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The World of Darkness, and those who inhabit it.

The world of Vampire: The Masquerade is not our own, though it is close enough for fearsome discomfort. Rather, the world inhabited by vampires is like ours, but through a looking glass darkly. Evil is palpable and ubiquitous in this world; the final nights are upon us, and the whole planet teeters on a razor's edge of tension. It is a world of darkness. Superficially, the World of Darkness is like the "real" world we all inhabit. The same bands are popular, violence still plagues the inner city, graft and corruption infest the same governments, and society still looks to the same cities for its culture.

The World of Darkness has a Statue of Liberty, an Eiffel Tower and a CBGB's. More present than in our world, though, is the undercurrent of horror - our world's ills are all the more pronounced in the World of Darkness.

Our fears are more real. Our governments are more degenerate. Our ecosystem dies a bit more each night. And vampires exist. Many of the differences between our world and the World of Darkness stem from these vampires. Ancient and inscrutable, the Kindred toy with humanity as a cat does with a trapped mouse. The immortal Kindred manipulate society to stave off the ennui and malaise that threaten them nightly, or to guard against the machinations of centuries-old rivals. Immortality is a curse to vampires, for they are locked in stagnant existences and dead bodies.
This chapter examines the vampires' world. The World of Darkness reflects the passion and horror of its secret masters, and the hope of redemption is the only thing that lets most denizens of this cursed place go on living - or unliving.


The vampires who walk the Earth in modern nights are both similar to and different from what we might expect. It is perhaps best to begin our discussion of the undead as if they were a separate species of being � sentient, with superficial similarities to the humans they once were, but displaying a myriad of physiological and psychological differences.

In many ways, vampires resemble the familiar monsters of myth and cinema. (There is enough truth in the old tales that perhaps they were created by deluded or confused mortals.) However, as many an intrepid vampire hunter has learned to his sorrow, not all of the old wives' tales
about vampires are true.

"Gothic-Punk" is perhaps the best way to describe the physical nature of the World of Darkness. The environment is a clashing mixture of styles and influences, and the tension caused by the juxtaposition of ethnicities, social classes and subcultures makes the world a vibrant, albeit dangerous, place.

The Gothic aspect describes the ambience of the World of Darkness. Buttressed buildings loom overhead, bedecked with classical columns and grimacing gargoyles. Residents are dwarfed by the sheer scale of architecture, lost amid the spires that seem to grope toward Heaven in an effort to escape the physical world. The ranks of the Church swell, as mortals flock to any banner that offers them a hope of something better in the hereafter. Likewise, cults flourish in the underground, promising power and redemption. The institutions that control society are even more staid and conservative than they are in our world, for many in power prefer the evil of the world they know to the chaos engendered by change. It is a divisiveworld of have and have-not, rich and poor, excess and squalor.

The Punk aspect is the lifestyle that many denizens of the World of Darkness have adopted. In order to give their lives meaning, they rebel, crashing themselves against the crags of power. Gangs prowl the streets and organized crime breeds in the underworld, reactions to the pointlessness of living "by the book." Music is louder, faster, more violent or hypnotically monotonous, and supported by masses who find salvation in its escape. Speech is coarser, fashion is bolder, art is more shocking, and technology brings it all to everyone at the click of a button. The world is more corrupt, the people are spiritually bankrupt, and escapism often replaces hope.



Truth or Myth?

Vampires are living dead, and must sustain themselves with the blood of the living.
True. A vampire is clinically dead, its heart does not beat, it does not breathe, its skin is cold, it does not age , and yet it thinks, and walks, and plans, and speaks and hunts and kills. For, to sustain its artificial immortality, the vampire must periodically consume blood, preferably human blood. Some penitent vampires eke out an existence from animal blood, and some ancient vampires must hunt and kill others of their kind to nourish themselves, but most vampires indeed sustain themselves from the blood of their former species.

Anyone who dies from a vampire's bite rises to become a vampire.

False. If this were true, the world would be overrun by vampires. Vampires feed on human blood, true, and sometimes kill their prey, but most humans who die from a vampire�s attack simply perish. To return as undead, the victim must be drained of blood and subsequently be fed a bit of the attacking vampire's blood. This process, called the Embrace, causes the mystical transformation from human to undead.

Vampires are monsters, demonic spirits embodied in corpses.
False.and True..
Vampires are not demons per se, but a combination of tragic factors draws them inexorably toward wicked deeds. In the beginning, the newly created vampire thinks and acts much as she did while living. She does not immediately turn into an evil, sadistic monster. However, the vampire soon discovers her overpowering hunger for blood, and realizes that her existence depends on feeding on her species. In many ways, the vampire's mindset changes, she adopts a set of attitudes less suited to a communal omnivore and more befitting a solitary predator.

At first reluctant to feed, the vampire is finally forced to by circumstance or need, and feeding becomes easier and easier as the years pass. Realizing that she herself is untrustworthy, she ceases to trust others. Realizing that she is different, she walls herself away from the mortal world. Realizing that her existence depends on secrecy and control,
she becomes a manipulative user of the first order.

And things only degenerate as the years turn to decades and then centuries, and the vampire kills over and over, and sees the people she loved age and die. Human life, so short and cheap in comparison to hers, becomes of less and less value, until the mortal "herd" around her means no more to her than a swarm of annoying insects. Vampire elders are among the most jaded, unfeeling, paranoid, in short, monstrous, beings the world has ever known. Maybe they are not demons exactly, but at that point, who can tell the difference?

Vampires are burned by sunlight. True. Vampires must avoid the sun or die, though a few can bear sunlight�s touch for a very short period of time. Vampires are nocturnal creatures, and most find it extremely difficult to remain awake during the day, even within sheltered areas. There are rumors of the truly old and powerful vampires, or those who have reached the state of Golconda, able to withstand the suns's burning effects, but those are generally considered old wives' tales.

Vampires are repulsed by garlic and running water.
False. These are myths and nothing more. (Though if you take the flaws.... >.>)

Vampires are repulsed by crosses and other holy symbols.
This is generally False. However, if the wielder of the symbol has great faith in the power it represents, a vampire may suffer ill effects from the brandishing of the symbol.

Vampires die from a stake through the heart.
False. However, a wooden stake or arrow, crossbow bolt, etc. through the heart will paralyze the monster until it is removed.

Vampires have the strength of 10 humans; they can command wolves and bats; they can hypnotize the living and heal even the most grievous wounds.
True. and False.. The power of a vampire increases with age. Young, newly created vampires are often little more powerful than humans. But as a vampire grows in age and understanding, she learns to use her blood to evoke secret magical powers, which vampires call Disciplines. Powerful elders are often the rivals of a fictional Lestat or Dracula, and the true ancients, the Methuselahs and Antediluvians who have stalked the nights for thousands of years, often possess literally godlike powers.



The Hunt

When all is said and done, the most fundamental difference between humans and vampires lies in their methods of sustenance. Vampires may not subsist on mortal food; instead, they must sustain their eternal lives through the consumption of blood, fresh human blood. Vampires acquire their sustenance in many fashions. Some cultivate "herds" of willing mortals, who cherish the ecstasy of the vampire's kiss. Some creep into houses by night, feeding from sleeping humans. Some stalk the mortals' playgrounds, the nightclubs, bars and theatres, enticing mortals into illicit liaisons and disguising their predation as acts of passion. And yet others take their nourishment in the most ancient fashion, stalking, attacking and incapacitating (or even killing) mortals who wander too far down lonely nocturnal alleys and empty lots.



The Nocturnal World of the Vampire Vampires also value power, for its own sake and the security it brings, and vampires 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 for vampires. The wilds are the home of the Lupines, the werewolves, who are vampires' ancestral enemies and desire nothing more than to destroy vampires outright.



The Embrace
Vampires are created through a process called the Embrace. 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 fairly recently dead.

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 or 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.

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 clan and the line.


History
Vampires, or Kindred, as they call themselves, exist for centuries and often seem unchanging to mortal eyes. Even Kindred society, however, has undergone evolution, upheaval and strife. Let us look at history as the Kindred view it, that we might better understand their actions tonight.

Caine and the First Nights

According to Kindred myth, the first of their kind was Caine, the first murderer. For his crime, Caine was cursed by God and thereby transformed into a vampire. Exiled from his people, Caine was forced to stalk the fringes of civilization, fearful of the sun and ravenous for blood.

