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Routine
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If others studied your behaviour closely, they might be able to take advantage of it to do you harm. If the circumstances are appropriate, once per Story, the Storyteller might ask you to automatically fail a roll against an Ambush.
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
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Description
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Flaw
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Description
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Anarch Comrades
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Befriended an Anarch group, act as a one dot Anarch Mawla.
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Shunned by the Anarchs
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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.
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Camarilla Contact
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Caught the attention of someone within the Camarilla, acts as a one dot Camarilla Mawla.
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Branded by the Camarilla
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An unhealable and painful brand given by the Camarilla to know what they are. Can take Camarilla Contact with this Flaw.
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Catenating Blood
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Can create Blood Bonds and embrace other thin-bloods.
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Bestial Temper
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Frenzy test as normal vampire rules.
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Day Drinker
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Able to walk in the sun. Sunlight halves their Health Tracker (rounded up) and removes all vampiric abilities.
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Clan Curse
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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.
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Discipline Affinity
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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.
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Vitae Dependency
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Must slake one hunger of vampire vitae each week else they'll lose access to all their vampiric powers.
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Lifelike
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Has a heartbeat, can eat food and enjoy sexual activities. Most medical checks reveal nothing, as long as it's during the night.
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Dead Flesh
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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.
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Thin-blood Alchemist
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Gain one dot and one formula of Thin-blood Alchemy.
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Baby Teeth
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Never developed fangs.
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Vampiric Resilience
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Take damage like a regular vampire.
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Mortal Frailty
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Mend like a mortal, unable to rouse the blood. Cannot take Vampiric Resilience with this Flaw.
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Abhorrent Blood
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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.
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Heliophobia
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You fear sunlight as though you were a full vampire. You are susceptible to terror frenzy from sunlight.
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Lucid Dreamer
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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.
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Night Terrors
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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.
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Low Appetite
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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.
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Plague Bearer
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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.
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Faith-Proof
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Whether you consider yourself an atheist or devoutly religious, you remain too close to mortality for True Faith to affect you.
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Sun-Faded
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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.
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Mortality's Mien
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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.
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Supernatural Tell
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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.
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Swift Feeder
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Unending Hunger
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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.
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Ghouls
Only ghouls make take these merits and flaws, though they are not necessarily limited to them.
Merit
|
Description
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Flaw
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Description
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Blood Empathy (••)
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You share a closer bond to your domitor than most ghouls, able to sense their emotional and psychological state, even when not physically in their presence. An astute ghoul can “feel” if their current domitor is in peril or requires their presence immediately, but it does not allow for direct telepathic communication. You feel Blood Empathy at a distance of one mile or less from your domitor, and the domitor to whom you feel Blood Empathy is the one whose blood you have most recently consumed. Note that this does not require a Blood Bond, though the effect feels stronger if one is present.
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Baneful Blood (•—••)
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The character experiences the bane of their first domitor, this does not change if they get a new domitor. You experience the domitor’s bane at one level for each dot in this Flaw.
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Unseemly Aura (••)
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Their aura has become indistinguishable from a Kindred.
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Crone's Curse (••)
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The character appears at least a decade older than they actually are which reduces their health tracker by one.
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Distressing Fangs (•)
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Having developed fangs like kindred, the character suffers one die on Social pools with mortals.
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Mortals
Only mortals make take these merits and flaws, though they are not necessarily limited to them.
Merit
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Description
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Flaw
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Description
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Solo Cooking (•)
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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.
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Addiction (•)
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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.
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Home Chef (••)
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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.)
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Severe Addiction (••)
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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.
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BACKGROUNDS & FLAWS
Allies
Groups of mortals willing to give aid to a vampire or mortals who have a vendetta.
Merit
|
Description
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Flaw
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Description
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Allies (•—••••••)
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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.
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Enemy (• +)
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The opposite to Allies, and are rated two dots less than their effectiveness.
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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
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Flaw
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Description
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Minor Boon (• — •••)
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Your creditor is a Neonate, Ancilla, Elder, Primogen member, or even a Prince depending upon dot rating.
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Minor Debt (• or ••)
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Your debtor is a Neonate, Ancilla, Elder, Primogen member, or even a Prince depending upon dot rating.
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Major Boon (••-••••)
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Your creditor is a Neonate, Ancilla, Elder, Primogen member, or even a Prince depending upon dot rating.
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Major Debt (•-•••)
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Your debtor is a Neonate, Ancilla, Elder, Primogen member, or even a Prince depending upon dot rating.
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Life Debt (•• or •••)
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Your debtor is a Neonate, Ancilla, Elder, Primogen member, or even a Prince depending upon dot rating.
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Contacts
A way to obtain items otherwise much more difficult to obtain on one's own.
Merit
|
Description
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Flaw
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Description
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Contacts (•—•••)
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These are mortals who can get the character information, items or other things of value.
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Indebted (• +)
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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)
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Fame
The public notoriety of a character, for good or bad.
Merit
|
Description
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Flaw
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Description
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Fame (•—•••••)
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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.
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Dark Secret (• +)
|
What they've done is still a secret, except to one or two very motivated enemies.
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Infamy (• +)
|
You've done something atrocious and others know.
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|
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Infamous Partner (•)
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Your spouse, lover, or some other significant individual to you has Infamy (as above) that occasionally tarnishes you by association.
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Influence
The ability they have to influence how other groups react or act.
Merit
|
Description
|
Flaw
|
Description
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Influence (•—•••••)
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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.
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Disliked (• +)
|
Subtract one die from Social tests involving groups outside of the character's loyal followers.
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Despised (••)
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One group/region of the city goes out of their way to destroy the character's plans.
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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 (•—•••)
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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.
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No Haven (•)
|
The character must make a basic test to find a secure resting place.
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Haven: Hidden Armory (• +)
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Each dot adds one pistol and one firearm inside the haven, safely concealed.
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Creepy (•)
|
Take a two dice penalty on Social pools in the haven with mortals.
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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.
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Haunted (•)
|
There is a supernatural manifestation taking hold over the haven.
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Haven: Watchmen (• +)
|
Each dot supplies 4 Average Mortals and one Gifted Mortal to watch over the haven.
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Compromised (••)
|
This haven is on a watchlist and may have have been raided at some point.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Haven: Luxury (•)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Haven: Security System (• +)
|
For each dot of this merit, add one die to pools to resist unwelcome guests into the haven.
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Haven: Surgery (•)
|
Add two die to relevant pools for relevant tests performed in havens.
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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.
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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.)
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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.
|
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Known Corpse (•)
|
People know the vampire died recently and react in turn if they see them.
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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.
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Known Blankbody (••)
|
The character's name, history, associates and more are all in several agency databases. Inquisition can recognize them as a vampire.
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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.
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Mawla
Their relationship with another kindred.
Merit
|
Description
|
Flaw
|
Description
|
Mawla (•—•••••)
|
Another kindred who has taken them under their wing to mentor them.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
|
|
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Ritae: Innovator (•)
|
You gain +2 dice on any roll concerning the Ritae, and you can craft and perform Ignoblis Ritae on demand.
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Ritae: Anointed (•)
|
You know one Numinous Ritae of your choice.
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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.
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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.
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City Secrets (•)
|
You have somehow acquired a damning secret about the city’s Kindred power structure, perhaps specifically about someone in it. Decide the exact nature of the information with the Storyteller. You can take this Background a maximum of three times, with a different secret each time.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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