Vampire: The Masquerade


Vampire: The Masquerade is a tabletop role-playing game created by Mark Rein-Hagen and released in 1991 by White Wolf Publishing as the first of several Storyteller System games for its World of Darkness setting line. It is set in a fictionalized "gothic-punk" version of the modern world, where players assume the roles of vampires, who are referred to as "Kindred", and deal with their night-to-night struggles against their own bestial natures, vampire hunters and each other.
Several associated products were produced based on Vampire: The Masquerade, including live-action role-playing games, dice, collectible card games, video games, and numerous novels. In 1996, a short-lived television show loosely based on the game, , was produced by Aaron Spelling for the Fox Broadcasting Company.

Development

Vampire was inspired by RPGs such as Call of Cthulhu and RuneQuest, as well as the writings of Joseph Campbell and vampire films such as The Lost Boys. Rein-Hagen felt that hunting vampires, as a game premise, would get boring so he came up with the idea of a game where the players played vampires instead of hunting them. Rein-Hagen specifically stated that he purposefully didn't read Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles until "very late" in the development process but admitted she was probably an influence on the vampire films that inspired the game. He wanted to go beyond what Anne Rice had done by creating individual vampires, with a whole secret vampire society and culture.
Some of Vampires central themes of the power of belief developed out of Rein-Hagen's religious upbringing. Inspired by a comic book given to him by White Wolf business partner Stewart Wieck, Rein-Hagen developed the idea that the cursed character of the Biblical Cain was the original vampire. In an "Ask Me Anything" interview on Reddit Rein-Hagen referred to the idea of Cain as the progenitor of all vampires as a "big turning point". He commented further: "I was trying to shy away from religion. After that... I went all in. The game and the world became about religion and belief. My father was a Lutheran minister, and I think that played a huge role in not only Vampire but the whole WoD series. I was always fascinated by what made people believe so strongly when I didn't seem to believe at all. Talking about that theme, the power of belief, fueled the second half of Vampire game design."
Vampire was notably new in many respects. It was conceived as a dark, moody urban fantasy game with a unique gothic feel that harkened back to TSR's Ravenloft. It would also be the first of a series of linked games sharing the same game world. Its simple cover photo of a rose on green marble set the tone for the game and differentiated it from other games on the market. Its content was also novel, as the game focused on plots, intrigue and story as opposed to more straightforward dungeon scenarios. While the RPG industry in general had been trending towards a more narrative approach, Vampire was one of the first games of its kind to center on these things.
Horror games had traditionally been a tough sell in the RPG industry, but Vampire included elements that made it a dark superhero game rather than purely a horror game. An extensive list of broad supernatural powers, called disciplines, which included superior strength, speed and toughness, as well as other powers such as mystic senses, mind control and blood magic, gave the player characters a more superhuman rather than horror feel. The 13 clans added late in the development process provided a much needed character-class-like system based on vampiric archetypes which proved very popular with players.
For its mechanical elements Rein-Hagen turned to Tom Dowd, co-designer of Shadowrun. Vampires system of "comparative" dice pools drew on the mechanics innovated by Shadowrun changing only the type of dice rolled; ten sided rather than six sided. Skill values that determined the number of dice rolled had been used in games like Champions, but rather than add the result of the dice in total, Vampire compared the result of the dice with a fixed value to determine the degree of success or failure. Skill levels were relatively low, ranging usually from one to five, and were represented with dots rather than numbers, which was the standard of its contemporaries. Players could easily figure their dice pool and roll against the assigned difficulty rating. This system was a boon for the narrative style of play that emphasized story over mechanics, as it was easy for new players to quickly grasp, but often provided unexpected results, such as a higher skilled character being more likely to fumble.

Gameplay

Concept

The game uses the cursed, vampiric condition as a backdrop to explore themes of morality, depravity, the human condition, salvation, and personal horror. The gloomy and exaggerated version of the real world that the vampires inhabit, called the "World of Darkness", forms an already bleak canvas against which the stories and struggles of characters are painted. The themes that the game seeks to address include retaining the character's sense of self, humanity, and sanity, as well as simply keeping from being crushed by the grim opposition of mortal and supernatural antagonists and, more poignantly, surviving the politics, treachery, and often violent ambitions of their own kind.

