Abyss, the: an otherworldly realm of shadows that is known mainly as the source for the manifestations of Obtenebration, the signature Discipline of ClanLasombra.
Affinity: a group of closely linked Cainites with a shared goal, who may well have performed the Vaulderie to break their Blood Bonds to their sires and form vincula to each other.
Amaranth, the: The act of drinking the hearts-blood or soul of another Cainite. While questionable in its ethics, it is highly effective as a means to gain an instant, significant increase in vampiric power. As known as Diablerie.
Anarch: a vampire who rejects the status quo of Cainite society and the authority of the Camarilla.
Ancilla(e): a vampire aged 100-300 years old, probably of the Eighth, Ninth, or Tenth Generation.
Antediluvian: Vampires of the Third Generation. In vampire mythology, they are the Founders of the thirteen Clans. Unknowable and perhaps only myth, the secret motivations behind the elders’ eternal struggle is often attributed to the Antediluvians. Few Elders will have met their Clan founder, and even fewer Neonates or Ancillae. Whether the very powerful Cainites who have been killed in recent years were truly 3rd Generation can only be known by those who diablerised them.
Ashirra: a sect of Muslim vampires spread throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa.
Azanaeli: a member of the hated Angellis Ater bloodline.
Beast, the: The tangible manifestation of a vampire’s Damnation, the hungry monster that lives in their skin and drives them to hunt, kill, and frenzy.
Blood Bond: an effect of drinking another vampire’s blood, a one-way sense of loyalty and affection that grows until it is almost irresistible after three drinks on three separate nights within a year. The two vampires involved can be referred to as “thrall” and “regnant”.
Blood Oath, the: see Blood Bond.
Blood Hunt: an order given by a Camarilla official, calling for the destruction of another vampire.
Bloodline: a group of vampires who share a common lineage. While the term can be used to refer to vampires who share a sire, grandsire, or so on, it usually refers to those lineages that have some inherent distinction from the thirteen traditional Clans of Caine, be it in their weaknesses, Disciplines, or both. Many of these bloodlines are, in effect, a clan within a clan.
Book of Nod, the: An often-translated text purported to tell the story of the first vampire. Many translations exist, but none agree on every detail. See Noddism.
Book of the Shining Blood, the: The holy text of the Cainite Heresy. Also called the Euagetaematikon.
Boon: The name for systematised favours traded by Cainites and recorded by Reckoners. They come in five sizes from smallest to largest; Trivial, Minor, Major, Blood and Life, Boons.
Brood: A vampire’s childer (or, rarely, all of that vampire’s descendants).
Cainite: a vampire, named after the Biblical figure Caine, said to be the first vampire.
Chamberlain: The closest ally and assistant of a Prince.
Chantry: a term used by the Tremere to describe their Clan base of operations in a given city. It is their stronghold, laboratory and communal haven.
Childe(r): the spawn of a vampire, someone Embraced by their sire.
Chronicles of Ubar, The: A Noddist text which details the Banu Haqim‘s history of the First City
Clan: One of 13 great vampire family lines, each of which traces its ancestry back to a different Antediluvian. Each clan has a unique collection of gifts and a unique curse to their blood.
Codex of the Damned, The: Supposedly a Noddist text, a very small number of copies of which have recently started appearing in Europe. It is said to be written in an incomprehensible script and widely considered to be a fake.
Cycle of Lilith, The: an account of the events portrayed in the Book of Nod and other Noddist sources from a Bahari perspective.
Domain: An area of territory claimed by a specific Cainite or group of Cainites; often used by a Prince to describe their city/cities and surrounding territory.
Dream, the: a Cainite utopia of enlightenment and learning shepherded by a cabal of methuselahs in Constantinople until its fall in 1204.
Einherjar:a term used by some Scandinavian vampires, who reject the Cainite mythology, to describe themselves. They instead style themselves after the spirits of the slain warriors in Valhalla, who will fight at Ragnarök, and often violently resist suggestions that they are descended from an accursed murderer.
Elder: A vampire more than 300 years old, likely of the Sixth or Seventh Generation.
Elysium: Places of peace where Cainites have agreed to gather without violence. Maintained by the Keeper.
Embrace, the: the act of draining a human of their blood, and feeding them your own blood, thereby making them into a vampire.
Erciyes Fragments, the: A known collection of apocrypha from the Book of Nod, detailing the Cainitecreation myth, found at Mount Erciyes (pronounced “er-jee-AS”).
First City, the: The First City, also known as The City of Enoch among other names, is recognized by Noddist scholars to be the first city of Cainite mythology as documented by the Book of Nod. It was also called Enoch after its King, who was embraced by Caine.
