Advantages

Alongside their Attributes, Skills, and Disciplines, Kindred also have Advantages from before they began the Chronicle. Advantages are broken down into different types — Merits, Backgrounds, Loresheets, and Bloodlines. The opposite end of Advantages are Flaws, which are ongoing problems for the characters.

Unless otherwise stated, Advantages and Flaws without a rating may be taken at any level from • to •••••.

For other Advantages see Loresheets or Coterie Backgrounds and Merits.

MERITS & FLAWS

Linguistics

Merits covering the ability to communicate or understand spoken or written language.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Linguistics (• +)	Each dot of Linguistics allows the character to read, write and speak fluently in another language outside of the default two they already know, which is their native language and the language of the Domain.	Illiterate (••)	The Character cannot read nor write and their Science and Academics Skills may not go beyond 1 dot.

Looks

Related to the appearance, supernaturally influenced or not, of the character.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Beautiful (••)	Add one die to related Social pools.	Ugly (•)	Lose one die from related Social pools
Stunning (••••)	Add two dice to related Social pools.	Repulsive (••)	Lose two dice from related Social pools
Famous Face (•)	You gain two dice to social tests in circumstances where you can leverage your lookalike status, but suffer a two-dice penalty whenever you try to hide in a crowd or in other areas where you want to avoid recognition.	Stench (•)	Your breath and body odor are supernaturally foul, redolent of open graves and rotting flesh. Even Nosferatu object to your stink. Lose one die from seduction and similar Social dice pools, and lose two dice from Stealth pools against opponents who can smell, unless you are upwind.
Ingèune (•)	You look completely innocent and blameless, making others believe in your good intentions much easier. Add two dice to any rolls related to avoiding suspicion or deflect blame, at the Storyteller’s discretion.	Transparent (•)	For whatever reason, you aren’t a good liar, and it shows. Lose one die from any pools requiring Subterfuge. You cannot gain dots in Subterfuge.
Remarkable Feature (•)	You possess a rare, memorable feature such as a striking eye color, atypical pupils, or an unusual complexion, providing a two-dice bonus to social interactions with strangers. Take a one-die penalty to disguise yourself.
Semblance of the Methuselah (• - ••)	With an appearance strikingly similar to a methuselah, gain one die on rolls to impress, intimidate or attract the attention who recognize your face. As well as gain other bonuses such as status or additional die when meeting the methuselah they resemble.

Substance Use

You seek out prey with a specific drug in their system.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
High Functioning Addict (•)	Add one die to either Physical, Social or Mental pool when the last feeding had the drug of desire.	Addiction (•)	Unless the action is to immediately gain their drug, lose one die to all pools if the last feeding was not on the drug of their choice.
		Hopeless Addiction (••)	Unless the action is to immediately gain their drug, lose two dice to all pools if the last feeding was not on the drug of their choice.

Archaic

These flaws may typically only be taken by Ancilla or older vampires.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
		Living in the Past (•)	Unable to grasp modern society, one or more of the character's convictions reflect outdated views.
		Archaic (••)	Cannot use computers, cellphones and the character's Technology rating is always 0.

Bonding

Not all vampires respond to the Blood Bond equally

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Bond Resistance (• — •••)	Add one die to resist Blood Bonds per level of this merit.	Bond Junkie (•)	The bond is sweeter to the character, they lose one die when acting against Blood Bonds.
Short Bond (••)	Bonds decrease by two levels each month if not reinforced.	Long Bond (•)	Bonds fade slower, decreasing by one level for each 3 months without reinforcement.
Unbondable (•••••)	Unable to be bonded.	Bondslave (••)	Related to the act of feeding, taking one does not mean the character must take the others.

Feeding

Not all vampires respond to the Blood Bond equally.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Bloodhound (•)	Able to sniff out resonances without tasting it.	Prey Exclusion (•)	Unable to feed from a certain group and take Stains as if breaking a Chronicle Tenet when they do.
Iron Gullet (•••)	Able to consume rancid, defractionated or otherwise unedible blood to other vampires.	Methuselah's Thirst (•)	Hunger can only be slaked to 0 by Supernatural blood.
Vessel Recognition (•)	A win on a Resolve + Awareness test at Difficulty 2 lets you smell whether a mortal has been fed on recently. A critical win lets you sense if the feeding is recurring, likely making them part of someone’s herd.	Farmer (••)	Must spend 2 Willpower Points to feed on human blood. Ventrue may not take this.
		Organovore (••)	Slake hunger only by consuming human flesh and organs.
		Vein Tapper (•)	You find the act of feeding extremely personal and cannot take blood from mortals while being observed. This means you often feed from the unaware and go out of your way to find (or create) drugged or unconscious victims.
		Agonizing Bite (••)	When drinking directly from a victim, you may only take harmful drinks, resulting in blood loss.(Homebrew, Pg. XX)

