Vampire
Players Guide

Power, wealth, immortality. These taunt the dreams and drive the minds of many mortals. These things can be had, and all you have to do is die, to be embraced as a Cainite, a Vampire. Frozen in time at the moment of their death these immortals prowl the nights of the Dark Medieval, having existed since their namesake, Caine, first slew his brother and was forever after marked with the thirst for blood. In the 10th century the Cainites, as they call themselves, rule the night as masters of their Domains through Courts ruled by Princes, lords and vassals. 

The process of making a vampire, called embracing, is simple and reflects the first act that cursed Caine himself. First the Vampire must kill the mortal they intend to embrace and then feed that mortal their own cursed blood. The creature that reawakens from their death isn’t the person they were before. Their emotions, their feelings, everything that made them feel alive before is muted. Food and drink no longer hold any fascination and instead blood is everything. Vampires trace their lineage back to Caine through their Clans, the progenitors of which are the 3rd Generation. Commonly called the Antediluvians these mythical figures, 13 in total, pass the curse of Caine to all they embrace, as their childer do, and so on down the Generations.

Vampires in the Dark Medieval gather together wherever there are enough people to support them. They thrive in the cities of Europe and organize themselves through a complicated system of Oaths and Vassalage that, they claim, spawned the Feudal system of Europe. Vampires call their territories Domains. The Prince rules the largest Domain in an area, often claiming the entire city or province. Beneath the Prince, through oaths sworn in blood, are their Court. Lords and Ladies of the Undead who hold the positions of office within Cainite society; Scenshal, Warlord, Sheriff, Chamberlain, Keeper, an Scourge. Next in line are the Princes Vassals, Cainite knights who enact the Prince’s will and enforce the Laws of Caine in their name. Beneath them are the Residents of the domain, the vampires who have sworn fealty to the Prince and, in return, been given their protection. These oaths bind the Prince to provide for their domain and the domain to support the Prince. All others, whether guests or Caitiff, have no rights beyond that which the Prince grants them. 

Vampires are divided by their clans, the blood lines that lead from an Antediluvian back to Cain. These are further divided into the High Clans, those of perceived noble birth with the divine right to rule, and the Low Clans, those of lesser blood whose Antediluvian’s crimes warranted greater punishments or tend to be on the outskirts of Cainite society.

Clans are simply the blood lines that influence how the curse affects a vampire. No clan is a monolith or united and a domain is made up of many clans all working together. While any given domain is more likely to have High Clans in position of powers this is far from always true and you will find members of the same Clan plotting against each other just as fiercely as they do everyone else.

The High Clans

Brujah are a clan of warrior-scholars noted for their fierce devotion to their philosophies. Their views were greatly shaped by the Greeks and they strive to have total mental and physical discipline. Trained equally in debate, politics and war the Brujah are formidable. Their weakness is both a blessing and curse, instead of feeling less after death the opposite is true, their passion is inflamed and their rage is as legendary as it is difficult to control. A unifying trait of the clan, instilled by most Sires to their Childer, is a strong dislike, some might even say hatred, of the Ventrue. The Brujah still blame them for the destruction of their great experiment, Carthage, and few can hold a grudge as hard as a Brujah.

• Clan Weakness: Cannot resist Force Passion and immune to End Frenzy.

• Innate Discipline: Celerity, Potence, Presence

Cappadocian, the Clan of Death, are a clan of scholars focused on completing the Clan’s Great Work. Cappadocians are obsessed with the study of death and transition. Long ago the Antediluvian, Cappadocius, encountered a lone traveler near the Holy Land that introduced him to the nameless God, and forever after became the obsession of all of Cappadocius’ projects. He realized he could not find the answers needed alone, and so created his clan to help him reach his goal, to meet and diablerize God. He founded Erciyes, his home and research center and bent the entirety of his Clan to this end. 

Time, however, changes all things and the Clan diverged from Cappadocius’ goal. In the 8th century he called his entire clan to the Mountain Kaymakli. Two of his Childer and their lines attended, Japheth and Caias. Lazarus and his line, sensing the trap, stayed away. Cappadocius then led his clan through the caves under the mountain, asking them questions. Those that answered poorly were dismissed to wander the caves. After, the Antediluvian laid his curse upon the cave, for no Cainite to be able to leave and no child of Seth to enter. Cappadocius used this event, known as the Feast of Folly, to purge his clan of those who had lost their focus on his goal. This wound is still fresh, and many who trace their lineage back to Lazarus have lost faith with the rest of their clan.

• Clan Weakness: Must apply pale, corpse-like makeup to their face.

• Clan Weakness: Disturbing Presence

• Innate Disciplines: Auspex, Fortitude, Mortis (All Paths)

Lasombra exist for only themselves. They believe that might makes right and they are willing to sacrifice anything, or anyone, to achieve their goals. Tied to the sea, indeed many claim to be the fabled “Sea People” that ravaged the Bronze Age Mediterranean, their Antediluvian resides in Sicily and claims the Sea of Shadows as its Domain. They are known by many names, Lau-Som-Bheu, Lucien, The Shadowed One, Laza Omri Baras among many, many others but most commonly simply as Lasombra. Lasombra, along with his clan, is integrally tied to the night, able to call and command shadows and worse from the Void to do their bidding. The Lasombra love learning, for knowledge is power, and many have tied themselves to the church of Islam or Christ and rise in power and standing as those institutions do.

• Clan Weakness: If you see a reflection of yourself in a mirror or non-transparent surface you must move so you can no longer see it (Reflection in windows does not count).

• Innate Disciplines: Dominate, Obtenebration, Potence
  
  

Salubri are enjoying their last nights and are blissfully unaware of the destruction that will soon befall their Clan. Tremere will steal the Curse of Caine and consume Salot, their Antediluvian, and see the clan all but annihilated. That is yet to come, in the 10th Century the clan are few in number and secretive, but none are more respected by all than the Salubri. Much of the Clan and its founder are shrouded in mystery. It is known that Saulot was the most beloved of Caine and was a skilled healer who traveled far to the east seeking enlightenment. His Clan, like him, had supernatural abilities with healing and could mend not only the maladies of the body but those of the soul as well. Shortly after Saulot returned from his travels a new Clan of demon worshiping Cainites were not far behind and attacked the Second City. It was in this struggle that Samiel discarded the path of the healer and founded the Warrior Bloodline.

