Followers of Set

The Followers of Set are a clan and a religion simultaneously. They worship Set — the Egyptian god of chaos, storms, and the underworld — and regard their vampiric condition as a gift from their patron. Their mission, as they understand it, is to corrupt: to find what every being values most and introduce the seed of its destruction. They are patient, charming, and deeply invested in the long-term degradation of everything they touch.

Nickname: Setites, Serpents

Sect: Independent

In-Clan Disciplines: Obfuscate, Presence, Serpentis

Weakness

Children of Darkness: Setites take an additional level of aggravated damage from sunlight. Even indirect sunlight in significant quantities (a bright overcast day) is painful. Additionally, bright artificial light causes the same unease that direct sunlight creates for other Kindred — difficulty penalties when in brightly lit environments.

This means Setites are most functional at night and avoid well-lit spaces even indoors. Security lighting, police flashlights, stadium lights, and photography flash all create problems.

Clan Culture

The Temples: Setite operations are centered on Temples — not religious buildings in the conventional sense, but service organizations that provide what people want most and can’t get elsewhere. Drugs, sex, forbidden knowledge, weapons, specific services that no one else will perform. The Temple draws the desperate and the corrupt.

The long game: Setites do not typically destroy their targets immediately. They build relationships, provide services, create dependency, and then leverage. The goal is corruption — not just what someone will do for the Setite, but what they become in the process.

Genuine religion: Many Setites are devout. They believe Set will return from his imprisonment at the end of days and reclaim the world. Their work of corruption is preparation — clearing the ground, weakening opposition, building the infrastructure of Set’s eventual dominion. This faith is not pretense; it structures everything they do.

Preservation of lore: Paradoxically, the Followers of Set are among the best-preserved sources of ancient esoteric knowledge. Their temples hold texts that exist nowhere else. Scholars who want this information have to deal with Setites — which is, of course, the point.

Roleplaying Notes

A Setite character who simply runs a drug operation is playing the archetype without its depth. The interesting version is a Setite who genuinely believes in the mission — who views their corruption of others as both service and theology, and who has thought carefully about the line between providing what people want and manufacturing the want itself.

The light sensitivity weakness makes every environment a consideration. A Setite player quickly develops awareness of light sources and contingency plans.

Merits & Flaws

Drug Resistance (2pt. Merit) — Unusually resistant to alcohol, narcotics, and similar addictive substances, whether encountered directly or through feeding. All rolls to resist such substances are at −2 difficulty. You can convincingly feign intoxication when you are not.

Addictive Blood (3pt. Merit) — Your blood is supernaturally delicious. Anyone who tastes it must spend 1 Willpower point during any subsequent scene they meet you to avoid craving another taste. These cravings add +2 difficulty to all Mental and Social rolls for the afflicted. Blood bonding you is significantly easier for the same reason.

Setite Initiate (5pt. Merit) — You were not born into the Followers of Set but have been formally inducted. You have access to Serpentis and Setite Blood Sorcery (at out-of-clan costs), and may study Setite Paths of Enlightenment. You are treated as a full sibling of faith, not a second-class member.

Scales (1–3pt. Flaw) — You bear Set’s mark as visible scales on your skin. At 1 point: small, easily hidden area (+1 difficulty on Social rolls when visible). At 2 points: a whole limb is covered (+2 difficulty when visible). At 3 points: scaled face (+2 difficulty on all Social rolls when visible, no penalty with other Setites).

Venomous Bite (2pt. Flaw) — You have uncontrollable venom glands. Every bite automatically injects a fatal neurotoxin into mortals; Kindred and supernaturals are unaffected. You have no control over the glands — you must feed without biting (syringe, razor) if you wish to leave vessels alive.

Forked Tongue (2pt. Flaw) — Your tongue is forked, flickering, and visibly reptilian. Upholding the Masquerade is difficult wherever your mouth is seen. The tongue inflicts no special damage.

Heartless (4pt. Flaw) — Your heart has been removed (via Heart of Darkness or by an elder). If a Cainite possesses your heart, you must obey their every command. If merely missing, the obsession to find it may increase the difficulty of Willpower rolls by +1 at Storyteller discretion.

Aura of the Typhon (5pt. Flaw) — Something in your essence draws Lupines. They stalk you for purposes you do not understand. You catch glimpses of them in the dark. They grow closer every night.