The Darkness Everything belonged to him — but that was a trifle. The thing to know was what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own. Claims You Ten years ago: I can feel the pulse in my head, louder and faster as more blood spurts from a dozen cuts to drip past my face toward the pile of broken glass below me.
Very few people successfully set out to become vampires. In general, the desire to become an undead creature of the night goes along with psychological features that work against vampiric survival, including a willingness to act with insufficient knowledge and a lack of attention to details. The Lasombra choose their recruits from among those mortals who show aptitude for survival whether or not the targets yet know anything about vampires or would want the condition for themselves if they did. The Short Road Occasionally a mortal selected more or less at random for “shovel party” transformation into an undead shock troop survives and shows an intuitive knack for Lasombra powers. Estimating how often this happens is tough, though most Lasombra archbishops agree that about one shovelhead in a thousand proves worth saving. It depends partly on how carefully the shovelers selected their target for strength of will, determination or simple hatred of humanity at large, partly on unrecognized qualities within the victim and partly on sheer luck.
“What we claim, we hold — in shadow, in blood, and across the long night.”
Becoming Lasombra → Hatching the Sabbat →
Gifts of the Blood
Obtenebration
Living shadow — the Abyss as cloak, weapon, and companion.
Dominate
Will imposed through blood and gaze — the Keepers’ gift of command.
Potence
Supernatural strength among warriors and enforcers of the clan.