ADVANCED SYSTEMS
power re-rolls or Blood Surges, weaker or the the goal simple Adjust the Difficulty by 1 to
at the set Difficulty. (The opposi- to achieve: Difficulty 2 the side that has the advantage of
tion doesn’t roll.) The more player ■■ Both parties are equally position, preparation, or surprise.
characters that win, the better matched or the goal is a signifi-
the results. If the majority of the cant challenge: Difficulty 4 Each player character then takes
player characters win, the opposi- ■■ The opposition is much strong- damage equal to the difference
tion might for example break, fall er or the goal is extremely hard between their successes and twice
down wounded, storm off in a fit to reach: Difficulty 6 the Difficulty. This damage can not
of pique, surrender, or whatever be mitigated by armor or super-
else makes dramatic sense. Adjust the Difficulty by 1 to the natural means such as Fortitude.
side with the advantage in Disci- The nature of the damage depends
sample difficulties: plines or equivalent supernatural on the opposition and the weapons
■■ The opposition is significantly might. they are using – Second Inquisi-
tion agents often cause Aggravated
damage, for example. Do not halve
Superficial damage in this case.
Optional: Instead of applying
levels of damage, allow a player
to mitigate the damage with ad-
ditional levels of Stains, having
accomplished their goals with acts
of greater callousness.
EXAMPLE:
Rebecca has given as good as she
got in a debate before the Anarch
Council, so the Storyteller sets the
Difficulty at 4. She launches one
more salvo of political theory and
personal innuendo against her
freedom-loving foes, her player rolling
Charisma + Performance. Rebecca’s
player gets five successes, beating the
Difficulty, and the Council rules in
her favor. But she takes 3 more points
of Aggravated damage to her Will-
power: double the Difficulty (4) is 8,
minus her 5 successes, equals 3 points
of damage. The Storyteller explains
that Rebecca had to expose more of
her own role in the city’s politics than
she liked in order to win.
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Advanced C onflict:
Physical Combat
The following optional systems add flavor to and
h andle edge cases of physical combat.
Who Goes First? Surprise Attacks
While the Who Goes First basic rules (p. 125) should Achieving surprise should generally need some sort of
satisfy most troupes, these alternative initiative rules roll, such as Dexterity + Stealth vs. the best oppos-
provide options for more traditional players who want ing Wits + Awareness. (Remember you can Take Half
a clear order of actions and initiative. Beware that this for large parties of SPC foes to speed up play.) This
system slows combat down significantly. includes attacks from supernatural concealment such
as Obfuscate.
Every character has an Initiative rating equal to
their Composure + Awareness. In some conflicts, such The first attack with successful surprise should
as in a formal duel, you might substitute Dexterity generally be made against a static Difficulty 1, allowing
(or Resolve, for a very formal duel) for Composure in for devastating strikes.
the Initiative rating, but in most combat, staying calm
enough to take meaningful actions is more important
than anything else.
The participant in the conflict with the highest
Initiative acts first; the rest of the combatants act in
descending order of Initiative. You do not make an
Initiative test. Initiative ratings stay the same during
combat, even if a combatant changes the combat skills
they use.
In case of ties, player characters act before Story-
teller characters. If necessary, break other Initiative ties
as follows: vampires before mortals, then by highest
Composure. If you’re still tied, roll a die.
At the beginning of the turn, each combatant
declares and executes their action(s) in order of Initia-
tive. They may also elect to pass, placing them last
in the order (keeping this place for the remainder of
the conflict). Any subsequent passing combatants are
placed before any other person that also passed.
EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE:
Villeneuve goes first, but elects to pass, and is placed Papushka has managed to sneak up on her
last. Next, Trish also passes, and is placed right before prey, and now slams a stake into their back.
Villeneuve. Her player rolls Strength + Melee and con-
verts every success above the first into damage.
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Close Combat tests Dexterity + Firearms, at least for the first shot.
Firing at a target beyond the effective range of a given
This system includes talon-to-talon brawling and at- weapon incurs a -2 dice penalty.
tacks with hand-held weapons, excluding firearms and
other ranged weapons. Optional: Award the combatant with superior
firepower (based on the weapons’ rate of fire) or the
The attacker usually rolls Strength + Brawl for one who is willing to expend more ammunition an
unarmed attacks, Dexterity + Melee for one-handed extra die.
melee weapons, or Strength + Melee for two-handed
melee weapons. EXAMPLE:
The defender rolls as above, or uses Dexterity + Ath- Jason is using a SMG vs. Dragan, who only has a pistol.
letics for dodging. Jason’s player gets an extra die. Gretchen and Lynne are
both using pistols, but Gretchen is willing to empty hers,
In cases where both combatants are attacking each and her player gets an extra die.
other, they both roll once, and the combatant who
receives the most successes does damage to the other. The Storyteller can change this test during the battle; if
the player characters are ambushing a truck, the aimed
Optional: Award the combatant with the better first shot might involve a Resolve + Firearms test. The
reach (longer weapon) a bonus die in the first turn of truck’s guards react with Wits + Firearms tests, and the
combat. ambushers, now under counter-fire, return fire with
Composure + Firearms tests.
grappling: A combatant can attempt to grapple,
hold, tackle, or otherwise restrain a foe by rolling thrown weapons: A character throwing a weapon
Strength + Brawl. If they get more successes than at a target tests Dexterity + Athletics. For some
their opponent, they do no damage, but instead vampires, this includes things not usually considered
restrain the target, preventing them from moving weapons, like pieces of I-beam or cars. For hunters, this
and engaging other opponents, though the target often includes Molotov cocktails.
can still act against the grappler as normal. In the
next round, the grappler may engage their foe in a defending vs. ranged a ttacks: Defending
contest of Strength + Brawl. If the grappler wins, against ranged attacks is usually done with Dexterity +
they can choose from the following options: Athletics, representing the ability to keep moving and
■■ Damage the foe based on their margin of successes, making oneself a hard target using any and all available
cover. A pitched firefight between two attackers can
as a normal attack; also be resolved as an opposed conflict. In both of these
■■ Bite the foe (if a vampire) for two Aggravated dam- cases, modify the roll according to available cover:
age (see Bite Attacks, p. 213); or
■■ Hold them in place.
■■ If the grappled combatant wins, they escape and
can move freely the next round.
Bite attacks against a grappled foe suffer no bite pen-
alty to the attack roll.
Ranged Combat
This system includes all manner of ranged weapons,
from pistols, to crossbows, to vehicle-mounted ma-
chine guns.
In a standard guns blazing battle, combatants
test Composure + Firearms, but a sniper shot might
instead use Resolve, and a “high midnight" showdown
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cover dice modifier
No cover -2
-1
Concealment only (bushes, a
small tree vs rifle calibre bullets) +/- 0
Hard Cover (a car engine block, +1
the corner of a concrete building)
+2
Entrenchment (sandbags, military
bunker)
Murder Hole (IFV firing slit)
A stationary target lacks a defense pool, instead de-
fending with a static Difficulty of 1.
ranged weapons in close combat: If engaged
in hand-to-hand combat, the wielder of a firearm uses
Strength + Firearms against the opponents Brawl or Melee
pool. The opponent does not receive a penalty for lacking
cover. Instead, the firearm user suffers a -2 dice penalty
if targeting someone outside the scuffle as well as a -2
penalty for firearms larger than a pistol.
reloading and tracking ammunition: Vampire
generally does not track ammunition expenditure for
small arms, but given that an attack test in Vampire
usually represents more than a single shot, it can be
wise to require reloading after a single attack with
revolvers and other small-capacity firearms (such as the
M1911, also known as the “Colt 45”), after two attacks
with most automatic pistols and rifles, and after three
attacks from 30+ cartridge magazines.
Reloading is a two-dice minor action (see above) for
most weapons (assuming a revolver has a speed loader).
called shots: A combatant may seek to direct their
attacks at a specific part of their target in order to
produce a result other than maximal physical trauma
– shooting out the tires of a car, swatting a goblet out
of the hand of the elder, or putting a bullet in the leg
of a fleeing informant. Called shots are also used when
attempting decapitation or when trying to put a stake
in the heart of a vampire (see p. 221).
To do so, the attacker declares their action and
target before rolling the dice for their attack.
After the attacker tests, they subtract successes; hit-
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ADVANCED SYSTEMS
ting a specific location is not just harder, it also makes aggravated crippling injury
achieving a safe center-of-mass hit less likely. Usually,
the modifier is -2 successes, though the Storyteller can damage + roll Stunned: Spend 1 point of
modify this number up or down depending on the 1-6 W illpower or lose a turn.
nature of the target. Hitting the tires of a car might 7-8
only incur a -1 penalty, while piercing the fuel line of a 9-10 Severe head trauma: Make Physical
plane taking off is done at -4. rolls at -1; Mental rolls at -2
11
The exact effect of a called shot is up to the Story- Broken limb or joint: Make rolls at
teller, but it should not simply be more damage, as that 12 -3 when using the affected limb, or
is the assumed purpose of a normal attack. Instead, 13+ Blinded: Make vision-related rolls
called shots are more likely to aim for less damage, (including combat) at -3
going for a non-lethal incapacitation at the expense of
effectiveness. Storyteller decides which makes
most sense for this combat
crippling injuries: For players looking for juicier
and meatier combat, the Crippling Injury table allows Massive wound: Make all rolls at
for additional effects from extreme Health damage. -2, add +1 to all additional damage
After taking damage while Impaired, roll a d10 on the suffered
Crippling Injury table, adding the number of Ag-
gravated damage currently on the track to the roll. Crippled: Same effects as Broken, but
This result can lead to further dice pool penalties (or limb is lost or mangled beyond use
even instant death), tracked independently from the
abstract damage on the Health tracker. Death (mortal) or immediate torpor
(vampire)
EXAMPLE:
Eric the vampire has Stamina 3, and thus has a Health
tracker of 6. He has sustained 4 points of Superficial
damage from bullets in a fight against some security
guards. As he tries to escape, a guard manages to shoot
him again, dealing 6 damage.
As gunshots cause Superficial damage to vampires,
this result is halved to 3, and thus the two final boxes on
his tracker are filled, making him Impaired. The third
point of damage turns a previously Superficial damage
box into Aggravated.
Being injured (having received that third point
of damage) while Impaired necessitates a roll on the
crippling injuries table. Eric’s player rolls a 5 and adds
Eric’s 1 point of Aggravated damage for a result of 6;
Eric is temporarily stunned. The player gladly pays a
point of Willpower and Eric can continue his escape.
Criticals in Combat
To speed up play, if a player rolls a critical for their char-
acter in combat against a nameless mortal foe, the human
is incapacitated without the need for damage calculation.
A messy critical is usually lethal in this regard.
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Sample Weapon Ratings Advanced Conflict:
Add the weapon’s damage rating to the margin on the Social Combat
winning attack roll for the total damage inflicted.
Social combat or conflict, can occur anywhere and take
Example: Adam throws a stone cherub from a many forms, from a stare down in the streets to a duel
fountain at Pauline, scoring two successes. The Sto- of repartee and ridicule at a princely court. Given the
ryteller places the cherub at +3 damage – it is rather wide variety of potential conflicts involved, these rules
heavy – and thus Pauline suffers five levels of Superfi- operate at a slightly higher degree of abstraction than
cial damage (halved, as usual). the rules for physical conflict.
weapon damage value Social combat responds well to the Three Rounds
and Out structure or the One-Roll Conflict system.
Improvised weapon, stake* +0 Coming up with a novel rhetorical strategy on the fly
Light impact (brass knuckles) +1 isn’t as easy as remembering a fight scene from your fa-
vorite martial arts or horror film; player creativity tends
Heavy impact (baton, club, tire iron, +2 to tap out faster in social combats than in physical ones.
baseball bat)
As in One-Roll Conflict, it’s important to set the
Light piercing (crossbow bolt, stakes ahead of time; what happens to the winner of
switchblade) the social conflict and what happens to the loser?
Light gunshot (.22 pistol) Social combat requires an opponent: someone who
actively doesn’t want you to succeed and who attempts
Heavy melee (broadsword, fire axe) +3 to defeat you on the same ground on which you attack
+4 them. For social actions without such an opponent –
Medium gunshot (.308 rifle (single- persuasion of a disinterested audience, seduction of a
shot), 9 mm pistol, shotgun at effec- victim, fast-talking your way past a military patrol, etc.
tive range) – use normal resolution.
Heavy gunshot (12-gauge shotgun Social Conflict Pool
(close range only), .357 Magnum)
Depending on the conflict type, arena, and audience
Huge melee (claymore, steel beam) (if any) the players and Storyteller build a dice pool
reflecting the methods to be used in the throwdown.
* If an attacker with a wooden stake succeeds at a Here are a few examples:
called shot to a vampire’s heart and inflicts 5+ damage, ■■ Stare down a rival gang uses Resolve + Intimidation.
the stake pierces the vampire’s heart and paralyzes ■■ You and a rival each attempt to convince the Prince
them.
the other is lying; use Manipulation + Persuasion.
armor ■■ You and a rival both seek to increase your social po-
Each point of armor changes 1 point of Aggravated sitions during Elysium; use Composure + Etiquette.
damage from puncturing or bladed weapons (per dam- ■■ A rap battle (21st century) or duel of poesy (17th
age roll) to Superficial damage, which is then halved
as usual. This protection is in general only useful to century); use Wits + Performance.
mortals and thin-bloods, as vampires already consider ■■ Win an architectural contest to convince the city
those types of damage Superficial.
to build its new marina using magical geometry;
armor type armor value use Intelligence + Craft (Architecture).
■■ A jaded roué and a seasoned adventuress see who
Reinforced clothing/heavy leathers 2 (zero vs. can seduce the other into Blood Bonds; use Cha-
b ullets) risma + Subterfuge.
