RULEBOOK

FOREWORD

WHAT IS THE WORLD

OF DARKNESS?
The World of Darkness looks just like our world, but in the shadows dwell
ancient and monstrous conspiracies. Undying creatures from the dawn of
time manipulate the world, and their influence is felt everywhere. Mortals
are ignorant victims and pawns of vast secret organizations ruled by
supernatural beings. Vampires — among other creatures — struggle with
internal factionalism. Unbeknownst to humans, these major feuds can
sometimes last for centuries.

WHAT IS VAMPIRE:
THE MASQUERADE?
Vampire: The Masquerade is a tabletop role-playing game (tabletop
RPG) first released in 1991 by White Wolf Publishing. It was the first of
several Storyteller System games for its World of Darkness universe.
Vampire: The Masquerade is set in a version of the modern world
where players take on the role of vampires. Vampires often refer to
themselves as “Kindred”. In this world, Kindred must deal with their
night-to-night struggles — but that’s not all. Vampires in the World of
Darkness also struggle to contain the Beast within them as well as fight
off vampire hunters and other such threats. The Beast is a primal need
for violence and control. Each night, vampires must satiate this
Beast, lest they become nothing more than animals.
The only way to keep the Beast calm and docile is to feed it blood.
Where the blood comes from is indiscriminate; it can be from animals,
humans, hell, even other vampires. In vampire society, the drinking
of animal blood is seen as a social faux pas, something to be done only
in the most dire of circumstances. Draining a vampire of their Blood,
known as diablerie, is forbidden, lest the Kindred cannibalize them-
selves and turn their unlives into an endless blood feud.
A vampire turning a mortal into one of the undead is called the Embrace.
Vampires in the World of Darkness do not age, nor can they be de-
stroyed by mundane means. Only decapitation, fire, or sunlight can lead
to Final Death, while a wooden stake through the heart merely paralyz-
es them until it is removed. Still, vampires can, through starvation or
enough physical trauma, fall into torpor — a near-death state in which
they can spend weeks or even years before being able to rise again.
To ensure they do not devolve into savage predators, the Kindred have
developed a society, one loosely inspired by the feudal system of old.
At the head of this society, called the Camarilla, is the Prince, a gender-
neutral title bestowed upon the one vampire who can keep all the
Kindred of a city in check. Helping the Prince in their duties is the pri-
mogen, a council made up of some of the most influential vampires in
town. While the Prince may rule through fear, favors, or violence, it is
rare for them to dirty their hands. No, for that, they have a Sheriff. This
special role is often given to a close ally of the Prince, one whose loyalty
is without question.
When the Prince needs to address their court, they will call Elysium, a
special gathering of vampires at a preselected location. Operating the
Elysium is the Herald, a sort of social butterfly of Kindred society. The
Herald keeps abreast of the comings and goings of vampires, the rise
and fall of their kind, and curries favors with those they choose to. The
Herald is also known as a Harpy, due to their backstabbing nature,
hidden behind smiles and polite greetings. Never tell them that, though.

CHAPTERS | FOREWORD – 3
 TRADITIONS
Vampires are typi
cally organized
The Camarilla is into sects that
one of the oldest share common inte
Kindred society th and largest sects, rests.
at endures still a true pillar of
legal backbone of to this day. The
Camarilla society, Traditions form th
fulfills the Elde although in modern e
r role outlined in nights, the Prince
springs from thes the Traditions. Mo
e Traditions. Pres st Camarilla cult
of Hospitality, th entation is outlin ure
e blood hunt in th ed in the Traditio
and the parceling e Tradition of De n
of land in the Tr struction,
adition of Domain
.

1st Tradition
THE MASQUERADE 4th Tradition

Thou shalt not re

veal thy true
THE ACCOUNTING
nature to those no Those thou create
t of the Blood. are thine own
Doing such shall childer. Until th
renounce thy y progeny shall
claims of Blood. be released, thou
shall command
them in all thin
gs. Their sins
2st Tradition are thine to endu
re.
THE DOMAIN
5th Tradition
Thy domain is thin
e own concern. THE HOSPITALITY
All others owe th
ee respect while
in it. None may ch Honor one another’
allenge thy word s domain.
while in thy doma When thou comest
in. to a foreign
city, thou shall
present thyself
3rd Tradition to the one who ru
leth there.
THE PROGENY Without the word
of acceptance,
thou art nothing.
Thou shalt only si
re another with
the permission of
thine elder. If 6th Tradition
thou createst anot
her without THE DESTRUCTION
thine elder’s leav
e, both thou and
thy progeny shall Thou art forbidde
be slain. n to destroy
another of thy ki
nd. The right
of destruction be
longeth only to
thine elder. Only
the eldest among
thee shall call th
e blood hunt.

Clans and Disciplines

In the early days of the Kindred, their numbers were limited. These first
few vampires, called Antediluvians, are said to be the founders of the
original clans. A clan is akin to an extended family of Kindred. While
members of a clan do not necessarily share loyalties or values, each
vampire can trace their lineage back to one of these thirteen ancestors.
Furthermore, each clan possesses a special suite of supernatural abilities
passed down from generation to generation through the Blood. These
powers are called Disciplines. While it is theoretically possible for a
vampire to learn Disciplines from any clan, vampires generally have an
easier time developing powers inherited through their own bloodline.

4 – FOREWARD | CHAPTERS
WHAT IS VAMPIRE:
THE MASQUERADE – CHAPTERS?
Vampire: The Masquerade – CHAPTERS is a World of Darkness
narrative cooperative board game. It’s a thrilling adventure where
tactical combat, branching dialogue, and investigation mechanisms
will impact your journey as the player.
This role-playing board game is a bridge between a narrative board
game and tabletop RPG. The result is what we call an “RPG in a box”
campaign experience.
The plot takes place in Montreal more than ten years after the
events of the Second Inquisition and the fall of the Sabbat.
The Sabbat is a sect of vampires that rejects the Traditions of the
Camarilla and their notions of staving off the Beast. They believe in
accepting their vampiric natures and rejecting the Humanity they
have left in order to become true monsters.
After three centuries of complete domination over Montreal and
most of Canada, the Sabbat has fallen. Agents of FIRSTLIGHT, part
of the so-called Second Inquisition, a decentralized group of government
agencies, religious organizations, and other human groups such as
vigilantes and self-proclaimed vampire hunters, conducted an all-out
purge of the known vampires of Montreal with the help of US Black
Ops forces. This event is referred to as the Night of Ashes in the
vampire world.
The Night of Ashes was a terrible event for the Sabbat. The strike
wiped out almost all vampires in Montreal in one fell swoop. This
was a horrendous coup for the Sabbat capital of dark faith.
In modern nights, Montreal has mostly been taken over by the
Camarilla, a well-organized neo-feudal vampire sect observing the
Masquerade principles and Traditions (p.4). Tonight, they’re mainly
represented by the following clans: Ventrue, Toreador, Malkavian,
Nosferatu, Banu Haqim, and Tremere, with the recent addition of the
Lasombra clan on a case-by-case basis.
Montreal is also home to small groups of Anarch vampires. The
Anarchs are a sect of disorganized, rebellious, free, and dangerous
Kindred. They oppose the Camarilla, even if they still honor the
Masquerade principle. Although they’re currently not at war, tensions
regularly rise between the two sects. Anarch vampires can be of any clan,
but the most common are the Gangrel, the Ministry, and the Brujah.
Standing apart from the rest are the Hecata, a clan who owes loyalty
only to themselves and the secretive Aziani Council. Not officially be-
longing to any sect, they might nonetheless ally themselves with any
who may further their goals, for as long as it suits them.
Each player will embody one of the game’s eight original playable
characters (or, as they become available through the story, one of
the four additional expansion characters) so they can explore the
dark, hidden secrets of Montreal.
All playable characters are neonates — young vampires less than a
century old and still figuring out their place in the newly restruc-
tured city. Their story is about to begin, with players choosing how
their characters act, talk, and evolve. Your decisions will impact
both your experience and the story.
CHAPTERS | FOREWARD – 5
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.3 DIALOGUE IN DETAIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.41

Traditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.4
What is Vampire: The Masquerade – CHAPTERS? . . . . . . P.5 INVESTIGATION IN DETAIL.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.42

TABLE OF CONTENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.6 COMBAT IN DETAIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.44

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.7
OVERVIEW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.9
CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.11
Characters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.12
Additional clans.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.16
Character boards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.18
Character sheets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.19
Finalizing your character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.20
SET-UP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.22
Before starting a chapter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.22
Starting a chapter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.25
Ending a chapter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.26
NPC and Allies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.27
Initiative, Hold initiative and Active hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.44
NPC combat deck, combat cards and positioning. . . . . P.45
Targeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.46
Step-By-Step combat.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.46
Allies and summons in combat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.48
Bosses in combat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.49
STEALTH MODE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.50
Line of Sight, STEALTH Check and STEALTH Token. P.50
Stealth exemples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.51
GLOSSARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.54
CREDITS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.56
Troubleshooting & common sense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.56
NOTES.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.57

Tokens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.29
Main tracker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.31
Other trackers.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.33

GAMEPLAY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.34
Skill checks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.34
Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.35
Main sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.36
Dialogue, investigation and combat sequence. . . . . . . . . . P.37
Chapter setup example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.38
Chapter playthrough example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.39

6 – TABLE OF CONTENTS | CHAPTERS

 WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

67 Chapter 1 Feeding Events 5 Sealed envelopes

booklets booklet

1 Storybook
1 Rulebook
(contains all chapters)

84 NPC + BOSS 74 NPC + BOSS

State cards Combat cards

8 Character miniatures *

12 Ally State 9 Ally Combat

cards cards

150 Character 134 Disciplines 40 Tracker

combat cards cards cover

90 Item cards 28 Humanity cards

8 Character boards * 8 Character sheets * 150 NPC and Ally tokens

203 Effect cards
(15 plastic stands)

*Does not include character expansion pack and Kickstarter exclusives. CHAPTERS | WHAT’S IN THE BOX? – 7
 20 Minor BOON tokens 30 Effect tokens 30 Initiative tokens 44 Terrain tokens

10 Investigation
20 Major BOON tokens 16 Clue tokens success tokens 19 Summon tokens

10 Trackers

1 Sand timer

1 Main tracker 16 Traker cubes

15 Dice
1 Initiative tracker 20 Double sided chapter tiles

8
 OVERVIEW

OVERVIEW
Vampire: The Masquerade – CHAPTERS is a co-op game where you
Note: It is possible to play the game solo without being accompanied by an
play as a coterie (group) of vampires. The game will refer to the coterie
Ally. However, it will make the game more difficult.
by default. If you play with only one character (as a solo experience),
you can also have Allies (See Ally, page 28). While you do not have to be
accompanied by an Ally, the game will refer to you as a coterie at all times.

Enveloppes Sand timer

Tracker cubes

NPC standee Chapter tile

NPC state cards

Feeding event’s Investigation tokens
booklet NPC combat deck

Ally combat deck

Main tracker
Storybook
Ally state cards
Effect cards

Item cards

Initiative tracker and tokens

Chapter
Terrain tokens booklet

Effect tokens Dice

Boons

Player’s miniature

Item cards Character board Combat card Discipline cards Character sheet Summon token

The campaign
The campaign is divided into multiple chapters. Each chapter has its Players can choose which tactics to use. As this is a cooperative board
own objectives. game, we encourage players to discuss things and come up with a com-
mon decision as to which actions to take.
To complete a chapter, the coterie must reach the goal indicated on the
chapter’s narrative page in the Storybook. When prompted, read the The Storybook holds the following:
conclusion on the back of the narrative page.
• MAP to Feeding Events
You can move on to the next chapter only when your coterie has accom- • 8 Prologues for the main chapters
plished the stated goal for the chapter or if an alternative ending was
• 41 Main chapters
prompted. When a chapter is failed, you must lose everything you
earned during that chapter (see page 26), then start it over until the co- • 8 Side Quests
terie manages to meet the goal. • Alex Simard’s inventory
The choices and consequences of your actions will ripple throughout • 3 Interludes
the story and impact your adventure’s branching. • 8 Prologues for the expansion packs
You will also encounter many NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) all •
throughout the game. Each of them will have their own backstory and
motivations. Some will attack you, whereas others will talk to you or
even become your Allies.
CHAPTERS | OVERVIEW – 9
 Prologues (solo play)
All Prologues are meant to be played solo and are considered optional
(but are strongly recommended). They serve as:
• An introduction to the World Of Darkness.
• An introduction to your character’s backstory and an anchor to
the main story.
• A way to learn certain gameplay mechanics (tutorials).
Chapters
All chapters are connected by an overarching story and can be altered by
the choices you make over the course of the game. You play through these
chapters in the order presented in the Storybook. Each chapter takes
roughly 30 minutes per player.
Optional chapters
Optional chapters can be played at any point between main chapters,
once they become available during the main story. Some must be played
solo, while others can be played as a group. Those that must be played
solo will have an indication on the Storybook page, including whether
or not it must be played as a specific character. Any that do not have this
indication can be played with a full coterie. Optional chapters offer the
following advantages:
• Additional item cards.
• Additional combat cards.
• Additional story lines and further insight into the plot.
Expansion pack chapters (solo play)
Expansion packs are add-ons that can be obtained separately from the
main game. These chapters include the following:
• Additional item cards.
• Additional combat cards.
• New Disciplines.
• New NPCs (and their state cards).
• New characters (and their miniatures and Ally cards).
These characters belong to the Banu Haqim, Hecata, Lasombra, and
Ministry clans.
Setting up a Chapter
1. To set up a chapter, open the Storybook to the page corresponding
to whichever chapter you’re on. Read the intro (top section of the
page), then read the setup section (bottom of the page).
2. Place all the indicated elements on your gaming table (tile, tokens,
NPC standees, etc.).
3. Finally, use the corresponding chapter booklet.
Example: If you’re about to play Chapter 17, take the chapter 17 Booklet.

Player count and difficulty modifier

The maximum number of players in any given chapter is 4. This includes both player characters and coterie Allies, but not chapter Allies (See Allies, page 28).
Depending on the number of players and Allies present at the beginning of a chapter, the Damage tracker, Attack level, and Initiative of NPCs and Allies
will vary (See NPC state card, page 27).
Players can also customize their experience and choose optional difficulty modifiers for chapters containing combat sequences (must be announced prior
to the beginning of a chapter). You cannot mix Easy and Hard modifiers together.

Easy modifiers: Hard modifiers:

• PACIFIST: All NPCs have -1 Resistance level. • LOUD: All NPCs have +1 Initiative when starting combat.
• UNPREPARED: All NPCs have -1 Attack level. • PREPARED: All NPCs have a Damage tracker corresponding to 4
• WEAK: All NPCs have a Damage tracker players [modifier is only available if less than 4 players (characters
corresponding to 1&2 players. and coterie Allies) are present in the chapter].
Multiple Easy modifiers can be selected, thereby simplifying the • STRONG: All NPCs have +1 Attack level.
combat mechanics. • TOUGH: All NPCs have +1 Resistance level.
• AGILE: All NPCs have +1 Movement.
Multiple Hard modifiers can be selected, thereby increasing the difficulty
of the combat sequence.
Here is the reward level corresponding to the number of Hard modifiers
selected. The coterie receives this upon successful completion of a chapter
in which there was at least one combat sequence.

1 Hard modifier:
1 BOON

2 Hard modifier:
2 BOONS

3 Hard modifier:
1 XP (for each player)

4+ Hard modifier:
1 XP (for each player) + 2 BOONS

Hard modifier rewards are not cumulative.

10 – OVERVIEW | CHAPTERS
 CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER

CHARACTERS
Every character (vampire) begins their adventure with a preset charac-
Note: In order to choose the right character for you (especially if it’s your
ter sheet and board. Some vampires may be initially built for combat,
first time playing the campaign), we strongly recommend playing the
while others will excel in dialogue or investigation. It’s important to
Prologue for each character. By doing so, you will discover isolated game-
remember that nothing is set in stone, however, and that your character
play mechanics, the characters’ backstories, but also the main introduc-
will continue to evolve as the campaign progresses.
tion to the story.
As a player, you will decide how your character develops throughout the Prologues begin on page 27 in the Storybook.
campaign thanks to your hard-earned experience points (XP).
Completing a chapter or succeeding a particular action will reward a
character with XP, which is used to increase a character’s attributes, Main Clans
skills, or Disciplines.
While all vampires are unique creatures with their own personality and
When you choose a character, it will be yours for the whole campaign. backstory, most belong to clans that share a common legacy and heri-
tage, as well as a set of special Disciplines.
However, you may be able to select another character at certain specified
moments across the campaign. While playing, put your character sheet Each character also has their own set of flaws, something that will guide
on top of the right-hand side of your character’s board. your decisions throughout the whole campaign.

CHAPTERS | CHOOSE A CHARACTER – 11

 Brujah
THOMAS CHARTRAND
As a teenager, Thomas Chartrand was prone to getting himself into trouble with the law. Whether it was for picking fights or
leading protests, it seems there was rarely a week going by without Thomas spending at least one night in a cell for one
transgression or another. As he got older and, some would argue, wiser, he found his calling as a leader in the workforce. His
pragmatic views and skills at mediating disputes between the unions and management even led him to a seat at the Trade
Union Center. While meeting with co-conspirators from the FLQ militant separatist group, Thomas was lured out of a bar
during a rather rowdy night and Embraced.

To protect his new fledgling, his sire brought him far away from the then-Sabbat-choked Montreal so he could come to terms
with his new unlife and his new position within the vastly different power structure of the Kindred.

As a Kindred, he is now an Anarch and despises all forms of abuse, namely those of the Camarilla and the kind he has seen from
the Ventrue. The Brujah are the instigators and founders of the Anarch movement. His years of negotiations came in handy
upon his return to Montreal, where he now acts as the speaker for the Anarch with the Camarilla.

Disciplines: POTENCE   CELERITY   PRESENCE

Flaw: RAGE: HUNGER CAPS AT 4.

Gangrel
AREN KONWAY
Aren Konway was born and raised in Kahnawá:ke, south of Montreal. Headstrong and unwilling to back down from any
challenge, Aren got herself into more trouble than she can remember growing up. Through her mother, she gained a profound
respect for the Mohawk traditions. When she was in her early 20s, the Oka Crisis began, and Aren was on the frontlines,
defending the land and the people she grew up with. When the army forced the band to abandon their barricades, Aren went
home, defeated. Instead of a warm home full of life, she found her house had been broken into. Inside was a man holding the
lifeless body of her brother. The man was dressed in a Canadian Army uniform. That was the last straw. Aren jumped on him,
determined to make him pay for what he had done here, in this house, and for everything he represented. The soldier proved to
be more than human and more than Aren could handle. Despite it all, she fought tooth and nail to the bitter end, and that may
well be what saved her.

Unbeknownst to her, her fight was being observed by one Yuma McKenzie, a Gangrel vampire. To this night, Aren still wonders
why this man was spying on her house, but she is nonetheless grateful for his Embrace. Aren embodies everything the Gangrel
aspire to be. She is fierce, bold, and strong. Now gifted with supernatural resilience and some wicked claws to boot, Aren takes
her clan’s motto to heart. In the vampire world, only the strong survive, and Aren is determined to be strong. She will stop at
nothing to find her brother’s killer.

Disciplines: PROTEAN - FERAL   FORTITUDE   ANIMALISM

Flaw: FERAL: -1 MENTAL DIE FOR EVERY 2 HUNGER POINTS (ROUNDED DOWN, MAXIMUM 2 DICE PENALTY).