Game system

Vampire is based on the Storyteller System. In addition to the general Storyteller rules, it uses a number of specific mechanics aimed towards simulating the vampiric existence. A vampire has a blood pool signifying the amount of human blood or vitae currently in their body; this blood can be spent to power abilities and perform supernatural tricks. These tricks simulate many of those portrayed in film, such as turning into animals or mist, sleeping in the ground or having unnatural charisma and powers of hypnotic suggestion.
Close to the central theme of the game is Humanity. Vampires each have Humanity scores, measuring how closely in touch with human nature they are; as Humanity decreases, vampires become more susceptible to the Beast, the feral side of the vampiric soul that is driven entirely by rage, hunger, and hatred of God and humanity. Brutal, immoral actions risk lowering a vampire's Humanity score. If the individual's Humanity drops to zero, the Beast takes over and the vampire is in a state of constant frenzy known as Wassail.
The actions taken during gameplay are expressed using ten-sided dice. The number of dice used correspond to the player's current skill level, often based on two different skills that together represent the player's ability. For example, to land a punch, the character's dexterity and brawl skill are combined. The resulting number is the number of dice rolled to perform the task. It is up to the story teller to set how high a dice roll must be to be considered a success.

Vampires in ''World of Darkness''

Vampires in the World of Darkness make use of several familiar tropes of vampires in myth and legend such as immortality and a powerful thirst for blood. They are truly undead as their hearts do not beat, they do not require food or drink, they do not age, their skin is cold and pale, and the only sustenance they require is blood. Despite their undead status, vampires of this world are thinking, feeling beings capable of thought, emotion, and empathy. Other tropes or weaknesses are described as mere legends or superstitions, such as a vampire's victim becoming a vampire simply from a bite. Though they are typically not repulsed by garlic or holy symbols, there is a system of merits and flaws that can affect characters in this way, though they are not animated by some demonic spirit according to in-game lore.

Weaknesses

Sunlight is fearsome and deadly to vampires of this canon, and at most, they can tolerate a few seconds of exposure before perishing. A wooden stake through the heart is not deadly to these creatures but will immobilize them until it is removed. Arguably their biggest weakness is what is known in-game as the Beast. The Beast is a savage, carnal predatory drive within all vampires. The Beast seeks only to satisfy its base urge to survive. Anger, mortal threats, hunger, or bloodlust are some of the things that can cause the Beast to rise. The Beast is capable of taking over the vampire's conscious mind, forcing them into a frenzied state where they take violent, often deeply regrettable, actions that they perhaps otherwise would not. One of the major themes of Vampire is characters' battles to strike a balance between their violent, predatory nature and being morally responsible before their humanity is eroded by this powerful force within themselves. This theme is summed up in the axiom, "A Beast I Am, Lest a Beast I Become."
Vampires may enter a deathlike sleep called torpor. Torpor may be caused by near-fatal injuries or may be entered into voluntarily. In-game, the level of the vampire's humanity determines how long they sleep for. Though they cannot die of old age, vampires in this setting can die. Fire, sunlight, decapitation, supernatural powers, or succumbing to a clan weakness can cause the vampire to reach what is referred to as Final Death - to truly die. Torpor allows the vampire release from their existential pain but it also may make them vulnerable. Vampires in this state, if not well hidden, may have difficulty defending themselves and are vulnerable to destruction by vampire hunters or Diablerie by other vampires.

Vitae

Characters in this world refer to the supernatural blood in their bodies that sustains them as vitae. Vampires gain vitae by drinking blood. In-game, this accumulation of vitae is called a blood pool. This represents the amount of vitae the player has available to expend to fuel supernatural powers, to heal wounds, or to increase their physical strength, agility, or stamina. Characters can replace lost Vitae by drinking more blood.
A vampire's vitae can inspire false feelings of love and foster dependency if drunk by others. This addiction to vampiric blood is called the Blood Bond. The vampire performing the bond is called a Regnant and the one being bound is called a Thrall. In most cases, a victim must drink three times from the same vampire on three separate nights to become bonded. Once bonded, the victim feels something akin to a very twisted sort of love for the vampire and they become the most important person in their life. They also become more susceptible to mind control by that vampire and are willing to do anything, even risk their own life, to aid their regnant. Mortals, animals, and even other vampires and other supernatural creatures may be bound. The Sabbat practice a different form of group blood bonding by incorporating ancient Tzimisce Blood Magic called the Vaulderie that inspires loyalty and sodality among the sect. It will also instantly break conventional blood bonds if performed correctly by a trained vampire, typically a Pack Priest. They can also be negated by extended amounts of time depending on how far the Bond has gone, willpower and the extended absence of the regnant in order to do so.