Ballistic cloth 2
Kevlar vest/flak jacket 4
Tactical SWAT/military armor (one- 6
die penalty to Dexterity rolls)
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■■ Holding a living chess match with blood-doll pawns Willpower damage hurts most when others see
representing some shadowy machination in the real your weakness. Add a damage modifier depending on
world; use Intelligence + Academics (Chess). the audience (just being present doesn’t cut it, they
also need to be interested in the outcome).
Social conflict pools can vary by combatant, even in
the same conflict: audience or witnesses extra willpower
■■ During the staredown, you slowly crush a dump- damage
ster; use Strength + Intimidation. Opponents only +0
■■ Convince the Prince your foe is lying with ample
Your coterie +1
research instead of smooth talk; use Intelligence +
Persuasion. Kindred whose opinions you value for them- +2
■■ Seek social position by gossiping and undermining selves: your mentor, lover, etc.
your rival, rather than engaging them in a public
display; use Manipulation + Etiquette Primogen, Harpies, or other socially impor- +3
■■ Fight that rap battle with stage presence rather tant figures; another serious rival besides your
than rhyming; use Charisma + Performance. current opponent
■■ Convince the city another design fits their plans
for the marina; use Manipulation + Politics. The Prince, Baron, or another powerful figure +4
■■ Play on your seduction rival’s vanities and sub-
conscious desires; use Charisma + Insight or even Time and Social Combat
Manipulation + Insight if you involve third parties.
■■ Don’t play to win the chess match. Instead play to per- Unlike physical combat, which generally happens
suade the watching Ventrue that you’re ruthless enough within the same scene, social combat can spread out.
to promote; Manipulation + Academics (Chess). Rivals petitioning the Prince, an artistic duel between
two Toreador, or a mutual Malkavian gaslighting con-
Just like in any other conflict, these pools may vary test could unfold over days, weeks, or even centuries.
with actions taken and circumstances.
In a long-term conflict, Willpower loss doesn’t
Knives in Their Smiles necessarily represent a sudden shock, but an ongoing,
irritating distraction that flares up during the chapter
Resolve social conflict with the same mechanics used it spends in the spotlight.
for physical combat.
For long-term social conflicts especially, simply
Order of operations seldom matters in social combat. counting successes over three rounds (or taking the
If it does, use Wits + Etiquette for Initiative order in most winner of two out of three rounds) provides sufficient
cases – although for example, a lengthy intrigue in which benchmarks for drama and roleplay. The Storyteller
planning to obtain an opening plays a key role might use and players don’t need to track damage at all; they can
Manipulation as the pool Attribute instead. just play according to the outcome of the rolls.
Combatants roll their respective dice pools and Winning Social Combat
compare numbers of successes. The combatant with
more successes subtracts their opponent’s successes and Social combat ends when one of the parties concedes
applies the result as damage to Willpower. defeat, usually when Impaired, but sometimes an
opponent goes all the way to total mental breakdown
A social combatant always has the opportunity when their Willpower tracker fills with Aggravated
to concede before pools are rolled – it is often better damage. The winner of the social combat achieves the
to step down than be shamed and exhausted if defeat stakes agreed to at the beginning of the conflict by the
seems inevitable. Storyteller and the players.
The Storyteller may impose a further penalty on the
loser of the social combat in interactions with the win-
ner, at least until the memory of the affray fades ■
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Systems of
the Blood
The systems above, along with the base Storyteller
System rules (pp. 115-130), provide ample rules struc-
ture for any Vampire chronicle. Storytellers can riff
on them and improvise in the moment without regret.
However, some Storytellers in some chronicles may
wish to pursue the hunt, launch projects, recall their
past centuries, or exchange loathsome favors in more
lurid detail while feeling the comfort of system’s bone
beneath their drama’s flesh.
Hence the following more detailed discretion-
ary systems are provided to model these and other
characteristic activities of vampires within the World
of Darkness.
Hunting
Vampires hunt by nature and by desire. Hunting and
feeding form the bloody core of their legends, fic-
tion, and film. However, like any other activity in the
chronicle, players and Storytellers may wish to focus
on the hunt or flash past it – and perhaps decide to do
the opposite the next night.
As far as time allows, Storytellers and players
should both propose and describe a hunt creatively.
Keep descriptions short and bloody, unless the hunt
is the main activity for the story, but always make it
dramatic and exciting.
There are generally two modes of portraying hunt-
ing scenes: blow-by-blow, when you want detailed,
visceral hunting scenes at the forefront of the drama,
and zoomed out when you want faster scenes with a
minimal disruption to the flow of the game.
The simplest and fastest way to handle a hunt in-
game resolves it with a single roll of the pool given for
the character’s Predator type, or for another plausible
approach. A Gangrel might suggest a harrowing chase
across the park (Stamina + Athletics), while a Nos-
feratu prefers to wait like a trap-door spider in the
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ADVANCED SYSTEMS
refuse of a dark alley to feed on the inevitable passing Players in an improvisational moment may suggest
druggie or drunk (Resolve + Stealth). However the roll variations on any of these; the Storyteller can roll with
is determined, the player makes a simple test against it or respond with complications caused by a predator
the Difficulty of their chosen hunting ground. trying to think instead of hunt. Disciplines and Merits
can also affect the pool, even beyond the options given
A win means the vampire has found prey and fed: below.
killed, injured, or just sipped from a human. Their Hun-
ger reduces by the relevant amount (see Feeding Table, alleycat: Strength + Brawl: You take blood by force
p. 212) and the cleanup probably happens without too or threat, stalking, overpowering, and bleedings your
much immediate blowback. Killing a human, and even victims. If you feed on criminals as a sort of dark
attacking one in some places, can always come back at a knight of the streets, use Wits + Streetwise to find a
vampire, especially if the local Masquerade thins or the victim.
Second Inquisition comes to town.
bagger: Intelligence + Streetwise: You acquire pre-
Unless time is a critical element in that night’s story, served blood rather than hunt, or you feed from the
don’t bother keeping track of how long feeding takes. In dead or dying. Find your prize, gain access, and pur-
the rare case that it actually matters, the Storyteller can chase or otherwise convince someone with the goods to
assume a hunt takes an hour, set the time to match the give you access.
vampire’s approach narrative, or choose the elapsed time
to heighten the drama. blood leech: You feed from other vampires; if you
make a mistake, you die – either tonight, or in a blood
If the character chooses to succeed at a cost, the hunt. The Storyteller should not abstract something
vampire’s Hunger goes down but something went like this to a set of die rolls.
wrong; the vessel died unexpectedly or messily, a
credible witness got away, or the hunter poached on cleaver: Manipulation + Subterfuge: You take blood
another coterie’s turf. (This last error proves very covertly from your mortal family or friends. Socialize
common in cities where both Anarch councils and with your victims, feed from them, and cover it up to
Camarilla Princes hand out hunting grounds.) Make groom them for next time.
the complication something the whole coterie can
choose to address (or hope to ignore) after the hunter consensualist: Manipulation + Persuasion: You take
rejoins the party, not something the vampire tries to blood by consent, under cover of medical work or a
fix during the debacle. shared kink. Cultivate your victims, feed from them,
and validate their choice to feed you.
In some chronicles, or at some points within some
chronicles, the Storyteller may simply allow vampires farmer: Composure + Animal Ken: You feed from ani-
with a stable Herd or ongoing control of a rich hunting mals. Find your quarry, catch your chosen animal, and
ground to top up without a test when the course of the feed from it.
story plausibly allows it. After all, finding prey isn’t neces-
sarily the hard part – it’s holding on to one’s Humanity or osiris: Manipulation + Subterfuge or Intimidation
preserving the Masquerade when the Beast hungers. + Fame: You feed from your fans, church, or other ador-
ing crowd. The Skill for which you’re famous may be
Predator Pools Performance, Science, Craft, Academics, Politics, or
something else. Display yourself, choose a victim, and
Many vampires try to change up their feeding methods flatter or bully them into feeding you.
as opportunity presents itself, but their instincts drive
them to certain default patterns. The Attribute and
Skill combination a vampire uses for a hunt depends
on their approach, which generally follows their Preda-
tor type (p. 175).
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COREBOOK
sandman: Dexterity + Stealth: to guard a dignitary or deal with scenario is hunting as heist, and it
You feed from sleeping victims. a terror alert) increases Difficulty should be as thoroughly planned
Case a hotel or house, break in, by +2 for some types of hunting. A and played out as any heist movie
feed silently and get out. festival, parade, rally, riot, or other ever. A heist hunt necessarily
large temporary gathering decreas- involves the whole coterie - even
scene-queen: Manipulation + es Difficulty by -2. The minimum if it’s theoretically possible for
Persuasion: You feed from a high- Difficulty of a hunt is always 1. a single vampire to get access to
or low-class subculture in which such a valuable neck, it takes more
you enjoy high status. Make the In some neighborhoods, vam- than one to case the setup, keep a
scene, groom and isolate a victim pires may need to hunt as a pack lookout, launch a diversion, and
from whom to feed, and gaslight or or at least in pairs: a wingman to handle the getaway.
silence them to keep the scene cool. assist with seduction, a backup
“I’ll let the others see us together if to tackle bigger prey, a lookout The Storyteller should feel free
you keep it together." to warn a distracted feeder. If the to introduce all manner of secu-
plan sounds plausible, the Story- rity, scrutiny, and other complica-
siren: Charisma + Subterfuge: You teller may allow teamwork (p. 122). tions and obstacles between the
feed under the guise of sex. Pick up vampires and their goal. Nothing
your victim, charm them, and take Storytellers may increase hunt- is off the table, from the Prince
them somewhere alone to feed. ing Difficulties for particularly ordering them to stand down to
inhuman vampires (Nosferatu, preserve the Masquerade to the
Hunting Grounds some Gangrel, those with Human- Second Inquisition getting wind
ity ratings of 4 or below), as such of their plans and setting an am-
The Difficulty of any hunting roll monsters find it difficult to blend bush complete with body doubles
depends on the number of pos- in with a crowd. in place. Of course, the player
sible victims in the area and on characters might win. That’s when
the area’s level of surveillance and Hunting as Heist they learn all about the problems
social cohesion. A crowded tene- of success: the French government
ment where everyone looks out for The players may decide that what redoubles its support for the Sec-
each other and a dispersed housing they really want to do is feed on ond Inquisition, Rihanna threat-
development where folks mind the French Minister of Defense, ens the Masquerade by dropping
their own business are roughly on Rihanna, or on the Prince’s an album called Camarilla Amor,
equal hunting grounds by these pet blood doll (whose blood the Prince becomes even more
metrics. An airport is full of travel- grants visions of the future). This
ers nobody will miss for hours or
days, but is also full of security and hunting ground difficulty
security cameras.
Slum neighborhood, Skid Row, public housing projects or 2
A given hunting ground may banlieues, the Rack 3
have specific modifiers based on 4
the particular establishment the Bohemian or hipster neighborhood, gentrifying or blighted 5
vampire chooses (see Cities, p. 335) working-class neighborhood 6
or on some quality (good or bad) of
their domain’s Chasse (p. 195). Healthy working-class neighborhood, downtown business
district, tourist district, airport or casino
A heavier than normal police
presence increases Difficulty by Manufacturing, warehouse, or port district; urban parkland;
+1; a heavy security presence (e.g., middle class suburban sprawl
Wealthy neighborhood
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ADVANCED SYSTEMS
COREBOOK
paranoid and tyrannical. Or worse TAINTED BLOOD
yet, their accomplishment remains As undead, vampires have little fear of conventional poisons. How-
a secret – except one ambitious ever, they may be affected by poisons or drugs contained within
ancilla has figured it out and has a their victims’ bloodstreams. Some vampire “juicers” or “heads”
price for keeping it sub rosa. actively seek out prey under the influence of intoxicants to receive
a vicarious buzz. Drugs can also alter the Resonance of the prey’s
Kindred blood, see p. 226.
I ntimacy By and large, most drugs have reduced effect on vampires than
they do on humans. Use these values as the baseline for mortal
Sooner or later, all Kindred are incapacitations and the ceiling for vampire binges. In most cases,
denied certain parts of the pleasures these effects last for a scene or two, depending on the nature of
of the flesh. To some that is the end the drug and amount imbibed.
of that, while others realize that ■■ Alcohol: Lower Dexterity and Intelligence dice pools by one
the play of Blood offers experiences
that are so much more interesting die.
than mere copulation. Intimacy ■■ Cocaine/Meth/Speed: Spend two Willpower points to re-roll a
does, however, carry its own set
of dangers, as vampires lost in the messy critical or bestial failure. Difficulties to resist or control
throes of passion are prone to sip frenzy increase by 1.
straight from the source, thereby ■■ Hallucinogens: Unable to concentrate, the vampire’s Wits,
exposing themselves to the dreaded Resolve, and Manipulation pools are lowered by two dice.
