Welcome to part II of this in depth guide to the storyteller system used in the Vampire: the Masquerade role playing game. This guide compiles many of the core concepts of play from the V5 core rulebook into easy to read, explanatory sections, designed to simplify the learning process, or as a refresher for seasoned players.
In part I of this guide readers learned the basics of play including traits, disciplines, hunger and damage. Readers are introduced to the concept of point expenditure and augmentation. Part I is a perfect starting point for beginners of the World of Darkness storyteller system and/or players new to the role playing game Vampire: the Masquerade, but it also suits seasoned players as a quick refresher of the basic rules.
Here in part II of this guide standard tests, contests and conflicts are described in detail including many of the core game mechanics available to PC's (player characters) during play and a few combat scenarios showing these mechanics in action. This section is suitable to beginners, seasoned or advanced players, and storytellers alike as it covers many of the core mechanics involved in playing the game and in depth explanations of each.
In Part III (coming soon!) conflict systems described below are further expanded on introducing dice pool splitting for multiple foes in combat. Also readers delve into the realm of social combat, institutional conflict, and extended tests.
Standard tests
The most common test is a simple one and involves 3 steps:
1 - Tell the Storyteller what you intend to do and create a dice pool using traits set by the Storyteller. For example you state you want to punch a hole in the wall, the Storyteller might ask you to roll 'strength + brawl'.
2 - Simultaneously the storyteller will set the difficulty of the action, they may choose to keep this information secret depending on their playstyle. If your dice pool is double the difficulty set by the story teller you may win by default, this is called an automatic win.
3- If the test was not an automatic win roll all the dice and count the successes. Every dice rolled showing a 6 or higher is a success. If you roll the same or more successes against the difficulty set by the storyteller you win the test.
Some game mechanics used in standard tests:
Automatic wins speed up gameplay, though it is up to the storyteller whether they include the auto-win mechanic in their story. Many of the advanced mechanics mentioned in this guide are optional. Storytellers have full control over the narrative and mechanics involved. Below are a few more tools the Storyteller and PC's may use to speed up play or affect dice pools to gain advantage:
Taking half divides a dice pool in half and the result is the number of successes - yep, no need to roll folks, the Storyteller's got this in the bag! Generally taking half is reserved for SPC's (storyteller played character's), however; the Vampire the Masquerade companion expands on taking half allowing PC's to use this technique if they choose AND if the storyteller allows it.
Win at a cost means you failed the test but still had 'some' successes so you achieve what you set out to achieve but at the cost of say... an arm, or a touchstone, or maybe you are in debt and now owe a major boon to somebody. Win-at-cost's can be negotiated with the Storyteller. Generally if the task was easy enough and you were only needing one more success to achieve what you wanted a win-at-cost may be a fair outcome, however, if you had few or only one success don't expect any handouts.
Teamwork allows players to work together. The player with the largest dice pool rolls and the players helping each add one die to their teammates dice pool.
Modifiers allow the storyteller to modify the difficulty of a task by either adding or subtracting dice from a players pool or increasing or decreasing the difficulty of the test. Increasing one level of difficulty is equivalent to removing two dice from a dice pool.
Contests
Standard tests are great when you are rolling against the difficulty set by the storyteller to perform certain tasks, but what happens when you are facing an opponent? Contests allow players to compare successes against other PC's or SPC's or even multiple foes.
1 - Similar to standard tests: the PC tells the Storyteller what they intend to do and create a dice pool according to the traits the storyteller asks them to use.
2 - Rather than setting a difficulty the Storyteller creates a dice pool using the SPC's traits, both the PC and Storyteller then roll their dice pools together. If a PC is contesting another PC they will use their traits and roll against each other rather than the Storyteller.
2 - Count your successes and your opponent does the same. Whoever has the most successes wins the contest.
Some game mechanics used in contests:
The margin is the amount of successes you roll 'above' the difficulty set by the storyteller. Margins are often used in combat to count the amount of damage dealt or negated. Margins can also be used to determine how well you succeed at a task, if you only gained a margin of 1 you succeed with no added benefits, if you gained a margin of 3 or more you may gain a bonus for rolling so well, if any critical rolls were involved even better!
Spending willpower allows a player to re-roll up to three die from 'one' of the traits used in the dice pool. For example if a player rolled 'wits + investigation' they could spend one point of willpower to re-roll their investigation dice of which they had 3.
Conflicts
Conflicts are slightly more intricate versions of contests and generally involve building a conflict pool against an opponent, and counting the margin of successes as damage dealt or negated due to a good defence.
1 - Similar to standard tests and contests: the PC tells the Storyteller what they intend to do and creates a conflict pool according to the traits the Storyteller asks them to use.
