Vampire the Requiem in the Genesys Roleplaying System Produced by Fantasy Flight Games

VampireA Genesys the Rules Conversion Requiem

c c d d b b Contents Introduction 1 Part One - New Rules for Genesys 2 Strain 2 Blood Healing 2 Blood Potency 2 Bestial Nature 4 Embracing 4 Banes 5 Blood Bond 5 Torpor 6 Diablerie 6 Blush of Life 6 Blood Sympathy 7 Part Two - Character Creation 8 Daeva 8 Gangrel 9 Mekhet 9 Nosferatu 10 Ventrue 10 Ghouls 11 Bloodlines 12 Favours 15 Part Three - Careers 18 Part Four - Skills and Talents 19 Talents 20 Part Five - Disciplines 26 Animalism 28 Auspex 30 Celerity 32 Dominate 34 Majesty 36 Nightmare 38 Obfuscate 40 Protean 42 Stalwart 43 Vigor 43 Part Six - Blood Sorceries 44 Crúac Rites 46 Theban Sorcery 48 Mysteries of the Dragon 50 Part Seven - Equipment 54 Part Eight - Bestiary 56

2 Introduction

This book provides all the rules needed to run games of Vampire the Requiem in the Genesys Roleplaying system produced by Fantasy Flight Games. This book isn’t a standalone product and makes frequent referrals to the Genesys core rulebook, without that you will find very little within the following pages makes sense.

I don’t own Vampire the Requiem, Vampire the Masquerade or Genesys, each is owned by their respective companies, this is purely a fans work.

What is Vampire?

You are likely familiar in some form or another with the concept of a Vampire. The Immortal fiends of the night that need to feed on Blood to survive. You’ve likely slain them with a band of Adventurers in a castle while the Kingdom was imperilled. These rules take those Vampires and moves them to the modern day. Vampires are just as real, but now they live in cities like London, Los Angeles or Rome. For these Vampires, or Kindred as they refer to themselves, Undeath and Immortality come at a price. Rarely will you find a Kindred enjoying their awesome powers, for their Immortal Soul is now forfeit and an overwhelming need to hunt and kill haunt their every moment.

Vampire is focussed on the smaller-scale of modern-day vampirism. Modern society has different sensibilities to those of old, yet the needs of a Vampire are unchanged. They must feed on mortals to survive, their existance harming others nearby. They must also maintain secrecy, while a Vampire may well be stronger than a mortal, they are not unkillable. It benefits no Vampire to have viral videos of them outrunning trains and turning into bats be uploaded to the Internet. They must dwell in the shadows of a world more alert and nocturnal than it has ever been before. It’s all edgy by intent, and so I apologise now, all edge hereon in is an attempt to be thematically appropriate.

This game is a personal project to blend my favourite aspects of Vampire the Masquerade and Vampire the Requiem. What you find therein may not paint your favourite clan in the best light, and they may not be as all- powerful as you desire.

1 Part One - New Rules for Genesys

Requiem and Genesys are very different games, both Blood Potency in design philosophy and how they play. Bringing this Blood Potency has been condensed from 1 - 10 ranking game to Genesys has not been a One for One conversion. system to a more thematic 1-3 ranking instead. In doing Where appropriate I condensed certain rules for Genesys, this, I hope to keep the difference between ranks of Blood and expanded the scope of Genesys rules to fit Vampire. Potency mechanically interesting and not just a case of These new rules and applications for said rules are as increasing the number of dice you roll. follows. Blood Potency advances naturally as Kindred age. All Kindred start as Fledgelings, and after 40 or so years of Strain existence will advance to become Ancilla. Ancilla can Strain in Genesys functions as a pseudo special-bar. exist for 100 years before their Blood thickens and they You can dip into it to perform special feats that set the become an Elder. These changes occur as naturally as PCs apart from everyone else. In this Conversion, I am possible, no rolls need to be made to advance your Blood folding Vampiric Vitae into Strain. That is to say, if you Potency, it should develop in tandem with your character decide to spend ‘Vitae’ to cast a Discipline, it will cost as the centuries pass. you Strain. If you feed off a mortal, you will recover Strain. Vampires cannot be knocked unconscious by Fledgeling any means, and reaching their Strain Threshold will Activation: Passive surely lead to Frenzy, covered later. Feeding from a Ranked: No Mortal is a Brawn+Brawl check. You recover 1 Strain per Your Character can perform the “Blood Healing” success on any Brawn+Brawl check at difficulty dd. Incidental. Each rank of Blood Potency increases your In non-combat scenarios, this check may be opposed strain threshold by 1. You can suffer 2 Strain to upgrade 1 by Resilience instead. Each Success causes the Target to die for your next roll. suffer either 1 Wound or 1 Strain. Should their Strain threshold be filled, upgrade Strain suffered to Wounds. You cannot fill the targets wound threshold and then Ancilla inflict Strain. Regardless of circumstance, feeding off a Your character must have been a Fledgeling to benefit from person is a Physical act. Once a Person is bitten, they this talent succumb to the euphoric sensation of being fed upon. A Activation: Passive ddd Discipline check is required to break free of this Ranked: No stupor. Feeding in Combat adds bb to the Feed check. Every 20 years as an Ancillae, you may select 1 'additional Your Teeth are an unarmed attack with Pierce 2. effect' for currently available Discipline Spells. You may reduce the additional difficulty of your chosen effects by Strain cannot be recovered by passing a Cool or 1, but may only reduce 1 effect once. Effects with similar Discipline check at the end of a combat encounter. Sleep terminology such as "increased range" or "additional does not recover Strain either, it can only be recovered target" will only benefit the Discipline they were selected through use of Talents or feeding. All pre-existing means for. of spending Strain, for second manoeuvres and activating Talents still apply. The overlap of Strain and Vitae may seem confusing, but it was the most intuitive and logical Elder means of applying such a system that felt thematically Your character must have been Ancillae to benefit from this appropriate and blended with existing systems. talent Activation: Passive Ranked: No Blood Healing Reduce the Strain Cost of all Disciplines cast from 3 All Kindred have access to the powers of the Blood, or Discipline Schools you are currently trained in by 1. An Vitae as they call it. The most evident and direct display of Elder can only feed from other Kindred. Animals and this power is their ability to reknit broken flesh and bone Mortals offer no sustenance and no Strain is recovered to heal wounds. All Kindred can suffer 1 Strain to heal 1 from doing so. wound as an Incidental. Injuries inflicted by Banes require 3 Strain to heal 1 wound. Critical Injuries can be healed by spending Strain equal to twice the Severity rating of the Critical Injury, these Critical Injuries are then healed during the Vampires next sleep.

2 Frenzy There are a few examples that hopefully convey the type All Kindred hold within them a ferocious Beast. An of scenario that you could expect to roll a Frenzy check in. echo of primal rage, of what it is to be the Hunter, the A Kindred enters a Frenzy when they fail a Frenzy check. apex predator. This savage nature boils in every Kindred, While Frenzied, you decide what the Beast wants. Does and a moment of weakness, or supreme recklessness can it seek to fight, or to flee? Being injured, or simply being bring it to the surface. When this happens, a Kindred is in a fight can be enough to bring forth the Beast, who said to enter a Frenzy. An animalistic state, finding little will surely attempt to assert his dominance over the difference between friend and foe and with no regard combatants with utmost savagery. But when confronted for love or law. Frenzied Kindred are uncontrollable, and with Fire or Sunlight, the Beast may seek to flee. You extremely dangerous for being so. will take any possible action to complete this goal. While Frenzied, upgrade all Brawn and Agility rolls twice, and A Frenzy check is a Discipline check, much as a Fear reduce your Intellect and Willpower by 1. Unarmed check is also a Discipline check. There is no set difficulty attacks deal +2 damage and have a Crit Rating of 2. on a Frenzy check. Instead, the difficulty scales with suffered Strain and lost Wounds. Every Quarter, rounded You leave your Frenzied state when your Wound up, of Strain suffered towards your Strain Threshold adds Threshold is filled, or your Strain Threshold is emptied. 1 difficulty to a Frenzy check. Every Quarter, rounded up, You recover 1 Strain at the end of each round. Allied of your Wound Threshold filled, upgrades the difficulty Social Rolls can force you to recover Strain, with a of your Frenzy Check by 1. A Vampire can attempt to difficulty equal to the Frenzied Vampires current Strain. deliberately Frenzy at any time by rolling a ddd Frenzy Should a Vampires Strain be in excess of 5, the check is check. Success triggers the Frenzy in this case, instead of considered ‘impossible’ (pg. 18 Genesys). Each success on Failures. this roll recovers 1 Strain in the target. A Touchstone NPC bb adds to any such Social Roll. A Frenzy check can be called for under many circumstances. Examples include; An attack takes you below half of your Wound Threshold You are on fire You are in close proximity of fire You are exposed to Sunlight

3 Bestial Nature Embracing Though many Kindred do not begin unlife as monsters, The act of turning a mortal into a Vampire. A rather many will find themselves plumbing new depths of evil time consuming process. The target must be drained of in nights to come. Upon being born anew, all Kindred all blood, then fed a dose of Vitae, costing 1 Strain and realise that a dark beast lurks within them. One that 1 Story Point. The Vampire must then will the target drives them to hunt, revel in every vice and glory in their to become a Vampire. This can be done on a recently most depraved desires. Many see this as a separate entity deceased body, with no ill-effects, though many Kindred from the Kindred, the Beast. While others argue that it is see this as grave-robbing. When feeding, hhhh or simply the benefit of a Kindred no longer being burdened d will cause an exsanguinated body will awaken of its by the weight of a soul. own accord and become a Revenant. A Vampire unable to sustain itself or use Vitae, they typically lead short lives. Regardless of its origins, these base desires exist within However, they can be uplifted by feeding them Vitae as all Kindred. To rend flesh, draw blood and revel in fear. It you would create a new Vampire. is the price of mastering your own destiny, to master the darkness within. Touchstones Kindred are masters of their own destiny. They hold With eternity before them, the matter then falls to themselves above mortal morality, not concerning Kindred to decide what they should do with it. Many will themselves with guilt or worry for the well-being of indulge their desires and explore new depravities with others. Kindred seldom do anything by halves, both for each sunset and be content to slumber on dreams of blood better and worse. And so to love and cherish a mortal is and excess. Such a Kindred is in touch with their Beast, surely a genuine display and not a grandstanding notion. and they view nights to come through a dull, sensory lens The source of these positive and sincere emotions, be of stimulation and sensation. This is better left to Roleplay they a paramour, close friend or child, are known as to demonstrate, however it can lead to impulsive and rash Touchstones. actions, and at the GMs discretion, b may be added to certain dice rolls, escpecially social actions. Likewise, in A Touchstone is someone a Kindred cherishes deeply for moments where action is needed, a more bestial Kindred any reason, not because of their spiritual purity. A partner can reap the benefits, at the GMs discretion,b may be in crime is just as valid a Touchstone as a Kindreds added to certain dice rolls, for example a coercion check. firstborn mortal child. It may be a Spouse, family member, child or peer. On the other end of the spectrum, many Kindred see their unlife as simply more time. Time to plot, scheme A Touchstone is not entirely necessary for a Kindred and realise their ambitions perhaps. Regardless, it is their to function. Few Kindred are so pathetic as to need time and no others. They will not feed on a mortal if their to spend their every night dogging their Touchstones bestial nature calls for it, abstaining on principle alone. steps for validation. In wider Kindred society, the value Others may selectively feed, dictating to the Beast when it of a Touchstone is recognised. Though not all Kindred may speak and when it may not. Each Kindred is different have a Touchstone, all recognise on a personal level, the in how they manage their bestial nature. Though the significance of one. means vary, there are always rules. By adhering to these rules, a Kindred can master themselves and their inner When acting in accordance with their Touchstones demons. Whispers amongst Kindred tell of a monastic beliefs, a Kindred may add b to a Discipline check to order that transcended the need to feed on blood entirely, resist Frenzy or Domination. and that the sun and silver held no fear to them. A Kindred who loses their Touchstone, either by death, an ending of a relationship or other means is highly unstable. The only constant in their life other than their existance has been removed, and their nights are in flux until they stabilise again. Such a process has no set limit, some Kindred have adapted to the loss of a Touchstone remarkably quickly, while others slump into an endless ennui culminating in their self destruction. Such actions are best left to roleplay rather than dice rolls, however in certain cases it can be notably harder for a Kindred to maintain composure or resist Frenzy, and this should be noted mechanically by upgrading difficulty dice as necessary. 4 When a Kindred is instrumental in the destruction of Blood Bond their Touchstone, either by endangering them, getting Vampiric Vitae is addictive. Mortals who sup on a them killed, killing them, or forcing them to change in Kindred experience a high unlike any other, and there some way that compromises their convictions, they suffer is little they won’t do for another taste. Unfortunately, a Bane. This Bane should be related to the Touchstone in Kindred are not immune to the allure of their own blood. some way. Feeding on another Vampire carries the risk of addiction. In a perversely erotic display of symbiosis, Kindred can Banes feed on oneanothers blood and become wholly devoted Vampires have many crippling weaknesses. From the to their ‘partner’. This is known as the Vinculum. Tasting Sun, to Fire to Silver to more nuanced things like religious Vampiric Vitae can addle ones mind, you crave another iconography or the sound of bells. These are collectively taste. During the next week or so, you might add b to referred to as ‘Banes’. This is a Supernatural Weakness that dice pools at critical moments, or when acting against the presents a severe obstacle when encountered. These can one who feeds you. After 3 doses of blood within a short include: weakness to ringing bells, being unable to cross a span of time, the target becomes utterly devoted to you threshold uninvited, Spider webs, having to count beads and your blood. They will do almost anything you desire, or coins and being unable to cross a river. The nature of and risk anything to gain your irritation and anger if the each flaw has roots in folk tales and superstition, and alternative is your neglect. This condition lasts for a full should not always simply inflict damage. year and is incredibly hard to break. Be very careful about allowing a Blood Bond to escalate to this state. All Vampires fear the Sun, though it burns elder vampires far more than Fledgelings and Ancillae. A Fledgeling suffers 6 wounds per turn of exposure to sunlight, while Ancillae suffer 6 wounds with Burn 1. Elder Vampires suffer 6 wounds with Burn 2. This damage ignores soak from armour. Silver Weapons always have a Critical rating of 2 against Vampires. All Bane damage is not reduced by Soak. Vampires rightly fear a Stake to the Heart. A targeted dddd Brawn + Melee-Light is required to drive a Stake into the Kindred’s heart. An Impossible ddddd Resilience Check can allow the Vampire to resist the paralysing effect of the stake for the rest of the encounter. Removing the Stake calls for a daunting dddd Resilience check, but typically it is best left to an assistant or ally as the risk of self-harm is great.

Kindred are repelled by daylight. Though nothing prevents a Vampire from spending its days hidden away from the sunlight, they are lethargic and find their minds and bodies numbed while the Sun shines. All Kindred add bb to any rolls made during Daytime.