Mythic

Strengths and weaknesses related to vampire mythology.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Eat Food (•)	Can consume food but still with no nourishment. (Homebrew, pg. XX)	Folkloric Bane (•)	Take Aggravated Damage when touching a specific object rooted in vampire mythos of what harms them, example Silver.
Cold Dead Hunger (•••)	Add two dice to resist Hunger frenzy.	Folkloric Block (•)	Must spend Willpower or move away a specific object vampires are known to fear in Vampire Mythos, example Holy Symbols.
Pack Diablerie (••)	The character will always be the one to take the soul unless they otherwise choose during Diablerie. Additionally, if they help another consume the soul, they gain 5 experience points to spend in the same manner as if they'd committed the Diablerie themselves.	Stigmata (•)	Bleed from wounds on the hands, feet, and forehead when at Hunger 4.
Luck of the Devil (••••)	Once per session you can have a misfortune — an attack, an accusation, a blame, or anything in between — directed at you befall someone else close to you. This can be an ally, retainer, coterie mate, or even a Touchstone. The Storyteller is the final arbiter on what counts as a proper misfortune.	Stake Bait (•)	Attempts to drive a stake or other weapon into your heart require only three successes (before halving) instead of five.(Homebrew, pg. XX)
Nuit Mode (••)	Your body doesn’t automatically revert to the deathstate each night, enabling you to keep things like new haircuts, tattoos, and other body modifications at your option. You are still able to return to your original death-state, though, and can mend any later modifications as if they were Aggravated damage. This Merit is available only to Kindred of Blood Potency 1 or lower.	Starving Decay (•)	At any point in which your Hunger is 3 or higher your body shrivels and decays, incurring a two-dice penalty to physical tests as well as social interactions with mortals, not to mention risking the Masquerade.
		Twice-Cursed (••)	Take your clan’s variant Bane (see p. 56) in addition to your regular Bane. The Storyteller can prohibit this Flaw if the second Bane would cause problems for, or lack impact in, the chronicle.

Contagion

Related to blood-borne ilnesses.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
		Disease Vector (•)	When feeding from a sick mortal, the illness is always contracted and will be passed onto the next vessel.
		Plaguebringer (• — ••)	The Kindred carries a disease that cannot be removed from their vitae. At one dot the disease is minor with visible traces, at two dots the disease can be potentially fatal if not treated. It is passed through the bite.

Psychological

Subtextual personality ticks. These are also accessible to mortals and ghouls.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
		Living on the Edge (••)	When confronted with a risky temptation that the character hasn't done before, they suffer a two-dice penalty for all actions till they participate or the scene ends.
		Weak-Willed (•••)	Even when they are aware that someone is attempting to sway they may not use the active resistance systems to avoid the attempts.

Faith

Usable for those involved with Kindred religion, mystery cults, or even more mainstream systems of belief.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Apocryphal Texts (•)	The character possesses writings from one of the church's leaders or prominent figures. On applicable rolls gain two dice Intelligence rolls, and in social combat increase the Willpower damage modifier by 1.	Excommunicated (• — ••)	They've done something to be cast out. At one dot, subtract two dice from all rolls dealing with the cult. At two dots, the cult actively seeks to destroy you in any way possible.
Inspired Artist (••)	When using the cult's symbols or message in art, add a 1-die penalty to onlookers to resist Social rolls from cult members.	Faithless (••)	Being a member for the benefits instead of being a true believer. Lose two dice on rolls pertaining to the Cult from Resolve and Composure rolls. Cannot learn any Rituals, Ceremonies, or Loresheets higher than level 2.
Unholy Will (••—••••)	With two dots, add one die to any pool when resisting or contesting against an individual with True Faith when related to their faith. The character also suffers one less point of damage from holy sources. At four dots, add two dice and suffer two fewer points of damage.	Beacon of Profanity (•)	Mortals with any amount of True Faith can sense your presence, regardless of True Faith level.
Zealotry (•—•••)	For each dot in this merit, once per session when succeeding with a normal roll that relates or aligns to the character's Conviction, turn it into a messy critical.	Crisis of Faith (•)	Whenever there is a bestial failure, take one point of superficial Willpower damage in addition to other outcomes.
Penitence (•—•••••)	Once per session, take one point of self-inflicted Superficial Health Damage in exchange for one point of Superficial Willpower damage.	Horrible Scars of Penitence (•)	This flaw is equivalent to the Repulsive flaw when around those not within the cult.
Traveling Preacher (••)	Having spread the cult's message where they go, reduce the difficulty on rolls to avoid the Second Inquisition by 1.	Groveling Worm (••)	The character must find the time to scourge their own flesh once per session for two points of Superficial Health damage or they suffer one point of Aggravated Willpower damage at the next session. Cannot be taken with Penitence Merit.

