Core Lore — Neutral Foundation
Disciplines are the supernatural abilities of vampires, flowing from vitae itself.
They are both instinct and inheritance — some powers arise naturally, others are taught.
Each clan favors certain Disciplines, seen as their birthright.
To mortals, they appear as miracles, curses, or horrors. To Kindred, they are tools of survival, control, and war.
Animalism: Command over beasts, and the Beast within.
Auspex: Heightened senses, second sight, telepathy.
Blood Sorcery: Magic shaped from vitae — Tremere formulas, Banu Haqim rites, Hecata necromancy.
Celerity: Inhuman speed, faster than the eye.
Dominate: Hypnosis, mental control, the bending of wills.
Fortitude: Supernatural resilience, shrugging off fire and sunlight longer.
Obfuscate: Cloaking from sight, vanishing into shadow.
Oblivion: Command over death, darkness, and wraiths. (Lasombra shadows, Hecata necromancy.)
Potence: Superhuman strength, the power to shatter steel.
Presence: Awe, seduction, dread — bending emotions with charisma.
Protean: Shapeshifting — claws, mist, animal forms, melding with earth.
Clan Inheritance: Every Kindred begins with access to three Disciplines tied to their clan.
Tutoring: Some Disciplines can be taught by other clans, at a cost of blood and time.
Experimentation: Thin-bloods sometimes manifest Disciplines erratically or in hybrid forms.
Younger vampires (higher generations, lower blood potency) struggle with greater powers.
Elders unlock terrifying heights of Disciplines, but at the cost of needing stronger blood.
Even masters risk Messy Criticals — their Beast seizing control of the power.
Mortals rarely recognize Disciplines for what they are.
A flash of speed is “adrenaline.”
A command is “hypnosis.”
A monstrous visage is “a mask or drugs.”
This is why the Masquerade holds: mortals invent lies to explain what their eyes see.
Tremere codify Disciplines as sciences of blood.
Ministry preach them as gifts of Set, divine corruption.
Lasombra see Oblivion as proof they are shadows made flesh.
Anarchs treat Disciplines as street-level weapons.
Sabbat see them as holy tools in Caine’s war.
Animalism
Auspex
Blood Sorcery
Celerity
Dominate
Fortitude
Obfuscate
Oblivion
Potence
Presence
Protean
(Thin-Blood Alchemy often listed separately as a “proto-discipline.”)
⚜️ Neutral Summary:
Disciplines are what make vampires monsters. They are both inheritance and addiction — gifts from Caine, curses from the Antediluvians, tools of the Beast. Every vampire wields some fragment of these powers, and every use risks feeding the hunger that defines them.