Malkavian
HAROLD BEAULIEU
Harold is a psychologist whose passions include logic and the human mind. Growing up, he kept to himself and found solace in
puzzles and neo-noir movies from the 40s. His life was mostly uneventful until his Embrace. Chosen to become a son of Malkav,
his sense of analysis makes him a great investigator. The Embrace exacerbated his already troublesome anxiety, but bestowed
upon him an insight beyond the reach of humans.

Whether through visions or his incredible deduction skills, Harold is extremely in tune with his environment and others’
emotions. The Kindred community of Montreal often looks down on him, perceiving him as a fragile vampire one word away
from becoming a mess. This is due in part to his Malkavian heritage, a clan many Kindred still see as being mentally unstable.
Unbeknownst to them, Harold’s skills and vampiric powers give him an edge over the other members of the Camarilla. With
little effort, he can discern the true motives behind the actions of a Kindred, and he always stays one step ahead. Of course,
no one knows about this, not even his sire, Lydia. In the Camarilla, it is always preferable to keep your cards to yourself and
only use them when most effective.

Disciplines: DOMINATE - DEMENTATION   AUSPEX   OBFUSCATE

Flaw: ANXIETY: -1 SOCIAL DIE FOR EVERY 2 HUNGER POINTS (ROUNDED DOWN, MAXIMUM 2 DICE PENALTY).

12 – CHOOSE A CHARACTER | CHAPTERS

 Nosferatu
LUCIANNA RICCI
A renowned opera singer during the cultural revolution of the 60s, Lucianna Ricci was poised to become the voice of the
artistic renewal of her generation. Walking home from an especially triumphant representation, she heard the pleas of a
beggar hidden in a nearby dark alcove. She ignored them, but the dark figure followed, relentless and persistent. Exhausted
by the disgusting nature of this city and its people, Lucianna confronted the man, being singularly vitriolic and cruel.
Irony in punishment was ever a vice of her sire; his fangs sunk in her neck, making her part of the ugliness she so despised in
the city. The curse of the Nosferatu took her beauty and her voice. Yet, she was resilient and willful. Lucianna adapted and
eventually thrived in her new existence, though mirrors were forevermore a painful reminder of what she had become.
Shying away from the brutal Sabbat-choked Montreal of that era, she found new purpose among the Camarilla as an in-
formant from behind enemy lines. Her luxurious past was replaced by a solitary existence in abandoned corners of the
sewers. Her mastery of the burgeoning metro system and unparalleled knowledge of the expanding Montreal under-
ground shielded her from the sun, the Sabbat, and unsuspecting citizens, who would gawk at her hideous visage.
Hidding during the Night of Ashes, she was relieved to see a growing Camarilla presence in her city. Keeping an eye out
for Sabbat survivors, she was shocked to discover a Priest of the fallen sect lurking around her sewers, and even more so
when he lunged at her savagely...

Disciplines: OBFUSCATE    POTENCE   ANIMALISM

HIDEOUS PRESENCE: YOU MUST TAKE THE LEVEL 1 OBFUSCATE CARD: MASK OF A THOUSAND FACES. YOU MUST USE THIS
Flaw: DISCIPLINE IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN A DIALOGUE SEQUENCE.

Toreador
NICO MILLER
Nico Miller was meant to be a Toreador. During their living years, Nico was a talented artist who specialized both in painting
and sculpture. Although they lived off their Art, they weren’t particularly famous and could barely afford the essentials. Their
close friend, Philippe Charest, confided in Nico the truth of his condition. For years after learning about it, Nico begged Philippe
to Embrace them. They wanted to see how the vampire condition would alter their art and what kind of perspective immortal-
ity would give them. Hesitant at first, Philippe made Nico wait so they could both think the decision over. Eventually relenting,
he Embraced them one night during a retro party.

Nico has an eye for beauty, but they don’t share the superficiality and vanity all too common with the Toreador. Gifted with a
sharp mind and a good heart as well as a strong loyalty to those they care about, even after the Embrace, Nico has remained on
good terms with their mortal friends. The recent disappearance of Philippe and other vampire acquaintances of Nico’s has
affected them deeply, and they strive to find justice for their associates and to discover who’s responsible for the whole ordeal.

Disciplines: PRESENCE   AUSPEX   CELERITY

AESTHETICALLY SENSITIVE: ON SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFIED TILES, NICO FEELS UNEASY AND SUFFERS -1
Flaw:
A PENALTY (WRITTEN IN THE SETUP SECTION OF THE CHAPTER’S STORYBOOK PAGE).

Tremere
JADE LINH-DUPLESSIS
Jade is a young woman of Chinese and Quebecer descent. While alive, she was a brilliant student of medicine at McGill
University, well on her way to get her master. Jade specialized in microbiology, more specifically in hematology and blood dis-
orders. Her research got her to speak at the Annual Hematology Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Because of her ambition and
studious persona, she was sought after by both the Ventrue and the Tremere clans of Montreal. The Tremere got to her first,
preying on her thirst for knowledge to drive her to Blood sorcery. The Montreal Chantry, for that is how the local Tremere call
themselves, could not be happier to count Jade amongst their number. She took to Blood magic like a fish to water, vindicating
the Montreal Chantry in their choice of recruit. Using her prior knowledge of hematology, combined with her newly acquired
knowledge of Blood resonance, Jade has begun studying the link between vampiric powers and the emotional state of their
prey.

Caleb, Montreal’s Sheriff, has also taken an interest in Jade and often calls upon her to deal with important matters where the
Traditions have been broken. Her ambition will prove invaluable to the coterie and the city.

Disciplines: BLOOD SORCERY - THAUMATURGY   AUSPEX   DOMINATE - COMPEL

Flaw: USURPER’S BLOOD: UNABLE TO PERFORM BLOOD SURGE (PAGE 36).

CHAPTERS | CHOOSE A CHARACTER – 13

 Ventrue
SAMUEL ARMSTRONG
Samuel Armstrong is a direct descendant of the Prince of Vancouver. Before being made into a vampire, Samuel was a rich
lawyer, a job he kept even after the Embrace as a form of cover. Seeing Montreal as a way to increase his dignitas, Samuel vol-
unteered to move from Vancouver to Montreal to act as a mediator at the court of Martin Hilkers. To Samuel’s dismay, over the
years he has spent in town, he’s learned how poorly the Prince is managing his domain. Unwilling to be lumped with Hilkers in
the eyes of local Kindred, Samuel has begun to show the community just how a true Ventrue ought to act. This has led him to
take on a more active hand in the issues arising from Hilkers’ mismanagement, and he now spends his nights putting out the
metaphorical fires that burn across Montreal. His tireless efforts have made Samuel Armstrong the person to see when a prob-
lem emerges, sometimes even before Elysium is called. He knows he is threading a dangerous line, but to Samuel, the reputa-
tion of his entire bloodline is at stake, and he will not sit back while an incompetent upstart ruins it for everyone.

Thanks to his diplomacy and natural leadership skills, even the Anarchs are forced to admit Samuel is “not like the other
Ventrue around here.”

Disciplines: PRESENCE    DOMINATE - COMPEL   FORTITUDE

Flaw: HIGH STANDARDS: CAN’T REDUCE HUNGER FROM AN ANIMAL.

Recommended for experienced players! There are clanless vampires. They are referred to as Caitiff. Abandoned after
the Embrace, they are left to fend for themselves. They have no clan and are like a blank page, yours to appropriate.

Caitiff
GABE TREMBLAY
Gabriel is a Caitiff, which means he has no inherent clan nor any of the characteristics associated with one. As if that weren’t
enough, he’s amnesic and can’t recall the slightest thing about his past. All he knows is that he was Embraced back when the
Sabbat was in charge. Normally, Caitiff are looked down upon and either considered with pity or outright rejected by the other
Kindred. Due to his good looks and jaded attitude, he was taken in by Betty, the Toreador Harpy. Luckily or unluckily for
Gabriel, since Betty knows about everyone and everything — which also means she never shuts up. Nevertheless, Gabriel uses
her for his own protection and to navigate through Kindred society in hopes of uncovering his past.

Disciplines: Choose your own set of 3 Disciplines (no restrictions)

Flaw: LACK OF LINEAGE: DISCIPLINE’S XP COST INCREASED (X6 INSTEAD OF X5).

Note: Although Gabe Tremblay is sometimes referred to as a male throughout the campaign for narrative
purposes, you can choose whether to make your Caitiff character any gender and use either miniature.

14 – CHOOSE A CHARACTER | CHAPTERS

 CREATE YOUR OWN CHARACTER
(by choosing the Caitiff)
While every playable character has a past, a history, a personality, and a preset character sheet,
Gabe Tremblay is a Caitiff. He/She is like a blank page, yours to appropriate. In the World of
Darkness, Caitiff are often perceived as low-class Kindred. This condition confers a certain
amount of freedom, however. The Caitiff allows players the opportunity to create a character
sheet from scratch.

Distribute
the following One attribute at
3/
points as you Two attributes at 60 XP to spend on
2 skills
see fit: (while respecting Two level 1 Discip
the lines
attribute/skill re (any combination)
striction
(p.19 for more info
))
Example : You ar
e playing
Gabe Tremblay in Example : Followi DAMAGE TRACKE
this ng the XP R: PHYSICAL
game. You decide rules on page 22, attribute x 2
to put 3 you spend
points in Gabe’s M 18 XP to increase
ENTAL Gabe
attribute and 2 po Tremblay’s SEAR WILLPOWER TR
ints each CH from ACKER:
in SOCIAL and PH 0 to 3 (3 + 6 + 9 XP SOCIAL attribut
YSICAL. ). You e + MENTAL
spend 9 XP to incr attribute
ease
Gabe’s PERSUASI
ON to 2
(3 + 6 XP). You no
w have 33 HUMANITY LEVE
XP left. You spend L: 7
the rest
following the sam
e rules ACTIVE HAND: PH
until you have no YSICAL
ne left. attribute + MEN
TAL attribute

Note: You must spe

nd all of these 60
XP when creating the
Caitiff.

CHAPTERS | CHOOSE A CHARACTER – 15

 ADDITIONAL CLANS
The World of Darkness is composed of many vampire clans. Some of them are rare and scattered. Vampire: The Masquerade – CHAPTERS offers
the opportunity to incarnate four of these more uncommon clans. Each Expansion pack is sold separately.

Banu Haqim
AARON WISSAL
Aaron Wissal is an enigmatic figure by design. Down to his name, which is likely fake, very little is known about him.
Rumors heard through previous employers and people claiming to know him say he might have been a Buddhist monk
Embraced after a violent raid against his home. Others say he willingly sought the Embrace to help him avenge a past
slight. Aaron won’t confirm nor deny these rumors about him, content to let people wonder.

Blessed with an ambiguous physique and unremarkable features, Aaron is hard to pinpoint in a crowd or pick out from
a police lineup, something he has often used to his advantage. Mercenary-minded, Aaron is quiet to the point of being
unnerving and takes advantage of it when the jobs he gets assigned require intimidation. A renowned hit man in
Kindred circles, he sees his jobs as no more distasteful or pleasant than any day job. His only concern is to complete them
methodically and efficiently, loathe to let anything up to chance.

Having had issues connecting with mortals and even more with other Kindred, Aaron feels a kinship with the city of
Montreal instead. Its bright, lamppost-flooded streets, the smells of late-night restaurants spilling onto the sidewalks, the
thick, sweaty atmosphere of summer festivals… Aaron has traveled the breadth of the world for odd jobs, but had he any
choice in the matter, the city of a hundred steeples is where he would rather lurk, kill, and feed.

Disciplines: BLOOD SORCERY - QUIETUS   CELERITY   OBFUSCATE

Flaw: BLOOD CURSED: WHEN AARON ENTERS FRENZY ALL CHARACTERS AND NPCS WITHIN 2 HEX OF HIM TAKE 2
UNPREVENTABLE DAMAGE. CHARACTERS IN THE AREA ALSO INCREASE THEIR HUNGER BY 1.

Hecata
AURORA ROSSELINI
“Ancora Tra Noi”, “Circus of Vanishing Children”, “Winter of the Faceless”. Only the most devout horror-film enthusiasts
still talk about these obscure cult classics. And to know any of these titles is to also know Aurora Rosselini, the lead actress
and often tragic protagonist. Born in Montefalco, Aurora has been pushed in front of cameras from a very young age. Her
pale complexion, strangely calm voice, and mature demeanor charmed audiences and made her perfect for the ever-popu-
lar Giallo films, horror thrillers that became part of her brand when she caught the eye of Hollywood producers and it
brought her into the limelight.

The strangely eerie aura that accompanied Aurora worked well for the newly crowned “scream queen”, and there is no
doubt she would have ascended to stardom if not for the strange misfortunes that seemed to befall the productions she was
associated with. Fires. Unexplained disappearances. Baffling distortions of an otherwise perfect shot. While shooting
“They Always Watch”, the male lead suddenly started speaking in tongues, and his body bent in unnatural ways as he
started killing the crew one by one. The movie was never released, of course, but should someone watch the last scene
filmed, they would see a mortally wounded Aurora gasping for help and a tall gaunt woman snapping the neck of the fren-
zied actor before whisking her out of frame and out of the limelight forever.

Although national newspapers claimed otherwise, Aurora’s story did not end that night. Spared a painful death, she felt only
undying gratitude and love for Charlotte Milliner, her savior. For years, she learned of the Kindred and the Hecata, of the
strange phenomenons that had plagued her all her life, to no longer be victim to them and instead bend them to her will.

When she moved with her sire to New Orleans, they found the vengeful spirit, called the Surgeon, who had possessed her
co-star was well intent on finishing the job and making Aurora’s last scream his to enjoy...

Disciplines: OBLIVION - NECROMANCY   AUSPEX   FORTITUDE

Flaw: PAINFUL KISS: START WITH 5 HUMANITY.

WHEN FEEDING ON AN NPC DURING A CHAPTER, ROLL A RED DIE. ON A SKULL, LOSE 1 HUMANITY

16 – CHOOSE A CHARACTER | CHAPTERS

 Lasombra
EDWARD HARVEY
Edward Harvey grew up on the streets of New York, but his sharp mind and ruthless ambition secured him a place
studying law at Harvard. His tuition fees were paid for by his connected friends, and after he graduated, he worked for
the mob, helping to launder money and legitimize their business interests. He was also not afraid to get his hands dirty
and did not leave the room when it came to blackmail, extortion, and worse.

Edward had few friends, but stayed close to what little remained of his family, who were unaware of the lines he had
crossed or the secrets he kept. That all changed when he was approached by a sadistic Lasombra from Chicago who had
been watching his colorful career. After explaining his true nature, the vampire made him a one-time offer: immortality
in exchange for the lives of Edward’s sister and her daughter. Edward resisted at first, but the seed was planted in the
dark recesses of his mind. Over the next few months, the Lasombra ruined Edward’s life from the shadows, eventually
forcing him to accept the offer.

For years following his Embrace, Edward was tormented by his sire, all in the twisted hope that it would make Edward
more resilient, more ruthless. It escalated until the childe dispatched his sire, or so Edward thought. Now free of him,
Edward Harvey made his way to New York, intent on picking up where he was forced to leave off. To his dismay, Edward
came back to the Big Apple only to find his sire entrenched in the New York underworld. Unable to overthrow his
diabolical sire a second time, Edward took Lady Van Burace up on her offer to migrate to Montreal as her agent. Here,
he would be free to build his network, his army, his power, and get back at his sire once and for all.

Disciplines: OBLIVION - OBTENEBRATION   POTENCE   DOMINATE - COMPEL

Flaw: RUTHLESS: START WITH 5 HUMANITY.

TAKE THE GLITCH (#80) EFFECT CARD WHEN YOU BEGIN A CHAPTER.

Ministry
MELISSA SANTOS
Melissa Santos once stood for freedom itself. Her unshakable faith in the responsibility the press had towards the people
of a country was evident even from an early age. In high school, she pioneered an editorial-free newspaper to condemn the
corruption of her school’s administration, almost getting herself kicked out despite her valedictorian grades. As soon as
she graduated and went on to university, she plunged deeper into local and national politics, investigating the biggest
crime lords in the area. Her blog, and her list of enemies, kept growing daily with every new fact she brought to light about
the moral turpitude, corruption, and profiteering her government was involved in.

While looking into the FARCs, a group of drug lords and terrorists, she ended up drawing their attention and, while she
was getting groceries at a local market, was kidnapped by armed men in broad daylight, the witnesses too terrified to help.

Brought deep into their camp in the Amazonian jungle, they asked her to dismantle her blog and stop investigating their
organization. Melissa refused. Each day they asked. Each day she refused. Each day her treatment got worse. One night,
instead of her usual tormentors, a “priest” was brought in. Young and strangely handsome, his methods were curious and
cruel. One night indulging all her needs, the other dosing her with strong psychedelics, covering her in spiders, or listening
empathically to the story of her life. Through unwavering willpower, she endured it all. Unwittingly learning from the
man’s methods, she started to sway her jailors to her side, listening and connecting with them with the same intensity and
feigned benevolence he did.

It took months, but through these underhanded new methods, she managed to make “friends” with some of the
FARCs assigned to guard her, and finally managed to manipulate them into giving her an opening to escape. She ran
through the wilds for three days and three nights before collapsing, exhausted. Having followed her, the priest,
impressed by her unshakable faith and silver tongue, sunk his fangs into her neck in the middle of the deforested
waste of the Amazonian rainforest.

Melissa learned about the Ministry and their purpose. To expose lies and lift the veil from the eyes of the blind, to show
people their true nature through the nine Gates of their own desires, to destabilize the powers that be. Although Melissa
didn’t subscribe to the entirety of her sire’s beliefs, their views aligned enough that she wasn’t opposed to him. They spent
the next months hunting her former captors, the priest offering his new childe the gift of vengeance to seal their relation-
ship in blood and divine retribution.

Disciplines: PROTEAN - SERPENTIS   PRESENCE   OBFUSCATE

Flaw: ENEMY OF THE LIGHT: TAKE 1 UNPREVENTABLE DAMAGE WHEN YOU BEGIN YOUR TURN ON A HEX ADJACENT
TO A FIRE TOKEN

CHAPTERS | CHOOSE A CHARACTER – 17

 CHARACTER BOARD
There are two types of Damage a character can take: “regular” Damage
and unpreventable Damage. You can reduce the regular Damage you
take with RESISTANCE tokens (called preventing Damage), but you
can never reduce Unpreventable Damage with RESISTANCE tokens.

Note: Throughout the rules, “regular” Damage is simply called Damage.

A character can recover from the Damage they’ve taken by using the
vampiric ability MEND DAMAGE (see page 36).
A character’s Damage tracker automatically resets at the beginning of a
new chapter.
Increase a character’s Damage tracker by increasing the PHYSICAL
attribute with Experience points (XP). To track your Damage, move
the red cube from left to right on the Damage tracker.
Damage

Willpower
Tracker covers Example: During combat, the Gangrel character sustains Damage
Hunger
(four points) from an enemy and is hurt (she survives the combat
round with two Damage points left).

Along with your character sheet, your character board will provide
information about your Damage, Willpower, and Hunger trackers.

Damage tracker Willpower tracker

PHYSICAL attribute x 2 (i.e. PHYSICAL attribute = 3;
Damage tracker = 6)
Willpower tracker
SOCIAL + MENTAL attributes. (i.e. SOCIAL attribute = 3 and
MENTAL attribute = 2 ; Willpower tracker = 5)
Willpower represents your ability to concentrate on a specific task in order to
get your way. Use one Willpower point to reroll up to three black dice after a
skill check in order to increase your potential successes.
Calculate a character’s maximum Willpower by adding the MENTAL +
SOCIAL attributes values together.

