Kindred

Vampires are one of the three major groups of supernatural beings in the world. They are split into two main species: the predominantly western Kindred or Cainites, and the oriental Kuei-jin.

The Cainites

Cainites or Kindred are descendants of the biblical Caine, cursed with a thirst for blood, vulnerability to sunlight and immortality. They are forever subject to the Beast, their raging animal urges of hunger, fear and rage.

Cainites generally live in cities, which are run feudally by Prince; life in a city is one of constant political manipulation and paranoia, as the powers of the city vie for power, control and food. They are creatures ruled by fear, most importantly the fear of exposure to the Kine, everyday humanity.

Since the Inquisition the majority of the Cainites have lived under the Masquerade, an enforced campaign to hide the existence of their kind from humanity. In modern nights various scientific minded members of the species have classified their kind as Homo Sapiens Sanguineus, Homo Sapientissimus or even Homo Vampiricus.

Supernatural Characteristics

Vampires are created through the Embrace; during the Embrace, a vampire drains a candidate of all their blood and replaces it with a small amount (generally a single drop) of their own. This causes the corpse to rise as a (very hungry) vampire, usually instantly (though those of the highest generations may appear to lie dead for some time before they awaken). The vampire who initiates the Embrace is the Sire; the new vampire is the Sire's Childe.

When a vampire is Embraced, their internal organs atrophe, and almost all their body fluids are replaced by blood. The only exception being the stomach, which pulses with the blood that the vampire consumes. Vampires use blood (also called Vitae) for a variety of purposes; blood replaces most bodily fluids, so vampires will cry blood and sweat blood under certain circumstances. Blood is also used to get up and move; every night, vampires expend a certain amount of blood to rise. In addition, vampires can use blood to enhance their physical attributes and use supernatural powers called Disciplines. Blood is used to Embrace, as noted above, and also to create Ghouls. Finally, vampires can use blood to heal damage.

Blood is generally replaced by sucking it out of humans. While vampires can feed on other creatures, they do not enjoy the taste of animal blood and older vampires will acquire no sustenance from it (whilst the blood of the supernatural creatures are an entirely different matter). The process of taking blood is euphemistically called the Kiss or feeding. Vampires do not have to completely drain a victim, although frenzying vampires are likely to do so. Vampires can hide the puncture marks of feeding by licking the wounds, making the process fairly subtle. The Feeding process is highly pleasurable (arguably the only pleasure) for vampires, and is also extremely pleasurable for victims. Vessels who are drained regularly can become addicted to the Kiss.

Vampires change considerably after the Embrace. Physically, they are incapable of eating food, with most vomiting it up almost instantly (and even those that can keep it down for a while will still have to regurgitate the food later), they have no need for sex as the need to feed replaces all physical and emotional urges, although they can imitate the physical reactions for sex if needed and will even feel pleasure from it, though all such mortal pleasures pale in comparison to the ecstasy of the Kiss. As a result of these processes, the vampire is paler and generally thinner than they were before the Embrace. Certain clans have more extreme physical changes, such as the Nosferatu or the Cappadocians.

Once Embraced, vampires are locked into a form of stasis. Apart from wounds (healed with blood), vampires are restored to their condition at the time of Embrace every time they rise up for the night. This physical condition eventually extends to their mindsets - old vampires often find it very hard to learn new things, much like how an older human will often find it difficult to keep up with next generation's innovations and ways of thinking.

In addition to the physical changes, vampires experience extreme intellectual and emotional changes. The vampire is now a predator, and has a raging id called the Beast, that may take control of his body (be it through fear, hunger or hatred).

Vampires are highly durable against physical threats, except for fire or sunlight. If set ablaze they burn easily, and will burn up almost instantly in sunlight. However, outside of these, vampires are very hard to kill - bullets do not cause much damage, and those who possess the Disciplines of Celerity and Fortitude are extremely hard to hit, let alone damage in combat. That said, shotguns and similar weapons are warily respected or feared; while an individual bullet might not frighten a vampire, it becomes a different issue when the weapon can remove their head entirely with a well-placed shot, or remove limbs in seconds with a never-ending stream of lead.

When severely wounded, vampires can pass into a deathlike stasis called Torpor, which allows them to heal more extreme damage. Torpor can last for centuries depending on the circumstances, and as a vampire gets older, Torpor becomes a more attractive option due to social and personal issues often suffered by vampires of significant age or those who cannot cope with the changes in society. Some vampires have been in Torpor for millennia, such as the Antediluvians.