In his loneliness, Caine came upon a mighty witch named Lilith, who had been Adam�s first wife. Lilith taught Caine how to use his blood for mighty magic (indeed, a few heretics claim that Lilith, not Caine, was the First Vampire). Lilith taught Caine many things, including how to use his blood to evoke mystic powers, and how to create others of his kind.


The Second Generation and the First City
At first Caine refused to beget, believing it wrong to curse the world with others of his kind. But eventually he grew lonely and brought three others into the vampiric fold. These three in turn begat 13 more, and these voracious monsters went among the early peoples of the world, carelessly feeding and using mortals as puppets in their sibling feuds.

Caine, outraged by this behavior, forbade the creation of any more progeny. Gathering his childer and grandchilder to him, Caine built a great city, the First City in the world, and here vampires and mortals coexisted in peace.


The Antediluvians and the Clans

It could not last. Caine�s childer squabbled for their sire's affections, and once again the mortals were used as pawns in the feud. Finally the city was thrown down, some say a natural disaster was the cause; (the great flood) others, that a spurned childe's vengeful sorcery precipitated the cataclysm. Caine vanished into the wastes, never to be heard from again. The three vampires of the Second Generation likewise disappeared into the mists of legend.

But Caine's 13 grandchilder, free from restraint, began breeding new vampires with abandon. The 13 vampires became known as Antediluvians, and their childer, created in their images, inherited the Antediluvians� magical gifts and curses. Thus were the clans formed.

The Dark Ages

The clans spread across the world, sowing discord and misery. Though each successive generation of vampires proved weaker than the last, they made up for it with greater numbers. In the ziggurats of Babylon, in the palaces of Crete, in the tribunals of Rome, vampires ruled as shadowy tyrants, forever using mortals as food and unwitting soldiers. Vampire warred with vampire, clan with clan, and thus, from the ancient rivalries of the First City, was born the great Jyhad, which is still fought today.

The Kindred reached their worst excesses during the early Middle Ages. During this period, many vampires ruled openly, smothering peasant and lord alike beneath their nocturnal grip. The vampiric population reached unhealthy numbers, and it seemed that the Earth would belong to the
Kindred forever.


The Anarch Revolt

Again, it could not last. The Children of Caine, in their hubris, began to flaunt their power flagrantly. Terrified peasants whispered of the monsters in their midst, and the Church began to listen. The reports of a few horrified priests spawned a frenzied Inquisition, and vengeful mortals rose up in a tide of fire and blood. Though individually much more powerful than mortals, even the mightiest vampires could not stand against the humans� sheer numbers; vampire after vampire was dragged from its lair and hurled into fire or sunlight.

In the throes of the Inquisition, a current of revolt gripped the Children of Caine. Younger vampires, who were being deployed as sacrificial lambs by terrified elders, began to rise up against their sires and masters. In Eastern Europe, a group of vampires learned how to sever the mystic bonds through which sires controlled their childer. Soon all of Europe seethed beneath a nocturnal revolt, as rebellious childer threw off the yoke of their masters. Between the Inquisition and the revolt of the vampire "anarchs," it seemed as though the Kindred would not survive.

And so, in the 15th century, a council was called. Seven of the 13 clans united in an organization called the Camarilla. With its advantage of numbers, the Camarilla suppressed the anarchs and agreed to exist behind a great Masquerade. Never more shall vampires rule openly, the lords of the Camarilla decreed. We shall hide among the mortals, and conceal our natures from our prey, and in a few decades the mortals will know vampires only as myths.

Thus, the Masquerade was born, and the Inquisition gradually forgot its original target. Those anarchs who would not join the Camarilla were driven into the wastes, from which they would later emerge as the dread Sabbat cult. With the discovery of the New World and the dawn of science, humanity gradually forgot about the Kindred, relegating them to the status of childhood legends.

But, though hidden, vampires were still quite real. The wars of the Jyhad raged on, though the nights of open battle were replaced by sudden ambushes and maneuvering of human pawns. Weaving their webs throughout the ever expanding cities, the Kindred eschewed their previous games for more methodical but no less deadly ones.

The Modern Nights and Gehenna
And the wars continued down the centuries, and continue still. The Jyhad rages as it always has � though skyscrapers take the place of castles, machine-guns and missiles replace swords and torches, and stock portfolios substitute for vaults of gold, the game remains the same. Kindred battles Kindred, clan battles clan, Camarilla battles Sabbat, as they have for eons. Vampiric feuds begun during the nights of Charlemagne play themselves out on the streets of New York City; an insult whispered in the court of the Sun King may find itself answered by a corporate takeover in Sao Paolo. The ever-swelling cities provide
countless opportunities for feeding, powermongering, and war.

Very slightly increasingly, vampires speak of Gehenna, the long prophesied night of apocalypse when the most ancient vampires, the mythical Antediluvians, will rise from their hidden lairs to devour all the younger vampires. This Gehenna, so the Kindred say, will presage the end of the world, as vampires and mortals alike are consumed in an inexorable tide of blood. Some vampires strive to prevent Gehenna, some fatalistically await it, and still almost all Vampires consider it a myth. Those few who believe in Gehenna, however, say that the end time comes very soon, perhaps in a matter of years.

[Brief Blurb on the sects, you'll find much more in depth info under the sects section]

The Camarilla
The Camarilla is a great sect of vampires that formed in the late medieval period. A vampire "United Nations" of sorts, it was formed to protect vampires from the purges of the Inquisition, to uphold the Traditions of Caine, and to enforce the great Masquerade. Many Camarilla vampires, remembering the nights of fire when vampires were uprooted and destroyed, uphold the Masquerade fanatically.

Camarilla vampires reject the idea of vampires as monstrous predators, instead preferring to live clandestinely among mortals and feed cautiously. The Camarilla is the most populous sect, and (in theory) the most powerful. But it comprises seven clans of vampires, each with its own culture and agenda, and this renders it prone to discord. Ruled as it is by a fractious sort of parliamentarianism, the Camarilla is slow to act and often indecisive in the face of threats; when it brings its combined might to bear, however, the Camarilla is virtually unstoppable.

Brujah
As the Brujah tell the tale, they were once philosopher-kings of Mesopotamia, Persia and Babylon. They controlled an empire that spanned from the cradle of civilization to northern Africa, and collected lore and knowledge from around the world. In their pursuit of freedom and enlightenment, however, they killed their founder. For this, Caine cast them out from the First City. Since then, the Brujah have suffered inescapable decline. Now they are perceived as little more than spoiled childer who have no sense of pride or history. One of the mainstays of the Great Anarch Revolt, the Bmjah were barely brought to heel by the founders of the Camarilla, and the clan as a whole still resents the elders.

Though nominally in the Camarilla, the Brujah are the sect's firebrands and agitators, testing the Traditions and rebelling in the name of whatever causes they hold dear. Many Brujah are outright anarchs, defying authority and serving no prince.

Gangrel
The night-prowling Gangrel are feral vampires and possess disturbing animalistic tendencies and features. Rarely staying in one place, Gangrel are nomadic wanderers, satisfied only when running alone under the night sky. Their founder is whispered to have been a barbarian, unlike the other clan progenitors, and for this reason, Gangrel often Embrace outsiders. Distant, aloof and savage, Gangrel are often tragic individuals; although many hate the cities' crowds and constrictions, the presence of hostile werewolves prevents most Gangrel from living outside their confines. Gangrel vampires seem to support the Camarilla solely because it intrudes upon their unlives less than the Sabbat. Some members of Clan Gangrel think that independence would be better than their nominal Camarilla involvement, however, and the clan's continued membership in the sect is uncertain.

Malkavian
Clan Malkavian has suffered throughout history, and continues to do so to this very night. Every member of this clan is afflicted with madness, and all are slaves to their debilitating lunacy. The Malkavian clan founder is rumored to have been one of the most important vampires of old, but in committing some grievous crime, Caine cursed him and his descendants with insanity. Throughout Cainite history, Malkavians have been alternately reared for their bizarre behavior and sought out for their even more bizarre insight. Kindred who have regular dealings with the Malkavians report that the clan is now more morbidly unstable than ever, spreading madness in its wake like a contagious disease. Though the Malkavians have historically been fragmented and disorganized, recent migratory waves and nexplicable gatherings have many elders questioning - and fearing - the possible future of the lunatic clan.

