Creating a Kindred Character in Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition

This guide is similar in form to another one I wrote for Vampire: The Requiem, but focuses instead on Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition (hereafter abbreviated as V20). It will focus on Neonate Kindred characters and use this character sheet.

We will spend the remainder of this post filling out the character sheet field by field. We will not fill out the fields in the order in which they appear on the sheet, because explaining concepts in that order will not always make sense due to how they relate to each other.

In each applicable section of this post, I will reference related page numbers, which are taken from the V20 Core Rulebook except where otherwise noted. The remainder of this post assumes that you have a copy of this book or are able to find content from it online on your own.

There's a handy, albeit non-comprehensive, guide on page 78 of the rulebook. It reviews many concepts referenced on page 1 of the character sheet, where many of the fields mentioned below are located except where otherwise noted.

Page 80 will also be frequently referenced, as it outlines areas of the character sheet that involve spending points and how that point spending works in each area.

Name

This field is self-explanatory: a name for your character. It has no mechanical involvement beyond giving others something to call your character.

The rulebook does not provide guidance on character names that I have been able to find. Perhaps your character keeps their human name, perhaps they choose a different one after their embrace. Either way, so long as you have storyteller approval, the sky is the limit on what name you may choose.

If you find yourself stuck, consider researching baby names. Sites dealing with them often go into their origins, meanings, and popularity as well.

Player

This field is also self-explanatory: your own real life name goes here. This tells others who to return the character sheet to if you misplace it.

Chronicle

The chronicle is essentially a title for the Vampire game you are participating in using this character.

Unless you are playing in several Vampire games at once, or the storyteller in your game gives you something to put in this field, you can safely leave it blank.

Clan/Bloodline

The rulebook covers clans on pages 37-73. The beginning of this section offers some explanation what clans are. The lexicon offers a more formal definition on page 33.

A group of vampires who share common characteristics passed on by the blood. There are 13 known Clans, all of which were reputedly founded by members of the Third Generation.

In short, your character's clan is the extended family of vampires into which they are "born."

Mechanically, your choice of clan affects your character in terms of discipline affinity and weaknesses, which are discussed in a subsequent sections of this post.

A concept related to clans is bloodlines, which are defined on page 35 of the rulebook.

A pedigree of vampires similar to a Clan, but that cannot trace their creation back to one of the Third Generation.

Bloodlines can be considered a "lesser" clan or, in some cases, an extension or "sub-clan" of one of the 13 major clans. Specific bloodlines are covered in chapter 10 on pages 400-447.

In terms of concepts or gameplay mechanics, clans and bloodlines are interchangeable: bloodlines can have specific discipline affinities, weaknesses, etc. just as clans do.

Whether you choose for your character to belong to a major clan or to a bloodline, write the name of the clan or bloodline in the "Clan" blank on your character sheet.

Sire

The lexicon defines sire on page 34 of the rulebook:

A vampire's "parent"; the Kindred who created her.

Clan or bloodline is an affiliation inherited from and shared by your character's sire.

On the character sheet, the "Sire" blank should be filled with the character name of your character's sire.

Disciplines

Disciplines are covered on pages 127-243. The beginning of this section does a decent job of explaining what they are.

Disciplines are supernatural powers granted by the Embrace, which vampires cultivate to bring to bear against their foes and prey.

Per pages 80 and 128, you have three points to spend on disciplines for which your chosen clan has an affinity. There are two exceptions to this.

if you choose Caitiff as your clan, you can choose any disciplines, but you will suffer a penalty to advance them later.
If your character is able to learn other disciplines, generally from a Kindred of a different clan or bloodline from their own, which requires storyteller approval.

Each clan description includes a "Clan Disciplines" section that lists the disciplines for which that clan has an affinity. The introductory section on each discipline likewise lists the clans with an affinity for that discipline.

Here's a quick reference table for the major clans.

Clan	Disciplines	Rulebook
Assamite	Celerity, Obfuscate, Quietus	49
Brujah	Celerity, Potence, Presence	51
Followers of Set	Obfuscate, Presence, Serpentis	53
Gangrel	Animalism, Fortitude, Protean	55
Giovanni	Dominate, Necromancy, Potence	57
Lasombra	Dominate, Obtenebration, Potence	59
Malkavian	Auspex, Dementation, Obfuscate	61
Nosferatu	Animalism, Obfuscate, Potence	63
Ravnos	Animalism, Chimerstry, Fortitude	65
Toreador	Auspex, Celerity, Presence	67
Tremere	Auspex, Dominate, Thaumaturgy	69
Tzimisce	Animalism, Auspex, Vicissitude	71
Ventrue	Dominate, Fortitude, Presence	73

Here's one for the major bloodlines.

