You are on page 1of 140

ello, friend, and welcome to the World e pain in these stories should stay entirely

of Darkness. is is a dark and menacing ctional. Before playing, your whole group should

H
mon-
reection 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
strule to control. One overwhelming fact denes 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 specic
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 sacricing 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 denitive dice roll at the
pivotal moment of a story. Here you’ll
you’ll nd many
familiar conventions. Character sheets dene your
powers and abilities, dice add a level of randomness
when resolving challenges, and problems can be solved
in many dierent 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 struling 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.Inese
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 ocial 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

Welcome to the and rebels by nature. eir physical prowess only


competes with their passion for humanity and all that
it has to oer. ey are one of the core Clans of the

World of Anarchs. eir Beast represents


represents itself as uncontrollable
bursts of blind rage, rendering pointless their best
arguments for peace and justice.

Darkness e Gangrel live in communion with nature.


Although they are generally
generally regarded as loners,
loners, with
no interest in Kindred politics and society, they
Legends and myths talk of monsters and beasts. oen gather in packs, like wolves, creating their own
Cautionary tales warn us of the dangers of the night. communities. ey are the other central Clan of
Stories turned into books, and then into lms and hit the Anarchs. e nature of their Beast mocks them,
TV shows. ey are there to entertain and educate us. punishing them with animal traits — both physical and
In the World of Darkness, the creatures from those psychological — whenever they lose control.
legends live among us, walking the same streets and Many have lost their minds trying to understand
listening to the same podcasts. the psyche of the Malkavian
Malkavian.. Gied with unique
In Vampire
Vampire,, the players take on the role of insight on the cryptic codes that rule the world
w orld
vampires, trying to nd their place in a complex around them. If the Oracles are oen cryptic, that’s
tapestry of ancient politics, personal vendettas, and only because it is impossible to coherently express

the ever frustrating strule to remain human. the magnitude ofbut,


underestimated their vision.their
behind eyextravagant
are generally
ways,
KINDRED Vampires
Vampires in this game refer to themselves
themselves there is always the spark of genius.
as Kindred
Kindred.. ey are similar and dierent to vampires e Nosferatu wear their Beasts in their lapels,
as portrayed in other media. For example, Kindred on their faces, and written all over their bodies.
can be killed by the sun and by re, but stakes merely eir curse may seem like one of the cruelest: upon
paralyze them. Except for anomalous cases, none of receiving the Embrace — the act of transforming a
the classic superstitions aect them: garlic, crossing mortal into Kindred — they suer the most hhorricorric
running water, entering homes uninvited, and so on. metamorphosis, turning them into monsters of
Many Kindred believe that they descend from the nightmare. Even though they display their monstrosity
biblical murderer Caine, who was cursed and turned on the outside, the clan oen gives fruit to the most
into the rst of them. eir society is built around how humane and psychologically complex Kindred.
Ki ndred.
far they are removed from this mythical gure (their Lovers of humanity, beauty, and splendor, the
Generation),
Generation ), how old and powerful they are, and what Toreador are regarded as the most sensual of Kindred.

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 dierent 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, suering 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

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 oen 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 rareed
rareed tastes society, while others are hungry for power. All of them
when it comes to blood, and can only feed on specic 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. At rst, Kindred tried to use all the new
technologies to their own advantage. ey created
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 dierent. Others take on a more narrative
started reinforcing surveillance, both online and approach, explaining the particularities of each SPC,
oine. 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 unnished 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 oering 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

Storyteller group decisions, be there to help. Give them their fair


share of the spotlight. Maybe this involves separating
their character from the group for a short while, or
Your
Your task is to esh out everything and everybody that presenting a challenge that only that character
character can
is not the player characters. It means knowing which surpass. Don’t play favorites, though. e point is for
events will happen, when they will happen, and who everyone to have fun.
will be involved in those events. At least, that’s how

the
thatplayers
task is oen
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

e main themes o Vampire are personal horror


and political horror. ese concepts pull characters
and stories in two opposite directions. Personal External aids like music, images or even costumes and
horror talks about the internal lives of the characters. props can help you create the perfect
perfect atmosphere for a
eir connections to the world of the mortals. eir Vampire game. As long as all the players — including
emotional world. ere are many stories that can be you — feel comfortable with the elements brought
brought
told about guilt, shame, desire, and the dehumanizing to the table, anything that can make the story more
act of drinking other people’s blood to survive. believable and fascinating is welcome. Having at hand
Political horror refers to the world of Kindred, with a laptop with a collection of music and sound eects
their internal strules, their ghts for power and can be incredibly eective, if used sparsely and with
dominance, and the games of social and political taste. e way in which the room is set and lit can also
control they play upon each other. Conict between have a denite impact on the experience. Dimming
Kindred almost always leaves behind a trail of death the lights can bring a more intimate and mysterious
and tragedy. atmosphere, keeping in mind that players should be
able to comfortably read their character sheets.

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, sarts 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 signicant 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 aer 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. Horriied, 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
aer 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 specic yoursel) doesn’t
subject, no
to improvise ways in which the story can follow its matter how insignicant it may seem to the rest, that
course, without micromanaging them. subject should denitely 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 sandard 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 conicts 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
dierent scores. ese are the values that dene 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 deailed
here:
■ Attributes: e nine Attributes represent Traits
that are inherent to the character.
character. ■ CRITICAL - Regular Dice. is represents an
■ Skills: ese Traits dene 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 imporant dierence. In
Willpower and Health circumsances 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 conicts and a . Whenever the toal 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 dicult, or under stressful circumstances,
circumstances, been somehow angered and she loses control in
dice should be rolled. ere are two types of dice: an unpredicable 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

Tests and Checks Modiers


ere are two types of situations in which the players Simple Tests can be modied by dierent factors.
or the Storyteller will have to roll dice in Vampire
Vampire:: Getting assistance from a colleague, or relying on the
tests and checks. Tests involve adding an Attribute and right type of equipment will help the character, while
a Skill or a Discipline to build a dice pool,
pool, and
and rolling being under unnecessary pressure or lacking the right
that number of dice, counting successes to surpass a tools will be detrimental to the completion of the task.
diculty set by the Storyteller. Most rolls in Vampire
are tests. ■ Teamwork: If any other character wants to assist
Checks involve rolling dice to determine whether another player facing a Simple Test, they can only
(Rouse Checks)
the character’s Hunger (Rouse Checks) or Humanity do so if they have at least one
o ne dot in the Skill
(Remorse Checks)
Checks) changes or not. Checks are not involved in the dice pool. If the dice pool doesn’t
aected by Hunger dice, and cannot be rerolled by include a Skill, any character can collaborate. eir
spending Willpower.
Willpower. assistance will be reected by adding one die to the
dice pool.
Simple Tests ■ Equipment: Some tasks require the use of specic
ese tests represent the majority of the dice rolls equipment. e Storyteller may choose to increase
in an average game of Vampire
Vampire.. When a character the Diculty by 1 point if the character doesn’t
attempts to do something that would require rolling have the right equipment, or even to decide that
dice, the following steps are followed: the action cannot be performed. It may also hap-
pen that the character has access
access to special equip-
■ e player describes to the Storyteller what they ment of a better quality. is would reduce the
want to achieve, and what strategy they are using. Diculty by 1 point.
■ e Storyteller decides which two Traits are going ■ Circumstantial Modiers: An alarm beeping, a
to be used. e combination of those two traits is swarm of insects, heavy rain or even obsessive
called a dice pool. thoughts can make any task signicantly more
■ e Storyteller determines a Diculty and chooses dicult. Te Storyteller may choose to increase
whether to keep it secret or not. the Diculty by 1 or 2 points — in particularly
■ e player rolls all the dice in their dice pool stressful situations — if the circumstances war-
war-
together. Any dice that shows a , or icon is rant it. Tis can also be applied the other way
a success. around, when the circumstances
circumstances are favorable to
■ If the number of these icons is equal or higher than the character, making their task easier. In that case,
the Diculty set by the Storyteller, the player has the Storyteller may decrease the Diculty by 1 or
succeeded. 2 points.
■ If the number of these icons is lower than the Dif- ■ Willpower: A player may choose to spend a dot
culty, the player has failed. o Willpower in any Test to re-roll up to three of
■ If none of these icons are rolled, the player has not their Regular (not Hunger) dice, if they don’t like
only failed, but has done so in a catastrophic way, the result on them. However, the new result must

and there will be unexpected


u nexpected consequences. be accepted,iseven
Willpower if it’sas
also used worse than”the
a “health”
“health original
track one.
in social
e Diculty set by the Storyteller should generally be conict
between 1 and 5, using higher diculties for extreme
situations. Keep in mind that most actions will have If the Modiers reduce Diculty set by the Storyteller
a diculty of 2 or 3. Except when noted, avoid higher to 0 or less, the Simple Test will be considered an
numbers for this scenario. automatic success, as the action doesn’t warrant rolling
the dice anymore.

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 Diculty 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 eective. 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 dierence 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 dierent: the Diculty. 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 Diculty 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

Aer resolving the roll, multiply the original diculty


diculty
Conficts by 2 and compare it against all the successes rolled.
If the doubled Diculty is greater than the number
e World of Darkness is a dangerous place. Violent of successes, the attacking side takes an amount of
situations arise constantly. e physical and mental damage based on the dierence between those two
health of the characters is always at risk. When two values.
or more characters oppose violently (either by using Optionally, characters may take Stains (see below)
physical violence or by trying to humiliate each other instead of damage in these cases. is represents that
in a social environment), Conict arises. the characters were particularly brutal during the
Conicts are resolved by using the rules for strule.
Contests. e opposing parties roll the dice pools
determined by the Storyteller, and whoever gets more SETTING AND ADJUSTING DIFFICULTIES
wins the Conict. In this kind of roll, however, FOR ONE-ROLL CONFLICT
the Margin determines the degree of success and the When determining the diculty of a One-Roll
amount of Health or Willpower the unsuccessful party Conict, determine how strong, qualied or dangerous
loses in the process. the opposing side is. Clearly inferior opponents
translate into a diculty of 2. Opponents that are
One-Roll Conict roughly a fair match translate into a diculty of 4.
One Roll Conict roughly a fair match translate into a diculty of 4.
Using this method, you abstract a Conict to one roll. Clearly more powerful opponents translate into a
e attacking side — generally the players — gathers a diculty of 6.
dice pool (using the Attack Action) and rolls against is diculty can then be adjusted based on
a Diculty set by the Storyteller. If the attacking side factors aecting either side. For example, the use of
beats that diculty, their opponent is defeated. Disciplines or equivalent supernatural might that is
unopposed by the other side, or better preparation or
positioning, would reduce the overall diculty by 1.

10

REFERENCE GUIDE

Extended Combat like Persuasion, Etiquette or Leadership. Damage


■ Close Combat: Two characters involved in a brawl is not applied to the characters’ health, but to their
or a close combat altercation will roll dice pools Willpower..
Willpower
composed of their Strength Attribute, and the
appropriate Skill (Brawl or Melee, depending if Actions
the combatants are armed or not). Any Margin For this scenario, to make the game easier to learn
(i.e. successes exceeding those of the opposing side) for all the players, we’ve
we’ ve added some pre-generated
will add to the Damage the contest’s winning side Actions to the character sheets. ese Actions are
deals to the losing side. Damage is factored by short-hand combinations of Attributes and Skills that
adding this Margin to applicable damage modiers. oen come up. As all of you start feeling comfortable
Supercial Damage is always halved (rounding up) with the mechanics of Vampire
Vampire,, you can stop

before applying
that inict it to theDamage
Aravated 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: Conicts 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 Conicts, 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 Modier. ■ 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. Aer 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, struling to hold on to whatever Humanity
they’ve got le. e blood changes them and makes
Social Conict them dierent 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
Conicts are resolved the same way as in Combat, will burn them until they are reduced to ashes. Even
with a couple of minor dierences. 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 aect Kindred. their Hunger, like rising each night or using certain
Discipline powers, they will roll a Rouse Check (see
Supercial and Aravated Damage below).
ere are two kinds of damage: Supercial Damage Lowering Hunger is done by feeding. Drinking the
and Aravated Damage.
Damage. Wounds produced
produced by re, Blood of animals will lower Hunger by one step, never
sunlight or some supernatural attacks are Aravated completely taking it away.
away. Feeding o mortals will
for Kindred. Mortals take Aravated 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 Supercial 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 Supercial 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
Aravated 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.
Aravated Damage.
Damage. Similarly, any amputated limb or
body part involves taking
taki ng Aravated 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
Aravated 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
Aravated 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 toal, she would have
others push the character over the edge, emotionally rolled 2 Hunger dice and 6 Regular dice.
or psychologically, Aravated Willpower Damage
is received. At the beginning of each session, each
character heals an amount of Supercial 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 Supercial 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 Aravated 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 denitely 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 camouage 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
advantages can be acquired.
and unexpected The Human Being
Here are the four Resonances: Characters in Vampire constantly strule 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 strule. 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 suer 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 briey 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 specic 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

When a character has no free


free slots, and receives a new
Stain, they are overcome by the monstrosity of their Appendix I:
own actions. ey will become Impaired for the rest
of the session. is means that they will
wi ll subtract 2 Characters and Actions
dice from all their dice pools. In addition, any Stains
acquired over this limit will be taken as Aravated is is a master table of all the characters and their
Willpower Damage. e player
player can, at any point, Action test dice pools. Higher scores are marked
decide to rationalize their horrifying actions as natural, bold. Very low scores (not even mentioned on the
lose one point of Humanity, and remove all Stains. sheets) are in red.
Skill Specialties allow adding 1 die in specic
Remorse circumstances. ey are factored in unless specied.
At the end of the session, every character with at least
least Discipline powers that add dice are always factored
one Stain will perform a Remorse test, rolling as many in. Rain can boost their intimidate with Discipline
dice as their remaining empty slots in the Humanity power Eyes of the Beast. Blood Surge 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 suer 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 aer the Remorse test, regardless of
the result.
TABLE: CHARACTERS AND ACTIONS

ACTION TEST ALEX BLAKE JAY MARSH RAIN SAM TERRY


DICE POOLS

Attack (Unarmed) / Bite 2 1 1 8 6 4 7

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

Appendix II: Glossary


■ Aravated Damage
Damage: Damage caused by sunlight, re, ■ Diculty: e measure of how challenging a test is
supernatural means or excessive use of
o f force, either going to be, determined by the Storyteller based on
physically (damage to Health) or psychologically
psychologically the inherent diculty of the action and any circum-
(damage to Willpower). stances that can make it more or less complex.
■ Anarchs:: A faction of the Camarilla that splintered in
Anarchs ■ Discipline:: e supernatural powers that the vampiric
Discipline
pursuit of their own freedom. curse bestows on Kindred.
■ Attribute:: e nine Traits that dene the innate
Attribute ■ Domain:: A specic Kindred’s hunting ground,
Domain
talents of a character.
character. considered sacred by most Kindred, particularly
■ Baron:: e Anarch leader of a Domain.
Baron among the Camarilla.
■ Beast:: e metaphysical incarnation of the vampiric
Beast ■ Elder:: A Kindred of old age that holds the power
Elder
curse living within the characters. within a specic Domain. Leaders of the Camarilla.
■ Bestial Failure:
Failure: When a test is unsuccessful and at least ■ Embrace:: e act of transforming a mortal into a
Embrace
one appears on the dice, the failure is epic, and car- vampire.


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 suer 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 dierence between the number of
Margin: icons
passionate or violent. rolled and the Diculty determined by the Storyteller
■ Clan:: e thirteen dierent families of Kindred.
Clan in a successful roll.
■ Conict:: A situation where two or more characters
Conict ■ 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.

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

■ Phlegmatic: e Resonance of victims who are lazy,


Phlegmatic: ■ Storyteller: e player that takes on the task of
Storyteller:
apathetic or sentimental. guiding the story.
■ Remorse Check:
Check: e check players with Stains ■ Take Half: When the Storyteller decides to divide an
perform at the end of a session. SPC’s dice pool by two and use it as Diculty in a
■ Resonance: e specic avor and characteristics of a
Resonance: Contest with a player to make the game ow better.
victim’s blood. ■ Test:: e system used to resolve an action, putting
Test
■ Rouse Check:
Check: e check a character rolls when any together a dice pool and rolling dice.
gi of the blood is used. ■ e Society of Leopold:
Leopold: A secret group of witch-
■ Sanguine:: e Resonance of victims who are happy,
Sanguine hunters from the Vatican heavily invested in the
horny, or over excited. Second Inquisition.
■ Second Inquisition:
Inquisition: e collective name for the secret ■ Toreador:: One of the main seven Clans. Also known as
Toreador
groups within dierent intelligence agencies around the Clan of the Rose or the Divas.
the world and the Society of Leopold. ■ Trait:: Any value on the character sheet that can be
Trait
■ Simple Test: Any test that involves a player rolling tracked with dots.
against an inanimate opponent. ■ Tremere:: One of the main seven Clans. Also known as
Tremere
■ Sire:: A Kindred that Embraces a mortal. Relative to
Sire e Broken Clan or Warlocks.
childe. ■ Ventrue:: One of the main seven Clans and the de acto
Ventrue
■ Skill: e Traits that dene all the learned talents of a
Skill: leaders of the Camarilla. Also known as e 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.
16

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

Player Player Player Player Player

Clan Clan Clan Clan Clan


NA ME CLAN

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 oen 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 raried taste when it comes to blood. Each of
them has a dierent 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 specic
{ Become a bridge between organizations limitations, such aswho
onlyhave
feeding
and, thus, irreplaceable for all of them. the law, or people spentoany
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 sacriced 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 oer 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 gotoyour
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 deine 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...

ACT IONS ATTR IBUTES


Persuade: 9 dice (Awe is factored in) Physical
Your attitude is conagious and people do what you want
whenever you wan. Now you feel it’s almost too easy. Strength {{{

Insight: 6 dice (Add 1 die if you try to empathize Dexterity {{{{


with the other party.)
party.) Stamina {{{
Looking into others and undersanding their motivations is one
of the keys to your success. Social
Charisma {
Intimidate: 5 dice
You can be quite imposing and people will follow orders if Manipulation {{
needed, but you can get more lies with honey than with vinegar.
Composure {{
Investigate: 4 dice Menal
If you put your mind to i, you can ind information, but you
can always tell others to do it for you. Intelligence {{

Attack: 4 dice (Pistol, +2 Damage) Wits {{{


You took some self-defense classes and are a responsible gun Resolve {{{
owner.
Bite: 2 dice SKILLS
You prefer to feed from willing vessels, especially those who
admire you. Notice that you can’t just feed from anyone unless {{{{
you force yourself to do i. Athletics 
Awarenesss
Awarenes {{{

EQUIPMENT Drive {{{{

Your wallet (driver’s


Your (driver’s license and all credit cards
cards Etiquette {{
missing). Expensive wristwatch. Card holder with Finance {{
one hundred of your business cards. Firearms {{{{
HOW TO ROLL Insight (Empathy) {{{
To roll a test
test,, create a dice pool by picking up as many dice Intimidation {{{{
as the Action or trait combination the Storyteller calls for.
Start with a number of Hunger dice equal to your Hunger Investigation {{{{
and add regular dice to complete. Leadership {{{
Dice coming up with any of these: are Persuasion {{
successes. Count them. Ignore other results. If you meet or
exceed the Diculty, you succeed. Politics {{{
Spend 1 Willpower to re-roll up to three regular dice (not Streetwise {{{{
Hunger dice).
Subterfuge {{{
When you roll a check, use only regular dice. Willpower
does not aect checks. Technology {{{{

Health Willpower Humanity Hunger


      

DISCIPLINES EMBRACE

Dominate {{{ When you were turned

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. Aer 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 aer 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 aer 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: Aer resolving an action that could increase
your Hunger, or aer 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 rareed 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 oen called, are
Gender:
What are you wearing?
patrons of arts and consumers of beauty.beauty. Always
striving to grow closer to humanity
humanity,, they oen 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 oen 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 dicult to activate
condition. their powers, and strule 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 specic gallery: e Black bier than ever. More secrets to uncover,
Rose Gallery. more lies to expose.”
How did your experience deine 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.

