Interregnum: a break in continuity.

Interregnum: an Old World Of Darkness Vampire LARP, starting in July.

In 1588, exhausted by his efforts against the Spanish Armada, Mithras, Prince of London, and greatest scion of the Ventrue, fell in to Torpor.

For over four hundred years, the Sabbat and Camarilla have waged secret, bloody war, for control of London. Neither side has successfully held power in London for longer than two years in four centuries.

Time marched on, and by the nineteenth century it had simply became accepted that warfare was the natural state of London. Kindred who were clever and quick might survive, even prosper there, for a time. It became viewed as a rite of passage for the Ancillae of Europe to spend six months to a year there, and a very small number of Elders managed to carve out small niches for themselves within the city, and hold them against the tides of war. Slowly, very, very slowly, stability returned to London. By the start of the twentieth century, it was generally accepted that the Camarilla held the North and West of London, and the Sabbat, the South and East. Clashes along the borders were normal, but something approaching equilibrium was reached.

And then, on the night of Wednesday the 6th of May, 1998, every single kindred in London vanished.

For ten years, London has stood more or less empty. Both the Camarilla and the Sabbat declared the city anathema – a cursed place. Some few anarchs, autarks, and malcontents moved in at various times to try and settle the city, and were swiftly been rooted out by the Archons and the Templars. If the Camarilla or Sabbat could not have London, then no-one would.

Then, in 2007, the unthinkable happened. An open and acknowledged meeting between the Justicars of the Camarilla, the Cardinals of the Sabbat, and representatives from the major indepedant Clans, a first in over eight hundred years, declared that London was to be reopened to any kindred brave enough to settle there. London is simply too important to be left ungoverned for long.

All sides agreed that for a time, at least, it was imperative that London not devolve back into open war. And so the city was given over, for a decade, into the hands of the Giovanni. In return, the Giovanni handed several of their most potent artifacts over to the Cardinals and the Justicars, as surety that they would step aside in ten years time.

This, then, is London. Interregnum has been declared.

The Camarilla will have their Prince, with authority over the Camarilla. The Sabbat will have their Archbishop, to lead their crusade. But for a decade, they may not make war on one another. If a member of one sect should be discovered to have slain a member of the other, then their life is forfeit, and there can be no appeal. On any other disputed matter, the Giovanni will hear representations from the Prince and the Bishop, and them only, and will arbitrate between the two.

This, then, is London. The normal order of things is gone.

But elders on both sides are naturally cautious creatures. They do not expose themselves to their mortal enemies lightly, and whatever secrets London holds have already claimed the lives of hundreds of kindred. So for the first time in the thousands of years of London’s history, it is the young, the quick and the brave who truly have a chance to shine.

This, then, is London. Ripe for the taking.

Interregnum is a Live Action Role Playing Game. In case you’ve never heard of Roleplaying Games before, in short, it’s a bit like one of those murder mystery parties that people sometimes host, only rather more freeform, with an ongoing narrative, and the world and characters tend to be rather less like our own. For more, we’d suggest reading Wikipedia’s article on the subject – it goes into the subject in rather more depth than we have space to do here.

In Interregnum, the players take on the roles of Vampires who are part of an ancient conspiracy that has ruled the world for time out of mind – as the game begins, these Vampires find that they’re been given a very unusual opportunity, the like of which hasn’t occured in centuries. But, of course, this opportunity is not without a number of attendant risks…

When Is It?

It runs on the second Sunday in the month, in a central London location. The first game will take place on Sunday the 13th of July from 7pm, in the function room of The Blue Posts pub on Newman Street, off Oxford Street.

Can I Play?

Absolutely. We’d love to have you. We don’t care if you’ve never played in a Vampire LARP, or any kind of LARP before. We’re friendly, welcoming, and will do everything we can to help you join in. (And if you’ve played in hundreds of Vampire LARPs before, well, we’d love to have you, too.)

How Do I Join In?

Well, to start with, we’d suggest that you read the various bits of our guide for new players.