Blood Bond. Unscrupulous vampires ■■ Heroin/Morphine/Oxy/Opiates: Subtract two dice from all
callously use this fact to their own Physical dice pools. Difficulties to resist or control frenzy
advantage, using their powers of decrease by 1.
seduction to inflame their lovers to ■■ Marijuana: The vampire experiences a slightly altered percep-
the point where they cannot resist tion of time, suffering a one-die reduction to Wits dice pools.
this urge. Conscientious vampires Difficulties to resist frenzy decrease by 1.
use all sorts of methods and protec- ■■ Poison: Subtract one from all dice pools and take 1-3 points of Su-
tions to edge closer to the front perficial damage per scene (or per turn, in the case of extremely
without actually going there, deny- fast-acting and lethal poisons). Few poisons have any real effect
ing themselves the true pleasure of on the undead; the Superficial damage reflects short circuits as
the Kiss. This could be cutting and the tainted Blood activates and then paralyzes the vampire’s dead
dripping, letting the blood flow for nerves. Poison leaves the vampire’s system as they use up the
a while along the body (hopefully tainted blood or dilute it; either by reaching Hunger 5, or during
long enough to “cool off” its Bonding their next feeding.
properties). Others imbibe only
small drops, cutting and only licking “raincoat level,” 5 for unprotected). Performance vs. Composure +
(no swallowing!), and so on. Needless to say, for many vampires, Insight. Trying to do it without the
pleasure is inversely proportional to other party realizing the intention
Provided that both parties are protection. reduces the dice pool by 2.
doing their best to play safe, avoid-
ing stepping closer to the Blood Manipulating someone into Faking a direct sip tests Com-
Bond requires a simple Composure + crossing the line is a contest of posure + Subterfuge vs. Composure
Insight test vs. a Difficulty based on Charisma or Manipulation + + Insight.
the level of precautions taken (2 for
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ADVANCED SYSTEMS
Many vampires find that this For two 1s, the compulsion should EXAMPLE:
type of intimacy with people who lead to a scene of its own, and with
are already Bound to someone else three or more 1s, it can cause per- Keisha gets shot down by her
lacks a certain something, and avoid manent changes to the vampire. chosen meal at a local dive bar. The
it if they can. If one party is Bound Storyteller urges her, “Surely such
to the other, it is usually significantly long-term compulsions insolence must not go unpunished?”
more entertaining for the Bound Long-term Compulsions are best and she must choose to either spend
party, and many avoid intimacy with used when a test covers a longer a point of Willpower to resist acting
those Bonded to them for this very timescale, and must by necessity on this Compulsion or she must go
reason, unless offering it as a treat. If look a little different than “in- with the urge and gain a point of
both parties are Blood Bound to each the-moment” Compulsions. Either Willpower.
other, the practice is usually frowned simply narrate the Compulsion’s
upon, and sometimes creates a effect (or ask the player leading hidden compulsions
source of great jealousy. With mul- questions like “doesn’t that fill you
tiple parties involved, the complica- with Rage?”) during the course of Hidden Compulsions offer par-
tions quickly escalate. the effort, turn the Compulsion ticularly mature and experienced
into a spotlight scene within the groups a path to explore the darker
Compulsion given time frame and play it out themes of Vampire. Each player
in detail, or work out how this comes up with their own signature
Variants Compulsion could mechanically or weaknesses and dark impulses,
dramatically affect the effort as a including their version of the clan
Storytellers and players can vary whole. Compulsion, calibrating them with
the existing Compulsion rules the existing Compulsions with the
to increase the role and effect of EXAMPLE: Storyteller’s help. They then play as
Compulsions on the game, or to normal, with the Storyteller pass-
better tailor them to the player Marco suffers a Compulsion when ing notes urging relevant Compul-
characters. Some possible variant rolling for a sustained effort to sions (chosen or rolled secretly) at
rules for Compulsions follow. By outmaneuver a political rival’s thematically proper times and after
and large, groups who use these assets over a few weeks. Marco’s failed rolls while at characters are
rules should be comfortable with incessant outbursts during the taut at high Hunger.
losing character agency and with political campaign anger even his
pursuing the less-attractive aspects allies, lowering his Influence by one Ideally, players never disclose
of vampire existence. They can feed for that period. or discuss which of their actions
great (or at least wildly operatic and were compelled and which were
highly colored) drama, but begin- storyteller offers not, presenting the others with a
ners may wish to avoid them until seamless portrait of vampiric tem-
they’ve used regular Compulsions In addition to the normal Com- per, appetite, and cruelty. While
enough to become comfortable (or pulsion prompts, the Storyteller this might seem a trivial thing
jaded) with them. can also urge a Compulsion on a to do, it can darken your game
character when the moment seems markedly.
compulsion severity right. If the player rejects this
urge, they must spend a point of Memoriam
For experienced groups, it is possi- Willpower. If they choose to act on
ble to increase the severity of your this offer, their character regains a Vampires are immortals, and some
Compulsions when you roll more point of Willpower. are very old indeed. Even thin-
than one 1 on your Hunger dice. blood player characters might have
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decades of unlife to look back on. The answer to an epic returned themselves to normal.
In those past decades, a vampire question, three expendable Storytellers should feel free to
doubtless starred in stories as dots in a Background, a
dangerous and dramatic as the major boon allow any number of possible goals
ones on the table tonight. Memo- in Memoriam, from recovering
riam is how the player returns to answers: Answers might range Willpower to learning the formula
those stories, flashing back to solve from “Where was the access tun- for an alchemical elixir or gaining
mysteries, learn motives, and dem- nel when this bank was built?” to readers’ privileges at a key Nosfera-
onstrate their uncanny prescience “Who killed the former Prince of tu archive. Just set the dot value by
in, for example, leaving those gold Miami during the Great Hurricane interpolating on the table, or base
bars here so long ago. of 1926?” A minor answer helps the value on other dot-demarcated
the player character in one scene, advantages.
Goals a major answer helps them in
one chapter or story, and an epic Entering Memoriam
The player whose character under- answer casts the whole chronicle
goes Memoriam has a reason for in a new light and likely gives A vampire who remembered every
their action, besides simple temporal the player character considerable detail of their past would soon go
tourism. Not that there’s anything leverage. It also likely puts them mad as incident piled on incident,
wrong with an adventure where the in considerable danger, but that’s crowding out the present in a
whole coterie is comprised of 1980s vampire unlife in a nutshell. lightning-riven fog of reminis-
punks or 1880s cowboys, of course cence. Aside from a few special
– but it’s best to combine Memo- test bonuses: These represent a enmities or delicious sense-mem-
riam with something relevant to the specific advantage gained by recall- ories, the details of decades and
contemporary chronicle. That player ing something from the past. The centuries ago fade. Vampires must
explains what they did, learned, or player can cash them in whenever force blood into long-dead brain
started in the past that might tie they wish in the present during the vessels and taste dormant nervous
into the modern nights’ events; in current chapter or the next, as long signals again to recall such memo-
other words, they set a goal for their as the roll connects in some way to ries; entering Memoriam requires a
past selves to have already accom- their experience during Memoriam: Rouse Check.
plished. “We were friends in 1978, what hap-
pened?” or “Now I remember, Billy A player character can enter Me-
The rules demarcate those goals, the Kid taught me to throw a lariat.” moriam no more than once per story,
as they do most things, in terms of and the Storyteller can also limit the
dots: expendable dots: Expendable
dots in a Background add to rolls
The answer to one minor or otherwise benefit the player
question, one expendable character for the duration of one
dot in a Background, two story. This benefit can affect the
additional dice to one Skill currently ongoing story, or the
test in the present player character can save the ben-
efit for another story in the future.
The answer to a major Once spent, the dots go away: the
question, two expendable player has used the advantage,
dots in a Background, four spent the capital, or otherwise
additional dice to one Skill
test in the present
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ADVANCED SYSTEMS
number of Memoriams played in can use these dice one by one or all memoriam and statistics:
each session, usually to no more than at once if they prefer. If they enter While the character in the Memo-
one. Obviously, the character cannot Memoriam: riam would realistically have lower
enter Memoriam to recall a date be- ■■ On the spot where the past Traits, representing their reduced
fore their birth. Multiple characters experience, calculating this differ-
can enter Memoriam at the same events occurred: gain two dice ence would be too time-consuming
time if they were all present at the ■■ Just after drinking mortal for most troupes. Instead, assume
chosen place and time. that all Attributes and Skills remain
blood that was present on the the same, while subtracting a dot in
The player likely already has scene (such as a survivor or a one Discipline for roughly every 50
some notion of where and when descendant): gain one die per years that the Memoriam goes back,
their character was Embraced, and point of Hunger slaked by that unless special circumstances apply.
perhaps of what their character drink (A character who has spent 500
has been doing since. They select ■■ After drinking vitae from an years in torpor and only recently re-
the place and time their character immortal SPC present on the surfaced should not be penalized for
seeks to remember and if it’s a scene: gain one die for a tiny the time spent in undead slumber,
blank spot the player hasn’t de- sip; earn dice equal to the for example.)
cided anything about, so much the donor’s Blood Potency +1 after
better! Make a note of it for future a deeper drink Advantages and Flaws apply
reference (“August 1918: drinking ■■ While holding a particularly at the Storyteller’s discretion.
from flu victims and dodging the evocative artifact to be used The Storyteller should work to
draft in Boston.”), and go. in the Memoriam scene (e.g., fit the character’s past self into
the gun with which they killed the fiction. If they should have
If the character enters Memo- Sheriff Pat Garrett): gain access to a Haven that their
riam under the right circumstanc- three dice, usable only in tests backstory establishes they were
es, they receive extra dice to use involving that item expelled from in 1945, give it to
during the conflicts they remember them; if they should have fewer
– and re-enact in their minds. They Resources because they made
their fortune by diamond-traf-
ficking after the fall of the Soviet
Union, lower it. The goal should
be both entertaining drama and
consistent backstory, if possible.
Vampires start play in Memo-
riam at the same level of Hunger
as when they entered it, unless the
Storyteller deems otherwise.
Running Memoriam
The Storyteller should present the
players with at least one challenge
per dot of their goal unless the fic-
tion would suffer from doing so.
Players whose characters are not
in Memoriam play SPCs, roleplay-
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ing in response to player character translated to Willpower damage, ence dictated by the obligations
action. This casting can offer some as traumas remembered now weigh they have incurred. In exchange
fun contrasts from their normal heavy on the psyche. Crippling for whatever tokens of help they
selves: the staunch puritan of the injuries gained in Memoriam are requested, they become a puppet of
main chronicle becomes a lusty assumed to have healed in the those who came to their aid.
habitué of the demimonde in 1880s intervening time.
Paris. Think of it as the equivalent Kindred society is a byzantine
of casting the regular actors as If a character enters torpor in knot of favors owed, loyalties sworn,
different characters in a flashback Memoriam, they are assumed to debts repaid, and promises broken.
episode of some TV show. have awoken somehow before the From the highest Prince to the lowli-
present day. (Use the torpor length est fledgling, the coin of the Kindred
The Storyteller should strive to for their Humanity at the time realm – after blood, of course – is
clearly present the goal and chal- of the Memoriam, and block that the boon.
lenges of the Memoriam to keep the period off from future Memoriam
scene focused and moving at a brisk exploration.) If a character dies in Boons
pace. It is also up to the Storyteller Memoriam, well – how they came
to decide when and how the Memo- back, and just whom they owe One Kindred’s promise to an-
riam ends, either through success or for that dark and horrible favor, other is known as a boon. In some
irrevocable failure. will make an excellent question to domains, boons operate like credit,
resolve in further play. Perhaps by in that a vampire must owe a boon
opposition: Depending on the another dive into Memoriam…. for another vampire to extend
goal level of the Memoriam, the them one boon – they must be seen
Storyteller should set the op- Storytellers and players should as trustworthy. In other domains,
position so that it challenges the cooperate even more in Memoriam the opposite is true; the more
players with roughly one challenge than in the regular chronicle – too debts a Kindred owes, the less
per goal level. These can be simple many inconsistencies and weird di- capable of repaying those boons
tests or be played out as one-roll vergences from the plot work against they are assumed to be. The one
conflicts. If looking to play out a dramatic unity, unless the chronicle universal truth among all domains,
whole conflict turn-by-turn, that intentionally takes on the aura of however, is that a boon is a boon,
conflict should be the entirety of madness and nightmare. and there’s no way to get out of it
the Memoriam. other than to satisfy it or to have it
Prestation excused by its holder.
After Memoriam
While power over one’s fellow un- If a Kindred kills the holder of
If successful, the characters gain the dead may be the truest currency of their boon (directly or provably
benefit sought when entering the the Damned, boons and favors also indirectly) the debt is transferred to
Memoriam. A failure on any of the enjoy a healthy trade. The process the holder’s sire or eldest childe in
challenges fails the entire Memo- of trading, repaying, and incurring most domains; to the Prince or the
riam, which instead becomes a dire favors, known as prestation, is the Harpies in others. Kindred touchy
reminder of how ill the characters cornerstone of the vampiric social about their honor often insist on
fared the last time they encountered structure. Put simply, a clever Kin- formally transferring such debts
whatever problem to which they dred grants favors, while a foolish themselves, even if the holder died
now seek a solution. one incurs them – and becomes a at the hands of the Second Inqui-
servant to their promises and their sition. Defalcating on a boon, or
Any Willpower damage debts. A vampire who calls in as-yet claiming to still hold a boon after
sustained is kept in the present. unearned favors from other Kindred its repayment, destroys a Kindred’s
Health damage sustained is also too often finds their entire exist- reputation. Harpies remain alert for
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ADVANCED SYSTEMS
any sign of chicanery; some even go “accidentally” locked out some Getting and Spending
so far as to keep lengthy and exact morning. Boons
records of all boons owed and held minor boon: Minor boons
in their domains. The cheater may require one of the Kindred going While a given domain may have
even find themselves exiled from out of their way to perform or pay rigorous conventions in place for
court – if a vampire’s word means off. They have a small but lasting recording and observing who has
nothing, their oath of allegiance cost, or involve some risk – physi- sworn boons to whom, the comple-
cannot be trusted either. Even cal, social, or other. A Kindred tion of a boon is comparatively
Anarchs honor boons, in large part might promise or demand a minor simple. Once the Kindred who
to prove that they don’t need courts boon for casting a vote in favor of holds the boon declares it satisfied,
and princes to keep themselves another during a convocation of that’s it. It’s done.
honorable. elders, killing an inconvenient but
not very important human, grant- In terms of game mechanics,
Kindred use a number of dif- ing access to a book of lore or an calling in a boon mostly affects
ferent ways to keep track of boons ancient diary, or providing a vessel Social tests. A trivial boon is worth
in different domains. In some, a or sanctuary in a desperate hour. one or two dice on the roll; a
specially appointed Harpy keeps major boon: A major boon can character might offer a boon to the
careful books of who owes who, in alter the flow of Kindred affairs target, payable on a win on the roll.
others, each major figure has their in a domain, directly or indirectly. Alternately, the target may already
own currency representing boons They always involve real risk or real owe the character the boon; the
(such as rare coins, signed slips, expense, and both parties usually character reminding the target of
lengths of thread and so on) that intend to recoup. Examples of major the debt causes the die modifier.