Bloodline	Disciplines	Rulebook
Ahrimanes	Animalism, Presence, Spiritus	415
Anda	Animalism, Fortitude, Protean	417
Baali	Daimonion, Obfuscate, Presence	395
Blood Brothers	Fortitude, Potence, Sanguinus	397
Cappadocians	Auspex, Fortitude, Necromancy	419
Children of Osiris	Bardo, disciplines from the Kindred's originating clan	421
Daughters of Cacophany	Fortitude, Presence, Melpominee	398
Gargoyles	Fortitude, Potence, Flight, Visceratika	401
Harbingers of Skulls	Auspex, Fortitude, Necromancy	403
Kiasyd	Dominate, Mytherceria, Obtenebration	405
Lamia	Fortitude, Necromancy, Potence	423
Lhiannan	Animalism, Ogham, Presence	425
Nagaraja	Auspex, Dominate, Necromancy	406
Noiad	Animalism, Auspex, Protean	427
Salubri	Auspex, Fortitude, Obeah	409
Samedi	Fortitude, Obfuscate, Thanatosis	411
True Brujah	Potence, Presence, Temporis	413

Page 1 of your characer sheet has an "Advantages" section, under which there is a "Disciplines" subsection. Here, note the name of each discipline in which your character has a rating and what that rating is (i.e. how many of your discipline points were spent on that particular discipline).

Blood Bonds/Vinculi

There's a definition for blood bond on page 32. It is covered in more depth on pages 286-288.

A mystical power over another individual engendered by partaking of a particular vampire's blood thrice; accepting blood from a vampire is an acknowledgment of her mastery.

Blood bonds and the capacity to make them may be impacted by your choice of clan; specifically, the clan weaknesses, which are covered in the next section.

A vinculum is a blood tie specifically between Kindred, generally those aligned with the Sabbat. Vinculi are reviewed on pages 288-290.

Near the bottom of page 3 of your character sheet is a section for notating blood bonds and vinculi. Specifically, the source of the bond and, in the case of vinculi, its rating (see page 289) are recorded here.

Weakness

Just as each clan has an affinity for particular disciplines, they also have specific weaknesses. From page 37 of the rulebook:

Each Clan has certain distinguishing powers and weaknesses, which a member of that Clan automatically adopts... In a few cases bloodlines actually manifest different Disciplines or weaknesses...

Here's a reference table for weaknesses by clan.

Clan	Weaknesses	Rulebook
Assamite	aversion to consuming Kindred blood, must tithe some contract profits to sires or superiors	49
Brujah	difficulty of rolls to resist or guide frenzy is increased by two, cannot spend Willpower to avoid frenzy	51
Followers of Set	damage from sunlight exposure is increased by two health levels, dice pools for action taken in bright light are reduced by one	53
Gangrel	acquires an animal characteristic from each frenzy	55
Giovanni	Embrace is excruitiatingly painful to the vessel, damage to mortals who are fed upon is doubled	57
Lasombra	cast no reflections	59
Malkavian	suffer a permanent, incurable derangement (covered in a later section)	61
Nosferatu	have an unimproveable Appearance score of zero and increased difficulty of dice pools that use the Appearance Trait	63
Ravnos	compelled to engage in opportunities for a vice unless succeeding on a Self-Control or Instincts roll (difficulty 6)	65
Toreador	becomes enthralled by remarkable experiences unless succeeding on a Self-Control or Instincts roll (difficulty 6)	67
Tremere	draughts of blood to establish a blood bond with a Kindred is reduced by one	69
Tzimisce	each night of rest without proximity to at least two handfuls of "native soil" halves all dice pools cumulatively	71
Ventrue	feeding on mortal blood outside of a specific preferred type provides no blood pool increase	73

Here's a similar table for major bloodlines.

