- The Social Satire of Vampire: The Masquerade
- An analysis of Anarchs in Vampire: The Masquerade
- Ten Tips to Running the Anarchs in V5
- Ten Tips to Running the Second Inquisition in V5
- Ten Tips to Running the Sabbat in V5
- Ten Chronicles for Sabbat PCs in V5
- Ten Tips to Running the Camarilla in V5
- Ten Tips to Running the Thin-Bloods in V5
- Ten Tips to Running the Tremere in V5
- Ten Real Life-Inspired Chronicles for V5
- V5 NPC Update: Sullivan Dane
- 101 Mundane Details for V:TM Games
- 101 Street Crime and Personal Horror Scenarios
- The Judas Compact or "How the Sabbat got their groove stolen"
- How much should Vampire PCs and NPCs know?
- Ten Tips to using Touchstones in V5
- Why metaplot matters in the World of Darkness
1. Vampires tend to set their temperatures upward of 75 degrees in their household for comfort.
2. Many vampires really like tropical humid and hot environments.
3. Vampires love hot baths and showers. They often enjoy them for sexy feedings.
4. Vampires who can afford it enjoy hot tubs and sun tanning booths. The later don't actually affect Kindred but they are vaguely enjoyable.
5. Vampires often wear sunglasses at night, not just as a fashion statement but because they have to deliberately blink.
6. Generally, vampires lose about 10 to 20 pounds post Embrace due to organ atrophy.
7. Yes, Embracing is nasty ugly business with expelling undigested food. Anne Rice oddly mentioned this but most other media doesn't.
8. Vampire mouths are the one warm part of their bodies as they produce saliva and other things necessary for working elements.
9. This means blood popsicles are things they can and do enjoy.
10. Even with the blush of life, food tastes terrible.
11. Vampires can digest food with blood but they will expell the former eventually.
12. If you have the Blush of Life and are a male, that is actually a way possible to ghoul someone. Technically, women as well. Yes, you know what I mean.
13. The most common ways to ghoul someone are sex, Dominating them into drinking your blood, or outright explaining the process.
14. If someone hated you before Blood Bonding them and they know, they can usually resist and it is a good way to make a Hunter or someone utterly insane.
15. Whenever a vampire dies, the Prince of the City has a process for dealing with their ghouls. They're either sold, traded, or more often killed. This is known as the Funeral Clean-Up.
16. Like What We Do in the Shadows, most vampires never Embrace their ghouls outside of the Giovanni, Ministry, and Tremere. This is due to familiarity breeding contempt. There is no correlation between this and the exception clans' reputations for psychotic evil.
17. Vampires with the Blush of Life can have sex and very High Humanity vampires. That includes an enjoyable finish. It is not as good as the Kiss, though.
18. Plenty of vampires actually sleep in their attics, basements, closets, bathrooms, or underneath their beds because of sun paranoia. They don't feel discomfort when they wake up, being dead during the day, so it doesn't bother them.
19. Obviously, vampires don't invite humans to spend the night with them after sex or feeding.
20. The Kiss does wipe the memory of mortals and make them very suggestible for about the first five minutes before or after. Those fed on think they've zoned out, had sex, kissed, or fallen asleep.
21. Ghouls regenerate much faster than normal humans. Technically, a vampire could feed from them every night without killing them as long as they ate large amounts of food. This sure as hell isn't good for them, though. Ghouled herds are actually somewhat common as a result.
22. Most humans otherwise would only be fed on every eight weeks. It isn't a hard and fast rule, though, because the Kiss also stimulates blood regeneration. A "safe" feeding is about once a week without eventually killing them, barring ghouldom.
23. Kindred eventually change their appearance drastically from their looks while alive. Al Capone went from being a syphilitic old man to someone who looked strongly like a man in the prime of his life.
24. All Kindred in a city have a card for people to dispose of bodies and carnage from frenzies. These people tend to work for the Prince and either also work for the mob or are crime scene cleaners or both.
25. Disgustingly, prisons, lock ups, retirement homes, and assisted livings are places that fuel the Kindred blood trade.
26. Animals bark at vampires due to the sense of the Beast. Vampires who know animals can calm or intimidate them without animalism.
27. Common Kindred punishments other than death are being locked up in a room where the sun is just out of reach, severe beatings, entombment for a month to a year, staking on display at Elysium, and locking in a coffin or room until frenzy (the latter is a Masquerade punishment--usually with a mortal that you've revealed it to as food).
