Welcome to the SBN Creation Guide
This in-depth guide is intended specifically for playing on our server. We primarily use v5 rules-as-written, but have made some alterations to account for the many situations that are left to the Storyteller’s discretion in interpretation. These rulings and homebrews are marked accordingly.
Submitting sheets for approval
- Enter the command -ticket open [Character] sheet, replacing the word ‘character’ with your character’s name. This command should be used in #general-chatter. The command will open a private ticket between you and the staff who will process your sheet to prevent any form of meta or sheet peeking.
- Whenever you wish to purchase something using exp, please check over the Server Rulings regarding purchasing in the Experience Spending section to ensure that you have met the requirements or submit a query in #ask-the-st if it’s a Merit. Open a ticket once you have met the requirements with -ticket open [Character] update, again replacing the bracketed word with your character’s name. In this ticket, tell staff what you’re buying, include the link to the proper rolls and/or RP, as well as the query, and upload the edited sheet. Please note the purchase on your sheet as well. We do not do updates for Hunger or health/WP changes or for tallying exp.
Sheet Approval Process/Rules
- We have custom sheets that allow us to streamline sheet checking; you will be required to use these. Find them below.
- We review sheets in order of submission and do so as volunteers: sometimes it may take multiple days to hear back from us. Please be patient with us as there are plenty of other tasks we handle within the server. We will list any needed fixes in your ticket and wait for you to reupload to the same ticket.
- If you continue to make major errors on your sheet and are unable to follow simple fixes that we list for you, we will assume you do not actually own the book and you will be required to build off a premade sheet. You can of course ask questions in your ticket if you are confused or need additional help.
- Please do not submit partially filled sheets. If you need additional help, ask within the server. Our users are always willing to help.
SbN Sheets
Premade Clan Sheets
Expanded sheets for veteran characters
custom seattle by Night sheets
Every player uses these sheets in order to streamline our staff’s workload when checking and approving new characters. If you are having problems filling out the sheet please let us know. Do not use the browser to edit the sheet; your changes will not save. Below you will also find an expanded sheet, with more space for merits and flaws, created for characters that have been played for some time on our server.
Regarding Premade sheets
- Premade sheets are for players who currently do not own the corebook for v5. Do not rely on internet resources or unofficial wikis as they often contain older versions of the rules or homebrew material. Premade characters must be fledglings.
- The following clans cannot be played without the corresponding books:
- Corebook
- Caitiff and Thin-bloods (If you play a Thin-blood, please read this link)
- Camarilla Book / Players Guide
- Banu Haqim (we implemented a milder version of their Bane here)
- Anarch Book / Players Guide
- The Ministry (In order to play an orthodox Setite you must also own the Cults of the Blood Gods book)
- Chicago by Night / Players Guide
- Lasombra
- Cults of the Blood Gods / Players Guide
- Hecata
- For Salubri, Ravnos, and Tzimisce you will need the corebook and to download the free V5 Companion Guide which can be found on the World of Darkness website once you login or the Players Guide)
- Corebook
It is recommended you go through this creation guide, even if you currently own the books, in order to ensure you are not missing our banned mechanics and/or for clarification on more technical questions that are often asked during the approval process.
Basic Character Information
Name: Character’s name.
Player: Your Discord username.
Faction: For information on these check this link.
Concept: Who were they in their previous life? A private investigator? Drug dealer? College student? Have they changed over time? Think of this as a general summary of your character, but the character shouldn’t come from the concept. Rather, the concept should spring from the character.
Ambition: What is your character’s current personal goal? This can change with time. Please keep this as something that is actually possible to achieve in RP — so overthrowing the Camarilla, becoming the Seattle Mayor, etc, are not acceptable. Progress toward the Ambition is used to regain Aggravated Willpower damage, so an Ambition with too large or difficult a scope will severely hamper your character. Remember that Ambitions can change in game, either upon completion or with a natural shift in goals during roleplay.
Predator Type: This is how they primarily feed. Don’t forget the associated merits and flaws; for more information on this refer p. 175 of the Corebook.
