Expression
This ability represents the capability to put across a point, in speech or writing. Most song-writing, poetry, prose belongs to this ability. Public speech, unless simply performing words written by another, falls into this category as well.

Secondary Ability specializations are allowed for this ability (such as Diplomacy or Public Speaking), with the usual addition to the dicepool.

Crafts
This ability covers any endeavor which works with tangible materials. Sculpture, painting, carpentry, even auto-repair can fall into this category.

All Crafts are specialized. If a character has dots in Crafts, said character must also specialize in a certain craft and have it listed on his character sheet. Crafts is not a blanket skill - a character with Crafts will have his single specialization and his abilities do not transfer to other crafts. After all, being a good painter does not make you a good carpenter. Even DaVinci hired someone else to make his frames for him.

However, if your Craft is closely related to what you want to do (a metal sculptor who wants to do a spot of welding, for instance), you may roll at a slightly increased difficulty. Extra crafts may be taken as Secondary Abilities for no difficulty reduction (as, say, Da Vinci certainly did), allowing multiple fields of study.

If you want more than one art covered by Crafts, you can buy multiple Crafts skills.

Performance
This ability includes any performed art in which the act itself is the beauty. Included in this category are dancing, singing, and playing instruments. Acting is also included in Performance, provided the intent is to perform a work previously expressed by an author, and to evoke emotion rather than a point.

Secondaries are allowed, and add to your dicepool. All Performance skills are specialized and must be specified and noted on your character sheet when taking the ability; while it is certainly possible to both sing and play the guitar, it is unlikely you will be competent in Singing, Dancing, and any instrument you lay hands on. You may roll for a complete performance that features your specialization (singing and guitar playing at the same time when you have Guitar Playing as a Secondary) at +1 difficulty.

Creating Art

Through Expression:
This is used for written things. Composing a masterpiece, drawing blueprints, writing a book/poetry, etc.

• Perception + Expres​sion (+ Secondary Ability if you've got an appropriate one)
• Intelligence + Expres​sion (+Secondary Ability if you've got an appropriate one)

The roll will vary depending on what it is you are doing. If you are unsure which Roll to use, ask an ST.

Through Crafts
This is for things you physically build/make. Sculpting, Painting, guitar making, carpentry, etc.

• Intelligence + Crafts (+ Secondary Ability if you've got an appropriate one)
• Dexterity + Crafts (+ Secondary Ability if you've got an appropriate one)

The roll will vary depending on what it is you are doing. If you are unsure which Roll to use, ask an ST.

Difficulty

• Difficulty 6
• For a work of little or no Artistic Merit
• Cannot induce Toreador's Entrancement
• Difficulty 8
• For a work of Artistic Merit
• Can induce Toreador's Entrancement
• Modifier Difficulty
• Working in closely related field +1

We have created our own guidelines for the creation of new art. This includes anything of artistic merit, whether you are composing a piece of music or creating a sculpture. This will take the form of an extended roll. Something that's planned out. Nobody here is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Michelangelo, so they're going to have to spend time with their creations.

The maximum rolls a player can make for any piece of art will be equivalent to his Creating Art dice pool. So if you have a dice pool of 6, you may only roll six times in all for a particular piece.

The decision has been made to reflect the time spent on the creation process to be limited to:
2 rolls a week with the roll being: Perception + Expression or Crafts difficulty 8. 2 rolls a week signifies somebody that doesn't have a time limit, mind you and does the compositions in his extra time, leaving time for RP. It can be arranged with an ST to have the composition finished sooner, however that would force less RP time out of the character.

After all the rolls are made and the piece is therefore determined to have been finished, we will be judging the successes against the quality chart below. The total amount of successes rolled throughout the course of the "creation time" determines the final quality of the piece. Rolls made with Artistic Merit have the potential to induce Entrancement in Toreador if they accomplish the quality of Good or above.

Example:
Zofia has 8 dice between Perception + Expression, so she gets to roll 2 times per week for 4 weeks.

At the end of the 4 weeks, her total will be measured against the chart outlined below. She finishes with 16 successes - therefore, her piece is of Exceptional quality.

Quality
Determined by the amount of successes you've achieved...

