In the year 1543 a set of bizarre handwritten, illustrated books appeared in Berlin, penned by an anonymous author. Discovered in the library of the Ventrue Baroness Diella Montage (who had only recently been hunted down and destroyed by the Inquisition), the tomes contained a tremendous amount of information on Malkavians, including their philosophies, history, and traditions.

Entitled Codex Malcavium, the books were apparently written and illustrated by a female Malkavian of unknown age and origin. In a brief foreword in the first volume, the author explained that she was caught in a cycle of madness and sanity, and that she kept the codex during her periods of lucidity to better understand the nature of her dementia. In the four volumes which make up the series, the unknown author claimed to have recorded all that she had learned in and from her state of lunacy. The chronicle of her experience seems to reveal much of the method behind Malkavain madness, and reveals her clan to be far more manipulative and knowledgable than anyone has previously guessed.

Two of the four original volumes are currently held by the Tremere, who consider them invaluable in deciphering the actions of their mad brethren. The other two texts, along with many excellent copies, are used as references by the more scholarly members of the Toreador, Ventrue, and Tremere antitribu.

Unbeknownst to any of the above groups, however, the Codex Malcavium is, in fact, largely fiction. The author put in just enough of the truth for the book to gain credibility, then filled the rest of the pages with elaborate accounts of nonexistent personalities, falsified historical events, and fanciful Malkavian doings. The book does have genuine value: it lies not upon the pages, but within them.

By holding a page of the original Codex up to a bright light, a faint spiraling pattern of lines can be seen. This is Malkavian scrawl, readable only by other members of the Clan. The scrawl describes two lost Malkavian disciplines who origins are lost to even the Malkavians themselves. These disciplines, known amongst Malkavians as the "Incognitos" are known only to those few who have managed to get their hands on an original copy of the Codex - for the disciplines cannot be taught except by means of the strange books.

Listed below are descriptions of the four volumes of the Codex Malcavium and the mysterious disciplines that can be learned from them.

The First Volume

Length: 204 Pages

Languages: Greek and Latin (switching back and forth at random)

The first book of the Codex is a finely crafted tome with a rich leather cover. The sign of the cracked mirror is imprinted upon the front, beneath which reads the inscription "Codex I". The text discuss such subjects as Malkavian initiation rites, their secret compact with the Garou and Faerie Folk, and their ancient plot to tear down the walls of reality by using the Nosferatu as pawns. The illustrations of the first volume could entrance a Toreador with their rich beauty and detail.

Contained within the writings are the disciplines Annoying Presence and Malkavian Name, each of which takes up half the text in scrawl.

The Second Volume

Length: 220 Pages

Language: Latin

The next book in the series is as rich in its construction as the first volume, but appears to be damaged. The text describes the forgotten connection between the Malkavians and the Brujah, and tells of how the being known as Malk Content is actually an Old Tzimisce! The last chapter and back cover seem to have been torn away; the Tremere have offered a reward to any who can provide them with the missing text. In truth, there is no missing section of the second volume. The book is merely written to provide non-Malkavians with the impression that great truths about Malkav and his secret relations with the Brujah can be found in the absent final chapter.

Concealed within the book are the disciplines Life Blood and Lucky Guess.

The Third Volume

Length: 8 Pages/198 Pages

Language: Latin

The third book in the series seems to have lost its binding along with parts of the first chapter, though otherwise it is of the same beautiful quality as the first two Codex texts. The book discusses the various traditions of the Malkavians. The author claims that each tradition was founded when a member of another clan went mad and joined the Malkavians, thus adding a new type of instability to the ranks of the lunatics.

In this case the missing pages and cover are genuine; the book was torn apart in a struggle between a Toreador and a Malkavian in the year 1902. The majority of this book is currently owned by Siegfried, the Prince of Vancouver, while the missing pages are in the hands of the Malkavian Vasantasena.

The section held by Siegfried contains the hidden discipline of Puppet, and part of Malkav's Song. The missing pages held by the Sabbat are required if anyone is to ever learn the Malkav's Song discipline.

The Fourth Volume

Length: 48 Pages

Languages: Greek and Latin (switching back and forth at random)

The final volume of the Codex is set in a very ragged binding, once as fine as all the others but worn and abused into a fragile state. Inside, the pages are water-damaged and bloodstained, and by the final chapter the text has become a rambling mess.

This final volume is only about a quarter the length of the other Codex books; in it the author claims that she is on the verge of losing what remains of her tattered sanity. She briefly mentions a plot by the Malkavians to lead the Garou against their fellow Kindred, and of the involvement of a lost tribe known as the Bunyip, but on the whole, the book is worthless to non-Malkavian scholars.

