VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE
Introductory Kit - Section 2
Section
1 - Introduction - What is Vampire: The Masquerade?
Section 2 - Setting - Vampire
History and Hierarchy
History
The Sects
The Six Traditions
The Jyhad
Status
Section
3 - Character Creation - Making Your Own Vampire
Section
4 - Rules - Playing the Game and Story Ideas
Because of the mature
themes involved, reader discretion is advised.
Based on the Vampire:
The Masquerade game created by Steve Brown, Andrew Greenberg, Chris McDonough,
Mark Rein-Hagen, Lisa Stevens, Joshua Gabriel Timbrook and Stewart Wieck
Check out White
Wolf Online at http://www.white-wolf.com,
alt.games.whitewolf and rec.games.frp.storyteller.
(c) 1997 White
Wolf, Inc. All rights reserved. White Wolf and Vampire the Masquerade
are registered trademarks of White Wolf, Inc. All rights reserved. All
characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by White Wolf,
Inc. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages
is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned.
History
Vampires - or Kindred, as they call themselves
-exist for centuries and often seem unchanging to mortal eyes. Even Kindred
society, however, has undergone evolution, upheaval and strife. Let us
look at history as the Kindred view it, that we might better understand
their actions tonight.
Caine and the First Nights
According to Kindred myth, the first of their
kind was Caine, the first murderer. For his crime, Caine was cursed by
God and thereby transformed into a vampire. Exiled from his people, Caine
was forced to stalk the fringes of civilization, fearful of the sun and
ravenous for blood.
In his loneliness, Caine came upon a mighty witch
named Lilith, who had been Adam's first wife. Lilith taught Caine how to
use his blood for mighty magic (indeed, a few heretics claim that Lilith,
not Caine, was the First Vampire). Lilith taught Caine many things, including
how to use his blood to evoke mystic powers - and how to create others
of his kind.
The Second Generation and the First City
At first Caine refused to beget, believing it
wrong to curse the world with others of his kind. But eventually he grew
lonely and brought three others into the vampiric fold. These three in
turn begat 13 more, and these voracious monsters went among the early peoples
of the world, carelessly feeding and using mortals as puppets in their
sibling feuds. Caine, outraged by this behavior, forbade the creation of
any more progeny. Gathering his childer and grandchilder to him, Caine
built a great city - the First City in the world - and here vampires and
mortals coexisted in peace.
The Antediluvians and the Clans
It could not last. Caine's childer squabbled
for their sire's affections, and once again the mortals were used as pawns
in the feud. Finally the city was thrown down -ÿsome say a natural
disaster was the cause; others, that a spurned childe's vengeful sorcery
precipitated the cataclysm. Caine vanished into the wastes, never to be
heard from again. The three vampires of the Second Generation likewise
disappeared into the mists of legend. But Caine's 13 grandchilder, free
from restraint, began breeding new vampires with abandon. The 13 vampires
became known as Antediluvians, and their childer, created in their images,
inherited the Antediluvians' magical gifts and curses. Thus were the clans
formed.ÿ
The Dark Ages
The clans spread across the world, sowing discord
and misery. Though each successive generation of vampires proved weaker
than the last, they made up for it with greater numbers. In the ziggurats
of Babylon, in the palaces of Crete, in the tribunals of Rome, vampires
ruled as shadowy tyrants, forever using mortals as food and unwitting soldiers.
Vampire warred with vampire, clan with clan, and thus - from the ancient
rivalries of the First City - was born the great Jyhad, which is still
fought today.
The Kindred reached their worst excesses during
the early Middle Ages. During this period, many vampires ruled openly,
smothering peasant and lord alike beneath their nocturnal grip. The vampiric
population reached unhealthy numbers, and it seemed that the Earth would
belong to the Kindred forever.
The Anarch Revolt
Again, it could not last. The Children of Caine,
in their hubris, began to flaunt their power flagrantly. Terrified peasants
whispered of the monsters in their midst - and the Church began to listen.
