Vampire Merits

Vampire merits refer to special skills, abilities, or aptitudes that are only exhibited by vampires. They generally represent skills or powers unique to them because of their origin as undead humans or their connection to blood magic, and many of them, if visible, immediately indicate that the user must be vampiric in origin.

Some vampire merits are even more specific, being most often manifested only by members of a given clan or bloodline, although it is not always certain whether it is impossible for other vampires to have these merits or simply very, very unusual.

General Vampire Merits

Additional Discipline: This vampire is naturally able to learn an additional common discipline as though it were native to their clan or bloodline.

Animal Affinity: This vampire has an instinctive understanding of a single type of animal (for example, wolves) and can interact with them easily.

Approved Friendship: This vampire has a friendship with someone from outside their clan, bloodline, or sect that would normally be considered forbidden, but has been given special permission to maintain the relationship.

Baby Face: This vampire appears superficially alive with color in their cheeks and the ability to pretend to breathe.

Blasé: This vampire is naturally resistant to the Presence discipline unless it is wielded by a vampire more powerful than themself.

Blush of Health: This vampire appears more alive than most, with a consistent heartbeat, body heat, and normal skin color.

Boon: Another vampire owes this one a major favor.

Bright Aura: This vampire's aura is as bright and colorful as a mortal's, making it harder to identify them.

Broken Bond: This vampire was bloodbound to someone but has secretly broken free.

Bullyboy: This vampire is known to be part of the local Sheriff's posse and gets invited to most physical altercations.

Calm Heart: This vampire has a better control over their Beast than most and is less likely to Frenzy for any reason.

Clan Friendship: This vampire is widely liked by members of a bloodline or clan they do not belong to and may be included in their activities and social gatherings.

Controllable Thirst: This vampire is less likely to enter a Frenzy due to hunger or the smell of blood.

Court Appointment: This vampire has been recognized as having a voice in a Kuei-Jin court, giving them minor protection from being targeted and killed by them.

Court Favorite: This vampire is a celebrity in the court environment and can sway events even when they don't have a position themself.

Domain: This vampire has exclusive domain rights to a local place.

Earth-Feeder: This vampire can not only successfully feed from animals but gains more nourishment from them than from humans.

Eat Food: This vampire is able to eat and drink as normally as any mortal, although they do not gain any sustenance from it.

Efficient Digestion: This vampire can be fully sated by less blood than most others require.

Enlightened: This vampire has begun to move toward Golconda and may succeed if they work hard at it.

Elysium Domain: This vampire owns a territory that is also an Elysium and therefore has more sway over events and meetings held there.

Elysium Regular: This vampire is well-known by local movers and shakers and always seems to be present at important events.

Excellent Thirst: If this vampire is already hungry and low on blood, they gain more nourishment from their next feeding than usual.

Former Ghoul: This vampire was once a ghoul and has additional disciplines as well as being more at home with the undead than most fledglings.

Friend of the Underground: This vampire is recognized and welcome in the underbelly of the city by such groups as the Nosferatu.

Hidden Diablerie: This vampire's aura does not show the usual streaks if they indulge in diablerie.

Holder of Office: This vampire holds an office in their current home city.

Humanity's Window: This vampire has a single physical feature of striking attractiveness and humanity that prevents them from ever appearing to be fully a monster.

Hypersensitive Palate: This vampire can easily analyze the contents of any liquid they drink, from knowing what sort of person blood came from to recognizing the exact notes in a wine.

Impressive Restraint: This vampire can more easily resist the urge to enter frenzy due to hunger.

Inconnu Associate: This vampire knows someone in the Inconnu, and both may call on the other in moments of need (although the relationship must always remain a secret).

Indelible: Cosmetic changes such as piercings, dyes, and tattoos do not vanish for this vampire each night, although they can still will themselves to return to their usual state.

Indomitable Soul: This vampire provides absolutely no benefit to anyone who diablerizes them (although of course that doesn't stop anyone from trying).

Inoffensive to Animals: This vampire is not instinctively disliked or avoided by animals the way most of their fellows are.

