THE EMBRACED utilizes a bot and our own small twist on combat rules.

See House Ruled Combat Guide for more information.

Several House Rules have been established for Backgrounds (especially Business, Generation, Influence, and Status). Please see Backgrounds for further details.

Businesses are a Background created specifically for use within THE EMBRACED. Often kindred take the chance at owning businesses. Putting in precious work they have an eternity to see a return on their investment. This Background is that investment and increases the amount of available assets that a character has. Please see Businesses for further details.

Kindred CANNOT eat or drink any type of food whatsoever, without exception unless the Character has the Eat Food Merit. This also applies to "mixed" food or drinks. The fact that food or drink would have blood mixed into it does in fact make it disgusting, but not digestible.

The Requiem of any Kindred is filled with details and intricacies that are impossible to appropriately display by even the best players and storytellers. Unless a player devotes their entire life to developing and expanding their character, and nobody can actually do this, many things are lost in translation. Despite how much actual role-playing you do, there are times when you (as the player) are not available to play. But this fact does not mean that your character is sitting around motionless, staring at the walls. THE EMBRACED uses a Downtime Actions System so characters will be able to accomplish various tasks to make up for this lost time when their "humans" aren't available to control them. See the Downtime Actions section of Character Growth for more information.

No more than 25 experience may be spent on disciplines during creation; this includes all disciplines, their levels, thaumaturgy paths, and thaumaturgy rituals. For comprehensive Discipline information please see our Disciplines page.

Equipment is purchased, both at creation and during play, with Expense Dots. Expenses Dots represent the amount of income (cash) that your character has access to. While this amount can be modified by several factors (owning a Business for instance), Base Expenses are calculated using your Resources.

Monthly Expenses = Level of Resources + 1 Ventrue receive Monthly Expenses = Level of Resources + 3

While common household items and nightly expenditures are not associated with the Expense mechanism, there are many items that characters may/must purchase with their expenses. Purchasable items often have mechanical benefits during play and a list of purchasable Equipment may be found here. In addition, all characters may take a Haven Size equal to their Resource Level at creation.

In addition, during Character Creation, all characters may purchase equipment to begin play with.

Characters with Resources 0 receive 3 Expense Dots to purchase items.
All other characters receive Expense Dots equal to (Resource Level x 3) + 1.
Ventrue receive Expense Dots equal to (Resource Level x 4) + 1.

Monthly Expenses refresh the first of every month and any unused Expense Dots are considered null and void. It is not possible to "save" money within THE EMBRACED.

What is Humanity?
Humanity is a measure of how closely a vampire clings to the morality and values of her life as a mortal human being, and consequently how well they are able to resist the urges of the Beast.

Since every Kindred was a human before their Embrace, their most natural response in resisting the Beast's feral, predatory nature is to cling to their humanity. This is generally represented by the strength of their conscience and self-control, virtues common to Kindred and mortals alike.

A Kindred's humanity has a direct effect on the strength of the vampiric curse; those who lose ground to the Beast and lose their humanity find it more difficult to interact with mortals, to be active during daylight hours, and to awaken from long periods of torpor.

Humanity is universally adopted by the vampires of the Camarilla, but even among the Sabbat it is the "natural" and most common way of dealing with the Beast. Some vampires however reject the mores of mortal existence and adopt an alien Path of Enlightenment, in which they learn or construct a wholly different standard of morality. These often incorporate different virtues - conviction instead of conscience, and instinct instead of self-control - and establish a very different relationship with the Beast. Replacing the morality of one's human life is a daunting task, not to be taken lightly, and generally impossible without the tutition of one who already follows the alternate path.

Humanity, unlike most other Traits, is rated on a scale of 1 to 10. 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, character are likely to lose humanity over the course of the game.

The Effects of Humanity
A Kindred's Humanity score reflects how much of a character's mortal nature remains despite the curse of Caine. It influences how well a character may deny her vampiric state, as well as how closely she may pass for mortal. Humanity scores fluctuate based upon the Hierarchy of Sin - if a vampire accidentally or purposefully commits an act rated lower than her Humanity score, she must roll her Conscience Trait to see whether she accepts the act (and thus loses Humanity) or feels remorse and maintains her current level. Humanity may be raised only by spending experience points on it. See the Degeneration section for more information on Humanity loss and the Hierarchy of Sin.

• Vampires sleep unnaturally deeply and are loath to rise even if presented with danger. Vampires with higher Humanity rise earlier in the evening than vampires with lower Humanity scores. Also, if a Kindred is forced to act during the day, the maximum dice pool he may employ for any action equals his Humanity score.
• Humanity also affects a character's Virtues. Whenever a certain Virtue is called into question, a player may not roll more dice for a Virtue than her character has dots in Humanity. Obviously, as the character sinks ever more deeply into the arms of damnation, questions of morality and self-preservation mean less and less. As Humanity depletes, the character creeps slowly toward the night when she loses all self-control.
• The length of time a Kindred spends in torpor relates directly to his Humanity score. A vampire with low Humanity remains in torpor for a longer time than a vampire with a higher Humanity score.
• Humanity determines how, well, human a character appears and how easily she may pass for human among the populace. Vampires with low Humanity acquire unnatural and disturbing features like sunken eyes, perpetual snarls and bestial countenances.
• If a character's Humanity score ever drops to zero (what kind of game are you playing?), that persona is no longer suitable for use as a player's character. Completely controlled by his Beast, the character is a mindless force of unnature, and falls under the Storyteller's control.

