UnMasqued - Malkavian Lore

This Lore represents knowledge of the social structure, traditions and myths of Clan Malkavian. It also represents how well a character might be able to recognize the names of famous Malkavians and know the trends of the Clan within given regions.

Generally Possessed By: Malkavians, Malkavian antitribu

Potential Specializations: Malkavian History, Malkavian Psychology, Malkavian Psychic Studies, Madness Network Studies

Sources Consulted for this List: Clanbook: Malkavian (2nd Ed), Clanbook: Malkavian (Rev. Ed), Libellus Sanguinis IV: Theives in the Night, Player's Guide to the Low Clans (Rev. Ed)

Lore: Malkavian x1

You know that the primary Malkavian Disciplines are Auspex, Dementation, and Obfuscate, and that Dementation is unique to their Clan. You have heard, however that some Malkavian's possess Dominate instead of Dementation. (VtM [Rev]: 73)
You know that all Malkavians are permanently and incurably INSANE. You know that this insanity, however, is also said to provide insight and premonitions. (VtM [Rev]: 73)
You know that the blood of a Malkavian carries some of their curse and that ghouls and thralls of Malkavians often display some form of mental instability.
You have heard of the Malkavian progenitor, Malkav, and know that he was reputed to be a great seer or prophet.
You know that Malkavians traditionally engage in the practice of "pranking", in which they play elaborate jokes on others. You know that not all of these pranks are particularly funny.
You are aware that Malkavians have some rudimentary mechanic by which they can mysteriously gather seemingly without having communicated beforehand.

Lore: Malkavian x2

You know that until recently it was only the Malkavian antitribu in the Sabbat who practiced Dementation.
You have heard that Malkav was reputedly the brother of Set and Saulot (the Setite and Salubri Antediluvians) and you have also heard that he was somehow "severed" or "rent", but you are not aware of the details.
You know a parable or two common to Clan Malkavian such as "The Story of the Elephant."
You know that the Malkavians were allied with Ventrue Rome during the Punic Wars and that the Clan actively aided in the destruction of Brujah Carthage.
You have heard of the Malkavian Madness Network (Also known as the Cobweb, the Tapestry, the Greater Dreaming, Metatron etc...). You know that it is a sort of rudimentary psychic hivemind that connects all members of the Clan together, although it is not really organized, definite or predictable in any way.
You know that Malkavians tradition of "pranking" is intended to demonstrate to others the absurdity of the universe and/or shatter their perceptions of it, hopefully bringing enlightenment.
You have heard of "The Gnawed", Malkavians who do not successfully make it through the Embrace and are rendered comatose or nun-functional through insanity.
You know that Maris Streck is the current Malkavian Justicar of the Camarilla.
You have heard of Malkav's consort, the Plague Bride, who is said to still walk the earth and spread infection and madness where she goes.
You have at least heard, in passing, of legendary Malkavians such as: The Dionysian, an ancient Greek Kindred with ties to the Bacchic cults of old and allegedly to the Fae; the mystic Unmada and his infamous antitribu childe Vasantasena, who were both instrumental during the Convention of Thorns; Tryphosa the Sybil, who incited Rome to attack Carthage via prophecy; and a terrible creature known only as "The Eater" (Who is said to be capable of devouring the names of things and hence causing them to wither.

Lore: Malkavian x3

You know that originally, in some point in history, all Malkavians practiced Dementation and that it was was somehow spread from the antitribu back to the rest of the Clan, who apparently forwent it's use at the time of the Treaty of Thorns. You suspect that the Network might have played a role.

You have heard the story of Malkav, Set and Saulot, in which Saulot goes on a journey to settle an argument between Set and Malkav over the origin of truth. In this tale gifts are exchanged between the brothers, and Malkav having nothing to give Saulot, bites his thumb and draws a third eye on his forehead.
You know that Malkav was apparently physically ripped to shreds during the wars in the Second City, and that his childer supposedly collected his body and drank his scattered blood. You have the sense that there is more to the story of Malkav's "rending" however.
You are familiar with various theories regarding the Malkavian Madness Network, including that it is the Antediluvian's method of spying upon all of his children. You also have probably heard some of the debate as to whether or not and how much Malkavian-sired Caitiff experience the Network. If you are a Malkavian, you probably know how to start to comb the Network for almost specific information at this point.
You are familiar with the Reality Buster movement, which seeks to disrupt conventional perception through the use of Disciplines to evoke all manner of hallucinations, delusions and other sensations not in accordance with accepted "reality". Pranking amongst adherents of this group is generally quite a spectacle.
You have heard of Jane Pennington and the Ankou, two figures who seem to be connected to Clan Malkavian, but would be better called "apparitions" than Kindred. You know that "Crazy Jane" is said to appear in visions to young neonates in the throes of the Embrace and assist in the transition. You know that the Ankou is a horrific figure that reassembles the Grim Reaper and often leaves a trail of dead lunatics in it's wake.
You have heard of Nissiku (The Clever Prince), A Malkavian who apparently possessed great insight and lunacy. Some rumor he still walks the earth in a variety of guises (most notably Malk Content).
You have heard that Rasputin was a Malkavian, although this is disputed by other Clans.
You have at least heard, in passing, of famous Malkavians such as: Anatole, the legendary prophet of Gehenna; Dr. Douglas Netchuch, the famous Kindred Hemotologist; Alessio Rinaldi, the "Peacock" Prince of Ravenna; and Quentin King III, the Prince of Boston.