28. The most common Camarilla activities are actually parceling out Domain and feeding rights. 90% of arguments and favor trading goes into making sure your mortals are off limits and vice versa. The Anarchs find this ridiculous but it actually cuts down on unnecessary deaths.
29. Scourges usually have far worse reputations than Sheriffs as the latter usually have a pretense of justice. Scourges are meant to terrify, torture, and exterminate. Their Humanity scores also tend to sink like stones that many don't want the "honor."
30. The most common cause of wassail are usually diablerie and losing control during frenzy before killing obvious innocents (like children or close loved ones). Guilt tends to drive them to suicidal self-destruction or embracing the monster.
31. Wights are hunted mercilessly by other Kindred since they tend to kill about once a week. They are actually often intelligent enough to hide, build lairs, and use Disciplines. Malkavian or Nosferatu wights can last for years but often build up Hunters.
32. The Sabbat obviously have a far larger wight problem than the Camarilla. Packs hunting down and destroying them is a common team-building exercise.
33. Sabbat don't murder most of those they feed on but this not couched in moral terms but irritation. "You kill it, you bury it" is a common Sabbat refrain. Sabbat who would casually kill hesitate to do so because of their need to dispose of the bodies of their victims.
34. The number of Thin Bloods who die from being Embraced is actually very low and most of their Embraces are successful. It's just that they can awaken hours or even days later then get themselves killed out of confusion or die because they were embalmed.
35. 11th, 12th, and 13th generation vampires find animal blood bland but digestable. Thin Bloods find it quite tasty if not possesed of the heroin-like effects that human blood is. Lower generation vampires find animal blood vile and like drinking from a sewer.
36. Coteries are formed by young vampires for survival but by Elderdom, most have alienated or betrayed their former partners.
37. Vampires often become Wraiths upon death. Far more than any other group of people. They tend to not last long as they carry vast Infamy and strong Shadows. Those that do tend to be long lasting Wraiths who achieve power due to their history of wrestling with damnation as well as no desire to move on.
38. With very-very few exceptions, all Neonates have killed someone they didn't want to kill by the time they reach their first 5-10 years. This is considered part of vampire life and is a reason all undead carry some existential guilt, no matter how deeply buried.
39. Mortals with true faith are exceptionally rare and vampires may never encounter one. Holy places like churches, gravesites, and something almost every city has, though. The faith pools and repulses the undead.
40. Goth culture has never gone out of style and is still thriving as of 2020.
41. The ban against cellphones and the internet is one that Elders primarily use to punish the young. They have their ghouls do it for them.
42. Many Anarchs make photoshopped social media profiles for Kindred as part of their efforts to cover up the Masquerade. These include sunny vacations and family photos.
43. Kindred havens tends to have a fire extinguisher in every room. Some also install sprinkler systems and other home security devices (like hidden weapons or booby traps or trap door exits).
44. Almost all Kindred love breath spray and mouth wash. The smell of blood is a major turn off for mortals after all. Those who don't also keep alcoholic beverages (perhaps in a flask) on hand for the same purposes while hunting.
45. You can always tell a Kindred kitchen by the fact the canned food is usually years old. There is usually orange juice, cookies, and red meat or fish in the fridge, though.
46. Kindred associate sex with blood and blood with sex. As such, sexual preferences tend to become blurred unless one was strongly down one end of the Kinsey scale or due to a psychological block.
47. Many ghouls suffer sleep deprivation due to the fact they are expected to do daytime chores as well as help with their masters at night.
48. Most Kindred furniture of the discriminating haven is black leather. Plastics and naugahyde are also common. White is almost never done even in non-absorbing fabrics.
49. Architecture styles have been influenced by Kindred throughout history. Rooms without windows are more common, castles were a thing almost everywhere, panic rooms are very common, as are secret exits or passages. This is why all sewers are the size of New York's sewers and people can move around in them.
50. The Masquerade holds but that's because people tend to have strange beliefs. People sincerely believe in CHUDs, serial killing cults, Satanic panics, and the Illuminati. Sadly, this goes without saying as millions of RL people actually believe in blood-drinking cults on the internet. Just more so in the WOD.
51. Blood takes 48 hours to decay so mortuaries and funeral homes also
provide unappetizing but very cheap blood from local dealers (generally
about $10 per pint). Frozen blood can last ten years. Many vampires keep this as emergency stashes or for healing injuries. This is notably the amount of time that it can still be used in a living human in RL.