Bloodline	Weaknesses	Rulebook
Ahrimanes	cannot create childer, ghouls, or blood bonds	415
Anda	gain animal features from alternating frenzies, all dice pools are halved for each sleep within the same one-mile area beyond the third	417
Baali	must avert their gaze from objects of any faith, touching such objects burns their flesh, hindering or damage effects from True Faith are doubled	395
Blood Brothers	their Embrace is fatal, all family circle members suffer each other's wound penalties	397
Cappadocians	have a deathly pallor that worsens with age	419
Children of Osiris	weaknesses from the individual Kindred's originating clan	421
Daughters of Cacophany	Perception roll difficulties are increased by two, may not have an Alertness rating above three	398-399
Gargoyles	always have an Appearance of zero, Willpower to resist to mind control is reduced by two	401
Harbingers of Skulls	always have an Appearance of zero, automatically fail Appearance rolls	403
Kiasyd	touching iron requires a roll to avoid frenzy, take aggravated damage from cold iron weapons	405
Lamia	bite spreads a disease fatal within several days without victim's success on a Stamina roll (difficulty 6 for women, 8 for men)	423
Lhiannan	difficulties to detect their nature via Auspex are reduced by two, humans feel vaguely uncomfortable in their presence, dice pools are reduced by one per week of being outside of their territory	425
Nagaraja	lose one cumulative die from Physical dice pools for each night without consuming fresh raw flesh	406-407
Noiad	cannot take sustenance from animal blood	427
Salubri	lose a point of Willpower by feeding on an unwilling vessel	409
Samedi	always have an Appearance of zero, automatically fail Appearance rolls	411
True Brujah	Conscience and Conviction rolls are made at +2 difficulty (maximum 10); ratings in Conscience, Conviction, Humanity, and Paths of Enlightenment cost double normal experience costs	413

Weaknesses are recorded on the bottom right-hand corner on page 1 of your character sheet.

Attributes

The rulebook covers attributes in detail on pages 96-100.

... Attributes... represent the basic potential of every person in the world, as well as most other living (and unliving) things. Most people have Attribute ratings between 1 (poor) and 3 (good), though exceptionally gifted individuals may have ratings of 4 (excellent) or even 5 (peak human capacity). Some vampire elders have higher ratings still, while other Kindred... may have ratings supernaturally lower than the human minimum.

There are nine attributes divided into three categories: Mental, Physical, and Social. You must assign primary, secondary, and tertiary ranks to these categories for your character.

Each attribute has a base value of one. Within each category, based on the rank you assign it, you have a given number of points to distribute among the attributes in that category to increase them. Per page 80, you have seven for the primary category, five for the secondary, and three for the tertiary.

Example

If you have read the rulebook and are still having trouble with distributing your attributes points, take a look at the example below. Otherwise, feel free to skip to the next section.

Let's say that you choose Mental as your primary category, giving you seven points to distribute in that category. You choose to place two points in Perception, three points in Intelligence, and two points in Wits. Because each attribute has a base value of one, this results in a total of three points in Perception, four points in Intelligence, and three points in Wits.

Now let us say that Social is your secondary category, giving you five points to distribute in that category. Let's also say that you have not chosen a clan or bloodline with a weakness that imposes restrictions on your Appearance rating (see the reference tables in the previous section for details). You choose to place one point in Charisma, two points in Manipulation, and two points in Appearance. This results in a total of two points in Charisma, three points in Manipulation, and three points in Appearance.

That leaves Physical as your tertiary category, giving you three points to distribute in that category. You choose to place one point in each of Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina, resulting in a total of two points in each.

Your final attributes table looks like this. Attribute names are abbreviated for viewability.

Mental		Physical		Social
Per.	⚫⚫⚫⚪⚪	Str.	⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪	Cha.	⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪
Int.	⚫⚫⚫⚫⚪	Dex.	⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪	Man.	⚫⚫⚫⚪⚪
Wit.	⚫⚫⚫⚪⚪	Sta.	⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪	App.	⚫⚫⚫⚪⚪

Abilities

The rulebook covers abilities on pages 100-110.

... 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.

Abilities are organized into Talents, Skills, and Knowledges categories. Similarly to how you chose ranks for the Physical, Mental, and Social attribute categories, do the same for the ability categories.

Per page 80, you have thirteen, nine, and five points to assign to abilities in your primary, secondary, and tertiary categories respectively.

Unlike attributes, abilities have no base rating; it is effectively zero.

Example

If you have successfully distributed your skill points, skip to the next section. Otherwise, continue reading for an example.

Let's say that you choose Knowledges as your primary category for attributes, giving you thirteen points to spend on skills in that category that you distribute like so.

Ability	Rating
Academics	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
Computer	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
Finance	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
Investigation	⚫⚫⚫⚪⚪	3
Law	⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪	0
Medicine	⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪	2
Occult	⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪	2
Politics	⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪	2
Science	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
Technology	⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪	0
		13

Next is your secondary category, which you choose to be Skills, giving you nine points to spend.

