"Vampire is a game of make-believe, of pretend, of storytelling. Although, Vampire is a game, it is more about storytelling than it is winning. If you've never done this kind of thing before, you may be confused by the whole premise of a stroytelling game. Once you catch on to the basic conepts, however, you'll find that it isn't strange, and is, in fact, eerily familar.

You, along with some of your friends, are going to tell stories of madness and lust. Tales of things that bump in the night. Tales of peril, paranoia, and sinster, shadowy evil. Tales from the darkest recesses of our unconscious minds. And at the heart of these stories are vampires.

These stories will capture your imagination far more than any play or movie; likewise, they are of a darker nature than the children's fairy tales you might remember (although those too were rather grim if you think back). This is because you are inside the story and not just watching it. You are creating it as you go along, and the outcome is always uncertain.

This game provides a way to experience a horror of an all too immediate nature, for you experience the terror from the other side of the mirror. The horror of Vampire is the legacy of being half beast, trapped in a world of no absolutes, where morality is chosen, not ordained. The horror of Vampire is the evil within, and the all-consuming lust for warm blood.

Perhaps the greatest danger of playing Vampire is that of seeing yourself in the mirror. To play this game you must face the madness within you, that which you strive to master and overcome, but cannot bear to face.

Unless you are willing to face the reflection of your own imperfections then go no futher. Madness as well as wisdom rewards those who dare to gaze into eternity."


(VTM): "Long ago, before movies, TV, radio and books, people used to tell each other stories: tales of the hunt, ledgends of the gods and the great heroes, or gossip about the neighbors. They would tell these stories aloud, as a part of an oral tradition of storytelling, a tradition which tragically, has been cast aside.

We no longer tell stories -- we listen to them. We sit passively and wait to be picked up and carried to the world they describe, to the unique perception of reality they embrace. We have become slaves to our own TV's, permitting an oligarchy of artists to describe to us our lives, our culture and our reality.

Through the stories constantly being broadcasted, our imaginations are being manipulated for better and, all too often, for worse. However, there is another way. Storytelling on a personal level is becoming a part of our culture once again. That is what this game is all about: not stories told to you, but stories you will tell yourself. Vampire is about bringing stories home and making the ancient myths and legends a more substantial part of your life.

Storytelling allows us to understand ourselves by giving us a tool with which to explain our triumphs and defeats. By looking at our culture, our family and ourselves in new contexts, we can understand things we never realized before. It is entertaining because it is so revealing, and exhilarating because it is so true. Storytelling plays such an enormous role in our culture that it can't be accidental. Stories are somehow basic to our psychology. Our obession with them has a purpose to it: of that there is no doubt.

Storytelling is integral to our nature, and has an influence which cannot be denied."


(VTM):"Vampire is not only a storytelling game, but a role playing game as well. You not only tell stories, but actually act through them by taking on the roles of the central characters. It's a lot like acting, only you make up the lines. To understand roleplaying, you only have to go back to your childhood and those wonderful afternoon spent playing Cops 'n' Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, and Dress-up. What you were doing was roleplaying, a sort of spontaneous and natural acting that completely occupied your imagination. This play-acting helped you learn about life and what it meant to be a grown-up. It was an essential part of childhood, but just because you have grown up doesn't mean you have to stop.

In Vampire, unlike pretend, there are a few rules to help you roleplay. They are used mainly to avoid arguments - "Bang! Bang! You're dead!" "No I'm not!" - and to add a deeper sense of realism to the story. Rules direct and guide the progress of the story, and help define the capacities and weaknesses of the characters...."