ACT IONS ATTR IBUTES

Persuade: 9 dice (Awe is factored in.) Physical


Your magnetic personally makes it almost impossible for people
not to do what you ask of them. is is now stronger than ever. Strength {{{{

Investigate: 6 dice Dexterity {{{


Looking for clues is one of your strengths. Stamina {{{
Intimidate: 6 dice (Daunt is factored in) Social
Sometimes you looked intimidating to get out of trouble. Now Charisma {
you feel you can be outright scary.
scary.
Manipulation {{
Attack: 5 dice (Pistol +2 damage)
You are comforable around irearms and can use them if the Composure {{
need should arise. Menal
Insight: 5 dice (Add 1 die if interrogating your Intelligence {{{
subject)
Wits {{
You can read others, and you excel in interrogating them to get
to the truth. Resolve {{{
Bite: 1 dice SKILLS
You may want to resort to feeding from willing vessels, especially
those that admire you.
Athletics {{{
{{
EQUIPMENT Awareness
Awareness
A wallet with about $50 in change (driver’s
(driver’s Etiquette {{{{
license is missing). A digital recorder.
recorder. An old- Firearms {{{
fashioned notebook lled with scribblings. Insight (Interrogation) {{
HOW TO ROLL Investigation {
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 equal to your Hunger Streetwise {{{{
and add regular dice to complete. Subterfuge {{{
Dice coming up with any of these: are Technology {{{{
successes. Count them. Ignore other results. If you meet or
exceed the Diculty, 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 aect checks.

Health Willpower Humanity Hunger


      

DISCIPLINES EMBRACE

Presence {{{ When you were turned


e warehouse is cold and dark. It is as if the gallery
You can manipulate and control the emotions of people around had never been there in the rst place. YouYou walk across
you. You
You have to be in their immediate presence
presence and they have to the empty space, curiosity and fear competing for your
be able to see or hear you directly
di rectly for this power to work.
soul. Your
Your journalistic instinct kicks
kick s in. ere’s a story
Awe - Anyone close to you is suddenly drawn towards happening right here, and you’re the only one to report it.
you, willing to agree on your arguments
arguments and viewpoints. You
Y ou turn on your recorder,
recorder, and start speaking, narrating
narrating
is power can be used to create a distraction. is everything you see around you. Turning a corner, you nd
improves your Persuade action and is already factored in. the one you’re meant to interview. Among the rubble and
Daunt - You
You appear threatening and exude an aura of the autumn leaves, they lie in an elegant chaise longue,
menace which turns away most. is improves your studying you with predatory eyes. You approach them,
menace which turns away most. is improves your
Intimidate action and is already factored in. going through your questionnaire in your mind. ey
whisper “You
“You came. How convenient.
convenient. I have something for
Auspex {{{{ you. A gi.” Intrigued, you get closer to hear better.
better. eir
mouth reaches your neck, and you experience the most
Your senses are sharp as a knife. You can see, hear, smell and excruciating pleasure you will ever enjoy. You
You die.
even feel things that most people would never notice.
Heightened Senses - All of your senses are amplied, SIRE
for good or ill. You may switch this power on and o at
Add 1 die to all perception-based
will, with no cost or roll. Add e one who turned you
rolls. is is already factored into your Investigate action. Your
Y our tongue nds blood delicious. Your
Your body feels
incredible. Colors are more vivid, and sounds sharper. e
KINDRED REFERENCE subject of your now forgotten interview strokes your hair,
Hunger: Every time you have to roll a test, replace a as if you were their new pet. “You have so much to learn,
regular die (black) with a Hunger die (red) for each slot you my darling. We’re going to spend eternity together. Nothing
have crossed in your Hunger tracker. will ever set us apart.” And, for a second,
second, that sounds
like the best future you could ever imagine. en you see
Rouse check: Aer resolving an action that could the red dot on your host’s forehead. e red dots start
increase your Hunger, or aer waking up, roll 1 regular die.
die. popping up. It takes you
you a few moments to understand
If the result is blank, cross 1 slot in your Hunger tracker. what’s happening. You
You don’t say a word. ey stare at you,
Blood Surge: You may add 1 die to any Action or unaware of the proliferation of dots on their body. You
Discipline roll. Make a Rouse Check. could tell them. Warn them. But you don’t. e dance of
speckles of red light is too fascinating to even speak about
Blush of Life: You may appear alive to others. Make a it. e dots become wounds, gushes, and holes. YourYour new
Rouse Check. friend screams as their body is torn to pieces. And you stay
Quick Hunting Roll: If your group decides to forego quiet, transxed by the spectacle.
Hunting scenes and to use rolls instead, you meet with
someone who willfully gives you their blood. Roll 9 dice SECRET
(Manipulation + Persuasion, modied by AweAwe).
).
Bane: As a Toreador Kindred, you feel unwell whenever A memory that haunts you
faced with situations that are not esthetically pleasing to As the stake is driven through your heart, you briey
you. Whenever using your Disciplines in such situations, recognize the person driving the stake as a police ocer
remove 1 die from these rolls. you interviewed years ago.

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 oen 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 oen end up rambling incoherently,
{ Reinvent yourself, burn the past, forge a just saying out loud everything that comes to mind,
new identity. barely dierentiating 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.
Aer 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. Oine. 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 aer 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. Aer 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 reexes, 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 deine 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…

{ “Te world is too small for me. I will reinvent


… you want a roleplaying challenge, playing a poker
myself soon, and show everyone what true
player who cannot lie, if you want to be an incredible
greatness means.”
investigator who can read other individuals better
than they can understand themselves.

ACT IONS ATTR IBUTES


Investigate: 9 dice (Heightened
(Heightened Senses is factored in)
Physical
You can easily read a scene, and few clues escape your keen senses, especially
now. Strength {{{{
Insight: 9 dice (Heightened
(Heightened Senses is factored in, +1 die if Dexterity {{{
trying to detect lies)
You can easily read others’ tells and call their blus. Your new abilities just make Stamina {{{
this even easier. Social
Attack: 6 dice (Pistol +2 damage) Charisma {{
Years of playing the most action-packed irst person shooters online have trained
you for this momen. Manipulation {{{

Intimidate: 5 dice
You can sometimes bully others into doing what you wan, whether by appearing Composure {{
Menal
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 advanage, 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 Diculty, 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 aect
checks.

Health Willpower Humanity Hunger


      

DISCIPLINES EMBRACE

Auspex {{{ When you were turned


Four aces in your hand. Folds. Royal Flush. Folds.
e mystic power of your blood makes your senses sharper and
more acute. You
You can see and hear things most people would never
n ever Full House. Folds. Tree of a kind. Folds. Your host
perceive.. is a very frustrating player.
player. Tey have been folding
Heightened Senses - All of your senses are amplied, all night, and you’ve been getting the best hands
for good or ill. You may switch this power on and o at you’ve ever
ever been dealt. Teir pile of chips
chips is slowly
Add 2 dice to all perception-based
will, with no cost or roll. Add dwindling, as yours gets larger and larger.
larger. At this
rolls. Tis is already factored into your Investigate and your pace, however, it will take you weeks to clean them
Insight actions. dry.. Another hand. Tis time, you have just two of
dry
Sense the Unseen - You
You may detect that which is a kind. Bored, you decide to blu. All in. Critical
mistake. Your
Your host pushes the chips across the
t he table.
supernaturally hidden,
even ghosts, if these including
exist. Obfuscate
Roll 5 dice againstpowers and set
a diculty Have you just lost all your savings because you were
by the Storyteller
Storyteller.. If countering Obfuscate, it becomes a bored? Cards are shown. Tey have nothing. Nothing
contested roll against their Wits + Obfuscate.
Obfuscate. at all. You take the chips, not understanding, when
w hen
they speak. “One last hand. I’ve got no chips, so I guess I’ll
Dominate {{{{ have to bet my own soul.”
s oul.” You laugh nervously. It’s not a
You can manipulate and control the actions of others. You need joke. Well, you’ve never owned anyone else’s soul. You
to hold the gaze of a single victim in order for your Dominate
powers to work. You
You may not use these on Kindred. play. You
play. You try your best.
best. It’s not enough. Aer
Aer showing
an unbeatable hand, your host jumps over the table
Cloud Memory - Say the word “Forget”, and your victim
will forget the last few minutes of their life. When used
and savagely bites you.
against a victim who is actively trying to resist, roll 4 dice
SIRE
against Intelligence + Resolve.
Resolve.
e one who turned you
KINDRED REFERENCE
Hunger: Every time you have to roll a test, replace a regular “ere is no money!”
Tat confuses YouIhear
you. “Did yourout
say that own voice’s
loud?” echo.
Again,
die (black) with a Hunger die (red) for each slot you have
crossed in your Hunger tracker
tracker.. the echo comes back. Your host has le in a rush,
and le you there, barely conscious. Aer waking
Rouse check: Aer resolving an action that could increase
Hunger,, or aer waking up, roll 1 regular die.
your Hunger die. If the up, you’ve torn up the place, looking for the money
result is blank, cross 1 slot in your Hunger tracker. you are owed. Nothing.
Nothing. Just fake notes from
from some
old board game, and plenty of empty cans of ginger
Blood Surge: You may add 1 die to any Action or Discipline
roll. Make a Rouse Check. ale. You feel weird. “I feel weird.” Your tongue betrays
“Shut up! Stop alking! at’s better. Wai.
your thoughts. “Shut Wai.
Blush of Life: You may appear alive to others. Make a Rouse
Check. Am I still alking? What’s that sound? Footsteps.
Footsteps. Heavy
footsteps. Closing in. Somebody’s coming. Good. ey’ve
Quick Hunting Roll: If your group decides to forego
Hunting scenes and to use rolls instead, you meet with
probably been sent to pay me what I’m owed.
owed. Why are
other players in the area and roll 4 dice (Manipulation + they kicking the door? Why so many guns? Where’s my
Persuasion). money?!”
Bane: Y
You
ou have lost your ability to dierentiate what you
think and what you say. Remove 1 die from any rolls from SECRET
Persuade,, Intimidate and similar rolls if you’re
Persuade yo u’re trying to lie
or deceive the other person. A memory that haunts you
As the stake is driven
driven through your heart,
heart, you
briey recognize the man driving the stake as
one of your former rivals from your video gaming
days.

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
{ Raed suit oen 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 aer 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 deine you? dierence, 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 procient spy, capable of hiding in
plain sight without raising any suspicions with your
newfound supernatural abilities.

ACT IONS ATTR IBUTES

Attack: 8 dice (Unarmed, aravated damage Physical


with Lethal Body) 4 dice
dice (Pistol +2 damage)
damage) Strength {
Few can sand their ground when acing you in a igh. And now
n ow
the Blood has turned you into a veriable killing machine. Dexterity {{{
Bite: 8 dice Stamina {{{
Feeding on your foes while beating them up can make a ight
even more thrilling. Social
Charisma {{{{
Intimidate: 5 dice
You’ve learned to know what to tell people to get things done. Manipulation {{{
And if they don’t undersand, you can
can always back it up with
violence. Composure {{
Menal
Investigate:
deduction)
5 dice (add 1 die if you are using Intelligence {{
You can deduce the connections between acts when you have the Wits {{{
right information.
Lockpick: 5 dice Resolve {{{
You can oen get those pesky doors open when you need to be
silen. And if that ails, kick them in. SKILLS
Sneak: 5 dice (Special, read below)
You can hide and sneak well enough, but if you sand absolutely Brawl {
still and do not draw attention to yoursel, people will
wi ll not
see you. (As soon as it becomes available, check Obfuscate for Firearms {{{{
deails.)
Insight {{{
Insight: 4 dice
You can try to undersand people, especially to know if they’re Intimidation {{{
lying. en, you can punish them for i. Investigation {{
EQUIPMENT Larceny {{
Your wallet (driver’s
Your (driver’s license missing.) Some petty Stealth {{
cash. An expensive wristwatch.
Streetwise {{{
HOW TO ROLL Survival {{{
To roll a test, create a dice pool by picking up as many dice Technology {{{{
as the Action or trait combination the Storyteller calls for.
Start with a number of Hunger dice equal to your Hunger
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 Diculty, 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 aect checks.
Health Willpower Humanity Hunger
      

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 atacking 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 raedy 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 eects 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 aravated
aravated.. 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: Aer 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 aer 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 oen
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 eect on their existence. Te trait
What is your main goal? lasts for one night aer 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. Aer
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 aer 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. Aer 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, aer 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, aer all.
PICK THIS CHA RACTER IF…
How did your experience deine 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.

ACT IONS ATTR IBUTES

Lockpick: 8 dice Physical


No lock can resist your experienced ingers.
Strength {{
Attack: 6 dice (Unarmed. Once you access Feral
Dexterity {{
Weapons add +2 damage) 5 (Pistol +2 damage)
You had to defend yourself before, and know how irearms work. Stamina {{{
Your new powers make you even more dangerous.
Social
Bite: 6 dice Charisma {{{{
You can bite your way through a igh, if that suits you.
Manipulation {{{
Sneak: 6 dice
You are as good avoiding a conlict as jumping into i. Being Composure {
unnoticed can be a wise choice. Menal
Intimidate: 4 dice (6 with Eyes of the Beast)
Beast) Intelligence {{{
You can occasionally verbally threaten people into doing what Wits {{
you wan, if you mus. Your
Your powers can make you scary.
scary.
Resolve {{{
EQUIPMENT
SKILLS
Tiny amount of well-worn one-dollar notes. A
lighter. Athletics {{{
HOW TO ROLL Awareness {{{{
To roll a test
test,, create a dice pool by picking up as many dice Brawl {{
as the Action or trait combination the Storyteller calls for.
Start with a number of Hunger dice equal to your Hunger Firearms {{{{
and add regular dice to complete. Intimidation {{{
Dice coming up with any of these: are Larceny (Lockpicking) {{{
successes. Count them. Ignore other results. If you meet or
exceed the Diculty, you succeed. Melee {{{{
Spend 1 Willpower to re-roll up to three regular dice (not Stealth {{{
Hunger dice).
Streetwise {{{
When you roll a check, use only regular dice. Willpower
does not aect checks. Subterfuge {{{{
Survival {{{

Health Willpower Humanity Hunger


      

DISCIPLINES EMBRACE

Protean {{{ When you were turned


Te campre is nice enough. Te winter has been
is Discipline gives you the ability to be a better predator and
to shape-shif. rough, and having somewhere to warm up your
hands feels like a luxury to you. You’ve gotten used
Eyes of the Beast - Your eyes have a red gleam. You can to the sounds of the woods, and they don’t scare you
activate or deactivate this power at will. If on, you can see
in the dark (all darkness related penalties are removed) and anymore. Te road miles away, however, roars with
you add 2 dice to your Intimidate rolls. threat and aression. A branch cracks a few steps
away. Tey are back. You’ve felt them for weeks, but
Feral Weapons - You can turn your hands into claws. you’ve never seen them. Now they stand in front
front of
Tese inict +2 damage and their damage is now agravated
(it’s never halved.) Make a Rouse Check.
you, in all their monstrous glory.
glory. A walking wolf,
half human, half aberration. Tey get closer. You are
Animalism {{{{ petried. You’re
You’re being
being smelled. Te cruel jaws
jaws hint a
is Discipline allows you to connect closer with your Beast and smile, right before closing over your neck. Freedom,
that in others. at last.
Sense the Beast - You
You can read others and sense their
hostility. Roll 4 dice,
dice, opposed by their Composure +
Subterfuge (default diculty 3.) Success allows you to SIRE
gauge their level of hostility and whether they harbor a
supernatural Beast like you (i.e. they are also Kindred). e one who turned you

KINDRED REFERENCE Te monster turns into a human being before your


eyes. Naked, dirty and cold. Still
Sti ll glorious. You
You feel
Hunger: Every time you have to roll a test, your body changing. You
You are becoming something
replace a regular die (black) with a Hunger new, and you are equally excited and repulsed. You
die (red) for each slot you have crossed in your have so many questions, but you respect the silence.
Hunger tracker. You
You feel you understand everything about your
aressor, and yet you don’t know the rst thing
Rouse check: Aer resolving an action that about them. Tey stay away from the re, and you feel
Hunger,, or aer waking up,
could increase your Hunger you should do the same. You
You spend hours staring at
roll 1 regular die.
die. If the result is blank, cross 1 slot each other, learning each other’s body. Not a word is
in your Hunger tracker. said. Te monster takes you to a cave before sunrise,
and you both sleep, covered in heavy furs. When you
Blood Surge: You may add 1 die to any Action wake up, the
the monster has already
already le. Instead, you
or Discipline roll. Make a Rouse Check. hear helicopters closing in, dogs barking, and orders
Blush of Life: You may appear alive to others. whispered in the
the shadows. Tere’s
Tere’s a hunting party
party out
Make a Rouse Check. there, and you are the prey.
Quick Hunting Roll: If your group decides to
forego Hunting scenes and to use rolls instead,
you meet with your ex-con associates
associates and roll 3 SECRET
dice (Manipulation + Subterfuge). A memory that haunts you

As the stake is driven


driven through your heart,
heart, you
briey recognize the man driving the stake as one
of your foster parents.

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.

{ Dark and formal CLAN BANE


{
Casual clothing e Tremeres
Tremeres
organised used tooflink
hierarchy their blood,
obedience creating aAs
and servitude. highly
the
Ambition: Organization tower crumbled, their blood got tainted, and now they are
What is your main goal? unable to use their blood to push others into submission. In
{ Make those who closely surround you into addition, due to the long story of the Clan, most Kindred
a force to be reckoned with. tend to mistrust the Warlocks, automatically regarding
them as sly and treacherous.
{ Find your place within an organization,
and serve them with pride. A L L W E N T W RONG…
What do you want to accomplish tonight?
A strange email, oering you old manuscripts rescued from
Desire: Inspire to learn more about the Central Library of Mosul, gave you a ray of hope. e
their condition. prize was too tempting not to enuire. You
You were given an
Select another player character to ill the
t he blank. Try not to select appointment at an old bookstore, open aer hours. e
a character that someone else has already selected. manuscripts were nowhere to be seen but, instead, you

BACKGROUND found
Your
Y pictures of your
our suadmates. 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 aer two tours of duty, and you found
foun d yourself { “I have become something dierent. 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, unuenched.
How did your experience deine 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 raredened by an endless
combination of
{ “ere’s a lot to research here as well, and skills, being procient in the use of rearms, excelling
it is much safer.” at investigating and nding hidden details in any
situation.

ACT IONS ATTR IBUTES

Investigate: 9 dice (Heightened Senses is Physical


factored in) Strength {{{
Looking for hidden books and tombs has made you the best at
inding unseen deails. Your
Your newfound powers have only
only made Dexterity {{{
you even better.
Stamina {{
Insight: 6 dice
You can easily read others and undersand their motivations. Social
Charisma {{
Persuade: 6 dice
Your strong personality allows you to convince others of giving Manipulation {{{{
you what you need.
Composure {{
Attack: 4 dice (Unarmed) 5 dice (Pistol +2 Menal
damage)
Your miliary training has provided you with the means to harm
Intelligence {
others. Wits {{{
Bite: 4 dice Resolve {{{
If need be, you can use your angs as a weapon in a igh.
Intimidate: 4 dice (Add 1 die if you physically SKILLS
coerce your opponent.)
Other people are wary of your miliary training. Athletics {{{
Brawl {{{

EQUIPMENT Firearms (Pistols) {{

A reasonable amount
amount of pocket
pocket change. Insight {{{
Your
Your wallet (driver’s
(driver’s license and any form of Intimidation {{{{
identication 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 eual 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 Diculty, 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 aect checks.

