World of Darkness - Vampire: the Masquerade (By Night Studios edition)

"Thou shalt not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood.
Doing so shall renounce thy claims of Blood"

-The First Tradition: The Masquerade

Overview

The world of Vampire is a dark reflection of our own. The shadows loom longer here, and the night is more reluctant to yield to day. Corruption runs rampant, from the government through private corporations and into the various subcultures that revel in these culturally bankrupt times.

It is a world of contrasts, of haves versus have-nots. It all looks very much like the real world, as seen through an extremely stylized filter that turns up the contrasts between dark and light. The technology is the same as ours right now, but the people who use it are different — darker, in personality and motive — and that changes how the world functions.

The civilization of the undead is a manipulative and poisonous dance, and few vampires are left entirely untouched. Since the nights of antiquity, Cainites have struggled for supremacy, in an ancient and many-layered struggle known as the Jyhad. Leaders, cultures, nations, and armies have all been pawns in the secret war, and vampiric conspiracies have influenced much (though by no means all) of human history.

Few things are as they seem in the vampires’ nocturnal world: A political coup, economic crash, or social trend may be merely the surface manifestation of a centuries-old struggle. Vampire elders command from the shadows, manipulating mortals and other vampires alike — and the elders are often manipulated in turn. Indeed, most combatants may not even realize for whom they fight, or why.

The Jyhad rages even today. Though skyscrapers take the place of castles, machine-guns and missiles replace swords and torches, and stock portfolios substitute for vaults of gold, the game remains the same. Kindred battles Kindred, Clan battles Clan, Sect battles Sect, as they have for eons.

Increasingly, vampires speak of Gehenna — the long prophesied night of apocalypse when the most ancient vampires, the mythical Antediluvians, will rise from their hidden lairs to devour all the younger vampires.

This Gehenna, so the Kindred say, will presage the end of the world, as vampires and mortals alike are consumed in an inexorable tide of blood. Some vampires strive to prevent Gehenna, some fatalistically await it, and still others consider it a myth. Those who believe in Gehenna, however, insist that the end time comes soon…

Player Resources

• Vampire Character Template
  

Genre Staff

BtS Genre Storyteller (GST Masquerade): pending

Sects

• The Anarch Movement: Anarchs are vampires who reject the status quo of Cainite society. The resulting organization of anarchs is called the Anarch Movement.
• The Camarilla: The Camarilla is the largest of vampiric sects, a loose organization which ostensibly represents and protects all vampires by enforcing and promulgating the Masquerade. It is composed of seven clans, though officially it considers all Kindred under its purview and welcomes any that obey its laws. In addition to preventing the growing mortals masses from discovering the existence of vampires, the Camarilla aims to maintain the status quo of Kindred society; as such, much of its structure and traditions mirror that of Cainite society in feudal Europe in the Dark Ages, and places it at odds with the agenda of the Sabbat and Anarchs, both of whom seek to overthrow Kindred society.
• The Inconnu: The Inconnu is an extremely secretive sect of vampires. Virtually nothing is known for certain about them, but some of the most popular theories claim the group is a coalition of Methuselahs that exists to manipulate both the Camarilla and Sabbat from behind the scenes, made up entirely of ancients who have forsaken the Jyhad in order to pursue Golconda, or a powerful cult tied to the Antediluvians. Even the sect's age is disputed, with some believing it dates as far back as Rome.
• The Sabbat: The Sabbat is a loose organization of Cainites who reject the Traditions. Unlike the Camarilla, the Sabbat believes in the Antediluvians and Caine. Also known as the Sword of Caine, as they believe they will be the army Caine will use to destroy the Antediluvians once Gehenna arrives.

Clans

Camarilla Clans

• The Brujah: Once philosopher-kings of an ancient civilization, but are now rebels and rogues with a fearsome inclination toward frenzy.
• The Gangrel: Bestial and untamed, often coming to resemble the animals over which they demonstrate mastery.
• The Malkavian: A Clan fractured by madness, each member irrevocably suffering under the yoke of insanity.
• The Nosferatu: Hideously disfigured by the Embrace, so they keep to the sewers shadows and traffic in the secrets they collect.
• The Toreador: Enjoy every sensual pleasure the world has to offer, idolizing physical beauty and the adoration of their thralls.
• The Tremere: Wield the supernatural power of their sorcerous past, though they became vampires through treachery and artifice.
• The Ventrue: Observe the noblesse oblige of vampire society, though their entitlement and greed encourages them to seek ever more at the expense of others.
• The Caitiff: No inherent Clan society, support, or even characteristics; they are like orphans among the great families of vampires

Sabbat Clans

• The Lasombra: Proud nobles who command the very essence of darkness and shadow — to the point of worshiping it, some say.
• The Tzimisce: Eldritch Old World lords who have little in common with the mortal world and can manipulate flesh and bone at a whim.
• The Pander: Caitiff of the Sabbat, who hold -- in theory, if not in practice -- more standing than their Camarilla cousins.

Independent Clans

• The Assamite: Silent masters of assassination, killing for hire and collecting blood for rituals to bring them closer to their progenitor.
• The Followers of Set: Venerate a chthonic God while seeking out the world’s secret places and protecting ancient artifacts.
• The Giovanni: An insular family of vampires who practice the art of commanding the dead while commanding global finances, as they have since the Renaissance.
• The Ravnos: Nomads and tricksters who can force the mind to see what isn’t there, though they are slaves to the vices they indulge in.

Courts in Australia