Other

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Check the Trunk (•)	You have easy access to an armory or cache of tools and hardware. None of these items can exceed a value available to a character with Resources 2. Common items found in a cache could include a sawed-off shotgun, rusty bolt cutters, half a roll of duct tape, homemade stakes, half empty squeeze bottles of lighter fluid, and whatever else the Storyteller allows. Take an additional two dots in Preparedness pools (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 410) for items within this Resource band.	Knowledge Hungry (•)	At character creation, pick a topic that your character hungers to study. When your character comes across books, tutorial videos, college seminars, or other methods of learning about their chosen subject, make a Willpower roll at Difficulty 3 to resist chasing their obsession.
Side Hustler (••)	Once per session you can get your hands on an item, a piece of information, or access to an event as if you had two dots in the appropriate Resources, Contacts or Influence Background. (Items obtained with Resources likely have to be returned intact.) Often this requires you to spend part of the night calling in markers and pressing your informal network.	Prestation Debts	You owe another Kindred (or two others) two minor boons. The debt-holder wields more power and influence than you within vampire society, though not necessarily within your sect. They receive a one-die bonus in Social combat against you while they hold your marker. They may call in either of these debts at any time.
Tempered Will (••)	You are always aware of when someone is using Dominate and Presence against you. Once per session, when resisting Dominate or Presence, you may add two additional dice to your resistance pool. Only someone with no dots in either Dominate or Presence can take this Merit.	Risk-Taker (•)	When confronted with a chance to indulge a risky temptation you haven’t done before (such as snorting a new drug, imbibing vampire blood, or taking a Kindred lover), you suffer a two-dice penalty to all actions until you either partake of the new experience or the scene ends. This Flaw doesn’t compel you to do something suicidal ... but you may not always accurately predict the full consequences of your actions.
Untouchable (••••)	Once per story you can escape all official punishment for a crime that would otherwise see you destroyed or cast out of your sect, though you may be privately reprimanded or face consequences through unofficial channels.	Weak-Willed (••)	Take a one-die penalty to Social pools against your leader or superior. Even when you’re aware of an attempt to sway you mentally or emotionally (such as with Dominate or Presence), you may not use the active resistance systems to avoid those effects.

Cults

Associated with specific blood cults. They can be adapted to fit as the Storyteller deems.

Ashfinders

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Memories of the Fallen (••)	On Blood Alchemy rolls related to Ashe, one rolled 10 counts as two 10s. Two rolled 10s still count as four.	Ashe Addiction (••)	In addiction to the Ashe rules in Cults of the Blood Gods (pg. 46), after a failed Blood Alchemy roll, take a two dice penalty for all actions till the session ends.
Streamer (••)	Once per story, the character can call upon their fanbase to perform something simple and nonviolent for them.

Bahari

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Gardener (•—•••••)	Being selected members from the faith, this merit is equivalent to Herd for the Bahari religion.
Dark Mother's Song (••)	Add three dice in Manipulation rolls when convincing others to worship Lilith.

Church of Caine

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Fire Resistant (••)	Convert Aggravated Health damage from fire to Superficial Health damage equal to their Blood Potency for one Rouse Check instead of three during daysleep.	Schism (•)	Suffer a two-dice penalty on Social rolls with members of your cult

Temple of Set

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Vigilant (••)	The character knows when they are being watched unless it's through supernatural means, they still must roll to know who and where from.	False Alarm (•)	Every failed Awareness roll counts as a total failure.
Fixer (••)	Once per story, call in a favor or threaten a former client.
Go to Ground (•)	Add two dice on rolls when evading pursuit.

Cult of Shalim

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Insidious Whispers (••)	When making a Social roll to undermine a Conviction, one rolled 10 counts as two 10s. Two rolled 10s still count as four.	Empty (•)	People attempt to remove themselves from the character's unnerving presence. Subtract two dice from Social rolls
Gematria (•)	The ability to understand a coded cipher allowing both encrypting and decrypting messages.

Mithraic Mysteries

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Bull-Slayer (•••)	During Extended Tests, The character can reroll up to three regular dice without spending Willpower once per scene.	Failed Initiate (•)	The character faltered during the process of becoming a member, being assigned a guide who will interrupt plans, offer instruction or demanding the character proves themselves at any time.
Bargainer (•)	Reduce the Difficulty to assess a transaction by 1.

Nephilim

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Archangel's Grace (•••)	Replace the Athletics Skill with the Performance Skill or vice versa when doing something akin to heavy cardio.	Yearning (•)	Missing their master, they must spend two Willpower to work against their master's wishes.

