Character Creation

This page is not meant to replace the instructions in the Core book, but to enhance them. Please follow along with both of these resources for the best chance of an expedient approval.

Art and Crediting

Any art that you use must be credited to the actual artist with either their name (if easily searchable), online handle, or social media link. Real life models may be used but you must credit the model themselves by name along with the photographer. AI images are allowed if they were generated from licensed websites. A few sites that properly credit and compensate their artists are Tess and Exactly. AI images from generators that do not source ethically are not allowed.

Starting at the Top

All character sheets can be found here and in the #character-creation channel on the server.

Please use the character creation rules starting on p.136 of the Core book. For more realistic or coherent characters, we recommend using the guided character creation process starting on p.144, titled "Your Human Life." This method emphasizes character building by focusing on characters' lives and assigning stats accordingly.

If you are making a fledgling character, please note that they do not start with a Predator Type. They may, however, earn one in play. This is further described below.

Retiring a character?

If you are retiring a character, you may have a bank of retirement experience to apply to your new character. You gain one experience point for every two weeks (non-consecutive) of play, up to a maximum of 20 experience points. This retirement experience will not count towards your new character's experience cap. Ask staff how much you have banked, as we keep a record!

Core Concepts

Before putting stats on paper, you should remember the facets of Vampire that you want to explore. Are you making a ghoul, mortal, or vampire? Are they old or young? Are they experienced, brand new, or oblivious to the "nightlife"? Note that since vampires are the main focus of this setting, most of these questions will only apply to them. If a question doesn't make sense for the type of character you are playing, skip it.

Your characters should also be yours. It's okay to use a character from popular media as a face claim (a reference image for what your character looks like), but it is not okay to make that character into a vampire so that you can play them. This isn't that kind of server.

A Note on Playing Mortals

We do not allow mortal characters. Mortals inhabit a niche sphere in the World of Darkness and often find themselves never even touching the more supernatural aspects of the setting. For this reason, it is also hard for mortals to teach new players how the game functions and it is even harder to have them interact with the game as a whole. If you are new to Vampire, we recommend making a fledgling character as they are expected to have less knowledge of the world around them, in general. If you want to play with the inherent power imbalance between Kindred and mortals, consider playing a ghoul or a thin-blood.

When brainstorming your character concept, you should be able to answer all of the following questions:

• What was your character’s name in life?

• What did they do?

• Where and when were they Embraced?

• What is their name now?

• Where are they now?

• What sect are they in?

• How do they provide for themselves?

• What ties do they have to their mortal life, if any?

Tips for Ambitions and Desires

Ambitions are long-term goals and should not change very often. Good questions to ask yourself while brainstorming are: What does this character want to achieve this year? This decade? Their lifetime?

Many players choose Ambitions that game mechanics reflect, though this is not required. Ambitions also do not have to be attainable.

Desires are short-term, ever-changing goals that can easily act as a launching point for that night's roleplay. Desires should not be repeated often and other player characters must be involved when possible. Log your desires in your ticket, either in the main channel or in a dedicated thread.

Sect

Your character's sect determines their social circles, the rules under which they have to live, and some of the challenges they might face. You are expected to understand the basics of your character's sect. That information can be found in the various sourcebooks.

You will see "sectless" mentioned, which is just that - a vampire who is completely divorced from any sect. These creatures are incredibly uncommon. To showcase this rarity, all vampires must be of a sect, with one exception; fledglings under one year after their Embrace may start without a tie to a sect. This option is intended to be temporary and the player should work to figure out which side their character would join as time goes on.

Sire and Clan

Who Embraced You?

Your character's sire is an important facet of their being, regardless of whether they remained in their unlife. Even if your character doesn't know their sire, you need to. You should be able to answer the following questions and fill out all the necessary information on your character sheet.

• Who are they, and what is their general temperament?

• Why did they Embrace your character?

• What are they up to now?

• How strong a presence do they have in your character's unlife?

Choose Your Clan

The clan you choose for your character determines a lot about them, from their bestial proclivities to their supernatural abilities. Whether you build something stereotypical or buck tradition is up to you, but be aware that stereotypes exist for a reason in this setting!

