Create a Character

Good Evening, Tonight I will be giving a walkthrough on how to create a character and stat their sheet. Now I know that most of the players on this form already have a strong grasp on how to do this but for those who may join or just want a review this article may be of help.

First you will need a blank character sheet

I get all my blank vampire sheets from Mr. Gone’s Website found here: http://mrgone.rocksolidshells.com/. You will want to click on OWoD (Old World of Darkness) which is the version we play. Next click on vampire and it will bring you to an impressive list of options. For our games we work with the revised sheets, these correlate to the 3rd edition rulebook. We support players to take interest in and liking their characters, after all you’re stuck playing them for the rest of the game, so we usually advise using the 4 page sheets because they allow for much more character detail. In the end it doesn’t really matter which sheet you choose as long as it has all the basic stats.



Credit: Large chunks of this were taken directly from Vampire the Masquerade 3rd Edition, which is copyright White Wolf.

Step 1: Concept
The character creation section in the guide book suggests for a first step to come up with concept, clan, Nature and Demeanor, but I suggest to look at it simpler still. The first question should be what kind of character do you want to play? Is your style a fighter, politician, or a loner? When tasked with the retrieval of an item from an enemy stronghold would you infiltrate with your charming and convincing acting skills, sneak in the back undetected, or get medieval on their ass with a battering ram? When you know what method you want to play create a concept that enables it.

Here are some sample concepts from the 3rd Edition Rule book Of course these are just examples and players are encouraged to be creative.

Clan
Each clan is accompanied with a stereotype intended to help new players fit their character to a clan. For example Brujah are often thought of as violent delinquents, so if a player wanted to be a fighter or had a concept such as thug-criminal a Brujah would be a good choice. If, per say, a player wanted a speechwriter-politician the Ventrue clan, known for their pursuit of power and love of control, may be the appropriate choice. Once again I must mention that these are clan stereotypes! I have seen a good deal of political savvy Brujah, as well as Ventrue embraced only for their muscle. For information on clans visit the clan page of the wiki.

Nature and Demeanor
Nature and demeanor are also known as character archetypes. They are what govern a character’s personality and outlook. Nature is the character’s most deep-routed feelings about herself and the world. It governs her thoughts and actions as well as her perception of events. The demeanor is how the character presents herself to others, what place she accepts as hers in society. Think of demeanor as the social mask everyone developed in high school so the popular kids wouldn’t rip them apart. That said; a character’s nature and demeanor can be exactly the same, complete opposites, or anywhere in-between. The more diverse the nature and demeanor the more complex their personality, but a drastic difference will make the character harder to play. It should also be noted that a character’s nature has certain goals, and the achieving of these goals can earn back willpower points (which I will talk about later). A more detailed list of archetypes can be found here: http://www.angelfire.com/id/deathquaker/gaming/archetypes.html

Step 2: Attributes
With concepts done we’ve finished the hardest part, all we need now is some stats to go along with the idea. The first set of stats we run into is the attributes which are the character’s natural abilities. They are divided into three groups; Physical, Social, and Mental. Each group can have one of three sets of points – 7, 5, or 3.

Let’s say we want to create a character that was a high school sports star but missed his opportunity for a college scholarship when he was injured during prime season. Discouraged with school from the start and no prospect of scholarship he dropped out of school to work a factory job. Due to his hard work, charismatic and fearless attitude, and natural need to strive to survive a Gangrel took interest and embraced him. Now how would his attributes be stated? Well, let’s look at what he relies the most on; His sports and physical labor career implies that he uses a great deal of his physical muscle, and his drop out of high school implies he probably doesn’t use much of his brain. So a good stat up for him would be Physical 7, Mental 3, and Social 5(because of his charismatic demeanor).

Next let’s look at that speechwriter-politician Ventrue mentioned earlier. If she is to be a speechwriter it should be assumed that she will have control of her social abilities so that she may sway her audience. She should also be fairly intelligent so that she may make logical references; nothing shuts up a debate opponent then a barrage of cutting edge statistics. For this character physical is diffidently the least used attribute. So their primary could easily be mental or social. Choosing may come down to deciding if she is performing the speeches she writes. If so, she may want to have social be top with a set of social 7, mental 5, and physical 3. If she is only writing them then she would need less charisma and maybe stated as mental 7, social 5, and physical 3. It’s all up to the player!