Sire: Your character’s vampire parent. You are free to make up their name and personality. You can also put unknown if the character doesn’t know. You do not need to have a player as your character’s sire; in addition, you can leave the sire as ‘unknown’ and add a player character sire later on if you desire.
Clan: Pick one.
Generation: Generation 10 is the lowest playable generation overall. Thin-bloods are generations 14+. We also follow the Sea of Time rules, found below.
Useful Links during creation
The Clans
For more information regarding the clans, check this link.
Brujah: Fighters against the system, rebels against injustice, petty criminals, raging rabble, activists, agents of change, warrior philosophers fallen from grace. Celerity, Potence, Presence.
Gangrel: The clan closest to their inner Beast, from feral soldiers to folkloric travelers and free spirits, from inhabitants of the urban jungle to boardroom sharks. Animalism, Fortitude, Protean.
Malkavian: Seers and jesters affected by supernatural madness, psychological masters, concealing and revealing truth and themselves. Auspex, Dominate, Obfuscate.
Nosferatu: Permanently afflicted by supernatural hideousness, they hide in the dark as gatherers of secrets, information procurers, hackers, elusive enforcers, often with a connection to rats and outcasts. Animalism, Obfuscate, Potence.
Toreador: Seekers of emotion, romance, cruelty, beauty… anything that can remind them of lost humanity and sentiment. Artists, divas, social butterflies, appraisers and lovers of beauty. Auspex, Celerity, Presence.
Tremere: Scholars and counsellors of the occult; heavily hit by the Second Inquisition, the warlocks guard their secrets of sorcery, hoarding and searching for knowledge. Auspex, Dominate, Blood Sorcery.
Ventrue: Vampiric aristocracy, guardians of the Traditions and a pillar of the Camarilla, businessmen and politicians, sometimes archaic traditionalists, sometimes true entrepreneurs. Dominate, Fortitude, Presence.
Caitiff: Clanless and curse-less, the only trait that the Caitiff share is not having inherited the bane of the other Cainites and finding themselves outcast by kindred belonging to any true lineage. Any disciplines possible, though some disciplines require strong background justification as described below in Disciplines.
Thin-blooded: With the thickness of vitae dwindling, the Duskborn are too far removed from Caine to share his curse or reap the full benefits of vampirism. Thrust into the world of the night and disliked by Full-bloods, they must survive it by finding a way in or a way out.
Lasombra: Winners at life, religious figures, manipulative shadow masters, social climbers, ruthless fighters, once a pillar of the Sabbat, they’ve now begun defecting to the ranks of the Camarilla. Dominate, Oblivion, Potence.
The Ministry of Set: The rebranded Followers of Set, refused admission by the Camarilla and welcomed among Anarchs. Both liars and liberators, seekers of freedom from chains through pain or pleasure and any other means, occult cultists and preachers, standing between refusal of social norms and true depravity. Protean, Obfuscate, Presence.
Banu Haqim: Judges of transgression, intellectuals and lawyers, assassins and blood sorcerers; once known as Assamites, the Children of Haqim have recently joined the ranks of the Camarilla. Blood Sorcery, Celerity, Obfuscate.
Hecata: Necromancers, Graverobbers, Lazarenes. The Hecata are as much a Family as they are a Clan; the only true Independents in these nights, the separate Clans of Death including the Giovanni, Cappadocians, Samedi and others have now united as the Hecata. For them, the Family is everything; and if you are not one of them, you will never know how deep the Blood runs. Auspex, Fortitude, Oblivion.
Ravnos: A nomadic clan of masters of misdirections, these rogues prefer to not bare fangs for something they can obtain with subtler methods. Animalism, Obfuscate, Presence.
Salubri: Few exist in these modern nights, unlike other clans they are not embraced upon whim and instead are carefully chosen by their sire to complete a task through their inquisitive nature, nigh-pious with the tenacity to survive through difficulties. Auspex, Dominate, Fortitude.