Nosferatu
The members of Clan Nosferatu suffer the most visible curse of all. The Embrace hideously deforms them, twisting them into literal monsters. Legends say that the Nosferatu were blighted as punishment for their founder's degeneracy and his childer's wicked behavior, but in the modern nights, Clan Nosferatu is known for levelheadedness and calm in the face of adversity. Nosferatu have reputations as information brokers and harvesters of secrets, as their horrid appearances have forced them to perfect their mystical ability to hide, sometimes in plain sight. At present, the clan claims that it has distanced itself from its founder and no longer serves him. Some Kindred whisper that the clan is on terrible terms with its progenitor, and that he actively seeks their destruction.

Toreador
Prodigals of the Kindred, Clan Toreador indulges in excess and degeneracy, all while claiming to maintain patronage of the arts. To a great degree, this patronage is true, as the clan claims many talented artists, musicians, writers, poets and other gifted creators. On the other hand, the clan possesses just as many "poseurs," those who fancy themselves great aesthetes but lack the ability to create at all. According to legend, the Toreador's support of the arts dates back to the clan founder's Embrace of a pair of twins. The twins pursued unlives of beauty and indolence while their sire, Arikel (if the tale is to be believed), doted on them, protecting them from the ravages of plague, famine and parricide that swallowed the First City.

Further, darker rumors circulate that one of the twins eventually grew depraved in her immortality and slew her brother and sire. Clan Toreador vehemently denies this, and those who bring up the subject suffer the clan's wrath.

Tremere
No clan is so shrouded in deliberate mystery as the Tremere. The inventors and practitioners of terrible blood magics, the secretive Tremere have a tightly knit political structure based on the acquisition of power, as well as a fanatical clan loyalty practically unknown to any other Kindred. Because of the veil of secrecy that surrounds the clan, disturbing stories have surfaced as to the nature of their vampirism. Some Kindred claim that the Tremere are not truly vampires at all, but rather mortal wizards who cursed themselves for eternity while studying the secret of immortality. One of the most rampant rumors, spread by a Gypsy visitor to their chantry-house in Vienna, is that the clan founder, Tremere himself, is undergoing a horrid metamorphosis into something else. Clan Tremere is silent on the matter, and looks askance upon those who would presume to know its secrets.

Ventrue

The nominal leaders of the Camarilla, the Ventrue claim to have created and supported the organization of the sect since its inception. The clan suspects that its founder was slain by a member of the Brujah clan, which is a great blow to its members' pride. In any event, the clan almost certifiably has no founder any longer, and has thereby achieved untold independence from the Antediluvians. Nonetheless, Ventrue actively involve themselves in the Jyhad, in which they exercise their formidable influence over the doings of the kine. Much curiosity exists among the Kindred as to the innerworkings of this well-organized clan, as rumors of dark mysteries and slumbering Ancients sometimes slip out from under the Venrrue's austere facade.

The Sabbat
The Camarilla's bitter rival is the dread sect called the Sabbat. Originally the remnants of the shattered anarch packs, the Sabbat has evolved, or devolved, into something much deadlier. The Sabbat would "liberate" all vampires from the chains of the Camarilla and their sires. The ultimate Social Darwinists, the Sabbat espouses the tenet of vampiric supremacy, the doctrine that, because vampires are highest on the food chain, they should not hide from mortals, but instead dominate them outright. This attitude toward humans often manifests itself in actions that appear horrific and cruel by mortal standards; accordingly, the Sabbat is often branded a sect of violent evildoers by outraged Camarilla vampires.

Two clans lead the Sabbat.

Lasombra
The Lasombra are masters of darkness and shadow, and possess a knack for leadership as keen as that of Clan Ventrue. Indeed, many Kindred see the Ventrue and Lasombra as twisted reflections of each other. Once, the Lasombra were nobles, but the chaos of Kindred history and the formation of the Sabbat have caused most of them to turn their backs upon their origins. Now, the Lasombra give themselves wholly over to the damnation of being vampires. The Sabbat has affected this clan as profoundly as the Lasombra have affected the Sabbat, and without the rulership of these fallen aristocrats, the Sabbat would likely disintegrate.

Tzimisce
Formerly the tyrants of Eastern Europe, the Tzimisce (zhi-mee-see) have been uprooted from their Old Country manses and relocated into the clutches of the Sabbat. Possessed of a peculiar nobility, coupled with an evil that transcends mortal perception, Clan Tzimisce leads the Sabbat in its rejection of all things human. Certain Kindred apocrypha claims that the Tzimisce was once the most powerful clan in the world, but that history and other Kindred conspired to bring its members down to their current state. More so than any other vampires, the Tzimisce revel in their monstrousness. They practice a "fleshcrafting" Discipline that they use to disfigure their foes and sculpt themselves into beings of terrible beauty.


The Independents
Four clans choose to remain neutral in the great Jyhad, bartering their services to (and jockeying for power with) Camarilla and Sabbat indifferently. These are: the Assamites, a deadly clan of vampire assassins based in the Middle East; the Followers of Set, a dark cult of vampires devoted to the worship of the snake-god Set; the Giovanni, an insular family of incestuous necromancers and financiers; and the Ravnos, a nomadic line of Gypsy charlatans and thieves.

Assamite
The Assamites are feared assassins from lands far to the east. No other clan has earned such a deserved reputation for diablerie, though they also sell their murderous services to other Kindred, acting as contract killers. According to the Assamites' own teachings, they drink the blood of other Kindred on the command of their founder, in an attempt to purify their own taint. So dreaded were the Assamites that, during the nights of the Great Anarch Revolt, the Tremere cursed them, making them unable to drink the blood of other Kindred. However, the Assamites have recently thrown off this curse, and so they hunt other Kindred for their blood once more.

Kindred who regularly deal with the clan have noticed an increased bloodthirstiness on the part of the Assamites, as well as a disregard for their former codes of honor. Some Kindred believe that the Assamites now act at the behest of older powers, perhaps preparing to play their preordained part in the Jyhad's final moves.

Followers of Set
Originally hailing from Egypt, the serpentine Setites are said to worship the undead vampire-deity Set, serving him in all their efforts. The Setites seem intent on "corrupting" others, enslaving victims in snares of their own weakness, but for what inscrutable purpose, none can guess. Other Kindred despise the Followers of Set, and the clan claims no allies. Nonetheless, many vampires seek out the Setites, as the clan is whispered to possess arcane gifts and secrets from elder nights. Inevitably, sin and debasement follow in the Setites' wake, and many princes refuse to allow them in their cities. Some sinister purpose unites the Followers of Set, and they are one of the few clans rumored to have consistent contact with their founder. Many Kindred rightly fear these fork-tongued vampires, for their very presence is often enough to set a Kindred down the road to ruin.


Giovanni
Reviled almost as much as the Setites, the Giovanni is a clan of financiers and necromancers. Trafficking in the commodity of souls has given this clan a disproportionate amount of power, while trafficking in world finance has made the clan sickeningly rich. Other Kindred are loath to trust the mercenary Giovanni, who seem to be using their influence toward some unknown end. Part of Clan Giovanni's unhealthy reputation stems from the fact that it is a very insular clan, drawing almost all its members from its incestuous mortal family. Further damaging the Giovanni's reputation is the pervasive rumor that its members usurped their Kindred status from the vampire who originally Embraced them. Soon after becoming a vampire, the Giovanni clan leader destroyed his sire and the bloodline, reinventing the clan in his own image.

Ravnos
Descendents of the Gypsy Rom and their forebears in India, the Ravnos vampires lead nomadic unlives. Like the Gypsies of history, the Ravnos are spurned due to their reputations as thieves and vagrants. Many princes and Sabbat leaders persecute the Ravnos because of the chaos that follows these Kindred. The Ravnos return the scorn of their peers manyfold, holding Camarilla and Sabbat in equal contempt. The Ravnos are also known for their ability to create amazing illusions, the better with which to trick their marks. Recently the movements of the Ravnos have become even more erratic than usual; whispers have begun to circulate among the cities of Europe and Asia, speaking of Ravnos Methuselahs who have risen from torpor to direct their younglings' games.

The Anarchs
Some younger vampires strive to remain free of both Camarilla and Sabbat control. These vampires style themselves �anarchs� in homage to the warriors who led the great revolt of the 15th century. For the most part these modern anarchs are ragtag bands of Brujah and Caitiff predators, though all clans are represented in their ranks. The Camarilla treats them as it would termites � individually insignificant, but potentially crippling if allowed to breed and fester.