The Salubri are split between two bloodlines, the Healers who follow the teachings and ways of Saulot and the Warriors, who follow Samiel, and take up the sword to smite evil wherever it can be found. The Healers are all but incapable of causing harm and the Warriors all but incapable of refusing anyone in need and combined the two form the sword and shield that is the staunchest enemy of the Baali and Infernalists among the Cainites.

Healers

• Clan Weakness: Must spend a Willpower Point to take an action that causes damage to another character. Exception: A person willing to be bitten and fed from.

• Innate Disciplines: Auspex, Fortitude, Valeren Healing

Warriors

• • • Clan Weakness: Must spend a Willpower Point to refuse a request to aid someone in need. This applies once per day per person.

    • Innate Disciplines: Auspex, Fortitude, Valeren Warrior
      
      

Toreador are one and all obsessed with beauty, but what is beautiful lies in the eye of the beholder. The curse Caine levied upon their Antediluvian, Arikel, was cruel. He asked her to compose a painting showing the past, present and future of his kind. While Caine was enthralled with her portrayals of Cainite’s past and present, when he laid eyes on her painting of the future he became enraged and cursed her. The art she loved so dearly would now be her obsession and distract her above all things. All Toreador share this curse and, when they see something beautiful, are lost in the experience for a time. Many Toreador don’t see this as a curse at all and seek out such experiences, going down a desperate path to find new beauty before growing bored with what is currently around them. The Toreador are muses, artists, dancers and courtesans of peerless skill with members of their clan equally at home in the Courts of Princes, on stage, or the battlefield.

• Clan Weakness: When in the presence of something the Toreador finds beautiful they become fascinated and distracted, watching the thing for at least 1 minute. Nothing can break this trance except for taking damage.

• Innate Disciplines: Auspex, Celerity, Presence

Tzimisce, the fiends of the Carpathian Mountains are a brutal yet honorable clan tied intrinsically to their land. After the breaking of Enoch their Antediluvian, known only as the Eldest, settled in the Carpathian Mountains and, around them, their clan grew. It is rumored that it allied with an ancient fallen, the demon Kupala, and it is this alliance that tied the Eldest and its Clan to the earth. Most of the Tzimisce exist within the Tzimisce Voivodate, a loose confederation of domains in Eastern Europe and remain unchallenged through the 10th century. They rule their domains with an iron fist as the lords of the night and while they war with the werewolves that share their mountains yet remain truly unchallenged until the 12th century with the start of the Mesana War.

Tzimisce are fascinated with perfecting the physical form and see, with their discipline Vicissitude, flesh is their canvas. Many of the clan follow their own Road, the Road of Metamorphosis, which focuses the Cainites existence in constant experimentation and modification of themselves and others. Few clans are simultaneously as respected, feared and avoided as the Tzimisce for even fewer want to become the next subject in their flesh crafting experiments.

• Clan Weakness: A Tzimisce must choose a space in Game Space to be theirs. This must be at least 1 room in size but can be more. If anyone enters that space uninvited they must immediately enter a Rage Frenzy targeting that Character. This location can be changed by spending 1 Willpower Pool. 

• Innate Disciplines: Animalism, Auspex, Vicissitude

Ventrue are the nobles and knights of the Cainite world during the Dark Medieval. Eventually they will evolve into a Clan of CEO’s, merchants and politicians, but in the dark ages they strive to embody everything a knight or lord of Cainite kind should be. Strong, ruthless, cunning and honorable the Ventrue claim to have created the system of Fealty that ties Cainite kind together. There may be some truth in this, as few contest that they created the Road of Kings. The Clan’s true rise was with the Roman Empire. To hear them tell it, they were responsible for the creation of the greatest empire the world had ever seen, from behind the scenes of course. They laid low the degenerates of Carthage, the Brujah, Assamites and even Baali who ruled the Kine there openly, and who had fallen to worshiping demons and worse. 

The Fall of Rome was a blow to the Ventrue, but only a minor one. Venture spread throughout Europe, ruling their own fiefdoms of Cainites and spreading the method of governance that has become the standard among Cainites. Incredibly hierarchical, the Ventrue like to know everyone’s place, preferably with themselves on top.

• Clan Weakness: Choose a category of people that roughly cuts the game population in half. The restriction can be more, but not less, narrow. Categories such as gender, hair color, religion, or tradecraft are typical. While they can bite and drink from mortals not part of their chosen category they gain no Blood Points from it. This feeding restriction doesn’t apply to vampires and a Venture can drink from any vampire whether they are part of their selected group or not.

• Innate Disciplines: Dominate, Fortitude, Presence

The Low Clans

Assamite are best known as assassins and diablerists. Based out of their hidden fortress Alamut in the Middle East they are, in truth, guardians, warriors and scholars who seek to distance themselves from the War of Princes. The Assamites typically follow their Clan’s Road, the Road of Blood, that sets them to judge Cainites as worthy, or destroy the ones that are not. Many Cainites are found wanting. They are rarely seen in Europe, but when they are, death soon follows. This Clan is not available to players at Darkwood Nights and is ST only.

• Clan Weakness: Always answers yes to Sense Amaranth

• Innate Disciplines: Celerity, Obfuscate, Quietus
  
  

Baali are a bloodline of Infernalists and demon worshipers. The stories of their origin vary, even among their own kind, but three main groups have formed with each claiming a different progenitor; Nergal, Moloch, and the Unnamed. Each identifies, at least among themselves, as Nergalites, Molochites or simply the Unnamed. To hear a Baali tell it they do not worship demons. Instead they try to keep the ancient ones asleep by providing them with pleasant dreams. That atrocity and mayhem are their desires are irrelevant, if they wake all will perish and so they damn their souls to save the world. At least, that is what a Molochite would tell you, but few give any Baali the opportunity. Nergalites rarely seem to have a cause beyond wanton destruction and inflicting as much pain as possible and the Unnamed are rarely seen outside of their own kind.