5 Torpor Diablerie Torpor is the sleep of the dead. A Kindred can sleep for Diableria is the utter destruction of another days, weeks or years on end and be none the wiser for Kindreds very soul. Feeding upon another Kindred what transpires around them. A Vampire in Torpor has is a risky enough activity for some, but the shadow of no awareness of what occurs about them, and cannot use Diablerie hangs heavy over such an act. It is the act of Disciplines or interact with the world. Kindred cannot exsanguinating a fellow Vampire, draining their Vitae be awoken from Torpor by conventional means, though and consuming what remains of their Soul in the process. inflicting damage upon the body will awaken one. This is Such an act stains ones own Soul in the process, and rarely a good idea. Though a Kindred will awaken with 1 the evidence is all-but impossible to conceal. The list of wound, they will also have suffered their Strain Threshold culprits for the exsanguination of a Kindred typically - 4 in Strain. This, compounded with imminent danger, begins and ends with Diablerists, and the presence of such can provoke a lethal Frenzy that is almost impossible to a criminal can whip any Kindred society into a Witch- resist. Hunting frenzy as everyone acts to preserve their own well-being and their own immortal soul. A Diablerist is Due to their incapacitation, the world about the Kindred painfully obvious to anyone with any level of Auspex, can have changed a great deal. This can be particularly it clings to their essence for a century before it can be distressing in some cases, and is best relayed to the washed away. Vampire from as far away as possible. Diablerie allows a Kindred to artificially boost their own Blood Potency. By diablerising a number of Kindred equal A Vampire can enter Torpor one of two ways. The first to the next tier of Blood Potency (2 or 3 respectively), a is to choose to do so. The Kindred determines how long Kindred can increase their Blood Potency 1 tier, with all they will sleep, and they do so. They cannot be awoken the attached benefits. Such an act is supremely risky, as early without damage being inflicted upon the body. very few Kindred will willingly allow themselves to be fed While in Torpor, a Vampires Blood naturally thins. This from, especially an Elder (let alone 3 consecutive Elders), means their Blood Potency reduces. For every 50 years a especially if it’s known a Diablerist is active within the Vampire sleeps, their Blood Potency is reduced by 1 rank. city. This can be beneficial as it can allow a Vampire to feed on mortals again. Diablerie occurs when a Vampire feeds from another Vampire. As usual, Strain is inflicted upon the target A Vampire can be forced into Torpor also, referred to and recovered. When the targets strain threshold is as an Involuntary Torpor. A Critical Hit suffered after reached, wounds are inflicted instead. When their wound a Kindred has reached their Wound Threshold forces a threshold is reached, you begin to inflict critical hits. ddd Resilience Check. Failure forces the Kindred to Roll a d100 for your initial hit, and then continue. Since enter Torpor immediately. Success means the Kindred feeding technically does not deal damage, you additively does not enter Torpor this turn. Note the result of the increase your Critical Hit rolls. When the target reaches critical hit, and use the 10’s digit (7 of 74 for example). 150+, they are killed and Diablerised. In a narrative Multiply this by a d10 for the number of months the encounter, the diablerie can be assumed if both the GM, Kindred will be in Torpor for. Diablerist and victim agree, without having to roll.

Blush of Life Kindred are not alive, and their bodies reflect this. Though they do not change, they do not look any more alive for their efforts. Their flesh is cold and hard and their skin is the complexion of chalk. They cannot eat or drink as mortals do, as their digestive systems are atrophied and they do not breathe. A Kindred may suffer 1 Strain to gain the Blush of Life for the rest of the scene. They effectively gain the cosmetic appearance of being mortal, they can temporarily eat and drink, and their cheeks will flush on command, their lungs expand and contract as though breathing and their flesh is warm to the touch. They are still undead and do not function as mortals do in any way, they are still not breathing, they just appear to be doing so.

6 Blood Sympathy Blood calls to blood. Though many do not understand it, a Kindred is always able to sense another Kindred in close proximity. Though their clan is not always immediately obvious, their nature is. This connection is even more evident between sire and childe. In moments of extreme emotion, a Kindred with a familial bond may experience echoes of their childer or sires outburst. These often occur during a frenzy, torpor or final death. However, addd Cool + Presence check can allow a Kindred to gain a vague sense of location and feeling for any Kindred 'family' they may have within their local area. This can extend as far as a City, Province or State. It will not guide you to their precise location, but on a t may allow you to locate which neighbourhood they're in.

7 Part Two - Character Creation All Kindred gain 1 free rank in 2 of their Clan Vampire has many different types of Vampire, all of Disciplines. which can be connected to popular pop-culture aspects of Vampires over the years. These are referred to as clans, and form a loose collective familial group for many Daeva Kindred, though fraternity need not be friendly. Each clan The Artisans of the Night. The Daeva are passionate in is represented by an Archetype, playing upon each clans all things, driven by their Blood they relish the power archetypal strengths and weaknesses. Below you will find they now hold over others. They exploit others and take a fast and loose guide on what Archetype best represents what they want. It may not hold the same allure to them the Vampire you want to play. tomorrow and they will discard it and move on. There’s always another person to break, and something to take. Seductive and sensual Vampires are best represented   by the Daeva. They live for the moment, and now they have an eternity to experience the world. So what if a few       hearts and minds are broken along the way? • Starting Wound Threshold:9 + Brawn Primal, Savage and Animalistic. The Gangrel are the clan • Starting Strain Threshold:11 + Willpower most in-touch with their Beasts. Rumored to be the oldest • Starting Experience: 100 Vampire clan in existence, its members are hardened • Starting Skills: A Daeva starts with one rank in Charm survivors and toe the line between civilized and feral a during Character Creation. They obtain this before XP little too closely for the liking of some. is spent and may not increase Charm above 2 during Character Creation. Unseen Scholars of the Supernatural, the Mekhet Clan • Effortless Seduction: Once per Session, your character are the shadowed backdrop of the mysteries of the world. may spend a Story Point before rolling a skill check. The They are driven to discover and uncover, to plumb the number of Strain-per-success of the next skill check the depths of the enigma of the Blood and other curses. Daeva rolls is doubled against an opposed NPC. • Clan Disciplines: Celerity, Majesty, Vigor Tighty-knit and secretive, the de Lucca Clan hide a • Clan Bane– Addictive terrible curse within their ranks. Loyal to their family Daeva lead flighty lives, seldom remaining in one place above all else, they are ill-trusted by those who know of for long or letting one thing hold their focus, and for good them. reason. Should a Daeva feed off the same person within a 5 day period, they will become obsessed with them. Their Hideous to behold and in every crevice. The Nosferatu thoughts are unfocussed unless in the vicinity of this are repugnant, the Vampire Kiss has twisted their bodies person, and they may take reckless actions to hasten their b in horrific ways. The horrors they inflict upon others have return. During the next 5 days, you might add to dice no equal. pools at critical moments to reflect this. Continuously feeding from this person increases the severity of this Someone has to run the Aristocracy of the Night. The condition, until it is almost impossible to escape your Ventrue know this to be their burden. Emboldened with crippling addiction. authority, purpose and an attitude befitting, a Ventrue is a natural leader. But do they act on behalf of the communities they represent, or is such power abused for their own ends?

From these outlines, hopefully you can find something that appeals to you. Archetypes are of course, just that. Not all Daeva are seductive, but all Nosferatu are ugly. Whispers amongst the courts of the night tell of other clans, from distant lands and even times long gone by.

All clans suffer a unique Bane, an additional curse of the Blood individual to each clan.

8 Gangrel Mekhet The Beast that talks. The Gangrel are lean survivalists. The Shadows that see all. The Mekhet are silent observers, When Man fought to survive, the rule was kill or be killed. seeing more than anyone could ever know. Secrets and When Man reared Cattle to the Slaughter, the rule was knowledge are what drives these specters through the that Man was at the top of the food chain. The Gangrel long nights. Some may be content simply to know, and keep these rules practiced. It’s a tough world out there, consider learning their end goal. Mekhet will apply their and the Gangrel will be the kings of its ashes. knowledge, and what they know can ruin your life. Their curiosity brings them many places and across many paths.      But you’ve nothing to fear, unless you have something       they want. • Starting Wound Threshold: 11 + Brawn  • Starting Strain Threshold: 10 + Willpower • Starting Experience: 90       • Born Survivor: A Gangrel starts with one rank in • Starting Wound Threshold:10 + Brawn either Athletics, Streetwise or Survival during Character • Starting Strain Threshold:10 + Willpower Creation. They obtain this before XP is spent and may not • Starting Experience: 60 increase any skill above 2 during Character Creation. • Shadowed Inclination: A Mekhet starts with one rank • Close to the Surface: Gangrel may delay the negative in Stealth during Character Creation. They obtain this effects of Frenzy upon entering a Frenzy. They upgrade before XP is spent and may not increase Stealth above 2 all Brawn and Agility rolls twice, deal +2 damage while during Character Creation. unarmed and have a crit rating of 2. They do not lose • Supernatural Shade: Once per session, your character control, suffer Intellect or Willpower loss, or recover may spend a Story Point as an out-of-turn Incidental to 1 Strain per turn for a number of turns equal to their perform a Maneuver. Willpower. While Close to the Surface is active, a Gangrel • Clan Disciplines: Auspex, Celerity, Obfuscate may attempt Discipline Rolls to recover Strain, and Allied • Clan Bane- Tenebrous Social Rolls against him to recover Strain are Average All Mekhet suffer Undeath in quiet, isolated solitude. Difficulty. Their minds wander the darkest parts of the world, and • Clan Disciplines: Animalism, Protean, Resilience they are closer to all that is wrong with it as a result. All • Clan Bane– Feral Mekhet start play with an additional Bane. You and your beast are thick as thieves. When it whispers to you, it roars. You upgrade the difficulty of any Frenzy check once, or remove 1 difficulty die when triggering your own Frenzy.

9 Nosferatu Ventrue Your nightmare, walking and talking. The Nosferatu are Lords of the Night. The Ventrue have proven over hideous to behold, warped flesh and twisted skeletons, the centuries that they alone are capable of leading perhaps it reflects their ugly souls? They lurk in every Kindred through the nights. With iron conviction shadow, terrifying in their strength and unrelenting as the and absolute authority, the Ventrue steer their people horror follows you home, skulking and festering in your to safety and prosperity. And all they ask in return is mind. You’ll never sleep soundly again, and three weeks your unquestioning loyalty and obedience. It’s not an later they’ll watch as you’re carted away to an Asylum. unreasonable deal, or so they claim.                    • Starting Wound Threshold: 10 + Brawn • Starting Wound Threshold:9 + Brawn • Starting Strain Threshold: 10 + Willpower • Starting Strain Threshold:12 + Willpower • Starting Experience: 100 • Starting Experience: 90 • Threatening: A Nosferatu starts with one rank in • Natural Leader: A Ventrue starts with one rank in Coercion during Character Creation. They obtain this Deception or Leadership during Character Creation. They before XP is spent and may not increase Coercion above 2 obtain this before XP is spent and may not increase either during Character Creation. skill above 2 during Character Creation. • Loathsome: Nosferatu add b to all Coercion checks, • Lordly: Ventrue inflict one additional Strain on and to any Social Check with other Nosferatu. They add opponents in Social checks after your roll is resolved. b to any Charm, Deception, Leadership or Negotiation • Clan Disciplines: Animalism, Dominate, Resilience Roll made against any non-Nosferatu. • Clan Bane– Self-assured • Clan Disciplines: Nightmare, Obfuscate, Vigor Ventrue are born to rule. They act in their own best • Clan Bane– Repulsive interests and no-one can convince them to act otherwise. The Nosferatu are doomed to an eternity of rejection The Ventrue do not take any Boost Die from acting in and fear. Upgrade the difficulty of every positive Social accordance with their Touchstones beliefs. Interaction with any Mortal.

10 Ghouls need their hit of Vitae to stay off their accelerated aging A Ghoul is a Mortal imbued with Vampiric Vitae. As and impotent physicality. This dark path can end with vitae empowers kindred, so to does enhance mortals. Any Vampire Hunters being informed of your location, in mortal is eligible to be turned into a Ghoul, though such exchange for a promised dose of your Vitae, or your a process is not permenant and must be renewed a month Ghoul may even go public in search of a new Master. after the mortal is made into a Ghoul. A Ghoul is still fully Again, treat your Ghoul with care. mortal, they retain all of their faculties but suffer from a Blood Bond with their master. Vitae is addictive, and the These rules ought to allow a player to play as Ghoul power it offers a mortal is arguably moreso. Be wary of if they so desire, but their presence may upset the your Ghouls, treat them with care and they will serve you game dynamic as by their nature, Ghouls are less than faithfully for years to come. Spurn their needs, and they Nocturnal beings. Their benefits are being able to enact may turn to another master to satiate their addiction. their masters will in daylight hours, and a majority Vampire table may not be thrilled at the prospect of a The act of turning a mortal into a Ghoul is relatively sessions-worth of daylight escapades while they slumber simple. A mortal must be fed a portion of a vampires until the next night. Ghouls are typically best treated at own vitae, and the decision conciously made to turn this NPCs. Ghouls cannot be Touchstones. human into a ghoul. A Story Point must be spent at this point. Almost immediately, the Ghoul will feel the benefits of the Vitae, they will feel empowered and revitalised.

A Ghoul gains access to one Disciplines rank that their master possesses. If their master has no Discipline skills, the Ghoul does not gain any. A Ghoul gains access to the Blood Healing action, but must spend 2 Strain to recover 1 Wound instead. They may also suffer 3 Strain to upgrade 1 die in their next roll. A Ghoul does not suffer most mortal illnesses or diseases, nor do they age while energised by Vitae. Should the Vitae fade from their system and not be renewed, their body and mind will swiftly accelerate to match their current age, as will any notably aggressive diseases (a common cold or ache will not swell after being kept at bay for 6 years for example, but cancers or skeletal deformations will quickly make up for lost time). A Ghoul doesn’t gain any benefit from being fed multiple times per month, beyond enhancing the effects of their Blood Bond with you.

A Ghoul is Blood Bonded with their Master as a part of the process of becoming a Ghoul. They feel a supernatural compassion for their master, a sense of completeness when at their side, and their own concerns or desires seem petty when compared to their Masters own. This perverse submissiveness will continue as long as a Ghoul is constantly fed Vitae, and will intensify if fed too frequently until they begin to smother their master with their need and desire, unable to understand why their feelings aren’t being reciprocated.

A slighted Ghoul, one denied their fix of Vitae is a dangerous prospect. They know about Vampires, they’ve likely attended Elysium at some point or another, and they where you sleep at night, or perhaps where other Kindred do. An unfed Ghoul is dangerous for all Kindred, as anyone might be awakened to find their wrists being slit and its contents syringed into a desperate, addiction- wracked Ghoul. While a Ghoul’s first intention is seldom to harm their master or their kin, they desperately 11 Bloodlines Anvari All Kindread share a familial bond, languishing in Your character must be a Daeva to be a member of this Undeath, some long-lost connection to the first Vampire bloodline. or whomever cursed their ancestors. Though Clans and Tier: 1 politics divide them, Kindred are one large family, within Activation: Passive which many more exist. Over the years, Kindreds Blood Ranked: No can change and alter. Attracting supernatural miasma and Daeva are often profiled as hedonistic figures, indulging spreading its curse to fresh childé. These are some of the in excess and strange new sensations. The Anvari ways that Bloodlines are formed. A Bloodline is an off- bloodline take this to a new level. Anvari cannot draw shoot of the Kindred curse, sometimes inextricably bound sustenance from Vitae unless it is laced with opiates or to a specific clan, manifesting unique attributes within its opoids. They recover no Strain when feeding unless members. the target is intoxicated by an opium derivative or synthetic substitute. This of course means that an Anvari A Bloodline is a tier 1 Talent that cannot be bought with experiences the effects of the drugs after feeding, which XP, and requires the GMs permission to use. A Kindred can leave them extremely vulnerable. Anvari may add may only be a member of one Bloodline at a time, and dd to a Majesty check to conjure an opiate drug within a Vampire seldom leaves their existing Bloodline, and the targets bloodstream, allowing them to feed. in many cases it is impossible to do so for a number of reasons (loyalty, a binding curse, incurable symptoms Toreador and the threat of assassination being a few). Being a Your character must be a Daeva to be a member of this member of a Bloodline can grant certain advantages and bloodline. disadvantages unique to that Bloodline, a player shouldn’t Tier: 1 feel pressured to join a Bloodline, but joining one can Activation: Passive change how their character develops. Certain Bloodlines Ranked: No might even grant a skill rank, or access to unique Talents While many Daeva are drawn to superficial beauty and Discipline interactions. and prowess, the Toreador bloodline find themselves enthralled and captivated by subjective beauty. Quite what a Toreador see's in a piece of artwork, or the patchwork pattern of streetlights from high up, not even they could explain. But they find such beauty utterly captivating. When encountering a preferred form of 'art', a Toreador must make a dd Discipline check or enter a stupor-like state which they have great difficulty snapping out of.

