The wolf pack
The idea that people are stronger together, must support each other, is an important part of the doctrine.
Specialists and Generalists
Tremere was the weakest of the Founders, and this fact shaped his house, even to this day.
To this day, house magi lacks the magical foci and special secrets that can make other magi so formidable. But they have one thing going for them: They cooperate.
This translates into one simple rule: If you're not able to deal with something, step aside, and let one of your sodales handle it.
Tremere magi are thus encouraged to heavily specialize, even more than most magi, in both arts and spells, with the caveat that they may be called to handle some problem only them can face.
Most Vexillations take this into account, uniting magi with different strengths so one can cover another's weaknesses.
There is but one exception to this rule: The troubleshooters. Sometimes, you just don't know what you're facing, and need to send someone to ascertain the problem before sending in any specialist. House Tremere thus keeps a few troubleshooters, generalist magi with a vast repertoire of spells, as a first-line of response.
Grogs and Servants
No tremere magus is alone, ever. This applies metaphorically, to represent the bonds that tie the house, but also very pragmatically, in that, even if it does not advertise it, House Tremere relies heavily on mundane support.
Even when part of a vexiliation, Tremere magi recognize that they can't know everything, can't do everything. So they must concentrate on what they do best: Magic. All the rest can be delegated to trusted mundanes.
This wouldn't be exceptional for magi, save that House Tremere values mundane knowledge and skill far more that most of their sodales, jerbiton excepted. Information is power, be it knowing a Faerie's weakness or by using natural magic to spare a mage's time.
Thus, Tremere magi are often surrounded by a cadre of trusted and highly competent servants, including, but not limited to: A shield grog, one or more loremistresses, and a spymaster.
External Assets
This is the name assigned to all supernatural beings (including humans with mystical abilities) that are, or have been, employed by the house, directly or not, and are liable to be on-call in the future.
These may be specialists possessing unique abilities, such as Verditius enchanters, or magi with skills, contacts or insights that no current Tremere magi possess, such as SIEGFRIED assets. All the hedge wizards employed by the Tremere are categorized as External Assets. Most often than not, these are sympathetic to the house's goals and/or methods, and are not unlike an extended house.
But then, sometimes, external assets are more like special forces: operatives working through one or more proxies on deniable missions, without any inkling as to their real employer's identity.
The Lone Wolf
Hide and Seek
Should a Tremere maga be isolated in hostile territory, she must first try to survive long enough for a search party to find her or, barring that, must try to come back to a safe place.
Should none of these options be available, she must create as much structural damage to the enemy as possible, but this is a last-ditch mesure: Mages are too precious to be squandered needlessly.
Tremere Package
This bears repeating: Although the House encourages specialty, all Tremere Magi are expected to be able to handle themselves in basic situations, which is reflected by the Tremere Package. No tremere should be easy prey.
Likewise, Tremere magi are encouraged to develop basic knowledge (skill 1-2) of Lores and outdoors abilities, if only to avoid fatal mistakes when crossing an infernal aura.
This means that, while young tremere will have a lot in common, they can diverge pretty wildly once they are free to pursue their own specialty.
Preparation is key
House Tremere operates based on the idea that, in any meaningful conflict, they're the underdog. To compensate for this, they rely on tactics and preparedness.
As said before, magi tremeris are not adverse to listening to mundane advice. This applies even to the house, with dedicated mundanes working on various projects, from the lowest to the highest order.
Always a plan
Magi Tremeris are encouraged to think and plan before acting. More than this, they should prepare beforehand for a wide range of issues, finding ways to deal with them within their specialty. This encourages responsibility in requiring another mage's help, limits the drain on the house's resources, and maximizes the number of magi able to face a particular problem.
But things go way beyond that. Dedicated scholars study all kinds of lore, keeping up-to-date information on supernatural beings from the 4 realms, regios, hedge traditions, and, yes, hermetic magi. And then, they devise ways to use this information in as many ways as possible. This may include manipulation, blackmail, physical conflict, but also ways to weaponize minor magics or fey creatures.
Magi Tremeris that join a new covenant are supposed to study the surroundings of their new home, collect information and plan for various contingencies, before sending back the information to the Transylvania tribunal, where it will be further studied by the house specialists before joining the collections at Tablinum (Against the Dark, p58).
Even if using magic for to transmit their findings, Tremere wizards should also use encryption (see Sub Rosa 20, p90), if only to maintain the habit. Once this is done, they should do the same things with their sodales and covenant. Reports are to be updated when a significant change occurs, or every 10 years for magi (keeping track of their progress).
All in all, this means House Tremere has 2 main stores of information: The Living Lore, knowledge held and passed down by mundane specialists, and the Dead Lore, reports bound into tractati and stored for future reference.
While this may certainly appears so, this practice is not part of some grand plan of conquest, and even the most hostile plans may be put to use without having House Tremere turning against the order. Knowing the weaknesses of magi may prove useful should they happen to be diabolists, just like being able to breach a covenant's defenses can serve if it has been subverted by enemies of the order. As proof of that, Tremere magi treat their own sodales and covenants just like any other. If anything, the intellectual exercise is considered to sharpen the mind.
Build and Stockpile
Magical items have several advantages: They can outlast the longest-lived maga, they can compensate for another's lack of knowledge, their power can be built over several seasons, and they can be entrusted to a custos.
Yet they have a few drawbacks. First, they require this most precious commodity: A mage's time. Second, they are subject to Magic Resistance.
The house has a special vexillation of artificers, the Chainlink Vexillation, which revolves around generalists magi with high leadership and magic theory. They can work with other magi and their familiars to quickly create about any magical item, and then use the lab text to create several copies. Their goal is twofold: To ensure a sufficient supply of general items, and to plug holes in the House's arsenal.
Apprentices are also frequently used to duplicate simple artifacts.
House Tremere thus keeps building and stockpiling magical items and vis, both in the fortified vaults of Coeris and in hidden "safe houses", although some are regularly granted to its magi.
However, this is not everything the house is producing. Its Natural Philosophers, skilled in Artes Liberales, Philosophiae and Medicine work feverishly to produce all kinds of wondrous, yet non-magical, formulae. Likewise, those skilled in Magic Lore regularly enrich items and vis, scribes copy and disseminate the best books, while craftsmen create arms, armors and clothing of high quality for magi, diplomats and soldiers alike.
