VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE 20th ANNIVERSARY

528 Pages·2011·54.14 MB·English

VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION 1
22 FFOORREEWWOORRDD
For twenty years, you’ve been reading and listening to us talk about Vampire: The Masquerade.
This time, we thought it was the community’s turn to talk. We approached a number of rabid Vampire fans
from all over the world (some of which have since come to work for us), and asked them to tell us how this
game touched their lives.
This, then, is the real story of Vampire: The Masquerade.
My passion for vampires and roleplaying personal In 1993, I stood in front of the White Wolf booth
horror stories collided when I was given [the] 2nd at GenCon as Enzo Giovanni trying to get, by hook
Edition Vampire: The Masquerade for my 16th or by crook, as much Pentex stock as possible — all
birthday. in the hope of landing my first hobby game gig writ-
ing for my favorite intellectual property. Eighteen
Vampire: The Masquerade managed to enhance
years and one design career later, Vampire is still
my imagination far beyond any other RPG: I got so
the absolute standard of what’s exciting and cool
involved that I led the largest Spanish WoD on-
in gaming. Without Vampire, tens of thousands of
line community, where creativity and dreams were
gamers would have never learned that there is a
shared by hundreds of people.
far greater world to imagine than that of hack and
In my opinion and experience, Vampire: The
slash.
Masquerade has made history in vampire mytholo-
Shawn “Enzo” Carnes
gy, but more importantly, it has been a great source
Executive Director of Janitorial, Pentex Corporation
for inspiration, friendships, feelings, and love.
Lorenzo Melchor (London, UK)
1992: I wear social stigma like a crown of shit.
“Masquerade,” the green marble book whispers. I
Make no mistake, the book you hold in your
embrace the Eldritch leather chrysalis. Suddenly
hands is a beast, at once beguiling and delightfully
sex, drugs and rock’n roleplaying is more than just
dangerous. It will seduce you into a life of dream-
a play on words. I breathe free.
ing as it did to me twenty years ago. I owe Vam-
1995: The Umeå bomb-squad descends on Ely-
pire: The Masquerade, and its creators, much of
sium, robotic camera spots Anarch firebomb. Mor-
my livelihood. I know that reads a tad gauche, but
al panic ensues. They call us “The Army of The
it’s true. White Wolf’s storytelling game of blood-
Abandoned” and I see how powerful we are. “This
drinking immortals inspired me to build for its
game will change the world!”
players a community and produce a successful trad-
ing card game. Vampire has left an indelible mark 2011: Looking in the mirror, I understand. The
on my creative work and given me a career in the Masquerade didn’t change the world. It changed us.
game industry, for which I am eternally grateful.
Martin Elricsson (Stockholm, Sweden)
Matthew Burke
Founder, Camarilla Fan Club
Vampires. Always in the collective imagination
as charismatic and seductive people… and so it
My first contact with Vampire was five years ago was. When I discovered Vampire: The Masquer-
and it was one [of] the first RPG[s] I played. The ade it stunned me: so rich of shades, poetry, ad-
group ended up being cancelled but later on I was venture, intrigues. It was as a treasure to discover.
invited by a friend to play in a Vampire LARP And it made me feel as a child, it made me meet a
game. That was three years ago and today I can lot of people playing together, year by year. Group-
say that some of my closest friends are because of ing friends around a table, rolling [dice], acting as
this game. It’s a hobby that never gets old and the [vampire] Actors in a LARP: well... it’s really won-
reason why I have met many wonderful people all derful! It brought me a lot of new friends. Did it
over the world and shared awesome time[s], laugh- change my life? Yes, sure! [I’m] positive.
ter and good moments with them.
Caterina “Lara” Casapieri (Milan, Italy)
Maja Zaccara (San Paulo, Brazil) National Coordinator, Camarilla Italia
Assistant Head Coordinator, One World by Night
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Vampire: the Masquerade has turned out to be
In 1995, I’d fallen in with some friends I’d met
a factor in some of my life-determining points over
over a local BBS, who were big D&D players. They
the last 20 years. From meeting my first long-term
introduced me to Vampire: The Masquerade,
girlfriend at a Camarilla session to picking up my
which blew my mind. I realized everything had
love for DJing again because of a Camarilla benefit
changed when I got pissed off after my character
(and eventually turning DJing into my full-time
had gotten diablerized by another player’s char-
profession), lots of good memories are attached to
acter. This was a new medium for telling stories.
