The central conflict in Vampire: The Masquerade is of course the conflict with oneself, the conflict between the human and the Beast within us. However, the external conflict of greatest import to the game is the Jyhad. This is the great battle around which all other petty fights revolve. The Jyhad is often overlooked by those running the game. No, I mean it. Most people just say, "Oh, there is a Jyhad, that means all of these vampires are fighting each other." Few bother to actually examine what is really happening.  

This is not a place for you to find answers to what the jyhad is. This is a place for you to find questions to answer to define what your jyhad is. One simple question that is rarely answered by those discussing the jyhad is the question of whether or not it really matters if there have been any actual casualties. Often in the effort to thread confusion throughout the game products about the fate of individual Antediluvians it is implied that none of them are actually gone. I think that this is a great boon, and a great shame. The unknown true state of virtually every one of the Ancients is a wonderful tool to keep your players guessing, and to prevent the specific demise of whatever your favorites might be. However, if no one has perished in this jyhad, then what sort of conflict is it really. If everyone plays with their toys, and then the next night just takes them back out of the box to start again, what is anyone really losing. You must decide whether any of the Antediluvians have fallen in the jyhad. Really I must admit that if you have decided that no one has fallen, then the rest of this is probably pretty useless to you.  

Once you have decided on killing, you can make your murder into art. You get to decide who is left and who has fallen victim to the secret war of ages. Really at this point you can just examine each of the Antediluvians and decide whether you want them to be anywhere in your setting driving the intricate dance towards Gehenna or not. Do you want seven remaining as the legends say? Or is that too many? Look at each one and feel what your gut has to say to you. Do you like this Antediluvian? Do you have any idea what he would be doing if he were still in existence? Do you think that things are more interesting with her death or her continued unlife? Where do you think this Antediluvian sleeps in torpor or hides in ever too wakeful plotting? 

Keep in mind that at the power level we are discussing very little is impossible. Any Antediluvian could be masquerading as any other, and any one could have escaped death in various manners. The assumption of casualties amongst the Antediluvians does raise a few questions of its own however. Some say that the current Third Generation can only be slain by another of their kind. Yet it is said that in at least three cases Antediluvians were slain by those of lesser generation. Either this is a lie, or the Antediluvians were easier targets in their youth. If it is a lie, then you must consider that every Antediluvian who has been slain died by the hand of another of equal or greater power. This would mean that every supposed killing by lesser kindred was in fact engineered by equals. Or the Antediluvians, being far younger then, had not yet realized the full and awesome extent of the power of their potent forms and mighty blood and therefore did sometimes fall prey to vicious kindred nearly in their league. This would certainly explain how the Third Generation destroyed the Second. 

The Assamites 

Holy war personified, the Assamite founder is an interesting example. This is an individual whom it is believed has set out to destroy all other of the kindred in his holy war against Cain. It is said that he slew two of the second generation with his own hand. It is possible that given Cain's legendary vice for punishing his wayward descendants that the Assamite founder was simply sought out and slain. Presumably for one such as Cain this would not be particularly hard to do. Or perhaps Cain's blow simply drove the Assamite into deep torpor and to this day he sleeps beneath Alamut awaiting his army for the final battle in the jyhad. On the other hand, the first Assamite may have sought out Cain, and even perhaps defeated him, glutted with the blood of Cain's children such as he was. This would lend strange holy Truth to the quest of those Assamites who follow the path of Cain, endlessly seeking to grow ever closer to the First Kindred. But other possibilities abound as well. Nosferatu claim that their Founder has turned agains them and means to slay all of them. It is certainly possible that the greatest of Assamites could be posing as a slain Nosferat. But one draught of his blood would have gripped the Gorgons and Niktuku in his power and they certainly seem to be performing the very same function that the Founder is proclaimed to have served and called Holy. We can also note that the Assamite founder could have been responsible for any number of deaths amongst the Antediluvians. In his quest to slay them, any one of them could have fallen to his flashing sword laced with deadly blood. 