Generation

Every vampire has a Generation, numbered from 1 (Caine) to 15. A vampire is always one generation higher than his Sire, thus farther removed from Caine. Generation has a variety of effects - mental powers do not work on vampires of lower generation, and the lower a generation the more potent a vampire can become.

Generation has a variety, effects. The amount of blood a character can store and spend changes radically as their generation decreases, this makes a low-generation character far more potent in combat, especially once they can spend more blood at a time. Vampires cannot lower their generation except through diablerie, a form of vampiric cannibalism in which the diablerist consumes the soul of his or her victim - which is usually a rare opportunity and a very severe crime. A Diablerie is easily detectable on an aura, and the Camarilla views it as a capital crime.

Weaknesses

Aside from the particular curses of each clan, the Cainites share a few disadvantages. For instance, vampires must feed on the blood of other beings to survive and heal their wounds (with few notable exceptions, such as the Nagaraja, who must feed on flesh as well). In addition, they universally fear fire, sunlight, decapitation, and the teeth, claws and powers of other supernatural creatures. A wooden stake through the heart will immobilize them. Contrary to popular belief, garlic has no ill effect on vampires at all, save for a very small number with an unusual flaw in their blood. Likewise, the inability to cross running water is a rare weakness and probably psychosomatic.

Also, after the embrace every vampire must be wary of the influence of the Beast upon their behavior. The Beast continuously assaults the character, and if the Beast's demands exceed the character's own capacity to control it, it will react in a Frenzy or Rötschreck. Vampires can permanently lose control to the Beast, entering Wassail, a state of permanent Frenzy. In this condition, all humanity is lost and the vampire becomes a Wight.

History

Cainite's history begins with a homicidal farmer: Caine of the Biblical story. According to Vampiric mythology (detailed in the Book of Nod), Caine killed his brother Abel and was exiled by God to Nod, East of Eden. Outside of Nod he met Lilith, who taught him the basics of vampiric power. At this time, he was also cursed by God's Angels to be vulnerable to fire, sunlight and the treachery of his descendants.

Caine then traveled to Enoch, the First City of the human race. There he embraced its ruler and became the God-King of the city, embracing three childer as the Second Generation. These three in turn embraced the thirteen Antediluvians, the founders of the clans.

Some time after this, the Antediluvians rebelled against the Second Generation, after which the Great Flood covered Enoch in water. The Antediluvians survived for 40 days under water, devouring their own, until the floods receded.

Some time after the flood, the Antediluvians build the Second City, which they rule over as Gods, until Caine returns to pass judgement on them. Caine curses each of the Clans, then leaves.

The Antediluvians spread across the world at this time, travelling to various places and embracing further descendants. Eventually, they sink into Torpor. Vampires fear Gehenna, the time that the Antediluvians will rise from Torpor and devour their descendants, then Caine will return in judgement.

Organization

Nominally, every vampire is Embraced into a clan, which is a line of vampires tracing their ancestry back to a common Antediluvian. Each Clan has specific strengths and weaknesses, as well as their own distinct history. A vampire without a Clan is Caitiff, generally a second-class citizen in vampiric society.

Most vampires belong to one of two major sects: the Camarilla and the Sabbat. The Camarilla consists of those clans who are dedicated to preserving the Masquerade and (generally) their Humanity. The Sabbat are dedicated to the coming Gehenna and the superiority of the vampire species over humanity. It should be noted that the distinction is not between Good Vampires and Bad Vampires as much as between Bad Vampires and Worse Vampires (which is which depends largely on who you ask). The Camarilla and Sabbat are violent enemies.

In addition to these two Sects, several lesser divisions exist. Vampires who reject both Sects in favor of more indepedence are grouped into a loose community called Anarch. Several Clans are loyal primarily to their Clans, and are independent of the major Sects. There are also a relatively new sect called the Independent Alliance. In addition, there is a group of mysterious elder vampires, the Inconnu, who eschew all politics in favor of their own projects. However, not every Kindred belongs to a Sect, nor swears fealty to a Clan, Prince, Bishop, or other such entity - these Autarkis often lead solitary unlives not unlike hermits or outcasts.