• Status: Considered Caitiff and Kill on Sight

• Restricted: 20 Kismet

• Clan Weakness: A holy symbol brandished at a Baali functions like an Irresistible Repel and they cannot enter holy ground. Examples of holy symbols are the Christian Cross, The Star of David, Chants from the Qur’an or a Thor’s Hammer pendant. 

• Innate Disciplines: Daimonin, Obfuscate, Presence

Caitiff are the Clanless, Cainites whose blood is so thin that the markers of Clan cannot manifest. Caitiff terrify the majority of Cainites, for the Time of the Thin Blood heralds Ghenna, the end of days when Caine will return once again and destroy all of his blood, if not the world. As such they are hunted and killed universally across the domains of Europe, for if they are allowed to persist, will hasten the destruction of all.

• Clan Weakness: Must be 13th Generation and cannot lower Generation through XP or Kismet.

• Clan Weakness: No In Clan Disciplines and must buy dots in Disciplines at the standard Discipline cost (2xp). At Character Creation choose 3 Disciplines that do not require teaching, and add 1 dot in each of these disciplines. 

• In Clan Disciplines: None

Dracian are the rogues, tricksters, drifters and troublemakers who wander the domains of the Princes. Few rulers like seeing one of these Cainites darken the door of their domains but few can argue with how useful they can be. Their Antediluvian is known by many names, but the one this clan shares is Dracian, their namesake. It was Dracian who convinced the others of the 3rd Generation to rise against their sires and destroy them. Not all talk, Dracian was the first of his siblings to devour his sire. Upon his return Caine, in his rage, cursed Dracian and all of his blood to forever be enslaved to their desires and vices, thirsting for them as they thirst for blood. The Clan fractured, Dracian disappeared to the east with those he found worthy, those who wanted to repent, those who were weak. Those who refused to submit to any authority, even Caine’s, traveled west and populated Europe as Clan Dracian. The Clan has a special hatred for Gangrel, who waged war on them during this migration and tried to exterminate them. Rare is a Dracian who won’t kill a Gangrel given the opportunity and rarer still for one to willingly work with one.

In the 10th Century the Dracian are involved in all things shady. Where crime flourishes, so do they, and while many Princes would rather banish them from their Domains they have a knack for making themselves just a little more useful than they are annoying. Their signature Disciplines, Chimerstry, makes them peerless illusionists and they liberally use this ability to trick others into doing, or giving them, what they want. The Dracian later unifies with the Ravnos from the east after the migrations of the Romani, however that HAS NOT occurred yet. In 900’s Europe the clan has no attachments to its Eastern philosophies or culture.

• Clan Weakness: Cannot Resist Force Sin

• Clan Weakness: Choose a vice at character creation from the following list: intimidation, deceiving, gambling, hedonism, violence, murder, recklessness, or theft. Whenever the Dracian spends a Willpower Point they must act upon their Vice within the next 10 minutes or else they lose an additional Willpower Point.

• Innate Disciplines: Animalism, Chimerstry, Fortitude
  
  

Followers of Set hail from North Africa and call Egypt home. They claim their progenitor, the god Set himself, was not a child of Caine despite the similarities of their Curse. They seek to dismantle the work of Horus, civilization itself, by showing the weakness of the people that make it up. They trade in corruption, seeking to lay low leaders and commoners alike through providing for their vices until they become the obsessions that destroy them but all too often fall victim to their own trade. This Clan is not available to players at Darkwood Nights and is ST only.

• Clan Weakness: Take Damage from Sunlight even if fully covered and cannot reduce Agg Damage from Sunlight by any means.

• Innate Disciplines: Obfuscate, Presence, Serpentis

Gangrel are the closest to their Beasts and to nature itself. There are many stories surrounding the Antediluvian of Clan Gangrel, Ennoia. Most Gangrel hold that she was THE Ennoia and was directly embraced by Caine, not one of the 3rd Generation that rose against their sires. Gangrel tell the tale of how, tricked and betrayed by Dracian, Ennoia was cast out of Caine’s city and forced to live outside the walls of civilization with the beasts. Instead of falling Ennoia adapted. She became a wanderer and as she became closer to the wild things she became more like them. This passed to all who share her blood. This betrayal has led to a blood feud between the two Clans and rare is a Gangrel that will not kill a Dracian on sight. The Gangrel wander the wilds of Europe, one of the few Clans more comfortable outside the cities than within. 

The Gangrel are brutal and value independence and resilience above all else. The typical Gangrel Embrace sees the prospective childer attacked, killed, embraced, and their corpse stuffed under a rock or log while they go through the change. They awake, alone, hungry and a Cainite with no knowledge of who or what they are and no one available to provide answers. Their Sire may return in a year, or ten, or not at all, but if they do and find the childer alive they take them in and teach them of their Clan. Many Gangrel are found by members of other Clans and instead raised by them, if not destroyed, and the wild Gangrel look upon these “pet” Gangrel with disdain. 

• Clan Weakness: Every time a Gangrel frenzies for any reason other than being targeted by the “Frenzy” or “Terror” Powers, the Player must come to the next game with a new animal feature as a makeup requirement for that Character. 

  • 1. • Common features are fur, unretractable fangs, slitted eyes, scales, claws and tails but are not limited to this.

       • A Character may limit features gained in this way to 5, however if the Player wishes more can be added.

• Innate Disciplines: Animalism, Fortitude, Protean

Malkavian are an enigmatic and deeply disturbed Clan. Their Antediluvian, Malkav, was a seer in life and continued to be one after their Embrace. Rumors say that Malkav, Saulot, and Set were close before the flood and shared the same sire, Enoch, however this is only one of many tales. Most agree that Caine cursed Malkav and their blood with the madness that now afflicts them, however stories vary widely around why. Some tales make Caine out to be the monster, breaking Malkav’s mind for a minor slight or a fortune that displeased him while others lay the uprising of the 3rd Generation at Malkav’s feet, saying they gave false visions and prophecies that resulted in the uprising and so were cursed. What is known is that, one and all, something in the minds of each Malkavian is well and truly broken and the world that they see and experience isn’t always the same one the rest of us do. This crack in perception can be shared, through their Dementation Discipline, and leads them to see and connect things others never thought of. Despite its blessings it truly is a curse, and their inability to distinguish reality from their perceptions makes them mistrusted at best in Cainite society, although none can dispute their prophecies have a habit of coming true.