People who’ve never played Vampire before, well, we’ve written all that to help you get a handle on the game, but please, don’t panic if you’ve read it all three times, and it still sounds like Ancient Greek as translated by a Martian. You aren’t expected to memorise all of it. This is not a test.

Drop the refs a line, and we’ll be happy to talk stuff through with you at any time. And if all else fails, then simplest option for new players is to just turn up early to a game. Our game starts at 7pm, but there will be refs on hand from 5pm to help people get things sorted out. We like to meet new people.

For Beginners

If you have no idea what the Vampire: the Masquerade setting is, then you’ll want to start off by reading about the basics of the setting and the lexicon, just to give you some idea what you’re getting into. From there, you might want to go and read the character generation, and the more detailed background to Europe.

If you’re familiar with roleplaying, and what to get some idea what your character generation options are in more detail, then you’ll also want to read the sections on Influences, Backgrounds and Downtimes, although in any case if you’d prefer to simply get assistance with generating your character before the first game, just turn up early – the refs will be there to help you from 5pm.

If you’d like to get your own copy of the rulebook ahead of time, then PDF copies are available reasonably cheaply here, but it’s not really something you need to do unless you want to – the refs will have everything you need available at the game.

Experienced Players

People who are familiar with Vampire LARP can skip a lot of the basics, but it’s particularly worth reading the Character Generation, Backgrounds and Downtimes sections, just so you’ve got an idea of what we allow, and how stuff works, and you might want to take a look at the setting detail about London and Europe, just so you have some sense of the world.

What Makes Interregnum Different?

In short: we think we’ve come up with a setting that will allow Camarilla and Sabbat characters to mix without devolving instantly into open war, which will provide roleplaying opportunities that are not available in a normal LARP. As a secondary concern alongside this – we’re attempting to do away with the usual overt power-divide structure of Vampire society, and run a relatively low power game in a manner that still provides for political tension.

And as a final consideration: unlike many other World of Darkness LARPs, Interregnum has no sister games containing other types of supernatural creature. This has two benefits: firstly, and most importantly, there is only one narrative in the world, and it is focused entirely on the PCs in this one game. Secondly, it means we’re not bound by any published information on the other types of supernatural creature, allowing us to inject a sense of the unknown back into the world.

Item #1: Fun!
We play games to have fun. This doesn’t mean there won’t be serious, sad or horrifying moments, but it does mean that we want you to enjoy the game.

Item #2: PC Primacy.
The game is about your characters: their unlives and history. The world will change depending on the actions of your PCs and their interactions with each other. There will be plot that is not player derived, and there will be NPCs, but the NPCs will not drive the game unless the players quite literally do nothing. Which is unlikely.

Item #3: The Setting.
The world does have certain defined elements of setting and plot created to allow the thirteen clans to co-exist and interract. London has a specific history, for you to discover in game and will remain a Neutral city throughout the game.

Item #4: NPCs.
The game contains NPCs to enable the world to operate and to provide adversaries as needed. NPCs are meant to be game enabling, allowing players access to information or to plot that can’t be provided in any other way. PCs make the game. There will be the odd occasion when an NPC is required to control player actions in a specific way to enable the game as a whole to continue. One such NPC is the Giovanni Arbiter. They will only ever impose the most basic rules and these will be clear, predicatable and controllable by your characters.

Item #5: Suitable PCs.
Some character concepts will be unsuitable. We may ask you to modify them or potentially reject the concept entirely. Certain concepts are more risky than others, and we will let you know if this is the case so you can decide. For example, characters belonging to Independent Clans will be less protected than those in the Camarilla or Sabbat.

Item #6: PC Death.
We believe that challenges are part of gaming. Your PC will be presented with difficulties to overcome. varying degrees of surmountability. Your PC may come out of it well, or badly. They may even die. We assume that any player taking a risky action (if players aren’t sure how risky an action is, they are free to ask) is aware of the possible consequences, even if their character isn’t. We will not particularly protect you from PC death, but neither will we drop a piano on your head for no reason.

