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Vampire: The Requiem Rulebook

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The Vampire: The Requiem Rulebook is the core rulebook for the Vampire: The Requiem game line. It is used in conjunction with the CofD: World of Darkness: Storytelling System Rulebook Buy it from DriveThruRPG! Now in Print!, and focuses on the Kindred, vampires that stalk the night.

Summary[]

From the Onyx Path catalog:

Welcome to the Danse Macabre
Since time immemorial, the Kindred — vampires — have stalked their prey, unseen by the mortal masses. Their world is a xenophobic nightmare, populated by tyrannical despots, wild-eyed heretics, bloodthirsty rogues and scheming manipulators, all unified by the mysterious curse of vampirism. And you would join them? You would live forever? To play the lusts of mortals like a violinist plays the strings? Then beware, the price is steep to enter the neo-feudal hell that the Damned have wrought.
Welcome to Undeath
Join the revival of the Storytelling tradition. Vampire: The Requiem invites you to tell your own stories set within the world of the Kindred. This book includes rules for using vampires in World of Darkness chronicles, covering everything from the five clans to covenants to the Disciplines, bloodlines, storytelling advice and a complete spread of game systems governing the undead. Hardcover. Requires the World of Darkness rulebook for play.

Contents[]

Prologue: Dance of the Dead[]

Introduction[]

The Introduction exists to give you a quick bit of exposure to the world of Vampire’s Kindred, as well as a few ideas on what the game is designed to do.[1]

  • Sources and Inspiration
    • Fiction
      • The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.
      • Dracula by Bram Stoker.
      • “The Vampyre” by John Polidori.
      • “Carmilla” by Sheridan LeFanu.
        • Additional Inspirations
          • Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, Trainspotting and Filth by Irvine Welsh, The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, The Unburied by Charles Palliser, The Great Gatsby and The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
    • Movies
      • Nosferatu, either the original F. N. Murnau version featuring Max Schreck or the Werner Herzog version featuring Klaus Kinski.
      • Shadow of the Vampire starring John Malkovich and Willem Defoe.
      • The Lost Boys starring Kiefer Sutherland, Corey Haim and Corey Feldman.
      • Near Dark starring Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton.
      • The Hunger starring Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie.
      • The Tom Cruise/Brad Pitt film adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire deserves mention, as does Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula, but both works are mentioned in the fiction section.
        • Additional Inspirations
          • Dangerous Liaisons, Blade Runner, Mulholland Drive, The Manchurian Candidate, The Sixth Sense, Croupier, Casablanca, Amadeus
    • Music
    • Classical: Recommended com posers include Beethoven, Bach, Dvorak and Mozart.
    • Punk: Punk bands not to miss include the Sex Pistols, the Damned, the Misfits and Black Flag.
    • Goth: Key goth bands (even though many of them deny it) include the Sisters of Mercy, This Mortal Coil, Faith and the Muse, Switchblade Symphony and Bauhaus.
      • Additional Inspirations
        • Hey, who are we to tell you what music to listen to? No doubt you have your own musical tastes and your own ideas for using a certain song to highlight your Vampire experiences. You needn’t even confine yourself to “vampire music.” A certain Johnny Cash or Public Enemy song might suit a certain story or chronicle far better than Concrete Blonde’s “The Bloodletting” ever could.

Chapter One: Society of the Damned[]

Chapter One concerns itself with a greatly in-depth look at Kindred society as well as the world in which the Kindred hide. It examines everything from covenants and customs to domain politics and hoary secrets of the Danse Macabre, the never-ending struggle between Kindred for supremacy.[1]

Chapter Two: Character[]

Aspects of character are the focus of Chapter Two, from details regarding creation of an alternate persona to the characteristics of the clans to the mechanics of the Kindred’s unholy powers themselves.[1]

