Professional Documents
Culture Documents
of Darkness. is is a dark and menacing ctional. Before playing, your whole group should
H
mon-
reection of our own world, where mon- discuss everyone’s preferences and tolerances. By
sters hide behind a facade of normality.
normality. establishing solid boundaries, all participants can
What you hold now is an entry point for Vampire:
Vampire: e fully delve into their favorite dark themes while
Masquerade. avoiding upsetting anyone. Even then, this discussion
cannot cover every potential plot twist. If a player or
MATURE CONTENT
CONTEN T WARNING
WARNING Storyteller nds the story going in an uncomfortable
e Story Guide contains graphic descriptions of direction, they can and should stop play to discuss
death, physical violence — including the use of guns, alternate resolutions. Storytellers can skip, revise,
fantasy violence (claws, biting), stalking, gore, blood- reroute, or summarize a given scene, if doing so
drinking — as well as drug and alcohol use. enhances the experience for all those involved. And
Vampires
Vampires are predators,
predators, heirs of an ageless players should be amenable to such changes.
changes.
condition and driven by supernatural forces they Trust and consideration are a collective
strule to control. One overwhelming fact denes responsibility. Everyone should be mindful of this
their existence: to survive, they require blood. In most while playing.
cases, taking blood involves hurting someone, maybe
even killing them. No matter how virtuous
vi rtuous a vampire WELCOME, ALL PLAYERS
may be on the evening of their Embrace (the ritual by is Starter Set has three types of players in mind,
which a human being becomes a vampire), they quickly from the newest of the new to the most experienced
understand their long-term survival requires constant veteran.
compromise between ethics and practicality.
Vampire explores those moral compromises. How Fresh Blood
far will a character go for survival? For success? e You
You may have watched TV shows or movies featuring
deceit and violence a vampire is willing to engage in, vampires. You
You may have discovered this specic
the people they’re willing to hurt and betray, that’s vampire setting through streaming shows of LA by
where we nd true horror. Vampire is about sacricing Night,, or the Vampire: Te Masquerade - Bloodlines
Night
one’s Humanity, bit by bit, until nothing
no thing remains but a series of video games. If you’ve always wanted to
monster. us, participants should prepare themselves imagine what it feels like to be a vampire, this is for
to explore themes of violence, desperation, and you.
exploitation.
Roleplaying Fan
You’re
You’re a fan of tabletop roleplaying
roleplaying games, and you’ve
enjoyed the thrill of that denitive dice roll at the
pivotal moment of a story. Here you’ll
you’ll nd many
familiar conventions. Character sheets dene your
powers and abilities, dice add a level of randomness
when resolving challenges, and problems can be solved
in many dierent ways.
But unlike games where you’re meant to play
the hero, Vampire lets you play the monster. Most
threats are political or social in nature. Your personal
relationships, and how you treat them, shape the focus
of the game.
Returning Veteran Decide who will be the Storyteller
Storyteller.. It will be
You
You remember Page XX and what holding a brand-new their job to facilitate the story as presented and to
copy of Vampire: Te Masquerade 1st Edition felt like. adjudicate rules. e Storyteller will pick up the
You’ll
You’ll nd many of the same elements still in place. Story Guide.
Guide. Everyone else we’ll refer to as players
e core clans are all here, and callous Princes still from now on. Players start by choosing one of the
enforce the Masquerade. characters we’ve provided. Each of these is a ctional
Nightly life has changed from what it was, before persona with a unique history, abilities, and goals. In
the Red Star. e elders have closed ranks, while the this Starter Set,
Set, your characters are young edglings,
Second Inquisition is on the rise, and your character’s struling to understand their place in a dark new
Hunger is now front and center. Come and see how world. You
You must rely on each other if you want to
the world has changed, and what new dangers must be survive.
faced. e Reference Guide contains more in-depth
information. is is primarily intended for the
BEFORE YOU BEGIN Storyteller, but Players can look into it, as well.
is Starter Set contains multiple documents for e Relationship Map is a useful way to illustrate
you to use for this introductory scenario. You have how various characters feel about each other. is Map
express permission to print out all of the documents is just a guide; relationships can change constantly.
contained in this bundle for personal use. Some of Update the Map whenever necessary as rivalries and
the documents include an alternate, printer-friendly romances fade or ourish.
version
print you
out thecan print out
pre-made i nstead.
instead.
Char actersAt
Characters youleast
wishyou
to should
use. dice.Inese
addition to these,
can be found you willgame
in any needstore
to getorten-sided
online.
Aside from this document, this bundle contains You
You will need them in two colors. We recommend
recommend
a Story Guide, Guide, seven pre-made
Guide, a Reference Guide, using black for regular dice and red for Hunger dice.dice.
cards. If
characters,, a Relationship Map, and a set of cards.
characters You
You can nd ocial Vampire dice here.
you choose not to print the cards, you can use alternate Dice explanations are based on Vampire dice. If
tables for Victims and Enemies as appropriate. you’re using standard dice,
dice, please consult the Using
Standard Dice section on the Reference Guide,
Guide, p.7.
e game unfolds as your characters interact with
each other and with the world. As the Storyteller, you
will be responsible for eshing out this world with
the help of the materials we’ve provided. You’ll
You’ll set up
challenges and present your characters with interesting
choices, adjudicating their outcomes. Don’t think
of yourself as an adversary or an obstacle. All of you
are there for the same reason: to tell a compelling,
collaborative story.
Once you’re ready to start playing, put your phones
down, look for a place where you can sit comfortably
and hear each other well. Remember to be mindful
of all others and pay attention even when you’re
yo u’re not
actively playing.
R
gguuide
Note: This book is intended to be used as a reference ■ Welcome to the World of Darkness will give you
for rules of Vampire, and to allow players to create a additional background information about the
continuation to the story presented in the Story Guide world in which the stories of Vampire take place.
in this bundle. If you haven’t read the Story Guide, we ■ e Role of the Storyteller
S toryteller provides advice and as-
recommend you to start there and read this afterwards. sistance to Storytellers who are new to this kind of
gaming experience, or to veterans who are playing
W
Welcome
elcome to Vampire
Vampire.. is is the Starter Set Vampire for the rst time.
Reference Guide.
Guide. If you are reading this, you probably ■ e Rules expands on what you found in the Story
want to know more about the game, the rules, and the Guide,, adding more complex systems that experi-
Guide
universe in which the stories take place. enced or adventurous players can incorporate to
Here we’ll give you a quick glance over the rules their game.
and the universe of Vampire
Vampire.. If you want to learn
more, we recommend you to acquire a copy of the We hope you enjoy your rst experience with Vampire.
We
Vampire: e Masquerade 5th Edition core rulebook.
STARTER SET
e Brujah
Brujah,, usually known as Rabble, are philosophers
Clan they belong to. Kindred may join factions, such eir pursuit of aesthetic perfection has drawn them
as the Anarchs and Camarilla
Camarilla.. All exist in fear of the for centuries towards the arts. ey gather in art
dreaded Second Inquisition. galleries and theaters to play their social games, and
become involved in the lives of mortals like no other
KINDRED CLANS Kindred are divided into clans. Clan. eir aesthetic sensibility is so acute that they
Each one holds a dierent aspect of the Beast that have grown vulnerable to environments that don’t
was imposed upon the original Kindred. Clans are agree with their taste, suering from anxiety and
transmitted by blood from the sire (the progenitor) to melancholy whenever they are not surrounded by
the childe (her progeny). e following are featured in beauty
this scenario:
REFERENCE GUIDE
STARTER SET
channels to communicate with one another. But e world is populated by all sorts of characters.
mortals are paranoid by nature, and look for enemies You
You have the task of portraying them.
them. ese are
everywhere. It was only a matter of time before called Storyteller Player Characters (SPCs). Some
Kindred were discovered by governments and Storytellers tackle the task of playing the SPCs by
intelligence agencies. putting on accents, changing their body language,
In 2001, in the wake of the events that led to the and trying to make each and every one of them sound
War
War on Terror,
Terror, intelligence
intelligence agencies across the globe and feel dierent. Others take on a more narrative
started reinforcing surveillance, both online and approach, explaining the particularities of each SPC,
oine. By mere accident, they discovered a hidden rather than acting them out. Both approaches work.
network of secret societies populated by monsters of Keep in mind that the Storyteller is also a player, so
legend. Joining forces with the Society of Leopold — a you should choose whatever approach makes you feel feel
mystical group of witch hunters based in the Vatican more comfortable. e idea is for you to enjoy the
— agencies like the CIA and MI6 took the job the game as much as the rest of the group.
Inquisition le unnished in the Middle Ages. is A good Storyteller should always have have clear
was how mortals started hunting Kindred again. information about the SPCs. You don’t need to write
During the Second Inquisition’s rst decade, they the biography of every SPC in the game in advance.
achieved impressive results. e online presence of Just a couple of details will help you esh out the
Kindred was completely removed and the undead world, and give a sense of its depth and richness. For
population of entire cities was exterminated. e example: the woman waiting at a bus station bites her
creatures of the night were forced to take desperate nails, and has a band on her wrist, identifying her as
measures. ey retreated from the virtual world. Fear an organ donor. e shady drug dealer in the nightclub
and paranoia became the rule among them. has a picture of his little sister in his wallet. A tattoo
of a snake can be seen creeping up the neck of the
nun oering shelter to the players when the morning
comes.
The Role of the Everyone should feel they are the protagonist of the
story at one point or another. If a player has been quiet
for most of the time, or is too shy to participate in
the
thatplayers
task is oen
basedperceive it. e truth
on improvisation, is that good,
although most of Setting
e World the Atmosphere
of Darkness is mostly like the world around
solid preparation is advisable. You’re
You’re your players’ us, but shadows are longer, sorrow is deeper, and
guide and facilitator. All of you tell a story together. danger lies everywhere. Crime is always on the rise,
No matter how close or far away it is from the plan and all politicians are corrupt. To create the right
you had in mind at rst, the story always belongs to atmosphere, the darkness should always be heightened.
the group. Every character who appears in the story has the
potential of hiding a terrible secret and, those who
don’t, serve a much more sinister dramatic purpose.
Innocence acts as a cautionary tale, and a way of
injecting horror into the story.
REFERENCE GUIDE
Personal Horror: Mara goes out hunting. She inds An Ally to the Players
a lonely man in the last car of the train. He iddles Roleplaying games are not about winning or losing.
nervously with his phone. Mara approaches him With this in mind, the notion of the Storyteller being
and, without much ceremony, sarts feeding o an adversary to the players becomes absurd. You You are
him. ere’s something special about his blood. It allies in the quest for telling a fascinating story, where
is just delicious. She loses control, and drinks too the players are the protagonists. Sometimes, this
much. e man is dead. While Mara tries to come means twisting the world a little bit to promote epic
to terms with what she has done, the man’s phone situations, where heroes survive against all odds, or
beeps. She fearfully reads the message: “It’s a boy! when unfathomable tragedy strikes them.
Congratulations, Frank! You
You are a ather!” Stories in Vampire are meant to be exceptional,
never mundane. As such, it is perfectly valid to skip
Political Horror: Jake learns that one of his friends, scenes where nothing signicant happens. Players
Nathan, is about to defect to the Camarilla. will get bored quickly if they spend two hours of a
Concerned, Jake bring this information to the session discussing how they follow the same routine
local Baron, who decides that Nathan needs to be day aer day, hoping something special will happen
destroyed to protect the community. A massive in their lives. Help the players by presenting them
manhunt is organized. e traitor is found and with situations where their characters are shown to be
beheaded. Jake is le with the ask of tying loose exceptional — for good or for bad — and where their
ends. Horriied, he discovers that Nathan had moral choices matter.
revealed his nature to his amily and that they Stories derail. Players have creative minds, and
are about to share his secrets with an agent of the their curiosity will lead them to explore alleys that
Second Inquisition. Murdering them appears to be you never considered describing in depth. ey will
the only viable option for Jake. insist on getting close to SPCs that were not eshed
out. ey will ignore the main point of the story, and
establish a set of ambitions for their characters that
Each Vampire story can feature elements from both will lead them to unexpected places. Dealing with this
worlds, or focus on either of them. Political horror can be the bane of many Storytellers.
can transition into personal horror and vice versa. It’s
just a matter of changing the focus and the scale of the
story.
STARTER SET
When you feel the need to herd the players
players back into Sensitive Subjects
the path that was prepared in advance, a question Vampire stories can discuss some sensitive subjects.
should arise before taking any step: is it really Even though the world is dark and horrifying events
necessary? Maybe what the players are proposing is, are meant to take place in it, lines need to be drawn to
aer all, much more interesting and fascinating. protect the players’
players’ sensibility. It is always a good idea
If there is no option than pushing the players to discuss beforehand with the players what they are
back into the path that you prepared in advance, comfortable with and what subjects they would rather
there is onlyand
be exible oneunderstanding,
way of doing it:
andgently.
gently. You
possess have
the to
ability not
feel approach.
good aboutIfdealing
one player
with(including
a specic yoursel) doesn’t
subject, no
to improvise ways in which the story can follow its matter how insignicant it may seem to the rest, that
course, without micromanaging them. subject should denitely be o the table. e player
does not owe anyone an explanation for this. Please
respect their needs and well-being. e experience,
even if tense and challenging, should always be
enjoyable for everybody.
REFERENCE GUIDE
The Rules
USING STANDARD DICE
Vampire is a narrative game, where the story is always If you don’t have access to Vampir
Vampiree dice, and want
more important than the mechanics. However, there to use sandard ten sided dice, use the following
are situations where the skills of the characters are Dice: results of 1-5 equal blank
values for Regular Dice:
tested, and where conicts need to be resolved in a aces, 6-9 equal and 10 (or 0) equals . For
fair and balanced way. at’s why there is a mechanical Dice,, results of 2-5 equal blank aces, 6-9
Hunger Dice
system in place. e mechanics allow players to equal , 10 (or 0) equals and 1 equals .
quantify the talents of their characters, to customize
their skills, and to resolve situations where arbitrary
narrative could turn the gaming experience into a
disappointing one.
Traits
If you have taken a look at the character sheets, you
have seen how characters have a series o Traits with ADVANCED
ADVANCED DICE DI CE USE
dierent scores. ese are the values that dene all the If you want to add an extra layer of complexity to
things the character can do. your game, you can use the complete rules deailed
here:
■ Attributes: e nine Attributes represent Traits
that are inherent to the character.
character. ■ CRITICAL - Regular Dice. is represents an
■ Skills: ese Traits dene the knowledge and exceptional success. When counting the number
trained talents of the character. of successes, every two count as 4 successes,
■ Disciplines: e Disciplines are the mystical pow- instead of 2. In case of individual
in dividual or odd
ers that the Blood confers to Kindred. showing up, they count as one success only.
■ MESSY - Hunger Dice. is works identically
as , with one imporant dierence. In
Willpower and Health circumsances in which we have a pair of
Characters have two trackers to check their mental and or one and one the roll becomes a Messy
physical well-being: Willpower and Health.
Health. ese two Critical. is means the character has succeeded
Traits can never increase beyond their maximum level. beyond measure, getting carried away by their
own Beas, and a negative consequence will arise.
e Dice ■ SKULL - Hunger Dice. Dice. is is the opposite of
We will use Vampire
Vampire dice to resolve any conicts and a . Whenever the toal roll was not successful,
to test the characters’ skills in extreme situations. and this symbol appears, the character has not
Whenever a character is doing something unusual, only ailed her action, but the Beast inside her has
particularly dicult, or under stressful circumstances,
circumstances, been somehow angered and she loses control in
dice should be rolled. ere are two types of dice: an unpredicable and destructive manner. is is
Regular Dice (black) and Hunger Dice (red). called a Bestial Failure
When rolling, look for . is represents a success.
Blank faces are simply ignored. Regular dice have
another icon, , while Hunger dice have and , as
well. Treat and as a success and as a blank face.
STARTER SET
REFERENCE GUIDE
Margin ■ e Storyteller then determines the dice pool the
When rolling the dice pool and succeeding, the player
player opposing character will use. Keep in mind that
may get more than what the Diculty set by the characters involved in a Contest don’t have to
Storyteller requested. In those cases, the excess icons necessarily use the same Traits. A character may be
are called the Margin
Margin.. is value can make the success trying to run out of a building, while the opposing
more spectacular, or the action more eective. character may be trying to hack the security termi-
nal to lock the doors.
Contests ■ Both characters roll their dice pools. Whoever gets
In many situations, the actions
acti ons of the characters will more will win the contest.
be opposed to the actions of others. Any scenario ■ e dierence between the rolled by both
where two characters compete is called a Contest. characters is the Margin.
Contests are very similar to Simple Tests, but there
is one aspect that is dierent: the Diculty. ese are Players can start Contests against other players. e
the steps to follow in a Contest: Storyteller still determines the dice pools for both
players. When the Contest happens between
between a player
■ e active player describes what they want to do, and an SPC, the Storyteller may determine the dice
and how they want to do it. pool for the SPC, and divide it in half, making it a
■ e Storyteller determines the dice pool the player xed Diculty for the player. is is called Taking
will use, by specifying which Attribute and Skill or Half, and it can make the game ow faster, avoiding
Discipline have to be put together. unnecessary dice rolling.
STARTER SET
10
REFERENCE GUIDE
before applying
that inict it to theDamage
Aravated Health (see
track. Any attacks
below) are not using Actionsasand
combination youjust t. for an Attribute + Skill
seecall
halved. Note that some of the characters’ supernatural
■ Firearms and Ranged Weapons: Conicts based on powers will increase the dice pool for certain Actions.
rearms or any other types of ranged weapons are ese values are already factored into the Action if the
resolved the same way as Close Combat Conicts, power is active, but will have to be considered when
but instead of using a dice pool composed of the building your own dice pools.
Strength Attribute and the Brawl or Melee Skill,
the characters will use the Composure Attribute ■ Attack (Unarmed): Strength + Brawl
and the Firearms Skill. If only one of the characters ■ Attack (Firearms): Composure + Firearms
is shooting, the other character will roll as if they ■ Bite:: Strength + Brawl
Bite
were dodging, probably with a negative Modier. ■ Investigate: Intelligence + Investigation
■ Lockpick: Dexterity + Larceny (Lockpick)
Combat scenes can be exciting at rst but, if they ■ Persuade:: Charisma or Manipulation + Persuasion
Persuade
are allowed to last too long, they can easily become ■ Intimidate: Charisma or Manipulation +
tedious. Storytellers are encouraged to keep Combat Intimidation
scenes limited to a maximum of three turns. Aer this ■ Insight: Intelligence + Insight
time, the Storyteller should evaluate who is winning, ■ Sneak: Dexterity + Stealth
and nd a narrative way to end the situation. is
can be easily sorted out by making enemies run away,away,
surrender, or fall unconscious. If the player characters The Monster
are the ones losing, the Storyteller can politely make
them see that their cause is lost, and that it’s time to Kindred are monsters by nature, dominated by their
consider a less direct approach. Hunger, struling to hold on to whatever Humanity
they’ve got le. e blood changes them and makes
Social Conict them dierent from mortals in many ways.
e same way characters can take violent physical
action against each other, they can also engage in Vulnerabilities
social competition, humiliating each other in public ere are a few ways in which a Kindred can be
and ruining their enemies’ reputations. ese sort of completely destroyed. Exposure to sunlight or re
Conicts are resolved the same way as in Combat, will burn them until they are reduced to ashes. Even
with a couple of minor dierences. Dice pools are though they are able to slowly regenerate lost limbs,
generally composed of Attributes like Manipulation, no vampire can survive beheading. If their bodies
Charisma, Composure or Wits, combined with Skills
Ski lls take enough punishment, harm that would kill several
11
STARTER SET
Hunger
mortals, they will also perish. A stake through the
heart of a vampire will not kill them. However, it will Hunger represents the unquenchable thirst for blood
paralyze them completely until the stake is removed.
removed. that permeated the existence of Kindred. Every
Garlic, crosses, running water, and other superstitions time a character does something that could increase
don’t aect Kindred. their Hunger, like rising each night or using certain
Discipline powers, they will roll a Rouse Check (see
Supercial and Aravated Damage below).
ere are two kinds of damage: Supercial Damage Lowering Hunger is done by feeding. Drinking the
and Aravated Damage.
Damage. Wounds produced
produced by re, Blood of animals will lower Hunger by one step, never
sunlight or some supernatural attacks are Aravated completely taking it away.
away. Feeding o mortals will
for Kindred. Mortals take Aravated Damage not only lower Hunger further, but it won’t take the last dot of
from re and some supernatural attacks, but also of Hunger away.
away. Fully draining a mortal — killing them
attacks using slashing or piercing weapons (including —will lower Hunger completely. However, this will
guns) generate Stains (see Stains).
Kindred can easily heal Supercial Damage just
by using their Blood. e character can just Rouse the Hunger Dice
Blood,, make a Rouse Check,
Blood Check, and a point of Supercial Every time a character has to roll a test (as opposed to
Damage will be healed. is can be done once per turn. a check, such as a Rouse Check), the player builds their
Aravated Damage,
Damage, however, takes days or even weeks
weeks dice pool starting with as many Hunger dice as they
to be fully healed. Any amount of regular damage have Hunger, up to the actual limit of the dice pool,
that surpasses the character s Health is considered lling in the rest with Regular dice.
Aravated Damage.
Damage. Similarly, any amputated limb or
body part involves taking
taki ng Aravated Damage.