The Inconnu
Finally, certain ancient vampires withdraw from the sects' games altogether, seeking solitude amid the wastes. These old ones, called Inconnu, reject the power-games of the clans and sects, instead seeking self-mastery and enlightenment. Some whisper of a darker purpose behind the Inconnu�s withdrawal from the Jyhad, but most vampires think of Inconnu as nothing more than deluded recluses.


Cities
Vampires are inherently creatures of the city, though some claim this is a matter of decision rather than nature. Urban landscapes offer everything a Kindred could want: near-infinite supplies of blood, enough contact to satisfy the most social of vampires (and enough seclusion to satisfy the most isolationist), and refuge from the werewolves who linger in the country lands beyond the city lights.

Unfortunately for the Kindred, cities are breeding grounds for the events of the Jyhad, the great cannibalistic war that has raged among the undead for longer than the eldest vampires remember. The night is as capricious as the Kindred themselves are, and long periods of relative peace can erupt into bloodshed with little or no warning. As vampires cling to the cities for
protection and sustenance, juxtaposition with other Kindred is inevitable.

In the nights of old, when humans were fewer and cities not so congested, Kindred often stalked their hunting grounds alone, never seeing another of their kind. In the modern era, contact with other predators is nearly unavoidable, and so some balance of power usually exists within a city. Elder vampires control their own territories, the princes of the undead govern with iron talons, lawless anarchs clash on the streets of the slums, and wild vampiric fetes take place far from the eyes of mortals. Even the gravest Kindred conflicts occur behind the veil of the Masquerade, the code of silence that prevents the Kindred from revealing themselves to the humans around them.

Ironically, the cities are both prisons and paradises to the Kindred. By leaving, they risk losing their unlives to starvation or the claws of werewolves. By staying, they may indulge their passions, but inevitably clash with others of their kind. It is a tense, tenuous existence, and one devoted to staving off the myriad curses of immortality: depression, futility and maddening boredom.

A rough ratio of vampires to mortals has evolved in the last century. Many vampire princes enforce a limit of one vampire per 50,000 mortals, in the interests of keeping the existence of the Kindred a secret. Nonetheless - and particularly in the last few years - some cities exceed this ratio, and the ever-growing population of Kindred is becoming a very dire concern.

In cities that do not slavishly heed the Masquerade, such as those under Sabbat control, the ratio may soar to two or three times the acceptable level. Overpopulation is not an easy problem to address; arbitrarily deciding which vampires may stay and which must suffer the Final Death is a matter of policy no prince wishes to decide, except in the most critical of
circumstances. Some vampires, though, feel that the situation will be addressed forcibly. Young vampires of weak blood appear with increasing frequency in the elders' cities, and many Kindred whisper that the time of the "grazing," when the hidden masters of the Jyhad will arise and devour the rest, is nigh.



Elysium
Though most younger vampires consider the tradition of Elysium a stuffy, outdated custom, it is one of the more honored of the Kindred's traditions. A prince may declare portions of domain to be Elysium, places free from violence. It is here that many vampires come to pass the nights, debating, politicking and conducting intrigues among themselves for long hours.
This is also where the Kindred business of the city takes place, and just about every vampire will have at least one occasion to visit Elysium, if only to speak with the prince or an elder. However, it is certainly an elders' playground, and the young who venture here are expected to remember that.Elysium is said to be under the "Pax Vampirica," meaning that no violence of any sort is permitted to take place and that Elysium is neutral ground.

While tempers may flare and heated words may be exchanged, rivals are expected to keep a leash on their tempers. When apologies don't work, offenders are usually shown the door and told to correct their behavior. If
things do get out of control on the premises, the prince may punish the offenders through the invocation of the First Tradition.

Most areas of Elysium tend to be spots conducive to artistic or intellectual pursuits, such as opera houses, theaters, museums, galleries, university halls and the like. Occasionally, nightclubs or even certain Kindred havens are declared Elysium. Wherever one goes, one is expected to have some semblance of proper dress and manners, if for no reason other than the Masquerade.

Elysium rules are simple:

1) No violence is permitted on the premises. (Many princes take this a step further and demand that no weapons be brought into Elysium, to prevent hot tempers from having ready means.)

2) No art is to be destroyed on pain of Final Death. ("Art" has been expanded to include the artist on occasion, making the vampires of Clan Toreador some of the greatest proponents of Elysium.)

3) Elysium is neutral ground. (With relation to Rule One; what happens off Elysium grounds is another thing, however, and the upstart neonate who insults an elder during Elysium had best have reliable transportation back to her haven when she leaves.)

4) Remember the Masquerade at all times. (This includes such matters as entering and leaving, taking a heated argument outside to cool, or hunting.)
It is also considered bad manners to show up to Elysium hungry. While refreshments are sometimes provided, often they are not, and hunting around Elysium grounds can draw suspicion. If a Kindred brings a guest to Elysium, she is responsible for that guest's behavior.

Vampires, like mortals, are creatures of instinct. However, the instincts of the vampire are those of a hunter, not a gatherer. Vampires struggle to suppress the Beast but, no matter how hard they try, they do not always prevail. At times it gets loose, and the havoc it creates goes far beyond the horror of any mortal rage. Every vampire must constantly struggle to restrain the Beast within him.

Provocation: Hunger often provokes the frenzy and can result in the death of the vessel as the character drinks it dry. This occurs only if the character is hungry (3 blood points or less), and is brought on by the sight, taste or smell of blood. A frenzy can also be provoked through anger and can turn into a great vampiric rage. Rage can be ignited by many factors, and these can vary widely from character to character. It is most often provoked by humiliation or taunting.

System: A vampire does not have to resist frenzy, but if she wishes to do so, she must make a Self-control check. It is an extended action, and five successes must be collected before the frenzy is entirely overcome. However, even one success temporarily prevents the frenzy from taking effect (one turn only). The difficulty for the roll is the number indicated on the chart below. (d10)

Provocation

Difficulty
4- Smell of blood (when hungry)
5- Sight of blood (when hungry)
5- Being bullied
5- Life threatened
5- Taunted
6- Provoked into anger
7- Taste of blood (when hungry)
8- Lover in danger
8- Outright humiliation


Role-playing: During a frenzy, a vampire is capable of nearly any sort of immortal, risky and psychotic behavior. While in a frenzy, a character must behave with animalistic abandon, concerning himself only with immediate gratification - whether that means a berserk attack or start raving madness depends on the stimuli. No logical thought occurs and all reactions are instinctive and emotional.

If blood is available, the character will drink until she can drink no more. It is likely the character will kill a vessel, for she is consumed by the desire for blood. If no blood is nearby, she will rush off in search of it. The character becomes enraged and attempts to destroy everything and anything in sight. While she will attack her enemies first, if her friends get in the way (or there are no enemies nearby), she will attack them as well.

However, while in a frenzy, the character gains some benefits as well as the obvious drawbacks. Firs of all, she may ignore a number of Health Level penalties equal to her Stamina - she simply does not have to apply that number of dice as a penalty. Second, she does not have to make many Willpower rolls, since she is capable of doing nearly anything. The difficulties of all Dominate rolls against a person in frenzy are increased by two, and the character is immune to the crippling terror of the Rotschreck.

A player can decide to use a Willpower point in order to control a single action of his character for a single turn. This Willpower point provides just enough control to formulate a single thought or purpose, and unless other events get in the way, the character's behavior can be guided over the following few turns. Just keep in mind that Willpower cannot stop the frenzy- it only offers a little control over what form it takes.

If the ST decides you do not role-play out your frenzy correctly, after the end of the frenzy he or she can announce that you have lost a Willpower point. Frenzies are not trivial.

Duration: A frenzy can last a variable length of time. It is up to the ST to decide when it comes to an end. In some ways, a frenzy moves along a simple cycle. When things calm down and the tension level falls, the frenzy slowly comes to a halt.

A character's friends can help him overcome a frenzy by confronting him and speaking with him. They must make appropriate Social roll; success allows the character to make a Willpower roll (which, if successful, end the frenzy). However, only those who have successfully resisted frenzies in the presence of the character, may attempt this. A botch on the player's Willpower roll could well mean he attacks those who tried to help him.

Rotschreck

Vampires do not fear much but, being immortal, they still fear that which can put an end to their existence. The two greatest threats a vampire faces are sunlight and fire, and these dangers provoke in Kindred a terror which goes beyond all normal fear -- the Rotschreck.