Loyal Childe: This vampire has a childe who would do anything, including die, for them.

Malleable Visage: This vampire can temporarily disguise their supernatural features by twisting and poking at their own flesh, allowing them to briefly pass for human.

Mark of Caine: This vampire has been supernaturally marked with the favor of the father of vampires himself, giving them significant status among elder vampires.

Master of the Masquerade: This vampire remembers to do all the tiny tics, body movements, and unconscious habits that human beings normally do (and other vampires often forget).

Milk-Fed: This vampire can drink liquids that others normally cannot, including such things as milkshakes, purees, and other "almost solid" drinks.

Misplaced Heart: This vampire's heart is not in the usual place inside them, making it more difficult to stake them.

Mortal Double: This vampire has a living human being who bears an almost exact resemblance to them, allowing them to use them as a pawn or stand-in during daylight hours.

New Bloodline: This vampire has successfully developed a new discipline and all their new childer possess it when they are Embraced.

Old Pal: This vampire has a friend who was Embraced around the same time as them and helps and supports them.

Pawn: This vampire is being used as a pawn by a more powerful one, who is likely to secretly protect or help them (as long as they remain useful, of course).

Powerful Childe: This vampire has a childe who has a formal position of power in vampire society, whom they may be able to call on to move events or rules in their favor.

Powerful Ghoul: This vampire has an extremely powerful ghoul in their service who has a high level of skill and more disciplines than most other servants.

Prestation Gifts: This vampire is owed boons by several others and can call them in (or threaten to) as needed.

Prestigious Sire: This vampire's sire is renowned and respected, giving them a little spillover prestige.

Primogen Friendship: This vampire has a friend on the city's Primogen council who is likely to rule in their favor or allow them to consult on major issues.

Protégé: This vampire is their sire's darling and is often recommended by them to others.

Psychic Leech: This vampire can suck their victims' willpower from a distance, temporarily strengthening their other powers.

Revenant Disciplines: This vampire was a revenant before being Embraced and retains any disciplines they already had, even if they are no longer usual for their new clan or bloodline.

Sabbat Survivor: This vampire has survived a Sabbat attack and is instinctively on alert for any future ones.

Safe Passage: This vampire has been granted safe passage through an area where they would normally not be allowed without severe consequences (for example, an elder's personal domain).

Sect Contact: This vampire has a powerful contact in another sect who may sometimes help them (although they will probably expect the same in return sometimes).

Sense of the Stock: This vampire has the same instinctive recognition of undead creatures that most mortal animals do, and is uneasy and uncomfortable around other vampires or similar creatures such as Kuei-Jin or mummies.

Setite Initiate: This vampire is not a Follower of Set, but has chosen to convert to their teachings and has been welcomed into their clan.

Sheriff's Friend: This vampire is liked by the local Sheriff, who overlooks their minor offenses.

Slowed Degeneration: It is more difficult for events or interlopers to erode this vampire's Humanity, allowing them to remain more human for a longer period of time.

Special Gift: This vampire was given a valuable gift by their sire when they were Embraced.

Strange Day: This vampire can walk in the sun without injury on a single day each year (provided they use up their entire blood supply to do so).

Strong Blood: This vampire has naturally potent blood and can blood bond others more quickly and easily.

Vampire Spouse: This vampire is married to another vampire who is at least their social and power-level equal and will go to great lengths to support and protect them.

Ahriman Merits

Bastet Ally: This Ahriman has made friends with a Bastet, who may be able to help them when they are in need.

Feline Affinity: This Ahriman is naturally attractive and liked by felines of all breeds and sizes.

Gangrel Affinity: This Ahriman still has access to the disciplines of Clan Gangrel, although they are more difficult to learn than they are for a true Gangrel.

Gift of the Cat: This Ahriman can transform into feline shapes with Protean instead of canine ones.

Spirit Magnet: This Ahriman is naturally attractive to animal spirits from the Umbra who may occasionally help them.

Unknown Origin: This Ahriman is only known to be a member of the bloodline by their fellows, and is assumed to be something else (usually a Gangrel or Gangrel Antitribu) by everyone else.