On the character sheet, Health is reduced by EXAMPLE:
crossing the empty Health dots with a single line. Emily is playing Rain and wishes to use her
Aravated Damage
Damage is represented by a cross.
cross. When a Lockpicking action. Rain has 8 dice for tha.
character has their Health Tracker full of crosses, the Currently, Rain has 3 Hunger. When building the
character is dead. dice pool, she grabs 3 Hunger dice representing her
Aravated Damage
Damage can also be applied to Hunger, plus 5 Regular dice to complete the pool of
Willpower,, when circumstances or the actions of
Willpower 8. If she had had only 2 dice in toal, she would have
others push the character over the edge, emotionally rolled 2 Hunger dice and 6 Regular dice.
or psychologically, Aravated Willpower Damage
is received. At the beginning of each session, each
character heals an amount of Supercial Willpower Hunger dice cannot be re-rolled, and they add some
Damage equal to their Composure or their Resolve special icons that can bring unexpected negative
(whichever is higher.) Characters also can heal one consequences to any dice roll. If it is your rst time
point of Supercial Willpower Damage once per running this game, we recommend that you ignore the
session if the Storyteller judges they are actively trying special icons on the dice.
to further their Desire
Desire.. Finally, a character can heal
one point of Aravated Willpower
Willpower Damage if the Resonances
Storyteller considers they have been actively trying to Not all blood tastes the same. e true connoisseur
satisfy their Ambition. will know that, and will also know that the emotional
state of the victim will denitely have an impact on
the avour and the properties of the blood consumed.
12
REFERENCE GUIDE
In Vampire
Vampire,, this is contemplated in the form of Blush of Life
Resonances. ese represent the basic ways in which Most Kindred look like regular human beings, only
blood can be unique to each victim. paler, with the rigidity and pale complexion
complexion of a
ere are four Resonances, taken from the corpse. Anyone staring at a vampire long enough
traditional theory of the four humours. Every blood will see that there is something wrong with them.
has a Resonance, but the intensity of that Resonance However, Kindred have the ability to use their Blood
is variable. When Kindred feed o a victim who has a to camouage themselves.
very intense Resonance, they can acquire temporary or By rolling a Rouse Check, a character can make
even permanent powers and advantages. blood ow to their skin, giving them a rosy and
For starters, an intense Resonance will give the healthy appearance. e Blush of Life also allows
character an additional die for every Discipline Kindred to interact with touchscreens of smartphones
roll involving any of the Disciplines connected or tablets.
with that Resonance. On top of that, and only in
13
STARTER SET
Attack (Firearms) 4 5 6 4 5 5 4
Insight 6 5 9 4 2 6 5
Intimidate 5 6 5 5 4/ 6 4 6
Investigate 4 6 9 5 2 9 4
Lockpick 1 2 4 5 8 2 5
Persuade 9 9 4 2 2 6 6
Sneak 1 2 4 5 6 3 4
14
REFERENCE GUIDE
■
ries tragic
Blood consequences.
Surge: e ability to improve one Attribute by Gangrel
Gangrel:
two most: One of the main
important Clansseven Clans
within and one of
the Anarchs. the
Also
Rousing the Blood. known as e Clan of the Beast or Animals.
■ Brujah:: One of the main seven Clans and one of the
Brujah ■ Health:: e amount of physical damage a character
Health
two most important Clans within the Anarchs. Also can endure.
known as e Learned Clan or Rabble. ■ Humanity: e value that represents the degree of
■ Caine:: Rumored to be the rst Kindred, cursed by
Caine control the Beast has over a Kindred.
God for murdering his brother. ■ Hunger:: e unquenchable thirst for blood that all
Hunger
■ Camarilla:: A centuries-old organization of Kindred,
Camarilla Kindred suer constantly.
dedicated to preserving the Traditions and the rule of ■ Hunger Dice:
Dice: e red dice used in Vampire to
the Elders. represent how the Beast gets stronger as Hunger
■ Check:: e system used to determine whether Hunger
Check increases.
(Rouse Check) or Humanity (Remorse Check) de- ■ Kindred:: Vampire or vampires.
Kindred
crease during or at the end of a session. ■ Malkavian:: One of the main seven Clans. Also known
Malkavian
■
Childe:: e progeny of a vampire. Relative to sire.
Childe as the Clan of the Moon or Oracles.
■ Choleric: e Resonance of victims who are angry,
Choleric: ■ Margin: e dierence between the number of
Margin: icons
passionate or violent. rolled and the Diculty determined by the Storyteller
■ Clan:: e thirteen dierent families of Kindred.
Clan in a successful roll.
■ Conict:: A situation where two or more characters
Conict ■ Masquerade:: e Tradition that commands Kindred to
Masquerade
actively trying to damage each other either physically refrain from revealing their true nature to the mortals
or mentally. at all costs.
■ Contest:: Any test that involves a player rolling against
Contest ■ Melancholy: e Resonance of victims who are sad,
an active opponent. scared or depressed.
■ Dice Pool:
Pool: e amount of dice a character has to roll ■ Messy Critical: When a critical is rolled, and there’s
to overcome a test. Determined by the Storyteller by at least one icon on the Hunger Dice, the success
putting together two Traits,
Traits, generally an Attribute
Attribute exceeds expectations, but excessive force is used, with
and a Skill or Discipline. catastrophic consequences.
■ Nosferatu:: One of the main seven Clans. Also known
Nosferatu
as the Clan of the Hidden or Sewer Rats.
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15
STARTER SET
R E L A T I ON S HI P M A P
1.
2. 3.
4. 5.
1. Character
2. Character
3. Character
4. Character
5. Character
Alex
Alex Ventrue
DESCRIPTION C L A N B A C KG
KG R O U N D
Customize your character.
character. Put yourself in
i n their place and Ventrues are oen regarded
Ventrues regarded as the
the most arrogant of
answer the following questions.
Clans. Called the Clan of Kings, they tend to occupy
What’s your Gender? positions of leadership, and heavily
heavily rely on their mind
Gender: controlling powers to bend the will of others. Even
though they generally make enemies along the way, it
What are you wearing?
is undeniable that the Kings shine when they can call
Clothing: the shots.
{ Business clothing
CLAN BANE
{ Smart casual
Admirers of everything that is excellent, expensive
{ Workout
Workout clothing
clothing and luxurious, members of Clan
C lan Ventrue possess a
Ambition: Promotion very raried taste when it comes to blood. Each of
them has a dierent xation, and will only feed of
What is your main goal?
victims that t their preferences.
preferences. Some only feed
{ Join an organization,
organization, and rise to the top. o young people, whilst others have more specic
{ Become a bridge between organizations limitations, such aswho
onlyhave
feeding
and, thus, irreplaceable for all of them. the law, or people spentoany
practitioners of
amount of time
on a ship. Alex prefers to feed o people younger than
What do you want to accomplish tonight? he was when he was Embraced (27 years old).
Desire: Get to support your leadership.
Select another player character to ill the
t he blank. Try not to select A L L W E N T W RONG…
a character that someone else has already selected. Ten one day, your bank accounts were frozen. All your
assets, gone. Your
Your former peers and superiors ignoring you,
BACKGROUND
as if they were into a dark secret that you didn’t know. Your
You’re a third-generation
You’re third-generation Mexican-American,
Mexican-American, the life as you knew it was essentially over. Standing on the
descendant of people who worked hard and sacriced ledge of a window, ready to end it all, a phone call made
much so you could achieve the American Dream. You you change your mind. An oer you couldn’t resist. YouYou
followed their vision and dream since childhood, got into
entered the hotel room, barely aware of your own actions.
the University of Southern California, graduated magna
Ten everything changed.
cum
Your laude
Your careerand gotoyour
took MSccollege
during in Business andnever
and you Management.
looked How did you react to this revelation?
back, amassing the admiration and envy of your peers and { “Tey showed me how little I was. I
superiors. Great things are in store for you. understand. Now it’s my time to truly become
How did your experience deine you? great.”
{ “I’ll get to the top, because that’s the place { “Tey thought I was done. What a joke. I’ll
where I belong.”
belong.” have my revenge.”
{ “Te higher I rise, the more I can help PICK THIS CHA RACTER IF…
those at the bottom.
bottom.””
… you want to play a social animal, great at
persuading, intimidating, and empathizing with
people, a natural leader,
leader, with the ambition to reach
the top...
DISCIPLINES EMBRACE
You can manipulate and control the actions of others. You need
FLASH, Te person sitting across the table is
to hold the gaze of a single victim in order for your Dominate still talking. You cannot understand a word
powers to work. You
You may not use these on Kindred. they are saying, but you can see that they have
Compel - Issue a single action command to the an expensive taste. You feel strangely included.
victim, no longer
longer than a short sentence. Your
Your FLASH, YourYour sire. Tat’s who they are. And you
are their childe. Te sheets are smooth, and the
victim
harmfulwill obey unless
to them. uIfnless
the the command
command is directly
is ambiguous, skin is cold. Tere is something equally enticing
the Storyteller may interpret it as they see t. and repugnant about this situation. FLASH,
When used against a victim who is actively trying Te skin on your neck breaks, and your blood
to resist, roll 6 dice against Wits + Resolve. ows out of your body. YouYou feel light headed, but
content. FLASH
Cloud Memory - Say the word “Forget”, and
your victim will forget
forget the last few minutes
minutes SIRE
of their life. When used against
against a victim who
is actively trying to resist, roll 6 dice against e one who turned you
Intelligence + Resolve. Aer a shower, everything feels better. You
You were
promised an explanation, and you will get one
Presence {{{{
now.. Heavy footsteps in the corridor of the hotel
now
You can manipulate and control the emotions of people around cut the conversation short. “ey are aer us!
you. You
You have to be in their immediate presence
presence and they have to Run!” Y
Your
our sire jumpes out the window just as the
be able to see or hear you directly
di rectly for this power to work.
door is slammed in. A group of people dressed in
Awe - Anyone close to you is suddenly drawn paramilitary attire storm the room, pointing their
towards you, willing to agree on your arguments guns at you. You can only point at the window,
and viewpoints. Tis power can be used to create hoping they’ll leave you alone.
a distraction. Tis improves your Persuade action
and is already factored in. SECRET
KINDRED REFERENCE A memory that haunts you
Hunger: Every time you have to roll a test, replace a regular Most of the assaulters run aer your new
die (black) with a Hunger die (red) for each slot you have acquaintance, but a couple of them stay behind.
crossed in your Hunger tracker
tracker..
One holds you while the other one drives a
Rouse check: Aer resolving an action that could increase
your Hunger, or aer waking up, roll 1 regular die. die. If the wooden stake
stake through your heart. Before losing
result is blank, cross 1 slot in your Hunger tracker. consciousness,, you regret ratting out your sire.
consciousness
Blood Surge: You may add 1 die to any Action or Discipline
roll. Make a Rouse Check.
Blush of Life: You may appear alive to others. Make a Rouse
Check.
Quick Hunting Roll: If your group decides to forego
Hunting scenes and to use rolls instead, you meet with
faithful members of your community who adore you in all
but name. Roll 4 dice (Manipulation + Persuasion).
Bane: As a Ventrue Kindred, you have a rareed palate
when it comes to feeding. You You can only feed from
from people
who are 27 years old or younger.
younger. If forced
forced to feed from
from
other vessels, spend 1 Willpower point to hold it down.
NA ME CLAN
Blake Toreador
DESCRIPTION C L A N B A C KG
KG R O U N D
Customize your character.
character. Put yourself in
i n their place and Venus as “golden on the
Aleister Crowley described Venus
answer the following questions. outside, rotten on the inside.”
in side.” Many Kindred consider
What’s your Gender? that description absolutely tting for Clan Toreador.
e Clan of the Rose, as they are oen called, are
Gender:
What are you wearing?
patrons of arts and consumers of beauty.beauty. Always
striving to grow closer to humanity
humanity,, they oen seek
Clothing: inspiration in the strangest places.
p laces. Toreador
Toreador spend
{ Trench coat and casual clothes their nights desperately trying to feel something new,
which oen leads themthem up the road of passion,
passion, or
{ Hip clothing down the road of decadence.
{ Smart casual
CLAN BANE
Ambition: Unveiling
Addicted to beauty, the Toreador
Toreador can’t
can’t thrive
What is your main goal?
surrounded by ugliness. Whenever they are in an
{ Discover the truth about the one environment that they would consider aesthetically
responsible for your transformation. unpleasing, that would include awful smells and
{ Learn all there is to know about your new distracting noises, too, they nd it dicult to activate
condition. their powers, and strule to keep hold of their
anxiety.
What do you want to accomplish tonight?
Desire: Find out what makes tick. A L L W E N T W RONG…
Select another player character to ill the
t he blank. Try not to select You were to nally meet the owner o e Black Rose
You
a character that someone else has already selected.
Gallery. You
You were summoned late at night, close to
BACKGROUND midnight. You
You already knew the owner was eccentric and
insular, but this level of secrecy was new for you. e
Since childhood, you were obsessed about exposing rst surprise came upon your arrival. e gallery, that
everyone’s secrets. You
You couldn’t stand lies, other than familiar place, was simply not there. Instead, an abandoned
your own. Becoming a journalist
journalist was just a natural step.
warehouse was waiting
waiting for you. e second surprise was
You
You excelled at interviewing hostile subjects.
subjects. You
You gained
their trust easily, and they were more than willing to sharper, more painful, and cost you your life.
welcome you into their lives. Your
Your recorder
recorder captured the How did you react to this revelation?
most intimate
celebrities. secrets
A few of politicians,
months athletes
back, however, and minor
something { “I will nd the one who did this to me, and
we will have a long conversation.”
changed. Suddenly, your editor started sending you
exclusively to interview artists. In particular, artists { “I’ve changed, and my world has now become
showing their work at a very specic gallery: e Black bier than ever. More secrets to uncover,
Rose Gallery. more lies to expose.”
How did your experience deine you? PICK THIS CHA RACTER IF…
{ “e truth is the truth, and I will unveil it
… you want to play a master at social manipulation,
no matter where I go.”
who excels at any situation where words, insults or
{ “I need to get back to the big leagues. e praises are exchanged, and if you want to be driven by
world of art is too small for me.” a passion for unveiling the truth.
DISCIPLINES EMBRACE
NA ME CLAN
JJay
ay Malkavian
DESCRIPTION C L A N B A C KG
KG R O U N D
Customize your character.
character. Put yourself in
i n their place and Most Kindred are wary of the Malkavian’s
answer the following questions.
What’s your Gender? eccentricities. Most Oracles, as they are called, seem
to have little control over their actions and words.
Gender: However, there is always a method to their chaotic
What are you wearing? ways. Tey oen pose as seers, fortune-tellers,
fortune-tellers, or
Clothing: even computer geniuses. Te truth is that they have
access to a unique way of seeing the world, constantly
{ Elegant suit
receiving overwhelming amounts of information.
{ Tracksuit and baseball cap
{ Casual clothing CLAN BANE
Tere is something that sets every Malkavian apart
Ambition: Deliverance from other Kindred. Te interface that connects their
What is your main goal? mind with the outside world just does not work the
{ Find the one who transformed you and same way it works for others. In this case, Jay cannot
take revenge. keep quiet. Tey oen end up rambling incoherently,
{ Reinvent yourself, burn the past, forge a just saying out loud everything that comes to mind,
new identity. barely dierentiating between thinking and speaking.
What do you want to accomplish tonight?
A L L W E N T W RONG…
Desire: Play a game with and win.
Aer a particularly tough game, you received an invitation
Select another player character to ill the
t he blank. Try not to select
a character that someone else has already selected. to a game of poker. A real one. Oine. Tat perspective,
sharing your space with other real people, didn’t excite
BACKGROUND you much, but the money
money was worth it. Just a few games
games in
Te undefeated champion of thousands of battles. Te winner this league, and you would be able to buy your own private
of all wars, trophies piling on your display case, as night aer island and retire forever. Te game was odd. Your
Your host
night you vanquished your rivals in digital skirmishes for money never removed their shades or their baseball cap, and the
or glory. Te life of a professional gamer was an interesting one, rest of the guests… they just never arrived. Aer winning
but it became less so once you hit thirty. You
You started losing your a few hands, arrogance was taking hold of you. Your host
legendary reexes, and een-year-olds defeated you in national
then placed a bet you couldn’t match. What followed
follo wed was
championships. Te only way to evolve was sitting at the adult’s
table: online poker. It took you some time to understand all the bloody,, confusing, and painful.
bloody
nuances of the game, but you persisted, and made a name for How did you react to this revelation?
yourself. Money was never an issue. Te real problem was nding
{ “I won the game. Fair and square. Where are
opponents
skills. who wouldn’t bore you to death with their subpar my earnings?”
How did your experience deine you? { I’m born anew. A chance to evolve once more.
{ “Tis is my path. I will become the greatest player Who will I become?”
of all time, and nobody will even know I was
there.”
PICK THIS CHA RACTER IF…
Intimidate: 5 dice
You can sometimes bully others into doing what you wan, whether by appearing Composure {{
Menal
intimidating or by using the right words.
Intelligence {
Lockpick: 4 dice
e amount of things you can learn from video-games is just surprising. Wits {{
Persuade: 4 dice Resolve {{{
By using the truth to your advanage, or by appearing trustworthy, you can
sometimes convince people to do what you need. However, due to your Clan
Bane, the moment you deviate from the truth, you lose 1 die. SKILLS
Sneak: 4 dice
Your experience with games has aught you tha, sometimes, the best option is Awarenesss
Awarenes {{{
not being seen.
Drive {{{{
Bite: 1 dice
You may want to resort to feed from willing vessels or those rendered Finance {{{{
unconscious. Firearms {{
EQUIPMENT Insight (Detect Lies) {{{
A large amount of cash, including
including notes from the classic board game
game said
to break up relationships. Your wallet (missing driver’s license). A deck Intimidation {{{
of playing cards. 16 takeaway menus from one restaurant that is not in
Los Angeles. A folded character sheet for your favorite Revenant: Te Investigation {{
Ravishing character. Te iconic 80s portable games console. Chewing gum.
A logbook with numbers and formulas scribbled in every page. A tiny
book of inspirational quotes to calm you down when anxious, some of
Larceny {{{
its pages ripped o for no discernible reason. A tiny English-Norwegian
Phrasebook (you do not speak a word of Norwegian). Occult {{{{
Persuasion {{{{
HOW TO ROLL
To roll a test
test,, create a dice pool by picking up as many dice as the Action
Politics {{{{
or trait combination the Storyteller calls for. Start with a number of
Hunger dice equal to your Hunger and add regular dice to complete. Stealth {{{
Dice coming up with any of these: are successes. Count Streetwise {{{{
them. Ignore other results. If you meet or exceed the Diculty, you
succeed.
Survival {{{
Spend 1 Willpower to re-roll up to three regular dice (not Hunger dice). Technology {{
When you roll a check, use only regular dice. Willpower does not aect
checks.
DISCIPLINES EMBRACE
NA ME CLAN
Marsh Nosf
Nosfer
eratu
atu
DESCRIPTION C L A N B A C KG
KG R O U N D
Customize your character.
character. Put yourself in
i n their place and Literally wearing their Beast on their faces, Clan
answer the following questions.
What’s your Gender? Nosferatu, or Horrors, as some call them, look the
way most other Kindred feel like.
like. eir horrifying
Gender: appearance sometimes hides endless amounts of
What are you wearing? compassion, or a very keen sense of justice. Many
Clothing: members of Clan Nosferatu are Embraced as a
punishment. People who behave terribly are given
{ Tracksuit a second chance, a way to redeem themselves. ey
{ Raed suit oen inhabit sewers and derelict houses, hiding from
the mortals’ society, clearly knowing they don’t belong
{ Casual clothing
there anymore.
{ Hockey Mask
CLAN BANE
Ambition: Redemption
What is your main goal? e curse of Nosferatu manifests itself throughout
every inch of their bodies. e features of the Horrors
{ Protect the innocent, at all costs.. eve y c o t e bod es. e eatu es o t e o o s
are misshapen and twisted, giving them a truly
{ Punish those who harm the innocent. monstrous appearance. Due to the mystical nature
What do you want to accomplish tonight? of this aberrating, no amount of empathy or good
intentions would allow anyone to accept the way they
Desire: Prevent from doing something
look.
monstrous.
Select another player character to ill the
t he blank. Try not to select
a character that someone else has already selected. A L L W E N T W RONG…
ere was something o about this contract. e target was
BACKGROUND not the usual pub owner or gambling addict. You had to
Growing up in the slums, you could only choose between track your prey through tent cities and sewers. It was only
ghting or dying. Martial arts saved your life and gave you when you nally cornered them that
that you realized you were
were
purpose. You
You soon started competing,
competing, ghting in cages, and the one being hunted. Before your heart stopped beating, a
defeating opponent aer opponent for money. But that raspy voice whispered in your ear: “Here’s a second chance
wasn’t enough. One
One shady proposal changed everything. for you. Don’t squander it.”
You
You could get the life you wanted,
wanted, but the price was steep.
Working
Wo rking as a hired goon was tough.
tough. Beating up defenseless How did you react to this revelation?
people to collect protection
protection money tore your soul apart,
apart, { I’ve been a monster all my life, I know that
bit by bit. But you endured. Taking
Taking this path was your now. So be it.”
decision, and you stood by it.
{ “I can change my ways. I can make a
How did your experience deine you? dierence, even if it is from the shadows.”
{ “Too bad for my victims but, if it wasn’t
me, it would be someone else.” PICK THIS CHA RACTER IF…
{ “is is just temporary
temporary.. As soon as I get all … you want to play an expert ghter, able to stand
the money I need, I am out.” victorious in combat just using their bare hands, if
you want to be a procient spy, capable of hiding in
plain sight without raising any suspicions with your
newfound supernatural abilities.
DISCIPLINES EMBRACE
Obfuscate {{{ When you were turned
“Here’s a second chance for you. Don’t squander i.”
You can hide from others using a low-level type of hypnotism.