Caitiff

These Merits are only available to Caitiff characters.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Favored Blood (••••)	You can buy dots in any Discipline even if you’ve never tasted the blood of another vampire with that Discipline. Cannot be taken with the Muddled Blood Flaw (see p. 127).	Befouling Vitae (••)	Any mortal you Embrace or kill by feeding returns as a desperate wight within a few nights. While these unfortunates are often too weak to be much of a threat, sometimes a trick of the Blood sees a real monster arise. Your unlife is a steady stream of clean-up jobs, for as soon as the local Prince or Baron gets wind of your condition you are likely to receive a personal (and terminal) visit from the powers that be.
Mark of Caine (••)	You bear a mark, either physical or spiritual, that gives other vampires pause. Noddists might target you for special attention. You gain two bonus dice on any attempt to intimidate, bully, or cow other vampires who subscribe to the myth of Caine. Anyone attempting to commit diablerie on you cannot add their Blood Potency to the roll and any failure to their roll results in a bestial failure.	Clan Curse (••)	You suffer from a vampire clan bane of your choice, likely that of your sire (if you even know who they are). Its severity is halved (round down, minimum of 1).
Mockingbird (•••)	For one night after drinking one Hunger die worth of blood from a vampire, you can choose and employ one Discipline power possessed by the Kindred from whom you fed. The power cannot be of a level higher than your highest Discipline, though you do not need to possess the same Discipline. Roll Rouse Checks as normal to activate this power. Any other rolls required to use the power use the donor’s Discipline level and your Attributes. During this time, you mimic the donor’s clan bane with the same severity level as the donor. Only one power can be “borrowed” in this way per night.	Debt Peon (••)	You owe several minor boons, or even a few major boons, to a high-Status vampire, possibly originally incurred by your Sire. Tracking these debts proves pointless, as the creditor extracts new boons whenever they have leverage over you and only considers any boon settled when forced to by their peers. They have a two-dice bonus to Social combat against you in front of other Kindred. Refusal to honor your debt adds the Shunned (••) Flaw, and may even result in a Blood Hunt against you.
Sun-Scarred (•••••)	The first turn you are exposed to Sunlight in a scene, take no Health damage, take 1 Aggravated Willpower damage, and automatically succeed on any rolls to resist terror frenzy. For the remainder of the scene all Aggravated Health damage you take from sunlight is instantly converted into Superficial damage.	Liquidator (•)	Thin-bloods call you a Pander and avoid you whenever possible. They even refuse to speak openly with your coterie mates or other associates. Take a two-dice penalty to all your Social skill dice pools against thin-bloods, other than Intimidation. Cannot be taken with Uncle Fangs (p. 127).
Uncle Fangs (•••)	You have easy access to a local coterie of three to five thin-bloods. They often know what’s happening on the street before anyone else, and can sometimes provide you with Alchemical concoctions. Treat this group as an Ally group. Cannot be taken with Liquidator (p. 127).	Muddled Blood (•)	Even if you already possess a Discipline you must drink the Blood of someone who possesses it in order to buy dots in it. Cannot be taken with the Favored Blood Merit (see p. 126).
		Walking Omen (•)	Any scrying, premonitions, or other forms of future or fortune telling in your domain regularly points to you as a source of disaster and misfortune. The effects of this Flaw are ultimately up to the Storyteller, but it should at the very least cause one serious altercation per story.
		Word-Scarred (•)	Your body or a portion of it is covered in ancient texts of vampiric lore. Perhaps your sire inscribed them upon you, or they appeared on their own after the Embrace. The major occult foe or force in the chronicle often interferes in your life, seeking to imprison, flense, mind-wipe, Blood Bond, or otherwise neutralize you. (They would never lower themselves to recruit a Caitiff, don’t be silly. You’re just a lost, disobedient book to them.) Maybe two such forces fight over the right to edit you! Any other character who “reads” the full text on your skin learns a terrible secret regarding Gehenna, Noddist prophecy, Bahari mysteries, or the like. You and the Storyteller may decide this together, or it may be a mystery to you!