Xiao Your character must be a Daeva to be a member of this bloodline. Tier: 1 Activation: Passive Ranked: No All Kindred are parasites. They need to feed on another being to survive. The Xiao bloodline take this further than most however. When they feed, they drain memories and emotions as well as blood. They have no control over what emotions or memories they consume, and they cannot access or benefit from stealing memories or emotions. They cannot, for example, steal the memory of a targets PIN number. Use a, h, t, d to dictate the severity and relevance of the consumed emotions and memories.

12 Malkavian Dead Wolf Your character can be a member of any clan and join this Your character must be a Gangrel to be a member of this bloodline. bloodline. Tier: 1 Tier: 1 Activation: Passive Activation: Passive Ranked: No Ranked: No Malkavians are a unique Bloodline. Their sense of family Though no historical account exists to validate the story, is a curse unlike any other, as it manifests uniquely in word of mouth and day-dreams state that the progenitor each of its members. Each Malkavian is afflicted with an of this Bloodline was born a Werewolf and then insurmountable insanity that fractures their outlook for embraced. The spirit of the Wolf within was consumed by every night thereafter. Many consider them dangerous for the Beast to keep the progenitor alive. Some Werewolves this, while few believe there is value in their whimsical take this parable to heed, believing that peace can exist ramblings. There is no limit on the insanity that can between Lupines and Kindred. Dead Wolves gain Auspex plague a Malkavian, it can be a clinical form of insanity, as a Clan Discipline. Dead Wolves are especially affected or the hyperacuity of senses that many aren’t even aware by the phases of the moon, upgrading the difficulty to they possess. They may have a fear of the open sky or resist Frenzy once during a Full Moon. believe in some impeding disaster that only they are aware of and can impede, or they may believe themselves Brujah to be an avatar for some concept that only they are Your character must be a Gangrel to be a member of this aware of. All Malkavians are afflicted with a disease, bloodline. passed from sire to childé, and through the use of their Tier: 1 Dementation devotion. Malkavians are afflicted with a Activation: Passive spiritual malaise, known as Malkavia. This is the cause of Ranked: No each Malkavian’s sudden insanity, and its mere mention All Gangrel run with the Beast. Some channel it and use can send a court into an overwhelming panic of self- it to their own ends. These are the Brujah. Bombastic, preservation. Malkavians share a fraternal bond that no self-driven and filled with fervour. Brujah count Vigor as other Clan or Bloodline can truly appreciate or replicate. a Clan-Discipline. Each Malkavian is entirely sympathetic of one-anothers condition, meaning that many Malkavians will stick together in familial units to support one-another. Alucinor Your character must be a Mekhet to be a member of this Occassionally, their insanities will find a common bloodline. cause and the family will act upon it with a logic and Tier: 1 method terrifying to others. Malkavians do not see their Activation: Passive condition as a curse, believing that they are instead upon Ranked: No the path to transcending the human condition in some A peculiar occurence, recently catalogued as a bloodline way or another. Some may believe that each Malkavian rather than happenstance and coincidence. Alucinor are is some facet of this perfect being, and seek to unify the able to perceive the dreams of kindred and kine. Through Bloodline. Malkavian’s have been known to have moments talents, Alucinor are able to interact with these dreams. of utter clarity granted by their condition, seeing and experiencing things unknown to others, be they visions Khaibit of the future or knowledge they couldn’t possibly have Your character must be a Mekhet to be a member of this obtained by themselves. Scholars of the Malkavian bloodline. condition hypothesise that some sympathetic link exists Tier: 1 between Malkavians, akin to some imprecise form of Activation: Passive telepathy, through which Malkavians unknowingly project Ranked: No their thoughts and insanities, unknowing of who may be Mekhet are creatures of shadow and twilight. Often listening. avoiding the absolutes of pure dark and light, they lurk in the middle of a broad spectrum. The Khaibit are creatures Many Malkavians seek to educate their Kindred of darkness, originating from ancient Egypt. They have an peers, broadening their horizons in ways that only the innate understanding of darkness, and through talents, Malkavian can truly appreciate. The given consensus is are able to create and alter shadows and travel through that these ‘pranks’ are performed on persons whose minds them as a shadow themselves. are too ‘closed’ by a Malkavians standards. All Malkavian’s have immediate access to the ‘Total Insanity’ Talent, and suffer no setbacks or upgrades in difficulty for casting its powers. 13 Burakumin Gargoyle Your character must be a Nosferatu to be a member of this Your character can be a member of any clan and join this bloodline. bloodline. This option may only be selected during character Tier: 1 creation. Activation: Passive Tier: 1 Ranked: No Activation: Passive Hailing from Japan, the Burakumin are seen as unclean Ranked: No and tainted by the tenents of Shinto and Buddhism. They An automaton made of stone, metal, wood or other prepare and tend to the needs of the deceased, and their material and imbued with life and sentience by arcane bodies reflect their ghastly profession. Burakumin replace blood sorcery and vitae. Gargoyles are created typically Vigor with Auspex as a Clan Discipline. to serve, though some have been known to rebel and make their own fortunes. Gargoyles are a tabula rasa, not having any previous life to remember. Gargoyles are Galloi clearly inhuman, and their very appearance violates the Your character must be a Nosferatu to be a member of this masquerade. All Gargoyles have wings and are able to fly, bloodline. as well as increasing their Soak by 2. Gargoyles are able to Tier: 1 render themselves inert in the day, turning into a statue Activation: Passive that can bear the sun's rays. Ranked: No Possessing a gift most fledgeling Nosferatu would kill for, the Galloi possess the ability to temporarily undo De Lucca the horrible curse that afflicts them. After submerging Your character must be a Mekhet or Ventrue to be a themselves entirely in Vitae for a full hour, a Galloi member of this bloodline. emerges eerily beautiful. This persists for a week, and Tier: 1 renders the Vitae used sterile and impotent. If a Galloi Activation: Passive does not resubmerge themselves in Vitae in this time, Ranked: No their flesh moults and rots, leaving them skeletal and Ill-trusted for good reason. The de Lucca bloodline is a utterly hideous to behold. While beautiful, the Nosferatu family above all else. Its Kindred are sired from within loses its Clan Bane. However, if they do not undergo this an incestuous family of the same name, and their inner rite once a week, they suffer a more severe version of workings are shrouded in secrecy. In truth, centuries their clan bane, adding bb to all social rolls that aren't prior, the de Lucca stole their Vampirism. Whispers tell coercion checks. conflicting stories, a deal with a demon, diablerie and arcane sorceries are the most popular. de Lucca Kindred Neglatu count Animalism, Dominate and Majesty as Clan Disciplines, overriding their original clan options. de Your character can be a member of any clan and join this Lucca are bound by ancient rites that grant them Kindred bloodline. abilities, and such powers have downsides. de Lucca may Tier: 1 only feed from family members of the de Lucca bloodline, Activation: Passive be they mortal or kindred. Blood from other sources Ranked: No provides no nourishment, and does not recover any The Neglatu claim they uplifted themselves from Strain. revenants to true vampires. An impossible procedure, given that revenants cannot utilise Vitae or feed. However, Neglatu carry a significantly higher chance to create a revenant when feeding, generating hh on any feed check by default. This should be used to encourage the creation of revenants and not to punish Neglatu with events beyond their control. Neglatu can uplift revenants, immediately siring the revenant into the sire's clan, and making them Neglatu too.

14 Favours Invictus Vampire utilises the Favour rules from Shadow of the Speaking for all Kindred, or claiming to, isn’t easy. Beanstalk. In the long nights, services are worth far more Appearances must be maintained and everyone must be than the money you could spend to purchase them. The held accountable to inscrutible standards that change Gangrel pack that runs wild in the city park are worth nightly. being on good terms with, as are the Nosferatu that lurk beneath the city streets. But it’s even better if they owe you The Invictus are a conspiracy of silence, a spiders web a favour. that touches upon every mortal institution in service of those at the centre of the web. The Masquerade is upheld Favours can be owed to individual persons, as well as both as an ideal and a necessity. The Mortals cannot be larger organisations. Favours owed to a person are far trusted to know who shepherds them, or who hides in the more varied than those operated to an institution, and shadows. will depend on that persons morals and ethics. One Kindred may not consider breaking someone’s legs as big Meritocratic in organisation, the Invictus embraces a deal as another. For that reason, it’s best for the GM to those that serve it well. Normally overseen by a prince determine what constitutes a small, regular and big favour and consulted by a council of the cities most respected on a person-by-person basis. kindred, such a government is theoretically capable of dealing with many threats and managing its appointed For organisations however, favours are rather easier to city. However, the Invictus throughout history have quantify. The GM isn’t obligated to include any or all thrived as monarchies, organised crime, dictatorships and factions if they desire, and the factions needn’t play by the corporations. All are equally valid means of maintaining rules suggested here. Players can begin play owing favours order, heirarchy and tradition. to factions or individuals as determined by the GM and the player, for the respective benefits listed in Shadow of However, this is not always the case. Many Princes the Beanstalk. rule for themselves, or are puppets of a distant master. Likewise, the meritocratic nature of promotion and endorsement encourages a cut-throat enterprising nature that can elevate kindred to power entirely unsuited to them. While some are blind to this, many are not and seek to exploit the system for their own gain.

The cut-throat nature of the First Estate can mean that a favour is either politically motivated or completely under- the-table. Owing a favour and being owed can both be desirable and undesirable, be considerate of the strings that come attached with a favour to anyone in the Estate.

Favour Examples Type Small Locate a Kindred or Mortal Get the latest information about faction goings-on Provide a gig with a mortal faction Medium Cover up crooked dealings Provide residence for the forseeable future Big Cover up unplanned murders/illicit dealings Risk discovery for profit

15 Carthian Movement The Circle of the Crone Government works until those in power serve themselves. Firebrands see more evidence of this with Widely condemned by other Covenants, the Circle stands each passing night, and form movements that oppose as a banner under which disparate groups and beliefs the status quo. With each passing night, Mortal political rally under. All see their new life as a blessing, and would ideals seem to suggest and embody answers that would drag their foes screaming into hell with them should final upend the Danse Macabre. Shake that dead tree and see death take them. what falls loose. Spread through the blood, a gift from their dark While disparaged by the government as radical rabble- Patron - the Crone-, the Acolytes of the Circle enjoy an rousers, Carthians believe in their cause whole-heartedly. innate understanding of the blood sorcery Crúac. An Whether a full plan has been drawn to dismantle the equillibrium with the Beast, Crúac has pulled the Circle Estates corruption, or the plan begins and ends with the from the brink of destruction time and time again. Princes head on a spike, their passion and enthusiasm is unquestionable. No Carthian is in the movement for Whether appearing as a radical new-age cult that runs themselves, but rather because they see themselves as naked in the night, leading wild-hunts on human prey agents of necessary, righteous change. in parks or drenched in blood from human sacrifice, no congregation of Acolytes is the same. Lacking the Any Kindred can be a Carthian. Whether a fledgling ideological restraints of the Carthains and the means of seeking to fight the establishment, or an Elder grown the Invictus, the Circle of the Crone is unorthodox and sick of the state of affairs. The Movement welcomes motivated by a hunger for continued survival, however all, provided they can prove their commitment. Their much blood they need to shed for it. means of protest and influence are many, from protests at government-meetings to white-collar crime that Favour Examples destabilises the many industries the Invictus involves itself Type in. Many Firebrands are willing to lay down their lives for Small Provide accomodation for the forseeable their beliefs. future Provide moderate support for a venture Favour Examples Medium Kill/Harm someone Type Patronage in Crúac Small Locate a Kindred or Mortal Big Overwhelming support in a venture Get the latest rumors about faction goings- on Cover up crooked dealings Obtain transportation or short-term accomodation Medium Arrange a gig with a Kindred Provide illegal weapons, equipment or services Big Collaborate with the Invictus Provide armed assistance for a short time

16 Lancea Sanctum Ordo Dracul This existence is a curse. Condemned by God and denied This Vampiric condition is but a taster. You have the both heaven and hell, we are chosen to do his work. In strength of ten men and can break the olympic hundred the book of Job, Satan is God's agent of torment against metre sprint without thought. But the Sun burns you, the innocent, tempting him to blasphemy. We are alike, Fire strips your flesh like acid and other curses aside. Like tormenting and tempting the innocent and rooting out the Lancea Sanctum, the Ordo Dracul believe that God those whose faith is weak. Never will they know the love ordained them to be Kindred. However, this is no test of of God, but instead they send the faithful to the right faith or piety. For what he has done, God is the enemy. He hand of his son. They are the true betrayers, too pious to is mad, and must be dethroned. To dangle immortality be allowed the consolation of goodness. infront of a Kindred and counterweigh it with curses is an insult. The Ordo Dracul seek to spit in the eye of God and Maintaining churches that serve both Kindred and Kine, live forever on their own terms. the Sanctified maintain large herds on which they prey and tempt. None are above such trials, and those found Seeking esoteric and arcane lore and artifacts, the Order wanting often find themselves born anew as Kindred, will stop at nothing to break the shackles of the curse of rising from the grave to atone for their sins and the sins of Vampirism. Always acting to improve themselves, by any others. means necessary, the Ordo Dracul maintains a tight-knit following and jealously protects all that it knows. They The Sanctified are the record-keepers of Kindred society. will be the first to master the night and beast within, Maintaining records of their version of history up to the and only then will they open their ranks and share their life and death of Jesus Christ. While their version may not knowledge. be entirely accurate, only the foggy memories of those alive at the time can offer an alternative version of events, What this means is that the Ordo Dracul do not 'owe' and typically not for very long. favours. They may return a favour, but they will not be argued or bartered into being 'owed' some uncertain While the Sanctified are just as politically motivated as favour in the future. When dealing with the Ordo Dracul, the Invictus, they constantly seek to test their own ilk. Be you always deal with an individual, rather than the wary of the implications of a favour to the Sanctified, as faction. you may find yourself counted as one of their flock.