2 - The Storyteller will determine the order of actions using the standard or more advanced systems in the rulebook. When engaged in close combat generally both combatants roll simultaneously against each other.
3 - The combatant with the most successes wins the conflict but will need to count the margin of successes in order to determine the amount of damage they dealt to their opponent. They then need to add any bonus damage if they were using a weapon.
4 - The Storyteller will determine whether the damage is aggravated or superficial and it is then added to the opponents health tracker (or willpower tracker in social combat). If the opponent who lost the conflict was wearing armour any aggravated damage will be turned into superficial damage up to the amount of armour points the opponent has.
5 - once the damage is dealt the next round begins.
Some game mechanics used in conflicts:
Surprise attacks allow PC's to catch their opponents off-guard and include either a successful manoeuvre action in round 1 of combat (sometimes before combat starts), or attacking when using the obfuscate discipline. To surprise an opponent the PC rolls their 'dexterity + stealth' against the opponent's 'wits + awareness'. If successful the PC then rolls their attack pool against a difficulty of 1, this is done as a standard test not a contest because the opponent was caught by surprise and does not get a chance to defend themselves or react. All successes rolled above the first deal out damage.
A called shot is an attack targeted at a specific location or dealt for a specific purpose. Shooting a tire on a moving vehicle, stabbing an opponent in the heart, decapitating a foe, or dealing less damage in order to incapacitate an enemy but not kill, are all examples of called shots. Because a called shot requires accuracy and precision the end result of the test is modified by the storyteller to signify the difficulty of the shot. The storyteller will remove 1 or more successes (usually up to a maximum of 4) from the result of the test.
Impairment happens when the PC's health tracker is filled with either superficial damage or a combination of superficial and aggravated damage but not completely full. Two dice are removed from all dice pools concerning physical actions. Similar occurs when taking willpower damage however dice are removed from social dice pools instead.
Crippling injuries occur when the PC's health tracker is filled with either superficial damage or a combination of superficial and aggravated damage and they take another point of damage. The PC immediately rolls a D10 and adds any aggravated damage to the result, then refers to the crippling injury table to determine the type of injury that has occurred: stunned, head trauma, broken limb or blinded, massive wound, or death/torpor. SPC's may also obtain crippling injuries. This mechanic is meant for highly combat orientated chronicles to add a flare of urgency and increase the difficulty of battle.
Blocking allows PC's to prevent damage being done to fellow PC's or SPC's during combat but may also be used in social conflict. The PC contests the current action of the opponent usually with a 'dexterity + athletics' against the opponents original roll. A failed block means the opponent still succeeds on whatever they intended to do initially such as attack or belittle another PC, the other PC still get's to roll a contest against the opponent.
Mending damage is an extremely useful game mechanic allowing for more dramatic conflicts as it requires a rouse check to mend 1 superficial damage each round potentially causing PC's to become more hungry and more likely to roll a bestial failure the longer they choose to participate in conflict.
Actions in Combat
Minor actions are tasks deemed somewhat complex requiring a penalty to perform during a combat scene. The PC loses 1 dice to their combat pool per minor action performed. Such actions like reading a weapon, getting a car started, taking more than a few steps, putting out a fire, taking a hostage, and setting up a distraction, are all considered minor actions during combat.
Movement is underplayed to get to the action faster, generally movement is considered a minor action, or if movement requires some strategy the manoeuvre action is used, see below:
The Manoeuvre action allows players to gain an advantage on the next test or get into a position in order to complete a task. Manoeuvres can be part of combat such as flanking or setting up for a surprise attack, or they can be part of an elaborate plan, the build up to achieving a difficult task. Generally they require a standard test, or if the action directly opposes somebody a contest.
Taking cover modifies the PC's dice pool and typically works against ranged attacks. No cover against a shooter is -2 dice to their defence pool, great cover is +2 dice to their defence pool, regular cover does not modify the dice pool. A stationary target makes no defence roll and similar to surprise attacks the attacker rolls against a difficulty of 1 and deals damage for every success over 1.
Examples of Conflict
The following conflict examples use game mechanics described in Part I and Part II of this guide. Each example involves a single PC (player character) up against a single opponent. The opponent is controlled by the storyteller. A complete combat scene usually includes three rounds of combat, each example shown here constitutes one round in a one on one situation. Oftentimes, and especially up against weak foes, combat may only require one round of dice rolling before the storyteller concludes the result by narrating what happens next, or if combat was in favour of the PC's the storyteller may allow the players to decided what to do with with their adversaries now that they have submitted (or were killed).
