In Dar ker Ages

credits
design & development -
Alratan on the World of Darkness 5th Edition Discord | Email: alratan (at) gmail (dot) com

original google doc template - Eunomiac

banu haqim bane ideas - COIN & ChipotleChris
cappadocian bane ideas - ChipotleChris, COIN & Sharkey
giovanni bane comments - ChipotleChris
lasombra bane idea - Matthew Dawkins & Sharkey
tremere bane idea - COIN
some historical armour examples - Sharei

images
cover page - Dark Hallway - Pexels

back page - Pile of Human Skulls - Pexels

World of Darkness, Vampire: The Masquerade, Vampire: The Dark

Ages, Victorian Age: Vampire, Werewolf: The Apocalypse,
Werewolf: The Wild West, Mage: The Ascension, Mage: The
Sorcerers Crusade, Wraith: The Oblivion, Wraith: The Great War,
Changeling: The Dreaming, Hunter: The Reckoning, Demon: The
Fallen, Mummy: The Resurrection, Orpheus, Exalted, Chronicles
of Darkness, Vampire:The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken,
Mage: The Awakening, Changeling: The Lost, Hunter: The Vigil,
Giest: The Sin Eaters, Demon: The Descent, Mummy: The Curse,
Beast: The Primordial, Promethean: The Created, World of
Darkness, Storyteller System™, Storytelling System™, and
Storytellers Vault™ and their respective logos, icons and symbols
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB. All rights reserved.
This work contains material that is copyright of Paradox Interactive AB. Such material is used with permission
under the Community Content Agreement for the Storytellers Vault.
©2018 Paradox Interactive AB, Magnus Ladulåsgatan 4 SE-118 66 Stockholm
Västgötagatan 5, SE-118 27 Stockholm, Sweden.

resources referred to
Dark Ages: Vampire
Vampire: The Dark Ages Twentieth Anniversary Edition
Victorian Age: Vampire

Last updated: 28/05/2023

 In Darker Ages
— by Alratan

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 2 Politics 6
Science aka Hearth Wisdom 6
KINDRED OF THE PAST 2
Technology 6
Clans & Bloodlines 2
Banu Haqim 2 ADVANTAGES 7
Cappadocian 2 Merits 7
Giovanni 2 Linguistics 7
Lamiae 3 Archaic 7
Lasombra 3
Backgrounds 7
Nagaraja 3
Haven 7
Ravnos 3
Loresheets 7
Samedi 4
Mask 7
Tremere 4
Status 7
Thickening of The Blood 4
Thin-Blooded Vampires 4 PREDATOR TYPES 8
Sea Of Time 5
ADVANCED CONFLICT 8
SKILLS 5 Shields 8
Athletics 5 Mounted Combat 8
Craft 5 Ranged Combat 8
Drive aka Steer 5 Weapons 8
Firearms aka Aim 5 Armour 9
Melee 6 Avoidance 10
Etiquette 6 Variant Rule: Health 11
Performance 6 Variant Rule: Absolute Soak 11
Academics 6
Finance 6
Medicine 6