People will ignore you and move around you. If you attract e raspy voice comes with an array of aromas.
attention to yourself in any way (including atacking another), Putrefaction. Decomposition. Death. You barely
the illusion is broken. Cameras and other technological devices manage not to throw up, but your prey is set on
can detect you.
making it hard for you. eir face is a parody of what
Cloak of Shadows - As long as you stand perfectly a face should look like. All the things that we nd
still, you become functionally invisible, with the above revolting, turned into features. ey grab you by the
limitations. If someone wishes to detect you with Auspex, neck. e raedy gure is surprisingly strong, and
roll 6 dice to remain hidden.
you nd yourself unable to move. en you see their
Unseen Passage - As long as you don’t draw attention to fangs. Sharp, rotten, terrifying. ey break your skin.
yourself, you can move and remain
remain functionally invisible, Death comes to you.
with the above
someone wisheslimitations. Make
to detect you witha Rouse , roll 6. If
AuspexCheck dice to SIRE
remain hidden.
e one who turned you
Potence {{{{
You can use your strength for terrifying eects of raw power and
You wake up. e monster that attacked
You attacked you is
physical migh. still there, watching you. ey laugh at you. You
Lethal Body - You have become a deadly weapon. Your try to move, but you are tied. ey hold a mirror
Unarmed damage is aravated
aravated.. is has been noted in your to your face, and you see a monster staring back
Attack action. at you. You scream. For hours, you just scream.
en you try to escape. e ropes that tie you are
KINDRED REFERENCE
not that tough, and you manage to break free. e
Hunger: Every time you have to roll a test, replace a monster s gone, but now you have to escape their
regular die (black) with a Hunger die (red) for each slot you lair. You drag your body through the sewers, until
have crossed in your Hunger tracker.
Rouse check: Aer resolving an action that could you nd an exit. ere,
ere, a white van is waiting
waiting for
you. Men in black, holding
holding guns, make sure
sure your
increase your Hunger
Hunger,, or aer waking up, roll 1 regular die.
die.
freedom is short-lived.
If the result is blank, cross 1 slot in your Hunger tracker.
Blood Surge: You may add 1 die to any Action or SECRET
Discipline roll. Make a Rouse Check.
Blush of Life: You may appear alive to others. Make a A memory that haunts you
Rouse Check. As the stake is driven through your heart, you
you
Quick Hunting Roll: If your group decides to forego faintly recognize the person driving the stake as
Hunting scenes and to use rolls instead, you stalk alleys to someone you severely beat up years ago.
nd hapless victims. Roll 5 dice (Strength + Brawl).
Bane: As a Nosferatu, your Bane is your hideous
appearance. You lose 1 die for any rolls to attempt to
disguise yourself as non-monstrous.You lose 2 dice from all
social rolls not based on fear.
NA ME CLAN
Rain Gangrel
DESCRIPTION C L A N B A C KG
KG R O U N D
Customize your character.
character. Put yourself in
i n their place and Also known as Ferals, the Gangrel
Gangrel are the Clan that
answer the following questions.
What’s your Gender? accepts their vampiric nature the best. Tey are
in tune with their inner Beast. Gangrel are oen
Gender: nomads, serving no master and answering to nobody.
What are you wearing? Tey are fearsome ghters, and natural philosophers.
Clothing:
CLAN BANE
{ Surplus military clothing
Every time a member of Clan Gangrel loses control, either
{
Torn street clothing succumbing to their rage, their fear, or their Hunger, they
{ Well-worn
Well-worn casual clothing
clothing develop a temporary animal trait. Anything from growing
wolf ears to emanating the stench of a badger, this quirk
Ambition: Freedom always has a negative eect on their existence. Te trait
What is your main goal? lasts for one night aer being acquired, and reduces one of
{ Release your friends and yourself from the the character’s attributes by 1.
control of any faction.
{ Accept the nature
nature of this world, and seek A L L W E N T W RONG…
admission into a faction. Released from prison once more, you hit the streets with
What do you want to accomplish tonight? a mixture of desperation and anxiety. Now you had to
look for a job, a place to stay, a way of living, bills to pay,
Desire: Get to break free from friends to make, people to care for… It was too much. You
something that’s tying them down. walked into the woods, ready to never come back. Aer
Select another player character to ill the
t he blank. Try not to select
a character that someone else has already selected. asomething
few weekswas
living o theyou.
watching grid,You
youwere
started feeling
being hownight
hunted,
BACKGROUND aer night, by some beast you couldn’t even see. Until it got
to you. You embraced death with an enthusiasm you didn’t
Your whole life you were in and out of the foster
Your know you possessed.
system. No family would understand the reason for
How did you react to this revelation?
your behavior, neither could
could you. You
You were born to
be wild, plain and simple. You were always getting in { “Born anew, the world unfolds in front of
me. No need for chains, no need for control.
ghts in the schoolyard
schoolyard,, and would escape for days Freedom now makes sense.”
into the woods. Aer the system failed you, you found
a new home in the prison circuit. You spent more time
ti me { “Transformed by force, deprived of freedom,
“Transformed
inside than outside and, aer a while, you realized you I can only submit to my new condition, one
didn’t understand the world. Maybe you belonged in a night at a time.”
cage, aer all.
PICK THIS CHA RACTER IF…
How did your experience deine you? … you want to learn more about what it means to be
{ “I owe a debt to society and to those
a vampire, if you seek the meaning of freedom while
around me.”
imprisoned in this new existence, if you want to have a
{ “By learning about others, I can closer understanding of the Beast, both internally and
understand what sets me apart.” externally.
DISCIPLINES EMBRACE
NA ME CLAN
Sam
Sam Tremere
DESCRIPTION C L A N B A C KG
KG R O U N D
Customize your character.
character. Put yourself in
i n their place and Mistrusted by most, the Kindred known as Warlocks
answer the following questions.
What’s your Gender? hail from a centuries old tradition of magicians
and occultists. ey used to form a hermetic
Gender: society, keeping their secrets safe from any curious
c urious
What are you wearing? eyes. However, recent events have destroyed their
Clothing: organisation, and now they survive as mercenaries,
{ Old military fatigues information brokers, and outcasts.
BACKGROUND found
Your
Y pictures of your
our suadmates. Yourtime
Your in Iraq.All
memories. Wearing
lined upyour
for uniform.
you
Some enlist because they want to serve their country, some to see, like a museum of your life. For once, you were the
because of the prospect of a career. You were always the subject being studied, and not the other way way around.
exception. Too
Too poor for University, and too curious to be
How did you react to this revelation?
content with anything else, you became a soldier. For you,
Iraq was not a place for heroics. e battle was just a means { Somebody knows everything about me, and
to an end. Accessing libraries, museums, following the trail has a plan for me. I need to nd them, and
of the origins of humanity, that’s what mattered. You were follow my destiny.
destiny.””
discharged aer two tours of duty, and you found
foun d yourself { “I have become something dierent. e
back home, away from the wealth of information you had knowledge I sought all along now runs
found in the Middle East. Lost. Confused. Your thirst for through my blood. Time to start learning.”
knowledge, unuenched.
How did your experience deine you? PICK THIS CHA RACTER IF…
{ “I will go back. I need to learn all I can
before everything’s destroyed.
destroyed.”” ... you for
thirst want to play a character
knowledge, with a raredened by an endless
combination of
{ “ere’s a lot to research here as well, and skills, being procient in the use of rearms, excelling
it is much safer.” at investigating and nding hidden details in any
situation.
A reasonable amount
amount of pocket
pocket change. Insight {{{
Your
Your wallet (driver’s
(driver’s license and any form of Intimidation {{{{
identication missing.) Dog tags. A box of Investigation {
aspirin.
Leadership {{{{
HOW TO ROLL Occult {{
To roll a test
test,, create a dice pool by picking up as many dice
Persuasion {{
as the Action or trait combination the Storyteller calls for.
Start with a number of Hunger dice eual to your Hunger Stealth {{{{
and add regular dice to complete.
Dice coming up with any of these: are
successes. Count them. Ignore other results. If you meet or
exceed the Diculty, you succeed.
Spend 1 Willpower to re-roll up to three regular dice (not
Hunger dice).
When you roll a check, use only regular dice. Willpower
does not aect checks.
DISCIPLINES EMBRACE
NA ME CLAN
Terry Brujah
DESCRIPTION C L A N B A C KG
KG R O U N D
Customize your character.
character. Put yourself in
i n their place and
answer the following questions. Your character is a Brujah. Members of this clan,
Your
What’s your Gender? commonly called Rabble, believe passionately in
their individual causes, and in the importance
Gender:
What are you wearing?
of backing up their beliefs with violence when
necessary.
Clothing:
{ Street clothing CLAN BANE
{ Functional casual All Brujah are cursed with a very short temper,
temper,
{ Work
Work uniform and a lack of self-control. Whenever they are
provoked, or witness acts that would generally
Ambition:
What Selessness
is your main goal? just annoy any other person, they risk losing
control, abandoning themselves to blind rage.
{ Use your abilities to protect humanity
from injustice. A L L W E N T W RONG…
{ Tink global, act local. Make your group a A weird face started to pop up
up whenever
force for peace and justice. you were giving speeches, then in rallies
rallies and
What do you want to accomplish tonight? demonstrations. You
You started obsessing over this
Desire: Convince to join your cause. unknown individual. Tey stuck out like a sore
Select another player character to ill the
t he blank. Try not to select thumb. Tey didn’t belong there, and yet, they
a character that someone else has already selected. became ubiquitous. Paranoia became stronger
BACKGROUND than curiosity, and you decided to disregard
caution. You
You faced the stranger, and you got more
You grew up in poverty.
You poverty. You
You made all the wrong
wrong than you bargained for. In your last moments,
choices, and got mixed with the worst possible you realized you
you made a fatal mistake.
mistake.
crowd. As a result, you ended up in jail. You How did you react to this revelation?
took a light sentence because your cousin took { “I can still help humanity, even if it is
the fall for you. Now you work to build
b uild up your from the shadows.”
community and improve your neighborhood,
{ “Tere’s inequality among monsters, too. I
striving to be worthy of your cousin’s sacrice.
will ght for justice among my peers.”
peers.”
How did your experience deine you?
{ “By helping the people around me, I can P I C K T H I S C H A R A C T E R I F…
F…
make the world a better place.”
...you want to be someone who opens many doors
{ “By improving the world around me,
in more ways than one, a dangerous
d angerous opponent
people will naturally
naturally become better.”
better.” both in a stght and in a debate, a well-
rounded, skilled community organizer.
DISCIPLINES EMBRACE
the
I C
Foreword
is booklet is intended to be read only by the You
You may also need to impr
improvise
ovise if your players think
Storyteller. If you’re going to be playing this outside the box.
scenario, but you are not going to take the role of the In this story your players begin as newly
Storyteller, please do not read any further. created Kindred (the word vampires use to refer to
Your role in all of this is to be Storyteller. It will be
Your themselves.) ey have been captured and barely
your responsibility to guide your players
players through this remember their own Embrace — the event that turned
story, where they will make discoveries of what they them into creatures of the night — or their sires, the
have become, and the consequences of their undeath. vampires who gave them eternal unlife.
1
STARTER SET
Before you start, it is recommended that you and your During the scenes you will encounter situations
players get briey acquainted with the components that you’re not prepared for. Use the Goal, Exit and
you will use. Ask them to choose one of the characters. Next Scene information to help with your decisions
ere are more than enough to choose from. Ask and rulings. If you need in-depth information about
page yet. Once
your players not to look past the rst page the setting or rules, you can also look at the Reference
they settle on a character they like, they can then Guide.
read the basic information provided and choose any As for the setting of this story,
story, we didn’t name
customization options. the location and there are very few general references.
Begin by discussing the Mature content section on You
You can set this in any city you like, including your
the “Start Here” page. If any player (including you) own. e only remarkable point about this city is that
is uncomfortable with any of the topics included, be it is run by a vampire faction known as the Anarchs,
mindful of them. unlike many cities that are run by a rival faction, the
A few additional words on this topic can be found Camarilla. We introduce both factions during the
in the Reference Guide, p.6. story.
A NOTE ON PRINTING:
PRINTING: You
You have express permission to print out any or all of
the documents contained in this bundle for personal use.
2
S T O RY G U I D E
3
STARTER SET
physical
stomach one. A hungry
knotting, vampire
rather, doesn’t irriable
doesn’t
they becomes feel their,
INTRODUCTION TO THE BLOOD more prone to violence, and more intent on sating
Hunger is an ever present and persistent feature of their hunger. Vampires at Hunger 4 or 5 risk
Kindred.. Every night, upon waking from their day sleep,
Kindred losing control and cannot focus on anything other
vampires must Rouse their Blood. We’ll represent this than the hun.
with Hunger dice.
dice. ■ e irst time they aste human blood, the still-
Give each one of your players two Hunger human part of them will recoil in disgus, but the
dice now. Beast wants nothing more than to drink everye very
Hunger Dice are a tangible representa
representation
tion of victim dry.
their characters’ Hunger, and they’ll have to roll them ■ Feeding is an ecsatic experience for both predator
throughout the scenario. Once the players get to look at and prey (called the Kiss by Kindred).
the Kindred Prole sheet, they will be able to track their ■ Humans can survive some blood loss, but not
Hunger there, too. much. A vampire who loses control and feeds too
Ask your players
players to roll a black die. deeply might kill their prey. is is the core horror
If you roll a blank face, take an additional Hunger of Vampire: characters must risk someone else’s
Die. If the check comes out as a
Die. or , maintain the life to susain their own. Esablish the value of
current number of Hunger Dice.
Dice. each life so risked.
Rouse checks must also be made any time that ■ Vampires can insantly heal bite marks they make
there is a risk of gaining additional Hunger
Hunger.. This includes by licking the wound.
Blush of Life, Blood Surge or using Disciplines ■ Characters may end up developing a rapport
(these concepts will be discussed later). Whenever with their prey and adopting them as conacts or
these checks are made, the result determines whether moral allies.
Hunger increases, but the intended effect (e.g. powering
a Discipline) will occur regardless of the result. In other
words, you still accomplish your goal, but only at the risk As the rolls are resolved
resolved and everyone has either two or
of growing hungrier three Hunger dice, read the entry below.
All characters will always have at least one Hunger Read one or both paragraphs, depending on how
die. The only way to eliminate that last Hunger die comes many Hunger dice a player has in front of them.
with moral complications, as we’ll learn later in this story.
For more information,
information, please take a look at the
Reference Guide
Guide,, p. 12. e Hunger, Part 2
(Two Hunger Dice)
First you were drowsy from waking, but now
the blood smell has snapped you into focus.
You feel your irst Hunger signiicantly. Maybe
just a small sip from the dead body would ease
this newfound desire. Maybe the animals could
S T O RY G U I D E
give you enough sustenance to carry on. You e players have a choice to feed from the animal
can resist it if you choose. Maybe it is shame carcasses or the hanging corpse. ere is no type of
of deiling the dead, how the others in the room identication on this person. He appears to be only
o nly
would see you, or the dread of drinking blood recently dead and still has blood in his veins, as if le
that holds you back. Maybe you just surrender there to test them. Even characters with three Hunger
to your Hunger. Bears can
can’t’t be choosers. dice can resist this degrading act, but they may not
want to.
Feeding from him or from the animal carcasses
(Tree Hunger Dice)
will not reduce their Hunger. Blood from dead bodies
Your Hunger is coloring all of your thoughts, doesn’t provide sustenance to most Vampires.
Vampires. e
ainting everything you see, hear and smell. aermath of this fruitless action should probably
You’re beckoned by the fresh body oered to disgust the players whose characters partook in it.i t.
you. Its blood smells sale, but there’s also a
sweetness in i. You want to drink. What will Exploring the Room
these others think of you? at doesn’t matter. Now that the players tried to sate their Hunger
What are you becoming? Y You
ou may have to think or resisted the urge, they start becoming more aware
about that later. Right now, feeding is what you of their surroundings. is is a great opportunity
want to do the mos.. for the players to practice their skills. Doing so will
help the players better understand how to proceed
ROLLING DICE
Many situations in the game call for rolling dice. To do so, gather a number of dice equal to the number of dots a
character has in the relevant traits. If a character has any Hunger dice,
dice, replace that number of regular dice (black)
with Hunger Dice (red). For example, if Blake wants to Investigate
Investigate,, this action will use their Intelligence +
Investigation,, which in this case totals 6. The player rolls 6 dice. Blake has 2 Hunger dice, though, so they would
Investigation
replace 2 of their regular dice (black) with 2 Hunger Dice (red)
(red).. Blake rolls 4 black dice and 2 red hunger dice, and
checks the symbols rolled.
Any die that shows , or counts as a success
success.. Blank sides and results should be ignored. The total
number of successes must equal or exceed the difculty of a test. Any successes in excess of the difculty are called
margin,, and may improve the outcome.
margin
Whenever the difculty of a test in this story is not mentioned, default to 2.
ACTIONS
When calling out for a test, the easiest way is to call for the preset, default Actions
Actions.. In this story, we’re using these as
shorthand for the types of tests that may come up most frequently, to save you and your players time in calculating dice
pools until you get comfortable with that.
All characters have a number of actions which will consist of a total to roll and the Attribute and Skill
combination that composes it. In the previous example, just call for Blake to roll Investigate
Investigate,, and don’t worry about
adding these values, as it’s already done for you.
You will have to adjudicate when calling for tests not covered under the Action logic. Essentially, any Attribute +
Skill combination is possible. If a character has no dots in a skill, they can always roll with just their Attribute
Attribute..
Use your best judgment and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. This is how we learn, after all.
There is a Master List of all player characters’ actions in the Reference Guide,
Guide, p.14 under Appendix I, in case you
need to refer to it. This way, you can see which character is best at what type of action and you can call them out with
suggestions.
STARTER SET
with the challenge of escaping the room. For this, ask
your players to look at the second page,
page, or Character
Prole , of their character’s sheet. is will reveal a host adorned meathooks.As you
of information, but they should focus on their Actions walk, you realize there are
rst. streaks of dried blood on the
Ask them to look at them and, in the meantime,
meantime, loor, and small
small piles of rotten
S T O RY G U I D E
e Escape Ideally, the players should decide on what to try. If
Aer the players have
have investigated the room, they they get stuck and frustrated, suest investigating
will probably want to try and nd a way out. is a bit more, or simply suest one of the options
is their time to shine, work together, and exercise provided, so the game can move
move forward.
their creativity to escape. Reward the players for Given that some of these tests may be dicult,
their ingenuity in this situation. Trust your players’ they can be assisted by Blood Surges and Willpower
creativity and keep an open mind. expenditure (see below). For some characters, certain
Actions have Discipline powers factored in. When
SAMPLE OPTIONS TO ESCAPE: rely on Blood
performing these Actions, or if they rely
■ ey may use a meat hook on the dismantled door Surges, you can suest that player characters feel
mechanism to pry it open with a Lockpick Action they are performing supernaturally well on them.
(Diculty 2). Disciplines will be revealed soon.
■ ey can use the cold pieces of meat as batter-
ing rams to force the door open. Use the Attack
Action (Diculty 4) for this. Using supernatural
supernatural
force (Blood Surge, see below) can make this easier.
Terry and Marsh could be particularly good at this.
■ ey can use the same principles to dismantle the
hinges of the door.
STARTER SET
WILLPOWER RES TAURANT
THE RESTA URANT
All characters have a Trait called Willpower
Willpower.. This Player characters may want to explore the resauran.
determines their force of will and mental resources. A At this poin, they probably will not be able to,
to, but you
you
player has the option to check one of the Willpower need to have information in advance in case it’s asked.
checkboxes to re-roll up to three (3) Regular Dice ■
(black) to improve a test. If themay
they player of athis
know character such you
resauran, as Blake’s claims
may rule that
This can be done once per roll. Once all checkboxes they recognize it as e Enchanted, an upscale
are crossed, the character is out of Willpower. You can resauran, which has remained closed for the past
learn more about this Trait in the Reference Guide,
Guide, two or three months with no clear explanation.
p. 8. ■ e kitchen is well stocked though some of the
food has expired.
BLOOD SURGE ■ Even fresh If they try to eat the food, the player
Kindred’s Blood (often referred to as vitae by them) characters will immediately regurgiate i. In
has innate powers. One of the abilities it gives is known as most cases, Kindred cannot eat food. Garlic has
Surge. This ability allows players to add one die
Blood Surge. no special eec.
to any test, increasing their chances of success.
First, the player makes a Rouse Check to see if
they gain Hunger
Hunger.. Regardless of the result, they get one As they explore the kitchen,
kitchen, they run into a reluctant
additional die for any test (including all Action tests). guard. Use your discretion as a Storyteller to decide
They can do this once per roll. how the guard confronts them. Depending on how it
Both Blood Surge and Willpower may be used plays out, the guard may
may even help them escape at this
for the same roll. stage. If the guard aids them, use their generic dice
You can learn more about this ability in the pool for any roll. Mortals never have
have Hunger dice.
Guide, p. 13.
Reference Guide, One or more of the characters know the guard.
