Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition clan
Tzimisce
Tzimisce is a clan in Vampire V5: Flesh-shaping monsters bound to their territory.
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Key facts
- Disciplines
- animalism, dominate, protean
Overview
The Tzimisce are the ancient flesh-shapers of Eastern Europe, monstrous in body and mind. They were among the founders of the Sabbat, and many remain Sabbat-aligned in V5; others operate as independents, slowly rebuilding their reputation in cities they consider their own. The clan's defining art is Vicissitude, body-horror flesh-crafting, which they apply to themselves and their victims alike. Tzimisce characters excel at intimidation, body-horror combat, and territorial control. Their Disciplines (Animalism, Dominate, and Protean) make them lords of their domain. Their clan bane (Grounded) requires them to sleep surrounded by their chosen territory, meaningful soil, family relics, or another personal anchor, and they suffer steadily if they cannot.
How it works
Clan Disciplines: Animalism, Dominate, Protean Clan Bane - Grounded: A Tzimisce must sleep surrounded by 2 handfuls of their chosen territory (the bed of their childhood, the bones of their lineage, the soil of their domain, chosen at character creation). For each day spent without it, the Tzimisce takes Aggravated Willpower damage equal to their Bane Severity, which cannot heal until the territory is rejoined. Compulsion - Covetousness: When triggered, you must claim, possess, or reshape something, a person, an object, a building, a territory, for yourself. You take a two-dice penalty to all rolls until you have made a meaningful step toward possessing the target. Starting Disciplines: Choose 3 dots among Animalism, Dominate, and Protean (max 2 dots in any single Discipline at creation).
Tips and playstyle
Character Concepts: Old-world nobleman, plastic surgeon, body-modification artist, war criminal, territorial fixer, abandoned estate owner, gothic architect. Playstyle: Tzimisce suit players who want body horror, gothic atmosphere, and a deeply rooted character. The Grounded bane pushes the character toward a single hub of operations, great for chronicles set in one city, harder for chronicles that travel. Pair with Predator Types like Farmer (slow territorial feeding) or Bagger (preserved blood from controlled sources). Protean unlocks the Vicissitude amalgam powers that define the clan. Synergies: Protean (with the optional Vicissitude amalgam) for flesh-crafting. Dominate to bind ghouls and break minds. Animalism to command the wildlife of your territory. Invest in Intimidation, Occult, and Awareness.
Frequently asked questions
Is Vicissitude still a thing in V5?
Yes, but it is now a series of amalgam powers within Protean rather than a separate Discipline. Tzimisce characters can take Vicissitude flesh-crafting powers as advanced Protean, most still consider Vicissitude their cultural birthright even though it is mechanically a Protean branch in V5.
What counts as 'territory' for the Grounded bane?
Anything personally meaningful that you choose at character creation: soil from your ancestral village, ashes of your sire, books from your childhood library, bones of your first kill. It must be portable in roughly two handfuls and you must keep it with you when you rest. Lose it, and you start suffering Willpower damage every day.
Sabbat or Camarilla?
Tzimisce remain mostly Sabbat in V5, though Sabbat presence is much weaker than in older editions due to the Beckoning. Some Tzimisce go independent or even align with Anarch baronies. Few are Camarilla, the clan's reputation precedes them, but it is possible if the Storyteller allows.