Favour Examples Type Small - Medium Provide moderate support for a venture Provide lodgings and accomodation Investigate another Kindred Big Patronage in Theban Sorcery Ommission from investigation yourself

17 Part Three - Careers Spiritualist Vampire uses a looser Career system than conventional Whatever the religion, undeath likely offers an alternative Genesys. Rather than each career having 8 set career perspective to its traditional teachings. In these uncertain skills, each Career instead has 6 set skills and allows times, who knows what eternity holds for a kindred? Players to select another 2. This allows multiple Kindred Many vampires flock to religions to find purpose and to select the same Career, but still have variety in the final reason in their new life. Clergymen count the following result. An Academic can pick two applications of the skills as career skills: Cool, Deception, Discipline, Knowledge skill if they desire, or substitute with another Knowledge, Leadership and Perception. Intelligence-based skill. While it is highly unlikely that a Kindreds career would allow them to select a Discipline or Ritual skill as a career skill, the Spiritualist may make a Investigator case that such abilities are well suited. Whether a private investigator, a police detective or a professional spy, your best work was done in the dark anyway. What’s changed? Investigators count the Academic following skills as career skills: Brawl, Charm, Cool, Vampires can theoretically live forever, and there’s Perception, Skulduggery and Vigilance. enough knowledge in the world that they could spend several lifetimes consuming it all. An Academic counts the following skills as career skills: Cool, Discipline, Law Enforcement Computers, Knowledge (pick two) and Perception. A beat cop, desk jockey or armed response. Your living was made on the pulse of the criminal underworld. Now, you’re living on another kind of pulse entirely. Blue Collar Law Enforcement characters count the following skills Day to day living was the only way to make it, but as career skills: Athletics, Brawl, Melee, Ranged (light), now you’re in charge. No labouring or petty crime to Streetwise and Vigilance. make ends meet, it’s time you took control. Blue Collar characters count the following skills as career skills: Athletics, Brawl, Cool, Mechanics, Resilience and White Collar Worker Streetwise. Offices and administration are what society runs on, without it, the whole system would collapse. So you should ask yourself, do you abuse your inside knowledge? Driver White Collar characters count the following kills as Whether behind the wheel of a family car or gripping career skills: Cool, Computers, Deception, Knowledge, the bars of a Motorbike, a Driver is in their element. Negotiation and Perception. Couriers, getaway drivers and chauffers are all respectable professions in these modern nights. A Driver counts the following skills as career skills: Cool, Discipline, Coordination, Driving, Mechanics and Vigilance.

Entertainer Be they stage actors, singers or socialites, these Kindred use their innate charismatic and artistic skills to influence and dazzle others. Etertainers count the following skills as career skills: Charm, Coordination, Deception, Leadership, Skulduggery and Streetwise.

18 Part Four - Skills and Talents

Vampire uses many similar skills to Genesys. As such, I’ve seen no need to implement many new skills. However, certain specifications of the Knowledge skill may prove applicable on a case by case basis. A Campaign featuring tomb-raiding Kindred plundering ancient Vampire coffins might benefit from Knowledge (History), while a more political game may make distinctions between Political allegiances and require Knowledge (Politics).

New Magical Skills are included, replacing Arcane, Divine and Primal from Genesys. Few of these Magic skills are intended for use in combat, instead they are intended to be utilised as Rituals. The skills are outlined below. Vampire Disciplines (distinct from the Discipline skill) are also included, and detailed further in Part Five.

Crúac

Presence + Cruac Crúac is a perverse art older than recorded History. It is an ancient practise of Blood Sorcery, granted to the children of a Crone in a time lost to time, or so legends say. Crúac speaks to the Beast directly through the medium it understands clearest, Blood. A Rite invoking such power is crude, carnal, pagan and wild.

You should use this skill if: • Your character seeks to induce Frenzy in a target • Your character wants to grant themselves claws • Your character wants to defend their heart from stakes • Your character wants to augment their senses

Theban Sorcery

Willpower + Theban The Ritual Discipline of a religious coven of Kindred, legends say an Angel named ‘Amoniel’ led the cult into a cavern deep beneath Thebes in Egypt. There, they discovered the means to deliver their vengeance and judgement upon their foes. A Theban Rite is ritualistic, disciplined and demands physical sacrifice.

You should use this skill if: • Your character seeks to deprive a target of their senses • Your character seeks to inflict stigmata on a target • Your character seeks to bless an item • Your character seeks to learn of a targets guilt • •

19 Talents Durable Tier: 1 Tier 1 Activation: Passive Ranked: Yes Bought Info Your character reduces any Critical Injury result they Tier: 1 suffer by 10 per rank of Durable, to a minimum of 01. Activation: Active (Action) Ranked: No Finesse When making any knowledge skill check, your character Tier: 1 can instead use this talent to spend an amount of Activation: Active (Incidental) currency equal to fifty times the difficulty of the check Ranked: No and automatically succeed on the knowledge check with When making a Brawl or Melee check, your character s one uncanceled (instead of rolling). At your GM’s may use Agility instead of Brawn. discretion, your character may not be able to use Bought Info if the information is particularly sensitive or difficult Grit to find, or buying it doesn’t make narrative sense. Tier: 1 Activation: Passive Brawler Ranked: Yes Tier: 1 Each rank of Grit increases your character’s strain Activation: Passive threshold by one. Ranked: No Your character adds a to Brawl checks and combat Hamstring Shot checks using improvised weapons. Tier: 1 Activation: Active (Action) Ranked: No Bullrush Once per round, your character may use this talent to Tier: 1 perform a ranged combat check against one non-vehicle Activation: Active (Incidental) target within range of the weapon used. If the check Ranked: No is successful, halve the damage inflicted by the attack When your character makes a Brawl or Melee combat (before reducing damage by the target’s soak). The target check after using a maneuver to engage a target, you may is immobilized until the end of its next turn. spend aaa or t to use this talent to knock the target prone and move them up to one range band away from Jump Up your character. Tier: 1 Activation: Active (Incidental) Clever Retort Ranked: No Tier: 1 Once per round during your character’s turn, your Activation: Active (Incidental, Out of Turn) character may use this talent to stand from a prone Ranked: No or seated position as an incidental. Once per encounter, your character may use this talent to add automatic hh to another character’s social skill Knack For It check. Tier: 1 Activation: Passive Duelist Ranked: Yes Tier: 1 When you purchase this talent for your character, bb Activation: Passive select one skill. Your character removes from any Ranked: No checks they make using this skill. Your character adds b to their Brawl and Melee combat Each additional time you purchase this talent for checks while engaged with a single opponent. Your your character, select two additional skills. Your character bb character adds b to their Brawl and Melee combat checks also removes from any checks they make using these while engaged with three or more opponents. skills. You cannot select combat or magic skills when choosing skills for this talent.

20 Knockout Punch Rapid Reaction Tier: 1 Tier: 1 Activation: Passive Activation: Active (Incidental, Out of Turn) Ranked: No Ranked: Yes Your character adds the Stun quality to their Bralw Your character may suffer a number of strain to use this combat checks, with a rating equal to two plus your talent to add an equal number of s to a Vigilance or character's ranks in Coordination (this does not stack Cool check they make to determine Initiative order. with other instances of the Stun quality). The number may not exceed your character’s ranks in Rapid Reaction. Know Somebody Tier: 1 Street Fighter Activation: Active (Incidental) Tier: 1 Ranked: Yes Activation: Active (Incidental) Once per session, when attempting to purchase a legally Ranked: No available item, your character may use this talent to When your character disorients or knocks their target reduce its rarity by one per rank of Know Somebody. prone while making a Brawl combat check, they may use this talent to cause the target to suffer wounds equal to Painful Blow your character's ranks in Skulduggery. Tier: 1 Activation: Active (Incidental) Swift Tier: 1 Ranked: No Activation: Passive When your character makes a combat check, you may Ranked: No voluntarily increase the difficulty by one to use this talent. Your character does not suffer the penalties for moving If the target suffers one or more wounds from the combat through difficult terrain (they move through check, the target suffers 2 strain each time they perform a difficult terrain at normal speed without spending maneuver until the end of the encounter. additional maneuvers) Proper Upbringing Tier: 1 Toughened Tier: 1 Activation: Active (Incidental) Activation: Passive Ranked: Yes Ranked: Yes When your character makes a social skill check in Each rank of Toughened increases your character’s polite company (as determined by your GM), they may wound threshold by two. suffer a number of strain to use this talent to add an equal number of a to the check. The number may not exceed your character’s ranks in Proper Upbringing. Unremarkable Tier: 1 Quick Draw Activation: Passive Ranked: No Tier: 1 Other characters add f to any checks made to find or Activation: Active (Incidental) identify your character in a crowd. Ranked: No Once per round on your character’s turn, they may use this talent to draw or holster an easily accessible weapon or item as an incidental. Quick Draw also reduces a weapon’s Prepare rating by one, to a minimum of one. Quick strike Tier: 1 Activation: Passive Ranked: Yes Your character adds b for each rank of Quick Strike to any combat checks they make against any targets that have not yet taken their turn in the current encounter.

21 Tier 2 Impaling Strike Tier: 2 City Contacts Activation: Active (Incidental) Tier: 2 Ranked: No Activation: Active (Incidental) When your character inflicts a Critical Injury with a Ranked: No melee weapon, until the end of the target's next turn they Once per session, you may spend one Story Point to use may use this talent to immobilize the target (in addition this talent to let your character learn if a character of your to the other effects of the Critical Injury). choice is in the city, and if so, in what district. Kindred Duelling Daywalker Tier: 2 Tier: 2 Activation: Active (Action) Activation: Passive Ranked: No Ranked: Yes Difficulty: - Difficulty: - Once per round, after making a successful Melee attack Though the Sun holds much fear from you, Daylight does against a Vampire opponent, you can choose to embed not. Your mind is as sharp as can be, a rival or Hunter your weapon in your Opponent. You lose the Weapon hoping to catch you weakened in the day will be sorely until you retrieve it, but while impaled, the Vampire surprised. Remove one b from any roll made due to cannot spend Vitae to use the Blood Healing incidental. being active in daylight hours. Removing the weapon requires a Manoeuvre for the attacker, or a full action for the impaled Kindred. Dream Master Your Character must be an Alucinor to possess this Talent. Lucky Strike Tier: 2 Tier: 2 Activation: Active (Incidental) Activation: Active (Action) Ranked: No Ranked: No When your character purchases this talent, choose Difficulty: Opposed Discipline Cunning + Auspex one characteristic. After your character makes a successful When in short range of a sleeping mortal or kindred, you combat check, you may spend one Story Point to use this may use this talent to invade their dreams. While in their talent to add damage equal to your character’s ranks in dream, you are as obvious or subtle as you decide to be that characteristic to one hit of the combat check. and have control over the targets dreams. You may inflict Strain damage to the target while they sleep. Parkour Tier: 2 Feeding Agression Activation: Active (Manoeuvre) Tier: 2 Ranked: No Activation: Passive Once per round, your character may suffer 1 strain to use Ranked: No this talent and move to any location within short range. Difficulty: - This includes locations vertically distant or that have no When feeding in a combat situation, remove one b from easy access route, but there must be an object to move any roll made to feed on an individual. across or a path to move along. Ritualist Grapple Tier: 2 Tier: 2 Activation: Passive Activation: Active (Incidental) Ranked: Yes Ranked: No Difficulty: - Your character may suffer 2 strain to use this talent. Until You downgrade 1 difficulty die in any Ritual dice roll. the start of your character's next turn, enemies must spend two maneuvers to disengage from your character. Haughty Demeanor Tier: 2 Activation: Passive Ranked: No Other characters add h to social checks targeting your character. 22 Reckless Charge Tier 3 Tier: 2 Activation: Active (Incidental) Animal Companion Ranked: No Tier: 3 After using a maneuver to move engage an adversary, Activation: Passive your character may suffer 2 strain to use this talent. They Ranked: Yes then add sshhto the results of the next Brawl or Your character creates a bond with a single animal Melee combat check they make this turn. approved by your GM. This animal must be silhouette 0 (no larger than a mid-sized dog). The bond persists as Scathing Tirade long as your character chooses, although at your GM’s Tier: 2 discretion, the bond may also be broken due to abusive Activation: Active (Action) treatment or other extenuating circumstances. Ranked: No As long as the bond persists, the animal follows your Your character may use this talent to make an Average character, and you dictate the animal’s overall behavior (dd) Coercion check. For each s the check generates, (although, since the animal is only bonded with the one enemy within short range suffers 1 strain. For character, not dominated, it may still perform each a, one enemy affected by Scathing Tirade suffers inconvenient actions such as scratching furniture, 1 additional strain consuming rations, and marking territory). Once per round in structured encounters, your character may Shadow Puppeteer spend one maneuver to direct their animal in performing Your Character must be a Khaibit to possess this Talent. one action and one maneuver during your character’s Tier: 2 turn. The animal must be within hearing and visual Activation: Active (Incidental) range of your character (generally medium range) to Ranked: No do this. Otherwise, the animal does not contribute to Difficulty: Cunning + Obfuscate dd the encounter. The specifics of its behavior are up to You may conjure shadows and guide their movement you and your GM. and growth. These shadows must have a source in some For every additional rank of Animal Companion your existing darkness. These shadows can grant b to Stealth character has, increase the allowed silhouette of the or Coercion checks. companion by one (this may mean your character gets a new companion, or their companion grows in size). Spiritualist Backstab Your Character must be a Dead Wolf to possess this Talent. Tier: 3 Tier: 2 Activation: Active (Action) Activation: Passive Ranked: No Ranked: No Your character may use this talent to attack an unaware Difficulty: - adversary using a Brawl attack or Melee weapon. A Lower the difficulty of any Auspex roll made using the Backstab is a melee attack, and follows the normal 'See Beyond' effect once. rules for performing a combat check (see page 101 of the Genesys Core Rulebook), using the character’s Skulduggery skill instead of Melee. If the check succeeds, each uncanceled s adds +2 damage (instead of the normal +1). Dodge Tier: 3 Activation: Active (Incidental, Out of Turn) Ranked: Yes When your character is targeted by a combat check (ranged or melee), they may suffer a number of strain no greater than their ranks in Dodge to use this talent. Then, upgrade the difficulty of the combat check targeting your character a number of times equal to the strain suffered

23 Easy Prey Total Insanity Tier: 3 Your Character must be a Malkavian to possess this Talent Activation: Active (Maneuver) Tier: 3 Ranked: No Activation: Active (Action) Your character may suffer 3 strain to use this talent. Until Ranked: No the start of your character’s next turn, your character Difficulty: Opposed Discipline Willpower + Coercion and allies within short range add bb to combat checks Everyone is a little crazy, and you know how to coax it against immobilized targets. from anybody. Afer holding a targets undivided attention for one full round, you allow this madness to fully Scathing Tirade (Improved) consume the target. The GM chooses the manner of Tier: 3 derangements the target suffers, with a dictating Activation: Passive the severity or duration of the effects. The effects can Ranked: No vary from a week to a year, as can the severity of these Your character must have purchased the Scathing Tirade insanities. tt can be spent to permenantly infect the talent to benefit from this talent. targets mind with Malkavia if the target is kindred, or Enemies affected by permenant insanity if mortal. your character’s Scathing Tirade add b to all skill checks they make for a number of rounds equal to your Natural character’s ranks in Coercion. Tier: 3 Activation: Active (Incidental) Shadow Master Ranked: No When your character purchases this talent, choose two Your Character must be a Khaibit to possess this Talent. skills. Once per session, your character may use this talent You must possess Shadow Puppeteer to use this Talent. to reroll one skill check that uses one of those two skills. Tier: 3 Activation: Active (Incidental) Ranked: No Enduring Tier: 4 Difficulty: Cunning + Obfuscate dd Activation: Passive You may move through shadows, teleporting within Ranked: Yes the darkness. Suffer 2 Strain to immediately move to Each rank of Enduring increases your character’s soak any point within a shadow of your creation, or point of value by one. absolute darkness. Takedown Tier: 3 Activation: Active (Action) Ranked: No Your character may use this talent to make an opposed Brawl vs Resilience check targetting one engaged opponent. If the check succeeds, the target is knocked prone and is immobilised until the end of your character's next turn. If the target is a minion or rival, your character can spend t to incapacitate (but not kill) the target instead.