• Terrible 0-2
• Amateurish 3-6
• Average 7-9
• Good 10-14
• Exceptional 15-19
• Masterpiece 20+

Performing Art
Roll
Charisma + Performance (+ Secondary Ability if you have an appropriate one)

Difficulty
All acts of Performance, Difficulty 8 (3+ successes can induce Toreador's Entrancement)

Modifier Difficulty
Working in closely related field +1

Special Note

All successes in excess of 5 are inconsequential, as you can not achieve a performance that is any better than a flawless Masterpiece. All rolls are done when they are performed, not as an extended roll.

Also, you don't have to like a performance based on the fact it has 5 successes. That just means it was performed flawlessly, and has no impact on your characters tastes - Toreador being the only exception, in that they find beauty in all things.

In addition, performance rolls may be re-rolled if, for instance, the character fails her first dance recital, and desires to make a second desperate attempt at impressing her audience. Not that this roll does not serve as additional successes. This roll indicates a character is starting over with a brand new performance, this time at +1 Difficulty due to the greater effort required in recovering herself.

Several House Rules have been established for Backgrounds (especially Business, Generation, Influence, and Status). Please see Backgrounds for further details.

Businesses are a Dark Realms RPG created Background to allow a Character to increase their wealth without necessarily increasing their Resources. Businesses add to the Monthly Expense Allocation that Characters receive from their Resources. Businesses are closely tied into the Monthly Expense Allocation which is explained under the Equipment & Expenses section found on this page and also the Haven Size Equipment Item. Please see Businesses for further details.

Playing in another channel, they implemented this "No Bite" rule when it came to PC sex. I think this is an awesome idea and gives more to the RP and makes kindred really think before they hop in the sack with another kindred. So! With the permission from the owner of that other channel, I'm using their rules on this.

PC Sex happens. With all the different concepts and manipulations going on, it's something that we all experience. Just the facts of unlife. This isn't a free pass to go all cyber-fest in the channel, but this is an adult game, and we're all adults. (Pervy ones at that) That being said, lemme break down vampire sex for you in three easy steps.

1. Make out and/or stare longingly.
2. Spend BP to 'get it up' and proceed to hump like bunnies. (No spend necessary at Humanity 8.)
3. Roll to make sure you don't bite eachother!

Now! Some of you may be wondering (I doubt it) why number 3 matters or why its a risk at all. To put it simply, the kiss is akin to an orgasm and its a serious test of your willpower to not give in and bite your partner, thus accidentally putting yourself on a fast track to a blood bond. That being said, this is why we have you roll your WP against a certain difficulty depending on your humanity. We say WP instead of Self-Control because generally WP is higher dice-pool for most characters so success is more likely, however there's an air of danger in the sense that you can't 'WP' a willpower roll. AKA: You can't spend a willpower to guarantee you don't 'slip up', there is a very real chance you could fail this roll, NO EXCEPTION.

This all being said I want to remind everyone of what some of us call a "FTB" (Fade to Black). Not everyone plays the erotic scenes out, and that's ok. Whatever rocks your boat. These rolls can be done in #Dice and an ST must be notified if you fail or botch!

Other than that, go forth and spread the 'love'!

For everyone's referencing pleasure, the difficulty is dependent upon humanity.

Humanity 8 = diff 4
Humanity 7 = diff 5
Humanity 6 = diff 6
Humanity 5 = diff 7
Humanity 4 = diff 8

Kindred CANNOT eat or drink any type of food whatsoever, without exception unless the Character has the Eat Food Merit. This also applies to "mixed" food or drinks. The fact that food or drink would have blood mixed into it does in fact make it disgusting, but not digestible.

The Requiem of any Kindred is filled with details and intricacies that are impossible to appropriately display by even the best players and storytellers. Unless a player devotes their entire life to developing and expanding their character, and nobody can actually do this, many things are lost in translation. Despite how much actual role-playing you do, there are times when you (as the player) are not available to play. But this fact does not mean that your character is sitting around motionless, staring at the walls. Dark Realms RPG uses a Downtime Actions System so characters will be able to accomplish various tasks to make up for this lost time when their "humans" aren't available to control them.

