Vampire: The Masquerade

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Created by [[Mark Rein�Hagen]], Vampire: The Masquerade was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness live-action and role playing games, based on the Storyteller System and centered around vampires in a modern Gothic-Punk world. The Revised Edition, sometimes alternately referred to as the Third Edition by fans, was released in 1998 and explains, "the setting of Vampire is a composite of its populace and their despair." The title of the series comes from "The Masquerade", referring to the Camarilla's attempts to hide vampirism from humans and their governments and media.

In 1992, Vampire: The Masquerade won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules of 1991. The game line was discontinued in 2004, and followed by revised rules and a new setting in Vampire: The Requiem.

'Kindred' is the term many vampires in this game use to refer to themselves. Some vampires, namely those of the 'Sabbat' refer to themselves as Cainites, as the curse that transforms them into vampires originated with Caine. The term 'Kine' (i.e. 'cattle') is the opposite of this, and refers to humans.

In general, vampiric societies consist of two levels: sects and clans. Characters within the Vampire setting are members of one of the clans or minor bloodlines offered, and usually belong to factions associated with these or that reflect a general ideological stance the characters happen to share. For example, a Brujah may belong to the Camarilla, the Sabbat, or the Anarchs, but very few Tremere would be found among the Sabbat and even more rarely among the Anarchs.

Some clans and most of the minor bloodlines declare themselves independent from any sects. In addition, the Laibon, known as Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom by Western Kindred, are not so much a sect as a cultural group bound together loosely by a powerful spiritual bond to the land and the people of Africa. The Kindred of the East, while sharing some superficial similarity to the western Kindred, are actually an entirely different variety of supernatural being.

Contents

Clans and bloodlines

Clans

ClanProgenitor[1]Sect allegiance
AssamiteHaqimMostly independent, antitribu in the Sabbat, Schismatics in the Camarilla. Highly variable clan, containing castes of Warriors, Viziers, and Sorcerers. They are no longer the stereotyped "Middle Eastern Assassins".
BrujahTroile/IlyesMostly Camarilla, antitribu in the Sabbat; most Brujah are descendants of Troile, who supposedly diablerized Ilyes; the remaining vampires of the so-called True Brujah clan are practically extinct
Followers of SetSet or TyphonMostly independent, antitribu in the Sabbat (as the Serpents of Light)Known for being corruptors to awaken Set.
GangrelEnnoiaMostly independent since they abandoned the Camarilla en masse, They are known as the more ferel clan.antitribu in the Sabbat
GiovanniAugustus Giovanni[2]Independent, necromancers. Most don't want to try and find out any more.
LasombraLaro Somi BarraMostly Sabbat. Their power over shadows is unnerving to most as well as the fact that unlike other vampires they don't cast a reflection. Some Lasombra do cast a reflection but it is of a decomposing corpse or a skeleton depending on how long the Lasombra has been a vampire. A few antitribu in the Camarilla
MalkavianMalkavMostly Camarilla. Known for their insanity and most other vampires don't talk with them unless they must. antitribu in the Sabbat
NosferatuAbsimilliardMostly Camarilla, antitribu in the Sabbat. Gathers of knowledge and information. If a vampire wants information, they go to the Nosferatu - if they can find them. When a human becomes a Nosferatu, they undergo a horrid transformation making them look much like Count Orlok from Nosferatu. Unlike Tzimisce, they don't choose what they look like as no two Nosferatu have the same abnormalities. Nosferatu take any chance they can get to disgust Toreadors with their appearance and the way they act.
RavnosDracien (also called Zapathasura)Mostly independent, they are known as the gypsy clan. antitribu in the Sabbat
ToreadorArikel or IshtarMostly Camarilla. Toreadors are more in touch with Kine than any other vampire clan. They are artists and scholars. Most don't have the ability to lead like the Ventrue or Tremere but are content to drink in the finer things of life that most Kindred don't care for. antitribu in the Sabbat
TremereTremere[3]Camarilla, very few Sabbat members, but the real antitribu-bloodline was completely destroyed by a ritual. Their hatred for the Tzimisce knows no bounds. Their power over the blood of others makes them most feared.
Tzimisce[Dagon]Sabbat, Tzimisce outside the sect are extremely rare. Their hatred for the Tremere knows no bounds. Their ability to shape the flesh and bone of others makes them most feared. Only a Nosferatu could not be disgusted with their appearance and practice of using their power over flesh and bone on themselves. If this ability is used on Nosferatu their body will eventually revert back to previous state. Members of the so-called Old Clan Tzimisce claim independence from the Sabbat
VentrueVeddharthaMostly Camarilla, they are known to be business - oriented individuals who are in charge. antitribu in the Sabbat

1 Names in brackets are placeholders for the unknown real names of the progenitors.

2 Augustus Giovanni was the patriarch of a wealthy family of necromancers, who stole the power of the Cappadocians.

3 Tremere was a powerful mage who stole the power of the sleeping Saulot.

Minor bloodlines

These clans vary in their origins. Some were among the original major clans, but have declined or become extinct. Others are dominant in regions not central to the events of Vampire: The Masquerade.

