The Vampire: The Masquerade Forum
Frequently Asked Questions
Version 1.9
Version 1.5 Maintained and updated by Amokk
Version 1.0 Compiled and Written by Shawn Gaston
Contents:
Spoiler Disclaimer
Legal Disclaimer
Introduction
Metaplot Questions
When did the Gangrel leave the Camarilla? Why?
What did Xavier really see?
Is the Ravnos Antediluvian really dead?
Why did White Wolf kill off the Ravnos?
Saulot is Evil? Whats up with that?
Whats up with Saulot/Tremere/Goratrix?
Lucita is Sabbat now?
Is there any Cappadocians/Tremere Antitribu/Ahrimanes/Whatever left?
New York is a Camarilla City now?
Which major Characters have met the Final Death recently? What book did they die in?
What are the effects of the attacks on New York and Washington in the World of Darkness? Did White Wolf have to alter New York by Night? What supernatural group was behind the attacks?
Questions About Rules
What happens when a pregnant woman is Embraced?
Can Vampires have Sex?
Why cant I have both Celerity and Temporis?
What book can I find each Clan/Bloodline?
Why should I make a Humanity check for doing X?
Miscellaneous Game Questions
Whats the latest Edition of the Game? How do I know if I have it?
Im a Vampire! Im from such-and-such clan and am (insert Generation here)!
Im a new Player, how do I play this game?
Im a new Player, what books should I buy?
Im a new Storyteller, what books should I buy?
Whos this Justin Guy?
Why dont Vampires rise up and rule over humans?
How do I defeat the Golum/Etrius/Vukodlak etc?
Two books contradict each other. Which is right?
Why do so many people hate Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand?
Are the Clan Novels considered canon?
Whats with Werewolf/Mage/Exalted/Whatever?
What about vampires and Christianity?
Was Jesus Christ/Hitler/Napoleon a vampire?
What is a standard V:tM game?
What is a twink?
Technical Questions
How do I get there?
Why do some questions end up at the bottom when new threads are supposed to be at the top? I just posted a new thread and it disappeared! What's up with the 1904 thing?
What happened to all of the old posts?
Miscellaneous Forum Questions
The Use Terms arent fair! White Wolf sucks! I dont like the colors!
Why is the Forum so mean/boring/rules-lawyerish/whatever-it-is-this-week now?
Whats (IC) and (OT)?
Can someone look at my character please and give me some advice?
This FAQ contains many answers to questions you may not want to know. If you are interested in keeping the world of Vampire: The Masquerade a mystery to you, and learning its secrets either in game or from the books, then I strongly recommend you skip Section I, part A.
When possible, every effort has been made to give credit to the proper authors and books used to create this FAQ. Vampire: The Masquerade is a trademark of White Wolf Publishing, and every book mentioned is Copyright White Wolf Publishing as well. This FAQ is in no way shape or form meant as a challenge to those Trademarks and Copyrights. It is merely meant to help fans of Vampire: The Masquerade find information more easily.
The Vampire Forum at http://www.White-Wolf.com is easily the busiest forum on the site, and one of the busier Roleplaying Game discussion pages on the entire net. Many new people go to the forum every day and many of them ask the same questions. In an effort to make it easier for the new Forumites, and to save some aggravation for any of the regulars, this FAQ has been painstakingly compiled. If you have more questions about a topic here, feel free to ask on the forum; and of course if you have a question not listed here feel free to ask it.
The answers in this FAQ are based on what has been published in official Vampire: The Masquerade books. However this in no way shape or form means that you cant do as you see fit in your own game. Just because this FAQ and Guide to the Camarilla say that the Gangrel have left the Camarilla doesnt mean anyone is forcing you to make that happen in your game. There are no Game Police who will come banging on your door if you love Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand or if you want to use Highlanders, Jedis or something else in your game. Likewise players- dont assume that because something is listed here that its how it works in your Storytellers game.
Now, on to the FAQ
Note: If you want the full details on most of the major events of the Vampire Metaplot then check out Nights of Prophecy, a whole book devoted to the Metaplot.
1. When did the Gangrel leave the Camarilla? Why?
Guide to the Camarilla details the departure of clan Gangrel, which happened in the official setting in 1998. Xavier, then Justicar of Clan Gangrel, saw something that may or may not have been an Antediluvian. He went to the Inner Circle asking for help, but didnt like their answer and quit. Soon after Xavier left most of the clan left as well. See Guide to the Camarilla and Clanbook Gangrel Revised for more information.