No more than 25 experience may be spent on disciplines during creation; this includes all disciplines, their levels, thaumaturgy paths, and thaumaturgy rituals. For comprehensive Discipline information please see our Disciplines page.

Equipment is purchased, both at creation and during play, with Expense Dots. Expenses Dots represent the amount of income (cash) that your character has access to. While this amount can be modified by several factors (owning a Business for instance), Base Expenses are calculated using your Resources.

Monthly Expenses = Level of Resources + 1
Ventrue receive Monthly Expenses = Level of Resources + 3

While common household items and nightly expenditures are not associated with the Expense mechanism, there are many items that characters may/must purchase with their expenses. A list of purchasable Equipment may be found here. In addition, all characters may take a Haven Size equal to their Resource Level at creation.

In addition, during Character Creation, all characters may purchase equipment to begin play with.

Characters with Resources 0 receive 3 Expense Dots to purchase items.
All other characters receive Expense Dots equal to Resource Level x 4.
Ventrue receive Expense Dots equal to Resource Level x 5.

What is Humanity?
Humanity is a measure of how closely a vampire clings to the morality and values of her life as a mortal human being, and consequently how well they are able to resist the urges of the Beast.

Since every Kindred was a human before their Embrace, their most natural response in resisting the Beast's feral, predatory nature is to cling to their humanity. This is generally represented by the strength of their conscience and self-control, virtues common to Kindred and mortals alike.

A Kindred's humanity has a direct effect on the strength of the vampiric curse; those who lose ground to the Beast and lose their humanity find it more difficult to interact with mortals, to be active during daylight hours, and to awaken from long periods of torpor.

Humanity is universally adopted by the vampires of the Camarilla, but even among the Sabbat it is the "natural" and most common way of dealing with the Beast. Some vampires however reject the mores of mortal existence and adopt an alien Path of Enlightenment, in which they learn or construct a wholly different standard of morality. These often incorporate different virtues - conviction instead of conscience, and instinct instead of self-control - and establish a very different relationship with the Beast. Replacing the morality of one's human life is a daunting task, not to be taken lightly, and generally impossible without the tutition of one who already follows the alternate path.

Humanity, unlike most other Traits, is rated on a scale of 1 to 10. Also, just because a kindred follows the Path of Humanity doesn't mean she is a friendly, congenial saint. Vampires are predators by nature, and Humanity only gifts them with the ability to pretend they're not. It is an inward charade that protects a vampire from herself. Much as the Masquerade protects vampires from the mortals outside.

Unfortunately, the very nature of existence as a vampire is anathema to one's humanity. As the centuries wear on, the Beast takes hold, and Kindred become less and less concerned with the well-being of mortal "kine" (after all, they'll die eventually, anyway) As such, character are likely to lose humanity over the course of the game.

The Effects of Humanity
A Kindred's Humanity score reflects how much of a character's mortal nature remains despite the curse of Caine. It influences how well a character may deny her vampiric state, as well as how closely she may pass for mortal. Humanity scores fluctuate based upon the Hierarchy of Sin - if a vampire accidentally or purposefully commits an act rated lower than her Humanity score, she must roll her Conscience Trait to see whether she accepts the act (and thus loses Humanity) or feels remorse and maintains her current level. Humanity may be raised only by spending experience points on it. See the Degeneration section for more information on Humanity loss and the Hierarchy of Sin.

• Vampires sleep unnaturally deeply and are loath to rise even if presented with danger. Vampires with higher Humanity rise earlier in the evening than vampires with lower Humanity scores. Also, if a Kindred is forced to act during the day, the maximum dice pool he may employ for any action equals his Humanity score.
• Humanity also affects a character's Virtues. Whenever a certain Virtue is called into question, a player may not roll more dice for a Virtue than her character has dots in Humanity. Obviously, as the character sinks ever more deeply into the arms of damnation, questions of morality and self-preservation mean less and less. As Humanity depletes, the character creeps slowly toward the night when she loses all self-control.
• The length of time a Kindred spends in torpor relates directly to his Humanity score. A vampire with low Humanity remains in torpor for a longer time than a vampire with a higher Humanity score.
• Humanity determines how, well, human a character appears and how easily she may pass for human among the populace. Vampires with low Humanity acquire unnatural and disturbing features like sunken eyes, perpetual snarls and bestial countenances.
• If a character's Humanity score ever drops to zero (what kind of game are you playing?), that persona is no longer suitable for use as a player's character. Completely controlled by his Beast, the character is a mindless force of unnature, and falls under the Storyteller's control.