Item #7: The System
The rules system is a version of Vampire: The Masquerade, 3rd edition (PDF copies available reasonably cheaply here). Players will be asked to use their own judgement as to inter-PC conflict resolution and to roleplay accordingly as much as possible. Feel free to consult a ref for advice or a quick ruling, but unless it is vital that dice be rolled, or there is a need for dramatic action that requires that other players around the room be notified of what’s going on, we’d rather not break the flow of your actions. We think that the system is less important than fair and balanced play. We will try and sort out any rules problems ahead of the game and please let us know if you think any big action you are planning might cause interesting problems…

Item #8: Live Action Roleplay
The game is Live Action. This means that you perform your characters words and actions. The game is not full-contact and we especially mean this with relation to violent or sexual behaviour, however, there will be some contact. Any contact that would be a normal part of acceptable social interaction between players (based on their OOC relationship, not their IC one) is fine. Anything further is not, without the clear prior consent of all parties involved.

Item #9: Acceptable Behaviour
We understand that your character may be rude, unpleasant and generally horrible. What you chose to play and how other players react to this in character is part of the game. Any OOC harassment, bullying, bigoted or just plain disruptive behaviour, either physically or digitally, will not be tolerated. Anyone who engaging in this behaviour will be given one warning, and then asked to leave. In extreme cases, the warning will not apply.

“Time in” is the term used to describe the period of time when the game is ‘live’ and players are playing their characters. During this time you are expected to look, speak and behave entirely “in-character” (also referred to as IC, as opposed to Out Of Character or OOC). We aim to time in around 7pm, and time out between 10:30 and 11pm. We’d ask that players aim to be at the venue at least half an hour beforehand, longer if you know you’re going to need help with a character, or anything that’s likely to take much of the refs time.

Rules During Time In

• Refs: If you are given an instruction by a ref, follow it. This is a catch all rule, as much for saftey reasons as anything else. Obviously instructions like “You, go to the bar and buy me beer.” are not really legitimate instructions. (Although, if you’re buying…)
• No fighting: In the event that in-character violence occurs during a time in, you’ll first need to work out the exactly what happens with a ref, and which point the players can mime as much or as little of what other people would see as they are comfortable with. Anyone being physically aggressive in any way during a time in will be asked to leave.
• Out of character remarks: Try and keep these to a minimum. There may be times when you need to ask about player, or a ref, for information, and that’s fine – preface your question with something like “Sorry, quick out-of-character question”, find out what you need to know, then continue with your in-character conversation. There is a designated out-of-character area – if you need to have a lengthy bout of character conversion with someone, please do so there so as not to disrupt other people’s in character experience.
• Hand signals: There are a number of hand signals that can get used to indicate the use of various powers. The refs will run through these prior to time in, but if someone is making a gesture you don’t understand, just ask them what it means.
• Time stop: If one of the refs yells “Time Stop” then stop what you’re doing, listen to them, follow their instructions, and then, if/when instructed to do so, time back in and react to whatever the ref has just told you is happening as your character would.
• Cost: Your first game is free. After that, we ask that you chip in toward venue hire – it costs us 50 quid a time for the room we use, and we try to split the cost evenly between all the players and refs, but you won’t be asked for more than a fiver, even if there are less than ten people present.
• Drinking: The game takes place in a pub, and we want them to like us, and let us keep using the facilities, so please, do try and buy a drink or two if your budget will stretch to it. That said, while we’re not going to dictate what is a matter of personal responsibility, we would prefer it if you didn’t turn up and get drunk – even if it doesn’t spoil your gaming experience, it may spoil other peoples’. Buying soft drinks is an excellent option.

Costume

You should wear clothing that is appropriate to your character. When in Time In the clothes you are wearing are the clothes your character wears. Similarly if your character has a scar, is deformed (Nosterfatu and Tsimisze particularly) it is important that this is represented by make-up etc. Effort put into this really enhances the experience and mood for everyone.