Health Willpower Humanity Hunger


      

DISCIPLINES EMBRACE

Auspex {{{{ When you were turned


“I’ve been following you.” e voice is at, solemn, and doesn’t
Your senses are greatly increased, and can learn more from your allow any room for uestions. YouYou turn around to nd the guide
environment thanks to the power of your blood. of this peculiar exhibition. Tall, slender, and all dressed in black,
Heightened Senses - All of your senses are amplied, your guide seems unable to smile, or to express any recognizable
emotion. e feeling is strange, alien, and oddly reassuring. “My
for good or ill. You may switch this power on and o at
people noticed you back in Iraq. At irs, they thought you were not
will, with no cost or roll. Add
Add 1 die to all perception-based serious about your studies. But you surpassed everyone’s expecations.”
rolls. is is already factored into your Investigate action. e guide takes you through the pictures, just showing o how
much they know. en, without a word of warning, you feel the
Blood Sorcery {{{{ fangs in your neck. Death comes to you uickly.
You can ap into the
t he mystical powers of your Blood. In time, you
y ou
can become a powerful Blood Sorcerer and learn more powers, SIRE
and even Rituals.
e one who turned you
Corrosive Vitae - You force a bit of your Blood through
an open, typically self-inicted, wound. en you spill it on Reborn. Remade against your will. All the secrets of
nonliving matter (you can’t use this with Kindred, let alone creation, now lie bare in front of you. Everything you
thought you knew has become irrelevant and, in a matter
with living beings
decomposes. likeuse
You can
You mortals.)
this in e matter
lieu of corrodes
a Lockpick and
action, of seconds, you realize you need to adjust your whole
or to break free from handcus. Make a Rouse Check. worldview. You
You have so many uestions… but the severe
gaze of your guide doesn’t invite you to ask. It will take
years, maybe decades, to learn what
what you need. You
You are
Dominate {{{{
patient. e world isn’t. Your
Your guide hears something
You can manipulate and control the actions of others. You need outside. “Wait here.” ey run outside, leaving you alone
to hold the gaze of a single victim in order for your Dominate
powers to work. You
You may not use these on Kindred. with your shrine. Something in the air feels wrong. e
sounds, the smell… everything reminds you of your time
Compel - Issue a single action command to the victim, no in Iraq. Survival comes rst. You
You uickly grab all your
longer than a short sentence. Your
Your victim will obey unless pictures, rip them apart, and ush them down the toilet.
the command is directly harmful to them. If the command en the bullets start whistling. You
You consider going out
is ambiguous, the Storyteller may interpret it as they see t. there, helping your guide… but the backdoor looks like a
When used against a victim who is actively trying to resist, much more reasonable option. You run.
roll 4 dice against Wits + Resolve.
Resolve.
SECRET
KINDRED REFERENCE
Hunger: Every time you have to roll a test, replace a regular A memory that haunts you
die (black) with a Hunger die (red) for each slot you have As the stake is driven through your heart, you briey
crossed in your Hunger tracker
tracker.. recognize the person driving the stake as a comrade-in-arms
Rouse check: Aer resolving an action that could increase from your last tour of duty.
your Hunger, or aer waking up, roll 1 regular die.
die. If the
result is blank, cross 1 slot in your Hunger tracker.
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 a
veteran friend who willingly gives you some of
of their blood.
7 dice (Manipulation + Persuasion)

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 Selessness
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 sacrice.
will ght for justice among my peers.”
peers.”
How did your experience deine 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 stght and in a debate, a well-
rounded, skilled community organizer.

ACT IONS ATTR IBUTES

Attack: 7 dice (Unarmed, +2 damage when using Physical


Prowess)) 4 dice (Pistol +2 damage)
Prowess Strength {
Anyone who aces you better run for their life.
Dexterity {{{
Bite: 7 dice (+2 aravated damage)
Atacking and feeding
feeding during combat can be a great option for Stamina {{
you.
Social
Persuade: 7 dice (Awe is factored in) Charisma {{
Your personal magnetism makes people trust you and do
whatever you ask them to do. Manipulation {{{
Intimidate: 6 dice Composure {{{
You can show your scary side to bully your way into getting Menal
what you wan.
Intelligence {{
Insight: 5 dice (add 1 die if
i f attempting to read
someone’s motives) Wits {{{{
You can read others, undersand their motivations, and know if Resolve {{{
they’re telling the truth.
Lockpick: 5 dice SKILLS
You can open locks and doors whenever you need them to be
open.
Athletics {{{{
Investigate: 4 dice
Occasionally, something about your environment catches your Awareness {{{{
attention, but you focus more on people.
Brawl {{
Sneak: 4 dice Drive {{{{
When everything else ails, you can sneak and hide, but this is
not your go-to option. Firearms {{{
EQUIPMENT Insight (Motives) {{{
Your
Your wallet (driver’s license
license missing). Some petty cash. Intimidation {{

Scribbled notes from your last speech. Investigation {{{{


HOW TO ROLL Larceny {{
test,, create a dice pool by picking up as many dice
To roll a test Leadership {{{
as the Action or trait combination the Storyteller calls for.
Start with a number of Hunger dice equal to your Hunger Melee {{{{
and add regular dice to complete.
Persuasion {{{
Dice coming up with any of these: are Politics {{{
successes. Count them. Ignore other results. If you meet or
exceed the Diculty, you succeed. Stealth {{{
Spend 1 Willpower to re-roll up to three regular dice (not Streetwise {{{{
Hunger dice).
Technology {{{{
When you roll a check, use only regular dice. Willpower
.
does not aect checks
Health Willpower Humanity Hunger
      

DISCIPLINES EMBRACE

Potence {{{ When you were turned


You can use your strength for terrifying eects of raw power and
Te alleway stinks of urine and rotting food. Te
physical migh. stranger is casually leaning against a wall, their
Soaring Leap - You
You can jump up to 4 meters vertically face an inscrutable mask. “You’re doing good work,
and 6 meters horizontally without any run-up. No roll is kid.” Tey say. Are they on your side? Or just
required. luring you into a trap? You start asking questions.
Prowess - add 2 dice to feats of strength. You can also use You
You just can’t
can’t believe anyone can be so interested
this with your Unarmed Attack damage (+2 damage, or +1 if in your speeches and your community work. But
using hand-to-hand weapons). Make a Rouse Check. you receive no answers. Frustration grows
grows into
Presence {{{{
blind anger. Te stranger laughs, and then attacks
you.
You can manipulate and control the emotions of people around
you. You
You have to be in their immediate presence
presence and they have to
be able to see or hear you directly
di rectly for this power to work.
Awe - Anyone close to you is suddenly drawn towards SIRE
you, willing to agree on your arguments and viewpoints.
Tis power can be used to create a distraction. Tis e one who turned you
improves your Persuade action and is already factored in. You are dropped on a pile of garbage, your whole
You whole
KINDRED REFERENCE body trying to adapt to the change. You are not
yourself anymore. Te stranger
stranger starts walks away,
away,
Hunger: Every time you have to roll a test, no explanations given. You can’t allow that. You
replace a regular die (black) with a Hunger chase them, ready to take their life, when a white
die (red) for each slot you have crossed in your van blocks your way.
way. A group of men
men climb out,
Hunger tracker. pointing their guns both
both at the stranger and you.
Rouse check: Aer resolving an action that Before you can even process what is happening,
Hunger,, or aer waking up,
could increase your Hunger you are already
already acting on impulse.
impulse. You
You cowardly
cowardly
die. If the result is blank, cross 1 slot
roll 1 regular die. push the stranger towards
towards the guns, and run away
away..
in your Hunger tracker.
Blood Surge: You may add 1 die to any Action
or Discipline roll. Make a Rouse Check. SECRET
Blush of Life: You may appear alive to others. A memory that haunts you
Make a Rouse Check. As the stake is driven through your heart,
heart, you
Quick Hunting Roll: If your group decides briey recognize the person driving the stake as
to forego Hunting scenes and to use rolls one of your former jail cell companions.
instead, you meet with faithful members of your
community who adore you in all but name. Roll 4
dice (Manipulation + Persuasion).
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 briey 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.

Scene 0: How to Run Scene I: Your First Night


This ■ Setup: e characters have been captured right
aer receiving the Embrace. ey awake, trapped
is scenario has seven scenes that follow a linear inside a walk-in freezer,
freezer, surrounded by hanging
pattern. In each scene we’ll provide a scene goal, animal bodies, and a human corpse. is is part of
including its exit and a bit of information on the a test they are not aware of.
following scene to guide you. ■ Goal: Learn about Hunger, basic actions, and
We’ve
We’ve strived to write this in a way for yyou
ou to run about each other.
this on the go, but it can be a good idea to read each ■ Exit: Escape the walk-in freezer.
scene in its entirety before running it. Do not be afraid ■ Next Scene: Characters run into a guard and then a
to call for breaks between scenes or if you get stuck. vampire that wants to help them.

Begin by reading the section labeled e Embrace


out loud. You might want to suest for your players
to close their eyes, if they wish, while you read the
opening piece. Across this book, you’ll nd several
passages that you should read
read out loud. ey will be
marked as below. Sometimes you will have to adjust a
word or two based on circumstances. ese situations
will be clearly indicated.

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

e Embrace RULES EXPLANATIONS AND ADVICE


Next you’ll nd the rst of many rules explanations, which
ere is no fear as your life is ading away. Y
You
ou will be formatted like this. Depending on your preference,
feel an unexpected comfort in the arms of the you can read these to yourself, and explain as needed, or
you may even read them out loud. If you do so, don’t read
being that is aking your life. You experience
indications to yourself, in italics.
a surprising calm as it all disappears. Drop by
drop, it akes your fears, your worries, your
dreams, your joy. We’ll start o by discussing Hunger and the Blood.
We’ll
en, your conscience vanishes, and all
that’s le is blackness.
You open your eyes. ere is a lingering e Hunger, Part 1
feeling that something is missing, but something
else immediately overrides i. It is an electric Even as you all sit still in the cold, quiet room,
purr that stirs your senses awake. Coming and you sart making out the shapes around
back from Death is slow. You feel sluish as you, you feel your irst Hunger
Hunger.. It is dierent
you become
company youaware
share.ofAbove
the room you areyou
and around in, are
the from any hunger you have ever fel. Like a
person sarving to death who suddenly smells
slow swinging hunks of mea, like the bodies of food, you sense the blood and you know that it
that deathly migration. Beside you are others, will ease this terrible, hollow pain inside you.
also escaping Death’s shore. How will you deal with your irst Hunger?
urge: more pressing, more acute. As you begin You smell blood and recognize it as exactly
to sit up, you feel it for the irst time: Hunger. that: the aroma reaches out to you, sweet and
And you know, somehow,
somehow, as you experience the tempting. Your eyes all upon the meat hooks
terrible pangs of this Hunger, that you are no that decorate the room, searching for the choice
longer human. meal you are craving. ere are whole animal
carcasses
carcas ses hanging from the hooks. Pork, cattle…
And yet your gaze locks onto a piece hung in
the middle of the room. A brunette mop of hair
Introductions
At this point, the characters open their eyes and dangles upside down, together with the sark
see. Allow the players to describe their characters, realization of what your body craves: the corpse
to explain the way they are dressed, and to describe of a man wearing blue jeans and a t-shir. You
outstanding physical traits that may come from undersand that there’s more to this room, but
their strengths and weaknesses. First, we’ll focus on right now you can only focus on him.
their immediate feeling of Hunger, and then their
surroundings. ey are actually trapped in a walk-in
freezer, but they will discover this soon enough.

3
STARTER SET

WHAT IS THE HUNGER?


Whenever discussing the Hunger throughout this
scenario, you can give out any of the following. Refer
to this sidebar whenever discussing the topic.
■ Hunger is a psychological experience as much as a

physical
stomach one. A hungry
knotting, vampire
rather, doesn’t irriable
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 ecsatic experience for both predator
throughout the scenario. Once the players get to look at and prey (called the Kiss by Kindred).
the Kindred Prole 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 susain their own. Esablish the value of
current number of Hunger Dice.
Dice. each life so risked.
Rouse checks must also be made any time that ■ Vampires can insantly 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 conacts or
these checks are made, the result determines whether moral 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 signiicantly. 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 deiling the dead, how the others in the room identication 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. Bears 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. aermath of this fruitless action should probably
You’re beckoned by the fresh body oered to disgust the players whose characters partook in it.i t.
you. Its blood smells sale, 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 difculty of a test. Any successes in excess of the difculty are called
margin,, and may improve the outcome.
margin
Whenever the difculty 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
Prole , 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

about Rolling dice


read onExploring and thenFreezer.
the Walk-in prepareYou
yourself to go
can explain mea, whichoryouhuman.
can’t identify
as animal ere
to them how rolls work in your own words, read this are also several hospial-like
text out loud, or just wait for the moment to call a roll
blood bags. ey smell of
and explain the procedure as you go.
blood, but they are deinitely
Now that we know the theory of rolling dice, let’s
apply it investigating the scene. empty.
As you reach the walls,
you realize they are made
Exploring the Walk-in Freezer of steel, partially covered in
patches of fros. However,
Your eyes begin to adjust to the darkness your skin doesn’t stick to the
and poor lighting. Shapes of animal carcasses walls if you try to touch them.
decorate your surroundings. e stench in the Your body is no longer warm.
room is dificult to ake for most of you. ere is one door at the
other end of the room, and if
If Blake is Present one of you presses your ear to
is is positively unbearable to you. Your the door, you think you can
whole body reacts negatively to the stench. hear movement on the other
You want to throw up, but your stomach is side.
empty. You need to get out of this place as
soon as possible. At this point, players may use
use Actions, to learn more
about the walk-in freezer and its purpose. Ask your
However, you quickly realize that you can hold players to roll their Investigate action, with a diculty
of 3. Depending on how well they roll, they can 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
your life granted
— is nowand was so natural
something you can for all of
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.
hospial-like lighting, causing you to navigate
the room carefully to avoid bumping into the

S T O RY G U I D E
e Escape Ideally, the players should decide on what to try. If
Aer the players have
have investigated the room, they they get stuck and frustrated, suest investigating
will probably want to try and nd a way out. is a bit more, or simply suest 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 dicult,
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 suest that player characters feel
mechanism to pry it open with a Lockpick Action they are performing supernaturally well on them.
(Diculty 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 (Diculty 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 resauran.
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
resauran, 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 resauran, 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 regurgiate 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 eec.
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 resauran,
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 resauran, 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 sarted selling
uniform which seems to it them badly. e look drugs. Parker clearly does not recognize you,
on
liketheir
to beace suestsbut
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.

At this point, the characters may interact with Parker.


Read depending on the characters in play: Depending on how the interaction goes, they may even
try to use powers on the guard that they’re beginning
to discover they have.
I’ve Seen is Guard Before... If any of the characters tries to start a conversation
based on their knowing Parker from their mortal life,
Terry or Rain
Rain:: You recognize the guard! You Parker could just agree to let them walk away and let
remember them from your time in prison. eir them be, or even agree to help them. On the other
name is Parker. ey were also an inmate, and hand, depending on the approach taken by the player
characters, Parker may try to run away if threatened.
you e Actions suested below are Contests, opposed
bothalways hadtoasee
surprised friendly relationship.
each other Y
You
ou are
in this situation. by Parker’s relatively weak dice pool of 4. ey are
ey don’t act hostile. Instead, they raise their probably easy wins
wins for your players, but can still be
hands, obviously willing to alk this through. exciting. In other situations you may choose to “take
hal” instead (see below), which, in this example,
Blake or Alex: e guard is vaguely amiliar. would make the diculty 2.
You met them a few years back. You used to go
to the same parties, but they never seemed to
belong there. ey were selling drugs to rich CONTESTS AND TAKING HALF

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 disant 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
Atacking you or your friends would never cross rolled.

their mind.

STARTER SET

Rain: e Beast in your Blood whispers that


Rain:
you can make this lowly guard cower in fear
At this stage, some of the supernatural
supernatural aspects of from you. You can look at them with Eyes of
characters start coming to the fore, as their Blood is the Beas, which are a terrifying red, and help
revealing itself to them. you see in the dark. You also feel you’re able to
turn your hands into claws, Feral Weapons,
Weapons, to
further sartle the guard.
Read Depending on the
Characterss in Play and How
Character
If they start talking, Parker explains that they just
the Scene Is Playing Out: got this job, but it is not
no t something they particularly
like or are even trained for. eir background as a
Alex, Blake or Terry
Terry:: Parker is caught o guard. convicted small-time drug dealer didn’t make it easy to
ey weren’t expecting to see you
yo u breaking free, land other jobs, though.
and even less to recognize someone among you. If the characters are determined to ght the guard,
Your Blood whispers to you. Somehow, you or even on feeding from them, the battle will probably
know you could make them sympathize even be fast and brutal. Roll 4 dice for Parker.
more with you or be terriied by you. You can In the extreme event that someone feeds o Parker,
Parker,
use your Persuade and make them feel in Awe draining the guard completely lowers their Hunger
of you. On the other hand, you may use your to zero. In this case, make a mental note of which
Intimidate action to Daunt them. As you do characters committed this crime and give them Stains
when these come up later. Stains will be dened later
this, you feel supernaturally charming and
in this scenario. For the time being, make a note that
manipulative.
the guilty party got 1 Stain.
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 conict seems very easy to solve, you can
instinctively know you can Cloud Parker’s use the One-Roll Conict 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 specic number of successes.
Alex or Sam
Sam:: Even though the situation is That difculty is 2 for a signicantly 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 difculty of their roll by 1, or 2 if they did all
of these things.
Marsh:: You notice that if you sand very still,
Marsh As long as one player’s roll reaches or exceeds that
or move cautiously, the guard can no longer see difculty, 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 Difculty 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 Conicts work,
see p.10 of the Reference Guide.
Guide.

10

S T O RY G U I D E

Scene II: Just the Basics


■ Setup: e characters have just escaped the freezer as surprised to see you as you are to see him.
and may have dealt with a guard. Now they meet
He smiles, allowing you to see his angs: he’s a
Markus Dean, a vampire who wants to help them.
vampire, like you.
■ Goal: Learn about the vampire condition.
■ Goal: Learn about the vampire condition.
■ Exit: Markus’s driver arrives and 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 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
sands calm and conident — 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
circumstanceses of their
unlock your memories, memories between your Embraces and how fate aligned them to meet their
moral, 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 th them
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 Prole, 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 ocially 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. to be overheard. “I heard some rumors about
As they do all of this, read ahead.
ahead. this Second Inquisition safehouse on my 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
control acilities. e Second Inquisition is bad
happened
expositionto them.
and Trytotokeep
action strike
thea scene
balance between and
interesting 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 sate-
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 specic
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 aer 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.”
say out of their hands, follow me.”
He guides you through the kitchen to the e Second Inquisition
backdoor of the resauran, 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 Sar
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 morals
morals
it’s appropriate, especially if you feel the sense of
excitement is falling. You will nd answers to the most
“We don’t allow morals 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

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 type isn’t an issue for most of us.”
you want to be less formal.”
formal.”
Disciplines/Powers
Hunger
“Our Blood, which we oen call ‘viae,’ 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 viae there is a Beast that
calls to us. e hungrier we get and the more
“Morals are your primary arget for feeding we lose our moral atachmen, 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 imporant deails of you from their the driver’s sea, okay?.”
minds. Morals 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 Moral Friends/Family
to lick the wounds aer feeding. It will erase
the marks.” “It is unwise to keep in touch with your moral
friends and amily. is will oen only lead
to tragedy. at said, we oen cultivate some
sort of relationship with the morals — human
beings — to keep in touch with what makes us
human.”

14

S T O RY G U I D E

Final Death Whenever you’re


you’re ready to move on, read
read the following text:

“Y
“Your
our new Blood allows you to do an
endless number of things you couldn’t e Driver Is Here
do as a moral. 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 immoral.” When he’s in, the driver pulls away
away in a hurry
hurry..

Typical “Vampire”
“Vampire”
Assumptions: Sakes,
Assumptions: Sakes,
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.
Sakes 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 eect on us, either. I’ve heard of
some morals who can — somehow
— turn them into weapons against
us. I heve never seen it mysel,
though.”

STARTER SET

NO BODY LEFT BEHIND LOCKED AND LOADED


Markus will abandon player characters only if they Markus oers to give the characters pistols from a
show extreme mistrus, but still wishes them well, give briefcase that he keeps ready for dangerous occasions.
them an old cell phone and tell them to hit redial to eir damage (+2) is already actored into the Atack
get in touch with an ally. If this should happen, jump actions of characters that are skilled in Firearms.
ahead to the next scene: assume the player characters
leave the resaurant on their own and that their
Hunger pangs lead them to feed. While the characters areare in the car with Markus, you
can take a moment to continue the conversation
from the alley, if you like. Cover questions that
the characters may still have. You can punctuate or
Drop-o Point interrupt questions or answers with dangerous turns
or other exciting car chase ideas. It may look like the
As the black SUV makes its way along North van will reach them, but actually it won’t. e point
Highland Avenue, you can see a white van of this scene is for them to get away clean. You can
behind you, clearly following, but it’s impeded showcase the amazing skills of Markus’s driver.
Once you’re ready to cut the conversation, have
by the heavy trafic and the driver’s superior
them outrun the van for a few blocks, and read the
skills. “We need to lose them,” Markus sates, following:
“but irst I want to divert them from you. We’ll
drop you o along the way, and I think they’ll
follow us while you get
get out of here Markus s Farewell
“I think I know of a good spot where I can drop
Markus drops the player characters o at one of three you of. It is within my territory and you'll
dependinge
locations: Cicero
on the , Club
group’s Violet
mood and the e Streets,
, orinterests. have the opportunity to grab a bite there.” He
chuckles at this. For a while, he says silen,
Take the temperature of your players. If everyone
seems ready to explore the predatory nature of
only breaking it to give directions to the driver.
vampires, send them to e Cicero (a seedy motel). “If you had sires, they would be your lifelines
If they’re more intrigued by the seductive, alluring tonigh, but you’ll have to make do with me, and
aspects of vampirism, have them hunt at Club Violet. my support system,” he chuckles as he adds this
Y
Your
our players may also
also stalk a back alley somewher
somewheree or last par. “Get somewhere safe, make sure you
try to pick up a potential victim on the way,way, too. Once are fed, and avoid the sunrise.” He punctuates
they reach a place where they can feed, use your Victim the last three words with a hand gesture.
Cards, drawing victims only from the appropriate "I’ll be at e Red Sar tomorrow. I hope
location (Club Violet, e Cicero, or e Streets.) you can
can m
make
ake i
i,, too
too.. He hands over a disposable
Please note that if you chose not to print cards, you
cell phone without a touchscreen: instead it has
can use a table instead. Please nd the Victims tables
little keypad buttons and a small screen.
under Appendix II, starting on p.36.

