Vampire the Masquerade 1st Edition

The Masquerade™

By: Mark ReineHagen

Vampire™ uses the StoryteIIer™ Game system © 1991 by White Wolf. All right reserved. Reproduction of this book in any manner without consent from the publishers is prohibited. Players may reproduce the character sheets for personal use only.

Credits

Design: Mark Reln-Hagen Written by: Mark Reln.Hagen, Graeme Davis, Tom Dowd, Lisa Stevens, Stewart Wieck Development: Mark Rein.Hagen, Andrew Greenberg, Stewart Wieck Edltlng: Stewart Wieck, Lisa Stevens, Stephan Wieck Design Contributors: Lisa Stevens, Chris McDonough, Josh Timbrook, Nicole Llndroos, John Brandt, Brenda Stiles, Tom Dowd, Graeme Davis, Timo­ thy Carroll, Stephan Wieck, TraviS Lamar Wil­ liamS, Ben Rhoades, Aaron Voss Art: Tim Bradstreet, Chris McDonough, Ed McKeogh, Ron Spenser, Richard Thomas, Josh Dmbrook Layout Design: Nicole Llndroos Production: Nicole Ltndroos Cover Concept: Chris McDonough Cover Photograph: Mark Pace Calligrapher: Kurt Cagle

Play testers: The Succubus Chili: Josh Timbrook, Chris McDon­ ough, Brenda Stiles, John Brandt, Nicole Lin­ droos, Mark Rein-Hagen, Stewart Wieck, Andrew Greenberg, LisaStevens, Ann Nappo, SethTepher, Stephan Wieck, Kelly Golden The V-Team: Je1IBerry, Guy Wells, Gail Starr, Mark Matthews-Simmons, Christopher Lancaster, KC Lancaster The Book ofElbon Chili: Stacia M. Bannan, Dmothy Carroll, Bryan A. Case, Michael Coyne, Shane D. Harsch, Steven Kaye, Edwin Nealley, Laurel Schippers, John Schippers, Robert G. Schroeder, Lowell Brandt Stouder Jr., Richard Wu, Kin Yee The Fun Connection: Andreas Mitterlechner, Stefan Kovalovsky, Ralph Schlmpl

DedicatioIl!This game is dedicated to Vaclav Havel, Poet, Playwright, & Statesman - who was its inspiration. "We are still under the sway ofthe destructive and vain beliefthat man is the pinnacle of creation. and not just a part of it. and that. therefore. everything is permitted.... We are incapable ofunderstanding that the only genuine backbone ofour actions-ifthey are to be moral- is responsibility- responsibility to something higher than myfamily. my country. myfirm. my success. Responsibility to the order of Being. where all our actions are indelibly recorded and where. and only where. they will be properly judged."

-Vaclav Havel, in a speech to the United States Congress

Attention: Reader discretion is advised. The themes and issues described in this game may be disturbing to some and distasteful to others. Though our purpose is not to offend. our use of the Vam­ pire as a metaphor and as a channelfor storyte /ling may be misconstrued. To be clear. Vampires are not real. The extent to which they may be said to exist is revealed only in what they can teach us of the human condition and of the fragility of the splendor which we call life.

A special thanks to the following: Anne KOhlhofer and Andreas Wichter for that very first Vampire game session. The city of Gary, Indlan.a. Artist Models: Skot Lee Willson, Dean Carlson, Tommy O'donnell, Clay Thompson, John Ganser, Denise Devorak, Denny DeBourbon, Joel SUntan. Artist Models Photographer: Kevin Braasch

Cl;) 1991 by While Wolf. All rights reserved. Reproduction without written permission of the publisher is expresslydenied, except for short excerpts for ilie purpose of reviews. Players may re~roduoe the character sheefs for personal use oJ!ly. WHlTEVVOLF Magazine, Ars Magica, The ChallenKe, earn paign Book, St~ath Cards, Whimsy' Cards, Vam Rire, The Order of Hennes The Stormrider, Jump start Ki t, Covenan ts, The Broken Covenant oT Calebais, The Tempest, Saga PaCk, While Wolf Adventures, Dark Foe, Faeries, Bard's Son& Battle Cry, O!icago By Night, Storyteller's Handbook, The Camarilla. The Last SUj)per, The Hunters Hunted, A World of Darkness, Who's Who Among Vampires, Storyteller,The Masquerade, Mythic Europe" Blood Bond, The Succubus Oub, Ashes to Ashes, Storyteller's Screen, Alien Hunger, WerewoU, Magus, Faerie Ghosf, and While Wolf are aJ..l trademarks and copyrights of While Wolf. Shadowrun is a trademark of FASA Corpis no longer needful. The descent into madness is halted, and although the individual is no longer recognizable as human in his thoughts and deeds, what remains "of Humanitas is safe;ln almost five centuries, I have met a meager few Kindred who have reached this blessed . state, but all desire it as mortals desire Heaven. ~