Levels of Humanity
Humanity 10 - 8
Kindred with Humanity scores this high are, ironically, more human than human. Many fledgling vampires sometimes adhere to codes more rigorous than they ever held in life, as a reaction against becoming a predator. Older Kindred scoff at this practice, taking great mirth at the thought of newly whelped neonates cowering beneath fire escapes and subsisting on the foul blood of rats, vainly rebelling against their murderous natures. Oh, the humanity!

In truth, vampires who maintain high scores in Humanity are rare, as every Kindred must kill sooner or later. Vampires with high Humanity are almost unbearable by their peers, who find frustration in their perceived naivete and self-righteousness; most Kindred prefer to suffer the slings and arrows of unlife without belaboring themselves. High Humanity scores indicate aversion to killing and even distaste for taking more vitae than is necessary. Though not necessarily passive or preachy, Kindred with high Humanity uphold excruciatingly exacting standards, and often have very clearly defined concepts of moral right and wrong.

Humanity 7
Most human beings have Humanity scores of 7 or so, so vampires at this level of Humanity can usually manage to pass for mortals. Vampires with 7 Humanity typically subscribe to "normal" social mores - it's not acceptable to hurt or kill another person, it's wrong to steal something that another person owns, but sometimes the speed limit is just too damn slow. The vampire is still concerned with the natural rights of others at this stage of morality, though more than a little selfishness shines through. Just like everyone else in the world...

Humanity 6 - 5
Hey, people die. Stuff breaks. A vampire below the cultural human norm has little difficulty with the fact that she needs blood to survive, and she does what needs to be done to get it. Though she won't necessarily go out of her way to destroy property or end a victim's life, she accepts that sometimes that's what fate has in store for some folks. Not automatically horrid, Kindred at this stage of Humanity are certainly at least mildly unpleasant to be around. Their laissez-faire attitudes toward others' rights offend many more moral individuals, and some minor physical eeriness or malformation may show up at this stage.

Humanity 4
Hey, some people got-to die The vampire begins an inevitable slide into urge indulgence. A Humanity of 4 indicates that killing is acceptable to this Kindred, so long as his victim is deserving (which is, of course, quite subjective). Many vampire elders hover around this level of Humanity, if they haven't adopted some other moral code. Destruction, theft, injury - these are all tools, rather than taboos, for a vampire with Humanity 4. Also, the vampire's own self and agenda become paramount at this point, and devil take whoever gets in the way. Physical changes become quite evident at this stage; while not hideous in the sense of the Nosferatu or certain Gangrel, the vampire acquires a pallid, corpse-like and noticeably unwholesome aspect.

Humanity 3 - 2
The lives and property of others are irrelevant to a Kindred this far gone. The vampire likely indulges twisted pleasures and aberrant whims, which may include any manner of atrocity. Perversion, callous murder, mutilation of victims and wickedness for its own sake are the hallmarks of a Kindred with very low Humanity. Few vampires maintain scores this low and lower for very long - their damnation is all but certain at this point. Vampires at this stage may be physically mistaken for human, but don't bet on it.

Humanity 1
Only nominally sentient, Kindred with Humanity 1 teeter on the edge of oblivion. Little matters at all to vampires this far gone, even their own desires outside of sustenance and rest. There is literally nothing a vampire with Humanity 1 won't do, and only a few tattered shreds of ego stand between him and complete devolution. Many who attain this stage find themselves no longer capable of coherent speech, and spend their nights gibbering blasphemy among their gore-spattered havens.

Humanity 0
Must sleep. Must feed. Must kill. Players may not run characters with Humanity 0. Vampires at this stage are completely lost to the Beast

Influence You have pull in the mortal community, whether through wealth, prestige, political office, blackmail or supernatural manipulation. Kindred with high Influence can sway, and in rare cases even control, the political and social processes of human society. Influence represents the sum of your political power in your community, particularly among the police and bureaucracy.