V:tM. I can’t begin to list the number of life-long
Everything snowballed from there. I’m now forced
friends I made through the game, how it taught me
[to] realize that I’ve been playing these games for
RPGs could be about more than a dungeon bash,
more than half my life. I wouldn’t be who I am
and of course, the hours and hours of fun I had with
now without them. I am honored and excited to
it.
help celebrate this 20th anniversary with so many
David “DJ Hive” Benoy (Belgium)
other fans.
VampireParty.com
Ian A. A. Watson
Webmaster, Wolf-Spoor.org Fan Site
Vampire: the Masquerade has given me the pos-
sibility to meet people from all over the world who
Back in the 90s, my little cousin invited me to
love to embrace their childhood with a grown up
watch Kindred: The Embraced at my uncle’s. Little
version of “[playing h]ouse.” It has been a wonder-
did I know how much Vampire: The Masquerade
ful experience filled with fun and good times, both
would positively influence my life.
in character and out of character as we trek across
I joined a WoD online community, which I the country, exploring archeological sites through
helped to develop and turn into the biggest one a darker story.
in Spanish. Amongst other things, I improved my
Talia Hanselman (Israel)
organizational, leadership, and mediation skills,
Admissions Coordinator, One World by Night
quite impressive for a mild Asperger like me.
More importantly, I have met those who are
nowadays my best friends. I have met the love of When I was first asked to write a blurb about
my life. The 20th Anniversary is a life celebration how Vampire: The Masquerade changed my life
for every fan. my initial thought was “How am I supposed to sum
up my whole life in 100 words”. From The Eternal
Dhaunae De Vir (London, UK)
Struggle to The Masquerade, Laws of the Night
and Mind’s Eye Theatre, this world has been an in-
I realized I was gay in high school, but felt isolated tegral part of my life since the mid-nineties. What
and afraid to tell my conservative father. Vampire started as a game around a table quickly became a
provided escape into a world that understood the hobby, a lifestyle and culminated in a career and a
stress I felt, pretending to be something I wasn’t. (I move from Sweden to the US where I met my wife
joked that I lived Homosexual: The Masquerade.) and formed a family. The first 20 years of Vampire
Eventually, I came out to my dad and, eventually, has given me the best and most defining moments
he accepted me. of my life, and I hope that over the next 20 years I
can be part of creating equally amazing experiences
Vampire taught me ambition and courage. As an
for you all.
adult, I’ve achieved my dream of becoming a game
designer and I’m out in the industry. The world is Jon “Swede” Selin
growing more accepting, but I hope this new edi- Lead Game Designer, World of Darkness
tion will find those who still need to masquerade.
Link Hughes
Systems Designer, World of Darkness
i4v FFOORREEWWOORRDD
I became a gamer instead of being a “gamer’s
girlfriend” because of Vampire. In 1996, I watched I first discovered Vampire: The Masquerade in
a Camarilla LARP in Austin, TX and bought my college and have not looked back, except in fond
first RPG book the next day. Friends I made that memory of all of the friends I have made and the
night are part of my life today and I have met oth- places I have traveled through what went from a
er people around the world because of this game. counterculture to a culture all of its own. As the
Most importantly, nine years later, I was invited to 20th Anniversary approaches, it hardly feels like
join the company, then was given the opportunity that long for those of us who are still a part of this
to be a White Wolf writer. That night, this game, world we have grown up with, shared with friends,
changed the course of my life. For that, I will al- and developed into something deserving of such
ways be grateful. jubilant celebration. I know I speak for not just
myself, but all of the friends I have made when I
Kelley Barnes
give a sincere thanks to everyone out there who
Camarilla Club Director (2005-2010)
made all of this possible and that we look forward
Freelance Writer
to 20 more years in this endless night.
Robert Crosby
Vampire: the Masquerade has played a big part
Head Coordinator, One World by Night
in my life throughout the years. In 1991 it cap-
tured my imagination when I was in high school.