Ability	Rating
Animal Ken	⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪	0
Crafts	⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪	0
Drive	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
Etiquette	⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪	0
Firearms	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
Larcency	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
Melee	⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪	2
Performance	⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪	2
Stealth	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
Survival	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
		9

Finally, your tertiary category is Physical, giving you five points to spend.

Ability	Rating
Alertness	⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪	0
Athletics	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
Awareness	⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪	0
Brawl	⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪	2
Empathy	⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪	0
Expression	⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪	0
Intimidation	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
Leadership	⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪	1
Streetwise	⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪	0
Subterfuge	⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪	0
		5

Specialties

The rulebook defines specialties on page 96.

Some characters are especially good at particular applications of their Traits... To represent this, characters with ratings of 4 or higher in Attributes or Abilities may choose specialties for those Traits. A specialty is a particular subcategory of an Attribute or Ability... Whenever a player makes a die roll involving an activity in which her character has specialized, she may count any die that comes up "10" as two successes instead of just one.

Each attribute and ability section ends with a "Specialties" subsection listing example specialties for that attribute or ability.

The name of the specialty is typically written in the blank between the name of the attribute or ability and its rating on your character sheet.

Backgrounds

The rulebook covers backgrounds on pages 110-119.

Backgrounds describe advantages of relationship, circumstance, and opportunity: material possessions, social networks, and the like. Backgrounds are external, not internal, Traits, and you should always rationalize how you came to possess them, as well as what they represent...

Per page 80, you get five points to spend in backgrounds.

These are notated on the middle of page 1 of your character sheet. For expanded backgrounds that require character-specific details, there's an additional section at the top of page 3 of your character sheet.

Generation

Page 18 of the rulebook defines generation:

... an indication of how far the vampire is removed from Caine, the original vampire ...

Per the section on the Generation background on page 114, vampires begin play at 13th generation by default.

The usual way to reduce your character's generation is by putting points into the Generation background. A possible exception to this is if your character has committed diablerie, but that likely requires storyteller approval.

In the Generation blank on the character sheet, simply list the number of your character's generation (e.g. 13).

Humanity/Path

Page 119 of the rulebook defines humanity:

... a character's Humanity is equal to his Conscience + Self-Control Virtues.

Humanity is tied to the Conscience/Conviction virtue per pages 119-120:

... Conscience is what prevents a vampire from succumbing to the Beast, by defining the Beast's urges as unacceptable... Conscience determines whether or not a character loses Humanity by committing acts that do not uphold her moral code.

The humanity rating is notated at the bottom of page 1 of the character sheet.

An alternative to following the moral tenets of humanity is following a path.

Kindred who voluntarily abandon Humanity follow behavioral codes known as Paths of Enlightenment. While mechanically similar to Humanity, these codes have very little — in fact, sometimes nothing — to do with the mores of mortal culture.

The concept of a path and the various paths available are covered on pages 313-340. Paths are notated on page 2 of the character sheet.

Virtues

The rulebook covers virtues on pages 119-120.

The Virtue Traits define a character's outlook on unlife — they shape a character’s ethical code and describe his commitment to his chosen morality. Virtues... come into play when a character faces an impending frenzy, does something ethically questionable (according to the character’s morality), or confronts something that terrifies or disturbs her. A vampire's Virtues are determined by his Path, the particular code of ethics he follows.

Per page 80, you get seven points to spend in virtues. Note that this applies whether you choose humanity or an alternative path.

Bearing

Page 310 of the rulebook explains bearing:

A vampire's morality has a direct impact on her bearing — a feeling the Kindred unconsciously projects... for Humanity, the bearing modifier affects Social rolls for appearing normal and winning sympathy. These modifiers can affect rolls used for Disciplines, where relevant. Paths of Enlightenment have their own bearings, which are listed with each Path description.

On page 1 of your character sheet, under the Humanity/Path section, there's a blank next to the word "Bearing." In that blank, write either "Social" for humanity or the bearing for the path you've chosen.

From page 310 of the rulebook, consult the table in the Bearing section, find the row that corresponds to your humanity/path rating, and note the corresponding Bearing Modifier (e.g. 0).

In the parentheses that follow the blank next to "Bearing" on your character sheet, write this modifier.

