Vampire: the Masquerade is a setting that places its characters at the forefront of the roleplaying experience. Each player comes to a Tabletop game or LARP with a story that they have in mind for their character and themes that they want to play with. We firmly believe that for a story to be immersive and enjoyable, every player must feel like their character fits into the world and story. Afterall, there would be no fun in attending a game where there is nothing at stake, or no personal investment in what’s going on! With this in mind we intend to craft the plot at the game around the interests of our players as best we can. Characters are the unliving, and unbreathing, agents in any given story. Without the players, events and experiences like this would be nothing more than ideas. Your character, and the coteries to which they belong, breathe life into the world. As covered throughout the other aspects of our website, this setting is one in which you are playing a monster - but the way this manifests (be it through terrifying beauty or abject horror) is down to you! In what follows, we have provided an overview of the core aspects of character generation in our game. For those of you coming from MET systems or directly from tabletop, this will be a darn sight less mechanic and rules intensive than you’re used to - but that really shouldn’t be a surprise given our game-running approach. As with everything these are guidelines not absolute rules, unless explicitly stated otherwise, and they exist to help you craft the character you want to play at the game!
Character Creation: How is it Going to Work?
Every player will have the opportunity to submit two character concepts. This is so that we can make sure that you have options, and also means that as organisers we can recommend which one we think would work best in the game! It is a good idea to craft your character concepts with your Coterie in mind, so that you can begin to think about how the two fit together and potentially begin to come up with interpersonal dynamics. If you don’t yet have a group, there’s no need to worry: after your concepts are submitted we’ll pair you with players whose concepts might work well with your own, or who have similar interests in roleplay dynamics as yourself. There’s nothing stopping you from reaching out to other players to do this either, but we’re more than happy to lend a hand!
Backstories: What Should They Contain?
When coming up with a backstory, it’s important to remember that the monster you’re conceptualising and embodying was once a human. They had a full life, full of history and connections. Personal ambitions, careers, lovers and family members. Upon their embrace, all of this commonality of experience was ripped away from them in an instant. It could have been something they actively pursued, or something that came as a result of a predator catching them at their most vulnerable: in any case, the embrace changes characters at their very core. The lives they once lived gradually become memories, as the beast sinks its teeth into every aspect of their unlife. When coming up with backstories for our game, we encourage you to think about who your character was in their mortal life, and how they have changed now that they have become one of the damned. It sounds trivial, but it might be easier to build a character solely focusing on their mortal life to begin with, before building on that with the experiences that they have had since they were embraced. Fundamentally, you’re trying to paint a picture of who the character is as a person, and what they have gone through; the many trials and tribulations they may have faced, and the ways in which they have succeeded (or failed). The World of Darkness is not a kind one, and many people within it have less-than-privileged existences. It is entirely up to you to decide where your concepts fit into this. When were they born? What did they do for work? What do they do now? Were they always an Anarch? Did they have a happy and fulfilling life, until they found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time? Do they keep in contact with their loved ones following their embrace? Do they have skeletons in the closet that they accidentally let slip? I could go on. We invite you to go into as little, or as much, detail as you would like to. We cannot promise to engage with every area of a character’s backstory, but signposting to us what your concepts have lived through is a good way of enabling us as organisers to understand the areas of the universe you might want to engage with, and potentially understand the kind of dynamics you’re wanting to play into. Your Character’s backstory is your chance to shape a piece of the game world, and most things are permitted. If you’re concerned that some aspects of your concept might not fit, then please do not hesitate to contact us so we can work with you to puzzle things through. If in doubt, err on the side of caution. If there ends up being stuff that needs changing, we’ll let you know, although realistically it is unlikely that this will end up being the case.