1
IN DARKER AGES
Introduction
his document is intended
as a set of some basic
rules and ideas to make it
easier to play V5 in earlier
time periods. Whilst the mediaeval
period is (nebulously) the key period
considered, I have also provided
suggestions for the classical and
Victorian eras. Some rules, such as
the Clan Banes, are suitable for a
significant span of history. If you wish
to know more about World of
Darkness lore and history in order to
run a game set in other ages, I
recommend reading books form prior
editions in addition to this document.
In particular, Vampire: The Dark
Ages Twentieth Anniversary Edition
can give you a good idea of general
themes over that period, whilst the
first edition, Dark Ages: Vampire, has
a setting of less unified realms which
fits well into the themes of V5. For
other periods, Victorian Age:
Vampire is the other official release.
This document is deliberately
vague when it comes to what date and
location your chronicle is set in, but
much of it assumes that you are
playing in Europe and standardis-
ation cannot be assumed globally.
In addition, I recommend
checking out my (free) v5 House
Rules document, as some elements of
these may be relevant for earlier play
(such as the Haven sub-merit
Workshop). I try to avoid duplication
across different documents, which is
why they have not been presented
◾
here as well
Kindred of the
Past
hilst most Clans
have identical
mechanics in the
prior eras as in in
the modern nights, a few have
different Banes either due to their
curse changing over time, such as the
Banu Haqim, or due to the curse
requiring changes to the default Bane
to be relevant before the modern
nights, such as the Lasombra.
Notably, each of the Clans and
Bloodlines which would later form
the Hecata have different Banes prior
to the Family Reunion.
Clans & Bloodlines
banu haqim
The blood curse cast upon the Banu
Haqim by the Tremere has left all of
them unable to drink the blood of
Kindred. For every Hunger slaked
from a vampire, the Banu Haqim
takes a number of Aggravated Health
Damage equal to their Bane Severity.
In addition, Banu Haqim cannot
commit Diablerie, automatically
failing on the required Strength +
Resolve checks.
Prior to 1496 and after 1998, this
Bane was and will be the one described in
Camarilla, a result of the Banu Haqim
methusaleh Ur-Shulgi rising from torpor
and banishing the curse.
2
cappadocian
Steeped in death, the Cappadocians
all share an unsettling visage and
inner workings, making it difficult
for them to relate to the lives of the
living. All Cappadocians suffer a
penalty equal to Social pools equal to
their Bane Severity, but only with
mortals where a lack of empathy with
mortality might be a strong
consideration. This includes most
Insight rolls, seduction and some
Persuasion-based appeals to emotion,
but does not apply to activities such
as rhetoric, fast talk, intimidation,
court politics and the like. They
cannot maintain a Herd nor take
Flaw: (••) Obvious Predator.
In addition, this connection to
death affects them to such an extent
that even with Blush of Life active,
their skin is still cold and unpleasant
to the touch, although they otherwise
feel alive as is appropriate for their
Humanity rating.
This Bane will change to the Hecata
Bane described in Cults of the Blood
Gods in the 2000s-2010s as a result of the
Family Reunion. Some unfortunate
Cappadocians would also develop a more
severe corpse-like visage which can be
represented with Flaw: (••) Repulsive.
giovanni
Giovanni suffer from the same Bane
as Clan Cappadocian.
This Bane will change to the
standard Hecata Bane in Cults of the
Blood Gods at some point shortly after
1444, but definitely before 1528, thought
to be a result of the diablerie of Lamia by
Augustus Giovanni.