Choose one or two players that were the least active
so far and read the corresponding text below Parker's
description. ese indicate that these player characters
e Kitchen were somehow related to Parker in their Mortal life.
guard, you can decide their
When describing the guard,
As you all pile out of the frozen holding cell, gender and adjust pronouns accordingly. If the guard
you ind yourself in a kitchen that is brigh, shared a prison cell with another player character
character,, you
reasonably clean, and it features the type of probably may
may want to adjust their gender to ma
match.
tch.
equipment you’d expect in a high-end resauran,
PARKER, RELUCTANT GUARD
and you think that’s where you are. e contrast An ex-con, Parker
Parker had a hard time getting a legitimate
with the meat locker you just exited may give job, and this is their rst night watching this
you pause. As your eyes look for an exi, you restaurant. ose who hired them sounded strange, but
ind two: there’s a set of doors that no doubt the money was good, and there was even a small bonus
leads to the main room of the resauran, and a up-front.
side door with a green emergency exit sign. Dice Pool: 4
S T O RY G U I D E
Parker’s Worst
Worst Night
Ni ght
A guard seems to be patrolling the grounds, Marsh: Y
You
ou know tthis
his guard. You grew up in the
possibly alerted by the noise you made exiting same area. You trained martial arts together.
the walk-in freezer. Armed with a lashlight and eir name is… Parker. You were always better
nightstick, the guard is wearing an ordinary than them, until they qui, and sarted selling
uniform which seems to it them badly. e look drugs. Parker clearly does not recognize you,
on
liketheir
to beace suestsbut
anywhere that they
here. probably
en, would
they see you but if you bring up stories from your pas,
Parker inally does so, and mentions how much
and shine their lashlight in your ace! you’ve changed.
changed.
partiers. What happened to them? You glimpse Sometimes, two characters will be in situations in which
they are directly or indirectly opposing one another. In
a look of recognition in their eyes. Maybe they’d
this case, both sides roll (players roll for their characters,
rather sort this out by alking rather than
you roll for those under your control). Sometimes it
ighting? will be the same dice pool and in other cases it will be
differing pools.
Sam or Jay
Jay:: e guard looks amiliar to you: Both pools are rolled at the same time, and any ties
they’re disant relative! You remember their go to the acting character.
name: Parker. You haven’t seen them in ages. If you wish to reduce dice rolling, you may divide the
e look in their eyes show that they recognize dice pool of the opposing character by two, rounding
you too. ey say your name, almost smiling. down, and consider that number to be the successes
Atacking you or your friends would never cross rolled.
their mind.
STARTER SET
must not be harmful to them. lowers the difculty of their roll by 1, or 2 if they did all
of these things.
Marsh:: You notice that if you sand very still,
Marsh As long as one player’s roll reaches or exceeds that
or move cautiously, the guard can no longer see difculty, the player characters win the confrontation
confrontation..
you, which gives you a great actical edge. Y
You
ou However, even winning the battle may result in their
feel covered in a Cloak of Shadows and your taking some damage. To determine this, double the roll’s
Unseen Passage makes you invisible to the Difculty and subtract all successes (not only the
Margin) from it. Any positive result is applied as damage
guard.
to the attackers.
For more details on how One-Roll Conicts work,
see p.10 of the Reference Guide.
Guide.
10
S T O RY G U I D E
Enter Markus
A Mysterious Smile
“Seems to be my lucky nigh. My name is
You hear a noise behind you. Outlined against Markus Dean, and I’m happy to meet you.”
the light of the kitchen, you see the silhouette of “We should leave,” he says, “my driver
a very all man with a powerful build. will arrive in a few minutes. Since the Second
As he asteps
he wears into the
well-cut ligh,sui,
modern you and
can see
thatthat
he Inquisition couldwhat
I need to know get here
you at any What
know. moment
donow,
you
sands calm and conident — but he also looks remember?”
11
STARTER SET
BLUSH OF LIFE
Normally, Kindred are functionally dead. This means that their skin is pale or ashen at best. They are cold to the touch,
and they do not need to blink or breathe. Using Blush of Life allows the players to appear as mortals, making them
look more lively, breathing, and even passing non-invasive medical tests. In addition, a character using Blush of Life can
non-invasive
operate modern touchscreens, as their skin produces the electricity and warmth needed. To use Blush of Life,
Life, players
need to make a Rouse Check. Blush of Life is activated, regardless of the result. It lasts for a whole scene.
DISCIPLINE USE
All characters have powers of the Blood referred to as Disciplines
Disciplines.. Every character has three powers with specic
names. Some characters may have the same powers as others.
Each power has an individual description. A few powers require a Rouse Check to activate. The power activates
whether the character gains more Hunger or not. Failing the Rouse Check does not change the effect of the power.
Some powers require an additional test, many won’t. Some, like Awe or Daunt
Daunt,, are factored into Actions
Actions..
Refer to individual powers on the character sheets for details. Encourage your players to use them whenever they
consider these may help.
12
S T O RY G U I D E
us. But they also want to study us, which is why when you become one of us. I don’t know when
they don’t always kill us immediately. I assume it happened or why, but aer your Embrace
this is why they le you here — to collect you you were captured by the Second Inquisition.
later. To study you before they destroy you. So I’m assuming they were keeping you alive to
they’re probably either nearby or on their way interrogate you later — or as some kind of sick
to check on you right now. If you would rather experimen.”
say out of their hands, follow me.”
He guides you through the kitchen to the e Second Inquisition
backdoor of the resauran, and ushers you to
the alley behind the building. “e Second Inquisition exists only to eliminate
us. ey have already destroyed a lot of our
At this point, the players may have lots of questions to infrastructure. Luckily, we have a few places
ask Markus. You
You can nd answers below to the most that aren’t compromised. We keep them in the
relevant questions the players might ask. dark by enforcing the Masquerade. If you make
it through tonigh, you can go to e Red Sar
e Clock Is Ticking to get better intel on Kindred society.”
is conversation starts in the alley, waiting for
Markus’s driver.
driver. As Markus mentioned, she will arrive
in a few minutes. e Masquerade / Hiding
Stop answering questions whenever you feel from morals
morals
it’s appropriate, especially if you feel the sense of
excitement is falling. You will nd answers to the most
“We don’t allow morals to know of our
likely topics on the players’ minds.
existence. You can imagine what would happen
If a question comes up and is not covered,
improvise, or, if you don’t know or don’t wish to, if
have that question be overridden by something upwethedid, right? We Ifcallpeople
Masquerade. this massive cover-
alk about us,
external, like Markus getting distracted with random the inquisitors show up. Our survival depends
noises (“Shh! Do you hear that? Might be a Nosferatu on keeping this secre, and I expect all of you
listening to us. Or worse.”) or receiving calls from to honor i, now that you’re one of us.” He
an informant telling him to be ready as the Second pauses and then lowers his voice even more.
Inquisition is coming down on their heads.. “If you don’t keep the secre, we’ll know, and I
Read only the answers to the questions the will be very unhappy about i. Do you get my
However, do make sure to cover e
players ask. However, meaning?”
Current Situation, e Second Inquisition, and e
Masquerade (the rst three entries below). If the
characters ask him about himself, he’ll say they can Parker (e Guard)
talk about that later.
“I just used one of our mind abilities on the
guard. Don’t worry, they’ll be ine. We don’t
e Current Situation want humans to know about our existence.”
(Stop reading) Alex and Jay have this
“We don’t have a lot of time, the Inquisition ability, called Cloud Memory. Of course,
could be here any momen. But I want you to Markus doesn’t know this, but you can
get some acts about
about what has happened to you. remind them of it.
You have been Embraced. at’s what we call it
13
STARTER SET
14
S T O RY G U I D E
“Y
“Your
our new Blood allows you to do an
endless number of things you couldn’t e Driver Is Here
do as a moral. You are an apex
nocturnal predator now. You can run e sound of an approaching vehicle cuts the conversation
aster, punch har
harder,
der, aand
nd have access shor. Markus’s driver has arrived, and he smiles in relie.
to powers that humans can only e black SUV appears at the end of the alley, tires
begin to dream o, but there are new screeching against the road as the driver brakes hard.
dangers waiting for you now. e She looks tense. “We have to move, sir,” she cautions her
worst one is the sun — daytime is employer nervously, “they’re onto me.”
a death sentence — followed closely
by ire. If you don’t let these cut you Markus urges the group to get in the car, and he is the last one in.
shor, you’re pretty much immoral.” When he’s in, the driver pulls away
away in a hurry
hurry..
Typical “Vampire”
“Vampire”
Assumptions: Sakes,
Assumptions: Sakes,
Crosses,
Crosses, Garlic, Entering
Uninvited, Mirrors,
Running Water,
Water, Etc.
Etc .
“Don’t let vampire iction fool you,
kids. Most of it is just tha, iction.
Sakes won’t kill you, but they can
paralyze you. Old superstitions like
mirrors, entering a home uninvited,
garlic, and crossing running water:
none of them are true. Crosses have
no eect on us, either. I’ve heard of
some morals who can — somehow
— turn them into weapons against
us. I heve never seen it mysel,
though.”
STARTER SET
16
S T O RY G U I D E
As thebut
driver stopslooks
the car, or without Jackie.
goodbye, instead backheand
doesn’t say
gestures
you to hide as you leave the car.
car. At this point at least a few characters should
should be
experiencing Hunger. e Beast claws at their very
Describe how Markus’s car pulls out into trac with souls, demanding blood. It’s time to hunt. Oen,
some fancy driving maneuvers, followed by the white Kindred hunt alone, but in this case, to keep it simple
van, whose occupants luckily don’t notice the player for everyone, have them hunt at the location selected
characters. earlier.
In the unlikely case no one is hungry, they may go
straight up to e Red Star or call Markus’s ally. If
Safety they try the latter by hitting redial on the old phone
Jackie’s voicemail
voicemail
Markus gave them, they get to Jackie s voicemail
voicemail, and
You are le sanding where Markus dropped they can leave her a message.
you of. It was a close call, but you managed to Rememberr that if the scene drags on, you can
Remembe
hide before the inquisitors in the van could spot always have Jackie call them on Markus’s phone, or
even run into them.
you. Everything sarts to sink in: what you are,
Based on what you determined earlier, select the
what you just learned — how does it make you proper location:.
feel?. ■ If they prefer to stalk random Streets , describe the
think about learning that they are vampires? Do they Club Violet, below. Each location has its own Vic-
believe Markus, and if they do, are they worried about tim Cards and table in Appendix II.II . You
You may add
the Inquisition? How does the idea of never seeing e Streets victims to any of these locations, if you
their family and friends again make them feel? please. ese represent
represent random people visiting, not
At this point, you may want to call for
for a break. typical residents or regulars.
Once everyone is back, you can continue their Please note (but don’t reveal yet) that each set
discussion on what has happened so far while you contains a “victim” that may be hostile to your player
quickly read ahead. e next scene will be about characters. Dee, Andrés and Red, respectively
respectively.. Resolve
hunting and feeding. these using the One-roll Conict rules.
Rememberr that if you chose not to print cards, you
Remembe
can use the Victims tables in Appendix II, starting on
p.36.
17
STARTER SET
18
S T O RY G U I D E
19
STARTER SET
Pick up one or more “e Club Violet” Victim Cards Make sure to convey a sense of urgency.
urgency. If the coterie
(or see the tables in Appendix II). Each Victim has seems to dither, describe how their bodies feel heavier
a basic description, additional information that the and increasingly tired, and how they instinctively
instincti vely
characters can learn upon closer inspection, and understand that they must nd somewhere safe soon.
roleplaying notes. Some characters require specic
actions to be impressed by the player characters. Most Enter Jackie
have a Feed description. If they run into Andrés, the At this time, the characters run into Jackie She’s
situation can potentially devolve into a ght, in which Markus’s ally, whom he’d mentioned earlier. ey may
case you can use the One-Roll Conict rules to resolve have used the phone Markus gave them to call her
the situation. by hitting the redial button. Or they may meet her
Additionally, they also have a Resonance. As accidentally.
was stated above, ignore this if this is your rst time ■ If they called too early, they may have le a voice-
storytelling, or you want feeding scenes to go faster. mail for her. In that case, she calls back now.
Resolve any feeding attempts and then move on to ■ If they call her now, she will pick them up.
Scene IV.
IV. ■ If they went hunting, as they’re wrapping up, she
Scene IV: Rest and fers to take them somewhere safe for the day.
20
S T O RY G U I D E
e Red Sar
Scene V: The Red Star
“e Red Sar is a local hangout for some of us.
It’s set up as a temporary shelter. You can say ■ Setup: e characters arrive at e Red Star just as
here, at least for the coming day.” the sun goes up.
■ Goal: Learn about Stains and Humanity. Learn a
bit about Kindred politics. Set up for what’s ahead
e conversation is cut short by the driver noticing a (one of their sires is alive)
white van following them. ■ Exit: Jackie tells characters that one of their sires
is alive.
Suddenly the driver lowers the window ■ Next scene: Characters meet with one of their sires.
separating you from him. He says, matter-of-
actly: “A white van is following us. I will try
to evade i, but they’re aster.” You can see the Into e Red Sar
white van in the street behind you. It’s deinitely
Butting up against a freeway overpass, e Red
the
and same
despiteonethethat was best
driver’s chasing
eortyou earlier
to lose —
them, Sar is a din, two-story bar. is is the kind
the limo just can’t maneuver quickly enough, of place where drinks are unpretentious, mostly
and they’re gaining on you. beer and bourbon. e anciest cockail one can
order here is a Jack and Coke.
21
STARTER SET
Much-needed
Much-needed rest
A no-nonsense brunette wearing jeans and e characters barely have time to get comfortable
a leather vest introduces herself as Sage, a before dawn overtakes them, and they surrender
fellow Kindred, and then leads you to the bar’s to daytime sleep. Jackie has le and Sage points at
windowless storeroom, where threadbare sheets the mattresses on the oor of the storeroom. Don’t
cover thin hospial mattresses. describe much, the characters are already semi-
comatose at this stage, and just want to lie down.
As this happens, the actions of the night that
has passed start to sink in. Now we’ll consider their
HUMANITY AND STAINS Humanity.
Humanity is a measure of how close a character is Make a note of the Stains acquired earlier,
to human values. Characters start at a relatively high whenever we suested this. Discuss with the players
level: like most people, they may be deceitful or if any of the actions they committed (denitely killing
self-centered at times, but ultimately try to do the when feeding would qualify) should gain them Stains.
right thing and refrain from overt violence. Kindred are Killing hunters in self-defense can be forgiven, but if
forced to make hard choices, which lead them to slowly they showed cruelty or extreme brutality when doing
lose their Humanity. When they do, they become so, that should probably warrant
warrant Stains.
closer to the Beast
Beast,, which over time makes them look Mark the checkboxes on the Humanity track
less human and more detached. Losing all Humanity starting from the right. If anyone acquired 4 Stains
renders a character Beast-ridden
Beast-ridden.. Kindred refer to or more (i.e. more than the space they have for Stains
unfortunates suffering
suffering this unrecoverabl
unrecoverable
e mindless state as on their Humanity track), have them mark one
wights,, and these are typically hunted down and killed.
wights Aravated Damage
Damage on their Willpower track, and
Whenever feeding without consent or harming they will be impaired.
someone unprovoked (or whenever noted in the text),
they gain Stains
Stains,, which they mark as slashes (/) on the A Sire Beckons
Beckons
boxes starting from the right. Has someone been very vocal about wanting to
If anyone acquires more Stains than they have spaces reunite with their sire? Did anyone hint at a complex
on their Humanity track, mark one Aggravated relationship with them? If so, work with this character.
Damage (X) on their Willpower track. If this happens, Otherwise, choose the character who that has had the
the character will be impaired. This state of mind renders least time in the spotlight .
them incapable of doing further actions that may trigger As the coterie sleeps, this character remembers
remembers
Stains, and additionally, they lose 2 dice from all tests until their Embrace in ts and ashes. During the dream
they go through a Remorse test. sequence, work with the player to esh out their
The player can choose to snap out of this state by sire, giving that Kindred more details, including a
voluntarily forfeiting one level of Humanity. If so, all few personality quirks. is will become important
Stains are removed along with one level of Humanity. for the next few scenes, so choose carefully. Use that
This represents that the character has come to terms character’s Embrace and sire entries in the process.
with the fact that they are a bit more monstrous than they
used to be. e Next Night
For more information on Stains
Stains,, check the Have everyone make their Rouse checks and give out
Reference Guide
Guide,, p.13. Hunger dice as needed.
22
S T O RY G U I D E
23
STARTER SET
S T O RY G U I D E
25
STARTER SET
Allison is a ghoul. Sam, Jay or Blake could get a work — which very likely includes going to war with
hint of that, as she has a similar smell to that of the the Anarchs. As in previous scenes, you can cut the
bartender at e Red Star. She leads the characters to exposition short if it drags on, by having Allison
an executive elevator, saying she has been sent here by summon them.
‘your progenitor.’ By now, the characters know enough
progenitor
to understand that hurting Allison is not a good idea.
ey should feel as though they are constantly being Greeting
watched, and astute characters can notice hidden
security cameras distributed throughout the building. “My prodigal childe returns! I had no doubt we’d
Allison uses a special key fob to access
access the meet again. You are of strong Blood, of course
executive elevator, which she takes directly to the you are.
are. Be welcome, you and your companions.
rooop bar. She engages in small talk but cannot reveal
What can I get for you?”
much. She works for the sire, and is obviously in love
with them, but otherwise will not reveal anything of
value. e Oer
Characters are briey searched by more ghouls
before being allowed to exit the elevator and enter the “Recently, as you can see, I secured membership
bar. ese ghouls relieve of any obvious weapons. in the Camarilla. My future is thus assured.
I want to make you the same oer. Not of
membership, not right now, of course. But we
Bar at the Armiage can help and support each other. You work
with me on a few current projects, and in a few
e bar is as beautiful and trendy as the rest
years…all this could be yours. If one has the gi
of the hotel. Kindred and ghouls alike canoodle
of eternal life, why spend it sleeping in grubby
on couches as they overlook the glittering lights
bars?”
outside. e bartender lives only to make sure
the characters get what they desire. Half a
dozen other ghouls, wearing all-black clothing Negotiating
and earpieces, keep an eye out for trouble.
“What can I oer you? Well, a safe haven for one.
e Camarilla has taken over this bar, possibly this Safety against the Inquisition: we know how to
entire hotel. Inform your portrayal of the sire with deal with them. Superios hunting grounds. e
what you discussed with the childe character’s player.
player.
Camarilla has the best territory in the city. You
e sire gazes out over the city spread beneath their
feet, like a monarch looking down on the peasantry.
won’t have to sneak and risk poaching.”
Everyone here is rich, beautiful, and powerful. ere’s
a marked juxtaposition between this location and e Anarchs
Red Star.
e sire is now pro-Camarilla, and exaerates “Any vampire worth their blood should wan,
their own importance to the faction. Insight tests at and be worthy o, membership in the Camarilla.
Diculty 4 reveal as much. However, the sire’s desire is organization has done more to protect
to have their childe join the Camarilla is genuine. It
vampire society than any other group in our
would take time and come at a price, of course: they
will be expected to do much of the Camarilla’s dirty
history. Only the Camarilla stopped the irst
26
S T O RY G U I D E
STARTER SET
S T O RY G U I D E
A Final Encounter
e characters have been relentlessly chased by this Below are the rules for a more detailed and complex
group of Inquisitors, who have been toying with them conict:
from the beginning. e characters may have gured
out that they have been like rats in a maze. e dead CONFLICT
body, the reluctant guard. Markus and his Anarch Whenever you want a conict to be more detailed than
allies were an unexpected factor. e Anarchs have a One-Roll Conict,
Conict, you may use these rules. All
helped and protected them. e Camarilla appears to combatants roll as many dice as their Attacking Action
have a better infrastructure to do so but requires proof value and compare the results. Remember that Kindred
of loyalty. Regardless
Regardless of whether they wish to side with always substitute their regular dice with their Hunger
one organization or the other, they have to face this dice, while Mortals only have regular dice.
dice.
small Inquisitor detachment once and for all. When comparing Attacking vs. Attacking
Discuss these points with your players and actions, the winner (i.e. the party that has more
encourage them to plan. If they call the Anarchs to successes than the other) inicts damage to the loser
get their opinion before acting, explain to them that of the exchange. Total damage is the success margin
the Anarchs don’t trust their Camarilla rivals and (i.e. the difference between the winner’s successes and
tell them it’s some sort of setup. Please note that they the opponent’s) plus the weapon’s damage rating,
rating, if
do not use terminology such as “Camarilla” over the any.
phone but may use a sarcastic “our
“our mutual friends” or
any other euphemism. DAMAGE
e characters are armed with pistols provided by Supercial Damage is marked as slashes (/) on the
Markus or Allison and may have accepted a Camarilla Health track. Always halve Supercial Damage
limousine with a ghoul driver. e car is bulletproof when marking a character’s Health track, rounding up.
but is not particularly fast. As the characters leave the If a Kindred’s health track is lled with Supercial
Armitage Hotel, whether by car or on foot, they soon Damage (/) and they continue receiving damage, cross
realize that the Second Inquisition had been scouting them out, (X). This is called Aggravated Damage.
Damage.
the area and is onto them. If a character’s Health track is lled with Aggravated
e white van immediately follows them. ey Damage,, they may fall into a death-like trance, known
Damage
can maneuver them into an alley or under the freeway
freeway.. as torpor
torpor.. Some attacks do Aggravated Damage
If the characters deliberately maneuver the situation directly. For Kindred, this applies only to sunlight, fre
for the conict to occur in a location where there are and supernatural attacks, like some Disciplines. To mortals,
many people, like one of the tent cities mentioned most attacks intended to kill (using slashing or piercing
earlier, they should receive Stains for it. weapons, including guns) do Aggravated Damage.
Damage.
Run the conict for three exchanges or turns. After
Shots Fired that, you can make a judgment call and decide who has
If you want to run a combat scene but to keep it won the ght. If the enemies lose the battle, describe how
simple, you can use the One-Roll Conict rules (p.10). they regroup and escape, or how they surrender, or even
If so, choose a diculty depending on how tough you how they’re killed by the victorious player characters, if
want them to be. We suest 6 or even 7 to keep things that is their choice. If the players are the losing side, you
dangerous. If the characters managed to outmaneuver can give them an ultimatum: escape, or be annihilated.
and ambush the Inquisition, make the diculty 6 or For rules on Recovery, and more details and
even 5. examples, see p.12 of the Reference Guide.