Levels of Humanity
Humanity 10 - 8
Kindred with Humanity scores this high are, ironically, more human than human. Many fledgling vampires sometimes adhere to codes more rigorous than they ever held in life, as a reaction against becoming a predator. Older Kindred scoff at this practice, taking great mirth at the thought of newly whelped neonates cowering beneath fire escapes and subsisting on the foul blood of rats, vainly rebelling against their murderous natures. Oh, the humanity!

In truth, vampires who maintain high scores in Humanity are rare, as every Kindred must kill sooner or later. Vampires with high Humanity are almost unbearable by their peers, who find frustration in their perceived naivete and self-righteousness; most Kindred prefer to suffer the slings and arrows of unlife without belaboring themselves. High Humanity scores indicate aversion to killing and even distaste for taking more vitae than is necessary. Though not necessarily passive or preachy, Kindred with high Humanity uphold excruciatingly exacting standards, and often have very clearly defined concepts of moral right and wrong.

Humanity 7
Most human beings have Humanity scores of 7 or so, so vampires at this level of Humanity can usually manage to pass for mortals. Vampires with 7 Humanity typically subscribe to "normal" social mores - it's not acceptable to hurt or kill another person, it's wrong to steal something that another person owns, but sometimes the speed limit is just too damn slow. The vampire is still concerned with the natural rights of others at this stage of morality, though more than a little selfishness shines through. Just like everyone else in the world...

Humanity 6 - 5
Hey, people die. Stuff breaks. A vampire below the cultural human norm has little difficulty with the fact that she needs blood to survive, and she does what needs to be done to get it. Though she won't necessarily go out of her way to destroy property or end a victim's life, she accepts that sometimes that's what fate has in store for some folks. Not automatically horrid, Kindred at this stage of Humanity are certainly at least mildly unpleasant to be around. Their laissez-faire attitudes toward others' rights offend many more moral individuals, and some minor physical eeriness or malformation may show up at this stage.

Humanity 4
Hey, some people got-to die The vampire begins an inevitable slide into urge indulgence. A Humanity of 4 indicates that killing is acceptable to this Kindred, so long as his victim is deserving (which is, of course, quite subjective). Many vampire elders hover around this level of Humanity, if they haven't adopted some other moral code. Destruction, theft, injury - these are all tools, rather than taboos, for a vampire with Humanity 4. Also, the vampire's own self and agenda become paramount at this point, and devil take whoever gets in the way. Physical changes become quite evident at this stage; while not hideous in the sense of the Nosferatu or certain Gangrel, the vampire acquires a pallid, corpse-like and noticeably unwholesome aspect.

Humanity 3 - 2
The lives and property of others are irrelevant to a Kindred this far gone. The vampire likely indulges twisted pleasures and aberrant whims, which may include any manner of atrocity. Perversion, callous murder, mutilation of victims and wickedness for its own sake are the hallmarks of a Kindred with very low Humanity. Few vampires maintain scores this low and lower for very long - their damnation is all but certain at this point. Vampires at this stage may be physically mistaken for human, but don't bet on it.

Humanity 1
Only nominally sentient, Kindred with Humanity 1 teeter on the edge of oblivion. Little matters at all to vampires this far gone, even their own desires outside of sustenance and rest. There is literally nothing a vampire with Humanity 1 won't do, and only a few tattered shreds of ego stand between him and complete devolution. Many who attain this stage find themselves no longer capable of coherent speech, and spend their nights gibbering blasphemy among their gore-spattered havens.

Humanity 0
Must sleep. Must feed. Must kill. Players may not run characters with Humanity 0. Vampires at this stage are completely lost to the Beast

THE EMBRACED allows characters to learn out of clan disciplines. However, is a mix of house ruled and the way that the book explains it.

See House Ruled Out of Clan Discipline Guide for more information.

The content of World of Darkness and Vampire the Masquerade is mature in nature. Explicit events can and will happen in the course of our game and we make no effort to control these events/scenes. Storyteller Staff does not review these scenes unless an action caused by the event requires Storyteller involvement. Many things change for an individual after the embrace, chief among them is the endless craving of blood. This desire surpasses all others. Although Kindred do not deprive themselves of other pleasures they find it difficult to abstain from their natural pleasure while enjoying these "other" pleasures. THE EMBRACED observes a House Rule called Sanguine Temptation to represent the blood-lust that Kindred must overcome during sex; specifically sex with another Kindred.

During the course of a sexual scene (if you've chosen to play it out) we will require a single dice roll (difficulty equal to 10 - Willpower). If this roll is successful you will proceed in the event with complete control over the actions of your character. If this roll is failed you will succumb to the Sanguine Temptation and will bite, and drink from the Kindred you are engaged in intercourse with. This will result in a step toward a Blood Bond with this individual. This rule is also applicable to any FTB scene where it is assumed that the characters proceeded with intercourse. The roll needs to be made before the FTB occurs.

Each character will be given one "pass" in the event that you forget to roll this House Rule. Further failures to observe this House Rule will result in automatic failure.

NOT TO BE TAKEN IN CHARACTER CREATION: 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.

See House Ruled Status for more information.