Tzimisce: The Dragons of kindred, this clan embraces to own. They do not care if their charges live strongly, but aim simply to control. Those who are loyal to the Tzimisce are so more out of fear than love. Animalism, Dominate, Protean.
Sea of Time
Attributes
Physical Attributes
Social Attributes
Composure: Control of your emotional state, unflappable demeanor and calmness, ability to put others at ease.
Mental Attributes
Resolve: Mental determination and fortitude, ability to focus on a task, concentrate, and persevere through challenges and obstacles.
Skills
Physical Skills
Social Skills
Mental Skills
Disciplines
Predator Types
Check the Homebrew for information on what the allowed Predator Type rolls are.
Please make sure to have a decent dice pool for hunting rolls; we suggest 6 dice minimum in your primary pool. The lowest hunting difficulty is 3, and difficulties may go up due to breaches. Check out this link for our hunting roll homebrew.
Alleycat: You feed by force in outright attacks or by threat, intimidating your victims to cower in a corner. Add a specialty: Intimidation (Stickups) or Brawl (Grappling), gain one dot of Celerity or Potence, lose one dot of Humanity, gain three dots of Criminal Contacts (•••) among your Advantages.
Bagger: You obtain preserved, fractionated, or dead blood via more or less savory means, instead of hunting the living. Ventrue cannot not pick this type. Add a speciality: Larceny (Lock Picking) or Streetwise (Black Market), gain one dot of Blood Sorcery (Tremere and Banu Haqim only), Oblivion (Hecata and Lasombra only), or Obfuscate, gain the Feeding Merit: Iron Gullet (•••), Gain the Enemy Flaw (••).
Blood Leech: You feed on vampire vitae rather than from mortals. This is not kindly looked upon by kindred society. Add a specialty: Brawl (Kindred) or Stealth (Against Kindred), gain one dot of Celerity or Protean, lose one dot of Humanity, increase Blood Potency by one, gain the Dark Secret Flaw: Diablerist (••), or the Shunned Flaw (••), gain the Feeding Flaw: (••) Prey Exclusion (Mortals).
Cleaver: Your mortal family or close friends are your source of blood, taken covertly from them. Add a specialty: Persuasion (Gaslighting) or Subterfuge (Coverups), gain one dot of Dominate or Animalism, gain the Dark Secret Flaw: Cleaver (•), gain two dots in the Herd Advantage (••).
Consensualist: You take blood with the consent of the vessel, either passing it as kink, illness, using any other excuse, or outright breaching the Masquerade. Add a specialty: Medicine (Phlebotomy) or Persuasion (Vessels), gain one dot of Auspex or Fortitude, gain one dot of Humanity, gain the Dark Secret Flaw: Masquerade Breacher (•), gain the Feeding Flaw: (•) Prey Exclusion (Nonconsenting).
Farmer: Animals are your chosen source of blood. Ventrue cannot not pick this type, nor those with Blood Potency 3 or higher. Add a specialty: Animal Ken (Specific Animal) or Survival (Hunting), gain one dot of Animalism or Protean, gain one dot of Humanity, gain the Feeding Flaw: (••) Farmer.
Osiris: You feed from your cult followers, your church congregation, your fans, or any other group who is devoted to you and whom you can sway. Add a specialty: Occult (Specific Tradition) or Performance (Specific Entertainment Field), gain one dot of Blood Sorcery (Tremere or Banu Haqim only) or Presence, spend three dots between the Fame and Herd Backgrounds (you may put all three dots in either), spend two dots between the Enemies and Mythic Flaws (you may put both dots in either).
Sandman: You take blood from sleeping mortals, either by breaking into homes or targeting hospitals or the homeless. Add a specialty: Medicine (Anesthetics) or Stealth (Break-in), gain one dot of Auspex or Obfuscate, gain one dot of Resources (•).
Scene Queen: Subcultures, exclusive groups, and specific fields of influence where you enjoy status and influence are where you find your victims. Add a specialty: Etiquette (Specific Scene), or in Leadership (Specific Scene), or in Streetwise (Specific Scene), gain one dot of Dominate or Potence, gain the Fame Advantage (•), gain the Contact Advantage (•), gain either the Influence Flaw: Disliked (•) (outside your subculture) or the Feeding Flaw: Prey Exclusion (•) (a different subculture from yours).