The list of Attributes can be found at the bottom of the page.

Step 3: Abilities
The Abilities section is where the player gets to be more creative and the character becomes an individual. Much like the Attributes section the Abilities are broken into three categories; Talents, Skills, and Knowledges. Each section can be assigned to 13, 9, or 5 points. To stat the Gangrel mentioned earlier we will first want to look at what points he had in life. As a sports star he should have some points in athletics, alertness, dodge, and maybe leadership. These are talents and will probably be his major abilities. When looking at the next set, skills, we notice there are far fewer abilities he would have; maybe points in drive or melee. The final set, Knowledges also applies very poorly to the characters human life. He may hold a point in computer or politics but almost none apply to him. An important skill for a Gangrel is survival so that they may hunt. Another is the ability to be aware of and, more importantly avoid, lupines. This means having a point or two in occult. Gangrel are fortunate in that they don’t have to make many rolls when using their disciplines but if they want to use animalism they should at least have one point in animal ken. So based on what this character could do as a human as well as what they learned as a Kindred their set up is Talents 13, Skills 9, and Knowledges 5.

A lot of the abilities can be confusing so to better understand what they do, you can find descriptions of each at the bottom of the page under the Attributes section.

Step 4: Advantages
Almost to the end of the page! Notice that Advantages are also divided into 3 categories’, but unlike Attributes and Abilities you cannot choose which set of points to put in which, they are assigned.

Disciplines
The Disciplines your character has is based off her clan. To see which clans posses which disciplines go to the clans’ page of the wiki, or to learn about a specific discipline go to the disciplines page. A character is giving 3 points to put where ever they like in disciplines.

The Gangrel for example has a discipline set of Animalism, Fortitude, and Protean. The player may want to put all three points into Protean, or perhaps one point into each discipline. There are no restrictions.

Backgrounds
A character has 5 points to put into backgrounds. There a several backgrounds to choose from, and even a few that are clan specific (to find out if your clan has clan specific backgrounds go to your clan’s page). Once you start the game your character cannot change their backgrounds and cannot buy new ones with experience points. They can however be earned through roll play.

Here are several to choose from:

Allies
Allies are humans who support and help you - family, friends or even a mortal organization that owes you some loyalty. Though allies aid you willingly, without coaxing or coercion, they are not always available to offer assistance; they have their own concerns and can do only so much in the name of friendship. However, they might have some useful Background Traits of their own, and might provide you with indirect access to their contacts, influence or resources.

Allies are typically persons of influence and power in your home city. They can be of almost any sort, pending your Storyteller's permission; you may have friends in the precinct morgue, or perhaps even the mayor's ear, depending on how many dots you spend on this Trait. Your allies are generally trustworthy (although they probably don't know that you're a vampire, or even that vampires exist). However, nothing comes for free; if you wind up drawing favors from your friend in the Cosa Nostra, he'll probably ask you to do him a favor in kind in the future. This often leads to the beginning of a story....

One ally of moderate influence and power Two allies, both of moderate power Three allies, one of whom is quite influential Four allies, one of whom is very influential Five allies, one of whom is extremely influential

Contacts
You know people all over the city. When you start making phone calls around your network, the amount of information you can dig up is almost terrifying. Contacts are largely people whom you can bribe, manipulate or coerce into offering information, but you also have a few maj or contacts - friends whom you can rely on to give you accurate information in their fields of expertise. You should describe each major contact in some detail before the game begins.

In addition to your major contacts, you also have a number of minor contacts spread throughout the city; your major contact might be in the district attorney's office, while your minor contacts might include beat cops, DMV clerks, club bouncers or even hot-dog vendors. You need not detail these various "passing acquaintances" before play; instead, to successfully get in touch with a minor contact, you should roll your Contacts rating (difficulty 7). You can reach one minor contact for each success; of course, you still have to coerce them into telling you what you need to hear.

One major contact Two major contacts Three major contacts Four major contacts Five major contacts

Fame
You enjoy widespread recognition in mortal society, perhaps as an entertainer, writer or athlete. People may enjoy just being seen with you. This gives you all manner of privileges when moving in mortal society, but can also attract an unwanted amount of attention now that you're no longer alive. The greatest weapon fame has to offer is the ability to sway public opinion - as modern media constantly proves.

