Karaktärsskapande - Vampire: the Masquerade
1.....Koncept
2.....Klan
3.....Nature & Demeanor
4.....Attributes
5.....Abilities
6.....Discipliner
7.....Backgrounds
8.....Virtues
9.....Morality
10.....Willpower
11.....Merits & Flaws
12.....Freebies
13.....Bloodpool
As mentioned before, Abilities are the Traits used to describe what you know and what you've learned to do. Whereas Attributes represent your raw potential, Abilities represent the ways you've learned to use that potential. You may not need anything but brute strength to smash through a door - but if you're trying to use sheer muscle power to force an engine part into place without breaking anything, you'd better know something about mechanics. When rolling dice, you'll probably have to pair an Ability with an appropriate Attribute, in order to properly depict the combination of potential and know-how that's necessary for getting things done.
There are 30 Abilities: 10 Talents, 10 Skills and 10 Knowledges. Each Ability typically covers a broad range of aptitudes. For certain Abilities (Expression, Crafts, Performance, Academics, Science), it is best to pick a specialty (p. 117), even if the character's rating in the Ability is not yet 4 or higher. Thus, a character with the Crafts Skill is generally versed in handiwork of all sorts, but might be particularly adept at auto mechanics.
Talents describe what you intuitively know, what you can do without coaching or instruction. The only way to improve your Talents is through direct experience - with the exception of a very few cases (such as studying a text on Jeet Kune Do to learn a dot or so of Brawl), these things can't be learned from a book or mail-order course. If you try an action involving a Talent your character doesn't possess, there's no penalty to your basic Attribute dice pool; these Abilities are so intuitive that virtually everyone has some degree of capacity in each one.
Skills are Abilities learned through training, apprenticeships or other instruction. If you try to perform an action involving a
Skill in which you have no rating, your difficulty is increased by one. An unskilled worker just isn't as effective as someone
who might have lower Attributes but an understanding of what the procedure entails.
Knowledges involve the application of the mind, not the body; consequently, Knowledge Abilities are most often paired
with Mental Traits. (It's possible to roll Charisma + Academics, or even Stamina + Medicine, but such things are pretty
rare.) The following descriptions speak of Knowledge levels in collegiate terms, although formal schooling is j ust one way
to improve a Knowledge.
If you don't have any dots in a Knowledge, you cannot even attempt a roll involving it unless the Storyteller gives explicit
permission (such as where common trivia is concerned). If you don't know Spanish, you can't try holding a conversation in
espanol on your wits alone.
Talents
Alertness
This is your basic knack for noticing things that go on around you, even when you're not actively looking for them. Alertness describes the attention you pay to the outside world, whether otherwise occupied or not. This Talent is typically paired with Perception, and is best used when sensing physical stimuli (as opposed to moods or clues).
● Novice — You're no mindless drone.
●● Practiced — Habitual eavesdropper
●●● Competent — You keep a sharp eye on your surroundings.
●●●● Expert — Whether from paranoia or good sense, you are rarely caught off guard.
●●●●● Master — Your senses are on par with those of a wild animal.
Possessed by: Hunters, Bodyguards, Security Personnel, Journalists, Burglars
Specialties: Noises, Eavesdropping, Ambushes, Hidden Weapons, Crowds, Forests, Animals
Athletics
This Talent represents your basic athletic ability, as well as any training you might have had in sports or other rigorous activities. Athletics concerns all forms of running, swimming jumping throwing sports and the like, however it does not cover basic motor function such as lifting weights, nor does it govern athletic feats covered by another ability (Such as Melee).
● Novice — You had an active childhood.
●● Practiced — High school athlete
●●● Competent — Professional Athlete
●●●● Expert — Top Notch in your sport.
●●●●● Master — Olympic Athlete
Possessed by: Athletes, Enthusiast, Park Rangers, Jocks, Kids.
Specialties: Swimming, Rock climbing, Acrobatics, Dancing, Endurance Running, Specific Sports.
Brawl
The Brawl Talent represents how well you fight in tooth-and-nail situations. This Talent represents skill in unarmed combat,
whether from formal martial-arts training or simply from plenty of experience - either type can make you a dangerous
adversary. Effective brawlers are coordinated, resistant to pain, quick, strong and mean; the willingness to do whatever it
takes to hurt your opponent wins plenty of fights.
● Novice — You were picked on as a kid.
●● Practiced — You've seen the occasional barroom tussle.
●●● Competent — You've fought regularly and routinely, and generally walked away in better shape than your opponents.
●●●● Expert — You could be a serious contender on a boxing circuit.
●●●●● Master — You can kill three men in four seconds.
Possessed by: Military, Police, Roughnecks, Thugs
Specialties: Boxing, Wrestling, Dirty Fighting, Kicks, Karate, Judo, Muay Thai, Throws, Submission Holds
Dodge
The first rule of self-preservation, this Talent covers your ability to avoid blows, missile fire or even oncoming cars. Dodge entails taking cover, ducking punches or any other methods of getting out of harm's way.
● Novice — You can reflexively duck and cover your head.
●● Practiced — You've weathered a self-defense class.
●●● Competent — You can evade thrown rocks, maybe even knives.
●●●● Expert — It'd take a skilled brawler to land a punch.
●●●●● Master — You can virtually sidestep bullets on open ground.
Possessed by: Police, Criminals, Brawlers, Boxers, People in Bad Neighborhoods
Specialties: Cover, Sidestep, Footwork, Leap
Empathy
You understand the emotions of others, and can sympathize with, feign sympathy for, or play on such emotions as you see fit. You are an easy hand at discerning motive, and might be able to pick up on when someone's lying to you. However, you may be so in tune with other people's feelings that your own emotions are affected.
● Novice — You lend the occasional shoulder to cry on.
