Advanced Character
Creation Guidelines.

This framework establishes standardized creation and advancement rules for:

• Standard Kindred
• Ancillae
• Elders
• Mortals of varying experience
• 14th Generation Thin-Bloods
• 15th Generation Thin-Bloods
• Dhampirs
• Mortals and Ghouls who are Embraced during active play

The system draws its advanced Kindred framework from Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition and V20: The Black Hand — A Guide to the Tal’Mahe’Ra, while adding server-specific rules intended for a persistent multiplayer environment.

The central principle is simple:

Age, experience, and supernatural potency should all matter, but they should not be interchangeable.

An Elder should possess the breadth expected from centuries of existence. An accomplished mortal should be capable of genuinely exceptional mundane expertise. Thin-Bloods should have meaningful versatility despite weaker Blood. And characters Embraced during play should transition naturally into Kindred without being rewarded for mechanically preparing their mortal or Ghoul sheet to exploit the Embrace.

Players must speak with Staff before applying to be an Elder.

For purposes of this system:

These categories determine the character's mechanical creation framework, not necessarily their social title or literal chronological age.

Generation represents the potency and potential of the Blood. Age represents the amount of time the character has actually existed and accumulated experience.

The two commonly correlate, but they are not the same thing.

Accordingly, the server may contain:

• a newly Embraced low-Generation fledgling;
• an 8th Generation vampire who is mechanically an Ancilla;
• an 8th Generation vampire old enough to qualify as an Elder;
• a centuries-old vampire whose comparatively high Generation limits their supernatural potential;
• or other unusual combinations justified by lineage and character history.

The 8th Generation Overlap

8th Generation deliberately overlaps the Ancilla and Elder categories.

An incoming 8th Generation character may therefore use either the Ancilla or Elder creation package, with actual age determining which package is appropriate.

An 8th Generation character whose age and history place them within the Ancilla range uses:

Ancilla Creation

An 8th Generation character whose age and history genuinely place them within the Elder range may use:

Elder Creation

Generation therefore establishes the character's potential capability band, while actual age resolves the overlap.

An 8th Generation vampire does not qualify for Elder creation merely because they possess 8th Generation Blood.

They must actually be an Elder.

Likewise, an 8th Generation vampire does not need to be an Elder simply because their Generation makes that degree of supernatural development possible.

This makes 8th Generation the system's natural transitional Generation between Ancillae and Elders.

Low-Generation Fledglings

Generation inherited through an in-city Embrace does not automatically confer the advanced creation package associated with that Generation.

For example, a mortal Embraced by a 7th Generation sire becomes 8th Generation according to the normal rules of the Embrace.

Their Blood is extraordinarily potent.

They are nevertheless still a brand-new fledgling.

Their Generation determines their supernatural ceilings and which capabilities their Blood can eventually support. It does not fabricate decades or centuries of experience they have never lived.

The separate in-city Embrace rules govern how their existing Attributes, Abilities, and Disciplines are brought forward.

They also receive no age-based increase to their Flaw allowance merely because their Blood is of Elder potency.

The distinction throughout the system is therefore:

Generation determines what the Blood can support.

Age determines what the character has had time to become.

For characters entering the server as established Kindred, Generation is handled through the Generation Background.

Characters do not purchase their category's entire Generation from scratch.

Instead, they receive the highest-numbered Generation — the weakest Blood — within their approved creation category as their baseline, and purchase lower Generation from there using Background dots.

Neonate

Baseline:

13th Generation

Ancilla

Baseline:

9th Generation

Elder

Baseline:

8th Generation

Thus, an 8th Generation vampire can arise through either advanced category:

Ancilla: 9th baseline + 1 Generation Background dot → 8th Generation

Elder: 8th baseline + 0 Generation Background dots → 8th Generation

The difference is not the potency of their Blood.

The difference is how long they have had that Blood and what they have done with it.

An Ancilla purchasing 8th Generation does not thereby receive Elder creation.

Conversely, an approved Elder beginning at the Elder category's 8th Generation baseline does not need to purchase Generation merely because an Ancilla would have paid one Background dot to reach the same Generation.

Background costs are measured relative to the character's approved creation category.

In-City Embrace Exception

The Generation Background system above applies to incoming character creation.

A character Embraced during active play does not purchase Generation at all.

Their Generation is determined normally by their sire:

The childe's Generation is one higher than the sire's Generation.

That Generation is received automatically as a consequence of the Embrace.

No Background dots, Freebie Points, or XP are charged for it.

If a character is Embraced into unusually potent Blood, they receive the benefits and potential associated with that Generation — but not a retroactive advanced-character history.

A newly Embraced 8th Generation vampire therefore possesses 8th Generation Blood while remaining a fledgling.

They have the potential associated with their Generation.

They have not suddenly acquired the experience associated with an Elder.