The game is set in the present day, so it is perfectly possible to come with costumes out of your own wardrode, but we do encourage people to think about their character’s mindset, and how they would dress. A stuffy lawyer with a century of formality behind him is as unlikely to dress in ripped jeans and an old t-shirt as a 21 year old former gang member is to wear a suit. Which isn’t to say that there couldn’t be reasons for either, but if you dress in a way that’s at odds with your character background, there really ought to be a reason. There are plenty of second hand shops in London where you can pick up excellent costume items cheaply.

Particularly good costumes may receive a small amount extra XP in consideration of the effort the player has put in, and conversely, someone who consistently dresses inappropriately is likely to find they will lose out on a small amount of XP.

Props

If your character owns any unusual items that you think may be relevant or useful – jewelery, mystic items, books and so on, you’ll need to bring along something appropriate to physically represent them. It doesn’t have to be a perfect copy, just something that looks a bit like the thing in question.

Weapons

There are a couple of extra rules that apply to people who want their characters to carry weapons.

• Absolutely no real weapons. Period. Guns should be toy guns (and should look like it – please do not bring anything that could possibly be mistaken for anything other than a toy – think brightly coloured plastic, please), and any melee weapons should be LARP-safe – made of foam rubber. This also applies to “magical objects” like ritual wands/knives/staves. Nothing real.
• If the refs haven’t seen it and approved it as safe, your character is not carrying it. It’s that simple. We don’t care how self-evidently safe an item is, we still need to see it and OK it. Anything not approved by a ref must be put in the out-of-character area and not used.

In the world of Interregnum, vampires are real, and have been around for as long as mankind, hiding in the shadows, fighting amongst themselves in a great and secret war that has lasted for millennia. The players take on the roles of vampires in the modern era, vampires who are still young by the standards of the some of the undying ancients in this conflict, who still have some idea what it means to be human. The game is about their participation in this clandestine war, and their attempts to secure power and advancement for themselves, all while they attempt to preserve (or eliminate) the last traces of their humanity in the face of the monster they have become.

Clans

Vampires are divided into 13 distinct types, or lineages, known as Clans – groupings of vampires whose blood can be traced by to the same root, and who have similar powers (called Disciplines) and weaknesses. Because vampires tend to Embrace (their term for the act of making a mortal into a vampire) mortals who appeal to them in some way, the members of these Clans tend to have more in common than just blood.

Sects

Vampire society is also divided on ideological lines, into two Sects – The Camarilla and The Sabbat. And while being Embraced into a certain Clan is not an iron-clad guarantee of membership in a given Sect, it is generally held that six Clans belong to the Camarilla, two to the Sabbat, and five remain independent. Members of a Clan who belong to a Sect that differs from that of their parent Clan are referred to as “anti-tribu” – for example the Toreador Clan belongs to the Camarilla, so a Toreador who is a member of the Sabbat is referred to as Toreador anti-tribu.

The Camarilla

By far the most numerous group of Vampires, the Camarilla is a society of Vampires that concerns itself mostly with the continued survival on the Vampire race, by enforcing a set of laws on its members, designed to prevent the existence of Vampires from becoming known to humans – a set of laws referred to as The Traditions. The Sect is run along more or less feudal lines – a given territory is ruled by a Prince, who has various advisors and vassals to serve them and enforce their will, and the rules of the Camarilla. It isn’t necessarily a just or fair rule, since it does rather enforce the primacy of older vampires, but it does provide a reasonably stable system that allows most of it’s members to get on with their unlives in (relative) peace, provided they don’t break certain rules.

The Clans of the Camarilla are:

• Brujah – Long ago, this was a clan of warrior-philosophers, but the millennia have turned the youngest amongst them into little more than rebellious thugs.
• Malkavian – A clan of lunatics and madmen, given to disturbing insight.
• Nosferatu – Hideously disfigured information brokers and gatherers of secrets.
• Toreador – Artists and aesthetes, lovers and degenerates.
• Tremere – Secretive sorcerers, all bound to a common goal.
• Ventrue – Businessmen and policiticans, the nominal leaders of the Camarilla.