This Background is obviously a mixed blessing. You can certainly enjoy the privileges of your prestige - getting the best seats, being invited to events you'd otherwise miss, getting appointments with the elite - but you're also often recognized when you'd rather not be. However, your enemies can't just make you disappear without causing an undue stir, and you find it much easier to hunt in populated areas as people flock to you (reduce the difficulties of hunting rolls by one for each dot in Fame). Additionally, your Storyteller might permit you to reduce difficulties of Social rolls against particularly starstruck or impressionable people.

You're known to a select subculture of the city - local clubgoers or the Park Avenue set, for instance. A majority of the populace recognizes your face; you're a local celebrity such as a news anchor. You have statewide renown; perhaps you're a state senator or minor star of local interest. Nationally famous; everybody knows something about you. You're an internationally famous media icon.

Generation
Plain and simple, this Background represents your generation - the purity of your blood, and your proximity to the First Vampire. A high Generation rating may represent a powerful sire or a decidedly dangerous taste for diablerie. If you don't take any dots in this Trait, you begin play as a 13th-generation vampire. See p. 139 for further information on generations and what part they play.

12th generation: 11 blood pool, can spend 1 blood point per turn 11th generation: 12 blood pool, can spend 1 blood point per turn 10th generation: 13 blood pool, can spend 1 blood point per turn 9th generation: 14 blood pool, can spend 2 blood points per turn 8th generation: 15 blood pool, can spend 3 blood points per turn

Herd
You have built a group of mortals from whom you can feed without fear. A herd may take many forms, from circles of kinky clubgoers to actual cults built around you as a god-figure. In addition to providing nourishment, your herd might come in handy for minor tasks, although they are typically not very controllable, closely connected to you or even highly skilled (for more effective pawns, purchase Allies or Retainers). Your Herd rating adds dice to your rolls for hunting; see Chapter Six for further details.

Three vessels Seven vessels 15 vessels 30 vessels 60 vessels

Influence
You have pull in the mortal community, whether through wealth, prestige, political office, blackmail or supernatural manipulation. Kindred with high Influence can sway, and in rare cases even control, the political and social processes of human society. Influence represents the sum of your political power in your community, particularly among the police and bureaucracy.

Some rolls may require you to use Influence in place of an Ability, particularly when attempting to sway minor bureaucrats. It is, of course, always easier to institute sweeping changes on a local level than a worldwide scale (e.g., having an "abandoned" building demolished is relatively easy, while starting a war is a bit more difficult).

Moderately influential; a factor in city politics Well-connected; a force in state politics Position of influence; a factor in regional politics Broad personal power; a force in national politics Vastly influential; a factor in global politics

Mentor
This Trait represents an elder - or possibly even more than one - who looks out for you, offering guidance or aid once in a while. A mentor may be powerful, but his power need not be direct. Depending on the number of dots in this Background, your mentor might be nothing more than a vampire with a remarkable information network, or might be a centuries-old creature with tremendous influence and supernatural power. He may offer advice, speak to the prince (or archbishop) on your behalf, steer other elders clear of you or warn you when you're walking into situations you don't understand.

Most often your mentor is your sire, but it could well be any Cainite with a passing interest in your well-being. A high Mentor rating could even represent a group of like-minded vampires, such as the elders of the city's Tremere chantry.

Bear in mind that this Trait isn't a "Get out of Jail Free" card; your mentor won't arrive like the cavalry whenever you're endangered. What's more, she might occasionally expect something in return for her patronage (which can lead to a number of interesting stories). A mentor typically remains aloof, giving you useful information or advice out of camaraderie, but will abandon you without a thought if you prove an unworthy or troublesome "apprentice."

Mentor is an ancilla of little influence. Mentor is respected; an elder, for instance. Mentor is heavily influential, such as a member of the primogen. Mentor has a great deal of power over the city; a prince or archbishop, for example. Mentor is extraordinarily powerful, perhaps even a justicar or Inconnu.

Resources
This Trait describes your personal financial resources, or your access to such. A high Resources rating doesn't necessarily reflect your liquid assets; this Background describes your standard of "living," your possessions and your buying power. No dots in Resources is just that: You have no permanent haven and no possessions save a few clothes and possibly a weapon or pocketful of coins.