2. What did Xavier really see?
No one knows for sure. Clan Novel Gangrel gives one explanation, however this may or may not be what actually happened in the game setting. See question 12 under Miscellaneous Game Questions below.
3. Is the Ravnos Antediluvian really dead?
Yes. It is officially canonically dead. It did not escape. It did not survive the attacks on it. It did not use Chimerstry 10 to fake it's death. It is dead and gone. The Ravnos clan founder died at the end of the Week of Nightmares, which happened in July of 1999. Its waking caused shockwaves that affected the entire world, and it took the combined (though unintentional) efforts of many of the denizens of the World of Darkness to kill it. As long as Vampire has the same developer it does today, the Ravnos clan founder is not coming back. Please do not start a "Ravnos Isnt Dead! He used Chemistry 10!" thread. See Time of Thin Blood and question 4 below.
4. Why did White Wolf kill off the Ravnos?
As explained by the Vampire developer Justin Achilli, way back in August of 99:
el Bastardo (jachilli@white-wolf.com) August 11, 1999 (18:54)
"The decision to kill off the Ravnos Antediluvian came to me while Rob was working on the revised edition rulebook. Kindred of the East had just come out and all of the writing assignments for the revised edition had been turned in."
"The theme for the revised edition was tension. We'd talked about Gehenna and the Jyhad and the end of the world for a long time, but it never seemed to come any closer. A game that was supposed to have a horrific urgency instead just kind of languished along."
"Of course, this wasn't true in individual games -- I'm sure everyone's personal Vampire game had plenty of its own ups and downs and very tense moments -- but nothing inherent in the setting suggested that."
"We had already decided that 1999 would be the "Year of Reckoning", or as we called it around the office, "Rage Across the Plotlines". Our theme books would all have grand, sweeping events, reinforcing the tension and danger of the World of Darkness by shaking each game line to its core."
"That's why I decided to kill an Antediluvian. The concept of the Antediluvians is so central to the game that eliminating one would have very grave repercussions in the game world. It was a concrete, modern example of the world falling apart and an illustration that the End Times were upon us."
"But why Ravnos? I didn't start out with that one in mind. I had to figure it out."
"First, following Kindred of the East, it was obvious to me that the World of Darkness sheltered a hotbed of conflict on the border between the worlds of the Kindred and Kuei-jin."
"Second, the events would take place in a major population center. If the Antediluvian who's stuck beneath Antarctica got feisty, it could be dealt with quietly, and with relatively few visible repercussions, which didn't suit the year's theme."
"Third, it was a choice that would leave the game largely playable -- not like killing off one of the more populous clans or one that was central to the basic core of the game. If the Ventrue vanished, the Camarilla would likely collapse, and I didn't want to alter Vampire so radically. Likewise, I didn't want to take the Sabbat out of the picture, so it logically fell in the laps of one of the independent clans."
"Finally, the Ravnos offered precious little to the Vampire setting. [Insert ranting here about how they were the best clan, they ruled, they're your favorite, I'm fucking everything up, etc. All done? ;]]"
"The Ravnos never corresponded to any of the traditional vampire myths, and they didn't add anything to the proprietary White Wolf version that would be missed. They were too often played as hyuk-hyuk goofballs, obnoxious stereotypes, hopeless goober-chic one-notes and other hopeless causes. Sure, they _can_ be used well, but that was the exception rather than the rule in my experience. Nothing about them implied horror, their Discipline was easy to reduce to silliness -- the list goes on."
"As to _how_ they went, I also thought long and hard about that. A quiet demise, while very appropriate to Vampire, would have been anticlimactic. A giant fistfight with legions of vampires would have been unbelievable -- so much for the Masquerade as a phalanx of Assamites marches off to Bangla Desh. Something else had to work."
"Around that time, the big news was India's development and testing of nuclear weaponry. Bingo. The spin-doctors of the World of Darkness could "cover their tracks" by using those events to cover a nuclear strike. I couldn't think of any vampires with access to nuclear weapons (they prefer subtlety), and mortal governments are largely oblivious to the supernatural in the World of Darkness. Werewolves were too disorganized to bring down something of such godlike power without uniting the entire Garou Nation and I didn't want to step on Ethan's toes developmentally. In the end, it fell to the mages to do the ultimate deed, but only after some powerful Kuei-jin (and a hsien) softened the beast up for them."
