From: [A CRAM] at [student.anu.edu.au] (Andrew Cram)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.storyteller
Subject: Clanbook: Baali
Date: Mon, 04 Mar 1996 10:52:51 +1000

Following is my version of a Clanbook for the Baali. I played nice and
submitted it to Whitewolf, however, after being told off for submitting a
full manuscript (when my 3 page submissions had not generated any sort of
response by either the Werewolf or Vampire people), and then being told it
would be 'considered' for the 1997 release - that was the last I have heard
even though I send of a pleading Email every three months (no reply), I am
now fed up so, here it is - you can thank Andrew Greenburg, Jennifer
Hartshorn, and several others for it being free of charge. It isn't in its
final form but I have been so demoralized by this 'perceved neglect' that I
don't feel up to finishing it. 

If you like it please tell me, I could do with a bit of an ego boost...

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All rights reserved. Electronic Distribution allowed provided no charge is
involved. No hardcopy distribution without the authors prior conscent.


CLANBOOK: BAALI (Version 1.5)

by Andrew Cram (©1995).

The Dance of Corruption.

"But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the wars of elements,
the wrecks of matter,
and the crash of worlds."  
- Joseph Addison (1672-1719)

Chapter One: History of Clan Baali
"The backward look behind the assurance of recorded history, the backward
half look over the shoulder, toward the primitive terror." - T.S.Eliot,
1941 

Demon worshippers, serial killers, diabolists, and traitors - the Baali are
all these things and more. The Baali represent the darkest side of the
kindred and provide a mirror which reflects our darkest desires. They live
a life of fear, forever hiding from vampiric society, pretending to
conform, just as many of us do every day of our own lives.

A Brief History of the Baali
"History, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which
are brought about about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly
fools." - Ambrose Bierce (1906)

(A knowledge of the Clan's early history was gained by Baali using the Dark
Thaumaturgical path of Secret Knowledge. It may have been deeply corrupted,
or indeed be truly falsified, by the infernal powers for their own
reasons).

Origins
"Nemo repente fuit turpissimus." ('No one ever became thoroughly bad in one
step.') - Juvenal (A.D. 60-130?), Satires, 2, 83

The Baali believe that the Clan arose in the mythical first city. Their
sire, Baal, was one of the third generation, and was the younger brother of
Saulot in both the mortal and vampiric sense. Both brothers were scholars,
and maintained a highly competitive relationship. Each sought to show up
the other and win the favor of Caine. Each delved into great mysteries,
communed with ancient spirits, and sought the council of moonbeasts. 
One night Saulot came to Baal with a plan to contact the infernal powers.
Baal initially resisted, but finally the lure of knowledge swayed him and
he collaborated with Saulot in a series of rituals. Saulot however had
betrayed him, the next night when Baal began the ritual, Saulot arrived
with Caine and the Second and Third Generations. Caine was horrified by
these dealings and before Baal could raise a word in his own defense Caine,
father of all kindred, slew him . Caine cursed all of Baals' offspring (for
he had sired in order to gather information from around the world) to
forever live in fear of the one above's true sign, creating the clan's
weakness.

Mesopotamia
"And there was war in heaven." - Revelation 12:7

When the Third Generation came together after the flood, the children of
Baal were not among them. Instead they founded cities in what was to become
Mesopotamia, flourishing with the passing years and gaining great strength
from the infernal powers. When the second city fell, the cities of the
Baali still thrived, but several centuries later, a coalition of clans
attempted to destroy the Baali, each for their own reason.
The Capadocians (forerunners of the Giovanni) led the assault, hoping to
gain the dark knowledge of death and the afterworlds that the Baali
possessed. They were supported by the Children of Set who sought to expand
their own powers of corruption, the Brujah (True Brujah?) who sought, for
their histories, the ancient records of the cities, and the Tzimisce whose
goals remain unknown. The Salubri did not participate, Saulot apparently
having had a change of heart after his brother's destruction (he had
apparently only expected a punishment of banishment).
The battles raged for decades, with the vastly outnumbered Baali loosing
ground with each year. Just before the final assault, the Baali decided to
win the war in the only way they were able: from within. They put in place
the mechanism for the great dispersal whereby the surviving members of the
clan would infiltrate the other clans from within and slowly corrupt them.
They also swore undying revenge against the five clans (including the
Salubri) that had attempted to destroy them. When the allied clans attacked
the next evening they found only a few newly embraced kindred and a handful
of ghouls. They declared the war over, the Baali destroyed and their dark
knowledge forever lost. The Baali were stricken from the vampiric histories
and in a few centuries forgotten.

The Ancient World.

The first taste of revenge on the Baali's lips was the destruction of the
Brujah city of Carthage by the Ventrue led coalition of Clans. Much of the
'evidence' the Ventrue used to prove Carthaginian demon worship was
fabricated by the Baali (for who else had a better knowledge of demonic
practices?)
With Carthage's destruction the Brujah degenerated into the fractous rebels
that they are today. The Baali had gained there first success.