The Embrace

Vampires may create more of themselves by draining a human to the point of death and then feeding the victim some of their blood. The creator vampire is known as a sire, the newly created vampire a childe and the creation process is referred to as the embrace. Very little vitae is required to trigger the metamorphosis but the victim must be freshly dead. It does not work on corpses that are more than a few minutes old.
A vampire's relative power is limited by something called their Generation, which is set at the time of their embrace. Generation is the vampire's distance from the race's mythical founder, Cain, who is alleged to be the first vampire. For example, a ninth generation is nine generations from Cain. Should this ninth generation vampire embrace someone their progeny would be a tenth generation regardless of how many times they do this. Generation is largely a fixed trait but characters can lower their generation by committing diablerie — the consumption of the soul of a vampire of lower generation. Attitudes towards diablerie range from criminalization to an act of liberation. Regardless, diablerie is a serious act not to be taken lightly.
Motivations and more surrounding the embrace differ from clan and sect. In some sects, such as the Camarilla, the creation of new vampires is tightly controlled. Among the Sabbat or the Anarchs the norms are much looser. Individual clans, especially the Independent Clans, have different norms, rituals and restrictions surrounding the creation of new vampires. Some only embrace a certain ethnic group, such as the Romani with the Ravnos or within certain mortal families as with the Giovanni. Others simply look for certain qualities such as the ability to survive, use intelligence, curiosity or artistic talent. Some create other vampires for power, others for companionship and some are created as fodder for the endless, ancient conflicts, known as the Jyhad, that are central to gameplay.

Myths and origins

Vampires in the World of Darkness believe that their race originates from the Biblical figure of Cain. Cain was said to have been cursed by God with a vampiric state for murdering his brother. The vampires of this canon believe themselves to be descended from this Biblical progenitor.
It is said that Cain was able to pass on his cursed state to others, thereby, making them like himself only somewhat weaker. These first childer, known as the second generation, were said to have been made to keep him company, and they in turn made the third generation. The third were supposedly numbered thirteen and are the semi-legendary founders of the thirteen original clans. According to in-game legend, all of these vampires lived in peace under Cain's rule in the legendary city known as Enoch, or the First City. When God caused the Great Flood, however, the city was destroyed and Cain disappeared, leaving his Childer to fend for themselves. The third generation eventually rose up and slew their sires. Cain, upon discovering this, cursed them. Cain's curse is supposedly the reason each clan now has its own weakness. These myths are collected in an in-game document of dubious reliability known as the Book of Nod. Those who study the mythical vampire origins are called Noddists. According to Noddist mythology there are claims that Cain will return at the end of time to judge his descendants: the Antediluvians and all vampires descended from them. This event is known as Gehenna, the end of all vampiric races. Others claim that Gehenna is simply the wakening of the Antediluvians who have returned to feed on the blood of their descendants.
Differing interpretations of the myths divide vampire society. The Sabbat, for example, take the myths quite literally and believe that it is their purpose to defend vampires from the depredations of the ancients. The Camarilla is more dismissive, either claiming that Cain is nothing more than a myth or metaphor or outright suppressing the myths and their study. Contentions between the different societies surrounding the origins of vampires and Gehenna are important in-game motivations for the Jyhad that color the character's understanding of their world. Regardless as to whether or not the myths are true in the context of the game the myth of Cain represents important themes presented in the metaplot such as sins of the father coming back upon his children, the threat of apocalypse, questions of faith, conspiracies, and war of ages.
Golconda is a fabled state of enlightenment that offers vampires a release from their struggle with the Beast. Different editions have gone into different level of detail as to what Golconda is but all agree that it is an elusive and mysterious state and there is very little information in-game or out as to how to achieve it.

