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Vampire the Masquerade says there are 13 clans of Vampires, each descended from one of the 13 Antediluvians. VTM5e backstory says that vampires appeared about 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, and all 13 clans (if I'm reading it right) seem to have been up and running in Biblical times.The Tremere clan, however are latecomers, only becoming vampires many centuries later.

VTM5e names 13 clans. Namely these 7 (as PC clans):

  1. Brujah;
  2. Gangrel;
  3. Malkavian;
  4. Nosferatu;
  5. Toreador;
  6. Tremere;
  7. Ventrue.

And then these ones on page 63, where it mentions:

  1. Lasombra;
  2. Tzimisce;
  3. Giovanni;
  4. Ravnos;
  5. Banu Haqim;
  6. Setite Ministry.

There are also some references to a 14th clan (the Guruhi, dominant clan in Africa), but it says they share an ancestor with the Nosferatu.

Finally, the question... Who were the 13th clan in the centuries before the Tremere were created? The Guruhi? The Salubri bloodline from earlier editions of VTM? Something else?

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1 Answer 1

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5th edition use the same setting as the previous Masquerade games, just altered a bit by the passage of time. For "canon purposes," you can safely assume the big stuff is the same unless it's explicitly stated otherwise.

That means the major history is the same: Tremere ate Saulot, &c.

The Salubri were once a true Clan…

The mages of the newly created Tremere line found Saulot’s torpid body, and drained his blood and soul. They usurped the power of the one of the Clans of Caine, and sent the Salubri into a downward spiral from which they never really recovered.

[V20, p. 408]

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    \$\begingroup\$ Note that before the Giovanni the clan they replaced was the Cappodlcians \$\endgroup\$
    – user47897
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 20:57
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    \$\begingroup\$ I agree with this answer's conclusion. Though it's worth noting that the problems with the metaplot persist in 5th edition, "intentional" or otherwise. Any and all information should probably be considered provisional unless confirmed (honestly) by your specific gamemaster, including the identity of the 13th clan or the meaningful existence of 13 clans to begin with. Even when the information is printed, "who really knows?" seems to be a valid answer to a lot of it. \$\endgroup\$
    – Upper_Case
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 21:10
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    \$\begingroup\$ This answer would be improved by more detail on why the Salubri disappeared as a clan after the death of their antediluvian, iirc the Brujah antediluvian was destroyed but they are still around. In 3e Canon, Salubri were discredited and hunted by the Tremere because their presence undermined the Tremere's legitimacy as a clan. \$\endgroup\$
    – Phil
    Commented Feb 12, 2019 at 13:46

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