System: Whenever a vampire encounters, the sun or fire, the ST can call for a Courage roll. This roll can be provoked by anything the character truly fears - most commonly the rays of the sun or open flames. At the STs whim, this roll may sometimes be required when a new vampire is first confronted with a holy cross or even a stake.

The difficulty for the Courage roll is usually six, but can vary according to circumstances as detailed in the chart below. Each success on the roll indicates the number of turns the character can stay in the presence of the thing or circumstances which he fears. When those turns have passed, another Courage roll must be made. A failure indicates the character enters the Rotschreck, a frenzy-like state, and loses all control.

A botch indicates the character not only enters the Rotschreck, but gains a Derangement of some sort. The type of Derangement created by a botched Courage roll are generally twisted versions of the basic urge to flee in terror, escape and get away.

The player can spend a Willpower point in order to take a single action which the character would not otherwise be able to do because of the Rotschreck.

Effect

Difficulty
4- Lighting a cigarette
5- Lighter flame
5- Sight of torch
6- Bonfire
6- Obscured sunlight
7- Being burned
8- Direct sunlight
9-Trapped in burning building


Role-playing: When a character fails a Courage roll, he is incapable of taking any action other than panicked flight. If he is trapped with no place to run, he will collapse in terror. This reaction will last at least a few minutes (longer in some cases) after the character reaches cover and is no longer in sight of the sun or the fire.

When the character reaches a safe place, the player may make a Willpower roll to regain control (difficulty 8 ). Each success reduces the amount of time needed to recover from a base of 10 minutes.

Rules

The only reason to have rules in a game, especially a storytelling game like Vampire, is to more or less level the playing field. The Storyteller can adjudicate most things in her Vampire game, deciding on her own whether or not the characters accomplish the actions they attempt. But truly unbiased rulings need some sort of standard or precedent, just so everybody knows that everyone's getting the same treatment.

Hence, rules.

Vampire uses only a few basic rules to get things done, but these rules can have countless permutations in the context of the game. This chapter covers the very basics, such as rolling dice; more specific, detail-oriented rules can be found throughout the book. Don't worry about mastering all the permutations at once - learn these basic rules first, and then everything else will come naturally.

Time

Over the course of the game, time is presumed to pass as it would in the normal world - Tuesday follows Monday, month after month, and so on. However, there's no need to roleplay out every second ticking away. There's a huge difference between the speeds at which "game" time and real time pass.

You can play out a combat turn by turn, taking it in three-second increments, or you can let months pass away in a few minutes of real time. (The passage of time without players taking any real actions is called "downtime"; learning to use this little trick can help the pacing of your game immensely.)

To help maintain a sense of the passage of time without resorting to tedious charts and the like, Vampire uses six basic units to describe game time:
- Turn - The amount of time you need to take a fairly simple action; this can range anywhere from three seconds to three minutes, depending on the pace of the current scene.

- Scene - Like the basic division of plays and movies, a scene is a compact period of action and interaction that takes place in a single location. This could be the storming of a Tremere chantry, or a moonlit conversation on a park bench. There are exactly as many turns in a scene as the scene requires - there might not even be any turns if the scene consists of nothing but dialogue and character interaction.

- Chapter - An independent part of a story, virtually always played out in one game session. It consists of a number of scenes interconnected by downtime (see below); essentially, like a chapter in a novel or an act in a play.

- Story - A full tale, complete with introduction, rising action and climax. Some stories can take several chapters to complete; others can be finished in one.

- Chronicle - A series of stories connected by the characters themselves and their ongoing narrative, possibly even by a common theme or overarching plot.

- Downtime - Time that is "glossed over" with description rather than played out turn by turn or scene by scene. If the Storyteller says, "You wait in the foyer for four hours before the prince's ghoul summons you," rather than actually letting the characters play out their wait, the Storyteller is considered to be invoking downtime. Downtime allows trivial or tedious passages of time to be played through quickly.

Actions

Over the course of a game, your character will do many things. Some of these tasks are considered actions, while others aren't. Speeches and conversations aren't considered actions as such - but just about everything else, from throwing a punch at your sire to trying to decipher a code, is probably an action. One action typically takes one turn (see above) of game time to complete.

It's easy enough to attempt an action - just type out what your character's trying to do and how she plans to go about it. And most actions - crossing the street or loading a pistol, for instance - are easy enough to be considered automatically successful. However, if you're trying to cross a four-lane highway full of speeding trucks, or trying to reload while you're hanging from a fire escape by one hand, there's a chance you might fail.

So when there's reasonable doubt whether an action will succeed or not, you may have to roll dice to determine the results.

Reflexives
Not everything that your character actually does counts as an action. For instance, spending a blood point to increase an Attribute is considered to take less than a second of game time - no dice are rolled, and your
character can do this while doing something else. Such a "free action" is called a reflexive - in essence, a feat that doesn't require taking an action to accomplish.

Reflexives include such activities as spending blood points to increase Attributes, soaking damage, making a Virtue check, or activating Celerity to take extra actions. They aren't considered actions in any real way - you don't have to subtract from your dice pool to soak damage while you're firing a gun, for example. Of course, you still have to be conscious to perform many reflexives, but they don't get in the way of anything else you want to do in a turn.

Rolling Dice
Although the Storyteller is within perfect rights to declare whether a given action succeeds or fails (usually for dramatic purposes), in many cases chance enters into the equation. Therefore, Vampire uses a simple, portable form of "chance in a pocket" - dice. To be specific, Vampire uses 10-sided dice; Gaia provides dice rollers for us to use ^_^ So it's extremely convenient.

You roll dice whenever the outcome of an action is in doubt or the Storyteller thinks there's a chance your character might fail. Your character's strengths and weaknesses affect the number of dice you roll, and thus directly affect your chances of success.

Ratings

Although your character's personality is limited only by your imagination, his capabilities are defined by his Traits - all of his innate and learned aptitudes and abilities. Each Trait is described by a rating of 1 to 5; a 1 in a Trait is barely competent, while a 5 is the pinnacle of human achievement. Most people's Traits range from 1 to 3; a 4 in a Trait indicates an exceptional person, while a 5 is nearly incomparable - among humans, at any rate. Think of this as similar to the "star" rating system of movies and restaurants - a 1 is barely passable while a 5 is superb. It's also possible to have a zero in a Trait - this usually represents a skill that the character never learned, but some exceptions (such as the hideous Nosferatu's lack of an Appearance Trait) do occur.

0 Abysmal
X Poor
XX Average
XXX Good
XXXX Exceptional
XXXXX Outstanding

Whenever you roll dice, you roll one die for every dot in the appropriate Trait; for instance, if your character is trying to find something and he has three dots in Perception, you would roll three dice. However, you almost never simply roll the number of dice you have in an Attribute; raw potential is modified by skill, after all. The most common rolls in the game involve adding the dice gained from an Attribute to the dice gained from an Ability.

For instance, if Veronica were trying to find a specific file in a cluttered clerk's office, the Storyteller might have her player Lynn roll Perception + Finance - an Attribute plus an Ability. In this case, Lynn would take two dice for Veronica's Perception of 2, plus as many dice as she had in Finance; Veronica has Finance 4, so Lynn gets four more dice from that.
Veronica has a total of six dice tcr attempt her task. These dice are called the dice pool - in other words, the total number of dice you roll in a single turn. Most often, you'll calculate a dice pool for only one action at a time, although you can modify it to be able to perform multiple tasks in a turn

Of course, you might not need to add an Ability to an Attribute for some rolls; for instance, there's no skill that will help Veronica heft a small safe. In such cases, Lynn would use only the dice from the Attribute - in this case, Strength.

There is absolutely no situation in which more than two Traits can add to a dice pool. What's more, if your dice pool involves a Trait whose maximum rating is 10 (such as Humanity or Willpower), you can't add any other Traits to your dice pool. It's effectively impossible for a normal human being to have more than 10 dice in a dice pool.
Elder vampires, on the other hand...

Difficulties

There's no point in rolling dice unless you know what results you're looking for. Whenever you try to perform an action, the Storyteller will decide on an appropriate difficulty number and tell you her decision. A difficulty is always a number between 2 and 10. Each time you score that number or higher on one of your dice, you're considered to have gained a success. For example, if an action's difficulty is a 6 and you roll a 3, 3, 8, 7 and 10, then you've scored three successes. The more you get, the better you do. You need only one success to perform most actions successfully, but that's considered a marginal success. If you score three or more, you succeed completely. (MOST OF THE TIME)

Naturally, the lower the difficulty, the easier it is to score successes, and vice versa. Six is the default difficulty, indicating actions neither exceptionally tricky nor exceptionally easy to accomplish. If the Storyteller or rulebook ever call for you to make a roll, but doesn't give you a specific difficulty number, assume the task is difficulty 6.