• Clan Weakness: Immune Remove Mental. Must choose 1 of the following powers at Character Creation: Apathy,  Confusion, Fear, Feral Mind, Force Passion, Force Sin, Hallucinate, Immobilize, Madness, Nightmare, Paranoia, Remove Memory (Last ten minutes), Silence, or Sleep. They cannot resist this power and take this power anytime they spend Willpower Points.

• Innate Disciplines: Auspex, Dementation, Obfuscate

Nosferatu are the most obviously cursed of all of Caine’s children, for each is disfigured and obviously inhuman. Their Antedliuvian, Absimiliard, was a skilled and beautiful hunter, as vain as he was powerful. He, in turn, was hunted by the 2nd Generation and subsequently embraced. The event left him with a tiny facial scar, a scar that marred his perfection and inflamed his vanity. His wounded pride led to resentment, then hate and he was the first to kill his sire and started the revolt against the 2nd Generation. Caine, in turn, levied his most terrible curse. Absimiliard and all his blood were twisted into new, hideous, forms none would ever again call beautiful.

Few clans hold together as tightly as the Nosferatu. While they may fight and scheme among themselves they are outcasts one and all and, in that, they find their solidarity. They exist in the fringes of society, both Cainite and Kine, and so are privy to all sorts of information that otherwise goes unnoticed. Consummate information brokers, spies, and enforcers the Nosferatu are respected throughout Europe and few Princes will dare spurn them, even if they would rather not look upon them.

• Clan Weakness: Disturbing Presence.

• Clan Weakness: Wear obviously disfigured and inhuman makeup/props/costumes. No powers can remove these features outside of their own Obfuscate.

• Innate Disciplines: Animalism, Obfuscate, Potence

The largest difference between the setting in Dark Ages: Vampire and Darkwood Nights is the Tremere, specifically the lack of them. Tremere has not yet stolen Vampirism, as such the Masana War, where the Tremere simultaneously fight against the Tzimisce, Order Hermes, Nosferatu and other clans, has not begun. Thaumaturgy and its rituals do not exist, blood cannot be bottled, and the knowledge of clan and generation granted by Rigo Vitae does not exist. This spirals further, with no Tremere Saulot has not been consumed and the Salubri are still a well respected High Clan. While their powers may make Cainites uneasy but none have accused them of infernalism.

Similarly Cappadocius has not yet embraced Augustus Giovanni. The Italian merchant family is just starting its foray into Necromancy and hasn’t yet caught the eye of the Cappadocian founder. As such Necromancy, the Discipline, doesn’t exist. The Feast of Folly has occurred and while Canon is vague and contradictory concerning its dates we’ve settled on 711CE. This is relatively recent in the memory of Cainites but far enough in the past that the wounds it caused are no longer fresh.

Europe in the 10th Century has no Cainite Kings or Queens. Known as “The Long Night” the period after the fall of Rome and the 12th Century was a high point for most Cainites. The highest authority in the land was the Prince, and any who could claim and hold Domain could take the title. With no unifying leaders to oversee them the Prince’s authority was absolute and each Princedom is an island of civilization in an otherwise sea of dangerous wilderness.

For more information you will want to read DA: Vampire, DA: Guide the Low Clans, DA: Guide to the High Clans, Clan Book: Salubri, Clanbook: Cappadocian, and DA: Storytellers Companion. These can most often be found physically in second hand book stores or purchased online PDFs/Print on Demand through Drive Through RPG. 

The Vampire game is one of personal power, politics, and predation. A Cainite is an apex predator, the equal of any other supernatural Faction with the exception of the Garou, who hunt and feed on the humans they used to be. The individual themes of power are represented in the Faction’s rules, with Vampires being the most potent individually but with very little mechanical focus on supporting each other. Politics are central to playing a Vampire. How one fits into the Domain, rises through its ranks, or survives being an outsider is something no Cainite can escape, for as much as they are lone predators, they are drawn to each other for companionship over their long lives. In Cainite society one must prove why they are worth more than the power their blood brings, and why keeping them around is worth the competition for blood, power, and prestige.

This forms the first aspect of playing the monster that is a vampire and central to their themes; how will you feed? Every Vampire must answer this question or perish. This is compounded by the Beast, which provides a fantastic element of internal role play. It constantly pushes a Vampire to give into its instincts and consume everyone it can. Permission to feed is tied to the Law of Domain, one of the Laws of Caine, and so every Cainite must participate to some degree in the Oaths of Fealty that tie a Domain to the Prince and each other. Navigating those oaths, the political landscape of the domain, and the Laws of Caine provide a rich and challenging play experience no other Faction can provide and is not for the faint of heart.

Mechanically the base abilities of a Vampire make them a formidable physical opponent. The weakest of them can hit incredibly hard, bond others to their will, and heal as fast as they are damaged. Indeed, fighting a Vampire is a fight of endurance pitting your skill and power against the supply of the Vampire’s blood. In addition to their innate powers they gain access to a wide array of powers through their Disciplines and can even combine these into new abilities called Devotions. All of this power comes at a price, however, and Vampires have the highest impacting, and most numerous, weaknesses. They suffer Aggravated Damage by direct exposure to sunlight, take Aggravated Damage from Fire, cannot be healed with Medicine or potions, can be immobilized through Staking and have an additional weakness based upon their clan. The combination of their power, weaknesses, and political play focused on the long game combine to make Vampire a deeply challenging, engaging, and entertaining experience.

Vampires have a few Attributes that set them apart from the other Factions of Darkwood Nights. These are; Generation, Blood Pool, Road, Disciplines, and Devotions.