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e are, as the most cprsory student of folklore knows, ageless and immor-, tal. In this case, lore and tradition , ~ave the right of it. Onc'e made, a , Vampire ' fives un til actively de­ stroyed, or un til the Beast wins over the ~atl, or until, after countless millennia, the Blood is exhausted. Down the' centuries, mortals have hungered for the secr,etofimmor;:ality, thinking thatitwould give them grelt power. From tl,le priests of heathen times, througlfthe alchemists of ~y own breathing days, and down;i{Q the pfiysicians o£¥'the present, mortals have expeftded more wealth and. effort in the war against agit1g and death than in th cause of any religion or trade. , , 4 ~. • Many newfymade Kindred - myself inel uded - rejoice in the thought of immortality when they first overcome the shock of the Embrace and begin to reconcile themselves to their ri~w situation. Yet it is a barbed gift, and another door by which madness may enter in. .'

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Consider, for example, having to watch your loved ones - even your children and grandchildren ., growold and die, whileyou remain sobngand vigorous. There is a necessity to live completely outside mortal " societ):', or at least to move on every ?.e~I~ , lest it flows ' pe nonced that you do notage. The nde Of.hlst o~ yq.~ like a stream, leaving yov;'Unchanged. ' . ater 'The'longerolW lives as a 'Vampire; ,the the senseof detachment ftonnportal a ffairs.l.t can' e an .f advantage at first, helping to deaden the guilt,ofjcilling _~ a~d the pain oflosingoh e's mortal family.to remoqelyss 'T ' TIme. But as detachment grows, H umam,~ wanQllfnd the Beast grows stronger. The most temple of'mortal serial killers often are detached from their kind, atrocitlltes tranquilliter gestandae:lt is the sam~ face ona different .... " coin, as the Turks would say. Even if que can fight 'off this dehu~ailjzing verrchiedenskeit, ;r'ime lends madness other weapons. For without detachment, guilt and remorse may'\>;ork unchecked, ~:l,tingat the feelings like acid eating rrtetal. Mortal soldiers..fetiim from foreign wars woUnded by the violense they have seen and done, yet theyhaveonly to live with their memories for a few brief d(;!cades. A Vamp~re's..~lt is eternal, and ~me can sap the stron­ gest WIll. Another face of the Riddle. We may lose our Humanity to avCJi4.losing our minds, yet what is mad­ ness b,ut lost Huma~ty?~ooner or later, grins the Beast, you shall '" ' , be mine. J"

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A further paradox - we grow stronger as grow weaker. The older a Vampire, the more powltrful - the more cunning to have lived so long, the lIetter versed and practiced in certain arts and powe~, the better a ble to withstand those things tha tare an:(thema have to us. And, perhaps, the stronger of will, not become a monster. Yet the weaker, for the B~st tries the bars of its prison ceaselessly, and in timefoey must yield. The oldest shut themselves away frOI~~e rest of their kind, fearing the day when t\)ey sh~n become monsters and distracting themselyek,~th paranoid games of cat's-paw using younger KirllJred as playing­ . pIeces. ,,'. ~

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Vita Sub Tenebras

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here are other reasons for om; noc­ turnalUfe besides the need to avoid the sun's rays. !tis so much easier to stalk and hunt in the hours of darkness. Imprimis, the prey , is usually dulled by fatigue - and betimes drink - and can see little in the poor light. The hunter, on the other hand, is normally fresh and fully rested. and can often see as well. as-ia mortal does at noonday. Secundus. the hours of darkness are less populous. and promise fewer interrup­ tions. Feeding is a vulnerable time; the Beast is near the surface. and may not stand at bay rather than leave a kill. This has been the undoing of more than one Neonat6.

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The World ofthO e Vampire I

n one level, the world of the Vam- ' pire is the world of mortals. A ( Vampire moves in the world of ~ mortals much a~a nobleman moves ' "> in the forest of beasts while hunt­ ing.Just as the noble has his castles and courts, however, so the Vam­ pire has a world of his own, where he may consort with his own kind. Some Vampires shun the society of their Kin­ dred, but such society exists, running parallel to mortal society in both place and form. Just as there are mortal rulers and mortal societies in the world's great cities, so too there are Vampire Clans and Princes. It would be fatuous to list and describe every Clan. Prince and Fief in the world. Suffice it to say that every mortal city of any size supports a Vampire popu­