Note: There is no limit to the number of Willpower points a player can

Hunger tracker use in one turn, up to their maximum Willpower.
All players (except Thomas Chartrand - Brujah) have 5 Hunger
points available.
A character’s Willpower points reset at the beginning of a new chapter.

A characters’ attributes will increase during the campaign, as will their

Damage and Willpower trackers. Use the tracker covers to hide the
points you don’t have access to yet.
Example: If you have 6 available points on your Damage tracker (“3” in
PHYSICAL), use 4 tracker covers to hide the 4 remaining points on
the right side of the tracker. The same principle applies for your
Willpower tracker.
Attributes
PHYSICAL
Example : The Ventrue character starts with a SOCIAL attribute of “3”
and a MENTAL attribute of “2,” for a total of 5 Willpower points.
While attempting to use the PERSUASION skill against a vam-
pire NPC during a dialogue, the Ventrue requires four successes
to convince his interlocutor. With “3” points in the PERSUASION
skill and “3” points in his SOCIAL attribute, the Ventrue has
three automatic successes.
Unfortunately, after rolling three dice (due to the “3” SOCIAL attribute),
the Ventrue obtains no additional successes (bad luck).
The Ventrue uses one Willpower point (going from “0” to “1” on the
tracker). He then re-rolls the three black dice associated with the “3”
SOCIAL attribute points and obtains 2 additional successes. This gives
him a total of 5 successes. He thus passes the check.

Increase a character’s available Willpower points by increasing their

MENTAL or SOCIAL attributes with experience points (XP).
If your Willpower tracker is filled and you spend another point of
Willpower, you fall into a state of fatigue (See page 35 for the rules
on fatigue).

Damage tracker Hunger tracker

The Damage tracker represents how much Damage your character
Hunger represents the Beast. The Beast is an egoistic, power-
can sustain before going into torpor. A character sent into torpor is
mongering, and sadistic force that inhabits all vampires. It urges you
removed from the tile and can no longer interact with the chapter.
to kill, dominate, and control your surroundings.
Calculate a character’s available Damage tracker points by multiplying
When attempting to accomplish a task, swap one black die for a red die
their PHYSICAL attribute by two.
for each Hunger point you have.

Example: The Gangrel character starts with a PHYSICAL attribute of Note: You may NOT reroll a red die with Willpower.
“3.” Therefore, her available Damage points are set at “6” (PHYSICAL
attribute of “3” x 2).

18 – CHOOSE A CHARACTER | CHAPTERS

Players start each chapter with 1 Hunger point (before Feeding Events Some events and dialogues will vary depending on your Hunger level.
- see page 24). Be careful, the higher your Hunger, the worse the consequences!
If a character is at their maximum Hunger level and gains another
Hunger point (by failing a ROUSE CHECK or through a prompt), the
character enters Frenzy (See page 35 for the rules on Frenzy).

CHARACTER SHEET MENTAL

Attributes
A character’s innate abilities when attempting to accomplish a specific
PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, or MENTAL task. During a skill check (see page
34), a player rolls a number of dice equal to their attribute level.
• PHYSICAL: Represents your character’s general physical ability
(strength, dexterity, or stamina) when making a PHYSICAL skill
check (i.e., PHYSICAL attribute + BRAWL skill during a combat).
• SOCIAL: Represents your character’s general social ability (charisma,
manipulation, or composure) when making a SOCIAL skill check
(i.e., SOCIAL attribute + PERSUASION skill during a dialogue).
• MENTAL: Represents your character’s general mental ability
(intelligence, wits, and resolve) when making a MENTAL skill
check (i.e., MENTAL attribute + SEARCH skill during an
investigation).
Skills
Skills define a character’s level of expertise and represent automatic
successes when attempting to accomplish a specific PHYSICAL, SOCIAL,
or MENTAL check.
The number of automatic successes is equal to the number of check marks
on the skill bar. All skills are divided according to the attribute to which
they belong (PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, and MENTAL).
PHYSICAL
ATHLETICS
How fast and far you can move.
SEARCH
Your ability to look, find evidence, and discover clues.
AWARENESS
How perceptive you are of your environment.
OCCULT
Your knowledge of the supernatural world.
TECHNOLOGY
Your ability to hack computers, alarms, phones, and use
modern tools.
Attribute/Skills Restriction Rule:
A character’s skill points may not exceed (though they may equal) the
character’s corresponding attribute. Thus, a character with a SOCIAL
attribute of 2 may not have 3 points in the PERSUASION skill.
Disciplines
Disciplines are the common vampiric powers of each clan.
Using a Discipline power is using a part of the Blood (vampiric Blood)
contained in your body.
This Blood usage gets you closer to becoming starved for blood, which
grants the Beast inside of you gaining more control.
Every time you use a Discipline power, you need to make a “ROUSE
CHECK” which will lead you closer to the Beast (more info page 35).

BRAWL
Ability to fight and dodge.

WEAPONS
Character
How to fight with a weapon (melee and ranged). name and clan

Character flaw
STEALTH
Your ability to sneak, ambush, and stay undetected. Attributes

SOCIAL
Skills

PERSUASION
Your ability to convince others through charm or reason.
Disciplines

INSIGHT
XP
Your ability to understand what motivates others.

XP Cost
SUBTERFUGE reminder
Your ability to lie, be deceitful or be crafty.

INTIMIDATION
Your ability to use fear, coercion,
or threats to convince others.

CHAPTERS | CHOOSE A CHARACTER – 19

 Overview of the different Disciplines: XP
Throughout the various chapters found within the game, you will
ANIMALISM collect several things: experience points (XP), information regarding
Communicate with and manipulate animals and the specific characters, clues, BOONS, and more. Write down every XP
Beast within each Kindred. you collect at the bottom of your character sheet, as you will be able
to transfer them to a different character if you decide to switch characters
AUSPEX over the course of the campaign.
Gain supernatural senses and understanding
of your environment.
Note: Changing characters is permanent. You cannot switch back to play your
old character later during the campaign. Also, only XP is transferred between
DOMINATE - COMPEL characters, so you must discard your effect cards and Humanity cards.
Force your victim to obey you.

Notes
DOMINATE - DEMENTATION You can use the back of your character sheet to keep track of all the
Use your mental abilities to attack the minds of others. important pieces of information you collect during the campaign. You
can write things such as clues, or important details you learn about a
character.
PRESENCE We strongly recommend to write down all the Feeding Events you
Supernatural charm and persuasion.
complete as well since they can only be completed once.

POTENCE
Supernatural strength.

FINALIZING YOUR CHARACTER

CELERITY
Supernatural speed. Once you have chosen your clan, or created a Caitiff, you have to pick a
Humanity card, assemble your combat deck and choose your Discipline
power cards.

PROTEAN - FERAL Humanity Cards

Infuse your body with wolflike abilities.
Humanity is your last protection against the Beast within — the part
of you that constantly craves power, blood, and control. It is the mea-
PROTEAN - SERPENTIS sure of how close you are to the human you once were. As a vampire
Infuse your body with serpentlike abilities. ages, the Beast gnaws away at their Humanity, tearing it to shreds as
the decades pass.
Characters lose Humanity by committing terrible deeds (murder,
OBFUSCATE diablerie, and other immoral acts). Altruistic actions can help minimize
The ability to avoid detection and mask your appearance. Humanity loss. You can never regain lost Humanity.
Unless noted otherwise, a character begins the game with a Humanity
rating of 7.
FORTITUDE
Supernatural resilience of the body and mind. Pick up a Humanity card corresponding to your current Humanity
rating at the start of the game. When you lose Humanity, discard your
card and replace it with one corresponding to your new Humanity
rating. Some ratings also confer benefits. These will be detailed at the
BLOOD SORCERY - THAUMATURGY bottom of the card.
Rituals and magical abilities.

BLOOD SORCERY - QUIETUS

Blood alchemy that improves combat abilities.

OBLIVION - OBTENEBRATION
Call upon the shadows to assist you in combat.

OBLIVION - NECROMANCY
Call upon the dead to do your bidding.

Note: If you want to discover what each Discipline does, read the various
Discipline cards.

20 – CHOOSE A CHARACTER | CHAPTERS

 Combat Deck
Skill Category
and level
Skill Category:
BRAWL, WEAPONS,
STEALTH, or
ATHLETICS
Combat card name
Combat specialization:
Attack, Defense, or Mix
Effect Related dice bonus
Your combat deck consists of all the combat cards your character has
access to. These cards rely on a character’s level in ATHLETICS,
BRAWL, STEALTH, and WEAPONS. Each card has a requirement,
either of a skill rating or a Discipline rating.
WEAPON combat cards can only be used when combined with a
WEAPON item card. The WEAPON item card must match the kind of
WEAPON needed by the combat card: RANGED WEAPON combat
cards require a RANGED WEAPON item card, MELEE WEAPON
combat cards require a MELEE WEAPON item card.
If your character meets the card’s requirement, it is included in your
combat deck. By default, every character has access to the BITE,
GUARD, LOW KICK, PUNCH, SLASH, and SPRAY cards.
A character’s base combat deck is made up of the following cards:
CHARACTER COMBAT BASE DECK:
Brawl Weapon
• Punch • Slash
• Low-kick • Spray
• Guard
• Bite
As you improve your character and increase your rating in the
ATHLETICS, BRAWL, STEALTH, and WEAPON skills, add any newly
available cards to your combat deck.
Example: Lucianna Ricci, begins at level 2 in BRAWL. In addition to the
base combat deck, she also gets the HIGH KICK, UPPERCUT, and
HOOK, combat cards for her 1st level in BRAWL. She also receives the
IPPON combat card for her 2nd level in BRAWL. When Lucianna’s
BRAWL skill reaches level 3, add the ARM BAR and SKULL CRUSHER
combat cards to her combat deck.
Some combat cards also bestow an additional effect. These effects
take place after the card has been used to Attack or Defend, whether
the roll was successful or not.
Active Hand
At the beginning of a combat, each player picks their “active hand”
from the character’s base combat deck and the cards corresponding to
their ATHLETICS, BRAWL, WEAPONS, and STEALTH skill levels.
The character’s base combat deck is composed of several combat
cards that will allow the character to Defend themselves or Attack
during a combat sequence. Many additional combat cards will be-
come available as they are unlocked during the campaign.
Discipline Power Cards
Clan Symbol
(make sure to pick
the card belonging
to your Clan)
Discipline symbol
and level
Discipline name
Discipline effect
Type of Discipline
Duration
Look at your character’s Disciplines and their respective levels. Choose
from the Discipline power cards those that correspond to your charac-
ter’s rating in each.
A character may only have 1 Discipline power card for each level of
Discipline they have.
Example: If you are playing Samuel Armstrong, you begin a campaign
with the CLOUD MEMORY Discipline card (DOMINATE - COMPEL
- Level 1), and your choice between AWE and DREAD GAZE
(PRESENCE - Level 1). The reason for this choice is explained below.
As your character progresses throughout the campaign, they’ll be
able to increase their Discipline level, thereby unlocking higher-
level Discipline power cards.
Power restriction:
When a character increases their Discipline level, they must pick 1
new Discipline power card. Sometimes, the player will have to choose
between two different Discipline power cards, in which case, they
must choose only one and cannot change it for the remainder of the
campaign.
Types of Discipline power cards:
Two types of Discipline power cards exist: active and immediate.
• An immediate Discipline power card takes effect immediately
after it is played, and its effect stops after usage.
• An active Discipline power remains active for the whole
duration written on the card or until the player decides to
change the card for another active Discipline power, whichever
comes first. Sometimes, an event may call for an active
Discipline power to stop.
Immediate Discipline powers can also be used while an active
Discipline power is in play.
CHAPTERS | CHOOSE A CHARACTER – 21
 SETUP

BEFORE STARTING A CHAPTER

Before starting a chapter, you can do each of the following in order:
• Spend XP to increase attributes, skills, and Disciplines.
• Buy item cards from Alex Simard’s inventory with BOONS.
• Complete a Feeding Event.
Then, read the chapter’s Introduction page in the Storybook. There,
you will find:
• The narrative introduction of the chapter.
• The chapter’s setup instructions (which tile to use, which NPCs
are involved and where to place them, etc.).
• The chapter’s goal (e.g., Find out what the ghoul is doing).
• The first action you must perform to begin playing (e.g., Read
Event Page E.1).
Spending XP
At the beginning of a chapter, players can use the XP they’ve earned to
increase their attributes, skills, and Disciplines.
Refer to the tables below when increasing your character’s stats:
Attribute/skill restriction rule:
A character’s skill points may not exceed (though they may equal) a
character’s attribute. Thus, a character with a SOCIAL attribute of 2
may not have a level 3 PERSUASION skill.
Incremental Increase Rule:
A character must increase their skill, attribute, and Discipline stats
one level at a time.
Example: A player who is level 2 in the SEARCH skill and desires to get
to level 4 must spend XP to get the third level first (9 XP). Only then can
the 4th level be acquired by spending an additional 12 XP.
XP advice: Always keep a record of your total XP. Use the “XP” section
on your character sheet to do so.

XP COST PER ATTRIBUTE POINT

Level 1 2 3 4 5
XP Cost 4 8 12 16 20 At some point in the game, you may have the ability to trade your character
for another one. You can transfer the XP you’ve already gained to this new
character. This also applies to any expansion-pack characters who might
XP COST PER SKILL POINT appear later on in the campaign.
Level 1 2 3 4 5
Note: XP is attributed to a player and not to a specific character.
XP Cost 3 6 9 12 15

XP COST PER DISCIPLINE POINT Trade BOONS

Level 1 2 3 BOONS serve as favor commodities, currencies, and eternal debts
5 10 15
among vampires. During the campaign, characters will find, earn, and
XP Cost
spend BOONS.

Minor BOON Major BOON

After the Prologues and between chapters, players can trade their BOONS
for specific items with the NPC Alex Simard. His inventory can be found
in the Storybook on page 143. In some chapters, you may be asked to
trade BOONS to open new avenues of dialogue or investigation.
BOONS belong to the coterie, and not to a single player. You must
collectively decide how to spend them.
There are two types of BOONS: major BOONS and minor BOONS. A
major BOON is worth 5 BOONS, while a minor BOON is worth 1 BOON.

22
Item cards
Item cards include weapons, tools, and accessories.
They can be bought with BOONS from the NPC Alex Simard between
chapters (before setting up the next chapter) or earned by playing chapters
throughout the campaign. They serve multiple purposes like enhancing
your skills, providing blood to reduce your Hunger, or serve as combat
weapons. Many items are considered high-value finds. You can collect
items by talking to various NPCs, investigating areas, or as a reward.
Items are shared within the coterie but can only be used by one player
at a time.
Example: When a character acquires an item through a dialogue or an
investigation, the character keeps the item (unless they want to
trade it to another player) until the end of the chapter. Once a chapter
ends, the item belongs to the coterie, which decides, as a group, who
takes what item for the next chapter.
When you begin a chapter, determine which items you’d like to take
(3 items maximum per player) and which player gets them.
Example: The coterie has the “BLOOD BAG,” “KITCHEN KNIFE,”
“HANDGUN” and “SPECIAL UMBRELLA” items. Before the chapter
begins, regardless of who acquired them previously, distribute the
items as you see fit. One character may end up with the “HANDGUN”
and the “BLOOD BAG” while the other two have the “KITCHEN
KNIFE” and “SPECIAL UMBRELLA” respectively. Conversely, one
character could take up to three items, and leave just one item to be
given to one of the two other players.
Example: A player (you) has the “KITCHEN KNIFE” item, but you do
not have any points in WEAPONS. Another player in your coterie does,
however. They can use the “KITCHEN KNIFE” provided you have no
use for it, even if they weren’t the ones to obtain the item originally.
Items found during a chapter do not count as part of your 3 allotted
items. You will, however, have to decide which 3 items you would like to
keep on your character at the start of the next chapter.
Trade restriction rule:
Item cards cannot be traded during a dialogue, event, or investigation
sequence. During combat, you can use your action to trade an item with
an adjacent character.
When used, certain items must be discarded. When discarding an item,
place it back in the game box. This item will have to be acquired again in
the future (whether through purchase or by finding it again during a
chapter). If you discard an item you’ve obtained with BOONS from Alex
Simard, return it to Alex’s inventory. You will be able to buy it again in
the future.
Example: The “SET OF KEYS” item has a note which says, “discard at
the end of the chapter.” The “HANDGUN” item, however, does not.
The player must return the “SET OF KEYS” item to the game box once
the chapter ends, whereas they can keep the “HANDGUN” item
throughout multiple chapters.
Item cards may not be traded back for BOONS. Once acquired, items
may not be sold.

You can trade an item with a character on an adjacent HEX as one of

your actions during a chapter. Both players must agree to the trade for
it to take effect.

Card number

Associated skill
or card nature

Item
name

Effect

Item duration
(if any)

CHAPTERS | SET-UP – 23
 Feeding Events
The coterie can decide, as a group, to perform a Feeding Event before
every new chapter (unless otherwise indicated). This hunting session
offers players an opportunity to quench their blood thirst between
chapters. If successful, this lowers each character’s Hunger level to 0.
Sometimes, a Feeding Event can also result in the character gaining
specific rewards or hindrances.
Humans cannot recall being fed upon by the Kindred. This safeguard is
due in part to the fact that the Kiss — that is how vampires call biting to
Initiating a Feeding Event
To begin a Feeding Event, first look at the map of Montreal on page 150
of the Storybook. Your status will determine which districts are avail-
able to you. You can only choose a district with a level equal to or lower
than your current status. All level 0 districts are always available, re-
gardless of your status. Once you have chosen a district, choose your
Feeding Event from the available list.
You can only play a Feeding Event once. Every time you complete a
Feeding Event, note it somewhere so you remember. If you have already
completed every Feeding Events available to your status level, you must
start the next chapter without initiating a Feeding Event.
Storybook
Feeding Event’s
booklet
24 – SET-UP | CHAPTERS
feed — imparts a feeling of euphoria and calm, except for those of the
Hecata clan. This subdues the prey while the vampire is busy draining
them of their blood. It also ensures the person will not suddenly become
aware of the existence of the Kindred. This way, vampires can hunt
without needing to kill, and humans are none the wiser.
Feeding Events are a group activity, like the chapters of the main
campaign. Players participate in the Feeding Event together.
Resolving a Feeding Event
Read the introduction narrative in the Feeding Event booklet. The narrative
will offer you a choice between two approaches to feed. These are based on
one of the 3 attributes (PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, MENTAL). As a group, make a
choice between the two options offered.
Note: Some characters may give you bonus dice with certain choices. That does
not mean the choice will be easier than the other. Choose at your own risk!
Exemple:
+1 DIE IF SAMUEL ARMSTRONG IS IN THE COTERIE
Once your choice is made, each player rolls a number of black dice equal
to the chosen attribute. Tally up the number of successes rolled by each
player, then turn the page over and consult the table to find the appropriate
DIFFICULTY for your check. If you rolled an equal or higher number of
successes than the DIFFICULTY listed in the table, the coterie succeeds.
Read the success paragraph. If you roll a lower number of successes than
the DIFFICULTY, read the failure paragraph.
Example: If you chose a PHYSICAL approach, each player must roll a
number of dice equal to their PHYSICAL attribute. If the sum of all the
success you roll is equal to or higher than the check’s DIFFICULTY,
you succeed. Otherwise, you fail.
Note: You can use Willpower during a Feeding Event. Willpower
spent during a Feeding Event is not recovered when you start a chapter.
Note: You can’t use the Blood (disciplines or Blood Surge) or use item
cards during a Feeding Event.
If the Feeding Event rewards you with an effect or an item card, choose
a player to take it, unless stated otherwise. Then you can start the next
chapter.
Choosing a Chapter
Choose a chapter from the choices offered in the conclusion of the pre-
vious chapter. Unless stated otherwise, you can choose to play an
Optional chapter (“Ancient paths”, “The Hollow”, and “Obscure past”)
at any point between main chapters, once they become available during
the main story.
You can play a character’s Prologue from the moment they are intro-
duced in the main story. For the 8 base characters, this is before the start
of chapter 1. For the expansion characters, this will be stated in the
chapter in which they are introduced.