V20 Black Hand Advanced Creation

Source: V20: The Black Hand — A Guide to the Tal’Mahe’Ra, pp. 52–53.

The Black Hand provides advanced-character templates as an alternative to simply awarding enormous quantities of XP to older vampires.

We use its numerical framework while removing Tal’Mahe’Ra-specific organizational requirements.

The Generation ranges and mandatory Backgrounds associated specifically with membership in the Tal’Mahe’Ra are not part of this framework.

These templates instead serve as our general framework for approved advanced Kindred.

Standard V20 creation permits a character to receive up to 7 additional Freebie Points from Flaws.

For characters who enter the server as older Kindred, we use:

This is a server rule.

The 10-point and 13-point allowances require actual Ancilla-aged or Elder-aged history. Generation alone does not qualify a newly Embraced fledgling for them. The increased allowance represents the additional enemies, obligations, curses, psychological damage, political baggage, supernatural complications, and other consequences an older vampire may have accumulated.

It is not mandatory.

Most importantly, this increased cap belongs specifically to advanced character creation.

It does not retroactively increase because an existing character ages, gains status, or is Embraced in play.

Not every mortal has lived the same life.

The system should be capable of representing both an ordinary person and someone whose mundane career required decades of education, training, and experience.

Mortals therefore use normal mortal creation followed by one of three starting Experience tiers.

Tier I — Established: +30 XP

Represents someone with meaningful accumulated life experience: an experienced tradesperson, nurse, police officer, criminal, journalist, mechanic, businessperson, firefighter, or similar character.

Tier II — Specialist: +60 XP

Represents substantial professional development: a veteran soldier, physician, experienced detective, attorney, intelligence operative, career criminal, engineer, or similar specialist.

Tier III — Exceptional: +90 XP

Represents exceptional mundane accomplishment requiring extensive education or experience.

Examples include a neurosurgeon, special-operations veteran, senior intelligence professional, renowned academic, master engineer, or similarly exceptional specialist.

Tier III is deliberately not the assumed mortal starting point. The character's history should support it and it remains subject to Storyteller approval.

Thin-Bloods should not simply be mechanically inferior versions of ordinary Kindred.

The weaker their Blood becomes, the greater their opportunity for mundane breadth and versatility.

Their compensation therefore takes the form of Experience rather than additional Discipline dots or supernatural powers.

14th Generation

+30 XP

Fourteenth Generation characters receive an additional 30 XP after normal creation.

They possess the strongest Blood among the characters receiving this particular compensation and consequently receive the smallest XP award.

15th Generation

+45 XP

Fifteenth Generation characters receive an additional 45 XP after normal creation.

Their weaker Blood is compensated by greater opportunity to develop mundane Attributes, Abilities, Backgrounds, and other appropriate Traits.

The intent is not to make them more powerful vampires.

It is to allow them to become more versatile characters despite being weaker vampires.

Dhampirs

+45 XP

Dhampirs receive the same additional 45 XP as Fifteenth Generation characters.

Dhampirs possess meaningful advantages of their own, but mechanically and narratively occupy the extremely mortal-adjacent end of this system.

They therefore receive the same experiential development package as Fifteenth Generation characters.

Thin-Blood Progression

14th Generation: +30 XP
15th Generation: +45 XP
Dhampir: +45 XP

The weaker and more mortal-adjacent the character is, the greater the emphasis placed upon mundane experience and versatility.

Characters Embraced during active roleplay are fundamentally different from vampires created as Kindred.

Their mortal life has actually been played.

Their existing Traits, development, expenditures, and history therefore remain meaningful.

An in-city Embrace does not cause the character to be rebuilt using standard vampire character creation.

Instead, the existing character is converted forward.

Generation is determined normally from the character's sire according to the standard rules for the Embrace.

There is no separate server generation assignment for these characters.

The identity of the sire therefore matters mechanically as well as narratively.

When the character is Embraced, their existing sheet remains intact.

Their Attributes and Abilities are then brought up to the appropriate standard Kindred creation allocation where necessary.

This ensures that a character who entered play under mortal creation rules is not permanently disadvantaged simply because their Embrace occurred through roleplay rather than during character creation.

Existing Traits are not erased or redistributed.

This is a catch-up to the Kindred creation standard, not an opportunity to rebuild the character from scratch.

Characters Embraced during active play do not receive the expanded Ancilla or Elder Flaw allowance.

Their existing Flaws remain. Some may shift or be changed (merits as well) as they become impossible to keep as they are no longer mortal. With Storyteller permission they may be converted.

Their maximum does not suddenly become 10 or 13 because of their age, sire, Generation, or new supernatural status.

The expanded Flaw allowances exist specifically as part of advanced incoming character creation.

A newly created standard Kindred normally begins with an initial allocation of Discipline dots.