16

S T O RY G U I D E

Scene III: The Face of the


“is phone is old and a little safer than Beast
a smart phone: the Inquisition shouldn’t pick
up your calls. Hit the redial button to reach ■ Setup: e characters just escaped hunters with
an ally of mine if you get into serious trouble. Markus's help, and he played decoy for them.
■ Goal: Learn about feeding. Look for a place to rest
She’ll help if you mention my name. Do not use
(possibly e Red Star). Meet Jackie.
it to call your amily or your friends. You have
■ Exit: Characters run into Jackie, call her, or are
to assume that the Second Inquisition already called by her. Alternatively: they nd their way to
apped their. Don’t visit any of your usual e Red Star.
hangouts, for the same reason.” ■ Next scene: Characters arrive at e Red Star with

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 trac with souls, demanding blood. It’s time to hunt. Oen,
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 sanding 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 sarts 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

glamorous boulevards or seedy alleys, and use the


Invite the players to describe how their characters Victim Cards provided for that location (or see the
feel about the situation they’re in. Ask them some tables in Appendix II).
questions about their emotional state. What do they ■ Otherwise, look for the entries on e Cicero or

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 Conict 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

Except for these potentially hostile characters, Victim


Cards and the Victim tables in Appendix II do not
have traits, just entries describing the victim and
additional information. Player characters may use e Cicero
appropriate social Actions (such as Persuade ) to learn
more about their victims, and a dierent kind of is aging behemoth of a building that was once
Action to feed o them. Every victim is dierent and an art deco beauty, a luxury boarding house for
must be approached in a dierent way. sarlets and ingenues. Time has le e Cicero
Feeding as presented in this guide is relatively
behind, however, and now it sands as seven
straightforward.
straightforwar d. If you want to add some complexity,
use the Resonance entry on the Victim and Enemy
stories of rickety saircases, peeling wallpaper,
cards (see the Reference Guide, p. 12). and sained linoleum, where those down on
When Kindred feed, referred to as the Kiss by their luck seek shelter on the cheap.
them, both Kindred and victim experience extreme A clerk watches the front desk. His job is
pleasure, and victims oen forget
forget the details. Describe mostly to chase away vagrants, and to call the
these feeding scenes in as much or as little detail as cops if the tenants sart ighting too loudly. He’s
your group is comfortable with.
with. doughy and pliable, more interested in watching
sports on his tiny TV than doing his job.
QUICK HUNTING
Even though hunting for blood is an important part Ray, the clerk, tries hard to ignore the player
of Vampire roleplaying, your players may not feel characters unless it’s abundantly obvious that they’re
comfortable playing out such scenes in detail, or may intruding and up to no good, or they interact with
not even be interested at this time. You can always opt him. If they do, Ray makes some unkind remarks
for quick hunts.
hunts. Ask them what approach they take about any character not using the Blush of Life,
Life, (“My
and ask them to make a quick test of an Attribute + God, you look terrible. Are you sick?”), more so for
a Skill of your choice, depending on the approach they Marsh..
Marsh
chose, against a Difculty of 2. For example, if a player Ray hints that if the characters are interested, he
wants to hunt by hiding in the shadows of an alley and can get them “whatever they need.” He can be bribed,
ambushingg the rst potential victim they see, ask them to
ambushin Intimidated or Persuaded into oering the characters
roll Dexterity + Stealth.
Stealth. All characters have a Quick drugs, illegal weapons, access to stolen property
property,, and
Hunting test suggestion, but you can override that if you even a master key for all the bedrooms. e characters
prefer your own approach. have an opportunity to practice their actions and
Winning the test means the character feeds and Disciplines on the receptionist. A few examples follow:
reduces their Hunger
Hunger.. Their Hunger goes down to 1,
unless they state that they choose to kill their prey by ■ Alex, Blake, Sam, or Terry can easily charm Ray,
draining them of all their blood. In that case, the vampire whose dubious morality make him an easy target
character’s Hunger goes to 0, but they incur Stains
Stains.. (Diculty 3). Enhancing the action with Awe
Stains will be dened later in this scenario. For the time makes it an even easier feat.
being, make a note that the killer receives 1 Stain. ■ Blake, Rain, or Terry could intimidate him (Dif-
culty 3) into letting them in without calling the
MANAGING HUNGER police,
A vampire reduces their Hunger by 1 for every victim means (either
Dauntthrough
, Eyes ofnatural or)supernatural
the Beast supernatural
they drink from, to a minimum of 1. Achieving Hunger ■ Alex or Sam could use their Compel power (Dif-
0 is impossible, except by draining a victim dry, and culty 4) to tell him to give them a master key
key,, let
killing them. Murder has moral implications and triggers them through, or any other simple
si mple order like that.
Stains..
Stains

18

S T O RY G U I D E

■ Alex or Jay can use Cloud Memory (Diculty 4)


and ask him to forget that he met them aer they
pass.
■ Jay, Marsh, and Terry can Sneak past Ray with Most Cicero victims are
little diculty (3). Marsh can use their Unseen sleeping, so no additional test
Passage power to walk right past Ray without is required to feed from them. Refer to
rolling, and even to steal some valuables from his individual victim descriptions for exceptions to
table (like the aforementioned master key) as pass- this. If the characters are unlucky enough to run into
ing him by. Ray is oblivious enough that even this Dee, use the One-Roll Conict rules to resolve the
won’t warrant a roll for Marsh. situation.
victims have a Resonance. As
Additionally, all victims
If they should kill Ray, the guilty parties gain an was stated above, ignore this if this is your rst time
another Stain. As before, for now, just make a note of storytelling or if you want your feeding scenes to go
it. Stains will be explained soon. faster.
Near the reception desk there is an elevator and an
old staircase. e elevator is out of order, but what’s a
few ights of stairs to someone incapable of breaking Club Violet
a sweat?
To feed in e Cicero, the characters must enter Loud, bass-heavy industrial music spills out
the locked hotel rooms. Fortunately, the doors still use onto the street as the scent of cloves and tobacco
mechanical locks and can easily be picked or broken. hangs in the air. Inside, strobe lights cut through
Use Lockpick at diculty 3. As stated earlier, Ray has
the room, where LA’s counter-culture stomps,
a master key for all rooms, too, which can be easily
acquired by the characters if picking locks proves too
sways, and swoons to the newest industrial
complicated. sounds. Twisty sairs lead up to another,
Unless otherwise stated, a given victim can sustain smaller room, where the DJ plays slower and
two vampires before expiring in the arms of the third. more romantic darkwave.
is means that up to two vampires can feed from A back door on the irst loor leads out onto
the same victim and reduce their Hunger to 1 without a patio surrounded by a all wooden fence,
killing them. If a third vampire feeds from the same with benches and lower-illed planters creating
victim, no matter how much Hunger the vampire sates, hidden corners where club-goers can smoke and
the victim dies. Vampires know when their prey is at gossip in semi-privacy.
risk of death — they can sense the heartbeat growing
fainter and fainter and sense the burgeoning weakness
of their victim. Remember that murder and even Characters must take care when feeding, as a person
unintentional killing by feeding produces Stains. fainting on the dance oor due to sudden blood loss
Inside each room are potential victims. When the could attract the wrong kind of attention. ose
characters enter a room, choose one or more “e who distrust their sense of self control can use
Cicero” Victim Cards (or see the tables in Appendix their Persuade on their chosen prey to get them to
II). Each Victim has a basic description, additional follow them into a bathroom or out onto the patio.
information upon closer inspection, and roleplaying Fortunately,, due to the low light, and the fact that half
Fortunately
notes. Characters can search most rooms for additional the crowd wears pale makeup already,
already, those without
information or objects. Blush of Life are not at a direct disadvantage. Even
Marsh goes relatively unnoticed in Club Violet.

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 specic
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 Conict 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.

Recovery If they totally ignore Jackie and go their own way,


encourage them to come up with creative solutions for
■ Setup: Te characters have just fed. Tey need to avoiding burning to death in the sun (which happens
regroup and plan, but ultimately, they need to rest. if they refuse to nd shelter). Alex or Blake could rent
■ Goal: Learn a bit more about the vampire condi- a motel room for the day, but how safe might that be?
tion. ey are chased and need to ght their way Empty homes and warehouses abound in the rougher
out. parts of the city, but so do scavengers,
scavengers, criminal gangs,
■ Exit: Characters are chased by the Second Inquisi- wild dogs, and squatters. is should not be easy, and
tion. the characters may end up considering giving Jackie a
■ Next scene: Characters arrive at e Red Star aer chance aer all. If they call her aer having spurned
a very close call. her, she will make it dicult but take them in, out of
respect for her alliance with Markus.
e Approaching Dawn Meeting Jackie
Jackie picks them up in a posh black limousine
limousine
Now that you have satisied your need for blood, driven by one of her mortal employees. She answers
you become aware of another new sensation. any questions the characters have on the way to e
Your Beast senses the approaching sunrise, and Red Star.
Star. Jackie explains the dangers which daytime
presents to vampires. Similar
Similar to Markus’s, these entries
you feel a creeping languidness, the irst signs
cover a variety of topics the characters may ask. Te
of the deep slumber that you sense will all upon pressure this time is the danger of
of the rising sun.
you soon. You must ind a safe place to spend Y
You
ou can use similar techniques as before,
before, with any
the day, where the deadly sun cannot ind you
and you must ind it quickly. potential
However,interruptions
they will neverrelating
make ittotothe
Tecoming
coRed
mingStar,
dawn.as
the Second Inquisition is surveilling them and waiting
for dawn to attack.

20

S T O RY G U I D E

e sun is about to come up, and the player characters

Sleeping cannot aord to lose any time.


“As ar as morals can tell, we’re dead during the Jackie looks at you impatiently. ““Markus
Markus must
day. Corpses. Waking up is extremely dificul. 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
Shelter action. If anyone scores 5 or more successes, their shot
hits the pursuing van. Describe exciting eects, such
“You’ll have to ind a safe place to say 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

feeding is more imporant than a safe place to headlight, or blowing up a tire.


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
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 moral will open the door, and wheel or the driver, achieving the same eect. She will
then you’re toas. Literally.” only lower herself to do this if she feels like the player
characters can’t do it.

e Red Sar
Scene V: The Red Star
“e Red Sar is a local hangout for some of us.
It’s set up as a temporary shelter. You can say ■ 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 Sar
white van in the street behind you. It’s deinitely
Butting up against a freeway overpass, e Red
the
and same
despiteonethethat was best
driver’s chasing
eortyou earlier
to lose —
them, Sar 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 cockail 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 hospial 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 suested this. Discuss with the players
level: like most people, they may be deceitful or if any of the actions they committed (denitely 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 Aravated 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..

REMORSE TESTS AND DEGENERATION


Acquiring Stains weighs heavy on a Kindred’s conscience, their actions haunting them as they go about their nightly business.
Whenever you nish a game session, you call for Remorse test for all players that acquired Stains
Stains.. This will erase them no
matter the result, but depending on the test, the character retains their Humanity or have a bit of it taken by the Beast
Beast..
Players roll one regular (black) die for every un-Stained, empty box on their Humanity (thus, a character with
Humanity 7 and one Stain rolls two dice). If a character has no un-Stained boxes,
boxes, the player rolls one die.
If any of the dice scores at least one or , all Stains are removed and the character retains Humanity. The
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 justied. 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

Depending on the events of the previous night, the Bartender/Ghouls


characters’ Hunger could be quite high.
“Make sure you ask the bartender if you need
anything, he’s a ghoul
ghoul.. Gets a hit of vampire
Waking Up Blood once a month. Makes him loyal, and
stronger. Always good to have someone looking
Your eyes pop open at sundown, alert and out for your daytime needs.”
ready to go. You feel your Hunger, your endless
companion, and you briely reminisce about the
events from last night and the vivid dreams you Personal Advice
may have experienced.
e bartender picks you up and directs you “Yeah, obviously I think you should join the
upsairs. You can feel his pulse and heartbea. Anarch Movemen. But I’m not going to force
He’s moral. For a momen, you strule with you or anything. Whatever you do, though…

your desire to sate your Hunger


Hunger.. en you stick together.
on their It’s rougha out
own. Without there
crew, for die.”
you’ll a vampire
wonder if he’s into the whole deal.
As you reach the ground loor, you meet
with two Kindred you’ve already met: Sage and Anarch Movement
Movement
Jackie.
“e Anarch Movement is freedom from
ascists, capialists and other assholes. Elders
Jackie tells them she hasn’t heard from Markus, which try to hoard all the resources, keep all the blood
clearly worries her. She steps away to make a few
to themselves, and push us younger Licks under
phone calls and leaves the characters
characters with Sage.
In this scene, Sage introduces the Anarch faction,
the bus and into the hands of Inquisitors. Not on
which she belongs to. She’s passionate in the defense of my watch. Not while a single one of us Anarchs
her beliefs. can bare our angs at them.”
If the scene seems to drag on, feel free to have
Jackie interrupt the conversation. As the conversation winds down, Jackie returns.
Text options are given for you to read through, She does not reveal if she got ahold of Markus, but
but as always, improvise as you deem suitable. Sage is has much more important information: one of the
agressively optimistic and sees the Anarch Movement character’s sires is alive. is is, of course, the sire that
as a way to make unlife better for the Kindred who are was discussed during the dream sequence earlier.
poor and powerless. e character’s sire waits for their childe at the
Armitage Hotel, where Jackie has arranged a meeting.
is is the sire who was the focus of the previous day’s
dreams.
24

S T O RY G U I D E

e problem is that the Armitage Hotel is one of the


very few Camarilla bastions in town. e Anarchs have Scene VI: The In Crowd
pretty strong opinions about the Camarilla and won’t
hesitate to share them with the characters. ■ Setup: e characters meet the Camarilla, a power-
ful vampire organization. e sire of one of them is
apparently a member.
e Camarilla ■ Goal: Learn about the Camarilla. Consider joining
one side or another. Reveal that the Second Inqui-
Jackie: sition has a recording of the characters
“e Camarilla are a political action that ■ Exit: Characters are summoned by Allison.
would rather have nothing to do with us. ■ Next scene: Characters face the Second Inquisition
and try to recover the recording.
ey’ve circled their wagons against the Second
Inquisition and dabble very little in our afairs. Here, the characters are introduced to the world of
Frankly I prefer it that way, too. ey have the Camarilla, a hidden world of luxury, control and
a million rules about population control and submission. Make sure you convey an atmosphere
upholding the secret of our existence.”
of decadent
ambition magnicence,
and of scene
paranoia. is wealthalso
andfunctions
power, ofto
Sage: present the Camarilla as an option, much the same way
“Fucking ascist assholes. I hate them so much. Sage presented the Anarchs as a faction.
It’s jus… you’re immoral, why spend it being a
dick to others?”
Getting to the Armiage
is information may make the characters wary or Jackie’s luxurious limousine akes you through
Jackie’s
paranoid, and the Anarchs advise caution. at said, the dirty parts of the city. Under every freeway
Jackie relays that the sire has promised safe passage, overpass, tent cities proliferate. Bears with
and though Kindred can be duplicitous liars, she says
cardboard
cardboa rd signs plead for spare change whenever
that the Armitage is considered safe ground. It’s where
many Camarilla vampires hunt and feed, and they
the car stops at an intersection. But abruptly,
that all ends over the length of a single city
would not risk violence there. block. No more tent cities or panhandlers — all
Jackie also reveals that the sire being in a venue
known to be frequented by the Camarilla is news to the buildings are shiny and new. Everyone on
her — this is an extremely recent development. If the the street is beautiful and trendy. And looming
characters act overly wary, Sage oers to monitor them above it all, the Armiage Hotel.
Hotel.
from afar and swoop in if they encounter trouble (they Inside, wealthy tourists toting designer
likely won’t). If the characters ask about the sire, she luage check in at the cherrywood hospiality
says that she just knows them in passing, and that desk. e opulence dazzles all of you, and
she’s surprised that the sire appears to be a Camarilla
you feel decidedly out of place among such
sympathizer now.
ashionable people. Before you can do much else,
a all Asian woman approaches you. She wears
a beautiful blue and white sui, her jewelry
subtly indicating her allegiance. She introduces
herself as Allison, shaking each of your hands.

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.
rooop 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 Oer
Characters are briey 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 oer. Not of
membership, not right now, of course. But we
Bar at the Armiage 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 oer 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 exaerates “Any vampire worth their blood should wan,
their own importance to the faction. Insight tests at and be worthy o, membership in the Camarilla.
Diculty 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

Were You Responsible


Inquisition. Do you think the Anarchs have the for our Capture?
Capture?
power to sand against the Second Inquisition?
No. ey’ll die screaming in the streets. I beg you “Absolutely no. e Second Inquisition is a
not to join them and see such an end yoursel. I dangerous sword which
which cuts both ways. I would
can only imagine what Markus and his friends not set them against my worst enemy, the risk is
may have told you. I feel for them. We used to too high. I have no idea who did, but I am glad
be like a amily… ere’s nothing that would you escaped.”
make me happier than seeing all of my friends
enjoying the protection of the Camarilla.” e sire invites the coterie, and their childe in
particular, to take some
some time considering their oer
oer..
e Camarilla Whenever you feel ready
ready for it, have Allison
interrupt the conversation, and request their presence
“Centuries ago, the morals rose up against us. elsewhere. She leads them into a large, dimly lit room
e Camarilla formed in response, aer the dominated by a humongous at-screen television,

irst Inquisition devasated us in Europe. Since surrounded


She grabsbya luxurious
remote andand comfortable
plays seating.
a recording that lasts
then, we have spread across the globe. We oer
for just a few seconds.
a better, safer society than what came before.
In years pas, joining was as simple as swearing
fealty to the local Prince. But escalating conlict e Recording
has caused us to close ranks. Potential members
must now prove their worth and theirthe ir loyalty.” “he video is short and looks rough, but you can
clearly see yourselves depicted in i. It shows
you wandering around the walk-in freezer of
e Prince the resaurant you led last nigh. It begins as
you woke up and rose to your feet and breaks o
“Every Camarilla city is ruled by a Prince,
a few seconds later. ese moments are shown
an elder of our kind whose word is law. e
Primogen Council is a group of local leaders, in aarepeating
for loop, which Allison allows to loop
few iterations.
iterations.
who advise the Prince and share in the
She pauses the video, and increases the
management of the city. is city is dieren.
lighting of the room to discuss i.”
Here, the Anarchs roam free, with no Prince to
cull their numbers. Don’t fear… we are working
to change this situation.” Allison explains that one of their operatives got
ahold of this recording. She says that she believes the
Inquisitors that have been following them hold the
Second Inquisition original media. Recovering it, she promises, will give
them a shot at beginning their process to join the
“Terrifying.. Never let them catch your scen.”
“Terrifying organization. She underlines that not only will this be
benecial to them, but they could potentially avoid a
Masquerade breach by acquiring it.
27

STARTER SET

Allison tells the characters that time is of the essence


essence Scene VII: Fire in the
and they should leave. She oers them a car with
a ghoul driver to facilitate their mission. is is a Night
bulletproof limousine with a superior driver.
If Markus never issued them pistols, then Allison ■ Setup: e characters face the detachment of
will. eir +2 damage already listed on their character Inquisitors that have been hounding them since the
sheets. beginning.
■ Goal: Climactic combat scene. Recover the footage.
Decide if they wish to side with one of the organi-
zations that they encountered, or want to do their
own thing.
■ Exit: Defeat the Inquisitors.
■ Next scene: is is the nal scene of the scenario,
but you can pick up loose threads to continue the
story.
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 conict:
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 conict to be more detailed than
allies were an unexpected factor. e Anarchs have a One-Roll Conict,
Conict, 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) inicts 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 Supercial Damage is marked as slashes (/) on the
Markus or Allison and may have accepted a Camarilla Health track. Always halve Supercial 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 Supercial
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 conict 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 conict 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 Conict rules (p.10). they regroup and escape, or how they surrender, or even
If so, choose a diculty depending on how tough you how they’re killed by the victorious player characters, if
want them to be. We suest 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 diculty 6 or For rules on Recovery, and more details and
even 5. examples, see p.12 of the Reference Guide.
Guide.

