Harbinger of Skulls Lore

Classic WoD: | Vampire: The Masquerade | Clans (Masquerade) | Sects | Coteries

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Harbinger of Skulls Lore 1

• You know that the Harbingers of Skulls exist.
• You know that the primary Disciplines of the Harbingers of Skulls are Auspex, Fortitude and Necromancy, and that their particular arts of Necromancy differ from those of the Giovanni. (GttS: 60-61; LoTN:SG: 38-39)
• You know that the Harbingers of Skulls all resemble desiccated, dried-out corpses and that they often have little remaining flesh on their faces, leaving them with a grinning rictus that matches their name. (GttS: 60-61; LoTN:SG: 38-39)
• You are aware that the Harbingers of Skulls have only appeared over the past few years and that they are extremely few in number (less than thirty or so). You have also heard that in spite of this, the majority of Harbingers are immensely powerful. (GttS: 60-61; LoTN:SG: 38-39)
• You have heard that the Harbingers of Skulls bear some terrible grudge over past wrongs which they perceived as having been done them and that this sense of vengeance has informed their decision to ally with the Sabbat. (CoTN 38-39; GttS: 60-61; LoTN:SG: 38-39)
• You know that the Harbingers of Skulls engage in a great deal of hierarchical ritual and make heavy use of ornate masks to cover their features. (GttS: 60-61; LoTN:SG: 38-39)

Harbinger of Skulls Lore 2

• You know that the Harbingers of skulls specialize in the Mortuus Path of Necromancy, which focuses on the physicality of death as well as plague and disease. (LoTN:SG [Rev]: 116-118)
• You have heard of the now-extinct Clan of death scholars known as the Cappadocians, who died out in the middle ages, and you know that they were said to possess a death-like visage, although not nearly as horrific as that of the Harbingers of Skulls. (CbC; CbGi [Rev]: 20-25)
• You know about the existence of the Samedi, a Bloodline of Caribbean based Necromancers, who, like the legendary Cappadocians, also have a death-like countenance, although they appear rotten and decaying, whereas the Harbingers appear skeletal. (LotN [Rev]: 59; PG [Rev]: 79)
• You have heard that the Harbingers of Skulls have somehow "returned" from a lengthy exile in the lands of the dead themselves, and that they vehemently despise both the Giovanni and the Camarilla for the circumstances of their imprisonment. You are aware that the Bloodline's members are hence likely of significant age, in spite of their recent appearance to the political scene, and can put together that this is why they seem to possess such power (GttS: 60-61; LoTN:SG: 38-39)
• You know that the Harbingers of Skulls designate rank through their masks, and that more ornate headdresses and coverings are reserved for the Bloodline's leadership. (GttS: 61)
• You have heard of legendary Harbingers such as: Unre, a powerful matriarch in the Bloodline who has attained high standing in the Sabbat and who seems to have been instrumental in the Harbingers' "return." (CoTN: 27-31)

Harbinger of Skulls Lore 3

• You know a little bit of the history of the Cappadocians, and are aware that they were responsible for the Embrace of the Giovanni family as Cainites. You further know that the Giovanni were eventually instrumental in their extinction. You also know that prior to their destruction, the Antediluvian of the Cappadocians called a grand meeting of all of his childer in the city of Kaymakli, whereupon he culled well over half of the Clan via live burial in an event known as "The Feast of Folly." (CbC: 19, 67-68; CbGi: 19-21)
• You have heard of a mysterious Harbinger known only as "The Capuchin" who has been spotted with various packs and Ducti in recent years and you are aware that he has had extensive dealings in Giovanni affairs. (CbGi: 17; LoTN:SG: 60)
• You are aware of a distinct similarity between the Mortuus Path and the Discipline of Mortis, which the Cappadocians were said to practice. (LoTN:SG [Rev]: 116-118)
• You have at least heard, in passing, of famous Harbingers of Skulls such as: La Viuda Blanca (The White Widow), a famously powerful occultist living near Mexico City, whom Unre occasionally consults with. (MCbN: 75-77)

Harbinger of Skulls Lore 4

• You know enough about the Cappadocians to definitively recognize that some of the Harbingers of Skulls as being the remnant of the Clan culled at Kaymalki. You also know that many of them followed clan Elders into Africa or other areas, out of sight. You have a few suspicions as to how their eventual descent into the Underworld and later their escape from it transpired. (CbC: 19, 67-68)
• You know that the Capuchin has been active for long before the Harbingers return and you have plentiful reasons to intuit that he is Japheth, the long thought to be dead childe of Cappadocious, among other things. (CotN: 38-39)

Harbinger of Skulls Lore 5

• You are aware a group of schismatic Cappadocians (termed infitiores) who fled before they could be slain at Kaymalki, and strongly suspect that this might be the origin of the Samedi. (CbC: 19, 67-68)
• You know that Japeth has long been pulling the strings behind the Harbingers return and their alliance with the Sabbat, and have a vague premonition of what he might be working toward through his actions. (CotN: 38-39)
• You have an inkling as to just whom Unre might really be. (CotN: 38-39)