Guide.
29
STARTER SET
30
S T O RY G U I D E
Discipline use can be benecial to most characters BITE
here. Characters can use their Bite action during combat.
Alex and Blake have the ability to draw the This works like a regular Attack action, but there is a
attention of the Hunters with their Awe, or Blake and 1-success penalty to the Kindred performin
performingg the bite.
Terry can intimidate them with Daunt. is way, they If the Kindred succeeds, they inict damage and recover
can provide a distraction while the rest of the group is 1 Hunger. Every additional turn, have the Kindred
preparing their attack. and their victim roll Bite vs. Attack,
Attack, but the initial
Alex or Sam may try to Compel them to run away, 1-success penalty no longer applies for the Kindred.
drop their weapons, or similar disruptive actions, as Each roll as long as this situation is kept, the Kindred
long as they’re not suicidal. is approach is extremely recovers 1 additional Hunger. Hunger cannot be reduced
tricky, as they have to move into close range of their below 1 unless the Kindred willfully chooses to drain their
targets, and roll Resolve + Intimidation (Diculty 5) victim to death.
to look into their eyes.
Marsh can vanish with Cloak of Shadows and
Unseen Passage and go for the oensive with Lethal Recovering the Footage
Body. So can Rain, with their terrifying Feral Weapons If the characters have the chance to get inside the
or Terry, with Prowess. Inquisitors’ van, they’ll nd surveillance equipment
Sam can use Compel to have them drop their inside, cameras and monitors, long-range microphones,
weapons, or similar disruptive actions, as long as a huge tangle of wires and batteries. Inside there is also
they’re not suicidal. one non-combatant technician, who can be Persuaded
Remember that the scene should last only up u p to or Intimidated into helping. e technician, or
three turns. At that stage, it should be clear who is technology-savvy characters such as Jay, will be able to
winning. e Inquisitor’s Health tracks are nominally retrieve the hard drives that contain the footage of the
6 but you don’t have to be precise with this. If your restaurant. e technician swears the footage was not
players get good rolls
rolls with many successes, don
don’t
’t be uploaded into the cloud, if asked.
afraid to take the hunters down. is conict should Whether they take
take a moment to look at it now,
now, or
feel dangerous but should ultimately be a win for them. they check it later, the video shows the entire sequence
However, if the Kindred are clearly losing, they they played out in Scenes III, but something they
may get into the car and drive away. One way to gauge haven’t seen before is what happened before they woke
this is to check the players characters Health tracks. If up: the inquisitors they have just defeated, plus the
someone is starting to get aravated damage (X), you technician that they may have seen in a vision, are
should heavily
If you suest
rule that theythat they
win, youee.
can have them feast shown carrying
and then feedingthem
themin,blood,
staked, removing animal
presumably their stakes,
on the inquisitors, or let the surviving inquisitors blood, aer setting up the dead body among the
escape. animal carcasses. ey are seen leaving minutes before
If someone wishes to bite an Inquisitor during the the characters wake up. It can also be seen that as the
conict, use the rule below. Once they are defeated, no inquisitors leave the facility, one of them leads Parker
tests are needed to feed from them. in. Parker seems nervous, like someone on their rst
day on a new job.
31
STARTER SET
Denouement
e third night of your existence as a Kindred
— your unlife — has come to an end. Y You
ou have
survived, for now. You have more knowledge
about your condition, and you are a little wiser.
You’re feeling a part of your
yo ur humanity has been
Scene VII: Epilogue shaken, but you are ar from consumed by your
Beas. You
You see ahead of you a dificult path: you
■ Setup: is is not a scene per se, but a setup for have to feed, secure territory, make allies and
future stories, and a place to tie up some of the enemies. Choose a action or try to survive on
loose ends. your own. You undersand that you depend on
■ Goal: Tie up loose ends, plan ahead. the rest of your coterie. As daybreak approaches,
you realize that tomorrow will be the irst nig
night
ht
Now comes the denouement — the wrapping up of of the rest of your unlife. You may want to make
loose ends, and the setting up for the next chapter in
the best of i.
the chronicle. At this point you may want to wrap the
story up for now. Once you’re ready, ask your players
to make Remorse checks. en read the Denouement We’ve guided you, Storyteller, through the rst
We’ve
entry. steps of this game. Now, we oer a few ideas as to
where the story might go from here. Below you’ll
nd information to continue the story in dierent
ways, and pointers on the backstory of the adventure
you just played. Feel
Feel free to use the elements of the
backstory to move forward.
32
S T O RY G U I D E
For now, examine the choices your players made while Remember that the core concern of any vampire is
In Character, and ponder what the consequences might essentially food and shelter — they need populated
be. Note that ‘consequences’ should not necessarily areas to hunt in, and a safe place to spend the day.
mean ‘punishment.’ Rather, consequences should e Camarilla can provide these quite easily, but at
be the natural evolution of the characters’ choices, what cost? If the characters are not turned into double
structured in such a way that they lead to yet more agents, they might have to skip town, and relocate to a
interesting choices. Camarilla city like Chicago or New York. e Anarchs
For your next session, you probably want to read have less control over their territory,
territory, making it easier
the rest of this book and take a look at the Reference for a newcomer to hunt in peace and nd a safe haven.
Guide. Beyond this Starter Set, Vampire: e And whatever the characters
characters choose, they must keep
Masquerade, Fih Edition contains a full ruleset and the Masquerade.
ideas to guide your evolving chronicle. Meanwhile, don’t forget to follow up on the
smaller stories. Perhaps a character fed from someone
e First Night of the Rest of your and le them alive, and now that person is obsessed
Unlife with nding the character again. Perhaps a character
killed someone and must deal with both the mundane
Discuss the decisions made during the game with your and spiritual fallout of that choice. If a character
players and encourage
encourage them to consider what their cultivated a relationship with someone else, allow that
characters want to do aer defeating or eeing the relationship to ourish and become part of the larger
Inquisitors, and use these ideas as jumping o points story.
for future stories. We cannot hope to cover every
possible option and its result, so the outcome will be
largely le to you and your players. Y You’ll
ou’ll decide what
happens next and what new problems arise.
Certainly,, if the coterie decides to throw in with
Certainly
one particular faction or another, their new patrons
have a long list of tasks and missions to accomplish.
And if the characters decide to go go their own way
way,, they
face an entirely dierent set of challenges.
33
STARTER SET
A Few Suestions
Suestions and Ideas Tricks for You
A Few Tips and Tricks You
■ Jackie needs the characters to watch her back as ■ Center your chronicle around the character s rst
she delivers a package to someone outside of town. experiences as vampires. is means their thirst for
Who is Jackie communicating with, and why? blood, and their need for safe & reliable hunting.
■ If the characters decide to side with the sire: the Horric choices arise when characters follow their
sire is an aspiring member,
member, allowed into an exclu- compulsion to feed. And these choices don’t stop
sive club but still needing to prove their worth. An- at what a given character does or does not do to a
other vampire has recently been Blood Hunted — victim. e need for a hunting ground is persistent.
excommunicated from the Camarilla, their unlife And every good piece of territory is already con-
forfeit to the rst person who catches them. e trolled by someone else, an older and more power-
sire recruits the coterie for aid. ey’ll need brains ful vampire. What will a character do for someone
and brawn in equal measure to succeed in subduing willing to provide them access to constantly safe
this criminal. feeding? e totality of vampire politics revolves
■ Or perhaps the coterie hears about the rogue vam- around ghting to control territory. How does a
pire all on their own. Catching this vampire
vampire would character’s own need for such territory draws them
be an ideal way to begin their process to earn into the eternal strule and shapes their destiny?
membership into the Camarilla, and get closer to ■ Similarly, characters must establish and defend
the sire without having to accept them as a patron. their havens. But such things cost more than just
Maybe the coterie can even foil their sire’s plans by money. What moral shortcuts is a character will-
doing this. ing to take to ensure their daytime safety? Cra
■ e Second Inquisition stages a surprise attack. interesting choices around gaining herd and havens.
How do they keep nding the characters? Does this Don’t make any choice objectively better; instead,
have anything to do with the fact that one of the give each option benets and drawbacks and let
characters recognized a Second Inquisition agent? your players agonize over them.
them.
■ Was
Was the video shot in the meat locker up
uploaded
loaded ■ A good antagonist provides a convenient point
online? If so, how can they ensure that it stays for your players to rally around. Perhaps the sire,
buried forever? perhaps the Prince, perhaps a Second
Second Inquisition
■ e other characters still want to nd their own leader, perhaps someone entirely new, arises to
sires. Why were they brought into the World of thwart the coterie and make their unlives misera-
Darkness? What do their sires want from them? ble. Give your antagonist a compelling motivation,
Collaborate with your players on who their charac- a power base, and, most importantly, a tragic aw.
aw.
ters’ sires might be, and what they want from their ■ Games set in the World of Darkness can work well
progeny..
progeny as ‘sandbox’ style games. Create interesting loca-
tions, complex story characters and build tension
And, of course, wherever your imagination
imagination leads between various factions. en let your players
you! Above all, make sure
sure to touch base with your enjoy exploring what you’ve built, and plot will
players. Where do they
they see the story going? What do organically emerge as their characters respond and
their characters want to accomplish? What kind of react to the world around them.
storylines do they want to run down?
34
S T O RY G U I D E
■ Make it personal. ough a Second Inquisition Remember that in the end, it’s all a game, and games
leader is an existential threat to vampires in gen- are meant to be enjoyable. Enjoy your time exploring
eral, gure out why this mortal is a threat to these the World of Darkness and exploring dark stories
vampires. Is there a previous connection? Perhaps about vicious monsters. But never lose sight of the fact
the Second Inquisition is trying to foreclose on the that vampires are not real, and it’s all a story. Trust
haven a character just bought, or is using police your Storyteller instinct, trust your fellow players,
players, and
resources to clean up a feeding ground. Perhaps we’ll see you again at the next sunset.
ghouls are being jailed, or the characters’ favorite
prey is sent away.
away.
■ e characters are all new Embraces. ey still have
mortal lives and loved ones. How will characters
deal with the obligations of school, work, and
family? Even if a character makes the decision to
cut ties, loved ones may still le missing persons
reports (or disbelieve the ‘ocial’ police report
and do their own diing). And if a character quits
their day job, how will they continue paying their
bills?
■ Give your players small Markusies to oset their
setbacks. e World of Darkness can be harsh and
unforgiving, but it’s not eternal failure. Even if the
chronicle villain keeps winning, the coterie should
still succeed in other areas.
■ Be forgiving of yourself. You don’t have to be
perfect, nor omniscient. Storylines might fall
fall at,
or characters don’t come across the way you expect.
Players might feel frustrated over one thing or
another. is is all part of the process. Negotiate
an alternate outcome, gure out what went wrong,
and incorporate that lesson into your games going
forward.
35
STARTER SET
thisAstory,
smalland the within
squad characters
the involved.
Second Inquisition was
was happened.
tasked with following a group of Kindred. is squad
was fairly new to the Inquisition, and this task was a
test for them. Appendix II:
One aer one, all the Kindred they were following
started Embracing new childer. Not knowing how to Victim Tables
proceed, the squad captured
captured the Kindred and their
progeny,, driving stakes through their
progeny their hearts. As the During the game, you may be prompted to nd
months passed, a plan took form in the Inquisitors’ random enemies or victims for your players. e
minds. A scientic experiment consisting on giving following tables provide you with extra characters that
them access to a dead body — taken fresh from a local you can use. When rolling on these tables, just use a
morgue — some dead animals, and a living person, the standard ten sided die. If you need to roll more than
drug dealer Parker, whom they considered expendable. once, re-roll any repeated results.
ey put the young Kindred all together in the
walk in freezer, gave them enough animal blood to Victims
keep their Hunger to a reasonable level, unstaked In this story, there are three dierent locations where
them, and le them there, under surveillance. the characters can hunt: e Cicero, the Violet Club
e point of the experiment was to nd out and e Streets. ere is a table with 10 potential
whether they would try to feed o the dead body or victims for each one of them. Remember,
Remember, if two
dead animals, and whether they would feed o ParkerParker.. dierent players are hunting in the same area, it would
As this activity was not sanctioned by their superiors,
superiors, be advisable to reroll any repeated results.
the Inquisitors’ group resources were limited. All the victims include their name and age, their
Markus’ chance appearance at the scene derailed Resonance (an optional trait), and some additional
the plan completely. ey rushed to stop the characters text, explaining who they are and what’s the situation
from escaping. Still, their goal was not to kill them, but in which the characters nd them. e rst victim in
to capture them. Due to their relative lack of resources, each table (number 1) is one that will react badly to the
and the clandestine nature of their operation, they character,, and a violent situation may ensue as a result.
character
couldn’t risk telling their superiors about this situation ese characters include the basic combat values, in
and call for backup. All the assets they had were the case a Conict needs to be resolved.
facility, their surveillance van, and the voluntary
members of the mission.
36
S T O RY G U I D E
e Cicero
e Cicero is a cheap hotel, where people in need of aordable shelter spend their nights. Most of the victims are asleep,
or not paying attention to the characters. Most of them include a special test in the middle of the text section. You are
supposed to read the rst half and, if the characters pass the Test, provide additional information by reading the second
half. Unless otherwise specied, these victims will not resist the characters if they want to feed.
■ Shotgun: +4 Damage
■ "Y"You
ou broke into the wrong apartmen, assholes."
2 Ricky, 22 Sanguine e room smells of sex and old lube. ere's a man spread across
the mattress, not going anywhere. Half a bottle of bourbon and
painkillers lie next to him.
■ Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 2
Empty bottles and pill boxes. A framed photo: four children and
their parents, standing in front of red-rock clis. e parents' faces
have been crossed with black marker.
Drinking Ricky's blood provides a booze and drugs rush. Rolls
based on Dexterity and Intelligence lose 1 die for the night.
3 Natalie, 45 Melancholic She sleeps tfully. Two trash bags by the door contain all her
belongings. An angry red burn spreads from her shoulder to her neck.
■ Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 2
4 Charlie, 25 Sanguine He's wide awake, feverishly writing in his little black book. at's why
he didn't notice your lockpicking your way in. He looks at you from
over his black turtleneck. He's surprised, but not necessarily scared.
■ Feed - Persuade or Intimidate, Diculty 3
Charlie will let you drink from him, as long as you listen to his
masterpiece poem (hint: it's far from a masterpiece.)
5 Angelique, 19 Melancholic She’s an extremely thin woman, fallen asleep on her laundry, a
highlighted movie script across her lap. Books on acting technique
and celebrity gossip magazines lay scattered around the room.
■ Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 2
37
STARTER SET
e Cicero (continued)
Roll Name Resonance Text
6 Harry, 56 Melancholic e walls are covered with posters of blockbusters of yesteryear.
His expensive jewellery and pajamas feel out of place. On the oor,
expensive liqueur stands next to a box of the cheapest pizza.
■ Who is he? - Investigate, Diculty 2
You've
You've seen his face on the news. He pr
produced
oduced cheap slasher lms
until his misconduct ended his career.
Harry's out on sleeping pills. His blood has a dizzying eect. Lose
1 die from Dexterity-based rolls for the night.
7 Annie, 31 Phlegmatic e room is saturated with pictures, news clippings, and owcharts.
Pins with colored threads connect everything. No bed. She's in a
sleeping bag, having bad dreams.
■ Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 3
8 Dennis, 26 Sanguine A little table features a crystal ball, decoration, and a colorful
disguise. He's standing, looking at you, but not really seeing. His
ravings would hint at him struling with something that is not there.
Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 2
Some leover drugs indicate that he's tripping, fueled by his
spiritualist inclinations. at said, maybe he can actually see ghosts.
Dennis' blood is saturated with hallucinogens. Lose 1 die on
Dexterity and Wits rolls for the night.
10 James, 86 Melancholic e sharp edges of the furniture are covered in foam and tape. e
old man has fallen asleep on his chair, facing a wall. His skin is like
parchment, and the muscles hang accid o his bones.
■ Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 2
38
S T O RY G U I D E
e Violet Club
table can be found at the Violet Club. Unlike the inhabitants of e Cicero, these will present
All of the characters in this table
resistance if the characters try to feed on them. You are meant to read the rst section and, if the characters pass the rst
Test presented, you’ll read the next section. If the characters want to feed o the victim, they will have to pass the Test at
the end of the victim’s text.
Marion
to this scene.is Marion
quite interested in the
will actively characters,
attempt as theythe
to cultivate appear new
coterie,
leaning heavily on dubious underground connections to seem
impressive.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 3
2 omas Law, 24 Phlegmatic A tall, slender man wearing a neatly-trimmed goatee and dark
hair falling straight down the middle of his back, he is an excellent
dancer. Every hour or so he takes short breaks to vape and drink some
club soda with lime.
■ Dance O! - Dexterity + Athletics, Diculty 2
omas Law has lived all his life in Los Angeles. He's a wealth of
local information. He’s stone-cold sober, but euphoric from dancing
and eager to undergo new experiences.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 2
3 Monica, 23 Sanguine Pink top, white skirt, and golden trainers. Monica is denitely in the
wrong club. She is looking around her, bewildered and confused. She
is happy to talk to anyone not dressed in black.
■ Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 2
Her roommate told her there was a party here. She is new in
town, and thought she could have some fun tonight. She feels lost and
disappointed, and only wants to make friends.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 2
4 Marcus, 25 Choleric ■ "I've got white, brown, and green. Whatever you need."
He talks quickly, thinks quickly, and quickly becomes your best
friend, as long as you want to buy his merchandise.
■ Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 1
5 Lily, 24 Phlegmatic She moves with the grace of a feather and the strength of a lion. ere
is a crowd watching her, entranced.
■ Dance o! - Dexterity + Athletics, Diculty 3
39
STARTER SET
7 Magenta, 41 Phlegmatic e couch is her throne. e queen of the Violet Club meets with
those willing to pay her respects before taking the dance oor.
■ Request an audience with the queen - Persuade, Diculty 3
Magenta talks of the old days with nostalgia and dignity. You're
You're
not particularly interesting to her, but she wants you to understand
her way of life. She thinks she knows the night, and she suests she
has met and loved monsters in the past.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 1
8 Barry, 47 Melancholic His shoes, his watch, and his phone point out how much he doesn't
really belong. While he has some moves, he has to stop to catch his
breath every ve minutes.
■ Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 1
9 Frankie, 36 Melancholic She's staring at her bourbon, her body shaking. She doesn't belong
here, but she doesn't care. She's clearly in shock.
■ Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 3
10 Andrés, 21 Sanguine His eyeliner isn’t right, his clothes don’t quite t, and his boots look
too new. He moves awkwardly,
awkwardly, watching everyone without engaging.
If the characters approach him, he'll tell them an array of pretty
lies. Andrés is here looking for vampires, though it's unclear even to
him if he wants to hunt them... or join them.
Dealing with Andrés can lead in dierent directions. Use
Diculty 3 for most rolls. In case of a Conict, roll 4 dice for him.
40
S T O RY G U I D E
e Streets
e players may not be keen on going to e Cicero or the Violet Club, or may want to feed at any random point during
the story. In that case, you can use this table. ese characters behave the same way as the ones in the Violet Club,
presenting two dierent
dierent TTests
ests that can give more information about the
them,
m, and allow the players to fee
feed
d o them.
■ Pistol: +2 Damage
2 Helen, 22 Melancholic Still on full makeup, the mime drags her feet through the streets,
sadly counting her meager earnings.
■ Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 2
4 Jason, 36 Sanguine e rst thing that attracts you to him is the powerful smell of
detergent on his hands. He has washed thoroughly,
thoroughly, and you can only
imagine what’s the aroma he’s trying to hide.
■ Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 2
5 Mara, 59 Choleric She's screaming at the top of her lungs for anyone who will listen. She
waves her sacred book as a sword of justice. Standing in the middle of
the road, she's addressing an imaginary crowd.
■ Listen to her - Spend 1 Willpower
■ "e end is nigh! Corporations own our souls! e forests burn because
nobody thinks of the babies! Destroy your phone! Burn your money! I
know the hidden truth about all things in the world!"
■ Feed - Intimidate, Diculty 2
41
STARTER SET
e Streets (continued)
Roll Name Resonance Text
6 Juan, 43 Phlegmatic He ips the sign of the gas station with class and distinction. e
sign goes up, and down, it twirls around his body... until it drops.
Disappointment and frustration on his face, he is defeated.
■ Sign Flipping! - Dexterity + Athletics, Diculty 2
You
You take Juan's sign and ip it for a few minutes while he rrests,
ests,
gratefully.. He was a respected scientist back in his country, but he
gratefully
had to emigrate. To
To this.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 2
7 Keith, 19 Melancholic Sitting on a bus stop, shivering in the cold, the young man looks sad
and bitter.
■ Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 2
Keith ran away from home over a tantrum and has been living on
the streets enough to teach him plenty. He was angry with his parents
for buying him the wrong console. Now he realizes they love him and
don't care that he dropped out of college.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 2
8 Eve, 31 Choleric She seems eager to strike a conversation with you. Maybe too eager.
She oers you drugs, guns, and all sorts of illegal goods. But she looks
very nervous about it.
■ Get to the bottom of this - Intimidate, Diculty 2
Eve breaks down. e wannabe vigilante doesn't have drugs, guns,
or anything remotely illegal. She wants to identify criminals and turn
them in. She has no clear plan and her only backup is a can of Mace.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 2
9 Chuck, 28 Sanguine Drunk and dancing on the streets, the man looks like the happiest
person on Earth. He hugs you and jumps around
around you, barely
containing his joy.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 1
You
You take advantage of ththee situation, and start feeding. Right
behind him, you see a huge advertisement poster for a new hyped TV
show. His face in the poster makes you realize you are drinking o
someone who is bound to become a real star.