While they are still globalized, most vampires are generally confined to one city (which is ruled in a feudal fashion). At the apex of the power structure is the Prince, who is generally served by a council of Primogen, the prince controls access to feeding grounds which he allocates as fiefs. There are additional city offices, notably the Harpies and Sheriff, as well as other, more specialized offices.

Sabbat cities use a slightly different structure. Cities are generally ruled by an Archbishop, who is supported by a number of Bishops. Below this level are the various packs who make up the bulk of Sabbat society; these packs are led by Ducti.

In addition to these offices, however, the Sects impose their own additional offices. Princes report to the Camarilla, whose most visible officers are the Archons, roving agents of the Justicars, who are the highest public Camarilla official. Each clan provides one Justicar, who controls his own stable of Archons. Justicars are roving troubleshooters, each one generally focusing on one major project at a time - such as conducting a war to take over a city.

The Sabbat has a complex internal structure which includes both Templars and an internal Inquisition as well as a mini-sect called the Black Hand.

Clans

There are 13 main Vampire clans.

• Assamite: Also known as the Banu Haqim, they are a cult of assassins located in the mountain fortress of Alamut in the middle east. Descended from Caine's judge, the Assamites accept assassination contracts against vampires while fulfilling their clan's own (more obscure) goals. The Assamites are practically a sect unto themselves, with three castes, each of which has its own weakness. Their clan joined the Camarilla after the Second Inquisition started.

• Brujah: Originally warrior-philosophers, the Brujah are now petty rebels, roughnecks and political activists. The Brujah are powerful combatants and charismatic speakers, but are more prone to succumbing to frenzy. A notable number lead the Anarch movement but there are still many in the Camarilla or are independent.

• Followers of Set: Formerly known as Followers of Set or Setites, Descendants of the Egyptian God Set, the original Setites were a Gnostic cult dedicated to overthrowing the rule of the tyrant gods who oppress all creatures. Though in the Mid 2010s they re-branded into the Ministry, making it about religion of self with Set being said to exist inside each of his followers. They are still seen as creatures of Darkness, and light does even more damage to them.

• Giovanni: The Giovanni are a clan of Venetian businessmen and necromancers who entered the scene in the 15th century; originally an offset of the more sedate Cappadocians, Augustus Giovanni diablerized his sire and purged the clan of all Cappadocians. Since that time, the Giovanni have become a very rich, powerful and incestuously twisted family with tentacles throughout the world. The Giovanni do not feed lightly - Feeding is a nightmare for their Vessels, causing excess damage and intense pain as oppose to the erotic ecstasy of the Kiss. At the begining of the Second Inquisition they were nearly slaughtered and forced to retreat to their homelands.

• Malkavian: The Malkavians are a clan of Vampires with their ranks filled with those perceived to be mentally ill, afflicted with a strange madness which varies between individuals. This doesn't mean that they aren't also insightful and highly intelligent, but they are controlled by their own variant of madness from the moment of their Embrace, some showing signs of previous traumas from their life as Kine.

• Nosferatu: Nosferatu are hideously deformed by their Embrace and every Nosferatu is horrifyingly ugly. Eschewing other Vampires, they live in sewers and generally keep to themselves. Nosferatu are information brokers par excellence. Since the Gangrel left the Camarilla, the Nosferatu have shown that they are physically capable as enforcers and assassins in their place, cementing their place as invaluable. While they most are apart of a Camarilla on the whole, they put clan over sect, protecting non-Camarilla Nosferatu from threats that'd expose them and vice versa.

• Ravnos: The Ravnos are Vampires from the Indian subcontinent, where they are engaged in a genocidal war with India's Cathayans. The first Ravnos seen in the west were Gypsies and were generally assumed to be charlatans and rogues (which isn't that far off, since many Ravnos are charlatans and rogues); however, the Ravnos adhere to a complex philosophy of enlightenment through destroying Maya. Each Ravnos has a vice, from gambling to plagiarism. During the Week of Nightmares, they were nearly wiped out by their own Antediluvian. The few that remain stay hidden, even from other Kindred.

• Gangrel: The Gangrel are nomadic vampires and the only ones who regularly travel outside of cities. The Gangrel are also shape-shifters with the Discipline of Protean, which has left them with a tendency to acquire animal features as they frenzy. Since the late 1990s, they've become largely independent though a number have joined the Anarchs and very few remained within the Camarilla's circles.

