From CNWiki

Contents 1 The Sheet 1.1 On "Dots" 2 Character Concept 2.1 Basics 2.2 Nature and Demeanor 2.2.1 Nature/Demeanor list 3 Attributes 3.1 Physical 3.2 Social 3.3 Mental 4 Abilities 4.1 Talents 4.2 Skills 4.3 Knowledges 5 Advantages 5.1 Backgrounds 5.1.1 Age 5.1.2 Allies 5.1.3 Contacts 5.1.4 Fame 5.1.5 Generation 5.1.6 Herd 5.1.7 Influence 5.1.8 Mentor 5.1.9 Resources 5.1.10 Retainers 5.1.11 Status 5.2 Disciplines 5.3 Virtues 5.4 The Rest 5.4.1 Merits/Flaws 5.4.2 Willpower 5.4.3 Blood Pool 5.4.4 Equipment List 6 Character Creation

The Sheet

Vampire: The Masquerade is a sheet-based role playing game set in White Wolf's World of Darkness setting. Much like other RPGs you might be familiar with, like Final Fantasy or World of Warcraft, you have statistics that represent the strengths, weaknesses and abilities of your character. As you progress through the game you gain experience points which can increase your stats, and make your character more powerful. Your statistics are recorded and tracked on your "sheet". If at any time you need more information about a given portion of the sheet ("what does Auspex 2 do?", "how many languages can I speak with Linguistics 3?", etc) see the Vampire: The Masquerade 3rd edition core book. Corebook Online.

On "Dots"

Every skill, attribute and statistic on your sheet is measured in "dots" that operate on a scale from 0 to 5. As you go higher up the scale, your skill in those areas improve. They break down along these lines:

• 0: Untrained. You do not know how to do this skill, or do not possess the knowledge to do a task involving this stat. If you make a roll involving this stat, your difficulty is at +2.
  

Example: John has a 'Law' skill of zero. He has no functioning knowledge of the law. He might know 'killing is against the rules' and 'stealing is bad' but he would be clueless about police procedures, the court system, law making bodies and any more advanced laws or law practice.

• 1: Novice. You have a very basic knowledge or ability in this area. You may have read a training manual, or have some second-hand knowledge. You have very little practical experience in this area, but in a pinch you could give tasks that use this ability or knowledge a shot.
  

Example: Sarah has a firearms skill of 1. She used to play some paintball when she was very young with her brother's old gun, and cried when she got shot. She's seen a lot of action movies, and has a basic understanding of point, shoot, and maybe even an idea of how to reload.

• 2: Practiced. At this level you've begun to gain some real practical knowledge of how to do something. Perhaps you're a hobbyist, or you enjoy this area as a pastime. You might mention this as one of your talents.
  

Example: Jim has a Charisma score of 2. He's pretty average, knows a joke or two and might have picked up a few lines from a more self-assured friend that always gets the ladies. He's by no means a cold fish or a boring lump, in fact he's rather likable - but sometimes he doesn't quite come off the way he intends to.

• 3: Professional. This is something you do for a living, or could - if you wanted. This is the line between the men and the boys, so to speak. At rank 3, you have professional training, and have been doing this skill or have been studying this knowledge for years.
  

Example: Gina has a stealth skill of 3. She makes her living as a burglar, sneaking through suburban homes and taking overpriced retail goods from suburbanites who bought them on a credit card above their means. She is proficient in hiding, moving silently and quick, unseen getaways. She's been thinking about what it might take to knock off a bank.

• 4: Expert. You are among the best in your field on a national level. You could compete with recognized masters in this area.
  

Example: David has a brawl skill of 4. He is a black belt in Karate - he has been studying martial arts for sixteen years, and has competed in and finished in first place in over thirteen different tournaments. He knows thirty ways to kill a man with just his hands, and has probably used about a third of them at one point or another.

• 5: Master. You may just be the best alive. Your skills are above and beyond anything most people could ever hope to achieve. Your skills are the kind they cite in instruction manuals and text books for your field.
  