they hand out, in a third there is boons include investiture as the Fil- In this case, a win for the character
only the honor system. ius Major of the Cainite Heresy in a fulfills the boon debt.
city, grants of rich hunting grounds,
The more powerful the granter revealing a major secret, leveraging A minor boon held by a
of a boon, the more powerful the significant resources toward some- character should ideally equal
boon. one else’s agenda, or reversing one’s an automatic win on a Social
expected vote in council. test against the debtor. Going
In general, the society of the life boon: This is the rarest the other direction, a Social test
Damned recognizes four classifica- and most valuable of the boons may instead resolve the question
tions of boons: observed by the Damned, and “Does the target require a minor
trivial boon: The easiest boons perhaps ironically, the one most of- boon in exchange for this favor?”
both to acquire and to satisfy. A ten promised at a moment’s notice If the character wins the roll, the
trivial boon generally involves – when the next moment might target doesn’t demand a boon; if
no risk or significant cost for the bring Final Death. One might they lose, they still get what they
granter. A Kindred might earn earn a life boon by killing another want, but at the cost of a minor
or promise a trivial boon for aid powerful vampire, but most life boon.
in finding blood, for getting an boons come under duress. Kindred
invitation to an exclusive soiree or have sworn life boons in exchange Major boons and life boons
entrée to a hot nightclub, or for not just for their own unlives, but are game developments larger
making space in a haven. In most for protection for Touchstones, of- than single tests encompass. Major
domains, coterie members per- fering an alibi in a case of princely boons can risk the equivalent of
form trivial boons for each other justice, or just for keeping some two- or three-dot Backgrounds,
without recording them, although hideous secret. or more. Player characters should
a vampire who doesn’t carry their promise them only in extremis
share of the favor load might get and use them for domain- and
chronicle-changing efforts ■
315
3 1 63 1 6
CITIES
cities
I have seen phantoms there that were as men
And men that were as phantoms flit and roam;
Marked shapes that were not living to my ken,
Caught breathings acrid as with Dead Sea foam:
The City rests for man so weird and awful,
That his intrusion there might seem unlawful,
And phantoms there may have their proper home.
– JAMES THOMSON, THE CITY OF DREADFUL NIGHT
Odds are, your chronicle unfolds in a city. defining quality of the vampire. This makes humanity
Vampires belong in the city, the natural into a resource, a foodstuff unevenly distributed across
habitat of the unnatural. Like rats and the cityscape. Some areas are easy to hunt in, others
cockroaches, they thrive wherever are hard. What’s more, individual taste can make an
humans congregate and build their homes. As the area unusually desirable or undesirable.
Storyteller, you shape and use the environment where
your characters live their unlives. For example, a given Ventrue Prince drinks
only the blood of homeless vagrants. Many of these
The city has two key functions in your game. The sleep in the city's metro tunnels, the domain of the
first, obviously: The city acts as the stage on which Nosferatu. Since the Nosferatu hate the Prince and
everything happens. The second: The city provides a know about their culinary predilections, they have
thousand reasons for player and Storyteller characters decreed the tunnels off-limits to everyone, even
to want something. City as motivation seems more ab- members of their own clan. Ostensibly they seek
stract than city as scenery, but plays a more important to maintain the Masquerade and avoid suspicious
part. Stories emerge from character motivation, which deaths too close to their havens, but everyone in the
you can tie intimately to the geography of your city. Camarilla knows the real reason.
Consider hunting. All Kindred hunt for blood, the The question is, will the Prince assert their
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318
CITIES
privileges and hunt in Nosferatu
territory, or will they accept the
Nosferatu rule and risk appearing
weak? If they hunt, they destabi-
lize the city for a petty personal
reason, but if they don't, it sug-
gests they don't have complete
control over their city.
The Feudal upside is freedom, the downside sired feeding area, and their price
is poor hunting grounds and is open romantic companionship
System unglamorous unliving. If they at Elysium.
want something better, they may
The way Kindred divide and organ- decide to take over the house If the characters advance from
ize urban territory resembles the of a rich family and make them the bottom of the hierarchy, or if the
medieval feudal system, although into blood slaves. But to do that, chronicle concerns more established
local variations abound. Anarchs they need permission from the vampires, they can use the system
assign territory by arbitrary Toreador who have the rights to from both perspectives: They need
ideological guidelines that rapidly that territory. In exchange, the to do favors for others, but they can
devolve to who knows whom, and Toreador Primogen demands that also demand favors of their own.
who has the support of the Baron the characters must organize the
or Council tonight. In both cases, amusements for one night at the Domains
strength provides the ultimate title Elysium each month.
to turf, while favors, hierarchy, Vampire territories go by the name
and territory interplay to create This way, a simple question “domains” even in ostensibly An-
conflict, or in other words, to cre- of living arrangements starts to arch cities, although some Anarchs
ate story. For example, the Prince transform into a story. The same use “turf” or “assignat” or “hood”
of a Camarilla city gives the docks happens when it comes to feeding or “tusovka.” Camarilla Princes
to the Sheriff. The Sheriff is too rights. Perhaps the characters want hold the largest domains, their
busy with their duties to hunt, access to a new feeding terri- regnum comprising all the lesser
so they give five other vampires tory because they need to feed on domains within the entire city – in
permission to have their havens another type of blood. To do this, theory. In practice, independent
in the Sheriff’s territory and to they have to feed illegally (with its lords, Anarch gangs, and the needs
hunt there. In exchange, they must own interesting story consequenc- of the Masquerade keep some space
provide the Sheriff with a regular es) or seek permission. Maybe a out of the Prince’s talons even in
supply of vessels. Nosferatu elder controls their de- the most seemingly organized city.
Kindred feudalism generates
story options for player charac-
ters. If the characters are in the
bottom of the hierarchy, they
need a place to live. This pro-
vides a simple goal with a clear
set of options. Do the characters
decide to live in a downscale
suburb claimed by nobody? The
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COREBOOK
domains by area: Physical ground and boundaries
on the maps define the archetypal vampire domain. More
influential and respected (or feared) Kindred hold larger
domains in more desirable areas. Up-and-comers, the
so-far loyal, and other Kindred with potential utility hold
smaller corners of the city by Princely decree. In between
lie streets and blocks and sometimes kilometers of urban
landscape, open to neonate covens and vulnerable to
Anarch gangs.
Some domains spread from a central spot – “five blocks
around the water tower on Hillside” or “six streets off the
Odeon.” This leads to fuzzy boundaries, which leads to
wittingly poaching and unknowingly trespassing. Vam-
pires paint their turf with “the marks,” Kindred graffiti,
and defend it with their talons or their pull with Council
or Court.
Higher-status Kindred may hold whole neighborhoods
in fief: the Duke of Echo Park, the Count of Cross Bay,
the Lady of Guell. These nobles allow their own vassals
to hold smaller blocks within their domains, providing
protection from turf-jumpers in exchange for service or
vessels.
domains of association: Domains may only cover
one building, albeit a large one such as a hospital
complex or shopping mall, and their parking garages
and sewers. But in some cities, all the sewers belong
to the Nosferatu by right, domains by natural exper-
tise or clan authority. Kindred may claim rights from
centuries ago over the “highway,” now interpreted as
everything touched by the Interstate or Autobahn. The
large parks may be Gangrel turf after a truce in the
Anarch war, while the small parks remain parceled out
to individual coteries or under the authority of ley-line
tracing Tremere.
domains of authority: In some cities, the Toreador
hold prior claim over public art and private galleries, a
Lady of the Stage commands all theaters and doles out
actors as chosen blood dolls to her favorites, or a Lord of
Medicine controls all hunts at hospitals and clinics. The
latter scuffles with the Gangrel Haunt of Dogs over vet-
erinarians and animal hospitals, even as the Haunt claims
protection over the coyotes that seek food in the city no
matter whose block they feed on.
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CITIES
Hunting Territories
Anarch or Camarilla, every Kindred city turns on the
politics of hunting. At the raw end of it, almost eve-
rywhere too many vampires compete for too few kine.
By extension from predator-prey dynamics in the nat-
ural world, a vampire should have about sixty square
kilometers of city as their exclusive hunting ground;
in most cities, Kindred count themselves fortunate
with one percent of that. Hunting must be limited
for practical purposes: every vampire in the city can’t
stalk the same nightclub and maintain the club as a
going concern, much less maintain the Masquerade.
However, Kindred rulers also limit hunting as a power
play, a way to assert predatory dominance.
Every city varies: in some cities the Primogen
or Anarch council declare the Rack (the city’s
nightclub district, teeming with temptingly wasted
humans – and with police) off limits to hunting.
In others, they reserve it for themselves, stating
that only experienced, responsible vampires can
be trusted to hunt there without making mistakes.
In some cities, certain neighborhoods become the
“Prince’s Forest” or the “Game Reserve,” off limits
without special permission. In others, rulers parcel
out hunting rights with domains, allow hunts all
across the cities on feast days, grant licenses in
exchange for special services, or anything else that
secures their control and imperils their rivals.
Kindred new to town must therefore make sure
they know the lay of the land before too many
nights pass. Sometimes local Kindred mislead the
newcomers and direct them to forbidden grounds,
as a way to test their masters without open rebel-
lion, or just to cull the competition. Breaking the
law seems easy – is the Prince watching this seedy
bar toilet? – but the penalties can be extreme.
Some rulers make hunting law murky, onerous, and
contradictory on purpose. This way, almost every
vampire in the city ends up breaking the law sooner
or later. If the Prince or council wants to dispose
of a rival, they simply wait for the inevitable illegal
hunting incident and banish or execute the offender
on this ostensibly just pretext.
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COREBOOK
The
Marks:
Vampire Graffiti
How do vampires communicate A paper rat pasted to the wall spots something, recognizes
with each other when they’re all of the train tunnel, the ornate what they automatically no-
hidden in the dark, dwelling in se- curlicue red V sprayed on the tice, or can truly puzzle out the
cret lairs, lying to each other and bank’s alley wall, the yellow hiero- meaning of the object in front of
off the grid? glyph chalked in the abandoned them. If a scene’s drama doesn’t
church doorway. The words “red hinge on the success or failure
They do it with the marks, teeth” tagged on the stairwell, of an action – if they fail to spot
sometimes called “the vampire the Warhol Marilyn airbrushed the mark, they won’t discover
cant.” Similar to modern gang over the transom. The tattoo on a the secret entrance to a rival’s
tags, subvertisements and graf- blood doll, the seemingly random haven; if they misinterpret the
fiti, these public works of art or words on newspapers pasted mark, they’ll accidentally lead
vandalism contain jargon, coded over a boarded-up storefront. the coterie into hostile territory,
symbols, or archaic terms that These marks tell Kindred whose etc. – then don’t roll for it. Give
signal meaning to fellow Kindred turf they’re on, what clan claims knowledge for free; charge only
– and hopefully, only to them. The the block, whom the Council has for drama. Focus on just the part
marks evolve from graffiti going declared anathema. that’s important.
back to Pompeii and from gang
tags invented this decade. By de- The marks also give Storytell- Vampire characters can use
sign, they blend with old posters, ers a simple tool for inserting regular Skills on the marks. Mor-
guerrilla art, urban spray sign, and Kindred culture throughout the tals need some sort of occult or
street construction rhumb lines. city. Mentioning meaningful tags other special knowledge to read
and symbols in setting descriptions the marks – although the Second
helps create the illusion that other
characters are moving through
the game world when the players’
characters aren’t there; somebody
painted all that stuff, somebody
has something to say.
MARKS AND MECHANICS
Sometimes the tension or
dramatic outcome of a scene
hinges on whether a character
322
CITIES
PERSUADING WITH MARKS
This is how subvertisements
undermine the company line, how
pop culture cracks the façade of
the powers that be, how viral
memes infect the body politic.
Naturally, the majority of graffiti,
Kindred or other, doesn’t result
in real change. Only those works
that strike a nerve and get car-
ried through the culture of the
Damned like a bug become pro-
found and unforgettable enough to
be considered real power plays.
Inquisition may have assembled COMMUNICATING Dice Pool: Roll to encode
a collection of the most obvious WITH MARKS the mark with Manipulation +
ones. Storytellers may impose Dif- These marks just send messages, whichever Social Skill best fits the
ficulty bumps or die penalties for from “this is my turf” to “Inquisi- intended message: Intimidation (to
quality of paint, rough or cracked tors working undercover here.” frighten or weaken), Leadership
surfaces, lack of time, exposure to The tagger doesn’t intend to hide (to rally allies), Persuasion (to con-
the elements, etc. their meaning, but to signal fellow vert onlookers), or Subterfuge (to
Kindred. send a false message). The Social
SPOTTING, R ECOGNIZING Skill cannot contribute more dice
AND DECIPHERING MARKS To create a coded mark, use to the pool than the tagger’s Craft
Characters who know specific Intelligence plus the lower of your plus the relevant Specialty. The
marks notice them in the urban Craft and the Skill associated with Storyteller can have the tagger
tapestry, catching sight of them in the message. roll this pool as a contest against
the gloom, on the crumbling con- a specific target to influence them
crete, in caked-on layers of graffiti. Dice Pool: Intelligence + Craft or as a Social test against a Diffi-
(Painting or Poster Art or Graf- culty set by the audience attitude.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Street- fiti), although tagging a particu-
wise (for street tags) or Investiga- larly hard-to-reach spot might use The more successes, the
tion (for repeated patterns) or Dexterity; disguising the mark as longer the work’s meaning stays
Insight (for double meanings); Dif- normal graffiti tags might use Wits with the viewer, the further word
ficulty depends on the obscurity of + Streetwise. On a critical win, spreads of its quality, the greater
the mark and whether the tagger word of the mark rapidly reaches the number of eyes that see it. In
wants it found by outsiders. the intended audience even if they general, the work stays au courant
haven’t passed by the spot. for a number of nights equal to the
successes on the roll. On a critical
win, the tag genuinely changes
something, if only outraging its
target into foolishly premature
action ■
323
COREBOOK Designing Domains
Broken Domains have three Traits: Chasse, Lien, and Portillon.