Generation is arguably a Cainite’s most defining attribute. It is ranked between 5 and 13 at Darkwood Nights and the lower the value the stronger the Cainite. It not only indicates their power in the Blood but also greatly influences a Cainite’s social standing, with lower Generation vampires inherently being more respected than higher. A Vampire’s Generation is how many steps, or generations, they are separated from Caine, so a 7th Generation Vampire has 5 vampires in their lineage between them and Cain, their Sire (6th Gen), Grand Sire (5th Gen), Great Grand Sire (4th Gen), their Clan Antediluvian (3rd gen, typically), Caine’s Childer (2nd Gen), and finally Caine himself. The closer to Caine a Vampire is the more potent their Blood and so more powerful they inherently are.

A starting Vampire has a Generation of 10. A Player can lower their Generation at Character Creation by spending XP, 3XP to drop 1 Generation to 7th Generation at the lowest. A Player may, instead, choose to start at a higher Generation however there is no reward for this self nerfing but it does lend itself to certain stories. After Character Creation Generation can only be lowered through the vile and terrifying act of Amaranth, also known as Diablarie, or through Kismet. Mechanically Generation determines a Vampire’s Blood Pool, how many Blood Points they can spend in 1 second and the maximum dot level of Disciplines they can learn. See below for the Generation chart (* Generation, Blood Pool, Blood Per Second, Max Discipline Rating).

*Gen   BP   BPS   MDP

  13       10       1       3rd

  12       11        1       3rd

  11        12       1       3rd

  10       13       1       4th

   9       14       2       4th

   8       15       3       4th

   7       20      4       4th

   6       30      6       5th

   5       40      8       5th

   4       50     10       5th

Blood Pool is a Vampire’s energy pool and represents their stores of Blood, called Vitae, that are central to their power. Blood is everything to a Cainite, they need it to rise each day, to empower their abilities, to increase their strength or reflexes, and tasting it is the only thing that truly quickens their experience of life. There are a few things that a Vampire MUST spend Blood Points on as well as a number of abilities that they can spend Blood Points on.

• Rising: A Vampire MUST spend 1 Blood Point when they ‘rise' (entering game and at Sundown on Saturday). A Vampire’s life is unnatural and fueled by the life of others and this drain on their Blood Pool is why feeding is a necessity, not a convenience. 

  • If they cannot spend this Blood they immediately enter Torpor

• Blood Healing: Blood is life, and as such a Vampire can use it to heal. For every Blood Point the Vampire spends to heal they immediately heal 1 Health Point. This is instantaneous and can heal damage as it is dealt, and so prevent a Vampire from being reduced to 0 HP and becoming Incapacitated.

• Blood Buffing: Blood is power, and as such a Vampire can use it to strengthen themselves. For every Blood Point a Vampire spends in Blood Buffing the Vampire gains Augment 1 on their next attack. This is an instantaneous spend, however, and a Vampire cannot Augment an attack with more Blood Points than they can spend in 1 second, per Generation above.

• Using Disciplines: Blood is the most common resource used to activate Powers and Abilities from Disciplines and Devotions. All costs must be paid before a Power can be used, if the Vampire cannot spend enough Blood in a single second to activate the power they must spend additional time spending blood to activate it. Once they’ve spent the required blood the power can be used. No matter how many Blood a Vampire can spend per second they are still limited to 1 Action per second.

• Creating a Ghoul: In line with Blood is power, that power can be given. A Vampire may feed other Characters 1 Blood Point to give them the Ghoul Character State. This gives them a Blood Pool, 1 Discipline and the ability to use Blood Healing and Blood Buffing. See Characters State - Ghoul on page 11 for more detailed information. Any Faction can be Ghouled, so if a Vampire feeds Blood to a Mage or a Fae they gain the Ghoul Character State.

• Embracing: A Vampire may also feed a Dead Human or Mage 1 Blood Point to turn them into a Vampire. This is called Embracing and is how new Vampires are made. Refer to page 41 (Abilities of a Human - Becoming) on how this is done. A Mage that is Embraced loses all of their Mage Attributes, Abilities, and Weaknesses and replaces them with their new Vampire Faction’s. They may, however, choose to replace 1 of their In Clan Disciplines with Vampiric Sorcery.

• Blood Oath: Lastly Blood is control. By Feeding Blood Points to another Character they can cement the Blood Oath, which compels loyalty from the Character Fed. See Blood Oath under abilities below for details.

• Regaining Blood: Blood Points are regained through biting and feeding, explained below in Abilities of a Vampire.

Road is the code of behavior Cainites use to contain their Beast. Roads are Rated 0-10 and each Rating has an associated Sin, that if the Vampire acts contrary to risks them losing 1 Rating in that Road. When a Vampire acts against a Sin with a Rating equal to or lower than their Road Rating they must spend 1 Willpower Point or lower their Road Rating by 1. Maintaining high level Road Rating is difficult, many Road’s Sins conflict but this provides roleplay opportunities and many Vampires seek the guidance of the Domain’s Keeper in such situations.

For Example, Victor is on the Road of Heaven and has a Rating of 9. He witnesses a vengeful Prince brutally punishing a guest of their domain for killing a member of their Court.  He is bound to both speak out against the Prince’s corruption (Rating 9 Sin), using his position for personal vengeance, while also needing to see the murderer punished (Rating 3 Sin). He chooses to not speak out, but doesn’t spend a Willpower Point and so immediately drops to Road 8.

Every Vampire follows a road, the most common are: Road of Humanity, Road of Kings, Road of Beast, Road of Sin, and Road of Heaven. These Roads also provide Aura Powers to those who have a Rating of 8 or higher in that Road. See page 69 for the Roads Sin chart and Aura Powers.

There are also specialized Roads followed by specific Clans or blood lines, which are; Road of Blood, Road of Bones, Road of Metamorphosis, Road of Night, and Road of the Abyss. These may be played and their Sin Chart found in the respective source book or online, however they do not provide any Aura Powers.

A Vampire may be created on any Road they choose, or can change roads during game. The latter is fraught with danger and first requires the Vampire to purposely erode their Road. They do this by purposely violating the Sins at, or below, their current Rating. A Teacher makes this process safer, and if being Taught their new Road a Vampire may change Roads after they have reached Road Rating 1 or 2. If they are not being Taught then they can change Roads when they reach Road Rating 1. In either case to change Roads requires them to spend 1 Willpower Pool.