STARTING A CHAPTER
1. To set up a chapter, open the Storybook to the page corresponding
to whichever chapter you’re on. Read the intro (top section of the
page), then, once you’re done, read the setup section (bottom of
the page).
2. Place all the indicated elements on your gaming table (tile, tokens,
NPC standees, etc.).
3. Finally, use the corresponding chapter booklet.
Note: If you’re about to play chapter 17, take the chapter 17 Booklet .
Storybook (chapter’s narrative page)
4. Each chapter starts with reading the narrative introduction on the
front page of the Storybook. This helps set up where the story is
taking place and gives you insight and context. With this, you will
know what you’re currently doing, what your goal is, and where
to start. The back of the page (CONCLUSION) should only be read
if you succeed. It explains the aftermath of the events that
occurred during the chapter as well as what your next step is.
Example: The first chapter’s introduction talks about the coterie’s earlier
investigation into the disappearances of other vampires. Their objective
is to deal with the Sabbat Priest. The front page indicates which NPCs
are present and which ones are “dialogue NPCs” in this chapter, as well
as where they should be set up on the tile. The tile image also shows
where to place terrain tokens. The conclusion indicates what clues the
coterie has uncovered and where they should go next.
Note: Vampire: The Masquerade – CHAPTERS is designed to be
played more than once. Each new campaign offers a different gaming ex-
perience. Additionally, new chapters can sometimes be unlocked by mak-
ing different choices. This can lead to new gameplay tactics, new dialogue
options, and to surprising events.
Chapter tile
The campaign takes place in the city of Montreal. You will discover iconic
places, intimate havens, and underground locations. They will anchor
your characters in the story and offer advanced gameplay challenges.
All boards are printed on both sides, with each board having two tiles.
All chapters begin on a tile. Some may even occur on multiple tiles (this
will be indicated during the chapter). Take the tile corresponding to the
chapter you’re about to play (indicated in the setup section of the chapter’s
introduction page).
Example: You are about to play the second chapter “A Ghoul at the Flour
Mill”. To begin the chapter, take the tile number “9” from the game box
and set it up as indicated on the narrative introduction page.
Each tile is divided into several hexagons drawn in dashed lines. These
hexagons are referred to as HEX. Certain HEX have solid borders. These
borders are walls and no character or NPC can move through them.
They also block Line of Sight.

Players can also read the previous chapter’s narrative conclusion to

refresh their memory. We strongly suggest avoiding reading the unplayed
chapters’ narrative introductions as this could spoil the story and alter
your experience throughout the game.

Narrative conclusion
Chapter number
and title

Narrative
introduction

Objective:
What you are
supposed to achieve
during this chapter
Reward (XP and
effect card gains)

Action:
The first action players
must make at the start
of the chapter

Which chapter(s)
can be played

Initial chapter setup

(where to place NPCs,
tokens and investigation
areas on the tile).
CHAPTERS | SET-UP – 25
 Chapter booklet
Each chapter has its own “chapter booklet”.
It contains all the possible dialogues, investigations, and events. Keep the chapter booklet handy, as you will refer to it often.

Dialogue (D): Investigation (IN): Event (E):

To begin a dialogue, you must be on a HEX
adjacent to the NPC you wish to speak to.
Note: You can only speak to one NPC at a time.
NPCs with a dialogue option are indicated in
the setup section of the narrative page. When
beginning a dialogue with an NPC, refer to
Dialogue page D.1 of said NPC. Follow the
instructions to complete the dialogue se-
quence. More information on dialogues can
be found on page 41.
When beginning an investigation, you must be
on a HEX adjacent to the investigation area
token of your choice. The investigation areas
are numbered 1 to 4. Make sure to refer to the
corresponding page in the investigation
section of the booklet. More information on
investigations can be found on page 42.
Note: Investigation areas can be explored
in any order. Players are not obligated to
start with the first one.
Various situations will trigger events. When
an event is triggered, follow the instructions
mentioned on the page. Events also provide a
narrative context that will make your gameplay
experience more immersive. Occasionally, they
may also reveal additional NPCs. More infor-
mation on events can be found on page 37.

Note: Some NPCs do not have dialogue

options and are therefore not present in the
chapter booklet’s dialogue section.

ENDING A CHAPTER
There are two ways to end a chapter: success or failure. A chapter is
a success when you have accomplished the goal stated on the setup
page. An event or dialogue page will indicate when the chapter is
completed by instructing you to read the conclusion on the back of
the narrative page.
Some choices in events and dialogues can lead to failing a chapter.
When this happens, you cannot move on to the next chapter and
must replay this chapter again if you wish to progress in the cam-
paign. Similarly, when every character has been sent into torpor, the
chapter fails.
When a chapter ends, discard all your clue tokens and investigation
success tokens.
If it fails, you must also discard all effect cards, and item cards
earned while playing that chapter.

26 – SET-UP | CHAPTERS
 NPC AND ALLIES
NPC state cards NPC combat deck

Movement Targeting SPECIAL attacks

Attitude
(aggressive or neutral)

Initiative level

Attack level (amount

of Damage delivered Combat type
per attack) (Attack, Defense
or Mix)

Resistance
(amount of Damage
absorbed per attack) Combat card name

Effect
Damage tracker
Card number (the amount of Damage
NPC Name sustained by an NPC) Retargeting
(apply immediately
if applicable)

Nature & Line of sight Attitude Tracker

combat deck (aggressive or neutral)

Several Non-Playable Characters (NPCs) encountered during the cam- All NPCs with a state card also have an associated combat deck. This
paign will have an NPC state card. You can only begin a combat sequence deck includes various combat techniques based on the NPC’s abilities
with an NPC who has a state card. The Initiative, Attack, Resistance and and nature. The list of NPC combat decks is as follows:
Damage tracker values of an NPC will depend on the player count (see
• Animal
page 10).
• Human
Note: An NPC without a state card cannot be fought. • Ghoul
• Authority
Place this card facedown, so that only the NPC’s name, Line of Sight, • Vampire
and attitude (aggressive or neutral) are visible. • Boss
NPC combat decks are composed of 3 different types of cards:
Attitude:
Attack: The NPC Attacks and inflicts Damage to the player(s) or Allies.
An aggressive NPC will immediately begin combat
Defense: The NPC focuses on its Defense (and does not Attack during
when a character enters their Line of Sight (unless
this combat round).
the player is in STEALTH mode).
Special (1&2): The NPC uses its SPECIAL attack, described on the state card.

A neutral NPC will respond to an Attack but will not Choose the deck corresponding to the NPC you encounter during
initiate combat. gameplay.

Flip the NPC state card faceup when: Example: In Chapter 1, you encounter the “STREET MUSCLE” and “OLD
VAGRANT” ghoul NPCs. You will use the same combat deck for both
• Combat begins. — in this case, the “GHOUL” type combat deck (Attack or Defense).
• When you use the “SCRY THE SOUL”
power from the AUSPEX Discipline.
• When instructed to do so during an event.

CHAPTERS | SET-UP – 27
 Ally state cards Ally combat deck

Line of sight Movement Targeting SPECIAL attacks

Card type and level

ALLY Name

Number of players

Initiative level

Attack level (amount

of Damage delivered
per attack)

Resistance
(amount of Damage Damage tracker
absorbed per attack) Passive effect ( ) (the amount of Damage
sustained by an NPC)

There are two types of Allies: chapter Allies and coterie Allies.
Chapter Allies:
• Are introduced throughout chapters.
• Remain in play only for the duration of the chapter in which
they are introduced.
• Do not confer any passive effect to the coterie.
Coterie Allies:
• Represent the 8 main characters (with the possible addition of
the expansion-pack characters).
• Offer a passive effect to every other player involved in the chapter
as long as the Ally is present in the chapter and is not in torpor.
• Can be chosen at the start of a chapter.
• Are only placed on the tile when combat begins; they do not
appear on the tile otherwise.
• Begin at level 1 and flip to level 2 after the campaign’s second
interlude.
• Cannot be chosen if a player is already playing that Ally as a
character.
• Count as part of the player count for the purposes of difficulty
modifiers and NPC statistics.
• Are never involved in dialogue or investigation sequences, but
their passive effect still applies.
When combat begins, place your Allies on a HEX adjacent to your character.
The Initiative, Attack, Resistance, and Damage tracker values of an Ally
will depend on the player count (see page 10).
Allies use the Ally deck in combat. During combat, all of your Allies
will draw cards from that deck.
Example: If you have both Samuel Armstrong and Aren Konway as your
coterie Allies, when combat begins, they will draw their Attacks and
Defenses from the same deck.
Miniatures and standees
Each character has its own dedicated miniature / standee. The position
of this miniature on the tile represents the character’s location and
direction. The arrow on the miniature indicates which way the character
is facing and the direction of their Line of Sight.
Each NPC has its own dedicated standee. The position of this standee
on the tile represents the NPC’s location and direction. The arrow on
the stand indicates which way the NPC is facing and the direction of its
Line of Sight. To set up NPC standees, pick the corresponding NPC
token and place it on a plastic base.
On a chapter’s page in the Storybook, the NPCs to setup are shown on
the tile with an arrow. You must turn the NPCs’ standees so their facing
direction matches the arrows.
If the NPC is shown with a red droplet in the setup section of the chapter’s
page in the Storybook, this indicates you can feed on them during the chap-
ter. They are called “preys”. In this case, use a red base for that NPC’s stand-
ee when placing them on the tile. Finally, keep in mind that, should you use
supernatural powers in their Line of Sight or fail to feed on a prey, they will
flee and could cause a Masquerade Breach (see page 32).

Example: Your coterie is composed of a maximum of 4 characters plus

any chapter Allies you might have. When playing a single-player
game, you can add up to 3 coterie Allies to aid you. When playing with
2 players, you can add up to 2 coterie Allies to the group. When playing
with 3 players, you can only add 1 coterie Ally. You may not add coterie
Allies when playing with 4 players.
Boss combat deck
Bosses are special types of enemies that you will encounter during the
campaign. When combat begins, shuffle the shared Boss deck (3
Special 1 +3 Special 2 cards) and the Boss’ unique deck. When combat
ends, remove the Boss’ cards from the shared deck.

Unique Boss deck number

Facing arrow

28 – SET-UP | CHAPTERS
TOKENS
Terrain tokens
Through the various chapters, tokens are used as indicators. For exam- Action
ple by showing an area is searchable. They can also indicate a difficult Action tokens are numbered from 1 to 4.
terrain on a specific HEX on the tile. Refer to the narrative page’s setup They correspond to a specific event in the
section in the Storybook to place the tokens on the appropriate HEX. chapter booklet. An action token blocks
Movement and Line of Sight the same
Note: New tokens may be added during a chapter following an event trigger. way a wall does. You can trigger an event
during any sequence, even combat, as
soon as you stop next to an action token.
The list of tokens is as follows:

Arms of Ahriman
Difficult Terrain:
A character (player, Ally or NPC) who be-
+1 Movement to go through this HEX.
gins their turn on a HEX adjacent to this
Ranged Attacks can’t reach a target behind a difficult token takes 1 Unpreventable Damage.
terrain token.

Example: In this setup, the NPC cannot target the character with a Fire
RANGED Attack, and vice versa. If a character (player, Ally or NPC) steps
on a HEX that’s on fire or begins their
turn there, they immediately take 2
+1 Unpreventable Damage.

+2

+3 Note: Damage from fire tokens is cumulative. If you step through 3

NPC P1 HEX covered in fire tokens, you would take 6 Damage. Similarly, if
3 +2
you move into a firecovered HEX and end your turn there, you will
+3 take an additional 2 Damage at the start of your next turn unless the
fire token is removed beforehand.
+2
+1

In this setup, the NPC is able to target the character with a +2 DAMAGE
RANGED Attack, and vice versa. P1

+2 DAMAGE +2 DAMAGE

+2

+3 +1
NPC P1
3 +2 At the beginning of every round, place 1 fire token adjacent to the
+3 +1 last fire token placed, in the direction of the closest character or
NPC. Characters stop taking Damage if they begin their turn on a
+2 HEX that isn’t on fire.

Note: Should the closest character or NPC already be on a fire token, then
the next nearest player or NPC is targeted. Should all NPCs and player
characters already be on fire, the players choose where to place the token.

Investigation area: TOO FAR

FIRE FOLLOWS NPC #4
Investigation areas are numbered from NEAREST NPC
1 to 4. Each token represents an area the
character may look into and corresponds NPC #1
to a specific investigation page in the NPC #3

chapter booklet. When investigating an

NPC #2
area, refer to the appropriate number in
the chapter booklet. An investigation
area token blocks Movement and Line
of Sight the same way a wall does. Once
a player is done investigating the area,
they must discard the corresponding
investigation area token from the tile.
MENTAL skills are often called upon
when interacting with an investiga-
tion area.

CHAPTERS | SET-UP – 29
 Investigation tokens
During specific chapters, investigation area tokens will indicate places
that can be looked into. During this investigation, you will gather evi-
dence (represented by clue tokens) as well as gain investigation success
tokens as a reward for the accuracy of your deductions.
The list of investigation tokens is as follows:
CLUE
Clue tokens are numbered from 1 to 4.
They offer important insight and simplify
the investigation by offering more accu-
rate guesses, whether in dialogue or in
other investigation areas.
INVESTIGATION SUCCESS
Viable information gathered by a player
during an investigation. Having more
investigation success tokens means the
coterie has access to better, more informed
choices during the final deduction phase
of an investigation sequence. Final de-
ductions only occur in chapters with
investigation success tokens (see
“Investigation,” page 42).
30 – SET-UP | CHAPTERS
Effect tokens
During a chapter, several effects can affect both players and NPCs. For
a player, take the corresponding token and place it on your character
board. Effect tokens are discarded at the end of combat unless other-
wise specified. If an NPC receives an effect token, place it on their state
card. Leave the token there for as long as it remains active.
The list of effect tokens is as follows:
POISON
Unless all Damage from an Attack is prevented, take
1 additional Damage. Discard when you MEND
DAMAGE. NPCs are considered poisoned until they
are defeated.
BLEED
Take 1 Unpreventable Damage at the end of your
active turn until you play a Defense card.
STUN
You cannot Attack or Move during your active turn.
Players can still use the Blood (MEND DAMAGE,
BLOOD SURGE, or use a Discipline). The STUN
token is discarded at the end of the active turn.
RESISTANCE
Prevent 1 incoming Damage per token. Discard after
use. Players can choose not to use the token when
Attacked and keep it. Players must discard any un-
used RESISTANCE tokens at the end of the combat
round to gain +1 Initiative (max).
IMMOBILIZE
You cannot Move during your active turn. Discard
the token at the end of your turn.
SLOW
Your Movement is reduced by 1. SLOW tokens are
cumulative. Discard any SLOW tokens at the end
of your active turn.
STEALTH
A player can use an action to initiate STEALTH mode.
As long as you are in STEALTH mode, this token re-
mains on your character board. If you are seen by an
NPC, discard the token (see “STEALTH”, page 50).
BLOOD SURGE
For one round, add +1 to your Initiative, +1 to an
attribute of your choice, and +1 to your Movement.
Discard the BLOOD SURGE token at the end of
your active turn.
Effect cards Effect Target

During the campaign, your character or coterie may be given an effect

card. Effect cards are bonuses and penalties that apply until they are Effect number

discarded.
Effect Name
Some cards can be discarded quickly while others are kept from one
chapter to the next.
Description
There are two types of effect cards: coterie and character. Coterie
effect cards belong to the whole coterie and affect them all. Character
effect cards belong to one character only. When you are given a character
effect card, it goes to the character who made the check that led to that Applied effect
reward. If a card is given without any checks, the last character to have
made a check, used a Discipline, or used an item in that same sequence
is the character who receives the card.
Duration of the effect
If an effect card would lower your dice pool to 0 or less, you automatically
fail your check despite having automatic successes from skills. If this occurs
during dialogue, you must choose the failure option. In an investigation, it
counts as scoring 0 successes, and in combat, you automatically miss.
If you already have an effect card, and are given the same card again,
keep your current card and do not take another.

MAIN TRACKER
The Main tracker is composed of three subcategories: Status, In order to escape, an NPC witness without a state card must move
Masquerade Breach and Rounds. out of the tile through a HEX without a thick outline. It will move 2
HEX per round.
Status tracker Only NPCs you can feed on, called preys, will flee if they witness supernat-
ural abilities. You can identify preys by their red base. Furthermore, you
The status tracker measures your coterie’s reputation with other
can always refer to the setup section of the chapter in the Storybook; NPCs
Kindred of the city and may increase or decrease over the course of the
you can feed on are shown with a red drop on the tile and listed on the left.
campaign.
Vampires will react to your high or low status in many ways. Your
status will help you unlock districts for Feeding Events or additional
dialogue branches.
Prey NPC
Your coterie begins the campaign with a status level of 0.

Masquerade Breach tracker If the prey is an animal (not a human), they must simply be discarded
The Masquerade Breach tracker measures your level of discretion about from the tile and do not cause a Masquerade Breach.
your vampiric condition. Almost every Kindred shares the same interest in
Which actions lead to a fleeing NPC?
remaining discreet about their true nature.
• Using a Discipline during the main sequence (see page 35) in Line
Revealing your vampiric nature may lead to another Night of Ashes and of Sight of an NPC.
prompt the Inquisition’s return. However, there are times when revealing
one’s condition proves unavoidable, which is why the Camarilla possesses
Note: Using a Discipline when prompted during a dialogue or investi-
a rigid structure and ways of “erasing” proof of supernatural activity.
gation does not alarm any witness.
The use of any supernatural abilities in front of humans may attract un-
wanted attention and cause what is called a Masquerade Breach. When • Feeding on an NPC while in Line of Sight of another NPC.
this occurs, the NPC witness will attempt to flee the tile via the quickest
way possible. • Failing an attempt to feed on an NPC.
All the above only applies to preys, NPCs with a red base for their standee.

Note: You can only feed on NPCs who have a red base.

CHAPTERS | SET-UP – 31
 Fleeing NPC Rounds tracker
When fleeing, an NPC will always move immediately after the turn of
The Rounds tracker tracks the number of rounds when prompted by an
the player who caused the NPC to flee. The NPC will continue to move
event, dialogue, or investigation. After each player and NPC has
toward the nearest tile exit (border without a thick outline) each round.
played their turn, one round is considered to have passed.
When instructed, place a cube on the tracker on the indicated spot and
move the cube left by one after each round, unless told otherwise. Follow
the instructions indicated in the booklet for each trackable event.
NPC • Use the red cube when inscruted to start a round tracker.
P1 • Use the black cube when inscruted to start an athority tracker.

Note: Several elements can be tracked simultaneously. Be careful, and don’t

forget to move the cubes on the tracker after each round or when prompted.

Cube for Cube for

Authonrity tracker Round tracker
If the NPC does not have a state card, its Movement each round is 2
HEX.The NPC fled successfully when it has moved outside the tile
during the round.

Example: Thomas Chartrand used POTENCE during the main sequence

of a chapter in front of a neutral NPC, causing them to flee. Thomas’
base Initiative is 3. The NPC will move on Initiative 3, but after
Thomas’ turn. If Thomas improves his Initiative (through BLOOD
SURGE, for example) the NPC’s Initiative will change so the NPC will
still play immediately after Thomas.

