They are secretive in the extreme, but do not disdain the company of fellow scholars. If a Cainite of another clan offers to share wisdom with them, they can make gracious hosts. Of course, they are one of the most single-minded clans, and the hospitality of their somber feasts can wear rather thin if one does not have a consuming interest in death. There are of course exceptions to this solemnity, but clan gatherings are never lively or whimsical.
Some Cappadocians worry that the clan's narrow vision will cause trouble at some point, and strive to Embrace neonates with a strong sense of life and practicality. These neonates often find the clan structure stifling, and set off on their own, to continue whatever journey the Embrace interrupted. They are rarely missed. After all, their sires reason, they have eternity to reach a proper view of death and whatever lies beyond. The prodigals will return someday, they chuckle dryly, and the clan wil be richer for their experiences.
The havens of Cappadocians are secure and hidden, often defended with peculiar ghouls and the occasional animated corpse. They feel no need for any sort of military strength, and keep to themselves. Most of their pull in Cainite society stems from their reservoirs of lore, no matter how ancient. It is commonly held that a thing once known to any clan is known to the Cappadocians today, so long as it was written down. Few consider it worth the trouble to slay a Graverobber, particularly as all their memorized knowledge owuld be lost.
Cappadocian hierarchy hinges on knowledge. The more ancient lore a Graverobber has at his fingertips, the higher his rank among his peers. This is rarely brought into play, however. Although individuals often meet to share learning, the only large clan gatherings take place on the winter solstice, in a forgotten temple high in the mountains of Turkey. At these meetings, the elders make any policy changes they deem appropriate, and all those who did not attend the solstice rite are expected to learn the changes quickly and abide by them.
All Cappadocian neonates undergo an initiation rite at the time of their Embrace. The exact details vary from sire to sire, but usually involve burying the initiate alive for an extended period of time, as a sort of "dark night of the soul" where the initiate stares into the face of mortality. Those who emerge with their minds broken are deemed unfit and mercifully extinguished.
Interestingly, the Cappadocians are also involved in advancing the medical sciences. They often conduct autopsies and observe the more talented physicks at work, the better to understand how and why the cycle of life ends. To this end, they have brought a number of herbalists and barbers under their wing, observing both the healers' successes and failures.
The rise of the Tremere has led to some rifts
in Clan Cappadocian. Some believe that the usurpers' success with their
magical Discipline, Thaumaturgy, represents a new breakthrough in vampiric
learning. Others highly disapprove of the extermination of Saulot, who
was considered one of the most enlightened Cainites. In typically scattered
manner, the clan has yet to agree on what to do about the Tremere.
The recent Embrace of a cabal of Venetian necromancers is advancing the clan's knowledge of death, but the neonate have yet to share any great discoveries. They have made some progress toward developing a new Discipline, one that will enable contact with the dead. However, many clan traditionalists disapprove of the upstarts and claim no good will come of their unusually aggresive methods.