The reports of a few horrified priests spawned a frenzied Inquisition,
and vengeful mortals rose up in a tide of fire and blood. Though individually
much more powerful than mortals, even the mightiest vampires could not
stand against the humans' sheer numbers; vampire after vampire was dragged
from its lair and hurled into fire or sunlight.
In the throes of the Inquisition, a current of
revolt gripped the Children of Caine. Younger vampires, who were being
deployed as sacrificial lambs by terrified elders, began to rise up against
their sires and masters. In Eastern Europe, a group of vampires learned
how to sever the mystic bonds through which sires controlled their childer.
Soon all of Europe seethed beneath a nocturnal revolt, as rebellious childer
threw off the yoke of their masters. Between the Inquisition and the revolt
of the vampire "anarchs," it seemed as though the Kindred would
not survive.
And so, in the 15th century, a council was called.
Seven of the 13 clans united in an organization called the Camarilla. With
its advantage of numbers, the Camarilla suppressed the anarchs and agreed
to exist behind a great Masquerade. Never more shall vampires rule openly,
the lords of the Camarilla decreed. We shall hide among the mortals, and
conceal our natures from our prey, and in a few decades the mortals will
know vampires only as myths.
Thus, the Masquerade was born, and the Inquisition
gradually forgot its original target. Those anarchs who would not join
the Camarilla were driven into the wastes, from which they would later
emerge as the dread Sabbat cult. With the discovery of the New World and
the dawn of science, humanity gradually forgot about the Kindred, relegating
them to the status of childhood legends.
But, though hidden, vampires were still quite
real. The wars of the Jyhad raged on, though the nights of open battle
were replaced by sudden ambushes and maneuvering of human pawns. Weaving
their webs throughout the ever-expanding cities, the Kindred eschewed their
previous games for more methodical but no less deadly ones.
The Modern Nights and Gehenna
And the wars continued down the centuries, and
continue still. The Jyhad rages as it always has - though skyscrapers take
the place of castles, machine-guns and missiles replace swords and torches,
and stock portfolios substitute for vaults of gold, the game remains the
same. Kindred battles Kindred, clan battles clan, Camarilla battles Sabbat,
as they have for eons. Vampiric feuds begun during the nights of Charlemagne
play themselves out on the streets of New York City; an insult whispered
in the court of the Sun King may find itself answered by a corporate takeover
in Sao Paolo. The ever-swelling cities provide countless opportunities
for feeding, powermongering - and war.
Increasingly, vampires speak of Gehenna - the
long-prophesied night of apocalypse when the most ancient vampires, the
mythical Antediluvians, will rise from their hidden lairs to devour all
the younger vampires. This Gehenna, so the Kindred say, will presage the
end of the world, as vampires and mortals alike are consumed in an inexorable
tide of blood. Some vampires strive to prevent Gehenna, some fatalistically
await it, and still others consider it a myth. Those who believe in Gehenna,
however, say that the end time comes very soon - perhaps in a matter of
years.
The
Camarilla
The Camarilla is a great sect of vampires that
formed in the late medieval period. A vampire "United Nations"
of sorts, it was formed to protect vampires from the purges of the Inquisition,
to uphold the Traditions of Caine, and to enforce the great Masquerade.
Many Camarilla vampires, remembering the nights of fire when vampires were
uprooted and destroyed, uphold the Masquerade fanatically. Camarilla vampires
reject the idea of vampires as monstrous predators, instead preferring
to live clandestinely among mortals and feed cautiously.
The Camarilla is the most populous sect, and
(in theory) the most powerful. But it comprises seven clans of vampires,
each with its own culture and agenda, and this renders it prone to discord.
Ruled as it is by a fractious sort of parliamentarianism, the Camarilla
is slow to act and often indecisive in the face of threats; when it brings
its combined might to bear, however, the Camarilla is virtually unstoppable.
Beginning characters are assumed to be Camarilla vampires, and to belong
to one of the seven clans. The clans are:
Brujah: A clan of violent, antiauthoritarian vampires espousing freedom
from societal restrictions.
Gangrel: A clan of solitary, nomadic shapeshifters who prefer the wilderness
to the confines of the cities.