Siren: You take blood by employing techniques of seduction and/or under the pretense of sexual encounters. (Add a specialty: Persuasion (Seduction) or Subterfuge (Seduction), gain one dot of Fortitude or Presence, gain the Looks Merit: Beautiful (••), Gain the Enemy Flaw: (•) A spurned lover or jealous partner.
Extortionist: You enjoy forcing your victims to bleed for you. Allegedly you also acquire blood in exchange for services, such as security and surveillance. It is done as many times as needed to make the deal feel solid to both parties, but sometimes it’s only engineered in order to get what you want. (Add a speciality: Intimidation (Coercion) or Larceny (Security), gain one dot of Dominate or Potence, Spend three dots between the Contacts and Resources backgrounds, gain the Enemy Flaw: (••) The Police or a Victim who escaped your extortion and wants revenge.)
Graverobber: Aquiring fresh corpses to feed from, but they also feed from mourners in cemeteries and sad, frightened visitors in hospitals as well as patients. Melancholic Resonance is their preference compared to any other humor. This PT will normally require the kindred to hold a haven inside of or with connections to a church, hospital or morgue. (Add as speciality: Occult (Grave Rituals) or Medicine (Cadavers), gain one dot in Fortitude or Oblivion (Hecata or Lasombra only), Gain the Feeding Merit (•••) Iron Gullet, Gain Haven Advantage (•), Gain Herd Flaw: (••) Obvious Predator (Your cold nature makes you act in a deeply unsettling manner.))
Advantages
Banned/Homebrew Merits/Flaws
Banned
- High Functioning Addict – Banned.
- Stake Bait– Banned.
- Resources 5 – Banned.
- Fame 5– Banned.
- Status – Cannot be bought at Character Creation when specific to the city of Seattle and its factions; it must be earned in-game, most likely through a campaign. Clan status above 3 is banned; Faction status above 2 is banned.
- Organovore – Banned on first characters. The flaw itself is not banned overall; however, when submitting a character with this flaw we will expect proper justifications on the sheet for how the character survives and feeds as an Organovore, or it will not be approved.
Homebrew
Flaw: (•) Suspected Blankbody: You are being watched closely by the Second Inquisition. They suspect something is going on, but they haven’t flagged you as a blankbody — yet. Unlike ‘Known Blankbody,’ this Flaw can eventually be cleared by erasing any sort of evidence and/or with good behavior that proves that you are, indeed, human, and not a blood-drinking threat. (If taken at CC, it will be replaced with another flaw later on, should this flaw be cleared. Not recommended at CC.)
Studio (Haven Merit): Your haven has a performance practice space or a workshop or studio equipped with workbenches, easels, quality tools, and/or other art supplies, etc. Each dot of this Merit adds one to the dice pool for rolls related to one Craft or Performance specialty. Small havens limit this Merit to a maximum of one dot.
Haunted (Haven Flaw, homebrewed effect): Possible total daily Willpower regeneration is now reduced by 1 as the supernatural interference of the ghostly presence causes less restful sleep. (Example: Character’s Resolve is 4; normally, they can regain up to 4 WP a night. Now, they can regain up to 3 WP when daysleeping in their haven. If they use less than 4 WP, they regain as usual.) Ghost-themed consequences will also be added to the possible outcomes for messy crits, bestial fails, and total fails on rolls conducted inside the haven.
When Filling these merits/Flaws in…
There is information that the ST will need from you in order to make the most of the story. Below are merits and flaws that will require you to give us more information on your sheet. Please fill these in either next to the merit in brackets or within the notes section, and keep each only a few words or a sentence long.
- Linguistics (Language) Note: Characters always know English. If the character comes from an area where they have learned another language from birth, they gain this second language without dots in Linguistics. If this is the case please mark this down without the dot filled in within merits.