  • Merits
    • Haven (• to •••••; special)
    • Herd (• to •••••)
    • Status (• to •••••; special)
  • Daeva
  • Gangrel
  • Mekhet
  • Nosferatu
  • Ventrue
  • Disciplines
    • Animalism
      • • Feral Whispers
      • •• Obedience
      • ••• Call of the Wild
      • •••• Subsume the Lesser Spirit
      • ••••• Leashing the Beast
    • Auspex
      • • Heightened Sense
      • •• Aura Perception
      • ••• The Spirit’s Touch
      • •••• Telepathy
      • ••••• Twilight Projection
    • Celerity
    • Dominate
      • • Command
      • •• Mesmerize
      • ••• The Forgetful Mind
      • •••• Conditioning
      • ••••• Possession
    • Majesty
      • • Awe
      • •• Revelation
      • ••• Entrancement
      • •••• Summoning
      • ••••• Sovereignty
    • Nightmare
      • • Monstrous Countenance
      • •• Dread
      • ••• Eye of the Beast
      • •••• Shatter the Mind
      • ••••• Mortal Fear
    • Obfuscate
      • • Touch of Shadow
      • •• Mask of Tranquility
      • ••• Cloak of Night
      • •••• The Familiar Stranger
      • ••••• Cloak the Gathering
    • Protean
      • • Aspect of the Predator
      • •• Haven of Soil
      • ••• Claws of the Wild
      • •••• Shape of the Beast
      • ••••• Body of Spirit
    • Resilience
    • Vigor
    • Crúac
      • Pangs of Proserpina (Level-One Crúac Ritual)
      • Rigor Mortis (Level-One Crúac Ritual)
      • Cheval (Level-Two Crúac Ritual)
      • The Hydra’s Vitae (Level-Two Crúac Ritual)
      • Deflection of Wooden Doom (Level-Three Crúac Ritual)
      • Touch of the Morrigan (Level-Three Crúac Ritual)
      • Blood Price (Level-Four Crúac Ritual)
      • Willful Vitae (Level-Four Crúac Ritual)
      • Blood Blight (Level-Five Crúac Ritual)
      • Feeding the Crone (Level-Five Crúac Ritual)
    • Theban Sorcery
      • Blood Scourge (Level-One Theban Sorcery Ritual)
      • Vitae Reliquary (Level-One Theban Sorcery Ritual)
      • Curse of Babel (Level-Two Theban Sorcery Ritual)
      • Liar’s Plague (Level-Two Theban Sorcery Ritual)
      • Blandishment of Sin (Level-Three Theban Sorcery Ritual)
      • Malediction of Despair (Level-Three Theban Sorcery Ritual)
      • Gift of Lazarus (Level-Four Theban Sorcery Ritual)
      • Stigmata (Level-Four Theban Sorcery Ritual)
      • Transubstantiation (Level-Five Theban Sorcery Ritual)
      • Wrathful Judgment (Level-Five Theban Sorcery Ritual)
    • The Coils of the Dragon
      • The Coil of Blood
        • First Tier: Blood Seeps Slowly
        • Second Tier: Blood of Beasts
        • Third Tier: Perspicacious Blood
      • The Coil of Banes
        • First Tier: Conquer the Red Fear
        • Second Tier: Surmounting the Daysleep
        • Third Tier: Sun’s Forgotten Kiss
      • The Coil of the Beast
        • First Tier: Chastise the Beast
        • Second Tier: Lure the Beast
        • Third Tier: Exhaust the Beast
    • Devotions
      • Knowing the Stranger (Auspex ••••, Obfuscate ••••)
      • Arcane Sight (Auspex ••, Crúac •)
      • Body of Will (Resilience •••, Vigor •)
      • Instantaneous Transformation (Celerity ••, Protean ••••)
      • Iron Façade (Obfuscate ••, Resilience ••)
      • Lessons in the Steel (Auspex •, Resilience •••)
      • Partial Transformation (Protean ••••, Resilience •)
      • Quicken Sight (Auspex •, Celerity •)
      • Touch of Deprivation (Auspex ••••, Dominate ••)
      • Veridical Tongue (Dominate ••, Majesty ••)

Chapter Three: Special Rules and Systems[]

