Common

Allthing - A gathering of Gangrel, often called by the eldest clan member in a particular region. A smaller gathering is called a thing.

Anarch - A Kindred rebel who opposes the tyranny of Elders. Anarachs wish to redistribute the wealth and resources of a city equitably among the vampires therein. Naturally, the elders oppose this, having cultivated their influence for centuries.

Archon - A vampire in the service of a justicar. Archons are rarely of the same clan as the justicar they serve so as to avoid the appearance of favoritisim, and are deputized with a wide array of powers. Most archons are blood bound to the justicar they serve.

Ball - A gathering of Toreador and invited guests.

Barrens, The - The areas of a city unfit for life, including graveyards, abondended buildings, industrial wastelands and areas of irreversible urban blight.

Becoming, The- The moment one passes from a fledgling into "full" vampire status. One may not Become until their sire deems them ready and gains the Prince's approval.

Book of Nod, The - A loose colection of Kindred legendary and history. The Book of Nod chronicles the origin of the Kindred, though it has never been published in its entirety. Fragmens of the doument and its many partial transcriptions ciculate among certain strata of Kindred society.

Beast, The - The inchoate drives and urges that threaten to turn a vampire into a mindlss, ravening monster.

Blood - A vampire's heritage; that which makes a vampire a vampire.

Blood Bond - A mystical power over another individual engendered by partaking of a particualr vampire's blood thrice; accepting blood from the vampire is an acknowledgement of her mastery.

Blood Hunt - The process by which a Prince declares another vampire to be outlawed and the prosecution (in the form of an actual hunt) that follows.

Breach - A violation of the Masquerade, usually punishable by death.

Caitiff - A vampire of unknown clan, or of no clan at all. Caitiff are typically of high generation, where Caine's blood dilues too greatly to pass any consistent characteristics.

Camarilla, The - A sect of vampires devoted primariy to maintaining the Traditions, pasrticularly that of the Masquerade.

Chantry - A communal haven-come-workshop for a city's Tremere.

Childe - A vampire created through the Embrace - the childe is the progeny of her sire. This term is often used derogatorily, indicating inexperience. Plural - Childer.

Clan - A group of vampires who shar common characteristics passed on by the Blood. There are 13 known clans, all of which were reputedly founded by members of the Third Generation.

Conclave - A gathering of the entire sect, usually called by the jusitcar.

Convention of Thorns - The treaty that ended the Anarch Revolt.

Coterie - A small group or "pack" of Kindred, united by the need for support and sometimes common interests.

Court - the formal audience granted by the Prince to his subjects, often given at Elysium. When a Prince holds court, in theory any of the city's Kindred may approach him or her to present themselves, request boons or otherwise make requests for favor or action.

Destruction - The power of life and death over other Kindred. Possessed by a city's Prince and occassionally bestowed on others within his dominion.

Diablerie - The consumption of another Kindred's blood, to the point of the victim's Final Death. Vampires of high generation may lower their generation through this practice; particularly old Kindred have such rarified tastes that mortal blood no longer sustains them, and they must consume vampire blood.

Domain - An area of a particular vampire's influence. Princes claim entire cities as their domians, sometimes allowing lesser vampires to claim domain within.

Elder - A vampire who has experienced three or more centuries of unlife. Elders are the most active particapants in the Jyhad.

Elysium - A place where vampires may gather and discourse without fear of harm. Elysium is commonly established in opera houses, theatres, museums and other locations of culture.

Embrace, The - The act of transforming a mortal into a vampire. The Embrace requires the vampire to drain their victim and then replace that victim's blood with a bit of their own.

Final Death - The ultimate destruction of a vampire.

Fledgling - A newly created vampire, still under the Sire's protection.

Founders - The legendary group of Kindred who established the Camarilla.

Generation - The number of "steps" between a vampire and the mystical Caine; how far descended from the First Vampire a given vampire is.

Gehenna - The imminent Armageddon when the Antediluvians will rise from their torpor and devour the race of Kindred and the world.

Ghoul - Aminion created by giving a bit of vampire vitae to a mortal without draining her of blood first (which would create a vampire instead).

Harpy - A de facto title given to the Kindred who sit in judgement on the rest of a city's social status. The harpies mandate the social pecking order through inneundo, rumors, favoritism and other such tools.

Haven - A vampire's "home"; where they find sanctuary from the sun.

Hunger, The - The urge to feed, as with any living creature. For vampires, however, the Hunger replaces all other drives with its own powerful call.