Thin-Blood

These Merits and Flaws only apply to thin-blood characters. They have no dot value; each Flaw balances a Merit, and vice versa. They thus do not count against the maximum dots in Advantages and Flaws allowed to be selected during character creation or purchased through experience.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Anarch Comrades	Befriended an Anarch group, act as a one dot Anarch Mawla.	Shunned by the Anarchs	They've done something and the Anarch's shun them, more likely to throw them to the Camarilla than help. Cannot take Anarch Comrades with this Flaw.
Camarilla Contact	Caught the attention of someone within the Camarilla, acts as a one dot Camarilla Mawla.	Branded by the Camarilla	An unhealable and painful brand given by the Camarilla to know what they are. Can take Camarilla Contact with this Flaw.
Catenating Blood	Can create Blood Bonds and embrace other thin-bloods.	Bestial Temper	Frenzy test as normal vampire rules.
Day Drinker	Able to walk in the sun. Sunlight halves their Health Tracker (rounded up) and removes all vampiric abilities.	Clan Curse	Cursed by the bane of a clan. Bane Severity becomes 1. Can only take Banu Haqim, Gangrel or Brujah bane if they have Bestial Temper and the Tremere Bane if they have Catenating Blood.
Discipline Affinity	Natural ability for one Discipline. Gain one dot and can retain additional levels at the experience cost of out of clan. Consuming matching resonance does not reward them with extra temporary dots.	Vitae Dependency	Must slake one hunger of vampire vitae each week else they'll lose access to all their vampiric powers.
Lifelike	Has a heartbeat, can eat food and enjoy sexual activities. Most medical checks reveal nothing, as long as it's during the night.	Dead Flesh	Medical inspections will report them as deceased and take a one die penalty to face to face Social tests with a mortal. Cannot take Lifelike with this Flaw.
Thin-blood Alchemist	Gain one dot and one formula of Thin-blood Alchemy.	Baby Teeth	Never developed fangs.
Vampiric Resilience	Take damage like a regular vampire.	Mortal Frailty	Mend like a mortal, unable to rouse the blood. Cannot take Vampiric Resilience with this Flaw.
Abhorrent Blood	Other vampires abort any bite attempts after the initial damage and anyone who tries to keep drinking from you must spend two points of Willpower each turn that they do so. Mortals and Thin-Blood Alchemy are not affected by this anomaly.	Heliophobia	You fear sunlight as though you were a full vampire. You are susceptible to terror frenzy from sunlight.
Lucid Dreamer	Most vampires don’t dream because they don’t sleep. You dream; you can recall and even sometimes control your dreams. Once per session, if you’re asleep by day you can ask the Storyteller to provide a clue from the previous night’s memories or a hint about the story suitable for dream revelation.	Night Terrors	During times of stress, or when your Beast is strongest, nightmares pull through and feel excruciatingly real. They may be disjointed hallucinations, or they may be a way for the Storyteller to feed theme or foreshadow events. Once per session, your night terrors onset and you take a one-die penalty to all actions for the rest of the scene.
Low Appetite	When at Hunger 0 or 1, and when rising at sunset, roll two dice on your Rouse Check and take the highest of the two.	Plague Bearer	You are still susceptible to mortal sickness: colds, flu, and other more severe infections. Every time you feed you must roll a die for each Hunger slaked, and if any come up a “1,” you’ve caught something nasty. (Effect is up to the Storyteller, but could range from die penalties to slow Health degradation.) Mortal medicine doesn’t cure you; only drinking a functioning immune system by slaking your Hunger to 0 does so. And of course, you run the risk of infecting anyone you feed on, using the same die roll as above.
Faith-Proof	Whether you consider yourself an atheist or devoutly religious, you remain too close to mortality for True Faith to affect you.	Sun-Faded	You cannot use Discipline powers – including Thin- Blood Alchemy – in sunlight, and active powers cease when you enter sunlight. You can use them indoors by day, with a two-dice penalty, as long as you avoid any hint of sunlight.
Mortality's Mien	Your aura does not appear vampiric or supernatural; instead it looks mortal to anyone able to detect supernatural creatures. You can also add two dice to any attempt to make yourself appear mortal in other regards, such as makeup.	Supernatural Tell	Whether it’s your smell, your aura, or something even subtler, other supernatural entities can sense your presence. They may be curious, hungry, or irritated, but they definitely clock you. Lose two dice from Stealth pools and similar against supernatural opponents including other vampires.
Swift Feeder	You sip delicately and quickly, neatly slaking one Hunger in one turn, including licking the wound closed. This Merit can only be used once per scene.	Sloppy Drinker	Your bite is careless, or your fangs are ill suited to puncture skin cleanly. When feeding, make a Dexterity + Medicine test against a Difficulty equal to Hunger slaked to cover your feed marks before too much blood is spilled. On a failure, the wound is too ragged to close: the mortal may bleed out with Masquerade-threatening neck wounds.
		Twilight Presence	You make others uncomfortable around you. Most mortals don’t want to be around you at all, and other Kindred dislike you even more than they do regular thin-bloods. Only thin-bloods can adjust to your weird demeanor. Lose a die from Social pools involving anyone except thin-bloods.
		Unending Hunger	Your Beast always hungers for more, never finding sustenance with smaller sips. When feeding in a scene you sate one less Hunger than other thinbloods. This applies only once per scene.