How to prevent an NPC from fleeing?

To stop an NPC from fleeing, a player can try to capture the NPC. During
their turn, the character needs to move to a HEX adjacent to the fleeing
NPC and capture them by doing one of the following three actions to
avoid the Masquerade Breach:
• Use the “DOMINATE - COMPEL: Cloud Memory” Discipline. It
will make the NPC forget what they just saw. You must do a
ROUSE CHECK to activate this power (see page 35). Doing this
will not cause another NPC witness to flee even if you use it while
in their Line of Sight.
• Kill the witness (-1 Humanity).
• Use Samuel Armstrong’s passive effect if he is in play as an Ally.

Note: An Ally has a passive effect that’s unavailable when that Ally is in-
stead played as a character instead (see page 28).

If players fail to capture an NPC before it flees from the tile, or the chap-
ter ends, increase the Masquerade Breach tracker by 1 point.
In certain dialogues or events, some choices may lead to a Masquerade
Breach. Follow the instructions indicated in the chapter booklet.
Whenever you increase the Masquerade Breach tracker, do the following:

1 POINT
Open envelope #01

2 POINTS
Play the chapter: Masquerade Breach #2

3 POINTS
Play the chapter: Masquerade Breach #3

4 POINTS
Open envelope #02. Good luck!

Note: The Masquerade Breach levels cumulate and will rarely de-
crease during the campaign! Be careful and remain discreet.

32 – SET-UP | CHAPTERS
OTHER TRACKERS
Sand timer
In some situations, players will have to use the sand timer to prompt-
ly make a decision. Flip the timer and choose an option within the
allotted time. If you fail to decide before all the sand has reached the
bottom of the timer, all players concerned will take the “INDECISIVE”
(#62) effect card.

Example: In a 4-player game, you and another player start a dialogue that
prompts you to start the sand timer. Then you must choose a dialogue
branch. If you cannot choose before the sand timer runs out, you and the
other player will both take the “INDECISIVE” card as you were both in-
cluded in the dialogue.

Initiative tracker
The Initiative tracker will help the players track who plays first during
a combat sequence (see page 37).
Place the Initiative tracker next to the chapter tile. Place your character’s
Initiative tokens on the left side of the Initiative tracker. When combat
begins, make sure to also place your Allies and any NPC’s tokens on the
left side of the Initiative tracker as well.
Unlike those for the characters, NPCs’ Initiative tokens aren’t unique.
Instead, they are tokens numbered from 1 to 8. Each of these tokens
comes in pairs of the same number. When combat begins, place one to-
ken on the NPC’s state card and the other token in pair on the left side
of the Initiative tracker. During combat, use the token on the NPC’s
state card to identify its Initiative token and vice-versa. You decide
which pair of Initiative tokens an NPC gets.

Example: Combat begins between your coterie and a ghoul. First, you flip
the ghoul’s state card, then you choose a pair of NPC Initiative tokens, for
exemple number “1” . You place the first “1” token on the ghoul’s state card
and the second “1” token on the left of the Initiative tracker.

Characters and NPCs Initiative may vary during combat. If an NPC and
a character both have the same Initiative, the player’s character always
goes first. Allies count as players when breaking Initiative ties. If two
players have the same Initiative, it is up to them to determine who goes
first.
If two NPCs have the same Initiative, the NPC with the highest Attack
value goes first. If there is still a tie, the NPC with the highest Resistance
value will go first. If there is still a tie, the players decide which NPC
goes first.

CHAPTERS | SET-UP – 33
 GAMEPLAY
The game is composed of 4 different types of sequences (main, combat,
dialogue, investigation). The main sequence is played in rounds, with
each player taking a turn one by one in order of initiative.
When one or more players begin a dialogue or investigation sequence,
the players involved in said sequence must complete it before moving
on to another sequence. Uninvolved players must wait until the se-
quence is completed before they can proceed with their turn.
If a player initiates a combat sequence, all players are considered to be
involved in the combat.

Example: If you begin a dialogue with an NPC, you must complete the
whole dialogue sequence with said NPC (until you reach the “Resume
playing” indication in the chapter booklet) before any other player can
take their turn.

SKILL CHECKS
Various skill checks will be used throughout the campaign. They deter-
mine your character’s level of success when attempting a task, whether
Rolling dice
it’s punching an enemy, influencing someone, or searching for evidence Red dice represent the Beast found within each vampire.
in a particular crime scene. A skill check occurs when you add an attri-
bute to a skill. When a player attempts a skill check, their skill points Swap one black die with one red die for each Hunger level you have. A
count as automatic successes. A player’s attribute level represents the red die cannot be rerolled with your Willpower points.
dice pool that must be rolled to complete the success count.
You must roll your dice even if you have enough automatic successes to Example: Your Hunger level increases to 2. You attempt a skill check and
pass the skill check. roll an attribute (e.g., 3 dice). Two of your dice are now red (due to your
Hunger level) and the third one remains black.

Example: Harold Beaulieu is investigating an area. The investigation page

asks for a MENTAL + SEARCH check DIFFICULTY 4. Harold would need
to roll 3 dice (because his MENTAL attribute has a value of 3). He rolls 2
successes. Then, he must add the successes of these dice to his SEARCH One Ankh symbol
skill level (which is 3). He has a total of 5 successes, which is higher than Represents one success.
the DIFFICULTY, so his skill check is successful.

Skill checks difficulty

One Ankh with a double fang symbol
A DIFFICULTY is the number of successes that must be accumulated by Represents two successes.
the character attempting the skill check in order to succeed.
• Dialogue skill checks have a predetermined DIFFICULTY. This
DIFFICULTY is written on the dialogue page when prompted to
make a skill check. Plain, with no Ankh
• Investigation skill checks have no predetermined DIFFICULTY. Represents no success.
Instead, a player tallies up their successes. Investigations have
many outcomes. The number of successes obtained will bring you
to one of these many outcomes. Skull symbol (red die only)
• Combat skill checks have no predetermined DIFFICULTY. Forces a ROUSE CHECK if there are more skulls than
Instead, the amount of successes accumulated by a player the total successes during a skill check (ATTRIBUTE
becomes the amount of Damage inflicted or the number of + automatic SKILL).
RESISTANCE effect tokens to take.
• STEALTH checks have a variable DIFFICULTY based on the
distance of character from an NPC and their Line of Sight.
• Events may contain skill checks, but the DIFFICULTY will
always be mentioned in the event itself.

34 – GAMEPLAY | CHAPTERS
 ROUSE CHECK
A ROUSE CHECK is a single red die roll.
If you succeed (One Ankh or Double Fangs),
your Hunger stays the same.
If you fail (no Ankh), your Hunger
increases by 1 point.
If you roll a skull, your Hunger
increases by 2 points.
Using your Blood (Discipline, BLOOD SURGE or MEND DAMAGE)
leads to a ROUSE CHECK. The ROUSE CHECK only affects your
Hunger level and is rolled after using the Blood.
Note:For each Hunger level you have, swap one black die with a
red one when doing a skill check. A red die cannot be re-rolled
with your willpower points.
CONDITIONS
Torpor
When your Damage tracker is filled and you take another point of Damage,
you fall into torpor.
When this happens, the character falls into a state of physical and mental
inactivity and can no longer participate in the chapter. Remove them
from the tile.
If a character falls into torpor during a Dialogue, Event, or an investiga-
tion sequence, stop reading immediately and end the sequence, un-
less another character is involved in the same sequence.
A chapter fails when all the players are in torpor.
When you successfully complete a chapter, characters in torpor will
come out of it before the following chapter.
If all players are in torpor, the chapter fails, even if a coterie Ally or
chapter Ally is still standing.
Fatigue
When your Willpower tracker is filled and you spend, or lose, another
point of Willpower, you become fatigued.
When fatigued, you cannot spend Willpower anymore, and you must
remove 2 dice from your skill checks. If this reduces your dice pool to 0,
you can only use your automatic successes and bonus dice from cards.
Fatigue goes away at the end of a chapter.
Frenzy
When your Hunger tracker is filled and you increase your Hunger level
by one more point, you become Frenzied. Frenzy effects only affect your
character.
Note: Blood bags are expensive but useful items that can stop the ef-
fects of Frenzy.
When you enter Frenzy, you must remove your character from the tile and
cannot interact with the chapter anymore. You leave Frenzy when the
chapter ends.
MAIN SEQUENCE
The main sequence is the time spent on a tile during a chapter that isn’t
part of dialogue, investigation, or combat. This tends to occur when
players move from HEX to HEX to prepare their upcoming actions.
During this sequence, players can perform the following actions once, in
any particular order on their turn:
MOVEMENT
(ATHLETICS +1 — see page 35).
USE THE BLOOD
(MEND DAMAGE, BLOOD SURGE, or use a Discipline
- see p. 36).
PERFORM AN ACTION:
• Use an item.
• Declare STEALTH mode.
• Give or take an item with another player on an adjacent HEX.
• Feed on an NPC.
• Capture a fleeing NPC.
• Begin a dialogue sequence.
• Begin an investigation sequence by searching 1 investigation
area or;
• Begin combat.
DO NOTHING
Movement
A character’s ATHLETICS skill +1 determines their Movement.
Movement is the amount of HEX a character can move through during
their turn. Several modifiers can affect Movement, such as terrain
tokens, items, BLOOD SURGE and certain Disciplines. A player char-
acter can move through another player character or Ally, but not end
their turn on the same HEX.
Example: A character decides to move a distance of 3 HEX to a tile to
interact with an NPC. The character’s ATHLETICS skill has 2 points,
to which the player adds +1. The character’s total Movement value is
thus 3, meaning they reach the NPC within the same turn.
In order to speed up a chapter, you may want to improve your character’s
Movement by increasing their ATHLETICS skill. Using the Blood to in-
crease your Movement is also a good way to speed up the main sequence.
When the coterie splits up to initiate multiple sequences, the first player
to initiate a sequence must complete it before the others may begin theirs.
This means that while you are investigating an area, the other players will
have to wait their turn before initiating a dialogue, or even moving, as the
main sequence is also paused.
When an NPC is moved to a different HEX because of an instruction and
another character or NPC happens to be on that HEX, move their minia-
ture or standee one HEX in any direction. Then place the NPC where it
should be as indicated by the image in the booklet.
When action or investigation tokens, NPCs, or characters end up occupy-
ing the same HEX because of an instruction, follow these steps in order:
• First, place the tokens.
• Secondly, place the NPCs. If they would share the same HEX as a
token, place them on an adjacent valid HEX.
• Finally, place the characters. If they would share the same HEX as
a token or NPC, place them on the closest valid HEX.
If the NPC should be moved on top of an action or investigation area
token, place the NPC on an adjacent HEX instead. The same goes if a
character should be moved on a spot already occupied by an action or
investigation area token or an NPC.
CHAPTERS | GAMEPLAY – 35
 Teleportation, Pushing, and other forms
of Movement
Certain Disciplines and combat cards, and even the abilities of some
NPCs, will introduce different forms of Movement.
Push: Move the target token or miniature away from the NPC or character
by the given number of HEX. This Movement stops prematurely if a
HEX is blocked by another NPC, a difficult terrain token or a wall.
Teleport: Place the token on the appropriate HEX unless that HEX is occu-
pied by a difficult terrain token, an NPC, or a character. When teleporting,
an NPC ignores difficult terrain, walls, and fire. If the teleporting NPC
ends their Movement on a HEX occupied by a fire token, they suffer the
effect of the token as per the corresponding rules (Fire tokens, page 29).
STUN tokens prevent teleportation, but do not prevent a character or
NPC from being pushed back by a combat card or a Discipline.
Use the Blood
Using a Discipline, MEND DAMAGE, or doing a BLOOD SURGE calls
on the Beast within and requires the use of the Blood that inhabits it.
A character may only use the Blood once per turn.
Note: Using the Blood always requires a ROUSE CHECK every time
(see page 35).
• MEND DAMAGE: Mend up to two points of Damage on your
Damage tracker.
• BLOOD SURGE: For one round, add +1 to your Initiative, +1 to an
attribute of your choice, and +1 to your Movement.
• Discipline: Use one of your available Disciplines (see page 21)
Note: The Blood’s properties take effect before the ROUSE CHECK result is
applied. Only one active Discipline power is permitted at a time.
36
Feeding (during the main sequence)
Only blood satisfies the Beast and only blood can decrease a character’s
Hunger level. To feed on an NPC during the main sequence of a chapter,
place your character on a HEX adjacent to said NPC and declare your
intent to feed. You can only feed on prey NPCs, which have a red base for
their standee or a blood drop icon on the setup section of the current
chapter’s page in the Storybook. When in combat, you can feed on an
NPC with your BITE Attack regardless of the standee’s base color or the
presence of a blood icon.
When feeding outside a combat sequence, choose one skill check
among the following in order to feed. Either skill check is always done at
a DIFFICULTY [5 - your Hunger level].
• PHYSICAL + BRAWL
• SOCIAL + SUBTERFUGE
Example: Aren Konway has a Hunger level of 4 and wishes to feed on
an NPC. The player rolls PHYSICAL + BRAWL DIFFICULTY 1 (5 - her
level 4 Hunger) and obtains 2 successes from the dice +3 automatic
successes thanks to Aren’s BRAWL level. The player passes their
check and can feed on the NPC.
Outside of combat, feeding upon different living beings provides differ-
ent levels of Hunger recovery:
• Animals (rats, dogs, etc.): Recover 1 Hunger point. The animal
dies, remove the animal token from the tile.
• Humans / Ghouls / Authority: Recover up to 2 Hunger points.
Remove the token from the tile.
Note: You cannot feed from other vampires, bosses, or “dialogue NPCs.”
If you fail in your feeding attempt with an NPC, the following occurs:
• If the NPC has a state card, combat begins.
• If the NPC is a prey (it has a red base for its standee or a blood
drop icon in the setup section of the chapter’s page in the
Storybook), it flees (see page 32).
• If the NPC is an animal without a state card, remove its token
from the tile.
Note: Players can also drink blood during:
• Feeding Events (before a new chapter)
• Combat with the “BITE” combat card
• Specific events/dialogues.
Stealth mode
During the main sequence, a character may attempt to sneak about
unseen. This is called STEALTH mode. As opposed to the dialogue
and investigation sequences, STEALTH mode is part of the Movement a
character makes during a turn of the main sequence. When entering a dia-
logue, investigation, or combat sequence, the characters involved all leave
STEALTH mode.
You can find more information about STEALTH mode in the STEALTH
mode section on page 50.
DIALOGUE SEQUENCE
A dialogue sequence begins when a player places their miniature on a HEX
adjacent to a dialogue NPC and declares the beginning of the dialogue. Use
the chapter booklet as a guide to know which NPCs are dialogue NPCs or
refer to the setup section of the chapter’s page in the Storybook.
When beginning a dialogue, refer to page D.1 of the chapter booklet for
the NPC you wish to talk to. During a dialogue sequence, players can
perform the following actions (in no particular order):
• Depending on the choices you’ve made, select one of the available
options listed under each corresponding dialogue page mentioned
in the chapter booklet.
• Use the Blood (MEND DAMAGE, BLOOD SURGE, or use a
Discipline (see page 36)).
• Use Willpower points (see page 18).
During a dialogue sequence, players cannot begin another sequence. They
must complete the whole dialogue with their chosen NPC (see page 41).
INVESTIGATION SEQUENCE
The investigation sequence begins when players explore an investiga-
tion area (see page 42). During an investigation sequence, players can-
not begin a different sequence. They must complete the investigation of
the area they’re on (represented by a token numbered 1 to 4 on the tile -
see page 29).
During an investigation sequence, players can perform the following
actions (in no particular order):
• Choose one of the options listed under each corresponding page
in the chapter booklet.
• Use the Blood (MEND DAMAGE, BLOOD SURGE, or use a
Discipline (see page 36)).
• Use Willpower points (see page 18).
COMBAT SEQUENCE
The combat sequence begins if:
• A player declares combat with an NPC with a state card in their
character’s Line of Sight.
• A player, who did not declare STEALTH, enters an aggressive
NPC’s Line of Sight (see page 50).
• It’s triggered by an event or a dialogue in the chapter booklet.
During a combat sequence, players cannot begin another sequence. All
players are seen as taking part in a combat (even if they’re far away
from each other on the tile). Players must complete the combat to end
the sequence.
When combat begins, every NPC with a state card takes part in the
combat. Flip their state cards and set their Initiative token next to the
Initiative tracker.
You can choose which pair of numbered Initiative tokens each NPC
gets. You must place one on the Initiative tracker and the other on the
NPC’s state card (see page 27)
At the beginning of a combat sequence, players must perform the fol-
lowing actions in this exact order:
1. Establish their active hand (see page 44).
2. Establish their Initiative by setting their Initiative token next to
the Initiative tracker (see page 33).
3. When the Initiative tracker reaches their Initiative token, do any
of the following in any order, once:
• Movement (ATHLETICS +1)
• Use the Blood (MEND DAMAGE, BLOOD SURGE, or use a
Discipline (see page 36)).
• Perform an action: use an item, give or take an item to/from a
character on an adjacent HEX, or use a combat card
(see page 45).
• Do nothing and end your turn.
Note:You can establish a new active hand at the start of each combat
sequence, even if there are multiple combats during the same chapter.
Events
Events represent instances of change within a chapter. They may reveal
a new NPC, set up a combat, initiate round tracking, etc.
Events will happen throughout the whole campaign. They will
strengthen the plot of each chapter and offer gameplay instructions in
addition to offering better context and more immersive storytelling.
Follow the instructions indicated on the appropriate event page.
While an event is happening, players cannot perform other types of ac-
tions. You cannot leave an event sequence you are involved in before
completing it. The event page will let you know when to resume play-
ing. Sometimes events will lead directly to a combat, dialogue, or an
investigation sequence.
CHAPTERS | GAMEPLAY – 37
 CHAPTER SETUP EXAMPLE
Here is a handy list of what to do when setting up a chapter.
1. Open the Storybook on the Chapter setup page.
5. Place your characters in the starting area on the tile.

6. Place the Main tracker and the Initiative tracker on the table near
the tile.
7. Place the Initiative tokens of every character present in the
chapter left of the Initiative tracker.

2. Set the tile on the table.

3. Look up the tokens needed (difficult terrain, investigation areas,
action) and place them on the tile according to the image shown
in the Storybook.

8. Read the introduction page of the chapter in the Storybook to

dive into the story.
9. Look at the first action needed to begin the chapter (this is often a
prompt to read an event page in the chapter booklet).

4. Place any NPCs present at the start of the chapter on the tile as
shown on the image. If an NPC has a state card, place it facedown
on the table near the tile. If an NPC has a blood drop icon, use
a red base for their standee. Finally, turn the NPCs’ standees
so that they are facing the directions indicated by the arrows
shown in the Storybook.

10. Get the appropriate chapter booklet for the chapter from the box.
Every dialogue, event, and investigation taking place during the
chapter can be found in that booklet.

