Backgrounds

Backgrounds represent external resources and social capital — the things your character has access to rather than innate capacities. They are generally purchased at character creation and can change during play as circumstances change.

Key distinction: Backgrounds can be lost, damaged, or stolen in ways that Attributes and Abilities cannot. A character whose Haven is burned out has lost that Background until they rebuild it.

Allies

Mortals who support you willingly — friends, colleagues, family, associates who help you when asked. Unlike Contacts (who provide information), Allies actively do things on your behalf.

Dots	Allies Available
●	One ally of moderate ability (a cop, a reporter)
●●	Two moderate allies, or one influential ally
●●●	Three moderate allies, or a combination of moderate/influential
●●●●	Several allies across multiple spheres of influence
●●●●●	A network of allied contacts across many fields

Contacts

Information sources you can tap — people who know things in their specific spheres. Unlike Allies, Contacts don’t act on your behalf; they provide intelligence.

Dots	Contacts
●	One reliable contact in one specific area
●●	Two contacts in different areas
●●●	Three contacts; access to broader information networks
●●●●	Four contacts; fairly comprehensive informal intelligence
●●●●●	Five contacts; a substantial information network

Domain

Physical territory you have feeding rights over. Each dot reduces hunting difficulty within your domain by 1 (minimum difficulty 3). Also confers some political standing.

Dots	Territory
●	One block or establishment; minimal traffic
●●	A small neighborhood; modest hunting population
●●●	Several blocks or a significant venue; adequate hunting
●●●●	A district; good hunting population
●●●●●	A significant part of a city; prime hunting ground

Domain may overlap with the coterie system’s Chasse, Lien, and Portillon sub-traits.

Fame

Recognition in mortal society — musicians, athletes, actors, public figures. Fame reduces hunting difficulty in areas where you’re recognized (−1 per dot, minimum 3). It also creates problems: being remembered is a Masquerade risk.

Dots	Fame Level
●	Local recognition in specific circles
●●	Regional recognition
●●●	National recognition in your field
●●●●	International celebrity; widely recognized
●●●●●	Global icon; face recognized everywhere

Generation

Starting blood purity beyond the default 13th Generation. Each dot drops starting Generation by one:

Dots	Generation
●	12th
●●	11th
●●●	10th
●●●●	9th
●●●●●	8th

Cannot be purchased above 5 dots at creation. Affects Blood Pool maximum and Blood Points per turn. Elders purchase this Background heavily or earned it through diablerie.

Haven

A secure resting place with daytime protection. No dots = sleeping somewhere inadequate and vulnerable. Each dot adds security and comfort.

Dots	Haven Quality
●	A marginal sanctuary; minimal security
●●	A small, private place with basic protections
●●●	A comfortable haven with reliable security measures
●●●●	An extensive haven with multiple access points and serious protections
●●●●●	A fortress-haven; difficult to locate, harder to assault

Herd

Mortals who feed you willingly or who you’ve established as regular prey. A herd provides automatic blood without a hunt roll.

Dots	Herd Size / Yield
●	3–5 vessels; up to 3 BP per night without roll
●●	6–10 vessels; up to 5 BP per night without roll
●●●	11–20 vessels; up to 8 BP per night without roll
●●●●	30 vessels; up to 10 BP per night without roll
●●●●●	60 vessels; up to 12 BP per night without roll

Influence

Sway in mortal society — political, criminal, social, or institutional. Influence allows you to affect mortal organizations and systems without personal involvement.

Dots	Influence Level
●	Minor pull in a single area (a small city department, a local business sector)
●●	Moderate sway; can affect local decisions in your area
●●●	Significant power; a major institution bends when you push
●●●●	Broad influence across multiple sectors
●●●●●	City-level power; can affect major political and social forces

Mentor

A more powerful Kindred who advises, protects, and sometimes directs you. Mentors provide information, smooth political waters, and can pull strings — but they have their own agendas.

Dots	Mentor Power
●	An ancilla with limited local standing
●●	A significant local figure or experienced ancilla
●●●	A primogen-level elder; significant regional power
●●●●	A powerful elder; city-defining influence
●●●●●	A justicar or equivalent; international authority

Resources

Liquid wealth and earning capacity. Covers both cash on hand and the ability to generate more.

Dots	Resources
●	Struggling; limited cash, maybe a car
●●	Comfortable; steady income, an apartment
●●●	Wealthy; significant savings, property
●●●●	Rich; substantial assets across multiple holdings
●●●●●	Extremely wealthy; near-unlimited personal funding

Retainers

Loyal followers who serve you — ghouls, dominated mortals, fanatically devoted employees. Unlike Allies (who help when asked), Retainers are more consistently available but also more dependent.

Dots	Retainers
●	One relatively loyal servant
●●	Two servants, or one particularly capable one
●●●	Three servants of varying capability
●●●●	Four servants; some with significant skills
●●●●●	Five servants; a small, capable household

Status

Acknowledged standing within Kindred society. Status is specific to a sect; Camarilla Status doesn’t transfer to Anarch standing.

Dots	Standing
●	Known; a recognized member of the community
●●	Respected; opinion carries weight among peers
●●●	Established; a significant local figure
●●●●	Prominent; voice matters at city level
●●●●●	Luminary; major regional figure; others seek your favor

Status can be stripped publicly; the gain that took decades to build can collapse in a single poor decision.

Communal Haven (Group Background)

A shared haven controlled by the coterie. Players divide points among three sub-traits:

Luxury — Quality of appointments.

Dots	Quality
●	Sparse — salvaged furniture, minimal comfort
●●	Modest — basics of a functional modern space
●●●	Comfortable — amenities and relative ease
●●●●	Luxurious — distinctive and well-appointed
●●●●●	Opulent — extreme wealth or celebrity level

Size — Physical space available.

Dots	Size
●	1–2 rooms
●●	3–4 rooms
●●●	5–8 rooms / warehouse / church
●●●●	9–15 rooms / mansion / tunnel network
●●●●●	20+ rooms / sprawling estate / vast network

Security — Difficulty for intruders to breach.

Dots	Security
●	Cheap locks, minimal barriers
●●	Reinforced doors, barred windows, guard dog
●●●	Modern locks, electronic security, alarms and cameras
●●●●	Reinforced walls, sectionalized access, panic rooms
●●●●●	All previous features plus unique elements: isolated location, geographic barriers, occult protections

Each dot of Security adds +1 to the difficulty of penetration rolls or +1 to the number of successes required for access.

Note: Communal Haven is distinct from Domain — the coterie’s turf. A haven may sit within contested domain territory.

Ghoul-Specific Backgrounds

Domitor

Represents the power level and disposition of the vampire you serve.

Dots	Domitor
●	11th–13th Generation; valued enough to access better resources
●●	9th–10th Generation; domitor has passing fondness for you
●●●	8th Generation; your input is occasionally tolerated
●●●●	7th Generation; you are expected to perform, not advise
●●●●●	5th–6th Generation; remarkably tolerated — the elder barely notices you

Higher dots mean more powerful access — but paradoxically less personal attention, not more.

Family Elder (Revenants only)

Authority within your revenant family.

Dots	Role
●	Big Sister/Brother — keep younger family members in line, run errands
●●	Aunt/Uncle — supervise sibling tier, lead small missions
●●●	Mother/Father — advise on family matters, shape futures
●●●●	Grandmother/Grandfather — oversee estate, manage other Elders
●●●●●	Matriarch/Patriarch — final authority on all family decisions