The Masquerade

In Vampire: The Masquerade, the Masquerade refers to an organized conspiracy primarily orchestrated by the Camarilla to convince the general public that vampires do not exist. The Camarilla believes the Masquerade is the cornerstone survival strategy for Kindred and fear that without it the kine would rise up and exterminate all the undead.
Prohibitions against exposing the existence of Kindred existed prior to the 15th century in a set of ancient laws known as the Traditions. The First Tradition reads:
"Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing such shall renounce thy claims of Blood."
This stricture was not consistently nor as strictly enforced until the Inquisition of the 15th century required it. During this period vampires were destroyed in large numbers by vampire hunters which largely prompted the formation of a sect known as the Camarilla whose primary purpose was to promote and enforce the Masquerade as a means of survival.
The Masquerade is largely enforced through self-policing, but it is primarily the job of the Prince in Camarilla controlled cities to enforce it. Princes may use any means at their disposal to ensure vampire society stays hidden and that those who break the Masquerade are duly punished. Punishments for breaches have a range but are usually draconian in nature due to the seriousness of the Masquerade. Final Death, often by means of a ritualized "Blood Hunt" by other vampires, is not uncommon. When breaches do occur, the Camarilla takes great pains to repair them. This could include anything from erasing a mortal's memories using supernatural powers to manipulating mortal pawns in order to keep events out of the media.
The Masquerade is one of the main in-game points of contention between the two major factions of vampires in the World of Darkness. While many vampires see the pragmatism in the Masquerade some do not agree with it. For example, the Sabbat do not uphold the Tradition that justifies the enforcement of the Masquerade but behind closed doors even they take some steps to contain breaches.
In-game around the early 2000s, the intelligence agencies of the world discovered the SchreckNET's existence, they in response formed what is known as the Second inquisition. Utilizing the knowledge of the Society of St. Leopold, which had been canonized under the Vatican, they've killed hundreds of thousands of vampires the world over. In reaction that had forced a secondary level of masquerade measures in the game world, Vampires now use everything from burner phones and disposable email to use of carrier pigeon and information dead drops, sometimes using hypnotized or ghouled humans to pass information. Also the Camarilla Sect have become more of a closed off society, only accepting notable kindred, leaving most recently embraced to be slaughtered or adopted by the Anarch Sect, who have adopted tenants of the camarilla's masquerade to protect themselves.

Society

Vampires in the World of Darkness have a rich, complex, and diverse secret society with a range of ideologies, goals, and backgrounds. Sects largely divide along ideological disputes surrounding the distribution of power among vampires, the role of vampires in the human world, and the ancient myths that allegedly explain the origins and purpose of vampires.

Age

An important means of social distinction among vampires in this setting is through age. Younger vampires wanting respect and power must prove themselves to their elders. While ambition can provide a degree of upward mobility among immortals, oftentimes respect comes to those who can prove they can survive. Characters are loosely divided into several age groups. Ages aren't titles or jobs but rather loose descriptions to describe a vampire's development and the social expectations that come with aging.
Vampires organize and divide themselves politically and ideologically into sects which form a governing structure for undead societies. Laws and norms concerning the place of vampires within the mortal world, feeding, the treatment of vessels, vampiric morality, secrecy, feeding grounds, Gehenna and the distribution of power form the basis of these divisions. The two major sects are the Camarilla and the Sabbat, but there are other sects as well, such as the Inconnu or the Anarchs. A sect is something a character may choose in-game, though this decision is often chosen for them by their Sire. Defection to one side or the other is possible, but comes with a great risk, as much of what motivates the Jyhad are the ideological differences between the Camarilla and the Sabbat.
Sects
Vampire: The Masquerade offers the players the opportunity to play in a politically diverse world in which sects rule over all of vampire society. While many factions and sub-sects exist in the game, the main focus is the conflict between the Camarilla, the Sabbat and the Anarchs.
A vampire who rejects all associations with any sect and clan is known as "Autarkis". The Laibon, called Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom by Western Kindred, are not so much a sect as a cultural group bound together loosely by a powerful spiritual bond to the land and the people of Africa. The Kindred of the East, while sharing some superficial similarity to the western Kindred, are actually an entirely different variety of supernatural being.
Clans
A clan is the character's vampire family. All members of a clan allegedly descend from the clan's Antediluvian founder. It is widely accepted that there are thirteen clans with thirteen founders, though not all of them are technically Antediluvian. Some clan founders, such as Giovanni or Tremere, usurped their position via Diablerie. Clans may have a social or political component to them, but a clan is not something a character chooses; it is something they are Embraced into. Those without a clan are known as Caitiff, and are considered outsiders.