A Vampire with 0 Road Rating loses themselves to the Beast and becomes a Wight. A Wight never regains Road, cannot speak except to make animal noises, can only use Natural Weapons and will act accordingly in the following hierarchy of actions only.  It is important to note that this is a rare occurrence and generally not something that accidentally happens.

Wight Hierarchy of Actions

1. Stay Alive.

2. Defend its territory by killing any Vampires it encounters.

3. Feed if Hungry

4. Kill any who challenge it.

Outside of their mechanics, Road is a very important aspect of Vampire game. They are the codes of behavior that dictates how a Vampire MUST behave. A Vampire known to be on the Road of Kings will be more trusted than others because every Cainite knows that breaking their word is against their road where a Vampire on the Road of Sin is often mistrusted as their Road dictates they only act in selfish ways. The Road provides unique roleplay experiences and allows for structured, clearly inhumane, roleplay and should be thought about and explored in depth when playing a Vampire.

Disciplines are the powers spawned from Vitae, the Cainite’s Blood. Most Disciplines are known as, “Powers of the Blood” and were created by Caine or taught to him by Lilith. These are fairly easy to learn for any Cainite, for they reside in their Vitae waiting to be unlocked. These can be found on page 64 and learning them may be accomplished in one of three ways:

• In Clan: Can be learned without a teacher, up to the maximum allowed by Generation.

• Out of Clan: 

  • First Dot: Any vampire can learn the first dot of other Disciplines at double the XP cost listed for Disciplines without a teacher. 

  • Additional Dots: are purchased at the normal Discipline XP cost.

  • At Character Creation: The first dot of all Non-Clan Disciplines purchased at Character Generation is 4xp.

• Teaching: A vampire may teach another Vampire or Ghoul the In Clan Disciplines they know. 

  • Requirements: The teacher must feed the student 1 Blood Point (see Blood Oath on page 60)  and spend at least 10 minutes roleplaying the instructions. After that follow the teaching rules on page 26.

  • Effect: The first dot of that discipline can be purchased for the regular XP cost. 

Some rare Disciplines were created not by Caine or Lilith, but by the Antediluvians themselves. These are; Dementation, Mortis, Serpentis, both paths of Valeren, and Vicissitude. Some rare Disciplines were instead created by the progenitors of their Bloodline, the only one of which currently in Darkwood Nights is the Baali’s Daimonin, but others may be added as time goes on. These Disciplines always require a Teacher and cannot be learned without one, although Kismet can be spent to be taught them “off screen”. 

Devotions are unique powers created by combining the powers of different Disciplines together and as such are the Vampire’s Specialty Powers. The creation of clever Cainites these abilities must always be Taught, however they simply follow the normal Teaching Rules and so require no Blood Points to be consumed. Each has Prerequisites that must be met before a Cainite can learn them, and thereafter act as any other Power on their Character Sheet. These can be found on page 68.

Biting is how a Cainite regains Blood Points. It is a Count 3 Touch action, so to initiate a Bite the Vampire touches the target and counts, “Biting 1, Biting 2, Biting 3.” Once the count completes the action is not resistible, except as noted below, and the Target falls into a euphoria that prevents them from moving, acting, or remembering the details of the bite. After the Biting Count concludes the Vampire should ask the Target if they have any effects that impact being bitten or their blood, these are:

• Human: No special effects

• Shifter: Each health level taken during Biting provides 2 Blood Points

• Fae: The Biting action the Vampire suffers Hallucination: Colorful Lights.

• Vampire: Removes 1 Blood Point from the Target instead of Health.

• Spirit / Inanime: Immune, call Immune at the conclusion of the Count.

Next the Vampire moves to Drinking by calling, “Drinking 1, Drinking 2, …” at a cadence of one count per second. Each count deals 1 Regular Damage to the Target and the Vampire regains 1 Blood Point, except as noted above. At this stage a Non-Human character can spend 1 Willpower Point after the Vampire reaches “Drinking 5” to break free and Resist. If Resisted in this manner they remember the event clearly.

Drinking ends when the Target informs the Vampire they have 0 Health Points remaining or the Vampire stops touching the Target. Drinking also immediately ends if the Target or Vampire takes damage from a source other than the Drinking Action.

Feeding is how another character can give Blood Points to a Vampire. To Feed a Vampire the Donor, the person giving the blood, roleplays wounding their wrist then holds it over the Target’s mouth and calls, “Feeding 1, Feeding 2, Feeding…” Each count deals 1 Regular Damage to the Donor and the Vampire gains 1 Blood Point. This can be resisted if the recipient is conscious by simply turning their head, if they are not conscious it cannot be resisted.

Vampires can also use Feeding to give Blood Points to other characters. The process is the same as above, with the Vampire wounding their wrist and giving the Feeding Count. This is used to Blood Oath, create Ghouls, Embrace (create another Vampire), and how Ghouls refill their Blood Pool. The effects of feeding are detailed below based on what the Donor and Recipient’s Faction is:

• Non-Vampire to Vampire: Each count costs the user 1 HP and the Vampire gains 1 Blood Point. See Information Exchange in Biting for effects depending on User’s Factions.

• Vampire to Non-Vampire: The Target gains 1 Blood Point for each count and the Vampire loses 1 Blood Point. This will cause the Target to gain the Ghoul State as well as potentially be Blood Oathed.

• Vampire to Vampire: The Target gains 1 Blood Point for each count and the Vampire loses 1 Blood Point. This will potentially Blood Oath.

• Non-Vampire to Non-Vampire: The User loses HP for each count and the Target gains nothing.

Poison Immunity. Vampires are immune to Poisons and never take their effects. Call “Resist” to any power with, “Poison,” in its call.