Malkavian: A bizarre clan of lunatics whose members are infamous for their
insanity - and insight.
Nosferatu: A loathsome clan of deformed monsters who skulk in subterranean
tunnels and sewers.
Toreador: A clan of elegant, passionate vampires who patronize artists,
musicians, actors and the like.
Tremere: A secretive, treacherous clan of vampire warlocks who practice
blood magic.
Ventrue: A clan of aristocrats and nobles who consider it their duty to
lead the Camarilla.
The
Six Traditions
Camarilla vampires swear to uphold the legendary
Six Traditions of Caine, the laws which Caine supposedly passed to his
progeny. Like any other laws, the Traditions are commonly ignored, bent
or violated outright. Nonetheless, they are the foundation of Camarilla
society, and the vampire who callously flouts them does so at his peril.
The First Tradition: - The Masquerade
Thou shall not reveal thy nature to
those not of the Blood. Doing so shall renounce thy claims of Blood.
The Second Tradition: - The Domain
Thy domain is thine own concern. All
others owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word while
in thy domain.
The Third Tradition: - The Progeny
Thou shall sire another only with the
permission of thine elder. If thou createst another without thine elder's
leave, both thee and thy progeny shall be slain.
The Fourth Tradition: - The Accounting
Those thou create are thine own childer.
Until thy progeny shall be released, thou shall command them in all things.
Their sins are thine to endure.
The Fifth Tradition: - Hospitality
Honor one another's domain. When thou
comest to a foreign city, thou shall present thyself to the one who ruleth
there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing.
The Sixth Tradition: - Destruction
Thou art forbidden to destroy another
of thy kind. The right of destruction belongeth only to thine elder. Only
the eldest among thee shall call the blood hunt.
The Sabbat
The Camarilla's bitter rival is the dread sect
called the Sabbat. Originally the remnants of the shattered anarch packs,
the Sabbat has evolved - or devolved - into something much deadlier. The
Sabbat would "liberate" all vampires from the chains of the Camarilla
and their sires. The ultimate Social Darwinists, the Sabbat espouses the
tenet of vampiric supremacy - the doctrine that, because vampires are highest
on the food chain, they should not hide from mortals, but instead dominate
them outright. This attitude toward humans often manifests itself in actions
that appear horrific and cruel by mortal standards; accordingly, the Sabbat
is often branded a sect of violent evildoers by outraged Camarilla vampires.
Two clans lead the Sabbat. The Lasombra clan
is the most prestigious clan and is dreaded for its members' control over
the stuff of shadow. Its ally and occasional rival is the Tzimisce, a clan
of twisted scholars and sorcerers infamous for cruelty. Tzimisce are said
to have the power to warp and mold their own and others' flesh and bone.
The Anarchs
Some younger vampires strive to remain free of
both Camarilla and Sabbat control. These vampires style themselves "anarchs"
in homage to the warriors who led the great revolt of the 15th century.
For the most part these modern anarchs are ragtag bands of Brujah and Caitiff
predators, though all clans are represented in their ranks. The Camarilla
treats them as it would termites - individually insignificant, but potentially
crippling if allowed to breed and fester.
The Neutrals
Four clans choose to remain neutral in the great
Jyhad, bartering their services to (and jockeying for power with) Camarilla
and Sabbat indifferently. These are: the Assamites, a deadly clan of vampire
assassins based in the Middle East; the Followers of Set, a dark cult of
vampires devoted to the worship of the snake-god Set; the Giovanni, an
insular family of incestuous necromancers and financiers; and the Ravnos,
a nomadic line of Gypsy charlatans and thieves.
The Inconnu
Finally, certain ancient vampires withdraw from
the sects' games altogether, seeking solitude amid the wastes. These old
ones, called Inconnu, reject the power-games of the clans and sects, instead
seeking self-mastery and enlightenment. Some whisper of a darker purpose
behind the Inconnu's withdrawal from the Jyhad, but most vampires think
of Inconnu as nothing more than deluded recluses.