Assamite Merits

Marijava Contact: This Assamite has a friend in the Marijava revenant family who may occasionally aid them.

Sectarian Ally: This Assamite has an ally in one of the major vampire sects who will help them if they must interact with that sect.

Thousand Meter Killer: This Assamite is an incredible sniper and is renowned for it in their clan.

Unconquered Ally: This Assamite has a friend among the Assamite Antitribu who may occasionally aid them.

Baali Merits

Apostate: This Baali was formerly a member of another clan who was converted via terrible rituals, and has their original disciplines as well as Daimonin.

Dark Faith: This Baali has unshakable faith in their demonic masters, who grant them power in return that allows them to fight off some powers used by other supernatural beings.

The High Price: This Baali is especially good at infernal powers (though they also suffer from increased physical side effects).

Simply Waiting: This Baali firmly believes they know how the world will end and is therefore very calm and unconcerned about other problems.

Brujah Merits

Fury's Focus: This Brujah can spend Willpower to hold off an oncoming Frenzy for a few moments.

Clanless Merits

Personal Masquerade: This clanless vampire has successfully convinced other vampires that they are a member of a clan or bloodline and are treated accordingly (although they are likely to be in great danger if ever discovered).

Daughter of Cacophony Merits

Chorus Trained: This Daughter of Cacophony can achieve truly incredible feats with Melpominee if they sing with other members of their bloodline.

Fugue Insight: This Daughter of Cacophony hears obscure warnings and insight when performing.

Dunsirn Merits

Casual Cannibal: This Dunsirn can gain sustenance from eating human flesh as well as from drinking blood.

Eloi Merits

Advanced Tech: This Eloi has access to a suspiciously advanced and incomprehensible technological device.

Fatalist: This Eloi recognizes the inevitability of the march of time and seldom suffers from moral problems that would impact their morality path.

True Celerity: This Eloi has mastered the Celerity discipline and combined it with Temporis, allowing them to slow down events around them instead of speeding up their own actions.

Gangrel Merits

Gift of Proteus: This Gangrel can fine-tune the shapes they transform into with Protean, allowing them to change colors, breeds, and specific features of the creature they become.

Hive-Minded: This Gangrel can use their Animalism on insects, jellyfish, and other similar creatures that are normally too small or mindless.

Lesser Mark of the Beast: This Gangrel can choose what animal feature they gain after a frenzy instead of it being random.

Ruse of the Wolf's Clothing: While in animal form, this Gangrel reads as a normal animal to shapeshifters.

Skald: This Gangrel is a repository for the ancient lore of their clan and knows many facts even elders have forgotten.

Totemic Change: This Gangrel's shapeshifting is in flux and they must transform into a different animal each time they use Protean to do so.

Gargoyle Merits

Heavy Hands: This Gargoyle's hands are so heavily armored that they feel little pain as well as striking enemies powerfully.

Stillness of Death: This Gargoyle is adept at pretending to be a statue and very hard to identify as actually being undead.

Giovanni Merits

Consanguineous Resistance: This Giovanni can only be bloodbound by vampires that they are not related to by mortal bloodlines.

Mortuario: This Giovanni fully and truly died, but was dragged back to their body by their sire's Necromancy to be Embraced and now has a natural affinity for Necromancy as well as the ability to interact more easily with ghosts.

Proxy Kissed: This Giovanni was Embraced in the traditional fashion and has a little more physical power than those who were not.

Sanguine Incongruity: This Giovanni appears perpetually pale and corpse-like, but their feeding does not cause the intense pain and injury that it does for the rest of their clan. (It is theorized that Giovanni with this merit are throwbacks to their parent clan, the Cappadocians.)

Harbinger of Skulls Merits

Disciple: This Harbinger of Skulls was trained by a famous member of the bloodline now lost and has extra cachet among other Harbingers.

Half-Life: This Harbinger of Skulls is able to easily switch between vampirism and existence as a formless ghost, giving them expanded powers and greater understanding of death itself.