The 13 Clans

Vampire: The Masquerade introduces the use of 13 clans in the game. Each accepted clan can trace its origins to one of 13 elder vampires known as an Antediluvian, for they survived God's biblical flood. Each Antediluvian is a “grandchilde” of Cain, who killed Abel and was cursed by God and His archangels into becoming the first vampire. Through the back story of the game, Antediluvians started a war among themselves, called the Jyhad, and use their clansmen to fight this war for them.
Each Clan and Bloodline has a unique set of powers called Disciplines, and their own set of weaknesses, also unique to that particular branch of vampire.
Most Sabbat vampires consider themselves to be the “anti-Clans” or antitribu in rebellion against their parent clans' values, goals, or loyalties. For example, Toreador within the Sabbat consider themselves Toreador antitribu. Some rebel or twist the expectations of their clans, while others take a more radical view of their lineage's core ideas. Some are so different that they are considered different bloodlines manifesting different Disciplines, weaknesses or even a different name. The Lasombra and Tzimisce do not consider themselves antitribu as most of their members are within the Sabbat. Lasombra outside the Sabbat are considered antitribu while the Tzimisce outside the Sabbat are referred to as Old Clan. A Sabbat offshoot of the Followers of Set is known as the Serpents of the Light, and have rejected both the clan founder and his Egyptian origin, in favor of the cultural trappings of Caribbean voodoo.
Bloodlines
Bloodlines, on the other hand, either cannot trace their lineage to an Antediluvian founder or are too little in number to be considered a major player in the Jyhad. Some Bloodlines are considered to be offshoots of existing clans. All bloodlines are treated as exceptionally rare in the game, leaving most of the interactions and story lines centered around the clans.
In the November 1991 edition of Dragon, Allen Varney did not like unprofessional production values of the gamebook, pointing to "amateurish" artwork and poor copy-editing. Varney also found the rules remarkably lacking in detail. However, he applauded the wide-ranging campaign advice. "There are whole chapters on how to plot stories, maintain suspense, handle players, and so on." He concluded, "If you’re up for a potent and even passionate role-playing experience, look for this game."
In a 1996 reader poll by Arcane magazine to determine the 50 most popular roleplaying games of all time, Vampire: The Masquerade was ranked 6th. Editor Paul Pettengale commented: "Vampire has always proved the most popular of the World of Darkness games, a testament both to the continuing appeal of the vampire itself, and to the structure and design of the game. Like all of the Storyteller range, it's not an easy game to get right, and it relies heavily on both the players and the referee putting a lot of effort and imagination into their roles. With a good group, though, it can be an immensely interesting and thought-provoking game, and one of the most effective horror RPGs around. Despite its tendency to take itself a little seriously, Vampire: The Masquerade has a great deal to offer the more mature and serious gamer."

Awards

The original 1991 version was superseded by a second edition in 1992, and a revised edition in 1998.
The Vampire: The Masquerade game line was discontinued in 2004, at which point it was superseded by .
On March 17, 2011, White Wolf announced the 20th Anniversary Edition, which was published during the Grand Masquerade event in New Orleans on September 15–17, 2011, released to the attendees. Customers not attending The Grand Masquerade were offered a limited time preorder option. The 20th Anniversary Edition contains revisions of rules and is a compendium of most information provided in supplemental material in the game's earlier life. The 20th Anniversary Edition officially revived Vampire: The Masquerade as part of White Wolf Publishing's shift to a print on demand business model, and multiple new Masquerade products have been announced. All of White Wolf's tabletop roleplaying games are published by Onyx Path Publishing, including Vampire through its 20th Anniversary Edition, while all of White Wolf's Mind's Eye Theatre products are now published through By Night Studios.
A 5th edition of Vampire: The Masquerade was released in early 2018. Development of the new edition is being led by game designer Kenneth Hite, and will be distributed by Modiphius Entertainment.

Tie-ins and adaptations

', ', ', ', ', ', Kindred of the East, and ' are other RPG titles set in the Old World of Darkness.
In August 2004, the original game set in the Classic World of Darkness was replaced by '. Although it is an entirely new game, rather than a continuation of the old, it uses many elements of the old game, including certain clan and discipline names and an updated version of the Storyteller rules system.
At the White Wolf Camarilla meeting in October 2009 it was decided to re-support this game system both in the official Camarilla fan club and outside to Table Top players.

Print on Demand

As of mid-2010, White Wolf switched exclusively to a print-on-demand model via online role playing game store DriveThruRPG.com, offering the new and classic World of Darkness source books through the DriveThruRPG web site starting with a number of formerly out of print Vampire: The Masquerade books and gradually adding more as they were ready for print. DriveThruRPG and White Wolf have indicated that eventually all World of Darkness material will be available in this way.