In 1995, while I was in college, I played in and I started playing Vampire in 1993 and was
ran some of the greatest Vampire games. In 1999 I amazed! The freedom of character and story really
met the woman who would become my wife when appealed to me. There is great potential in creating
she joined a Vampire game I was running. In 2003 a world that challenges, not only the characters,
I joined the online White Wolf community and it but the players. Instead of the characters being sec-
wasn’t long before word spread that I could make ondary to the story, the story is a direct result of
custom character sheets. Vampire has and will al- the players’ actions. I take great pride in turning
ways be a great influence in my life. perceived realities on their head so that the play-
ers never really know what’s next. The greatest re-
Chris “Mr. Gone” Leland (Seymour, Indiana)
ward is when the players finish a story and look like
they just walked through a hurricane and they say
[…] 20 years later, Vampire is still relevant to “WOW!”
us. It isn’t often that a game of pretend creates the
David Martin
opportunity to forge lifelong commitments, but Alpha, The Wrecking Crew
I look at Vampire and see that’s exactly what it
did. The fact that our group of fans continues to
grow and expand shows that the respite we craved This book has taken me into some weird, beauti-
20 years ago is still needed, still valuable, today. ful places since I picked it up twenty years ago. Not
So thank you, Vampire, for all the memories, the only that, but it changed my mundane reality into
opportunities, the laughs and tears. Thank you a playfield of dark imagination. It taught me how
White Wolf, for giving us another opportunity to by our creative will alone we shape the world. It
revisit it, in such an amazing format. Happy 20th was, and still remains, the philosopher’s stone for
Birthday Vampire. an urban alchemist. No other game has had such
a lasting impact on my life, friendships and profes-
Ric Connely
sional career.
Chairman of the USA Board of Directors,
The Camarilla Fan Club Teemu Vilen
Content Director, World of Darkness
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Dedication Ken Meyer, Jr. Photo Shoot
Photography: Meredith Gerber and Zarli Win
This book is dedicated to the Vampire, World of
Models: Kristi Davis, Chase Ferguson, Lorenzo
Darkness, and White Wolf communities. It is because
Melchor, Dhaunae De Vir, Shannon Withrow, and
of you that this book exists. Thank you.
Matthew Ziegenfuss
Credits
Special thanks: Aaron Voss for his firearms update, Ian A. A.
Watson for his fearless transcription skills, Dave Poole and the
CCP Web Team for making the open development process pos-
Authors: Justin Achilli, Russell Bailey, Matthew
sible, and the entire V20 community that tirelessly playtested dur-
McFarland, and Eddy Webb ing the open development process and gave us more feedback than
we could have ever hoped for.
20th Anniversary Development Team: Justin
Based on the work of Justin Achilli, Andrew Bates, Bruce
Achilli, Russell Bailey, Shane DeFreest, Rich Thomas,
Baugh, Chris Bjork, W. H. Bourne, Anne Sullivan Braidwood,
Aaron Voss, and Eddy Webb Bill Bridges, Deird’re Brooks, Dustin Browder, Steven C. Brown,
Phil Brucato, Zach Bush, Michael Butler, Brian Campbell, Jackie
Foreword Contributors: Kelley Barnes, David “DJ
Cassada, Sam Chupp, Ken Cliffe, Steve Crow, Richard E. Dan-
Hive” Benoy, Matthew Burke, Shawn Carnes, Caterina sky, Graeme Davis, Joanne FitzRoy, Frank Frey, Sion Rodriguez y
“Lara” Casapieri, Ric Connely, Robert Crosby, Martin Gibson, John Goff, Michael A. Goodwin, Geoffrey C. Grabowski,
Andrew Greenberg, Daniel Greenberg, Heather Grove, Ed Hall,
Elricsson, Talia Hanselman, Link Hughes, Chris Le-
Chris Hartford, Robert Hatch, Jesse Heinig, Kenneth Hite, Sean
land, David Martin, Lorenzo Melchor, Jon “Swede” Jaffe, Steven Kenson, Ellen Kiley, James Kiley, Jacob Klünder,
Selin, Teemu Vilen, Dhaunae De Vir, Ian A. A. Wat- Alan I. Kravit, Danny Landers, Robin D. Laws, Michael B. Lee,
Ian Lemke, Carrie Lewis, Ari Marmell, Regina McKinney, James
son, and Maja Zaccara
Moore, Clayton A. Oliver, Ronni Radner, Nicky Rea, Jim Riley,
Editor and Indexer: Genevieve Podleski Sarah Roark, Dean Shomshak, Ethan Skemp, Sven Skoog, Luc-
ien Soulban, James Stewart, Richard Stratton, Cynthia Summers,
Creative and Art Director: Rich Thomas
Adam Tinworth, Janet Trautvette, Stewart Wieck, Travis Lamar
Layout and Typesetting: Ron Thompson with Craig Williams, and Fred Yelk
Grant and matt milberger Vampire: The Masquerade Creators: Mark Rein•Hagen with
Steven C. Brown, Tom Dowd, Andrew Greenburg, Chris Mc-
Interior Art: Sam Arraya, John Bolton, Tim Brad- Donough, Lisa Stevens, Josh Timbrook, and Stewart Wieck
street, John Cobb, Mike Danza, Guy Davis, Michael
Gaydos, Rebecca Guay, Mark Jackson, Leif Jones, Paul
Eddy’s Dedication
Lee, Vince Locke, Greg Loudon, Larry MacDougall,
Robert McNeill, Ken Meyer Jr., Jesper Myrfors, Wil-
liam O’Connor, Christopher Shy, Ron Spencer, Rich- To Michelle. Without you, I would not have Vam-
pire. Without Vampire, I would not have you.