Social Scenes (see p. 195 for details). It’s probably best when design-
ing domains for the game to begin with Chasse: a
In these example hunting grounds, the crowd measure of a domain’s richness as a hunting ground, it’s
serves as the draw and the event. These hunting the most important concern for the ruler granting the
grounds don’t depend entirely on a location; domain and the Kindred who receive it.
they could happen on many sites and in many
districts throughout the city. As a general rule, good stuff is rarer than mediocre
stuff. This holds true for everything, but especially
For each hunting ground, consider the Reso- for vampire domains. One-dot Chasse domains vastly
nances provided to be guidelines only. Double outnumber all the other values put together.
the odds of Intensity, however, as the kine tend
to get their blood up at these events. For a city of three million people, consider this an
average breakdown:
AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITY
Soccer practice, art club, drama club, band Chasse Possible Geographical Equivalents
practice, the list goes on. Preying on kids draws
far too much attention; the clever hunter targets Single very large apartment building, one
tired parents coming to pick their children up residential or industrial city block
after a hard day at work. Often frazzled and not
really paying attention to their surroundings, Two to four blocks, one park, one small
they barely pick up on any but the most violent site (hospital, tourist landmark, mall)
attacks. Best part: If a dad starts to feel tired
every day, he definitely won't suspect vampires. Eight blocks on a major street, one me-
dium site (airport, major employer, casino,
Victim Types: Working parents (Phlegmatic, college), small domain of authority
Choleric, Melancholy)
Systems: Add one die to all Social or Mental One square kilometer, one district, one
hunting dice pools. large site (amusement park, university),
medium domain of authority
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS MEETING
Or NarcAnon, or SexAnon, or any other One of these is the Prince or Baron’s
twelve-step group on folding chairs drinking bad personal estate
coffee and eating stale donuts. But the blood is
probably clean, and you can find out a lot about Large domain of authority, prime hunting
a victim for long-term stalking. You can even turf (e.g., the Rack)
testify about your own addictions … just change
the details a little. Most potential domains never show up in the game
– either the Prince keeps them all off limits as their
Victim Types: All walks of life, though mostly Royal Forest, or they are endless residential or indus-
Melancholic. Some Sanguine blood, perhaps, at trial stretches and stripmalls barely adding up to one
SexAnon. dot apiece, locked up tight in gated communities or
Systems: Lots of traumas here; add two dice to empty at night and essentially worthless.
Insight rolls to find and understand a Dyscrasia.
Difficulties at -1 for all non-Physical hunting rolls. Every country and city differs greatly, and every
chronicle even more so – but as a very general rule
of thumb, one dot of Chasse equals between 500 and
1,000 mortals. Don’t put too much credibility into,
or stress on, this number. A single “farming” vampire
needs an absolute minimum of 30 mortals to feed from
to avoid anemia and other debilities in their herd,
but the Masquerade is a much bigger problem when
dealing with that small herds. A “hunting population”
should be (at minimum) two orders of magnitude
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CITIES
larger: closer to 3,000 mortals per vampire to conceal ART INSTALLATION
their depredations in the red noise of conventional At this experimental art happening, a trained
murders, cruelties, and disappearances. Thus, a coterie assistant draws blood from the gallery audience,
of three to five vampires “should” have, at minimum, ostensibly to be used as the medium for dura-
a domain of 10,000 people. And that’s in the relatively tional works in which the artist sprays blood live
violent US. The number of mortals needed to hide the onto canvas, where it slowly rots. Of course,
ravages of a player coterie could be much higher in a some clever Toreador has swapped out the good
European country like Norway, where the number of stuff for corn syrup.
murders per capita is seven times lower than the US.
Or you could say that the Kindred are so deeply em- Victim Types: Adventurous urban art aficiona-
bedded in the semi-socialist hospital and elderly care dos (Melancholy), blood scene freaks (Sanguine)
systems of Scandinavia that Camarilla vampires have Systems: Unless you set the gallery up, it’s
easy access to prey. This would allow more vampires to hard to hunt here; tight monitoring adds +2 to
feed off fewer people without arousing suspicion. The hunting Difficulties. However, if you did set it up
numbers are up to you. As long as they feel somewhat (with Influence in the gallery world, perhaps) it’s
plausible, you’re good. ample blood for a month.
However, Chasse measures more than raw num- CONVENTION
bers of throats; it also takes into account the physical Hundreds or thousands of out-of-town strangers
size of the domain, the ease of hunting there, and the flood into some random hotel for a long week-
richness of the prey. For example, a decent-sized club end of seminars or panels or looking at applianc-
holds 800 to 1,000 people, with perhaps three or four es or buying old magazines. To hunt successfully
times that number cycling through over the evening. here, you need to scout out ahead a little, but
(A really good-sized dance club might hold 10,000 or once you understand who the people are, it’s
more.) But most of those are delicious and easy prey, easy. Best of all, the prey rotates, so you don’t
“multiplying” the numbers by two or three. A domain have to worry too much about being recognized.
consisting of three nightclubs thus equals one covering
a whole neighborhood in a quieter part of town. At Victim Types: Professionals (Phlegmatic),
subject-matter nerds (Choleric or Sanguine),
325 vendors (Melancholy).
Systems: Hunting Difficulties at -2; add one die
to your Social pools if you possess a specialty
relevant to the convention; add Fame if relevant;
no danger of over-hunting (p. 331).
COREBOOK
ILLEGAL OUTDOOR RAVE the end of the night, the Trait exists not to map some
It's somewhat hard to get to – you have to walk sort of vampire census tract, but to provide mechanical
through some woods or down a canal, but after support for the story.
midnight it's guaranteed to be full of stoned and
drunk people who never call the cops, no matter Stories often work better with smaller domains,
what happens. On a party night you can hear the that are easier for players to feel they know. Chronicles
bass for kilometers, and the beach or forest is a work better – have richer conflict – with vampires
smorgasbord of people doing drugs and fucking. competing constantly for territory. The actual sprawl-
ing size of most cities (Chicago comprises nearly 21,000
Victim Types: Hippies and junkies (Melan- city blocks; it’s not particularly vast, for a modern city)
choly), broke party kids (Sanguine), aging organ- works against both dramatic necessities, so downplay
izers (Phlegmatic). it. Similarly, the chronicle becomes increasingly un-
Systems: It’s a feast! Hunting Difficulties at -3. wieldy with more than one vampire per 10,000 people
However, alcohol and drugs fizz through all the in a city. Chicago has a population of about three mil-
blood (p. 310). lion, and 300 vampires can feel like a lot, even for “Chi-
raq.” The size of domains and their populations, and
MILONGA how badly they have been thinned by Second Inquisi-
Devotees of the tango flock to seedy dance halls, tion and the Beckoning is ultimately up to you. Focus
hotel ballrooms, or family social clubs for these on stories, not numbers; use these values as a skeleton
events, often coming from other cities with a – they can support your story, but they shouldn’t break
less active tango scene. If you can dance, you can through and be seen.
hunt. Contra dancing, swing meetups, square
dances – any sort of group dance event works 326
here. Why fight over the same drunk club kids
when you can drink your fill from bored moms
and desperate singles?
Victim Types: Bored moms and nice kids
(Phlegmatic), lonely singles (Melancholy), poly
couples and triads (Sanguine).
Systems: Make a Dexterity or Charisma + Per-
formance (Dance) roll and apply all successes as
bonus dice to Hunting rolls throughout the night.
NIGHT GAME
From office-league softball to professional jai
alai, the real hunt happens off the field, in the
bleachers and in the bars afterward. Lots of
strangers come together, drink and shout for
four hours, and then drift away – you couldn’t
design a better hunting ground if you tried.
Blood and Hunting CITIES
The Hunting systems on p. 306 provide the basic rules Victim Types: Hardcore fans (Choleric), com-
frameworks to model hunting in a given location or fortable dates (Sanguine, Phlegmatic)
using a specific modus predationis. Systems: Hunting Difficulties at -1. About half
the fans have alcohol in their bloodstream (p.
As noted on p. 196, one dot in Chasse indicates (all 310).
else being equal) a Difficulty of 6 for the hunting roll in
that location. Each additional dot lowers the Difficulty PROTEST
by 1, but the Storyteller should freely alter these values Large anonymous angry crowds can easily turn
depending on the local circumstances. A superstar DJ is into rioters, but they begin as lunch. The basic
in town, so hunting becomes much easier amid the crowd situation – close quarters and shared emotion –
of newbies and bridge-and-tunnel geeks. It’s raining hard, applies both to protests and to rallies, and both
making hunting hard as well in the thinner, surlier crowd. might draw police presence in larger numbers
Your city’s environment always, always, affects the hunt. than you’d like. But that’s why they call it “hunt-
ing,” not “dining.”
Mapping the Territories
Victim Types: Organizers and police narcs
The Storyteller should design their city for the story, (Phlegmatic), wannabes and activism groupies
not the other way around. Set up domains, hunting (Sanguine), passersby (Melancholic), true believ-
grounds, and other aspects of the vampire ecology to ers (Choleric)
drive as much action, plots, and drama as possible. Systems: Heavy police presence (+2 to hunt-
Then use the city’s physical aspects to reinforce what ing Difficulties) can cancel out the bonus from
you have already decided. The result: a rich environ- crowds (-2 to hunting Difficulties) unless you can
ment for the players to experience, one that supports trigger some looting or a riot on the other side
the atmosphere you want for your chronicle and pro- of the crowd as a diversion.
vides a dynamic setting where things keep happening.
STREET FESTIVAL
To start with, map your local vampire territories as Anything from a rib fest to a funk concert to
a quirky patchwork of historical accidents, bad policy, a religious parade to a cannoli contest draws
and purposefully divisive leadership. The better the the kine out into the street in the warm sum-
city works, the less conflict – i.e., story – you have. mer night. Smoke from grills, noisemakers and
Infuse your city with as much strife as possible. Per- sparklers, and happy talk fills the air. Alleys run
haps start with method and reason, but leaven it with off the street for privacy, and the crowds keep
selfishness, egomania, arrogance, and greed. Vampires moving so nobody looks at you too long.
don't divide turf to benefit everybody equally, not even
Anarchs. Perhaps especially not even Anarchs. Victim Types: All types, although the chances
of alcohol and weed in the blood go up.
mix domain types: Mix territorial and abstract Systems: Hunting Difficulties at -2.
domains. The old Prince granted the city center to his
lover a century ago in a desperate attempt to make
her stay, and she still holds it although that was two
Princes ago. Unfortunately, the new museum got built
in the city center in an urban renewal boondoggle,
and the chief Harpy claims it by right as the court’s
ancestral curator. Meanwhile, the Gangrel who “ranch”
the homeless in the city do not care that they camp out
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COREBOOK
in the increasingly deserted city juke joints got homogenized into
center. middle-class housing after WWII
or in the 1960s.
Because abstract domains are
not tied to territory, they can eas- Atmosphere
ily get in conflict.
A Vampire city is a world unto
impose a system, then break itself. In the shadow of the Second
it: In their wisdom, the Prince Inquisition, communication be-
has decreed that all the Cama- tween cities moves slowly and fit-
rilla clans must have territories fully, travelling with couriers and
of equal value. The Seneschal by physical letters. Most Kindred
lays them out carefully, and the leave their regnum only with very
Sheriff walks the bounds to en- good reason. Local Princes, Barons,
sure fairness. The Prince has also and strange cults rule their urban
decreed that no Malkavian may demesnes in panic and with ter-
feed or nest anywhere except in ror, and local variance in Kindred
asylums, and he reserves medi- customs is huge.
cal blood banks for his fellow
Ventrue. The resulting sense of What does your city feel like?
grievance and unfairness moti- This ties very closely to the ques-
vates both player characters and tion of what kind of chronicle
supporting characters into all you're running. Ideally, the city
kinds of action. supports the themes and ideas of
your game, providing the appro-
include secrets: In an Anarch priate backdrop to the dramatic
city, the commune rules that the action. You can approach this in
old abandoned amusement park two ways: take an existing city that
is off limits to all Kindred. Why? has the right atmosphere or impose
They’re not telling. In another reg- the feeling you want on any city
num, the Prince allows a seemingly you choose.
inconsequential neonate a massive
personal feeding area, much to the Consider a tragic game of
neonate’s bewilderment. vampire romance in which undead
corruption inevitably dooms every
incorporate history: Quirks relationship. Why not set it in
and curiosities in domain divisions Paris, the city of love, or Venice,
can spring from events centuries the city doomed to sink into its
ago. Why do the Malkavians have own filth? Sure, these are clichés,
a massive territory in the sub- but from the inside, clichés work
urbs? The Prince granted them very well.
the domain in 1723 and failed to
anticipate the massive expansion When imposing your own
the city would experience in the atmosphere on an existing place,
coming years. What was once a it's all about choosing the ele-
prime hunting ground of seedy ments you want and sticking with
them. Vampire: The Masquerade
already does this very effectively in
328
CITIES
WHAT’S HAPPENING? 6. Police and intelligence agency operatives have
Something is always happening in the city. cordoned off the area and severely restrict
When the characters go into a location, walk movement through it. Apparently a high-rank-
down the street, or even return to their haven, ing government official from the U.S. or China
enliven things with a nearby event in progress. is going to pass by in a motorcade. Knots
Happenings can be totally unconnected to of protesters gather, but they don’t want to
the characters’ actions, or only reinforce the shoot their wad just yet.
chronicle theme. The city remains alive, even if
the Kindred are not. 7. A party spills out of a bar, lots of shouting
and revelry and maybe one or two fights. Is it
1. City workers and the electric company trucks game night? A bachelorette party? Whatever
sort out a blackout, replacing a blown trans- the reason, music and smoke hover in the air,
former, climbing poles, and hopping in and out and Ubers and taxis drop off and pick up all
of the access tunnels. down the block.