Inconnu - A sect of vampires who have removed themselves from Kindred concerns and, largely, the Jyhad. Many Methuselahs are rumored to exist among the Inconnu.

Inner Circle - The council of elders that controls the Camrilla and its policies. No one knows how many Kindred sit on the Inner Circle, let alone the clans and names of those who do so.

Jyhad, The - The secret, self destructive war waged between the generatons. Elder vampires manipulate their lessers, using them as pawns in a terrible game whose rules defy comprehension.

Justicar - A roving representative of the Inner Circle charged with upholding the Traditions and laws of the Camarilla. There is one justicar from each clan, elected to a 13-year term by the Inner Circle and subject to replacement at the end of that term. Justicars have sweeping powers, ncluding the right of destruction, to enforce the laws and Traditions.

Keeper of Elysium - The vampire charged with upholding the sanctity and quality of a city's Elysium.

Kindred - The race of vampires as a whole, or a singe vampire. According to rumor, this term came about in the 15th or 16th century, after the Great Anarach revolt. Sabbat vampires scorn this term.

Kiss, The - To drink blood, especially from a mortal. The Kiss causes feelings of ectasy in those who recieve it.

Lupine - A werewolf, the natural and mortal enemy of the vampire race.

Lush - A vampire who typically feeds from drugged or drunk mortals in order to experience their inebriation.

Life, The - A euphemism for mortal blood. Many Kindred regard this term as affected and effete.

Malkavian Madness Network - The poorly understood connection that links all Malkavians by means of their shared altered perceptions. Outside theorists postulate that the network has developed some sort of link to the Net, but details are understandably hard to come by.

Man, The - The mote of humanity that a vampire maintains; the spark of mortality that distinguishes him from the Beast.

Masquerade, The - The habit (or Tradition) of hiding the existence of vampires from humanity. Designed to protet the Kindred from destruction at the hands of mankind, the Masquerade was adopted after the Inquisition claimed Kindred unlives.

Ordeal - A form of trial among the Kindred, wherein the accused undergoes some sort of test (combat, sunlight, etc.) in order to prove their innocnece.

Pioneer - The first Kindred into a city or area. Pioneers often set themselves up as Princes, and call for reinforcements to help them maintain their holdings. Few pioneer Princes are ruely shoved aside by ursurpers less inclined to take risks.

Primogen - A member of the council of elders who putatively advise the Prince of the city. The primogen council's actual power varies from city to city.

Prince - A vampire who has claimed a given expanse of domain as their own, particularly a city, and supports that claim against all others. The term can refer to a Kindred of either sex.

Pyramid - Slang term for the formal structure of Clan Tremere.

Rack, The - A prime feeding grounds within a given city. Often composed of clubs, bars and shopping districts.

Rant - A formal (in some sense of the word) gathering of Brujah.

Red List - the listing of those Kindred whom the Camarilla most ardently desires to see purged from the face of the earth. Vampires on the Red List are considered under continual Blood Hunt.

Retainer - A mortal or ghoul who serves a Cainite directly.

Rogue - A vampire who feeds upon the vitae of another Kindred, out of necessity or depravity.

Sabbat, The - A sect of vampires that rejects humanity, embracing their monstrous natures. The Sabbat is bestial and violent, preferring to lord over mortals rather than hide from them.

Scourge - Title given to a given Kindred chaged by the Prince with cleansing the city of unwanted, unauthorised vampiric rabble.

Sect - A group of Kindred arguably united under a common philosophy. The three most widely known sects currently populating the night are the Camarilla, the Inconnu and the Sabbat.

Seneschal - A Prince's "right-hand Vampire". The Seneschal handles many of the night-to-night operations of a city.

Sheriff - Kindred charged by the Prince with the duty of upholding the laws and Traditions of the city.

Sire - A vampire's "parent"; the Kindred who created them.

Spawning Pools - Breeding chambers for ghouls used by the Nosferatu. The water of the pool is tainted with Nosferatu vitae, making ghould of any every living thing therein. Over centuries, these creatures can grow to monstrous size and power.

Traditions - The most sacred and basic laws of the Camarilla, establishedat the same time as the Sect.

Vessel - A source of vitae for sustenance or pleasure, primarily mortal.

Vitae - Blood. More specifically, Kindred Blood, but the definition is not an absolute one.

Ancient

Amaranth - The act of consuming another Kindred's blood (aka: Diablerie)

Ancilla - A "proven" vampire, between the elsers and the neonates.

Antediluvian - A member of the dreaded Third Generation, one of the eldest Kindred in existence.

