Let the tale of the Clan of Malkav be a warning to others, demonstrating just how fickle the tides of fate and fortune can be. Only a few centuries ago they were regarded as a High Clan, filled with powerful seers and oracles, advisors to mortal kings and vampiric Princes alike. The fall of Rome took with it their status however; since then, they have been seen as little more than pitiable wretches lost to their own insanity. No longer is that spark of madness seen as a conduit through which foresight and wisdom flow, but instead as something to distrust, fear, mock and scorn.

While it is true that every member of the Clan carries some form of insanity, many regard it as being a sliver of insight into the true nature of reality, and thus something to be trusted or believed in. Others seem only too self-aware, understanding that logically their particular obsession or derangement makes no sense to others, but few will even consider referring to their madness in mixed company as anything other than a blessing, regardless of their true opinion on it.

Though they have been brought low for now, it would still be an unwise Kindred who makes a true enemy of one of the Clan of Malkav. After all, the mad see no reason not to share their affliction, something many of them are capable of doing either in retaliation for some slight—real or imagined—or as a ‘gift’, in an attempt to show the recipient just what the world is truly like.

Unlike many other Clans, the Malkavians have no particular region of the world that they call home, they can be found mingled with the populations of many nations across Europe and indeed further afield still.

Though many tend to lay low, licking their metaphorical and social wounds and trying to avoid being persecuted by small-minded mortals and Cainites for their ‘different’ mindset, a small number still claim positions of some repute, advising—or more often entertaining—Princes of other Clans.

Despite their frequent departures from what the rest of the world considers to be logical and true, the Malkavians do not often ghoul on a fanciful whim. There is an element of calculation to this choice; as with most other Cainites the Malkavians seek those who are best able to fulfil their needs.

For this Clan, this is as likely to be a servant capable of cleaning up after a madness-spurred tantrum as it is someone capable of quashing rumours amongst mortal society, convincing the Church that their insanity is harmless rather than a curse from the heavens. Alchemists and herbalists are also commonly sought after as ghouls, perhaps in some vain hope that a brew or other concoction will bring some kind of relief from the worst extremes of their mental state.

Siring a Childe on the other hand is often a matter of being inspired by those who have been touched by madness in their mortal lives; whether the Malkavian seeks to bring another visionary into the Clan or simply seeks the companionship of someone who understands how fragile the mind is, their choice of childer is often a blend of this principle and whatever urges their obsession visits upon them.