: Svadharma
When this Compulsion is activated, the Ravnos' mind
aligns with their mythic origin as tempters of men,
sent down to see who is righteous and who is not. The
Ravnos must engage in attempts to coerce another
individual (vampire or mortal) to violate a Conviction
or Chronicle Tenet (most often using the powers of
Mithya to assist). Any action not taken towards
pushing someone to violate the Conviction/Tenet
suffers a -2 dice penalty, as the Beast fights against
their attempt to avoid their svadharma (and its own
natural impulses). The Compulsion lasts until the end
of the scene, or until the target does something to
definitively uphold Conviction or Tenet in the Ravnos'
presence
New Powers
Obfuscate
Level 3
Mithya
Amalgam: Fortitude 2
Rather than using Obfuscate to mask themselves from
view or change their form, the Ravnos have developed
a method to project this mental manipulation on an
area; rather than affecting only the Ravnos, Mithya
draws upon the Ravnos' Fortitude to allow the Ravnos
to create illusory people and things with a semblance
of life and substance; illusory people move or speak,
illusory water drips and ripples, and illusory music
changes from song to song.
Cost: 1 Rouse Check
Dice Pool: Composure + Obfuscate
System: Make a Composure + Obfuscate test to craft
the illusion; the Difficulty for this is variable and
determined by the Storyteller, based on the specifics
of the illusion being crafted. A simple object such as a
sword or goblet might need 1 success, a more complex
object like a gun that chambers might need 3, while
an illusion of a specific individual or something such
as a massive fire might need 6. On a win, the caster
creates the illusion of their choice, with a size no
larger than 10 yards per dot of Obfuscate; on a
Critical Win the size can be doubled.
An illusion has no physical substance, but it looks
entirely real to observers unless disbelieved (see
below) or seen through via powers. An illusory
policeman can appear to walk his beat around a block,
an illusory wall feels and looks like brick, a glass of
water could be made to be a fine wine, and so forth.
Illusory objects seem to fulfill their standard
functions; an illusory gun can cock its hammer or
shoot an illusory bullet (which causes no harm), and
an illusory engine can be taken apart.
The use of Mithya is very open-ended and effects of
the illusions should be discussed with the Storyteller;
an illusory fire might trigger a low-Difficulty
Rotschreck test (no higher than Difficulty 2), or items
used to assist actions (such as an illusory gun aiding
an intimidation attempt) might provide a dice bonus
no higher than half the user's Obfuscate rating to an
applicable situation.
When Mithya is activated, the caster may (if
appropriate) determine a simple pattern of actions
for that illusion to enact, such as the beat cop walking
a loop around the block. Further, if the illusion cast
by Mithya is within unaided line of sight of the caster
(and the caster meets other limitations, such as if
they can hear what is being asked of the cop), the
caster may actively control the illusion, such as
having the beat cop stop to have a conversation. To
change the pattern of an illusion requires a round of
concentration in which the caster can take no other
action; to make changes while otherwise engaged
requires a Minor Action worth 3 dice.
Users of Sense the Unseen have the potential to see
through illusions, which trigger a contest of Resolve +
Auspex vs. Composure + Obfuscate when the user of
Auspex interacts with the illusion.
Illusions created by Mithya can be disbelieved if
something is done to cause suspicion. To disbelieve an
illusion, the character interacting with the illusion
rolls a contest of Wits + Awareness vs. Wits +
Obfuscate.
A win by any margin on either of the above causes the
illusion to be seen through; seeing through the
illusion causes it to become semi-transparent; for
example, after disbelieving or sensing through a
chimerical wall, a character can see through it and
move through it without impediment.
Illusions cast by Mithya are immediately dissipated if
exposed to natural sunlight. Illusions cast by Mithya
can be recorded, but on recording they look or sound
'off;' audio is tinny and illusions gain an overt
unnatural quality.
Duration: One scene, until dismissed, or until
dispelled as above.
Level 5
Maya
Prerequisite: Mithya
You can turn dreams into reality, lending genuine
verisimilitude to your imaginary creations. Your
phantasms gain tangible reality and are capable of
interacting with the real world in concrete ways, even
causing harm to your enemies, as you choose.
Cost: 2 Rouse Checks
Dice Pool: Composure + Obfuscate; Manipulation +
Obfuscate vs. appropriate dice pool
System: The Ravnos is able to use Maya to either
augment an existing illusion created by Mithya, or this manner must be discussed with the Storyteller.
summon a new illusion into being; to summon an
Duration: 5 minutes or 1 full combat, or until
illusion, the caster must win a Composure +
dispelled (see Mithya for the rules for dispelling an
Obfuscate test (see the rules for Mithya). Illusions
illusion)
created with Maya (or upgraded from illusions
already cast via Mithya) have all the same limitations Credits
as Mithya (such as being dissipated by sunlight or By Night Studios for the original Chimerstry text
being off when recorded), but are unable to be altered for V5
disbelieved; the illusion has been given a form of Eunomiac for proofreading and editing
limited substance, making it much more tangible in
All art credit to the original artists, used for non-
the sense of reality.
profit purposes
Illusions created with, or augmented by, Maya cannot - Cover Image: Taapsee Panu, 'Pink' promotional
interact with inanimate objects, but can cause harm image, Rashmi Sharma Telefilms
to mortals, supernaturals and animals. Maya allows
- Image #1: Pandora, by Mahafsoun (https://
illusions to be used to attack and inflict temporary
www.deviantart.com/mahafsoun/art/Pandora-
real damage, either as a primary attacker (such as a
697118590)
beat cop firing a gun) or by secondary means (the
Ravnos slashing with an illusory sword). Attacks - Image #2: Avan Jogia, 'Now Apocalypse'
made with Maya do Aggravated damage with a +2 promotional image, Starz
damage modifier, with a weapon type appropriate to
whatever form the illusion has been given.

To attack with Maya, the user must be concentrating

and actively directing the illusion (such as making an
illusory hunter swing an axe), or using the solid
illusion themselves (such as holding a phantom
sword); the user rolls a contest of Manipulation +
Obfuscate vs. the target's appropriate pool (a sword
duel would resolve as Manipulation + Obfuscate vs.
Dexterity + Melee, for example). This is treated as a
normal Conflict; if the target wins on a Conflict that
would deal damage back, the Ravnos takes the
appropriate damage (either beings truck themselves
or, with a controlled illusion, this is a sort of 'psychic
feedback'). Others may 'attack' a Maya illusion per
the normal Conflict rules, with the pool and damage
the same as above.

The harmful effects of Maya are fleeting, however, as

they are based on the substance of illusion, despite
the temporary solidity. Damage caused by Maya can
knock an individual unconscious or into torpor, but
cannot kill. Once Maya's duration has ended, the
harm it has inflicted fades after an additional 5
minutes; unconscious humans awaken, and torpid
vampires rise.

At Storyteller discretion, Maya can be used for other

combat effects, such as staking. Any use of Maya in