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THE EMBRACE

Vampires are created through a process called the Embrace. Some vampire clans Embrace more casually than others, but the Embrace is almost never given lightly. After all, any new vampire is a potential competitor for food and power. A potential childe is often stalked for weeks or even years by a watchful sire, who greedily evaluates whether the mortal would indeed make a good addition to the society of the Kindred.
The Embrace is similar to normal vampiric feeding — the vampire drains her chosen prey of blood. However, upon complete exsanguination, the vampire returns a bit of her own immortal blood to the drained mortal. Only a tiny bit — a drop or two— is necessary to turn the mortal into an undead. This process can even be performed on a dead human, provided the body is still warm.
Once the blood is returned, the mortal "awakens" and begins drinking of his own accord. But, though animate, the mortal is still dead; his heart does not beat, nor does he breathe. Over the next week of two, the mortal's body undergoes a series of subtle transformations; he learns to use the blood in his body, and he is taught the special powers of his clan. He is now a vampire.

THE NOCTURNAL WORLD OF THE VAMPIRE

Vampires value power, for its own sake and for the security it brings — and they find it ridiculously easy to acquire mundane goods, riches and influence. A mesmerizing glance and a few words provide a cunning vampire with access to all the wealth, power and servants he could desire. Some powerful vampires are capable of implanting posthypnotic suggestions or commands in mortals' minds, then causing the mortals to forget the vampire's presence. In this way, vampires can easily acquire legions of unwitting slaves. More than a few "public servants" and corporate barons secretly answer to vampire masters.
Though there are exceptions, vampires tend to remain close to the cities. The city provides countless opportunities for predation, liaisons and politicking — and the wilderness often proves dangerous. The wilds are the home of the Lupines, the werewolves, who are vampires' ancestral enemies and desire nothing more than to destroy vampires outright.