We do not use the original banes for all of our clans. The server character sheets have our choice of clan bane and compulsions written in, but they are also listed here for player reference. The Twice-Cursed flaw is available for players who want to interact with both banes.

Clan Banes

• Banu Haqim - A mortal drinking the Blood of a Banu Haqim vampire suffers Aggravated Damage equal to the Bane Severity of the vampire for each Rouse Check’s worth of Blood ingested. In addition, Banu Haqim vitae cannot be used to heal mortal injuries (see p. 139). Banu Haqim vitae does not have any other toxic properties; in amounts below the quantity needed to create a Blood Bond, it inflicts no damage even if injected directly into the bloodstream, for example. (PG p.56)

• Brujah - On a messy critical result on any Skill test outside of combat, a Brujah vampire causes damage (physical or mental, depending on the situation) to the subject of their interaction equal to their Bane Severity, in addition to any other result of the Hunger dice. The damage is Aggravated unless the player spends a point of Willpower, making the damage Superficial instead. (PG p.56)

• Gangrel - Gangrel relate to their Beast much as other Kindred relate to the Gangrel: suspicious partnership. In frenzy, Gangrel gain one or more animal features: a physical trait, a smell, or a behavioral tic. These features last for one more night afterward, lingering like a hango- ver following debauchery. Each feature reduces one Attribute by 1 point – the Storyteller may decide that a forked tongue or bearlike musk reduces Charisma, while batlike ears reduce Resolve (“all those distracting sounds”). If nothing immediately occurs to you, the feature reduces Intelligence or Manipulation. The number of features a Gangrel manifests equals their Bane Severity. If your character Rides the Wave of their frenzy (see p. 219) you can choose only one feature to manifest, thus taking only one penalty to their Attributes. (Core p.73)

• Hecata - The Hecata inflict a notoriously painful Kiss. The fangs of the Lazarenes bring not bliss, but agony. Victims caught unawares will violently resist unless restrained, and few people submit willingly to the torture that is the Hecata Kiss. When drinking directly from a victim, Hecata may only take harmful drinks, resulting in blood loss (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 212). Unwilling mortals not restrained will try to escape, and even those coerced or willing must succeed in a Stamina + Resolve test against Difficulty 2 + Bane Severity in order not to strain against the pain. Coerced or willing vampire victims of the Hecata bite must make a Frenzy test against Difficulty 3 to avoid falling into a Terror Frenzy. (PG p.23)

• Lasombra - When making a Remorse roll, deduct a number of dice equal to the Bane Severity of the Lasombra vampire. This cannot reduce the dice pool below one die. (PG p.57)

• Malkavian - Whenever a Malkavian uses a Discipline power, mortals in close proximity (roughly in the same room or equivalent) are spooked and any social interaction with them apart from intimidation suffers a dice penalty equal to the Malkavian’s Bane Severity. This sensation isn’t Masquerade-breaking, but the mortal is struck by a sudden fear or dislike of the vampire, lasting one scene. Other vampires experience a similar sensation, instantly recognizing the Malkavian as a vampire, though no penalties apply to interactions with them. (PG p.57)

• Ministry - A vampire of the Ministry can only use Blush of Life if they have recently fed from a living vessel (in the same scene or up to roughly an hour ago, at the storyteller’s discretion), and when they do it requires a number of Rouse Checks equal to their Bane Severity rather than just one. (PG p.58)

• Nosferatu - Hideous and vile, all Nosferatu count as having the Repulsive Flaw (-2) and can never increase their rating in the Looks Merit. In addition, any attempt to disguise themselves as non-deformed incur a penalty to your dice pool equal to your character’s Bane Severity (this includes the Obfuscate powers Mask of a Thousand Faces and Impostor’s Guise). Note that most Nosferatu do not breach the Masquerade by just being seen. They are perceived by mortals to be grotesque and often terrifying, but not supernaturally so. (Core p.85)