42
S T O RY G U I D E
Enemies:
e followinge Inquisition
characters are members of the local Inquisition.
Inquisiti on. ey mostly come from a law enforcement backgr
background,
ound,
although there are a few exceptions. ey are not veterans of the Inquisition, but some of them have been in the business
of hunting Kindred for a while.
e table species the name and age of the character,
character, their attack value, their weapon of choice, the Diculty when
applying One Roll rules, their Resonance and some text illustrating who they are.
5 Monroe Davidson, 6 Handgun: +2 4 Sanguine FBI Agent Monroe Davidson has been
29 Damage a member of Special Aairs for years,
and she is considered delusional by
many of her peers. Her wish to prove
that vampires exists works directly
against her standing orders. Maybe
this is the night.
■ "I have seen this before. Be careful,
team!"
43
STARTER SET
8 Toby Nicholson, 21 5 Handgun: +2 2 Choleric New to the Police force, but not to
Damage V
Vampires,
ampires, Toby
Toby saw his parents die
at the hands of a monster. His thirst
for revenge matches his will to help
children in need.
■ "Don't believe their lies! Shoot them
all!"
44
MODIPHIUS ENTERTAINMENT
INTERNAL PLAYTESTING
Jason Enos, Jono Green,
Green, Ethan Heywood, Aled Lawlor,
Lawlor, Giles Nevill, Charlie Perkins, Alina P
Potemska,
otemska, Kieran Stre
Street
et
VAMPIRE:
VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE
MASQUERADE LINE MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT
Matt Timm
White Wolf,
Wolf, Vampire:
Vampire: e Masquer
Masquerade,
ade, and the World
World of Darkness are registered
registered trademarks
trademarks o White Wolf
Wolf
Entertainment AB. All rights reserved.
K E R R Y A L D A N O , 41
41 J U L E S WA L K E R , 3 3 LEAH NGUYEN, 32
P AT
AT G O R R I T I , 2 4 M O N R O E D AV
AV I D S O N , 2 9 A R I F L E I S Z M A N , 51
“Don’t let any of them get out alive!” “Don’t believe their lies! Shoot them “Return to hell, abomination!”
all!”
Choleric Choleric Melancholic
G A B R I E L L A O S O R I O , 27
27 DEE, 37 RICKY, 22
NATA L IE , 45 CHARLIE, 25 A N G E L I Q U E , 19
H A R R Y,
Y, 5 6 A N N I E , 31 DENNIS, 26
Te Cicero Te Cicero Te Cicero
GRETA, 36 JA MES, 86 A N D R É S , 21
Te Cicero Te Cicero Violet Club
Te room is untouched, as if nobody has been Te sharp edges of the furniture are covered in His eyeliner isn’t right, his clothes don’t quite t,
there in a while. On the bed, a woman sleeps foam and tape. Te old man has fallen asleep and his boots look too new. He moves awkwardly,
with her arms crossed
crossed over her chest. She
She is fully on his chair, facing a wall. His skin is like watching everyone without
without engaging.
dressed, and wears a carnival mask. parchment, and the muscles hang accid o o his
If the characters approach him, he’ll tell them
Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 1 bones. an array of pretty lies. Andrés is here looking for
Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 2 vampires, though
though it’s unclear even to
to him if he
Te bathtub is full of ice and water. Tere is a wants to hunt them..
them.. . or join them.
drawing of a cartoon character, and a tattoo Te suitcase next to his bed is lled with trophies
needle gun. If awaken, Greta will only speak in and old photographs. In his youth, James used to Dealing with Andrés can lead in dierent
Norwegian, and will scream until somebody be a world class javelin thrower. Te white cane directions. Use Diculty 3 for most rolls. In case
comes to help her. resting on his lap tells you he’s blind. of a Conict, roll 4 dice for him.
M A R I O N,
N, 2 8 THOMAS LAW, 24 MONICA, 23
C h o l e r i c Phlegmatic Choleri c
Te couch is her throne. Te queen of the Violet His shoes, his watch, and his phone point out
She’s staring at her bourbon, her body shaking.
Club meets with those willing to pay her respects how much he doesn’t really belong. While he has
She doesn’t belong here, but she doesn’t care.
before taking the dance oor. some moves, he has to stop to catch his breath
She’s clearly in shock.
every ve minutes.
Request an audience with the queen - Persuade,
Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 3
Diculty 3 Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 1
Magenta talks of the old days with nostalgia and Recently divorced, Barry is trying to reconnect Frankie drives a cab. Tonight, a bike crossed
right in front of her. She couldn’t stop in time.
dignity. You’re not particularly interesting to her, with the scene of his youth. He used to be
Somebody is in hospital, and she believes it’s her
but she wants you to understand her way of life. one of the most recognizable faces in the goth
fault. She just can’t stop seeing her victim’s face,
She thinks she knows the night, and she suests community, he says. You see a dad in a black
slowly sliding across the windscreen.
she has met and loved monsters in the past. t-shirt, desperately trying to t in.
Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 1
Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 1 Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 2
RED, 19 HELEN, 22 M A T T , 29
29
JA SON, 36 M A R A , 59
59 J UA N, 43
VICTIMS
K E I T H , 19
19 E V E , 31
31 CHUCK, 28
Te Streets
Sanguine
ello, friend, and welcome to the World e pain in these stories should stay entirely
H
of Darkness. is is a dark and menacing ctional. Before playing, your whole group should
mon-
reection of our own world, where mon- discuss everyone’s preferences and tolerances. By
sters hide behind a facade of normality.
normality. establishing solid boundaries, all participants can
What you hold now is an entry point for Vampire:
Vampire: e fully delve into their favorite dark themes while
Masquerade. avoiding upsetting anyone. Even then, this discussion
cannot cover every potential plot twist. If a player or
MATURE CONTENT
CONTEN T WARNING
WARNING Storyteller nds the story going in an uncomfortable
e Story Guide contains graphic descriptions of direction, they can and should stop play to discuss
death, physical violence — including the use of guns, alternate resolutions. Storytellers can skip, revise,
fantasy violence (claws, biting), stalking, gore, blood- reroute, or summarize a given scene, if doing so
drinking — as well as drug and alcohol use. enhances the experience for all those involved. And
Vampires
Vampires are predators,
predators, heirs of an ageless players should be amenable to such changes.
changes.
condition and driven by supernatural forces they Trust and consideration are a collective
strule to control. One overwhelming fact denes responsibility. Everyone should be mindful of this
their existence: to survive, they require blood. In most while playing.
cases, taking blood involves hurting someone, maybe
even killing them. No matter how virtuous
vi rtuous a vampire WELCOME, ALL PLAYERS
may be on the evening of their Embrace (the ritual by is Starter Set has three types of players in mind,
which a human being becomes a vampire), they quickly from the newest of the new to the most experienced
understand their long-term survival requires constant veteran.
compromise between ethics and practicality.
Vampire explores those moral compromises. How Fresh Blood
far will a character go for survival? For success? e You
You may have watched TV shows or movies featuring
deceit and violence a vampire is willing to engage in, vampires. You
You may have discovered this specic
the people they’re willing to hurt and betray, that’s vampire setting through streaming shows of LA by
where we nd true horror. Vampire is about sacricing Night,, or the Vampire: Te Masquerade - Bloodlines
Night
one’s Humanity, bit by bit, until nothing
no thing remains but a series of video games. If you’ve always wanted to
monster. us, participants should prepare themselves imagine what it feels like to be a vampire, this is for
to explore themes of violence, desperation, and you.
exploitation.
Roleplaying Fan
You’re
You’re a fan of tabletop roleplaying
roleplaying games, and you’ve
enjoyed the thrill of that denitive dice roll at the
pivotal moment of a story. Here you’ll
you’ll nd many
familiar conventions. Character sheets dene your
powers and abilities, dice add a level of randomness
when resolving challenges, and problems can be solved
in many dierent ways.
But unlike games where you’re meant to play
the hero, Vampire lets you play the monster. Most
threats are political or social in nature. Your personal
relationships, and how you treat them, shape the focus
of the game.
Returning Veteran Decide who will be the Storyteller
Storyteller.. It will be
You
You remember Page XX and what holding a brand-new their job to facilitate the story as presented and to
copy of Vampire: Te Masquerade 1st Edition felt like. adjudicate rules. e Storyteller will pick up the
You’ll
You’ll nd many of the same elements still in place. Story Guide.
Guide. Everyone else we’ll refer to as players
e core clans are all here, and callous Princes still from now on. Players start by choosing one of the
enforce the Masquerade. characters we’ve provided. Each of these is a ctional
Nightly life has changed from what it was, before persona with a unique history, abilities, and goals. In
the Red Star. e elders have closed ranks, while the this Starter Set,
Set, your characters are young edglings,
Second Inquisition is on the rise, and your character’s struling to understand their place in a dark new
Hunger is now front and center. Come and see how world. You
You must rely on each other if you want to
the world has changed, and what new dangers must be survive.
faced. e Reference Guide contains more in-depth
information. is is primarily intended for the
BEFORE YOU BEGIN Storyteller, but Players can look into it, as well.
is Starter Set contains multiple documents for e Relationship Map is a useful way to illustrate
you to use for this introductory scenario. You have how various characters feel about each other. is Map
express permission to print out all of the documents is just a guide; relationships can change constantly.
contained in this bundle for personal use. Some of Update the Map whenever necessary as rivalries and
the documents include an alternate, printer-friendly romances fade or ourish.
version you can print out instead.
i nstead. At least you should In addition to these, you will need to get ten-sided
print out the pre-made Characters
Characters you wish to use. dice. ese can be found in any game store or online.
Aside from this document, this bundle contains You
You will need them in two colors. We recommend
recommend
a Story Guide, Guide, seven pre-made
Guide, a Reference Guide, using black for regular dice and red for Hunger dice.dice.
cards. If
characters,, a Relationship Map, and a set of cards.
characters You
You can nd ocial Vampire dice here.
you choose not to print the cards, you can use alternate Dice explanations are based on Vampire dice. If
tables for Victims and Enemies as appropriate. you’re using standard dice,
dice, please consult the Using
Standard Dice section on the Reference Guide,
Guide, p.7.
e game unfolds as your characters interact with
each other and with the world. As the Storyteller, you
will be responsible for eshing out this world with
the help of the materials we’ve provided. You’ll
You’ll set up
challenges and present your characters with interesting
choices, adjudicating their outcomes. Don’t think
of yourself as an adversary or an obstacle. All of you
are there for the same reason: to tell a compelling,
collaborative story.
Once you’re ready to start playing, put your phones
down, look for a place where you can sit comfortably
and hear each other well. Remember to be mindful
of all others and pay attention even when you’re
yo u’re not
actively playing.
R
gguuide
Note: This book is intended to be used as a reference ■ Welcome to the World of Darkness will give you
for rules of Vampire, and to allow players to create a additional background information about the
continuation to the story presented in the Story Guide world in which the stories of Vampire take place.
in this bundle. If you haven’t read the Story Guide, we ■ e Role of the Storyteller provides advice and as-
recommend you to start there and read this afterwards. sistance to Storytellers who are new to this kind of
gaming experience, or to veterans who are playing
W
Welcome
elcome to Vampire
Vampire.. is is the Starter Set Vampire for the rst time.
Reference Guide.
Guide. If you are reading this, you probably ■ e Rules expands on what you found in the Story
want to know more about the game, the rules, and the Guide,, adding more complex systems that experi-
Guide
universe in which the stories take place. enced or adventurous players can incorporate to
Here we’ll give you a quick glance over the rules their game.
and the universe of Vampire
Vampire.. If you want to learn
more, we recommend you to acquire a copy of the We hope you enjoy your rst experience with Vampire.
We
Vampire: e Masquerade 5th Edition core rulebook.
STARTER SET
e Brujah
Brujah,, usually known as Rabble, are philosophers
REFERENCE GUIDE
A thousand years ago, a powerful magician captured
captured THE CAMARILLA During the Dark Ages, when the
a vampire and performed a terrible ritual on her. e Inquisition appeared, Kindred were not ready, and
magician was obsessed with eternal life, and got the many of them paid the price. e survivors gathered
curse of Caine in exchange. Since then, the descendants and established a series of commandments that would
of Tremere have been accumulating knowledge and ensure their survival. e Elders decided that they
bowing to a rigid hierarchy. However,
However, since the would be in power, and their word would be the
Second Inquisition laid waste to their Chantry in law. is was the origin of the Camarilla, the largest
Vienna, their whole lineage has grown
grown weak and vampire community ever known.
disunited. Nowadays, the Tremere
Tremere sell their services as
mercenaries, and try to understand how to live with THE ANARCHS e Anarchs splintered from the
their newfound freedom. Camarilla. With whole cities under their control, the
Traditional leaders of the Camarilla, the Ventrue Anarchs now stand as a force to be reckoned
reckoned with.
— or the Blue Bloods, as they are oen called — exude Government is loose, and it changes wildly from place
majesty, power and privilege. ey are educated on to place, but the principle remains: age is not the
the idea that they are born to rule, and everybody else measure of leadership. Some are eager to build a fair
needs to obey them. e Ventrue have rareed
rareed tastes society, while others are hungry for power. All of them
when it comes to blood, and can only feed on specic are the Anarchs, more an identity than a real group.
types of people. e nature of this exquisite palate
varies from one Ventrue to the next — some can only THE SECOND INQUISITION With the explosion
explosion
feed on middle-aged men, while others won’t taste any of the Age of Information, hiding has become harder
blood that doesn’t come from convicted felons. than ever. Atto
technologies rst, Kindred
their tried to use
own advantage. eyall created
the new
secret networks in the dark web, and established
STARTER SET
channels to communicate with one another. But e world is populated by all sorts of characters.
mortals are paranoid by nature, and look for enemies You
You have the task of portraying them.
them. ese are
everywhere. It was only a matter of time before called Storyteller Player Characters (SPCs). Some
Kindred were discovered by governments and Storytellers tackle the task of playing the SPCs by
intelligence agencies. putting on accents, changing their body language,
In 2001, in the wake of the events that led to the and trying to make each and every one of them sound
War
War on Terror,
Terror, intelligence
intelligence agencies across the globe and feel dierent. Others take on a more narrative
started reinforcing surveillance, both online and approach, explaining the particularities of each SPC,
oine. By mere accident, they discovered a hidden rather than acting them out. Both approaches work.
network of secret societies populated by monsters of Keep in mind that the Storyteller is also a player, so
legend. Joining forces with the Society of Leopold — a you should choose whatever approach makes you feel feel
mystical group of witch hunters based in the Vatican more comfortable. e idea is for you to enjoy the
— agencies like the CIA and MI6 took the job the game as much as the rest of the group.
Inquisition le unnished in the Middle Ages. is A good Storyteller should always have
have clear
was how mortals started hunting Kindred again. information about the SPCs. You don’t need to write
During the Second Inquisition’s rst decade, they the biography of every SPC in the game in advance.
achieved impressive results. e online presence of Just a couple of details will help you esh out the
Kindred was completely removed and the undead world, and give a sense of its depth and richness. For
population of entire cities was exterminated. e example: the woman waiting at a bus station bites her
creatures of the night were forced to take desperate nails, and has a band on her wrist, identifying her as
measures. ey retreated from the virtual world. Fear an organ donor. e shady drug dealer in the nightclub
and paranoia became the rule among them. has a picture of his little sister in his wallet. A tattoo
of a snake can be seen creeping up the neck of the
nun oering shelter to the players when the morning
comes.
The Role of the Everyone should feel they are the protagonist of the
story at one point or another. If a player has been quiet
for most of the time, or is too shy to participate in
REFERENCE GUIDE
Personal Horror: Mara goes out hunting. She inds An Ally to the Players
a lonely man in the last car of the train. He iddles Roleplaying games are not about winning or losing.
nervously with his phone. Mara approaches him With this in mind, the notion of the Storyteller being
and, without much ceremony, sarts feeding o an adversary to the players becomes absurd. You You are
him. ere’s something special about his blood. It allies in the quest for telling a fascinating story, where
is just e
much. delicious.
man isShe losesWhile
dead. control,
Maraand drinks
tries too
to come the players
means are the
twisting theprotagonists.
world a littleSometimes, this epic
bit to promote
to terms with what she has done, the man’s phone situations, where heroes survive against all odds, or
beeps. She fearfully reads the message: “It’s a boy! when unfathomable tragedy strikes them.
Congratulations, Frank! YouYou are a ather!” Stories in Vampire are meant to be exceptional,
never mundane. As such, it is perfectly valid to skip
Political Horror: Jake learns that one of his friends, scenes where nothing signicant happens. Players
Nathan, is about to defect to the Camarilla. will get bored quickly if they spend two hours of a
Concerned, Jake bring this information to the session discussing how they follow the same routine
local Baron, who decides that Nathan needs to be day aer day, hoping something special will happen
destroyed to protect the community. A massive in their lives. Help the players by presenting them
manhunt is organized. e traitor is found and with situations where their characters are shown to be
beheaded. Jake is le with the ask of tying loose exceptional — for good or for bad — and where their
ends. Horriied, he discovers that Nathan had moral choices matter.
revealed his nature to his amily and that they Stories derail. Players have creative minds, and
are about to share his secrets with an agent of the their curiosity will lead them to explore alleys that
Second Inquisition. Murdering them appears to be you never considered describing in depth. ey will
the only viable option for Jake. insist on getting close to SPCs that were not eshed
out. ey will ignore the main point of the story, and
establish a set of ambitions for their characters that
Each Vampire story can feature elements from both will lead them to unexpected places. Dealing with this
worlds, or focus on either of them. Political horror can be the bane of many Storytellers.
can transition into personal horror and vice versa. It’s
just a matter of changing the focus and the scale of the
story.
5
When you feel the need to herd the players
players back into Sensitive Subjects
the path that was prepared in advance, a question Vampire stories can discuss some sensitive subjects.
should arise before taking any step: is it really Even though the world is dark and horrifying events
necessary? Maybe what the players are proposing is, are meant to take place in it, lines need to be drawn to
aer all, much more interesting and fascinating. protect the players’
players’ sensibility. It is always a good idea
If there is no option than pushing the players to discuss beforehand with the players what they are
back into the path that you prepared in advance, comfortable with and what subjects they would rather
there is only one way of doing it: gently.
gently. You have to not approach. If one player (including yoursel) doesn’t
be exible and understanding, and possess the ability feel good about dealing with a specic subject, no
to improvise ways in which the story can follow its matter how insignicant it may seem to the rest, that
course, without micromanaging them. subject should denitely be o the table. e player
does not owe anyone an explanation for this. Please
respect their needs and well-being. e experience,
even if tense and challenging, should always be
enjoyable for everybody.
REFERENCE GUIDE
The Rules
USING STANDARD DICE
Vampire is a narrative game, where the story is always If you don’t have access to Vampir
Vampiree dice, and want
more important than the mechanics. However, there to use sandard ten sided dice, use the following
are situations where the skills of the characters are Dice: results of 1-5 equal blank
values for Regular Dice:
tested, and where conicts need to be resolved in a aces, 6-9 equal and 10 (or 0) equals . For
fair and balanced way. at’s why there is a mechanical Dice, results of 2-5 equal blank aces, 6-9
Hunger Dice,
system in place. e mechanics allow players to equal , 10 (or 0) equals and 1 equals .
quantify the talents of their characters, to customize
their skills, and to resolve situations where arbitrary
narrative could turn the gaming experience into a
disappointing one.
Traits
If you have taken a look at the character sheets, you
have seen how characters have a series o Traits with ADVANCED DICE
ADVANCED DI CE USE
dierent scores. ese are the values that dene all the If you want to add an extra layer of complexity to
things the character can do. your game, you can use the complete rules deailed
here:
■ Attributes: e nine Attributes represent Traits
that are inherent to the character.
character. ■ CRITICAL - Regular Dice. is represents an
■ Skills: ese Traits dene the knowledge and exceptional success. When counting the number
trained talents of the character. of successes, every two count as 4 successes,
■ Disciplines: e Disciplines are the mystical pow- instead of 2. In case of individual
in dividual or odd
ers that the Blood confers to Kindred. showing up, they count as one success only.
■ MESSY - Hunger Dice. is works identically
as , with one imporant dierence. In
Willpower and Health circumsances in which we have a pair of
Characters have two trackers to check their mental and or one and one the roll becomes a Messy
physical well-being: Willpower and Health.
Health. ese two Critical. is means the character has succeeded
Traits can never increase beyond their maximum level. beyond measure, getting carried away by their
own Beas, and a negative consequence will arise.
e Dice ■ SKULL - Hunger Dice. Dice. is is the opposite of
We will use Vampire
Vampire dice to resolve any conicts and a . Whenever the toal roll was not successful,
STARTER SET
8
Margin ■ e Storyteller then determines the dice pool the
When rolling the dice pool and succeeding, the player
player opposing character will use. Keep in mind that
may get more than what the Diculty set by the characters involved in a Contest don’t have to
Storyteller requested. In those cases, the excess icons necessarily use the same Traits. A character may be
are called the Margin
Margin.. is value can make the success trying to run out of a building, while the opposing
more spectacular, or the action more eective. character may be trying to hack the security termi-
nal to lock the doors.
Contests ■ Both characters roll their dice pools. Whoever gets
In many situations, the actions
acti ons of the characters will more will win the contest.
be opposed to the actions of others. Any scenario ■ e dierence between the rolled by both
where two characters compete is called a Contest. characters is the Margin.