●● Practiced — You can sometimes literally feel someone else's suffering.
●●● Competent — You have a keen insight into other people's motivations.
●●●● Expert — It's almost impossible to lie to you.
●●●●● Master — The human soul conceals no mysteries from you.
Possessed by: Social Workers, Parents, Actors, Psychologists, Detectives, Seducers, Mediums, Best Friends
Specialties: Emotions, Personalities, Motives, Gaining Trust
Expression
This is your ability to get your point across clearly, whether through conversation, poetry or even email. Characters with high Expression can phrase their opinions or beliefs in a manner that cannot be ignored (even if their opinions are misinformed or worthless). They might also be talented actors, skilled at conveying moods or feigning emotion with every gesture. Additionally, this Talent represents your ability for poetry, creative writing or other literary art forms.
● Novice — Your talent has matured past crude poetry on notebook paper.
●● Practiced — You could lead a college debate team.
●●● Competent — You could be a successful writer.
●●●● Expert — Your work is Pulitzer material.
●●●●● Master — A visionary such as yourself comes along only once in every generation.
Possessed by: Actors, Writers, Poets, Politicians, Journalists, Instructors, Rabhle-Rousers
Specialties: Acting, Poetry, Fiction, Impromptu, Conversation
Intimidation
Intimidation takes many forms, from outright threats and physical violence to mere force of personality. You know the right method for each occasion, and can be very… persuasive.
● Novice — Crude teenage bully
●● Practiced — Mugger
●●● Competent — Drill sergeant
●●●● Expert — Your air of authority cows casual passersby.
●●●●● Master — You can frighten off vicious animals.
Possessed by: Bullies, Executives, Military Officers, Thugs, Bouncers, Gangsters, Sabbat
Specialties: Veiled Threats, Pulling Rank, Physical Coercion, Blackmail
Leadership
You are an example to others and can inspire them to do what you want. Leadership has less to do with manipulating people's desires than it does with presenting yourself as the sort of person they want to follow. This Talent is usually paired with Charisma rather than Manipulation.
● Novice — Captain of your Little League team
●● Practiced — Student body president
●●● Competent — An effective CEO
●●●● Expert — Presidential material
●●●●● Master — You could be the lord and master of a nation.
Possessed by: Politicians, Princes, Managers, Executives, Military Officers, Police
Specialties: Oratory, Compelling, Friendly, Open, Noble, Military, Commands
Streetwise
The streets can provide a lot of information or money to those who know the language. Streetwise allows you to blend in unobtrusively with the local scene, pick up gossip, understand slang or even dabble in criminal doings.
● Novice — You know who sells drugs.
●● Practiced — You're accorded respect on the street.
●●● Competent — You could head your own gang.
●●●● Expert — You have little to fear in even the worst neighborhoods.
●●●●● Master — If you haven't heard it, it hasn't been said.
Possessed by: Criminals, Homeless People, Reporters, Detectives, Vice Squads, Sabbat
Specialties: Fencing, Illegal Drugs, Illegal Weapons, Rumors, Gangs, Pickpocketing, Local Slang
Subterfuge
You know how to conceal your own motives and project what you like. Furthermore, you can root out other people's motives, then use those motives against them. This Talent defines your talent for intrigue, secrets and double-dealing; mastery of Subterfuge can make you the ultimate seducer, or a brilliant spy.
● Novice — You tell the occasional little white lie.
●● Practiced — Vampire
●●● Competent — Criminal lawyer
●●●● Expert — Deep-cover agent
●●●●● Master — You're the very last person anyone would suspect.
Possessed by: Politicians, Lawyers, Vampires, Teenagers, Con Men, Pick-up Artists
Specialties: Seduction, Impeccable Lies, Feigning Mortality
Skills
Animal Ken
You can understand an animal's behavior patterns. This Skill allows you to predict how an animal might react in a given situation, train a domesticated creature, or even try to calm or enrage animals.
● Novice — You can get a domesticated horse to let you pet it.
●● Practiced — You can housebreak a puppy.
●●● Competent — You could train a seeing-eye dog.
●●●● Expert — Circus trainer
●●●●● Master — You can tame wild beasts without benefit of supernatural powers.
Possessed by: Farmers, Animal Trainers, Zookeepers, Park Rangers, Pet Owners, Domitors
Specialties: Dogs, Attack Training, Big Cats, Horses, Farm Animals, Falconry
Crafts
This Skill covers your ability to make or fix things with your hands. Crafts allows you to work in fields such as carpentry, leatherwork, weaving or even mechanical expertise such as car repair. You can even create lasting works of art with this Skill, depending on the number of successes you achieve. You must always choose a specialization in Crafts, even though you retain some skill in multiple fields.
● Novice — High-school wood shop
●● Practiced — You're starting to develop your own style.
●●● Competent — You could make a living at your work.
●●●● Expert — Your work might be featured in college-level textbooks for your field.
●●●●● Master — Your artistry is virtually without peer.
Possessed by: Mechanics, Artisans, Artists, Designers, Inventors, Back-to-the-Land Types
Specialties: Pottery, Sewing, Home Repair, Carpentry, Appraisal, Carburetors
Drive
You can drive a car, and maybe other vehicles as well. This Skill does not automatically entail familiarity with complicated vehicles such as tanks or 18-wheelers, and difficulties may vary depending on your experience with individual automobiles. After all, helming a station wagon doesn't prepare you for controlling a Lotus at 100 miles per hour.
● Novice — You know how to work an automatic transmission.
●● Practiced — You can drive a stick shift.
●●● Competent — Professional trucker
●●●● Expert — NASCAR daredevil or tank pilot
●●●●● Master — You can make a Yugo do tricks out of a James Bond movie.