• Ravnos - The Ravnos are doomed. The sun’s fire that incinerated their founder rages through the Blood of the clan, erupting from their very flesh if they ever settle down for long. If they slumber in the same place more than once in seven nights, roll a number (PG p.42)

• Salubri - When their Hunger is below three, Salubri vampires suffer a penalty equal to their Bane Severity to any Discipline dice pools. This is in addition to the third eye, described on p. 47. (PG p.58)

• Toreador - When a Toreador vampire feeding causes damage to a mortal, the vampire suffers similar (usually Aggravated) damage in return, though a single feeding cannot cause more damage than their Bane Severity. The damage takes the form of involuntary internal bleeding, the vampire exhibiting vivid bruising in whatever spot matches the bite location on the victim. (PG p.59)

• Tremere - When a Tremere vampire performs a Blood Surge (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 218) they need to make Rouse Checks equal to their Bane Severity. If these Rouse Checks raise the vampire’s Hunger to 5 or higher, they can choose whether to back off their Blood Surge or to perform it and then immediately hit Hunger 5 afterward. (PG p.59)

• Tzimisce - The Tzimisce are grounded: Each Tzimisce must choose a specific charge — a physical domain, a group of people, an organization, or even something more esoteric — but clearly defined and limited. The Kindred must spend their daysleep surrounded by their chosen charge. Historically this has often meant slumbering in the soil of their land, but it can also mean being surrounded by that which they tonight rule: a certain kind of people, a building deeply tied to their obsession, a local counterculture faction, or other, more outlandish elements. If they do not, they sustain aggravated Willpower damage equal to their Bane Severity upon waking the following night. (PG p.54)

• Ventrue - A Ventrue vampire suffers a penalty to their Discipline dice pools equal to their Bane Severity when attempting to use their powers on a vampire of *higher Status. They must also spend Willpower equal to their Bane Severity if they wish to directly attack a vampire of *higher Status. (PG p.59, adjusted for server play)

Note that if you are playing a character who is pretending to be a clan that they do not belong to, you must take the Dark Secret flaw. This applies to all characters, including Caitiff and Thin-Bloods.

What Clans Are Where?

Core

• Brujah pp.65-67

• Gangrel pp.69-73

• Malkavian pp.75-79

• Nosferatu pp.81-85

• Toreador pp.87-91

• Tremere pp.93-97

• Ventrue pp.99-102

• Caitiff pp.105-107

• Thin-Blood pp. 109-113

Players Guide

• Banu Haqim pp.17-18

• Hecata pp. 22-24

• Lasombra pp. 29-30

• Ministry pp. 35-36

• Ravnos pp.41-42

• Salubri pp.46-48

• Tzimisce pp.52-54

Deciding on Convictions

Convictions are a set of beliefs that assist in defining a character’s worldview and morals. Each conviction must be linked to a living human, or “touchstone”, that exemplifies the belief. Touchstones must live in Cape Town and can be background characters gained from Advantages or Flaws (Contacts, Allies, Enemies, etc.).

What if my Touchstone dies?

The results of this are completely dependent on how your character's Touchstone died. Catastrophic events and violent deaths damage and destroy Touchstones, which results in Stains (Core p.240).

Should your Touchstone die peacefully, you may attempt to transfer the Conviction with a DC 4 Humanity test while meeting with or observing the Touchstone.

If a Touchstone is destroyed and the Conviction is not successfully transferred as detailed above, that Conviction is lost.

What if all of my Touchstones are gone?

Nothing. Not directly, anyway. Your character will not, however, have any Convictions to rely upon should they earn Stains.

Chronicle Tenets

• Without a cause, you are nothing

• Act like a person, not a Beast

• Do not harm the innocent

These tenets are similar to convictions but apply to all characters and are decided by staff. If your character wouldn't believe that one of these acts violates their personal code, you should write a Conviction that would mitigate Stains to shield them from said Stains. "My character doesn't think that" isn't a valid argument without a proper Conviction to back it up.