Conflict Example 1:
In a contest where a PC attempts to deal damage to an opponent and the opponent decides to defend themselves, the opponent rolls a defence pool, this is usually 'dexterity + athletics' against the PC's attack pool, in this case the PC is using their bare fists and is asked to roll 'strength + brawl' to attack. It would be advantageous for the opponent to use an all-out-defence action in order to add +1 dice to their defence pool, all-out-defence is explained in part I of this guide. The PC has 3 points in strength and 2 points in brawl so they roll 5 dice against their opponent who has 2 points in dexterity and 2 points in athletics, with an all-out-defence action they add +1 bonus die to their pool, a total of 5 dice. The PC then decides to use blood surge to augment their physical attributes adding +1 die to their roll, now a total of 6. The PC rolls 6 dice and gains 2 successes, their opponent rolls 5 dice and gains 2 successes. The PC then decides to spend 1 point of willpower to re-roll their strength attribute. They re-roll 3 dice and gain two critical successes, a total of 6 successes against the 2 successes their opponent rolled. This means the margin is 6 minus 2 which equals 4. They deal out 4 damage to their opponent. Because they were using their fists the damage is considered superficial and the opponent then halves the damage and draws 2 slashes on their health tracker.
Conflict Example 2:
In a contest where both the PC and their opponent want to deal damage they both roll their attack pools against each other. The PC has a switch blade and intends to slash at their opponent with it, the Storyteller asks them to gather a 'dexterity + melee' dice pool for the attack, they have 2 points in dexterity and 3 points in melee, they gather 5 dice. The opponent has a baseball bat and intends to swing wildly at the PC using an all-out-attack, all-out-attack is explained in part I of this guide. The opponent gathers a pool of 'strength + melee' to attack, they have 1 point in strength and 3 points in melee, a total of 4 dice. Not entirely knowing the opponents intentions the PC decides to use blood surge and augment their dexterity to add +1 die to their pool, now a total of 6 dice. The PC rolls 6 dice and gains a single success, their opponent rolls 4 dice and gains no successes. Both decide to spend a willpower to re-roll up to 3 die from either an attribute or skill they used. The PC re-rolls their dexterity trait, originally 2 dice but with blood surge active it is increased by 1, so they re-roll 3 dice and gain 3 successes. The opponent re-rolls their melee skill of 3 dice and gain 1 success. Because the opponent was using an all-out-attack against the PC they take ALL the successes the PC rolled as damage. The PC was also using a switchblade which is considered a 'light piercing' weapon so they add +2 bonus weapon damage. The opponent takes 6 points of superficial damage and they draw 5 /'s and convert one into an X on their health tracker(assuming they had full health before the conflict started), the PC gains +1 dice to any rolls made against the opponent in the next round because the opponent failed at their all-out-attack. The opponent also receives a malus of -2 dice for all future rolls because their health tracker filled up with superficial damage and they are now impaired, if they were mortal they would be incapacitated at this point.
Conflict Example 3:
In a standard test where a PC has managed to sneak up on an opponent without the opponent noticing them using a manoeuvre action, the PC rolls their attack dice against a difficulty of 1 because they are using the surprise attack action. They intend to jump out of the shadows and stab their opponent in the heart with a stake. They roll their 'dexterity + melee' pool and gain 2 critical successes and 1 normal success, a total of 5 successes. Because this is an intricate task where the player has called the shot to their opponents heart the storyteller removes 2 of the successful dice from the attack pool. 3 successes remain and the PC successfully stakes their opponent in the heart dealing 2 aggravated damage and causing their opponent to enter torpor (more on torpor in part III).
It's always a good idea to plan your actions ahead of time. A well defended opponent is hard to hit, but an attacker gains advantage when using a decent weapon, manoeuvring into a more advantageous position or using the element of surprise.
Variations of Play
It is clearly stated in the V5 core rulebook that the storyteller has complete control over the mechanics implemented in their game. Some storytellers will run their game following the core mechanics described in the rulebook and in this guide, other storytellers will have their own set of mechanics and dynamic systems. It is perfectly normal and highly recommended that players tweak the rules to suit their game. The golden rule as stated on page 111 of the core rulebook is: There are no rules! - this just means the Storyteller has complete freedom to play however they see fit provided it makes for a good political horror story.
Part III Coming Soon
Part III of this guide will provide more advanced combat examples and mechanics such as how to fight against multiple enemies, diablery and torpor, extended tests, a quick dive into social combat rules, a look at institutional conflict, and more on using weapons, armour, and cover to gain an advantage over your enemies. Post coming soon, subscribe to receive updates (no junk mail).
Appendix
For more information on all the concepts mentioned in part II of this in depth guide refer to the core rulebook for Vampire: the Masquerade 5th edition.
Standard Rules on pages 115 to 130
Advanced Mechanics on pages 289 to 305
If you somehow missed it click here to go to part I of this guide.
(Part III coming soon!)
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