BANU HAQIM – BRUJAH – GANGREL – HECATA – LASOMBRA – MALKAVIAN – THE MINISTRY – NOSFERATU – RAVNOS – SALUBRI – TOREADOR – TREMERE – TZIMISCE – VENTRUE – THIN-BLOOD – CAITIFF
In Vampire: The Masquerade, Kindred are separated into clans. Clans are ancient lineages of vampires who share common characteristics, passed on through the Blood. Each clan provides certain powers, weaknesses, and sometimes even behaviors and beliefs to those who belong to it.
In the descriptions below, you will find vampiric Disciplines, Banes and Compulsions.
Wherever you see a red text, you can hover over it for the explanation of an unknown term.
Banu Haqim
The Clan of the Hunt, Assassins, Children of Haqim, Saracens, Mediators, Lawmen, Assamites
The Judges of the Banu Haqim are torn between their hereditary thirst for vampiric Blood and their passion for justice. Stern adjudicators, they are fiercely devoted to upholding a moral code, and Embrace mortals capable of assessing and handling threats, enforcing laws and traditions, and punishing transgressors.
Disciplines: Blood Sorcery, Celerity, Obfuscate
Bane: Blood Addiction – when one of the Judges tastes the Blood of another Cainite, they find it very hard to stop.
Compulsion: Judgment – the vampire is compelled to punish anyone seen to transgress against their personal creed, taking their blood as just vengeance for the crime.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition – Camarilla sourcebook
Brujah
The Learned Clan, Rabble, Punks, Hipsters, Prometheans, Rebels, Philosopher-Kings, Hellens
The Brujah are a clan of radicals and troublemakers, Embracing those willing to put someone in their place if the situation calls for it. Most see themselves as warriors with a cause, and these Rebels are guided by their passions, strength, and dedication to their ideals — whatever those may be.
Disciplines: Celerity, Potence, Presence
Bane: Violent Temper – the Blood of the Brujah simmers with barely contained rage, exploding at the slightest provocation.
Compulsion: Rebellion – the vampire takes a stand against whatever or whomever they see as the status quo in the situation, whether that’s their leader, a viewpoint expressed by a potential vessel, or just the task they were supposed to do at the moment.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Corebook
Gangrel
The Clan of the Beast, Animals, Ferals, Savages, Barbarians, Outcasts, Wolves, Strays
Often closer to beasts than other vampires, the Gangrel style themselves apex predators. These Ferals prowl the wilds as easily as the urban jungle, and no clan of vampires can match their ability to endure, survive, and thrive in any environment. Often fiercely territorial, their shapeshifting abilities even give the undead pause.
Disciplines: Animalism, Fortitude, Protean
Bane: Bestial Features – in frenzy, Gangrel gain one or more animal features: a physical trait, a smell, or a behavioral tic. These features last for one more night afterward, lingering like a hangover following debauchery.
Compulsion: Feral Impulses – returning to an animalistic state, the vampire regresses to a point where speech is hard, clothes are uncomfortable, and arguments are best settled with teeth and claws.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Corebook
Hecata
The Clan of Death, Necromancers, Graverobbers, The Family, Stiffs, Corpses, Devil-Kindred, Lazarenes
A motley collection of necromantic vampire bloodlines, the Hecata clan are united in the pursuit of a single subject: Death. They are students of the afterlife and resurrectionists of the dead — or worse. Selling their services to the highest bidder, or acting in their own interests, there are few who can hide from the surveillance of those who can summon and command the very spirits of the deceased.
Disciplines: Auspex, Fortitude, Oblivion
Bane: Painful Kiss – Steeped in death, the fangs of the Hecata bring not bliss, but agony. Victims caught unawares will violently resist unless restrained, and few people submit willingly to the torture that is the Hecata Kiss.
Compulsion: Morbidity – their Blood urges them to study the individuals around them for signs of illness, frailty, or impending death.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition – Cults of the Blood Gods
Lasombra
The Night Clan, Magisters, Keepers, Shadows, Abyss Mystics, Turncoats, Traitors
Creatures subtly at odds with mundane reality, Lasombra vampires are expected to triumph at any cost. Ruthlessness is a sought-after trait in progeny, making their reputation as betraying interlopers well deserved. Most do not seek attention, preferring to act as puppeteers, powers behind the proverbial throne. To a Shadow, the ends justify any means.