- The look flaws shouldn’t be used to solely describe disabilities, conditions, scars/scarring or other very real and human traits due to its ableist and rather offensive nature to those who may have those features, let alone as a shortcut for an evil character. Instead it’s a more supernatural vibe, although not necessarily a breach.
- Substance Abuse Flaws (What is the substance?) Note: this must be picked from the tainted blood table at pg. 310 of the Corebook.
- Living in the Past (What’s the dated ideology?) Note: this should relate directly to one of the character’s Convictions.
- Prey Exclusion (What group?) Note: Children are already banned in play and are therefore not an acceptable prey exclusion.
- Folkloric Block/Bane (What block/bane is it?)
- Allies/Enemies (Who are they?) Note: please break down their Effectiveness and Reliability.
- Contact (Who are they and what do they get?)
- Fame (In what?) Note; this is a dangerous merit, the more famous you are the more memorable you are, especially to the SI. Levels 3+ become quite dangerous.
- Infamy (With what and who?)
- Dark Secret (Why?) Note; Ex-Sabbat is not a qualifying dark secret given v5 lore and former Sabbat joining the Camarilla.
- Influence Merits and Flaws (With whom? For what?)
- Haven (What is it? The size and security is based off the dot amounts described.)
- Laboratory (Must be based off an existing Science or Technology skill spec on the sheet; or for Thin-blood Alchemy.)
- Library (Must be a specific type, related to an existing Academics, Investigation, or Occult skill spec on the sheet.)
- Location (What does it do? Talk with the ST in regards to this one during approval.)
- Security (+dot amount to Awareness or Security, pick one.)
- Surgery (Must relate to an existing Medicine spec.)
- Warding (Must come from BS rituals, based off used rituals.)
- Herd (Who are they? Depending on dots you need to pick the resonance.)
- Mask (What’s the name of the false ID?)
- Mawla/Adversary (Who are they? Name and brief description.)
- Resources (From what? Job, etc?)
- Retainers/Stalkers (Who are they?)
- Status (How did they earn it?) Note: at creation, positive Status may only be taken for Clans or other kindred groups, not Factions. Negative status may also be taken for Factions.
Chronicle Tenets
Touchstones and Convictions
Conviction basics
- These are one sentence mottos that the character lives by.
- They should be as clear as possible and not be left vague or long winded: we have multiple STs who will be looking at these at different times, and they need to be able to understand them at a glance.
- These should not be tied to or about anything kindred related, like ghouls or bonding. “I will not blood bond” is not an acceptable Conviction, but “I will not tolerate enslavement and servitude” is.
- The term “innocent” in Convictions is not permitted as it isn’t easily defined and may be understood differently by each ST. Convictions about “harm” do include the act of feeding.
- Children are banned from play, any Touchstone who is beneath the age of 18 and any Conviction referring to/about children will not be accepted.
Blood Potency
- Download the free V5 Companion Guide which can be found on the World of Darkness website once you login. You will find the updated Blood Potency chart near the back of this PDF.
Clan Banes
Banu Haqim: If you feed on Kindred blood you must roll for hunger frenzy. If failed you will do everything in your bestial power to slake your hunger till it reaches Hunger 1 on Kindred Blood. If you feed on Kindred Blood at Hunger 1 and fail the roll you will immediately detach from the vampire and do everything in your power to slake your hunger to 0 (aka fully draining and killing) a human. Roll hunger frenzy at difficulty 2 + Bane Severity. (Homebrewed bane)
Brujah: The Brujah Blood simmers with passion and rage, ready to explode at the slightest provocation. Subtract dice equal to the Bane Severity of the Brujah from any roll to resist fury frenzy. This cannot take the pool below one die.
Gangrel: In frenzy, Gangrel gain one or more animal features: a physical trait, a smell, or a behavioral tic, and these features last for one more night afterward. Each feature reduces one Attribute by 1 point, and if nothing immediately occurs to you the feature reduces Intelligence or Manipulation. The number of features a Gangrel manifests equals their Bane Severity. If the Gangrel Rides the Wave of their frenzy (p. 219 core) you can choose only one feature to manifest, thus taking only one Attribute penalty.
