We use the Vampire 3rd Edition Core Rulebook for our rules unless noted otherwise. In you have a question of whether we are using any of the other rules published by White Wolf, please ask. Many times, special rules and add-ons from supplements are not being used. While we try to not muddy things with our own additions to the rules too much, some changes are always necessary.

Over time, we’ve also discovered older rules we liked better than the 3rd Edition, so look over these rules to see what older 2nd edition rules are in effect.

Common Rolls

• To search the room for clues – Perception + Investigation, Difficulty 6
• To hear normal conversation across a noisy room – Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8
• To slip through a door behind someone while using Obfuscate – Dexterity + Athletics, Difficulty 8
• To read someone’s emotions / detect a lie – Perception + Empathy, Difficulty 6; Resisted by Manipulation + Subterfuge, Difficulty 6

Malkavians and Dementation

Malkavians have Dominate, not Dementation. This includes NPCs as well as players. For the purposes of our game, there is no such discipline as Dementation.

Computer Use

You aren’t doing yourself any favors whiling away your unlife on the internet. When storytellers create plots, we often put things in the gaps of history or real-life lore, or fill in spots. We create ancient cults, strange wonky religions and the occasional UFO sighting and put it into the game world. When you just go and do a Google search, you get none of this. Nada, none of the actual plot information. You get random stuff on the Internet we had no part in.

This is not the Internet you are looking for. The in-character Internet is not the same one you and I can get to. The occult information on the real Internet isn’t subject to the constant purging and deletion that comes from the ministrations of the Technocracy, Tremere deletion rituals (they do exist), Ventrue influences, weaver spiders, and a myriad of other occult forces. Nor is it added to by any of the other denizens of the World of Darkness (or their comrades). So, the same search does not come up with the same results.

Performance

The Performance ability, according to the book, governs your ability to perform in a certain artistic area. In our game we also add to that the ability to “perform” in a social situation that requires you to engage or inspire people. To that end, when you take the performance at character creation or purchase it later on with experience points, you must indicate what you will use the performance for. It signifies one particular area your character is proficient at. Any other artistic skills can be bought as secondaries.

Examples of Artistic Performance: Dancing, Singing, Stage Act, A particular instrument

If you wish to take Performance because a particular discipline uses it, you must indicate a non-artistic reason for it. This indicates how you will use it. Using Awe is not a matter of just rolling dice. It is a matter of rolling dice and role-playing your character changing people’s minds to follow your lead. This may be done by giving an eloquent speech, or working the crowd up into a frenzy of excitement or anger or perhaps getting them to laugh and relax and have a good time. Either way they will follow you… because you are the object of their awe and inspiration, you have engaged them into following your lead.

Examples of Non-Artistic Performance: Oration, Rabble Rousing, Carousing

Disciplines

In order to raise one of your In Clan Disciplines to the fourth (4th) dot or beyond, you must first get your other two In Clan Disciplines to the second (2nd) dot. This is to preserve game balance and prevent characters from becoming too powerful too quickly.

All out of clan disciplines must be learned with the help of a teacher. You must be taught over five role-played sessions. Learning clan-specific disciplines (such as Protean or Dementation) must get prior approval from the Storytellers.

Combination Disciplines from the Third Edition books are not allowed in our game. We think they have exactly two settings – overpowered and broken, or expensive and useless.

These rules supplement the basic 3rd Edition discipline rules. Unless otherwise noted below, assume the 3rd Edition rules apply to discipline use.

• Auspex
  
• Dominate
  
• Fortitude
  
• Obfuscate
  
• Presence
  
• Protean
  

Willpower

We all like to use willpower for that ‘one success guaranteed’ thing, but in reality the only time you should be guaranteed a success is when you are really, really concentrating to accomplish a task. This would include such things as trying to lift a car off your foot, shooting a gun, jumping, etc. The sorts of things where trying really hard would make a difference.

Things like research are not included in this. You can concentrate all you want, but if the information is not there, no amount of concentration is going to find it.

No willpower can be used on reflexive rolls unless, for instance, you are trying really hard to lie and not get caught. But you can not use it on empathy rolls.

Animals

If you are playing a vampire, unless you have one of the following traits:

• Inoffensive to Animals merit
  
• Dots in Animalism
  
• Dots in Animal Ken
  

...animals that are not blood bound to you will be terrified of your character. They will not let you pet them, they will not let you come near them. They will run, bite or otherwise attack, because they recognize vampires as the predators they are.

This means is that it is generally not a good idea for you to bring an animal that is bound to you to places that other vampires are. It is, in fact, a very bad idea to do this, because the mortals around will likely be wondering why Fido is howling while desperately trying to get away from the otherwise completely normal looking people around them. This is also hardly a great way to win friends and influence people amongst the vampire community.

Animal Ken can negate this tendency to a point, but Animalism is the better skill to possess in order to be able to interact with animals.

If your vampire has a pet, it’s best that other vampires (unless they as well have the above-referenced traits) not ever encounter them.

Eating and Drinking

Eating and drinking anything but blood is disgusting to all vampires. Anything you ingest will not only taste bad, but will also be immediately vomited back up. Even those with the Eat Food merit, which allows you to hold down without the spend and enjoy it to a point, will have to puke up the food or drink they consume eventually.

Anyone else attempting to eat or drink anything that is not blood or that contains blood will have to spend a blood point or immediately be faced with having to puke, right then, right there.

Most vampires do not think the effort is worth the blood because even if you do spend, it tastes nasty and disgusting. Like ashes.

Why is this? You can find reference to it in the Book of Nod, Caine’s supposed words to his childer:

“And then, through dread Uriel
God Almighty cursed me, saying.
‘Then, for as long as you walk this earth, you and your children will cling to Darkness
You will drink only blood
You will eat only ashes
You will be always as you were at death,
Never dying, living on.
You will walk forever in Darkness, all you touch will crumble into nothing,
until the last days.”

Phones

To dial a number and get it ringing takes a total of 3 combat rounds. Grab your phone, find a number in it (not a quick dial), and get at least two rings. Took you about 10-15 seconds, didn’t it? That translates to roughly 3 combat rounds.

A single combat round allows one or two short sentences to be said, and another two to be received.