24 Tier 4 Tier 5 Parkour (Improved) Dedication Tier: 4 Tier: 5 Activation: Active (Incidental) Activation: Passive Ranked: No Ranked: Yes Your character must have purchased the Parkour talent to Each rank of Dedication increases one of your character’s benefit from this talent. characteristics by one. This talent cannot increase Once per round, when using the Parkour talent, your a characteristic above 5. You cannot increase the same character may suffer 4 strain instead of 1 to move to any characteristic with Dedication twice. location within medium range instead of short range. All other restrictions of Parkour apply to this movement. Master Tier: 5 Quick Witted Activation: Active (Incidental) Tier: 4 Ranked: No Activation: Active (Incidental, Out-of-Turn) When you purchase this talent for your character, Ranked: No choose one skill. Once per round, your character may Once per encounter, after another character makes a suffer 2 strain to use this talent to reduce the difficulty social skill check, your character may use this talent to of the next check they make using that skill by two, to a make an Average (dd) Vigilance check. If successful, minimum of Easy (d). you may add a number of s or a (your choice) equal to your character's ranks in Charm to the other character's Dominant check. If your character fails, your character suuffers 3 Tier: 5 strain. Activation: Active (Action) Ranked: No Scathing Tirade (Supreme) Once per encounter, your character may use this talent Tier: 4 to make an opposed Charm or Coercion versus Discipline Activation: Active (Incidental) check targeting one character within medium Ranked: No range (or within earshot). If successful, the target suffers Your character must have purchased the Scathing Tirade strain equal to twice your character’s Presence, talent to benefit from this talent. plus one additional strain per s. Your character heals Your character may choose to suffer 1 strain to use the strain equal to the strain inflicted. Scathing Tirade talent as a manoeuvre, instead of as an action.

25 Part Five - Disciplines

All Vampires are gifted with an inherent ability, they Many Disciplines cost 2 Strain to cast, certain exceptions are able to use the power of their blood to bolster their exist taht can lower or significantly increase this cost. bodies and warp the minds of others. Each clan has access Many Disciplines can benefit from Concentration. to unique Disciplines, schools of blood-magic that are Unlike regular spellcasting, this costs 2 Strain per turn to fostered and developed by respective clans. Majesty for maintain. By the rules as written, you do not have to roll example, is the domain of the Daeva, who utilize it in to maintain concentration. their ongoing quest for new sensations and experiences. That isn’t to say that a Vampire cannot learn an out-of- Unless specified elsewhere, or modified by die results, clan Discipline, but it must be taught by someone who a Discipline effect will last until the end of the scene. already knows it. A Kindred can freely develop their clan The knock-on effects of a Discipline can last far longer disciplines without need of a teacher. however. The sudden attraction a married family-man felt for that woman at the bus-stop, and what he did to her, can have far reaching repurcussions beyond the Vampires immediate control.

26 27 Animalism

Presence + Animalism Concentration: Yes Animalism may be used on Animals in place of Charm, Coercion or Leadership rolls you might be called upon The Beast feels a certain kinship with Animals. This to make. The default difficulty of an Animalism check is Discipline exploits that, asserting you as the Apex d. An unmodified Animalism check allows the caster Predator. Animalism spells are cast by vocalising as an to open a dialogue with the target for the rest of the animal, be it barking, howling or chirping. The Target or scene. Before making an Animalism check, choose any Targets of any unaugmented Animalism check must be number of additional effects listed on the table below. An within hearing range of the caster. Unmodified Animalism check costs 0 Strain. Additional Effects Difficulty Additional Target: The power affects 2 additional targets within range. In addition, after manifesting the power you may spend a to affect one additional target within range. You + d may trigger this multiple times. When used on insects and other small animals, increase the amount of affected targets by a reasonable factor. Inspire emotion: The target is filled with an overwhelming amount of a specific emotion of the casters choice, such as anger, calm, hunger or fear. You may spend a to increase the + d severity of the emotion, you may trigger this multiple times. If the target is in a Frenzy and you attempt to calm them, increase the difficulty two more times; if successful, the Frenzy ends, and the target can recover 1 Strain per a and 1 Strain per rank of Animalism. Range: Increase the range band of this power once, this may be added multiple times, increasing the range band each time. This increases the volume of your power substantially, + d as it can be heard at the range band chosen. Empower: Transferring a portion of your blood into the target, you empower it as a Ghoul. Increase the targets Brawn or Agility once. The target is utterly loyal as all Ghouls are, but + dd will only remain so (and retain its increased characteristic) as long as you continue to feed it your blood. Frenzy: The target is driven into a ravenous frenzy. If they are Mortal, upgrade Brawn rolls once and reduce the critical rating of any attack made by one. Unless you concentrate to Opposed Discipline sustain the Frenzy, the target will revert to normal after 1 turn. Possess: You possess the body of any predatory animal. Alter your Brawn and Agility to match the host animal. Your body is helpless while this spell is being cast. You may still cast + dd Disciplines in this state, the effect lasts until the end of the night or until cancelled. Mark Territory: You mark territory with your blood. Once a territory is defined, you become aware of any intruders within it (attempts to hide with Obfuscate are opposed by + dd Animalism). Everyone within your territory knows that it belongs to you. Multiply the Strain cost by the amount of times this effect is chosen. Reanimate: You can reanimate a deceased target animal within short range to serve you. The animal is empowered as perEmpower . The target will continue to exist as long as it is + ddd fed upon Vitae once per night.

28 Spending a and t on Animalism Rolls Cost Result Options a or t Increase the duration of any effects on yourself or a single target by 1 hour. aa or t Increase the duration of any effects on a multitude of targets to last until the next sunset. Casting Animalism has no audio-cues, though Animals will still respond. aaa or An equillibrium with your Beast is reached. Upgrade or Downgrade (as you deem appropriate) your t next roll in the scene to initiate or resist Frenzy. t A pack of animals carry out your command, following your targets lead. Your Empower effect lasts 1 week tt Establish a permanent bond with the target. You may cast any Animalism effects apart from Empower and Mark Territory from Extreme Range with no penalty.

Spending h and d on Animalism Rolls Cost Result Options h or d Suffer 1 Strain hh or d The Target flees after resolving its successful task, and cannot be contacted again that night. hhh or A comically inappropriate type of animal responds to your call, and they carry out your task to the best d of their ability. Until sunrise you are unable to communicate with other humans, and bark, howl and screech instead. d The Target carries out its task, but misunderstands your intent and phrasing. You immediately must make a Frenzy check. dd You suffer the effects of your Discipline also, running wild with the pack.

When interacting with Animals under the effects of Bird - Minion Animalism, you may wish to use any of the following A determined flock of Pigeons or a lone predatory bird. profiles as appropriate.   Predator - Minion A Dog, Wolf or other pack-hunting animal.             Skills:Coodrination ddd, Perception ddd, Brawl d    Talents: -    Abilities: Dive Attack - While flying, this creature's    attacks gain Disorient 1 and add b. Skills:Athletics dd, Perception dd, Brawldd Weapons: Talons - Brawl d, DMG 4, Crit 3, Range: Talents: - Engaged, Vicious 1 Abilities: Pack Hunter - Add bb when using the assist manoeuvre Weapons: Bite/Claw - Brawl dd, DMG 5, Crit 3, Range: Vermin - Minion Engaged, Vicious 1 A handful of insects or an armful of vermin.            Skills:Brawl d Talents: - Abilities: Swarming - Immune to critical hits Drown in vermintide - For each 5 minions in the group, increase the damage of bits by 1. Weapons: Bite - Brawl dd, DMG 3, Crit 3, Range: Engaged

29 Auspex

Cunning + Auspex Concentration: Yes

The Beast is an unknowable predator, catching the scent When the Weakness additional effect is used to make of prey wherever they are. The Caster selects one target Auspex an incidental, the Kindred can read emotive states they are engaged with (which can be themselves) and no matter how well the target seeks to hide them. These makes a d Auspex check to be granted a beneficial vision, appear as swirling mists of colour that emanate from which can grant b to pertinent rolls within a short time everyone in present company. a can be spent to refine after. Before making an Auspex check, choose any number the perception of these emotions, revealing that a target is of additional effects listed on the table below. Projection perhaps bitter or resentful instead of simply sad. The GM cannot be cast in structured time, as it can take at the very is free to determine a colour spectrum of their choice to least an hour to prepare. Forgoing this can add b to the match emotions to. roll.

Additional Effects Difficulty Weakness: You reveal an emotive weakness within present company, a can be spent to focus and specify upon this weakness, as well as the one who feel it. This effect can be used - to make the Spell an Incidental, but only if used without any other effects. Hasten: You increase the speed of your information gathering, halving the time (roughly) required to ingest information. This can drastically reduce the time required to cast an + dd Auspex spell, at an amount determined by the GM. Dowsing: You can sense the indeterminate past around a person or object. Though you likely will not receive objective truths, you can recall and sense transpired events as the + d target recalls them. a and t can be spent to enhance the clarity of these recollections. Reveal: You shatter any attempts at concealment within medium distance of yourself, + dd revealing anyone who seeks to hide from you. This may be cast as an Incidental. Projection: You may project your Astral form to the Unquiet realms, where Spirits dwell. No Physical Barrier impedes you, but your body must be kept within a number of kilometres equal to your Willpower. While in this state, you may cast other Disciplines +ddd from your spirits location, but you cannot physically interact with the world about you. While your spirit is outside of your body, you may interact with spirits and perceive the material world. You must return to your body to reinhabit it. Your body is helpless while this spell is being cast and in effect. Shared Sight: You are able to cast your Auspex powers through a target. The Target is aware + dd of your involvement. If the target is a willing accomplice, add b. Additional Target: This power affects 1 addditional target within range. In adition, after manifesting the power you may spend a to affect one additional target within range. You +d may trigger this multiple times. Sympathetic: As a manoeuvre, you are able to project a portion of yourself into a targets mind. For the rest of the scene, you may read the targets mind as an out-of-turn incidental, Opposed Cool recalling memories they may have forgotten. You can also telepathically speak to the target in this manner, or insert memories of your own into the targets mind. See beyond: As an Incidental, broaden your perception and reveal the spirits within short range. Spirits are animistic essences that act according to their nature. + d

30 Spending a and t on Auspex Rolls Cost Result Options a or t Increase the duration of any effects on yourself or a single target by 1 hour. aa or t Increase the specifity of obtained answers and impressions aaa or Maintain Auspex for the rest of the night. t t Make the cast of Auspex an Incidental, your body is still helpless if Projecting. Gain b equal to your ranks in Auspex, you may add these to your rolls until the end of the encounter or scene. tt While projecting, return to your body immediately if you desire. Create a permanent sympathetic bond with the target, in the future you may suffer 2 Strain to cast a successful sympathetic Auspex on the target, up to extreme range.

Spending h and d on Auspex Rolls Cost Result Options h or d Suffer 1 Strain hh or d hhh or Unable to cast Auspex on the target for the rest of the scene. d A Spirit or Ghost within the Astral Realm takes offence to your transgression. d Recieve false information that you believe to be true. dd You are unable to break the sympathetic bond with your target, for the rest of the scene they are able to use the benefits of the effect against you. Your Astral Form is thrown far away from your body.

31 Celerity

Agility + Celerity Concentration: Yes Celerity may be used in Narrative time, using slightly different rules as those in the tables below. Celerity is By empowering their own body with Vitae, a Vampire can an obscene burst of speed that is, by its very nature, move faster than the eye can see. Celerity may only be cast unsustainable. In a combat situation, its distance covered upon the Caster. The Default difficulty of a Celerity check is reduced to comply with range bands, and to represent is d. An unmodified Celerity roll has no effect. Before the Vampires focus on the combat situation at hand. It is making a Celerity check, choose any number of additional also encouraged that you utilise the ‘Deus ex Machina’ effects from the table below. Celerity is always cast as an function of Story Point expenditure, and spend a Story out-of-turn Incidental. Point to simply appear somewhere when dramatically appropriate. Additional Effects Difficulty Swift:You may ignore the penalties of any difficult terrain and cannot be immobilised. This + d lasts until the end of your next turn. Hasten: You may make an additional manoeuvre ontop of any existing ones. You may take + dd this effect multiple times. Bullet Time: Gain 1 Ranged Defence until the beginning of your next turn. You may take + dd this effect multiple times. Quickening: Take an out-of-turn Manoeuvre. You may take this effect multiple times. + dd True Celerity: Take an out-of-turn Action. You may take this effect multiple times. + dd Boundless: This effect may only be used in Narrative time. You may move a hundred metres every second, and take this effect multiple times. Multiply the Strain cost by the + d amount of times this effect is chosen.

32 33 Dominate

Willpower + Dominate Concentration: Yes

The Strong are meant to rule, by any means necessary, Dominate may be used on a target in place of Charm, and the weak should fear them. Dominate must be used Coercion or Leadership rolls you might be called upon on a Human target in short range of the Caster, longer to make. The default difficulty of a Dominate check is range checks are possible but sufferb for each Range d. When used against a Kindred, upgrade the difficulty Band beyond Short. Visual Contact is a basic requirement, to c. An unmodified Dominate check grants bb to though this can be through a webcam or an ensorcelled your next social roll against your Target. Before making a picture of drawing of the casters eyes. An unmodified Dominate check, choose any number of additional effects Dominate check costs 0 Strain. listed on the table below.

Additional Effects Difficulty Additional Target: The power affects 2 additional targets within range. In addition, after manifesting the power you may spend a to affect one additional target within range. You + d may trigger this multiple times. Inspire emotion: The target is filled with an overwhelming amount of a specific emotion of the casters choice, such as anger, calm, hunger or fear. You may spend a to increase the + d severity of the emotion, you may trigger this multiple times. Range: Increase the range band of this power once,this may be added multiple times, + d increasing the range band each time. Mesmerise: You may issue simple commands to your target, no longer than a sentence in + d length. Selfless:You can force your target to act without regard for their own safety. They will Upgrade twice endanger themselves if you ask it, or should it arise as a result of your command. Command: You may issue in-depth commands to your target. These commands will linger subconciously in their mind for a number of nights equal to your rank in Dominate as + dd minimum, though this can be improved with a or t. Selective Memory: You may alter, remove, read and create new memories in your targets mind. This alteration will remain permenant, until irrefutible evidence is presented to the + dd target that runs contrary to their new memories. Possession: You utterly possess the Victims mind and body. Your body is helpless while possessing another. Your new body changes its Brawn and Agility stats to match the host, all other stats are unchanged. Tough the host body shows no signs of possession, people may notice your different mannerisms. You can travel in the day while possessing a body. Opposed Discipline You may possess a body once per week, for a number of nights equal to s. You may cast Disciplines normally while possessing a body, but once you leave it will suffer the consequences of any superhuman feats such as lifing a car or suffering grievous damage. Liuetenant: Your target becomes able to cast a singular, specific use of Dominate upon another target for a number of nights equal to your rank in Dominate as minimum, though + ddd this can be improved with a or t. You must specify this singular use of Dominate, and upgrade a number of die equal to the additional difficulty the roll would normally require.