Archon - A vampire in the retinue of a justicar. Archons are generally nomadic in nature, frequently pursuing Kindred who have fled to avoid persection at the hands of the Camarilla.

Autarkis - A Kindred who remains outside the larger vampire society of a given city and often refuses to acknowledge the clain of a Prince.

Becoming, the - The Embrace.

Blood - Not vitae, but rather a Kindred's lineage and heritage. Many Kindred refer to themselves as being "of the Blood" of a prticularly notable ancestor. For example, some of the most prominent Ventrue proudly declare themselves to be "of the Blood of Hardestadt".

Blood Oath - A blood bond.

Cainite - A vampire; a member of the race of Caine.

Canaille - The bovine masses of humanity, especially the uncultured and unsavory. The Canaille are viewed primarily as the source of sustenance.

Carthagos - Archaic form of Carthage. Any city that a vampire considers to be exalted or special place.

Cauchemar - A vampire who feeds exclusively on sleeping victims.

Consanguineous - Literally, "of the same blood". especially with reference to lineage. Usage: That vampire is consanguineous of Hardestadt the Elder, his childer.

Cunctator - A vampire who avoids killing when delivering the Kiss; one who takes so little blood as to avoid bringing about the prey's final death.

Diaspora - The dispersal of elders from their lands in Europe, rememebred bitterly by many American elders. Also used to describe the exile of vampires from the Second City.

Domitor - A ghoul's master; one who feeds her blood and issues their commands.

Fall, The - The Anrach Revolt, considerd by many elders to be the first step on the road to Golconda.

Fealty - Another name for the blood bond.

Footpad - One who feeds from derilicts and other chaff of society. Foot pads are frequently debased and may not maintain permanent havens.

Gentry - A Kindred who preys at nightclubs, bars and other establishements of the "red light district", where mortals engage in reverie.

Humanitas - The extent to which a Kindred still maintains their humanity.

Jus Noctis - Literally, "the law of the night". In practice, the authority a Kindred has over her childer until he or she grants them their freedom as responsible members of the Camarilla. Under the Jus Noctis, a sire is totally responsible for their childer's actions until she releases them.

Jyhad - The great game played by the Antediluvians amongst themselves, in which all younger Kindred fear they are merely pawns to be moved about a board.

Kine - A term for mortals, largely contemptous. The phrase Kindred and Kine refers to the world at large; everything.

Kiss, The - The act of taking blood from a mortal. In some cases the term has also grown to mean the Embrace.

Labyrinth - A particularly well-fortified or ancient haven.

Leech - A human who drinks vampire blood, yet acknowledges no master.

Lextalionis - The code of the Kindred an the system for punishing transgression. It suggests Hammurabian or Biblical justice - an eye for an eye, and punishement in keeping with a grievance.

Lineage - A vampire's bloodline; the Kindred's sire, sire's sire, etc.

Methuselah - A vampire who has existed for a millennium or more; an elder who no longer exists among the greater whole of Kindred society. Methuselahs are rumored to hail from the Fourth and Fifth Generations.

Nemisis - The Sabbat. More generically, a vampire with whom another Kindred has had a rivalry extending across centuries.

Neonate - A young Kindred, recently embraced.

Noddist - Of or referring to vampire legend. Also, a vampire who studies lore.

Osiris - A vampire who builds a mortal cult around himself, in the interests of gaining sustenance. As the millennium appraches and passes, Osiris cults become increasingly common.

Papillon - The red-light district; the area of town punctuated by drinking establishments, brothels, gambling houses and other locales of ill repute. The prime hunting grounds of a city, where the disappearance of mortals goes hand in hand with the area's general seediness.

Pax - A formal truce between two elders or clans. Often the name of the Kindred who brokered the peace is attached to the term.

Praxis - The right of Princes to gevern; the Prince's claim to a domain. This term also refers to the Prince's matters of policy and indiviual edicts and motions.

Progeny - All of a given vampire's cilder, collectively. Less formal and less flattering is Get.

Primogen - The leaders in a given city; its ruling body of elders, typically composed of one member from each clan present in the city.

Promethean - A theif or other undesirable. Often used to refer to elders of the Sabbat, as opposed to the street-level rabble.

Pueri - A derisive term for childer.

Regnant - A Kindred who holds a blood bond over another.

Retainer - A human who serves a vampire master. This term is archaic, referring to a time when vampires kept vast entourages of mortal servants as part of their estates.

Siren - A vampire who seduces mortals in order to drink from them, and then only takes a small quantity of blood, so as to avoid killing them.