38 – GAMEPLAY | CHAPTERS
CHAPTER PLAYTHROUGH EXAMPLE
Once your chapter has been set up, it is time to sit down and play. In
this section, we will use the 1st chapter “DARK OMEN AT THE PARK”
as an example.
1. The instruction on the chapter’s introduction page in the
Storybook says “Read your character’s introduction page (E.1 to
E.8). These are found in the chapter booklet.
Note: We will play as Aren, the Gangrel, in this example, so we will read her
introduction on page E.3.
2. Once you have read her introduction, the next instruction, found
at the bottom of Aren’s introduction page, says to “Read ‘Yuma’
dialogue page D.1.”
3. Flipping through the chapter booklet’s pages, we get to dialogue
page D.1 for Yuma. When you begin a dialogue sequence, which
always starts with reading the D.1 page of the appropriate NPC,
the game freezes and only the characters involved in the dialogue
may act. You can find more information on dialogue sequences
on page 41.
4. Reading page D.1, you are presented with 4 choices, one of which
is only available if someone in the dialogue is playing Aren. Two
of the choices require a skill check. You can find more informa-
tion on skill checks on page 34. Finally, there is one choice that
has no requirements.
5. Make your choice and keep following the instructions as you
navigate the dialogue. At some point, such as by reaching page
D.12, you will be told that the dialogue has ended. When this
happens, the dialogue sequence ends and the game enters its
main sequence.
6. During the main sequence, each player may, in turn, move
their characters across the tile and begin other sequences. More
information on the main sequence and Movement can be found
on page 35.
7. In Chapter 1, there are 4 NPCs the players may interact with and
one investigation area.
Investigation area, represented by this token
8. Let’s say, for this example, that you want to speak with the Park
Warden first. You would need to move your character to an
adjacent HEX and initiate a dialogue sequence.
Note: Chapters are not railroaded, you can choose to speak to any NPC and
begin any investigation and combat sequences in the order you choose.
Note: Remember, the main sequence pauses until the dialogue is com-
pleted. If you want to include other coterie members in the dialogue, you
will have to wait until their characters are also on a HEX adjacent to the
NPC before initiating the dialogue sequence.
9. When the dialogue sequence begins, find the Warden’s D.1 page
in the chapter booklet. This can be done by looking for a full-page
illustration of the warden. It is the same illustration as the one on
the standee.
10. Much like with Yuma earlier, follow the prompts and instructions
until you reach the end of the dialogue. The warden has a special
choice early on in the dialogue that requires one of the characters to
have access to the ANIMALISM Discipline. You can only choose
that option if you have at least 1 level in the required Discipline.
11. Once the dialogue is over, you may be surprised to see that the
Warden leaves you with a set of keys. This is an item card, which
you must get from the game box. Items are useful tools in many
chapters, and most often, an item acquired during a chapter can
unlock special branches in dialogues and investigations in that
same chapter during or later chapters. You can find more
information on items on page 23.
12. With the dialogue with the warden completed, let us say that the
coterie now splits up. You will go investigate the tipi, represented
by the token we showed earlier, while the other members will go
speak to the other NPCs.
13. When the coterie splits up to initiate multiple sequences, the first
player to initiate a sequence must complete it before the others
may begin theirs. This means that while you are investigating the
tipi, the other players will have to wait their turn before initiating
a dialogue or even moving, as the main sequence is also paused.
39
 14. When you reach a HEX adjacent to the investigation area token,
consult the chapter setup page in the Storybook. It will tell you
which page in the chapter booklet this token corresponds to.
Much like earlier, with the dialogues, the first page of an
investigation area contains a full-page illustration of what your
character is investigating.
15. During an investigation, as opposed to a dialogue, you are not
presented with choices but instead with a challenge. In the case of
the tipi, you must make a MENTAL+SEARCH check and tally up
your successes. The amount of successes you get will determine
which outcome you must follow. You can find more information
on the investigation sequence on page 42.
16. Assuming you rolled high enough, the tipi will contain an item.
Like earlier, with the keys, you must grab that item’s card from
the game box.
17. After your turn, the other players similarly begin their dialogue
sequences and complete them. They go through the same steps as
with Yuma and the Warden earlier. Once the coterie has spoken to
every NPC, they decide to approach the mysterious vampire in the
lower-right corner of the tile.
18. Surprise! This dialogue sequence rapidly turns into a combat
sequence. This is done through an event — in this case, Event
E.13. Note, however, that there is a conditional outcome in the
Sabbat Priest’s (the mysterious vampire was part of the Sabbat!)
dialogue. In this case, if there are any humans left on the tile, you
might get in trouble. Good thing your coterie spoke with everyone
to get them away from here before surrounding the Priest!
19. Flip the pages of the chapter booklet until you reach page E.13. As a
tip, events are always located last in the booklet, after the dialogues
and investigations. E.13 leads into E.15 and combat begins.
40
20. When a scripted combat begins, that is a combat that does not
result from a player initiating combat with an adjacent NPC, a
failed STEALTH check (You can find more information on
STEALTH on page 50) or as a result of a failed feeding attempt,
you will be prompted in the chapter booklet to arrange your
characters on the tile according to the image shown on the page.
21. Then combat begins. You can find more information on combat
sequences on page 44. The booklet also tells you what happens
should you succeed — in this case, to read page E.17. Failing a
combat, always leads to a failed chapter, unless otherwise
specified, and you must start it over again, losing every item,
effect, BOON, and experience points (XP) you have gained
during that chapter.
22. Let’s assume you are victorious. You would read page E.17, which
tells you that you have won. The last prompt in a chapter will
always be to read the back of the narrative page, the same page
you used to set up the chapter originally. This page will not only
explain how your actions have furthered the plot, but also what
your rewards are for succeeding are.
Note:If a chapter proves to be too difficult for the coterie, you can always
lower the difficulty by choosing some of the Easy modifiers on page 10.
23. Add the XP gained during the chapter to your total XP on your
character sheet. Keep a record of your total XP at all times.
24. Once that is done, you can move on to the next chapter.
 DIALOGUE IN DETAIL
Throughout the campaign, characters will need to engage in conversations
with various NPCs and speak on behalf of their coterie. The dialogue
sequences are constructed through an interactive branching mechanism.
Each dialogue page provides options that offer the player various paths
throughout the conversation.
Initiating dialogue
Dialogue NPCs are listed in the chapter booklet’s dialogue section.
Those immediately available at the start of a chapter are indicated on
the narrative page’s setup section. Others become available at various
points throughout the chapter.
To begin a dialogue, move your character to a HEX adjacent to a dialogue
NPC and open the chapter booklet to page D.1 of the chosen NPC. Read
the page and follow the indicated steps. Choices you make in a dialogue
will have tangible repercussions on the current chapter or on future ones.
Example: In chapter 12, page D.1 of the dialogue with Marie Dumont
offers a choice to use AUSPEX. Let’s say Nico chooses to use AUSPEX.
They will be the one making the ROUSE CHECK on page D.4, the fol-
lowing page. However, page D.4 offers a choice, either a path that re-
quires Harold to be present, or a skill check. Because this is a choice
(character path or skill check) the coterie chooses as a group, not just
Nico; and any character may attempt the presented skill check even
though Nico was the one who brought them there by using AUSPEX.
To remember this, here is a table of the consequences that affect only
the character who used the Discipline or made the skill check and
those that affect the whole coterie regardless of who made a skill
check or used a Discipline.
AFFECTS ONE PLAYER AFFECTS THE ENTIRE COTERIE

If multiple players want to engage in a dialogue with an NPC, they must all
Making a ROUSE CHECK Gaining or losing Status
place their character on a HEX adjacent to that NPC. When this occurs, all
decisions must be taken by the players involved. In case of any disagree- Gaining or discarding an effect card Breaching the Masquerade
ments during a dialogue interaction, the player with the highest SOCIAL Gaining or discarding an item card Gaining XP
attribute has the final say. Increasing or decreasing Hunger Making a new skill check
Taking or mending Damage Gaining or losing BOONs
You cannot go back on your choices during a dialogue.
Gaining or losing Willpower Choosing a new branch
Gaining or losing Humanity
Note: Some passive Ally bonuses can affect your dialogue.
Being removed from the tile

Dialogue skill checks End of dialogue

When prompted, a skill check is performed by one character only. While a dialogue is happening, players cannot perform other types of
actions. You cannot leave a dialogue sequence you are involved in be-
Unless a specific character is forced to make a check, any character in-
fore completing it. You must reach the “RESUME PLAYING” instruction
volved in the dialogue can make the check. Players can alternate mak-
to complete it (or a designated event page).
ing skill checks when participating in the same dialogue. If a single
player has initiated the dialogue, only they will make the skill checks
for the entire dialogue. Example: If one player has entered a dialogue with an NPC, they must
complete the dialogue before other players can resume playing. A
combat and a dialogue cannot be played simultaneously in the game.
Note: Even a successfully completed skill check can lead to an unfortu- Each sequence must be played separately and completed before mov-
nate ending. You can intimidate a Brujah on their own territory… but is it ing on to the next.
a good idea? Don’t make choices simply because you have the right skill
to succeed at them. Choose the wisest option and be attentive to details.
You can also use Willpower points if necessary, to reroll up to three
black dice.
Page number and title

Using Blood in dialogue

During a dialogue sequence, each player involved in the dialogue can
use the Blood once per page (BLOOD SURGE or Disciplines). Narrative
description

Using Disciplines in dialogue

When a dialogue option requires access to a specific Discipline,
you can only choose that option if you meet the level requirements.
Most of the time, you will need to perform a ROUSE CHECK on the Choices
following page.

Multiple characters in a dialogue Skill check

When using Disciplines and making skill checks in a dialogue, the

results on the following page only apply to the character having made
the check or who used the Discipline. When a choice is only available
Action
to a specific character, only that character suffers any consequences,
or gains any bonuses listed on the following page, unless otherwise
specified. If the following page presents a choice, the entire coterie can
weigh in on that choice.

CHAPTERS | DIALOGUE IN DETAIL – 41

 INVESTIGATION IN DETAIL
Name of the area

Area number

Description

Investigation area token

The goal of an investigation is to solve a mystery using the players’ Guess (G)
MENTAL skills and sense of deduction. An investigation includes sev-
eral areas on the tile in which players will collect investigation success After rolling the initial skill check, a description of your analysis will be
and clue tokens. The more accurate the players are at finding evidence, presented on the corresponding page. All players involved in the inves-
the more investigation success tokens they will collect. This will allow tigation area must decide together on a hypothesis for that specific in-
them to make a better final deduction. vestigation based on their intuition and knowledge and read the corre-
sponding guess page.
Initiating an investigation In case of disagreement, the player with the highest MENTAL attribute
has the final say.
To begin an investigation, the coterie must choose which investiga-
tion area they’d like to start with. Move your character to a HEX adja- Depending on the accuracy of the answer, players may be rewarded
cent to an investigation area token and flip to the corresponding page with investigation success tokens, a numbered clue token, or a combi-
of the chapter booklet. As with dialogue sequences, only characters on nation of both.
a HEX adjacent to an investigation area token can participate in that
The investigation area token is removed from the tile once a player has
investigation.
investigated the area. This concludes the investigation sequence.
On the first page of an investigation area, a description of the scene is
presented. This description contains elements that are important to
keep in mind. This information will help you make more informed
choices later on.
Clue tokens
One player must make a skill check based on the attribute + skill required
for that area (OCCULT, SEARCH, AWARENESS, or TECHNOLOGY).
Based on the number of successes from the skill check, different
choices and options will be available.

Note:You can also use Willpower points during an

investigation sequence.
Clue tokens can be obtained during the exploration of an investigation
area (or during a dialogue).
When indicated, clue tokens can open new branches of dialogue or in-
vestigation and offer a shortcut to efficiently solve an investigation.
Clue tokens belong to the entire coterie, regardless of which character
found them.

42 – INVESTIGATION IN DETAIL | CHAPTERS

Investigation success tokens End of investigation
While an investigation is happening, players cannot perform other
types of actions. You cannot leave an investigation sequence you are
involved in before completing it. You must reach the “RESUME
PLAYING” prompt to complete it (or a designated event page).

Final deduction (FD)

When given the option to do so, players can try to make a final deduction.
Final deductions are available during a dialogue sequence with an NPC
Investigation success tokens are the ideas and hints your character
(often related to the case). Making a final deduction requires you to use
starts compiling during an investigation.
your intuition as a player.
They can be obtained during a chapter and they can unlock better
Depending on the amount of investigation success tokens collected,
branching options during the final deduction of the investigation se-
different hypotheses will become available.
quence of the chapter you’re playing. Investigation success tokens be-
long to the coterie and not to a single player. Choosing a hypothesis requires consultation between players. In order
to pick a hypothesis, the whole coterie must reach a unanimous deci-
Gathering more investigation success tokens will increase your odds of
sion (all players are involved in final deduction sequences).
making an accurate final deduction.
Based on the coterie’s decision, making a final deduction can offer re-
wards or put the coterie in a bad spot. Once the final deduction has
Example: You decide to split up the coterie to cover ground more quickly. been made, discard all of your investigation success tokens. Keep your
A player gains 3 investigation success tokens in their investigation
clue tokens until the end of the chapter.
area. If the other player gains only 1 token, the coterie has a total of 4
investigation success tokens available for the final deduction.

Final deduction
Investigation introduction page

Guesses (G)

Attribute + skill check for that area

Different choices based on the number of

investigation success token from the skill check

CHAPTERS | INVESTIGATION IN DETAIL – 43

 COMBAT IN DETAIL

HOLD INITIATIVE
How Combat Begins
There may be times during the campaign when a character must engage
in combat situations. This section will provide you with all the ele-
Before performing an action during their active turn, a player can choose
ments necessary to conduct a successful combat sequence.
to lower their Initiative value.
A combat sequence begins for all members of the coterie when any of
Move your character’s Initiative token to a lower number on the
the following conditions are met:
Initiative tracker. This becomes your new Initiative value for the re-
• A dialogue or an event page prompts the beginning of combat. mainder of the combat sequence. This allows you to play after any char-
• Your character is detected within the Line of Sight of an acters, Allies, or NPCs provided they have a higher Initiative value.
aggressive NPC. Your Initiative can still be altered by cards or effects.
• You declare combat with an NPC who has a state card (by
You can only hold Initiative once per combat round.
flipping it over).

When combat ends
A combat sequence ends when one of the following conditions is reached:
• All enemy NPCs’ Damage trackers are reduced to 0 and they are
removed from the tile.
• Every player character has been sent into torpor
• An event calls for the end of the combat.
ACTIVE HAND
When combat begins, you must form an active hand of cards for this
particular combat. For an active hand you must select a number of
cards equal to your character’s PHYSICAL + MENTAL attribute values.
(see page 19) You can find those on your character sheet. Select the ones
you want from all the character combat cards you have access to.

INITIATIVE
Example: You are playing Aren Konway (Gangrel). She’s has a PHYSICAL
attribute of 3 and a MENTAL attribute of 2. Her active hand consists
of 5 cards.
A character’s Initiative corresponds to their PHYSICAL attribute value.
An NPC’s state card displays their Initiative value. Depending on the Attributes
number of players, this value may vary. A character’s or NPC’s Initiative
value can never exceed 6 nor be lower than 0. PHYSICAL MENTAL

When combat begins, place each player’s Initiative tokens on the left
side of the Initiative tracker. NPCs’ Initiative tokens, numbered from 1
to 8, come in pairs. Choose one pair per NPC involved in the combat
sequence. Then, place one token on the NPC’s state card and the other
token in the pair on the left side of the Initiative tracker. This NPC’s
Initiative is represented on the Initiative tracker by the token of the
same number as the one on its state card.

Note: If you initiate combat while in STEALTH mode, you gain +2

Initiative.

An active turn begins when the Initiative tracker reaches a character’s

or NPC’s Initiative token.
When the character’s or NPC’s active turn is over, move their token to
the Initiative tracker’s right side.
Stack together tokens that share the same Initiative tracker value.
If a player’s or NPC’s Initiative value changes during combat (due to
skill or effect cards), move their corresponding token on the Initiative
tracker and place it next to the newly updated value.
Modifiers to Initiative remain in effect until the end of combat, unless
otherwise specified. You can spend a Willpower point to put your used combat cards back
into your active hand.
If an NPC and a character both have the same Initiative, the player’s
character always goes first. Allies count as players when breaking
Initiative ties. If two players have the same Initiative, it is up to them to
determine who goes first.
A combat round is completed when all Initiative tokens have been
moved to the right side of the Initiative tracker. To begin a new
round, place all tokens in the same locations on the left side of
Initiative tracker.

44 – COMBAT IN DETAIL | CHAPTERS

NPC COMBAT DECK
Mix cards bonus:
A Mix card can be used to give your character a bonus to an Attack OR
Defense. The additional dice bonus from a Mix combat card can only
When beginning combat with an NPC, use the appropriate deck as be applied to the chosen action (Defense OR Attack). If you use a Mix
indicated on the NPC’s state card. card to defend against an Attack, you must discard it right after and
cannot also use it to Attack. Similarly, if you use a Mix card to Attack,
Each NPC type has its own combat deck made up of their own com-
you must discard it afterwards and cannot use it to defend that round.
bat cards:

Example: The “PUNCH” combat card provides +1 die to Defense, but

none to Attack. If it is used to Attack, the attacking player gets no bo-
nus die from playing the card, but would gain an extra die if the card
was used to defend.

Players cannot play combat cards against Allies unless instructed otherwise.
If you couldn’t select a combat card at the beginning of the round because
your active hand was empty, it does not mean you can’t do anything during
your active turn. You can still move, use an item, use Disciplines, MEND
DAMAGE, etc. If you have Willpower points left, you can spend one to
recover all your discarded combat cards.
If an NPC or an Ally has only one SPECIAL Attack on their state card
and they draw a “SPECIAL 2” combat card, they will use their
“SPECIAL 1” Attack instead.
When a player combat card has an additional effect on it, this effect
takes place after it is used (so after attacking an NPC or after using it to
defend). For NPCs however, the effect must be applied as soon as the
card is revealed (so, if it is a defense card, when the NPC is attacked or
at the beginning of their active turn). For players and NPCs, the effect
lasts for the current combat round only.

POSITIONING
For a character to use a combat card, they must be on a HEX adjacent to
• Animal • Authority their target. If you have a RANGED WEAPON item card, you can use
• Human • Vampire combat cards combined with your RANGED WEAPON item anywhere
• Ghoul • Boss within your Line of Sight. If the target is outside of that range, behind a
difficult terrain token, or behind walls, they cannot be attacked with a
The NPC combat deck must be shuffled at the beginning of combat and RANGED WEAPON.
once more when all the combat cards have been used and discarded.
Note:Line of Sights are blocked by walls, other characters, and NPCs

COMBAT CARDS
within a straight line of HEX.

For an NPC to use a combat card, they must be on a HEX adjacent to

At the beginning of a combat round, players must select one card from
their active hand (unless they discarded all of their cards already and
have no Willpower points left to get them back). This will provide the
player with the Attack, Mix, or Defense values mentioned below:
Attack
Provides bonus dice to an Attack but provides no
Defense value.
Defence
Provides bonus dice to a Defense but provides no
Attack value.
Mix
Provides Attack or Defense values.
Special
An NPC specific combat card. These can only be
played by Allies and NPCs.
Example: A player with no Defense value or RESISTANCE tokens re-
ceives the full amount of Damage from an NPC’s Attack.
their target. Some NPC combat cards may alter this rule.
Players and Allies cannot move through a HEX occupied by an enemy
NPC. Players and Allies can move through a HEX occupied by a player or
an Ally, but cannot end their Movement there. NPCs can move through
HEX occupied by other NPCs (except Allies), but cannot end their
Movement there. NPCs cannot move through HEX occupied by players.
Example: An enemy NPC cannot move through a HEX occupied by an
NPC allied with the coterie. Similarly, an Ally cannot move through a
HEX occupied by an enemy NPC, despite both being considered NPCs
in the rules.
When an NPC attacks, rotate its standee so the arrow faces the target.
On a player’s active turn, they can rotate their miniature as often as
they like. Once the player’s active turn is over, the miniature can no
longer be rotated.
Attack bonus: When attacking an NPC from behind (opposite direction
of the arrow on the standee), add +1 Damage to the total Damage inflicted,
before applying Resistance.
Since Allies are under the control of the players, it is up to them to de-
cide if they move to Attack from behind. NPCs will always Attack ac-
cording to their targeting. If the target of their Attack happens to be
facing the opposite way, the NPC will Attack them from behind. NPCs do
not circle around characters to Attack from behind.

