Chronicle- This is the name of the game or "Chronicle" you are playing.

Nature and Demeanor - are behavioral Traits, known as Archetypes, they help players understand what kind of people their characters are. The Archetypes a player chooses reflects that character's deep-rooted feelings about herself, others and the world.

Demeanor is the way a character presents herself to the outside world.   It is the "mask" she wears to protect her inner self.  A character's Demeanor often differs from her Nature, although it might not. Also, Demeanor refers to the attitude a character adopts most often when confronted.
People change Demeanors as often as they change their minds.

Nature is the character’s "real" self, the person she truly is.  Nature need not be the only aspect of a character's true personality, merely the most dominan. Nature is also used to determine a character's ability to regain Willpower points.

Choose your Clan (Kindred Only)
Each clan has its own strengths and weakness, they also have their own personality stereotypes, so you will want to pick a clan that matches your characters personality.  A character's clan is her vampire "family," the undead legacy into which she was Embraced.  Vampires are always of the same clan as their sires, the vampires who Embrace them.  With each clan's listing there is hints for you to follow so that you can create a true character. Please find your clan and make note of the following things to help guide you:

Appearance
Haven
Background
Character creation
Clan Disciplines
Weaknesses

Sire is simply the name of the Vampire who embraced you.  You can decide the name when you create your Biography or history, as well as the date of birth and age.

Your generation will be determined by your Sire's generation.
You will be one additional generation from Caine than your Sire,
If you did not take the Generation Background, you must put 13th as your generation at the top of the page.


Residence/Haven- Your haven is your "home" your safe place to get away from the sun or other things out to get you.  It can be anything from a sewer to a mansion.

Character Concept
The next step is to choose your character's concept. A concept is basically a description that will give everyone a general understanding of what he or she is like.  It need only be a general idea - brute; slick mobster; manic Malkavian kidnapper - but it should be enough to ignite your imagination. If you choose your concept may be quite complex - "My character is a street wise Tremere, Embraced as a child but with a precocious level of maturity. Being a Kindred scares him, but he knows that the alternative is Final Death and he's not ready for that yet."

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Attributes are the natural abilities and inherent characteristics of which your persona is made.  How strong is your character? How attractive? How quick? How smart? Attributes take all these questions and more into account.

All Vampire characters have nine Attributes, which are divided into three categories:
Physical (Strength, Dexterity, Stamina),
Social (Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance), and
Mental (Perception, Intelligence, Wits).

Select which group of Attributes is your character's strong suit (primary).
Next select the group in which your character is average (secondary).
Finally, the remaining group is designated as your character's weak point (tertiary).

A character's priorities (primary, secondary and tertiary) determine how many dots the player may allocate to that cluster of Attributes.  Distribute seven dots to your character's primary group,  five additional to the secondary group and
three dots to the tertiary group. For example, a tough, athletic character will likely allocate seven dots to his Physical category, while a clever, wise character will place seven dots in her Mental category.

These 7/5/3 dots are called "Character Creation Dots" and by assigning them to any particular choice,  you decide if your character has this particular characteristic and how weak to strong its effects are on you. Once you start gaming the only way to enhance your amount of dots in an area will be to earn "Experience Points" to buy additional dots.

Each item should already have one dot filled in.  These are automatic dots, and do not count against your 7/5/3 so don't deduct them from your dots when placing them.   All Vampire characters start with one dot in each Attribute, reflecting the basic capabilities of the mortals from which they're drawn. The exception is the Nosferatu, who have zero dots in their Appearance Attribute.  If you chose Nosferatu you cannot put any dots in Appearance, not even the auto dot. The automatic dots seem to be one of the hardest concepts to grasp in Character creation.

Physical Attributes:

Strength
* Poor: You can bench 40 lbs.
** Average: You can bench press 100lbs.
*** Good: You can bench press 250lbs.
**** Exceptional: You can bench press 400 lbs.
***** Outstanding: You can bench press 650 lbs.

Dexterity
* Poor: You are a butterfingers, so don't use a chain saw.
** Average: You can chew gum and walk at the same time.
*** Good: You have excellent raw athletic potential.
**** Exceptional: You can juggle 5 knives.
***** Outstanding: You can juggle 5 knives while blindfolded.

Stamina

* Poor: You are frail in constitution and may be sickly.
** Average: You are moderately healthy.
*** Good: You are in good shape, the result of regular exercise.
**** Exceptional: You could run a marathon.
***** Outstanding: You are tough enough to almost survive anything.

Social Attributes:

Charisma
* Poor: Others avoid you.
** Average: You are likable.
*** Good: People trust and confide in you.
**** Exceptional: You have something which draws people to you.
***** Outstanding: You could lead a nation.

