2.0 Vampire: the Requiem™ Rules

LAST UPDATED
7-31-08

OVERVIEW

RESTRICTIONS
- Restricted Backgrounds
- Restricted Clans
- Restricted Disciplines
- Restricted Merits & Flaws
- Restricted Misc.

CREATING A V:tM CHARACTER
.

BOOKS USED
.

VAMPIRE THEMED MEDIA
.

LINKS TO VAMPIRE RELATED WEB SITES
.

 

  

 

Dr. Karen Jenson: Isn't this just a little high-tech? I thought vampires were more into cobwebs and coffins.
 

Blade: You've been watching too much TV. They've got their claws into everything - politics, finance, real estate. They already own half of downtown.

-- "Blade," 1998

-- OVERVIEW:

ST NOTE, PLEASE READ:

The below page contains some information on the Vampire game that is for current vampire players only. Others are asked not to read this.

If any player/PC shows knowledge of this information that should not have it, IC or OOC, they will be treated as meta-gaming.

BASIC DESCRIPTION OF DC VAMPIRE POLITICS -- 

OCTOBER 2006: As the genre opens, the last full court (Invictus held) of Washington, DC was destroyed or run off by unknown forces. The Prince, his Council, and their minions, scattered or killed; the Elysium destroyed. Those coming to the city are left to carve out some semblance of order before it is lost for a long time to come. Theirs is also to discover who wiped out an entire court, in one of the most powerful cities in existence for both Vampire and Mortal, and why it was done. And, whether or not they are still a threat to those who have come to rebuild...

There has been IC progress since this event, but your PC must explain in your BG or do the work in RP how you come to find this information out. The times of Worldwide politics and news in Vampire kind is over; just like in the real world, if you live in Chicago you don't automatically know the scoop in L.A. or NYC or Florida or Paris without making some calls, networking, etc.

Things to bear in mind about the current state of various factions, when creating a Kindred character for this Chronicle:

Currently the Lancea Sanctum are the Covenant in power in DC. There is a Circle of the Crone presence. There are Invictus, and then there are Ordo, in that order of current power. There are also now Carthians.

 

 

 

VAMPIRES IN POWER IN DC:

The roster for the Washington DC Court is listed in Posting #10 on the Requiem YahooGroup.

You will be able to access it after your vampire PC is approved.

 

 

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Territorial Lines (Canon) 

(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

 

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RESTRICTIONS:

Restrictions are things that are legal by the book but for game balance or other reasons, the STs want more strict control over how much it is in play in this game. The below are not forbidden unless stated clearly otherwise, they just require additional justification to the STs before approval, and approval is NOT guaranteed if the STs feel there is not enough cause to allow it.

NPC restrictions mean that you may not play one as anything other than an NPC (meaning a char that the ST's dictate their actions, regardless of who runs it).

Do not make a Vampire PC that has lived in DC very long. Due to issues with the storyline in play, that would either be impossible or make your PC a criminal. Please make someone who comes to DC from elsewhere, with an agenda.

Restricted Backgrounds: Kindred with Law Enforcement, Federal Agent or Military Employment AFTER Embrace (or anything related that might want an IC Background Check).

Forbidden Backgrounds:

Restricted Character Classes:

Restricted Clans:

- PC’s: All Bloodlines require special extra ST approval, to keep game balance. There will not be a higher percentage of Bloodline PCs than there are the main 5 Clans. If that happens, Bloodlines will be closed until balance is restored.

NB: As of July 2008, Bloodlines are reopened (allowed) but are subject to ST approval to play.

CLANS: As of July 2008, Clan Daeva is FULL. After we have some other PCs to balance it out, we will post a re-opening notice here. Ventrue, Gangrel, Mehket and Nosferatu are still open.

NOTE: Yes, you may play a Bloodline of a closed clan, as long as Bloodlines are being accepted at all.

- NPC Class Only: TBA.

Forbidden Clans:

Restricted Covenants: Belial's Blood and VII (NPC only).

July 2008: Invictus is closed. All other covenants are open. Unaligned are restricted from play.