Possessed by: Cabbies, Truckers, Race Car Drivers, most 20th-century residents of affluent Western nations
Specialties: Off-road, Wheelies, Curves, Stick Shift, Sudden Stops, Heavy Traffic
Etiquette
You understand the nuances of proper behavior, in both mortal society and Kindred culture. Your specialty is the culture with which you are most familiar. This Skill is used during haggling, seduction, dancing, dinner etiquette and all forms of diplomacy.
● Novice — You know when to keep your mouth shut.
●● Practiced — You've been to a black-tie event or two.
●●● Competent — You know your way around even obscure silverware.
●●●● Expert — Her Majesty would consider you charming.
●●●●● Master — If the right people came to dinner, you could end wars - or start them.
Possessed by: Diplomats, Travelers, High Society, Executives
Specialties: Formal Dinners, Business, Street Culture, Kindred Society
Firearms
Executing a mortal with a sword starts investigations. Clawing someone to ribbons shakes the edges of the Masquerade. So Cainites adapt, and many have devoted their energies to learning how to kill with guns. This Skill represents familiarity with a range of firearms, from holdout pistols to heavy machine guns. Of course, this Skill doesn't include heavy artillery such as mortars or tank guns. However, someone skilled in Firearms can clean, repair, recognize and, of course, accurately fire most forms of small arms. This Skill is also used to unjam guns (Wits + Firearms).
● Novice — You had a BB gun as a kid.
●● Practiced — You while away the occasional hour at the gun club.
●●● Competent — You've survived a firefight or two.
●●●● Expert — You could pick off people for a living.
●●●●● Master — You've been practicing since the debut of the Winchester.
Possessed by: Sabbat, Policemen, Military Personnel, Survivalists, Hunters
Specialties: Fast-Draw, Gunsmithing, Pistols, Sniping, Revolvers, Shotguns
Melee
As the Kindred maxim runs, Guns mean nothing to a lifeless heart. A blade is often worth far more, as is the skill to use it properly. Melee covers your ability to use hand-to-hand weapons of all forms, from swords and clubs to esoteric martial-arts paraphernalia such as sai or nunchaku. And, of course, there is always the utility of the wooden stake…
● Novice — You know the right way to hold a knife.
●● Practiced — You may have been in the occasional streetfight.
●●● Competent — You could make a college fencing team.
●●●● Expert — You could keep order in the prince's court.
●●●●● Master — Your enemies would rather face a SWAT team than your blade.
Possessed by: Assassins, Gang Members, Martial Artists, Police, Duelists, Medievalist Buffs
Specialties: Knives, Swords, Improvised Clubs, Stakes, Disarms, Axes
Performance
The Performance Skill governs your ability to perform artistic endeavors such as singing, dancing, acting or playing a musical instrument. You are almost certainly specialized in one field, although true virtuosos may be talented in many forms of performance. This Skill represents not only technical know-how, but the ability to work an audience and enrapture them with your show.
● Novice — You could sing in the church choir.
●● Practiced — You could get a leading part in a college production.
●●● Competent — You're in demand at the local clubs.
●●●● Expert — You have the talent to be a national sensation.
●●●●● Master — You are a virtuoso without peer.
Possessed by: Musicians, College Students, Actors, Ballerinas, Mimes
Specialties: Dancing, Singing, Rock and Roll, Acting, Guitar Solos, Drunken Karaoke
Security
This skill entails familiarity with the tools and techniques for picking locks, deactivating car or house alarms, hot-wiring automobiles or even safe-cracking, as well as countless forms of breaking and entering. Security is useful not only for the thief but as for setting up security systems, or deducing where the thief broke in.
● Novice — You can pick a simple lock.
●● Practiced — You can hot-wire a car.
●●● Competent — You can bypass or disable house alarms.
●●●● Expert — You can crack a safe.
●●●●● Master — You can get a bomb out or into a Pentagon.
Possessed by: Thieves, Security Consultants, Policeman
Specialties: Safe-cracking, hot-wiring, Electrical alarms, Deadbolts
Stealth
This Skill is the ability to avoid being detected, whether you're hiding or moving at the time. Stealth is often tested against someone else's Perception. This Ability is, for obvious reasons, highly useful in stalking prey.
● Novice — You can hide in a darkened room.
●● Practiced — You can shadow someone from streetlight to streetlight.
●●● Competent — You have little difficulty finding prey from evening to evening.
●●●● Expert — You can move quietly over dry leaves.
●●●●● Master — Nosferatu elder
Possessed by: Burglars, Assassins, Kindred, Spies, Reporters, Commandos
Specialties: Hiding, Silent Movement, Shadowing, Crowds
Survival
Although vampires have little to fear from starvation and exposure, the wilderness can still be dangerous to a Cainite. This Skill allows you to find shelter, navigate your way to civilization, track prey and possibly even avoid werewolves (although this last is exceedingly difficult). When you use Stealth in the wilderness, you cannot roll more dice for your Stealth rating than you have in Survival.
● Student — You can survive a five-mile hike.
●● College — You "roughed it" on a regular basis.
●●● Masters — You know poisonous mushrooms from edible ones.
●●●● Doctorate — You could live for months in the wilderness of your choice.
●●●●● Scholar — You could get dropped naked into the Andes and do all right for yourself.
Possessed by: Scouts, Soldiers, Outdoors Enthusiasts, Survivalists, Hunters, Park Rangers
Specialties: Tracking, Woodlands, Jungle, Trapping, Hunting
Knowledges
Academics
This catchall Knowledge covers the character's erudition in the "humanities": literature, history, art, philosophy and other "liberal" sciences. A character with dots in Academics is generally well-rounded in these fields, and at high levels may be considered an expert in one or more areas of study. Not only can this Knowledge impress at salons and other Elysium functions, but it can also offer valuable clues to certain past - and future movements in the Jyhad.
