Summary
- Thin-Bloods are feared & shunned, carry omens of Gehenna.
- The Tremere excel in Blood Sorcery, popular among VtM players.
- Toreadors embody beauty, making them perfect for artists.
Vampire: the Masquerade is a popular and beloved TTRPG, allowing players to become a creature of the night in the modern day world, but there are supplements for other time periods such as the Victorian era, or the Dark Ages. These vampires face many threats, such as rival sects, power plays, hunters, and other supernatural creatures.
While it sounds simple on the surface, there is a lot of depth and complexity to the lore. The vampires, or kindred as they are covertly called, can't all be described in one broad stroke. There are a total of 15 clans to choose from, each bearing different gifts and curses, and varying in complexity. For those who don't want their integration into the path of night to be any more complicated than it needs to be, these clans might offer an easier approach.
Vampire: The Masquerade - All Clans, Ranked By Strength
All vampires in Vampire: The Masquerade have strengths and weaknesses, but which clan is the strongest?
9 Thin Bloods
Only One Foot in the Grave
- Primary Allegiance: Anarchs
- Disciplines: Thin-Blood Alchemy
- Clan Bane: N/A
- Compulsion: N/A
The time of the thin-bloods is a much feared tale among kindred society that is coming to fruition in the modern nights. A portent of Gehenna, the vampire apocalypse, the Thin-Bloods are shunned at best, and hunted at worst. Their name is derived from how far removed they are from the progenitor of the vampire species, and as such they are far less powerful than full-blooded vampires. Some Thin-Bloods have a fragment of life in their blood, and are able to eat, withstand sunlight, or even bear children.
Those who aren't ready to fully depart from the mortal coil can play a Thin-Blooded, and partake in merits such as Lifelike that allow them to be partially alive themselves. They just need to be ready for the discrimination that will be levied at them for the potential dangers that they are an omen for.
8 Tremere
Blood Sorcery is Simplified in 5th Edition
- Primary Allegiance: Camarilla
- Disciplines: Auspex, Dominate, Blood Sorcery
- Clan Bane: Deficient Blood. The Tremere are no longer able to create Blood Bonds with other Kindred through normal means. A Tremere can still bind mortals and ghouls, though the corrupted vitae must be drunk an additional number of times equal to the vampire’s Bane Severity for the bond to form.
- Compulsion: Perfectionism. Until the vampire scores a critical win on a Skill roll or the scene ends, they have a two-dice penalty to all dice pools. The penalty is reduced to one die for a repeated action and removed entirely on a second repeat.
Those looking for the mages of the night need look no further than clan Tremere. Though other clans sometimes dabble in the art of blood magic, the Warlocks are the ones who perfected it. Though the blood rituals can seem daunting at first glance, it is more stream-lined than in previous editions, allowing even new players to quickly come to grips with their primary weapon.
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With their wealth of knowledge, and the various rituals they can learn, the Tremere are often a popular pick among VtM players, and are sure to become one of the players' favorites.
7 Gangrel
Perfect for Animal Lovers
- Primary Allegiance: Anarchs
- Disciplines: Animalism, Fortitude, Protean
- Clan Bane: Bestial Features. In frenzy, these Gangrel gain one or more animal features: a physical trait, a smell, or a behavioral tic. These features last for one more night afterward.
- Compulsion: Feral Impulses. The vampire returns to an animalistic state. For one scene, the vampire gains a three-dice penalty to all rolls involving Manipulation and Intelligence. They can only speak in one-word sentences during this time.
Even undead creatures of the night aren't above a fondness for nature and animals. Clan Gangrel embodies this, sometimes quite literally. They prefer to stay away from the bustling hubs of the cities, often finding refuge among the fringes of society, lest they run afoul of werewolves by intruding upon their territory.
Their clan bane manifests as features of animals, such as sprouting feathers or claws, or behaving aloof like a cat would. They can also call upon their powers over Protean to grant themselves claws that could rival those of a tiger, or Animalism to commune or control animals. This makes it the perfect clan for animal lovers who are looking to commence their first Vampire: the Masquerade chronicle.
6 Caitiff
For Those Who Cannot Choose
- Primary Allegiance: Anarchs
- Disciplines: N/A
- Clan Bane: Outcast. Caitiff improves Disciplines slower than other Kindred.
- Compulsion: N/A
There is a veritable cornucopia of choices when it comes to VtM clans to be found in the players' handbooks and the free V5 supplement that added three lost clans back into the nights. As such, the choice can be somewhat daunting for newcomers to the TTRPG. So, why make the choice at all?
Players stuck for inspiration can choose the Caitiff, which, while classed as a clan of its own, are a clanless variety of vampires. They don't inherit the weaknesses of a specific clan, but they also do not benefit from clan disciplines. But, this allows more freedom, as they can pick and choose to create a vampire more suited to their preferred playstyle and themes. While this does create some mechanical difficulties during character creation, it also alleviates the burden of choice.
5 Lasombra
A Dark Reflection of the Ventrue
- Primary Allegiance: Camarilla
- Disciplines: Dominate, Oblivion, Potence
- Clan Bane: Distorted Image. All reflections and recordings distort, flicker, or become transparent (though this does not conceal their identity with certainty). Microphones have the same difficulty with the vampire's voice as cameras have with their image, touch technology becomes unresponsive at best, and their anomalous nature makes it harder to avoid electronic detection systems.
- Compulsion: Ruthlessness. To the Lasombra, failure is not an option. The next action they fail after suffering this Compulsion causes all rolls to receive a penalty until a future attempt at the same action succeeds.