We would strongly recommend that players new to the Vampire setting pick from one of these Clans for their first characters – their lives (and minds) tend to be slightly more stable than some of the other options.

The Sabbat

Holy warriors, organised like a cross between an army and religious cult, the Sabbat pursues its war against the ancient lords of the Vampire race with a terrible zeal. Its monstrous members view humanity as a weakness to be transcended, and follow their own strange codes of ethics. They often treat humans as little more than cattle, or victims for their bloody religious rites. The Sabbat have fewer authority figures than the Camarilla – their are organized in a cell like structure, with the leaders of individual cells reporting to the Archbishop for a given area, but the very nature of their holy cause means that their membership in that Sect tends to be the dominating factor in the unlives of it’s adherents.  In so far as they have an laws to govern their conduct, they have follow a document known as The Code of Milan.

The Clans of the Sabbat are:

• Lasombra – Masters of darkness and shadow, these manipulative monsters lead the Sabbat.
• Tzimisce – These alien monsters reject all that was once human in them, and have the power to warp their flesh and others according to their twisted designs.

The Sabbat welcome anti-tribu from almost any Clan and the majority of the Sect does in fact come from outside these Clans, but no individual Clan is a numerous within the Sect as these two are.

The Independents

The members of these Clans generally hold themselves apart from Sects, although individuals may chose to belong to one or the other. Generally, they are expected to balance the codes of conduct of the ruling Sect of the area they live in with the demands of their Clan, if they are to survive in a given area.

The Independent Clans are:

• Assamite – Blood cultists and assassins for hire.
• Followers of Set - Egyptian in origin, this reviled Clan of corruptors has few allies, and works to it’s own mysterious agenda. Despised though they may be, individuals have been known to seek them out for the mystic secrets they alone possess.
• Gangrel – These bestial hunters are more at home in the wilderness than the cities. Until recently, this Clan was part of the Camarilla, and many of its members still belong to that sect.
• Giovanni – Necromantic businessmen who traffic in money and human souls, and are almost as despised as the Followers of Set. They are the only clan who have absolutely no members belonging to either Sect, and are bound by ancient treaties to remain neutral in the conflict between the two.
• Ravnos – Rootless wanderers and compulsive criminals distrusted because of their powers of illusion.

Playing members of Independent Clans who chose to remain Independent is not recommended for novices, as they lack many of the protections and allies that members of the Sects enjoy, and will almost certainly have to work harder to get ahead.

This is not intended to be a detailed guide to the world, or to limit player backgrounds, this is just to provide a very brief gazetteer to allow you to decide where your character has been in the past. Players should feel free to invent any detail they need in their backgrounds, provided it doesn’t contradict what’s written here. That doesn’t mean that every detail will always get approved, but this gives us all a common base to work from.

The British Isles

Edinburgh – A Camarilla City, held by the Nosferatu Prince James Craig since the 1770s. Unsurprisingly, James is known for his keen interest in the arts, and while some Toreador from other courts might sneer at him, they would be foolish indeed to assume he doesn’t know that, and more foolish still to do it to his face. In Edinburgh, however, the sizeable Toreador and Ventrue populations have nothing but praise for him.

Glasgow – Currently ruled by Archbishop Morag McDonald of the Tzimcie, this city is a comparatively recent Sabbat stronghold, taken from the Camarilla Prince Black in the 1960s. While it went through a length period of conflict in the 60s and 70s, by the late eighties, the Camarilla were forced to concede defeat.

Newcastle – Ruled by Prince Christopher Blake of the Ventrue. The City has been Camarilla for a long time, but Prince Blake only came to power in the late nineties, after the Gangrel left the Camarilla, and the previous Prince Carmichael of that Clan was forced to step down. The new regime is still considered young and potentially unstable by many.