34 Spending a and t on Dominate Rolls Cost Result Options a or t Increase the duration of any effects on a single target by 1 hour aa or t Your target will use their better judgement when carrying out a task, adapting and serving the spirit of your command. aaa or Your target can convince themselves and others that they've not been dominated. t t Extend your domination of a target to last a full week, including possession. tt Create a permanent bond with the target, in the future you may suffer 2 Strain to cast a successful Mesmerise effect on the target, up to extreme range.

Spending h and d on Dominate Rolls Cost Result Options h or d Suffer 1 Strain hh or d Your target misinterprets your command, or obeys the letter rather than the spirit of your order. Your dominated target is incredibly obvious in their actions, drawing the concern and attention of friends and family. hhh or After carrying out your command, your target flees your company and cannot be located for a week. d Your target remembers meeting you, and what you told them to do. d Your next spoken word is also included in your casting of Dominate, potentially dominating allies. dd Your Dominate effects everyone in short range, including yourself.

35 Majesty

Presence + Majesty Concentration: Yes

With the power you wield, and the promises you make, who wouldn’t worship the ground you walk on? Majesty must be used on a Human target within Medium Range, or clearline of sight and hearing range. Longer range checks are possible but suffer b for each Range Band beyond Medium. The default difficulty of a Majesty check is d. An unmodified Majesty check grantsb to your next social roll against your Target. Before making a Majesty check, choose any number of additional effects listed on the table below. An unmodified Majesty check costs 0 Strain.

Additional Effects Difficulty Additional Target: The power affects up to 5 additional targets within range. In addition, after manifesting the power you may spend a to affect one additional target within range. + d You may trigger and select this effect multiple times. Inspire emotion: The target is filled with an overwhelming amount of a specific emotion of the casters choice, such as calm, lust, adoration or fear. You may spend a to increase the + d severity of the emotion, you may trigger this multiple times. Range: Increase the range band of this power once,this may be added multiple times, increasing the range band each time. + d Loyalty: You inspire a loyalty in your target, your honeyed words and allure grant b to any check they make as a result of your request. + d Selfless:You can force your target to act without regard for their own safety. They will Upgrade twice endanger themselves if you ask it, or should it arise as a result of your command. Siren Song: You may issue a command to your target that will linger in their mind. The target will endeavour to complete your command as soon as possible, and is distressed and + dd befuddled until it is done. They will remain this way for a number of nights equal to your rank in Majesty as minimum, though this can be improved with a or t. Trust: The Target trusts you implicitly, you’d never harm them. For a number of nights equal to your Majesty (this can be improved with a or t) downgrade the difficulty of all + dd rolls made against the target twice. Misdirect: You may direct your Targets affection upon another person, place or object. This + d new target must be visible to your current target.

36 Spending a and t on Majesty Rolls Cost Result Options a or t Increase the duration of any effects on a single target by 1 hour aa or t Your target will use their better judgement when carrying out a task, adapting and serving the spirit of your command. Your target can convince themselves and others that they've not been affected by your Majesty. aaa or Your target can convince an ally to help them out with a task you've set them. t Extend your domination of a target to last a full week. t Suffer 2 Strain to call your target to your location for the rest of the week. tt Create a permanent bond with the target, in the future you may suffer 2 Strain to cast a successful Loyalty effect on the target, up to extreme range.

Spending h and d on Majesty Rolls Cost Result Options h or d Your awed target is incredibly obvious in their actions, drawing the concern and attention of friends and family. hh or d Your target misinterprets your command, or obeys the letter rather than the spirit of your order. Your target remembers meeting you, and what you told them to do. hhh or After carrying out your command, your target avoids your company and cannot be located for a week. d d Your next spoken word is also included in your casting of Majesty, potentially dominating allies. dd Your Majesty effects everyone in short range, including yourself.

37 Nightmare

Willpower + Nightmare Concentration: Yes

The Beast thrives on the hunt, and a terrified victim tastes all the sweeter. Nightmare can be used on any human or animal target within Medium Range, however the caster adds b for every range band closer to the target beyond Medium. The default difficulty of a Nightmare check dis . An unmodified Nightmare check grants b to your next roll against the target. Before making a Nightmare check, choose any number of additional effects listed on the table below. An unmodified Nightmare check costs 0 Strain.

Additional Effects Difficulty Additional Target: The power affects 2 additional targets within range. In addition, after manifesting the power you may spend a to affect one additional target within range. You + d may trigger this multiple times. Inspire fear: The target is filled with an overwhelming amount of fear. The target must make a fear check as detailed on pg 243 of the Genesys Corebook. You may spend a to + d upgrade the difficulty of the fear check. These results can generate Trauma. Alter Perceptions: You can alter a targets perception of reality, but not in any controllable manner. This effect lasts a number of nights equal to your Nightmare rank though this can + dd be improved with a or t. Creeping Nightmare: You conjure phantoms that lurk in your targets vicinity. You do not control these phantoms, and they are not visible to anyone but the target. The target adds + d b to all rolls made while the Phantoms haunt them. Living Nightmare: You conjure a phantom under your direct control. You can direct the Upgrade twice Phantom as an Incidental, and it is visible to everyone in the vicinity. The target addsb to all rolls made while the Phantom haunts them. Mortal Terror: Dying from fright isn’t a fairytale. For every s you generate on this roll, the target suffers 1 wound. Soak and Defence are not applied. In certain cases, this can be used + ddd to inflict a heart-attack style effect. Deprivation: You deprive the target of something they hold with certainty. The respect of their peers, love of a family member, use of a limb or skill, or even one of their senses. Until + ddd the end of their next turn, or 5 minutes have passed, the Target is deprived of whatever you choose to take from them. It still exists, the target simply cannot access it.

38 Spending a and t on Nightmare Rolls Cost Result Options a or t Increase the duration of any effects until the next sunset. aa or t Learn the targets true fear. aaa or Add b to your next roll against the target. t t Gain bb on your next roll. Disable any lighting in short range. tt The target attempts to flee, placing them in great peril from environmental hazards.

Spending h and d on Nightmare Rolls Cost Result Options h or d Suffer 1 Strain hh or d The target gainsb to resist any further Nightmare rolls for the next week. hhh or Target adds b to rolls made against you. d d Expose your fear to the target. dd Lose control of the Nightmare. Everyone involved in the Scene is affected, including yourself.

39 Obfuscate

Cunning + Obfuscate Concentration: Yes

You are a wolf in sheep’s clothing, they will not know you are there until it is too late. Obfuscate can be used on any target (including the Caster) with whom the Caster is currently Engaged with. The default difficulty for an Obfuscate check is d. An unmodified Obfuscate roll may grant b to your next Skullduggery or Stealth check. Before making an Obfuscate check, choose any number of additional effects from the table below. An unmodified Obfuscate check costs 0 Strain.

Additional Effects Difficulty Additional Target: The power affects 1 additional targets within range. In addition, after manifesting the power you may spend a to affect one additional target within range. You + d may trigger this multiple times. Face in the Crowd: You may alter others perception of the Target. It immediately becomes mundane and not worthy of comment or memory. Unless the target acts extremely out- of-the-ordinary, say by firing a gun or attacking a person, others will struggle to recall any + d specific details about the Target. When this is the only additional effect, the roll costs 0 Strain. Range: Increase the range band of this power once,this may be added multiple times, + dd increasing the range band each time. Invisibility: The Target becomes truly invisible. They cannot be seen by the naked eye, nor will security systems be able to visually detect them. Incidental signs of passage such + dd as noise and smell still exist. Upgrade the difficulty of any attempt to find you that is predominantly based on vision. This lasts until the end of the scene or encounter. Mark Territory: You mark territory with your blood. Once a territory is defined, intruders may freely enter but must pass a ddd to progress further, or escape as you warp their + ddd perceptions and they become utterly lost in the simplest of spaces. Multiply the Strain cost by the amount of times this effect is chosen. Clayface: You warp others perceptions of the target, exercising complete control over what others see the target as. You can use this to disguise yourself as a close friend, a bear as a + dd desk or a gun as a violin for example.

40 Spending a and t on Obfuscate Rolls Cost Result Options a or t - aa or t Add b to your next roll. aaa or Make a free manoeuvre. This cannot exceed the two manoeuvre-per-turn limit. t The target is distracted and moves away from a critical area. t Gain bb on your next roll. Until the end of the encounter, add ff to any Perception or Vigilance checks to locate anything you've hidden. tt The target attempts to flee, placing them in great peril from environmental hazards.

Spending h and d on Obfuscate Rolls Cost Result Options h or d - hh or d Add b to your next roll. hhh or A nearby NPC is also affected by your Obfuscate, though he is no more able to see you, for it. d d Draw attention to an area near you. dd You are unable to cancel the effect of your Obfuscate, and it persists until sunrise.

41 Protean

Brawn + Protean Concentration: Yes

An Apex Predator uses every tool in its arsenal to hunt. Protean may only be used to Augment the Caster. The default difficulty for a Protean check is d. An unmodified Protean roll has no effect. Before making a Protean check, choose any number of additional effects from the table below.

Additional Effects Difficulty Unmarked Grave: You may freely merge with a body of natural soil. You may sleep here during the day and suffer no consequences, though disturbing the soil will reveal your - body. This effect causes the check to cost 0 Strain. Predatory Aspects: You manifest a single bestial trait. The options here are practically limitless, but examples might include fins to swim faster, abnormal senses such as tremor- sense or echolocation, gliding-wings, a prehensile tail, the ability to crawl on walls or + d upgrade your combat potency. These effects are best dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and shouldn’t add more than bb to any rolls you make. You may choose this effect multiple times. Shapeshift:You may alter your form to become an animal, identical to one which you have entirely consumed. You may retain as many Animal forms as you have ranks in Protean. Alter your Brawn and Agility to match the host animal. You may still cast Disciplines in + d this state. You can pass for an animalof the species you have shapeshifted into, but other Animals can sense your true nature. Unnatural Aspect: You may alter your form in unnatural ways, manifesting traits and properties that have more business in a Horror Film than the Animal Kingdon. The options here are practically limitless, but examples might include enhancing combat + dd potency by giving you Pierce 2 or Vicious 1, functional additional limbs, flight-capable wings or warped flesh allowing you to squeeze through the tightest of cracks. You may choose this effect multiple times.

42 Stalwart

Brawn + Stalwart Concentration: Yes

Vampires don’t die easily. Stalwart may only be used to Augment the Caster. A Stalwart check is always cast as an Incidental. The default difficulty for a Stalwart check is simple (Difficulty -)An unmodified Stalwart check grants 1 Soak per a. Before making a Stalwart check, choose any number of additional effects from the table below.

Additional Effects Difficulty Resistant: Add b to any Resilience check made for the rest of the encounter. You may + d choose this effect multiple times. Implacable: Gain 1 Soak per a. Soak granted by Implacable counts against Banes. You + d may choose this effect multiple times. Juggernaut: A Discipline of supreme power. You are immune to harm as long as this effect + ddd, +2 Strain persists. At the beginning of each turn, you suffer 4 Strain while maintaining the spell. Until you cancel this ability, or cannot afford to maintain it, you are utterly immune to all damage. This ability persists when a Kindred Frenzies.

Vigor

Brawn + Vigor Concentration: Yes

Kindred are inhuman, and inhumanly strong to boot. Vigor may only be used to Augment the Caster. A Vigor check is always cast as an Incidental. The default difficulty for a Vigor check is simple (Difficulty -). An unmodified Vigor check adds d to your next Brawn check. Before making a Vigor check, choose any number of additional effects from the table below.

Additional Effects Difficulty Enhanced: Upgrade your Brawl and Athletics checks once. + d

Hulking: You may lift and throw objects with a Silhouette equal to half your ranks in Vigor, + d rounded up. Destroyer: Add a per times you choose this effect, to the result of any Brawl or Athletics + d checks. The amount of Advantages required to activate effects such as Knockdown, Disorient, Stun or Sunder is reduced from 2 to 1.

43 Part Six - Blood Sorceries

Kindred across the world utilise their Disciplines. They Casting a Ritual is a process that follows a number of are intuitive, simple abilities whose power lies in their steps, these are the same for each school of Blood Sorcery, utilisation rather than immediate effect. A Kindred who with variants therein. has mastered their Disciplines is a worthy opponent for anyone. But above them are Sorcerors of Blood. Ritualists By default a Ritual has a difficulty ofd . Preparations for and Occultists who call upon the power behind the Blood, a Ritual can grant either b or, in certain circumstances, the Beast itself, or higher powers yet. downgrade the difficulty of the Ritual. A Ritual by default has no set effect, it must be modified with additional Blood Sorcery comes in different schools, and are effects. employed by using the various Blood Magic skills. Crúac, Theban Sorcery and the Mysteries of the Dragon . Each Rituals are cast much like Disciplines. First you must school of Blood Magic has its own respective benefits decide what effects you wish to trigger on your rituals and drawbacks, as per the Genesys Corebook Magic lists, completion. Assemble any number of effects from the but very few of them can be utilised to directly attack a table appropriate to your Blood Sorcery. Each additional target in a combat encounter. Blood Sorcery is a far more effect adds eitherd , c or upgrades the difficulty of your ritualistic affair, demanding preparation, sacrifice and roll. The manner in which you may spenda , t, h and time to successfully utilise. d vary with each Blood Sorcery. As with Disciplines, Rituals cost 2 Strain to cast. Crúac is the power of the Beast. With it, a Vampire can influence the Beast in other Kindred as well as their own.

Theban Miracles are the result of piety and faith. Its origins lost in time, it has become revered and a matter of rote and repitition without understanding as a consequence. While Crúac demands a certain flexibility in order to satiate the Beast, Theban rituals thrive on dogmatic adherence.

Mysteries of the Dragon are highly coveted secrets, discovered and utilised by the Ordo Dracul. The Order will only accept progress in its great work if breakthroughs can be repeated and quantified. A wonderous breakthrough is worth nothing if it doesn't meet these criteria. Casting a Ritual Casting a Ritual is not something undertaken lightly. Kindred dabble in powers beyond their own, and hope that nothing goes wrong. Rituals typically have a number of Kindred and Acolytes involved in the casting. These additional ritualists are there to lend their power to the Ritual Lead, who is fully engaged in the casting of the Ritual. If sacrifices need to be made and chants echoed, these additional ritualists must be ready, lest the Ritual fail and a worse fate befall all than any captive present.

44 45 Crúac Rites Crúac is the purest means of communicating with the Beast. You will make your offering and hope it is enough, then the Beast will wreak its havoc as it is desires. Such rituals have simple effects, but all the more devastating for their lack of grace. Crúac influences the Blood of Kindred, any other effects it has are secondary . You can expect to accomplish results thematically similar to those in the table below, with matching difficulties.

The range of these Rituals is set at a geographical mile from the Ritual to the Target. This is an unavoidable limit of Crúac, the target must be near enough for their Vitae to be manipulated to achieve the desired results. A target of a Ritual is aware upon the Rituals initiation that they are being targetted by a malefic force, though they may not know its precise nature or location. The target of the ritual can be the Caster, if they are seeking to enhance themselves. A Crúac rite typically takes 1 hour to perform.