Somnus - Antediluvian. More generally, any ancient and powerful Kindred rumored to be asleep beneath a city.

Suspire - The rumored epiphany experienced just prior to the attainement of Golconda.

Third Mortal - Caine, who was cast out and became the First Vampire.

Thrall - A vampire under the efects of a blood bond, having drunk another Kindred's blood thrice.

Vessel - A mortal, often one intended for feeding.

Vitae - Blood.

Whelp - (1). A derogatory term for a young Kindred, originally used with exclusive reference to one's own progeny. (2). A noenate or young vampire. In practice, any Kindred younger than the speaker.

Wight - Human; man; a mortal.

Witch-Hunter - A mortal who searches out and destroys vampires.

Whig - A contemptuous term for a vampire who possess an interst in mortal trends and fashions.


Vulgar Argot.


Alleycat - A vampire who keeps no permanent haven, but sleeps in a different location each night. This term also refers to a Kindred who feeds exclusively from the homeless, vagrants and other elements of low society.

Angstburger - Over-the-top moping about one's vampiric condition. Useage: Dominic was chewing on a big old angstburger at the Goth club tonight.

Apeshit - Frenzy.

Ash - A vampire who's been destroyed. Usage: Tomasino pissed off the sheriff; now he's ash. Sometimes used as a verb, meaning, "to kill".

Banking - The practice of "withdrawing" blood from blood banks and hospital reserves. This blood has little taste, tough it willsustain a vampire, and elder Kindred eschew this base indulgence. A Kindred who engages in this practice is known as a banker.

Black Hand - Another name for the sect known as the Sabbat.

Blister - A vampire "Typhoid Mary" who contracts a mortal disease and spreads it to each vesselupon whom it feeds.

Bloat - Taking more blood then one needs, resulting in reddened eyes, a ruddy complexion and the continual shedding of tears of blood.

Blooded - A vampire.

Bloodline - A vampire's heritage. (aka: lineage)

Blood Doll - A mortal who freely gives their blood to a vampire. Most blood dolls gain a perverse satisfaction from the Kiss, and actively seek out vampires who will take their vitae.

Boojum - Any other supernatural creature, usually non-vampiric.

'Bot - Someone clearly acting under the influence of Dominate. Often reserved for mortals reduced to automaton status.

Brightening Sunsets - Another term for a destroyed Kindred. It refers to the way in which excess dust and ash produce particularly brilliant coloration. Usage: Lisette crossed the Nosferatu elder, so now she's brightening sunsets.

Butterfly - One who mingles among the mortal high-society element and feeds exclusively from the famous and wealthy.

Cannibal - A vampire who indulges in diablerie.

Casanova - A vampire who educes mortals to take their blood, but doe not kill them. Casanovas typically erase the memory of their presence from their vessels' minds (aka: Cauchemar).

Change, The - The moment an individual ceases to be a mortal and becomes one of the Kindred.

Cleanup - Repairing an Oops, or otherwise working to protect the Masquerade.

Clockwatcher - A vampire who worries excessively about the approach of dawn.

Collar - Blood Bond. The term has a distinctly sadomasochistic inference attached to it.

Cub Scouts - Archons.

Damned, The - The race of Kindred; all Vampires.

Dessert - Feeding for pleasure, not need.

Donor - A sarcastic term for a vessel, typically human.

Doornail - As in, "dead as a". Used to refer to a corpse left behind. Usage: We went out for supper and dropped a couple of doornails in the river.

Do Over - The process of erasing memories from a mortal's mind. Often used to cover up evidence of a feeding.

Farmer - A term of mockery for vampires who refuse to feed on human blood, instead taking sustenance from animals.

Fief - A sarcastic term for a Vampire's domain or claim thereof, most commonly used in reference to a Prince.

Fossil - Derisive term for a vamprire who is stuck, stylistically, in an anachonisitic mode of behavior. Often refered to elders.

Futon - A coffin.

Fuzzy - A Lupine.

Grandpa - A member of a vampire's lineage more distant then their Sire.

Half-Breed - A ghoul. Sometimes phrased as a "Half-Blood".

Happy Meal - The process of drinking from a mortal who is intoxicated or otherwise under the influenece of some sort of controlled substance.

Head - A Kindred who feeds upon those who have ibibed alcohol or drugs, so as to vicariously experience the same sensations. Those Kindred prefer indiviual drugs hace their own "poison" prefixed to the term "head". (ie: crackhead, dopehead, smackhead, etc.)

