# [[16 Toreador]] Cursed by their unbridled sensuality, the divas are obsessed by aesthetic perfection. A fashion model overdosing on a bad batch of heroin, a YouTube clip of a perfectly executed beheading, the dazed eyes of a child who has seen too much, or the reflection of the moon in a pool of blood – these are the kinds of things that make a Toreador lose themselves. They say the first diva finally died in front of their looking glass, unable to tear their gaze away from the image of their face touched by the reflected dawn. $\quad$But, to dismiss the Toreador as wanton perverts or shallow artists is the last mistake a Kindred will ever make. Beauty is power, and love can make anyone do just about anything. And that is the promise of the Toreador. They can make even the dead feel something raw, something real. $\quad$*Now you have fed, it is time for introductions. My name is [[88 Lore Sheets#Carmelita Neilson|Carmelita Neillson]]. I am a doctor. I use that word because you probably won’t know what an archaeologist is. I serve my clan – your clan – in unearthing sleeping ancients such as yourself and introducing them to the world as it is tonight. $\quad$You seem surprised that a member of the [[11 Clans|Clan]] of the Rose would dirty her hands with excavation and study. Let me guess: you thought our clan more suited to parlors, admiring mortal singers, dancers, and artists? It is true, the face of our clan is one of superficial beauty, but we have not lost our core. At its heart, Clan Toreador is the clan of creation. The sculptor dirties her hands with chisel and stone. The painter will accumulate all manner of stains. My calling is in bringing the torpid back to us and asking for their stories. It is my art form. $\quad$Clan Toreador has not missed a step since you fell into torpor. We still ride high, leading a sect known as the [[06 The Camarilla|Camarilla]] alongside our peers among the [[18 Ventrue|Ventrue]] and [[17 Tremere|Tremere]]. Do not believe we take second or third place in that triumvirate. We are the voice, the inspiration, and the soul that binds the sect together. $\quad$In these nights, the Toreador are the burning hope for all clans. We are proof that [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Kindred|Kindred]] can be more than slaves to their [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^TheBeast|Beast]]. Others come to us for guidance and seek to emulate our devotion to beauty and innocence. We teach, but none will master the arts as well as we. $\quad$For every true artist, innovator, and great mind in our clan, we have a sycophant, amateur, and vapid beauty. It is as it should be. Everything is beautiful, old one, including the duality we represent. While the others mistake us for preening fools, we work our wonders to make all of Kindred society a better place. $\quad$Welcome back to Clan Toreador. The night is ours.* ## Who are the Toreador [[11 Clans|Clan]] Toreador has ever preached selectiveness in its rituals of the [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^TheEmbrace|Embrace]]. The clan [[46 The Blood#Sixth through Ninth Generations Elders|elders]] stress time and again that the clan requires pioneers among the arts and every kind of avant-garde. The clan is at its strongest when comprised of the freshest thinkers and those who desire experimentation and aesthetic discovery. For this reason, many Toreador emerge from the ranks of accomplished artists, both new and faded. But not all artists need wield a brush: To the Toreador, art encompasses all forms of entertainment and stimulation. The clan courts the greatest actors, singers, writers, dancers, and even sex workers, if the degenerates believe such mortals will offer something new to their clan. $\quad$Despite the custom of Embracing only the best, the Toreador fixation on beauty and innocence has caused many a diva to make a fledgling in haste. Many a moonlit night, new clan members have emerged as shallow hedonists, one-hit wonders, or just a stunning body with nothing else to offer. The greatest mistakes are erased and forgotten. Still, the clan is diverse, its members considering the ensemble as a kaleidoscope of talent and beauty. ### Toreador Archetypes #### L'Artiste The Toreador indulge in the beauty of all art forms and strive to be creators themselves. Whether competent on the strings of the violin, weaving notes as lustrous as the subtle glow of the crescent moon, or wielding a spray-can to form harsh prismatic lines on back-alley walls, this [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Kindred|Kindred]] is an artist revered intensely by their clan. #### Stage Manager