Manchester – Ruled by Prince Chetham of Clan Toreador since 1730. Has has its ups and downs over the 20th Century, and he’s had to see off a couple of challengers over the centuries – most recently a Ventrue, but it’s still considered on the great cities of the UK.

Liverpool – Ruled by Michael Dunsirn of the Giovanni since 1912, when the Giovanni took it from the Sabbat after a surprisingly short and bloodless conflict. It wasn’t quite a direct handover, but as far as anyone can tell, the Sabbat put up a token resistance, and then withdrew with no casualties.

Cardiff – Ruled by Price Ingrid Gryffyth of the Ventrue, and has been since the fourteenth Century. Cardiff is generally considered a model of Camarilla stability, but this is perhaps because not terrible many people want to go there. Those that make it their home seem happy enough.

Birmingham – Held by Archbishop Miles Kirk of the Lasombra since the 1860s, this in an old Sabbat stronghold, and one that has always had curiously cordial relations with most of the other cities of the UK, regardless of who holds them – the city has always been open to trade with members of any Sect, even if their personal presence might not be tolerated within the city limits.

Belfast – Is a Brujah city, held by Prince Andrew Turnbull. The Troubles were a result of his falling into torpor in the early seventies, after which time his childer fought amongst themselves for control of the province, but he came out of Torpor in the mid-nineties, and took some fairly direct action to sort things out, and things now seem to be improving.

Dublin – Held by Eamon O’Connell of the Ventrue who took charge when the previous Gangrel Prince Caradoc, who had ruled the area since the 8th century went into torpor in the 1930s. While O’Connell’s rules was initially seen as boon for the area, and particularly so over the last two decade, there are unsubstantiated rumours in some quarters that Caradoc has recently come out of his torpor, and wants his throne back.

The Rest Of The World

Paris – Has been held by Camarilla since the late 18th Century when the silightly unusual ruling duo of Ventrue and Toreador, Henri and Gabrielle de la Tour drove out the previous Sabbat regieme. The de la Tours were brother and sister in life and are rumoured to be even closer in undeath.

Berlin – Prince Ekkehardt of the Toreador has succesfully held this city since 1918, but for the last 18 months, the city has been under siege by the Sabbat. The two sides seem more or less evenly matched for now, but there are those on both sides who whisper that this has gone on for rather too long.

Geneva – Prince Adrienne Tschudi of the Ventrue has held Geneva since 1493, and this is where any grand Conclaves of the Camarilla are held. While Sect business often takes them elsewhere for years at a time, two Justicars are known to have permanent residences in the city – Justicar Tyler of the Ventrue, and Justicar von Brucke of the Malkavians.

Madrid – One of the great Sabbat strongholds, this city has been held by Cardinal Moncada of the Lasombra since very shortly after the birth of the Sect. Moncada is, unsurprisingly, a dominant figure in Sabbat strategy across Europe. He’s not known for issuing direct commands, but it’s a foolish Archbishop who does not give at least strong consideration to his advice.

Sofia – Bulgaria’s capital was Clan Assamite’s great stronghold in Europe until the Second World War, when they were driven out a lose coalition of Anarchs under the leadership of Alexander Dratchev of Clan Brujah.  While the regime started out with claims of grand plans to change the nature of Kindred society, the city has more or less become just minor Camarilla princedom, something the younger elements in the city resent very strongly.

Moscow - Ruled by the Malkavian Prince Galina Petrova since the 15th century, Moscow has seen more than it’s share of ups and downs, and while it now seems relatively stable, Petrova has been seen less and less at court recently, and her commands are increasingly being issued through her child (and seneschal) Petr Galinov.

New York – After heavy fighting, the Camarilla have recently retaken the city from the Sabbat. The current Prince, Mercedes of Clan Ventrue, is known to be a harsh disciplinarian with very little tolerance for any attempt to bend or break his rules – unsurpising, given the recent history of the city, and the fact that there are still small pockets of Sabbat resistance in and near the domain.

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.

Accordingly, players may play characters from any of the 13 core Clans.

