Clan von Hoff

The von Hoff Clan is one of the more tragic cases of vampiric transformation, mostly because its creation was done entirely by accident and without any intention of forming. Though, it really couldn't have happened to a family more deserving, for the von Hoffs were not very nice people pre-ascending.

The von Hoff family were a noble lineage formed in the yearly years of the Theocracy. They gained power first by being an influential military power against the Sultanate, offering their land as fortifications and resting stations. But, when the war went south thanks to the Sultanate's cunning, the von Hoffs adapted to times exceptionally well and turned themselves into merchant lords. This makes them one of the earliest powerhouses in the Theocracy.

But with power, comes decadence, and with decadence, comes the downfall.

Thanks to the relationship the family had with the Sultanate, they had began dabbling in magic. And with the riches, came the usual fall into trying forbidden things. As such, the family enjoyed their leisure of being a trusted family to begin a dark, disgusting act...cannibalism. And with them becoming more and more in tune with cannibalism, came their obsession of blood, and blood magic.

Nobody, not even surviving von Hoffs, know what got them into cannibalism exactly, but they still had to pay the price for it. For you see, humans face a dark price for regular consumption of their fellow humans....it was also a very, very deep price.

The catalyst for it is also unknown, but the combination of their dabbling in blood magic and cannibalism became one. All von Hoffs who practiced cannibalism had began to horrifically transform and mutate as is per usual of the degeneration process. However, instead of becoming normal Ghouls, the blood magic turned them into something far beyond the norm of demi-humans. When some of the peasants that worked under the family noticed the degeneration of the family, they had notified the local heads of Inquisitorial justice and the surviving von Hoffs were chased out of their holdings, thus ruining the reputation of their family forever.

This was the birth of the von Hoff vampire clan. A von Hoff is a monster of a humanoid being, thanks to the degeneration of cannibalism and the ascension to Lichdom. An average von Hoff reaches up to eight feet tall and have a very wide frame. Their limbs are elongated and incredibly sinewy, though slender compared to the bulk of their torsos. Their torsos are wide and incredibly well muscular. Their skin is sickly pale or unhealthy green, and covered in lesions that seem to never heal and ghastly scars. Their faces are elongated and carry a certain bat-like visage.

Von Hoffs and other smaller clans descending from them are unique among Vampires in various ways. For the most part, they don't do much magic, favoring to be entirely devoted to physical combat, or maybe they can only do physical combat. And this shows as their physical strength is unheard of even compared to other Vampires. Also thanks to their bestial nature, they have great tracking senses. There are even some cases where von Hoffs had even grown large bat-wings which allow them flight. However, their cannibalism had also shaped their means of feeding of lifeforce unlike other vampires...which is feeding off the flesh of recently killed mortals and bottom-feeding what little lifeforce remains.

Also, it seems that the von Hoffs still remember what it was like to be nobles in their previous lifetime, and cling to this feeling down to their very nature. Despite knowing they can't ever be of prestige in the human world again, they have found another means of attaining something close to their former nobility. And that is by taking Ghoul tribes and turning them into Ghoul clans. A von Hoff of noteworthy strength and will are able to cobble together multiple Ghoul tribes and become a Ghoul King. One could suppose that if they can't be leaders of humans, why not be kings of those that use to be human, just like them?

A way to tell if there is a Ghoul King among a clan of Ghouls, would be the sight of Uber-Ghouls, which are giant, animalistic Ghouls that have been mutated by the influence of a powerful von Hoff. Other signs could be Ghouls using complex strategies in combat or patrols, as well as sightings of far more Ghouls than would be considered "natural" in a crypt site, which could be just an in-city graveyard or an entire crypt-city.

They are incredibly jealous of La Trurras Vampires who are visual perfections among Vampires, still retain their noble lineage, and also think that La Trurras Vampires look down upon them as mere beasts who pretend to be nobility over the scum of the world.