Masquerade V5 Character Creation Guide
Character Creation Summary
While these rules can be found on page 136 of the Masquerade V5 core book this will be a simple guide for character creation. It is suggested to use the full creation rules based on pages 138 - 151
Core Concept
- What was your characters name in life?
- What did they do? Where and when were they Embraced?
- What is their name now?
- Where are they now?
- How old are they?
- What did they do when they were alive?
- What did they want to be?
Clan and Sire
- Pick your Clan and complete any necessary approvals if needed
- Make Character Ties for your Sire or create an NPC Sire with your Storyteller
Attributes
- One Attibute- - Three Attibutes
- - Four Attributes
- - One Attribute
- Health = Stamina + 3
- Willpower = Composure + Resolve
Skills
Pick one Skill distribution
Jack of all Trades
- - One Skill
- - Eight Skills
- - Ten Skills
Balanced
- - Three Skills
- - Five Skills
- - Seven Skills
Specialist
- - One Skill
- - Three Skills
- - Three Skills
- - Three Skills
Specialties
Give a Free Specialty to the following Skills, provided you have a single dot in that skill
- Academics
- Craft
- Performance
- Science
- One More of your choosing
If you have not taken a dot in these skills at creation, you will still gain a free specialty upon purchase of your first dot.
Disciplines
- Choose 2 of your In Clan Disciplines. Put in one and in the other.
- For the first dot of each discipline, pick a level 1 power
- For the second dot of the main discipline, you can choose either a level 2 power or another level 1 power for this slot.
- If you have chosen to play a Caitiff, You can pick any 2 disciplines to do the above, please speak with your storyteller about these disciplines before choosing them.
- If you have chosen to play a Thin-Blood, do not pick any disciplines.
Predator
Unless freshly embraced or unfortunate enough to be a Thin-Blood, Vampires have a Predator type. These are the main ways your Kindred will feed. Given a situation they will usually default to this way of feeding. For predator types go to page 175 of the V5 core book.
- Add one of the listed specialties to your sheet, If you do not have the associated skill for the specialty. Add a single dot in that Skill instead.
- Add one dot to a listed Discipline, then pick an associated power.
- Apply any associated Advantages or Flaws.
Advantages
Vampires
- Spend 7 points on Advantages in addition to those gained by your predator type.
- Take 2 points of Flaws in addition to those gained by your predator type.
Thin-Bloods
- Spend 7 points on Advantages in addition to those gained by your predator type.
- Take 2 points of Flaws in addition to those gained by your predator type.
- Take 1 - 3 Thin-Blood Merits
- Take the same amount of Thin-Blood Flaws.
Convictions and Touchstones
- Select one to three Convictions, examples can be found on page 172 of the V5 core book
- Create an equal amount of Touchstones. Touchstones must be living Mortals.
- Set your Humanity to 7, then add or remove Humanity based on your Predator Type.
Additional Experience
- TBA Depending on Addendum, Players may be granted extra experience at character creation
Trait Costs: Experience
| Trait | Experience Cost |
|---|---|
| Increase Attribute | New Level x5 |
| Increase Skill | New Level x3 |
| New Specialty | 3 |
| Clan Discipline | New Level x5 |
| Out Of Clan Discipline | New Level x7 |
| Caitiff Discipline | New Level x6 |
| Blood Sorcery Ritual | Ritual Level x3 |
| Thin-Blood Alchemy | Formula Level x3 |
| Advantage | 3 per dot |
| Blood Potency | New Level x10 |
| *Humanity | New Level x10 |
* Pending Addendum, Humanity Experience cost is an optional rule.
Trait Summary
Attributes
| Trait | Examples | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Charisma | Charm, Magnetism, Strength of personality | Social |
| Manipulation | Getting others to do what you want | Social |
| Composure | Self-control, cool, calm head | Social |
| Strength | Exertion of force by the muscles | Physical |
| Dexterity | Agility, Grace, Eye-hand coordination | Physical |
| Stamina | Toughness, Resilience, Endurance | Physical |
| Intelligence | Memory, reasoning, intellect | Mental |
| Wits | Cleverness, intuition, spur-of-the-moment-decision-making | Mental |
| Resolve | Focus, Concentration, Attention | Mental |
Skills
| Trait | Examples | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Academics | Humanities and liberal arts, booklearning | Mental |
| Animal Ken | Animal handling and communication | Social |
| Athletics | Running, jumping, climbing | Physical |
| Awareness | Senses, being aware of your surroundings, spotting threats | Mental |
| Brawl | Unarmed combat of all types | Physical |
| Craft | Crafting, building, shaping | Physical |
| Drive | Operating vehicles | Physical |
| Etiquette | Politeness in social settings | Social |
| Finance | Handling, moving, and making money | Mental |
| Firearms | Using ranged weapons, such as guns and bows | Physical |
| Insight | Determining states of mind and motives | Social |
| Intimidation | Getting another person to back down | Social |
| Investigation | Following clues, solving mysteries | Mental |
| Larceny | Breaking and entering, guarding against that | Physical |
| Leadership | Directing and inspiring others | Social |
| Medicine | Healing injuries, diagnosing disease | Mental |
| Melee | Armed hand-to-hand combat | Physical |
| Occult | Secret lore, both real and unreal | Mental |
| Performance | Expressing art in person to an audience | Social |
| Persuasion | Convincing others | Social |
| Politics | Handling, moving, and making government | Mental |
| Science | Knowledge and theory of the physical world | Mental |
| Stealth | Not being seen, heard, or recognised | Physical |
| Streetwise | Understanding the ins and outs of criminal and urban society | Social |
| Subterfuge | Tricking others into doing your will | Social |
| Survival | Remaining alive in adverse surroundings | Physical |
| Technology | Understanding and using modern technology, computers, and online activity | Mental |