"As for the "but he should have survived!" argument, Ravnos almost did. And shut your mouth with those "should haves" because the story comes first. The Antediluvian's vast Fortitude manifested along with the Kuei-jin's sorcery as the three-day typhoon that blocked out the sun. I imagined Ravnos early-for-Gehenna awakening as a result of nightmares on his part -- he was constantly distracted by Chimerstry - dreams that woke him and drove it to unthinking frenzy, and many of those dreams became manifest during the struggle. More than one of the many foes besieging the Antediluvian was dragged off to some private fantasy hell for eternity. In the end, everything proved too much for it -- without planning, the world managed to rage against its destruction and put the harbinger of doom down."
"Luckily for the world, the Antediluvian largely couldn't see who or what it was fighting. It had been maddened over centuries by its Chimerstry dreams and it awoke starved and in frenzy. After weathering the sun for three days, its continued deadly existence forced the cabal of techno-mages to resort to their desperately big guns, and they used them. Rest assured that this was a huge step -- the book reveals that the group was willing to suffer 100% losses for their efforts."
"And that's how it is. As for the "no crossover" argument, see my other post a few lines up. Having mages show up isn't crossover. Quantifying them is."
"Hope that helps."
-- el Bastardo
jachilli@white-wolf.com
5. Saulot is Evil? Whats up with that?
Its revealed in the Transylvania Chronicles that everyones favorite pacifist Antediluvian isnt quite dead, and has a major grudge against Caine and the other Kindred. Saulot had also planned his own Diablerie well in advance, and has been instrumental in hiding the true prophecies of Gehenna. Its also revealed that in addition to the Warrior and Healer Salubri, Saulot created the infernal Baali bloodline. This may or may not be true. In a chat, the Vampire developer has hinted that Saulot may turn out to be not that bad after all. Time will tell. See Transylvania Chronicles I-IV and Nights of Prophesy for more information.
6. Whats up with the Saulot/Tremere/Goratrix thing?
This FAQ wont go into all the Hows and Whys, but just to clear it up: Saulot is currently in Tremeres body, and is somewhere out in the world. Tremere is in Goratrixs body, and is back in Vienna. Tremere may or may not be 4th Generation now, no one knows. Goratrix is unfortunately trapped in a mirror in the Tremere Chantry in Vienna. No one in the World of Darkness knows about this aside from Etrius and the Player Characters from the Transylvania Chronicles. See Transylvania Chronicles 4 and Nights of Prophecy.
7. Lucita is Sabbat now?
Yes. In the introduction of Midnight Siege, a letter from the former Lasombra Antitribu details her move to the Sabbat. She had her reasons. See Midnight Siege for more information.
8. Are there any Cappadocians/Tremere Antitribu/Ravnos/Whatever left?
A few, no, yes, maybe. To give a more complete answer; Some Cappadocians have survived as the Harbingers of Skulls, and theres perhaps a handful of others alive in the world. All Tremere Antitribu were destroyed in 1998 in Mexico City. Some Tremere may have defected to the Sabbat since then, but as a bloodline, the Antitribu is gone. The number of Ravnos alive after the Week of Nightmares isnt known. Time of Thin Blood mentions 100, but it could likely be more or less. As for Lhiannan, Ahrimanes, Telyvic Tremere or whatever, in canon its believed that all are gone. Its possible that some are still prowling around in the night. Its really up to each individual Storyteller. See Guide to the Sabbat, Children of the Night, Clanbook Tremere Revised and Time of Thin Blood.
9. New York is a Camarilla City now?
Yes, after the Sabbat took many of the cities on the American East Coast, the Camarilla retaliated by mounting a huge siege and claiming New York as a Camarilla City. Younger Kindred who have recently moved there mainly populate it, and its possible for starting level characters to achieve quite a bit of status and power. See Nights of Prophecy and New York by Night.
10. Which major characters have met the Final Death recently? What book did they die in?
Baba Yaga: Nights of Prophecy.
Marcus Vitel: Clan Novel Brujah. According to the fiction anthology The Beast Within Revised, Marcus Vitel may have survived. At this point, no one knows for sure.