Styx Baptism: This Harbinger of Skulls has been taken to the Underworld and baptized in the actual river Styx; they no longer have flesh on their skull but are considered one of the most important leaders of the bloodline.

Kiasyd Merits

Paranormal Link: This Kiasyd is mystically connected to another supernatural race and has instinctive knowledge of their nature and society; this is often a type of fairy due to the Kiasyd fae heritage, but this is not guaranteed.

Prized Collection: This Kiasyd has a collection of rare occult books or artifacts that represent incredible historical and supernatural value.

Skin of Porcelain: This Kiasyd has smooth, hard skin as if made of marble or porcelain and takes less damage from physical impacts (although they are also very visible strange-looking).

Lasombra Merits

Call of the Sea: This Lasombra is innately excellent at all things related to sailing.

Controllable Night Sight: This Lasombra can decide to turn their ability to see through the darkness with Obtenebration on and off easily at will.

Eyes of Shadow: This Lasombra's eyes show the depths of the Abyss, making it child's play to intimidate anyone they make eye contact with.

Monarch of Shadow: This Lasombra has an easier time than most retaining their Humanity as a result of their ability to dissipate and control their emotions through shadow.

Pelagic Harmony: This Lasombra is calmed by the ocean and more resistant to outside powers while within sight of it.

Maeghar Merits

Alien Perfection: This Maeghar is inhumanly beautiful to an almost unsettling degree.

Changeling Ties: This Maeghar has significant contacts in fairy society and can interact with them now and then.

Prehensile Tongue: This Maeghar has a long, flexible tongue they can use like an additional limb.

Ravaging: This Maeghar can feed off of glamour instead of blood (although doing so is not at all good for the mortals they feed from).

Vitae Mutation: This Maeghar's fae blood interferes with their vampire skills and causes them to manifest a random discipline they do not normally have every evening.

Malkavian Merits

Benevolent Blood: This Malkavian can create ghouls without automatically inflicting derangements on them.

Cold Read: This Malkavian can pluck secret information about a stranger out of their first meeting with them.

Disembodied Mentor: One of the voices in this Malkavian's head is very helpful and actively gives them good advice and important information (although there is no guarantee of understanding or remembering it later).

Distracting Aura: This Malkavian's aura is a constantly shifting melange of derangement effects and strange colors, making them extremely difficult to read.

Prophetic Dreams: This Malkavian receives prophetic wisdom from the Madness Network in their sleep.

Nagaraja Merits

Extra Sharp: This Nagaraja has additional rows of shark-like teeth behind their human ones.

Speed Eater: This Nagaraja can unhinge their jaw and shovel in twice as much when eating human flesh.

Wolverine's Palate: This Nagaraja can eat and digest every part of a human body, including the bones.

Nosferatu Merits

Disgusting: This Nosferatu is an expert contortionist who can do truly horrifying things with their body, terrifying those who see them into becoming distracted or foggy.

False Reflection: This Nosferatu can cause their reflection to appear different from their actual appearance for short periods of time.

Foul Blood: This Nosferatu has disgusting-tasting blood, making those who bite them likely to be incapacitated as they are forced to immediately purge it.

Gaping Maw: This Nosferatu has a huge mouth that can suck twice as much blood at once.

Lizard Limbs: This Nosferatu can shed limbs to escape from traps or enemies, regrowing them afterward without pain.

Long Fingers: This Nosferatu has extremely long, multi-knuckled fingers with a high level of dexterity.

Patagia: This Nosferatu has skinflaps under their arms and can glide for short distances.

Piscine: This Nosferatu is better adapted for life underwater than on land and can move easily in the water.

Projectile Vomiting: This Nosferatu can eat food and later target others with the hideous bloody vomit the same night.

Reptile Buddy: This Nosferatu has a powerful and frightening reptile companion, most likely from the sewers or similar nearby environments.

Rugged Bad Looks: This Nosferatu is still ugly, but can technically pass for human.

Sleep Unseen: This Nosferatu can automatically hide with the Obfuscate discipline while asleep for the day.

Slimy: This Nosferatu secretes slime across their skin and is difficult to grab, tie up, or ignite.