Preparations for a Crúac ritual are as base as the Ritual itself. The Beast must be coaxed forth with displays of violence, sex and fear. Offerings of blood are always appreciated, as are wanton displays of lust. But these are easily obtained and the Beast knows this. Displays such as these involving fewer than four people might add b to a roll.Widespread displays of these, with multiple partners copulating, scarring and bleeding oneanother may serve to downgrade the difficulty of the roll. Daubing Blood in archaic and perverse symbols about the Ritual Site can also add b. Human Sacrifice also works wonders, by itself, downgrading the difficulty twice. The Beast is also sympathetic to Rituals conducted in areas with a bloody history, these can add b, or downgrade the difficulty varying on the infamy of the site itself.

46 Cruac effects Additional Effects Difficulty Additional Target: The Ritual affects 1 additional target within range. This can be selected + d multiple times. Shared Sight: See through the eyes of your target for the rest of the night. You may see and hear everything that the target does until the sun rises, no matter the distance. This can be + d selected multiple times. Ward: Protect yourself from being staked, upgrading the difficulty of any attempt to do so + dd twice. This effect lasts until the next sun-set. Enhance: Grant the Target either Pierce 2, Knockdown or Vicious 1 to their unarmed Upgrade once attacks until the next sun-rise. This can be selected multiple times. Bloodbound: You may enhance or negate the effects of the Targets blood-bonding. + d and Upgrade once Siphon: Until the next sun-set, your target does not recover any Strain from feeding. Any + cd Strain they would recover is instead given to the Caster. Poison: You poison your own blood, anyone who feeds from you suffers 1 wound and does + c not recover Strain. You are not affected negatively by poisoning your blood. Blight: You destroy the targets blood, tearing it from their body. Each success deals 2 + cc damage, ignoring Soak. Goad: You coax the Beast from its slumber. Each success deals 2 Stun damage to the target. + cc

Spending Advantage and Triumph on Crúac Rites Spending a and t on Crúac rites Cost Result Options a or t Increase the duration of any self-augments by an hour. aa or t Convert aa into s aaa or Increase the duration of any negative effects on the target to last until next sun-rise. t t Reduce the time taken for your current roll by half an hour. Inflict a critical hit on the target at the end of the Ritual tt For a number of weeks equal to your blood potency, the target suffers an additional Strain each time they would suffer Strain. Effects last weeks intead of nights Spending Disadvantage and Despair on Crúac Rites Spending h and d on Crúac rites Cost Result Options h or d Suffer 1 Strain hh or d Double the time taken for the Ritual. hhh or An assistant in the Ritual Frenzies. d The Arrogance of the Beast makes your location known to your Target. d The Beast roars in displeasure, all participants in the Ritual suffer 2 Strain. dd The Beast lashes out at you, causing 1 Critical Injury

47 Theban Sorcery Theban Sorcery is a jealously guarded secret by those who know it. These enlightened few adherents of the Lancea Sanctum. The weak must be tested and culled as appropriate, and all are held accountable before the Lord almighty. Their rituals are biblically themed, centered on notions of temptation, guilt and punishment.

Theban Sorcery refers to its rituals as ‘Miracles’, the embodiment of their Faith. Their Miracles do not have a specified range, but are instead bolstered by their own convictions and presence. A Theban Miracle may be channelled through other churches to strike targets impossibly far away, if their faith and conviction are strong enough. All Miracles affect a single person or location, though they know not where the Miracle is being cast. There is no mistaking the hands of a Theban Acolyte behind such a Miracle though, for few others could inspire such holy dread in a Vampire.

Theban Miracles may be maintained, entrusting another to continue to cast the Miracle to sustain its effect. This may only be done once the Ritual has successfuly been completed. Skill checks are still made, but successes are not counted, Strain is inflicted for each roll as usual. Any roll without a success, or any roll with a Despair immediately causes the Miracle to end.

The more intensive Miracles are able to inflict testing wounds upon a target, causing damage and strain as appropriate. Successes translate 1 for 1 into Wounds or Strain suffered that cannot be healed or recovered while the Miracle endures. These Miracles are used to test the conviction and faith of Kindred, rather than kill. Those found wanting will surely be culled later however.

Theban Sorcery may not be used to kill. God will aid his acolytes in finding the weak, but they must prove their devotion in drawing blood. Using Theban Sorcery to kill immediately cancels the Ritual and forces the Caster to suffer an appropriate judgement such as Stigmata until they have redeemed themselves. The Caster loses access to either 4 Strain, 4 wounds or two of either, in addition to suffering an additional 2 Strain for rolling a Ritual skill check. You may regain these lost Wounds or Strain only by atonement, determined by your GM.

Preparations for Theban Mircales are suitably religious in nature. Congregations may be assembled, hymn or prayer sang and due reverence displayed, adding b to your roll. Conducting your Miracle in a sacred place will surely aid your cause as well.

48 Theban effects Additional Effects Difficulty Armament: Conjure a melee (light) weapon with Burn 1 that lasts until the next sunrise. + d Sanctify item: Sanctify an item. If a weapon or piece of armour is Sanctified, it gains Burn 1 or increases its existing burn rating by 1, if armour is santified it gains Defensive 1. + dd Sanctified items hurt Kindred not of the Theban faith, inflicting them with a DMG 4, Burn 1 attack. Repository: Suffer 3 Strain to allow the target to recover 3 Strain, or store vitae equivelant to 3 Strain in an immobile object, this can be retrieved within a month by any Kindred or + dd Ghoul. This can be selected multiple times. Condemn: Condemn the target, upgrading all attack checks once, made by anyone against + dd them until the next sun-rise. Wanting: Curse the target, removing one of their faculties until the next sunrise. They can Upgrade once lose the ability to feel, see, touch, speak, lie or write as examples. Temptation: Curse a specific action of the targets. Next time they engage in this action, Upgrade twice upgrade its difficulty twice. Stigmata: Afflict the target with the wounds of Christ. Until the next sunrise they lower + cd their Strain Threshold by 3 and upgrade the difficulty of Discipline checks to resist Frenzy once. Sanctify: Santify an area. Kindred and mortals not of the Lancea Sanctum must pass a + c ddd Discipline check to enter. This effect lasts until the next sun-rise. Transmutate: The target must be present for this ritual. Transmutate one item or animal + cc into another. This does not damage the caster and does not create intelligence. The transmutation is undone at the next sunrise. Biblical deed: You enable a biblical deed of such scope that it constantly hampers its target + cc and others in proximity for days on end. This can be an overly supernatural display.

Spending Advantage and Triumph on Theban Miracles Spending a and t on Theban Miracles Cost Result Options a or t Increase the duration of any of your self-augments or blessed items by an hour per a aa or t Convert aa into s Any Blessed Item you create cannot be knocked from your hands or person aaa or Your conviction emboldens you, you add b to your next roll. t t The Miracle will extend for a night after it finishes casting. tt Inflict a Mental Trauma on the target of Severity 2 Effects last weeks instead of nights

Spending Disadvantage and Despair on Theban Miracles Spending h and d on Theban Miracles Cost Result Options h or d Add b to your next roll. hh or d Suffer 2 Wounds hhh or Double the time taken for the ritual. d Summoned or blessed items gain the innacurate 1 quality. d You are unable to cast another Theban Miracle for one week. dd Tempting Gods wrath, you instead suffer the Ritual Effect.

49 Mysteries of the Dragon The scope of the Scale is based upon the limitations you The Ordo Dracul is a formalised collection of seek to overcome. Thematically, you will never be able to philosophers, occultists, scientists and theologists who entirely remove a weakness, only mitigate and lessen its stand in the shadow of Dracula. The Vampire who walked effect upon you. However, your character doesn't know in the sun, was free of the Beast and drank blood only this. High concept difficulties will require far more intense when it suited him. The Order have been conducting research and experimentation, potentially a Kindred's life-time of work. When experimenting, utilise a, h, t scientific and occult experiments for five centuries, d seeking to transcend the Vampiric condition as their and to represent breakthroughs and shortcomings in forefather did. research. Again, by design and thematics, no discovery of the Ordo Dracul is entirely ethical and morally clean. Let These experiments have bore much fruit, known this guide your idea of a breakthrough, rather than the collectively as the Mysteries of the Dragon. Through the lifeblood of a human, you only need a foetus or placenta! Mysteries, Dragons can bear the suns rays for a time, heal wounds caused by fire and silver and muzzle the As the GM, be aware of the difficulty of the task. Not Beast within and the need for Blood and its addictive the difficulty of the dice pool. Attempting to locate the properties. Each of these facets are known as 'Coils'. A 'Beast' within the brain of a Kindred is far harder than Coil functions as a Ranked Talent, with set effects. The maintaining the Blush of Life for 2 days instead of 1. true potency of the Mysteries of the Dragon lies in its Rather than just increasing and upgrading the difficulty Scales however. These take the baseline truths of each of any rolls made to continue the research, consider Coil and stretch them to the breaking point. Experimental suggesting the acquisition of certain items or mystical and risky, a Scale can accomplish wonderous things for artifacts instead. Embrace the inherent lack of ethics Kindred. within the Ordo Dracul. The open-brain surgery may not be working so far, perhaps if it was conducted in the presence of something that elicited a strong emotional Scales of the Dragon reaction from the subject? What if their family were First and foremost, the rules for discovering a new Scale present? What if the subject was fully concious? These can are not found in this book. Covering a dizzying array of allow for interesting developments and stepping-stones science, pseudoscience and other quantifiable means are in the story of a new Scales development, rather than "the not in the purview of this book. Instead, keep true to the difficulty is cccdd". concept of a Scale and what it entails. Scales take time and effort to uncover. No Scale has been discovered without a When a PC can replicate the effects of their Scale dozen failed experiments buried behind behind it. These consistently, they can declare the Scale completed. If they experiments should be done in-character, even if the odds can demonstrate it before Elder Dragons, they will swiftly are stacked against them. Nothing worth accomplishing rise up the ranks of the Order. was ever easy, and God himself is against you in this. A handful of example Scales are listed below; A Scale utilises a certain Coil as its point of origin, and Day-wake Conditioning works with an element within that coil. For example, Your Character must possess 'Surmounting the Daysleep' to a Scale based on 'Peace with the Flame' is based on a use this Scale. Kindreds interaction with the burning power of fire. Activation: Passive Were they to create a Scale based upon a fear of fire, they Procedure: Resist sleeping during the day, and slumber would use 'Conquer the Red Fear' instead. Note again, during dusk whilst in a brightly lit chamber that replicates that the connection is thematic over mechanical. A scale sunlight. is typically more powerful than the Coil it is based on, Outcome: The subjects sleep cycle is reversed - They wake and is typically a temporary, transient power that must be at dawn as though it were dusk, and slumber at night as reapplied upon expiration. though it were day. This condition persists indefinitely, so long as the subject adheres to the procedure. Failure to do so for more than two consecutive days undoes the Scales effects.

50 Fealty's Reward Coil of the Ascendant Your Character must possess 'Into the Fold' to use this Scale. Subscribers to the Coil of the Ascendant believe that by Activation: Passive overcoming the banes of fire and sunlight, a Dragon can Procedure: This Scale may only be performed on a mortal defeat any enemy. This isn't about regaining mortality and subject who is in a stage-three blood bond with the walking as a human does, but transcending Vampirism Dragon. The Dragon feeds upon the subject to the point and mortality entirely. of death, then slits their own wrists and spills their gains into a basin. The subject must then drink that Vitae and Scales of the Ascendant manipulate the boundary be allowed to rest for 48 hours. between life and death. Direct exposure to sunlight and Outcome: The Subject awakens as a Ghoul. This state fire, sleep deprivation and medically induced death (in persists for a full year instead of a Month, and is renewed subjects) are common practises. The aim is to cure a by feeding one point of vitae during this time. Should this vampire of his vulnerability to sunlight and flame, and time-span ever expire, the Ghoul immediately dies and allow the Dragon to walk in the day, lucid and uninjured. rises as a Revenant at the next full moon. Surmounting the Daysleep Sanguinary Invocation Tier: 2 Your Character must possess 'Voivode Undisputed' to use Activation: Passive. this Scale. Ranked: No Activation: Passive Difficulty: - Procedure: Extract the Dragons vitae using a large The Blush of Life lasts 24 hours for a Kindred. So long as syringe and mix it with a combination of arcane the Blush of Life is active, the Kindred suffers no setback ingredients. Within 10 minutes of preparation, inject this die during the day. mixture into a living subject. Outcome: The subject suffers no Blood Bond, and the Dragon is able to feed upon the Subject as though their Conquer the Red Fear Your Character must possess 'Surmounting the Daysleep' to Blood Potency were that of an Ancillae, allowing an Elder use this Talent. to feed upon animals or mortals. Tier: 3 Activation: Passive Ranked: No Difficulty: - The Dragon no longer fears the sun, nor fire. Though it burns them, they do not need to test for Frenzy when confronted with either while the Blush of Life is active.

Peace with the Flame Your Character must possess 'Conquer the Red Fear' to use this Talent. Tier: 4 Activation: Passive Ranked: No Difficulty: - Whilst the Blush of Life is active, the Dragon reduces the effect of all Burn qualities by 1, removing the quality if it would go to 0.

Sun's Forgotten Kiss Your Character must possess 'Peace with the Flame' to use this Talent. Tier: 5 Activation: Active (Action) Ranked: No Difficulty: - Whilst the Blush of Life is active, the Dragon counts their Blood Potency as one lower, to a minimum of Fledgeling, for the purposes of Sunlight. 51 Coil of the Wyrm Coil of the Voivode Likely to see the Vampiric condition as a blessing, Vampires are natural leaders, their potency and blood adheremts of the Coil of the Wyrm seek to temper and inspires loyalty and adoration from any mortal. The shackle the Beast within and allow a Vampire to use it as endless politicking of the Danse Macabre will be a catalyst and means of power, rather than be controlled overcome, and the Kindreds natural supremacy will be by it. realised. Scales of the Voivode focus on blood and servitude. Scales of the Wyrm are savage affairs, stretching the term Its experiments involve psychological torture, inflicted 'controlled experiment'. Subjects are driven to frenzy Viniculum and their manipulation. and dissected while alive. The purpose of experiments it to utilise the powers granted by the Beast, and resist its Taste of Fealty hackles. Tier: 2 Activation: Passive. Ride the Wave Ranked: No Tier: 3 Difficulty: - Activation: Passive. A Kindred counts a portion of their blood as doubly Ranked: No addictive, inflicting 2 levels of Viniculum per dose. Difficulty: - When rolling to Frenzy, you may elect to bypass the roll Into the Fold and automatically Frenzy. You maintain a level of control Your Character must possess 'Taste of Fealty' to use this similar to that of a Gangrel. While in this state, gain Talent. bbb that may be added to any roll you make while Tier: 3 Frenzying. Once the Boost Die are used, you lose control Activation: Passive. entirely until your Frenzy ends. If the Frenzy would end Ranked: No before you reach this stage, continue as normal. Difficulty: - Dragons at this stage find it easier to track Kindred they Unchecked Frenzy share a Blood Bond with. Reduce the difficulty of Blood Your Character must possess 'Ride the Wave' to use this Sympathy checks by 1, to dd. Talent. Tier: 4 Voivode Undisputed Activation: Passive. Your Character must possess 'Into the Fold' to use this Ranked: No Talent. Difficulty: - Tier: 4 When Frenzying, you cannot be knocked into Torpor by Activation: Passive. any means. Ranked: No Difficulty: - Leash the Beast Anyone sharing a Blood Bond with you upgrades the Your Character must possess 'Unchecked Frenzy' to use this difficulty of any check made against you once. You may Talent. make a ddd Resilience + Brawn check to resist a Blood Tier: 5 Bond. Activation: Passive. Ranked: No The Vast Dynasty Difficulty: - Your Character must possess 'Voivode Undisputed' to use Before rolling to trigger or resist Frenzy, you may spend this Talent. a Story Point to add ssa to the roll. Should you be Tier: 5 attempting to trigger Frenzy and use this Talent, you Activation: Passive. maintain a level of control similar to a Gangrel. Ranked: No Difficulty: - Embracing no longer costs a Story Point.