The Brujah 

What a mess! Here is a clan with more problems than even they claim to have. First of all, it is believed that they were expelled from the First City for slaying their own Founder. It is normally presumed that the individual, reputedly Troile, who successfully managed this horrible event diablerized his master and took her power. Then according to some Troile was responsible for the destruction of the Ventrue founder, which led to the vengeful destruction of Carthage where Troile either perished or was driven into torpor beneath the salted earth. Other outcomes to this whole debacle present themselves. Firstly, given the immense strength of Potence present in Brujah elders it is certainly possible that their battle could have ended in actual death due to blows struck rather than by drinking of blood. The significance of this fact is that the killer of an Antediluvian could possibly have failed to inherit the greater power of his sire's blood. It is probable that Troile was the victor in this scenario since the victor was apparently driven out of the First City, and hopefully Cain could have seen the truth in this matter. But perhaps Troile did not gain victory by himself. He is credited with the questionable virtue of a truly cunning treacherous streak. He may have led another Antediluvian to his sire, and if one considers the Assamite founder especially carefully this is certainly a believable thread. Some claim that the Ventrue are somehow pulling the Brujah strings and that their antagonism is all a show. If the Ventrue founder had instead slain Troile in their battle, then this might make sense. Perhaps the Ventrue founder has posed as Troile as the ultimate act of vengeance. Or maybe Ventrue and Troile plotted the downfall of the Brujah founder together, and Troile heady with newly gained power given to him by the act of diablerie eliminated the Ventrue Antediluvian to keep him silent. 

The Gangrel 

Perhaps the most interesting possibilities can be seen in the founder of the Gangrel clan. She is the one Antediluvian who has a direct motive of self preservation for learning to avoid frenzy. Any Gangrel vampire will eventually descend lower even than the most vile Nosferatu as the form of the Beast wracks their body with every berserked craze. Allegedly, one who has found Golconda is no longer subject to the drives of the Beast. Two other legends unite to form interesting points in this direction. The Gangrel are believed to be possessed of the only Antediluvian who is presently awake and consider themselves blessed that she allows them great freedom and yet constrains them from attacking her mortal descendants. The strange power she has taught some of her followers which allows them to preserve creatures from final extinction seems benign. It is also said that one of the Ancients might have achieved Golconda and indeed that this might be one of the secrets of the Jyhad, a vicious battle by others to prevent such enlightenment from being realized. The Gangrel are often treated as outcasts, and many do indeed seek their own desparate way to control the beast that gradually steals their body and soul. Certainly Set, driven to acts of unadulterated evil in his quest to become the next Apophis, could not tolerate the presence of one who had not only achieved the state, but actively promoted its learning towards enlightening others. The greatest reputed power of the Gangrel founder is Set's greatest weakness--the form of the sun itself. There is little evidence to support any kind of war between the two, though, and it is certainly possible that everything her clan credits her with doing is all lies. Given the power of a god, one can convince their followers of anything, permanently. 

The Setites 

If mummies are to be trusted, and I am not necessarily suggesting that they are, then we have the most accurate information about the condition of Set. They believe that he is currently sleeping and furthermore feel that he is not in Egypt currently. It should be noted that if mummy information is correct that Set is technically not an "Antediluvian" as he was embraced after the fall of the First City to the Flood. Since Antediluvian means "before the deluge", he is not properly termed as such. This is the case with Tremere and Giovanni as well, but they are at least credited with replacing an actual Antediluvian and supposedly gaining their powers. This youth cannot be let one underestimate the dark god, though, especially as we are still talking about a being who is well over five thousand years old. He is also the only of the Third Generation actually witnessed to have successfully slain another of his kind, and in his case an older specimen of his kind. Furthermore he is reputed to have additional powers granted by his dealings with the evil Apophis.  

The Toreador 

Toreador legends about their founder are even more mystifying than normal. Some of them proclaim that she was of the 2nd generation rather than the third. Others say that she is a sister to Malkav. Certainly, they seem to believe that she is actively protecting the clan or at least her favorite childer. Honestly, though, there is little to which to listen when seeking to discover her whereabouts. Given that the Masquerade was created by her clan, it is possible that she seeks to gain some benefit thereby. If one is to believe the Sabbat, and feels that the Antediluvians wish the masquerade to continue to weaken their childer and keep them unprepared, then one must believe that the Toreador Antediluvian is perhaps the worst of the bunch. The Sabbat are not renowned for their unprejudiced thinking, however, and it may be that she believes that the Masquerade will hide her childer from the coming day of Gehenna. A particularly vile scenario might be that Set has slain the Toreador founder and is manipulating her clan. It might explain the incredible hedonism which they display on a regular basis. 