An existing character Embraced during play may already possess Discipline dots — particularly if that character was previously a Ghoul.

Simply granting the entire normal Discipline allocation again would reward characters for accumulating Disciplines before their Embrace.

Conversely, granting nothing would penalize characters who legitimately developed as Ghouls.

We use a Discipline Catch-Up Discount.

The Rule

Upon Embrace, determine the normal starting number of Discipline dots the character would have received as a newly created vampire.

For a standard V20 Neonate, this is normally:

3 Discipline dots

The player selects their starting Discipline arrangement according to the normal applicable character-creation rules.

Rather than automatically receiving those dots for free, the character receives a temporary XP discount toward reaching that initial Discipline allocation.

Discounted XP cost = normal XP cost × 2/3, rounded down. For example, a normal cost of 10 XP becomes 6 XP; 15 XP becomes 10 XP.

The discount lasts only until the character has obtained the equivalent of their normal initial Discipline allotment.

Afterward, all Discipline advancement uses normal XP costs.

Any Discipline dots the character already possesses count toward that initial allocation.

They are not removed.

They are not refunded.

The XP previously spent acquiring them is not returned.

There is no tradeoff, reimbursement, conversion, or replacement benefit for already possessing those dots.

Example

A Ghoul has already learned:

Potence 1

They are subsequently Embraced.

A normal starting vampire would have received 3 Discipline dots.

The character therefore already possesses one of those three dots.

They may use the Embrace Discipline discount only until they have acquired the remaining equivalent of their initial allocation.

They do not:

• receive three additional free Discipline dots;
• receive XP back for Potence 1;
• exchange Potence 1 for another Discipline;
• or receive compensation because they purchased Potence while a Ghoul.

Their prior investment remains exactly what it was.

This rule is particularly important for Ghouls.

Without it, the optimal mechanical strategy would potentially become:

Remain a Ghoul → accumulate as many Discipline dots as possible → become Embraced → receive the normal vampire Discipline package on top of them.

That creates an unintended incentive to deliberately delay the Embrace while accumulating supernatural power.

A long-term Ghoul could consequently enter vampirism substantially ahead of characters who actually began play as Kindred.

The catch-up system removes that incentive.

A Ghoul's Disciplines remain valuable because the character has genuinely possessed and used those powers during play.

They simply do not create additional free supernatural advancement upon Embrace.

There is therefore no punishment for having purchased Disciplines as a Ghoul — but neither is there a mechanical windfall.

This principle applies broadly to characters transitioning through an Embrace:

XP already spent remains spent.

If a character purchased something during their mortal or Ghoul existence which later becomes cheaper, easier, or normally granted through vampire creation, the difference is not refunded.

The character received the benefit of that Trait during the period in which they possessed it.

Character development remains chronological.

We are converting an existing character into a vampire, not rebuilding them as though their previous existence never happened.

Published V20 Material

Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 79 — “Advancing New Characters”

Provides the V20 guidance for advanced starting characters, including approximately:

• Neonate: 0–35 XP
• Ancilla: 75–220 XP
• Elder: 250–600 XP
• Methuselah: 1,000+ XP

The Black Hand: A Guide to the Tal’Mahe’Ra, pp. 52–53

Provides the advanced creation templates forming the basis of our Ancilla and Elder creation.

Server Rules

The following are deliberately server-specific:

Advanced Flaw Caps

• Neonate: 7
• Ancilla: 10
• Elder: 13

Mortal Experience

• Tier I: +30 XP
• Tier II: +60 XP
• Tier III: +90 XP

Thin-Blood/Dhampir Experience

• 14th Generation: +30 XP
• 15th Generation: +45 XP
• Dhampir: +45 XP

In-Play Embrace

• Generation follows the sire normally.
• Existing character development remains intact.
• Attributes and Abilities are brought up to the appropriate Kindred starting allocation.
• No expanded Flaw cap is gained.
• Existing Disciplines count against the normal initial Discipline allocation.
• A temporary Discipline XP discount allows the character to catch up to that initial allocation.
• Once that allocation has been reached, normal XP costs resume.
• XP previously spent as a Mortal or Ghoul is never refunded.

Long-term investment in the server should matter, while character death and permanent retirement retain meaningful consequences.

The Inheritance Bank

For every 2 XP earned through active gameplay, the character generates 1 XP in the player's Inheritance Bank. This is a 50% inheritance rate on earned gameplay XP. The banked XP remains inactive while the character who generated it remains active.

When Inheritance Activates

Inheritance becomes available only when the generating character is killed or permanently shelved. Permanent means permanent: a character cannot temporarily retire, release their inheritance, and subsequently return to active play.

Eligible and Excluded XP

Only XP earned through that character's active gameplay generates inheritance. Creation XP, Mortal Tier XP, Thin-Blood and Dhampir starting XP, administrative starting XP, advanced creation packages, other character-package grants, and previously inherited XP never count.

