Vampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's "World of Darkness" role playing games, centered around vampires in a modern Gothic-Punk world. The Third Edition, usually called Revised by fans, was released in 1998 and explains, "[t]he setting of Vampire is a composite of its populace and their despair." The title of the series comes from "The Masquerade", referring to the Camarilla's attempts to hide vampirism from humans and their governments and media. The game line was discontinued in 2004, and later remade with revised rules and setting as Vampire: The Requiem.
In general, vampiric societies consist of two levels: sects and clans. Characters within the Vampire setting are members of one of the clans or minor bloodlines offered, and usually belong to factions associated with these or that reflect a general ideological stance the characters happen to share. For example, a Brujah may belong to the Camarilla, the Sabbat, or the Anarchs, but very few Tremere would be found among the Sabbat and even more rarely among the Anarchs.
Some clans and most of minor bloodlines declare themselves independent from any sects.
Clans and bloodlines
Clans
| Clan | Progenitor | Sect allegiance |
|---|---|---|
| Assamite | Haqim | Mostly independent, antitribu in the Sabbat, Schismatics in the Camarilla |
| Brujah | Brujah/Troile | Mostly Camarilla, antitribu in the Sabbat; vampires of the True Brujah clan are practically extinct |
| Followers of Set | Set | Mostly independent, antitribu in the Sabbat (as the Serpents of Light) |
| Gangrel | Ennoia | Mostly independent since they abandoned the Camarilla en masse, antitribu in the Sabbat |
| Giovanni | Augustus Giovanni | Independent |
| Lasombra | Lasombra | Mostly Sabbat, a few antitribu in the Camarilla |
| Malkavian | Malkav | Mostly Camarilla, antitribu in the Sabbat |
| Nosferatu | Absimilliard | Mostly Camarilla, antitribu in the Sabbat |
| Ravnos | Ravanna | Mostly independent, antitribu in the Sabbat |
| Toreador | Arikel or Ishtar | Mostly Camarilla, antitribu in the Sabbat |
| Tremere | Tremere | Camarilla, Sabbat antitribu bloodline still existent at the time of the year 2000 publication of Vampire: The Masquerade Third Edition. |
| Tzimisce | Tzimisce | Sabbat, Tzimisce outside the sect are extremely rare; members of the so-called Old Clan Tzimisce claim independence from the sect |
| Ventrue | Ventrue | Mostly Camarilla, antitribu in the Sabbat |
Minor bloodlines
| Bloodline | Progenitor | Parent bloodline | Sect allegiance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anda | Dobrul the Brave | Gangrel | Probably extinct before the formation of sects |
| Ahrimanes | Muricia | Gangrel | Sabbat |
| Baali | Shaitan, Moloch and Seker | Salubri | Independent |
| Blood Brothers | Artificial | Tzimisce | Sabbat |
| Cappadocians | Ashur/Cappadocius | None | Once a major clan, they were considered extinct before the formation of sects; the Giovanni are their successor bloodline - although a small group, under Lazarus a 4th Generation Cappadocian survived in Egypt and in 1998 resurfaced. |
| Children of Osiris | Osiris | None | Independent |
| Daughters of Cacophony | Lilith | Toreador | Independent |
| Gargoyles | Artificial | Gangrel, Nosferatu and Tzimisce | Gargoyles usually adhere to the sect of their creators but Ferox freed a large group of them who're now Independent. |
| Harbingers of Skulls | The Capuchin | Cappadocians | Sabbat |
| Kiasyd | Marconius | Lasombra | Mostly Sabbat |
| Laibon | Fakir Al Sidi | Gangrel | Unknown |
| Lamia | Lamia | Cappadocians | Considered extinct before the formation of sects |
| Lhiannan | Unknown | Gangrel | Considered extinct before the formation of sects |
| Mariner Gangrel | Unknown | Gangrel | Unknown |
| Nagaraja | Unknown | Unknown, possibly Cappadocians or Salubri | Independent |
| Salubri | Saulot | None | A major clan driven to the brink of extinction by the Tremere; the few survivors joined the Sabbat or are independents |
| Samedi | Baron Samedi | Cappadocians | Camarilla |
| Sons of Discord | Lilith | Toreador | None/killed off by their Sisters, The Daughts of Cacophony |
| Tlacique | Unknown | Followers of Set | Independent |
Clanless
In the World of Darkness, there is an increasing number of "clanless" --- vampires who are ignorant of, or have chosen to disregard, their ancestry. 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.
Tie-ins and adaptations
Kindred: the Embraced, a television series based on Vampire, was produced by Aaron Spelling. A video game based upon the Vampire milieu is Vampire: The Masquerade: Redemption, released in 2000. Another game followed in 2004: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. Developed by Troika Games and published by Activision, it uses Half-Life 2's Source Engine.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, Wraith: The Oblivion, Changeling: The Dreaming, Hunter: The Reckoning, Mummy: The Resurrection, Kindred of the East and Demon: The Fallen are other RPG titles set in the so-called World of Darkness.
References
- Vampire: The Masquerade (3rd Edition) by White Wolf (1998)