The Tremere 

The current condition of Tremere is usually questioned due to rumors of his ascending to some different form. One could easily question it on other grounds, though. It is generally denied by the Tremere clan that their founder even exists. This is strange behavior from such a loyal clan, though it is of course the Camarilla party line about all of the Antediluvians. The thing is that Tremere was not an Antediluvian. He was a sorceror who obtained kindred state the hard way and supposedly diablerized his way to godhood. Saulot, the founder of the nearly or possibly entirely extinct bloodline Salubri, was the reputed final target of Tremere's hunger. The Antediluvian Saulot was renowned for his pacifistic demeanor and might have seemed an easy target to an ambitious vampire with dreams of ensuring his clan's place in history. There are those in the Inconnu who hint that Saulot could have died on purpose, leaving Tremere with blood in his mouth, but none of his life essence, evaporating into dead dust, cheating the treacherous Tremere of his dreamed-of power. Perhaps it is for this reason that Tremere studied ways to temporarily thicken the blood that one might masquerade as kindred of more ancient breed. Perhaps he had tasted the blood of a demigod and could only try to replicate it through thaumaturgic sorcery. This could also explain the sudden disappearance of a being who had previously displayed every sign of ambition such as might take over the world. Perhaps he saw the true power of the others, and felt fear, knowing that he could never defeat them. Then again perhaps his creation of certain rituals of thaumaturgy has made it unnecessary to actually become an Antediluvian. With the ability to assume their powers what need has he of capturing another and drinking their blood. They might only betray him again and die in his fangs. It is equally possible that the essence of Saulot has possessed Tremere. The dreams Tremere is reputed to have could be the ongoing battle between the two souls for the possession of one body, a mirror of the jyhad going on all around them, yet contained that it might hurt no others. An even more disturbing possibility is that of a trap set by the Tzimisce founder. It is believed that the Tzimisce and Tremere clans have a great emnity stemming from the fact that it was largely the Tzimisce clan upon whom were diablerized and experimented during the early years of the Tremere. Seeing the chance, Tzimisce could have discovered that Tremere intended to become one of the Antediluvians, and posed as Saulot. He could have easily slain the ambitious upstart mage and taken his place, sleeping soundly surrounded by loyal servile sorcerous kindred. Or Tremere could have emerged victorious, masqueraded both as himself and Tzimisce, and then fallen prey to the treachery of the anarch rebellion when they believed they slew Tzimisce. 

Cain 

Yes, Cain. You really should think about what you think Cain is doing right now. He supposedly wandered into the wastes when the First City fell and vowed never to return. Strangely, many kindred believe with a religious devotion that he will come back and herald an age of rebirth or bring Gehenna on his heels. Some have claimed to have met him personally, yet every case has been unproved or has been proved false. Any of the Antediluvians could pose as Cain to any lesser kindred without any real fear of discovery, excepting by Cain. They do seem rather unfearing of him now, though. According to many elders it was his words which forbid the killing of another kindred, and the Antediluvians seem bent on defying that very command. Do they know something we don't? Some Inconnu claim that Cain was the original founder of the path of Golconda. Others say that one gaining Golconda is given a moment of choice and can instead become human again. They say Cain finally managed to die of old age, and has been reborn many times. Given the nature of karma, perhaps other kindred have indeed met a vampire who was Cain, a lesser Cain paying the price for his evil act still. Perhaps someone slew him before he could spread the word of Golconda to all of his children. The Bible says that whosoever shall harm Cain shall reap his punishment sevenfold; and some say that there are seven of the Antediluvians left. Cain may be walking the earth right now in a mortal shell unknowingly just awaiting the sinister stalking of his descendants. He may walk the earth hunted by Nephandi parasites waiting to draw out the beast once again and worried Euthanatos desparate to heal the wound to his soul. On the other hand, someone of Cain's power could certainly hide from his childer. Perhaps he sleeps until the clamor of Gehenna grows so loud that he will wake and drink his childer from the face of the earth. Perhaps Cain is only the Assamite founder sleeping and waiting to lead his followers in the final jyhad. 

The Second Generation 

It is mentioned often that it is thought that these mighty childer of Cain were slain by their own childer and that was the end of the Second City and the beginning of the last age. I can only say that I think it is best left as the truth if only to sensibly follow the disappearance of Cain at the fall of the First City. The activities of the second generation already lead one to believe that they were contesting amongst themselves for the mantle of Cain. Osiris and Set were both embraced by members of this generation and apparently by opposing ones. It is possible that whoever actually recruited the Assamite founder saw him as the ultimate tool for killing their opponents.