Example: Dean has a performance skill of 5. His fingers fly up and down the fretboard of his guitar with speed and precision that decades of practice have forged. He is just as good - perhaps arguably better of a guitarist as greats like Hendrix, Clapton and Page.

Character Concept

At the top of your page is all of the vital stats on your character. This is the section where you put a lot of what makes your character unique. Their name, personality and a small description of your conception of the character.

Basics

• Name: Your character's name.
• Embrace date: The year and day your character became a vampire.
• Sire: The name of the vampire that created your character.
• Bot Nick: The name you will choose to display on IRC. Usually your character's first name, or a variation of it. <Joe> or <Mary> for instance.
• Concept: A short sentence detailing your idea of the character, for instance "Ex-Police officer" or "Deranged Psychiatrist"
• Clan: The Clan your character belongs to. You may select any of the Camarilla clans, Ravnos, or Caitiff. The full list of clans you may select are available to browse at the character creation page on the website.
• Sect: Camarilla, Anarch, Independent, or Autarkis.
• Gender: Male or Female

Nature and Demeanor

Your nature and demeanor are not strict statistics that you roll, or that judge your character, they are intended to guide your roleplaying and remind you of your character's personality. Unlike the rule specified in the third edition Vampire: The Masquerade core book, we do not use the Nature/Demeanor system of gaining back expended willpower points. You will be returned 1 point of willpower each day by the bot. Your nature is 'who you really are'. It's a set of core values or traits that defines you as a person. It's the face you don't show to the world, and often try to hide. Conversely, your demeanor is the face you show to the world, the person you want people to see you as, or the person you incidentally show people in hiding your true nature.

Nature/Demeanor list

Below is a list of all V:tM natures and demeanors that you can select from when creating a new character:

• Architect - You build a better future.
• Autocrat - You need control.
• Bon Vivant - Unlife is for pleasure.
• Bravo - Strength is all that matters.
• Caregiver - Everyone needs nurturing.
• Celebrant - You exist for your passion.
• Child - Won't somebody be there for you?
• Competitor - You must be the best.
• Conformist - You follow and assist.
• Conniver - Others exist for your benefit.
• Curmudgeon - Nothing is worthwhile.
• Deviant - You exist for no one's pleasure but your own.
• Director - You oversee what must be done.
• Fanatic - The cause is all that matters.
• Gallant - You're not the showstopper, you're the show!
• Judge - The truth is out there.
• Loner - You make your own way.
• Martyr - You suffer for the greater good.
• Masochist - You test your limits every night.
• Monster - You're Damned, so act like it!
• Pedagogue - You save others through knowledge.
• Penitent - Unlife is a curse to atone, far.
• Perfectionist - Nothing is good enough.
• Rebel - You follow no one's rules.
• Rogue - Those who can, win. Those who can't, lose. You can.
• Survivor - Nothing can keep you down.
• Thrill-Seeker - The rush is all that matters.
• Traditionalist - As it has always been, so it shall be.
• Trickster - Laughter dims the pain.
• Visionary - There is something beyond all this.

Attributes

Your attributes represent your characters natural aptitude in three major fields: Physical, Social, and Mental. Physical attributes measure how strong, fast, tough and dexterous your character is. Social attributes measure how charismatic, attractive and manipulative your character is, and mental attributes account for how perceptive, smart and quick-witted you are. More detail follows...

Physical

There are three physical attributes:

• Strength - This measures how physically strong your character is. How much they can lift, or how hard they can hit. It is typically associated with brawl or melee damage attacks and when attempting to push or lift something.

• Dexterity - This measures flexibility and fine motor skills for both speed and accuracy. Dexterity is a highly generalized field which can be rolled in conjunction with a wide variety of skills including dodge, brawl, melee, firearms, stealth, athletics and more.

• Stamina - This measures how much endurance your character has. For Vampires - who do not physically tire, and can run for hundreds of miles without feeling tired or worn down, it is typically only applicable when your character has to roll soak. If you are struck with a weapon, or take damage, you roll stamina at difficulty 6.