CHAPTERS | COMBAT IN DETAIL – 45

 TARGETING STEP-BY-STEP COMBAT
Every state card has a default target for that NPC’s Attacks (see page Beginning of a combat round
27). Combat cards or the SPECIAL Attacks of an NPC will sometimes At the beginning of a combat round, each player will individually select
change this targeting. An NPC’s target always belongs to one of the fol- a combat card and place it face down on the table. Players may an-
lowing categories: nounce which type (Attack, Defense, or Mix) of cards they are playing.
Then draw the top card of each NPC’s combat deck, placing them face-
Closest down on the table, next to their state card.
Next, players and NPCs proceed to play in order of Initiative, taking
their active turns.
Self
Note: NPCs of the same type share the same deck.

Most injured
Example: All ghouls share the GHOUL deck. Despite this, the player
must draw one card per ghoul at the beginning of each new round, as
they do not share the same cards.
Least injured
Player active turn
During your active turn, you may perform the following actions once,
Highest initiative in any order:

MOVEMENT
Lowest initiative (ATHLETICS +1 — see page 35).

USE THE BLOOD

If a target is unreachable for whatever reason, the NPC will always pur-
sue the next available target in the same category.
In the case of ties in targeting, the NPC will target the Ally or char-
acter with the highest Initiative on the tracker. In the event that this
also results in a tie, the coterie gets to decide which character becomes
the target.
In case an NPC still cannot reach a target (no one is in the NPC’s Line of
Sight), the NPC will discard their combat card to get a +2 bonus to their
Movement during their active turn and move towards their initial target
(either specified on the combat card or the NPC’s state card).
Character Targeting
When using any Attack that is not a RANGED WEAPON Attack, the
character must target an adjacent NPC.
A character’s Line of Sight is used to make RANGED WEAPON based
Attacks. These Attacks can only be made if the target is within a charac-
ter’s Line of Sight of 3 HEX (this can be modified by certain items) and is
not behind a difficult terrain token or a wall.
A target is considered behind difficult terrain if the difficult terrain token
is within a straight line between their HEX and that of your character.
(MEND DAMAGE, BLOOD SURGE, or use a Discipline - See page. 36)
AND PERFORM ONE ACTION FROM THE FOLLOWING:
• Use your combat card (Attack, Defense, or Mix — see page 45).
Note: You can spend a Willpower point to reroll up to 3 black
dice as many times as you want when using a combat card.
• or use an item card.
• or discard your combat card to increase your Movement by 2 HEX.
• or give or take an item to/from an adjacent player.
DO NOTHING AND END YOUR TURN
If you choose to use your combat card, turn it face-up.
Note: You can use your Defense card before your active turn in response
to an Attack made against you. Discard the card afterwards. You cannot
play another combat card until your next active turn.
If you played a Defense (or Mix) card as a reaction to an NPC’s Attack
before your active turn, you can still perform other actions during your
active turn (Movement, use the Blood, Willpower).
If you didn’t use your combat card by the end of the combat round, put
the card back in your active hand.

+1 +1 Example: You have played the “DODGE” combat card this round, but
+2
+2 0
nobody attacked you. At the end of the combat round, place the
“DODGE” card back into your active hand.
+3
+1 +3 -1
P1 +2
+2 NPC
NPC
#2
+1
+3 +3 -1 Note: You cannot split your Movement before and after your action.
+2
+2 0 You don’t have to perform every combat action on every active turn
(thereby allowing you to do nothing if you wish).
+1

Example 1: You are 3 HEX away from an NPC. You move closer to the
target in order to Attack them. Your character has an ATHLETICS
+1
skill of 2. You move your character 3 HEX closer to the NPC. You
+2 then decide to use your “PUNCH” combat card. You could use the
+3
Blood, but decide not to, thus ending your active turn.
NPC
P1 Example 2: You decide to use the Blood to MEND DAMAGE you
+2
received last round. You then choose to use your “UPPERCUT”
+3 +1 combat card against an NPC. You roll the dice, but get no successes.
+2 You also use a Willpower point to reroll all three of your black dice.
You roll 2 successes, thereby making your Attack successful. Finally,
+1
you decide to move away from the NPC.
Example 3: You decide to do nothing during this active turn.

46 – COMBAT IN DETAIL | CHAPTERS

How to Attack
1. When playing an Attack card or a Mix card (as an Attack), begin
by tallying up your automatic successes from your skill points.
This is the same skill you are using to make the Attack.
Note:The BRAWL skill requires BRAWL cards, the WEAPONS skill
requires WEAPONS cards, etc.
2. Next, roll a number of dice equal to your PHYSICAL attribute
level plus any bonus dice conferred by the card you used.
3. Add your automatic successes from your skill to the number of
successes you’ve gotten from your dice roll. This is the amount of
Damage you will inflict with that Attack.
4. Resolve the Damage value of the Attack by subtracting the NPC’s
Resistance (modified by their combat card) to determine the
total Damage against said NPC.
Note:A player must briefly reveal an NPC’s combat card to see if a
defensive card may change the final Damage result. When an NPC
gains a Resistance bonus because of a combat card, that bonus
remains until the end of the round.
Example: The “OLD VAGRANT” NPC is Attacked by player 1. Flipping
the NPC’s combat card over, player 1 sees that the NPC is using the
“GUARD” combat card. The “GUARD” combat card grants the NPC a
+1 to their Resistance. Player 1’s Attack is reduced by the NPC’s
Resistance + the bonus of its combat card.When player 2 Attacks the
NPC, the bonus gained by the “GUARD” combat card remains against
this Attack as well. When the round is over, the bonus is removed.
Follow this formula to determine the Damage done to an NPC:
Damage = (Successes rolled* + Skill automatic successes) - (NPC
Resistance + combat card bonus)
*PHYSICAL attribute + combat card die bonus
5. Place the used Attack or Mix card(s) in the discard pile.
Players may also recover all discarded combat cards by spending 1
Willpower point, regardless of how many cards have been discarded.
This can be done at any time during the combat sequence.
Example: You have played the “BITE” card during your last active turn
and the “HOOK” card during this active turn. You want to get them back
before the next combat round so you can use “BITE” again. You there-
fore spend 1 Willpower point and retrieve all your discarded cards.
How to defend yourself
1. When playing a Defense card or a Mix card (as a Defense), begin
by tallying up your automatic successes from your skill points.
This is the same skill mentioned on the card.
2. Then roll a number of dice equal to your PHYSICAL attribute
level plus any bonus dice conferred by the card you used.
3. Add your automatic successes from your skill to the number of
successes you got from your dice roll. This is the number of
RESISTANCE tokens you gain.
4. You can spend RESISTANCE tokens to reduce the Damage
received. For each RESISTANCE token spent, prevent 1 Damage.
Note: You do not have to spend all of your RESISTANCE tokens on one
Attack. You can spend them on several Attacks made by different NPCs
as long as you have tokens remaining.
5. At the end of the combat round, only if you have any
RESISTANCE tokens left, discard all remaining RESISTANCE
tokens and gain a +1 Initiative for the next combat round. The
bonus is always +1, no matter how many RESISTANCE tokens
you have discarded.
Note: You may choose not to use all of your RESISTANCE tokens against
a single Attack, and even keep some until the end of the round to gain a
+1 to your Initiative.
NPC active turn
On an NPC’s active turn, reveal the NPC’s combat card and resolve the
Attack. NPCs will always target players according to the targeting on
their state card unless the combat card specifically states otherwise.
An NPC can only move to reach its target. The NPC will move before
attempting to Attack and will use the quickest path. If the NPC cannot
reach its target, it will “retarget” (see page 46 for NPC targeting).
Note:When Attacking an NPC, a player must flip the NPC’s combat
card briefly to see if it is a Defense card or not. If it is a Defense card,
the NPC uses it immediately.
Next, discard the combat card and place it in the appropriate NPC’s
combat discard pile. Once the NPC has played all of their combat cards,
shuffle the discarded cards to form a new deck.
If an NPC combat card increases their Resistance, the bonus remains
until the end of the round.
How NPCs Attack
1. When an NPC plays an Attack card or a SPECIAL Attack, tally up
their Damage by adding their Attack attribute to the card’s
bonus.
2. If the targeted player uses a Defense card, refer to the “How to
defend yourself” section above to calculate that player’s
Resistance.
If the targeted player has not played a Defense card, that player takes
the full Damage (as calculated in step 1).
Follow this formula to determine the Damage done by an NPC:
Damage = (Attack level + combat card bonus) - (RESISTANCE tokens
spent by the player)
*PHYSICAL attribute + combat card die bonus
3. Place the used combat card in the NPC’s discard pile. NPCs regain
their combat cards only once they have run out of cards in their
combat deck.
How NPCs defend themselves
1. When an NPC plays a Defense card, tally up their Resistance by
adding their Resistance attribute to the bonus given by the card.
2. Reduce the Damage taken by the NPC by an amount equal to
their Resistance. This Resistance applies to every Attack made
against the NPC this round.
Follow this formula to determine the Damage received by an NPC:
Damage received = (Player successes rolled* + Skill automatic successes)
- (NPC Resistance + combat card bonus)
*PHYSICAL attribute + combat card die bonus.
3. Place the used combat card in the NPC’s discard pile. NPCs regain
their combat cards only once they have run out of cards in their
combat deck.
4. If the NPC’s Damage tracker is full, remove its token from the tile.
47
 ALLIES AND SUMMONS IN COMBAT
Allies and Summons are meant to aid the players in their mission. How Allies defend themselves
They follow the same rules as NPCs during combat (Movement,
Attack, Resistance, SPECIAL Attacks, Initiative order). Allies who 1. When an Ally plays a Defense card, tally up their Resistance by
grant a passive bonus to other players continue to grant their bonus adding their Resistance attribute to the bonus given by the card.
during combat as long as they are not in torpor. 2. Reduce the Damage taken by the Ally by an amount equal to their
Resistance. This Resistance applies to every Attack made against
Summons are weaker than Allies and have no combat deck, but are
the Ally this round.
ideal at directing Attacks away from the coterie.
Follow this formula to determine the Damage received by an Ally:
Judicious use of Summons can turn the tide of combat in your favor!
Damage received = (NPC’s Attack level + NPC combat card bonus) -
(Ally’s Resistance level + Ally combat card bonus)
Ally active turn
3. Place the used combat card in the Ally’s discard pile. Allies regain
On an Ally’s active turn, reveal the Ally’s combat card and resolve it. their combat cards only when they have run out of cards in their
Allies will always target NPCs according to the targeting on their state combat deck.
card, unless the combat card specifically states otherwise.
An Ally can only move to reach its target. The Ally will move before at- Summons
tempting to Attack. If the Ally cannot reach its target, they discard their
When a Summon enters combat, add them to the Initiative tracker as
combat card to gain +2 Movement during their active turn and move
you would an NPC and place their token on a HEX adjacent to the sum-
towards their target..
moner. A summon cannot take their turn on the round where they come
Next, discard the combat card and place it in the Ally’s combat discard into play.
pile. Once the Ally has played all of their combat cards, shuffle the dis-
Summons function just like Allies except for the fact that they do not
carded cards to form a new deck.
have a combat deck. Refer to a Summon’s Attack level to know how
If an Ally combat card increases their Resistance, the bonus remains much Damage it will inflict to an enemy NPC. Summons do not defend
until the end of the round. themselves and only use their Resistance level when taking Damage.
Unlike Allies and NPCs, they do not have a state card or a combat deck.
When a Summon dies, remove its token from the tile. You can summon
How Allies Attack them again on your next active turn.
1. When an Ally plays an Attack card or a SPECIAL Attack card, tally
Here is an example of Summon tokens:
up their Damage by adding their Attack level to the card’s bonus.
2. If the targeted NPC used a Defense card, refer to the “How NPCs
defend themselves” section above to calculate that NPC’s
Resistance. If the targeted NPC has not yet played, flip their card
over briefly to reveal if they are using a Defense card.
3. Follow this formula to determine the Damage done by an Ally: Wraith Rat Famulus Arms Of Ahriman
4. Damage = (Ally Attack level + Ally combat card bonus) - (NPC’s
Resistance level + NPC combat card bonus)
5. Place the used combat card in the Ally’s discard pile. Allies regain
their combat cards only when they have run out of cards in their
combat deck.

48 – COMBAT IN DETAIL
BOSSES IN COMBAT
Bosses are special types of NPCs that are only encountered in combat.
Bosses are identified as such on their state card by the BOSS tag.
BOSS COMBAT DECK
When beginning combat with a Boss, shuffle the shared boss cards with
that specific Boss’ combat cards in order to create a new deck. The Boss will
use combat cards from that new deck throughout the combat sequence.
The shared Boss cards consist of 3 SPECIAL 1 and 3 SPECIAL 2 cards. The
Boss’ personal combat cards count is usually 4, but can vary.
At the end of the combat sequence, separate the cards so that the shared
Boss cards are ready for the next Boss. Bosses are immune to certain effect
tokens. The chapter booklet will detail which effect tokens any given Boss
is immune to.
PHASES
Most Bosses have 2 Phases. Their Attack, Resistance level and SPECIAL
Attacks can vary from one phase to the other. Each side of their Boss state
card shows a different phase. When beginning combat with a Boss with 2
phases, place their state card with their “Phase I” face up.
When you fill the Damage tracker of a Boss’ first Phase completely, read the
event page listed at the end of the Damage tracker (where a skull symbol
would normally be). The Boss is defeated when you fill the Damage tracker
of its second phase completely.
PASSIVE
Some Bosses have a PASSIVE ability written on their state card. These
work similarly to a coterie Ally’s PASSIVE effect. A Boss’ passive effect
remains active until the Boss is defeated.
CHAPTERS | COMBAT IN DETAIL – 49
 STEALTH MODE
To attempt a STEALTH check, a player counts their character’s
During the main sequence, characters may attempt to move through an
STEALTH skill points as automatic successes, then rolls a number of
area discreetly and without being noticed.
dice equal to the character’s PHYSICAL attribute. This will give them
In the game this process is referred to as “STEALTH mode.” When you the character’s final STEALTH score.
are in STEALTH mode and begin a combat sequence, you gain a bonus
To pass a STEALTH check, the final STEALTH score must equal or ex-
to your Initiative (see page 44).
ceed the NPC’s Line of Sight + proximity modifier. This is known the
DIFFICULTY of the STEALTH check.

LINE OF SIGHT
Each NPC has a Line of Sight, the area within which they can see others.
The default Line of Sight is always a triangle of 3 HEX extending out-
ward from them in the direction they’re facing.
An NPC’s Line of Sight value is indicated on the NPC’s state card. If
an NPC has no state card, their default Line of Sight value is 3.
When a player is moving through an NPC’s Line of Sight, they must make
a STEALTH check according to the greatest DIFFICULTY on the charac-
ter’s Movement path.
If the character passes the STEALTH check, the NPC does not detect
the character. If the character fails the STEALTH check, the NPC de-
tects the character:
• If the NPC has a state card and an aggressive attitude, combat
begins immediately, and the NPC receives a +1 for its Initiative.
• If the NPC has a state card and a neutral attitude, the NPC gains
+1 RESISTANCE token (in case combat begins later).
• If the NPC does not have a state card, you simply lose your
STEALTH token.

Note: In case of failure against a neutral NPC or an NPC without a state

card, you can try entering STEALTH mode again if you exit their Line
of Sight first.

Proximity modifier:
The closer a character in STEALTH mode is to an NPC, the greater the
An NPC’s Line of Sight extends for a number of HEX equal to the NPC’s chance they’ll be detected. The proximity modifier is determined by
Line of Sight value, but does not go through walls, characters, or NPCs. the NPC’s Line of Sight value. The HEX closest to the NPC has a prox-
imity modifier equal to the Line of Sight value. The proximity modifi-
er is decreased by one as the Line of Sight distance increases. These HEX
Note: The direction an NPC is facing is indicated by the arrow on their base. are spread out in a triangle from the front of the NPC.
The HEX on each side of an NPC have a proximity modifier of +0, and
In addition to this triangle, the NPC’s Line of Sight extends to every the ones in the back of an NPC have a proximity modifier of -1.
adjacent HEX around them
When inside this zone an NPC is hidden from a character’s Line of Sight Example: If the NPC has a Line of Sight of 4, the HEX adjacent to where
if, when you draw a straight line from the center of the HEX the NPC is they are facing have a proximity modifier of +4, the ones after a +3, the
on to the center of the HEX the character is on, the line crosses a wall, a ones after that a +2, and the farthest a +1.
difficult terrain token, an investigation area token, an action token,
another NPC, another character, an Ally or a Summon. A character is If you initiate combat while in STEALTH mode, you gain +2 Initiative.
hidden from an NPC’s Line of Sight in the same way.
You must make a STEALTH check for each NPC whose Line of Sight
you are in, or move through, this round.
+1
+1
+2
+2 00 STEALTH TOKEN
+1
+1 +3 -1-1
NPC
NPC When you enter STEALTH mode, place a STEALTH token on your character
+2
+2 NPC
# 23
#2 board. As long as your character is in STEALTH mode, keep it there. When
+1
+1 +3 -1-1 an NPC notices you or when you exit STEALTH mode, remove the
token.
+2
+2 00
When combat begins, characters are automatically no longer in
+1 STEALTH mode.
Remove the token. You may not enter STEALTH mode during a combat
sequence.
STEALTH CHECK When a dialogue or an investigation begins, characters are automatically
no longer in STEALTH mode. Remove the token. You may not enter
The player must first declare STEALTH mode while outside the Line of STEALTH mode during a dialogue or an investigation sequence.
Sight of all NPCs present on the tile. They must then attempt to dis-
creetly move through the Line of Sight of the NPC of their choice. Once Note: To enter STEALTH mode you must be out of the Line of Sight
a character enters into an NPC’s Line of Sight, they must pass a of any NPC.
STEALTH check.

50 – STEALTH MODE | CHAPTERS

STEALTH EXAMPLES
An aggressive NPC with a line of sight of 3 is standing on a HEX.