The game’s systems and dice-rolling concerns make up Chapter Three. These mechanics govern all of the aspects of chance that occur during the course of a story, handling everything from characters threatened by frenzies spawned by the Beast to suffering physical damage to losing one’s Morality and sanity, and even more.[1]

  • Sample Derangements
    • Bulimia (severe; follows Fixation)
    • Delusional Obsession (severe; follows Irrationality)
    • Dependent-Personality Disorder (severe; follows Irrationality)
    • Phobia (mild)
    • Hysteria (severe; follows Phobia)
    • Manic-Depression (severe; follows Depression)
    • Megalomania (severe; follows Narcissism)
    • Multiple Personality (severe; extreme; follows Irrationality)
    • Obsessive Compulsion (severe; follows Fixation)
    • Paranoia (severe; follows Suspicion)
    • Power Fetish Obsession (mild only)
    • Sanguinary Animism (mild only)
    • Schizophrenia (severe; extreme; follows Vocalization)

Chapter Four: Storytelling and Antagonists[]

Advice is offered to the Storyteller in Chapter Four. This includes everything from suggestions on how to handle the setting to considerations when structuring a chronicle. The chapter includes a variety of pre-made antagonists for use in stories as well.[1]

  • Sample Antagonists
    • Animals
    • Non-combatants
      • Blood Doll - Stats
      • Doting Thrall (Ghoul) - Stats
      • Rack Visitor - Stats
      • Street Preacher - Stats
    • Combatants
      • Rogue Ghoul - Stats
      • Belials’ Brood Fanatic - Stats

Appendix One: Bloodlines and Unique Disciplines[]

Appendix One comprises Bloodlines and new Disciplines. One of the features of Vampire: The Requiem is a customizable lineage system by which characters can create their own unique broods and families of vampires, as well as the unique powers to which they lay claim. This chapter includes a few of the bloodlines that are already assumed to be a part of the setting, as well as systems by which players and Storytellers can generate new ones.[1]

  • Bruja
  • Burakumin
  • Malkovians
  • Morbus
  • Toreador
  • Disciplines
    • Cachexy
      • • Diagnose
      • •• Contaminate
      • ••• Inflame
      • •••• Plague-Bearer
      • ••••• Accelerate Disease
    • Getsumei
      • • Moonlit Preservation
      • •• Crow’s Harvest
      • ••• Corpse Skin
      • •••• Channel of Hasu-Ko
      • ••••• Convocation of Hotoke

Appendix Two: New Orleans[]

Finally, a sample setting makes up Appendix Two. This chapter includes a host of plot threads, secrets — oh, and some common knowledge, too! — regarding the domain of New Orleans, a stronghold for the covenant known as the Lancea Sanctum.[1]

Epilogue: Strings and Piano[]

Character Sheet[]

Index[]

Characters[]

  • Prologue: Dance of the Dead
  • Introduction
    • Charlotte Gaudibert - Author of Aequitas Fatalis
  • Chapter One: Society of the Damned
  • Chapter Two: Character
  • Chapter Three: Special Rules and Systems
    • Vanian - Gangrel, Example
    • Gregor - Nosferatu Example
    • Duce Carter - Example
  • Chapter Four: Storytelling and Antagonists
    • Luther Franke - Author of Die Neuen Götter
  • Appendix One: Bloodlines and Unique Disciplines
    • Dr. Miranda Estes - Author of "Beyond Post-Mortem"
    • Carlos Saavedra, founder of the Bruja
    • Dr. James Griffin Hartleigh co-founder of the Malkovians
    • Anton Malkov, founder of the Malkovians
    • Garcilaso de Castillejo, founder of the Toreador
    • Cristóbal de la Vega - Garcilaso's Childe
  • Appendix Two: New Orleans
    • Prince Augusto Vidal
    • Pearl Chastain
    • Baron Cimitiere
      • Nosferatu Houngan and Regent
    • Coco Ducquette
      • Prefect and Primogen
    • "Gutterball" Gus Elgin
    • Cleavon "Shep" Jennings
      • New Orleans Unaligned
    • Lidia Kendall, Ordo Dracul novice
    • Philip Maldonato
    • John Marrow
      • French Quarter Priest and Inquisitor
    • Pierpont McGinn
      • Ventrue member of Inner Circle
    • Caitlin Meadows
      • Hound and Inquisitor, New Orleans.
    • Miss Opal
      • Nosferatu Primogen
    • Natasha Preston
    • Antoine Savoy
      • Lord of New Orleans' French Quarter
    • Sundown
      • Harpy
    • Desirae Wells
      • Unaligned Emissary
    • Emmanuel Baptiste Carth (pseudonym)
    • Maria Pascual - Daeva Priscus, Destroyed
    • Francois Nicholas du Valle - Mekhet, Final Death
    • Emmanuel Costa - Embraced by Vidal, Final Death
    • Roger Halliburton - Gangrel, Destroyed
    • Remy Albright, New Orleans priest
    • Martin Bowler, New Orleans Gangrel
    • James Cesar, character creation example
    • Malia Eliza Curry, Cimitiere supporter
    • Mr. Dimanche
    • Reynaldo Gui, French Quarter Master of Elysium
    • Gabriel Hurst, New Orleans Primogen
    • Peter Lebeaux, French Quarter homicide detective
    • John Polk, New Orleans priest
    • Dr. Ephram Xola, Cimitiere supporter