Manipulation
* Poor: You express yourself in as few words as possible.
** Average: Others might believe you.
*** Good: You'd make a good lawyer.
**** Exceptional: You should run for office.
***** Outstanding: You could sell ice to an Eskimo.

Appearance
* Poor: You Tend to attract the hostility of others.
** Average: You are easily ignored, for you fit in so well with the crowd.
*** Good: You have a pleasing appearance, and people treat you well.
**** Exceptional: You are good-looking enough to be a model and are given respect and attention because of it.
***** Outstanding: First reactions are either that of awe, intense jealousy or complete solicitude.

If you chose Clan Nosferatu you must cross off your one free point in appearance, and cannot take any points in Appearance, due to your Clan's Weakness.


Mental Attributes:

Perception
* Poor: You are blind to anything but the obvious.
** Average: You are unaware of the subtle interactions that occur around you.
*** Good: You are aware of moods and textures.
**** Exceptional: You are constantly alert to the nuances of life.
***** Outstanding: You can see a needle in a haystack.

Intelligence
* Poor: IQ 80
** Average : IQ 100
*** Good: IQ 120
**** Exceptional: IQ 140
***** Outstanding: IQ 160+


Wits
* Poor: You send money to televangelists.
** Average: You know when to bet or fold in poker.
*** Good: You are capable of handling L.A. rush hours (without shooting anyone)
**** Exceptional: You could be a stand-up comic.
***** Outstanding: You have a supercomputer for a brain - its fast.


Now that you know what the dots mean, go ahead and distribute your dots where you feel they fit your character. Done?
Lets check your work. Take you strongest Column and add up ALL the dots.
Now subtract three (the 3 automatic dots).  You should have 7 dots, if not redo them so you have 7. Now take your average column and add up ALL the dots. Now subtract three. You should have 5 dots. If not redo them so you have 5. Now take your weakest column and add up ALL the dots. Now subtract three. You should have 3 dots. If not redo them so you have 3.

NOTE: if you have chosen Nosferatu you will only subtract 2 from your total dots in the Social column to determine if you placed the right amount of dots.

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Choosing Abilities
We have our info up top and our attributes filled out, its time for the abilities.
These are what is going to be vital in determining what your character is good at doing.
Abilities are also divided into three categories: Talents, Skills and Knowledge.
Talents are intuitive Abilities that are inherent or learned "in the field."
Skills are Abilities learned through rigorous training or determination. They may be learned with careful practice, but can also be studied or learned through training.
Knowledges are just that - "book learning" and the like. Knowledge are typically mental pursuits or studies learned through schooling or books.
Note that, unlike Attributes, characters do not begin the game with automatic dots in any Ability.
Note further that no Ability may be purchased above three dots during this stage of character creation.
Even among the undead, experts in a field have to be cultivated slowly.
You may raise Abilities higher with freebie points, but that comes later.

Once again you must choose your strongest, average and weakest column.
Your strongest column will get 13 dots.
Your average column will get 9 dots.
And finally, your weakest column will get 5 dots.
Here is a brief summary of what abilities are:

Talents
Acting: How well you can act
Alertness: How alert you are of your surroundings
Athletics: How athletically inclined you are
Brawl: How well you can fist-fight
Dodge: How well you can dodge a punch/bullet/arrow/ etc. ...
Empathy: How well you can get others to confide in you
Intimidation: If you are intimidating
Leadership: How well you others follow your lead
Streetwise: How much you know about the streets (gangs, crooked cops, turfs, etc...)
Subterfuge: How convincing you are when you lie


Skills
Animal Ken: How animals react to you
Drive: If you can drive a vehicle (without at lease a dot in this you can't drive at all)
Etiquette:How well mannered you are
Firearms: How familiar you are with firearms
Melee: If you use hand weapons (knives, clubs, chains)
Music: Are you a musician
Repair: How well you can fix things
Security: Your knowledge of covert activities (Security systems, cameras and spying devices, guards, dogs, etc. ...)
Survival: How well you survive in the wild without any outside support


Knowledges
Bureaucracy: How much you know about bureaucracy
Computers: How well you can operate a computer
Finance: How good of an accountant you are or your ability to deal with numbers
Investigation: How well you can snoop
Law: How much you know about the law
Linguistics: How many languages, besides your native language you speak
Medicine: How much you know about medicine, healing, body bio-mechanics.
Occult: How much you know about the unknown, unseen world
Politics: How much you know about politics
Science: How much you know about science, chemistry, biology and the like

Now that you know a little about these Abilities, place your Character Creation Dots where you want them to go.