52. Contrary to the secrecy of their clan, almost everyone knows where the Tremere chantry is in a city. You can also make an appointment with them via their servants. The Tremere trade in favors openly after all. Woe if you don't pay them back or disrespect them.
53. There are Kindred tags and glyphs recognizable to some degree even by laymen. These include indicating where a Rack with a bloody tear drop is or a Wolf's skull for the obvious, "Lupine territory. Stay the fuck away." It's not quite like Blade but they're there if you know to look for them. Which has helped the Second Inquisition.
54. Spray-tanning is a thing that Kindred do as is makeup when they're involved with the public. However, this is considered to be gauche among fellow Kindred who favor the "elegant pale thin" look that unwittingly has influenced supermodel culture.
55. A lot of long-term Kindred havens are haunted. Most Kindred never know but unexpected fires, bad luck, and accidents are more common for them than other residences.
56. Kindred who work in hospitals tend to spray their masks with a particularly pungent smell to help control their urges. Its help is negligible given the sight of blood alone is triggering but it doesn't hurt.
57. Kindred drug dealers run crack houses, junkies, and hospices (yes) for the tastes of Anarchs who want to get high. Kindred junkies are fairly rare since blood is enough of a high of its own and just as self-destructive. Still, they exist and Kindred who couldn't control themselves in life tend to wassail very quickly.
58. Most Princes have a three strike rule for messy feedings. All Kindred are expected to have one or two accidents but if you can't control yourself then you have no place among the Damned.
59. The big loophole of #58 is that they must HEAR about messy feedings. If they don't, you at least clean up after yourself. They may even be glad you use their services, at least if you pay for it.
60. "Liberal" Camarilla domains allow Thin Bloods to exist if they are "adopted" by Kindred. They are usually tattooed with a crescent moon somewhere (which their skin keeps). This is actually quite dangerous as killing them is just akin to killing a ghoul then. Some Thin Bloods believe a Kindred "protector" is better than trying to make it on their own, though, and seek out Cainites to serve or be fed on by.
61. "Infectious Porphriya" is an artificial disease that afflicts one or two million people that is a sort of last ditch protection for Kindred from being put in the sun when arrested. It was created by the Tremere and actually exists in a White Wolf magazine article.
62. Most diableries are actually the result of frenzies. It is still punishable by a Blood Hunt.
63. After the first five years, most Kindred only share the location of their haven with close friends or coterie mates. It's not that hard to find out where another Kindred lives but it is considered to be incredibly rude (unless you're a Nosferatu).
64. Most Malkavians don't actually appear insane. More precisely they tend to suffer from derangements like megalomania, blood fixation, lack of empathy, narcissism, sadism, or other things that make them act like every other Kindred on the planet after a certain age. This is at least 60% of their Clan.
65. Some Malkavians do adopt a theatrical (never "wacky") persona, just because it's expected of them. This is always a cover for something else, though.
66. Again, like What We Do in the Shadows, ghouls do in fact have their own subculture. Very often in the day they're chatting with each other or even dating and working out how to best serve you. Many ghouls actually know far more about other Kindred than their masters, though none would ever consciously betray you.
67. Inevitably, some idiot (often at the prodding of someone else) tries to do a Blood Bath like Elizabeth Bathory. This is like taking a bath in heroin and can result in a vampire frenzying the rest of the night until sunrise. Most Kindred have heard this story but no one actually knows if it ever truly happened--but someone has to have been stupid and evil enough to try.
68. The Book of Nod is available for download on 4chan. Its been transferred and shared around so much it's impossible to get rid of now. Most Kindred have only heard of it by rumor, though.
69. In direct hypocrisy of Hardelstadt's law, almost all Camarilla Princes and all Tremere Regents have a copy of The Book of Nod. They come in the Critias, Aristotle de Laurentis, and Black Dog Games (yes, seriously) versions.
70. The mob is usually vaguely aware of vampires in terms of rich clientele belonging to secret societies, human trafficking needs, covering up bodies, false IDs, and more. While not universal, many Mob bosses are in the know even if they're not ghouled or Dominated. They choose to be selectively oblivious as who would believe them?
71. Silver jewelry are preferred by Kindred as a fashion statement even if it is useless against werewolves. Ankhs are considered passe, though, since the symbol passed into the collective unconscious.
72. Blood based culinary foods are supported among the Kine by Kindred. Blood pudding, special blood sauteed foods, and so on. So buying blood separate from other kinds of meats isn't nearly as weird as it would be in our world.