lamiae
Lamiae suffer the same Bane as the
Hecata in Cults of the Blood Gods.
lasombra
While all vampires lose something
profound at their Embrace, the
Lasombra exhibit the most telling
signs of this spiritual deficiency.
When viewed in a reflective surface,
their image appears distorted,
sometimes almost invisible. Whether
flickering, twisted, or transparent,
their reflection betrays their undead
state and lineage.
Anyone seeing the reflection of a
Lasombra vampire can instantly
recognize them for what they are,
provided they know what they’re
looking for. People with no prior
knowledge will know something is
wrong, but likely attribute the
distortion to irregularities in the
reflecting surface or the ambient
light. Note that this will not hide the
identity of the vampire, and
Lasombra are no less likely to be
recognised in a reflective surface than
any other vampire.
In addition, for as long as they're
not in a mortal's company, the
Lasombra's distorted imprint in their
mind warps over a course of several
nights until they are remembered
only as a black, all-consuming
presence with a voice from the Abyss,
or similarly horrific corruptions.
Further interactions with kine
who see Lasombra as these Abyssal
nightmares come with difficulty,
leaving those kine restless, sleepless,
and more prone to paranoia.
Lasombra must either rigorously
maintain their mortal connections,
Dominate them into forgetting their
interaction, bind them into their
services as ghouls or become known
as hellish nightmares.
If a mortal has met the Lasombra
before and retains un-altered
memories of them from at least three
nights ago, the Lasombra suffers a
two-dice penalty to all Social rolls
except for Intimidation unless they
succeed on a Manipulation + Insight
roll at a difficulty of 2 + Bane Severity
to put the mortal at ease. Although
ghouls' memories of a Lasombra are
still warped, the vitae within them
prevents the true horror from settling
in their hearts, and the Lasombra
suffers no dice penalty interacting
with them. As a result of this
corruption, elder Lasombra often find
it difficult to maintain most social
Backgrounds, particularly Herd.
This Bane will change to the one
described in Chicago By Night before the
modern era. It is recommended that the
modern Bane is always present in the
background, to avoid it requiring an
in-game retcon, but simply not noticed in
other time periods due to the lack of
recording technology.
As a result, a period of overlapping
Banes is recommended before the above
Bane recedes entirely, such as if playing
during the Victorian Age. The exact time
of the Bane changing is up to the
Storyteller’s discretion, but is
recommended to be changed over fully by
the 1990s, when CCTV became
widespread.
If an in-universe justification is
required, it could be that the rise of
3
KINDRED OF THE PAST
recording equipment changed mortals’
beliefs and caused technology to take on
the burden of the Lasombra’s spiritual
deficiency, or simply that the prevalence
of it absorbed the worst of their distorted
reflection, sparing mortals the discomfort.
nagaraja
Due to the peculiarities of the curse
the original Nagaraja accepted upon
themselves when they made
themselves vampires, all Nagaraja
count as having Flaw: (••)
Organovore, but are able to overcome
this in order to feed as a normal
vampire by spending a point of
Willpower per Bane Severity.
Nagaraja must consume their flesh
freshly taken from their prey -
preferably alive - unless they also have
the Iron Gullet merit
Furthermore, a Nagaraja who
does feed normally does not benefit
from the Kiss, making it feel like
knives slicing skin and bloodletting
rather than anything euphoric. This
means that many subtle or
non-violent means are not available
to a Nagaraja.
This Bane will change to the Hecata
Bane described in Cults of the Blood
Gods in the 2000s-2010s as a result of the
Family Reunion.
ravnos
Before the death of their
Antediluvian, the restlessness of the
Ravnos saps their drive rather than
burning them from the inside. A
Ravnos who triggers their Bane must
roll a number of dice equal to Bane
Severity during daysleep, and suffers
a level of Aggravated Willpower