Malkavian: When the Malkavian suffers a Bestial Failure or a Compulsion, their curse comes to the fore and they may experience delusions, visions or something completely different.; they suffer a penalty equal to their Bane Severity to one category of dice pools (Physical, Social, or Mental) for the entire scene, in addition to any penalties incurred by Compulsions. During character creation, think about how this affliction manifests in your character. At its core the Malkavian Bane is entirely supernatural, and not a human mental illness; it might appear to be one, but it is something different entirely that the children of Malkav experience. Please tell us how it manifests and which pool it effects.
Nosferatu: All Nosferatu appear hideous and grotesque, and count as having the Repulsive Flaw (-2). They can never increase their rating in the Looks Merit. If they attempt to disguise themselves as non-deformed they have a penalty to their dice pool equal to their Bane Severity (this includes the Obfuscate powers Mask of a Thousand Faces and Impostor’s Guise). Despite their gruesome appearance most Nosferatu do not breach the Masquerade by just being seen. They are perceived by mortals to be vile and often terrifying, but not always supernaturally so.
Toreador: The Toreador suffer in the absence of beauty. In an environment less than beautiful according to their aesthetic, they suffer a penalty to Discipline rolls equal to their Bane Severity. If a Toreador suffers a Bestial Failure, they often lose themselves in a rapt trance, spent obsessive over anything they find particularly beautiful, as detailed in the Compulsion rules (p. 208).
In their bane box or in your note section please define…
Aesthetic: (General Description)
Beauty: (What they find beautiful)
Dislikes (What they hate/triggers bane)
Tremere: After the destruction of the Chantry of Vienna and all the rituals within, Tremere have lost the ability to Blood Bond other kindred, though they can still themselves be Bound by vampires of other clans. They are still able to bind mortals and ghouls, though the target must drink the Tremere’s corrupted vitae an additional number of times equal to Bane Severity for the bond to actually form.
Caitiff: Caitiff do not have a bane connecting them to the antediluvians — a birth gone wrong, or so they are seen by the other clans. Mistrusted Caitiff characters begin with the Suspect (•) Flaw and can’t purchase positive Status during character creation. It’s also possible for the storyteller to impose a one or two dice penalty on social tests with other kindred even if they acquired Status. Leveling all disciplines for Caitiff costs level x 6.
Lasombra: Their reflections don’t show up properly, nor do their images in cameras or other recording devices (including microphones), although the distortion is no guarantee of not being recognized. Technology can range from glitchy to unresponsive in their hands, and depending on the bane severity, act in weird ways. As such, the Lasombra must pass a test of Technology skill at Difficulty of 2 plus the bane severity to use modern tech, which pushes many Magisters to have assistants to deal with that side of modernity. It’s also harder to avoid detection systems made for vampires, and they suffer a penalty to it equal to their bane severity during those rolls.
Thin-blooded: No Bane unless the Clan Curse flaw is taken.
Hecata: When drinking directly from a victim via a bite, Hecata may only take harmful drinks which result in blood loss. Unwilling mortals who are not restrained will make the attempt to escape and even those coerced or willing to be bitten and fed from must succeed in a Stamina + Resolve against a difficulty of Bane severity + 2 in order to not recoil. Vampires that are willingly victims of the Hecata must make a frenzy test against a difficulty of 3 in order to not terror frenzy from the bite itself.
Salubri: A clan hunted nearly out of extinction, or so is told, due to their highly appreciated vitae. When a non-Salubri drinks their vitae, they must make a hunger frenzy test at a difficulty of 2+the Salubri’s bane severity (3+ for Banu Haqim). If the test is not passed, they will continue to feed until they are forced off. Additionally, the third eye is always present on them. They may mask in with clothes or wraps, but it can never be hidden supernaturally and upon activation of a discipline the third eye weeps vitae, its intensity correlating to the level of the Discipline being used. The blood can trigger a hunger frenzy of those nearby with a level of Hunger 4+.