Vampire: The Masquerade
Classic WoD: | Vampire: The Masquerade | Clans (Masquerade) | Sects | Coteries
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- "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
- "Thou shalt not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood.
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…
Active Games
Masquerade Genre Storyteller
The current Genre Storyteller (GST) for Vampire: the Masquerade is Corey Markham.
The current chronicle uses the setting as depicted in Vampire 20th Anniversary Edition.
Resources for VST's
- Masquerade Genre Style Sheet - The GST's style sheet for the Masquerade Genre. This contains requirements for VST's, information / restrictions on approval items, and references for IC settings.
Resources for Players
- Masquerade Places on the Map - Global locations and time periods of where other characters have been. Have a look and see where you link in
- Masquerade Timeline - the Timeline of our Sanctioned Chronicle
- Masquerade Character Development Document - Character Development Document which grants an additional 4xp to your characters, which counts against neither the Incremental Maximum nor the annual limit for Over-Cap XP
- Elder Playstyle - The Playstyle and requirments for playing Elders
- The Traditions - The Traditions of the Camarilla
- The Code of Milan - The Code of the Sabbat
- Masquerade Lists - Lists for the Masquerade Chronicle
- The Convention of Thorns - The Treaty that exists between the Camarilla, Anarchs and Assamites.
Rules
- Universal - Global Addenda for the Classic WoD setting
- Masquerade - Masquerade Addenda for the Masquerade genres
- The Protocols of the Camarilla - The Protocols of the Camarilla.
- Influence Guidelines - Rules for using Influences in Masquerade
Sects
The Anarch Movement
Localized and sporadic, without any real central organization outside the individual cities where it establishes itself. In fact, the Camarilla considers the “Anarchs” under its own purview. The central tenet of the Anarchs is that rule by elders is an outmoded concept, and that Kindred domains should be governed by merit, with a fundamental respect for the individual Kindred. Effectively, the Movement seeks to redistribute the power in domains from the hands of the old elite into a more equitable arrangement. Many Anarchs style themselves as revolutionaries, willing to do whatever it takes to strip power from the corrupt old guard who hoard it. These are no utopian domains of happy Kindred-kine relationships. These are petty kingdoms ruled by individual undead lords of whatever territory they can seize.
The Camarilla
Holds up the Traditions as the highest authority, with a figure known as the Prince acting as the ultimate authority to both interpret and enforce those laws in each domain. First and foremost, the Camarilla sees its role as maintaining the Masquerade. The Camarilla considers itself a well-heeled Sect of genteel vampires, and the term Kindred originates with it, in the idea that all members of the Camarilla are peers in the same august organization. Of course, the social hierarchy of the Camarilla is an elaborate construct, and vicious interpersonal politics and ancient grudges shape the nightly affairs of the “Ivory Tower.”
The Icconu
An enigmatic elder Sect about which little is known. Indeed, it seems less of a cogent Sect and more of a confederation of Kindred who seek the state of Golconda, a sort of redemptive transcendence of Damnation. The Sect rarely has more than one or two Kindred in any given domain, and territory acquisitions don’t appear to be part of its agenda. What the Sect formally wants — if anything — remains unknown, and speculation runs rampant as to their origin.
The Sabbat
Holds an apocalyptic outlook, believing that the time for Gehenna is nigh, and the Ancients will soon rise from their graves and devour their errant get. It has little regard for the Traditions other than immediate self-preservation, and its domains are hellish urban warzones where people may well have seen vampire activity but simply chalk it up to the weirdness and horror of the World of Darkness. The Sabbat believes that ultimately, vampires must assert their place over the mortal world instead of hiding from it, if they are to survive the fangs of their creators. Part fanatical death worshippers, part millennial doomsday cult, the “Sword of Caine” is neither subtle nor tolerant.
Clans
Camarilla Clans
Brujah
Once philosopher-kings of an ancient civilization, but are now rebels and rogues with a fearsome inclination toward frenzy
Gangrel
Bestial and untamed, often coming to resemble the animals over which they demonstrate mastery
Malkavian
A Clan fractured by madness, each member irrevocably suffering under the yoke of insanity
Nosferatu
Hideously disfigured by the Embrace, so they keep to the sewers shadows and traffic in the secrets they collect.
Toreador
Enjoy every sensual pleasure the world has to offer, idolizing physical beauty and the adoration of their thralls
Tremere
Wield the supernatural power of their sorcerous past, though they became vampires through treachery and artifice
Ventrue
Observe the noblesse oblige of vampire society, though their entitlement and greed encourages them to seek ever more at the expense of others
Caitiff
No inherent Clan society, support, or even characteristics; they are like orphans among the great families of vampires
Sabbat Clans
Lasombra
Proud nobles who command the very essence of darkness and shadow — to the point of worshiping it, some say
Tzimisce
Eldritch Old World lords who have little in common with the mortal world and can manipulate flesh and bone at a whim
Independent Clans
Assamite
Silent masters of assassination, killing for hire and collecting blood for rituals to bring them closer to their progenitor
Followers of Set
Venerate a chthonic God while seeking out the world’s secret places and protecting ancient artifacts
Giovanni
An insular family of vampires who practice the art of commanding the dead while commanding global finances, as they have since the Renaissance
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
Masquerade Bloodlines
Baali
Even monsters have their bogeymen, and Kindred are no exception. The Baali are one such power
Blood Brothers
Sabbat shock troops, created by Tremere and Tzimisce sorcerers in order for the Sword of Caine to have loyal soldiers that can still pass for human
Daughters of Cacophany
Base their unlives on song. The Sirens (as they are called in Kindred circles) are all singers, and the bloodline has always been predominantly female
Gargoyle
Odd quasi-Kindred often looking like their stone namesakes — rocky-skinned, ugly, winged creatures that exist only to serve their Tremere masters
Harbinger of Skulls
Alleged to all be elders, frighteningly powerful, and emerged from the mists of the past to throw their lot in with the Sabbat
Kiasyd
Independent, and focused more on their studies than on the causes of the Sword of Caine
Nagaraja
Hunted to near extinction in the modern nights by political enemies and the ghosts upon whom they prey, the flesh-eating witches are feared by Kindred on all sides of the Jyhad
Salubri
once a true Clan, rumour has it that only seven members of the once-respected line exist at any given time
Samedi
Resembling nothing so much as walking, rotting corpses, these odd vampires take their name from the Caribbean and the religion of vodoun
True Brujah
This strange bloodline claim that Brujah’s childe, Troile, committed diablerie upon him and stole control of the Clan.
Coteries
Coteries are not "official" groups nor declarations of belonging. They are Kindred that band together within Sects, Clans, and sometimes range across both.
Lores
Lores represent the knowledge your character possesses on certain topics. Follow the link to find out more.