BloodlineProgenitorParent bloodlineSect allegiance
AndaDobrul the BraveGangrelProbably extinct before the formation of sects
AhrimanesMuriciaGangrelSabbat
AkunanseUnknownGangrelLaibon
BaaliShaitan, Moloch and SekerOrigin Unknown.[4]Independent. Very few Baali survive to this day, as their conspicuous devil-worshipping practices are both a threat to the Masquerade and an abomination to the Sabbat.
Blood BrothersArtificialTzimisceSabbat
CappadociansCappadociusNoneOnce a major clan, they were considered extinct before the formation of sects; the Giovanni are their successor bloodline; a small group led by Lazarus survived in Egypt and resurfaced in 1998
Children of OsirisOsirisFollowers of SetIndependent
Daughters of CacophonyLilithToreadorIndependent
GargoylesArtificialGangrel, Nosferatu and TzimisceGargoyles usually adhere to the sect of their creators. Few stay loyal to their creators as many break off on their own. Many become hitmen or bodyguards if a life of solitude does not suit them. A large group of Gargoyles, freed by Ferox, is independent
GuruhiUnknownUnknown (possibly Nosferatu)Laibon
Harbingers of SkullsThe CapuchinCappadociansSabbat
IshtarriUnknownToreadorSabbat
KiasydMarconiusLasombraNominally Sabbat
KinyonyiUnknownRavnosLaibon
LaibonFakir Al SidiGangrelUnknown
LamiaLamiaCappadociansConsidered extinct before the formation of sects
LhiannanUnknownGangrelConsidered extinct before the formation of sects
Mariner GangrelUnknownGangrelUnknown
Mla WatuUnknownCappadociansLaibon
NagarajaUnknowntransformed eutanatos mages; can't sire othersIndependent
NaglopersUnknownTzimisceLaibon
Nkulu ZaoSaulotSalubriLaibon
OseboUnknownBrujahLaibon
SalubriSaulotNoneA major clan driven to the brink of extinction by the Tremere; the few survivors joined the Sabbat or are independents
SamediBaron SamediCappadociansIndependent; Some associate with the Camarilla
ShangoUnknownUnknown, possibly AssimiteLaibon
Sons of DiscordLilithToreadorDestroyed by their sisters, the Daughters of Cacophony
TlaciqueUnknownFollowers of SetIndependent
Xi DunduUnknownLasombraLaibon

4 Theories as to the founder of the Baali include Saulot and Cappadocius. Template:WoD vampire

Clanless

In the World of Darkness, there is an increasing number of "clanless"�vampires who were abandoned by their sires immediately following the Embrace and who are ignorant of their clan status; a vampire cannot choose to become clanless. They are called Caitiff by the Camarilla, and regarded as a sign of the Masquerade spiralling out of control, therefore gaining little respect from their elders. The Sabbat, on the other hand, gladly embraces the clanless (which they call Panders) into the sect. The more superstitious see the growing numbers of these vampires as an omen of the coming Gehenna, the Final Nights of prophecy when all children of Caine will be destroyed.

Tie-ins and adaptations

Under the title Mind's Eye Theatre: The Masquerade White Wolf also provides a Live action role-playing game in the same setting, using their Mind's Eye Theatre system.

Kindred: the Embraced, a television series based on Vampire, was produced by Aaron Spelling. A video game based upon the Vampire milieu is Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, developed by Nihilistic Software and published in 2000 by Activision. Another game followed in 2004: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. Developed by Troika Games and published by Activision, it uses Half-Life 2's Source engine. A compilation album, called Music from the Succubus Club, was released by Dancing Ferret Discs to serve as a soundtrack for the Vampire RPG.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, Wraith: The Oblivion, Changeling: The Dreaming, Hunter: The Reckoning, Mummy: The Resurrection, Kindred of the East and Demon: The Fallen are other RPG titles set in the so-called World of Darkness.

In August 2004, the now-defunct game set in the original World of Darkness was replaced by Vampire: The Requiem. Although it is an entirely new game, rather than a continuation of the old, it uses many elements of the old game, including certain clans and disciplines.

References

External links


References

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