IN DARKER AGES
damage for each 10 rolled and a level
of non-halved Superficial Willpower
damage for each die which did not
roll a 10.
This Bane will change to the one
described in the v5 Companion between
the years 1998-2000 as a result of the
destruction of the Ravnos Antediluvian
during the Week of Nightmares.
Characters could keep the modern Bane
in earlier nights, but care must be taken
of how to handle any Ravnos elders in
torpor.
samedi
Whether a result of a specific curse
upon their bloodline, necromantic
rituals practiced by their elders or
simply a unique quirk of Doc San
himself, nasyon san an are beholden to
all who show them hospitality.
If a Samedi accepts a gift of any
kind freely given, including money,
aid, safety or blood, they suffer a
penalty equal to their Bane Severity
when acting against the giver, or even
rudely towards them, for the
remainder of the night. If they wish
to make a directly aggressive act
against the giver that night, such as
joining in conflict against them, they
must spend Willpower equal to Bane
Severity to do so.
While the Bane does not trigger
against cunning adversaries
attempting to cynically give gifts to
weaken them, it often leads the
descendents of Doc San to hold
themselves apart from those they
hunt, and wary of forming the close
bonds without careful evaluation.
This Bane will change to the Hecata
Bane described in Cults of the Blood
Gods in the 2000s-2010s as a result of the
Family Reunion.
tremere
The importance of the Blood to a
Tremere is strong, and all have been
subject to magical rituals bonding
them to the Pyramid. All Tremere are
bonded with two drinks from a
Kindred rather than just one and may
not take Bonding Merits without
agreement from the Storyteller. Flaw:
(••) Bondslave is only a one-dot flaw
for Tremere.
In addition, whenever a Tremere
experiences a Messy Critical on a roll,
their bond to the Pyramid intensifies
as wards against potential rebellion
are triggered. For the remainder of
the scene, the Tremere suffers a
penalty equal to their Bane Severity
to all dice pools which do not
advance the goals of House Tremere
and their superiors in the Chantry.
This Bane will change to the Bane
described in Vampire: The Masquerade in
2008. The cause is unknown, but is likely
related to the destruction of the Prime
Chantry, Carna’s work with the Book of
Grave-War and/or the involvement of
Saulot or Tremere.
Thickening of The Blood
In all eras prior to the modern nights,
there are were probably no Thin-
Blooded vampires as understood in
the modern nights. The lore is
somewhat ambiguous on this, but The
Time of Thin Blood is known as a
specific period which heralds
Gehenna.
In previous eras, vampires at the
highest Generation might simply be
4
unable to sire childer, with the
Thirteenth Generation only being
sired at some point between the Dark
and Victorian Ages. Or, they could
have been present, but less prevalent
or less notable without their feared
alchemy. The first recorded
Thin-Bloods seem to have appeared in
the 1990s, so this is an appropriate
period of transition for such Kindred.
thin-blooded vampires
If you wish to play with Thin-Blooded
vampires in previous eras it is quite
possible, but some slight thickening
of the Blood may be useful if the
game spans the centuries. This would
allow for higher Generations to be
sired as Thin-Blooded vampires, only
for them to spontaneously transform
into thicker-blooded Kindred as
enough years have passed that the
Generation as a whole becomes
viable.
This is not due to the age of
individual Thin-Blooded vampires,
but on the year in general - e.g.
perhaps in 1453, all Thin-Blooded
vampires experience a thickening and
become Caitiff, and all Thirteenth
Generation Kindred from that point
on are Embraced as normal.
Regardless of how it happens, if
Duskborn exist they follow the same
rules as in Vampire: The Masquerade,
except that practicing Thin-Blooded
Alchemy may be slightly more
difficult or expensive in previous eras
due to relative cost of glassware,
outlawing of classical alchemy in
some countries and the foundations
of modern chemistry only occurring
in the 17th Century.