Contained within the text are the disciplines of Feat of Stupidity and Deja Vu, both of which take an extra degree of study to learn due to the water damage. The text is currently in the hands of an obscure Toreador antitribu known as Neih Rigger, who is said to have stolen the text from the anarchs of Los Angeles with the aid of the Virtual Adepts.

Incognitos Disciplines

The powers offered by the Codex Malcavium form a new class of disciplines known as Incognitos. Incognitos disciplines can only be learned by Malkavians, and then only from the Codex Malcavium itself.

* Annoying Presence

Using this discipline a Malkavian can learn how to be as annoying as possible to a particular individual. All the vampire need do is gain eye contact with her victim for one turn.

At the Storyteller's discretion the victim may have to make a roll to avoid an emotional (read violent) outburst if presented with the stimuli they find exceptionally aggravating.

* * Malkavian Name

This discipline allows a Malkavian to hear any sentence in which their name is used, regardless of the distance of the speaker. The Malkavian will not be able to know who spoke the sentence or where they are located, nor will he/she be able to hear any other pieces of the conversation (unless of course, his/her name is repeated).

Example: Sherry Madcap, a Malkavian who possesses the discipline Malkavian Name, introduces herself to a Ventrue Prince. Later that evening, when the Ventrue is back in his haven, he comments to his ghoul, "Sherry certainly seems like a nice lady. Much more polite than your garden variety lunatic." Since the Prince used Sherry's name the Malkavian will hear in the back of her mind "Sherry certainly seems like a nice lady." Naturally, Sherry would not know who was speaking it or where they were, nor would she know if the Prince were speaking about another individual with the same name.

* * * Life Blood

Life Blood permits a Malkavian to take on the memories, opinions, tastes, skills, feelings, and thoughts of any Kindred or mortal whose blood they consume.

The effect lasts for a number of days equal to the Malkavian's intelligence rating, during which time the Malkavian will be able to call upon all the knowledge and experience of her victim. Once the discipline's power wears off, the Malkavian forgets all that they gained from the blood.

Life Blood does not allow a vampire to learn disciplines from another Kindred.

* * * * Lucky Guess

If asked a question to which they could not possibly know the answer, a vampire can use this discipline to guess the correct answer. The answer may be vague or cryptic, but it will ultimately be right.

This discipline requires that the Malkavian expend a Blood Point, and may take a few minutes of time to operate (Storyteller's discretion).

* * * * * Puppet

Puppet allows the Malkavian to speak rationally at all times by means of a hand puppet. The toy does not gain any life, but while animated by the Malkavian can speak for him/her in a calm and sensible manner.

Despite its ludicrous nature, this discipline is exceptionally useful for communicating with other Kindred.

* * * * * * Malkav's Song

This allows the Malkavian to write a song that, if ever sung completely by another Kindred, will both drive him or her to permanent insanity and change their clan to Malkavian. Each song must be tailored for a particular Kindred (storyteller's discretion), and takes two to four weeks to compose. Getting the Kindred to sing it, of course, is an entirely different story...

* * * * * * * Feat of Stupidity

This discipline allows a Malkavian to perform any feat of athletics, intellect, or sociability so long as it has no use in the given situation and des not provide any tangible benefit to the Malkavian.

Thus, a Malkavian could balance ten eggs on his nose while being attacked by a Garou, make a strong case for tyranny while at a Brujah rant, or convince a prominent Toreador that it would be good to abandon her masterpiece in favor of a picture of dogs playing poker.

A Blood Point must be expended each time this discipline is used.

* * * * * * * * Deja Vu

This powerful discipline allows a Malkavian to trap themselves and another Kindred in the same period of night, repeating it over and over again until the user allows time to continue. Every evening both vampires will awake in the same place and in the same condition as they did on the first day. Though they will carry over memories from their repeated days, the rest of the world won't, thus eventually allowing both the Malkavian and her victim to amaze others with their amazing powers of "prediction".

The only way for a victim to escape the endless cycle of repeated nights is to slay the vampire who captured him or her. No other means will work - not even suicide. If the victim is killed, she will merely wake up again at the usual beginning (unless her captor chooses to end the effects of the discipline, at which point the victim will remain permanently deceased).

Deja Vu requires the victim to drink a point of the user's blood beforehand. This lost point will never regenerate; it is lost forever and the Malkavian's blood pool will be reduced by one forevermore. Once it has been ingested by the victim, the effect can be enacted at any time the Malkavian wishes.