Anatole: Clanbook Malkavian Revised and Clan Novel Lasombra.
Archbishop Ambrosio Luis Moncada: Clanbook Lasombra Revised, Clan Novel Lasombra.
The Ravnos Antediluvian: Time of Thin Blood
Meelinda Galbraith, Regent of the Sabbat: Clanbook Tzimisce Revised.
11. What are the effects of the attacks on New York and Washington in the World of Darkness? Did White Wolf have to alter New York by Night? What supernatural group was behind the attacks?
From the catalog page for New York by Night, also published on the credits page for New York by Night:
A Solemn Remembrance
New York by Night was never intended to be a high-powered setting. You'll see as you read through it that its focus is on the nightly struggle in the unlives of young Kindred. It's not the playground of ancient elders, moving pawns across the chessboard of the Jyhad. You'll notice a lack of power players, both in the characters and in the environment itself. There's no hidden vampire conspiracy revealed to be in the UN, no continent-spanning vendetta waiting to be settled by a Methuselah who dismantles the Statue of Liberty with her own talons.
Such being the case, we've continued with this book's printing schedule despite the events of (as of this writing) Tuesday. For those of you not writing at this desk with me, that's Tuesday, 11 September 2001, when the United States was made the victim of terror.
None of the content in this book has been changed. There's no cabal of supernatural creatures behind the events of that wretched day. Handling it at all in the context of the game would be the height of insensitivity, especially so closely to the time that these wounds were made. By not including those events, we are not denigrating the situation through omission, we are merely maintaining a respectful silence.
To everyone who lost loved ones or, worse, their own lives, you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Justin Achilli
14 September 2001
The preceding passage appears as the only addition to the book's original text.
1. What happens when a pregnant woman is embraced?
From "How Do Vampires Work? And Other Frequently Asked Questions" in the Vampire Storytellers Handbook:
"Most likely, the pregnancy terminates immediately, which results in miscarriage, stillbirth, etc., depending on the stage to which the fetus had developed. Revenant mothers dont have this problem and instead produce healthy (sic, of course) revenant children."
"Far less common, the fetus may become a vampire itself, though it will not continue to grow. In this case, it remains an undead, static little monstrosity, trapped forever in the mothers womb, taking blood from her like a parasite (which consumes one additional blood point per night). In particularly unpleasant cases, the fetus-vampire chews its way out of its mothers womb, existing as long as others let it in its stunted, vile undeveloped form."
Sad you asked arent you?
2. Can Vampires have Sex?
Sort of. Vampires can spend blood to go through the motions. However for the most part they dont feel the same pleasure from it as they did before the Embrace. Any time someone asks a Vampires and Sex: question on the forum, it rages on for ages. If you do not wish to start a long, pointless argument you are recommended to not start a "Vampires and Sex" thread. See Vampire: The Masquerade Revised for the full system involved.
3. Why cant I have both Celerity and Temporis?
The Vampire Storytellers Handbook, which also details the discipline of Temporis gives the Storyteller the option of restricting a character from having both Temporis and Celerity. Basically Temporis and Celerity are two branches from the same tree. If this option is used a character with Temporis may never learn Celerity. A character with Celerity who learns Temporis automatically looses all Celerity. This is then converted to enough Experience Points that it would have taken to advance her Celerity to the next level. This XP is then halved, and then used to purchase as many levels of Temporis as they can. Any leftover Experience is lost. See Vampire Storytellers Handbook.
4. What Book Can I Find Each Clan/Bloodline In?
Vampire: The Masquerade Revised includes all 13 of the Clans that exist in modern nights.
The Vampire Storyteller's Companion details the Salubri, Daughters of Cacophony and Samedi.
The Guide to the Camarilla includes the Caitiff, Gargoyles, and Lasombra Antitribu.
The Guide to the Sabbat details the Assamite Antitribu, Blood Brothers, Brujah Antitribu, Gangrel Antitribu (City and Country), Harbingers of Skulls, Kiasyd, Malkavian Antitribu, Nosferatu Antitribu, Ravnos Antitribu, Serpents of the Light, Toreador Antitribu, and Ventrue Antitribu.
The Vampire Storyteller's Handbook details The Baali, Nagaraja and True Brujah.
Clanbook Assamite Revised includes the three distinct bloodlines within the Assamite clan, Warrior, Vizier and Sorcerer.
