Join Eviliv3 Play as we examine how to play @Renegade Studios’ Vampire The Masquerade 5th Edition in this episode focused on the Blood. Originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen and released in 1991 by White Wolf Publishing as the first of several Storyteller System games for its World of Darkness setting line. In 2015, Paradox Interactive purchased White Wolf. Vampire: The Masquerade (also known as V5) was then released in early 2018. You can buy Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/256795/vampire-the-masquerade-5th-edition?affiliate_id=50797 and you can learn more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Masquerade.
Time Stamps:
- 0:00 Intro
- 0:36 Preface
- 1:03 Generation
- 3:07 Blood Potency
- 3:48 Gifts of the Blood
- 5:20 Prices of the Blood
- 6:44 Dangers of the Blood
- 8:05 Afterword
- 8:22 Outro
About Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition
Vampire: The Masquerade is the original and ultimate roleplaying game of personal and political horror. You are a vampire, struggling for survival, supremacy, and your own fading humanity — afraid of what you are capable of, and fearful of the inhuman conspiracies that surround you.
The classic that changed roleplaying games forever returns! This fifth edition features a streamlined and modern rules design, beautiful new full-color art, and a rich story experience for players. Powered by the innovative Hunger cycle, the game also includes rules for creating system supported character coteries, Loresheets to directly involve players with their favorite parts of the setting and The Memoriam, a new way to bring the character’s detailed backgrounds and expand on them in-session.
V5 is a return to Vampire’s original vision, moving boldly into the 21st century. While the rules have been redesigned, this new edition honors the deep story of the original, advancing the metaplot from where it left off and detailing exactly what has happened in the world of the Kindred up until tonight. The terror of the Second Inquisition, the conspiracies behind the Gehenna War, and the rekindling of the War of Ages: these are the building blocks of the modern V5 chronicle.
Mature Warning: Contains graphic and written content of a mature nature, including violence, sexual themes, and strong language. Reader discretion is advised.
This PDF version of the V5 core book contains everything the physical book does, plus the implemented errata and a few bonus sections. These sections comprise 26 pages of added bonus material, and they include the following:
- More Loresheets: Descendant of Tyler, Descendant of Zelios, Descendant of Vasantasena, High Clan, Low Clan, Ambrus Maropis, Carmelita Neillson, Fiorenza Savona, Descendant of Karl Schrekt, Descendant of Xaviar.
- An Appendix on Standard Feats: A list of examples for various typical feats your character may do over their unlife, divided among Mental, Physical, and Social.
- An Appendix on Projects: Advanced rules with which your character can attempt long-term projects in order to accomplish goals that go beyond their night-to-night unlife.
- An Appendix on Considerate Play: Excellent advice on how to present complex topics in your game and to ensure everyone at the gaming table is having a good time.
Transcript
Cold Open
Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we’re opened, we’re red.
Intro
Welcome to Eviliv3 Play, a celebration of my favorite tabletop role playing games. This is a sister channel to Eviliv3. Subscribe if you’re new to the channel, because today we are continuing our How to Play Vampire the Masquerade series with this episode The Blood.
Discussion
Preface
With the last episode focusing on hunger, it may seem having the next episode focusing on blood as being a bit superfluous. Didn’t we just talk about vampires drinking blood? Yes we did. But the blood is so much more to a vampire than something to slake its hunger. Its potency is determined by your generation, and that means everything to a creature who utilizes their blood for not only their powers, but their very existence as well.
Generation
All vampires gain their power from their blood, and their blood potency is determined by their generation. The mythic creation of vampires through Caine and Lilith in the Book of Nod defines them as the first generation and the most powerful vampires. The second generation are Caine’s first children, and their children, the Antediluvians are the third generation. This is integral to the legacy of Vampires as it was from the Antediluvians that the 13 vampire clans arose. It’s even said that the mythic flood was sent to rid the world of these creatures of the night. With each successive generation, the blood potency wanes a little. Generations are not necessarily indicative of age, as you may be sired by a higher generation vampire later in the historical record, and it is possible to increase your generation through the forbidden act of diablerie, the consumption of the Blood and spirit of another vampire.
The fourth and fifth generations are known as the Methuselahs. The only remaining vampires of those generations are buried or tended to by secret cults beneath human cities. The sixth through ninth generations are called the Elders. They hold meaningful positions in the Camarilla and Anarch Movements, and their blood has been calling most of them back through the Beckoning to the front lines of the Gehenna War. The 10th and 11th generations are referred to as the Ancillae. They vye for power in the movements often acting as intermediaries. The 12th and 13th generations are called Neonates. They have little experience with the curse of vampirism, but are more knowledgeable about modern technology and social change. The Anarch revolt is often blamed on the Neonates. Finally the 14th through 16th generations are referred to as thin-bloods. This generation is feared to be the precursors to Gehenna, the rising of the Antediluvians, and the end of vampire kind. They are the weakest of all vampires. You can see how the generations are more than just class and potency, they are historical and social paradigms that fuel the vampire culture.