The Ventrue are often viewed as the shepherds to the Camarilla. That is what the Lasombra were for the faction of the Sabbat, until the clan's defection to the Camarilla. But because of this, Lasombra now has a place in most beginner-friendly chronicles, and makes a viable choice for new players.
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While players might need to at least research Ventrue before delving into this clan, the Lasombra can still be a solid way for players to get to grips with the lore of VtM 5e. Lasombra will be viewed with wary suspicion outside the Sabbat, and may need to prove they are allies...whether it is the truth, or the player has their own motives they keep hidden in the shadows that they have dominion over.
4 Toreador
Bring Glitz and Glamor Wherever they Tread
- Primary Allegiance: Camarilla
- Disciplines: Auspex, Celerity, Presence
- Clan Bane: Aesthetic Fixation. While the vampire finds themselves in less than beautiful surroundings, they lose the equivalent of their Bane Severity in dice from dice pools to use Disciplines
- Compulsion: Obsession. Pick one feature, such as a person, a song, an artwork, blood spatter, or even a sunrise. The vampire can hardly take their attention from it, and if spoken to, they only talk about that subject. Any other actions receive a two-dice penalty. This compulsion lasts until they can no longer perceive the object or the scene ends.
Every society needs its beauty gurus and artists, and Toreadors are the perfect clan for all things beautiful. Their obsessive nature can be rather simple to role-play. All they need to do is pick and object and wax poetic about everything they adore about it, with examples provided as shown above.
Though Toreadors can have more depth beyond the vapid divas they are often painted as, this trope might be the easiest way to start out as one of the roses, who can then develop more intelligence and empathy as the chronicle progresses. The easiest disciplines to start with are Celerity, which grants agility and grace, and Presence, to play into their beautiful and seductive nature. Playing a Toreador easily allows players to sway minds into their favor.
3 Ventrue
Natural Leaders
- Primary Allegiance: Camarilla
- Disciplines: Presence, Dominate, Fortitude
- Clan Bane: Rarefied Tastes. When the Ventrue drinks the blood of a mortal who does not fall within their preference, they must spend Willpower equal to their Bane Severity, or they will vomit the blood from their bodies. With a Resolve + Awareness test, they can sense if a mortal they seek to feed from fits within their preference.
- Compulsion: Arrogance. The Ventrue must force someone to obey a command given. The order cannot be given through supernatural means such as Dominate. Until they satisfy the requirements, they receive a two-dice penalty for any actions not directly related to leadership.
Every society requires a leader, a guiding hand, someone for others to look to for direction, and to ensure that order prevails over the chaos that so often plagues the night for kindred. This is the role that the Ventrue are drawn to in the secret society of vampires, often found playing court games in Camarilla to extend their power and influence.
While this sounds like it might be complicated in practice, the theory is that most Ventrue players will act as the leaders of their specific coterie, as is their specialty. By focusing on Presence and Dominate, the Ventrue don't even need to engage in fisticuffs to domineer any encounters. They can instead charm or threaten their way out of confrontations.
2 Brujah
The Muscles of Every Coterie
- Primary Allegiance: Anarchs
- Disciplines: Potence, Presence, Celerity
- Clan Bane: Violent Temper. A rage is simmering in the back of the mind with a Brujah, with the slightest provocation able to send them into a frenzied rage. Subtracts dice equal to the Bane Severity of the Brujah against Fury Frenzy.
- Compulsion: Rebellion. The Brujah craves to take a stance against those who represent the status quo. This does not relent until they have gone against orders, expectations, or changed someone's mind. During this Compulsion, they suffer a -2 to dice all pools.
The world of vampires is filled with creatures with magic running through their veins, either with the ability to manipulate the minds of others, tap into visions of the future, or even straight-up magic. The Brujah can give themselves a taste of such powers through Presence, but they are better known for their raw, unbridled strength, fueled even further by their rage.
The angry Brujah is a reduced stereotype of what this clan can be, especially if the True Brujah bloodline is taken into account. However, it can still be a gateway clan for beginners to the game. Most coteries are likely lacking in the physical strength department, and the Brujah can easily fulfill that role. By investing in Potence and Celerity, they can become the hard-hitters that alleviate the pressing physical threats of the night.
1 Nosferatu
Must Keep Their Disfigurements Hidden
- Primary Allegiance: Camarilla
- Disciplines: Animalism, Obfuscate, Potence
- Clan Bane: Repulsiveness. All Nosferatu have the Repulsive Flaw (-2) and can never increase their rating in the Looks Merit. Any attempt to disguise themselves as non-deformed incurs a penalty to the dice pool equal to the character's Bane Severity. However, most do not break the Masquerade by just being seen.
- Compulsion: Cryptophilia. Vampires become consumed with a hunger for secrets, to know that which few or no one knows, almost as strong as that for blood. They also refuse to share secrets with others, except in strict trade for greater ones.
Not all vampires are destined to look as good as Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire, and are instead inflicted with great disfigurements closer to Count Orlok in the movie Nosferatu. How befitting it is that this is where this particular clan derives its very name.
Due to their hideous nature, Nosferatu prefer to go unnoticed by others, which also allows them to gather secrets and information they can use to their own benefit. This might be a bit complicated for newcomers, but the secretive nature of Nosferatu allows the player to take a backseat during more social situations, so they can get a feel for role-playing in VtM before diving into the deep-end. This way, they can play a more vocal character in their next chronicle, if they feel so inclined.
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