● Student — You're aware that 1066 is something more than a Beverly Hills area code.
●● College — You can quote from the classics, identify major cultural movements, and expound on the difference between
Ming and Moghul.
●●● Masters — You could get a paper published in a scholarly journal.
●●●● Doctorate — Professor emeritus
●●●●● Scholar — Scholars worldwide acknowledge you as one of the foremost experts of your time.
Possessed by: Professors, Literati, Trivia Buffs, Elders
Specialties: Poststructuralism, Impressionist Painting, Imperial Rome, American Realism
Computer
This Knowledge represents the ability to operate and program computers, as well as the savvy to keep up with the latest technology.
● Student — Point and click.
●● College — You can process data with relative ease.
●●● Masters — You can design software.
●●●● Doctorate — You can make a very comfortable living as a consultant.
●●●●● Scholar — You're on the bleeding edge.
Possessed by: Hackers, Office Workers, Programmers, Data Processors, Students
Specialties: Computer Languages, Internet, Codebreaking, Viruses, Data Retrieval
Finance
You know the ins and outs of commerce, from evaluating an item's relative worth to keeping up with currency exchange rates. This Knowledge can be invaluable when brokering items, running numbers or playing the stock market. Sufficiently high levels in Finance allow you to raise your standards of living to a very comfortable level.
● Student — You've taken a few business classes.
●● College — You have some practical experience and can keep your books fairly neat.
●●● Masters — You'd make a fine stockbroker.
●●●● Doctorate — Corporations follow your financial lead.
●●●●● Scholar — You could turn a $20 bill into a fortune.
Possessed by: Executives, Upper Class, Stockbrokers, Accountants, Fences, Drug Dealers, Smugglers
Specialties: Stock Market, Laundering, Appraisal, Foreign Currencies, Accounting, Fencing, Corporations
Investigation
You've learned to notice details others might overlook, and might make an admirable detective. This Knowledge represents not only a good eye for detail, but also an ability to do research and follow leads.
● Student — You've read your share of Agatha Christie.
●● College — Police officer
●●● Masters — Private detective
●●●● Doctorate — Federal agent
●●●●● Scholar — Sherlock Holmes
Possessed by: Detectives, Mystery Buffs, Policemen, Stalkers
Specialties: Forensics, Shadowing, Search, Discolorations
Law
With all the lawyers and lawmakers out there, this Knowledge can prove very useful. Law can be useful for filing suit, avoiding lawsuits or getting out of jail. What's more, even the Kindred keep their own laws, and more than one vampire has saved his own unlife by deftly exploiting a loophole in one of the Traditions.
● Student — You've watched your share ofcourtroom dramas.
●● College — You're either studying for or just passed the bar exam.
●●● Masters — Ambulance chaser
●●●● Doctorate — Major public figures have your number just in case.
●●●●● Scholar — You could find the loopholes in the Devil's contract.
Possessed by: Lawyers, Police, Judges, Detectives, Legislators
Specialties: Criminal, Suits, Courts, Contracts, Police Procedure
Linguistics
You begin play with the native language of your choice for free, but if you want to speak any other languages, whether modern or ancient, Linguistics is a must. This Ability allows you to understand additional languages, but at high levels also offers a more general understanding of linguistic structure. Linguistics may allow you to recognize accents or decipher word puzzles.
● Student — One extra language
●● College — Two extra languages
●●● Masters — Four extra languages
●●●● Doctorate — Eight extra languages
●●●●● Scholar — 16 extra languages
Possessed by: Diplomats, Ambassadors, Travelers, Ancient Vampires, Cryptologists, Scholars
Specialties: Romance Languages, Kanji, Idioms, Hieroglyphics, Written Expression, Ciphers
Medicine
You have an understanding of how the human body, and to a lesser extent the vampiric body, works. This Ability entails knowledge of medicines, ailments, first-aid procedures, and diagnosis or treatment of disease. Medicine is of great use to those Kindred with an interest in repairing, damaging or reworking the human body.
● Student — You've taken a CPR course.
●● College — Premed or paramedic
●●● Masters — General practitioner
●●●● Doctorate — You can perform transplants.
●●●●● Scholar — You are respected by the world's medical community as a modern-day Aesculapius.
Possessed by: Med Students, Doctors, Lifeguards, Parents, Paramedics, Tzimisce
Specialties: Organ Transplants, Emergency Care, Poison Treatments, Pathology, Pharmaceuticals
Occult
You are knowledgeable in occult areas such as mysticism, curses, magic, folklore and particularly vampire lore. Unlike most other Knowledges, Occult does not imply a command of hard, factual information; much of what you know may well be rumor, myth, speculation or hearsay. However, the secrets to be learned in this field are worth centuries of sifting legend from fact. High levels of Occult imply a deep understanding of vampire lore, as well as a good grounding in other aspects of the occult; at the very least, you can discern what is patently false.
● Student — You've paged through the New Age section of a Waldenbooks.
●● College — There seems to be some unsettling truth to some of the rumors you've heard.
●●● Masters — You've heard a lot and actually seen a little for yourself.
●●●● Doctorate — You can recognize blatantly false sources and make educated guesses about the rest.
●●●●● Scholar — You know most of the basic truths about the hidden world.
Possessed by: Occultists, The Superstitious, New Agers, Tremere
Specialties: Kindred Lore, Rituals, Infernalism, Witches
Politics
You are familiar with the politics of the moment, including the people in charge and how they got there. This Knowledge can aid you in dealing with or influencing mortal politicians, or even offer some insight into the local Cainite power structure.
● Student — Activist
●● College — Political science major
●●● Masters — Campaign manager or talk-radio host
●●●● Doctorate — Senator
●●●●● Scholar — You could choose the next President of the United States.
