The Crossed

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How can we tell the dancer from the dance?

- William Butler Yeats

As a group, the Crossed are simple. They have mastered the art not of possession, but of being possessed by gods--and, to an extent, controlling the possession, in turn.

The more intellectual of their number argue the point. Extensive aura perception and psychological analyses have proved that Vessels are actually not possessed per se in the course of their work, at all. Instead, what manifests seems to stem not from any external source, but instead from within their own souls--the psyche splits in a sort of ritually-induced schizophrenia, and fresh colors blossom within the aura, overlay what existed, and temporarily consume the Crossed's soul.

This would be merely a psychological curiosity, if not for two facts that tend to disturb those who study them: the first, that Vessels can actually retain a degree of control during their 'possession'; the second, that said 'possession' hones their own natural faculties dramatically while it takes place. In their token Discipline, Obeah's, most dramatic manifestations, shy recluses meet hip-swaying love goddesses and become Casanovas. Ninety-seven-pound weaklings meet fiery warrior gods and become roaring battle-ready monstrosities. The clumsy and tongue-tied meet slick trickster gods and turn into harpies who could turn the city topsy-turvy.

The Crossed have their deepest roots in Santería, Vodoun, Candomble, and other African diaspora faiths characterized by ecstatic possession and theories about the nature of the soul and divine imminence. As Vessels spread gradually away from their point of origin, however, their practices grow more diverse, and little by little the faiths from which the bloodline sprung lie forgotten by more and more.

Faith in the divine in multiplicitous forms, however, continues to bind them together. No matter what faith the individual Crossed has, how public or private it is, or how emotionally or intellectually he interprets it, he has a deep, almost intuitive understanding of his gods. How else could he distill their very essence, and enthrone them within his own soul?

The bloodline's roots are obscure--those who know who founded it apparently don't brag about their knowledge. Tracing the paths and histories of its members leads one to believe that they surfaced in or around Miami in late 2006. A scant few whisper that Vessels do not stem from the ecstatic and painful rituals of the Acolytes, as many observers of the bloodline would suppose, but that they are instead a sophisticated Ordo Dracul experiment, both psychological and spiritualistic, on the nature of the soul and how to harness archetypal forces in what some would describe as controlled insanity.

The further away the Crossed seem to get from their point of origin, the less they seem to care of the precise history of their budding bloodline--just as fewer and fewer of them come from Diaspora faiths. They have their gods, after all, so close by as to be incarnate in them. With a shard of divine power lying deep within your soul, after all, what do you need of the specifics of your origin?

Parent Clan: Nosferatu

Nickname: Vessels

Covenant: Put plainly, most Crossed join the Circle of the Crone. Their invariably deep and ecstatic spirituality, their virtually-mandatory polytheism, and, most importantly, their ability to invoke virtually at will all make them welcome and even revered at any Circle. They flock next to the Ordo Dracul, where spiritualism is welcome and change paramount--although, notably, their tendencies toward enthusiastic faith tend to be a turnoff to the covenant's more staid researchers. The ease with which they manipulate their souls is admired by many a Dragon--although the covenant's strict rules against possession cause the bloodline's possession-lookalike Discipline of Obeah to be not only studied and observed, but actively and suspiciously watched. Particularly amongst the younger of the bloodline, there are handfuls of Unbound, subsisting by their wits and with the aid of their gods. A few Vessels are scattered in the ranks of the Carthian Movement and the Invictus, putting on the visages of deities of guile and persuasion to work for their own political causes. There are virtually no Crossed in the Lancea Sanctum, and if one were to be found he would undoubtedly be murdered as a heretic and a blasphemer, instantly.

Appearance: All Vessels possess the monstrosity of the Nosferatu, in its sundry manifestations. From there, the specific appearance tends to vary primarily with the faith of the Crossed in question. Generally, the appearance--and the monstrosity--of an individual Vessel tends to alter slightly over time, slowly changing him into something more resembling his patron--or even merely favorite--deity within his pantheon.

The original Crossed, santeros and voodooisants virtually to a man, tend to wear pure stark white, as befits the upper levels of priesthoods of their faiths. Appearances beyond that vary dramatically, although most wear or carry tokens of their religion, be they the red dot of Hinduism, the prayer beads of Buddhism, Shinto charms, prehistoric pagan totems...

Haven: Vessels run the gamut, in terms of financial backgrounds, and so their havens are just as varied--although few would subject themselves to living in a sewer or somewhere else so small and cramped. While they tend to be deeply spiritual, they tend to run toward neither asceticism nor excess. Most Crossed will have at least one well-tended altar in their haven.

Background: The vast majority of Vessels, while not 'born again' like Christians, will likely have had some sort of direct communion with something other while still breathing--ranging from an intimate encounter with something identified as Divine, to Dominate- and telepathy-happy Kindred, to being plagued by demons. Something inspired the pre-Embrace Crossed to delve seriously into the occult, and to further seek out those sorts of experiences--even if it was a subtle drive. Their backgrounds are often those of most sincere modern occultists: the disenfranchised, the lower-class, the needy, the desperate, the powerless seeking power. (Few rich white CEOs seek out magic and forgotten gods--why take the long route, when the means to further power are directly in front of you?)

A scant few very interesting Vessels are or were actually schizophrenics, whose brushes with something strange and gripping were not the results of a real supernatural entity, or of a temporary alteration in brain chemistry, but instead of genuine insanity. These tend to be few and far between, however--the more mystic of the Crossed wouldn't pass on the gifts of their blood to babbling madmen, and those who take a more analytical approach cannot stand the irrationality that accompanies such profound mental dysfunction.

Bloodline Disciplines: Dominate, Nightmare, Vigor, Obeah

Weakness: The Crossed's inherently ecstatic spiritual leanings tend to make them more easily influenced by supernatural influences. They suffer a penalty of -2 to resistance rolls for both the Dominate and Majesty disciplines.

Organization: Vessels have no formal organization. Members of the bloodline, in fact, tend to remain virtually separate from each other, remaining content to let each other work in peace. There are recorded cases, however, of coteries of Crossed, usually drawing from the same pantheon; they tend to 'settle into' roles of the same deities while under the influence of Obeah, and the deities tend to correspond with their roles in the coterie.

Character Creation: Vessels have virtually as wide a range of potential statistics as they do deities to be 'possessed' by. However, as Obeah is the zen-like art of maintaining control while simultaneously losing it, a high score in Resolve, Composure, or both is viewed as almost a necessity. The Meditative Mind merit, in addition, is also almost mandatory to the bloodline. Most also have high ratings in the Occult skill.

Furthermore, it should be kept in mind that while the Crossed are unambiguously spiritual, how they deal with their spirituality varies, particularly depending on background and personality. The largest contingent, in the Circle of the Crone, deals with the bloodline's trancework as an ecstatic communion with the divine, and a supplement to Cruac. For these, Obeah is sacred, and ought not be questioned or tampered with excessively. On the other hand, the next-largest contingent of Vessels, that within the Ordo Dracul, are naturally far more willing to assess and dissect the phenomena associated with their rites. These Crossed don't tend to outright worship their gods, so much as they view them on companions on the road to transcendence. This dichotomy between the two largest groups in the bloodline should be considered during creation. How does the character view Obeah? Is it a sacred ritual, or a magical means to an end?

Sample Concepts: Medicine man, con-man/trickster, Goetic magician, new-age flake, wide-eyed raver kid