Predator Types

Predator types can be found in Core, Cults of the Blood Gods, Let the Streets Run Red, and the Players Guide. Should none of these Predator types suit your character, you may create your own using the following guidelines. By the rules as written, fledglings do not get Predator types, though you character may gain them in play. To justify this, your character must qualify for each Merit or Background either via projects or roleplay, whichever staff deems appropriate. Once you have earned all of the Advantages related to your character's prospective Predator type, you may ask to add it to your sheet. Adding a Predator Type does not cost experience. To gain the Predator type's Discipline, your character must either have tasted the Blood of someone who has it or they must already have it themselves. Thin-Bloods may choose a dot of Alchemy, though they do not need to.

Custom Predator Type Guidelines

Custom Predator Types will only be approved if an already existing Predator Type doesn't suit the character. You may not get everything you want at character creation and that's okay!

• Gain one specialty that makes sense for the predator type. This does not necessarily need to improve the hunt pool itself.

• Gain one Discipline dot that relates to the hunting style.

  • Blood Sorcery is locked to Tremere, Banu Haqim, and Koldun characters.

• Gain between 1 and 3 dots of Advantages.

  • Increasing Humanity costs 3 Advantage points.

• Gain an amount of Flaws equal to the number of Advantages taken minus one.

  • Reducing Humanity is worth 1 Flaw point.

• Decide on an appropriate hunting pool for the style. We recommend having 6 dice or more.

When submitting a custom predator type, please use the following format:

• Predator Type Name

• A short description of the predator type, either what your character does or who they hunt.

• Specialty:

• Discipline Choice:

• Merits: One for each advantage type

• Flaws: One for each flaw type

• Pool:

Advantage Restrictions, Changes, and Clarifications

Unless otherwise specified, every character is capped at 3 for all Backgrounds. Below are a few noted changes from the rules as written and some deviations to this restriction.

All allowed Merits and Flaws are already listed in the drop downs on the character sheet. These entries also note their costs and the book and page number they can be found on.

Allies

We have removed Reliability from Allies. These background characters will simply be available when a Storyteller deems it makes sense.

Haven: Warding

Your haven possesses some kind of magical ward, barring supernatural forces. Whenever you select this merit, choose between Blood Sorcery and Oblivion. While within your haven, each dot of this Merit adds one to the dice pool or DC to resist supernatural scrying and to resist the chosen Discipline and effects related to it, such as a Gargoyle's abilities for Blood Sorcery or a Ghost for Oblivion. You must possess Blood Sorcery, Oblivion, or Occult 3 or greater to buy this merit.

Mawla

This Background is capped at 2 dots at character creation.

Resources

This Background is capped at 2 dots at character creation. It's important to understand that wealth availability is much different here compared to other countries. We've included a chart below to give you an idea of how much expendable income each level has per year.

1 Dot	2,500 USD
2 Dots	12,000 USD
3 Dots	20,000 USD
4 Dots	60,000 USD
5 Dots	140,000 USD

Status

Anyone who has been a Kindred for less than 2 years is capped at 1 dot. Everyone else is capped at 2.

Lore Sheets

Every character may have one Lore Sheet and one Bloodline. Alternatively, you may take a second Lore Sheet if you do not take a Bloodline. You do not have to take either at character creation and both may be earned in play.

Equipment and Resources

Vampire isn't an equipment-heavy game, so you don't need to list everything your character owns. Unless they have the Destitute flaw, characters are assumed to possess basic everyday items. If you want something a little more exotic, make sure that it makes sense for your character to have. If your character has one dot of Resources, then it isn't reasonable for them to have a Lamborghini. Without the means to own proper permits, for example, they cannot legally own an exotic pet.

Firearms

To start play with a firearm, you need one or more of the following:

• The Hidden Armory haven Merit

• A criminal Contact/Ally/Retainer who could reasonably acquire one for you

Spending Your Character Creation Experience

Players must spend as much experience as feasible on character creation. This experience is meant to signify things that your character has gained due to their age, after all, and it doesn't make sense to bank it. You must note your experience spends in the labeled section on the sheet! This makes the sheet-checking process far quicker for everyone involved.

You may not spend experience on out of clan Disciplines. These must be gained in play or with your Predator Type.