The Storyteller is the final authority on how difficult attempted actions are - if the task seems impossible, he'll make the difficulty appropriately high, while if the task seems routinely easy, the difficulty will be low (if the Storyteller decides you even have to roll at all). Particularly easy or difficult tasks might even demand difficulty numbers of 2 or 10; however, these should be extremely rare. A difficulty 2 task is so easy that's it's not really worth the trouble of a die roll, while a difficulty 10 action is almost impossible - you have an equal chance of botching (see below) as you do of succeeding, no matter how many dice you're rolling.

And, in case it needs to be said, a result of a 10 is always a success, no matter the difficulty number.

Multiply Actions

Occasionally, a player will want her character to perform more than one action in a turn - for example, firing a gun at two different targets, or climbing a ledge while kicking at pursuers below. In such situations, the player can attempt actions normally, though all actions suffer a penalty.

The player declares the total number of actions he wishes his character to attempt. He then subtracts a number of dice from his first dice pool equal to the total number of actions. Additional actions lose an extra die from
their pools, cumulative; if a dice pool is reduced to zero or below in this manner, the action may not be attempted.



Vampires with the Discipline of Celerity may take multiple actions without subtracting dice from their dice pools. These extra actions may not themselves be divided into multiple actions.

Failure
If you score no successes on a die roll, your character fails his attempted action. He misses his punch. His pitch is a ball instead of a strike. His attempt to persuade the prince falls flat. Failure, while usually disappointing, is not so catastrophic as a botch (below).

Example: Feodor, a Nosferatu, is attempting to spy on some suspicious-looking activities in one of the galleries of the sewers, and is perching precariously on an overhead pipe to do so. Justin the Storyteller tells Feodor's player, John, to roll his Dexterity + Stealth (difficulty 7). John rolls and gets 2, 5, 6, 6, 4, 3 - no successes. Justin rules that as Feodor attempts to shift position on the pipe, his foot slides on something slimy, and he loses his balance. The thugs below don't see Feodor, but he is definitely in trouble...

The following charts should give you a good idea of how to combine difficulties and degrees of success.

Difficulties

Three Easy (installing software on a Macintosh)
Four Routine (changing a tire)
Five Straightforward (seducing someone who's already "in the mood")
Six Standard (firing a gun)
Seven Challenging (replacing a car's sound system)
Eight Difficult (rebuilding a wrecked engine block)
Nine Extremely difficult (repairing a wrecked engine block without parts)

Degrees of Success
One Success Marginal (getting a broken refrigerator to keep running until the repairman arrives)
Two Successes Moderate (making a handicraft that's ugly but useful)
Three Successes Complete (fixing something so that it's good as new)
Four Successes Exceptional (increasing your car's efficiency in the process of repairing it)
Five of More Successes Phenomenal (creating a masterwork)

Botches
Bad luck can ruin anything. One more basic rule about rolling dice is the "rule of one," or (spoken in a despairing tone) "botching." Whenever one of the dice comes up as a "1," it cancels out a success. Completely. Take the die showing "1" and one of the dice showing a successful number and set them aside. In this manner, an otherwise successful action may be
reduced to failure.

Occasionally, truly bad fortune strikes. If a die roll garners no successes whatsoever, and one or more "1s" show up, a botch occurs. In other word, if none of your dice comes up a success, and there are dice showing "1s", the roll is a botch. If you score at least one success, even if that success is canceled out and additional "1s" remain, it's just a simple failure.

A botch is much worse than a normal failure - it's outright misfortune. For instance, rolling a botch when trying to gun down a hunter might result in your gun jamming. Botching a Computer roll when hacking into a system will probably alert the authorities, while botching a Stealth roll is the proverbial "stepping on a dry twig." The Storyteller decides exactly what
goes wrong; a botch might produce a minor inconvenience or a truly unfortunate mishap.

Automatic Success
Let's face it - sometimes rolling dice gets tiresome, particularly when your character could perform a given action in his sleep. And anything that streamlines play and reduces distractions is a good thing. Thus, Vampire employs a simple system for automatic successes, allowing you to skip rolling for tasks that your character would find frankly mundane.

Simply put, if the number of dice in your dice pool is equal to or greater than the task's difficulty, your character automatically succeeds. No dice roll is necessary. Mind you, this does not work for all tasks, and never works in combat or other stressful situations. Furthermore, an automatic success is considered marginal, just as if you'd gotten only one success
on the roll; if quality is an issue, you might want to roll dice anyway to try for more successes. But for simple and oftenrepeated actions, this system works just fine.

There's another way to get an automatic success on a roll: Simply spend a Willpower point. You can do this only once per turn, and since you have a limited supply of Willpower you can't do this too often, but it can certainly help when you're under pressure to succeed.

Trying It Again

Failure often produces stress, which often leads to further failure. If a character fails an action, he may usually try it again (after all, failing to pick a lock does not mean the character may never try to pick the lock again). In such cases, though, the Storyteller has the option to increase the difficulty number of the second attempt by one. If the attempt is failed yet again, the difficulty of a third attempt goes up by two, and so on.

Eventually, the difficulty will be so high that the character has no
chance of succeeding (the lock is simply beyond her ability to pick).

Examples of when to use this rule are: climbing a wall, hacking into a computer system, or interrogating a prisoner. After all, if you couldn't find a handhold, defeat the security program, or get the prisoner to talk the first time, there's a reasonable chance you might not be able to do it at all.

Sometimes the Storyteller shouldn't invoke this rule. For example, failing to shoot somebody with a gun, detect an ambush, or keep on another driver's tail are to be expected in stressful situations. Such failure does not automatically lead to frustration and failed future attempts.



Complications

The preceding rules should be enough to get you going, and for chronicles that favor storytelling over dice-rolling, they might be all you ever need. However, they don't necessarily cover all instances - for example, what if you're trying to do something while a Storyteller character is actively trying to stop you? What if your friend tries to help you break a code?

The various ways to complicate matters below are intended to bring extra color to games. You certainly don't have to use them, but they might add more realism and suspense to your game. The following complications are relatively simple and generic, usable to describe a wide variety of actions. For plenty of situation-specific complications, see Chapter Six.

Extended Actions
Sometimes you need more than one success to accomplish a task fully. For example, you might have to spend all night tracking down obscure newspaper articles in a library, or climb a cliff face that's impossible to scale in a turn. If you need only one success to accomplish an action, the action in question is called a simple action. But when you need multiple
successes to score even a marginal success, you're undertaking an extended action.

Simple actions are the most common in Vampire, but you will have ample opportunity to perform extended actions. In an extended action, you roll your dice pool over and over on subsequent turns, trying to collect enough successes to succeed. For example, your character is trying to dig a temporary haven in the forest floor, using only his bare hands. The
Storyteller tells you that you need 15 successes to hollow out a den that provides sufficient protection from the sun. You'll eventually succeed, but the longer you go, the more chance there is of you botching and collapsing the tunnel. What's more, if you have only so many turns before dawn, the speed with which you finish your task becomes doubly important. The
Storyteller in all cases is the final authority on which tasks are extended actions and which aren't.

You can usually take as many turns as you want to finish an extended action (but situations being what they are in Vampire, you won't always have that luxury). If you botch a roll, however, you may have to start over again from scratch. Depending on what you're trying to do, the Storyteller may even rule that you can't start over again at all; you've failed and that's that.
Krome's Note: Extended rolls... almost ALWAYS, i'm just going to tell you to roll a set number of dice once, and then depending on the amount of successes, i'll let you know how successful you are. Subjective? Yes, takes a pain out of my neck (or someplace else?) yes.

Example of Extended Action



Resisted Actions

A simple difficulty number might not be enough to represent a struggle between characters. For instance, you may try to batter down a door while a character on the other side tries to hold it closed. In such a case, you'd make a resisted rott - each of you rolls dice against a difficulty often determined by one of your opponent's Traits, and the person who scores the most successes wins.

