Jaqueline Edens has seized praxis, styling herself as the Matriarch rather than Prince. The Matriarch allows the Kindred of Chicago a wide latitude to manage their own unlives—which makes her unpopular with many of the city’s elders.

And you probably don’t need to care about any of this.

Most characters in this game are removed from the day-to-day power struggles of elder vampires. Many don’t even know that the Camarilla exists, and they wouldn’t recognize the Matriarch if she bit them.

A vampire’s powers are determined by their lineage, known as their clan. A vampire’s clan also determines limitations and flaws imposed upon them by their blood.

Clan stereotypes to know for this game:

Brujah: Aggro vamps. Many are activists or ideologues. Known for their general lack of chill.

Caitiff: Clanless and downtrodden. Not quite thin-bloods, but not treated like full-blooded vampires.

Hecata: Death-obsessed vamps who practice blood sorcery. Their bite causes pain rather than pleasure.

Gangrel: Animalistic, sometimes even feral, vamps. Generally uninterested in vampire politics.

Malkavian: Seers and madmen. Often lost in complex delusions—except maybe they’re right?

Nosferatu: Physically deformed, and prone to creeping around in the shadows. If you see a Nosferatu, there are probably others lurking nearby. If you don’t see a Nosferatu, well, same.

Toreador: Art-obsessed vampires. Bad aesthetics do psychic damage to them. The DMV might literally send them into torpor.

Tzimisce: Straight up Dracula motherfuckers. They can craft their flesh into monstrous forms. Probably your flesh too if you let them get close.

Ventrue: The worst boss you’ve ever had, but a vampire. Often deeply concerned with Vampire politics.

Each vampire clan suffers from flaws and compulsions that are inherent to their lineage. Thin-bloods and ghouls experience a lesser version of the compulsions of their sire or master.

This is a change from the standard World of Darkness setting to make thin-bloods and ghouls have it harder. Challenges build character. You’re welcome.

Each generation of vampires is weaker than the last. Thin-blooded vampires struggle to use the vampiric disciplines that come easily to other vampires. They suffer damage much more easily, and they don’t heal as quickly as a full-blooded vampire. It’s rare for thin-bloods to be able to create new vampires, and they struggle to create ghouls or form blood bonds.

Unlike full-blooded vampires, thin-bloods can often withstand indirect sunlight, and they pass as human more easily. Some of the weakest thin-bloods can even withstand full sunlight, though it’s pretty uncomfortable for them.

They don’t look dead, and their hearts might even beat now and then. But while that makes hiding easier, it comes at a cost. Their blood is too weak to summon the supernatural strength or speed that other vampires take for granted. They may be able to access vampiric disciplines to dazzle or mislead a human, but only at low levels—and even then, it’s unreliable. Many thin bloods can’t form proper blood bonds or create ghouls, and most can’t Embrace.

Thin-bloods are generally dismissed or even persecuted in Vampire society. It’s difficult for them to gain standing in Camarilla cities. They can be offered boons, but it’s unlikely that anyone would step in if a full-blooded vampire reneged on a boon.  

Prophecies say that thin-bloods are a sign of the Vampire end times, so they’re not exactly well liked. In the Book of Nod and other half-whispered apocrypha, their arrival marks the Final Nights when the Antediluvians rise and devour their children.

For thin-blood vibes, see the Lost Boys.

Consuming the blood of a vampire will imbue a mortal with a small degree of the vampire’s powers and eternal youth. Ghouls need blood regularly to maintain this, and their true age catches up to them if they are not able to consume vampire blood for too long.

Young ghouls are not that much more powerful than mortals, though they are stronger and they heal faster. Older ghouls can learn to use the vampire blood granted to them to recreate some of the vampire’s powers.

Most ghouls get their blood from one particular vampire regnant. They may drink directly from the vampire’s vein, supernaturally compelling them to care for and protect their regnant. A ghoul can drink blood that isn’t straight from the vein, and it still maintains their power and stops aging, but they don’t experience the strong rush of devotion and obsession. A ghoul can get blood from multiple vampires, though the love-like feelings of the blood bond only occur for one vampire at a time.

Free ghouls feed their need for vitae on their own terms without a master or regnant. Some barter their connections, services, or expertise in exchange for a vampire’s blood. Others get the blood through force, though hunting predators is a dangerous game. Sires warn their young childer about free ghouls who snatch up unwary vampires and keep them staked, using the power of their vitae to continue the hunt.

