Guide for VTM Players

If you've played Vampire: The Masquerade, you already know most of the setting. Vampires secretly rule the world, they're organized by princes who rule cities, and so on.

The worlds are pretty similar, but there are some changes. Here's a quick cheat-sheet of what's changed so you can get rolling.

What's GoneSome concepts from Vampire: The Masquerade have been removed or drastically altered.

GenerationGeneration isn't used anymore. It's replaced with Blood Potency, which is based on the amount of time you've been awake.
Nature and DemeanorArchetypes have been replaced with Virtue and Vice, which describe two drives for a player: one noble and one sinful.

The Six TraditionsThey've been slimmed down to just three:* Don't break the Masquerade.* Don't make new vampires at all. (This one is broken most often.)* Don't commit diablerie.
The CamarillaThere is no overall society of vampires, like the Camarilla. No Archons, Justicars or Inner Circle. The highest form of government is pretty much the local Prince, who rules supreme over their domain.

What's NewSome new rules and setting concepts have been added.

Blood TiesYou have a connection to your sire, grandsire, siblings, childer and grandchilder. You get a bonus to use many Disciplines against them (but not to resist), and you sometimes get flashes of insight when they are experiencing extreme emotions. Among other things, this means that diablerie becomes much harder.

Blood Potency
Blood Potency starts at 1 when you're embraced, and goes up every 50 years you're awake. You also gain Blood Potency when you diablerize someone who has more than you. It decreases when you're in torpor, at a rate of 1 per 25 years. Someone who just woke up is weakened. Generally, blood potency makes you more powerful, but when it gets very high you lose the ability to drink from animals, and eventually from any mortal at all. Because of this dietary restriction, ancient vampires often find that they need to sleep again.

Torpor
When you go into torpor, you experience weird intense dreams that distort your memory. As a result, you can't be sure of anything that happened before your more recent time in torpor. Also, you grow weaker during torpor. As a result, it's possible to play a very ancient vampire who's not particularly powerful.

MirrorsVampires show up as blurry in mirrors and cameras. With effort, they can briefly seem normal in mirrors and cameras.

Character Groups
In addition to a clan, most characters are members of a covenant.

Covenants
There are societies that share similar philosophies and form social organizations. Most people belong to a covenant.

The covenants are:
The Invictus: old-fashioned political leaders
The Carthian Movement: political revolutionaries
Ordo Dracul: meditating spiritualists seeking personal perfection
The Circle of the Crone: goddess-worshipping blood magicians
The Lancea Sanctum: religious vampires with holy magic

ClansThere are only five clans now. Every clan has a Discipline that's theirs only, and every clan has at least one physical Discipline. Note that clans aren't the main social structures in Vampire: the Requiem. People share more alliance with their Covenant.

Ventrue
Basically the same, but their weakness is they have difficulty resisting Humanity loss.
Disciplines: Dominate (unique), Animalism, Resilience (like Fortitude)

Nosferatu
They are not necessarily physically ugly. Some, instead, have an aura of evil, an awkward social manner, or a terrible smell to them.
Disciplines: Nightmare (unique, causes fear), Vigor (like Potence), Obfuscate

Gangrel
Their clan weakness changed. They are now more bestial in their thinking, and have some trouble dealing with sophisticated human concepts.
Disciplines: Protean (unique), Animalism, Resilience (like Fortitude)

Daeva (New!)
A lot like Toreador. Their clan weakness is that they are drawn to whatever their Vice is.
Disciplines: Majesty (unique, like Presence), Vigor (like Potence), Celerity

Mekhet (New!)Secret-craving psychics. They have a weakness to fire and sunlight.
Disciplines: Auspex (unique), Celerity, Obfuscate

Bloodlines
Bloodlines are considered offshoots of a particular clan. They have all the Disciplines of the basic clan, and the weakness. They also have a second clan weakness, and a fourth in-clan Discipline.

Vampires can found a new bloodline at Blood Potency 6. They can join a bloodline of the same clan at Blood Potency 4, and can join their sire's bloodline at Blood Potency 2. When they do, they gain a second clan weakness, but they also gain a fourth in-clan Discipline.

For instance, the Toreador are now a Bloodline of the Daeva. A Daeva who joins the Toreador gets all Daeva Disciplines, plus Dominate, but they're fascinated by beauty