29
STARTER SET

Once you’re ready to start,


explain how the situation
looks. You may want to
draw a rough sketch of the
situation as you envision
it, but it’s also possible to
manage the entire scene
as a “theater of the mind”
narrative, too. Remember
that if they used the
limousine the Camarilla
provided, they can use it
as cover as it’s bulletproof.
e driver will not ght
and will run for their
life if the 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
conict. 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 Supercial 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 inict the success margin plus this damage rating actions can be unarmed or using weapons, such as the
to their victim. is is never Aravated 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
Discipline use can be benecial 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 inict 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 (Diculty 5) victim to death.
to look into their eyes.
Marsh can vanish with Cloak of Shadows and
Unseen Passage and go for the oensive 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 conict 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 III, 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 aravated damage (X), you technician that they may have seen in a vision, are

should heavily
If you suest
rule that theythat they
win, youee.
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, aer 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
conict, 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 dificult 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 undersand 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 oer a few ideas as to
where the story might go from here. Below you’ll
nd information to continue the story in dierent
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, Fih 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 aer 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 dierent set of challenges.

33

STARTER SET

A Few Suestions
Suestions 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 Horric 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 strule 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 benets 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 ‘ocial’ police report
and do their own diing). And if a character quits
their day job, how will they continue paying their
bills?
■ Give your players small Markusies to oset 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

Appendix I: Some of the sires of these vampires are still


captured, stored in hidden locations. Some escaped.
Backstory One of them requested assistance and asylum from the
Camarilla. By the end of the adventure, the splinter
e story is nished. Some of the mysteries have Second Inquisition squad is dissolved. It’s up to the
been cleared out, but there are still
sti ll many questions characters now to try to nd their lost sires, or move
unanswered. Here’s a summary of the events that led to on with their unlives, trying to forget all of this ever

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 aer 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 scientic 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 dierent 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.. dierent 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 Conict 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 aordable 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 specied, these victims will not resist the characters if they want to feed.

Roll Name Resonance Text


1 Dee, 37 Choleric e room is neat and non-descript, almost as if not lived in. But an
open case full of weapons immediately calls your attention. A gure
emerges from the bathroom, wielding a shotgun. Wearing a colorful
bathrobe, Dee looks determined to make you sorry for going into her
room.
Dee will not follow the characters if they run away, but she will
stand her ground. She assumes they are robbers.
■ Attack 6

■ 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, Diculty 2

Empty bottles and pill boxes. A framed photo: four children and
their parents, standing in front of red-rock clis. 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, Diculty 2

She's wearing an heirloom wedding ring. ere's more jewelry


and ve thousand dollars in her purse. If woken, Natalie assumes the
characters are friends of her ex-husband (Barry), here to bring her
home, and she’ll ght back. Dice pool: 4

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, Diculty 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, Diculty 2

A plastic bottle of wine and half a box of cigarettes.


cigarettes. No food
anywhere and no money in her purse. Angelique hasn’t eaten in
several days and is anemic. Characters can only take 1 Hunger point
from her without risking her life.

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, Diculty 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 eect. 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, Diculty 3

Under her sleeping bag is a at folder which contains


documentation that could potentially prove that Kindred exist. She's
onto something, but who would believe her?

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 struling with something that is not there.
Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 2
Some leover 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.

9 Greta, 36 Choleric e room is untouched, as if nobody had been there in a while. On


the bed, a woman sleeps with her arms crossed over her chest. She is
fully dressed and wears a carnival mask.
■ Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 1

e bathtub is full of ice and water. ere is a drawing of a


cartoon character, and a tattoo needle gun. If awaken, Greta will only
speak in Norwegian, and will scream until somebody comes to help
her.

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, Diculty 2

e suitcase next to his bed is lled with trophies and old


photographs. In his youth, James
James used to be a world class javelin
thrower.. e white cane resting on his lap tells you he's blind.
thrower

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.

Roll Name Resonance Text


1 Marion, 28 Phlegmatic Androgynous and proud, Club Violet is Marion's personal ef. ey
know everyone worth knowing, and are deeply connected to Los
Angeles’ various subcultures.
subcultures.
■ Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 1

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, Diculty 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, Diculty 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, Diculty 2

3 Monica, 23 Sanguine Pink top, white skirt, and golden trainers. Monica is denitely 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, Diculty 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, Diculty 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, Diculty 1

He takes you to a stall in the bathroom, where he shows you his


goods. Pills, weed, coke...
coke.. . the works. Everything you can imagine, and
it's on the cheap.
■ Feed - Intimidate or Persuade, Diculty 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, Diculty 3

She is overjoyed. At last, someone who is close to her level. She


stops and oers you a drink. Lily is a ballet dancer, currently touring
with an important company, but she loves any dancing style.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 2

39

STARTER SET

e Violet Club (continued)


Roll Name Resonance Text
6 Chad, 20 Choleric His university blazer makes him stick out like a sore thumb. e fact
that he's recording everything on his phone makes it worse. It's clear
that nobody likes this guy.
■ Tell him to stop recording - Intimidate, Diculty 2

Chad lowers his camera, and confesses. He is following a girl he


knows, and recording her as part of a tasteless prank. He promises to
stop, but you know he is a lying stalker.
stalker.
■ Feed - Intimidate, Diculty 2

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, Diculty 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 suests she
has met and loved monsters in the past.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 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, Diculty 1

Recently divorced, Barry is trying to reconnect with the scene


of his youth. He used to be one of the most recognizable faces in the
goth community,
community, he says. You see a dad in a black t-shirt, desperately
trying to t in.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 2

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, Diculty 3

Frankie drives a cab. Tonight, a bike crossed right in front of her.


She couldn't stop in time. Somebody is in hospital, and she believes
it's her fault. She just can't stop seeing her victim's face, slowly sliding
across the windscreen.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 1

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 dierent directions. Use
Diculty 3 for most rolls. In case of a Conict, 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 dierent
dierent TTests
ests that can give more information about the
them,
m, and allow the players to fee
feed
d o them.

Roll Name Resonance Text


1 Red, 19 Choleric Wearing the colors of a local gang, he starts posing as a good
Samaritan. Quickly, however,
however, his words turn to threats. He wants
your wallets and phones, and he has a gun.
Red can be Intimidated (Diculty 4), but failing to do so or to
comply will result in him losing his temper, and eventually shooting.
He can call for backup (more gang members, use his stats for them).
■ Attack 6

■ Pistol: +2 Damage

■ "is is not your neighborhood."

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, Diculty 2

Helen dreams of escaping with the circus, joining a carnival, or


just taking the road and never looking back, but she is too
to o afraid to
take the rst step. Her elderly parents count on her and she just can't
leave them behind.
■ Feed - Intimidate, Diculty 2

3 Matt, 29 Choleric A man on a massive chicken costume screaming at his phone


in German catches your attention. He's obviously angry and
disappointed, and couldn't be more out of place.
■ Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 2

He has been pranked by his newfound "friends" during a bachelor


party. Now he is stranded in the city,
city, miles away from
from his hotel,
without his wallet, and the only phone number he had turned out to
be a fake. Matt desperately needs help.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 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, Diculty 2

Jason just nished his shi at the hospital aer


aer a tough day.
day. He's
been in surgery for fourteen hours straight, and is just taking a walk
to clear his head. At least, today he helped save a life.
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 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, Diculty 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, Diculty 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, Diculty 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, Diculty 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, Diculty 2

8 Eve, 31 Choleric She seems eager to strike a conversation with you. Maybe too eager.
She oers you drugs, guns, and all sorts of illegal goods. But she looks
very nervous about it.
■ Get to the bottom of this - Intimidate, Diculty 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, Diculty 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, Diculty 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.

10 Someone from your Sa


Sang
ngui
uine
ne ey
ey reco
recogngniz
izee on
onee of yo
you.
u. ey
ey star
startt refe
refere
renc
ncin
ingg some
someth
thin
ingg bo
both
th of
past you did way back when.
when. You
You can recognize them now,:
now,: what they're
saying is true, if a bit embellished.
Who is this person? What did you do together?
together? Why did you
decide not to see them anymore?
■ Get rid of them - Intimidate, Diculty 3
■ Feed - Persuade, Diculty 1 (character's acquaintance) or Intimi-
Intimi-
date, Diculty 2

42

S T O RY G U I D E

Enemies:
e followinge 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 species the name and age of the character,
character, their attack value, their weapon of choice, the Diculty when
applying One Roll rules, their Resonance and some text illustrating who they are.

Roll Name Attack Weapon One Roll Resonance Text


1 Kerry Aldano, 41 7 Submachine 4 Phlegmatic Kerry is the ultimate team player and
gun: +4 natural leader. He's been training all
Damage his life, and he's the best at what he
does. His main goal is for the team to
make it home tonight, while getting
as many blankbodies as possible.
■ "ey cannot pass!"

2 Jules Walker, 33 8* Stake: +0 6 Phlegmatic Before the Second Inquisition even


Damage + started, Jules' family was already
Staking Eect hunting Vampires. Nobody knows
much about her, only that she leads
the charge with pride and expertise,
delivering deadly blows to any
monster she nds in her way.
■ "..."
3 Leah Nguyen, 32 6 Assault Rie: 4 Sanguine Even aer two tours in Afghanistan
+4 Damage and an honorable discharge, nothing
prepared Leah for
for the darkness she
would nd upon returning home.
Being recruited by Inquisitor Kerry
Aldano saved her from losing her
mind.
■ "Keep the formation!"

4 Pat Gorriti, 24 5 Handgun: +2 4 Melancholic Pat always wanted to be a Police


Damage Ocer and has had an impeccable
record so far. His Captain asked him
one night to join her on a special
assignment. He's now horried and
would rather not be here, but his
loyalty and shame force him to stay.
■ "I'm covering you."

5 Monroe Davidson, 6 Handgun: +2 4 Sanguine FBI Agent Monroe Davidson has been
29 Damage a member of Special Aairs 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

Enemies: e Inquisition (continued)

Roll Name Attack Weapon One Roll Resonance Text


6 Ari Fleiszman, 51 6 Revolver: +2 4 Choleric A veteran Police Detective, Ari has
Damage been asked to cover up mysterious
killings for too many years by her
superiors. Now, they are allowing her
to do what's right. She will not let all
of those victims down.
■ "I see one of them over there!"

7 Rudy Caballero, 37 6 Shotgun: +3 4 Choleric Rudy is a SWAT Ocer. e death of


Damage his husband at the hands of vampires
has made him a hardcore hunter. He's
doing it mostly to leave his two kids a
better world.
■ "Don't let any of them get out alive!"

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!"

9 Father Avery, 65 4 Shotgun: +3 2 Melancholic Getting young people out of the


Damage streets used to be Avery's mission,
until he saw rst hand the cruelty of
vampires. He has quickly become one
of the top recruiters of the Second
Inquisition in town. He's worried
about his colleagues' safety.
■ "Return to hell, abomination!"

10 Gabriella Osorio, 27 5 Knife: +1 2 Sanguine Aer a whole life of getting in and


Damage out of prison, Gabriella has found
his calling thanks to the wisdom of
Father Avery: destroying the evil
that creeps in the night. Tonight is
her trial by re, but she can't stop
thinking about her sick mother,
waiting for her at home.
■ "I won't ail. I promise."

44

MODIPHIUS ENTERTAINMENT

Chris Birch - PUBLISHING DIRECTOR


DIRECTOR | Rita Birch - OPERATIONS
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
DIRECTOR
Cameron Dicks - BUSINESS MANAGER
MANAGER | Rob Harris - HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
Sam Webb
Webb - HEAD OF RPG DEVELOPMENT | Panayiotis
Panayioti s Lines - MARKETING EXECUTIVE
Peter Grochulski - PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT | Steve Daldry - SCHEDULI
SCHEDULINGNG & VIDEO PRODUCTION
Katya omas - ASSISTANT
ASSISTANT ART
ART DIRECTOR | Rhys Knight - SALES MANAGER
Cole Leadon - ASSISTANT
ASSISTANT SALES M MANAGER
ANAGER | Lloyd Gyan, Shaun Hockings - COMMUNITY SUPPORT
SUPPORT

WRITTEN BY - Juan Echenique,


Echenique, Rachel Judd, Khaldoun Khelil, Saskia Liddick, and Matt T
Timm
imm
EDITING - Juan Echenique and Matt Timm
CREATIVE CONSULTING - Jason Enos
PROOFREADING - Felipe Real

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

VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE FIFTH EDITION


Martin Ericsson, Karim Muammar, Kenneth Hite - CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
Mary Lee, Tomas Arfert - ART DEVELOPMENT
Jason Carl - PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION

© 2019 WHITE WOLF ENTERTAINMENT,


ENTERTAINMENT, AB
All rights reserved. Reproduction
Reproduction without the written consent of the pub
publisher
lisher is expressly forbidden,
forbidden, except for the
purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which m
may
ay be repr
reproduced
oduced for personal use only.
only.

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

Senior Inquisitor Senior Inquisitor Inquisitor


Attack: 7 (Submachine gun: +4 Damage) Attack: 8* (Stake: +0 Damage + Staking Eect) Attack: 6 (Assault Rie: +4 Damage)
OneRoll: 4 OneRoll: 6 OneRoll: 4

Kerry is the ultimate team player Before the Second


even started, Jules’ Inquisition
family was Even aer two
Afghanistan tours
and in
an honorable
and natural leader. He’s been
already hunting Vampires. discharge, nothing prepared Leah
training all his life, and he’s the
Nobody knows much about her, for the darkness she would nd
best at what he does. His main
only that she leads the charge with upon returning home. Being
goal is for the team to make it
pride and expertise, delivering recruited by Inquisitor Kerry
home tonight, while getting as
deadly blows to any monster she Aldano saved her from losing
losing her
many blankbodies as possible.
nds in her way. mind.

“Tey cannot pass!” “...” “Keep the formation!”

Phlegmatic Phlegmatic Sanguine

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

Inquisitor Inquisitor Inquisitor


Attack: 5 (Handgun: +2 Damage) Attack: 6 (Handgun: +2 Damage) Attack: 6 (Revolver: +2 Damage)
OneRoll: 4 OneRoll: 4 OneRoll: 4

Pat always wanted to be a Police FBI Agent Monroe Davidson has


A veteran Police Detective,
Detective,
Ocer and has hadh ad an impeccable
impe ccable been a member of Special Aairs
Ari has been asked to cover
cover up
record so far. His Captain asked for years, and she is considered
mysterious killings for too many
him one night to join her on a delusional by many of her peers.
years by her superiors. Now,
Now, they
special assignment. He’s now Her wish to prove that vampires
are allowing her to do what’s right.
horried and would rather not be exists works directly against her
She will not let all of those victims
here, but his loyalty and shame standing orders. Maybe this is the
down.
force him to stay. night.

“I have seen this before. Be careful,


“I’m covering you.” team!” “I see one of them over there!”
Melancholic Sanguine Choleric
RUDY CABALL ERO, 37 TOBY NICHOLSON, 21 FATHER AVERY, 65

Inquisitor Junior Inquisitor Junior Inquisitor


Attack: 6 (Shotgun: +3 Damage) Attack: 5 (Handgun: +2 Damage) Attack: 4 (Shotgun: +3 Damage)
OneRoll: 4 OneRoll: 2 OneRoll: 2

Getting young people out of the


Rudy is a SWA
SWAT T O cer. e
e streets used to be Avery’s mission,
New to the Police force, but not
death of his husband at the until he saw rst hand the cruelty
to Vampires, Toby saw his parents
hands of vampires has made him of vampires. He has quickly
a hardcore hunter. He’s doing die at for
thirst the revenge
hands ofmatches
a monster. His
his will become one of the top recruiters
it mostly to leave his two kids a of the Second Inquisition in town.
to help children in need.
better world. He’s worried about his colleagues’
safety.

“Don’t let any of them get out alive!” “Don’t believe their lies! Shoot them “Return to hell, abomination!”
all!”
Choleric Choleric Melancholic

ENEMIES ENEMIE S ENEMIES

ENEMIE S ENEMIE S ENEMIES


ENEMIE S ENEMIE S ENEMIES

G A B R I E L L A O S O R I O , 27
27 DEE, 37 RICKY, 22

Junior Inquisitor Te Cicero Te Cicero


Attack: 5 (Knife: +1 Damage)
OneRoll: 2
Te room is neat and non-descript, almost Te room smells of sex and old lube. Tere’s
as if not lived in. But an open case full of a man spread across the mattress, not going
Aer a whole life of getting in and anywhere. Half a bottle of bourbon and
weapons immediately
immediately calls your
your attention. A
out of prison, Gabriella has found painkillers lie next to
to him.
his calling thanks to the wisdom gure emerges
shotgun. from
Wearing the bathroom,
a colorful wielding
bathrobe, a
Dee looks
Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 2
determined to make you sorry for going into
of Father Avery: destroying the
her room. Empty bottles and pill boxes. A framed photo:
evil that creeps in the night. four children and their parents, standing in front
Dee will not follow the characters if they run
Tonight is her trial by re, but she of red-rock clis. Te parents’ faces have been
away, but she will stand her ground. She assumes
can’t stop thinking about her sick crossed with black marker.
they are robbers.
mother, waiting for her at home. Attack 6 Shotgun:
Shotgun: +4 Damage
Damage Drinking Ricky’s blood provides a booze and drugs
rush. Rolls based on Dexterity and Intelligence lose 1
“You broke into the wrong apartmen, assholes.” die for the nigh.
“I won’t ail. I promise.”

Sanguine Choleri c Sanguine

NATA L IE , 45 CHARLIE, 25 A N G E L I Q U E , 19

Te Cicero Te Cicero Te Cicero

She’s an extremely thin woman, fallen asleep on


She sleeps tfully. Two trash bags by the door He’s wide awake, feverishly writing in his little
her laundry, a highlighted movie script across
contain all her belongings. An angry red burn black book. Tat’s why he didn’t notice your
her lap. Books on acting technique and celebrity
spreads from her shoulder to her neck. lockpicking your way in. He looks at you from
gossip magazines lay scattered around the room.
over his black turtleneck. He’s surprised, but not
Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 2 necessarily scared. Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 2
She’s wearing an heirloom wedding ring. ere’s Feed - Persuade or Intimidate, Diculty 3 A plastic bottle of wine and half a box of
more jewelry and ve thousand dollars in her
cigarettes. No food anywhere and no money in
purse. If woken, Natalie
Natalie assumes the
the characters Charlie will let you drink from him, as long as
her purse. Angelique hasn’t eaten in several days
are friends of her ex-husband (Barry), here to you listen to his masterpiece
masterpiece poem (hint:
(hint: it’s far
and is anemic. Characters can only take 1 Hunger
bring her home, and she’ll ght back. Dice pool: 4 from a masterpiece.)
point from her without risking her life.

Melancho lic Sanguine Melanc holic

H A R R Y,
Y, 5 6 A N N I E , 31 DENNIS, 26
Te Cicero Te Cicero Te Cicero

Te walls are covered with posters of


A little table features
features a crystal
crystal ball, decoration,
decoration,
blockbusters of yesteryear. His expensive Te room is saturated in with pictures, news
and a colorful disguise. He’s standing, looking
jewellery and pajamas feel out of place. On the clippings, and owcharts. Pins with colored
at you, but not really seeing. His ravings would
oor, expensive liqueur stands next to a box of threads connecting everything. No bed. She’s in a
hint at him struling with something that is
the cheapest pizza. sleeping bag, having bad dreams.
not there.
Who is he? - Investigate,
Investigate, Diculty 2 Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 3
Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 2
You’ve
You’ve seen his face
face on the news. He produced
produced Under her sleeping bag is a at folder which
cheap slasher lms until his misconduct ended contains documentation that could potentially Some
fuelledleover drugs indicate
by his spiritualist that he’s tripping,
inclinations. Tat said,
his career. prove Kindred existence. She’s onto something,
maybe he can actually see ghosts.
but who would believe her?
Harry’s out on sleeping pills. His blood has a dizzying
Dennis’ blood is saturated with hallucinogens. Lose 1
eec. Lose 1 die from Dexterity-based rolls for the
die on Dexterity and Wits rolls for the nigh.
nigh.