ard Thomas, Joshua Gabriel Timbrook, Andrew Trab-
bold, John Van Fleet, and Kent Williams
© 2011 CCP hf. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written
Character Sheet: Chris “Mr. Gone” Leland permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes
of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for
personal use only. White Wolf,
Community Developer: Shane DeFreest
Vampire, World of Darkness, Vam-
pire the Masquerade and Mage the
Ascension are registered trademarks
Tim Bradstreet Photo Shoot
of CCP hf. All rights reserved.
Vampire the Requiem, Werewolf
Photography: Meredith Gerber, Scott Harben, and the Apocalypse, Werewolf the For-
saken, Mage the Awakening, Pro-
Jamais Vu methean the Created, Changeling
the Lost, Hunter the Vigil, Geist
Clothing: Peter at Shrine Clothing the Sin-Eaters, Storyteller System
and Storytelling System are trade-
Models: Russell Bailey, Shawn Carnes, Shane DeFre- marks of CCP hf.
est, Martin Ericsson, Greg Fountain, Reynir Harðarson, All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are
copyrighted by CCP hf.
Heidi Kirchgesner, Angela de Lune, Bianca Carter-
CCP North America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CCP hf.
Mallory, Stacey Mell, Angela Richter, Mike Tinney,
This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes.
Sasha Travis, and Dhaunae De Vir All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for en-
tertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader
discretion is advised.
Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com
PRINTED IN CANADA.
v6i CCRREEDDIITTSS AANNDD CCOONNTTEENNTTSS
Need Contents Page
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BOOK ONE - THE RIDDLE
Introduction 5
Chapter One: A World of Darkness 13
Chapter Two: Sects and Clans 37
BOOK TWO - THE BECOMING
Chapter Three: Character and Traits 77
Chapter Four: Disciplines 127
Chapter Five: Rules 245
Chapter Six: Systems and Drama 257
Chapter Seven: Morality 309
BOOK THREE - THE PERMUTATIONS
Chapter Eight: Storytelling 345
Chapter Nine: The Others 369
Chapter Ten: Bloodlines 393
Appendix 479
VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION 7
8 CREDITS AND CONTENTS
W.H.,
To

from your most devoted servant:
M
any years have passed and I fervently hope that time will have
dulled somewhat the distressing memories you carry. I dare to send
you this in a spirit of supplication; while your forgiveness is too much
to ask, I crave at least your understanding. I owe you some kind of
explanation for the events which so shattered your blameless life.
A
lthough I exhibited precious little Menschwert before you and
your companions, the flame of Humanitas still burns in my breast,
albeit erratically. Time and nature both struggle to extinguish it, thus
completing my descent into the Inferno of madness and bestiality. I
must guard my soul well – as well as any priest – for any lapse in
vigilance lets in the Beast, with results which you yourself have seen.
I

know it is impossible to atone; an eternity of pious prayer is too
short a time. However, as a mark of penitence, I offer you the en-
closed document, the act of which makes me a traitor to my own kind.
I pray you may find something in its pages to help you understand
the torment I inflicted upon you, and by understanding, perhaps, dis-
pel some little amount of the pain. The tone, I fear, is somewhat dry;
a soldier has little need for pleasing tricks of poesy to beguile a reader.
I have merely set down that which I know, as well as I may.
I
owe you a debt which can never be discharged. If at any time I
may be of service to you or your family, I am at your command.
Semper Servus,
V.T.
1 VAMPIRE THE MASQCUHEARPATEDRE O20NtEh: ASENTNTIINVEGRSARY EDITION 9
10 INTRODUCTION