Ghouls

Only ghouls make take these merits and flaws, though they are not necessarily limited to them.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Blood Empathy (••)	The ghoul can feel if their regnant is in danger or otherwise, needs them immediately, this does not allow for telepathic communication.	Baneful Blood (•—•••)	The character experiences the bane of their first domitor, this does not change if they get a new domitor.
Unseemly Aura (••)	Their aura has become indistinguishable from a Kindred.	Crone's Curse (•••)	The character appears at least a decade older than they actually are which reduces their health tracker by one.
		Distressing Fangs (••)	Having developed fangs like kindred, the character suffers one die on Social pools with mortals.

Mortals

Only mortals make take these merits and flaws, though they are not necessarily limited to them.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Solo Cooking (•)	You personally recover one extra Superficial Health level at the beginning of a session that begins with you having had the opportunity to prepare a meal before the session begins.	Addiction (•)	Lose one dice from all pools when you did not indulge in your substance of choice during the last scene, except pools for actions that will immediately obtain your drug.
Home Chef (••)	Your whole group recovers one extra Superficial Health level at the beginning of a session that begins with you having had the opportunity to prepare a meal for them before the session begins. (Anyone who would have been apart at mealtime, such as in a vampire’s captivity, does not gain this benefit.)	Severe Addiction (••)	Lose two dice from all pools when you did not indulge in your substance of choice during the last scene, except pools for actions that will immediately obtain your drug.

BACKGROUNDS & FLAWS

Allies

Groups of mortals willing to give aid to a vampire or mortals who have a vendetta.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Allies (•—••••••)	A group of mortals who will support or aid the vampire. Family, friends or an organization that have loyalty to the vampire. Build them between (•-••••) Effectiveness and (•-•••) Reliability, the maximum amount of total points is 6. Effectiveness defines how proficient they are at a task. Reliability determines how dependable they are.	Enemy (• +)	The opposite to Allies, and are rated two dots less than their effectiveness.

Boons and Debts

In most cases Status, Influence, Mawla, and other Backgrounds sufficiently represent a character’s social resources, but there may be times when the story calls for more granular use of debts and boons to specific individuals.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Minor Boon (• — •••)	Your creditor is a Neonate, Ancilla, Elder, Primogen member, or even a Prince depending upon dot rating.	Minor Debt (• or ••)	Your debtor is a Neonate, Ancilla, Elder, Primogen member, or even a Prince depending upon dot rating.
Major Boon (••-••••)	Your creditor is a Neonate, Ancilla, Elder, Primogen member, or even a Prince depending upon dot rating.	Major Debt (•-•••)	Your debtor is a Neonate, Ancilla, Elder, Primogen member, or even a Prince depending upon dot rating.
		Life Debt (•• or •••)	Your debtor is a Neonate, Ancilla, Elder, Primogen member, or even a Prince depending upon dot rating.

Contacts

A way to obtain items otherwise much more difficult to obtain on one's own.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Contacts (•—•••)	These are mortals who can get the character information, items or other things of value.	Indebted (• +)	You owe someone a favour, do contract work for them or are otherwise sworn to aid them. Whatever the relationship, once per story you can be called upon to aid someone as if you are their Contact. The nature of your relationship and who they believe you to be typically determines the nature of the aid, such as governmental access, money or rare information. You are always a mortal’s contact, and they are likely unaware of the supernatural. (Homebrew, pg. XX)

Fame

The public notoriety of a character, for good or bad.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Fame (•—•••••)	Mortal fame is a dangerous game, the character might have once been a pop singer, actress, or other celebrity. The level of fame can subtract from tests against fans or hunting. There is a downside as people may remember the character as their face is plastered on a nearby billboard. Fame can be bought to apply in Vampire society as well.	Dark Secret (• +)	What they've done is still a secret, except to one or two very motivated enemies.
		Infamy (• +)	You've done something atrocious and others know.
		Infamous Partner (•)	Your spouse, lover, or some other significant individual to you has Infamy (as above) that occasionally tarnishes you by association.

Influence

The ability they have to influence how other groups react or act.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Influence (•—•••••)	They have sway in mortal communities, be they political, through financial status and prestige or manipulation. By default this merit only applies to a specific group or region of the city.	Disliked (• +)	Subtract one die from Social tests involving groups outside of the character's loyal followers.
		Despised (••)	One group/region of the city goes out of their way to destroy the character's plans.