Social

There are three social attributes:

• Charisma - This measures how charming and magnetic your character is. The higher this trait goes, the more easily you can handle social situations. Other players will consider your Charisma score when dealing with you as a way of supplementing your roleplaying with tone. A low charisma character who tells a lewd joke in Elysium might find herself scorned, while a high charisma vampire telling the same joke could play it off cool and get a smile from a prude elder. It's typically associated with performance rolls.

• Manipulation - This measures how skillful you are at hiding your true intentions and/or making other people believe what you say. The higher your manipulation score is, the easier you will find it to sway the opinions of others through lies and deceit. Manipulation is associated with subterfuge rolls and is used against several different powers which seek to reveal your true intentions.

• Appearance - This measures simply how physically appealing you are. While a Nosferatu's appearance is permanently locked at zero, a vampire with a high rating in this attribute will find it easier to deal with mortals, and will obviously be more pleasant to look at. If you're using a picture of some supermodel for your character, it's probably most appropriate if your character is at least appearance 3.

Mental

There are three mental attributes:

• Perception - This measures how skillful you are about being aware of your surroundings. Seeing that Nosferatu following you to your haven, picking out a piece of evidence the police missed out on during an investigation and hearing that Werewolf howl in the distance are all important uses of perception.

• Intelligence - This measures how book smart your character is. If your character speaks Latin and quotes Homer (not Simpson - that's Intelligence 2) frequently, he or she probably has a high intelligence score. It's typically associated with game playing checks like chess, used with figuring out language and to generally account for your character's level of mental aptitude.

• Wits - This measures how quick thinking you are. If your character isn't necessarily book smart, they may still be quick on the draw, able to act without extensive planning, or in general, able to react quickly both physically and mentally. Wits is typically tied to anything reactionary, and most importantly to help decide the order of combat with initiative rolls.

Abilities

Your abilities are the specific tools you have at your disposal in natural, learned and knowledge areas. There are many more options here, and no character can be excellent at everything.

Talents

Talents are things which come naturally to you. Typically there is no need to explain why a character excels at one thing or another in this category - he or she just does. Of course, practice helps, and there are limitations. If your character is listed as Brawl 3, for instance, he or she must have had some sort of professional combat training.

• Alertness: How aware your character is of his/her surroundings. Rolled for perception checks.
• Athletics: Typically rolled for running, jumping, climbing and other athletic abilities.
• Brawl: Punching, kicking, biting and grappling. Everything from boxing to karate.
• Dodge: Not the truck - combine with brawl to stick and move. Get out of the way with dodge.
• Empathy: You don't have to be sympathetic to read somebody like a book. Read emotions of others.
• Expression: Get your point across with words.
• Intimidation: Get your point across by folding your arms or waving a gun.
• Leadership: How to win friends and influence people. Mostly the latter.
• Streetwise: Get from one side of the city to the other on foot faster than most can drive - you know all the places to hide.
• Subterfuge: Lies and misdirection. Hide your true intentions.

Skills

Skills are learned abilities that are typically taught and studied. In order to advance these skills you must have a teacher, or learn from another practical source, such as a book or tutorial video of some sort. While you may have a degree of 'natural aptitude' in one of these areas, you still need to learn to become proficient in them.

• Animal Ken: How good you are with animals.
• Crafts: Anything from whittling to mechanics, to sculpture or painting. You must specify what craft you practice.
• Drive: Like a car, man.
• Etiquette: Fork goes on the right. Survival at dinner parties and in polite company.
• Firearms: Kill people with guns.
• Melee: Kill people with knives.
• Performance: Anything from singing to dancing to acting and beyond. You must specify your performance skill.
• Security: From hot wiring cars to cracking safes, cutting alarms and dealing with cameras.
• Stealth: Hide from your enemies.
• Survival: Usually in the wild. A skill for campers, boyscouts and Gangrel.

Knowledges

The knowledge abilities are mental ones your character learned via instruction either from another person, or by reading.