Melancho lic Phlegmatic Sanguine

VICTIMS VICTIMS ENEMIES

VICTIMS VICTIMS VICTIMS


VICTIMS VICTIMS VICTIMS

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, Diculty 1 bones. an array of pretty lies. Andrés is here looking for
Check the room - Investigate, Diculty 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 dierent
Norwegian, and will scream until somebody be a world class javelin thrower. Te white cane directions. Use Diculty 3 for most rolls. In case
comes to help her. resting on his lap tells you he’s blind. of a Conict, roll 4 dice for him.

C h o l e r i c Melanc holic Sanguine

M A R I O N,
N, 2 8 THOMAS LAW, 24 MONICA, 23

Violet Club Violet Club Violet Club

Androgynous and proud, Club Violet is Marion’s


Marion’s A tall, slender
slender man wearing a neatly-trimmed
neatly-trimmed Pink top, white skirt, and golden trainers.
personal ef. Tey know everyone worth goatee, and dark hair falling straight down the Monica is denitely in the wrong club. She is
knowing, and are deeply connected to the towns’ middle of his back, he is an excellent dancer.
dancer. looking around her, bewildered and confused.
various subcultures.
subcultures. Every hour or so he takes short breaks to vape She is happy to talk to anyone not dressed in
and drink some club soda with lime. black.
Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 1
Dance O! - Dexterity + Athletics, Diculty 2 Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 2
Marion is quite interested in the characters,
as they appear new to this scene. Marion will Tomas Law has lived all his life in the town. Her roommate told her there was a party there.
actively attempt to cultivate the coterie, leaning He’s a wealth of local information. He’s stone- She is new in town, and thought she could have
heavily on dubious underground connections to cold sober, but euphoric from dancing and eager some fun tonight. She feels lost and disappointed,
seem impressive. to undergo new experiences. and only wants to make friends.

Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 3 Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 2 Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 2

Phlegmatic Phlegmatic Sanguine

MA RCUS, 25 LILY, 24 CHAD, 20

Violet Club Violet Club Violet Club

His university blazer makes him stick out


“I’ve got white, brown, and green. Whatever She moves with the grace of a feather and the
like a sore thumb. e fact that he’s recording
you need.” He talks quickly, thinks quickly, and strength of a lion. Tere is a crowd watching her,
everything on his phone makes it worse. It’s clear
quickly becomes your best friend, as long as you entraced.
that nobody likes this guy.
want to buy his merchandise.
Dance o! - Dexterity + Athletics, Diculty 3
Tell him to stop recording - Intimidate,
Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 1
She is overjoyed. At last, someone who is close Diculty 2
He takes you to a stall in the bathroom, where to her level. She stops and oers you a drink.
Chad lowers his camera, and confesses. He is
he shows you his goods. Pills, weed, coke... the Lily is a ballet dancer, currently
currently touring with an
following a girl he knows, and recording her as
works.
the Everything you can imagine, and it’s on
cheap. important
style. company, but she loves any dancing part of a tasteless
tasteless prank. He promises
promises to stop, but
but
you know he is a lying stalker
stalker..
Feed - Intimidate or Persuade, Dificulty 1 Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 2
Feed - Intimidate, Dificulty 2

C h o l e r i c Phlegmatic Choleri c

VICTIMS VICTIMS V ICTIMS

VICTIMS VICTIMS VICTIMS

VICTIMS VICTIMS VICTIMS


MAGENTA, 41 B A R R Y,
Y, 4 7 FRANKIE, 36

Violet Club Violet Club Violet Club

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, Diculty 3
Diculty 3 Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 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 suests 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, Dificulty 1
Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 1 Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 2

Phlegmatic Melanc holic Melanch olic

RED, 19 HELEN, 22 M A T T , 29
29

Te Streets Te Streets Te Streets

A man on a massive chicken costume screaming


Wearing the colors of a local
local gang, he starts
Still on full makeup, the mime drags her feet at his phone in German catches your attention.
posing as a good Samaritan. Quickly, however,
through the streets, sadly counting her meager He’s obviously angry and disappointed, and
his words turn to threats. He wants your wallets
earnings. couldn’t be more out of place.
and phones, and he has a gun.
Strike a conversation - Persuade, Dicutly 2 Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 2
Red can be Intimidated (Diculty 4), but failing
to do so or to comply will result in him losing Helen dreams of escaping with the circus, joining He has been pranked by his newfound “friends”
his temper, and eventually shooting. He can call a carnival, or just taking the road and never during a bachelor party. Now he is stranded in
for backup (more gang members, use his stats looking back, but she is too afraid to take the Hollywood, miles away from his hotel, without
for them). rst step. Her elderly parents count on her and his wallet, and the only phone number he had
she just can’t leave them behind. turned out to be a fake. Matt desperately needs
Attack 6 Pistol: +2 Damage
help.
Feed - Intimidate, Dificulty 2
“Tis is not your neighborhood.”
Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 2

C h o l e r i c Melanc holic Choleri c

JA SON, 36 M A R A , 59
59 J UA N, 43

Te Streets Te Streets Te Streets

She’s screaming at the top of her lungs for anyone


Te rst thing that attracts you to him is the He ips the sign of the gas station with class and
who will listen. She
She waves her sacred
sacred book as a
smell of powerful detergent on his hands. He distinction. e sign goes up, and down, it twirls
sword of justice. Standing in the middle of the
has washed thoroughly, but to you, that smell is around his body... until it drops. Disappointment
road, she’s addressing an imaginary crowd.
unmistakeable. and frustration on his face, he is defeated.
Listen to her - Spend 1 Willpower
Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 2 Sign Flipping! - Dexterity + Athletics, Diculty 2
“Te end is nigh! Corporations own our souls!
Jason just nished
nished his shi at the hospital
hospital aer You take Juan’s
You Juan’s sign and ip it for a few minutes
Te forests burn because nobody thinks of the
a tough day. He’s been in surgery for fourteen while he rests, gratefully.
gratefully. He was a respected
babies! Destroy your phone! Burn your money!
hours straight, and is just taking a walk to clear scientist back in his country, but he had to
I know the hidden truth about all things in the
his head. At least, today he helped save a life. emigrate. To this.
world!”
Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 2 Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 2
Feed - Intimidate, Dificulty 2

Sanguine Choleri c Phlegmatic

VICTIMS VICTIMS V ICTIMS

VICTIMS
K E I T H , 19
19 E V E , 31
31 CHUCK, 28

Te Streets Te Streets Te Streets

She seems eager to strike a conversation with


Drunk and dancing on the streets, the man looks
Sitting on a bus stop, shivering in the cold, the you. Maybe too
too eager. She oers you
you drugs, guns,
guns,
like the happiest person on Earth. He hugs you
young man looks sad and bitter. and all sorts of illegal goods. But she looks very
and jumps around you, barely containing his j oy.
nervous about it.
Strike a conversation - Persuade, Diculty 2
Feed - Persuade, Diculty 1
Get to the bottom of this - Intimidate, Diculty
Keith ran away from home over a tantrum and
2 You take advantage
You advantage of the situation,
situation, and start
has been living on the streets enough to teach
feeding. Right behind him, you see a huge
him plenty. He was angry with his parents for Eve breaks down. Te wannabe vigilante doesn’t
buying him the wrong console. Now he realizes have drugs, guns, or anything remotely illegal. advertisment poster for a new hyped TV show.
His face in the poster makes you realize you are
they love him and don’t care that he dropped out She wants to identify criminals and turn them
drinking o someone who is bound to become
of college. in. She has no clear plan and her only backup is
one of the most famous people in Hollywood.
a can of Mace.
Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 2
Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 2

Melancho lic Choleri c Sanguine

SOMEONE FROM YOUR PAST

Te Streets

Tey recognize one of you. Tey start referencing


something both of you did way back when. You
can recognize them now: what they’re saying is
true, if a bit embellished.

Who is this person?


person? What did you do together?
together?
Why did you decide
decide not to see them anymore?
anymore?

Get rid of them - Intimidate, Diculty 3

Feed - Persuade, Dificulty 1 (character’s


acquainance) or Intimidate, Dificulty 2

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-
reection 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

strule to control. One overwhelming fact denes 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 specic
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 sacricing 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 denitive dice roll at the
pivotal moment of a story. Here you’ll
you’ll nd many
familiar conventions. Character sheets dene your
powers and abilities, dice add a level of randomness
when resolving challenges, and problems can be solved
in many dierent 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 struling 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 ocial 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

Welcome to the and rebels by nature. eir physical prowess only


competes with their passion for humanity and all that
it has to oer. ey are one of the core Clans of the

World of Anarchs. eir Beast represents


represents itself as uncontrollable
bursts of blind rage, rendering pointless their best
arguments for peace and justice.

Darkness e Gangrel live in communion with nature.


Although they are generally
generally regarded as loners,
loners, with
no interest in Kindred politics and society, they
Legends and myths talk of monsters and beasts. oen gather in packs, like wolves, creating their own
Cautionary tales warn us of the dangers of the night. communities. ey are the other central Clan of
Stories turned into books, and then into lms and hit the Anarchs. e nature of their Beast mocks them,
TV shows. ey are there to entertain and educate us. punishing them with animal traits — both physical and
In the World of Darkness, the creatures from those psychological — whenever they lose control.
legends live among us, walking the same streets and Many have lost their minds trying to understand
listening to the same podcasts. the psyche of the Malkavian
Malkavian.. Gied with unique
In Vampire
Vampire,, the players take on the role of insight on the cryptic codes that rule the world
w orld
vampires, trying to nd their place in a complex around them. If the Oracles are oen cryptic, that’s
tapestry of ancient politics, personal vendettas, and only because it is impossible to coherently express
the ever frustrating strule to remain human. the magnitude of their vision. ey are generally
underestimated but, behind their extravagant ways,
KINDRED Vampires
Vampires in this game refer to themselves
themselves there is always the spark of genius.
as Kindred
Kindred.. ey are similar and dierent to vampires e Nosferatu wear their Beasts in their lapels,
as portrayed in other media. For example, Kindred on their faces, and written all over their bodies.
can be killed by the sun and by re, but stakes merely eir curse may seem like one of the cruelest: upon
paralyze them. Except for anomalous cases, none of receiving the Embrace — the act of transforming a
the classic superstitions aect them: garlic, crossing mortal into Kindred — they suer the most hhorric
orric
running water, entering homes uninvited, and so on. metamorphosis, turning them into monsters of
Many Kindred believe that they descend from the nightmare. Even though they display their monstrosity
biblical murderer Caine, who was cursed and turned on the outside, the clan oen gives fruit to the most
into the rst of them. eir society is built around how humane and psychologically complex Kindred.
Ki ndred.
far they are removed from this mythical gure (their Lovers of humanity, beauty, and splendor, the
Generation),
Generation ), how old and powerful they are, and what Toreador are regarded as the most sensual of Kindred.
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 dierent 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, suering 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
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 oen 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 rareed
rareed tastes society, while others are hungry for power. All of them
when it comes to blood, and can only feed on specic 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 dierent. Others take on a more narrative
started reinforcing surveillance, both online and approach, explaining the particularities of each SPC,
oine. 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 unnished 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 oering 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

Storyteller group decisions, be there to help. Give them their fair


share of the spotlight. Maybe this involves separating
their character from the group for a short while, or
Your
Your task is to esh out everything and everybody that presenting a challenge that only that character
character can
is not the player characters. It means knowing which surpass. Don’t play favorites, though. e point is for
events will happen, when they will happen, and who everyone to have fun.
will be involved in those events. At least, that’s how
the players oen perceive it. e truth is that most of Setting the Atmosphere
that task is based on improvisation, although good, e World 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

e main themes o Vampire are personal horror


and political horror. ese concepts pull characters
and stories in two opposite directions. Personal External aids like music, images or even costumes and
horror talks about the internal lives of the characters. props can help you create the perfect
perfect atmosphere for a
eir connections to the world of the mortals. eir Vampire game. As long as all the players — including
emotional world. ere are many stories that can be you — feel comfortable with the elements brought
brought
told about guilt, shame, desire, and the dehumanizing to the table, anything that can make the story more
act of drinking other people’s blood to survive. believable and fascinating is welcome. Having at hand
Political horror refers to the world of Kindred, with a laptop with a collection of music and sound eects
their internal strules, their ghts for power and can be incredibly eective, if used sparsely and with
dominance, and the games of social and political taste. e way in which the room is set and lit can also
control they play upon each other. Conict between have a denite impact on the experience. Dimming
Kindred almost always leaves behind a trail of death the lights can bring a more intimate and mysterious
and tragedy. atmosphere, keeping in mind that players should be
able to comfortably read their character sheets.

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, sarts 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 signicant 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 aer 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. Horriied, 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
aer 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 specic subject, no
to improvise ways in which the story can follow its matter how insignicant it may seem to the rest, that
course, without micromanaging them. subject should denitely 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 sandard 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 conicts 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
dierent scores. ese are the values that dene 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 deailed
here:
■ Attributes: e nine Attributes represent Traits
that are inherent to the character.
character. ■ CRITICAL - Regular Dice. is represents an
■ Skills: ese Traits dene 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 imporant dierence. In
Willpower and Health circumsances 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 conicts and a . Whenever the toal roll was not successful,

to test the characters’


Whenever a character skills in extreme
is doing situations.
something unusual, and
onlythis symbol
ailed appears,
her action, butthe
thecharacter has her
Beast inside not has
particularly dicult, or under stressful circumstances,
circumstances, been somehow angered and she loses control in
dice should be rolled. ere are two types of dice: an unpredicable 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

Tests and Checks Modiers


ere are two types of situations in which the players Simple Tests can be modied by dierent factors.
or the Storyteller will have to roll dice in Vampire
Vampire:: Getting assistance from a colleague, or relying on the
tests and checks. Tests involve adding an Attribute and right type of equipment will help the character, while
a Skill or a Discipline to build a dice pool,
pool, and
and rolling being under unnecessary pressure or lacking the right
that number of dice, counting successes to surpass a tools will be detrimental to the completion of the task.
diculty set by the Storyteller. Most rolls in Vampire
are tests. ■ Teamwork: If any other character wants to assist
Checks involve rolling dice to determine whether another player facing a Simple Test, they can only
(Rouse Checks)
the character’s Hunger (Rouse Checks) or Humanity do so if they have at least one
o ne dot in the Skill
(Remorse Checks)
Checks) changes or not. Checks are not involved in the dice pool. If the dice pool doesn’t
aected by Hunger dice, and cannot be rerolled by include a Skill, any character can collaborate. eir
spending Willpower.
Willpower. assistance will be reected by adding one die to the
dice pool.
Simple Tests ■ Equipment: Some tasks require the use of specic
ese tests represent the majority of the dice rolls equipment. e Storyteller may choose to increase
in an average game of Vampire
Vampire.. When a character the Diculty by 1 point if the character doesn’t
attempts to do something that would require rolling have the right equipment, or even to decide that
dice, the following steps are followed: the action cannot be performed. It may also hap-
pen that the character has access
access to special equip-
■ e player describes to the Storyteller what they ment of a better quality. is would reduce the
want to achieve, and what strategy they are using. Diculty by 1 point.
■ e Storyteller decides which two Traits are going ■ Circumstantial Modiers: An alarm beeping, a
to be used. e combination of those two traits is swarm of insects, heavy rain or even obsessive
called a dice pool. thoughts can make any task signicantly more
■ e Storyteller determines a Diculty and chooses dicult. Te Storyteller may choose to increase
whether to keep it secret or not. the Diculty by 1 or 2 points — in particularly
■ e player rolls all the dice in their dice pool stressful situations — if the circumstances war-
war-
together. Any dice that shows a , or icon is rant it. Tis can also be applied the other way
a success. around, when the circumstances
circumstances are favorable to
■ If the number of these icons is equal or higher than the character, making their task easier. In that case,
the Diculty set by the Storyteller, the player has the Storyteller may decrease the Diculty by 1 or
succeeded. 2 points.
■ If the number of these icons is lower than the Dif- ■ Willpower: A player may choose to spend a dot
culty, the player has failed. o Willpower in any Test to re-roll up to three of
■ If none of these icons are rolled, the player has not their Regular (not Hunger) dice, if they don’t like
only failed, but has done so in a catastrophic way, the result on them. However, the new result must
and there will be unexpected
u nexpected consequences. be accepted, even if it’s worse than the original one.
Willpower is also used as a “health”
“health” track in social
e Diculty set by the Storyteller should generally be conict
between 1 and 5, using higher diculties for extreme
situations. Keep in mind that most actions will have If the Modiers reduce Diculty set by the Storyteller
a diculty of 2 or 3. Except when noted, avoid higher to 0 or less, the Simple Test will be considered an
numbers for this scenario. automatic success, as the action doesn’t warrant rolling
the dice anymore.

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 Diculty 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 eective. 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 dierence 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 dierent: the Diculty. 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 Diculty for the player. is is called Taking

will use, byhave


Discipline specifying which
to be put Attribute and Skill or
together. Half, and it can
unnecessary dicemake the game ow faster, avoiding
rolling.

STARTER SET

Aer resolving the roll, multiply the original diculty


diculty
Conficts by 2 and compare it against all the successes rolled.
If the doubled Diculty is greater than the number
e World of Darkness is a dangerous place. Violent of successes, the attacking side takes an amount of
situations arise constantly. e physical and mental damage based on the dierence between those two
health of the characters is always at risk. When two values.
or more characters oppose violently (either by using Optionally, characters may take Stains (see below)
physical violence or by trying to humiliate each other instead of damage in these cases. is represents that
in a social environment), Conict arises. the characters were particularly brutal during the
Conicts are resolved by using the rules for strule.

Contests. e opposing parties roll the dice pools


determined by the Storyteller, and whoever gets more SETTING AND ADJUSTING DIFFICULTIES
wins the Conict. In this kind of roll, however, FOR ONE-ROLL CONFLICT
the Margin determines the degree of success and the When determining the diculty of a One-Roll
amount of Health or Willpower the unsuccessful party Conict, determine how strong, qualied or dangerous
loses in the process. the opposing side is. Clearly inferior opponents
translate into a diculty of 2. Opponents that are
One-Roll Conict roughly a fair match translate into a diculty of 4.
Using this method, you abstract a Conict to one roll. Clearly more powerful opponents translate into a
e attacking side — generally the players — gathers a diculty of 6.
dice pool (using the Attack Action) and rolls against is diculty can then be adjusted based on
a Diculty set by the Storyteller. If the attacking side factors aecting either side. For example, the use of
beats that diculty, their opponent is defeated. Disciplines or equivalent supernatural might that is
unopposed by the other side, or better preparation or
positioning, would reduce the overall diculty by 1.