Haven

The place where a vampire resides during the day. Havens have additional addon merits that can change the function of the location, aid in certain actions or even hinder certain interactions.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Haven (•—•••)	A vampire without Haven dots is able to find a safe place for the night. However, Haven dots make it that much more secure and private per dot.	No Haven (•)	The character must make a basic test to find a secure resting place.
Haven: Hidden Armory (• +)	Each dot adds one pistol and one firearm inside the haven, safely concealed.	Creepy (•)	Take a two dice penalty on Social pools in the haven with mortals.
Haven: Cell (• +)	Allows two prisoners to be stored inside. Each additional dot either allows the character to store twice as many prisoners or adds +1 to the attempts to escape. Not available in one dot havens.	Haunted (•)	There is a supernatural manifestation taking hold over the haven.
Haven: Watchmen (• +)	Each dot supplies 4 Average Mortals and one Gifted Mortal to watch over the haven.	Compromised (••)	This haven is on a watchlist and may have have been raided at some point.
Haven: Laboratory (• +)	Each dot of this merit contributes to dice rolls related to one Science or Technology specialty or for Alchemy pools when using Fixatio. Not available in one dot havens.	Shared (• —or •••)	Your haven is not entirely your own. Other Kindred, besides you and your coterie, have access to it and can make decisions about it without consulting you. Tremere chantries, Nosferatu warrens, and Ministry temples might be one or two-dot shared havens.
Haven: Library (• +)	Each dot of this merit contributes to dice rolls for one Academics, Investigation or Occult specialty. Small havens are limited to one dot.
Haven: Location (•)	The place in which this haven resides gives a +2 dice bonus (or +2 enemies Difficulty) on relevant rolls from either Chasse or base Haven rating. If this does not work, with the Storyteller the player can craft a custom bonus. Example, living in the heart of downtown allows the character to have a +2 bonus to etiquette rolls to pick up local rumors.
Haven: Luxury (•)	Rich and full of value, the haven is well decorated with high-end décor and items. +2 dice bonus to Social tests when mortals are inside the haven. Without at least 3 dots in Resources, these items are stolen or illegally obtained.
Haven: Business Establishment (•• or •••)	You rent out your haven to a separate business: a 9–5 call center, coffee shop, laundromat, or salon. The kine mill around living their daily lives while you sleep in the repurposed storage basement, or one of the server rooms where all of the out of service equipment is stored. The business pays a monthly rent (or profit, if you own it), providing you with a steady stream of funding. The downside: A lot of strangers walking around, and exposure to local officials, and business taxes that potentially put you very much on the grid. Dots in this Merit roughly equate to their Resources equivalent, and the Storyteller may let you use its dots instead of Resources if the substitution makes sense. It also adds two dice to pools to do things related to your business’ activities.
Haven: Machine Shop (• +)	Each dot of this Merit adds one to the dice pool for Craft rolls, or to other tests related to building, repairing, or disassembling a piece of machinery or equipment. Small havens with this Merit can only add to pools for one specialty of Craft: they don’t have enough room for a general machine shop or for automotive work.
Haven: Panic Room (• +)	Your safe haven has a dedicated, locked place to house two individuals with a base Difficulty to breach of 5. It can also be used to keep captives (in which case the breach difficulty becomes an escape Difficulty). Each extra dot either allows you to house twice as many individuals (up to a maximum of 32, only in very large havens) or adds +1 to the breach or escape Difficulty. This Merit is not available in small havens.
Haven: Postern (• +)	The haven has some kind of secret exit that allows them a safe passage out. For each dot of this merit add one die to pools of evasion or escaping surveillance near the haven.
Haven: Security System (• +)	For each dot of this merit, add one die to pools to resist unwelcome guests into the haven.
Haven: Surgery (•)	Add two die to relevant pools for relevant tests performed in havens.
Haven: Warding (• +)	This haven possesses some type of magic warding that repels supernatural entities. Each dot of this merit adds one die to pools to resist supernatural scrying and whatever else the Storyteller allows.
Haven: Furcus (•—•••)	Your haven lies over a knot or fork in the veins of the Earth, or a frayed spot in the Veil. While invisible to normal sight, it underlies a prominent area: the top of a staircase, a fountain in the garden, the center of a room. Each dot in this Merit adds one die to Ritual (or Ceremonial) dice pools used at the furcus. (At the Storyteller’s discretion it may also subtract one die from Social pools used to calm or seduce mortals.)
Haven: Holy Ground (•)	The haven has significance to the character's cult, granting them the ability to call upon a large group of cultists to protect their haven once per story.
Haven: Shrine (•—•••)	A shrine is present in the haven, adding a bonus equivalent to the dots in searching, preparing or other-wise obtaining Ritual or Ceremony ingredients.

Herd

Merits and flaws pertaining to the vampires ability to have free access to mortal blood through forming a group of willing vessels.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Herd (•—•••••)	A group of vessels which the character may feed from without concern, though they are less loyal than retainers. They can slake Hunger worth the dot value of the Herd each week freely and no roll is required.	Obvious Predator (••)	A predatory vibe removes two dice from any hunting pool except Physical stalking, chasing and killing. Lose on die from any Social test intended to calm humans. Cannot maintain a Herd.