2. A bike messenger collided with a pedestrian. 8. A strike stops public transport in the city, leav-
Now the pedestrian is shouting bloody mur- ing people stranded all over the place, trying to
der. The situation may escalate into violence. get a taxi, or looking at their cell phones, trying
to determine a good walking route.
3. Immigration officials raid a building, check-
ing identification papers and hauling off the 9. A local media frenzy breaks out, with cameras
undocumented in a big paddy wagon. Crowds and lights in the way, cords under foot, and
gather along with some protesters and TV reporters doing remotes. Maybe a celebrity
cameras. is visiting the neighborhood to generate
publicity for a social project or a grisly murder
4. A fire mounts into the night sky. The fire de- has crime reporters hunting for eyewitness
partment parks their massive trucks all over comments.
the place, water rains down, hydrants open
while people rush to their windows to see 10. A Masquerade breach. People haven’t realized
what’s happening. what it is yet, but the player characters under-
stand the situation. There’s a corpse drained
5. Unearthly looking models parade under bright of blood, a bestial Gangrel running through a
lights for a photographer and a micro-manag- crowd, or a madman screaming very accurate
ing art director, as a fashion magazine mounts information about the Kindred. The charac-
an outdoor photoshoot. Lighting techs swap ters can react, or just run and hide from the
cigarettes, assistants scurry with lattes and possible response from the Prince, the Second
waters, and someone somewhere has coke. Inquisition, or both.
329
COREBOOK
one powerful way: virtually every QUICKSTART CITY
scene takes place at night. It has an You want to play Vampire, not fiddle with urban planning. Let’s get
in-game cause, but it also ensures your city started as fast as possible.
that players shroud the setting in
darkness throughout. Step One: Choose a city. Is your hometown a city? Use it! If
not, use a famous city that’s easy to fake from pop culture and me-
More specifically, if you want dia: London, New York, Tokyo; or one you have another Vampire
to underline the corruption and book about. Or make up a mid-sized American city that looks like
degradation of age, set scenes in cities do on television shows filmed in Vancouver.
decaying industrial buildings. Get
variety from types: actual ruins and Step Two: Pick a starting milieu. Does the coterie hang out in
blighted brownfields, desperately biker bars or nightclubs? Do they rule the underside of middle-
repurposed lofts and failed renova- class comfort or a public-housing hellscape? Start with those
tions, and still-functioning but locations, in that district; figure out how the Kindred affects things
dilapidated and obsolete factories. there, and how your story’s themes manifest there.
For sadness and loneliness, favor
rooftops, eternal rain, and late Step Three: Insert your chronicle. Go back to your chronicle
night cafes where every patron sits design for some quick sects play. Did you want a locked-down
alone. Camarilla city, an Anarch free-for-all, or a town without elders
where it’s every clan for itself? Just quickly sketch where the
Obviously, verisimilitude as power players hang out, and where they might rumble.
much as pacing dictates that you
change up the mood sometimes, Step Four: Meet the neighbors. Spend a little bit more time with
but repeating simple environmen- the specific corner of the vampire ecosystem the coterie starts out in.
tal motifs effectively builds at- If they start by tangling with the Brujah, figure out the deal with the
mosphere. Remember, things don't Brujah: where they rule, where they want to rule.
always need a rational explanation.
Why does the Sabbat informant Step Five: Start the game! Build the rest as the players encoun-
want to meet the characters in ter it, and as you need it.
a derelict church? Because they
feel like it and because it works presence, but possibly result in ade becomes harder to break, or
dramatically. nothing more than militarized gear perhaps it breaks a thousand times
and security kabuki – or in sub as weird blood fashion sweeps the
Vampire Parasitism rosa death squads and the actual elites and the clubs. Confusion cre-
Inquisition. If characters Dominate ated by vampiric powers combine
As the city takes on a character and Blood Bond politicians left with normal human shortsighted-
of its own in your game, you can and right, city government creaks ness and greed to breed strange
begin depicting it as a living thing. to a halt as its members service results.
At first, it doesn’t notice the their addictions instead of serving
infestation within, but as the dam- the public. Weird laws come down, The reactions of the city do
age spreads, the city reacts. Often lobbyists get their way, garbage not have to make things harder for
seemingly unconnected, these reac- piles up. the player characters. Rather, they
tions emerge indirectly from the reinforce consequences, intended
damage the Kindred cause in the If a famous Kindred celebrity and otherwise. Vampiric meth-
deep tissues of the urban environ- distorts the city’s cultural space, its ods for influencing humanity are
ment. artists and its fans become obses- inherently damaging. Blood Bonds
sive and strange. The Masquer- replace real human emotion with
Kindred turf wars or feeding
sprees increase the visible police
330
CITIES
artificial obsession. Dominate 195). More vampires using the same ■■ Increases the Difficulty of
forces mortal free will into a mean- predation strategy creates a similar hunting rolls there by +1, or
ingless, irrational pattern. Pres- effect, as humans subconsciously
ence creates strange tropisms and put together the threat pattern and ■■ Lowers the effective dots in
stunted emotions. Victims start to begin their prey response: going the domain’s free-range Herds
behave in unusual ways as corrup- out less often, or only in groups, or by one
tion spreads through the mortal only by daylight.
ecosystem. A police crackdown, a Masquerade
In an over-hunted domain, breach, or just a really disastrous
over-hunting: More vampires hunting Difficulties increase. total failure on a hunting or frenzy
feeding from a domain than it can Even free-range Herds (those the roll might also result in similar
support eventually exhaust the vampire simply allows to wander outcomes.
territory. (The Storyteller decides freely on their own) might start
whether one dot of Chasse sup- producing less, as fringe members An exhausted territory rejuve-
ports one vampire, three vampires, stop showing up to the scene or the nates if left alone for a period of
or one coterie of vampires with cult meeting. time determined by the Storyteller:
different predation methods; see p. three months seems like a good
Each vampire over the support- average. Continuing to hunt in an
able level for a Domain either: over-hunted territory starts push-
ing it into actual urban decline:
businesses flee the area, housing
values drop, nightclubs close.
Mortals seek comfort in church,
and before you know it the Second
Inquisition starts to sniff around.
Your City
by Night
Adapting real-world cities begins
with gut reactions, not facts. The
facts you can really use are the
ones that help bring attention and
focus to the themes of your story.
A city with a high murder rate can
provide great context to a story
about human frailty or wrath, but
you don’t have to follow that fact
any further than you want to. If
the crime stats say most of those
murders are drug related, but you
want them to spring from police-
on-gang warfare to create a back-
drop of factional battle in your
chronicle, do that. Facts provide a
starting place for drama. They can
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COREBOOK
The more you know, the crazier you think. Our is a world of cabals
within conspiracies hidden inside intrigue sealed by perfidy and
wrapped in betrayal and treachery.
make a story feel realistic – the The fact is that there are most game. Even when a city is beauti-
only kind of realism that matters likely no vampires in any cities in ful, it is high contrast and washed
in the game – or they can spoil the real life, but you don’t let that stop out, fogged by rain and sparkling
aura of mystery. you. Use only the data that inspire like broken glass – pretty the way
and let the rest fall into the deep the bare and beaten wood behind
Drama outweighs fidelity. background. Maybe your so-called waterlogged old wallpaper is.
You’re not delivering a report on “facts” are just a comforting cover-
Karachi, you’re dramatizing a story up the government or the chamber A City of Districts
set there. The play’s the thing, of commerce promulgates to keep
so don’t fret details that will not business and tourists coming. To bring the city alive in your
enrich your story. A city’s first jobs Maybe the Ventrue have distorted chronicle, create and portray mem-
in Vampire is to facilitate play, re- the record or the Malkavians dis- orable locations. When the players
inforce the mood and atmosphere torted historians’ memories or the believe in and understand the city,
you are after, and alter the play dy- Nosferatu sacred architects literally their characters’ battle for territory
namic in new ways, as mentioned altered the facts on the ground. or search for safety takes on inter-
earlier. You do not owe the city est and dimension. To enable this,
anything. It shouldn’t matter if you Finally, this is the World break the city down into manage-
get street names and demographics of Darkness. It’s not flattering. able, distinct parts that each have
wrong. If the facts contradict your No city looks good through the their own separate characteristics.
drama, change them. cracked and smoky lens of this
332
CITIES
SITES The city comprises many form the bigger conglomerate. Public
Real cities tend to have districts: downtown, the docks, transit hubs, government buildings,
landmarks that have come and so forth. Each district does sometimes office buildings and
to define them. Make sure something in the life of the city and museums sit here. Some downtowns
that if you create a city in the game. Districts vary in size, empty out at night; others remain
of your own, it has a few from a few blocks to whole swaths residential, even high-end. In Hel-
of these as well. Rio de of the city. A district may equal one sinki or Paris, city center real estate
Janeiro features beaches domain (especially a high-Chasse is extremely desirable, and rents re-
like Ipanema, Barecelona domain) or contain three or four flect that. In Brussels or Detroit, the
has the Sagrada Familia. small domains warring over common rich live in suburbs; the city center is
Other landmarks might be resources – this depends on the affordable – or dead.
generic: the used book- Prince’s notion of how big a domain
store, the dance hall. should be and on the Storyteller’s Capital cities hold embassies,
concept of territorial conflict in which tend to accumulate in specific
The coterie’s domain their game. areas. Large cities have consulates,
usually has at least one similarly. Embassy Row provides
site. The site may be the Crossing district boundaries endless story hooks to its tiny pieces
center of the domain, one changes the feel of the story, even if of foreign soil: diplomacy, cultural
feature of it, or the whole it’s just going from a neighborhood exchange, Ventrue from out of
thing. With a site in your with lots of cops to one with only town and exiles from Anarch cities.
domain, you can often the occasional prowl car. However, Individual embassies might be small,
reap benefits from it: use for the darkness to really have an ef- friendly townhouses or enormous
the back room, crouch on fect, it pays to include some positive compounds like the US Embassy.
the roof, even keep your things as well. The shadows seem Embassies of rogue states like North
haven there. Sites can af- deeper after you light a candle. Korea may host criminal activity,
fect rolls – a library gives and all embassies host spies.
more dice to an Academics Most cities have a downtown
pool, for example. You can area or a city center. A big urban Many cities have both old and
also harvest blood from area might have several – the Lille new areas. Stockholm’s Gamla
the site and often count metropolitan area in northern stan features picturesque buildings
on specific Resonances and France comprises towns such as Rou- and winding streets. Buenos Aires’
even low-level bonuses baix and Tourcoing that together Puerto Madero gleams on the
from it rather than figure
out specific Dyscrasias for
each night’s hunt.
If the Storyteller wants
to use a site this way, they
define the Resonance and
possible bonuses the site’s
habitués provide.
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COREBOOK
Hitting the PAPER CHASE
The character needs to find something and they can’t
Streets just pay someone to hit the Internet for them. Espe-
cially in the World of Darkness, cities don’t make find-
Characters wrest information from the city in many ing out where the bodies are buried or who holds the
ways, from newspapers to contacts to omens. But levers of power very easy. The paper chase involves
often, they find themselves hitting the streets to find running down county files, assessor’s plats, property
something or someone, and sometimes what some- deeds, probate inventories, forensic accounting, bap-
one – or Something – doesn’t want them to find. tismal records, or something else written down and
These feats take Resolve: just plugging away, never immediately piled up for filing much later.
losing focus, staying on track and on point. All of them Government buildings are only open during the day,
can play as extended tests (p. 293) or just take an which means there might be some breaking and enter-
hour for each failed die rolled in the pool. ing or some judicious use of Influence to have a door
left unlocked. Court records and tax files may well be
For these kinds of feats especially, Contacts can truly sealed, officially. The actual paper chase depends on
come into their own. If the player has defined a contact Resolve + Investigation.
useful in the specific investigation, the Storyteller may
allow them to add that Contact’s dots to the dice pool. SCROUNGING
The character needs to find a thing. Not a unique
LEGWORK thing, but something more specific than just “a
The character criss-crosses the city, knocking on soda.” Scrounging isn’t just shopping, though it
doors and prying into conversations. Perhaps they’re might involve knowing that one botanica with the
trying to find a witness or a runaway or someone else really good vervain and High John de Conquer floor
who doesn’t want to be found. Maybe they’re just wash. Alchemists always need to scrounge up weird
looking for a fence or a chop shop in a strange neigh- ingredients, but everything’s a weird ingredient at
borhood or trying to figure out where gang turf begins three in the morning.
and maybe who decides that question. They could be
just asking around to find out if anyone heard anything Build scrounging pools with Resolve and the rel-
weird two nights ago. evant Skill for the thing you’re scrounging for. Looking
for ritual ingredients? Resolve + Occult. Alchemical
Use Resolve + Streetwise for feats of legwork, un- compounds? Resolve + Science (Chemistry). One
less they’re looking for something that doesn’t move specific designer drug? Resolve + Streetwise. A 2008
or hide, like a building or a set of the marks, in which Peugeot? Resolve + Drive. Bullets for a materiel rifle?
case use Resolve + Awareness. Once they find the Resolve + Firearms. You may need to build a separate
person, that’s when the other Social tests come out. Larceny pool to obtain what you find with Scrounging
if the store’s closed or its owner just doesn’t want you
to have it ■
334
CITIES
waterfront, all shining glass and stereotypes from The Wire or play For example, a chronicle set in
steel and modern art. Cities change against them: tightly knit favela Paris with non-French players can
and grow enormously over the communities in Rio de Janeiro keep things abstract and tour-
centuries – an older vampire may keep crime against their residents isty. You know the Marais for its
find the modern city a bewildering far less common than on tourist nightlife (hunting Difficulty 3), so
place, and stay in the Old Town as beaches like Copacabana. you make it hotly contested among
much as possible. Gentrification the Kindred, changing lords all the
changes neighborhoods and drives Look at real cities, and you time. However, it’s high profile,
out old populations with higher can see these patterns repeating; so a total failure on a hunting roll
rents; it also might discomfit a study them to get a sense of how results in a big Masquerade breach.