Clanbook Followers of Set Revised includes the Warriors, Diatyas, Children of Damballah, and Tlacque.
Clanbook Gangrel Revised has information on the Mariners and Anda; a full write up of the Mariners can be found in Blood Dimmed Tides, while the Anda are detailed fully in Wind From the East for Vampire: The Dark Ages.
Clanbook Ravnos Revised includes the Phuri Dae and Brahmin, as well as a host of sub families that are all the same as the main clan from a game mechanics standpoint.
Clanbook Tzimisce Revised discusses the Old Clan Tzimisce.
Blood Sacrifice: the Thaumaturgy Companion has more information on the Tlacque and their sorcery.
A handful of Bloodlines havent survived in any discernible numbers to modern day, these appear in Dark Ages Companion (Lhiannan, Liabon and Lamia) as well as Libellus Sanguinus 2 (Telyevic Tremere)
5. Why should I make a Humanity check for doing X?
Most of the time, these questions pop up on the forums whenever some player out there had a disagreement with his
Storyteller. If this is you, talk to your ST about it. The Humanity system may seem vague but in truth, it really
isn't. The humanity system is cut and dry. It doesn't matter whether your character killed someone in cold blood,
in frenzy, in self-defense, to satisfy a contract, to satisfy a religious obligation or because you are a soldier
and your victim is the enemy. If your action meets the requirements of the hierarchy of sin, you have to roll your
conscience (again, if the ST says you have to). If you fail the roll, you are not overcome by pangs of guilt. Your
character feels that he did the moral/right thing. As such, his humanity drops. On the other hand, succeeding at a
humanity rolls means your character does feel enough guilt and remorse for what he did to keep his humanity intact.
1. Whats the latest Edition of the Game? How do I know if I have it?
Vampire: the Masquerade is currently on its 3rd edition, called Revised. Vampire: The Masquerade Revised has "WW2300" printed on the spine. Its also the only edition to include all 13 clans in the main book. If your main book has all of the clans or has "WW 2300" on the spine, then you have the newest edition.
2. "Im a Vampire! Im from such-and-such clan and am (insert Generation here)!"
Yes thats not a question, life goes on. The simple answer here is "No, you are not!" There are two people who make "I am a real Vampire" posts. The first are people who are speaking In Character and do nothing in the Title of the thread or in the post itself to indicate this (See Question 3 under Miscellaneous Forum Questions below). The second are apparently hallucinatory people who need to get out more and believe themselves to be Toreadors or Ravnos or what have you. To the first people: a simple "(IC)" for "In Character" in the subject line will keep anyone from angrily telling you that you are not a vampire. To the second people: turn off the computer, put the Vampire books down, and repeat after me: "I am not a Vampire. I am not an un-aging corpse cursed to drink blood and flee the sun." Repeat this until you return to the normal world.
3. Im a new Player. How do I play this Game?
First, either purchase or borrow a copy of Vampire: The Masquerade Revised. This is the big green book with the rose on the front. Read it. Find some people who play Vampire and ask to join their game, or find some friends who would like to play Vampire and start your own game. Please do not ask questions to the forum, which are readily answerable by reading the book (How do I make a character? What are Disciplines? etc.)
4. Im a new Player. What books should I buy?
As much as White Wolf would be happy if I told you otherwise, all you really need is the main Vampire: The Masquerade Revised rulebook. Other than that; the Revised Clanbooks are all very good, Guide to the Camarilla and Guide to the Sabbat are definitely worth getting, and most of the recent books such as Gilded Cage and Midnight Siege have a good deal of useful information. Some books are meant for the Storytellers only, so if you arent planning on ever Storytelling a game, these books might spoil some of your fun. Books meant for Storytellers include the Storytellers Handbook and the Storytellers Companion, as well as the various By Night books, Transylvania Chronicles, Giovanni Chronicles, Children of the Night and many others.
5. Im a new Storyteller. What books should I buy?
Again, all you really need to play and run Vampire is the main Vampire: The Masquerade rulebook. Aside from that, Guide to the Camarilla and Guide to the Sabbat are both indispensable if you plan on setting a game in one of those Sects. After that the Storytellers Handbook and any of the Revised Clanbooks you might be interested in are very sound buys.
