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By Michael A. Goodwin, Kylee M. Hartman, Steven Kenson, Jacob Klünder, Carrie Ann Lewis,

Ari Marmell, Matthew J. RourkeVampire created by Mark Rein•Hagen

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2• playeRs guide to •

• HigH clans •

© 2003 White Wolf Publishing, Inc... All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf, Vampire, Vampire the Masquerade, Vampire the Dark Ages, Mage the Ascension, Hunter the Reckoning, World of Darkness and Aberrant are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Werewolf the Apocalypse, Wraith the Oblivion, Changeling the Dreaming, Werewolf the Wild West, Mage the Sorcerers Crusade, Wraith the Great War, Trinity, Dark Ages Storytellers Companion, Dark Ages Vampire, Dark Ages Mage, Dark Ages Europe, Right of Princes, Spoils of

War, Bitter Crusade, Under the Black Cross, Cainite Heresy, Constantinople by Night, Jerusalem by Night, Libellus Sanguinis I Masters of the State, Libellus Sanguinis II Keepers of the Word, Libellus Sanguinis III Wolves at the Door, Libellus Sanguinis IV Thieves in the Night, The Ashen Knight, The Ashen Thief, Road of the Beast, Road of Kings, Road of Heaven, Road of Sin, Iberia by Night, Transylvania by Night, House of Tremere, Wolves of the Sea, Fountains of Bright Crimson, Wind from the East, Veil of Night and Play-ers Guide to High Clans are trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by White Wolf Publishing, Inc.

The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned.

This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural ele-ments are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised.

For a free White Wolf catalog call 1-800-454-WOLF.Check out White Wolf online athttp://www.white-wolf.com; alt.games.whitewolf and rec.games.frp.storyteller

CreditsAuthors: Michael A. Goodwin (Birthrights and

Bitter Secrets), Kylee M. Hartman (Prelude, Once and Future Kings (Traditions and Perversions)), Steven Kenson (Once and Future Kings (Lasombra, Toreador, Venture, Tactics, Traditions and Perversions)), Jacob Klünder (Noble by Association, Birthrights and Bitter Secrets (Advanced Disciplines)), Carrie Ann Lewis (Those Who Rule the Night), Ari Marmell (Once and Future Kings (Brujah, Cappadocian, Tzimisce, Domains of the High Clans)), Matthew J. Rourke (Playing the High Clans).

Vampire and World of Darkness created by Mark Rein•Hagen.

Storyteller game system designed by Mark Rein•Hagen

Additional Material: Janet TrautvetterConsultants: C. A. Suleiman, Janet TrautvetterDevelopment: Matthew McFarlandEditor: Janice M. SellersArt Direction, Layout & Typesetting: Becky

JollenstenInterior Art: Colin Adams, Mike Chaney, David

Day, Jim Di Bartolo, Quinton Hoover, Alex Shiekman, James Stowe, and Tim Truman

Front Cover Art: Adrian SmithFront & Back Cover Design: Becky Jollensten

AcknowledgmentsThe authors and developer would like to ac-

knowledge the fine work of the authors of Clanbook: Cappadocian and the Libellus Sanguinis series: Justin Achilli (Cappadocian), Craig Bolin (Ventrue), Rich-ard Dansky (Lasombra), Robert Hatch (Tzimisce), Richard Stratton (Brujah), Cynthia Summers (Tore-ador). Your work was invaluable to ours.

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Table of Contentsprelude: When the Waters stop 5introduction 13chapter one: once and future Kings 17chapter two: playing the Highclans 93chapter three: noble by association 125chapter four: birthrights and bitter secrets 147chapter five: those Who Rule the night 211

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Prelude: When the

Waters StopI still fear sleeping in silence. When I was little, I needed silence to sleep. My room in Lis-

bon faced the ocean and when I learned to fear death, the waves reminded me that the water would flow even after I died. From that time, I slept in my mother’s room — I couldn’t hear the water there. Mother told me not to fear death, and she told me stories of women who sacrificed their lives.

I was nine when Mother died. My father and I left our Lisbon manor for a small cottage outside Venice. Unlike the waters of Lisbon, the waters of Venice had no sense of control, and they often flooded our land with moisture and muddy smells. My new room was dank and looked out over an unruly creek. The coarse wooden walls were always moist, and mildew shared its pungent stench with the rotting leaves from outside.

Though I missed the salty clean scent of Lisbon, I enjoyed listening to the creek at night as I studied. Father would interrupt me when it was time to rest. He’d placed a cup of water on my table.

“Good work yesterday,” he’d say. “But not perfect.” I’d nod. “Blow out the candles before you sleep.” I would watch him walk to the door. “Drink your water,” he would say over his shoulder.

This was our evening ritual. He would leave and I’d drink the water, lie down and listen to the creek trickling over rocks. Unlike the ocean, the creek’s melody changed. I would wait for the water to stop. It never did, and its ebb and flow lulled me to sleep.

†††My father and I lived our lives structured by a water clock, or clepsydra as he called it. It told

us when to start a task or when to change studies. My studies were endless, and they were the most important things. Besides that, my only chores were resetting the clepsydra and preparing the food. That included going to market and gathering the food.

• pRelude •

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