Mask

The status of the kindred's identification.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Mask (•—••)	A fake identity that allows the vampire to keep their true selves away from mortal's prying eyes, including getting bank accounts, a birth certificate and everything else a vampire might need to masquerade as a human.	Known Corpse (•)	People know the vampire died recently and react in turn if they see them.
Zeroed (•)	All of the character's past self has been purged from all systems as if they never existed. The character must have a 2-dot mask in order to take this.	Known Blankbody (••)	The character's name, history, associates and more are all in several agency databases. Inquisition can recognize them as a vampire.
Cobbler (•)	The ability to create or source out masks. Making a mask takes 3 days per dot. The character must have a 2-dot mask in order to take this.

Mawla

Their relationship with another kindred.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Mawla (•—•••••)	Another kindred who has taken them under their wing to mentor them.	Adversary (• +)	Another kindred who perhaps liked the character, but now goes out of their way to ruin their lives in anyway they can. Rated two levels higher than the Mawla value.

Resources

The cashflow of the kindred.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Resources (•—•••••)	Cash flow, be it from stock trading or inheritence to working as a barista at night.	Destitute (•)	No money, no home and no monetary value beyond themselves.

Retainers

The relationship with mortals who follow the character.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Retainers (•—•••)	Loyal followers who will do the character's bidding, sometimes Ghouls and/or Blood Bonded.	Stalkers (•)	Something about the character tends to attract others who get a little bit too attached and just won't let go. Be it a former retainer or a past lover, should they get rid of them, another soon appears.

Ritae

You are skilled in the Sabbat ritae and could potentially serve as your pack's priest. Since formal training in the ritae is no longer the norm, most Sabbat come upon these skills through personal experience, apprenticeship, or rote memorization of their own pack's rituals.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Ritae (•)	You know and can perform the Auctoritas Ritae, and can perform your pack's Ignoblis Ritae. You also understand how to properly care for ritual implements such as the Vaulderie chalice.
Ritae: Innovator (•)	You gain +2 dice on any roll concerning the Ritae, and you can craft and perform Ignoblis Ritae on demand.
Ritae: Anointed (•)	You know one Numinous Ritae of your choice.

Status

The kindred's name in the faction and how it effects them.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Status (•—•••••)	The character has built a name for themselves in their Faction.	Suspect (•)	Breaking the rules or weaseling out of something owed has netted this character the ire of this Sect. Stay out of sight and mind and nothing will happen until they prove their worth again but until then take a 2 dice penalty to Social tests with the offended Factions.
		Shunned (••)	Despised by a Sect, a line was crossed that never should have been, and now members of this group actively work against them at any opportunity.

Lore

You belong to a specific bloodline, or somehow took part in the history of the World of Darkness. Integrate your choice into the backstory of your character.

Merit	Description	Flaw	Description
Loresheet (•—•••••)	You may purchase one or more Advantages from a single Loresheet. Each level of a Loresheet is self-contained and must be bought separately. They may be purchased in any order, but do not automatically convey the "lower" levels of that Loresheet.
Bloodline (•—•••••)	You have been Embraced into a distinct Bloodline with unique qualities. This gives you access to a second Loresheet that only members of your bloodline possess. All other rules and limitations of the Loresheet apply.
Shifts in the Blood (••••)	Kindred of Clan Hecata may purchase their Bloodline's Discipline as a fourth in-clan Discipline. Hecata of the Giovanni line may gain Dominate, Samedi may gain Obfuscate, Lamiae may gain Potence, and Nagaraja may gain Dominate.

OLD SCHOOL RULE

As per the rules, Advantages are best used at character creation. However, through discussion with the Storyteller and either ongoing roleplay or a sufficient period of downtime, players may purchase some at the cost of 3 XP per dot in each, with Flaw dots taken after character creation granting equal Advantage dots.

You are encouraged to consider why your character possesses Merits and Loresheets, as any new power goes some way toward defining your character and their roles in the Chronicle. Any new Advantage should make sense within the context of the story and come from an agreement between player and Storyteller.

SCARCITY OF BACKGROUNDS

This is an optional mechanic introduced in Chicago By Night: Let the Streets Run Red, specifically for Kindred living in smaller towns where a Storyteller may decide the number Backgrounds given the smaller population.

Contacts — A certain amount may be rewarded freely, but largely the rest are opposed with other Kindred of the domain.

Influence — Similar to Contacts scarcity, but also attempts to grow Influence come with the need for defense rolls. Online or location-agnostic Influence may not be affected depending on the storyteller.

Herd and Feeding — Storyteller may have Herd operate in a limited size, migrating Herd face a degree of fluctuations, and failed hunts may have repercussions for the wider setting.

Haven — Kindred struggle in sharing the prime real estate in this setting.