Background Information[]

  • Pauline Benney added some of their blood to the ink used in the book; if you own one of the books from the original print run, you have Pauline's blood in your book.[2]
  • Playtesters credited in the book include: First- and Second-Stage Playtesters: Chastain Addington; Alan Alexander; Demian Anderson; Sara Anderson; Nils Johnson Andreasson; David Bergkvist; Kraig Blackwelder; James Luke Boswell; Cassandra Brackett; Ryan Brandos; Daniel Byström; Ben Chism; James Comer; Chris Cowan; Tara De Blois; Corey Dixon; J. Entsminger; Gala Ferriere; Kevan Forbes; Douglas A. Forsyth; James Ganong; Fred Grass; Jasmine Marie Gribble; Brent Halstead; Aaron Harmon; Robert Holmberg; Conrad Hubbard; Julian Hubbard; Charles Kelley; Steve Kenson; Bishop Lewis; Terje Loklingholm; Chad McGrath; Mario Meo; Krister M. Michl; Albert Mowatt; Robin Nair; Mike Nudd; Corey Ovendale; Matthew Petosa; Chris Renfroe; Mattias Renmark; Steven Sharpe; Malcolm Sheppard; Kearsley Shieder-Wethy; Dean Shomshak; Jeff Skagen; Justin Smith; Ted Sunnerton; Helen E. Taylor, Ph.D.; Joseph Turner; Jarett Underwood; Rachel “Bunnie” Winter; Jim Zubkavich; Third-Stage and In-House Playtesters: Justin Achilli; Charles Bailey; Andrew Bates; Philippe Boulle; Carl Bowen; Bill Bridges; Chad Brown; Dean Burnham; Brad Butkovich; Raphael Castle; John Chambers; Mike Chaney; Ken Cliffe; Lisa Eidson; Brian Glass; Paul Gregory; Conrad Hubbard; Terrence James; Becky Jollensten; Katie McCaskill; Chris McDonough; Matt Milberger; Ben Monk; DeCarlo Murray; Rebecca Schaefer; Mike Tinney; Aaron Voss; Adam Voss; Frederick Yelk; Diane Zamojski
  • Acknowledgements: Thanks to the visionaries who broke boundaries and redefined roleplaying with the previous incarnation of Vampire: Mark Rein•Hagen, Stewart Wieck, Steven C. Brown, Tom Dowd, Andrew Greenberg, Jennifer Hartshorn, Robert Hatch, Lisa Stevens, Josh Timbrook and the unsung contributors whose names were never mentioned but who nonetheless know who they are. We couldn’t have done it without the trail you blazed before us. Special thanks to you, whether you’re joining us again after 13 years of thrills and chills or just showing up for the first time. Game on!