Undead is the Ability that encapsulates the living dead state of the Vampire and the difficulty in killing one by affecting the Incapacitation and Dying mechanics. A Vampire reduced to 0 HP does not move to the Dying State, instead it is only Incapacitated. This means there is no “death timer” for an Incapacitated Vampire and they do not take 1 Agg per minute while Incapacitated. Additionally they only take damage while at 0 HP if that damage would normally be Aggravated, typically this will be Sunlight, Agg Damage, and Fire Damage. Any other damage is negated and ignored. If the Vampire has any Blood Points they may spend them at any time while Incapacitated to heal HP and leave the Incapacitated state. 

Example: Vampire is dropped to 0 HP and has 3 Blood Points. The Vampire is Incapacitated but doesn’t move to the Dying State. Their enemies continue to strike them, dealing 15 damage in the next 4 seconds then walk away. This damage is not Aggravated as since it wasn’t Agg, Fire or Sunlight damage and so is negated. The vampire lays there for 3 minutes, spends 1 blood to heal 1 HP, gets up and walks away.

Torpor is the half dead state Cainites fall into when their bodies suffer too much damage and can’t heal it with their Blood or they are unable to spend Blood for the day. Any Vampire that is Incapacitated and has 0 Blood Points moves to the Torpor Character State. While in this state the Vampire may go OOG if they are unattended for 5 minutes without being exposed to Sunlight. If they do, they cannot play that Character again during that game, however they can play it again in a following game with no further consequences. If a Vampire in Torpor is fed Blood it can immediately use it to heal with Blood Healing and end the Torpor state. 

The Beast is generally seen as the sharpest point of Caine’s curse. It takes the form of a mindless beast raging deep within the Vampire’s mind and soul that constantly pushes to take control and slake its thirst for blood and death. A Cainite must constantly fight to control their beast, a battle that becomes much more difficult when they themselves feel aligned with it. This typically happens when a Cainite’s ire is roused, is scared, or hungry. When the Vampire loses this battle the Beast temporarily takes control of the Vampire and they enter a Frenzy (See Character States: Frenzy on page 10) . Below are the situations that most often lead to this loss of control.

• Rage Frenzy: A Vampire may enter a Rage Frenzy when in a situation where they feel extreme anger or shame.

• Fear Frenzy: A vampire that has 0 Willpower Points and is hit with Fire Damage or suffers Damage from Sunlight immediately enters a Fear Frenzy.

• Hunger Frenzy: A Vampire with 0 Blood Points, but is not incapacitated, immediately enters a Hunger Frenzy. This is a unique Frenzy type possessed only by Vampires. It follows the standard Frenzy rules with the following exceptions: The Vampire doesn’t draw weapons, the Vampire can only attack with the Biting Action, the Vampire must try to Bite the closest character it can perceive. 

In all of the above cases the Vampire loses 1 Road Rating when the Frenzy ends. If a Vampire enters Frenzy for any other reason, such as with the Frenzy Control power, Terror, or Song of Rage they do not lose Road Rating.

The Blood Oath is the greatest weapon at a Vampire’s disposal. By feeding anyone their blood a Vampire cements their loyalty. This effect is all but permanent and the methods of magically breaking it have yet to be discovered. The Blood Oath has 3 steps, each with different effects detailed below. The Vampire feeding the Blood is called the Regent while the one drinking it is the Thrall. To initiate a Blood Oath the Regent simply feeds the intended Thrall 1 Blood Point, which moves them to the first stage of the Blood Oath. A Thrall can only advance 1 Stage per Mechanical Day, so even if a Vampire feeds a Thrall 200 Blood Points in one day they still only advance a single stage of the Oath. This means that it will take more than 1 game to fully Blood Oath a character.  Before discussing the mechanics of the blood oath it is important to understand the stage 3 Pre-Requisite Requirements.

• Stage 3 Pre-Requisite Requirements: Before the 3rd step of the Blood Oath is initiated the Potential Regent and Thrall are required to have an OOG conversation between games about what the RP for the potential Blood Bond will be and each other's boundaries. This conversation is also to confirm all parties are comfortable with the bond progressing to the final phase. If the potential Thrall refuses to participate in this conversation or otherwise does not make themselves available this does not opt them out of the Blood Oath.
  
  

Either party may request Staff Arbitration. If the potential Thrall is not willing to RP the Bond they are allowed to opt-out and decline to participate. If they choose this route the player may not share any IG information about the Regent feeding them blood and they lose all Blood Oath steps. Additionally the Regent may request an unremovable Fealty Oath for all of the following:

• Silence: The Thrall will tell no vampire secrets to anyone, including their own faction.

• Safety: The Thrall will not directly attack or harm the Vampire.

• Feeding: The Vampire has permission to feed on the Thrall without the character seeking retribution.

Opting out of the Oath removes the Ghoul condition and any powers gained from it are removed. In addition the Character may never be Ghouled again unless they reach the 3rd step of a Blood Oath. If the character is a Mage they may not gain Quintessence Points from drinking a Vampire’s blood until they reach the 3rd step of a Blood Oath. 

• Exceptions: If the potential Thrall holds any position of authority IG (Proconsul, Curia, Warden, Mine Manager, Mill Manager, Fae Lord, and any other positions added later by players or ST) or is of the faction Vampire they are not able to opt out of the Blood Oath. 

Mechanics of The Blood Oath: A Vampire may have any number of Thralls, and a Thrall may be 1 or 2 stage Blood Oathed to any number of Vampires, however a Thrall may only be fully Oathed (stage 3) to 1 Vampire. Blood Oath stages are difficult to break and do not expire naturally, see below for the effects of each Stage and how to break the Blood Oath.

• • 1st Drink, Stage 1: The Thrall randomly thinks about the Regent and has their existing feelings towards them heightened. These do not need to be positive, hate and fear is amplified at this stage just as much as infatuation or interest. The Thrall wants to spend more time around the Regent, but no loyalty is enforced at this Stage.

  • 2nd Drink, Stage 2: The heightened feelings of Stage 1 are heightened further. The Thrall may not act against the Regent if they have 0 Willpower Points and they tend to take actions that benefit the Regent if it has no or little cost to them. This can include getting them gifts, taking their anger out on the Regent’s enemies, or volunteering to be fed from. Additionally if the Regent offers the Thrall Blood Points the Thrall must spend 1 Willpower Point to refuse and not drink.