The
Jyhad
Since the nights of antiquity, the Children of
Caine have struggled for supremacy. Leaders, cultures, nations and armies
have all been pawns in the secret war, and vampiric conspiracies have influenced
much (though by no means all) of human history. Few things are as they
seem in the vampires’ nocturnal world; a political coup, economic crash
or social trend may be merely the surface manifestation veiling a centuries-old
struggle. Vampire elders command from the shadows, manipulating mortals
and other vampires alike — and the elders are often manipulated in turn.
Indeed, most combatants may not even realize for whom they fight, or why.
Status
Vampires are very hierarchical creatures. The
vampires of the Camarilla, in particular, have created an elaborate structure
to ensure order among the undead.
Vampiric territory (generally consisting of cities
and outlying suburbs) is divided into fiefdoms. Each fiefdom is ruled by
a prince, a mighty vampire elder. This figure may grant lesser vampires
hunting territories within his (or her; "prince" is used unisexually)
fiefdom; these territories are referred to as domains.
The Prince
The ruling vampire of a Camarilla-held territory
is called the prince. This powerful vampire is usually of Clan Ventrue
or Toreador; however, Brujah, Nosferatu or even Malkavian princes are not
unknown. The prince has absolute power to establish, grant or strip domains,
and to declare certain areas off limits for hunting. The prince may declare
certain areas as Elysium (neutral ground where violence is prohibited),
and may call blood hunts on rebels and malcontents who violate the Six
Traditions.
Princes tend to control city-sized regions; thus,
there is a Prince of Paris, a Prince of Chicago, a Prince of Atlanta, etc.
Because a city's prince has often lived in the area for centuries, she
has had ample time to build a power structure, and usually knows far more
about the workings of "her" city than rebellious anarchs give
her credit for.
The Primogen
The prince is often served by a council of advisors
chosen from powerful elders of the various clans. These elders are collectively
called primogen. Though, in theory, a prince's rule is absolute, a prince
who fails to heed her primogen often finds herself deposed or killed in
short order. The primogen are formidable forces in their own right, and
ceaselessly intrigue against each other and the prince.
The Elders
Elders are vampires who have existed for 300
or more years. They have mastered many magical powers during this time;
most elders are deadly and formidable creatures. Elders tend to be scheming,
ruthless and paranoid beings; they will do anything to hold onto their
power structures, oppress or manipulate the younger "upstart"
vampires, and destroy their rivals.
The Ancillae
Below the elders are the ancillae. Ancillae are
most often vampires who have lived from 100 to 300 years of unlife, though
certain ambitious younglings may achieve the rank prematurely. As their
name suggests, ancillae often serve as aides and agents for elders or the
court; they usually play their own power-games as well, though these are
of lesser consequence than the manipulations of the elders.
The Neonates
Lowest in rank are the neonates, those vampires
created less than a century ago. Though occasionally cherished, neonates
are often deployed as pawns by scheming elders. This callous treatment,
combined with the value recent generations place on individuality, often
causes neonates to resent their elders. After all, when one came of age
during the Summer of Love, it is hard to empathize with a reactionary old
tyrant who grew up amid feudal oaths and Divine Rights.
Most beginning characters are presumed to
be neonates. Vampire elders are usually far more powerful than the
characters created through the rules in this kit.
The Methuselahs
Ask a mortal to name the most dangerous predator
on Earth, and he might mention a Bengal tiger, a Nile crocodile or a great
white shark. Ask the same question of a vampire, and often one will hear
the word "Methuselah" leaving those cold lips.
Simply put, Methuselahs are ancient vampires
- beings that have survived for over a millennium. Having been undead for
so long, Methuselahs often undergo profound physiological and psychological
changes. From a vampire's point of view, the most horrible of these is
a predilection for vampire blood - just as vampires stalk mortals, so they
are occasionally stalked in turn.
Most vampires prefer to ignore the existence
of the Methuselahs, considering them near-extinct aberrations akin to dinosaurs.
It is ironic, then, how many of the plots of the Jyhad can ultimately be
traced to these ancient, shadowy progenitors.
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Copyright © 1996 -
1997
Created by 
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Pack Inc, Friday, August 29, 1997
Most recent revision Thursday, September 25, 1997
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