REFERENCE GUIDE

Extended Combat like Persuasion, Etiquette or Leadership. Damage


■ Close Combat: Two characters involved in a brawl is not applied to the characters’ health, but to their
or a close combat altercation will roll dice pools Willpower..
Willpower
composed of their Strength Attribute, and the
appropriate Skill (Brawl or Melee, depending if Actions
the combatants are armed or not). Any Margin For this scenario, to make the game easier to learn
(i.e. successes exceeding those of the opposing side) for all the players, we’ve
we’ ve added some pre-generated
will add to the Damage the contest’s winning side Actions to the character sheets. ese Actions are
deals to the losing side. Damage is factored by short-hand combinations of Attributes and Skills that
adding this Margin to applicable damage modiers. oen come up. As all of you start feeling comfortable
Supercial Damage is always halved (rounding up) with the mechanics of Vampire
Vampire,, you can stop
before applying it to the Health track. Any attacks using Actions and just call for an Attribute + Skill
that inict Aravated Damage (see below) are not combination as you see t.
halved. Note that some of the characters’ supernatural
■ Firearms and Ranged Weapons: Conicts 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 Conicts, 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 Modier. ■ 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. Aer 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, struling to hold on to whatever Humanity
they’ve got le. e blood changes them and makes
Social Conict them dierent from mortals in many ways.
e same way characters can take violent physical

action against each other,


social competition, they can
humiliating also
each engage
other in
in public Vulnerabilities
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
Conicts are resolved the same way as in Combat, will burn them until they are reduced to ashes. Even
with a couple of minor dierences. 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 aect Kindred. their Hunger, like rising each night or using certain
Discipline powers, they will roll a Rouse Check (see
Supercial and Aravated Damage below).
ere are two kinds of damage: Supercial Damage Lowering Hunger is done by feeding. Drinking the
and Aravated Damage.
Damage. Wounds produced
produced by re, Blood of animals will lower Hunger by one step, never

sunlight or some supernatural attacks are Aravated completely taking it away.


away. Feeding o mortals will
for Kindred. Mortals take Aravated 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 Supercial 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 Supercial 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
Aravated 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.
Aravated Damage.
Damage. Similarly, any amputated limb or
body part involves taking
taki ng Aravated 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
Aravated 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
Aravated 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 toal, she would have
others push the character over the edge, emotionally rolled 2 Hunger dice and 6 Regular dice.
or psychologically, Aravated Willpower Damage
is received. At the beginning of each session, each
character heals an amount of Supercial 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 Supercial 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 Aravated 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 denitely 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 camouage 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 strule 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 strule. 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 suer 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 briey 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 specic 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

When a character has no free


free slots, and receives a new
Stain, they are overcome by the monstrosity of their Appendix I:
own actions. ey will become Impaired for the rest
of the session. is means that they will
wi ll subtract 2 Characters and Actions
dice from all their dice pools. In addition, any Stains
acquired over this limit will be taken as Aravated is is a master table of all the characters and their
Willpower Damage. e player
player can, at any point, Action test dice pools. Higher scores are marked
decide to rationalize their horrifying actions as natural, bold. Very low scores (not even mentioned on the
lose one point of Humanity, and remove all Stains. sheets) are in red.
Skill Specialties allow adding 1 die in specic
Remorse circumstances. ey are factored in unless specied.
At the end of the session, every character with at least
least Discipline powers that add dice are always factored

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 suer 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 aer the Remorse test, regardless of
the result.

TABLE: CHARACTERS AND ACTIONS

ACTION TEST ALEX BLAKE JAY MARSH RAIN SAM TERRY


DICE POOLS

Attack (Unarmed) / Bite 2 1 1 8 6 4 7

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

Appendix II: Glossary


■ Aravated Damage
Damage: Damage caused by sunlight, re, ■ Diculty: e measure of how challenging a test is
supernatural means or excessive use of
o f force, either going to be, determined by the Storyteller based on
physically (damage to Health) or psychologically
psychologically the inherent diculty of the action and any circum-
(damage to Willpower). stances that can make it more or less complex.
■ Anarchs:: A faction of the Camarilla that splintered in
Anarchs ■ Discipline:: e supernatural powers that the vampiric
Discipline
pursuit of their own freedom. curse bestows on Kindred.
■ Attribute:: e nine Traits that dene the innate
Attribute ■ Domain:: A specic Kindred’s hunting ground,
Domain
talents of a character.
character. considered sacred by most Kindred, particularly
■ Baron:: e Anarch leader of a Domain.
Baron among the Camarilla.
■ Beast:: e metaphysical incarnation of the vampiric
Beast ■ Elder:: A Kindred of old age that holds the power
Elder
curse living within the characters. within a specic Domain. Leaders of the Camarilla.
■ Bestial Failure:
Failure: When a test is unsuccessful and at least ■ Embrace:: e act of transforming a mortal into a
Embrace
one appears on the dice, the failure is epic, and car- vampire.
ries tragic consequences. ■ Gangrel: One of the main seven Clans and one of the
Gangrel:
■ Blood Surge: e ability to improve one Attribute by two most important Clans within the Anarchs. 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 suer 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 dierence between the number of icons
Margin
passionate or violent. rolled and the Diculty determined by the Storyteller
■ Clan:: e thirteen dierent families of Kindred.
Clan in a successful roll.
■ Conict:: A situation where two or more characters
Conict ■ 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.

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

■ Phlegmatic: e Resonance of victims who are lazy,


Phlegmatic: ■ Storyteller: e player that takes on the task of
Storyteller:
apathetic or sentimental. guiding the story.
■ Remorse Check:
Check: e check players with Stains ■ Take Half: When the Storyteller decides to divide an
perform at the end of a session. SPC’s dice pool by two and use it as Diculty in a
■ Resonance:: e specic avor and characteristics of a
Resonance Contest with a player to make the game ow better.
victim’s blood. ■ Test:: e system used to resolve an action, putting
Test
■ Rouse Check:
Check: e check a character rolls when any together a dice pool and rolling dice.
gi of the blood is used. ■ e Society of Leopold:
Leopold: A secret group of witch-
■ Sanguine:: e Resonance of victims who are happy,
Sanguine hunters from the Vatican heavily invested in the
horny, or over excited. Second Inquisition.
■ Second Inquisition:
Inquisition: e collective name for the secret ■ Toreador:: One of the main seven Clans. Also known as
Toreador
groups within dierent intelligence agencies around the Clan of the Rose or the Divas.
the world and the Society of Leopold. ■ Trait:: Any value on the character sheet that can be
Trait
■ Simple Test: Any test that involves a player rolling tracked with dots.
against an inanimate opponent. ■ Tremere:: One of the main seven Clans. Also known as
Tremere
■ Sire:: A Kindred that Embraces a mortal. Relative to
Sire e Broken Clan or Warlocks.
. ■


childe: e Traits that dene 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 briey 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

Scene 0: How to Run Scene I: Your First Night


This ■ Setup: e characters have been captured right
aer receiving the Embrace. ey awake, trapped
is scenario has seven scenes that follow a linear inside a walk-in freezer,
freezer, surrounded by hanging
pattern. In each scene we’ll provide a scene goal, animal bodies, and a human corpse. is is part of
including its exit and a bit of information on the a test they are not aware of.
following scene to guide you. ■ Goal: Learn about Hunger, basic actions, and
We’ve
We’ve strived to write this in a way for yyou
ou to run about each other.
this on the go, but it can be a good idea to read each ■ Exit: Escape the walk-in freezer.

scene in its entirety before running it. Do not be afraid Next Scene: Characters run into a guard and then a
to call for breaks between scenes or if you get stuck. vampire that wants to help them.

Begin by reading the section labeled e Embrace


out loud. You might want to suest for your players
to close their eyes, if they wish, while you read the
opening piece. Across this book, you’ll nd several
passages that you should read
read out loud. ey will be
marked as below. Sometimes you will have to adjust a
word or two based on circumstances. ese situations
will be clearly indicated.

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

e Embrace RULES EXPLANATIONS AND ADVICE


Next you’ll nd the rst of many rules explanations, which
ere is no fear as your life is ading away. YYou
ou will be formatted like this. Depending on your preference,
feel an unexpected comfort in the arms of the you can read these to yourself, and explain as needed, or
you may even read them out loud. If you do so, don’t read
being that is aking your life. You experience
indications to yourself, in italics.
a surprising calm as it all disappears. Drop by
drop, it akes your fears, your worries, your
dreams, your joy. We’ll start o by discussing Hunger and the Blood.
We’ll
en, your conscience vanishes, and all
that’s le is blackness.
You open your eyes. ere is a lingering e Hunger, Part 1
feeling that something is missing, but something
else immediately overrides i. It is an electric Even as you all sit still in the cold, quiet room,
purr that stirs your senses awake. Coming and you sart making out the shapes around
back from Death is slow. You feel sluish as you, you feel your irst Hunger
Hunger.. It is dierent
you become aware of the room you are in, the from any hunger you have ever fel. Like a
company you share. Above and around you are person sarving to death who suddenly smells
slow swinging hunks of mea, like the bodies of food, you sense the blood and you know that it
that deathly migration. Beside you are others, will ease this terrible, hollow pain inside you.
also escaping Death’s shore. How will you deal with your irst Hunger?
urge: more pressing, more acute. As you begin You smell blood and recognize it as exactly
to sit up, you feel it for the irst time: Hunger. that: the aroma reaches out to you, sweet and
And you know, somehow,
somehow, as you experience the tempting. Your eyes all upon the meat hooks
terrible pangs of this Hunger, that you are no that decorate the room, searching for the choice
longer human. meal you are craving. ere are whole animal
carcasses
carcas ses hanging from the hooks. Pork, cattle…
And yet your gaze locks onto a piece hung in
Introductions the middle of the room. A brunette mop of hair
At this point, the characters open their eyes and dangles upside down, together with the sark
see. Allow the players to describe their characters, realization of what your body craves: the corpse
to explain the way they are dressed, and to describe of a man wearing blue jeans and a t-shir. You
outstanding physical traits that may come from undersand that there s more to this room, but
their strengths and weaknesses. First, we’ll focus on right now you can only focus on him.
their immediate feeling of Hunger, and then their
surroundings. ey are actually trapped in a walk-in
freezer, but they will discover this soon enough.

STARTER SET

WHAT IS THE HUNGER?


Whenever discussing the Hunger throughout this
scenario, you can give out any of the following. Refer
to this sidebar whenever discussing the topic.
■ Hunger is a psychological experience as much as a
physical one. A hungry vampire doesn’t
doesn’t feel their
stomach knotting, rather, they becomes irriable,
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 ecsatic experience for both predator
throughout the scenario. Once the players get to look at and prey (called the Kiss by Kindred).
the Kindred Prole 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 susain their own. Esablish the value of
current number of Hunger Dice.
Dice. each life so risked.
Rouse checks must also be made any time that ■ Vampires can insantly 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 conacts or
these checks are made, the result determines whether moral 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 signiicantly. 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 deiling the dead, how the others in the room identication 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. Bears 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. aermath of this fruitless action should probably
You’re beckoned by the fresh body oered to disgust the players whose characters partook in it.i t.
you. Its blood smells sale, 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 difculty of a test. Any successes in excess of the difculty are called
margin, and may improve the outcome.
margin,
Whenever the difculty 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
Prole , 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
read on Rolling dice and then prepare yourself to go mea, which you can’t identify
about Exploring the Walk-in Freezer. You can explain as animal or human. ere
to them how rolls work in your own words, read this are also several hospial-like
text out loud, or just wait for the moment to call a roll
blood bags. ey smell of
and explain the procedure as you go.
Now that we know the theory of rolling dice, let’s
blood, but they are deinitely
apply it investigating the scene. empty.
As you reach the walls,
you realize they are made
Exploring the Walk-in Freezer of steel, partially covered in
patches of fros. However,
Your eyes begin to adjust to the darkness your skin doesn’t stick to the
and poor lighting. Shapes of animal carcasses walls if you try to touch them.
decorate your surroundings. e stench in the Your body is no longer warm.
room is dificult to ake for most of you. ere is one door at the
other end of the room, and if
If Blake is Present one of you presses your ear to
is is positively unbearable to you. Your the door, you think you can
whole body reacts negatively to the stench. hear movement on the other
You want to throw up, but your stomach is side.
empty. You need to get out of this place as
soon as possible. At this point, players may use
use Actions, to learn more
about the walk-in freezer and its purpose. Ask your

However, you quickly realize that you can hold players to roll their
of 3. Depending Investigate
on how action,
well they a diculty
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.
hospial-like lighting, causing you to navigate
the room carefully to avoid bumping into the

S T O RY G U I D E

e Escape Ideally, the players should decide on what to try. If


Aer the players have
have investigated the room, they they get stuck and frustrated, suest investigating
will probably want to try and nd a way out. is a bit more, or simply suest 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 dicult,
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 suest that player characters feel
mechanism to pry it open with a Lockpick Action they are performing supernaturally well on them.
(Diculty 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 (Diculty 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.
7

STARTER SET

WILLPOWER RES TAURANT


THE RESTA URANT
All characters have a Trait called Willpower
Willpower.. This Player characters may want to explore the resauran.
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 ■ If the player of a character such as Blake’s claims
(black) to improve a test. they may know this resauran, you 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 resauran, 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 regurgiate 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 eec.
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.

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 resauran,
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 resauran, 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 sarted selling
uniform which seems to it them badly. e look drugs. Parker clearly does not recognize you,
on their ace suests 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.

At this point, the characters may interact with Parker.


Read depending on the characters in play: Depending on how the interaction goes, they may even
try to use powers on the guard that they’re beginning
to discover they have.
I’ve Seen is Guard Before... If any of the characters tries to start a conversation
based on their knowing Parker from their mortal life,
Terry or Rain
Rain:: You recognize the guard! You Parker could just agree to let them walk away and let
them be, or even agree to help them. On the other
remember them from your time in prison. eir
name is Parker. ey were also an inmate, and hand, depending on the approach taken by the player
characters, Parker may try to run away if threatened.
you always had a friendly relationship. Y You
ou are
e Actions suested below are Contests, opposed
both surprised to see each other in this situation. by Parker’s relatively weak dice pool of 4. ey are
ey don’t act hostile. Instead, they raise their probably easy wins
wins for your players, but can still be
hands, obviously willing to alk this through. exciting. In other situations you may choose to “take
hal” instead (see below), which, in this example,
Blake or Alex: e guard is vaguely amiliar. would make the diculty 2.
You met them a few years back. You used to go
to the same parties, but they never seemed to
belong there. ey were selling drugs to rich CONTESTS AND TAKING HALF

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 disant 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
Atacking you or your friends would never cross rolled.

their mind.

9
STARTER SET

Rain: e Beast in your Blood whispers that


Rain:
you can make this lowly guard cower in fear
At this stage, some of the supernatural
supernatural aspects of from you. You can look at them with Eyes of
characters start coming to the fore, as their Blood is the Beas, which are a terrifying red, and help
revealing itself to them. you see in the dark. You also feel you’re able to
turn your hands into claws, Feral Weapons,
Weapons, to
further sartle the guard.
Read Depending on the
Characterss in Play and How
Character
If they start talking, Parker explains that they just
the Scene Is Playing Out: got this job, but it is not
no t something they particularly
like or are even trained for. eir background as a
Alex, Blake or Terry
Terry:: Parker is caught o guard. convicted small-time drug dealer didn’t make it easy to
ey weren’t expecting to see you
yo u breaking free, land other jobs, though.
and even less to recognize someone among you. If the characters are determined to ght the guard,
Your Blood whispers to you. Somehow, you or even on feeding from them, the battle will probably
know you could make them sympathize even be fast and brutal. Roll 4 dice for Parker.
more with you or be terriied by you. You can In the extreme event that someone feeds o Parker,
Parker,
use your Persuade and make them feel in Awe draining the guard completely lowers their Hunger
to zero. In this case, make a mental note of which
of you. On the
Intimidate other
action to hand,
Dauntyou mayAsuse
them. youyour
do characters committed this crime and give them Stains
when these come up later. Stains will be dened later
this, you feel supernaturally charming and
in this scenario. For the time being, make a note that
manipulative. the guilty party got 1 Stain.

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 conict seems very easy to solve, you can
instinctively know you can Cloud Parker’s use the One-Roll Conict 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 specic number of successes.
Alex or Sam:
Sam: Even though the situation is That difculty is 2 for a signicantly 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 difculty of their roll by 1, or 2 if they did all
of these things.
Marsh: You notice that if you sand very still,
Marsh: As long as one player’s roll reaches or exceeds that
or move cautiously, the guard can no longer see difculty, 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 Difculty 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 Conicts work,

see p.10 of the Reference Guide.


Guide.

10
S T O RY G U I D E

Scene II: Just the Basics


■ Setup: e characters have just escaped the freezer as surprised to see you as you are to see him.
and may have dealt with a guard. Now they meet
He smiles, allowing you to see his angs: he’s a
Markus Dean, a vampire who wants to help them.
vampire, like you.
■ Goal: Learn about the vampire condition.


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
sands calm and conident — 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
moral, 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 Prole, 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 ocially 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 sate-
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 specic
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 aer 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.”
say out of their hands, follow me.”
He guides you through the kitchen to the e Second Inquisition
backdoor of the resauran, 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 Sar
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 morals
morals
it’s appropriate, especially if you feel the sense of
excitement is falling. You will nd answers to the most
“We don’t allow morals 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 oen call ‘viae,’ 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 viae there is a Beast that
calls to us. e hungrier we get and the more
“Morals are your primary arget for feeding we lose our moral atachmen, 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 imporant deails of you from their the driver’s sea, okay?.”
minds. Morals 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 Moral Friends/Family
to lick the wounds aer feeding. It will erase
the marks.” “It is unwise to keep in touch with your moral
friends and amily. is will oen only lead
to tragedy. at said, we oen cultivate some
sort of relationship with the morals — human
beings — to keep in touch with what makes us
human.”

14

S T O RY G U I D E

Final Death Whenever you’re


you’re ready to move on, read
read the following text:
“Y
“Your
our new Blood allows you to do an
endless number of things you couldn’t e Driver Is Here
do as a moral. 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 immoral.” When he’s in, the driver pulls away
away in a hurry
hurry..

Typical “Vampire”
“Vampire”
Assumptions: Sakes,
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.
Sakes 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 eect on us, either. I’ve heard of
some morals who can — somehow
— turn them into weapons against
us. I heve never seen it mysel,
though.”

STARTER SET

NO BODY LEFT BEHIND LOCKED AND LOADED


Markus will abandon player characters only if they Markus oers to give the characters pistols from a
show extreme mistrus, but still wishes them well, give briefcase that he keeps ready for dangerous occasions.
them an old cell phone and tell them to hit redial to eir damage (+2) is already actored into the Atack
get in touch with an ally. If this should happen, jump actions of characters that are skilled in Firearms.
ahead to the next scene: assume the player characters
leave the resaurant on their own and that their
Hunger pangs lead them to feed. While the characters are
are in the car with Markus, you
can take a moment to continue the conversation
from the alley, if you like. Cover questions that
the characters may still have. You can punctuate or
Drop-o Point interrupt questions or answers with dangerous turns
or other exciting car chase ideas. It may look like the
As the black SUV makes its way along North van will reach them, but actually it won’t. e point
Highland Avenue, you can see a white van of this scene is for them to get away clean. You can
behind you, clearly following, but it’s impeded showcase the amazing skills of Markus’s driver.
Once you’re ready to cut the conversation, have
by the heavy trafic and the driver’s superior
them outrun the van for a few blocks, and read the
skills. “We need to lose them,” Markus sates, following:
“but irst I want to divert them from you. We’ll
drop you o along the way, and I think they’ll
follow us while you get
get out of here” Markus’s Farewell
“I think I know of a good spot where I can drop
Markus drops the player characters o at one of three you of. It is within my territory and you'll
locations: e Cicero, Club Violet, or the e Streets, have the opportunity to grab a bite there.” He
depending on the group’s mood and interests.
chuckles at this. For a while, he says silen,
Take the temperature of your players. If everyone
seems ready to explore the predatory nature of
only breaking it to give directions to the driver.
vampires, send them to e Cicero (a seedy motel). “If you had sires, they would be your lifelines
If they’re more intrigued by the seductive, alluring tonigh, but you’ll have to make do with me, and
aspects of vampirism, have them hunt at Club Violet. my support system,” he chuckles as he adds this
Y
Your
our players may also
also stalk a back alley somewher
somewheree or last par. “Get somewhere safe, make sure you
try to pick up a potential victim on the way,
way, too. Once are fed, and avoid the sunrise.” He punctuates
they reach a place where they can feed, use your Victim the last three words with a hand gesture.
Cards, drawing victims only from the appropriate
location (Club Violet, e Cicero, or e Streets.) you"I’ll
can be
can m at i
make
ake e
i, too.Red
, too handstomorrow.
. He Sar I hope
over a disposable
Please note that if you chose not to print cards, you cell phone without a touchscreen: instead it has
can use a table instead. Please nd the Victims tables
little keypad buttons and a small screen.
under Appendix II, starting on p.36.