52 53 Part Seven - Equipment

The world of Vampire is almost identical to our own. When it comes to weapons, modern Kindred are more It is a Heightened Reality, one where Vampires court than willing to use Firearms. They are somewhat less oneanother in restaurants after hours, and Spirits and effective against other Kindred than they are against Ghosts linger out of sight. There is as much variety in Mortals however. Vampires cannot bleed out like a Mortal tools and equipment as we have in the real world, with a can, so any damage taken from a Gun is seldom a long- great majority of items readily available to order via the lasting concern. Internet. Whilst this armoury is by no means exhaustive, it should Players however, tend to focus on weapons when they provide enough variety for street-level weaponry available think of tools and equipment. The majority of Equipment in the modern nights. For simplicities sake, weapons that exists will use ‘The right tool for the job’. That is to aren’t presented with Hard Points and attachments .The say, the tool makes the task possible. Communicating focus of the game isn’t on tricking out a pistol to be able with allies miles away on a mobile phone wouldn’t be to shoot through bulletproof limosuines. If the players possible without said phone, a building could not be gain the attention of a Vampire Hunter, then his weapons scaled without climbing gear and a car allows you to travel should appropriately be modified. Ammo for all ranged further than you would be able to on foot. Many of these weapons can be purchased at 25 £/$/? per clip/mag. obstacles can be overcome with clever use of Vampiric Disciplines and Devotions however. For any skill test made possible by the use of an item, you do not upgrade Armour your dice pool in any way, since the tools purpose is to Name Def. Soak Enc. Price Rarity make such a test possible. Padded - +1 1 250 2 Clothes Other items might improve your die pool however. Using Kevlar Vest - +2 2 500 5 a map when navigating is a good example. You can still Flak Jacket 1 +1 3 750 7 navigate without the map, but the map might grant b to a Riot Armour 2 +1 5 1000 7 navigation roll while using said map. Ranged Weapons Name Skill Dmg Crit Range Enc. Price Rarity Special Semi-Auto Pistol R: Light 5 4 Medium 1 150 4 Machine Pistol R: Light 4 4 Short 1 250 5 Auto-Fire, Innacurate 1 Heavy Pistol R: Light 6 3 Medium 1 300 5 Submachine gun R: Light 5 3 Medium 2 400 6 Auto-Fire Assault Rifle R: Heavy 8 3 Long 4 1000 7 Auto-Fire Marksman Rifle R: Heavy 8 3 Long 4 1000 7 Accurate 1 Shotgun R: Heavy 8 3 Short 3 500 6 Blast 4, Knockdown, Vicious 2

Melee Weapons Name Skill Dmg Crit Range Enc. Price Rarity Special Knife Melee +1 3 Engaged 1 50 2 Brass Knuckles Melee +1 4 Engaged 1 75 1 Disorient 3 Baton Melee +2 3 Engaged 1 100 2 Stun Gun Melee 5 6 Engaged 1 100 2 Stun 3, Stun Damage Chain Melee +2 5 Engaged 1 50 1 Disorient 2, Ensnare 1 Bat Melee +3 4 Engaged 2 100 2 Disorient 4 Stake Melee +1 2 Engaged 1 150 4 Unwieldy 3, Special Sword Melee +3 3 Engaged 2 400 6 Defensive 1, Accurate 1

54 Assault Rifle Marksman Rifle Designed for military use, this rifle has somehow ended Whether for hunting or sport, this rifle is meant to put up on the streets and likely in the wrong hands. Whether down a target in as few shots as possible. The damage a ubiquitious AR/AK rifle or or an M4, this weapon is may be adjusted by 1 in either direction with the GMs lethal and surely illegal without permits. Many Assault permission to represent a smaller varmint rifle or a big- Rifles can be modified in the factory to function as game weapon such as an elephant gun. a Carbine, reducing their range to medium but also reducing encumbrance by 1. Riot Armour A full-face visor and head-to-toe protection from fists, Ammo knives and small-arms fire. Let people know you’re ready. Exactly what it sounds like, an extra clip or magazine of ammo for a ranged weapon. Semi-auto/Heavy Pistol Ranging from a 9mm or .38 calibre pistol to a bulky Bat revolver blowing a basketball sized hole in a fleeing perp, Pistols are a common weapon to find in all the wrong Whatever the sport, these Bats are built to take a beating. sorts of company. The damage or crit rating may be They can also deliver a hell of a beating in return, adjusted by 1 in either direction with the GMs permission someones skull will break before these do. to represent .22 weapons or hollow-point rounds for example. You may only make one adjustment. Baton Typically used by law enforcement, this Baton has a weighted tip that can easily break bones if swung hard Stake enough. The signature weapon of a Vampire Hunter. A stake and mallet are all-but guaranteed to incapacitate a Brass Knuckles vampire. Rather than be used conventionally, a dddd Melee Light check must be made (including the targets A simple brass ring designed to fit about knuckles, they defence). If this check succeeds, the target is immediately add extra impact to a punch. incapacitated (in addition to any damage suffered). A Vampire can attempt to resist this effect with an Chain Impossible ddddd Resilience check. A length of chain, used to lash and bludgeon an enemy. Crude but effective. This can also represent a whip or similar weapon. Stun Gun A handheld taser, normally used for self-defence. This Kevlar/Flak Vest weapon does not add the users Brawn to its damage, since only the lightest touch is necessary to activate the weapon. Similar in purpose, Kevlar vests are a cheaper and more concealable means of protection. For those who serve in the military or expect danger, a Flak Jacket is a better Submachine Gun alternative. Utilised by armed respondants for close quarter situations, submachine guns provide a high rate of fire in Knife a small, easy to use package. This SMG typically will fire The quickest way to escalate any fist fight. Capable of 9mm bullets with little room for alteration. deceptively fatal wounds, a knife brought to a fist fight is no joke. Shotgun A pump-action murder machine, Shotguns blast victims Padded Clothes off their feet (and probably out of 7th storey windows) Two or three layers of thick clothing can help absorb a with a terrific boom. To represent a break-action or punch to the gut. It may not be much, but it works. double barreled shotgun, add the Limited Ammo 1 or 2 quality. Sawed-off Shotguns have their encumbrance Machine Pistol reduced by 2 and gain Innacurate 1. Popularised in media by gangland drive-by shootings, Machine Pistols offer rapid fire in a handhold. The Sword damage or crit rating may be adjusted by 1 in either Out of date? Perhaps, but certainly stylish and effective. direction with the GMs permission to represent minor Requiring training to be fully effective, a Sword is one of alterations in the weapon. You may only make one the surer ways to incapicate a Kindred. adjustment. 55 Part Eight - Bestiary

Vampires are not the only creatures that haunt the Night. Werewolf (Nemesis) If blood-sucking fiends exist, then surely they cannot be As much Monsters as the Kindred, Werewolves roam alone after all. And lo and behold, they are not. Not every the untamed wilds beyond urban cities. While Vampires Vampire game needs to include Werewolves, the Strix or conceal themselves as a Wolf in Sheeps clothing, the Vampire Hunters but they’re iconic enough that their Werewolf knows his place and has no need for disguise or inclusion below is a necessary inclusion to this subtlety. All Werewolves are mortal humans, infected by conversion. Vampire isn’t intended to be a combat-centric some spiritual malaise. Perhaps their ancestors pledged game, so the majority of the profiles in the following loyalty to some Totemic God centuries prior, or the Full chapter will be for Nemesis and Rival tier enemies with Moon calls to them in the strangest manner. Or it’s just attatched personalities, and focus less on faceless Minions bad luck. A Werewolf has bitten them, and now they run to rip and tear through. with the Pack when the mood takes them, or the Moon beckons. Werewolves are inhumanly strong and ferocious, moreso than any Kindred, even one in the depths of the Beasts embrace. A Werewolf is the physical incarnation of a Vampires worst nightmares. A mountain of fangs, claws and muscle, unrelenting in its fury and singular in its hatred of Vampire-kind. You’d best hope he’s alone.                      

Transform - Werewolves are Mortals. As Mortals, they have a different set of characteristics of your choosing, though they will share the same skills. The Mortal will transform whether they choose to or not every full moon, but they can trigger the Transformation themselves with a dd Discipline check and suffering 2 Strain. Vulnerable - Against Werewolves, Silver weapons (including bullets and arrows) have a Critical Rating of 2. Equipment - Fangs and Claws (Brawl, Damage 6, Critical 3,Range (Engaged), Pierce 3 Vicious 3, Knockdown

Skills: Athletics 3 cccdd, Cool 2 cc, Coordination 1 cdd, Discipline 2 ccd, Perception 4 cccc, Resilience 3 cccdd, Stealth 2 ccd, Survival 3 cccd, Vigilance 3 ccc, Brawl 4 ccccd Talents: Adversary 2, Coordinated Assault 2 Abilities: Werewolf Bite - A Werewolf bite is infectious in the extreme. A Werewolf may spend t on its attack rolls to attempt to turn a Mortal into a Werewolf. Vampires are immune to this bite. A dddd Resilience check is required to resist contracting Lycanthropy. If a Mortal contracts Lycanthropy, at the next full-moon they turn into a Werewolf and use this profile.

56 Strix (Nemesis) Vampire Hunter (Nemesis) The Strix are the black mirrors of Kindred. Black shadows For as long as Kindred have existed, they have hunted and distant relatives of Kindred from millennia past, the mortals and fed upon them. But now and then, mankind Strix are shadows that were never Human. In their natural fights back, producing someone of iron convicition, state, a Strix is an owl-like mass of smoke and shadow. discipline and skill. Though still mortal, they are as Capable of draining life itself without a need for Blood, cunning and devious as any Vampire, and utterly the Strix see Kindred as pretenders shackled to Humanity dedicated to their destruction. Many young Kindred and hate them for it. They hate them for their weakness, might laugh to think a mortal could threaten them so, for their need of Blood, and for having a life the Strix they aren’t laughing when they awaken to find their house never knew. burning down around them and a Hunter on their lawn with a shotgun.                                           Skills: Cool 2 ccd, Discipline 3 cccd, Skills: Charm 2 cc, Coerction 3 ccc, Perception 3 cccd, Resilience 1 cdd, Cool 2 cc, Deception 2 ccd, Stealth 1 cddd, Vigilance 3 cccd, Skullduggery 3 cccd, Stealth 3 ccc, Brawl 1 cd Streetwise 2 ccd, Talents: Adversary 2, Swift, Scathing Tirade Ranged (Light) 1 cdd, Ranged (Heavy) 2 ccd, Abilities: Melee (Light) 3 cccd, Melee (Heavy) 2 ccd Shadow - A Strix has no solid body. Mundane attacks Talents - Adversary 2, Hamstring Shot, Kindred Duelling cannot harm it. Strix are impeded by Banes, though Silver Equipment - Flamethrower (Ranged (Heavy) Damage 7, has no effect upon them. Strix can pass through most Crit 3 Range (Medium), Burn 4, Blast 5, Vicious 2) surfaces as long as there they are not environmentally Shotgun (Ranged (Heavy), Damage 8, Crit 3, Ranged sealed, tough the time taken can vary between surfaces. (Short), Blast 4, Knockdown, Vicious 2) Possession - The Strix may possess bodies, including Silenced Pistol (Ranged (Light), Damage 5, Crit 4, Range Kindred and corpses. This requires anOpposed Discipline (Short)) check as an Action. The Strix absolutely possesses the Stake (Melee (Light), Damage +1, Crit 3, Range (Engaged) body and their host has no memory of what transpires Axe (Melee (Light), Damage +3, Crit 3, Range (Engaged), during their possession. This possession is effective until Vicious 1) the next Sunrise. While in a body, Strix use the Hosts Various cantrips, vials of holy water, Garlic, Religious Brawn and Agility stats instead of their own. They may Iconography, Beads, burner mobile phones. use any Disciplines known to the Kindred they possess. The Strix may leave its host body at any time. Should the host body be killed or knocked unconscious, the Strix is unaffected and returns to its regular stat-profile with wounds and strain intact. Solid Shadow - Flip a story point, until the end of the encounter, the Strix can make Brawl attacks with its shadow claws. (Melee, Damage 5, Critical 3, Range (Engaged), Pierce 4) Shadow Sorceror - Strix may use 75XP’s worth of Vampiric Disciplines, ignoring the needs of the Talent pyramid. Life Thief - Strix do not need Blood to sustain themselves, instead draining the essence of life directly from their victims. Strix can drain life from an engaged target with a Willpower + Discipline roll opposed by Resilience. Each success restores 1 wound to the Strix and inflicts 1 wound on the target.

57 Government Officer - Rival Bodyguard - Rival The Aristocracy of the Night is all too entwined with Security is the name of the game these days. Money and mortal beuraucracy. Whether Police Officers are on a paper trails can be bought, windows can be reinforced first-name basis with Kindred, or the Distric Attorney and krav maga classes can be attended every Saturday recieves a payment each month to not process certain evening. But there’s no substitute for a big, tough bloke reports, the Kindreds machinations are as deeply following you about closer than your own shadow. They’re entwined in Mortal affairs as can be. If using this profile hard to buy, and after that harder to be bought. Whether for corrupt Police Officers, consider adding a level or two they’re ex-military or the produce of some strange esoteric in Ranged (Light) and Melee or Brawl. lifestyle in the Tibetan mountains, it’s in everyone’s best interests to not cross the Bodyguard.                            Skills: Charm 1 cd, Cool 1 cd, Deception 2 ccd, Skills: Athletics 1 cddd, Coercion 1 Knowledge 1 cdd, Negotiation 2 cc cdd, Talents: - Perception 2 ccd, Vigilance 3 ccc, Abilities: Brawl 1 cddd, Melee (Light) 2 ccdd, Red Tape - When operating in an appropriate Ranged (Light) 2 cc circumstance (as a police officer in their area of influence Talents: - for example) upgrade the difficulty of any opposed check Abilities: made against the target in an appropriate context (a Police Bodyguard - Suffer 2 Strain to make an out-of-turn Officer would not upgrade their difficulty when discussing incidental move to intercept an attack aimed at an ally. finances for example). Equipment - Silenced Pistol (Ranged (Light), Damage 5, Equipment - Various incriminating documents, multiple Crit 4, Range (Short)) mobile phones. Brass Knuckles (Brawl, Damage +1, Crit 4, Range (Engaged), Disorient 3)

58 A huge thank you to everyone who helped me out. This Project was borne of passion, but largely directionless. I want to thank the Genesys Discord and /gengen/ in particular for putting up with questions, and then letting me steal the provided solutions. Special thanks to: C_Beck, Murlocrates, Dougsanf, Tom Cruise and the many others who’ve helped me over the months whose names I’ve unfortunately forgotten. Thanks also to Connor for helping me see the trees for the forest.

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