Experience
During the course of a chronicle, characters - much like players over the course of their lives - learn from their mistakes and grow. Change is inevitable, even for the eternal undead. Over years and centuries, vampires hone their Disciplines, learn (and forget) the ins and outs of cultures and languages, and refine their skills at Jyhad.
A great deal of what characters learn is beyond the scope of any game system to reflect. In many cases the more mundane aspects of growing older - and, one would hope, wiser - are reflected in the players' increased confidence and perspicacity. Learning to lock your car when you leave it in a public parking place is simply common sense, not really a skill that can be purchased. Emotional transformations are roleplayed, not bought.
Sometimes, though, characters improve themselves in skills magical or mundane. A system of rewards, called experience points, is used to reflect these more drastic changes. Experience points reflect the Traits that a vampire hones as time passes.
At the end of each chapter, the Storyteller awards experience points to each character. The players then write down how many experience points the character has earned. Between stories, players may spend their characters' experience points to purchase or increase Traits.
(this would be time when "NOT" in the Academy roleplaying)
Experience points can be used to improve Attributes, to acquire new Abilities or enhance ones the character already has or to increase Virtues. Backgrounds may not be purchased through experience points, though they may be acquired through roleplaying if, for example, the character makes a new friend, acquires a windfall, or commits foul diablerie. The costs for all of these different changes vary greatly, as shown on the following chart.
The Storyteller(any Administration of the Academy) is the final arbiter of how many experience points each character receives, as well as which Traits may be raised. Accordingly, the Storyteller should oversee where experience points are spent. Players may wish to put points into areas that don't honestly reflect what the character has learned during the story or chronicle, in which case the Storyteller can veto their actions. For example, a character who just killed three children and diablerized her sire has no logical grounds for increasing her Humanity rating. (Note that a character does not have to use his Traits successfully to be eligible for an increase; we often learn more from failure than from success, and the undead are no different.)
Virtues increased by experience have no impact on the character's Humanity or Willpower. Once the character-creation process is finished, that's the end of the matter. A character who, during a story, manages to act in spite of his fear of fire is eligible for a Courage increase, but increasing Courage does not automatically increase Willpower.
No Trait may be increased by more than one point during the course of a story. Vast changes in Traits take time, and the game should reflect that limitation.
New Traits
Increasing existing Traits can be done fairly readily, so long as the character uses or practices the Trait in question. Learning new Traits, however, is a little more difficult. Even a vampire can't simply pick up a new language or learn to fight if he doesn't know even the basics (to say nothing of learning a new Discipline!). Thus, learning an entirely new Ability or Discipline requires some tutoring and study, in addition to the required experience-point expenditure for new Abilities. This study can be simple (a night-school course to learn Computer 1) or brutally difficult, but it must always be accomplished. Having the Mentor Background helps, but even a mentor can teach only what she herself knows.
Storytellers: Do not allow players to neglect this requirement! Particularly for more esoteric arts such as pursuit of new knowledge - and payment for same - can lead to all manner of incredible stories.
Awarding Experience Points
Storytellers: Awarding experience points is a double-edged sword. You can hurt your chronicle by giving away too many, and you can cause just as much of a problem by giving away too few. If you give more to some players then you do others, you might seem as if you're playing favorites, and you also risk unbalancing the game. However, the characters who do the most, who take the risks and learn from their mistakes instead of simply sitting on the sidelines, deserve the experience points to reflect the changes they're going through. The rules below should help you avoid most problems, but you should feel free to experiment and fine-tune them to fit your needs.
End of each chapter
At the end of each game session (night of roleplay), or chapter, you should award the characters between one and five experience points. One point is awarded automatically, simply because the character experienced the chapter's events. Despite ourselves, we tend to learn from the follies of others as well as we do from out own.
1 Point - Automatic: Each player gets one point at the end of each chapter. (night of roleplay)
1 Point - Learning Curve: Ask the player what his character learned in the course of the night's events. If you agree with the answer, give the player one experience point.
(This is automatic for being in the Academy. No experience points are spent on Disciplines. You can be awarded experience points for using them correctly, but you should not spend your experience points on Disciplines. You advance(receive a dot) in clan Disciplines according to your Teacher and the Dean.)
1 Point - Roleplaying: The player carried out the role of her character, not only entertainingly but appropriately. The player performed as the character should in the circumstances. Truely inspired roeplaying might merit two experience points.(utilizing your character's traits)
1 Point - Heroism: On rare occasions even vampires can truely behave as heros, risking all to let friends or even strangers escape from certain death. If a character acts heroically and manages to survive, he should be rewarded. Some player might try to take advantage of this idea. Don't let them. Stupidity and suicidal behavior should not be mistaken for heroism.
The End of the Story
You might decide to give extra experience points at the end of a story, if the players have done their part and the characters have faced down substantial trials. Only a few points should be given this way, as they are effectively "bonus points" for a job well done.
1 Point - Success: The characters achieved all or part of the goals they set out to accomplish. Even minor victories can be rewarded if they pushed the game forward.
1 Point - Danger: The character survived against harsh odds and grave danger.
1 Point - Wisdom: The player, and thus the character, came up with a brilliant plan or even a spontaneous strategy that enabled the coterie to survive when it would likely have failed otherwise.
More points can be rewarded if you decide they should be, or if you want the characters to advance more quickly than they currently are.
Taken from WW 2300, Vampire: the Masquerade, Pg 142 and 143
Personal Note: If you feel you deserve experience points, please script the roleplay in question and send it to a qualified Storyteller of the Academy for review.
A script must contain all of the roleplay, not just fragments. Points will not be awarded for use of power or rituals that are quoted word for word from the books, some personal words must be added. This is to ensure that there is actual learning involved. The following are qualified to pass out experience points.
Experience Costs
| Trait | Cost |
| New Ability | 3 |
| Attribute | Current Rating X 4 |
| Ability | Current Rating X 2 |
| Virtue | Current Rating X 2* |
| Humanity | Current Rating X 2 |
| Willipower | Current Rating |
* Increasing a Virtue through expereience does not increase Traits based on that Virtue (Humanity, Willpower).
Disciplines was left off the chart because the only way to increase and advance in those is through study and with the permission of your Professor and the Dean of the Academy. Experience points will not be spent on Disciplines.