Chicago is ruled by the Camarilla, a bunch of super old, out-of-touch, bureaucrat vampires who are painfully out of step with the modern world. Good thing mortals don’t have to deal with anything like that!

The Matriarch, Jaqueline Edens, rules the city, and her word is (mostly) law. She decides who can create another vampire, where vampires can feed, and who gets an official recognized domain.

The Matriarch gives Kindred a long leash, as long as they keep their mistakes quiet, their Masquerade breaches cleaned up, and their complaints out of her ears. This makes her wildly unpopular with many of the city’s elders, who would prefer a tighter grip and more executions.

Anarchs rebel against the rigid power structures of the Camarilla. They rebel against the elders. They rebel against tradition, protocol, and sometimes each other. Some anarch domains are Camarilla-lite, while others are egalitarian vampire collectives, and still others are anti-Camarilla militants.

The Sabbat believe that vampires aren’t meant to blend in with humans. They think the Masquerade is a lie and that the Camarilla is full of traitors groveling at the feet of mortals. According to them, vampires are apex predators, and humans are cattle. Metaphorically, spiritually, literally. It depends on the night.

The Sabbat don’t ask permission to Embrace. Sometimes they mass-Embrace dozens of people at once and see who makes it. Sabbat packs are bound by the Vaulderie, a twisted blood ritual that replaces the traditional blood bond with a communal one, ensuring loyalty to the pack over any sire or lover.

Sabbat true believers think they’re fighting a holy war. They call themselves the Sword of Caine, and they believe it’s their divine mission to destroy the Antediluvians and bring about Gehenna. To them, the Camarilla are cowards clinging to a lie, and the Anarchs are children playing at rebellion.

Most vampires in Chicago have never encountered the Sabbat, though here were some rumblings about a Sabbat cult called the Fire’s Reflection about a decade ago.

Nobody wants to get murdered by a bunch of unruly peasants, but that’s what happens when mortals find out about vampires. The Camarilla enforces the Masquerade, a campaign meant to convince humans that vampires do not exist. Masquerade breaches—anything that can make mortals aware of vampires—can bring vampire hunters and a myriad of other dangers.

In the Camarilla, Masquerade breaches are punished, often brutally. Exactly what constitutes a Masquerade breach is up to the Prince of whatever city you’re in. If the Prince doesn’t shut down Masquerade breaches, older scarier vampires will step in.

Chicago’s Regent of the Masquerade is a squirrely little Ventrue named Norris Kleinspeigel. Norris is responsible for investigating and punishing breaches of the Masquerade. Norris has eyes everywhere. He knows every secret worth knowing, every breach that got quietly cleaned up, every fledgling who shouldn’t exist but somehow does.

A lot of vampire politics take place at Elysium, where the catty elder vampires go to debate and be seen. Among the lush gardens of the Garfield Park Conservatory, normalized debts and favors, known as boons, are the currency of power. The intricate system of prestation ensures that every favor owed strengthens the fabric of Kindred society. Failing to honor a boon can lead to social ruin, or even exile or worse.

Boons can be traded. So maybe you owe Rando Ventrue, but she trades your boon to Tommy the Dick. Now, according to vampire law, Tommy the Dick has a favor that he can hold over you whether you like it or not.

If you’re thin-blooded or unconnected, the Camarilla probably doesn’t care whether you live or die—as long as you don’t embarrass them. Unless they decide to recognize you, you’re not protected by their laws, and vampires can refuse to honor boons owed to you without consequence. They could even destroy a thin blood without facing consequences from the Camarilla. Only the most useful or connected thin bloods are officially recognized.

Gehenna is the vampire end of the world—the apocalyptic night whispered about in Kindred legend when the eldest of the undead, the Antediluvians, will rise from their slumber to devour their descendants.

The stories say Gehenna will begin with the thinning of blood, when childer are too weak to Embrace and the clans start to unravel.

Among the Kindred, belief in Gehenna varies. The Sabbat takes the prophecy literally, viewing it as a call to arms against the Antediluvians. The Camarilla dismisses Gehenna as superstition. They suppress talk of Gehenna, claiming it's all nonsense.

Most vampires don’t think of Gehenna very often, but some obsess over it. Like your grand-sire who insists the Antediluvians are already awake and pulling strings. He knows—he saw it on that new MTV.