Restricted Disciplines: 

  • Coils of the Dragon: Ordo PCs only

  • Crúac: Circle of the Crone PCs only

  • Theban Sorcery: Lancea Sanctum PCs only

  • Disciplines outside the 3 listed as normal for your Clan or Bloodline (at Creation).

Restricted Merits:

OTHER RESTRICTIONS:

  • STARTING Blood Potency higher than 1: ST Approval & with Background Explanation Only.

  • If you make a PC class character over 100 years old, it must have torpored/slept at least once already. You may NOT take the optional starting XP from Pg. 92: that is an optional rule.

 

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"Until death do us part? Fine. I died about five years ago." -- Mike

 

-- CREATING A V:tR CHARACTER:

Please use the character sheets we have posted HERE.

1. Name: Put the name of your character.

 

2. Player: Put your name (and preferably also your email address).

 

3. Chronicle: Put "Washington DC By Night." (or DC By Night or 11th Hour)

 

4. Concept: This is open-ended, but you can see examples on pg. 34 of WW55002.

Concepts are usually a 1-3 word root-level label for who your character is at the core as a person (not in a supernatural sense), usually succinctly matching their personality and their function.

Examples might be: Ambitious Journalist, Angry Young Man, Drifter, Intellectual, Lost Waif, Party Animal, Politician, Misguided Prophet, Radical Politician, Socialite. These are stereotypes, and needn't be literal; details would be covered in your background.  

Example Concepts (1.0 version but still helpful):

http://www.virtualsolarsystem.com/venus/ladynightspirit/Concept.htm

5. Virtue: (Loosely based on the Seven Heavenly Virtues) List on Pg. 34; explained on pg. 100-105 of WW55002

Choose one of the following: Charity, Faith, Fortitude, Hope, Justice, Prudence or Temperance.

6. Vice: (Loosely based on the Seven Deadly Sins) List on Pg. 34; explained on pg. 100-105 of WW55002

Choose one of the following: Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Pride, Sloth or Wrath.

7. Clan: Choose from Daeva, Gangrel, Mehket, Nosferatu, or Ventrue.

 

BLOODLINES (Courtesy of Wikipedia.org):

Clan Bloodlines which offshoot from each clan
Daeva Anvari, The Carnival, Children of Judas, Duchagne, Gulikan, Kallisti, Mortifiers of the Flesh, Nelapsi, Spina, Toreador, Xiao
Gangrel Anavashra, Anubi, Annunaku, Bohagande, Bruja, Matasuntha, Moroi, Oberlochs, Taifa, Vedma
Mekhet Agonistes, Alucinor, Khaibit, Kuufukuji, Libitinarius, Lynx, Mnemosyne, Morbus, Norvegi, Osites, Players, Qedeshah, Sangiovanni, Sons of Khalil, Tismanu
Nosferatu Acteius, Azerkatil, Baddacelli, Burakumin, Galloi, Gethsemani, Morotrophian, Noctuku, Rakshasa, Yagnatia
Ventrue Architects of the Monolith, Beni Murrahim, Bron, Cassians, Dragolescu, Icarians, Licinii, Macellarius, Malkovian, Malocusians, Melissidae, Nahualli, Rötgrafen, Sotoha

 

8. Covenant: Choose from - The Carthian Movement, The Circle of the Crone, The Invictus, The Lancea Sanctum, The Ordo Dracul, or The Unaligned. Belial's Blood and VII are NPC class only.

9. Coterie: Name of local group (or names of members) you primarily hang out with, align yourself with, or identify with. If you do not yet have one, you may leave this blank for now.

 

 

10. ATTRIBUTES

**NB: For Attributes, Skills and Merits, there is no longer a 3 pt. max cap for stats in the "initial stage" (since there is no freebies stage in 2.0).

However, if you buy 5 dots of anything in Attributes, Skills or Merits at Creation, the 5th Dot costs 2 points, not 1. (See left side pg. 34, WW55002 for more details.)

Attributes are broken down into Mental, Physical and Social, but also across the other way, into Power, Finesse and Resistance. (See pg. 47, WW55002 for details.)