You receive a basic allowance each month based on your rating; be certain to detail exactly where this money comes from, be it a job, trust fund or dividends. After all, your fortune may well run out over the course of the chronicle, depending on how well you maintain it. You can also sell your less liquid resources if you need the cash, but this can take weeks or even months, depending on what exactly you're trying to sell. Art buyers don't just pop out of the woodwork, after all.

Small savings: a small apartment and maybe a motorcycle. If liquidated, you would have about $1,000 in cash. Allowance of $500 a month. Middle class: an apartment or condominium. If liquidated, you would have at least $8,000 in cash. Allowance of $1200 a month. Large savings: a homeowner or someone with some equity. If liquidated, you would have at least $50,000 in cash. Allowance of $3000 a month. Well-off: a member of the upper class. You own a very large house, or perhaps a dilapidated mansion. If liquidated, you would have at least $500,000 in cash. Allowance of $9000 a month. Ridiculously affluent: a multimillionaire. Your haven is limited by little save your imagination. If liquidated, you would have at least $5,000,000 in cash. Allowance of $30,000 a month.

Retainers
Not precisely allies or contacts, your retainers are servants, assistants or other people who are your loyal arid steadfast companions. Many vampires' servants are ghouls (p. 275) - their supernatural powers and blood bond-enforced loyalty make them the servants of choice. Retainers may also be people whom you've repeatedly Dominated until they have no free will left, or followers so enthralled with your Presence that their loyalty borders on blind fanaticism. Some vampires, particularly those with the Animalism Discipline, use "hellhounds" (ghouled dogs) or other animal ghouls as retainers.

You must maintain some control over your retainers, whether through a salary, the gift of your vitae or the use of Disciplines. Retainers are never "blindly loyal no matter what" - if you treat them too poorly without exercising strict control, they might well turn on you.

Retainers may be useful, but they should never be flawless, A physically powerful ghoul might be rebellious, inconveniently dull-witted or lacking in practical skills. A loyal manservant might be physically weak or possess no real personal initiative or creativity. This Background isn't an excuse to craft an unstoppable bodyguard or pet assassin - it's a method to bring more fully developed characters into the chronicle, as well as to reflect the Renfieldesque followers for which the Kindred are notorious. Don't abuse it.

One retainer Two retainers Three retainers Four retainers Five retainers

Status
You have something of a reputation and standing (earned or unearned) within the local community of Kindred. Status among Camarilla society is often derived from your sire's status and the respect due your particular bloodline; among the Sabbat, status is more likely to stem from the reputation of your pack. Elders are known for having little respect for their juniors; this Background can mitigate that somewhat.

High status among the Camarilla does not transfer to Sabbat society (and will most likely make you a notorious target for your sect's rivals), and vice versa. Similarly, anarchs can be considered to have zero Status, unless they have somehow garnered so much power and attention that they must be taken seriously. You may have occasion to roll your Status in conjunction with a Social Trait; this reflects the positive effects of your prestige.

Note: Caitiff characters may not purchase Status during character creation. Caitiff are the lowest of the low, and any respect they achieve must be earned during the course of the chronicle.

Known: a neonate Respected: an ancilla Influential: an elder Powerful: a member of the primogen (or bishop) Luminary: a prince (or archbishop)

Backgrounds are very important for a Venture and Toreadors; they help establish their power base. The speechwriter-politician Ventrue might want to have several points in resources, status, influence and contacts. Having allies to support her wouldn’t be too bad either. The background points should illustrate what your character is up too, so for her, if she is running the mayor she should have influence. If she’s writing for the city’s Prince she will want points in Status, so on and so forth.

Back to the Gangel, which backgrounds would make the most sense for him? Considering his position in life he isn’t likely to have influence or resources saved up, and even though he is somewhat social, it’s unlikely that he would have convinced many to follow as a herd as he drifts, unless they are animals. So what fits him? Often times you will find a Gangrel without any backgrounds, it’s ok to not use the points if it makes sense for the character. If that makes a player uncomfortable Contacts and Retainers can fit pretty easily into a Gangrel’s backgrounds.

Virtues
For virtues you have 7 points to divide into three categories’ in any way you see fit, these categories’ are Conscience/Conviction, Self-Control/Instinct, and Courage.

Conscience
Conscience is a Trait that allows characters to evaluate their conduct with relation to what is "right" and "wrong." A character's moral judgment with Conscience stems from her attitude and outlook. Conscience is what prevents a vampire from succumbing to the Beast, by defining the Beast's urges as unacceptable.