Willpower

Willpower is defined and its usage explained on page 120 of the rulebook:

Willpower measures a character's inner drive and competence at overcoming unfavorable odds. Unlike other Traits, Willpower has both a permanent rating and a temporary pool of points. The rating is rolled or tested, while the pool is spent.

Per page 80, the permanent rating and initial pool values for willpower are equal to the rating of your Courage virtue.

Blood Pool

The rulebook defines blood pool on page page 121:

A character's blood pool measures how much vitae the vampire has in his system. The blood pool comprises a number of individual blood points... The maximum number of blood points a vampire may ingest is dictated by his Generation, as is the number of blood points he may spend in a single turn. A vampire with zero blood points in his system is ravenously hungry and likely in the throes of frenzy.

Page 270 has a table with generations and corresponding maximum blood pool ratings and blood points per turn.

On the bottom of page 1 of your character sheet, under the Blood Pool section, you can place a mark next to the box denoting your maximum blood pool.

Beneath the blood pool boxes, in the blank labeled Blood Per Turn, write the blood points per turn for your generation.

Per page 80, roll a 10-sided die to determine your starting blood pool. Under the Blood Pool section of your character sheet, write an X in the number of boxes indicated by your die roll.

Freebie Points

Per page 80, you have 15 freebie points to spend. These can be used to increase various ratings on your character sheet beyond the values you've initially assigned them. Page 82 includes a table denoting the cost in freebie points to increase each type of rating.

The blank section in the bottom left corner of page 1 of your character sheet is often used to note how you've spent freebie points for later reference.

Merits and Flaws

In addition to the ratings we've already covered, freebie points can be used to purchase merits and flaws.

Merits are special abilities or advantages that are rare or unique in the general Kindred population, while Flaws are liabilities or disadvantages that pose challenges to a character's nightly existence.

Related concepts are covered on page 479, while individual merits and flaws are detailed on pages 479-495.

Per page 80, you can increase your total number of freebie points to a maximum of 22 by taking up to seven points in flaws.

Merits and flaws are notated at the top of page 2 of your character sheet.

Derangements

The rulebook defines derangements on page 290 and details specific derangements on pages 290-293.

Derangements are behaviors that are created when the mind is forced to confront intolerable or conflicting feelings, such as overwhelming terror or profound guilt... Vampires or mortals receive derangements under conditions of intense terror, guilt, or anxiety.

These are either added to the character as part of their backstory (required for Malkavians per page 61 of the rulebook, but optional for everyone else) or added during gameplay as a result of in-game events.

Derangements added during gameplay are generally chosen by the storyteller in collaboration with the affected character's player, often as the result of a botched virtue or willpower roll that precedes a traumatic experience.

See the bottom of page 2 of your character sheet for the area in which to notate derangements.

Rituals

Rituals are practices specific to characters of the Sabbat sect, which is detailed on pages 40-43. If this doesn't apply to your character, you can safely skip this section.

Rituals themselves are discussed briefly on page 43 and have a corresponding background discussed on page 117. Specific rituals, or ritae, are detailed on pages 507-511.

Any rituals relevant to your character are noted in the section of the same name on page 2 of your character sheet.

Equipment

The bottom of page 2 of your character sheet has a "Combat" section itemizing weapons and armor. Charts for melee weapons and armor can be found on page 280 and for ranged weapons on page 281. Usage of these is covered on pages 271-282. Armor in particular is covered on page 274.

On page 3 of your character sheet is a "Possessions" section, which includes subsections for material possessions you may own or carry, as well as vehicles and feeding grounds to which you have access. These vary from character to character and may be impacted by your chosen backgrounds.

Havens

The term "haven" is defined fairly succinctly on page 33 of the rulebook:

A vampire's "home"; where she finds sanctuary from the sun.

The section on each individual clan in the rulebook includes a "Haven" subsection that details the sorts of havens that are common for members of that clan.

Not all Kindred have regular havens. Malkavians, for example, are less likely to have an established one, as page 61 describes:

Consistency is rare among Malkavians. Quite simply, they establish havens where they think to, where they can, and where they can recall. A significant number of Malkavians have literally no home, spending each night where exhaustion or the sun's rays leave them.

If your character does have any regular havens, note the location and a meaningful description for each one in the "Havens" section at the bottom of page 3 of your character sheet.

Fin

Any residual open sections of your character sheet will likely be filled in as you begin playing.

Overall, V20 is fairly well-organized for character creation when compared to other editions. That said, this guide will hopefully still prove to be a decent read and subsequent reference for expediting the creation of your characters.

Thank you for reading!