Character creation uses the standard rules from Vampire 3rd (revised) edition – the normal tabletop system, not the Mind’s Eye Theatre version, with 30 freebie points instead of the standard 15.

Clan and sect availability will have certain controls applied to it – for the game to work, there needs to be a balance between the sects. Before writing a background, or generating a character, please contact the refs to check that the clan and sect you want are available so they can reserve a slot for you before you start writing up character sheets or background. Clan and sect will be allocated on a strictly first come, first served, basis.

Backgrounds

At minimum, a character’s background must answer the following questions:

• How old are they? How old do they appear
• What was their mortal life like? Do they have any living relatives? Are they in contact with any of them?
• Why were they embraced? What made them remarkable as a mortal? What drew their sire to them?
• How did the Embrace change them, if at all? Are they glad to be a Vampire?
• Who was their sire? What was/is their relationship with them like?
• Where in London will their haven be? Do they maintain a mortal identity, or identities?
• Do they have any unusual feeding habits?
• What do they want? What are they in London to achieve? Why have they come to London in particular?

In addition, please supply what you as a player consider the “win condition” for the character – the goal or goals that you as a player wish to achieve with this character as they enter the game (as distinct from what the character themselves wants). There is no requirement to retire characters who have achieved these ends, and these goals can be revised over time, but it helps to balance the game if the refs have some idea what you’re aiming for.

Don’t feel you have to write pages and pages – it is, of course, perfectly acceptable for the answers to be short and to the point – but that’s the sort of thing we’re looking for from your character background.

The following restrictions apply:

Your character may be no older than 100 years old, as a kindred. The “Age” background is not available.

While your character may have spent time in London, and even been born there, they may not have been resident between May 1998 and June 2008. For the sake of convenience, it is assumed that new characters have been in London for about a month, giving them time to have established havens, met with contacts, and generally dealt with the upheaval of moving their unlives from one city to another.

The Generation background may be taken up to level 3, (10th Generation) freely. 9th Generation will require ref approval, contingent on a good written background with potential to generate plot for the character. 8th Generation will also require ref approval, contingent on a truly superb written background that has the potential to generate plot for the game as whole.

No character may enter the game with a discipline at level 5. Access to level 5 disciplines can only be earned during play with XP.

Characters who belong to Clans that could have access to either Thaumaturgy or Necromancy as an out-of-clan discipline (Setites, Assamites, Tzimice) are limited to rank 2 in their primary path as starting characters.

Note that while other backgrounds only cost 1 freebie point per level, Influences cost 3 freebie points per level.

Characters belonging to a Bloodline, rather than a Clan are not available as PCs.

Autark characters are not available – if your Clan belongs to a sect, then you must either belong to that sect, or play anti-tribu and belong to the other. The only characters who may enter the game without a sect are those who belong to independent Clans.

For avoidance of doubt: the independent Clans are: Assamites, Followers of Set, Gangrel, Giovanni and Ravnos. Players of Gangrel characters can chose to have them belong to the Camarilla or the Sabbat if they so wish – while the Gangrel Clan has formally left the Camarilla, a number of loyalists have chosen to remain, and the status of the Gangrel anti-tribu remains unchanged.

The Tremere and Tzimice have no anti-tribu – if you wish to play either of these Clans, your character must belong to the appropriate sect.

Just turn up!

Don’t worry if you don’t have any ideas, or the faintest clue what we’re talking about on this page. Refs are on hand before each game begins, and are only too pleased to help people come up with new characters, and get them into the game. Similarly, if you want help with background itself, then discussing a verbal background with a ref before the game will be fine, as long as you can email it to us at some point before the following game.

Backgrounds and character stats can be sent to refs@interregnum-larp.org.uk. Please include character name and clan in the subject line of your email. Do please remember to check that there is a slot available for a particular clan and sect is available before writing a detailed history or character sheet, and if there are any unusual powers or skills you wish them to have, please include those as well. Use your judgement as to what might be required, but broadly, if a concept relies on out-of-clan disciplines, unusual supernatural merits or flaws, or truly world-class levels of ability, then it’s probably a good idea to mention it at the summary stage.