Disciplines: Dominate, Oblivion, Potence
Bane: Distorted Image – when viewed in a reflective surface or a recording medium, their image appears distorted, sometimes almost invisible. Whether flickering, twisted, or transparent, their reflection betrays their undead state and lineage.
Compulsion: Ruthlessness – to the Lasombra, failure is not an option. Their Blood will urge them to any act conceivable to reach their goals, whether in the moment or in Byzantine plots lasting centuries.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition – Chicago by Night sourcebook
Malkavian
The Clan of the Moon, Lunatics, Madmen, Jesters, Oracles, Dervishes, Visionaries, Children of Malkav
Derided as Lunatics by other vampires, the Blood of the Malkavians lets them perceive and foretell truths hidden from others. Like the “wise madmen” of poetry their fractured perspective stems from seeing too much of the world at once, from understanding too deeply, and feeling emotions that are just too strong to bear.
Disciplines: Auspex, Dominate, Obfuscate
Bane: Fractured Perspective – all Malkavians are cursed with at least one type of supernatural, mental derangement. Depending on their history and the state of their mind at death, they may experience delusions, visions of terrible clarity, or something entirely different
Compulsion: Delusion – their extrasensory gifts running wild, the vampire experiences what might be truths or portents, but what others call figments of imagination, dredged up by Hunger.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Corebook
Ministry
The Clan of Faith, Setites, Followers of Set, The Clan of Lies, Typhonists, Serpents, Liberators, Judasians
The Ministry always has something to offer. This often cult-like clan recruits those able to employ temptation as a weapon. They Embrace those with the will and means to sway, entrap, and ultimately liberate their targets from whatever they seek: the victim’s possessions, allegiance, or even faith. To the Serpents, everything has a price.
Disciplines: Obfuscate, Presence, Protean
Bane: Abhors the Light – when exposed to direct illumination – whether natural or artificial – members of the clan recoil.
Compulsion: Transgression – Set teaches that everyone’s mind and spirit are bound by invisible chains of their own making. Their Blood chafing at these bindings, the Minister suffers a burning need to break them.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition – Anarch sourcebook
Nosferatu
Horrors, The Clan of the Hidden, Sewer Rats, Lepers, Hives, Carnies, Scabs, Kapos, Vagrants, Orloks
The Nosferatu wear their curse on the outside. Their bodies horribly twisted and deformed through the Embrace, they lurk on the fringes of most cities, acting as spies and brokers of information. Using animals and their own supernatural capacity to hide, nothing escapes the eyes of the so-called Sewer Rats.
Disciplines: Animalism, Obfuscate, Potence
Bane: Repulsiveness – hideous and vile, all Nosferatu are physically deformed in some way by their Embrace. Some can still pass for mortal, while others are walking breaches of the Masquerade. Most Nosferatu employ powers of misdirection to mask their hideous appearance when among others.
Compulsion: Cryptophilia – the need to know permeates the vampire. They 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.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Corebook
Ravnos
Rogues, Ravens, Daredevils, The Haunted
Masters of misdirection, the Ravnos prefer not to fight or bleed for something they can obtain through subtler means. They can charm and vanish within the same mortal breath, and those once fooled quickly learn to question their very senses when in the company of Ravens. Always on the move, the Ravnos can never rest in the same place for long lest their curse light them on fire as they slumber.
Disciplines: Animalism, Obfuscate, Presence
Bane: Doomed – the sun’s fire that incinerated their founder rages through the Blood of the clan, erupting from their very flesh if they ever settle down for long.
Compulsion: Tempting Fate – the vampire is driven by their Blood to court danger. Putting themselves and others at risk, they will court destruction for the sake of flair and panache.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade Companion (available for free in the account section)
Salubri
Cyclops, Soul-Thieves, Dajjals, Saulot’s progeny
Most of their kind lost to undead usurpers, the highly desirable Blood of the hunted Salubri is a prize to other vampires. This, and their reluctance to Embrace, makes them rare in the modern nights. They often recruit those on the edge of death, believing their curse can provide the worthy a second chance, and they count some of the most humane vampires among their ranks.
Disciplines: Auspex, Dominate, Fortitude
Bane: Hunted – Kindred of other clans are especially… appreciative of Salubri vitae. When a non-Salubri partakes of the blood of a Cyclops, they often find it difficult to pull themselves away.