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The Damned

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latioh, and these populatio e organized in a number of diierent ways. So~e collective~y, Q~ers au~o­ craticaIly, but al,l..tlile and all resent mtruSlon. L.lke organized cripals and la~ enforce~ent a~!!nCleS, they h~ye,..bUi1t their Domam to ~etr pleas:mg and dislike anything which threatens to disrurb theIr peace. Al;~ordingly, a Vampire who enters a new ci.ty is required by hijfli~hlteit to ma~e hi~elfknt}wn~o Its rulers and satisfY them that theIr rule IS. not ?rr~a:\~med or challenged. a.-o fail in this co~esy IS to ~~Vlt~ war. No witch-hunt~ever pursued hIs prey so diIJge.~~~ as a Clan or Prince~eeks out a stranger rwuveau tI1TIVe. Most. Kindred seek P'tincedom, fot )it>;~is the only means by whi'clt to create a Brood ofone.'s own. Princes do not often allow others to create Progeny, and even if they do, they are allowed to creat~ only?ne. As Prince, you maycr~ate as many Progen~:a!\Vou.~~nd their loyalty adds to. Y,9ur strength. . I, ~.6 ' ~" ~ , Most rul ers, Ihave said; are content ~o ~ ep the peace in their Fief and,pursUe ~~ir own ~can~ e ~nds. But ther.e are ,exceptions, Onelse league of la~s which taIls itself the Sabbat, or th~. ,Black-Hand ' heIr Pief extends widely across ~e ~s~rn )lalJ ~ onh America, and they are everythmgo~ato~~ ~xpect of monstrous Vampires. Revelling In ,.the Vlolen.t, the perverse and the bestial, they are shupned by ,theIr own kind, and woe betide the incautious VampIre whom .. they find in their territory. ., Above the Clans stand~. the Camarilla. All Vampires are aware ofthis league, a~d a~ are !nvit~d t.o join. To take an analogy exmun;Jo vlvantts-If a FJe.fls a regional or national government, th~n th.e ~amanlla is the League of Nations. TC? my mm~, It, IS equally effective but same set great' store by Its Infrequent convotarlons. Ceri:titUy the ~lders of the Council are n~ to be underestimated'1.s~ndividual power~ - ~o~t are ·.very old and all are very powerful. Pnmanly It enf~rces theancientTradit;i~ns, most important among them l\eMasquerade, so ~n enough I may have cause to test ih resolve and strength. the Oans..althave their various alliances and oppositions; which shift as often and widely as thse of the small countriesofthemonal world. IhavementJoned the protocols which must ,~e ?bs~rved when entering a Fiefas an outsider. These obhganons and structures are no more than protocols, and may be broken from time to time' but there i, a stronger bond - stronger even than th'e ties of blood kinship - whose auaoritas is alrsolute. It is the relationship we call the Blood Bond.. I have touched upon the p6wer of BI?od to ,create new Kindred and Ghouls. Its effect on Kindred .\ is no less powerful. It is said to be the sweetest tasting ~

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blood in the world, but it creates a potent bond between donor and drinker. A Vampire who drinks another Vampire's blood on three separate occasions, ~der­ takes a blood kinship as strong as that between SIre an.d Get; in fact, many.sires force this bond upon theIr unknowing Get at the time of making, the better to command their loyalty. Among the Kindred, the Bloo.d Bond is a most potent bond; to take the Blood Bond IS to give over one's mind and heart to another, and a willing Blood Bond is never undertaken lightly. I~ all else fails and you have no other means o~ defence agam~t a Vampire, use my name - the chance IS slender, but If your attacker happens to be Blood Bonded to me, then you shall be safe.

Diablerie y now, if my labours have been equal to my intent, it wi~ be appar­ ent to you that the socIety of thy" Kindred is as diverse as that of the living. We have our princes and paupers, our dreamers and. m~ of action, our heroes and cnmmals, of)ur idealists and our perverts. The matter I am about to disclose is little more than speculation, but increasingly I am inclined to believe the rumours. I have said how the Blood ofthe Sire empowers theblood of the prey, so that the body is sustained in its unlife. According to rumour, the Blood of the Sire loses this power with the passing of centuries and mille~a, and arirexceptionally aged Vampire must needs drink the bl&tqofKindred to survive. Although the decay of a mortal ca4,aver is spared us, time still takes a toll, a~d the Blood is not absolutely immortal. Ayoung VampIre ofan early Gen'eration is able to subsist on the ,blood. of animals, butasthecenturies paSS-Qras theblood thins with transmission -'-first animal and then mortal blood loses its ability to sustain•......, The Antediluvians' ~e said to prey on the Kindred as we do on mortal.s, and;thereis no end to the storiesoftheirdepra,?ty.lncre~sin~y,.'pugh,rumours spread ofyounger Kindred domg liktWls The re~son for this is unclear. Perhaps the youngest ~neratJons bear so little of the Blood that it serves the~nly for a few centuries; or perhaps they seek the pow~s of the Antediluvians by imitating their ways. I h;re long wondered if these be the cause of the war amovst my kind, the Jyhad which has lasted so l~ng. , !he Antediluvians hide, for they fear that they WIll b(lalled by those seeking their Blood and thus theirpowe . hition as terrible as the rising,;t).f th, e fOu, ' Gen­ eration. Yet there is evidence, which the. dili . t can ver so find though the Antediluvians cover th~qll ~re~~

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