  • 3rd Drink, Stage 3, Fully Oathed: This drink concludes the Blood Oath, the heightened feelings of the prior 2 stages moves to a deep sense of loyalty and, whether the Thrall loves or hates their Regent, a bone deep sense that the Regent SHOULD be in their position over them. The Thrall can no longer Resist any Power the Regent uses on them and cannot attack the Regent, nor take actions against them or their interests. If affected by a Power that would compel them attack their Regent or act against them the Thrall immediately Resists without needing to spend Willpower Points or Energy. 

Despite its power the Blood Oath is not perfect. The Thrall may temporarily overcome it by spending 1 Willpower Point. This will allow them to attack their Regent once, or act against them once. For example Player A is the Thrall of Player B. Player A is presented with an opportunity to give sensitive information to a Character about their Regent for a reward. Player A will need to spend a Willpower Point to give the Character the information.

There are only four ways in which a Blood Oath may be broken

• Separation. If the Thrall and Regent avoid each other for an entire game. This may be accomplished in a few ways and if successful the Thrall may spend 1 Willpower Pool to reduce the Blood Oath by 1 Step.

  • 1. 1. • Both the Regent and Thrall attend game but the Thrall never perceives them. Even hearing the Regent’s voice is enough to prevent the Blood Oath from degrading, so this method is incredibly difficult to achieve and usually requires others keeping the Thrall isolated.

          • The Thrall does not attend game. 

          • The Regent does not attend 1 game. 

• Permanent death of the Regent: However if the Regent is later revived their Blood Oaths once again take effect.

• Regent is missing: If the Regent does not attend 2 games in a row that the Thrall does attend the Blood Oath is reduced by 1 Step at no WP cost to the Thrall.

• Staff Intervention, The Blood Oath is the key to Vampire’s success throughout history. It is used both among themselves and every other Faction to ensure loyalty and safety for their kind. It is, inherently, victimizing and subverts the free will of the Thrall. For this reason if your character is Thralled to a Vampire and you are not comfortable with the IG relationship for OOG reasons please contact the Head of Rules or the Program Manager for arbitration.

Amaranth is the act of consuming another Cainite’s soul to take their power as your own. It is both the ultimate expression of the Vampire’s condition and their greatest fear. A Character who is devoured through Amaranth can never be brought back, no power will resurrect or reincarnate them as their soul has been devoured, digested and incorporated into the Transgressor’s. Mechanically we define the character committing Amaranth as the Transgressor and the character being consumed as the Victim. Amaranth can only be done on a Vampire, and any other Faction answers the Amaranth call with, “No Effect.” The process mirrors Biting, and in fact the first step is to drain the Victim of all of their Blood Points. 

Once this is done the Drinking Count changes to Amaranth, with each count dealing 1 Aggravated Damage to the Victim. The Victim informs the Transgressor when they are dead, then the count changes to: Count 3 Consuming. This is the stage where the Transgressor pulls the soul out of the Victim and attempts to devour it. Once Consuming 3 is called the Victim may spend 1 Willpower Point, if they have any, to call Resist. If they do the Transgressor may spend 1 Willpower to start the Consuming count again. This repeats until one party no longer has, or doesn’t spend, Willpower Points.

If the Transgressor wins and the Victim doesn’t Resist then the Victim informs the Transgressor of their Generation. If it is lower than the Transgressor’s both players go to ST Camp where the Transgressor’s Generation is lowered by 1 step. If it is equal or higher then the Victim immediately goes OOG and no updates are made to the Transgressor’s Character Sheet. In either scenario the Transgressor immediately loses 1 Road Rating and, for 1 year per difference in Generation, minimum 1 year, they must answer, “Yes,” to Sense Amaranth. If the Victim wins they die, however their soul isn’t consumed and so can be resurrected in any manner than could resurrect a Vampire.

Sunlight, the purifying light of the divine, is the bane of all Vampires. It is a scorching fire that burns their unliving and unholy existence from the world, reducing them to dust as if they never existed. It is their greatest fear. When outside during the day, as defined by not having a roof directly over their head, they immediately take 1 Aggravated Damage and continue to take 1 Aggravated Damage for every minute they remain outside. Fortunately in Wollbach this can, for reasons unknown, be mitigated. A Vampire may avoid this damage by wearing clothing that covers exposed areas of skin, such as gloves, using a cloak to hide their hands, and so on. A hat or hood must shade the face and back of the neck, a simple bandana is not sufficient to block Sun Damage. 

Sunlight, being the bane of Cainite kind, cannot easily be resisted with the powers of their Blood. Fortitude does not provide its normal Soak Agg until the Cainite has 4 dots in the Discipline. Also keep in mind that Sun Damage is immediate, this means that as soon as a character is exposed they take the damage, so putting a hat on once every 30 seconds will result in more damage from Sun than just walking around exposed.

Healing a Vampire is different from healing the living. They cannot be healed by Potions or the Medicine Skill and can only be healed by Sleep, Powers, or Blood Healing.

Fire is almost as dangerous to Vampires as Sunlight. Fire deals Aggravated Damage to Vampires and, like Sunlight, may cause them to enter a Fear Frenzy.

Stake through the Heart is not lethal to a Vampire, however it is debilitating. Staking a character is a Counted 5 Action that counts as an attack from the first count and deals 1 Damage per Count, so powers like Immobilize, Sleep and Blind immediately end as soon as Staking 1 is called. It requires a tagged Stake prop and the User must either have a Hammer prop or use another object that makes sense, such as the pommel of a sword, to hammer the stake in place. Once completed the Staked character puts the stake prop under their arm as if they’ve been stabbed with it.

• • Immune: A Vampire in Form of Mist or Form of Shadow cannot be staked

  •  If the Target was a Vampire they are Incapacitated, regardless of how many Health Points they have remaining.  The Vampire will remain Staked and Incapacitated until they are left alone and not watched for 10 minutes or until another character removes the Stake prop. 

  • If the Target is not a Vampire they immediately move to the Dead State and are killed. 

“Food” is not something Vampires can consume, however we, as Players, need to eat. Vampires at Darkwood Nights can eat and drink regular food with no consequences.