Compulsion: Affective Empathy – the Kindred becomes overwhelmed with empathy for a personal problem that afflicts someone in the scene, seeking to further its resolution.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade Companion (available for free in the account section)
Toreador
Divas, The Clan of the Rose, Degenerates, Artists, Harlots, Arikelites, Hedonists, Sensates, Perverts
Known for their seductive nature, enthralling demeanor, and eloquent grace to the point of obsession, Toreador vampires Embrace artists and lovers into their ranks, forever trying to stir their own deadened hearts. Supernaturally graceful and charming, the Divas are always looking for the next thrill, leaving a detritus of discarded lovers and victims in their wake.
Disciplines: Auspex, Celerity, Presence
Bane: Aesthetic Fixation – Toreador exemplify the old saying that art in the blood takes strange forms. They desire beauty so intensely that they suffer in its absence.
Compulsion: Obsession – enraptured by beauty, the vampire becomes temporarily obsessed with a singular gorgeous thing, able to think of nothing else.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Corebook
Tremere
Usurpers, Warlocks, Hemetics, Thaumaturges, Transgressors, The Broken Clan, Blood Witches
The arcane Clan Tremere were once a house of mortal mages who sought immortality but found only undeath. As vampires, they’ve perfected ways to bend their own Blood to their will, employing their sorceries to master and ensorcel both the mortal and vampire world. Their power makes them valuable, but few vampires trust their scheming ways.
Disciplines: Auspex, Blood Sorcery, Dominate
Bane: Deficient Blood – Tremere vitae cannot Blood Bond other Kindred, though they themselves can be Bound by Kindred from other clans.
Compulsion: Perfectionism – nothing but the best satisfies the vampire. Anything less than exceptional performance instills a profound sense of failure, and they often repeat tasks obsessively to get them “just right.”
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Corebook
Tzimisce
Dragons, The Old Clan, Voivodes, Stokers
To the Tzimisce, possession is all. They aim to dominate and own the subject of their possessiveness, jealously guarding it like their namesake dragon would its hoard. Everything from land, people, cults, companies, or gangs can fall under the covetous claws of a Dragon. This relentless possessiveness extends as well to their own bodies, and they often rework themselves into flawless, hideous, or utterly alien forms, all the better to display their utter control of all things theirs.
Disciplines: Animalism, Dominate, Protean
Bane: Grounded – each Tzimisce must choose a specific charge — a physical domain, a group of people, an organization, or even something more esoteric — but clearly defined and limited. The Kindred must spend their daysleep surrounded by their chosen charge.
Compulsion: Covetousness – Tzimisce becomes obsessed with possessing something in the scene, desiring to add it to their proverbial hoard. This can be anything from an object to a piece of property to an actual person.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade Companion (available for free in the account section)
Ventrue
The Clan of Kings, Blue Bloods, Tyrants, Warlords, Patricians, Borgias, the Cult of Mithras
The Ventrue are not called the Clan of Kings for nothing. Carefully choosing their progeny from mortals familiar with power, wealth, and influence, the Ventrue style themselves the aristocrats of the vampire world. Their members are expected to assume command wherever possible, and they’re willing to endure storms for the sake of leading from the front.
Disciplines: Dominate, Fortitude, Presence
Bane: Rarefied Tastes – when a Ventrue drinks blood from any mortal outside their preference, a profound exertion of will is required or the blood taken surges back up as scarlet vomit.
Compulsion: Arrogance – the need to rule rears its head in the vampire. They stop at nothing to assume command of a situation.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Corebook
Thin-blood
Duskborn, Mercurians, The Young Ones, Thin-Bloods, Run-Off, Weaklings, Chameleons, Abortions
Neither entirely vampire nor mortal, the ever changing nature of the Duskborn evokes pity, jealousy, and fear in equal measure. Considered little more than trash by most vampires, the thin-bloods are banding together, leveraging their resistance to sunlight and the strange, mercurial adaptability of their powers against their oppressors.
Disciplines: Thin-Blood Alchemy
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Corebook
Caitiff
The Clanless, Panders, Orphans, Trash, Scum, Freestylers
Exhibiting no discernable lineage, the Caitiffs are vampires without a clan. Distrusted by their peers, they are scorned because of their lack of lineage but also feared for their unpredictability. Jacks of all trades but masters of none, each Pander makes their own way in the society of the damned, free from ancestry and expectations both.
Introduced in: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Corebook