Contests are very similar to Simple Tests, but there
is one aspect that is dierent: the Diculty. ese are Players can start Contests against other players. e
the steps to follow in a Contest: Storyteller still determines the dice pools for both
players. When the Contest happens between
between a player
■ e active player describes what they want to do, and an SPC, the Storyteller may determine the dice
and how they want to do it. pool for the SPC, and divide it in half, making it a
■ e Storyteller determines the dice pool the player xed Diculty for the player. is is called Taking
STARTER SET
REFERENCE GUIDE
11
STARTER SET
Hunger
mortals, they will also perish. A stake through the
heart of a vampire will not kill them. However, it will Hunger represents the unquenchable thirst for blood
paralyze them completely until the stake is removed.
removed. that permeated the existence of Kindred. Every
Garlic, crosses, running water, and other superstitions time a character does something that could increase
don’t aect Kindred. their Hunger, like rising each night or using certain
Discipline powers, they will roll a Rouse Check (see
Supercial and Aravated Damage below).
ere are two kinds of damage: Supercial Damage Lowering Hunger is done by feeding. Drinking the
and Aravated Damage.
Damage. Wounds produced
produced by re, Blood of animals will lower Hunger by one step, never
12
REFERENCE GUIDE
In Vampire
Vampire,, this is contemplated in the form of Blush of Life
Resonances. ese represent the basic ways in which Most Kindred look like regular human beings, only
blood can be unique to each victim. paler, with the rigidity and pale complexion
complexion of a
ere are four Resonances, taken from the corpse. Anyone staring at a vampire long enough
traditional theory of the four humours. Every blood will see that there is something wrong with them.
has a Resonance, but the intensity of that Resonance However, Kindred have the ability to use their Blood
is variable. When Kindred feed o a victim who has a to camouage themselves.
very intense Resonance, they can acquire temporary or By rolling a Rouse Check, a character can make
even permanent powers and advantages. blood ow to their skin, giving them a rosy and
For starters, an intense Resonance will give the healthy appearance. e Blush of Life also allows
character an additional die for every Discipline Kindred to interact with touchscreens of smartphones
roll involving any of the Disciplines connected or tablets.
with that Resonance. On top of that, and only in
extremely exceptional cases where the Resonance is
just overwhelming, some additional and unexpected The Human Being
advantages can be acquired.
Here are the four Resonances: Characters in Vampire constantly strule to remain
in contact with what once made them human. eir
■ Choleric: Angry, violent, passionate. actions slowly degrade their soul, until they are taken
Provides bonuses to Celerity and Potence . over by the Beast. When that happens, the characters
■ Melancholy: Sad, scared, depressed. are lost: they become feral and uncontrollable, and
Provides bonuses to Fortitude and Obfuscate. will only act towards satisfying their Hunger or
■ Phlegmatic: Lazy, apathetic, sentimental. ensuring their own survival. ere is no turning back.
Provides bonuses to Auspex and Dominate.
■ Sanguine: Horny, happy, enthusiastic. Humanity
Provides bonuses to Presence and Blood Sorcery. e Humanity Track
Tracker
er represents this strule. Most
characters start o with a Humanity value of 7 dots.
Drinking blood from animals also provides a As that value becomes lower,
lower, they become increasingly
Resonance, which will give a bonus to Discipline rolls more monstrous, and their interactions suer in
for Animalism and Protean. consequence. Both mortals and animals instinctively
react in a negative way towards characters with low
Rouse Checks Humanity. Conversely, characters who manage to keep
Every time a character takes any action that could their Humanity high will nd it easier to interact with
increase their Hunger — such as waking up every night, others, and to exert self control when tempted by the
or using some Discipline powers — they are Rousing Blood.
the Blood, and they need to roll a Rouse Check.
e player rolls one regular die and, if the result is Stains
not a or , they increase their Hunger by one. Every time a character acts against their own moral
code — committing crimes, betraying their friends, or
Blood Surge otherwise getting involved in acts of bestial depravity
All Kindred can briey raise
raise any of their Attributes — they will acquire a Stain
Stain.. is is represented by
by using an inherent ability called Blood Surge.
Surge. Any crossing one of the empty slots in the Humanity
character can add one die to any roll, but they must
mu st Tracker.
racker. e higher the Humanity, the less empty slots
also roll a Rouse Check. is increase only lasts for a character will have. A character with Humanity
one roll and is for one specic Attribute, selected 7 will have 3 empty slots, while a character with
when activating this ability. Older Kindred, with more Humanity 4 will have 6 empty slots. is represents
powerful blood, are able to increase their
their Attributes how a more degraded soul will have less moral qualms
further. when taking an ethically questionable action.
13
STARTER SET
one
diceStain willremaining
as their perform aempty
Remorse
slotstest, rolling
in the as many
Humanity in. RainEyes
power canof
boost their .intimidate
the Beast with
Blood Surge Discipline
allows adding 1
Tracker,
racker, not crossed as Stains. If there are no empty die.
slots, the player will still roll one die. If there is at
least one (or ) icon among all the dice rolled, the
character has been through enough shame and guilt
and will take suer no additional consequences. If
there are no icons, th this
is means
means that the Beast has
won. e character has found a way of rationalizing
their own bestial actions, and fails to see anything
fundamentally wrong with them. In consequence, she
loses one Humanity point for the next session. All
Stains are removed aer the Remorse test, regardless of
the result.
Attack (Firearms) 4 5 6 4 5 5 4
Insight 6 5 9 4 2 6 5
Intimidate 5 6 5 5 4/ 6 4 6
Investigate 4 6 9 5 2 9 4
Lockpick 1 2 4 5 8 2 5
Persuade 9 9 4 2 2 6 6
Sneak 1 2 4 5 6 3 4
14
REFERENCE GUIDE
A NOTE ON PRINTING: YouYou have express permission to print out any or all of
the documents contained in this bundle for personal use.
15
STARTER SET
■
childe: e Traits that dene all the learned talents of a
Skill:
Skill Ventrue
Ventrue: : One
leaders of of the mainAlso
the Camarilla. seven Clansasand
known ethe de acto
Clan of
character. Kings or Blue Bloods.
■ SPC:: Storyteller Player Character. Any character that
SPC ■ Willpower:: e amount of psychological damage a
Willpower
appears in the game that is played by the Storyteller. character can endure, and their ability to overcome
■ Stain:: A cross in one of the empty slots on the
Stain the odds under pressure.
Humanity Tracker,
Tracker, representing an act of depravity ■ World of Darkness:
Darkness: e universe in which Vampire
that has made an impact on the character’s soul. stories take place.
S T O RY G U I D E
the
I C
Foreword
is booklet is intended to be read only by the You
You may also need to impr
improvise
ovise if your players think
Storyteller. If you’re going to be playing this outside the box.
scenario, but you are not going to take the role of the In this story your players begin as newly
Storyteller, please do not read any further. created Kindred (the word vampires use to refer to
Your role in all of this is to be Storyteller. It will be
Your themselves.) ey have been captured and barely
your responsibility to guide your players
players through this remember their own Embrace — the event that turned
story, where they will make discoveries of what they them into creatures of the night — or their sires, the
have become, and the consequences of their undeath. vampires who gave them eternal unlife.
1
STARTER SET
Before you start, it is recommended that you and your During the scenes you will encounter situations
players get briey acquainted with the components that you’re not prepared for. Use the Goal, Exit and
you will use. Ask them to choose one of the characters. Next Scene information to help with your decisions
ere are more than enough to choose from. Ask and rulings. If you need in-depth information about
page yet. Once
your players not to look past the rst page the setting or rules, you can also look at the Reference
they settle on a character they like, they can then Guide.
read the basic information provided and choose any As for the setting of this story,
story, we didn’t name
customization options. the location and there are very few general references.
Begin by discussing the Mature content section on You
You can set this in any city you like, including your
the “Start Here” page. If any player (including you) own. e only remarkable point about this city is that
is uncomfortable with any of the topics included, be it is run by a vampire faction known as the Anarchs,
mindful of them. unlike many cities that are run by a rival faction, the
A few
in the additional
Reference words
Guide, p.6.on this topic can be found Camarilla
story. . We introduce both factions during the
A NOTE ON PRINTING:
PRINTING: You
You have express permission to print out any or all of
the documents contained in this bundle for personal use.
S T O RY G U I D E
STARTER SET
S T O RY G U I D E
give you enough sustenance to carry on. You e players have a choice to feed from the animal
can resist it if you choose. Maybe it is shame carcasses or the hanging corpse. ere is no type of
of deiling the dead, how the others in the room identication on this person. He appears to be only
o nly
recently dead and still has blood in his veins, as if le
would see you, or the dread of drinking blood
that holds you back. Maybe you just surrender there to test them. Even characters with three Hunger
to your Hunger. Bears can
can’t’t be choosers. dice can resist this degrading act, but they may not
want to.
Feeding from him or from the animal carcasses
(Tree Hunger Dice)
will not reduce their Hunger. Blood from dead bodies
Your Hunger is coloring all of your thoughts, doesn’t provide sustenance to most Vampires.
Vampires. e
ainting everything you see, hear and smell. aermath of this fruitless action should probably
You’re beckoned by the fresh body oered to disgust the players whose characters partook in it.i t.
you. Its blood smells sale, but there’s also a
sweetness in i. You want to drink. What will Exploring the Room
these others think of you? at doesn’t matter. Now that the players tried to sate their Hunger
What are you becoming? Y You
ou may have to think or resisted the urge, they start becoming more aware
about that later. Right now, feeding is what you of their surroundings. is is a great opportunity
want to do the mos.. for the players to practice their skills. Doing so will
help the players better understand how to proceed
ROLLING DICE
Many situations in the game call for rolling dice. To do so, gather a number of dice equal to the number of dots a
character has in the relevant traits. If a character has any Hunger dice,
dice, replace that number of regular dice (black)
with Hunger Dice (red). For example, if Blake wants to Investigate
Investigate,, this action will use their Intelligence +
Investigation,, which in this case totals 6. The player rolls 6 dice. Blake has 2 Hunger dice, though, so they would
Investigation
(red).. Blake rolls 4 black dice and 2 red hunger dice, and
replace 2 of their regular dice (black) with 2 Hunger Dice (red)
checks the symbols rolled.
Any die that shows , or counts as a success
success.. Blank sides and results should be ignored. The total
number of successes must equal or exceed the difculty of a test. Any successes in excess of the difculty are called
margin, and may improve the outcome.
margin,
Whenever the difculty of a test in this story is not mentioned, default to 2.
ACTIONS
When calling out for a test, the easiest way is to call for the preset, default Actions
Actions.. In this story, we’re using these as
shorthand for the types of tests that may come up most frequently, to save you and your players time in calculating dice
pools until you get comfortable with that.
All characters have a number of actions which will consist of a total to roll and the Attribute and Skill
combination that composes it. In the previous example, just call for Blake to roll Investigate
Investigate,, and don’t worry about
adding these values, as it’s already done for you.
You will have to adjudicate when calling for tests not covered under the Action logic. Essentially, any Attribute +
Skill combination is possible. If a character has no dots in a skill, they can always roll with just their Attribute
Attribute..
Use your best judgment and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. This is how we learn, after all.
There is a Master List of all player characters’ actions in the Reference Guide,
Guide, p.14 under Appendix I, in case you
need to refer to it. This way, you can see which character is best at what type of action and you can call them out with
suggestions.
STARTER SET
However, you quickly realize that you can hold players to roll their
of 3. Depending Investigate
on how action,
well they a diculty
withcan
roll, they nd
your breath with no consequence. For a momen,
various clues. Collectively, they should be able to gure
you ake in that breathing — something you
all of this out:
took for granted and was so natural for all of
your life — is now something you can cchoose
hoose to ■ ere are barely hidden cameras on the ceiling.
do, or in this case, choose not to do, and in doing ese are clearly functioning.
so avoiding the worst of the stench. ■ Considering the body found earlier, this might
e chains clank under the weight of the indicate that the purpose of all of this is to watch
hanging mea, and you can see the still air them and test them.
clinging to the lesh. e visible fog partially ■ e inside handle of the freezer door has been
manages to obscure your vision under the cold, deliberately removed.
hospial-like lighting, causing you to navigate
the room carefully to avoid bumping into the
S T O RY G U I D E
STARTER SET
When
gender anddescribing d, you can decide
the guard,
guaraccordingly.
adjust pronouns their
If the guard
As you all pile out of the frozen holding cell,
you ind yourself in a kitchen that is brigh, shared a prison cell with another player character
character,, you
reasonably clean, and it features the type of probably may
may want to adjust their gender to mamatch.
tch.
equipment you’d expect in a high-end resauran,
PARKER, RELUCTANT GUARD
and you think that’s where you are. e contrast An ex-con, Parker
Parker had a hard time getting a legitimate
with the meat locker you just exited may give job, and this is their rst night watching this
you pause. As your eyes look for an exi, you restaurant. ose who hired them sounded strange, but
ind two: there’s a set of doors that no doubt the money was good, and there was even a small bonus
leads to the main room of the resauran, and a up-front.
side door with a green emergency exit sign. Dice Pool: 4
8
S T O RY G U I D E
Parker’s Worst
Worst Night
Ni ght
A guard seems to be patrolling the grounds, Marsh: YYou
ou know tthis
his guard. You grew up in the
possibly alerted by the noise you made exiting same area. You trained martial arts together.
the walk-in freezer. Armed with a lashlight and eir name is… Parker. You were always better
nightstick, the guard is wearing an ordinary than them, until they qui, and sarted selling
uniform which seems to it them badly. e look drugs. Parker clearly does not recognize you,
on their ace suests that they probably would but if you bring up stories from your pas,
like to be anywhere but here. en, they see you Parker inally does so, and mentions how much
and shine their lashlight in your ace! you’ve changed.
changed.
partiers. What happened to them? You glimpse Sometimes, two characters will be in situations in which
a look of recognition in their eyes. Maybe they’d they are directly or indirectly opposing one another. In
this case, both sides roll (players roll for their characters,
rather sort this out by alking rather than
you roll for those under your control). Sometimes it
ighting? will be the same dice pool and in other cases it will be
differing pools.
Sam or Jay
Jay:: e guard looks amiliar to you: Both pools are rolled at the same time, and any ties
they’re disant relative! You remember their go to the acting character.
name: Parker. You haven’t seen them in ages. If you wish to reduce dice rolling, you may divide the
e look in their eyes show that they recognize dice pool of the opposing character by two, rounding
you too. ey say your name, almost smiling. down, and consider that number to be the successes
Atacking you or your friends would never cross rolled.
their mind.
9
STARTER SET
Alex or Jay
Jay:: e guard has just seen you. Your
Blood tells you that you can make them forget ONE-ROLL CONFLICT
the last ten minutes and just walk away. You Whenever a conict seems very easy to solve, you can
instinctively know you can Cloud Parker’s use the One-Roll Conict system. The players just
Memory by asking the guard to just forge. need to roll as many dice as their Attacking Action
value and get or exceed a specic number of successes.
Alex or Sam:
Sam: Even though the situation is That difculty is 2 for a signicantly weaker
opponent, 4 for an even match,
match, and 6 for a clearly
uneasy, your Blood tells you that you can
superior foe.
manipulate the guard’s mind with a single word. Encourage the players to think creatively. Any
You can give Parker a one-word command to player that declares they use their Disciplines, did some
Compel them to do something. is command preparation,
preparation, or uses some creative edge to their attack,
must not be harmful to them. lowers the difculty of their roll by 1, or 2 if they did all
of these things.
Marsh: You notice that if you sand very still,
Marsh: As long as one player’s roll reaches or exceeds that
or move cautiously, the guard can no longer see difculty, the player characters win the confrontation
confrontation..
you, which gives you a great actical edge. Y
You
ou However, even winning the battle may result in their
feel covered in a Cloak of Shadows and your taking some damage. To determine this, double the roll’s
Unseen Passage makes you invisible to the Difculty and subtract all successes (not only the
Margin) from it. Any positive result is applied as damage
guard.
to the attackers.
For more details on how One-Roll Conicts work,
10
S T O RY G U I D E
■
Goal: Learn about
Exit: Markus’s thearrives
driver vampireandcondition.
takes them to a
place of their choice to feed. If they fought the guard, he’ll show up just as they
■ Next scene: Characters must deal with their hunger nish the job. If they befriended Parker, Markus asks
by feeding on blood. the guard to forget the last ten minutes of their life
and walk away. e guard complies and disappears
Once the situation with the guard has been resolved, into the main area of the restaurant, much to the
they meet Markus Dean, who has been investigating characters’ surprise. Parker doesn’t return and
the place, unaware of the characters. Markus should be eventually leaves unless somebody stops them.
a sympathetic character and is friendly towards them.
Enter Markus
A Mysterious Smile
“Seems to be my lucky nigh. My name is
You hear a noise behind you. Outlined against Markus Dean, and I’m happy to meet you.”
the light of the kitchen, you see the silhouette of “We should leave,” he says, “my driver
a very all man with a powerful build. will arrive in a few minutes. Since the Second
As he steps into the ligh, you can see that Inquisition could get here at any moment now,
he wears a well-cut modern sui, and that he I need to know what you know. What do you
sands calm and conident — but he also looks remember?”
11
STARTER SET
ave an Embrace section on
the Kindred. All players hhave
As he asks this question, your mind tries to their sheets, which describes the circumstanc
circumstances
es of their
unlock your memories, memories between your Embraces and how fate aligned them to meet their
moral, normal life, and this rude awakening sires.. Tey may read this out loud or paraphrase it as
sires
you just had, before this nightmare of Death desired.
and Blood swept everything away. You
You may also encourage ththem
em to share their
memories and the discoveries they’ve just made. ese
might leave your players feeling that their characters
ask the players to take a look at the third page, or are far less innocent that they may have thought when
Kindred Prole, of their character sheet, revealing it comes to the fate that befell all of them and their
their Kindred side. Many details are revealed to them. sires. You
You may foster this belief or let them decide for
ey should start reading carefully and silently and themselves.
should keep the information to themselves for a Markus is interested in anything they have to say.
moment. He openly admits that he was not expecting to nd the
ey learn about their Embrace and their sire. characters at all.
Some of the powers they’ve already used are now
presented in a more detailed way.
way. Blood Surge and
Blush of Life are now ocially revealed to them. Under reat
Additionally, all of their Disciplines, including some
they may have already used as part of their Actions, are Markus lowers his voice. He clearly doesn’t want
unveiled now.
As they do all of this, read ahead.
ahead. to
thisbeSecond
overheard. “I heard
Inquisition some rumors
safehouse on myabout
tur.
e purpose of this scene is to answer some
I didn’t realize it was one of their population
questions your player characters may have about what
happened to them. Try to strike a balance between
control acilities. e Second Inquisition is bad
exposition and action to keep the scene interesting and news for all of us Kindred. If you’ve ever heard
engaging. of the original inquisition, picture that with the
Markus urges the characters to leave with him. support of modern governments, and using
u sing sate-
He asks them if they remember any details about of-the-art technolo and weaponry to hunt us
their Embraces
Embraces,, to better assess their knowledge of down. ey’re out to destroy every last one of
BLUSH OF LIFE
Normally, Kindred are functionally dead. This means that their skin is pale or ashen at best. They are cold to the touch,
and they do not need to blink or breathe. Using Blush of Life allows the players to appear as mortals, making them
look more lively, breathing, and even passing non-invasive medical tests. In addition, a character using Blush of Life can
non-invasive
operate modern touchscreens, as their skin produces the electricity and warmth needed. To use Blush of Life,
Life, players
need to make a Rouse Check. Blush of Life is activated, regardless of the result. It lasts for a whole scene.
DISCIPLINE USE
All characters have powers of the Blood referred to as Disciplines
Disciplines.. Every character has three powers with specic
names. Some characters may have the same powers as others.
Each power has an individual description. A few powers require a Rouse Check to activate. The power activates
whether the character gains more Hunger or not. Failing the Rouse Check does not change the effect of the power.
Some powers require an additional test, many won’t. Some, like Awe or Daunt
Daunt,, are factored into Actions
Actions..
Refer to individual powers on the character sheets for details. Encourage your players to use them whenever they
consider these may help.
12
S T O RY G U I D E
us. But they also want to study us, which is why when you become one of us. I don’t know when
they don’t always kill us immediately. I assume it happened or why, but aer your Embrace
this is why they le you here — to collect you you were captured by the Second Inquisition.
later. To study you before they destroy you. So I’m assuming they were keeping you alive to
they’re probably either nearby or on their way interrogate you later — or as some kind of sick
to check on you right now. If you would rather experimen.”
say out of their hands, follow me.”
He guides you through the kitchen to the e Second Inquisition
backdoor of the resauran, and ushers you to
the alley behind the building. “e Second Inquisition exists only to eliminate
us. ey have already destroyed a lot of our
At this point, the players may have lots of questions to infrastructure. Luckily, we have a few places
ask Markus. You
You can nd answers below to the most that aren’t compromised. We keep them in the
relevant questions the players might ask. dark by enforcing the Masquerade. If you make
it through tonigh, you can go to e Red Sar
e Clock Is Ticking to get better intel on Kindred society.”
is conversation starts in the alley, waiting for
Markus’s driver.
driver. As Markus mentioned, she will arrive
in a few minutes. e Masquerade / Hiding
Stop answering questions whenever you feel from morals
morals
it’s appropriate, especially if you feel the sense of
excitement is falling. You will nd answers to the most
“We don’t allow morals to know of our
likely topics on the players’ minds.
existence. You can imagine what would happen
If a question comes up and is not covered,
improvise, or, if you don’t know or don’t wish to,
if we did, right? We call this massive cover-
have that question be overridden by something up the Masquerade. If people alk about us,
external, like Markus getting distracted with random the inquisitors show up. Our survival depends
noises (“Shh! Do you hear that? Might be a Nosferatu on keeping this secre, and I expect all of you
listening to us. Or worse.”) or receiving calls from to honor i, now that you’re one of us.” He
an informant telling him to be ready as the Second pauses and then lowers his voice even more.