Founder: The Third Generation originator of a particular Clan, usually but not always an Antediluvian
Frenzy: A supernatural fight-or-flight reaction experienced by Cainites. A frenzy generally refers to the “fight” part of this reaction and the insatiable urge to kill. It can be induced by many things, but great rage or hunger are the most common provocations. See Rötschreck for the flight reaction.
Furore: a radical sect of disenfranchised Cainites in the War of the Princes that survives as a faction within ClanBrujah.
Gehenna: In Cainite mythology, the Final Nights when Caine and the Antediluvians will rise and battle each other over the final fate of the world.
Generation: How many steps a vampire is from their ultimate progenitor (usually assumed to be Caine, the first generation), which denotes how potent their blood is.
Ghoul: A human servant, empowered by and addicted to vampire blood. Almost certainly Blood Bound to their “regnant”. Some Clans, especially the Gangrel and Nosferatu, are also known to ghoul animals.
Golconda: A mythical state of balance between the Beast and the soul, achieved by a vampire making peace with themselves. It is said that in this state a Cainite would be immune to frenzy and Rötschreck and might not even need to consume blood.
Gospels of Irad and Adah, The: A Noddist text purporting to have been written by two of Caine‘s childer, one named in the Book of Nod and the other in the Erciyes Fragments.
Herd: a group of mortals whose members allow a certain vampire to feed upon them.
Infernalist: those who cast their lot with demons and similar creatures. Some receive power in the form of malign magical gifts; others tap into the power through sorcery.
Keeper: An officer usually appointed by the Prince of a Domain to maintain any sites designated as Elysium, and often to provide entertainment or cultural enrichment alongside security and secrecy.
Ki-sikil-lil-la-ke: see Bahari.
Kiss, the: The act of feeding, specifically the euphoric sensation experienced by humans when bitten by a vampire.
Neonate: A vampire no more than one hundred years old, likely of the Eleventh or Twelfth Generation.
Noddism: Noddism is the study of lore pertaining to Caine and Enoch, the First City. The term “noddism” derives from the mythical Land of Nod, a place “east of Eden” to where Caine was banished after the murder of his brother Abel. Noddist scholars are also generally interested in the activities of the Antediluvians and Gehenna.
Prestation: the process of trading, repaying and incurring favors among Cainites. It keeps vampiric society together and tempers the violent isolationism that is essential to the Beast.
Prince: The Cainite ruler of a Domain, often the most powerful elder in the area.
Prometheans: a sect of Cainites during the Dark Ages, which dreamed of re-creating Carthage and the harmony of vampires and humans associated with it (unsurprisingly, many members were Brujah).
Reckoner: The Anarch equivalent of a Harpy, likewise responsible for tracking prestation and status.
Regnant: The Cainite whose blood is drunk to form the Blood Bond. They control the thrall.
Revenant: The offspring of a ghoul family that has developed some strange powers independent of direct intervention from a vampire.
Road: Vampiric ethics and spiritual guidance that a vampire uses to justify the actions they take and survive the ravages of the Beast. The key unit of organisation among the Anarch Revolt.
Rötschreck: the Red Fear is a state of blind fear experienced by a Cainite, usually when encountering fire or sunlight, some of the few things which can actually destroy them.
Salubri: A rogue bloodline of diablerists and infernalists hunted to extinction by the Tremere. Known for having a third eye in the centre of their foreheads.
Scion: someone accepted as a loyal servant of the Triumvirate of Constantinople.
Scourge: An officer appointed by the Prince to execute their enemies, whether secretly or in public.
Torpor: a deathlike trance entered by a vampires either voluntarily, such as when one seeks to escape the monotony of eternal life and awaken in a different age, or, more commonly, involuntarily, as when a vampire starves or suffers damage sufficient to kill a mortal. The amount of time one spends in torpor depends on the reason for hibernating and the vampire’s strength against the Beast. Torpor is particularly common among elders and especially Methuselahs, who often feel a great ennui after centuries of unlife or who wish to sleep through certain ages and rise again during more “interesting” times.
Thrall: The Cainite who is controlled by the blood bond.
Triumvirate, the: an alliance between three powerful methuselahs and their broods under a common Dream which ruled Constantinople until its fall in 1204.
Vaulderie, the: a blood rite created by Tzimiscekolduns to break any existing Blood Bond and bring Affinity members closer together. It is felt equally by everyone who takes part unlike the Blood Bond.
Vinculum: a low level community Blood Bond that is created during the Vaulderie.
Vitae: Blood.
Warlock: see Shepherd.
Warrens: a haven shared by many Nosferatu, usually in the tunnels or catacombs beneath a city.
Wassail: the last frenzy a vampire experiences – a permanent loss of control of the Beast. Once a vampire enters Wassail, they are lost forever.