Starting dots for Attributes are 5/4/3.

 

  MENTAL PHYSICAL SOCIAL
POWER Intelligence Strength Presence
FINESSE Wits Dexterity Manipulation
RESISTANCE Resolve Stamina Composure

 

 

11. SKILLS (Mental/Physical/Social): You will have 11/7/4 starting dots (+3 Specialties).

(See pg. 53, WW55002 for more info.) Mental skills you don't have dots in will cost -3 to your dice pool for a roll using that stat. Physical & Social are -1 for unskilled.

  • Mental Skills: Academics, Computer, Crafts, Investigation, Medicine, Occult, Politics & Science.

  • Physical Skills: Athletics, Brawl, Drive, Firearms, Larceny, Stealth, Survival & Weaponry.

  • Social Skills: Animal Ken, Empathy, Expression, Intimidation, Persuasion, Socialize, Streetwise & Subterfuge.

 

12. MERITS (7 starting points) -- See pg. 34 (list) and pg. 108 (explanations) in WW55002

 

 

Vampire Merits include:

( - Merits exclusive to Vampire PCs ONLY are listed in Blue - )

Allies (must be explained in BG)

Haven

Ambidextrous

Herd

Barfly

Holistic Awareness

Brawling Dodge

Inspiring

Common Sense

Iron Stamina

Contacts (must be explained in BG)

Iron Stomach

Danger Sense

Language (must be listed in BG)

Direction Sense

Mentor (must be explained in BG)

Disarm

Natural Immunity

Eidetic Memory

Quick Draw

Encyclopedic Knowledge

Quick Healer

Fame (arena must be listed in BG)

Resources ($ source must be listed in BG)

Fast Reflexes

Retainer (must be explained in BG)

Fighting Finesse

Status (City, Clan and/or Covenant) (must be explained in BG)

Fighting Style: Boxing

Striking Looks

Fighting Style: Kung Fu

Strong Back

Fighting Style: Two Weapons

Strong Lungs

Fleet of Foot

Stunt Driver

Fresh Start

Toxic Resistance

Giant

Weaponry Dodge

Gunslinger

  

 

 

 

13. FLAWS

In WOD 2.0, flaws do not actually cost points, and are included more for optional character balance.

You DO get extra experience (*as the ST subjectively deems earned) for playing your flaws well in RP.

 

Vampire Flaws include:

Addiction (explain in BG)

Hard of Hearing

Aloof

Lame

Amnesia

Mute

Behaviour Blind

Notoriety (explain in BG)

Coward

One Arm

Deformity

One Eye

Dwarf

Poor Sight

Embarrassing Secret (explain in BG)

Racist/Sexist

Forgetful

Speech Impediment

 

 

14. Clan Weakness: List that here.

15. EQUIPMENT: List any equipment you carry, especially any  that would require dice, and their dice mods.

16. DISCIPLINES:

Choose from: Animalism, Auspex, Celerity, Cachexy, Coils of the Dragon, Coils of Blood, Coils of Banes, Coils of the Beast, Crúac, Dominate, Getsumai, Majesty, Nightmares, Obfuscate, Protean, Resilience, Theban Sorcery, or Vigor. You must fulfill requirements for any restricted disciplines listed in the above Restricted section.

17. HEALTH (12 points): No need to fill anything in.

18. WILLPOWER:

19. VITAE (20 pts. Max):

20. BLOOD POTENCY (10 pts. Max): Refer to bottom of Pg. 99 of WW25000 for Effects of the various levels of Blood Potency. Starting BP higher than 1 must be justified in your Background questions.

21. HUMANITY (10 pts. Max):

22. Additional Notes for Combat: Size, Speed, Initiative Mod, Defense, Armor

 

 

BEFORE YOU FINISH YOUR CHAR SHEET, CHECK IT AGAINST THE RESTRICTIONS FOR ALL GENRES:

Restricted & Forbidden Character Types (Creating A Character Sheet)

http://www.digitalgothic.net/Rules/rulesrestrict.htm

 

Restricted Merits, Flaws, Backgrounds & Powers (Creating A Character Sheet)

http://www.digitalgothic.net/Rules/rulesmfbgds.htm

 

 

LAWS LINK:

http://www.stlouisbynight.com/laws.html

 

 

 

 

 

USEFUL BOOK REFERENCES:

 

 

 

 

WHO APPROVES YOUR VAMPIRE PC?:

  • All ST's have the authority to accept Vampire PC Submissions for approval.