Vampires have long been feared as rapacious monsters of the night — terrible black forms sweeping out of the darkness to steal infants from their cribs and ravish the blood of innocents. Vampires are also creatures of deadly beauty, immense passion and predatory sensuality.
Each vampire is unique, and each has her own fascinating story to tell. The most important characteristic all vampires share, though, is then damnation. More important than any lineage, clan, sect or cause in the fact that all vampires are undead predators. Fealties and duties fall second to the inescapable urge of hunger. Without exception, vampires are parasites, cursed by fate to prey upon those from whom they originated.
Vampire emphasizes this theme over all others Vampires are monsters. How does it feel to leave a dead, bloodless child in a dumpster? To manipulate mortals like pawns on a chessboard? To suspect that the elders wield you as an unwitting weapon against their ancient foes? To eke out an unlife of secrecy and bloodshed? To succumb to the wiles of the Beast and tear innocent victims to shreds?
In response to their environment, the Kindred have evolved a complex society that exists just out of sight of the mortals who surround them. Age, clan, sect, sire, power, influence and many other aspects of unlife make the Kindred who they are. Part of any Kindred's being is membership in a number of social castes that grace vampire society. By creating and enforcing divisions and roles for themselves, no matter how artificial, the Kindred seek to escape the Beast that roils within them Vampire: The Masquerade is, in fact, a double entendre. Not only do vampires hide from mortals, they hide from themselves as well, pretending they are not the horrors they have truly become.
One way the Damned distinguish themselves is through a combination of age and generation, or how far removed a Kindred is from the progenitor vampire, Caine. Young vampires, must prove themselves to their elders to be afforded any bit of status, and Kindred society is often as stagnant and stultifying as the immortal Damned themselves. There is a small degree of mobility, however, as elder Kindred are always looking for assets and allies who may aid them against their rivals in the Jyhad.
The greatest status is accorded to the Antediluvians, vampires of the Third Generation. Most vampires consider these Kindred to be legendary — certainly, none has been verifiably seen in the modern nights. The lowest rung of status is held by rank neonates and the clanless Caitiff, those claimed by no clan or with blood too weak to trace a proper lineage.
• Antediluvians: These ancient vampires, if they exist at all, are likely the most powerful creatures in the world. Members of the Third Generation. the Antediluvians are only two steps removed from the First Vampire, Caine. Antediluvians, when they choose to rise from their long sleep, affect all with whom they come in contact; according to the few fractured accounts of their doings, they possess virtually godlike power. According to Kindred legend, there were 13 original Antediluvians, though some have allegedly been destroyed. Their eternal struggle, the Jyhad. touches all Kindred, and innumerable layers of manipulation and deception make the plots of these Ancients almost imperceptible.
• Methuselahs: If the Antediluvians are the Kindred's gods, the terrible Methuselahs are demigods and avatars. At a point between a vampire's thousandth and two thousandth year, a grave change overtakes the Kindred. Sometimes the change is physical, while at other times it is mental or emotional. What-ever the nature of the change, the end result is that the vampire no longer bears any semblance of humanity. Having truly moved from the earthly into the realm of the supernatural, the Methuselahs often retire into the earth, where they may slumber away from the thirsty fangs of younger vampires. Their powers are so great, however, that they continue to direct their inscrutable plans mentally, communicating magically or telepathically (and almost always invisibly) with their minions.
Kindred greatly fear the Methuselahs, who are accorded any number of horrifying characteristics. Rumors speak of Methuselahs whose skin has become stone, of everything from hideous disfigurements to unearthly beauty that cannot be looked upon. Some are believed to drink only vampire blood, while others control the fates of entire nations from their cold tombs.
• Elders: Elders are Kindred who have existed for hundreds of years, and typically range from sixth to eighth generation. With centuries of accumulated cunning and a terrible thirst for power, elder Kindred are the most physically active participants in the Jyhad — they do not suffer the long fits of torpor that hamper the Methuselahs and Antediluvians, but they are not so powerless or easily manipulated as the younger Kindred are. The term "elder" itself is a bit subjective; a Kindred who qualities as an elder in the New World might be just another ancilla in Europe or older comers of the Earth. Elders keep a stranglehold on the Kindred power structure, preventing younger vampires from attaining positions of influence by exercising control they have maintained for decades, if not centuries.
• Ancillae: Ancillae are relatively young vampires (be-tween one and two hundred years of unlife) who have proved themselves as valuable members of Kindred society. Ancillae are the lackeys to greater Kindred, and — if they're clever or lucky — tomorrow's elders. Ancilla is the rank between neonate and elder, signifying that the Kindred has cut her teeth (so to speak), but lacks the age and experience to become a true master of the Jyhad. Because the world's population has grown so in the last two centuries, the vast majority of vampires are ancillae or neonates (see below).
• Neonates: Neonates" vary from newly released fledglings to indolent Kindred of a hundred years or more. Marked by the stigma of not yet having proved themselves to the elders, neonates are inexperienced vampires who might one night make something of themselves — but, more likely, will fall as pawns in the schemes of the other undead.
• Fledglings: Also known more loosely as "childer" (al-though every vampire except Caine is someone's childe), fledglings are newly reborn vampires still under the tutelage and protection of their sires, the vampires who created them. Fledglings are not considered full members of Kindred society and are often treated disrespectfully or as the sire's property. When her sire decides her childe is ready, the fledgling may become a neonate, subject to the prince's approval.

OTHER DISTINCTIONS
• Anarchs: Anarchs are vampires who reject the Traditions of Caine and the dictates of the elders who enforce them. Ironically, elders grudgingly afford anarchs some degree of status, due to the anarchs' ability to obtain power in spite of the elders' opposition. Anarchs are also respected for their passion and drive, which few elder Kindred, mired as they are in their age and dissatisfaction, can muster. Ultimately, however, most Kindred see anarchs as jackals, scavenging their unlives from what slips through the elders' fingers.
• Caitiff: The Caitiff are the clanless vampires, outcast by other Kindred and despised by those who bother to notice them at all. Vampires may become clanless either by having no idea of their sires' identities (and thus having no sense of lineage) or by being of such a weak generation that no identifying clan characteristics are discernible. Caitiff are almost universally regarded as b*****d children and orphans, though some rise to a degree of prominence among the anarchs. Once there were few Caitiff, but the post-WWII period has seen a sharp increase in their numbers. Some elders whisper direfully of the "Time of Thin Blood" that signifies the imminence of Gehenna.

