Ghouls & Revenants (Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Edition Sourcebook)
Ghouls: Fatal Addiction (Vampire: The Masquerade Sourcebook)
Vampires
Vampires are the immortal predators of the night, bound by the Curse of Caine to an eternity of hunger, intrigue, and damnation. They stalk the shadows of mortal life, feeding under the cover of superstition and fear, weaving webs of desire and ambition that shape mortal history from behind the veil. Every Embrace is both a gift and a curse, condemning fledglings to the same eternity of power, hunger, and intrigue as their sires.
Each Vampire belongs to a Clan, their blood carrying both gifts and flaws that define their place in society. Some command shadows or seduce with unearthly beauty, others twist flesh, commune with beasts, or glimpse truths best left hidden. Yet all are prisoners of the Beast - the predator within that drives them to frenzy, always threatening to strip away what remains of their humanity.
To play a Vampire is to embrace the paradox of immortality: eternal yet fragile, powerful yet enslaved to the Beast and its hunger. They are monsters who cling desperately to their fading humanity, damned souls who scheme and dream of dominion. Some seek redemption, while others revel in their curse, but all are haunted by one question: in the endless night, what does it mean to be truly damned?
Occult Knowledge & Beliefs
Below is a summary of what Vampires believe about other supernatural factions:
Changelings
Faeries are pagan creatures that live in wild places and often play tricks on mortals for their amusement. They are easily offended, cruel, and vindictive.
Faeries have powerful magic, particularly the ability to change shape and create illusions.
Holy ground, church bells, and, most particularly, iron drive away Faeries. But while Faeries are vulnerable to weapons of iron, they are not weak against weapons of steel.
Faerie blood has strange effects on vampires who drink it, driving them temporarily (or even permanently) mad.
The Fae are divided into two groups; both are capricious and devious, but the group with a darker bent is the worst of the two.
Kinain & Enchanted
Little is known about the Kinain except that, for some reason, they possess peculiar features and tend to be prone to the fantastical and the whimsical.
Virtually nothing is known about the Enchanted, only that they seem capable of seeing Changelings in their true form, just as the Fae are able to see one another.
Fera
This section is still being written. Check back soon!
Fera Kinfolk
This section is still being written. Check back soon!
Fomori
Virtually nothing is known about the Fomori save that they are different from any other supernatural creature. Vampires can only speculate as to their nature.
Hunters
Hunters are mortals who have dedicated themselves to the destruction of the Kindred and other supernatural creatures. They are not the organized institution Kindred remember from Europe, but they are no less dangerous - perhaps more so, since there is no single throat to find.
Hunters tend to be individuals and loose networks - a determined sheriff, a circuit preacher with more knowledge than his congregation realizes, a group of ranchers who lost someone and started asking the wrong questions. Vampires understand the type, but rarely know the full extent of who any given hunter is connected to.
They are "merely" mortal, but they are resourceful, and the educated vampire will remember that hunters rarely operate alone. Some assume all hunters are motivated by grief or religion, while others suspect hidden supernatural aid or deeper organizational backing.
Most hunters see their violence as a necessary evil; they protect the people around them from the depredations of anything supernatural, demonic, or otherwise inhuman.
Tales of hunters who brought down Kindred through patience, preparation, and sheer bloody-minded determination are quietly passed among the undead. Certain towns and stretches of territory are whispered about as places where vampires have gone and not returned.
Wraiths & Risen
Called ghosts by most vampires, Wraiths are the souls of the dead unable to move on to the hereafter because of unresolved business from their former lives.
Wraiths have no substance, and they cannot normally be seen except with certain disciplines such as Necromancy.
Wraiths are ruled and driven by the unfinished business that keeps them tied to the world of the living.
Wraiths often have the power to affect the world, either through possession of a mortal or movement of objects.
Wraiths dwell in an underworld kingdom that is like a dark reflection of the living world.
Little is known about Risen and, as another form of corporeal undead, they are often mistaken for unfamiliar vampires.
Mediums
Little is known about these peculiar mortals except that, for some reason, they claim to see, hear, and speak with spirits, and are often mistaken for witches or folk magicians.
Werewolves
Lupines live in the deepest woods and otherwise uninhabited wild areas.
Lupines can assume the shape of a man, wolf, or savage man-wolf, and the latter is truly terrible in combat, easily a match for a vampire.
Lupines hunt by the light of the full moon, and are most active and dangerous during this time. However, they are active at all times of the month, both day and night.
Lupines are highly territorial and organized into groups, each claiming a region as its own and jealously guarding it.
Lupines are pagan things, having dabbled with strange spirits and magic, and even have a mysterious ability to appear and disappear suddenly.
Lupines hate vampires and often attack them on sight.
Kinfolk
Little is known about these peculiar mortals other than that they live as part of close-knit societies associated with werewolves. Their specific role among them is unknown.
Ghouls
Ghouls are mortals bound by the blood of Vampires. Fed with the vitae of their masters, they gain strength, fragile immortality, and sometimes strange abilities that no human could otherwise possess. Yet this power is shackled to hunger - once a mortal tastes vampiric blood, they become addicted, body and soul chained to the Cainite who sustains them.
To play a ghoul is to live on the knife's edge of power and dependence. They are mortals who taste immortality without ever truly claiming it, torn between loyalty, ambition, and addiction. They walk unnoticed among the living, serving as spies, agents, or enforcers for their masters. They might hold a noble rank, guarding their patron's interests at court, or they may be little more than a thug sent to collect blood debts in the alleys. Some ghouls are cherished companions, treated as trusted retainers, lovers, or even family. Others are little more than tools, pawns used and discarded when convenient. Still others may even be granted a place within the secret courts of the night in exchange for their loyalty and service. But the cost is always the same: their freedom, and often their humanity.
Occult Knowledge & Beliefs
Below is a summary of what Ghouls believe about other supernatural factions, depending on if they are fully human or a human variant:
Human Ghouls
A human ghoul's knowledge consists only of what their domitor chooses to share with them.
Human Variant Ghouls
A human variant ghoul's knowledge consists of what they knew prior to becoming a ghoul, in addition to whatever information their domitor chooses to share with them.