Headhunter - A vampire who hunts and feeds from other Kindred. (aka: Rogue).

Inky - A hunter, specifically a member of the Inquistion.

John Law - The sheriff; less frequently, the scourge.

Juice - Vitae.

Juicebags - A contemptuous term for mortals, indicating that their sole use is for sustenance. Even more irreverent is the term Bag.

Leftovers - Blood taken from a corpse.

Laid - Fed.

Lunch - Vitae, or the mortal from whom the vitae is obtained. Usage: I met lunch at the coffeehouse tonight.

Lick - A vampire; one of the race of Kindred.

Lupine Alley - Travel arteries that run through Lupine territory, and are notoriously dangerous for vampires to traverse.

Monster - A vampire who terrorizes younger, weaker Kindred. Sometimes spelled Monsta, usually by poseurs.

Munchies - Hunger for vitae after heavy use of disciplines.

Nibs - The Prince or any other important vampire. Not intended as a compliment.

Oops - A breach of the Masquerade. Usage: We had a little Oops tonight, but it's taken care of.

Perv - A vampire who insists on indulging in mortal sexuality to mask the process of feeding.

PF - Short for "pity fuck". A Kindred who recieves the Embrace because of guilt or pity on the part of the Sire.

Prefrosh - A mortal who is a candidate for the Embrace.

Princeling - A derisive term for the leader of the coterie.

Rabbit - A vampire who only feeds from animals. Animal blood is sometimes also known as rabbit food.

Rack, The - The hunting ground of choice, including bars, nightclubs, drug dens, whorehouses and other bacchanalian locales, where mortals go missing all the time. (aka: Papillon)

Rag - The weakest vampire in a coterie.

Rake - A habitual visitor to the Rack, especially in the interests of feeding. (aka: Gentry).

Recruiting - Breaking the Masquerade so as to prepare a mortal for the Embrace.

Renfield - A long-time ghoul, usually one who has far exceeded normal lifespan.

Rug - A dead Lupine. Alternately, a dead Gangrel.

Sabbot - A derisive term for the Sabbat. Prounounced "SAA-bet", usually in some form of ridiculous accent.

Sandman - A vampire who feeds upon sleeping victims only.

Sand Castle - An unsafe haven or vulnerable domain.

Scoutmaster - A justicar.

Shovelhead - Sabbat vampire.

Slumming - The practice of feeding from the derelicts, the honeless and other dregs of society; one who does this regularly is known as a slummer.

Snap - A broken collar.

Soy - Vitae taken from an animal; a less-filling and tasteless substitute for the real thing.

Speed Bumps - Mortals or inexperienced ghouls pressed into combat against vampires.

Stalker - A mortal who hunts down and destroys Kindred. (aka: Witch-hunter)

Starfucker - A vampire who makes a habit of feeding from the rich and famous.

Suntanning - Being staked out for the sun. A common punishment used by the Princes on rebellious Kindred.

Teardrop - A Kindred who kills mortals on a regular basis. Possibly derived from certain gangs' custom of tatooing teardrops on the cheek of gang members who have comiited murder.

Tease - A term used for a female Casanova (vide).

Tentacle - A hideously deformed vampire, usualy a Tzimisce.

TFBS - Bela Lugosi's Dead, by Bauhaus. Nearly universally loathed by all Kindred, who have simply heard it too damn many times for the joke to be funny anymore.

Trashman - A vampire who feeds on the homeless and other human detritus. The term derives from such Kindred's tendency too pick up supper from alleyways or curbsides.

Turf - A modern affectation used in reference to a domain; it may also refer to the area under a given gang's influence.

Uncle - An elder who takes an interest in or who patronizes a younger Kindred. Sort of a vampiric sugar daddy.

Valentine - (1). A Kindred who uses his powers to acheive mortal celebrity, often in violation of the Masquerade. (2). The mortal lover of a Kindred, usually the source of much anger.

Vector - Vampires who spread mortal diseases; so called because the CDC has taken an interest in the way blood-based diseases have been spreading.

Vegetary - A term of contempt for one who drinks exclusively from animals. (aka: farmer).

Vlad - A Kindred whho acts in sterotypically "vampiric" fashion. Vlads usually wear capes, flaunt their powers and speak in strained Eastern European accents. Few last very long.

Whack job - Malkavian, or a victim of Dementation.

Wolfie - A vampire, often a Gangeal, who prefers spending time in a non-human shape.

Yawp - The claims of a Prince or other Kindred who can't hold his territory.

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