Vampires in Vampire: The Masquerade remain in the shadows to hide their supernatural abilities from “misunderstanding” humans, as with their counterparts in fiction. However, Masquerade‘s Kindred come from powerful bloodlines with their own unique sets of gifts, called Disciplines. Essentially, the Disciplines of Masquerade’s Kindred come in the form of physical superhuman feats, to otherworldly horrors. In turn, some Vampires run as fast as the wind – while others control people with a whisper.
Interestingly, Vampires don’t get to “choose” the Disciplines they possess once they get “reborn.” Thankfully, the TTRPG and games like Bloodlines 2 give players the chance to choose their Clan. Additionally, this choice influences the set of Disciplines they innately possess. However, which Disciplines stand on top of the list? Moreover, which Disciplines pose more danger than help?
10 Get: Celerity
Kindred in the World of Darkness embodies the mythological Vampire’s skillset of uncanny grace, dexterity and nimbleness. However, Kindred from Clans such as Brujah and the Banu Haqim possess supernatural speed with Celerity. In previous editions, Celerity gives Kindred a massive boost to speed and reflexes. However, the new V5 iteration now gives Celerity users access to different abilities.
Vampires with access to Celerity should prioritize using this Discipline as much as possible. Remember, Celerity’s boost to speed (and therefore, reflexes) can help Vampires perform in combat and notice details outside of it. For instance, certain dot powers allow Vampires to pass various Dexterity checks inside and outside of combat. Moreover, Celerity eventually allows users to augment ally checks with dots in this Discipline.
9 Avoid: Potence
Vampires can demonstrate nightmarish feats of strength and vigor, but Kindred of Clans such as the Nosferatu and Brujah propel these displays of power to greater heights with Potence. In previous versions, Potence simply augments a Vampire’s strength. However, V5 Potence adds special abilities per dot – such as enhanced strength, creating shockwaves, or even inciting anger and rage on various targets.
Unfortunately, Vampires with access to Potence may not have much use of Potence outside combat. Remember, Masquerade heavily encourages roleplaying amongst players, which means RP-ing with a combat-focused Discipline might be tricky for some players. Some may be able to circumvent this by applying Potence to intimidation checks, though this risks fracturing relationships with NPCs as well.
8 Get: Presence
A Vampire’s natural charm always gets them the center of attention. For Kindred such as the Brujah, Ravnos, and Ministry, they augment their charm to supernatural levels with Potence. In previous versions, Presence doesn’t have dot-based abilities – simply augmenting a Vampire’s overall charm. However, in V5, Potence bestows special abilities such as extraordinary charm, hypnotic gazes, assume different appearances, or even use Presence to a limited degree over live feeds.
Interestingly, despite Presence’s non-combat focus, creative players can find some use of Presence even in battle. Imposing Brujah can intimidate approaching foes, while the cunning Minister can inflict sheer terror to targets. Outside combat, Presence can almost always secure great relationships with allies – whether they’re willing or not.
7 Avoid: Fortitude
Vampires cherish their immortality, but Kindred of Clans Gangrel, Ravnos, Salubri, and Hecata enjoy endowed defenses, courtesy of Fortitude. In previous versions, Fortitude endows unbelievable degrees of durability – even indestructibility – to its users. However, V5 further improves the Discipline by making Fortitude a more active part of a Vampire’s defenses. In turn, players can use Fortitude dots to resist a myriad of effects and augment various others.
Again, like its offensive counterpart Potence, Fortitude doesn’t have a lot of practical use outside combat. Granted, Fortitude can make its possessors nigh-indestructible in rare combat situations. However, unless the Vampire possessing this acts like the team’s tank or bruiser, there’s no immediate need to prioritize this Discipline.
6 Get: Auspex
Vampire literature depicts Kindred as beings gifted with heightened senses. However, Caine’s Children in the form of Clans Hecata, Malkavian, Salubri, Toreador, and Tremere gain empowered vision through Auspex. Interestingly, of all Disciplines, Auspex is perhaps the most common amongst most of Caine’s bloodlines aside from Obfuscate. Moreover, V5‘s Auspex has perhaps some of the most useful abilities as well.