Ambitions, Goals and Desires
Outside of a character’s backstory arguably the most important aspect of crafting a concept is determining their ambitions and desires in play. What drives a character, and motivates them to navigate the setting forms the skeleton from which you can flesh them out. These motivations can range from Touchstones - living people that tie them to their humanity, influencing their actions and mindset - to full blown attempted domination of whatever sect they exist in. What is it that your character wants to achieve? What is stopping them from getting their way? Is it a sense of honour, or are they being thwarted on all sides by a nefarious archnemesis (maybe even another player?). Do they want a piece of Bristol for themselves or their coterie, or is their goal as simple as surviving to see the next night. Whatever the case may be, we encourage you to come to us with any goals that you think fit your concept. These goals will indicate to us what kind of game you are wanting to play, and we hope to craft the game in such a way that everyone gets a chance to play up their ambitions in game. These don’t need to be kept secret either! If you want to work with other players to build conflicting desires or goals, to create dramatic reveals or intense scenes, then have at it! You can share desires with others in your clan working throughout various coteries, or design your concepts in such a way that they are only known to a select few confidants. You can go into as little, or as much, detail as you wish.
Choosing Clan: Family & Friends
A character’s clan is a defining feature of their existence post-embrace. It is the foundation for their relationship to their beast - and determines the bane that they are subject to. Which clan a character belongs to not only shapes their blood, but also their outlook on kindred society. A Brujah in the modern nights is likely to be disdainful of the Blue-blooded Ventrue, with whom their clanmates have been at odds with for generations, for example. There exist many such dynamics in the setting, and we very much so invite you to play into them. The Anarchs are just as susceptible to inter-clan political disagreements as any other sect - although the way they handle it is altogether a lot less bureaucratic. As you would expect, the Clans tend to embrace people that are likely to work within their own status quo. This is why we encourage you to create a backstory for your character concepts as humans first, so that you can then shape them to fit a clan that strikes you as fun to play. However, you are not bound by these stereotypes in their entirety! Just because a world famous heavyweight boxer might fight perfectly into Clan Brujah, there is nothing stopping them from being a Toreador who treats their sport as their artform. In creating a character concept, you will likely stumble into the clan which suits you best, and if it makes sense for your concept to belong to a clan which is in stark contrast to their mortal existence then go straight ahead! Whilst Clan is a defining feature, it is not the be-all-and-end-all of a concept. I tend to treat them more as finishing touch to the character that enhances the story that you’re trying to tell, as opposed to the foundations from which to build. This isn’t to say that this is the only way to approach it of course! If you’re super set on playing a Malkavian or Nosferatu, then it’s just as valid an approach to use your choice of clan as the basis for crafting your concept. Luckily, you should hopefully find yourselves spoilt for choice when it comes to making a decision.
Choosing Disciplines: Picking Your Poisons …
We’ve taken the decision to drastically alter how disciplines work in our game, when compared to the detail and scale that they carry with them in tabletop. Whilst it is definitely possible to provide a ruleset that transfers everything over from the source material to a LARP setting, it makes logistical and thematic sense to limit the amount of stratification of disciplines in our game. It also means that it is much easier for players to choose their spread of powers, and work with what they can do. As mentioned elsewhere on the website, and in the discipline document itself, our suggestions for powers are exactly that; and they can be moulded and shaped to work however players see fit! We’ve just provided a slight degree of mechanical boundaries to ensure that everyone can realistically know what their character’s skill set lends itself to at the very least! Depending on which Clan your concept belongs to, your character will (with the exception of Duskborn and Caitiff) have access to three separate discipline paths. From this, you can choose one path to have at “higher level” and two at “lower level”. Choosing a discipline at the higher level, will also grant access to the lower level power as well. For example, Clan Tremere have access to Dominate, Auspex, and Blood Sorcery, and so realistically you could choose the following as your discipline spread: HIGH (and LOW) LEVEL AUSPEX, LOW LEVEL DOMINATE, AND LOW LEVEL BLOOD SORCERY. Alternatively, a Tremere character could choose to have HIGH (and LOW) LEVEL BLOOD SORCERY, LOW LEVEL DOMINATE, AND LOW LEVEL AUSPEX or any other combination in such a fashion. Some Clans have access to particular disciplines that are unique to their blood - in which case they replace a relevant level in their pre-existing disciplines should you wish to have access to these powers. They are all listed in the gifts of the blood PDF. For example, Clan Malkavian have access to Auspex, Dominate, and Obfuscate but can choose to replace HIGH LEVEL DOMINATE with DEMENTATION - at which point they gain access to this power, whilst maintaining their lower level power, but cannot use the usual HIGH LEVEL DOMINATE powers.There are two exceptions to this format. The Caitiff, by virtue of not belonging to any clan in particular, have access to all standard disciplines- but they can only choose to possess two. They are also unable to possess any of the “unique” variations. For example, a Caitiff Character can choose to have Protean and Auspex if they wish, or any other combination of choices. A Caitiff character can have one discipline at HIGH LEVEL, and one at LOW LEVEL. Duskborn only have access to Thin-blood sorcery powers, and cannot choose to possess any disciplines. Choosing your disciplines allows you to shape the tools at the disposal of your character concept. If you’re wanting to play a rabble rouser who stands to fight anyone who gets in their way, it is likely that you might want to choose to have Potence be your strongest gift, or if you’re wanting to play a more manipulative Ventrue who cheats and forces his way through the world, you might want to lean more towards Dominate. In any case, Disciplines exist to enhance roleplay, and provide avenues for interesting gameplay between the characters at the game. They should realistically never end up being the defining trait that your concept possesses, but rather function to aid in fleshing out your concept as the terrifying and supernatural monster that they are.
Age and Generation: How Thin is Your Blood?
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V5 as a setting places the focus on the younger, higher generation vampires. In previous editions, it wouldn’t be particularly unheard of to play a character that had been embraced nigh-on a century prior to the events of the chronicle that you are playing in. Due to the advent of The Beckoning, and the rise of the insidious Second Inquisition, this is increasingly more uncommon. Most licks are lucky to have lived for a decade after their embrace - and those who do, are likely to have many skeletons in their closets, and enemies lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce. It is rarer still to find aged kindred in the Anarchs - as the sect does not afford the same safety to the thicker-blooded, older, lower generation vampires as the Camarilla. With this in mind, we are advising that you create concepts that at the very earliest were embraced in the early 1990s. If it is essential to your concept to be embraced further into the past - we are more than happy to discuss things, but in all likelihood that just means the concept doesn’t fit the setting overall. We are, of course, happy to work around possible exceptions on a case by case basis. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we encourage players to make younger and less entrenched concepts if you want to throw yourself fully into the V5 ethos - fledglings, and even characters embraced a few days prior to the Rave, are more than in keeping with the game’s themes, and we welcome you to delve into the early stages of transition between human and vampire if you so wish!Unlike in the tabletop setting, generation has no impact on the mechanical side of our game. Regardless of generation, everyone still has access to the same strength of powers, and there are no limits that apply to the higher generation kindred and not the lower generation individuals - with the exception of the Caitiff and Duskborn. Gone are the days of not being able to dominate a Ventrue Prince, or Tremere Seneschal, just because they’re playing an 8th Gen, and you’re a lowly 11th Gen. Instead, generation is simply an indication of your concept’s closeness to Caine, and the thickness of their blood. It also acts as an indicator of the areas of lore that you’re likely to end up being inclined towards, or influenced by. Afterall, a 10th Generation Toreador is likely to be more concerned with avoiding the beckoning or working out its secrets, than a 16th Generation thin-blood. As such, we’re giving you reasonable freedom with choosing your generations - and as long as it’s justified in a reasonable manner throughout the concept, you can pick from between 11th to 16th at your leisure. Just be aware that we may approach you to tweak these slightly, if we don’t think it makes sense for your boy-racer gangrel to be an 11th Generation, well established and influential character within the city! Duskborn characters are limited to being between 15th and 16th, and a Caitiff can be at lowest 13th generation, down to 15th.