Brujah elder who entered torpor your city operates. Of course, some
in a factory district and wakes up cities break the rules. Detroit is You want mortal politics to
surrounded by hipster bistros. the city in the process of being play a role, and the Axe Histo-
dismantled: its downtown features rique from La Defense to the
Consider the city’s logistics: shining skyscrapers, abandoned Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre
no city feeds itself, so they all have wrecks, and empty fields cheek by symbolizes that well with its
docks, rail yards, and warehouses jowl. Meanwhile, the government monumental architecture. All
covering acres of real estate. The builds Ashgabat, the capital of rolls related to political maneu-
Port of Antwerp or Navi Mum- Turkmenistan, under extremely vering there get a two-dice bo-
bai form vast cities within cities strict architectural controls. An nus. A “realistic” rule might hold
in themselves, but every city has aesthetically uniform space city in that the large police presence
somewhere with more goods white and gold rises on the steppe, there increases hunting Difficul-
and rail cars than eyewitnesses. with a populace cowed by secret ties in the Axe Historique. But
Industrial areas often go hand in police and hoping for jobs. a “symbolic” rule implies that
hand with the city's logistics hubs. mortal power and Kindred feed-
After all, stuff needs to go in and gaming the city: As you sketch ing have much in common, and
out of the factory as efficiently as out your city, assign mechanical lower hunting Difficulties there
possible. The Port of Antwerp has characteristics to districts and instead.
chemical refineries literally on the whole regions as you see fit. You
pier just for this reason. are a Storyteller, not a municipal Camarilla vampires find
official. Your system for breaking themselves at a disadvantage in
So where do the people live in down the city only needs to follow the Anarch banlieues around the
your city? Residential and subur- the logic of your chronicle. city: they suffer a two-dice pen-
ban areas come in many flavors, alty to all social and mental rolls,
often following class lines. The You don’t have to game out and a one-die penalty on physical
wealthy live in enclaves, the middle every district to give the city’s re- rolls so far out of their comfort
class in vast suburbs, and the poor gions their own rules feel. It makes zone. In an Anarch chronicle,
in slums and shoddily constructed no sense to expend your efforts you might simply reverse these
tenements. In some cities, the coming up with local mechanics numbers, or give each banlieue
classes separate; in Kolkata, a for places the characters will never its own specific effect to dif-
squatter shack may sit just a few visit. Remember that the bonuses ferentiate them in your players’
meters from a mansion’s gates. and penalties you come up with for minds. But both sides venerate
Residential areas tend to be large, a particular place don’t have to be the Sacré-Cœur atop Montmar-
but also uniform. They also tend to realistic. These tools exist to shape tre; all rolls related to diplomacy
shut down at night. Just use what the game in a certain configura- between Kindred get a two-dice
you need, and leave the mortals tion. It’s all about the specific bonus, and it’s a respected long-
to slumber in the rest. Play into needs of your chronicle. standing Elysium ■
335
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CHRONICLES
chronicles
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine.
– WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET
Everybody in a game of Vampire shares the Planning a Chronicle
same goal: to play a good, interesting game
together. The players and the Storyteller The first thing you need is a concept. What is your
collaborate in creating a shared experience. chronicle about? Who are the characters and what do
The Storyteller provides the world, the supporting they do? What is the experience you wish to build?
characters, and external events. The players each por-
tray a character who lives in this world and interacts For example, your concept could be a group of An-
with the Storyteller’s creations and the other player archs seeking to depose a corrupt baron who secretly
characters. serves the Camarilla. The chronicle is about creating
political change. The characters can be created very
While the player has to create a character, the differently, but the important thing is that they should
Storyteller has a much more daunting task: to create an want to do this. The experience of the chronicle is
entire chronicle. And then run it. about the danger, hope, excitement, and the ambition
of deposing a ruler.
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Concepts can vary wildly in THE DEFAULT interpersonal relationships. This
style and substance. There is no CHRONICLE co-created cast of characters is a
right or wrong way to play Vam- This is your first Vampire great resource to make sure you all
pire. If the chronicle works for you game, or maybe you just care about the chronicle from the
and the players, all is good. want to get on with it. get-go. The players helped create
Here is a basic concept for these people, and their Kindred
Another example of a con- what a chronicle can be: have strong relationships to them,
cept would be a chronicle about so they are already invested in
the slow erosion of humanity as The characters are them.
the characters go deeper into the young vampires in your
inhuman world of the Camarilla. home city. Maybe they When planning a chronicle
They start young and hopeful, are already undead when before character creation begins, it
traumatized by the Embrace but the game starts, or they is a smart move to use some place-
seemingly fitting in at the Elysium. could be Embraced in the holder names and descriptions
As the game proceeds, they find first session. The city has for several of your key characters
that success and dehumanization a Camarilla elite and an and then later switch them out for
often go hand in hand. Their pow- Anarch underclass to which characters from the relationship
ers grow, and their connections to the characters automati- map. This method is also easily
their old lives wither away. A game cally belong. applicable to customize published
like this can be contemplative stories.
and deliberately paced, with long The first sessions are
conversational scenes about the all about acclimatizing to EXAMPLE:
characters’ various circumstances. vampiric existence. The
characters hunt, deal with You’re planning a noir-style
As a very different kind of the remnants of the mortal murder mystery chronicle set in the
a Vampire game, the characters lives they left behind, Camarilla city of St. Petersburg,
could also be a team of archons and try to survive simple an ancient domain full of betrayal
sent to the Middle East to try challenges presented by and hidden agendas. The inciting
to navigate the Gehenna War in Camarilla authorities and incident is the destruction of an in-
search of an elder who disappeared the Second Inquisition. fluential Camarilla Kindred by her
with essential information about close friend – another Primogen.
the Camarilla’s political and fi- As the game progress- The crime is covered up as a Second
nancial assets. Without the elders, es, the focus increasingly Inquisition attack, leading the
nobody knows how the machine is turns to finding a place for player characters on a dangerous
supposed to work, dealing a blow themselves in the world of chase for clues until they discover
to the sect's power and influence. the dead. Do the charac- the identity of the killer, just before
ters want to ascend to the they strike again.
Using the Camarilla or foment rebel-
Relationship Map lion with the Anarchs? As you run character creation,
you inform the players that St. Pe-
During character creation you tersburg is the setting and for your
create a custom Relationship Map chronicle to work, they need to be a
that features the player char- Camarilla coterie based in the city.
acters, their sires, touchstones, They then progress to create their
allies, enemies, and their various roles and the relationship map.
After character creation is done,
you switch out the first victim from
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CHRONICLES
your story with one of the player for stories will inevitably occur to unknown Kindred commander who
characters’ sires, the killer with you. Write them down and base communicates with them by possess-
another’s mentor, and during the your pre-chronicle work on these ing a ghoul singer-songwriter when-
chronicle the killer will threaten the notes. This method makes for a ever he goes on stage. The Storyteller
lives of a third player character’s truly emergent chronicle, where has no idea where this is going, but
Touchstone. almost all the characters involved since the players seem fired up by
are drawn directly from the rela- the idea, she goes with it.
If you wait with detailed chroni- tionship map and the coterie and
cle and story creation until after background choices the players One player gives their character
“session zero,” the table will have have made. the Bahari lore sheet merit Ritual
done a lot of your work for you. Scarification, another picks a three
You might even want to tell the EXAMPLE: dot Camarilla adversary and names
players this is what you are doing her “Akalia.” The Storyteller sees an
– the sense of feeling included in A group of players create a nomadic opportunity to get some structure and
chronicle creation is empowering Anarch gang roaming from town a core conflict into this potentially
and exciting to many groups of to town in the American Midwest, free-floating chronicle. She decides
players. As the table co-creates the masquerading as a country music that the commander is a Bahari her-
social (and perhaps also the physi- festival. After some bickering, the etic and freedom fighter, imprisoned
cal) setting, ideas and possibilities players decide they are a unbound by Akalia, who becomes an old-school
“commando coterie,” working for an Cainite preacher in San Jose.
During the first few sessions,
the singer instructs the coterie to
strike against patriarchal Camarilla
oppressors and secret worshippers of
Caine, but then the Storyteller has the
singer kidnapped by one of Akalia’s
congregations in Kentucky. After a
daring rescue from the Creationist
Museum, he comes back different.
The targets have changed. After a
few strikes against Anarch bands, the
player characters realize that it is no
longer the commander who commu-
nicates through the singer. Only when
he engages in self-harm (a Bahari
practice) is the commander able to
communicate through him. The coterie
now has their work cut out for them
trying to trick Akalia into revealing
her location, probably by interacting
with her while she possesses the singer,
until they finally get to the climactic
showdown where they free the Bahari
heretic and destroy Akalia.
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Styles of Play CHRONICLE: INHERITORS
OF THE ILLUMINATI
So, Vampire is a roleplaying game in which joyless The coterie has been chosen, or even created,
monsters wrestle with morality in the shadows of suit- to guard the legacy of an elder of the Camarilla
ably gothic architecture. Right? as she is called into the Middle East by the
Beckoning. On her travels she will meet the
Well, it can be. But it can be fun too. Ancients and learn untold secrets, at least if
Past editions described Vampire: The Masquerade she makes it through the crucible of the Sab-
as a “Gothic-Punk” game. Punk is still as good a word bat’s Gehenna Crusade. While she is gone the
as any to describe the sordid, transgressive joy of play- coterie has been empowered to claim her vote
ing in a good Vampire game. But Vampire can accom- in the Primogen Council, and they may choose
modate many different play styles, and they are all to run her empire as they see fit. They have
valid, as long as everyone in the game has a good time. vast resources at their disposal but all of Kin-
You can explore lots of interesting things in a role- dred society is envious of them, waiting for the
playing game, even if – especially if – you would never smallest mistake to tear them to shreds. What
in a million years want to do them in real life. Do you the elder never told them is that they are
want to hit on that intense, unbalanced psycho dude, inheriting her enemies as well as her influence.
crash a wedding to hunt for blood, and end up hiding in They will have to use all of their combined
a dumpster to escape the deadly rays of the sun? Those smarts and powers to survive their inheritance.
things can be great fun in a Vampire game, especially as
your character suffers the consequences and not you. The coterie’s mortal cover is likely to be a
Miserable premises for a coterie of vampires major company, an estate, a hospital, a univer-
can act as springboards for action-oriented games. sity, or a hotel.
The characters are hoodies, thugs, and drug dealers
Embraced in a series of sordid accidents. They know This is the chronicle for those who want to
nothing about the World of Darkness and must learn begin near the top and (probably) have to fight
to deal with their new vampiric nature, fight against tooth and nail to not come crashing down as
mortal rivals, and try to navigate the lethal night of the their empire is besieged.
Camarilla. Or perhaps they are the progeny of ancient,
immensely powerful vampire lords and ladies, inducted
straight into the royalty of Kindred society. Stuck with
overprotective, controlling sires, they can act out to
their hearts' content, taking crazy risks to assert their
independence.
At an extreme, a Vampire game can resemble
cyberpunk or even splatterpunk. The characters oper-
ate in a city defined by monolithic shadows, walking
the border between moral and supernatural law in
a neo-feudal society of humanoid monsters increas-
ingly influenced by technological advances and mass
hysteria. You could do worse than watch Blade Runner
as inspiration for a game like this. And if you want to
crack skulls, there will be plenty of opportunity to do
that when the Second Inquisition calls a SWAT team
on a Brujah hideout, and the characters have to fight to
extricate themselves before sunrise.
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CHRONICLE: JUDGEMENT NIGHT Secrets Within Secrets
You play the Sheriff’s brood, the scourge’s elite
anti-Anarch troops, Ventrue enforcers, or any The World of Darkness is a world of secrets. As a
other self-styled or official group of Camarilla mortal, the first inkling of the true nature of the world
soldiers. Your characters could be a task force comes when you start to grasp that everything is not as
created to oppose the Second Inquisition in the you once believed. This is not just a question of para-
field or through infiltration of mortal intel- sitic monsters infesting human institutions. Human
ligence agencies or even an elder’s personal society has its own hidden agendas, and sometimes
squad of bodyguards fighting in the Gehenna there is not much difference between a secret society
War. of humans and one of vampires.
Whatever the history, the coterie’s role is A Vampire game of secrets is a game where
that of an undead intelligence or para-military the truth is always a little different than you first
operation, and the stories you tell will test the expected. The elders who hate each other are actu-
characters against both monstrous creatures ally lovers. The kindly old man who lives across the
and innocents who are just trying to get by. street from your childhood home is alone because he
Will they be protectors or oppressors? Heroes suffocated his wife and children 40 years ago, and no
or villains? one ever found out. The Ventrue proudly exclaim-
ing that they control the inner workings of Parlia-
The key to this kind of chronicle lies in ment fail to rival the influence exerted by massive
moral ambiguity and hard choices. The char- corporations like Amazon.
acters’ mortal cover could be very similar to
what they really are – a paramilitary group, There is always more to every story, and when
security company, or even a police department you play in a Vampire game, you are invited to join
(for hiding in plain sight), but Kindred law is secret societies within secret societies. The first
not mortal law and a criminal gang, terrorist and most obvious of these is the world of vampires.
group, or even a night-open church could just When you have been Embraced into a clan, you are
as well be the front for this coterie. introduced to an unknown and convoluted world
nestled deep within the one you once knew. Many
other revelations follow.
Navigating this landscape is part of the joy of
playing Vampire. During the first session of your
game, the characters may be Embraced into the
Brujah and the Gangrel. They experience the world
of vampires as squatting in warehouses, dilapidated
buildings, raves, and dodgy bars. As they discover
more of the World of Darkness, they are inducted
into another level of Kindred society: the elysiums
of the Camarilla. They see vampires in boardrooms
and fashion shows. Suddenly power does not mean
the strength to rip off the head of your enemy but
the ability to make sure your financial holdings
remain exempt from taxation.