• Academics: How much class did you cut? The higher this is, the higher level of education you have.
• Computers: From a 1pt AOL user to a 5pt pentagon hacker.
• Finance: Stocks, bonds, acquisitions and mergers.
• Investigation: With perception - your skill in cracking the case by finding evidence others might miss.
• Law: Legal codes, zoning laws, the judiciary, police procedure, etc.
• Linguistics: 1: 1 extra language, 2: two extra, 3: four extra, 4: eight extra, 5: sixteen extra languages.
• Medicine: From first aid to open heart surgery.
• Occult: Magic and the dark secrets of the 'real' world.
• Politics: Governments and how they work.
• Science: The practical sciences, chemistry, physics, etc.

Advantages

In many ways the most powerful section on you sheet, your advantages encompass your resources, your supernatural powers, and the path you walk in life - your moral code and how willful you are in your pursuit of power in eternal nights.

Backgrounds

Backgrounds are things which round out your character, and often dictate how influential, prosperous and powerful your character is from a financial and social perspective. Here are the backgrounds which are available to you, and the levels each represent:

Age

Carpe Noctem does not use this background. Your age is limited by your generation and feasibility, and grants no extra freebie points at creation.

Allies

Allies are usually mortals who will be willing to assist you - but may require assistance in return.

Contacts

A contact is that guy who knows everyone. The drug dealer on the corner, the pimp who gets paid by every politician in town, the guy who can fence anything. All of these are contacts.

Fame

Literally your renown in the mortal world. A dangerous trait for a kindred to have - celebrities grow old and die, not live forever like you.

Generation

The legend goes Caine sired his childer, who went on to sire the next generation, and so on and so forth. While not all kindred believe in Caine, or indeed even know the tale at all, each subsequent childer down the line from Caine himself becomes of thinner, weaker blood. The lower your generation, the more powerful you are. Likewise, the younger you are, the higher your generation probably is.

Herd

Some kindred keep a group of mortals in their haven, or another location as a reliable source of blood. Kindred with rarified tastes, or paranoid kindred love this background. Perhaps your charges believe you to be some kind of god, or they are fans of your art - perhaps they are employees or you simply have them under some kind of spell. Either way, they are tricked into being your blood dolls. This background can be taken to reflect access to a blood bank.

Influence

Influence is a measure of your control in different aspects of the mortal world. The list of influences available to you are available on the influences page. At creation you may take no more than two total dots in this background.

Mentor

Your mentor must be outlined in your background with a reasonable amount of detail. They can be used to assist you in the learning of disciplines, lores or other useful skills, and can be tapped to give valuable advice. They may require you do something for them occasionally...

Resources

Your resources encompass both liquid cash, income and possessions.

Retainers

Your ghouls can operate during the day, and accomplish a wide variety of tasks for you. When you take this background, you must specify what your ghoul can do - otherwise it will be assumed that they are unable to do anything complex like act as a bodyguard or handle your finances.

Status

Carpe Noctem does not use this background. New neonates will have to make their way in the city, older characters will have status negotiated at creation.

Disciplines

Your disciplines are the supernatural powers that vampires possess. Most of these powers require the expenditure of blood points, and are very potent. Each clan typically has three "in clan" disciplines that come naturally to them and their ilk. Other disciplines can be learned, but must be taught by somebody who knows them. As disciplines are a clan's weapons in the Jyhad, learning out of clan disciplines can often be a difficult proposition. The disciplines available to your character at creation are limited by what clan you choose, and the disciplines that clan has are listed on the pages for each one. Alternatively, on the character creation tool, when you select a clan, your disciplines will automatically be displayed at the bottom.

Below is a combined listing of the disciplines the playable clans in Carpe Noctem possess and a brief description of what they do. Each link will take you to a page with a deeper explanation of the discipline.

