#tlacique

Pisanob

(Pochtli Pisanob - Clanbook: Giovanni Revised; 2001)

The Pisanob are a Bloodline currently associated with Clan Hecata and formerly a member of Clan Giovanni. In canon they are said to have originated in the 16th century when Clan Giovanni embraced a group of Mexica necromancers, who went on to be led by an unrelated Drowned named Pochtli who came from an undescribed Legacy. They also lampshade the fact that Pisanob is a Mayan name given to Nahuas by the Giovanni. In my Chronicles I personally retcon this, making the Pisanob a pre-existing Drowned Legacy in Mexico prior to colonization, made up by both Mayan and non-Mayan vampires. Either way, the Pisanob were and are spirit-workers. They practice a form of necromancy with roots deep into Mesoamerican tradition, predating the heights of the Maya. Rumor has it that they keep some blasphemous rituals away from the rest of their wider clan, rituals involving carving the hearts from Kindred and sacrificing them to dark powers. As members of Clan Hecata their Disciplines, Bane, and Compulsion are already determined but I imagine that prior to the Family Reunion they suffered from a corpse-like appearance, like Pochtli did, and perhaps some of them still have this Bane instead of the Painful Kiss.

Tlacique

("Illustration by Alyne Leonel", Sobre os Tlacique, cainitas nativos da América Pré-colombiana em Vampiro A Máscara)

The Tlacique are masters of both Protean, taking the form of jaguars, and of Blood Sorcery, which they call Nahuallotl. Before Spain's arrival they would set themselves up as leaders of Blood Cults, demanding human sacrifices from their followers and openly ruling when possible. These nights their numbers are diminished but those that remain tend to be self-assured and arrogant, preferring to lead and using the Osiris predator type to feed. Tlaciques may find themselves in charge of corporations, cults, or criminal organizations - as a few examples. To play them in V5, I would consider the Clan Disciplines of Protean, Blood Sorcery, and Presence. Their Bane is the Setite/Ministry Bane, because in canon they are a minor bloodline of the Followers of Set. In my homebrew, however, they are unrelated to the Setites, and their Bane is that upon feeding their skin peels off for an amount of hours equal to their Bane Severity. This causes no damage but is an obvious Masquerade Breach. I call this Bane: Flayed; it is a reference to Xipe Totec, a God associated with fertility and rebirth who would flay himself to represent how seeds shed their shells, or the husking of corn. For their Clan Compulsion: they demand to be worshiped, similar to the Ventrue's need for control and obedience. This could be called God Complex.

Cipactli

("Art by Luis Eduardo, original for Brazil in the Darkness." CIPACTLI, LOS GUARDIANES HAMBRIENTOS)

The Cipactli are described as a crocodile cult, a reflection of the Ministry's snake cult tendency. While the Tlaciques are officially a Setite Bloodline, the Cipactli fill that roll cleaner. I imagine them sneakier than the Tlacique, who are quite open with their desires. The Cipactli form secret cults, infiltrate villages, and perform mass sacrifices on unwilling victims. For Clan Disciplines consider taking the Ministry's standard kit of Obfuscate, Presence, and Protean (used for crocodilian traits). My homebrew Bane is Aquatic Slumber: the Cipactli can only sleep when surrounded by water (floating or submerged). This references the Cipactli in mythology as a sea monster, the crocodile's association with earth floating in primeval waters, and to the chinampa floating gardens. If not submerged they take superficial Willpower damage equal to their Bane Severity (as opposed to the aggravated taken by the Tzimisce because this seems more difficult. You may want it to be aggravated if you want the consequences to be stricter). The Ministry's Compulsion of Transgression, or the Gangrel's Compulsion of Feral Impulses both seem to fit them, depending on if you'd prefer to lean into the cult forming or crocodillian nature. Brasil in the Darkness gives them a custom Discipline named Torrent that allows them to access the River of Souls. If you choose to take this, I'd replace Obfuscate.

Titlacauan

("Art by Luis Eduardo, original for Brazil in the Darkness." TITLACAUAN, LOS REFLEJOS HUMEANTES)

The Titlacauan are socialites, involved in the politics of the wealthy and the powerful. This puts them in a social role within pre-Columbian vampire society similar to the Toreador or Ventrue. They are described as having power over reflective surfaces, which in previous editions would certainly be a unique Discipline, if the writers had chosen to give them more than two paragraphs of description. A homebrewed Discipline could still work, maybe called Tezcatl (Nahuatl for mirror, though this is actually a Discipline name for a later Legacy). Brazil in the Darkness calls their unique Discipline Umbral. Alternatively you could give them something like Oblivion and homebrew abilities locked behind the Titlacauan Legacy or a Loresheet. The Tezcatl powers would allow the user to look through reflections, manipulate them, and eventually move through them. Suggested Clan Disciplines: Tezcatl, Dominate, Potence. Their Bane is that they emit a trail of salty smoke from their head and shoulders when they Frenzy. Their Compulsion is Fanaticism: they have the desire to praise those of higher position, suffering a penalty until they have sufficiently done so.

Tlahuelpuchi

(Efrain, Luminous Vampire - Hunter: the Reckoning Core Rulebook, 2022)

The Tlahuelpuchi are known from one villain in the Hunter the Reckoning core rulebook, and they are heavily associated with fire. Efrain, our Tlahuelpuchi, is able to wield fire, is immune to it, and can even turn into a cloud of flaming mist. Understanding that he was designed as boss, lets tone that back into a fire based custom Discipline or a Path of Blood Sorcery. Lets call it Pyromancy, with powers including reducing the user's vulnerability to fire (they take superficial damage instead of aggravated perhaps), the ability to breathe fire, and turning into that fiery mist (Amalgam with Protean). Suggested Clan Disciplines: Pyromancy (or Blood Sorcery), Protean, and Presence. Their Bane could be Luminous, where they glow in the dark - an orange/red throbbing glow like there's fire inside them. Alternatively it could be Burning Kiss, similar to the Hecata's but the bite of a Tlahuelpuchi burns as if the victim's veins were aflame, dealing aggravated damage. In nights of old the Tlahuelpuchi were able to use their Pyromancy to make themselves into religious figures - so luminous they made the sun itself jealous and so had to keep to the night to avoid his burning rays. Other Drowned, and eventually Cainites too, envied the Tlahuelpuchi's ability to shrug off fire that would send any other Kindred into the Rötschreck, or straight to their Final Death. The Tlahuelpuchi jealously guarded their Discipline, which required special knowledge to unlock. This infuriated the newly arrived Cainites who hunted them near to extinction. To this day, the Luminous Ones are rarer than other Drowned.

Nahualli

(Nahualli icon - Bloodlines: The Hidden, 2005)