Creation XP cannot generate inheritance. Inherited XP cannot generate further inheritance.

One Transfer to a New Character

Once released, the inheritance may be assigned to one new character once. Once assigned, it becomes part of that character and cannot be withdrawn, moved, or inherited again. This preserves part of the player's investment without allowing XP to circulate between active characters or multiply through repeated retirements.

Example

Character A earns 200 XP through gameplay and generates 100 Inheritance XP. After A dies or is permanently shelved, that 100 XP may be assigned to new Character B.

The inherited 100 XP generates no inheritance. If B later earns 120 XP through gameplay, B generates 60 new Inheritance XP. Only that new 60 XP can become available after B's permanent death or shelving; the original 100 XP cannot transfer again.

Inheritance represents the player's continuing investment in the server, not the new character's personal history. Deliberately cycling characters retains only half of newly earned gameplay XP and never reproduces creation or previously inherited XP.

Bonus XP added to the monthly rate (the MMEH tag, bounty characters, content generation and Storyteller awards) also counts toward inheritance.

This system deliberately avoids attempting to make every supernatural category mechanically identical.

Instead, each receives development appropriate to what it represents.

Mortals gain experience.
A human being can be ordinary, accomplished, or genuinely exceptional without requiring supernatural abilities.

Thin-Bloods gain versatility.
Their weak Blood remains a genuine disadvantage, but it does not prevent them from being interesting and broadly capable characters.

Older Kindred gain breadth.
Ancillae and Elders receive structured advanced creation rather than enormous pools of optimization XP.

In-play characters retain their history.
An Embrace changes what the character becomes. It does not erase what the character already was or refund the mechanical choices that got them there.

Most importantly:

No character should be mechanically encouraged to delay an organic story development simply because doing so allows them to stack character-creation benefits.

A Ghoul should not need to avoid being Embraced because purchasing Disciplines first is mechanically optimal.

A mortal should not regret developing their character because those XP expenditures would later be refunded or duplicated.

And a newly Embraced character should emerge as a functional Kindred without receiving a second character creation layered on top of everything they already earned.

The system therefore rewards playing the character's story, rather than preparing their sheet for a future mechanical conversion.

Character slots balance ordinary characters with characters of greater power or narrative prominence. New players should first gain experience with standard characters and demonstrate their understanding of the server's roleplay expectations before taking on a character of note.

The Intended Slot Balance

The intended balance is roughly two standard-power slots for each Ancilla-equivalent slot. This describes the general shape of slot availability rather than a fixed allotment for every player. Supporter tiers expand availability within this overall approach.

Standard-power and Ancilla-equivalent slots remain distinct. Finishing a cooldown does not convert a standard-power slot into an Ancilla-equivalent slot or remove the intended balance between them.

Characters of Note

For slot eligibility, the middle tier includes Ancillae, Thin-Bloods, and equivalent mortals of note. Tier II — Specialist mortals (+60 XP) occupy this equivalent mortal tier. This is an access category; it does not make these character types mechanically identical or change their creation rules.

Basic Slot Access and the Starting Cooldown

Slots provided through the basic, non-supporter allocation begin with a two-month cooldown on access to characters of note, measured from when the slot first becomes available to the player. Standard-power play remains available during this period.

Once the cooldown ends, the player may apply for a character of note in an available, appropriately designated Ancilla-equivalent slot. Cooldown completion does not replace Storyteller approval or automatically grant an advanced creation package.

Supporter Slots

Supporter-based slots always begin off cooldown. Supporter tiers expand character-slot availability, and players may immediately apply for characters within the power level assigned to those slots.

Supporter access does not turn every additional slot into an Ancilla-equivalent slot. The intended emphasis remains on standard-power characters, with more limited availability for characters of note. All concept, history, Generation, age, and Storyteller-approval requirements still apply.

Testing and Special Circumstances

The Storytelling team may end a starting cooldown early for alpha or beta testing, or for an approved special circumstance. A waiver applies to the slot or slots explicitly covered by the approval; it does not by itself change their designated power level.

Special-Permission Characters

Garou and other character types requiring special permission or ongoing Storyteller oversight may occupy any available slot, whether standard-power or Ancilla-equivalent, basic or supporter. They consume that slot normally, but do not have a starting cooldown requirement. Access is controlled by their separate approval and oversight process.

An approved special-permission character may therefore use a basic-allocation slot while its ordinary character-of-note cooldown is still running. This exception does not itself clear that cooldown for other character types.

Eligibility Is Not Automatic Approval

An available slot being off cooldown permits an application for a character appropriate to that slot; it does not guarantee approval, bypass restrictions on higher-tier concepts, or remove required Storyteller oversight.