Possessed by: Activists, Politicians, Lawyers, vampires of all sorts
Specialties: City, State, Federal, Bribery, Dogma, Radical, Camarilla
Science
You have at least a basic understanding of most of the physical sciences, such as chemistry, biology, physics and geology.
This Knowledge can be put to all forms of practical use.
● Student — You know most of the high-school basics.
●● College — You're familiar with the major theories.
●●● Masters — You could teach high-school science.
●●●● Doctorate — You're fully capable of advancing the knowledge in your field.
●●●●● Scholar — Your Nobel Prize is waiting for you.
Possessed by: Scientists, Students, Researchers, Teachers, Engineers, Technicians, Pilots
Specialties: Chemistry, Biology, Geology, Physics, Astronomy
Talents
Grace
Instruction
Interrogation
Intuition
Masquerade
Mimicry
Style
Throwing
Ventriloquism
Carousing
Diplomacy
Fortune Telling
Negotiation
Scrounging
Skills
Archery
Demolitions
Disguise
Herbalism
Lip Reading
Meditation
Pilot
Ride
Sleight of Hand
Blacksmith
Cooking
Fast-Draw
Forgery
Game Playing
Gunsmith
Mechanic
Navigation
Torture
Knowledges
Area Knowledge
Buereaucracy
Camarilla Lore
City Secrets
Cryptography
Enigmas
Research
Sabbat Lore
Sewer Lore
Archaeology
Engineering
Military Science
Philosophy
Psychology
Talents
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art of handling difficult situations with tact and skill. It is also the ability to negotiate positions, rather than specifics – the latter is the purview of Haggling. You can negotiate policy and treaties, and extricate yourself from unpleasant situations with words, rather than force or use of Disciplines.
● Novice — You can state your position without driving anyone away from the negotiating table.
●● Practiced — You clan trusts you to represent it on some issues.
●●● Competent — Your agenda usually carries the day.
●●●● Expert — You can handle labor strife and cutting deals with the Lupines with equal ease.
●●●●● Master — You can convince nations to alter their policies – and like it.
Possessed By: Diplomats, Seneschals, Politicians, Ambitious Ventrue
Specialties: Settlements, Cease-Fires, Alliance Building, Graceful Exits, Spin Doctoring
Haggling
You can trade favors, and negotiate costs and other specifics so that transactions come out in your favor. You can judge relative value of goods and services quickly and easily, and know when someone's attempting to rip you off.
● Novice — You can knock a few bucks off the price of something at a flea market or garage sale.
●● Practiced — You get used cars for what they're worth, not what they're marked.
●●● Competent — You can play the game of prestation better than any of your peers.
●●●● Expert — Princes ask you if they're getting a good deal.
●●●●● Master — You can get what you want, when you want it for the price you are willing to pay – always.
Possessed By: Police Negotiators, Anarchs, Purchasing Agents, Household Ghouls, Importers, Nosferatu
Specialties: Swaps, Selling Information, Fine Print, Contracts, Prestation
Intrigue
You can plot and plan effectively. You understand how to manipulate others through trickery and artifice, and you are expert at exposing a target's vulnerabilities. Note that Intrigue is not Subterfuge; the latter involves fieldwork and actual sabotage, while Intrigue operates more on a theoretical and consequential level. Subterfuge is the art of planting a forged letter; Intrigue is the art of knowing whose handwriting to forge for maximum effect.
● Novice — You maneuver well against a single adversary.
●● Practiced — You can figure out how to subvert an organized enemy.
●●● Competent — You can handle multiple plots simultaneously.
●●●● Expert — You've woven a web of double- and triple-crosses, all to your benefit.
●●●●● Master — The rest of the Kindred are just so many puppets, dancing on your strings.
Possessed By: Spymasters, Harpies, Setite Recruiters, Secure Princes
Specialties: Subversion, Isolating Opponents, Corporate Sabotage, Mounting Coups
Scrounging
With expertise in Scrounging, you can find unusual, outdated or otherwise hard-to-find items. Those items can range from the part needed to repair a Model T Ford to someone skilled at bibliomancy to a rare CD of which only 500 copies were pressed. Scrounging also implies a knowledge of sources for oddball items, and a reasonable ability at turning junk into useful material.
● Novice — Occasionally you can pluck something off the scrap heap.
●● Practiced — You know where to look for hard-to-find items – and that includes some hard-to-find sources.
●●● Competent — You know if something can be found in under 24 hours.
●●●● Expert — You have a network of potential sources for anything and everything you might need on short notice
●●●●● Master — You can find anything, at any time, assuming it still exists.
Possessed By: Researchers, Fixers, Acquisitions Agents, Collectors, Hiring Factors
Specialties: Manuscripts, Electronics and Parts, Talented Individuals, Illegal Items, Occult Items, Improvisational Fixes
Search
You have the ability to examine a person or scene and find what you need. Locating hidden compartments, uncovering wall safes and doping out smuggling techniques are all within your area of expertise. Search also covers both frisking techniques and more generalized searches, such as trying to uncover buried caches or bodies.
● Novice — You can spot a bulge under a jacket and be reasonably sure what it is.
●● Practiced — False bottoms and secret pockets can't hide from you.
●●● Competent — You can find any concealed weapon in a matter of seconds.
●●●● Expert — The proverbial needle in the haystack is no challenge for you.
●●●●● Master — Nothing short of the supernatural can be hidden from you.
Possessed By: Border Guards, Cops, DEA Agents, Sheriffs, Bodyguards
Specialties: Body Searches, Search and Seizure, Vehicle Searches, Uncovering Evidence
Other Possibilities: Artistic Expression, Carousing, Public Speaking, Poetic Expression, Scan, Seduction, Sense Deception and Swimming
Skills
Acrobatics
You can use your body to perform feats of flexibility that are beyond most individuals' capabilities. You can tumble, swing, flip, balance and otherwise use your body to your best advantage. You may not be the most flexible Kindred in the world, but you use your body's capabilities to their utmost.