Without a puppeteer to pull the strings, the puppet would not know how to dance. This diva’s finger is constantly on the pulse of the night. They know every happening at every club and bar worth a visit, and likely have great influence over several such places and the people who go there. Deeply connected to a city’s social atmosphere, they have the knowledge to help others gain or lose the spotlight as they please. #### Gadabout With [[32 Core Traits#Charisma|charisma]], social intellect, and a cunning smile, the world is yours to conquer. The gadabout hedonist masters the art of manipulation, attraction, and empathy so well that even shy [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Cainite|Cainites]] desire their attention or take pleasure in watching as they effortlessly mingle into every clique and category. This Toreador fits into any profession in which handling customers, patients, or clients is key, and they use every trick in the book to get their targets exactly where they want them. #### Patron of the Arts The patron is a collector of raw talent and promising beauty that just needs a guiding hand. They shape not clay or glass into intricate forms but people, and they see it as their gift to the world to pick out the best before they wither. The patron may pose as an eccentric heiress whose home is open to struggling poets and painters or they may take on the role of the talent scout or critic, aiding their pupils with funding and guidance in return for their blood. #### Thespian Spy The Toreador love a performance, and the one who plays at being a spy knows how to pry valuable chunks of information from a target, often taking more time than they need to properly enjoy the game. Perhaps over-dramatic, yet rarely suspected due to an affable nature, the thespian spy inserts themselves in multiple domains to entertain, observe, and compile libraries of information to exchange for other pleasures. ## Disciplines **Auspex**: Toreador are ever on the hunt for exquisite experiences and use [[55 Auspex|Auspex]] to identify the most susceptible vessels and those who might, through their feelings and temperament, offer new tastes and sensations to the drinker during the feed. Toreador also frequently use the [[52 Disciplines|Discipline]] on other [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Kindred|Kindred]], catering to their desires or antagonizing them with truths they should not know. **Celerity**: The Toreador claim they are not combatants, but few move as swiftly as the degenerate using [[56 Celerity|Celerity]] to cut an opponent to ribbons before they have even had time to draw their weapon. Toreador often use Celerity to enhance artistic or performative skills. In feeding, they use the Discipline to take what they need from a [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Vessel|vessel]] and vanish before the mortal realizes the truth of what has occurred. **Presence**: The Toreador master the Discipline of [[09 Presence|Presence]], often using it in concert with Auspex to manipulate the emotions of Kindred and [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Kine|kine]]. Presence can guarantee an appreciative audience or cause the failure of another artist. Some Toreador will use the Discipline to indulge in carnal pleasures with an unnaturally enthusiastic partner or to lure a vessel into their arms and under their fangs. The members of the clan adore willing vessels, even if the willingness is a supernaturally induced façade. ## Bane Toreador exemplify the old saying that art in the blood takes strange forms. They desire beauty so intensely that they suffer in its absence. While your character finds itself in less than beautiful surroundings, lose the equivalent of their [[46 The Blood#Blood Potency|Bane Severity]] in dice from dice pools to use [[52 Disciplines|Disciplines]]. The [[02 Roleplaying and Storytelling#The Storyteller|Storyteller]] decides specifically how the beauty or ugliness of the Toreador’s environment (including [[09 Kindred Fashion|clothing]], [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^BloodDoll|blood dolls]], etc.) penalizes them, based on the character’s aesthetics. That said, even devotees of the Ashcan School never find normal streets perfectly beautiful. This obsession with aesthetics also causes divas to lose themselves in moments of beauty and a [[42 Hunger Dice#Bestial Failure|bestial failure]] often results in a rapt trance, as detailed in the Compulsion rules ([[43 Compulsions|p. 208]]). [[15 Nosferatu|⬅️ Previous Section]] | [[Vampire - The Masquerade 5th Edition Core Book#Structure|Table of Contents]] | [[17 Tremere|Next Section ➡️]]