It is also possible that
Thin-Bloods in the prior ages all
resemble their sires, primarily
possessing Bestial Temper, Clan
Curse, Discipline Affinities and
Vampiric Resilience.
sea of time
From the 10th to 17th centuries, I
recommend altering the Sea of Time
character creation step to:
■ CHILDER: Embraced in the last 15
years, they will be 12th Gener-
ation, with Blood Potency 1
■ NEONATES: Embraced between 10
and 80 years ago, they will be
10th or 11th Generation, with
Blood Potency 1
■ ANCILLAE: Embraced between 80
and 240 years ago, they will be
9th or 10th Generation, with
Blood Potency 3
As a result of these changes, it is
worth bearing in mind that
maximum Blood Potency will differ
for non-fledglings, and that Ancillae
start with higher.
Similar changes to Sea of Time
may occur with other time periods,
although it will have reverted to the
same Generations as in the modern
nights by the Victorian Age, if not
before.
If playing earlier the reverse will
be true, with typical vampires of the
First Century CE being one or two
Generations lower still ◾ Gunsmithing and related skills are
Skills
hanges to Skills are not
strictly required for
playing in earlier eras,
but changing them may
help with a sense of verisimilitude
and relevance to their particular time.
This section mainly suggests different
Specialties which may be more
appropriate for some Skills in the
mediaeval period or earlier, but more
substantial changes are recommended
for others, notably Drive, Firearms,,
Melee, Science and Technology. Later
eras, such as the Victorian Age, need
almost no changes to the Skills
themselves, but the nuances of what
the Specialties will vary.
Athletics
Athletics functions identically to the
modern nights, except that prior to
the proliferation of firearms from the
15th Century, Archery and Throwing
are no longer valid Specialties (see
Firearms aka Aim, below).
Specialties: Acrobatics, Armour
Proficiency, Climbing, Endurance,
Jumping, Parkour, Swimming
Craft
too removed from the practice of
firing using them during earlier eras
that they are now only Specializations
under Craft rather than Specialties
under other Skills.
5
KINDRED OF THE PAST
Specialisations: Armorsmithing,
Blacksmithing, Calligraphy,
Carpentry, Carving, Cooking,
Dressmaking, Glassblowing,
Gunsmithing, Painting, Sculpting,
Stonemasonry, Weaponsmithing
Drive aka Steer
In eras without modern vehicles, the
Drive skill is replaced with Steer,
although it functions almost
identically - the name is primarily
different for reasons of immersion
and to make it clear that it will
primarily be used to ride horses and
steer carts or boats.
Specialties: Boats, Carriages,
Charging, Evasion, Jousting, Mounted
Combat, Racing, Ships, Steep
Terrain, Stunts, Tailing
Firearms aka Aim
In eras prior to the modern nights,
the Firearms Skill becomes Aim,
which also covers throwing weapons,
archery and other related ranged
weapons. Composure is the typical
Attribute paired with Aim for most
attacks, although Strength might be
appropriate for some longbows or
throwing weapons.
As with Firearms in the modern
nights, Storytellers should discourage
any Specialties which are obviously
too broad, such as Bows, Crossbows
or Throwing Weapons. A specific and
signature weapon (or set of weapons
in the case of throwing weapons)
which the character has made use of
for a significant length of time is fine,
however. On the other hand, in
IN DARKER AGES
earlier periods guns might be rare
enough to allow a Specialty as broad
as Arquebuses in the 14th or 15th
Centuries.
All ranged attacks have been
moved into Aim in order to prevent
Athletics becoming too ubiquitous in
other eras where such ranged
weapons were the norm.
Specialities: Fast Reload, Mounted
Archery, Quick-Draw, Siege
Weapons, Sniper, Trick Shooting.
Melee
Melee functions almost identically to
how it does in the modern nights,
except that melee weapons may be far
more commonly wielded in
chronicles set prior to the common
spread of firearms.
As with Firearms, Storytellers
should discourage any Specialties
which are obviously too broad, such
as Sword or Axes, but should allow
unique and personal weapons to be
Specialties.
Specialties: Disarming Blows,
Improvised Weapons, Mounted
Combat, Parrying, Shield Block,
Staged Combat, Stakes
Etiquette
Specialties: Burghers, Clergy,
Elysium, Kindred Courts (specific
Domain), Mortal Region (specific
Realm), Nobility, Secret Society
Performance
Specialties: Comedy, Dance, Drama,
Juggling, Magic Tricks, Percussion
Instruments, Poetry, Public Speaking,
Singing, Staged Combat, String
Instruments, Wind Instruments
Academics
Academics gains Law (specific Realm
or Social Class) and Religion
(specific) as Specialties.
Finance
Specialties: Appraisal, Banking, Black
Market, Fine Goods, Fraud,
Mercantile Finance, Shipping, Trade
Routes
Medicine
Specialties: Childbirth, First Aid,
Herbalism, Pain Relief, Surgery,
Trauma Care, Veterinary
Politics
Specialties: Burgher, Clan (specific),
Diplomacy, Ecclesiastical, Kindred
(specific Domain), Mortal (specific
Realm), Nobility, Secret Society
Science aka
Hearth Wisdom
Prior to the Enlightenment (if not the
modern nights), Science was neither
sufficiently formalised nor widely
taught, particularly in Europe. As a
result, the Science Skill becomes
Hearth Wisdom in the mediaeval era
and earlier without formal education.
6
Mediaeval Specialties: Astronomy,
Engineering, Geology, Herbalism,
Home Remedies, Formal Sciences,
Mathematics, Plants, Sanitation,
Weather
Victorian Specialties: Astronomy,
Engineering, Geology, Herbalism,
Home Remedies, Formal Sciences,
Mathematics, Plants, Sanitation,
Weather
Technology
As discussed in Vampire: The
Masquerade, what comes under
Technology changes as technological
advancements are made and spread
throughout society. No characters
require dots in Technology in order
to use common tools of their era, but
cutting edge and difficulty tasks
relating to technology may require it.
There will likely be some overlap
between Craft, Hearth Wisdom and
Technology, with the nuances
depending on how a character is
applying their skill.
For ideas and context for this
Skill, I recommend reading the
Wikipedia page on ancient
technology, mediaeval technology or
Victorian era technology as starting
points.
Classical Specialties: Agricultural
Tools, Engineering, Metallurgy, Siege
Weapons, Textiles
Mediaeval Specialties: Agricultural
Tools, Engineering, Firearms,
Metallurgy, Printing, Siege Weapons,
Textiles
Victorian Specialties: Engineering,
Firearms, Printing, Railways, Steam
Engines, Telephony, Textiles ◾