● Novice — You can do a somersault without hurting yourself or others.
●● Practiced — Flips, rolls and other basic maneuvers are within your range.
●●● Competent — You are good enough to amaze crowds or confound foes with your antics.
●●●● Expert — You are capable of performing gymnastic maneuvers on any surface with whatever equipment is at hand.
●●●●● Master — You are an Olympic-caliber gymnast.
Possessed By: Trapeze Artists, Contortionists, Athletes, Spies
Specialties: Circus Maneuvers, Contortions, Ducking and Covering, Combat Acrobatics, Tightrope Walking
Camouflage
You can hide anything through proper application of this skill. You are an expert at disguising things through available (in other words, non-supernatural) means so that they are undetectable by normal methods. Whatever materials are at hand can be put to use hiding whatever you wish to conceal. Camouflage can be used in any locale; the effectiveness of the skill depends on what you wish to hide and what you have to work with.
● Novice — You can hide candy well enough to smuggle it out of convenience stores.
●● Practiced — You can use camouflage netting and other tools of the trade.
●●● Competent — You can hide a vehicle quickly and well with whatever's at hand.
●●●● Expert — You can conceal anything from microfiche to military equipment.
●●●●● Master — With a little preparation and the proper tools, you could hide the Great Wall.
Possessed By: Smugglers, Nosferatu, Fences, Army Rangers, Freedom Fighters, Terrorists
Specialties: Military Hardware, Vehicles, Hiding in Plain Sight, Urban Camouflage
Hunting
Hunting is the ability to find and bring down a target of any sort, on any terrain, for any purpose. With a proper application of Hunting, you can do anything from running down deer in the wild to picking a mortal out of the herd for purposes of feeding. This skill also includes manhunting, and can apply to the search for other Kindred
● Novice — You don't need to club your prey over the head first.
●● Practiced — You can find dinner with reasonable ease.
●●● Competent — Humans are easy to isolate and feed on.
●●●● Expert — Once you decide on a target, it's only a matter of time.
●●●●● Master — Human, animal or Kindred – none can escape you.
Possessed By: Alastors, Hunters, Gangrel, Federal Agents, Survivalists, Scourges
Specialties: Animals, Human Prey, The Chase, Manhunting, Cat and Mouse
Other Possibilities: Animal Training, Artillery, Blacksmith, Blind Fighting, Boat Handling, Brewing/Distilling, Bribery, Carpentry, Climbing, Cooking, Dancing, Debate, Escapology, Falconry, Fast-Draw, Fast-Talk, First Aid, Fishing, Forgery, Gambling, Game Playing, Gunsmithing, Heavy Weapons, Hypnotism, Jeweler, Journalism, Leatherworking, Lockpicking, Mechanical Repair, Parachuting, Photography, Pickpocket, Police Procedure, Pottery, Psychoanalysis, Scuba, Singing, Skiing, Speed Reading, and Tracking
Knowledges
Clan Knowledge
You have knowledge about a particular clan of vampires that no outsider should possess. You are aware of the clan's practices, rituals and secrets, and can put that knowledge to good use. However, members of the clan in question may not like the fact that an outsider has a handle on proprietary information, and may act to plug any such security leaks.
Note: This knowledge only grants information about one particular clan. Clan Knowledge must be purchased separately for each clan of expertise.
● Student — You can spot a member of the clan with reasonably accuracy.
●● College — You know how the clan is set up, and can separate myth from fact.
●●● Masters — Most of the clan's basic layout and procedure is known to you.
●●●● Doctorate — You know the clan's secrets as well as anyone.
●●●●● Scholar — You know more about the clan than most of its members do.
Possessed By: Kindred, Hunters, Ambitious Ghouls, Arcanum Scholars
Specialties: Power Structure, Chain of Command, Secrets, Movers and Shakers
Computer Hacking
You can use your computer to insert your virtual presence into systems where you don't belong. With this knowledge, you can crack computer security and some forms of encryption and otherwise perform feats of data piracy and sabotage that would win the approbation of other hackers as well as an arrest warrant from the FBI. Best of all, you can do this while covering your tracks.
● Student — You can guess others' passwords.
●● College — You know all of the basic back doors to popular operating systems.
●●● Masters — You know how to get yourself root access on a fair number of systems.
●●●● Doctorate — You can find security loopholes and exploit them within days of a software package's release.
●●●●● Scholar — You can cut through military security or tap into Wall Street.
Possessed By: Hackers, NSA Agents, Phone Phreaks, Security Specialists
Specialties: Phone Phreaking, Military Security, Financials, Viruses, Encryption, Password Theft, Back Doors
Economics
Economics is the study of how money moves and its effects. You can predict, with reasonable accuracy, financial trends and patterns, and you have a leg up on others in matters of investment. You are well-aware of the effects of the Kindred on world markets, and can estimate what sort of effects vampiric dabblings can have on whole industries or nations.
● Student — You have a notion of what a capitalist economy is.
●● College — You know that "the invisible hand"isn't part of an Obfuscated Nosferatu.
●●● Masters — The Financial News Network makes sense to you.
●●●● Doctorate — You can spot trends and accurately predict recessions with ease.
●●●●● Scholar — You know how the world economy works – all of it.
Possessed By: Economists, Brokers, Financial Advisors, Ventrue, Corporate Raiders
Specialties: Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Game Theory, High Finance, Investment
History
You are familiar with the record of events, mortal and immortal. You can place events in historical context, and even detect Kindred influence on the stream of mortal history. Your expertise may well allow you to uncover evidence of vampiric activity, ranging from resting places of elders to evidence of specific individuals' involvement in affairs.