NOTE: after all the character creation dots are spent, you will receive some "Freebie Points" to add some more dots anywhere you want, but that comes later on.

Done?
Lets make sure you have it right. Add up all the dots in you Strong Column. You should have 13, if not, go back and redo them until you have 13 total dots. Add up all the dots in you Average Column.  You should have 9, if not, go back and redo them until you have 9 total dots. Add up all the dots in you Weak Column. You should have 5, if not, go back and redo them until you have 5 total dots.

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Advantages

This next section is where you are going to choose your characters advantages over others.

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Backgrounds
These will determine what Backgrounds your character has to aid herself in a story.  You get 5 Character Creation Points to spend in Backgrounds.
Please choose what Backgrounds your character will have and how many dots in each.

Once you have chosen your Backgrounds and placed your dots,   you should have anywhere from 1 to 5 backgrounds with a total of 5 dots filled out.

NOTE: If you choose to take any Dots in Generation using the chart given on the Backgrounds page,  find your appropriate generation and place it in the blank at the top of the page.

Your generation will be determined by your Sire's generation.
You will be one additional generation from Caine than your Sire,
If you did not take the Generation Background, you must put 13th as your generation at the top of the page.

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Disciplines
When vampires are “Embraced”, their Sire teaches them certain blood-based mystical powers, known as Disciplines.
Each character begins with three dots of Disciplines, which may be allocated as the player chooses.
For example, she may spend all three dots on one Discipline or spend one dot each in three Disciplines.
Disciplines purchased with Character Creation dots must be from the three Disciplines assigned to your clan.
Each clan description lists the Disciplines practiced by that clan.
Once you have done this you should have from 1-3 Disciplines written under Disciplines, and a total of 3 dots filled out in this section.

Virtues
As with the attributes you may have noticed that virtues have the automatic dots in them, and as usual, they don't count against your Character Creation Dots. For your Virtues you will receive 7 Character Creation Dots, you will divide them up among the 3 different virtues.  So at the very least, you will be a chaste, calm and bold person. Now you add seven more dots to these three for a total of ten.

Here are the 3 Virtues and a brief description for each one.

Conscience
* Chaste
** Moral
*** Just
**** Charitable
***** Remorseful

Self-Control
* Calm
** Temperate
*** Disciplined
**** Hardened
***** Total Self-Mastery

Courage
*Bold
** Doubtless
*** Steadfast
**** Gallant
***** Valorous

Go ahead and fill in your dots.
Time to check your work!
You should have 3 dots in your Disciplines, 5 dots in Backgrounds, and 10 total dots in Virtues (3 automatic and 7 character creation dots).

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Humanity/Path
Your Humanity level shows how humane you are,  the higher the level, the more you care about doing the right thing,  the less the level the less you care about anyone or anything.

To determine your Humanity/Path level add your Conscience/Callousness rating with your Self-Control/Instincts rating  (these are located in your Virtues Section). Once you have added them together put that many dots in your Humanity/Path section.

Willpower
This will show how much Willpower you character possesses. Your Willpower is used for 2 things: 

(1. You can "burn" a Willpower point to overcome a Dominate.
(2. It sets the difficulty for other Vampires who try to Dominate you (so the higher the Willpower rating, the harder it is to Dominate you).

Your Willpower rating is equal to your Courage/Morale rating in your Virtues section.

Note: If you have a low Humanity/Path or Willpower level right now,
do not worry, we still have to go back and add your "Freebie Points" so you will get a chance to raise your levels.

Blood Pool
Take the maximum allowable for your generation.

Weakness
If your character sheet does not already have the weakness filled in, simply write in your Clan/Bloodline Weakness here. If you have forgotten your Clan/Bloodline weakness it is listed on your clans description page.

Weapons
Just write in the weapon and its specs in the table.
Don't forget, regarding Weapons…If you haven't got a dot in firearms under abilities, you won't know what to do with your gun.

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Optional Extra's

Merits and Flaws
Merits are good qualities that your character possesses that most other vampires will not have.  To get a Merit you must buy them with freebie points.
The point rating on a Merit is also its freebie point cost (A 2 Point Merit would cost you 2 Freebie Points). You may buy as many Merits as you wish as long as you have the Freebie Points.

Flaws on the other hand, are bad qualities that your character possess that most other vampires will not have. You do not buy Flaws, quite the opposite, for every Point of a Flaws you take, you gain that number of freebie points to spend (A 2 Point Flaw would give you 2 more freebie points to spend.)

There is a 7 Point limit on your Flaws,   what that means is that when you add up the total number of Points of Flaws that you have it cannot exceed 7.
Note: Merits and Flaws can only be purchased during character creation,
so if you want them, take them now, cause it will be your only chance.

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