However, you're considered to score only as many successes as the amount by which you exceed your opponent's successes; in other words, the opponent's successes eliminate your own, just as "1s" do. If you score four successes and your opponent scores three, you're considered to have only one: a marginal success. Therefore it's difficult to achieve an outstanding success on a resisted action. Even if your opponent can't beat you, he can still diminish the effect of your efforts.

Some actions (arm-wrestling contests, debates, car chases) may be both extended and resisted. In such cases, one or the other of the opponents must achieve a certain number of successes to succeed. Each success above the rival's total number in a given turn is added to a running tally. The first to achieve the designated number of successes wins the contest.

Example of Resisted Action


Teamwork
You don't always have to go it alone. If the situation warrants (usually during an extended action such as researching a family tree or decoding an Aramaic inscription), characters can work together to collect successes. If the Storyteller decides that teamwork is possible for the task in question, two or more characters can make rolls separately and add their successes together. They may never combine their Traits into one dice pool, however.

Teamwork can be effective in many situations - dogpiling on the prince's pet enforcer, shadowing a hunter or doing research in the library, for instance. However, it can actually prove to be a hindrance in certain situations (including social interaction such as fast-talking or seducing a subject), and one person's botch can bollix the whole attempt.

Example of Rolls

This rules system is designed with flexibility in mind, and as a result, there are about 270 combinations of Attributes and Abilities. This daunting number is just the beginning, too - you can certainly devise more Talents, Skills or Knowledges if you think there's need.

In this manner, you have a huge variety of rolls to simulate actions-whatever you think is most appropriate. The following examples of rolls are meant to give you some idea of the possibilities that might come up in a game.







What does that mean kiddies? It means that as storyteller i can subvert, change or ignore the rules, or tell you to do the same. I'm a STORYTELLER, not a DM, i'm not a person who's all about dice rolls. I'm more interested in ROLEplaying, not ROLLplaying. Almost all your social interactions are going to be without dice, i expect you to be able to play your characters. This roleplay is one that might be extremely difficult, and we may need to change and modify it as time passes. I've never tried it before for forum, so there may be problems i dont' forsee. But we'll work around it.

The all powerful Mistress
~Krome_Devil~
~Mello~

Combat Systems

Combat in Vampire attempts to capture the drama of violent conflict without downplaying its grim reality. Every effort has been made to create a system true to the dynamics, limitations and viciousness of real combat while still leaving room for the unique (and often spectacular) elements that vampires bring to it.

The Storyteller should be flexible when arbitrating combat situations; no rules can fully reflect the variety of situations encountered in warfare. If these systems slow the game or cause bickering, don't use them. Combat systems are meant to add depth to the game, not create conflict between the players and the Storyteller.

Describing the Scene

Before each turn, the Storyteller should describe the scene from each character's perspective. Sometimes this will be a wrap-up of the last turn, making what occurred clear to all players. This constant description is essential to avoid confusion.

This is the Storyteller's chance to organize and arrange events so that all goes smoothly when the players interact with the environment she has created. The Storyteller should make her descriptions as interesting as possible, leaving open all sorts of possibilities for characters' actions.

Since this is forum based there will be several changes to combat rules to keep them manageable and keep the roleplay as the main focus not on how many successes you can get on the dice. If i decide a certain change doesn't work, I'll change it as the story goes.

Krome's Note : In case you haven't guessed i'm NOT a system person, i'm a story person, so if anyone has any suggestions or comments they'd like to contribute, please by all means, I'm always open to comments suggestion and criticism.

Types of Combat

There are two types of combat, each involving the same basic system with minor differences:

Close Combat: This covers unarmed combat (Dexterity + Brawl) and melee (Dexterity + Melee). Unarmed combat can involve a down-and-dirty Pier Six brawl or an honorable test of skill. Opponents must be within touching distance (one meter) to engage in unarmed combat. Melee involves hand-held weapons, from broken bottles to swords. Opponents must be within one or two meters of each other to engage in melee.

Ranged Combat: Armed combat using projectile weapons - pistols, rifles, shotguns, etc. Opponents must normally be within sight (and weapon range) of each other to engage in a firefight.

Combat Turns

In combat, many things happen at virtually the same time. Since this can make things a bit sticky in a game, combat is divided into a series of three-second turns. Each combat turn has three stages - Initiative, Attack and Resolution - to make it easier to keep track of things.

Stage One: Initiative
This stage organizes the fight and is when you declare your character's action. Various actions are possible - anything from leaping behind a wall to shouting a warning. You must declare what your character does, in as much detail as the Storyteller requires.

Every player rolls one die in the thread set up for extraneous rolls, and adds it to their initiative rating [Dexterity + Wits]; the character with the highest result acts first, with the remaining characters acting in decreasing order of result. If two characters get the same total, the one with the higher initiative rating goes first. If initiative ratings are also the same, the two characters act simultaneously. Wound penalties subtract directly from a character's initiative rating.


Although you declare your character's action now, including stating that your character delays her action to see what someone else does, you wait until the attack stage to implement that action. At this time, you must also state if any multiple actions will be performed, if Disciplines will be activated, and/or if Willpower points will be spent. Characters declare in
reverse order of initiative, thus giving faster characters the opportunity to react to slower characters' actions.

All of your character's actions are staged at her rank in the order of initiative. There are three exceptions to this rule. The first is if your character delays her action, in which case her maneuvers happen when she finally takes action. Your character may act at any time after her designated order in the initiative, even to interrupt another, slower character's action.

The second breach of the initiative order occurs in the case of a defensive action (see "Aborting Actions," and "Defensive Maneuvers," on the next page), which your character may perform at any time as long as she has an action left.

Finally, all multiple actions (including actions gained through activating the Discipline of Celerity) occur at the end of the turn. If two or more characters take multiple actions, the actions occur in order of initiative rating. An exception is made for defensive multiple actions, such as multiple dodges, which happen when they need to happen in order to avert attack.

Stage Two: Attack

Attacks are the meat of the combat turn. An action's success or failure and potential impact on the target are determined at this stage. You use a certain Attribute/Ability combination depending on the type of combat in which your character is engaged:
Close Combat: Use Dexterity + Brawl (unarmed) or Dexterity + Melee (armed).
Ranged Combat: Use Dexterity + Firearms (guns) or Dexterity + Athletics (thrown weapons).

Remember, if your character doesn't have points in the necessary Ability, simply default to the Attribute on which it's based (in most cases, Dexterity).

In ranged combat, your weapon may modify your dice pool or difficulty (due to rate of fire, a targeting scope, etc.); check the weapon's statistics for details.

Most attacks are made versus difficulty 6. This can be adjusted for situational modifiers (long range, cramped quarters), but the default attack roll is versus 6. If you get no successes, the character fails her attack and inflicts no damage. If you botch not only does the attack fail, but something nasty happens: The weapon jams or explodes, the blade breaks, an ally is hit.

Stage Three: Resolution

During this stage, you determine the damage inflicted by your character's attack, and the Storyteller describes what occurs in the turn. Resolution is a mixture of game and story; it's more interesting for players to hear "Your claws rip through his bowels; he screams in pain, dropping his gun as he clutches his bloody abdomen" than simply "Uh, he loses four health
levels." Attacks and damage are merely ways of describing what happens in the story, and it's important to maintain the narrative of combat even as you make the die roll.

Normally, additional successes gained on a Trait roll simply mean that you do exceptionally well. In combat, each success above the first you get on an attack roll equals an additional die you add automatically to your damage dice pool! This creates fatal and cinematic combat.

Damage Types

All attacks have specific damage ratings, indicating the number of dice that you roll for the attack's damage (called the damage dice pool). Some damage dice pools are based on the attacker's Strength, while others are based on the weapon used. Damage dice rolls are made versus difficulty 6. Each success on the damage roll inflicts one health level of damage on the target. However, the damage applied may be one of three types:

Bashing: Bashing damage comprises punches and other blunt trauma that are less likely to kill a victim (especially a vampire) instantly. All characters use their full Stamina ratings to resist bashing effects, and the damage heals fairly quickly. Bashing damage is applied to the Health boxes on your character sheet with a "/."

Lethal: Attacks meant to cause immediate and fatal injury to the target. Mortals may not use Stamina to resist lethal effects, and the damage takes quite a while to heal. Vampires may resist lethal damage with their Stamina. Like bashing damage, lethal damage is applied to the Health boxes on your vampire's character sheet with a "/."