Spawning Pool: This Nosferatu owns a spawning pool which they can use to create powerful animal ghouls.

Swarm Attractor: This Nosferatu is irresistible to swarms of flying insects such as flies or gnats, which they can command to do single tasks for them.

Tough Hide: This Nosferatu has thick, leathery skin that is difficult to hurt.

Tunnel Rat: This Nosferatu navigates underground environments as if born in them.

Ravnos Merits

Brahmin: This Ravnos is a member of a high-ranking group within their clan and has considerable sway with other Ravnos.

Charmed Samadji: This Ravnos owns a powerful charm passed down from their clan elders that gives them small powers.

Critters: This Ravnos is irresistible to animals and is constantly sought out by them wherever they go.

Family Allegience: This Ravnos is of Romani descent and still in contact with their mortal family, who allow them to travel with them and may help them when they are in trouble.

Heart of Needles: This Ravnos is unimpressed by the imaginations of others and resists most illusions.

Kshatriya: This Ravnos is a member of a warlike group and excels in protecting other Ravnos from danger.

Mute Devotion: This Ravnos' Animalism discipline lingers, causing animals it is used on to remember and prioritize them above others who might command them.

Phralmulo: This Ravnos is of Romani descent and is especially empowered when they drink blood from other Romani.

Vaishya: This Ravnos is a member of a protective shadow organization and is good at hiding the clan's activities from others.

Salubri Merits

Scent of the Other: This Salubri does not show any of the outward markers of their clan, allowing them to pass as members of another.

Sight Beyond Sight: This Salubri's third eye occasionally sees visions of important information or automatically sees through powers, illusions, or into other realms for a brief glimpse.

Warrior's Heart: This Salubri may learn Valeren as though they were Salubri Antitribu.

Samedi Merits

Death Grip: This Samedi can learn how a corpse died by simply touching it.

Dislocation: This Samedi has easily dislocatable bones and can squeeze into hideously small spaces.

Removable Limbs: This Samedi can remove their limbs and keep control of them independently as long as they remain within sight (for example, they could pull off their hand and let it crawl across the room to retrieve something), although they risk permanently losing them if they are destroyed or stolen.

Stitcher: This Samedi can survive being fully dismembered as long as they are stitched back together afterward.

Setite Merits

Addictive Blood: This Setite's blood is addictive and causes those who drink it to become powerfully focused on getting more.

Poisonous Bite: This Setite has snake-like poison glands that poison those they bite.

Toreador Merits

Eye for Beauty: This Toreador is simply a transcendant critic and can bring out the best (and worst) in any piece of art they encounter.

Gifted: This Toreador is a natural artist and makes wondrous things no matter what they try their hand at.

Greater Colors: This Toreador sees color more intensely and clearly, allowing them to appreciate visual art more deeply (although they can also be easily distracted).

Refined: This Toreador is an effortless member of the elite and is often invited to events by those of higher social standing than themself.

Tremere Merits

Attuned Taste: This Tremere can instinctively learn minor information about someone by tasting their blood.

Embraced Without the Cup: This Tremere was never bloodbound to the Council of Seven and has more free will than most members of their clan.

Keys to the Library: This Tremere has access to the chantry library and the vast amount of secret knowlege within it.

Outside Haven: This Tremere has a separate haven away from their chantry.

'Quartermaster:" This Tremere is tasked with keeping the chantry supplied and has access to any equipment or supplies they might need.

Secret Society Member: This Tremere has found and joined one of their clan's secret societies.

Unmarked Antitribu: This Tremere Antitribu is not affected by the spells that would usually mark them as a traitor to other Tremere and can fly under the radar.

Tzimisce Merits

Dracon's Temperament: This Tzimisce is highly volatile and may frequently change their Nature as circumstances allow.

Haven Affinity: This Tzimisce is far more powerful when in their haven with their homeland soil, and can pinpoint in which direction their haven is no matter where they are.

Ventrue Merits

Paragon: This Ventrue is considered a shining example of a particular group (such as a bloodline, House, or sect) and is highly respected and granted more resources than most others in the same position.