• Animalism: Possessed by Gangrel, Nosferatu, Ravnos. The ability to communicate and control animals.
• Auspex: Possessed by Malkavian, Toreador, Tremere. The ability to see the unseen - supernatural senses and insights.
• Celerity: Possessed by the Brujah, Toreador. The ability of supernatural speed.
• Chimerstry: Possessed by the Ravnos. Illusion magic.
• Dominate: Possessed by the Malkavian, Tremere, and Ventrue. The ability to bend others to your will.
• Fortitude: Possessed by the Gangrel, Ravnos, Ventrue. The ability to prevent extrodinary amount of damage to oneself.
• Obfuscate: Possessed by the Malkavian, Nosferatu. The ability to conceal oneself and hide in plain sight.
• Potence: Possessed by the Brujah, Nosferatu. The ability of supernatural strength.
• Presence: Possessed by the Brujah, Toreador, Ventrue. The ability to sway entire crowds and control emotions.
• Protean: Possessed by the Gangrel. The ability to shape shift.
• Thaumaturgy: Possessed by the Tremere. Blood sorcery.

Virtues

Virtues are measures of what your character is made of.

• Conscience: What are you willing to do? How far are you willing to go? How loud is the little voice in the back of your head that tells you to stop killing people?
• Self-Control: Will you snap at the slightest provocation, or do you have the resolve to remain calm always? Toreador are notorious for having a very low self-control stat.
• Courage: Not to be confused with stupidity, the measure of your character's bravery.

The Rest

The bottom of the sheet details all of the practical stats you have. Like your magic points, gold and inventory screen in a traditional RPG, these are the things which your character has to physically use to activate his or her powers, and to wield to defend him or herself.

Merits/Flaws

Merits give your character special bonuses, flaws hinder your character in some meaningful way. The full list of merits and flaws is available here.

Willpower

Your character will begin with your total willpower score available to use. You may use a point of willpower for a variety of things, from activating certain disciplines, to defending against certain disciplines, and even to get an automatic success on a roll.

Blood Pool

Your blood pool is like your mana. It's how much you have to spend on supernatural disciplines, or to 'buff' your physical stats. You may raise any physical stat by one point by expending one point of blood. You may do this at a rate of once per turn (more for 9th gen and lower.)

Equipment List

Literally, the stuff your character owns. All practical use items must be listed in this section.

Character Creation

Going back over the sheet, we have compiled, in order, a list of the things you have to fill in when creating a character. In order to fill these things in you are allotted a preset amount of points. They are as follows:

• Standard attributes, split - 7 / 5 / 3
• Abilities split - 13 / 9 / 5
• 5 points in backgrounds
• 3 points in in-clan disciplines
• 7 points in virtues
• 15 freebie points

The points split between attributes and abilities is done by selecting groups. For attributes, you must assign a primary (7), secondary (5) and tertiary (3) section. For instance, if you choose "Mental" as your primary, you have dots to assign to Intelligence, Wits and Perception. Each of your attributes begin at 1, and every point you spend from your total of 7 / 5 / 3 is on top of that one. For instance, you could, in your tertiary group, make everything 2 dots, because they all begin with 1 already in place.

Abilities are split similarly, but with more points available for use. However, all abilities begin at 0. Assign points the same way you would for attributes, but no ability may be raised above a maximum of 3 at this time.

You may select a total of 5 dots in backgrounds using the provided list. Remember that you may not have any more than two total dots in the influence background to start (even if you have more than one area of influence.)

You have three in clan disciplines, and three points to allocate between them. You may choose one point in each, or three points in one, or any combination of those three dots in any of the disciplines available to you. Though you may only take in clan disciplines at this time, you may spend freebie points later to take an out of clan discipline.

You have seven points in virtues, which you must split between all three virtues. When you have selected your allocations in virtues, add your conscience score to your self-control score, that is your starting humanity. Your courage rating is equal to your starting willpower. Remember that you begin with 1 point in each virtue.
example: Joan has a 3 in courage, a 2 in self-control, and a 4 in conscience. She begins with a humanity rating of 6 and a 3 in willpower.

Your freebie points are used to round out your sheet. Like experience, the points here are not 1 to 1. In other words, you cannot raise a discipline from 2 dots to 3 with one freebie point. They have values which dictate how many freebie points you must spend to raise one point in a given section. Freebie point values are located in the core book on page 104.