Lore: Malkavian x4

You have heard some versions of the story of Malkav, in which he is driven mad after sleeping with Lillith, and that he later infects Set and Saulot with this madness as they try to comfort him.
You have heard legends relating that prior to Malkav's rending he was visited by an angel of the Lord, who imparted unto him certain revelations that were meant to secure Caine's repentence, and that he then approached Caine and spoke to him. Caine, in rage struck him down and cursed his descendants. (LS4: 101, 117)
You know that the Malkavian's kinship to the Salubri caused great strife within the Clan back in the Middle Ages when they were destroyed, although you don't know much else.
You have heard stories of some Malkavians who have manages to transcend their bodies and "download" themselves onto the Network somehow. Although you have no idea how this is possible, you know it would account for stories regarding the Plague Bride, Crazy Jane and the Ankou.
You've heard rumors that the "Gnawed" are often taken to the lairs of the Clan elders who can no longer subsist on simple human vitae.
You have heard that each Clan "coat of arms" was originally created by a mute Malkavian child during the Middle Ages.
You've heard of the Malkavian Orders of Mystery, most notably the Ordo Aenigmatis, which seeks to understand Malkavian madness through riddles and symbolic enigmas, and the Ordo Ecstasis, which seeks ecstatic maddening experience. You know that these mystery cults are, as a rule, never spoken of outside of the Clan. (LS4: 89).
You have heard of the "Language of Babel", an argot of Malkvian origin consisting of codes and symbols decipherable only to their Clanmates allegedly. You hear that it is no longer in wide use. (LS4: 93, 112)
You've heard that the Malkavians once had strong roots in the Christian tradition, and that certain heretical and widely dismissed claims have been made that the Clan had some sort of connection to the personage of Jesus of Nazareth. (LS4: 95-100).
You have heard tales of Malkav bearing some sort of relation to Lilith and of strange and bizarre mystery cults that arose according to this tradition. You know little else. (CtB: 47)
You've heard of some of the fairly obscure Malkavians of note, such as: Geniveive of Limoge, on whose account the demon Elmolech was supposedly bound by the Clan; and the six Knights of Boston, a group of retainers to Quentin King III who share the delusion that they are part of an Arthurian Romance.

Lore: Malkavian x5

You have heard that the alleged dialogues between Caine and Malkav led Caine to violence as he could not put an answer to Malkav's questioning and that Caine struck down Malkav in a bizarre rememberance of the murder of Abel. (LS4: 117)
You are fully aware of Tremere's diablerie of Saulot, and you know that Clan Malkavian nearly joined in the War of Omens along with the Gangrel and Tzimisce to destroy the Usurpers on this account.
You have heard of two nearly unknown and utterly miniscule bloodlines of Clan Malkavian: The Mnemosyne and the Jocastatians. You know that both groups are said to specialize in Noddist scholarship and to practice ritual diablerie, but you know little else. (CtB: 47)
You have heard of Clan Malkavian have occasional contact with the Fae, who apparently tolerate them due to their mutual disconnection from reality.
Even if you are not a member of one of the Orders of Mystery, you know of the rough ranks of progression through one of these groups. You know that the each order is led by a deacon, a Malkavian who can claim to have been present at Malkav's "rending", and that the majority of each order is made up of mystai who graduate from the entrant's rank of initiate after a year of study. You also have a fair amount of familiarity with the litany and practices of both the Ordo Aenigmatis and Ordo Ecstasis, and you've heard tell of the (hopefully) now defunct third order, the infernalist Ordo Maleficus. (LS4: 95-100)
You've heard of the Book of Andreas, a lost relgiious text that makes the claim that Christ had a Cainite disciple in his company - a Malkavian who was exhorted to seek Cain and therby achieve redemption before God. (LS4: 89).
You have heard that the Network is not just a device of Malkav or a part of Malkav's curse but rather that it is Malkav himself, who exists now in shards throughout the minds of all his progeny. This is what Malkav's "severing" refers to.
You have heard another story, Bahari in origin, that Malkav and Arikel (the Toreador Antediluvian) were the children of Lilith, and that they had a third sibling named Nahema, a woman called the Dark Muse or the Demon Queen of Madness. You know that after the deaths of these three, that Nahema was said to still speak to the blood of her siblings, and that it is her whispers that actually transmit the madness network. (CtB: 64)

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