Advantages
Merits
linguistics
Flaw: Illiterate is only a one-dot Flaw
for most of history prior to the 19th
century, depending on location.
archaic
Both Archaic Flaws work well
mechanically, but what is archaic is
particular to the culture and time you
are playing in. The examples below
are from the mediaeval era.
■ Flaw: (••) Archaic. You haven’t
been able to adapt to the
present, or you have been long in
torpor. You may be confused by
modern inventions such as steel,
mechanical clocks and oil paint,
and your Technology rating is
permanently 0. The Storyteller
may penalize other dice pools
involving very modern tech-
nology by one die.
■ Flaw: (•) Living in the Past. You
haven’t grasped the modern
mindset, or you just don’t want
to. You have one or more
seriously outdated Convictions,
e.g. “Defeated enemies should be
enslaved,” “Deities deserve
sacrifices,” “Omens guide all
actions.” These archaic moralities
maintain your Humanity but are
odious to many; you lose one die
from Social test dice pools
involving such archaic beliefs
except with vampires your age
and older, who may admire your
steadfast virtues.
Backgrounds
Most Backgrounds are still applicable
in all eras, with some requiring minor
changes to use in an earlier chronicle.
Haven
Whilst the Haven Merits generally
work the same as they do in the
modern nights, some tweaks are
suggested below.
• Hidden Armory: This Merit
now grants weapons more
relevant to the time period, such
as grants one larger weapon (+3
or +4) and one small weapon (+2),
along with any required
ammunition.
• Security System: The rules for
this merit are unchanged, but
each dot might take the form of a
group of watchdogs and a
handler, a small, but loud family
of tamed crows, tripwires linked
to bells providing alarm or some
other form of security.
Loresheets
Some Loresheet merits are not
applicable for a game set in other
eras, just as they may not be for every
location of the world. You and your
Storyteller should work together to
ensure that any Loresheets chosen are
suitable for your chronicle, or can be
adapted to fit if appropriate.
7
ADVANTAGES
Mask
This Background is of lesser
importance in prior eras due to a lack
of centralised identity databases, but
is still relevant for much of society
which involves personal references.
Flaw: (••) Known Blankbody is not
available, instead replaced with the
below flaw.
■ Flaw: (••) Known Monster. Your
face, description and social
circles are known to members of
any local militia, garrison, etc. as
well as the Holy Inquisition or
local witch hunters. Any hunter
can read between the lines of
tales told about you and recog-
nise you for what you are.
Status
Whilst this Background is still exist,
the Ashirra was founded in 632, the
Anarchs and Camarilla in 1435 and
the Sabbat in 1493, so in prior eras
you may need to take Status just in
your domain (London), wider
Kindred dominion (Baronies of
Avalon) or just a mortal or
geographical locality (British Isles),
rather than a sect. Clan Status will
almost always be useful, but with
some variation, e.g. Hecata Status
being of limited use prior to the
◾
Family Reunion
IN DARKER AGES

