The Ravnos

The Ravnos have been so badly depleted and their numbers are so few in the Modern Nights that they have almost completely faded from the memory of the Kindred.  In most Western domains, Ravnos are considered little better than Caitiff, nothing more than vermin to be swept out by the Scourges if they become too numerous or draw the ire of the wrong Kindred in power. 

The Ravnos were once prone to degeneracy - a sickness the clan's few remaining mystics believe was leveled on the clan by the traitor Ravana to prevent the clan from realizing its true purpose as hunters of demons and the closest thing the Kindred will ever know to true heroes like something out of the old stories.  Now a fire chases after the Ravnos, a fire which threatens to burn them to ash.  Some view this to be their progenitor's final rebuke to its line, a curse to feel what it felt as it burned up in the sunlight.

Or perhaps it was the Antediluvian's final gift.  This fire has burned away Ravana's filthy curse of degeneracy, revealing the sterling beneath, for now the Ravnos are restless.  The heat in their blood compels them to take great risks and engage in reckless, brave deeds.  If they are the last cinders of their line, then they will glow red-hot before they go cold.  Or perhaps they herald the start of a new, pure flame to wield against the demons trying to slither into the world through the cracks.

Only time will tell.

Bane -Untrue Name: Ravnos are creatures of illusion and deception, but the one thing that can drag them back down to earth and pop their glamours like a bubble is the most ironclad reminder of who they once were - their name.  Anyone who says the name a Ravnos used as a human at the time of their embrace  receives a bonus to the Ravnos' Bane Severity against all discipline powers used by the Wanderer against them, and the Ravnos recieves a minus three penalty on rolls to resist all supernatural powers used by the individual wielding their name against them.  Ravnos learn quickly to take pains to bury the person they used to be, and never reveal that secret, even to those whom they are close to.

Compulsion - The Inner Fire: Something burns within the Ravnos, threatening to consume them whole.  It pushes them to wander, demands they take outrageous risks.  Even if the Ravnos would like to be cautious or subtle, they just... can't.  They have to go loud, have to be flashy.  When this Compulsion triggers, any attempt at solving a problem or dealing with an issue short of the most daring, dangerous, or outright ballsy methods incurs a two-dice penalty.  This isn't all bad - if the Ravnos really goes for it the Storyteller might choose to award them bonus dice, at ST discretion.  The Compulsion resolves when the problem the Ravnos is facing is solved or success is no longer even remotely possible.

The Camarilla: 

Due to their transient natures and their lack of interest in domain, the Ravnos are generally beneath the Camarilla's notice.  However their powers do make them excellent spies and messengers, and this in capacity the Ivory Tower finds them useful.  The money and equipment and safe, comfortable resting places the Camarilla can provide makes selling out a tempting prospect for Ravnos who are tired of survival being something they have to work out anew each night.  The elders with the worst grudges against the Ravnos of old are gone - as are most of those Ravnos - so the clan has something of a blank slate with the Camarilla, especially in the West.

The Anarchs: 

Most Ravnos fall in among the Anarchs, where they act as - surprise - spies, couriers, messengers, and agents provocateur.  They count on the communal aspects of the Movement to help them compensate for their transient natures, and an Anarch Ravnos who cultivates a network of friends in the movement might endlessly cycle through the basements, beds and couches of other Anarchs without ever claiming a haven of their own.  An individual Ravnos might have no real ideological loyalty to the movement, or they might be fiercely committed to it.  Given that they no longer have anything more than the barest scraps of clan culture to influence their decisions, every Ravnos makes their decisions about their allegiances wholly as an individual.

Independent: 

No dust gathers on the Independent Ravnos, who wander restlessly from domain to domain.  They do whatever they have to to make their bones, whether that be engaging in human trafficking for the Circulatory System or acting as Coyotes who become experts at dodging Lupines, Gangrel, and the Second Inquisition with their Kindred cargo.  A solitary Ravnos makes a dangerous living, but those that remain are born survivors, wily and dangerous.

Lexicon:

Asuratziyya: "Ten Thousand Demons."  The name used by the Ravnos of Central Asia for the vampires of the Chinese courts.

Bayt al-Awaham: "House of Illusions."  The name for the Ravnos clan among the Ashirra.

Chimerstry: "The way of the Chimera."  Unique illusion-based discipline powers used by the Ravnos.

Dracian: The name for the Ravnos Antediluvian used by Noddists.

Hundred-Mask Clowns: An epithet used by the Chinese vampire courts for the Ravnos.  

Jati: The caste system once used by the Ravnos to determine their role within the clan, now almost wholly abandoned outside of the Rakshasa courts of Central Asia, though still used there.

Kinyonyi: Lugandan, "Birds" - the name for the Ravnos among the African Laibon.

Paradox: A code of ethics meant to reconcile human empathy with a vampire's atavistic urges and mitigate the curse of Ravana upon the clan.  Now almost wholly lost.

Ravana: A demon lord in Hindu mythology.  Purportedly the arch-enemy of Zapathasura or a treacherous childe of the same, who the modern line of Ravnos opposed in many wars.

Ravnos: Hindi, debased.  "Those who renounce Ravana."  The modern name of the clan.

Zapathasura: The accepted name for the Ravnos' third-generation progenitor, who woke up in 1999 and rampaged across northern India and into Bangladesh before being destroyed in unclear circumstances.