White Wolf Style Vampires
Painting a portrait of the type of vampire you'll be playing. This is by no means an extensive history or description, but it's what a newly created vampire such as your character would know.
+ V:tM vampires call themselves Kindred. Kindred can be used interchangably with vampire when referring to them.
+ All vampires hail from the first, Caine, who sired three childer (known as the Second Generation), who in turn created thirteen more childer (the Third Generation) which became the founders of the thirteen clans known today. Your characters will be 13th Generation characters (13 steps removed from Caine) unless you take dots (points) in a certain trait called Generation.
+ Sunlight and fire are the most dangerous things to a vampire. Sunlight can reduce you to ashes in under a minute, and fire might take maybe twice as long. It is for this reason that vampires don't smoke, unless they care more about their image than their safety.
+ Kindred are entirely nocturnal. They need a safe place to sleep during the day, called a haven, or they're put at the mercy of the sun and those who would wish to do them harm. It's extremely difficult for them to stay awake and function in the daytime even if they're underground or otherwise completely shielded from the sun.
+ Garlic, running water, silver, threshholds, and crosses mean nothing to a vampire. They won't stop or damage a Kindred. The only exception is if the bearer of the cross or other holy symbol has great and absolute faith in whatever power they believe in, but this is extremely rare, especially in the World of Darkness. Vampires also have perfectly normal reflections in mirrors.
+ Vampires do not need to eat, drink, or breathe. They can make themselves do these things in order to maintain an illusion of mortality, but it's not easy. Any normal food or liquid consumed is usually not enjoyed and must be regurgitated later, as the stomach and intestines no longer function. In order to breathe, one must force precious vitae (blood) into the atrophied lungs to make them work and draw air again.
+ Kindred are created through a specific process called the Embrace. They are not born, they cannot be created accidentally, and they can't breed any more than corpses can. The Kindred doing the creating, the sire, chooses a mortal carefully, trailing them for weeks, months, or even years before performing the act of the Embrace. When the sire wants to, he (or she) brings the Kindred-to-be (the childe) to a secure place, drains the mortal of every last drop of blood, then cuts his own wrist, neck, whatever, and lets some of his own blood dribble down the dying mortal's throat. It only takes a few drops of the sire's blood for the childe to be awakened as a (quite ravenous) vampire. The childe then becomes the same clan as her sire.
+ A stake through the heart will not kill a vampire, but it will paralyze him until it is removed.
+ Kindred possess fully retractable fangs and are able to close bite wounds caused by their own fangs by licking them.
+ Vampires are solitary creatures. Some do seek out the company of others and even establish friendships or have lovers, but in general they are untrustworthy and paranoid, but rightly so.
+ Every city is governed by a Prince (this term applies to females also; there are no "Princesses"). The Prince is simply whoever has the knowledge, charisma, and power to hold sway over the city and keep it in peace. The Prince's job is mostly to maintain the Masquerade and settle disputes; he's more of a judge than a monarch.
