Clanbook: Setites
By
Richard Watts
1995,
68 pages
Of all the independent clans, The
Followers of Set have a truly unique perspective on their place in the World of
Darkness. The other independent clans
claim to have sole possession of the “truth” and act within the bounds of their
own morality to defend themselves from the machinations of the Camarilla, the
brutality of the Sabbat, or any other enemy howling at the gates. The Setites instead claim to be evil. They embody evil and use it as a weapon to
defeat their enemies. Clanbook: Setites is an examination of the origins of
the Setite’s perspective and their use of “evil” to further their goals.
The Setites embody “the other.” Whether they are Voodoo witch doctors or archaeologists,
or gangster drug dealers, these Kindred adopt the appearance of known evils in
the world, understood evils. What is
known and understood is safe. A drug
dealer makes sense in the world and so does the prostitute and so does the
corrupt cop. However, the Setites hide a
darker mystery to which readers of this book do not receive access. Consequently, the Setites begin to embody all
the evils of the World of Darkness. They
make allies of Bane Mummies, Technocracy Mages and Black Spiral Dancers. They worship Satan and evil and become the “truth”
of the Baali legends. They claim to hunt
the Nosferatu in their warrens and allege that they are the truth behind the
Niktuku myths. They even claim that
their progenitor, Set, began the Jyhad as a war to punish the murders of the Second
Generation by the Antediluvian founders of rest of the Kindred.
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| Nobody really knows what Al Pacino snorted on the set of Scarface |
The Setites are Tony Montana,
staggering drunkenly in a restaurant looking at out the horrified faces of the
crowd and shouting, “Make way for the bad guy.
There’s a guy comin’ through.
Better get out of his way!” While
the other clans hide behind the veneer of their supposed goodness or victimhood
or humanity, the Setites throw off this veil and claim that they are the bad
guy. This is both a refreshing take on
the World of Darkness and a bit boring because the Followers of Set can now be
every evil in the world.
Like all the other books in the
clanbook series, Clanbook: Setites is
divided into four chapters and an appendix (also included are errata for The
Last Supper with character stats). The
introductory story and the history of the clan tie into this overall theme of
claiming dominion over all the evils of the world. They claim both modern vice (prostitution,
drug abuse, political corrupting) and ancient evils (the Jyhad) were originated
by them. The individual members are
chosen from the corrupted, the Templates chapter gives many examples of these,
but Setite initiates must also be emotionally and mentally strong to survive
amongst the Setites. Incidentally, Setites’
greatest triumph is to corrupt another Setite; in that, they are no different
from any other vampire or denizen of the World of Darkness.
The Setites creation myth is tied to
the mythology and religion of ancient Egypt.
They claim their progenitor was a mortal named Set. Set was betrayed by his grandfather, Ra, who
murdered Set’s parents. While his
brother Osiris chose to prostrate himself at Ra’s feet, Set defied the unjust
Ra and was banished for his rebellion.
As I am unfamiliar with Egyptian mythology, I can only assume that this
is an inversion of the Set & Osiris myth.
Set battles Osiris who eventually becomes the first mummy and finally
destroys him completely. Although Osiris’s
son, Horus still lives on as a mummy and continues to plague Set and his
followers. Since it was Ra who initially
cast Set out of Egypt and into the desert, the Followers of Set are plagued by
a greater sensitivity to light than even other vampires.
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| Art by Henning Ludvigsen |
This history pulls together a lot of
strands in the World of Darkness. The
Setites made enemies of the Silent Striders (a tribe of werewolves), Mummies
(through their war with Horus) and even the Children of Osiris (a strange clan
of vampires thought to be destroyed). The
Setites are thus put center stage as the perfect antagonist for parties of
mixed supernatural creatures.
Clanbook: Setite even makes
mention of a plot by the Setites to blot out the sun with the help of smog
(Wyrm taint and Technocracy machinations) and the help of a powerful sorceress
and the unwitting help of the Sabbat.
For a World of Darkness chronicle steeped in themes of pulp adventure,
this would make a great plot.
Clanbook: Setite includes a lengthy section on Setite
havens or temples. While the author
doesn’t go into detail on any one temple, he does discuss the variety of Setite
temples that could be created. The most
interesting thing is that he makes allowances for the resources available to a
Setite temple. While describing the
grandest and most ostentatious temple would fill the reader with visions of pyramids
hidden beneath cities or in deep jungle, the addition of poor temples with a
tiny idol of Set and a simple blanket hung to separate the inner and outer
sanctums is more intriguing and shows the diversity of the Setite clan. Not all of them are millionaires with a
secret cult behind the sliding bookcase in their library.
Mechanically, this clanbook doesn’t
add much. There are a number of merits
and flaws introduced including the flaw Aura of the Wyrm which causes nearby
werewolves to hunt the Setite relentlessly.
Essentially, It’s a 5 point death sentence for the player
character. Thaumaturgy’s Path of
Corruption is made available to Setites in this book. However, this does not require the purchase
of Thaumaturgy, and the Setite merely buys points in the path which seems
strange, and use of this optional system should be carefully considered by
Storytellers and players.
The Templates Chapter is filled with
a variety of obvious Setite PC ideas:
the corrupt cop, the corrupt politician, the drug dealing gangster, the
exotic dancer, the Egyptologist, and the priest of darkness. It’s the usual cast of characters you’d
expect. However, two of the templates
stand out as interesting. First is the
Closet Setite who was embraced but didn’t know her sire or anything about her
nature. She made her way into Kindred
Society and thought she was either a Toreador or Caitiff until she accidentally
activated her Serpentis. Now, she’s
afraid others will discover her secret and despise her based on her clan. The other is a corrupt nun who began her
spiral into sin by tasting the commune wine.
She becomes an alcoholic and has to steal from the collection plates to
replace the wine she’s stolen. Finally
she becomes a Setite and is put in charge of a church orphanage where she
teaches the orphans to be thieves. Both
of these concepts are twists on the idea of the Setite. The Closet Setite is excellent for play in a
Camarilla dominated game, and the Corrupt Nun has an excellent backstory about
how easily it is to get caught in a web of sin unable to escape and always
needing to go a little further in to get out.
The Appendix includes several
examples of globe-trotting Setites, but none of them stand out. The only NPC that stands out is Rasputin, but
that’s purely because he is a historical figure and not because he was embraced
by the Setites.
Clanbook Setite is available in PDF
Format at DriveThruRPG. You can purchase
an original printing at Amazon.
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