Assamite

articleissues
notable=May 2008
primarysources=May 2008
in-universe=May 2008The Assamites, in a role-playing-game context, are a clan of fictional vampires, from White Wolf Game Studio's "" books and role-playing games. In the original version of this clan the Assamites are a group of skilled, select assassins who often commit contract killings in exchange for the blood of other vampires. Even when compared to other vampires, the Assamite appear overly obsessed with blood, due to a clan weakness which causes an addiction to the blood of other vampires.

Much of the Assamite symbology is Arabic in origin. Even the clan stronghold, Alamut, is based in a mountain range in the Middle Eastern region. The Hashshashin cult that once occupied this fortress is what inspired the first version of the Assamites.

Aside from warriors/assassins, later game supplements expanded the clan's background and composition to include scholars, known as Viziers, and sorcerers. Effectively the clan consists of three bloodlines, known as castes, each with slightly different Disciplines and weaknesses.

Even though most Assamites claim independence from the sects, they still collaborate with both the Camarilla and the Sabbat whenever such an alliance suits their purposes. Over time a few Assamite factions have permanently defected to the sects however, notably the "antitribu" (who joined the Sabbat) and the smaller group of Schismatics that sought protection in the Camarilla.

The Assamites clan Discipline is Quietus, which alters the internal chemistry and alchemical balance of the vitae (or blood) of the practitioner or his/her victims. The Discipline was developed as a tool for carrying out the Clan's original purpose as defined by its founder Haqim as judges and police to their fellow Cainites during the age of the First City of Enoch. The Discipline's effects range from the novice ability to use one's blood as a potent poison to causing an entire Cainite bloodline to "weep" blood.

Another trait which differentiates the Assamites from the other vampire clans is that they were never cursed by Caine, the first vampire. Despite this, they were still subject to two powerful curses from other sources. The first such curse originated with the Baali bloodline during the Assamite clan's attempted destruction of that family. The results of this curse was that the entire warrior caste of the Assamite clan became afflicted with a tremendous blood-lust for the vitae of other vampires, even to the extent of addiction after only one taste of another Cainite's blood. The second curse occurred at the hands of the Tremere around the time of the Anarch Revolt. This curse, intended as punishment for the clan's addiction to vampire blood as a result of the first curse, caused the entire Assamite clan to have a severe allergic reaction to the vitae of other vampires. Only the Assamites that joined the Sabbat and thus became antitribu, and a few disobedient loners who refused to succumb to the curse were spared this fate. Recently, however, the Assamites have managed to shrug free of the Tremere curse due to the awakening of one of their most ancient and powerful methuselahs, named Ur-Shulgi, and have resumed feeding on other vampires. This caused a great many elder Assamite Antitribu to rejoin the original clan, leading to a leadership crisis in the Sabbat's Black Hand subsect. Ur-Shulgi began to implement an extremist doctrine which in turn caused the Schism, where a group of Assamites who rejected the Methuselah's dogma joined the Camarilla sect.

Unlike the other lines of vampires, who become paler as they age, Assamites grow darker - their eldest members being the shade of obsidian. There is one notable exception to this; Al Ashrad, former Amr of the clan, has pure white skin and no one has been able or willing to explain this.

The Beborn Beton song "Hemoglobin (Assamite)" is about vampirism.

References

* "" (3rd Edition) by White Wolf Game Studio|White Wolf (1998)

Assamites of Note

*Haquim, antedeluvian
*Ur Shulgi, childer of Haquim
*Fatima, disassociated lover of Lucita
*Calir, Slayer of Tremere clan, Master sorcerer
*Pyrial, Vizear who helped defear Shitan

External links

* [http://www.assamites.com/ Assamites.com] , the leading website for the Assamite clan online. This site features graphics, home brewed rules, Ur-Shulgi's origins and more.
* [http://www.thepathofblood.com/ The Path of Blood] , web site dedicated to playing the Assamites in .
* [http://www.geocities.com/cintchr/Assamite.html Clan Assamite] A White-Wolf approved fan site of characters created for 'Haven of the Embraced' a WoD themed MUD.
* [http://www.jcmrpgart.blogspot.com/ Vampire NPC gallery] Officially sanctioned npc gallery, over 100 vampire characters