designed for use from horseback such as couched lances,

Predator Types unless their target has a long weapon suitable for
engaging mounted enemies.

ost Predator Types from the official

books will work in earlier time periods
with simple changes to the
descriptions and Specialties, as will
those in my v5 House Rules document. An exception is
Bagger, as there were no blood bags or fridges. Other
types, such as Bloodletter, may be interesting to explore.
The Graverobber Predator Type (Cults of the Blood
Gods, p. 150) is a good alternative, or one could allow a
vampire to obtain corpses rather than blood bags to allow
for similar mechanics. Such a vampire could be called a
Body Trader ◾ Weapons
Ranged Combat
If a combatant has a bow, crossbow or similarly unwieldy
weapon, they should either suffer a two dice penalty for
attempting to use it in close combat, or even be unable to
use it effectively entirely. Reloading and ammunition
should not be tracked within typical conflicts, but
prolonged combats going beyond three turns may require
a turn of reloading for crossbows or firearms.
The tables below outlines alternative weapons for the

Advanced Conflict classical, mediaeval and Victorian eras. Weapons have

been given a very broad brush here, however, as specific
weapons and their quality varied over the centuries, let
Shields alone location.
It is also worth bearing in mind that ranged weapons
Shields grant the user the ability to block incoming
in prior periods are not as easy and quick to carry, draw
attacks with their shield, requiring a Strength + Melee
and load as modern firearms, and may require more than
roll. A character with a shield may block an unlimited
just a minor action to ready.
number of attacks in this manner per turn, although they
Also, remember that piercing weapons and firearms
suffer a cumulative penalty to their dice pool as with any
deal Aggravated Health damage to humans, whilst impact
defensive action. The shield may block incoming ranged
weapons deal Superficial damage.
attacks in addition to just close-combat ones, and if large
enough, relieves the character from suffering a two-dice
classical weapons damage value
penalty to defense against ranged weapons when out in
Improvised weapon, stake +0
the open.
Light piercing (throwing dagger)
At the Storyteller’s discretion, using a particularly
Light impact (cestus, gauntlets) +1
large shield may grant additional bonuses when making
Medium piercing (thrown spear)
an All-Out Defense action (Vampire: The Masquerade,
Medium impact (club, staff) +2
p.298), such as an additional one-die bonus when
Light piercing (dagger, arrow)
blocking ranged weapons. Medium melee (shortsword)

Heavy melee (heavy axe) +3

Mounted Combat Medium impact (mace)
Medium piercing (short spear,
Although advanced rules for fighting from horseback are arrow from a bow, crossbow bolt
out of scope for this document, it is suggested that a from a gastraphetes)
character who is charging from horseback against a
Heavy impact (maul) +4
stationary target receives a bonus die in the first turn of Huge melee (halberd)
combat, or even two bonus dice in the case of weapons

8

mediaeval weapons
Improvised weapon, stake
Light piercing (throwing dagger)
Light impact (gauntlets)
Medium piercing (thrown spear)
Medium impact (club, staff)
Light piercing (dagger, crossbow
bolt, arrow)
Medium melee (shortsword)
Heavy melee (battle axe,
broadsword, lance)
Medium impact (mace)
Medium piercing (short spear,
arrow from a bow, crossbow bolt
from a heavy crossbow)
Heavy impact (warhammer)
Huge melee (claymore, halberd)
Medium gunshot (arquebus)
victorian weapons
Improvised weapon, stake
Light impact (sap / blackjack)
Medium impact (club, staff)
Light piercing (dagger, crossbow
bolt, arrow)
Medium melee (shortsword,
bayonet)
Heavy melee (battle axe, heavy
cavalry sword, lance)
Medium impact (mace)
Medium piercing (short spear,
arrow from a bow, crossbow bolt
from a heavy crossbow)
Light gunshot (flintlock pistol)
Heavy impact (warhammer)
Huge melee (claymore, halberd)
Medium gunshot (flintlock rifle)
ADVANCED CONFLICT
damage value
+0
Armour
The rules for armour in Vampire: The Masquerade work
+1 very well for the modern nights due to their simplicity
and because they prevent players from running around in
+2 bullet-proof vests. In a mediaeval setting, however, you
may wish to see vampire knights in all of their glory.
If you wish to stick to the core themes of V5 and
avoid overcomplicated rules, but still would like armour
+3 to be useful for Kindred, I recommend using the
Avoidance rules described below, although I have also
provided two variant rules on the following page.
When fighting enemies in armour, it is important to
remember that they provide no protection against impact
+4 weapons, fire or grappling, which can allow a single
armoured target to be brought down with ease. If
someone is immoblised by a grappler, the victim can be
attacked with a flat Difficulty of 1, which is particularly
useful against armoured opponents.
damage value Additionally, bite attacks in combat with someone
+0 wearing thick armour (especially if it includes a gorget)
+1 should be made more difficult in addition to being
affected by the downgrading of damage from Aggravated.
+2
Depending on the year your game is set in, the
specifics of what makes up light (rating 2), medium
(rating 4) and heavy armour (rating 6) might change over
time. For instance, during the 13th Century, light armour
+3 could be leather, medium armour could be reinforced
leather and heavy armour could be a mail shirt. As time
goes on, however, a previous era’s heavy armour might be
reduced to medium for balance reasons, e.g. a mail shirt
becomes medium whilst plate armour becomes the new
heavy. Sample ratings for armour are described below,
+4 split between different time periods.
1st century armour armor value
Light armour (layered linen) 2 (zero vs. piercing)
Medium armour (leather) 4
Heavy armour (segmented cuirass 6
over leather)
One-die penalty to Athletics rolls
9
IN DARKER AGES