Inquisition is coming down on their heads.. “If you don’t keep the secre, we’ll know, and I
Read only the answers to the questions the will be very unhappy about i. Do you get my
However, do make sure to cover e
players ask. However, meaning?”
Current Situation, e Second Inquisition, and e
Masquerade (the rst three entries below). If the
characters ask him about himself, he’ll say they can Parker (e Guard)
talk about that later.
“I just used one of our mind abilities on the
guard. Don’t worry, they’ll be ine. We don’t
e Current Situation want humans to know about our existence.”
(Stop reading) Alex and Jay have this
“We don’t have a lot of time, the Inquisition ability, called Cloud Memory. Of course,
could be here any momen. But I want you to Markus doesn’t know this, but you can
get some acts about
about what has happened to you. remind them of it.
You have been Embraced. at’s what we call it
13
STARTER SET
Blood Bags, Blood Types
“For most of us, blood bags don’t quite have the
Vampires right aste, but they can be a good substitute for
the real thing, especially in an emergency. Many
“Yes, you are vampires. But we don’t use the licks lead their unlives by just using these. Blood
V-word.
V-wor d. We call ourselves Kindred. Or ‘Lick,’ if
you want to be less formal.”
formal.” type isn’t an issue for most of us.”
Disciplines/Powers
Hunger
“Our Blood, which we oen call ‘viae,’ gives
“We feed o the blood of the living. Anything us a vast array of abilities we can use. Some
else astes bitter and you will not be able to of these powers are common to all of us, while
hold it down, let alone gain sustenance from others are unique to some of us. As you may have
i. Hunger is your new best friend and worst experienced, you can improve your capabilities,
enemy. Enhancing your capabilities, making make yourself appear alive, and perform other
yourself look alive, using any of our powers, wondrous feats. Many of these actions, however,
or even waking up every night can make you come at a cos. e Hunger always beckons, and
hungry. You’ll have to manage your Hunger. with i, the Beas.”
Feeding too much or too little can ruin you,
even get you killed.”
e Beast
Feeding “Lurking within our viae there is a Beast that
calls to us. e hungrier we get and the more
“Morals are your primary arget for feeding we lose our moral atachmen, the stronger
and, as an apex predator, you have the tools this Beast grows. It can even force us to act in
to do tha. Feeding on humans doesn’t usually ways that we don’t like and can’t explain. Be
hurt them. In ac, it puts them in a trance and careful and try to avoid letting your Beast into
erases all the imporant deails of you from their the driver’s sea, okay?.”
minds. Morals can get addicted to it though,
just like yyou
ou can get addicted to Feeding
Feeding.. Play
it smart: ake only what you need. Remember Moral Friends/Family
to lick the wounds aer feeding. It will erase
the marks.” “It is unwise to keep in touch with your moral
friends and amily. is will oen only lead
to tragedy. at said, we oen cultivate some
sort of relationship with the morals — human
beings — to keep in touch with what makes us
human.”
14
S T O RY G U I D E
Typical “Vampire”
“Vampire”
Assumptions: Sakes,
Crosses,
Crosses, Garlic, Entering
Uninvited, Mirrors,
Running Water,
Water, Etc.
Etc .
“Don’t let vampire iction fool you,
kids. Most of it is just tha, iction.
Sakes won’t kill you, but they can
paralyze you. Old superstitions like
mirrors, entering a home uninvited,
garlic, and crossing running water:
none of them are true. Crosses have
no eect on us, either. I’ve heard of
some morals who can — somehow
— turn them into weapons against
us. I heve never seen it mysel,
though.”
STARTER SET
16
S T O RY G U I D E
think about learning that they are vampires? Do they Club Violet, below. Each location has its own Vic-
believe Markus, and if they do, are they worried about tim Cards and table in Appendix II.II . You
You may add
the Inquisition? How does the idea of never seeing e Streets victims to any of these locations, if you
their family and friends again make them feel? please. ese represent
represent random people visiting, not
At this point, you may want to call for
for a break. typical residents or regulars.
Once everyone is back, you can continue their Please note (but don’t reveal yet) that each set
discussion on what has happened so far while you contains a “victim” that may be hostile to your player
quickly read ahead. e next scene will be about characters. Dee, Andrés and Red, respectively
respectively.. Resolve
hunting and feeding. these using the One-roll Conict rules.
Rememberr that if you chose not to print cards, you
Remembe
can use the Victims tables in Appendix II, starting on
p.36.
17
STARTER SET
18
S T O RY G U I D E
19
STARTER SET
Pick up one or more “e Club Violet” Victim Cards Make sure to convey a sense of urgency.
urgency. If the coterie
(or see the tables in Appendix II). Each Victim has seems to dither, describe how their bodies feel heavier
a basic description, additional information that the and increasingly tired, and how they instinctively
instincti vely
characters can learn upon closer inspection, and understand that they must nd somewhere safe soon.
roleplaying notes. Some characters require specic
actions to be impressed by the player characters. Most Enter Jackie
have a Feed description. If they run into Andrés, the At this time, the characters run into Jackie She’s
situation can potentially devolve into a ght, in which Markus’s ally, whom he’d mentioned earlier. ey may
case you can use the One-Roll Conict rules to resolve have used the phone Markus gave them to call her
the situation. by hitting the redial button. Or they may meet her
Additionally, they also have a Resonance. As accidentally.
was stated above, ignore this if this is your rst time ■ If they called too early, they may have le a voice-
storytelling, or you want feeding scenes to go faster. mail for her. In that case, she calls back now.
Resolve any feeding attempts and then move on to ■ If they call her now, she will pick them up.
Scene IV.
IV. ■ If they went hunting, as they’re wrapping up, she
just happens to stumble across them.
■ If none of this happens, Jackie calls them, and of-
Scene IV: Rest and fers to take them somewhere safe for the day.
20
S T O RY G U I D E
“As ar as morals can tell, we’re dead during the Jackie looks at you impatiently. ““Markus
Markus must
day. Corpses. Waking up is extremely dificul. have given you guns, right? Now’s the time to
We can only do it for a few minutes, and then use them. Shoot!”
only if the situation is truly dire. Take good
care, or you’ll wake up the next
nex t night in a body Most or all of
o f your player characters may participate.
bag or at the morgue, if you wake up at all.” ey can shoot from the windows or sunroof of the
speeding limo. Ask each player to roll their Attack
action. If anyone scores 5 or more successes, their shot
Shelter hits the pursuing van. Describe exciting eects, such
“You’ll have to ind a safe place to say long- as blowing away a mirror, smashing the windshield,
term. Somewhere no one knows abou. Only wounding one of the people inside, taking out a
headlight, or blowing up a tire.
feeding is more imporant than a safe place to
Once everyone has had a chance at a shot or two,
rest each day, but just barely. Remember we
the van will have taken enough damage that it slows
the van will have taken enough damage that it slows
can’t handle sunligh. Even indirect sunlight down and they lose it.
hurts, and it drives your Beast crazy with If nobody is getting any successes, Jackie produces
fear. Wherever you sleep, it’s got to be perfectly a small pistol from her designer purse. e tiny weapon
lightproo. Car trunks and hotel bathrooms is bedazzled with sparkling rhinestones, looking almost
work, if you absolutely mus, but there’s always as a toy. But she takes aim carefully,
carefully, shoots and hits a
the risk that a moral will open the door, and wheel or the driver, achieving the same eect. She will
then you’re toas. Literally.” only lower herself to do this if she feels like the player
21
STARTER SET
Much-neede
Much-needed
d rest
A no-nonsense brunette wearing jeans and e characters barely have time to get comfortable
a leather vest introduces herself as Sage, a before dawn overtakes them, and they surrender
fellow Kindred, and then leads you to the bar’s to daytime sleep. Jackie has le and Sage points at
windowless storeroom, where threadbare sheets the mattresses on the oor of the storeroom. Don’t
cover thin hospial mattresses. describe much, the characters are already semi-
comatose at this stage, and just want to lie down.
As this happens, the actions of the night that
has passed start to sink in. Now we’ll consider their
HUMANITY AND STAINS Humanity.
Humanity is a measure of how close a character is Make a note of the Stains acquired earlier,
to human values. Characters start at a relatively high whenever we suested this. Discuss with the players
level: like most people, they may be deceitful or if any of the actions they committed (denitely killing
self-centered at times, but ultimately try to do the when feeding would qualify) should gain them Stains.
right thing and refrain from overt violence. Kindred are Killing hunters in self-defense can be forgiven, but if
forced to make hard choices, which lead them to slowly they showed cruelty or extreme brutality when doing
lose their Humanity. When they do, they become so, that should probably warrant
warrant Stains.
closer to the Beast
Beast,, which over time makes them look Mark the checkboxes on the Humanity track
less human and more detached. Losing all Humanity starting from the right. If anyone acquired 4 Stains
renders a character Beast-ridden
Beast-ridden.. Kindred refer to or more (i.e. more than the space they have for Stains
unfortunates suffering
suffering this unrecoverabl
unrecoverable
e mindless state as on their Humanity track), have them mark one
wights,, and these are typically hunted down and killed.
wights Aravated Damage
Damage on their Willpower track, and
Whenever feeding without consent or harming they will be impaired.
someone unprovoked (or whenever noted in the text),
they gain Stains
Stains,, which they mark as slashes (/) on the A Sire Beckons
Beckons
boxes starting from the right. Has someone been very vocal about wanting to
If anyone acquires more Stains than they have spaces reunite with their sire? Did anyone hint at a complex
on their Humanity track, mark one Aggravated relationship with them? If so, work with this character.
Damage (X) on their Willpower track. If this happens, Otherwise, choose the character who that has had the
the character will be impaired. This state of mind renders least time in the spotlight .
them incapable of doing further actions that may trigger As the coterie sleeps, this character remembers
remembers
Stains, and additionally, they lose 2 dice from all tests until their Embrace in ts and ashes. During the dream
they go through a Remorse test. sequence, work with the player to esh out their
The player can choose to snap out of this state by sire, giving that Kindred more details, including a
voluntarily forfeiting one level of Humanity. If so, all few personality quirks. is will become important
Stains are removed along with one level of Humanity. for the next few scenes, so choose carefully. Use that
This represents that the character has come to terms character’s Embrace and sire entries in the process.
with the fact that they are a bit more monstrous than they
used to be. e Next Night
For more information on Stains
Stains,, check the Have everyone make their Rouse checks and give out
Reference Guide
Guide,, p.13. Hunger dice as needed.
22
S T O RY G U I D E
Normally, you wait until the end of a session to do
Normally, Reset everyone’s Stains to zero and adjust Humanity
the characters’ Remorse tests, but in this case, we’ll do trackers if needed. Note that if a character lost a level
them just as the characters wake
wake up the next sunset. of Humanity, they now have 4 empty checkboxes for
However, their sleep is troubled by their consciences. Stains. Humanity loss grows gradually slower unless
Perform a Remorse test. characters constantly act in monstrous fashion..
character experiences
experiences overwhelming guilt over what they have had to do and say.
If all dice show , remove all Stains and the character loses one level of Humanity. The character believes their
violence, deceit, or other behaviors were perfectly justied. They are now a bit more monstrous than before.
For more information on Stains
Stains,, check the Reference Guide,
Guide, p.13.
23
STARTER SET
24
S T O RY G U I D E
25
STARTER SET
Allison is a ghoul. Sam, Jay or Blake could get a work — which very likely includes going to war with
hint of that, as she has a similar smell to that of the the Anarchs. As in previous scenes, you can cut the
bartender at e Red Star. She leads the characters to exposition short if it drags on, by having Allison
an executive elevator, saying she has been sent here by summon them.
progenitor.’ By now, the characters know enough
‘your progenitor
to understand that hurting Allison is not a good idea.
ey should feel as though they are constantly being Greeting
watched, and astute characters can notice hidden
security cameras distributed throughout the building. “My prodigal childe returns! I had no doubt we’d
Allison uses a special key fob to access
access the meet again. You are of strong Blood, of course
executive elevator, which she takes directly to the you are.
are. Be welcome, you and your companions.
rooop bar. She engages in small talk but cannot reveal
What can I get for you?”
much. She works for the sire, and is obviously in love
with them, but otherwise will not reveal anything of
value. e Oer
Characters are briey searched by more ghouls
before being allowed to exit the elevator and enter the “Recently, as you can see, I secured membership
bar. ese ghouls relieve of any obvious weapons. in the Camarilla. My future is thus assured.
I want to make you the same oer. Not of
membership, not right now, of course. But we
Bar at the Armiage can help and support each other. You work
with me on a few current projects, and in a few
e bar is as beautiful and trendy as the rest
years…all this could be yours. If one has the gi
of the hotel. Kindred and ghouls alike canoodle
of eternal life, why spend it sleeping in grubby
on couches as they overlook the glittering lights
bars?”
outside. e bartender lives only to make sure
the characters get what they desire. Half a
dozen other ghouls, wearing all-black clothing
Negotiating
and earpieces, keep an eye out for trouble.
“What can I oer you? Well, a safe haven for one.
e Camarilla has taken over this bar, possibly this Safety against the Inquisition: we know how to
entire hotel. Inform your portrayal of the sire with deal with them. Superios hunting grounds. e
what you discussed with the childe character’s player.
player.
Camarilla has the best territory in the city. You
e sire gazes out over the city spread beneath their
feet, like a monarch looking down on the peasantry.
won’t have to sneak and risk poaching.”
Everyone here is rich, beautiful, and powerful. ere’s
a marked juxtaposition between this location and e Anarchs
Red Star.
e sire is now pro-Camarilla, and exaerates “Any vampire worth their blood should wan,
their own importance to the faction. Insight tests at and be worthy o, membership in the Camarilla.
Diculty 4 reveal as much. However, the sire’s desire is organization has done more to protect
to have their childe join the Camarilla is genuine. It
vampire society than any other group in our
would take time and come at a price, of course: they
will be expected to do much of the Camarilla’s dirty
history. Only the Camarilla stopped the irst
26
S T O RY G U I D E
27
STARTER SET
28
S T O RY G U I D E
A Final Encounter
e characters have been relentlessly chased by this Below are the rules for a more detailed and complex
group of Inquisitors, who have been toying with them conict:
from the beginning. e characters may have gured
out that they have been like rats in a maze. e dead CONFLICT
body, the reluctant guard. Markus and his Anarch Whenever you want a conict to be more detailed than
allies were an unexpected factor. e Anarchs have a One-Roll Conict,
Conict, you may use these rules. All
helped and protected them. e Camarilla appears to combatants roll as many dice as their Attacking Action
have a better infrastructure to do so but requires proof value and compare the results. Remember that Kindred
of loyalty. Regardless
Regardless of whether they wish to side with always substitute their regular dice with their Hunger
one organization or the other, they have to face this dice, while Mortals only have regular dice.
dice.
small Inquisitor detachment once and for all. When comparing Attacking vs. Attacking
Discuss these points with your players and actions, the winner (i.e. the party that has more
encourage them to plan. If they call the Anarchs to successes than the other) inicts damage to the loser
get their opinion before acting, explain to them that of the exchange. Total damage is the success margin
the Anarchs don’t trust their Camarilla rivals and (i.e. the difference between the winner’s successes and
tell them it’s some sort of setup. Please note that they the opponent’s) plus the weapon’s damage rating,
rating, if
do not use terminology such as “Camarilla” over the any.
phone but may use a sarcastic “our
“our mutual friends” or
any other euphemism. DAMAGE
e characters are armed with pistols provided by Supercial Damage is marked as slashes (/) on the
Markus or Allison and may have accepted a Camarilla Health track. Always halve Supercial Damage
limousine with a ghoul driver. e car is bulletproof when marking a character’s Health track, rounding up.
but is not particularly fast. As the characters leave the If a Kindred’s health track is lled with Supercial
Armitage Hotel, whether by car or on foot, they soon Damage (/) and they continue receiving damage, cross
realize that the Second Inquisition had been scouting them out, (X). This is called Aggravated Damage.
Damage.
the area and is onto them. If a character’s Health track is lled with Aggravated
e white van immediately follows them. ey Damage,, they may fall into a death-like trance, known
Damage
can maneuver them into an alley or under the freeway
freeway.. as torpor
torpor.. Some attacks do Aggravated Damage
If the characters deliberately maneuver the situation directly. For Kindred, this applies only to sunlight, fre
for the conict to occur in a location where there are and supernatural attacks, like some Disciplines. To mortals,
many people, like one of the tent cities mentioned most attacks intended to kill (using slashing or piercing
earlier, they should receive Stains for it. weapons, including guns) do Aggravated Damage.
Damage.
Run the conict for three exchanges or turns. After
Shots Fired that, you can make a judgment call and decide who has
If you want to run a combat scene but to keep it won the ght. If the enemies lose the battle, describe how
simple, you can use the One-Roll Conict rules (p.10). they regroup and escape, or how they surrender, or even
If so, choose a diculty depending on how tough you how they’re killed by the victorious player characters, if
want them to be. We suest 6 or even 7 to keep things that is their choice. If the players are the losing side, you
dangerous. If the characters managed to outmaneuver can give them an ultimatum: escape, or be annihilated.
and ambush the Inquisition, make the diculty 6 or For rules on Recovery, and more details and
even 5. examples, see p.12 of the Reference Guide.
Guide.
29
STARTER SET
and
life ifwill
therun for their
situation looks
extremely dire.
Determine how many
enemies you want the
characters to face. ere
are ten Enemy Cards
representing a range of
agents that can pour out
of the white van. Roughly
one per character should
make it an interesting
conict. You can draw
fewer or more as needed.
Y
You
ou can always draw
draw more
if you feel your players are
winning too easily. at said, the goal here is for them Remember that all Supercial Damage dealt to
to win, but to feel it was a tough ght. Kindred is halved (rounding up), when recording it on
Use the text on the Enemy Cards. e Attack their Health track.
rating is what they roll, in regular dice. If they have a Most characters are be able to Attack in one way or
Damage rating, this means than on a successful attack, another, though not necessarily in a direct way. Attack
they inict the success margin plus this damage rating actions can be unarmed or using weapons, such as the
to their victim. is is never Aravated unless noted. pistols Markus or Allison gave them earlier. Marsh,
As with the Victim Cards, if you chose not to print Terry and Rain can be devastating in unarmed combat,
Enemy Cards, you may use the Enemies: e Inquisition but have to approach their enemies to get to them.
table under Appendix II, on p.43. ey can always choose to shoot their pistols if they
consider it safer.
30
S T O RY G U I D E
31
STARTER SET
Denouement
e third night of your existence as a Kindred
— your unlife — has come to an end. Y You
ou have
survived, for now. You have more knowledge
about your condition, and you are a little wiser.
You’re feeling a part of your
yo ur humanity has been
Scene VII: Epilogue shaken, but you are ar from consumed by your
Beas. You
You see ahead of you a dificult path: you
■ Setup: is is not a scene per se, but a setup for have to feed, secure territory, make allies and
future stories, and a place to tie up some of the enemies. Choose a action or try to survive on
loose ends. your own. You undersand that you depend on
■ Goal: Tie up loose ends, plan ahead. the rest of your coterie. As daybreak approaches,
you realize that tomorrow will be the irst nig
night
ht
Now
loose comes the the
ends, and denouement
setting up—forthethe
wrapping up ofin
next chapter of the rest of your unlife. You may want to make
the best of i.
the chronicle. At this point you may want to wrap the
story up for now. Once you’re ready, ask your players
to make Remorse checks. en read the Denouement We’ve guided you, Storyteller, through the rst
We’ve
entry. steps of this game. Now, we oer a few ideas as to
where the story might go from here. Below you’ll
nd information to continue the story in dierent
ways, and pointers on the backstory of the adventure
you just played. Feel
Feel free to use the elements of the
backstory to move forward.
S T O RY G U I D E
For now, examine the choices your players made while Remember that the core concern of any vampire is
In Character, and ponder what the consequences might essentially food and shelter — they need populated
be. Note that ‘consequences’ should not necessarily areas to hunt in, and a safe place to spend the day.
mean ‘punishment.’ Rather, consequences should e Camarilla can provide these quite easily, but at
be the natural evolution of the characters’ choices, what cost? If the characters are not turned into double
structured in such a way that they lead to yet more agents, they might have to skip town, and relocate to a
interesting choices. Camarilla city like Chicago or New York. e Anarchs
For your next session, you probably want to read have less control over their territory,
territory, making it easier
the rest of this book and take a look at the Reference for a newcomer to hunt in peace and nd a safe haven.
Guide. Beyond this Starter Set, Vampire: e And whatever the characters
characters choose, they must keep
Masquerade, Fih Edition contains a full ruleset and the Masquerade.
ideas to guide your evolving chronicle. Meanwhile, don’t forget to follow up on the
smaller stories. Perhaps a character fed from someone
e First Night of the Rest of your and le them alive, and now that person is obsessed
Unlife with nding the character again. Perhaps a character
killed someone and must deal with both the mundane
Discuss the decisions made during the game with your and spiritual fallout of that choice. If a character
players and encourage
encourage them to consider what their cultivated a relationship with someone else, allow that
characters want to do aer defeating or eeing the relationship to ourish and become part of the larger
Inquisitors, and use these ideas as jumping o points story.
for future stories. We cannot hope to cover every
possible option and its result, so the outcome will be
largely le to you and your players. Y You’ll
ou’ll decide what
happens next and what new problems arise.
Certainly,, if the coterie decides to throw in with
Certainly
one particular faction or another, their new patrons
have a long list of tasks and missions to accomplish.
And if the characters decide to go go their own way
way,, they
face an entirely dierent set of challenges.