The Middle Ages.
"In revenge, there is something that satisfies one's sense of justice. Our
sense of revenge is as exact as our mathematical faculty, and until both
terms of the equation are satisfied, we cannot get over the sense of
something left undone." - Inazo Nitobe c.1900

The Baali gained a fair portion of the revenge they sought during the
Middle Ages. By now firmly entrenched in all the Clans (and some other
organisations), the Baali began a series of great schemes which were to
have incredibly far-reaching results. They ultimately culminated in the
formation of the Giovanni (and the consequent destruction of the
Capadocians), the rise of the Tremere (which both hurt the Tzimisce and
resulted in the destruction of Saulot and most of his offspring),  and the
Anarch revolt which was not started by the Baali but which was certainly
helped along by them (and which destroyed virtually all of the Old Clan
Tzimisce and hurt almost all of the other clans). The formation of the
Sabbat gave the Baali a fertile ground from which to corrupt, and the clan
truly flourished.
 
The Age of Reason.
"Ubi solitudinem facuint pacem appellant." ('They create desolation and
call it peace.') - Tacitus (AD 55?-117?), Agricola, 30

Wherever the other Clans went so to did the Baali, they spread into the New
World with the great vampiric sects. During this period they created
several minor incidents but did not instigate any sweeping changes. They
did, however,  found the Path of Evil Revelations (see: Players and
Storytellers handbook to the Sabbat) which has since become one of the
central precepts of Baali 'morality'.

The Modern Age.
"Remember them as they were; and write them off." - Ernest Hemingway

In the modern era the Baali continue to infiltrate and corrupt the other
clans, playing the role of devil's advocate with great skill. None outside
the Clan know the full extent of their power, and few are even aware of
their existence. They remain the expression of ultimate evil in the
kindred, whilst possessing a measure of the power that could stave off
Gehenna.

Around the World.
"If you ain't were you is, you're no place." - 'God', Robert Rankin, They
came and ate us.

Almost anywhere you can find a group of kindred you find a Baali. They are,
however, more active in some areas than others.
North America
The Baali have infiltrated American kindred society to a greater degree
than any other, they hold places of power and authority in the Camarilla,
Sabbat, Anarchs, and even Inconnu, and are thought to make up almost 10
percent of the kindred of this continent.
South and Central America
Sabbat run Mexico has a large number of Baali, but most of the rest of the
area only has a few of the Dark Clan. They have found it hard to infiltrate
the scattered and untrusting kindred of the South, and prefer to
concentrate on the more populated North.
Europe
The Baali account for around 5 percent of Europe's kindred. They find it
harder to infiltrate the more established areas, but some ancient members
of the clan have long established identities on the continent, thus
providing the Clan with an entry point into the close knit society of the
European Damned.
Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independant States.
The current turmoil in the eastern states caught the Baali as much by
surprise as the Brujah council, and many clan members met with similar
fates under the claws of Baba Yaga. Many clan members are being sent to the
area to try and make a truce with the night hag, but none, so far, have
been successful.
Africa
The Baali are strong in the far north and south of the dark continent,
although they struggle to maintain a foothold in the so called dark heart
of Africa.
The Middle East
The Clans' former homeland holds very few members of the Baali. Some
infiltrators within the Assamites make this area their home, and there are
persistent rumors amongst the clan hold that an elder sleeps in torpor
under the ruins of Megido (Armagedon).
Asia
Less than one percent of Asia's kindred are Baali, the Clan has had some
success in the island states (Japan, Taiwan, and the Phillipines) but has
largely failed to infiltrate the Asian kindred of the mainland.
Australia
With around ten percent of the continent's kindred being Baali, Australia
is infiltrated to the same degree as North America. The clan has met some
resent problems with spirits, and has lost most of its influence with the
Black Spiral Dancers however, and is currently trying to regroup.

Views on Others

Mortals:
Pawns and nothing more. Corrupt, kill, or aid them as you see fit - they
are of know value.
The Inquisition:
A reminder of the danger mortals can pose. They would surely destroy us if
they knew of out existence.
The Camarilla:
It is easy enough to corrupt these petty kindred. They lack real cohesion.
Many are still manipulated by the third generation, and for that reason
they must be destroyed.
The Sabbat:
Evil is strong in these children. We have fostered it over the years. Of
all the Sects, theirs is most under our control, even the Regent knowingly
follows our commands.
The Inconnu:
These elders have long memories. They still remember us, and hate us. We
will defeat them, eventually, but now is not the time.
Black Hand:
They do our work for us. By following the Aralu, they walk the same road as
we do.
Giovanni:
This clan is a testament to ourselves. We created them and in the process
destroyed Capadocius and his retched childe. By their very nature they
serve the darkness.
Settites:
Fools in the dark. They have not yet grasped the power of Hades. Still, in
time they will serve us well.

The Daughters of Cacophony.
The Baali know more about this bloodlines origin than any other group. The
reason for this is quite simple - the Daughters are not (regardless of what
anyone believes) a bloodline of the Toreador or Malkavian Clans. They are,
in truth, a Bloodline of the Baali. The fact that other kindred have not
realized this shows the current lack of knowledge about the Baali.
-Note- most Daughters of Cacophony are unaware of this heritage; and hence
are no more corrupt than the other clans.




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Andrew Cram
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