Conscience factors into the difficulty of many rolls to avoid committing a transgression. Additionally, Conscience determines whether or not a character loses Humanity by committing acts that do not uphold her moral code. A character with a high Conscience score feels remorse for transgressions, while a character with a lower Conscience may be a bit more callous or ethically lax.

Uncaring Normal Ethical Righteous Remorseful

Self-Control
Self-Control defines a character's discipline and mastery over the Beast. Characters with high Self-Control rarely succumb to emotional urges, and are thus able to restrain their darker sides more readily than characters with low Self-Control.

Self-Control comes into play when a character faces her Beast in the form of frenzy. Self-Control allows the character to resist the frenzy. Unstable Normal Temperate Hardened Total self-mastery

Courage
All characters have a Courage Trait, regardless of the Path they follow. Courage is the quality that allows characters to stand in the face of fear or daunting adversity. It is bravery, mettle and stoicism combined. A character with high Courage meets her fears head-on, while a character of lesser Courage may flee in terror.

Kindred use the Courage Virtue when faced with circumstances they endemically dread: fire, sunlight, True Faith.

Timid Normal Bold Resolute Heroic

Humanity
A character’s humanity is equal to their Conscience + Self-Control.

The Trait of Humanity is integral to the underlying theme of Vampire: The Masquerade. It is a moral code that allows Kindred to retain their mortal sensibilities in the face of their transformation into parasitic monsters. In essence, it is what keeps a vampire from becoming a mindless animal, enslaved by her thirst for vitae.

Humanity, unlike most other Traits, is rated on a scale of 1 to 10, as it is more complex than a 1-to-5 quantification allows for. Also, just because a Kindred follows the Path of Humanity doesn't mean she is a friendly, congenial saint. Vampires are predators by nature, and Humanity only gifts them with the ability to pretend they're not. It is an inward charade that protects a vampire from herself, much as the Masquerade protects vampires from the mortals outside.

Unfortunately, the very nature of existence as a vampire is anathema to one's Humanity. As the centuries wear on, the Beast takes hold, and Kindred become less and less concerned with the well-being of mortal "kine" (after all, they'll die eventually, anyway). As such, characters are likely to lose Humanity over the course of the game. As a Kindred begins to drift heavily from the path of humanity they will often adopt another path as not to lose themselves to the beast. These other paths work similar to humanity on mechanics to influence the character to other actions, some humane some not. For a basic character humanity is all I will cover.

X Monstrous Horrific Bestial Cold Unfeeling Distant Removed Normal Caring Compassionate Saintly



Willpower

Willpower is equal to courage

“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." The rating is rolled or tested, while the pool is "spent." When a player spends a point of a character's Willpower, she should cross off the point from the Willpower pool (the squares), not the Willpower rating (the circles). The rating stays constant - if a character needs to roll Willpower for some reason, she bases the roll on the permanent rating. The pool is used up during the story.”

<p style="text-align:justify">So basically a character’s willpower affects everything from their ability to force a success to their resistance toward being dominated. Willpower rolls can also be made to fend off hunger pangs for a short amount of time. It’s important to have, but also don’t be afraid of using it. Theoretically it also governs the characters personality, “spineless vs. iron-willed” but that’s often in debate. Refer to your DM, their say goes.

<p style="text-align:justify">Spineless Weak Unassertive Diffident Certain Confident Determined Controlled Iron-willed Unshakable

<h4 style="text-align:justify">Weakness

<p style="text-align:justify">Go to the Clan pages to find out your clan’s weakness

<h4 style="text-align:justify">Blood pool

<p style="text-align:justify">A 13th generation vampire can hold 10 blood points and can spend one point per turn, this can be spent on disciplines, to buff up attributes, or to heal. Kindred with lower generation can hold more blood, and very low generation can even spend multiple blood points per term.

<h4 style="text-align:justify">Freebie Points

<p style="text-align:justify">Here’s the only mathy part of the sheet! Every Vampire gets 15 freebie points that can be spent anywhere on the sheet the player wishes, BUT the freebie points don’t cost as much as the normal points, they cost less. Here is the chart:

<p style="text-align:justify">So for a basic character Lea is considered complete, although I’ll continue her further with merits and Flaws, expanded background, Possessions, Havens, ect.