Some rolls may require you to use Influence in place of an Ability, particularly when attempting to sway minor bureaucrats. It is, of course, always easier to institute sweeping changes on a local level than a worldwide scale (e.g., having an "abandoned" building demolished is relatively easy, while starting a war is a bit more difficult).

Influence is not a generic ability like in the main rulebook, but is specific to particular areas of city life. One background dot gets you one level in any single Influence. You may stack dots of a particular Influence to be able to do more and more in that area, or you may get several dots and spread them about between several types of Influences.

Keep in mind that high level Influences are difficult to acquire, and there is a limited amount of influence in a city. Try to go too high on the Influence scale, and you will find yourself competing with other characters, both PCs and NPCs.

See House Ruled Influences for more information.

Allies Allies are humans who support and help you - family, friends or even a mortal organization that owes you some loyalty.

Though allies aid you willingly, without coaxing or coercion, they are not always available to offer assistance; they have their own concerns and can do only so much in the name of friendship. However, they might have some useful Background Traits of their own, and might provide you with indirect access to their contacts, influence or resources.

Allies are typically persons of influence and power in your home city. They can be of almost any sort, pending your Storyteller's permission; you may have friends in the precinct morgue, or perhaps even the mayor's ear, depending on how many dots you spend on this Trait. Your allies are generally trustworthy (although they probably don't know that you're a vampire, or even that vampires exist). However, nothing comes for free; if you wind up drawing favors from your friend in the Cosa Nostra, he'll probably ask you to do him a favor in kind in the future. This often leads to the beginning of a story....

Allies work exclusively within the Influence System by providing additional Influence Downtime Actions depending on the level that they are...

• Level 1: +2 Influence Downtime Actions per month
• Level 2: +4 Influence Downtime Actions per month
• Level 3: +6 Influence Downtime Actions per month
• Level 4: +8 Influence Downtime Actions per month
• Level 5: +10 Influence Downtime Actions per month

Contacts You know people all over the city. When you start making phone calls around your network, the amount of information you can dig up is almost terrifying. Contacts are largely people whom you can bribe, manipulate or coerce into offering information, but you also have a few major contacts - friends whom you can rely on to give you accurate information in their fields of expertise. You should describe each major contact in some detail before the game begins.

In addition to your major contacts, you also have a number of minor contacts spread throughout the city; your major contact might be in the district attorney's office, while your minor contacts might include beat cops, DMV clerks, club bouncers or even hot-dog vendors. You need not detail these various "passing acquaintances" before play; instead, to successfully get in touch with a minor contact, you should roll your Contacts rating (difficulty 7). You can reach one minor contact for each success; of course, you still have to coerce them into telling you what you need to hear.

Contacts work exclusively within the Influence System by providing information to you when Influence Actions occur within particular Areas of Influence...

• Level 1: Monitor 1 Area(s) of Influence
• Level 2: Monitor 2 Area(s) of Influence
• Level 3: Monitor 3 Area(s) of Influence
• Level 4: Monitor 4 Area(s) of Influence
• Level 5: Monitor 5 Area(s) of Influence

Each sect has its own lore, as does the different clans. Each character is allowed, based on background, to have lore 1+ within their sect and clan at creation. Otherwise, you must earn these through game play and with the approval of the ST. For a complete collection of the recognized accumulated facts, traditions, or beliefs about particular Lores, Legends, and Occult topics recognized in our setting please see the Lores page.

NOT TO BE TAKEN IN CHARACTER CREATION: You have something of a reputation and standing (earned or unearned) within the local community of Kindred. Status among Camarilla society is often derived from your sire's status and the respect due your particular bloodline; among the Sabbat, status is more likely to stem from the reputation of your pack. Elders are known for having little respect for their juniors; this Background can mitigate that somewhat.

High status among the Camarilla does not transfer to Sabbat society (and will most likely make you a notorious target for your sect's rivals), and vice versa. Similarly, Anarchs can be considered to have zero Status, unless they have somehow garnered so much power and attention that they must be taken seriously. You may have occasion to roll your Status in conjunction with a Social Trait; this reflects the positive effects of your prestige.

See House Ruled Status for more information.