Independant clans, or rarities like Lasombra anti-tribu are much more likely to be rejected. You are more likely to have success with the core clans and sects, and if you’ve got a lot of ideas, or aren’t sure what you fancy playing, then the refs are always happy to suggest what they feel the game needs.

Allies/Contacts

Removed, and replaced by the various Influences options. Note that while other backgrounds only cost 1 freebie point per level during character creation, Influences cost 3 freebie points per level.

Fame

Largely as per the Vampire: the Masquerade rulebook – this effect of this is largely social.

Generation

As per the Vampire: the Masquerade rulebook. However, please the restrictions placed on this background in the Character Generation section.

Herd

Your available blood in any given time in session is calculated as D4+3, plus your character’s levels in the Generation and Herd background. The refs may adjust this level up or down by a point or two if you are judged to have had a particularly active downtime that requires either greater than usual blood expenditure, or would leave less time to hunt, or if you’ve hard a particularly quiet downtime. Regardless, while most characters are likely to turn up reasonably well fed, characters without this background are unlikely to ever be fully-fed.

Influences

The single “Influence: background has been removed, and replaced with a variety of more specific options, which operate markedly differently, and are one of the cornerstones of downtime. Please see the Influences and Downtimes sections for more information.

Mentor

Characters with a Mentor may ask them to assist with one of their Influences in each downtime – the downtime system will automatically roll your rating in this background, against difficulty 7, and successes will be added to your character’s rating in your chosen influence. Over use of this background may result in the temporary, or even permanent loss of levels.

For characters with access to Necromancy or Thaumaturgy, Mentors can also provide the ongoing training that these disciplines require. They can train a character up to their rating in one primary path, one less in a secondary, and two less in one tertiary path. The Mentor’s paths are assumed to be the same as the characters, unless otherwise specified at character creation.

Resources

The background works largely as advertised – this covers your general standard of living and disposable income, whether from an actual job (a little unlikely, given that Vampires can hardly hold down a regular 9-5), investments, or however your character acquires cash. In the interests of bringing the background in line with the British economy, and the decade’s worth of inflation that have occurred since the game was published, here’s approximately what each level represents in Interregnum.

• Subsistance living/student lifestyle. Place of residence: a one bedroom flat in a crappy area, 250 quid a month disposable income after bills etc.
• Personal comfort/normal gainful employment. Residence: 2 bedroom flat in a decent area. 500 quid a month disposable income.
• Successful wealthy professional – Mid range lawyer/doctor/etc. Residence: 4 bedroom detatched house in a good area. 1500 quid a month disposable income.
• Even if you never worked again, this would be very comfortable. Residence: A slightly larger house somewhere very nice, plus a second home somewhere decent. 5000 pounds a month disposable income.
• Even if your descendants were to do nothing but shove their inheritance up their nose from cradle to grave, it would last a generation or two. Stupid wealth. Several very nice homes around the world, 25,000 a month disposable income.

Please note that this wealth is not a substitue for the Finance background, or vice-versa. While the higher levels of this background would make it possible for someone to buy businesses, if they are bought with personal wealth, then they require time and effort in downtimes to run, or to find someone to else to run. If they are bought with the Finance background, then it is assumed they are being run by contacts and allies according to the characters wishes. The Finance Influence is the ability to use wealth (possibly even other people’s) effortlessly and without personal risk. Resources is merely a measure of personal cash on hand. While either one can make it easier to acquire the other, it’s perfectly possible to have high levels of one, and low levels of the other.

Retainers

Each level in this background adds another week to your characters available time in a given downtime month. For more information, please see the Downtimes section.

Sect/Clan Status

Characters with sufficiently high ratings in these backgrounds can attempt to use them to get assistance from appropriate NPCs in their downtimes. Like the Mentor background, overuse of these may result in temporary or permanent loss of status.