16

S T O RY G U I D E

Scene III: The Face of the


“is phone is old and a little safer than Beast
a smart phone: the Inquisition shouldn’t pick
up your calls. Hit the redial button to reach ■ Setup: e characters just escaped hunters with
an ally of mine if you get into serious trouble. Markus's help, and he played decoy for them.
■ Goal: Learn about feeding. Look for a place to rest
She’ll help if you mention my name. Do not use
(possibly e Red Star). Meet Jackie.
it to call your amily or your friends. You have
■ Exit: Characters run into Jackie, call her, or are
to assume that the Second Inquisition already called by her. Alternatively: they nd their way to
apped their. Don’t visit any of your usual e Red Star.
hangouts, for the same reason.” ■ Next scene: Characters arrive at e Red Star with
As the driver stops the car, he doesn’t say or without Jackie.
goodbye, but instead looks back and 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 trac with souls, demanding blood. It’s time to hunt. Oen,
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 gave


Markus the latter
them,by
they get toredial
hitting on the
Jackie’s old
voice phone
voicemail
mail, and
You are le sanding 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 sarts 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

glamorous boulevards or seedy alleys, and use the


Invite the players to describe how their characters Victim Cards provided for that location (or see the
feel about the situation they’re in. Ask them some tables in Appendix II).
questions about their emotional state. What do they ■ Otherwise, look for the entries on e Cicero or

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 Conict 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

Except for these potentially hostile characters, Victim


Cards and the Victim tables in Appendix II do not
have traits, just entries describing the victim and
additional information. Player characters may use e Cicero
appropriate social Actions (such as Persuade ) to learn
more about their victims, and a dierent kind of is aging behemoth of a building that was once
Action to feed o them. Every victim is dierent and an art deco beauty, a luxury boarding house for
must be approached in a dierent way. sarlets and ingenues. Time has le e Cicero
Feeding as presented in this guide is relatively
behind, however, and now it sands as seven
straightforward.
straightforwar d. If you want to add some complexity,
use the Resonance entry on the Victim and Enemy stories of rickety
and sained saircases,
linoleum, wherepeeling
thosewallpaper,
down on
cards (see the Reference Guide, p. 12).
When Kindred feed, referred to as the Kiss by their luck seek shelter on the cheap.
them, both Kindred and victim experience extreme A clerk watches the front desk. His job is
pleasure, and victims oen forget
forget the details. Describe mostly to chase away vagrants, and to call the
these feeding scenes in as much or as little detail as cops if the tenants sart ighting too loudly. He’s
your group is comfortable with.
with. doughy and pliable, more interested in watching
sports on his tiny TV than doing his job.
QUICK HUNTING
Even though hunting for blood is an important part Ray, the clerk, tries hard to ignore the player
of Vampire roleplaying, your players may not feel characters unless it’s abundantly obvious that they’re
comfortable playing out such scenes in detail, or may intruding and up to no good, or they interact with
not even be interested at this time. You can always opt him. If they do, Ray makes some unkind remarks
for quick hunts.
hunts. Ask them what approach they take about any character not using the Blush of Life,
Life, (“My
and ask them to make a quick test of an Attribute + God, you look terrible. Are you sick?”), more so for
a Skill of your choice, depending on the approach they Marsh..
Marsh
chose, against a Difculty of 2. For example, if a player Ray hints that if the characters are interested, he
wants to hunt by hiding in the shadows of an alley and can get them “whatever they need.” He can be bribed,
ambushingg the rst potential victim they see, ask them to
ambushin Intimidated or Persuaded into oering the characters
roll Dexterity + Stealth.
Stealth. All characters have a Quick drugs, illegal weapons, access to stolen property
property,, and
Hunting test suggestion, but you can override that if you even a master key for all the bedrooms. e characters
prefer your own approach. have an opportunity to practice their actions and
Winning the test means the character feeds and Disciplines on the receptionist. A few examples follow:
reduces their Hunger
Hunger.. Their Hunger goes down to 1,
unless they state that they choose to kill their prey by ■ Alex, Blake, Sam, or Terry can easily charm Ray,
draining them of all their blood. In that case, the vampire whose dubious morality make him an easy target
character’s Hunger goes to 0, but they incur Stains
Stains.. (Diculty 3). Enhancing the action with Awe
Stains will be dened later in this scenario. For the time makes it an even easier feat.
being, make a note that the killer receives 1 Stain. ■ Blake, Rain, or Terry could intimidate him (Dif-
culty 3) into letting them in without calling the
MANAGING HUNGER police, either through natural or supernatural
supernatural
A vampire reduces their Hunger by 1 for every victim means (Daunt, Eyes of the Beast)
they drink from, to a minimum of 1. Achieving Hunger ■ Alex or Sam could use their Compel power (Dif-
0 is impossible, except by draining a victim dry, and culty 4) to tell him to give them a master key
key,, let
killing them. Murder has moral implications and triggers them through, or any other simple
si mple order like that.
Stains..
Stains

18

S T O RY G U I D E

■ Alex or Jay can use Cloud Memory (Diculty 4)


and ask him to forget that he met them aer they
pass.
■ Jay, Marsh, and Terry can Sneak past Ray with Most Cicero victims are
little diculty (3). Marsh can use their Unseen sleeping, so no additional test
Passage power to walk right past Ray without is required to feed from them. Refer to
rolling, and even to steal some valuables from his individual victim descriptions for exceptions to
table (like the aforementioned master key) as pass- this. If the characters are unlucky enough to run into
ing him by. Ray is oblivious enough that even this Dee, use the One-Roll Conict rules to resolve the
won’t warrant a roll for Marsh. situation.
victims have a Resonance. As
Additionally, all victims
If they should kill Ray, the guilty parties gain an was stated above, ignore this if this is your rst time
another Stain. As before, for now, just make a note of storytelling or if you want your feeding scenes to go
it. Stains will be explained soon. faster.
Near the reception desk there is an elevator and an
old staircase. e elevator is out of order, but what’s a
few ights of stairs to someone incapable of breaking Club Violet
a sweat?
To feed in e Cicero, the characters must enter Loud, bass-heavy industrial music spills out
the locked hotel rooms. Fortunately, the doors still use onto the street as the scent of cloves and tobacco
mechanical locks and can easily be picked or broken. hangs in the air. Inside, strobe lights cut through
Use Lockpick
a master at all
key for diculty
rooms, 3.too,
As which
stated can
earlier, Ray has
be easily the room, where LA’s counter-culture stomps,
acquired by the characters if picking locks proves too
sways, and swoons to the newest industrial
complicated. sounds. Twisty sairs lead up to another,
Unless otherwise stated, a given victim can sustain smaller room, where the DJ plays slower and
two vampires before expiring in the arms of the third. more romantic darkwave.
is means that up to two vampires can feed from A back door on the irst loor leads out onto
the same victim and reduce their Hunger to 1 without a patio surrounded by a all wooden fence,
killing them. If a third vampire feeds from the same with benches and lower-illed planters creating
victim, no matter how much Hunger the vampire sates, hidden corners where club-goers can smoke and
the victim dies. Vampires know when their prey is at gossip in semi-privacy.
risk of death — they can sense the heartbeat growing
fainter and fainter and sense the burgeoning weakness
of their victim. Remember that murder and even Characters must take care when feeding, as a person
unintentional killing by feeding produces Stains. fainting on the dance oor due to sudden blood loss
Inside each room are potential victims. When the could attract the wrong kind of attention. ose
characters enter a room, choose one or more “e who distrust their sense of self control can use
Cicero” Victim Cards (or see the tables in Appendix their Persuade on their chosen prey to get them to
II). Each Victim has a basic description, additional follow them into a bathroom or out onto the patio.
information upon closer inspection, and roleplaying Fortunately,, due to the low light, and the fact that half
Fortunately
notes. Characters can search most rooms for additional the crowd wears pale makeup already,
already, those without
information or objects. Blush of Life are not at a direct disadvantage. Even
Marsh goes relatively unnoticed in Club Violet.

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 specic
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 Conict 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.

Recovery If they totally ignore Jackie and go their own way,


encourage them to come up with creative solutions for
■ Setup: Te characters have just fed. Tey need to avoiding burning to death in the sun (which happens
regroup and plan, but ultimately, they need to rest. if they refuse to nd shelter). Alex or Blake could rent
■ Goal: Learn a bit more about the vampire condi- a motel room for the day, but how safe might that be?
tion. ey are chased and need to ght their way Empty homes and warehouses abound in the rougher
out. parts of the city, but so do scavengers,
scavengers, criminal gangs,
■ Exit: Characters are chased by the Second Inquisi- wild dogs, and squatters. is should not be easy, and
tion. the characters may end up considering giving Jackie a
■ Next scene: Characters arrive at e Red Star aer chance aer all. If they call her aer having spurned
a very close call. her, she will make it dicult but take them in, out of
respect for her alliance with Markus.

e Approaching Dawn Meeting Jackie


Jackie picks them up in a posh black limousine
limousine
Now that you have satisied your need for blood, driven by one of her mortal employees. She answers
you become aware of another new sensation. any questions the characters have on the way to e
Your Beast senses the approaching sunrise, and Red Star.
Star. Jackie explains the dangers which daytime
presents to vampires. Similar
Similar to Markus’s, these entries
youthefeel
of a creeping
deep languidness
slumber that , the
you sense willirst signs
all upon
cover a variety of topics the characters may ask. Te
pressure this time is the danger of
of the rising sun.
you soon. You must ind a safe place to spend Y
You
ou can use similar techniques as before,
before, with any
the day, where the deadly sun cannot ind you potential interruptions relating to the coming
coming dawn.
and you must ind it quickly. However, they will never make it to Te Red Star, as
the Second Inquisition is surveilling them and waiting
for dawn to attack.

20

S T O RY G U I D E

e sun is about to come up, and the player characters


Sleeping cannot aord to lose any time.

“As ar as morals can tell, we’re dead during the Jackie looks at you impatiently. ““Markus
Markus must
day. Corpses. Waking up is extremely dificul. 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 eects, such
“You’ll have to ind a safe place to say 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 imporant 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 moral will open the door, and wheel or the driver, achieving the same eect. She will
then you’re toas. Literally.” only lower herself to do this if she feels like the player

characters can’t do it.


e Red Sar
Scene V: The Red Star
“e Red Sar is a local hangout for some of us.
It’s set up as a temporary shelter. You can say ■ 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 Into e Red Sar
to evade i, but they’re aster.” You can see the
white van in the street behind you. It’s deinitely
the same one that was chasing you earlier — Butting up against a freeway overpass, e Red
and despite the driver’s best eort to lose them, Sar 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 cockail one can
order here is a Jack and Coke.

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 hospial 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 suested this. Discuss with the players
level: like most people, they may be deceitful or if any of the actions they committed (denitely 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 Aravated 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..

REMORSE TESTS AND DEGENERATION


Acquiring Stains weighs heavy on a Kindred’s conscience, their actions haunting them as they go about their nightly business.
Whenever you nish a game session, you call for Remorse test for all players that acquired Stains
Stains.. This will erase them no
matter the result, but depending on the test, the character retains their Humanity or have a bit of it taken by the Beast
Beast..
Players roll one regular (black) die for every un-Stained, empty box on their Humanity (thus, a character with
Humanity 7 and one Stain rolls two dice). If a character has no un-Stained boxes,
boxes, the player rolls one die.
If any of the dice scores at least one or , all Stains are removed and the character retains Humanity. The

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 justied. 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

Depending on the events of the previous night, the Bartender/Ghouls


characters’ Hunger could be quite high.
“Make sure you ask the bartender if you need
anything, he’s a ghoul
ghoul.. Gets a hit of vampire
Waking Up Blood once a month. Makes him loyal, and
stronger. Always good to have someone looking
Your eyes pop open at sundown, alert and out for your daytime needs.”
ready to go. You feel your Hunger, your endless
companion, and you briely reminisce about the
events from last night and the vivid dreams you
Personal Advice
may have experienced.
e bartender picks you up and directs you “Yeah, obviously I think you should join the
Anarch Movemen. But I’m not going to force
upsairs. You can feel his pulse and heartbea.
you or anything. Whatever you do, though…
He’s moral. For a momen, you strule with
stick together. It’s rough out there for a vampire
your desire to sate your Hunger
Hunger.. en you
on their own. Without a crew, you’ll die.”
wonder if he’s into the whole deal.
As you reach the ground loor, you meet
with two Kindred you’ve already met: Sage and Anarch Movement
Movement
Jackie.
“e Anarch Movement is freedom from
ascists, capialists and other assholes. Elders
Jackie tells them she hasn’t heard from Markus, which
try to hoard all the resources, keep all the blood
clearly worries her. She steps away to make a few
to themselves, and push us younger Licks under
phone calls and leaves the characters
characters with Sage.
In this scene, Sage introduces the Anarch faction, the
my bus andNot
watch. intowhile
the hands of Inquisitors.
a single Not on
one of us Anarchs
which she belongs to. She’s passionate in the defense of
her beliefs. can bare our angs at them.”
If the scene seems to drag on, feel free to have
Jackie interrupt the conversation. As the conversation winds down, Jackie returns.
Text options are given for you to read through, She does not reveal if she got ahold of Markus, but
but as always, improvise as you deem suitable. Sage is has much more important information: one of the
agressively optimistic and sees the Anarch Movement character’s sires is alive. is is, of course, the sire that
as a way to make unlife better for the Kindred who are was discussed during the dream sequence earlier.
poor and powerless. e character’s sire waits for their childe at the
Armitage Hotel, where Jackie has arranged a meeting.
is is the sire who was the focus of the previous day’s
dreams.

24

S T O RY G U I D E

e problem is that the Armitage Hotel is one of the


very few Camarilla bastions in town. e Anarchs have Scene VI: The In Crowd
pretty strong opinions about the Camarilla and won’t
hesitate to share them with the characters. ■ Setup: e characters meet the Camarilla, a power-
ful vampire organization. e sire of one of them is
apparently a member.
e Camarilla ■ Goal: Learn about the Camarilla. Consider joining
one side or another. Reveal that the Second Inqui-
Jackie: sition has a recording of the characters
“e Camarilla are a political action that ■ Exit: Characters are summoned by Allison.
would rather have nothing to do with us. ■ Next scene: Characters face the Second Inquisition
and try to recover the recording.
ey’ve circled their wagons against the Second
Inquisition and dabble very little in our afairs. Here, the characters are introduced to the world of
Frankly I prefer it that way, too. ey have the Camarilla, a hidden world of luxury, control and
a million rules about population control and submission. Make sure you convey an atmosphere
upholding the secret of our existence.” of decadent magnicence, of wealth and power, of
ambition and paranoia. is scene also functions to
Sage: present the Camarilla as an option, much the same way
“Fucking ascist assholes. I hate them so much. Sage presented the Anarchs as a faction.
It’s jus… you’re immoral, why spend it being a
dick to others?”
Getting to the Armiage
is information may make the characters wary or Jackie’s luxurious limousine akes you through
Jackie’s
paranoid, and the Anarchs advise caution. at said, the dirty parts of the city. Under every freeway
Jackie relays that the sire has promised safe passage,
and though Kindred can be duplicitous liars, she says overpass, tent cities proliferate. Bears with
cardboard
cardboa rd signs plead for spare change whenever
that the Armitage is considered safe ground. It’s where
many Camarilla vampires hunt and feed, and they
the car stops at an intersection. But abruptly,
would not risk violence there. that all ends over the length of a single city
Jackie also reveals that the sire being in a venue block. No more tent cities or panhandlers — all
known to be frequented by the Camarilla is news to the buildings are shiny and new. Everyone on
her — this is an extremely recent development. If the the street is beautiful and trendy. And looming
characters act overly wary, Sage oers to monitor them above it all, the Armiage Hotel.
Hotel.
from afar and swoop in if they encounter trouble (they Inside, wealthy tourists toting designer
likely won’t). If the characters ask about the sire, she luage check in at the cherrywood hospiality
says that she just knows them in passing, and that desk. e opulence dazzles all of you, and
she’s surprised that the sire appears to be a Camarilla you feel decidedly out of place among such
sympathizer now.
ashionable people. Before you can do much else,
a all Asian woman approaches you. She wears
a beautiful blue and white sui, her jewelry
subtly indicating her allegiance. She introduces
herself as Allison, shaking each of your hands.

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.
rooop 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 Oer
Characters are briey 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 oer. Not of
membership, not right now, of course. But we
Bar at the Armiage 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 oer 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 exaerates “Any vampire worth their blood should wan,
their own importance to the faction. Insight tests at and be worthy o, membership in the Camarilla.
Diculty 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

Were You Responsible


Inquisition. Do you think the Anarchs have the for our Capture?
Capture?
power to sand against the Second Inquisition?
No. ey’ll die screaming in the streets. I beg you “Absolutely no. e Second Inquisition is a
not to join them and see such an end yoursel. I dangerous sword which
which cuts both ways. I would
can only imagine what Markus and his friends not set them against my worst enemy, the risk is
may have told you. I feel for them. We used to too high. I have no idea who did, but I am glad
be like a amily… ere’s nothing that would you escaped.”
make me happier than seeing all of my friends
enjoying the protection of the Camarilla.” e sire invites the coterie, and their childe in
particular, to take some
some time considering their oer
oer..
e Camarilla Whenever you feel ready
ready for it, have Allison
interrupt the conversation, and request their presence
“Centuries ago, the morals rose up against us. elsewhere. She leads them into a large, dimly lit room
e Camarilla formed in response, aer the dominated by a humongous at-screen television,
irst Inquisition devasated us in Europe. Since surrounded by luxurious and comfortable seating.
She grabs a remote and plays a recording that lasts
then, we have spread across the globe. We oer
for just a few seconds.
a better, safer society than what came before.
In years pas, joining was as simple as swearing
fealty to the local Prince. But escalating conlict e Recording
has caused us to close ranks. Potential members
must now prove their worth and theirthe ir loyalty.” “he video is short and looks rough, but you can
clearly see yourselves depicted in i. It shows
you wandering around the walk-in freezer of

e Prince the resaurant you led last nigh. It begins as


you woke up and rose to your feet and breaks o
“Every Camarilla city is ruled by a Prince, a few seconds later. ese moments are shown
an elder of our kind whose word is law. e in a repeating loop, which Allison allows to loop
Primogen Council is a group of local leaders, for a few iterations.
iterations.
who advise the Prince and share in the
She pauses the video, and increases the
management of the city. is city is dieren.
lighting of the room to discuss i.”
Here, the Anarchs roam free, with no Prince to
cull their numbers. Don’t fear… we are working
to change this situation.” Allison explains that one of their operatives got
ahold of this recording. She says that she believes the
Inquisitors that have been following them hold the
Second Inquisition original media. Recovering it, she promises, will give

them a shot atShe


organization. beginning theirthat
underlines process to join
not only willthe
this be
“Terrifying.. Never let them catch your scen.”
“Terrifying
benecial to them, but they could potentially avoid a
Masquerade breach by acquiring it.

27

STARTER SET

Allison tells the characters that time is of the essence


essence
and they should leave. She oers them a car with Scene VII: Fire in the
a ghoul driver to facilitate their mission. is is a Night
bulletproof limousine with a superior driver.
If Markus never issued them pistols, then Allison ■ Setup: e characters face the detachment of
will. eir +2 damage already listed on their character Inquisitors that have been hounding them since the
sheets. beginning.
■ Goal: Climactic combat scene. Recover the footage.
Decide if they wish to side with one of the organi-
zations that they encountered, or want to do their
own thing.
■ Exit: Defeat the Inquisitors.
■ Next scene: is is the nal scene of the scenario,
but you can pick up loose threads to continue the
story.

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 conict:
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 conict to be more detailed than
allies were an unexpected factor. e Anarchs have a One-Roll Conict,
Conict, 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) inicts 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 Supercial Damage is marked as slashes (/) on the
Markus or Allison and may have accepted a Camarilla Health track. Always halve Supercial 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 Supercial
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 conict 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 conict 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 Conict rules (p.10). they regroup and escape, or how they surrender, or even
If so, choose a diculty depending on how tough you how they’re killed by the victorious player characters, if
want them to be. We suest 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 diculty 6 or For rules on Recovery, and more details and
even 5. examples, see p.12 of the Reference Guide.
Guide.

29

STARTER SET

Once you’re ready to start,


explain how the situation
looks. You may want to
draw a rough sketch of the
situation as you envision
it, but it’s also possible to
manage the entire scene
as a “theater of the mind”
narrative, too. Remember
that if they used the
limousine the Camarilla
provided, they can use it
as cover as it’s bulletproof.
e driver will not ght

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
conict. 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 Supercial 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 inict the success margin plus this damage rating actions can be unarmed or using weapons, such as the
to their victim. is is never Aravated 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

Discipline use can be benecial 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 inict 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 (Diculty 5) victim to death.
to look into their eyes.
Marsh can vanish with Cloak of Shadows and
Unseen Passage and go for the oensive 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 conict 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 III, 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 aravated damage (X), you technician that they may have seen in a vision, are
should heavily suest that they ee. shown carrying them in, staked, removing their stakes,
If you rule that they win, you can have them feast and then feeding them blood, presumably animal
on the inquisitors, or let the surviving inquisitors blood, aer 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
conict, 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 dificult 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 undersand 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 oer a few ideas as to
where the story might go from here. Below you’ll
nd information to continue the story in dierent
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, Fih 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 aer 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 dierent set of challenges.

You might also like