 

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"Evil is a point of view. God kills indiscriminately, and so shall we; for no creatures under God are as we are, none so like Him as ourselves. "

- Lestat de Lioncourt, Anne Rice's "Interview With A Vampire"

 

VAMPIRE SOURCEBOOKS IN USE:

White Wolf #

Title

ISBN #

 Description
WW25000 Vampire: The Requiem (Saturday 21 August, 2004); 304 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-247-1 V:tR 2.0 Core Book
WW25001 (Covenant Guide) Lancea Sanctum (Thursday 31 March, 2005) ISBN: 1-58846-249-8 COVENANT - An in-depth look at the history, philosophy & modern operations of the holiest order of the Damned
       
WW25100 Coteries (Thursday 11 November, 2004); 128 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-251-X COTERIES examines the “family unit” of Kindred society.
WW25101 Nomads (Thursday 09 December, 2004); 128 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-252-8 A guide to vampire survival outside protected cities
WW25102 Bloodlines: The Hidden (Thursday 24 February, 2005); 128 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-255-2 Drawn from the shadows are 12 BLOODLINES from all five clans
WW25103 Bloodlines: The Legendary (Thursday 12 January, 2006); 128 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-260-9 Nine new, secretive vampire BLOODLINES beyond The Hidden
WW25110 Ghouls (Thursday 28 April, 2005); 144 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-256-0 GHOULS examines the life and lot of those who serve vampiric masters.
       
WW25120 (Covenant Guide) Ordo Dracul (Thursday 14 July, 2005); 224 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-257-9 COVENANT - The Ordo Dracul — the Covenant founded by Dracula himself
WW25121 (Covenant Guide) Invictus (Thursday 27 October, 2005); ISBN: 1-58846-259-5 COVENANT - the Invictus stands as a model covenant, one immune to the passage of time.
       
       
       
WW25200 City of the Damned: New Orleans (Thursday 26 May, 2005) ISBN: 1-58846-248-X CITY GUIDE - New Orleans: The Big Easy in all its baroque glory,
       
WW25300 Rites of the Dragon (Thursday 09 December, 2004); 128 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-254-4 ORDO: Rites of the Dragon is the testament of Dracula himself, written in his own words.
WW25301 (Covenant Guide) VII (Monday 29 August, 2005); pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-285-7 COVENANT - Three different possible truths to the mystery of the vampires known as VII (Seven).
WW25302 Requiem Chronicler's Guide (Thursday 09 February, 2006); 192 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-261-7 ST: Storyteller Supplement
WW25303 (Covenant Guide) Carthians (Thursday 27 April, 2006); 224 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-262-5 COVENANT - the young idealists and passionate revolutionaries of the Damned
WW25304 Mythologies - The Legends of the Damned (Friday 09 June, 2006);    
       
WW25700 Vampire: The Requiem Storyteller's Screen (Thursday 28 October, 2004) ISBN: 1-58846-599-3 Storyteller's Screen
WW25701 Vampire Character Sheet Pad (Wednesday 08 September, 2004) ISBN: 1-58846-598-5 Paper Character Sheets
WW25702 Vampire: The Requiem Dice (Monday 20 September, 2004) ISBN: 1-58846-597-7 Dice

 

 

