The Daughters of Cacophony seem to find the events of the Jyhad singularly uninteresting. These vampires spend their nights in practice and performance, trying to reach new pinnacles in their art. A few take the opportunity to perform for other Cainites, and their services are in great demand — though it is whispered that their arts can easily create terror and madness along with their inspiration. Most claim nominal membership in the Camarilla — finding the best patrons among that sect’s ranks, and circumstances largely ideal for pursuing

unlives in music — but sectarian considerations generally fall by the wayside.

The music is all that matters. Naturally, the Sirens Embrace only those females with musical and oratory talent. Every type of music and musician is represented in the ranks, from rotund opera divas to waiflike guitar-players to piano ingenues and even frontwomen of punk or jazz bands. However, they all share an inspired touch, a spark that strives for expression, even before the Embrace, and many are  snatched away from the mortal world and turned before they can achieve true mortal fame beyond their little-known careers. It is said that in the past, the Sirens allowed men in their ranks, in an even smaller bloodline called the Sons of Discord, but a recent vicious purge saw the destruction of all males (including castrati) in their ranks.

 

Roleplaying Hints:

At the edge of your consciousness is a haunting song, the very music of the spheres. You can sense a spiritual state, the energy of creativity, that pushes itself through you and pulses in your otherwise still blood. Though your words and songs can strike listeners deaf, mad or dead, you care not — your Muse compels you. In short, you sing because you must. The music is all — blood, life and lover.

 

 

Disciplines:

 

Fortitude, Melpominee, Presence

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advantage:

At least one level of Performance: Singing is a requisite for Daughters, thus they get one for free at character creation. The Sirens often

Embrace from talented or up-and-coming performers, so new inductees also have at least one level of High Society Influence or an additional level of the Performance Ability, as well.

 

Disadvantage:

The constant throb of the Sirens’ music plays through the minds of all Daughters of Cacophony, and a Siren is often deaf to all but her

own music. As a result, in any test of perception, the Daughter suffers a two-Trait penalty on challenge resolution. No Daughter of Cacophony can ever have more than two perception-related Mental Traits.

 

History:

Many Kindred suspect the Daughters to originate from the Toreador clan because they are masters of their trade and value beauty and art. However, those who have actually felt the effects of their powers think the Malkavians are more likely. The inner music they hear constantly can be called a hallucination and might also point towards the Malkavians. However, because of their disciplines the 20th anniversary edition also suggest the Ventrue. There a few theories about the Daughter's origin:

Dark Ages

Although the Daughters of Cacophony are a relatively modern phenomenon, one source suggests that they have an origin in the Dark Ages. According to this legend, a peerless Toreador chanteuse heard a song coming from a distant hillock and realized that her own talents paled in comparison to this mysterious voice. At first wracked with jealousy, she sought to destroy this unknown singer, but over time she became contrite and, humbled, sought out the singer, so that she could study under this hidden muse. The mysterious singer, a lady of the fae, accepted the Toreador into her faerie domain. The fate of this Toreador chanteuse is unknown, although some of her clanmates claim to have heard two voices singing in unison from beneath the earth

Victorian Age:

Another source suggests that the clan was founded by the Malkavian Dr. Reiner Stoschka and hisGentlemen's Society for the Rational Investigation of Super-Natural Matters. They experimented on Kindred to determine whether common clan traits such as weaknesses and affinities for certain Disciplines were psychological in nature. However, the experiments drove their subjects quite mad. One of their charges was a Toreador woman, who found the only way to lessen her own pain was to share it with others. And to do this, she sang. Although only implied, Dr. Stoschka's experiment stands as the only explicit and official explanation for the origins of the bloodline, even though the fact that they first appeared in about 1700 conflicts with this theory since VA:V takes place in 1880/1890. It is, however, certain that the Daughters were at the height of their popularity during the Victorian era, especially concerning mortals. Operas were the highest form of entertainment and popular music changes in their favour. During this time they also embrace men.

Final Nights:

While the Daughters of Cacophony were mystery in the Victorian section above, they are considered even more so an enigma in the Final Nights. Their history is not well known, nor is their existence. Members of the bloodline typically use the warring Sabbat, Camarilla, and even Anarchsto further their own goals based on the territory they reside in. Though they seem to be fairly uninterested in the Jyhad, this leaves their real motives to be questioned.

 

Organization:

The Daughters have no formal organization – their numbers are so few and far between that any given location is unlikely to be home for more than one or two of them (if any). When Daughters do congregate for whatever reason, the younger members of the bloodline often defer to the older ones.

Some Kindred have been witness to small assemblies of Daughters who perform songs of haunting beauty or frightening timbre that leave their audiences... moved. It has been noted by observant Kindred more than once that even in the most impromptu performances, all Daughters present seem to know exactly what will be sung in addition to all the verses.

 

Cultures:

Not much is known about the Daughters of Cacophony as a whole, only that their particular bloodline avoids the nightly troubles of the Jyhad. Typically members of this bloodline fall in with whatever sect fits their interests at the time. Since their numbers are so few, organization is questionable. Interestingly enough, all members of the Daughters of Cacophony seem to differ from heavy metal rockers to opera singers.

In line with their particular penchant for music, a Daughter of Cacophony will constantly be able to hear an inner music flowing through their mind. However beautiful this music might seem, it also impedes them by serving as a constant distraction, making it harder for the Daughters of Cacophony to percieve things around them.

It stands to reason that this weakness could give credit to claims of the Daughters being a clan of Malkavian offshoots, seeing as they are permanently deranged with auditory hallucinations.

 

Sons of Discord

Contrary to popular belief, the Sons of Discord, Baritones, and so forth are an apocryphal fan creation. The Daughters are an entirely female bloodline, so it wasn't long before fandom started discussing the all-male offshoot of the Daughters, the Sons of Discord. It got to the point where most fans assumed they were official.

The only official mention of anything resembling the Sons of Discord came with Vampire Revised'sVampire: The Masquerade Storytellers Companion. The writeup of the Daughters therein mentioned that the bloodline had recently purged all male members from the bloodline, thus removing the Sons from the picture permanently.

Recently, the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Heirs to the Blood expansion set includes one of the Sons, named Harlan Graves.

In 2014, By Night Studios released Mind's Eye Theatre - Vampire: the Masquerade, which describes the Sons of Discord as a recent allowance by the bloodline. Males are typically blood bound to their female sires, and are treated with mistrust by their Elders.