11th century armour armor value

Light armour (gambeson)
Medium armour (hardened leather, 4
mail shirt)
Heavy armour (mail hauberk over
gambeson, lamellar)
One-die penalty to Athletics rolls
13th century armour
Light armour (gambeson)
Medium armour (mail shirt over
gambeson)
Heavy armour (full mail body
armour over gambeson)
One-die penalty to Athletics rolls
15th - 17th century armour
Light armour (boiled leather)
Medium armour (brigandine,
breastplate over gambeson)
Heavy armour (plate)
One-die penalty to Athletics rolls
2 (zero vs. piercing)
EXAMPLE:
Joan attacks Richard with a sword
while Richard is wearing reinforced
6
chainmail (armour value 6), although
Joan herself is not wearing any
armour. Joan must succeed with a
margin of at least 4 in order to beat
armor value half of his armour value and damage
2 (zero vs. piercing) Richard.
4 If this margin is achieved, all
damage is calculated as normal, with
6 up to 6 of it changed to Superficial. If
she succeeds with a lesser margin, no
damage is dealt by either party. In
case of a tie, only Joan takes damage.
Attacks which cause an effect
armor value
other than normal damage may still
2 (zero vs. bullets)
work as normal, such as grappling or
4 the use of Discipline powers like Touch
of Oblivion (Chicago By Night, p.
6 294), as do attacks from impact
weapons.

avoidance
With this rule, armour negates all damage from an attack
from a bladed or puncturing weapon unless an opponent
succeeds at a margin higher than half of the armour value.
Mortals continue to downgrade Aggravated Health
damage from such attacks to Superficial Health damage
in addition to this avoidance ◾

10
 ADVANCED CONFLICT

ARMOUR VARIANT RULE: HEALTH

Whilst worn, armour provides additional levels of
Health equal to half of the armour value, in
addition to downgrading Aggravated Health
damage from bladed or puncturing weapons.
When the armour is removed or destroyed,
remove the levels with Aggravated damage first
and then Superficial, as the armour is absorbing
the damage rather than letting the wearer suffer.

ARMOUR VARIANT RULE: SOAK

Instead of downgrading damage, armour
provides a reduction of damage from bladed or
puncturing weapons equal to armour value.
At the Storyteller’s discretion, armour can
even defend against supernatural versions of
such attacks which even deal Aggravated
Health damage against Kindred, such as Fists of
Caine. In these cases, however, damage equal
to armour rating is simply downgraded to
unhalved Superficial damage rather than being
negated entirely. It is recommended that if
armour soaks damage from such a powerful
attack, it is damaged and provides no benefit for
the remainder of the conflict.

11
 RULE FROM ON HIGH
DESTROY FROM BELOW