● Student — You know the basics of history without knowing many of the specifics.
●● College — You can pick out historical errors on television programs and in movies.
●●● Masters — You have a solid grasp on the field, and have specialized in a particular area.
●●●● Doctorate — You are a recognized expert in the field; grad students footnote your works.
●●●●● Scholar — All of the past is an open book to you.
Possessed By: Historians, Elders, Documentary Filmmakers, Academics, Recreationists
Specialties: Military History, Social History, National or Ethnic Histories, Kindred History
Psychology
You have a knowledge of psychology in both theory and practice. You are familiar with psychological approaches, counseling techniques and so on. You are also conversant with the pathology of the mind, and can make a diagnosis of a subject's dysfunction given sufficient time to observe him.
● Student — You've read the classics of the field.
●● College — You can separate what Freud actually said from what people think Freud said.
●●● Masters — You could set up a practice and do reasonably well with it.
●●●● Doctorate — You are an expert on psychological theory – and know when and how to apply it.
●●●●● Scholar — You can understand others' thought patterns, motivations and Psychological Flaws from just a few short conversations.
Possessed By: Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marketing Executives, Empowerment Gurus
Specialties: Freudian, Jungian, Lacanian, Pop Psychology, Neuropsychology, Psychopathology, Mob Psychology
Other Possibilities: Accounting, Alchemy, Anthropology, Archaeology, Architecture, Art History, Astrology, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Criminology, Electronics, Engineering, Faerie Lore, Forensics, Geology, Heraldry, Kindred Lore, Literature, Lupine Lore, Mage Lore, Metallurgy, Meteorology, Military Science, Naturalist, Physics, Sprit Lore, Theology, Toxicology and Wyrm Lore
Talents
Fortune-Telling
Whether you scry with a crystal ball, consult they arrow sticks like your Chinese ancestors, read Tarot cards or tea leaves, divine with a pendulum or cast runes like your Celtic forebears, you have learned the ability to forecast the future. You may or may not have the gift to really tell fortunes, but you can make people believe you do.
(Note: It is up to the Storyteller whether or not Fortune-Telling truly works in her chronicle. She should share this information with players whose characters have this Talent - charlatans know when they're faking it - though they may certainly choose to lead others along, if they so wish.)
● Novice — You are able to use one method of divination adequately, and you treat it as a pastime.
●● Practiced — You are proficient in one method, with the ability to provide general information.
●●● Competent — You are familiar with many divinatory systems and proficient in several. You can provide specific and detailed information from your readings.
●●●● Expert — You are adept in multiple methods of fortune-telling. Not only can you provide detailed information, but you can tell people specifically what they want to hear.
●●●●● Master — An oracle; the Gypsies take lessons from you.
Possessed by: Gypsies, Psychics, Quacks, New Agers
Specialties: Tarot Cards, Tea Leaves, Runes, Yarrow Sticks, Mirrors, Crystal Balls, Palms
Panhandling
You are a skilled beggar. You are able to get people to give you money just by asking for it. You know whom to ask, how to approach them, what to say and how to avoid the police. This Talent is useful for picking up quick cash or creating a cover.
● Novice — You get most of your money shaking cans and washing windshields. You're still working on a hard-luck story.
●● Practiced — You're working on the story and using the classic lines, but you still manage to get little more than spare change.
●●● Competent — You're really smooth - you can even hit the hard-hearted for a few bucks.
●●●● Expert — Who needs a sob story when you can hustle and scam your way into big bucks from tourists and little old ladies?
●●●●● Master — Dinners, rides home, cash for a bus ticket - easy as pie.
Skills
Body Crafts
Vamp
You can use your seductive means to get any information from anyone. Whether you're acting out the role of the empathetic girlfriend, the barroom floozy, the loving wife or the adventurous mistress, you know how to please. You can be subtle or overt, coy or wanton, depending on what promises the best results, and you can interpret your subject's turn-ons to better accomplish your seduction. If the vampire practicing this Skill actually goes through with the acts he suggests, he may need to spend blood points to function properly; see Vampire: The Masquerade, pages 138-9 for details.
(Note: This Skill relates only to using sex to achieve an end. Being charming, alluring or desirable is an application of Empathy, Expression, Performance or Subterfuge, likely coupled with Appearance or Charisma. Only the dullest of victims may fail to realize the carnal pleasures proposed by a user of this Skill, and many vampires consider its use distasteful or vulgar, as they no longer concern themselves with such base mortal acts, especially among the Sabbat.)
● Novice — You know how to gain a partner's interest and extract information without being blatantly obvious.
●● Practiced — You perceive the subtle innuendoes in determining what a partner likes, and you use this insight to extract information.
●●● Competent — From talking to someone for a few minutes, you can determine his fantasies. You enact them with skill often withdrawing vital information easily and within the context of your role-playing games.
●●●● Expert — You can discern your mark's ultimate fantasies, enacting dialogue and mannerisms perfectly. Your partner usually becomes obsessed with you, and the sap may tell you anything.
●●●●● Master — Some wonder if you are too good to be true; a veritable succubus or incubus.
Possessed by: Hookers, Spies, Lasombra, Bored Housewives
Specialties: Lingerie Modeling, Bondage, Role-playing, S&M, D&S
Fire Dancing
You can enter a trance-like state that allows you to leap through flames. This Skill is vital in the Fire Dance and other ritae. Demonstrating this Skill often equates to being a powerful and dominant member of the pack. This Skill does not grant any immunity from the fire, but it does allow the vampire to avoid being burned or succumbing to a frenzy. This Skill cannot be part of a split dice pool: The user must concentrate on Fire Dancing and nothing else. When the vampire tries to Fire Dance, damage should be rolled normally, but for every success with this Skill, reduce the amount of damage done by one health level. Few vampires outside the Sabbat have this Skill.
