Lexique Vampirique

Acolytes: A common nickname for members of the Circle of the Crone.

Ancilla (an • SILL • uh): Kindred too old to be considered neonates, but not yet elders, whose Requiem has lasted roughly 50 to 150 years. (The plural term is ancillae (an • SILL • ae).)

Ancient: The rare vampire who has existed for over a millennium.

Avus (AY • vuss): A character’s “grandfather” or patron in a bloodline from which she is not truly descended. (See p. 256.)

Barrens: Portions of the city unfit even for hunting.

Beast: The inchoate urges that drive vampires away from the Man.

Belial’s Brood: A raucous, reckless covenant of vampiric Satanists.

blood hunt: A citywide hunt for a particular Kindred fugitive, in which most if not all local Kindred are expected to participate.

bloodline: A group of vampires that splits off from a parent clan to form a distinct lineage of its own. Some bloodlines do not differ from the parent clan in significant ways, while others claim different powers or weaknesses.

Carthian (KAR • thee • enn): A vampiric idealist, one who believes in reconciling the Requiem with the politics and society of modern mortals.

childe (CHILD): Kindred “offspring”; also used to refer to particularly young neonates, or as a minor insult (akin to calling someone a “child” in mortal circles). The plural is childer (CHILL • der).

clan: One of five families of Kindred whose lineage links back to times beyond Kindred memory.

Circle of the Crone: A covenant of ritualistic Kindred that reveres pagan gods, spirits, pantheons and/or progenitors.

Coils of the Dragon A mystic way of learning that allows vampires to ignore certain aspects of their curse, as practiced by the Ordo Dracul.

coterie: A group of allied Kindred.

covenant: A faction of Kindred who share certain political and theological beliefs. The covenants exist worldwide, though details often differ from domain to domain.

Crúac (KREW • ack): The bloody, witchcraft-like magic practiced by the Circle of the Crone.

Daeva (DAY • vuh): A clan of vampires known for being emotional, sensual and desirable.
Damned, the: The race of Kindred; vampires.

Danse Macabre: The state of eternal infighting between and among the Kindred of different clans, covenants and age distinctions.

diablerie (dee • AHB • ler • ee): Kindred “cannibalism”; draining another vampire of not only his blood but his soul.

Disciplines: The preternatural abilities and edges the Kindred possess, allowing them to vanish, turn into bats and perform myriad other inhuman feats.

domain: A region ruled (ostensibly) by a single Kindred authority. The largest domains correspond to cities and often contain smaller domains within them.

Dragons: A common nickname for members of the Ordo Dracul.

elder: A vampire who has survived for over 150 years; also a term of respect.

Elysium (ell • ISS • ee • um): A location used for Kindred gatherings and declared a neutral, “no violence” sanctuary by the Prince.

Embrace: The act of turning a mortal into a vampire.

Final Death: A Kindred’s real, true, ultimate death; when her unlife ceases and she never again rises as a vampire.

First Estate: A common nickname for the Invictus.

frenzy: A berserk state in which the Beast takes total control over a vampire. Rage, fear and hunger can induce frenzies; when precision is needed, the term is qualified by cause (rage frenzy, fear frenzy or hunger frenzy) or by a special term (Rötschreck or Wassail). Unqualified, the term generally indicates
rage frenzy.

Gangrel (GANG • grell): A clan of vampires known for being primal, hardy and savage.

ghoul: A mortal fed Kindred Vitae and possessed of various supernatural abilities, though far weaker than most vampires.

Harpy: A Kindred in a position prominent or estimable enough to raise up or put down others in vampire society.

haven: A vampire’s residence; where one finds sanctuary from the sun.

Herald: A spokesman for the Prince.

herd: A collection of mortals from whom a vampire feeds regularly.

Hound: A personal agent of the Prince; assassin, leg-breaker, capo.

Invictus (in • VICK • tuss): One of the largest of the Kindred covenants, which believes in rule by a vampiric “elite” made up mostly of elders.

Kindred: The modern (and most frequent) term by which vampires refer to themselves and their race.

kine: A term for mortals; the phrase “Kindred and kine” refers to everyone.

Kiss: Both the act of biting and taking blood from a mortal, as well as the pleasure it provides both participants.

Lancea Sanctum (LAN • kay • uh SANK • toom): A covenant of vampires, made up of vampiric religious zealots who honor the Roman centurion Longinus, whom they have adopted as a form of “patron saint” for the act of testing Christ’s divinity.

Lupine: A werewolf.

Man, the: The humanity a vampire maintains (or tries to); the spark of mortality that distinguishes him from the Beast.

Masquerade: The efforts and system of laws required by the Tradition of Secrecy to hide Kindred existence from the mortal world.

Master of Elysium: The Kindred responsible for places of Elysium, who also makes sure that everything is prepared, that nobody fights and that word gets out about events.

Mekhet (MEK • et): A clan of vampires known for being quick, discreet and wise.

neonate (NEE • oh • nate): A young vampire, engaged in his Requiem for less than 50 years.

Nosferatu (noss • fur • AH • too): A vampire clan known for being stealthy, strong and terrifying.

Ordo Dracul (OR • dough drah • KOOL): A covenant of vampires known for its mystic studies and desire to transcend the vampiric condition.

poacher: One who feeds in another Kindred’s domain without permission.

Primogen (PRIM • oh • jen): An elder who advises the Prince of a domain (also plural).

Prince: The ruler of, or most powerful Kindred in, a domain.

Priscus (PRISS • kuss): The informal “head” of a specific clan within a domain. The plural is Prisci (PRISS • key).

Rack: The best parts of the city in which to feed, including nightclubs and other loud, crowded areas.

regnant: The Kindred who holds regency over a thrall; the dominant member of a Vinculum. Also “domitor.”

Requiem: The Kindred condition; the whole miserable, cursed song of a vampire’s unlife, whether singularly or metaphorically.

revenant: A vampire who has lost all Humanity and exists in perpetual frenzy.

Sanctified: A common nickname for members of the Lancea Sanctum, singular and plural.

Seneschal: The Prince’s right hand and assistant.

Seven: A clan, covenant or other group of vampires that detests the Kindred race and seeks to destroy it, its own members excepted.

Sheriff: The Kindred responsible for enforcing the Prince’s laws and dictates.

sire: A vampiric “parent,” one who has Embraced a childe; alternatively, a verb, meaning “to Embrace.”

Theban (THEE • ben) Sorcery: A mysterious form of blood magic practiced primarily by members of the Lancea Sanctum.

thrall: One who is bound to a regnant; the enslaved member of a Vinculum.

torpor: A death-like sleep into which Kindred fall if they are injured severely or starved for too long. Kindred can also enter torpor willingly to escape the world for a time.

Traditions: The three primary Kindred laws, passed down through the ages and observed inviolate due to the Kindred condition.

unbound: A vampire who refuses to accept the local rule of a Prince or other governing Kindred body. Also known as an unaligned or independent Kindred.

Ventrue (VENN • true): A clan of vampires known for being regal, commanding and aristocratic.

vessel: Any source of blood for the Kindred to feed on; usually but not always used to refer to a mortal.

Vitae (VIE • tay): Blood, particularly the blood of a vampire.

Vinculum (VIN • cue • lum): The artificial love and loyalty spawned by feeding from the same vampire three times. Also known less formally as a blood bond.

Whip: One who keeps his clanmates in line in order that they be taken seriously.

witch-hunter: A mortal who seeks out Kindred and destroys
them.