Aggravated: Certain types of attacks are deadly even to the undead. Fire, sunlight, and the teeth and claws of vampires, werewolves and other supernatural beings are considered aggravated damage. Aggravated damage cannot be soaked except with Fortitude, and it takes quite a while to heal. Aggravated damage is applied to the Health boxes on your character sheet with an "X."

Damage dice pools can never be reduced to lower than one die; any attack that strikes its target has at least a small chance of inflicting damage, at least before a soak roll is made. Moreover, damage effect rolls cannot botch; a botched roll simply means the attack glances harmlessly off the target.

Combat Summary Chart

Stage One: Initiative
- Roll initiative. Everyone declares their actions. The character with the highest initiative performs her action first. Actions can be delayed to any time later in the order of initiative.

- Declare any multiple actions, reducing dice pools accordingly. Declare Discipline activation and Willpower expenditure.

Stage Two: Attack

- For unarmed close-combat attacks, roll Dexterity + Brawl.

- For armed close-combat attacks, roll Dexterity + Melee.

- For ranged combat, roll Dexterity + Firearms (guns) or Dexterity + Athletics (thrown weapons).

- A character can abort to a defensive action (block, dodge, parry) at any time before her action is performed, as long as you make a successful Willpower roll (or a Willpower point is spent).

Stage Three: Resolution

- Determine total damage effect (weapon type or maneuver), adding any extra dice gained from successes on the attack roll.

- Targets may attempt to soak damage, if possible.

Soak

Characters can resist a certain degree of physical punishment; this is called soaking damage. Your character's soak dice pool is equal to her Stamina. A normal human can soak only against bashing damage (this reflects the body's natural resilience to such attacks). A vampire (or other supernatural being) is tougher, and can thus use soak dice against lethal damage.

Aggravated damage may be soaked only with the Discipline of Fortitude.

Against bashing or lethal damage, Fortitude adds e to the defender's soak rating (so a character with Stamina 3 and Fortitude 2 has five soak dice against bashing and lethal damage, two soak dice against aggravated damage).

After an attack hits and inflicts damage, the defender may make a soak roll to resist. This is considered a reflexive; characters need not take an action or split a dice pool to soak. Unless otherwise stated, soak rolls are made versus difficulty 6. Each soak success subtracts one die from the total damage inflicted. As with damage rolls, soak rolls may not botch, only
fail.


Armor

Simply put, armor adds to your character's soak. The armor's rating combines with your base soak for purposes of reducing damage. Light armor offers a small amount of protection, but doesn't greatly hinder mobility. Heavy armor provides a lot of protection, but can restrict flexibility.

Armor protects against bashing, lethal and aggravated damage from teeth and claws; it does not protect against fire or sunlight. Armor is not indestructible. If the damage rolled in a single attack equals twice the armor's rating, the armor is destroyed.

Combat Maneuvers

These maneuvers give you a variety of choices in combat.

Roleplaying combat is more entertaining if you can visualize your character's moves instead of simply rolling dice. Most of these maneuvers take one action to execute.

General Maneuvers

Aborting Actions: You can abandon your character's declared action in favor of a defensive action as long as your character hasn't acted in the turn. Actions that can be aborted to include block, dodge and parry. A successful Willpower roll versus difficulty 6 (or the expenditure of a Willpower point) is required for a character to abort an action and perform a defensive one instead. When spending Willpower for an abort maneuver, a character may declare the Willpower expenditure at the time of the abort. A Willpower roll to abort is considered a reflexive, not an action. (See "Defensive Maneuvers," below, for descriptions of block, dodge and parry.)

Ambush: Ambushes involve surprising a target to get in a decisive first strike. The attacker rolls Dexterity + Stealth in a resisted action against the target's Perception + Alertness. If the attacker scores more successes, she can stage one free attack on the target and adds any extra successes from the resisted roll to her attack dice pool. On a tie, the attacker still attacks first, although the target may perform a defensive maneuver. If the defender gets more successes, he spots the ambush, and both parties roll initiative normally. Targets already involved in combat cannot be ambushed.

Blind Fighting/Fire: Staging attacks while blind (or in pitch darkness) usually incurs a + 2 difficulty, and ranged attacks cannot be accurately made at all. The powers of Heightened Senses and Eyes of the Beast partly or fully negate this penalty.

Flank and Rear Attacks: Characters attacking targets from the flank gain an additional attack die. Characters attacking from the rear gain two additional attack dice.

Movement: A character may move half of her running distance and still take an action in a turn. Other maneuvers such as leaping or tumbling may be considered separate actions, depending on their complexity.

Multiple Actions: If you declare multiple actions, subtract dice from the first dice pool equal to the total number of actions taken. Each subsequent action loses an additional die (cumulative). If a character performs only defensive actions in a turn, use the appropriate block, dodge or parry system.

The Discipline of Celerity allows vampires to take multiple actions without this penalty. See the Discipline description for particulars.

Targeting: Aiming for a specific location incurs an added difficulty, but can bypass armor or cover, or can result in an increased damage effect. The Storyteller should consider special results beyond a simple increase in damage, depending on the attack and the target.

Target Size Difficulty Damage
Medium (limb, briefcase) +1 No modifier
Small (hand, head, computer) +2 +1
Precise (eye, heart, lock) +3 +2
Defensive Maneuvers

It's a given that your character tries to avoid being hit in combat - that's why everyone makes attack rolls. Sometimes, though, all your character wants to do is avoid attacks. You may announce a defensive action at any time before your character's opponent makes an attack roll, as long as your character has an action left to perform. You can declare a defensive action on your character's turn in the initiative, or can even abort to a defensive maneuver.
Maneuver Characteristics
Maneuvers are typically performed versus difficulty 6. Maneuvers with specific combat effects may modify your attack
roll, difficulty or damage dice pool.

Traits: The Trait combination used for the action taken. If your character doesn't have a rating in the needed Ability, default to its base Attribute.

Accuracy: The dice added to the roll to hit an opponent. A "+3" adds three dice to the dice pool for that attack.

Difficulty: Any additions or subtractions to an attack's difficulty (which is most often 6). A "+2" means the difficulty of an attack, if initially 6, is increased to 8.

Damage: The damage dice pool used.

There are three types of defensive actions: block, dodge and parry. Your character can defend against virtually any kind of attack with these three maneuvers. However, your character may not be able to avoid every single attack that's directed at her. She can't dodge when there's no room to maneuver, and she can't block or parry if she doesn't know an attack is coming.

Each defensive maneuver uses the same basic system: The defensive action is a resisted roll against the opponent's attack roll. Unless the attacker gets more total successes, he misses. If the attacker gets more successes, those that he achieves in excess of the defender's successes, if any, are used to hit (the attacker doesn't necessarily use all the successes he rolled). So if the defender has fewer successes than the attacker does, the defender's maneuver can still reduce the effectiveness of the attack, even if the maneuver can't counteract it completely.

Block: A Dexterity + Brawl maneuver using your character's own body to deflect a hand-to-hand bashing attack. Lethal and aggravated attacks cannot be blocked unless the defender has Fortitude or is wearing armor.

Dodge: A Dexterity + Dodge maneuver useful for avoiding attacks of all types. Your character bobs and weaves to avoid Melee or Brawl attacks (if there's no room to maneuver, she must block or parry instead). In firefights, your character moves at least one yard and ends up behind cover (if there's no room to maneuver and/or no cover available, she can drop to the ground). If your character remains under cover or prone thereafter, cover rules apply against further Firearms attacks.

Parry: A Dexterity + Melee maneuver using a weapon to block a Brawl or Melee attack. If a character makes a Brawl attack and the defender parries with a weapon that normally causes lethal damage, the attacker can actually be hurt by a successful parry. If the defender rolls more successes than the attacker does in the resisted action, the defender rolls the weapon's base damage plus the parry's extra successes as a damage dice pool against the attacker.

Block, dodge and parry can be performed as part of a multiple action in your character's turn (punching then blocking, shooting then dodging, parrying then striking). Using a multiple action to act and defend is advantageous because your character can still accomplish something in a turn besides avoiding attacks.



Rather than make defensive maneuvers a part of a multiple action, you may declare that your character spends an entire turn defending. The normal multiple-action rules are not used in this case. Instead, you have a full dice pool for the first defensive action, but lose one die, cumulatively, for each subsequent defense action made in the same turn. It is difficult to avoid several incoming attacks.

Remember that any actions, including defensive ones, versus multiple attackers still suffer difficulty penalties.