73. If you've ever wondered who buys those incredibly stupid looking electric fireplaces or fireplace screensavers, it is Kindred Elders who absolutely love them. Otherwise, a fireplace will never be used in a Kindred haven with the sole exception being a low-gas fireplace on fake logs. Real fireplaces don't cause Kindred to frenzy as a general rule but they sure as hell don't make them comfortable.
74. Getting a harmless uncomplicated device like the above is usually a safe bet for an Elder. Yes, a talking fish would be considered fine as a "Mechanical Turk." Other good gifts are ties, stockings, silver jewelry, gemstones ("diamonds are forever and so are you"), or humans.
75. Kindred celebrate Christmas, New Years, and Halloween. Easter oddly makes them uncomfortable even if they're not Christian.
76. Kindred also have wakes but do not celebrate birthdays. Kindred wakes notably divide up all of the possessions of the dead among them, regardless of legality.
77. Kindred marriage does happen but has not been a Kindred-separate rite since the Dark Ages when the Church of Caine existed. It's now slowly coming back.
78. Kindred who talk about the various palettes and types of blood are either Ventrue or lying. Blood comes in fresh, healthy, alcoholic, drug laced, bad, and sick.
79. Kindred can taste the emotions of people they feed on, Resonance wise, but this is a supernatural effect. It's also only "straight from the tap."
80. Bizarrely, due to enhanced senses, Kindred love loud and distracting music. It tends to drown out the Beast. As such, Kindred tend to prefer metal, punk, or hard rock.
81. Kindred listening to symphonies or classical tend to need it to strict familiar arrangements and can be enormous critics. There's no good reason for this. Apparently, they really just like being jerks about it.
82. Dating aps are used by Kindred for "meal delivery." This is dangerous because it does create an online footprint, especially if you get shared, "I was only there ten minutes and slept for days afterward."
83. Prostitution and meal delivery services, by contrast, are a valued Kindred service.
84. Poverty among Cainites is a bigger deal than many suspect as flexible hour night jobs are often impossible to come by. Thus many Cainites do rely on their Disciplines to steal or mooch off other richer vampires or ghoul the affluent. The dawn of the cashless society has caused some distress for those who used to regularly rob their victims.
85. With the above noted, very few Kindred are genuinely destitute as they never have to pay for their meals.
86. Kindred tend to be aware of vampire culture about twenty years after the fact. So now Kindred are starting to make Buffy and Angel jokes. Oh and that Gary Oldman guy has a very interesting Dracula performance.
87. The former Prince of New Orleans claimed he made Anne Rice stop writing about vampires for decades. This actually pissed off multiple Toreador rather than won him respect. Whether this is true or not, it is a popular urban legend.
88. Most Kindred won't spray paint over their windows or cover them in cardboard (too obvious) but they will have double pairs of heavy drapes.
89. Most Kindred residences in the suburbs have privacy fences if they're allowed. Gated communities are also preferred.
90. Basement apartments are very popular in places above sea level.
91. Gas stations off highways are actually one of the most common vampire feeding spots outside bars and clubs. They're quite valued as feeding domains as are rest stops. It may not be glamorous but Caitiff, Nosferatu, and Gangrel can feed there without incident for decades.
92. Some Princes actually commission royal signet rings to kiss and mark letters. This is usually a sign the Prince is weak, overcompensating, or just an asshole.
93. Expensive personalized stationary with gold frills is another sign of a weak Elder.
94. Elders love writing letters in elaborate long cursive since they don't get hand cramps and never learned to type. Many Ancilla fall into it too.
95. Anarch Democracy is both true and misleading. Leadership is determined by the group instead of a Primogen but if the leader ever falters, he tends to be torn to shreds or beaten then dumped outside of their territory near sunrise.
96. The above is still considered to be an improvement over Princes by Anarchs in the know.
97. Yes, usually the Brujah with the highest Presence DOES tend to lead anyway. Followed by the Brujah with the highest Potence and Celerity.
98. Body bags and plastic tarp are very common things for Kindred vehicles. The simple sleeping bag is also something that many Kindred cherish as a less conspicuous protection for them while they lie down in the back.
99. Most Kindred planning a cross country trip tend to use delivery vans, trucks, or UHauls. The absence of trunk space is something many Kindred lament.
100. Kindred garages tend to have plastic tubs, hand-saws, duct tape, rope, large amounts of bleach, and no electronic openers for the doors with locks from the inside. Even if they're not serial killers, this is stuff that comes in handy.
101. Kindred hair regrows overnight but hair dye stays and many Kindred do enjoy styling or simply the buzz cut look if men.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.