The issue isn't whether you're paranoid, but whether you're paranoid enough.
Claudius Goivanni is a vampire believed to have been killed by Crusader Teams in 2253.
History[]
In his mortal life Claudius, along with the rest of his family, were wealthy merchants in medieval Venice. Upon becoming a vampire, his desire to acquire wealth and power did not change.
For centuries, Cappadocius and his clan were searching for a way to diablerize God, and in their view this meant that they needed to understand the soul. However, during this pursuit they reached a dead end. Cappadocius then decided to embrace in 1005 Augustus Giovanni who was a wealthy Venetian trader. Augustus began to embrace other members of his extended family, including Claudius. With their newfound vampiric powers, they extended and improved upon the Cappadocian penchant for death magic to become masters of Necromancy, the ability to control dead bodies and their departed souls in the form of Wraiths.
In the 15th century, Claudius led and organized the Conspiracy of Isaac, a revolt against the elders of the Cappadocian clan. In 1444, they succeeded. Augustus Giovanni killed and diablerized Cappadocius, and Claudius did the same thing to Japeth, one of Cappadocius' direct childer, effectively making Claudius a 4th generation vampire and Augustus an antediluvian. This also led to the downfall of the Cappadocians and their replacement by the rise of the Giovanni Clan.
In the centuries that followed, Claudius continued to be Augustus' strongest supporter and helped make the Giovanni rich beyond belief, and a clan powerful enough to remain independent from both the Camarilla and the Sabbat. They became the new clan of death and continued to expand their mastery of controlling wraiths.
Recent Years[]
It is well known that Augustus Giovanni killed himself in order to avoid being diablerized by Mordred and that the majority of the Giovanni clan leadership and members were killed in operations led by Crusader teams. Claudius himself was believed to have been killed in a Crusader Team raid in 2253, but it recently has emerged that he faked his own death in some manner.
Behind the Scenes[]
Much of the history and information regarding Augustus Giovanni, Claudius Giovanni, and others is an adaptation of material retreived from World of Darkness websites.