6. Whos this Justin guy?
Justin Achilli is the Developer for Vampire: The Masquerade. Hes the guy that decides what books come out and when and what major changes will happen in the Vampire world. Its his fault Ravnos was killed, its his fault the Eastern Vampires attacked the west coast, he killed off Baba Yaga, etc, etc, etc. However he DIDNT develop the Vampire: The Masquerade Revised rulebook, and he has nothing at all to do with whatevers going on in Mage, Werewolf, Exalted or whatever. He can be found around the forum as el_bastardo and emailed at jachilli@white-wolf.com.
7. Why dont Vampires rise up and rule over Humans?
This question is usually followed by the argument "Vampires are so powerful they could win a war against all of humanity." The Out-Of-Game reason is that the World of Darkness is meant to resemble our own world. If every nation of the world had a Vampire King who openly Dominated all those around to follow his every whim, it wouldnt resemble our world very much would it? The In-Game reason is that during the Middle Ages, the Inquisition rose up and almost killed of Vampires as a whole. They remember that, and fear what another Inquisition could do with tanks, night vision goggles. nuclear missiles, computers, Teletubies, etc, etc, etc.
8. How do I defeat Golum/Etrius/Vukodlak/etc?
The Vampire: The Masquerade Forum is for the Table Top, and occasionally Live Action version of the game, not Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption. This has caused some confusion. Some Forumites have played the game, and may be able to help you. If you have questions about the video game, put "(Redemption)" in the title. This will let viewers who havent played the computer game know they can skip that thread. You will find many more people interested in Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption at http://www.nihilistic.com/cgi-bin/mboard/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro and they can probably help you much more there.
If you were completely unaware that a non-videogame version of Vampire: The Masquerade exists, check out the official web page at http://www.White-Wolf.com, click on RPG Games and then Vampire.
9. Two books contradict each other. Which is right?
Whats Lambachs Generation? Who IS the Capuchin? What Generation was the original Hardestadt the Elder? How many Blood Points does Celerity cost? How tough were the "True" Black Hand? There are many questions where one book gives one answer, and another book gives a different one. Each question would have to be taken on a case-by-case basis. However there are a few general ideas to go by. As far as rules go, a Revised book always takes precedent over an earlier edition. Generally, newer books take precedent over older books. Also note that most of the history and legends that appears in the Clanbooks and the like is told from an In Character narrator, and should be taken to be as accurate as any legend or tale from ancient days in the real world.
10. What are so-and-sos stats?
Chances are no one is going to take the effort to type them up for you. Many of the major NPCs appeared in Children of the Night, which is readily available in most bookstores, comic book shops, and online. Other characters appeared in various By Night books, the Clanbooks, the Giovanni Chronicles and Transylvania Chronicles, and others. You may have better luck getting someone to type up the stats for a character in a long out of print City by Night book than you would Dracula.
Also, some characters have never had stats printed for them. The Antediluvians, Caine, Lillith, The Tremere Council, etc, etc, as well as a few perhaps surprising characters like Beckett. If you must have dots for these characters, make them up.
11. Why do so many people hate Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand?
Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand was a book for Storytellers published at the height of Second Edition and radicaly changed the theme and mood of Vampire. To many people it is the pinacle of the X-Men with fangs period of Vampire. Dirty Secrets introduced a third sect, which was secretly in control of the Camarilla and Sabbat, sought to serve the Antediluvians and hasten Gehenna, and protect humanity. It introduced the oft abused Disciplines of Temporis and Nihilistics. It introduced the Soul Eaters, demon aliens from the Deep Umbra who were taking over the world via Viccissitude. The Black Hand included a Mummy, an Abomination, a few Mages and a few Vampire Mages who could still use True Magic. The book shifted Vampire from a game of personal horror to an epic game of stopping the monsters. Does this mean you have to hate the book as well? No, the thought police are not going to arrest you for having a different opinion that other people. Does this mean if you start a thread asking "Why does everyone hate DSOTBH?" that you will get several harried answers recounting what has been detailed here? Yes.
12. Are the Clan Novels considered canon?
Sort of. The Clan Novels have been called Semi-Canon or Paracanon. Basicaly what it means is that if something happened in the Clan Novels, it most likely happened in the World of Darkness, but perhaps not quite like it did in the novels. A few examples: in the novels, Moncada was a Cardinal of the Sabbat, while in the game world he was an Archbishop. In the novels the Gangrel leaving the Camarilla and Petrodon's death both happened after the Week of Nightmares, as opposed to the game world where they happened a year before. On a side note- some Vampire fiction is definitely not canon. The Masque of the Red Death books never happened in the game world, neither did the Blood Curse. Unless of course your Storyteller wants them to have.