+1
+1
Example #1:
P1
Your character has entered STEALTH mode and is trying to move
+2
+2 00
through the NPC’s Line of Sight. +1
+1 +3 -1-1
To remain undetected, you must perform a STEALTH check. The NPC’s NPC
NPC
Line of Sight is 3. The proximity modifier of the HEX you are crossing +2
+2 NPC
# 23
#2
is “+1.” You must make a PHYSICAL + STEALTH check with a
+1
+1 +3 -1-1
DIFFICULTY of 4 (meaning four successes are needed to pass the skill
check). +2
+2 00
+1

+1
+1
Example #2: P1 +2
+2 00
Your character is trying to move 2 HEX through the NPC’s Line of Sight.
+1
+1 +3 -1-1
To remain undetected, you must perform a STEALTH check. The NPC’s
NPC
NPC
Line of Sight is 3. The highest proximity modifier you’re encountering +2
+2 NPC
# 23
is “+2.” You must make a PHYSICAL + STEALTH check with a #2
DIFFICULTY of 5 (meaning five successes are needed to pass the skill +1
+1 +3 -1-1
check).
+2
+2 00
+1

+1
+1
Example #3: P1
+2 00
Your character has succeeded in their previous STEALTH check and
stopped within the NPC’s Line of Sight. You decide to move out of the
+1
+1 +3 -1-1
NPC
NPC’s Line of Sight by crossing the two HEX closest to the NPC. +2
+2 NPC
# 23
#2
To remain undetected, you must do another STEALTH check. The NPC’s
Line of Sight is 3. The proximity modifier you’re encountering is “+3.”
+1
+1 +3 -1-1
You must make a PHYSICAL + STEALTH check with a DIFFICULTY of 6 +2
+2 00
(meaning six successes are needed to pass the skill check).
+1

CHAPTERS | STEALTH MODE – 51

 +1
+1
+2
+2 00
Example #4: P1
Your character is moving through the NPC’s side Line of Sight.
+1
+1 +3 -1-1
NPC
NPC
To remain undetected, you must perform a STEALTH check. The NPC’s +2
+2 3
Line of Sight is 3, but the proximity modifier does not apply here. You #2
must make a PHYSICAL + STEALTH check with a DIFFICULTY of 3 +1
+1 +3 -1-1
(Line of Sight value only).
+2
+2 00
+1

Example #5:
Your character is moving through the Line of Sight of two NPCs. If you fail either check, the NPC whose Line of Sight you are crossing
will react according to its attitude (an aggressive NPC will begin com-
To remain undetected, you must perform 2 STEALTH checks, one for
bat with +1 to their Initiative, while a neutral NPC will gain a +1
each NPC. Both NPCs’ Line of Sight is 3. The proximity modifier
RESISTANCE token but will not begin combat unless you Attack them
you’re encountering for the first NPC is “+2,” and the modifier for the
first).
second NPC is “+1.”
You must make a PHYSICAL + STEALTH check with a DIFFICULTY of Note: Complete your Movement before combat begins if you are seen.
5 when you cross the first NPC’s Line of Sight and a PHYSICAL +
STEALTH check with a DIFFICULTY of 4 for the second NPC. (Meaning
five successes are needed to pass the first skill check, and 4 successes
are needed for the second.)

+1
+1
+2
+2 00
P1 +1 +1
+1 +3
+3 -1-1
NPC #2
0 +2 +2
+2 NPC3
#2
-1 +3 +1 +1
+1 +3 -1-1
NPC #1
3 +2 +2
+2 00
-1 +3 +1 +1
+1
0 +2

+1

52 – STEALTH MODE | CHAPTERS

Example #6:
Your character is moving through the Line of Sight of two NPCs. To
remain undetected, you must make two STEALTH checks, one for each
NPC. The NPCs’ Line of Sight is 3. The proximity modifier you’re
en-countering for the first NPC is “+2.” You must do a PHYSICAL +
STEALTH check with a DIFFICULTY of 5 (meaning 5 successes are
needed to pass the first check). For your second check, the proximity
modifier you’re en-countering for this NPC is “+1.”. You must do a
PHYSICAL + STEALTH check with a DIFFICULTY of 4 (meaning 4 suc-
cesses are needed to pass the last check).
Even if 2 NPCs’ Line of Sight overlap, you must treat their proximity
modifiers separately. Do not add them together.
If you fail either check, the NPC whose Line of Sight you are crossing
will react according to its attitude (an aggressive NPC will begin com-
bat with +1 to their Initiative, while a neutral NPC will gain a +1
RESISTANCE token but will not begin combat unless you Attack them
first).
Note: Complete your Movement before combat begins if you are seen.

+1
0 +2 +2
+2 00
-1 +3 +1 +3
+3 -1-1
NPC #1 NPC #2
3 +2 +2
+2 NPC3
#2
-1 +3 +1 +3 -1-1
0 +2 +2
+2 00
P1 +1

+1
+1
P1
Example #7: +2
+2 00
Your character is moving behind an NPC. +1
+1 +3 -1
To remain undetected, you must make a STEALTH check. The NPC’s NPC
NPC
+2
+2 # 23
Line of Sight is 3. The proximity modifier you’re passing is “-1.” You #2
must make a PHYSICAL + STEALTH check with a DIFFICULTY of 2 +1
+1 +3 -1-1
(meaning two successes are needed to pass the skill check).
+2
+2 00
+1

P1
+1
+2 00
Example #8:
Your character is hidden from the Line of Sight of an NPC, because you +1 +3 -1-1
can’t draw a straight line between you and them without crossing a dif- NPC
NPC
+2
+2 # 23
ficult terrain token. If your character moves 1 HEX in any direction, #2
then you would enter the NPC’s Line of Sight, because you could draw +1
+1 +3 -1-1
a straight line between you and the NPC without crossing anything.
+2
+2 00
+1

CHAPTERS | STEALTH MODE – 53


Action Token:
Generic token that represents an object or area a
character can interact with.
Active Hand:
Number of combat cards currently held by the
player and usable in the combat.
Ally:
An NPC that is on the characters’ side and will help
them in the event of a fight. Allies are split among
two categories: those that remain only for one
chapter, and those that remain for the whole story.
Anarch:
A vampire who opposes the tyranny of elders and
has placed itself outside the secret society of the
Camarilla.
Arms of Ahriman:
Shadowy tendrils that are created and controlled by
certain vampires through the use of the OBLIVION
Discipline.
Attack Bonus:
When attacking an NPC from behind (opposite
direction of the arrow on the standee), add +1
damage to the total Damage inflicted, before
applying Resistance.
Attack Card:
Combat card that adds a bonus to a character’s die
roll made to injure an opponent.
Attitude:
General behavior of an NPC towards the characters.
Attribute:
Overall gauge of a character’s potential in an area
(PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, OR MENTAL). In-game, each
level of Attribute becomes one die that the player
must roll during skill checks.
The Beast:
The inchoate drives and urges that threaten to turn
a vampire into a mindless, ravening monster.
The Blood:
The supernatural, semi-sentient Blood of a vampire,
as opposed to mortal or animal blood.
Blood Hunt:
A punishment sentencing a vampire to final death at
the fangs of their peers.
Blood Surge:
The act of using vampiric Blood to increase a vampire’s
attributes.
BOONs:
The intangible currying of favors amongst vampires.
It is used both as currency and leverage.
Boss Phase:
Part of a combat sequence against a boss type enemy.
Each phase brings with it additional challenges.
Caitiff:
A vampire of unknown clan, or of no clan at all.
The Camarilla:
A sect of vampires devoted primarily to maintaining
the Traditions, particularly that of the Masquerade.
54 – GLOSSARY | CHAPTERS
GLOSSARY
Chapter:
A gameplay experience that tells a narrative. Each
chapter is connected to another, forming the
overarching main story of Vampire: The Masquerade
- CHAPTERS.
Character Board:
Game component upon which is tracked Hunger,
Willpower, and Damage. The character sheet goes
on the character board.
Character Sheet:
A sheet of paper containing the character’s name,
clan, flaw, attributes, skills, Disciplines, and
experience. It also contains a reference for spending
experience.
Childe:
A vampire created through the Embrace — the childe
is the progeny of their sire. This term is often used
derogatorily, indicating inexperience. Plural: childer.
Clan:
A group of vampires who share common
characteristics passed on through the Blood. There
are 13 known clans.
Coterie:
A small group of Kindred, united by the need for
support and sometimes common interests.
Damage Tracker:
Found on character boards and NPC state cards. Is
used to determine how close to torpor a character is,
and how close to defeat an NPC is.
Diablerie:
The consumption of another Kindred’s Blood, to the
point of the victim’s final death.Vampires may gain
tremendous power through this abhorrent practice.
Dialogue Sequence:
Moment in the game where one or more characters
speak with NPCs. The various dialogues can be found
in the chapter’s booklet under the Dialogue section.
Defense Card:
Combat card that adds a bonus to a character’s die
roll made to defend from harm
Difficulty:
The required number of successes a character must
obtain in order to succeed at a skill check.
Discipline:
A group of related vampiric powers. Each level of a
Discipline unlocks new Discipline power cards for
the character.
Discipline Power Card:
Card on which is detailed a specific vampiric power.
Domitor:
A ghoul’s master; one who gives of their Blood and
issues commands.
Effect Card:
Card bearing modifiers to a character’s attribute,
skill, or other aspect.
Elder:
A vampire who has experienced at least two or more
centuries of unlife.
Elysium:
A place where vampires may gather without fear of
harm. Court functions in Elysium are strictly kept
apart from mortals and surrounded by secrecy, but
the Elysium building itself could be a public
museum, a gallery, or club.
The Embrace:
The act of transforming a mortal into a vampire. The
Embrace requires the vampire to drain her victim
and then replace that victim’s blood with a bit of
her own.
Experience Points:
In-game currency used to increase a character’s
attributes, skills, and Disciplines.
Feeding:
The in-game act of decreasing one’s Hunger by
draining the blood of a prey NPC, or through the Bite
combat card.
Feeding Event:
Mini event that takes place in between chapters of
the main story during which the characters can hunt
a mortal and gain rewards.
Final Death:
When a vampire ceases to exist, crossing the line
from undeath into true death.
Frenzy:
The act of losing one’s self-control and abandoning
oneself to the Beast.
Generation:
The number of “steps” between a vampire and the
mythical Caine, the first vampire; how far descended
from him a given vampire is.
Ghoul:
A minion created by giving a bit of vampiric vitæ to a
mortal without draining them of blood first (which
would create a vampire instead).
Haven:
A vampire’s “home” or base; where they find sanctuary
from the sun.
HEX:
Delimited hexagonal space on a game tile that can
be occupied by a character, an NPC, or a token.
Humanity:
A vampire’s attachment to their former lives and the
values and morals of humankind. It is what
separates them from ravenous beasts. As their
humanity slips, a vampire becomes more monster
than the person they used to be.
Humanity Card:
Cards used to track a character’s remaining
Humanity. Each card bears the current amount as
well as any bonuses of penalties associated with it.
Hunger:
The urge to feed. For vampires, the Hunger replaces
all other drives with its own powerful call. In the
game, Hunger represents the number of times you
can fail a ROUSE CHECK before succumbing to
frenzy and being removed from the chapter. It is
tracked on the character board.
 GLOSSARY

Initiative: Mix Card: Standee:

A character’s Initiative corresponds to their PHYSICAL
attribute value.
Initiative Tracker:
Game component that tracks the order in which
players and NPCs play during combat.
Investigation Area Token:
Generic token that represents an object or area a
character can investigate. Investigation tokens are
linked to a page in the chapter’s booklet.
Investigation Sequence:
Moment in the game where one or more characters
interact with an investigation area. The various
investigations can be found in the chapter’s booklet
under the Investigation section.
Item Card:
Card detailing the effects and means of use of an
item found in the game.
Kindred:
The Camarilla term for vampires as a whole, or a
single vampire. According to rumor, this term came
about in the 15th or 16th century, after the Anarch
Revolt.
Kine:
A term for mortals, largely contemptuous. The
phrase “Kindred and kine” refers to the world at
large; everything.
The Kiss:
To drink blood, especially from a mortal. The Kiss
causes feelings of ecstasy in those who receive it.
Combat card that adds a bonus to a character’s die
roll made to either injure an opponent in combat, or
prevent injury from an opponent.
Movement:
The number of HEX a character can cross in a turn. A
character’s ATHLETICS skill level +1 determines
their movement per turn.
Neonate:
A young Kindred, recently Embraced but more than
a fledgling.
NPC:
Non-Player Character. Denotes any being encountered
in the game that is not played by a player.
Prey NPC:
NPC whose base is red and who cannot be interacted
with during chapters except for the sole purpose of
feeding.
Prince:
A vampire who has claimed a given expanse of
domain as their own, generally a city, and supports
that claim against all others. The term can refer to a
Kindred of either sex.
Resistance:
NPC attribute that indicates many points of damage
the NPC can ignore on each attack made against
them.
Rouse Check:
Roll of a single die to determine if a character’s
Hunger increases or not.
Cardboard illustration of an NPC clipped to a plastic
base.
State Card:
Equivalent to the character board, but used by NPCs.
Status:
Used to represent how well-received and perceived
the characters are in vampiric society.
Summon:
A special type of NPC whose attributes are written
on a small card instead of a state card. A summon
never rolls dice, it simply uses the numbers written
on the card when needed.
Thin-Blood:
A vampire of the 14th or 15th generation (and
possibly above) who does not experience the curse
of Caine in the same way as other Kindred.
Token:
Round, square, or hex shaped cardboard piece with
an image of what the token represents. (See page 29)
Torpor:
When a vampire becomes paralyzed either due to
loss of Blood or a stake through the heart. When a
character enters torpor, they are removed from the
current chapter. They can play again at the
beginning of the following chapter.
Tradition:
The set of laws that govern vampires in Camarilla-
held cities. The Anarch rarely respect them other
than the Masquerade.

Line of Sight: The Sabbat: Use the Blood:

Area within which an NPC can detect a stealthed
character, or in which characters and NPCs may
make ranged attacks.
Lupine:
A werewolf, the natural and mortal enemy of the
vampire race. Plural: lupines.
Main Tracker:
Game component used to keep track of the number
of Masquerade Breaches caused by the characters,
Rounds elapsed since an event (often the beginning
of a chapter), or the coming of the authorities. The
tracker also holds the character’s current status
level.
The Masquerade:
The habit (or Tradition) of hiding the existence of
vampires from humanity. Designed to protect
vampires from destruction at the hands of mankind,
the Masquerade was adopted after the Inquisition
claimed many Kindred unlives.
A sect of vampires that rejects humanity, embracing Umbrella term for a group of in-game actions that
their monstrous nature. They are currently believed rely on vampiric Blood to function.
to be engaged in the Gehenna War, having left or
been driven out of their holdings in the West.
The Second Inquisition:
A collective name among vampires for the recent
coordinated efforts of intelligence agencies to
combat the Kindred as if they were a terrorist threat.
Few individual agents understand what they are
fighting and the intra agency collaboration
codenamed FIRSTLIGHT places enormous import
on keeping their operations secret and disguised as
ordinary anti-terrorist action.
Sect:
A group of vampires arguably united under a
common philosophy. The two most widely known
Sects currently populating the night are the
Camarilla and the Anarch Movement.
Sire:
A vampire’s begetter; the Kindred who created them.

Mend Damage: Skill:

The act of using vampiric Blood to repair wounds
dealt to a vampire.
Miniature:
Plastic figurine representing a character or NPC.
An area of aptitude the character possesses. In the
game, each level of a skill grants 1 automatic success
during skill checks.
Skill Check:
In-game event that requires a die roll to determine
success or failure.

CHAPTERS | GLOSSARY – 55
 CREDITS
A game designed and directed by German translation
GARY PAITRE and THOMAS FILIPPI OLIVER HOFFMANN

Invited game designers Additional German translation

BRIAN NEFF EEVIE DEMIRTEL
NOAH COHEN DUSTIN D’ANDREA PIZZICON
JON GILMOUR JELENA MAEDLER

QA, Balancing and additional game design German proofreading

GASPARD DAUVILLIER DANIEL MAYER
JULIA BECKER
Additional QA HANNAH BROSCH
LUCAS KOSMALSKI BIRGIT M. ARLT
MELISSA MARCHAND
HUGO DESHAYES Spanish translation
GUILLAUME CINTAS ERNESTO DIEZHANDINO COUCEIRO

Main illustrations Additional Spanish translation

MARC SIMONETTI JEAN-BERNARD MENTOR
SERGEY VASNEV
DOMINIK MAYER Spanish proofreading
RUSLAN IGOREVISH CAROLINA FRAILE JIMÉNEZ
ERLING SAEVARSSON JUAN CARLOS TREJO FERNÁNDEZ
KIM VAN DEUN
EMILIS EMKA English proofreading and copy-editing
KRZYSZTOF BIENIAWSKI MONICA BOGZA
CARLA GOMEZ VÉRONIQUE STAHN

3D sculptures “World of Darkness” team at Paradox Interactive

BAPTISTE COLLAY DHAUNAE DE VIR
FRANCESCO ORRÙ MATS KARLÖF
DAVID ARBERAS JASON CARL
STEPHANE SIMON TOMAS ARFERT
JUSTIN ACHILLI
Additional illustrations and 3D SEAN GREANEY
YOAN JALLAIS KARIM MUAMMAR

Narrative designers and french adaptation Original music

SIMON GOUDREAULT JULIEN COCSET
THOMAS M. FORTIER
Voice actor
Invited writers MARK HARRIETHA
MATTHEW DAWKINS
FABIEN FERNANDEZ Animated video
MAUD MICHEL ONIRO — GEORGE GEORGEADIS
PHILIPPE-ANTOINE MÉNARD Special thanks to
DEIRDRE DONLON ALL THE KICKSTARTER BACKERS WHO PATIENTLY SUPPORTED US AND MADE
MIKE NUDD THIS PROJECT A REALITY.
BROOKLYN LUNDBERG ALL THE ALPHA/BETA PLAYTESTERS: ALL ALPHA/BETA PLAYERS WHO GAVE US
Additional writing PRECIOUS ADIVCE AND HELPED US IMPROVE THE GAME A LOT.
ANGELA GOULENE ALL THE REVIEWERS WHO TOOK THE TIME TO BELIEVE IN THE PROJECT.
CEDRIC CONTI, EMILIE SALLES, ELLIE & ALICE PAITRE, SYLVESTER NØRGAARD
Additional art direction THORN, KEBHAB, ALESSA MALKAVIAN, “LA VOIX”, CHANTAL CAMPAGNA, JULIE
MARIE-MICHÈLE AYOTTE AHERN & ROBERT GEISTLINGER, RYAN LUMAX, ES-TU GAME?, LJT AVOCATS,
LES PIRATES, YAMLI & CHOUB, CEDRIC DELOBELLE, JOE WIGGINS, MAEGHAN,
Graphic design and infographics NAT & BOB, QUINN & CHRISTIAN, LE LYCÉE VAN DONGEN, ZIZOU, BILLY, MARK
CLAUDIA Mc ARTHUR REIN-HAGEN.
OUR FROGS: FRO, GUY, GRE, NOUILLE, CRA, PAUD AND (RIP) DIDIER.
Additional graphic design EVERY SINGLE NAYSAYERS GIVING US THE STRENGTH TO PROVE THEM WRONG.
EMILIE SALLES MONTREAL, FOR INSPIRING US TO STAY WEIRD.
Infographic and pre-press
PATRICK CHARPENTIER
CAMILLE COLLAY

Rulebook revision
JOSEPH PILKUS

French translation FLYOS Paradox Interactive

JEFFREY CAMPBELL Vampire: The Masquerade — CHAPTERS Vampire: The Masquerade
VICTOR ACHACHE Copyright 2022 © FLYOS GAMES inc. Copyright 2022 © Paradox Interactive
SANDY JULIEN All rights reserved AB (publ)
French proofreading All rights reserved
AUDREY DUPLAIN

TROUBLESHOOTING
• SPECIFIC SUPERCEDES GENERAL: Instructions on other game
components always supersede the rules from this rulebook.

AND COMMON SENSE

In Vampire: The Masquerade — CHAPTERS, you might encounter situa-
tions where rules from the Rulebook contradict the rules on certain
game components. There might be moments where rules simply do not
account for your unique situation at all. In these moments, here’s how
these situations should be resolved:
56 – CREDITS | CHAPTERS
(Specific rules > General rules)
• USE “COMMON SENSE”: If in doubt, don’t hesitate to discuss the
situation among yourselves and resolve it in whichever way makes
sense to the majority of players at your table.
• CONSULT THE WISDOM OF THE NETWORK: If you cannot reach
a satisfying resolution to your situation, don’t hesitate to ask your
questions at www.vampirethemasquerade-chapters.com/
community where the network will be happy to share their
wisdom and experience.
NOTES

CHAPTERS | NOTES – 57