FIRST NIGHTS

As the childe slowly enters the world of the Damned, she learns about the society of the undead through her sire's tutelage and accumulated experience. Should the sire introduce her to other Kindred, the fledgling may gain a firsthand knowledge of the pomp and ritual associated with the vampires' society. Most sires, however, sequester their childer from other Kindred, fearing that exposure to other vampires may sway their younglings' knowledge away from what the sires wish them to learn.
Many of these first nights are spent learning what it means to be undead. The childe inevitably meets her Beast, and either falls to frenzy or learns early on how to subjugate its wild call. The sire may offer aid and guidance in thwarting the Beast, or he may watch as it overtakes his childe, then admonish her for weakness afterward. It is now that the childe learns that undeath is indeed a curse — despite the power brought by the Embrace, she is no longer entirely herself, and must forever he wary of the Hunger that burns inside her.
Also at this time, the childe learns—too late! — to appreciate the emotional capacity possessed by mortals. As a vampire, the childe's heart has died, leaving her a cold corpse incapable of truly feeling anything. Most vampires compensate by making themselves feel, conjuring up memories of emotions long dead. Desperation is all that remains in the hearts of many vampires, as they realize what they have lost as their mortal selves died.
The first nights are a time of bleak revelations. Many fledglings cannot cope with the terrible new world of night into which they have been reborn, and choose to meet the obliterating rays of the sun rather than continue their existences.

HAVENS

As a fledgling grows more and more knowledgeable in the ways of the Kindred, she must establish her own haven. Although her early nights are likely spent in the company of her sire and the safety of his haven, the time inevitably comes to leave the nest. Selecting a haven is a very personal process, much as selecting a mortal dwelling is. A vampire must consider certain requirements when deciding upon her haven, however, that most mortals need not pay heed to.
Obviously, the haven must be secure from the rays of the sun. Even the slightest lick of sunlight can cause a Kindred to burst into flame. A haven must also offer reasonable isolation — curious neighbors who observe the nocturnal comings and goings of the person in the apartment next door may prove bothersome. Finally, the haven should oiler physical security; during the daylight hoURS, vampires slumber unstirringly, and even should they manage to rouse themselves, they act sluggishly and with great lethargy. Foes who find a vampire's lair have a great advantage on that Kindred, for she is at their mercy. For these reasons, many Kindred prefer inaccessible or highly guarded havens. The Nosferatu prefer the secrecy offered by the sewers, while no self-respecting Ventrue would think of keeping any thing less than lavishly appointed apartments. Some Kindred keep their mortal homes as havens, while others choose locations where no one would even consider to look, to discourage unwelcome visitors.

KINDRED SOCIETY

Vampires are first and foremost solitary predators. A Kindred might go years or even decades without seeing another vampire, preferring to hunt in solitude or walk among a select group of mortals. Nonetheless, most Kindred choose or are forced to interact with their fellows at some point in their unlives; the movements of the Jyhad rarely leave even the most detached Kindred entirely untouched.
The society of the Damned is as structured as any mortal institution, if not more so. Numerous offices, titles and responsibilities circulate among the upper echelons of a city's Kindred, and these positions confer great power — albeit with an accompanying peril, as those who would shake (he foundations of a Kindred power structure often come looking for obvious title-holders.
The following societal tableaux apply primarily to Kindred of the sect known as the Camarilla. As the upholder of the Masquerade and preserver of the ancient traditions of power, the Camarilla sets the standard of vampiric interaction. Vampires may adhere to the Camarilla's model or defiantly deviate from it. but they cannot simply ignore it. Kindred entirely outside the Camarilla's aegis often follow very different customs and mores, but we will speak of these things later.

CLEANING HOUSE

Sometimes a group of anarchs or ancillae decides to bring down a prince once and for all. Coups are dangerous to attempt unless one is very secure in one's allies. Princes rarely get their seats on charm alone, and most have broods of childer for protection. Taking on the prince can also mean taking on the primogen, who can readily crush any potential insurrection in the name of the city's stability.
A coup usually results in a political vacuum, and in the Kindred world, vacuums can have far-reaching consequences. A city in turmoil means instability; coteries battle for a place in the new order, elders war to ensure their survival, and sometime the turmoil attracts the unwelcome presence of Sabbat, werewolves or witch-hunters. The resulting threat to the Masquerade can occasionally mean setting up any likely vampire to temporarily stabilize the city, but such solutions are rarely effective and often result in further chaos.
Most elders, and indeed the majority of vampires in a city, will support a prince in the name of a stable city. War is never pleasant and, for elders concerned with their survival, war means the potential for Final Death. Unless a prince has become completely unmanageable — through insanity, supernatural corruption or excessive tyranny — the Cainites of her city can count on being stuck with her for a good while
Abdication can. and occasionally docs, happen. Indeed, in recent nights, a number of strange, sudden abdications and uncanny disappearances of ruling figures have rocked the ancient power structures. If one or more primogen choose to make unlife miserable for their prince for whatever reason, she may be driven from office. A vote of no confidence is also possible, but rare in the extreme, owing to the potential chaos that can arise when a prince is forced out of office or leaves under bitter circumstances.