13. Whats with Werewolf/Mage/Exalted/Whatever?
This is the Vampire: The Masquerade Forum FAQ. If you want to know about Werewolf Gifts or the Technocracy or whatever, tell those lazy bums on the other forums to make their own FAQ.
14. What about vampires and Christianity?
Sins of the Blood, and some of the Dark Age Supplements (Cainite Heresy for example) go into some detail about the
kindred?s relationship with the church. Be warned though, that most topics on this board dealing with Christianity
(and religions in general) tend to spark some heated debates. Although much of Judeo-Christian mythos served as
inspiration for the cosmology of vampire (IE The Legend of Caine and Abel), it is strictly there to add flavor to the
background of the game and nothing more. Should you want your game to have any religious overtones, you are well
advised to do some research (like reading the above mentioned supplements) and to talk to your players about
it. It is a sensitive topic for some and not for others.
15. Was Jesus Christ/Hitler/Napoleon a vampire?
No, no, and no. Although it is your game world and you can make whoever you want a vampire but just because a real
life historical figure made great achievements in their lifetime, it doesn?t automatically mean that they were
vampires or ghouls or some other supernatural being. Sometimes a mortal kine can do great/horrible things
without kindred influence. Although sometimes, White-Wolf will make a real life historical figure a vampire (IE; Al
Capone, Rasputin), these are exceptions and not the norm.
16. What is a standard V:tM game?
This is also subject to much interpretation and you are
likely to get different answers from many people on this
board. Suffice to say that a standard V:tM game is?well,?
about vampires. It is about playing a supernatural creature
and the trials and tribulations that he must face to
survive and overcome adversity in this splendid place we
all call the World of Darkness. Sounds vague doesn?t? Well
that was intentional. That?s because each vampire PC is
unique. The Storyteller system stresses character concept
over clan, abilities and the funky powers. A vampire
character is a character above all else.
17. What is a twink?
A twink is a derogatory term, usually used to insult another player whose character or play style is A) excessively violent, B) has accumulated lots of powers through questionable means or C) radically violates the central theme and mood of a standard V:tM game. In short, being called a twink or being told that your character is "twinkish" usually means that your character or play style is not understood. Rather than get defensive, it might be a good idea to explain your character a little. On the off chance that A B and C are true, my heart goes out to your ST. Twinks have a tendency to ruin the fun of the game for other players and the ST . When communication fails, the best solution to dealing with such players is to kick them out of the game entirely.
1. How do I get there?
Go to http://www.white-wolf.com, click on Interactive on the left, click on Forums and sign up. If the main White Wolf page is down, the forum login can be reached at http://206.65.59.245/forums/forums.html.
2. Why do some questions end up at the bottom when new threads are supposed to be at the top? I just posted a new thread and it disappeared! What's up with the 1904 thing?
It's happened a couple of times now and will probably happen again in the future. Basically either the server somehow resets itself or gets reset by Conrad while he's trying to fix or update something, the server's clock gets reset to 1 Jan 1904, so the dating system the forum uses puts all posts from that time until the clock is fixed at the bottom of the threads because, obviously, 1904 is before 2002. During the timeframe when the server clock is still 1904 the posts are active, but once the server clock is restored to the correct time, the threads marked 1904 die off because the server thinks they're over 7 days old (see next question for the reason why). The only thing that can be done is to repost the thread after the clock is fixed.
3. What happened to all of the old posts?
Posts are deleted after 7 days so that White Wolfs servers dont become overloaded and bogged down. If something really interests you, then copy and paste it into a document program. Just remember to give credit to the original poster if you repost it later.
1. "The Use Terms arent fair! White Wolf sucks! I dont like the colors!"
Again, thats not a question. The forums are free, and White Wolf is in no way, shape or form required to have them. The fact that the company goes to the effort to create and maintain a place on their web page so fans can get together and share opinions is pretty cool in and of itself.
2. Why is the Forum so mean/boring/rules-lawyerish/whatever-it-is-this
-week now?