(Note: Unless the fire is actually a bonfire meant for the ritual dance, you do not suffer Rotschreck any less frequently than any other vampire.)
● Novice — You make the necessary leaps to prove that you're not a coward. You usually wait until the fire has died down quite a bit before you leap though.
●● Practiced — You no longer feel that "Oh, shit," panic when you jump.
●●● Competent — You are usually the first to jump, for you do not fear the flames. You live by the motto, "Build it higher, jump the fire!"
●●●● Expert — An acrobat in the flames, you command a prowess and fearlessness that serves as inspiration to all who observe you.
●●●●● Master — A legend among the Sabbat, your moves are simultaneously unholy and magnificent.
Possessed by: Sabbat, Mystics, Primitive Tribesmen, Performers
Specialties: Leaping, Acrobatics, Distance, Looking Tough
Knowledges
Black Hand Lore
You have learned information about the Black Hand - which may or may not be true since this information is known to few outside the organization. You have heard rumors and legends about the history, strategies, intrigue and rituals of the Hand. Additionally, you may be able to recognize numerous agents of the Hand within your own city and the surrounding area.
● Student — You know mostly rumor and hearsay.
●● College — You have decent second-hand information.
●●● Masters — You have a steady - and reliable - source for second-hand information.
●●●● Doctorate — You have numerous steady and reliable sources that provide you a great deal of information.
●●●●● Scholar — You have a powerful contact within the Hand, along with other sources within the group who provide you intricate and detailed information that only an experienced member could know.
Possessed by: Black Hand Members, The Order of St. Blaise, Sabbat Leaders, Assamite Antitribu, Assamites, Nosferatu Antitribu
Specialties: History, Famous Leaders, Tactics, Strategies, Secrets, Rituals, Local Members
Underworld Lore
You know the politics and figures of organized crime within your city. You understand how the system works, whom to pay off, whose arm to twist and who gets the cement shoes. Whether it's street drugs or vampiric blood for a secret cult of ghouls, you know the source and who's playing the game. This Knowledge encompasses members of all criminal organizations, ethnic and otherwise, including the Mafia, Yakuza, and street gangs.
● Student — You saw The Godfather a couple times.
●● College — You know a few button men or soldiers and can name most of your city's prominent gangsters.
●●● Masters — You know as much as most connected men.
●●●● Doctorate — If it's happening in your city, you know about it.
●●●●● Scholar — If it's happening, period, you know about it.
Possessed by: Mafia Dons, Yakuza, Government Leaders, Police, Connected Thugs
Specialties: Loan-Sharking, Drug-Running, Smuggling, Slavery, Politics, Ethnic Organizations
Adjusted Talents
Adjusted Skills
Ride
The skill denotes at least a common understanding of horsemanship, from casual riding ability to knowledge of bridles, saddles and stables. Characters with dots in ride may be able to estimate a horse's worth or wellness. With practice, riders can coerce tricks from a trained horse or even fight from horseback. This Skill is also used to drive horse-drawn buggies and cabriolets. Note that anyone can actually ride on the back of a horse without this Ability, but no control over the horse can be assumed.
● Novice — Anything but routine travel and care strikes you as work.
●● Practiced — You can manage a gallop, a difficult turn or a small jump.
●●● Competent — You ride in hunts and foul weather, perform splendid jumps and avoid saddle sores.
●●●● Expert — You are as comfortable in the saddle as in the salon.
●●●●● Master — Dashing stunts and horseback swordplay are your raison d'être.
Possessed by: Huntsmen, Coachmen, Messengers, Suldiers, Rural Elite
Specialties: Jumps, Races, Mounted Combat, Urban, Presentation
Adjusted Knowledges
Academics
Enigmas
Useful to both scientists and academics, this Knowledge represents a knack for answering riddles and puzzling out posers. The secrets of science and history must often be sorted out before their respective fields can rationally approach them. Dots in this Trait indicate a character is capable of getting her head around complex concepts outside of any specific field. It is a measure of logical prowess used to make sense of forgotten languages, experimental formulas and unfamliliar algorithms, whether intentionally disguised or heretofore unknown. Aptitude with enigmas requires a flexible mind and great patience.
● Student — You are good at the puzzles in newspapers.
●● College — You can tackle large, complex puzzles with time.
●●● Masters — You recognize, solve and explain riddles with ease.
●●●● Doctorate — You identify and answer riddles that may have gone unnoticed for centuries.
●●●●● Scholar — You can find codes in gibberish and patterns in chaos.
Possessed by: Mystics, Doomsayers, Spies, Paranoids, Gamblers
Specialties: Old English Riddle-Poems, Codebreaking, Punch-Cards, Algorithms, Hieroglyphs
Talents
Malkavian Time
Knowledges
Koldunism
This Knowledge measures a Kindred's familiarity with the philosophies of Eastern European animism. You will roll this ability with one of five possible Attributes when attempting to invoke the power of the magic. For every level you have, the more in-touch you get with the spiritual magic and the more you know how to manipulate the natural elements which is Koldunic Sorcery.
● Student — Well, you know the most basic stuff. You still have a bit to go.
●● College — Hey, guess what? You can be called a koldun now! Watch out for those pesky Tremere.
●●● Masters — You are up there with some of the most powerful koldun of the Modern nights.
●●●● Doctorate — Are you messing with me? The spirits cower when you get ticked.
●●●●● Scholar — You know the spirits of the land. You are a master.
Possessed by: A few young Sabbat; Tzimisce (and old ones at that)
Specialties: Philosophy, Ritual, Lore, Relations with Spirit