Terminology[]

Lexicon: Acolytes, Ancilla, ancient, Avus, Barrens, Beast, Belial’s Brood, blood hunt, bloodline, Carthian, childe, clan, Circle of the Crone, Coils of the Dragon, coterie, covenant, Crúac, Daeva, Damned, the, Danse Macabre, diablerie, Disciplines, domain, Dragons, elder, Elysium, Embrace, Final Death, First Estate, frenzy, Gangrel, ghoul, Harpy, haven, Herald, herd, Hound, Invictus, Kindred, kine, Kiss, Lancea Sanctum, Lupine, Man, the, Masquerade, Master of Elysium, Mekhet, neonate, Nosferatu, Ordo Dracul, poacher, Primogen, Prince, Priscus, Rack, regnant, Requiem, revenant, Sanctified, Seneschal, Seven, Sheriff, sire, Theban Sorcery, thrall, torpor, Traditions, unbound, Ventrue, vessel, Vitae, Vinculum, Whip, witch-hunter; Old Form: abactor, Amaranth, anarch, blood oath, caitiff, Canaille, cauchemar, cockalorum, comprador, consanguineous, co-sanguineous, cunctator, draugr, fief, footpad, fledgling, gallant, gentry, Golconda, inceptor, Leech, Lextalionis, lineage, Osiris, Papillon, praxis, retainer, Rötschreck, siren, Suspire, Wassail, whelp, whig; Vulgar Argot: alleycat, banking, blister, blood doll, butterfly, Casanova, Change, Cleaver, donor, farmer, head, headhunter, juice, juicebag, Lick, lush, pedigree, rake, ripper, sandman, slumming, tease, turf; 430 BCE, 1334, 15th Century, 16th Century, 17th Century, 1602, 1682, 18th Century, 1701, 1717, 1718, 1719, 1721, 1722, 1724, 1726, 1727, 1729, 1731, 1752, 1757, 1762, 1763, 1766, 1768, 1769, 1770, 1779, 1780, 1782, 1788, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1799, 19th Century/1800s, 1800, 1803, 1805, 1812, 1814, 1815, 1833, 1835, 1838, 1840, 1842, 1848, 1849, 1850, 1852, 1853, 1857, 1862, 1865, 1869, 1870, 1877, 1889, 1892, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 20th Century, 1900s, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1925, 1931, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1940s, 1941, 1949, 1957, 1960s, 1967, 1970s, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, Acteius, Aequitas Fatalis by Charlotte Gaudibert, Agonistes, Anavashra, Animalism, Anointing/Blood Baths, Anubi, Archbishop, August 1, Auspex, Baddacelli, Baton Rouge, Beni Murrahim, "Beyond Post-Mortem" by Dr. Miranda Estes, Bishop, Blood Potency, Booze Fighters, Bruja, Burakumin, Cachexy, Camarilla, Cardinal, Cassius, Celerity, The Chain, The Chorus, Creation Rite, Curse, Derangements, Devotions, Die Neuen Götter by Luther Franke, Dominate, The Dragon’s Tongue, Duchagne, February 3, February 25, Filhos des Bruja, Fire Dance, Fog of Eternity, Following the Dragon’s Tail, Getsumei, Guardians, Hierophant, Humanitas, Humanity, Independence Day, Inner Circle, Inquisitor, January 6, Judex, Kogaion, Licinii, The Liturgy, Louisiana, Mage, Majesty, Malkovian, March 9, Matasuntha, Midnight Mass, Mnemosyne, Moirai (Bloodline/Covenant), Monomacy, Morbus, Mortal, Myrmidon, Mysteries, New Orleans, Nightmare, Noctuku, Norvegi, Obfuscate, October 31, Predator’s Taint, Prefect, Presentation, Priest, Protean, Resilience, Rites of the Dragon, Rötgrafen, Sangiovanni, September 26-27, Subinfeudation, The Sworn of Dracula, Taifa, The Testament of Longinus, Toreador, Unaligned, Vigor, Werewolf, The Winnowing, Wyrm’s Nests, Xiao, Yagnatia,

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 VTR: Vampire: The Requiem Rulebook, p. 16
  2. ↑ Justin Achilli Twitter
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