VAMPIRE: THE REQUIEM FICTION

(**NOT VALID SOURCEBOOKS FOR CHARACTER CREATION INFO**)
WW11235 A Hunger Like Fire (Vampire: The Requiem Novel #1) (Thursday 09 December, 2004); 288 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-862-3 Persephone Moore in Chicago
WW11236 ???    
WW11237 Blood In, Blood Out (Vampire: The Requiem Novel #2) (Thursday 24 February, 2005); 288 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-866-6 Ever since his Embrace, Duce Carter has been a firebrand among the Kindred of Chicago, fanning the flames of revolution against the city’s Prince and its hidebound elders. But when Chicago’s Carthians turn on Duce in the wake of a brutal assassination attempt, the only person he can go to for help is none other than Persephone Moore, the Prince’s only child
WW11238 Marriage of Virtue & Viciousness (Vampire: The Requiem Novel #3) (Thursday 23 June, 2005); 288 pgs. ISBN: 1-58846-872-0 Word has spread among Chicago’s Kindred that Prince Maxwell is to grant an indulgence, a one-night lift on the ban imposed on destroying fellow vampires. The Damned scurry for position and ready their long-delayed revenge. But no vampire’s rage is more consuming than that of Solomon Birch, the fallen zealot of the undead church known as the Lancea Sanctum.

 

Download these books and other WW Books

(even Out of Print!) on PDF LEGALLY:

 

 

 

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"One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach; all the damn vampires."

-- Grandpa, "The Lost Boys" (1987)

 

 

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"How do we seem to you? Do you find us beautiful, magical? Our white skin, our fierce eyes? 'Drink,' you ask me; do you have any idea of the thing you will become?"

- Louis de Pointe du Lac, in Anne Rice's "Interview With A Vampire"

 

VAMPIRE THEMED MEDIA:

BOOKS: "The Vampire Chronicles" by Anne Rice, "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson (1954), The Harry Potter Series, "Lost Souls" by Poppy Z. Brite, "Blood Is Not Enough" Anthology edited by Ellen Datlow, Day of the Jackal [Assamite/Assassin mentality], "Bloodwar: The Masquerade Of The Red Death" by Robert Weinberg

MOVIES: Near Dark, Lost Boys, The Hunger, Blade I & II, Highlander I (Immortals & their "Masquerade"), Fright Night, Salem's Lot, Omega Man, Lifeforce , Vampire Hunter D, Countess Dracula, Dracula ('58), Dracula A.D. 1972, The Omega Man

MUSIC: "Bloodletting" by Concrete Blonde, "Night Moves" by Marilyn Martin, "After Dark" by Blue Oyster Cult, "Blessed Are You" & "Dracula" by Iced Earth

POETRY: Baudelaire, "The Vampire" by Rudyard Kipling

TELEVISION: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Dark Shadows, Forever Knight, Hellsing (& another Hellsing Link), "Kindred: The Embraced" (1995)

THEATER:  

VIDEO GAMES:   Vampire: the Masquerade - Redemption

 

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Homer: Y'have any idea what it's like to be a big man on the inside and have a small body on the outside?

Severen: You have ANY idea what it's like to HEAR about it every NIGHT?

-- "Near Dark," 1987

Quintessential V:tR Archetypes in Media & Myth: (needs revision for 2.0)

  • Hannibal Lecter: the perfect Malkavian (with shades of Ventrue)

  • The gang (David, Star, etc.) from "Lost Boys": Brujah

  • Louis from "Interview With A Vampire": Toreador (in attitude)

  • Drusilla from "Buffy": Oracular Ability Merit in use

  • Severen in "Near Dark": poss. Brujah, if not outright Anarch or shades of Sabbat

  • Malfoy & House Slitherin in "Harry Potter": Tremere (in attitude)

 

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"Ah, come now. I look like an angel, but I'm not. The old rules of nature encompass many creatures like me. We're beautiful like the diamond-backed snake, or the striped tiger, yet we're merciless killers."

--- Lestat de Lioncourt, "Tale of the Body Thief"

 

LINKS TO VAMPIRE RELATED WEB SITES:

 

Dracula - The Myth of Dracula (article by Linda Casselman): http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/mythology/83076

Endless Night / Black Xion Goth Fetish Occult & Vampire Fest: http://endlessnight.com/

The REAL Prince Dracula: http://www.royalty.nu/Europe/Balkan/Dracula.html

Wikipedia on V:tR: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Requiem

 

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