• Toreador: The Toreador are obsessed with art and beauty, and are the clan that spends the most time around humanity. Toreador tend to get lost in art, becoming enraptured by beautiful things. This love of beautiful things sometimes is their downfall as they become obsessive of their desired beauty including in some fatal cases, the sun itself.

• Tremere: The Tremere are a Hermetic order (originally from Ars Magica) who turned themselves into vampires to preserve their magic. It didn't quite work out as planned. Since the 11th century, the Tremere have risen from outcasts to one of the pillars of Camarilla society. Tremere are the most powerful practitioners of the Discipline of Thaumaturgy, but are also tightly bound to their highly organized and incredibly paranoid clan. Only the original house of Tremere remains loyal to the Camarilla with three other major houses appearing through out the world.

• Ventrue: The Clan Of Kings. The Ventrue are the leaders of the Camarilla. They are businessmen, aristocrats, monarchs, captains of industry, crime leaders and tend to occupy any other position where control, social status and power are required. They are the clan from whom the majority of Princes come and since the Second Inquisition and call to the middle east, their Anarch counterparts make up a number of Barons. Ventrue are careful to whom they Embrace and who they feed from: every Ventrue feeds exclusively from a specific type of prey.

• Lasombra: The former leaders of the Sabbat, the Lasombra slew their own Antediluvian during the Anarch Revolt and then led the Sabbat against the nascent Camarilla. The Lasombra are elegant, powerful, cruel and predatory espousers of a social darwinist approach towards control and leadership. The Lasombra are also masters of shadow, able to manipulate darkness in bizarre fashions; this power has a cost, however, as Lasombra cast no reflections. In the mid 2010s they sought accord with the Camarilla and joined their ranks.

• Tzimisce: The Tzimisce hail from Eastern Europe, and are the former absolute masters of their nightmare domains. The Tzimisce are the least human vampires in VTM, casually cruel and more than a little mad, and possessing the most potent shapeshifting powers of any Vampire. Tzimisce can shift not only their shape, but mold flesh and bone like it was clay. The Tzimisce crave stability - they cannot find peace at night without some of their grave earth.

Dead Clans

Clans that are believed to be extinct.

• Salubri: The Clan of Saulot, discoverer of Golconda. The Salubri were a clan of healers and demon-fighters. After the Tremere became vampires, the Founder Tremere sought out Saulot and diablerized him, they then launched a campaign against the clan, branding them as demon-worshippers and soul-stealers. There are only a few Salubri today.

• Cappadocians: The original Clan of Death, the Cappadocians were a monastic order of vampires who studied death, the soul and the Embrace. They were destroyed by Augustus Giovanni in a coup d'etat. The Cappadocians were noted for their corpselike appearance, even more so than most Vampires.

Bloodlines And Antitribu

In addition to the thirteen clans, there are a variety of bloodlines, who are offshoots or mutations of existing clans. These bloodlines are generally small and normally politically impotent. Examples include the Daughters of Cacophony, Kiasyd and Samedi.

Clanless

In the World of Darkness, there is an increasing number of "clanless"—vampires who were abandoned by their sires immediately following the Embrace and who are ignorant of their clan status; a vampire cannot choose to become clanless. They are called Caitiff by the Camarilla, and regarded as a sign of the Masquerade spiralling out of control, therefore gaining little respect from their elders. The Sabbat, on the other hand, gladly embraces the clanless (which they call Panders) into the sect. The more superstitious see the growing numbers of these vampires as an omen of the coming Gehenna, the Final Nights of prophecy when all children of Caine will be destroyed.

Culture

Vampires observe a set of customs that exists somewhere between being coded into their undead natures and a social contract that’s ratified every night among the courts of the Damned. Not every vampire affords the idea of the Traditions the respect they deserve — the Sabbat in particular make bold claims about the flaws of the Traditions and the weak wills of those who hide behind them — but in practice, most vampires observe the Traditions to some extent. This is most true of the Masquerade, for as bold as the Sabbat or Anarchs may be, even they don’t have the concentrated might to stand against a world of mortals who learn the secret that the undead walk among them.

Interpreting and enforcing the Traditions is the privilege and responsibility of the Cainite rulers. In some domains, particularly those of non-Camarilla Sects, both the titles and the Traditions themselves may vary, but the core principle is found everywhere: that an undead authority makes the rules and woe to any who feel that they don’t have to heed them.