How to Create a Giovanni for Vampire: The Masquerade

If you've ever wanted to play a Mafia don or a member of the Family, the Giovanni might just be the right Vampire clan for you. In the traditions of Vampire: The Masquerade, the Giovanni are the one clan of vampires that are almost all family in the mortal sense, as well as being part of the same vampire family. The Giovanni clan is old-school European, and, as with the European royalty of old, inbreeding is a family tradition. Choosing to play a Giovanni character means choosing a vampire who is not loyal to either of the major political sects, and whose chief interests are making money and necromancy.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Vampire:The Masquerade Player's Handbook Giovanni Clanbook

1. Ask your storyteller what restrictions are going to be placed on necromancy within his game. Necromancy is one of the three core disciplines given to the Giovanni clan, but some storytellers are uncomfortable with the rules for the magic system. Others can be very restrictive in which necromancy paths they allow. Before you decide to make a Giovanni, it is best to ask the storyteller what rules you will be operating under.

2. Read the Giovanni clan book. Very few of the clans in Vampire: the Masquerade are as misunderstood and misrepresented as clan Giovanni. It is one of the most interesting of the clans offered in the game, and a very complete history of the clan is available to the players. In addition, most Giovanni are aware of the clan history, because it is also their family history (unlike with many other vampire clans).

3. Write a backstory for your character. Explain to the storyteller where your character came from and what he has done in a family full of vampires that makes him worthy to become one of them. Clan Giovanni is one of the most restrictive in granting the embrace, and mortal members of the family are expected to earn the right to become vampires.

4. Select your character's main attributes. Two of the three Giovanni disciplines are based on their mental prowess, so it is a good idea to make your character's mental stats its best. "Necromancy" and "dominate" are the Giovanni's two mental disciplines. The Giovanni also have the fortitude, a physical discipline that makes them tougher. Some of the specific skills needed for necromancy are also based on social skills, so it is not uncommon for Giovanni to also be very charismatic.

5. Consider the skills your character is likely to have developed while growing up around vampires. Unlike most characters based on mortals, who have no concept of the existence of vampires, Giovanni characters have known their entire lives that vampires and other monsters are real. It is unlikely to encounter a squeamish Giovanni, but finding one with torture as a skill is not unusual at all.