Of course, you can flip this. If the characters start
in the lap of luxury, the energetic and transgressive
world of the Anarchs can be exciting and fresh, a secret
they can become part of.
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CHRONICLES
Irreconcilable Differences of balanced moral reflection. If they get a little space
to breathe, they can think about the consequences of
The World of Darkness can be expressed as irreconcil- their actions.
able tensions between forces tearing into different
directions. Human morality and intellect striving to Say one of the characters murders a human in a back
control the basic violent urges of the Blood inside alley behind a bar one night while feeding. The characters
define the personality of a vampire. This tension can dispose of the corpse but you as the Storyteller feel the
never truly be resolved, and it guides the vampire’s ac- death should have more heft. The characters have not
tions throughout their existence. killed so far, so it should feel like something.
The conflicting interests of humans and vam- So, a couple of nights later, the characters are hunt-
pires create further tension. Perhaps a character is an ing at the same bar when the dead man’s sister comes
idealistic Brujah, a political activist in their human in. She chats up the characters and finally asks about
days. They seek to use their vampiric powers to further her brother. It is clear she poses no danger to the char-
the goals they fought for in life, but after a few initial acters. She is not going to become a hunter and try to
successes, they realize that the things that are good for kill them. She will not even find out what happened to
humans are not necessarily good for vampires. Desper-
ate and harried humans are easier to hunt, while a FUN WITH EVIL
functional society is better at detecting the invisible Maybe you are making a game where the idea
threats within. is just to have fun playing terrible monsters.
The characters are selfish, murderous assholes
It is good to keep tension in mind when planning who damage and degrade everything around
your own World of Darkness. It cannot be unrelenting- them. In a game like this, you have to pay at-
ly grim, with no light whatsoever. Pure horror means tention to how you present the consequences
that evil starts to lose its significance. When everybody of the characters’ actions.
is a monster, nobody is a monster.
It is pointless to start guilt tripping the
example: players for playing the game you set up. It’s not
A junkie enslaved by a character to be a Blood fun to play a monster if you have to keep look-
addicted servant does his best to take care of the ing your victims in the eye. The simplest way
people around him, despite his circumstances. A vindic- to avoid unnecessary guilt trips is to make the
tive Anarch revolutionary spares the life of the Prince’s victims of your characters really unsympathet-
childe because she realizes that the childe is a victim ic. Perhaps they are wealthy Ventrue neonates
too. A Camarilla functionary tries to assuage her guilty who sneer and belittle the characters at every
conscience by secretly diverting the Prince’s funds into turn, only to start a tantrum when things fail to
urban renewal projects. go their way.
The job of a Storyteller or a player is not to morally However, maybe you do want to home in
judge the characters in the game. Vampire works best in a to the consequences of the characters’ actions
world where everything is in shades of grey and there is a every now and then. If the characters are un-
little bit of a sinner in everyone. While the characters can repentant monsters, you can highlight this by
have moral opinions inside the story, you get more play making some of their victims act like heroes.
from them if you let them act according to their person- They can dedicate their lives to good or for-
alities, motivations, and personal logic. give the characters for their actions, revealing
them to be the sordid creeps they are.
If you want to give the characters a chance to
reflect, you can adjust how vulnerable their circum-
stances make them. If they are constantly cornered
and fighting for their lives, they do not have the luxury
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COREBOOK
her brother if the characters do not CHRONICLE: HUNTING PARTY
tell her. She is just an ordinary hu- In the age of the Second Inquisition, hunting is complicated. Many
man being, hurting from a tragedy Kindred have discovered that hunting in a group, approaching
caused by a player character. scoring blood like a confidence trick, a heist, or a kidnapping
makes things a whole lot safer. Crews who master a variety of
Symbolism methods of hunting are even hired by elders and other Kindred to
bring them specific prey or set up a safe feeding that inspires the
Vampires are fictional monsters cre- correct Resonance in the victim.
ated to tell stories about different
themes. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Some hunting parties include a Tremere Blood Sorcerer or a
the vampire represents the seduc- duped or enslaved thin-blood blood-cooker who can preserve the
tive allure of something dangerous resonance of the blood long after it has been drained and enter
and foreign. You could even say the the cut-throat world of the blood trade. Hunting parties inspire
vampire is about sex. In the classic stories of daring heists and high-stakes seductions in the search for
movie Nosferatu, the vampire is a the perfect blood, but also messy, fucked up stories of dehuman-
metaphor for infectious disease, izing treatment of mortals.
infesting a town like the plague.
A hunting-focused chronicle will involve heavy interactions
It helps to bring your with mortal society.
chronicle to focus if you consider
what the vampire means in your able men and women in far-away
game. Vampire: The Masquerade rooms directing their drone
provides a framework for a wide fleets to bomb weddings and
variety of interpretations: funerals. They can be fascism,
the imposition of order through
If you want to make a politi- pure will.
cal game, the vampire is a simple
and effective metaphor. They History in general can be your
can represent capitalism, the theme, and the vampire the tool
super-rich, political corruption, you use to explore it. Vampires
and private interests controlling live forever, so you can start in
society from the shadows. the Middle Ages and work your
way towards modernity.
You can make the vampire
a metaphor for conservatism, If you choose to make the
describing the old Kindred as rel- vampire about sex, you will
ics still clinging to their medieval also have plenty of angles of
worldviews. This theme can also approach. They can be a trans-
be explored from the angle of gressive object of desire or they
intellectual history, underlining can represent exploitation and
how differently people used to unequal power relationships, the
see the world in the past. loss of control in the face of lust,
the secret fantasies we can only
The vampire can be a meta- achieve with strangers.
phor for colonialism, a foreign
invader sucking the lifeblood
out of a society and forcing its
people to become servants. They
can be war, the story of comfort-
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CHRONICLES
The vampire – a transhuman Motivation and Group their personal issues, your game
being, postmortal and postmoral Dynamics will crash.
– can transcend gender and
socially imposed structures of There is a couple of simple things Another thing to consider is
society. They can be a perfect au- you can keep an eye on when the group dynamics. Simply put, all
tonomous agent, imposing their players are creating characters to the player characters should want
will and world-view on their make sure that the chronicle will to hang around with each other.
surroundings. They can represent work. First, all characters should If they do not, your game will
the need for redemption, perhaps want to do the things they will be constantly be pulling into sepa-
through Golconda. They can be doing in the game. This may sound rate individual directions. Maybe
a Satanist ideal, with no regrets. simple, but experience suggests they are friends or share a lot of
They can seek to regain their lost that it may go wrong if you don’t common history. They could have
humanity by engaging with sci- pay attention. been Embraced at the same time.
ence, fashion, and magic, looking Whatever it is, if character motiva-
forward instead of backward. The For example, you want to tion is in line with the design of
vampire can be everything you make a combat-focused game your chronicle, your life will be
secretly long for and the fear that where Anarch revolutionaries much easier.
follows when you get it and real- battle the forces of the Camarilla
ize it was not what you expected in the streets. For this to work, all You should also pay attention
at all. characters must be motivated and to the individual goals characters
able to fight in the streets. If they come up with. For example, if a
are non-combatants focused on player decides that their character
wants to take care of their sick
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COREBOOK
CHRONICLE: FANG GANG CHRONICLE: NOMADS
Whether your coterie rolls with MS-13 affili- No city is your home. Travel and Anarchs have
ates, outlaws, Tottenham fans, or a black bloc a long history, and with the influx of many
antifa group, they hide in plain sight. They are Gangrel into the movement, nomadic vampires
members or even leaders of a group outside are more common than ever. Tonight over 23
society and the law. By attaching themselves million people are fleeing war and persecu-
to predators, their behavior is much harder tion in their home countries, and there are
to spot for the Inquisition but if their gang many vampires moving across Europe and Asia
includes mortals, they have their work cut out attached to these ever-growing throngs of
for them. The player characters can choose web-designers and mothers and chefs look-
to make their mortal allies Blood addicts, pay ing for a future, constantly shuffled between
them off, or meticulously keep the Masquer- refugee camps and temporary solutions. In
ade in front of them. No matter what they do, other parts of the world, subcultures like the
there will be problems, drama, and tragedy. New Age Travellers and the Roma are on the
Hopefully, the benefits outweigh the dangers. move constantly, as are bands, truckers, and
backpackers. The coterie is disguised as one of
A fang gang is a great coterie for taking a these moving social groups, or perhaps exists
deep look into life on the outside using real within it.
world source material. A wealth of information
and even video interviews with gang members Nomad chronicles are good for telling sto-
is available online. ries about escaping something (perhaps one-
self), xenophobia, and freedom and are useful
A gang coterie does not have to be violent. for exploring many different cities and perhaps
Perhaps the player characters are posing as nations and their varied and bizarre Kindred
a group of card-skimmers, burglars, or quiet societies – kind of like a travel show where
dealers working in gated communities or with every destination wants to kill and enslave you.
the Burner scene.
mother, that could be a problem leading the group to broad outline which will then adapt to what happens
have to go deep underground to infiltrate the Cama- in the game.
rilla of another city. Individual goals are great, but they
should pull in the general direction of the chronicle, Let’s say you are planning a ten-session chronicle
not against it. about young neonates in a Camarilla city. The first
three or four games can be about exploring the setting
Structure and getting to know the different factions, as well as
trying out the systems Vampire provides for play.
No chronicle lasts forever. It can be three sessions,
twenty, or a hundred, but eventually all things must When the chronicle is running comfortably, you
end. When you are planning your chronicle consider can up the stakes by introducing external threats,
how long you wish it to run for and what the general surprising power plays, important new supporting
structure should look like. This does not mean that characters, and other developments around the fourth
you have to make an exact timetable of everything for session. Maybe an elder departs for the Gehenna War
the next twenty sessions. Rather, you can sketch out a and inexplicably decides to make the haven of one of
the characters into an Elysium, promoting the charac-
ter into the Keeper.
346
CHRONICLES
This middle section of the chronicle will feature a a very long chronicle will benefit from a broad idea
more active stance on the part of the characters. They about how things will end. For example, your chronicle
now have some resources and influence and can start is about characters who fight the dirty politics of the
making plans of their own. The players will also have Camarilla to take over the city. The game ends when
gotten more used to how the game works and be more one of them becomes the Prince, whether this takes
comfortable taking initiative. five sessions or fifty.
The general rule about structure is that the Having an ending in mind will also help you avoid
longer the campaign, the vaguer your plans will making a chronicle which will just fizzle out. A chronicle
necessarily have to be. A ten-session chronicle can is almost always more satisfying with a proper ending.
be sketched out, but if you are going to run the
game for years, it might be better to think about When you consider what kind of ending you want,
themes and subject matter rather than specific story try to avoid ones that leave no agency for the char-
beats. The chaos of a good game will change so many acters. If the chronicle ends the same way no matter
things that sticking to an original plan will probably what the players do, something is wrong. For example,
not work. if your game is set to end when the elders come back
from the Gehenna War and kill everybody, the events
The End leading up to that ending will have been meaningless.
But if the elders come back and the characters get
You don’t have to plan a specific ending for it, but even the opportunity to either welcome them or renounce
them, the ending will be much more meaningful.
347
COREBOOK
Sometimes surprising develop- CHRONICLE STARTER PACK
ments during the chronicle invali- Here are five quick things to consider and discuss with the players
date your original ending. That’s as you start a new chronicle.
perfectly fine! Just re-evaluate the 1. The chronicle concept. Who are the player characters? What
chronicle to see where it can devel-
op a new ending. A good Storyteller are the major themes and settings? Is everybody on board with
needs to get used to implementing the plan?
the old adage of “kill your darlings,” 2. The scope of the commitment. Is this an open-ended chroni-
and this applies to endings as well. cle, or are you planning to run it for three, five, ten, or twenty
sessions?
Talk To Each Other 3. The style of play. Will focus be on social interactions, combat,
or political backstabbing? Will the players try to “beat” the
Playing Vampire is a group activity. game by playing smart, or is it okay to play to lose if that leads
Maturing as a troupe, learning what to something interesting?
everyone – including the Storyteller 4. Food and location. Does everybody feed themselves? Is there
– wants out of the game and what a rotating cooking assignment? Are snacks shared? Who hosts
they consider worthwhile, learning the game?
methods to minimize conflict and 5. Exit policy. How do you leave the chronicle? No game benefits
ensuring smoothness of play – these from having someone who does not want to be there, so we
things all take time, practice, and suggest an articulated policy where players can leave the game
communication. with no hard feelings if it is not working for them.
Don’t be afraid to actually talk If there are problems in the characters do and say, while the
about what you are doing on a group, good communication is key. Storyteller takes care of every-
meta level in coming to an agree- If a player consistently acts in a thing else. Other groups are more
ment on how you want to play. destructive way in the game, never flexible, and allow the players to
This can be especially important punish them in-game. Instead, talk improvise in the game world to a
when sitting down with new play- with them outside the game and see greater extent, such as deciding the
ers or player groups. It’s not about if the issue can be resolved. If not, contents of their bag, what their
what is the right or wrong way to you will have to ask if that player home looks like, their friends and
play, but rather about making sure really wants to be in the game. acquaintances, etc. Some groups go
all players are on the same page. even further, allowing the players
Narrative Control to control things far removed from
A simple thing to talk about is their characters, often guided by
the logistics of play. Traditionally, The question of narrative control the character’s skills. For example,
it often falls on a single individual, is a sensitive topic in many groups, a player rolls Wits + Streetwise and
usually the Storyteller, to organ- and one that can create great declares that “everyone knows that
ize play session logistics. This does clashes between playstyles. Who this turf is controlled by the Red
not always have to be the case, has the right to enter what into the Ravens gang.” In this example, the
and sharing the load of purchasing game world? player assigns the turf to the Red
books, coordinating the schedule, Ravens, or even invents the entire
and setting up a play area can In some groups, players are gang.
actually increase engagement in the strictly limited to what their
game. It also makes the troupe less
vulnerable to composition changes
as members move, fall ill, have pe-
riods of heavy workload, and so on.
348
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