Its a sad but true fact of life that the Vampire forum tends to be less shiny and happy than say the Werewolf or Changeling forums. Its been that way for quite some time really, and most regulars are just used to it by now. If someone specifically is mean to you, address them personally or contact the web page administrator if you feel they have violated the Use Terms. If youre just unhappy because people tend to be sarcastic or bitchy, creating a thread to bitch about this wont help any. If the forum seems boring to you, chances are theres nothing major to talk about that hasnt been discussed a thousand times. Instead of creating a thread complaining about the lack of interesting topics, why dont you think of one and post it? For other complaints about the forum, honestly the best answer is to not go there as much. This isnt "If you dont like it get out!!" But if you arent enjoying reading the forum, try taking a break from it and come back when you want to. It will still be there. Honestly this suggestion goes for most forms of entertainment. If you're not enjoying it anymore, just stop for a while.
3. Whats (IC) and (OT)?
IC means a thread is meant to be In Character. The vast majority of threads on the Vampire Forum are Out Of Character; meaning posters are not roleplaying, instead they are talking about the game. OT means Off Topic, a thread that has absolutely nothing to do with Vampire: the Masquerade. If you wish to create a thread about The He Man Movie or Nine Inch Nails or whatever, simply put "(OT)" somewhere in the title.
4. Can someone look at my character please and give me some advice?
We would be glad to. However, make sure you have some thick skin because some of us can be very critical. It doesn't mean that we are assholes nor does it mean that you are playing the game wrong. The best person to seek advice from for your character is your ST. If s/he deems your character acceptable for his/her little playgroup then good for you. Just be warned that what is acceptable in your little playgroup might not be acceptable in our little playgroups.
For example, not many of us have experience in Storytelling for 4th generation True Brujah abominations and therefore
would not have any good advice to tell you because such characters are beyond the scope of any of the games that we
play.
Game Books:
Vampire: The Masquerade (WW 2300)
Guide to the Camarilla (WW 2302)
Guide to the Sabbat (WW 2303)
Vampire Storytellers Handbook (WW 2304)
Vampire Storytellers Companion (WW 2301)
Blood Dimmed Tides (WW 3350)
Children of the Night (WW 2023)
Clanbook Assamite Revised (WW 2059)
Clanbook Followers of Set Revised (WW 2360)
Clanbook Gangrel Revised (WW 2352)
Clanbook Losambra Revised WW 2362)
Clanbook Malkavian Revised (WW 2353)
Clanbook Ravnos Revised (WW 2364)
Clanbook Tremere Revised (WW 2357)
Clanbook Tzimisce Revised (WW 2361)
Dark Ages Companion (WW 2804)
Gilded Cage (WW 2420)
Libellus Sanguinus 2 (WW 2815)
Midnight Siege (WW 2422)
Nights of Prophecy (WW 2265)
New York by Night (WW 2411)
Time of Thin Blood (WW 2101)
Transylvania Chronicles 1 through 4 (WW 28911, 2812, 2813, 2814)
Wind from the East (WW 2828)
Novels:
Clan Novel Brujah (WW 11110)
Clan Novel Gangrel (WW 11102)
Clan Novel Losambra (WW 11105)
The Beast Within Revised (WW 11900)
Well folks thats the whole thing. If youve actually made it through the whole thing I congratulate you. And of course if you have questions that havent been covered, go to http://www.White-Wolf.com, Click on Interactive, and then Forums. See you there.
Contributing authors to the FAQ include:
DGG, the Draconian Garden Gnome
The Vampire: the Masquerade Forum Frequently Asked Questions version 1.9 Updated and Hosted by Amokk.
The Vampire: The Masquerade Frequently Asked Questions version 1.5 Updated and Hosted by Amokk.
The Vampire: The Masquerade Frequently Asked Questions version 1.0 Written and Compiled by Shawn Gaston.
Featuring Sections from "How Do Vampires Work? And Other Frequently Asked Questions", appearing in its entirety in The Vampire Storytellers Handbook.
Special Thanks from Shawn Gaston go to: God for blessing me with this wonderful opportunity, MTV, and of course the fans. Also: Baron Samedi for compiling the list of where to find Bloodlines, Child of Haquim for saving el_bastardos post on the Ravnos, nandrakas (aka Fred) for making me look like I can write well and for compiling the list of books referenced and finaly to all of the cool people that make the forum worth spending time on.
Updated 17 September 2002