Blood Potency
With increased Blood Potency, you require more blood to sustain you, this is the blessing and curse of the generation. Blood Potency increases as a vampire ages at basically one dot every 100 years. A vampire in Torpor for 50 years loses a dot, though it can never fall below the minimum of their generation, or increase past its maximum. Thin-Bloods can never increase theirs unless they engage in diablerie. With each dot in blood potency your Blood Surge, Damage mended per rouse check, Discipline power bonus, Discipline rouse check re-roll, Bane severity and feeding penalties change.
Gifts of the Blood
There is power to be had through a vampire’s blood, and all of the abilities require one or more rouse checks. Rouse checks are a single die roll, trying to get over a 6. Failing a Rouse check does not affect the power, only increases your hunger. The first gift of the Blood is the Blush of Life. This allows the otherwise cadaver-like corpse of a vampire to appear alive, taking on the outward appearance of a living human. It will also allow them to pass a cursory medical examination. This allows you to consume human food without vomiting for up to an hour. Blush of Life requires a Rouse check. Blood Surge is the next power. This allows the vampire to surge their attributes by adding dice to their dice pool. This is only used for a single roll and cannot be used for a Willpower or Humanity roll. Blood surge requires a rouse check. The next power is Vampiric Mending, or healing. Since they are dead their bodies cannot heal naturally. With a Rouse check a vampire can mend one or more superficial damage points, once per turn. To heal aggravated damage, the vampire must wait till the next nightfall and make three rouse checks in addition to the regular one. This heals a single point of aggravated damage and one crippling injury or impairment. Any hunger above 5 forces them into a Torpor. The final power is the vampire’s Disciplines. Many of them require multiple rouse checks, and one discipline may be activated once per turn. Though many may be active at the same time.
Prices of the Blood
With the benefits of the blood empowering the vampire, it also costs a price. The first is the Awakening. Every night when you awake you must make a Rouse check. Awakening during the day requires a Humanity roll with a difficulty equal to the crisis. Awakening during the day only lasts for a scene but a critical win allows them to remain awake. Their maximum dice pool equals their Humanity rating during the day. The next price is Frenzy. While in frenzy the vampire loses all rational thought and becomes the beast which is ever dormant beneath the surface. You may try to resist the frenzy with a Willpower roll. You add one-third rounded down of your Humanity to the roll. If resisted they must spend a turn suppressing the beast. On a critical win, this is not required. The player may Ride the Wave, forsaking the Frenzy roll and acting out their characters actions rather than the storyteller. In frenzy a vampire may only use their physical disciplines and resist mental disciplines with +3 dice. Different stimuli provoke different types of frenzy from Fury being provoked by insults, humiliation or aggression, to hunger, as a vampire ever craves more blood, a failed Rouse check at hunger 5 provokes this, and finally terror, also known as Rotschreck, provoked by sunlight or open flames and the like.
Dangers of the Blood
Finally there are dangers of the Blood. While Vampires may appear to be immortal, they are vulnerable in a number of ways. Exposure to sunlight incinerates the blood causing your Bane Severity in aggravated health damage per turn. Fire caused aggravated damage based on the severity of immersion. Cold presents a special danger to vampires as they have no body warmth to fight its freezing effects. After an hour in extreme cold, the vampire must begin making tests or they stop moving and are only able to use mental disciplines, after another hour they freeze solid and enter Torpor. Decapitation destroys the vampire instantly. Being staked through the heart paralyzes a vampire, though they remain conscious. They still must roll Rouse checks every sunset upon waking but they will eventually fall into a Torpor. And of course Torpor itself is the halfway step between life and death. It is a sort of hibernation, appearing and acting dead. They last for a duration as dictated by their Humanity. If a potential victim enters their vicinity, they may attempt to awaken long enough to feed. And once their hunger drops to 4 or below, they are fully recovered from their Torpor. And lastly, Final death. When a vampire’s health tracker is filled with aggravated damage, they enter Torpor. If they are attacked again, they die instantly as if decapitated.
You can see the upsides and downsides of your Blood Potency are entirely dependent upon your generation. And it is incredibly important to know your limits and environment if you want to live a long unlife. In the next episode I will talk about the types of blood and how and whom they benefit.
Outro
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