Essentially, Kindred can use Auspex to greatly heighten their senses. However, their empowered eyes can sense the supernaturally-invisible, read auras, tap into emotions, and even scry for information. Unlike other Disciplines, there’s extreme value in Auspex’s ability to gleam insight – which is something players can find extremely helpful both in combat and in roleplaying.
5 Avoid: Obfuscate
Despite the innate allure of Vampires, they can also just as easily disappear. And in the World of Darkness, Clans Banu Haqim, Ministry, Malkavian, Nosferatu, and Ravnos hide their presence well via Obfuscate. Essentially, Obfuscate allows Vampires to manipulate perception itself, rendering them practically invisible to others. In more advanced iterations of V5‘s Obfuscate, Kindred can obscure vision and sound, tamper with electronics, or even outright “replace” another’s perception of various events.
Unfortunately, despite the usefulness of Obfuscate, anyone with Auspex renders Obfuscate effects useless. Additionally, while useful in its own right, Obfuscate requires a rather more complex understanding of combat and roleplaying to apply it to these situations. Obfuscate works well with stealth builds or with more advanced players.
4 Get: Thin-Blood Alchemy
Due to their age and lack of blood potency, Thin-Bloods don’t have enough power to tap into an actual bloodline. Instead, they only access base forms of Disciplines through Thin-Blood Alchemy, a new Discipline in V5. With Vitae or blood and some rudimentary form of alchemy, Thin-Bloods can tap into the powers of their Vampire ancestors.
Despite the rather disadvantage of tapping into “basic” forms of Disciplines, Thin-Blood Alchemy does give Thin-Bloods access to all Disciplines provided they have the right supplies and training. Moreover, the highest dots in Thin-Blood Alchemy lets Thin-Bloods tap into as high as Rank 4 Disciplines – making a skilled alchemist potentially more powerful than true-blooded counterparts. Thin-Blood Alchemy serves as a great Discipline for newcomers, as it allows them to experiment with stuff.
3 Avoid: Protean
In the World of Darkness, when people see silhouettes of others “transforming” into bats and wolves, the Vampires they see might be using Protean. Essentially, this Discipline allows Kindred a limited command over the Beast within. Whereas other Vampires fear of unleashing the Beast’s terror, Clans such as Gangrel, Ministry, and Tzimisce aim to control it. In turn, Protean bestows advanced senses, feral physical properties, and even metamorphosis. At some point, Protean masters can remove their own heart and store it somewhere safe, essentially making them immortal.
Unfortunately, Protean can be quite a complex Discipline to use, given there’s not much use for animals in World of Darkness‘s most common settings.
2 Get: Oblivion
Formerly known as Obtenebration, V5‘s Oblivion signifies the Lasombra’s mystical access to the shadows and darkness – a representative of the Vampire’s affinity to the occult. With Oblivion, the Lasombra can manipulate the shadows to make themselves invisible, identify paranormal phenomena, or manifest darkness into physical objects. Interestingly, Clan Hecata’s interpretation of Oblivion allows them to access Ceremonies, rituals that cement Hecata’s reputation as necromancers. In turn, these Ceremonies often deal with ghosts, the dead, and other otherworldly beings.
Interestingly, Oblivion’s strong themes on manipulating the darkness and shadows hold potential for a lot of mysterious archetypes. Moreover, new and old players can easily think of unique ways to use Oblivion’s shadow manipulation to their advantage inside and outside of combat.
1 Avoid: Blood Sorcery
Previously known as Thaumaturgy, V5‘s Blood Sorcery remains the hallmark Discipline of the mysterious Tremere. After all, unlike other Clans, Tremere of ages past used magic to “transform” into Kindred – making them distrusted, fear, and amongst the most powerful in the Camarilla. Interestingly, V5‘s Blood Sorcery also has multiple branches unique to certain Clans, from Mortis (Cappadocian) to Abyss Mysticism (Lasombra). In turn, Blood Sorcerers can use the power of Vitae itself to conjure mystical effects beyond comprehension – from manipulating its properties (change properties, boil) or access Rituals with various effects.
Unfortunately, while playing a Blood Sorcerer has its appeal, new players might find Blood Sorcery’s Vitae control and Rituals a bit too specific and complex. More advanced players can play around with Blood Sorcery with more efficiency. However, newcomers might want to stick with something more thematic.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply