Lexicon

Here are some important terms or concepts thart your characters might know. Note that Sabbat characters are much less likely to know the terms listed under The Camarilla, and Camarilla characters are extremely unlikely to know the terms listed as Sabbat.

Vampires and their mythology

Caine: The biblical first murderer, made into the first vampire by God’s curse. Long since lost to legend.

Generation: The number of “steps” between a vampire and the mythical Caine; how far descended from the first vampire a given vampire is.

Antediluvian: A member of the dreaded Third Generation, one of the eldest Kindred in existence.

Gehenna: The mythical Armageddon when the Antediluvians will rise from their torpor and devour the race of Kindred and the world.

The Book of Nod: A loose collection of Kindred legendary and history. The Book of Nod chronicles the origin of the Kindred, though it has never been published in its entirety. Fragments of the document and its many partial transcriptions circulate among certain strata of Kindred society.

The Vampiric Condition

The Embrace: The act of transforming a mortal into a vampire. The Embrace requires the vampire to drain her victim and then replace that victim’s blood with a bit of her own.

Childe: A vampire created through the Embrace – the childe is the progeny of her sire. This term is often used derogatorily, indicating inexperience. Plural childer.

Sire: A vampire’s “parent”; the Kindred who created her.

Lineage: A vampire’s bloodline; the Kindred’s sire, sire’s sire, etc.

Clan: A group of vampires who share common characteristics passed on by the Blood. There are 13 known clans, all of which were reputedly founded by members of the Third Generation.

The Beast: The inchoate drives and urges that threaten to turn a vampire into a mindless, ravening monster.

Blood: A vampire’s heritage; that which makes a vampire a vampire.

Blood Bond: A mystical power over another individual engendered by partaking of a particular vampire’s blood thrice; accepting blood from a vampire is an acknowledgment of her mastery.

Diablerie: The consumption of another Kindred’s blood, to the point of the victim’s Final Death. Vampires of high generation may lower their generation through this practice, and thus increase their power; particularly ancient Kindred are rumoured tp have such rarefied tastes that mortal blood no longer sustains them, and they must consume vampire blood. Among the Camarilla, there is no greater crime, and anyone convicted of it can expect swift death.

Ghoul: A minion created by giving a bit of vampiric vitae to a mortal without draining her of blood first (which would create a vampire instead).

Golconda: A fabled state of vampiric transcendence; the true mastery of the Beast and balance of opposing urges and principles. Rumored to be similar to mortal Nirvana, Golconda is greatly touted but rarely achieved

Humanitas: The extent to which a Kindred still maintains her humanity.

The Hunger: The urge to feed, as with any living creature. For vampires, however, the Hunger replaces all other drives with its own powerful call.

The Kiss: To drink blood, especially from a mortal. The Kiss causes feelings of ecstasy in those who receive it.

Progeny: All of a given vampire’s childer, collectively. Less formal, and less flattering, is Get.

Regnant: A Kindred who holds a blood bond over another.

Retainer: A human who serves a vampiric master. This term is almost archaic, referring to a time when vampires kept vast entourages of mortal servants as part of their estates.

Domitor: A ghoul’s master; one who feeds her blood and issues her commands.

Age and Social Standing

Fledgling: A newly created vampire, often still under her sire’s protection, generally someone who has been a vampire for less than 2 years.

Neonate: A young Kindred, recently Embraced, between 2 and 25 years old.

Ancilla: A “proven” vampire, between the elders and the neonates. Generally between 25 and 300 years old. The majority of active vampires fall somewhere into this age range.

Elder: A vampire who has experienced three or more centuries of unlife. Elders are the most active participants in the Jyhad, and tend to be the rulers of any given city.

Methuselah: A vampire who has existed for a millennium or more; an elder who no longer exists among the greater whole of Kindred society. Methuselahs are rumored to hail from the Fourth and Fifth Generations.

Society

Sect: A group of Kindred arguably united under a common philosophy. The three most widely known sects currently populating the night are the Camarilla, the Inconnu and the Sabbat.

The Camarilla: A sect of vampires governed by a set of Traditions designed to secure the security and longevity of the vampire race, particularly that of the Masquerade.

The Sabbat: A sect of vampires that rejects humanity, embracing their monstrous natures. The Sabbat is bestial and violent, preferring to lord over mortals rather than hide from them.

Inconnu: A sect of vampires who have removed themselves from Kindred concerns and, largely, the J yhad. Many Methuselahs are rumored to exist among the Inconnu.

Anarch: A Kindred rebel who opposes the tyranny of elders. Anarchs wish to redistribute the wealth and resources of a city equitably among the vampires therein. Naturally, the elders oppose this, having cultivated their influence for centuries.

Autarkis: A Kindred who remains outside the larger vampire society of a given city and often refuses to acknowledge the claim of a prince.

Caitiff: A vampire of unknown clan, or of no clan at all. Caitiff are typically of high generation, where Caine’s blood dilutes too greatly to pass any consistent characteristics.

Coterie: A small group or “pack” of Kindred, united by the need for support and sometimes common interests.

Haven: A vampire’s “home”; where she finds sanctuary from the sun.

The Jyhad: The secret, self-destructive war waged between vampires. Elder vampires manipulate their lessers, using them as pawns in a terrible game whose rules defy comprehension.

Kindred: The race of vampires as a whole, or a single vampire. According to rumor, this term came about in the 15th or 16th century, after the Great Anarch Revolt. Sabbat vampires scorn the term.

Cainite: A vampire; a member of the race of Caine. The prefered term among the Sabbat.

Canaille: The bovine masses of humanity, especially the uncultured and unsavory. The Canaille are viewed primarily as a source of sustenance.

Kine: A term for mortals, largely contemptuous. The phrase Kindred and kine refers to the world at large; everything.

Lextalionis: The code of the Kindred and the system for punishing transgression. It suggests Hammurabian or Biblical justice – an eye for an eye, and punishment in keeping with the grievance.

The Camarilla

Elysium: A place where vampires may gather and discourse without fear of harm. Elysium is commonly established in opera houses, theaters, museums and other locations of culture.

Domain: An area of a particular vampire’s influence. Princes claim entire cities as their domains, sometimes allowing lesser vampires to claim domain within.

Masquerade, The: The habit (or Tradition) of hiding the existence of vampires from humanity. Designed to protect the Kindred fromdestruction at the hands of mankind, the Masquerade was adopted after the Inquisition claimed many Kindred unlives.

Primogen: The leaders in a given Camarilla-run city; a body of elders, who serve as advisors to the prince, typically, but by no means always, composed of one member from each clan present in a city.

Prince: A vampire who has claimed a given expanse of domain as her own, particularly a city, and supports that claim against all others. The term can refer to a Kindred of either sex.

Praxis: The right of princes to govern; the prince’s claim to domain. This term also refers to the prince’s matters of policy and individual edicts and motions.

The Traditions: The laws by which the Camarilla is governed.  See The Tradtions.

Inner Circle: The council of elders that controls the Camarilla and its politics. No one knows how many Kindred sit on the Inner Circle, let alone their names and Clans.

Justicar: A roving representative of the Inner Circle charged with upholding the Traditions and laws. There is one Justicar for each clan, elected to a 13-year term by the Inner Circle and subject to replacement (in theory – very often, the same Justicar is re-elected) at the end of the term. Justicars have sweeping powers, including the right of destruction, to enforce the laws and traditions.

Archon: A vampire in the retinue of a justicar. Archons are generally nomadic in nature, frequently pursuing Kindred who have fled to avoid persecution at the hands of the Camarilla.

The Sabbat

Auctoritas Ritae: A collection of 13 rituals practiced by all vampires of the Sabbat, upheld in a manner similar to the Biblical Ten Commandments.

Pack: A group of Sabbat who have sworn the Vaulderie to one another. A Sabbat may belong to only one pack at a time -usually the one that enacted her Creation Rites – though she may have ties of blood to other packs from her past.

Priest: The leader of Sabbat rites in a given pack. The spiritual leader of a pack, the priest is (theoretically) below the ductus in “rank,” though this is not true of every pack.

Ductus: The leader of a Sabbat pack. This title is a highly subjective one, sometimes held by the meanest thug in a pack while acquired through genuine merit or ritual combat at other times. The ductus decides the logistical affairs of her pack, though the wise ductus gives careful ear to her packmates’ voices.

Bishop: A vampire who serves or advises an archbishop, or a vampire who maintains Sabbat influence in a city with the aid of others of equal status. (Those who are in the know liken bishops to the primogen of the Camarilla.)

Archbishop: A vampire who serves as the leader of a city under the Sabbat’s influence. Not every Sabbat-held city claims an archbishop; some have councils of bishops.

Paladin: A Sabbat vampire who serves another important vampire as an assassin or bodyguard. Also known as templars, paladins are greatly feared for their disciplined martial prowess.

Cardinal: A Sabbat vampire who oversees the influential affairs of a large territory. Each cardinal is attended by a group of archbishops, who govern affairs on local city levels.

Regent: The “leader” of the Sabbat, insofar as the sect recognizes one. Only one regent exists at a time.

Code of Milan: An oft-referenced but rarely seen document developed as a code of conduct for Sabbat vampires. Some Sabbat scoff at it, claiming that codifying the sect’s behavior runs counter to everything the Sabbat stands for.  See The Code of Milan.

Creation Rites: The special ritual marking a Sabbat vampire as becoming a true member of the sect. The Creation Rites differ from the Embrace in that anyone can be Embraced, but until he receives the Creation Rites, the recruit is not a member of the Sabbat (and thus, not considered a vampire.. .).

Vaulderie: A mingling of the blood of all vampires in a pack, which is then consecrated by the pack priest and consumed by all members of the pack.

Vinculum: A “blood tie” that creates an artificial loyalty to another member of one’s pack, like a minor blood bond. Vinculi result from partaking in the Vaulderie.