Vampire: The Requiem
Vampire: The Requiem is a role-playing game published by White Wolf, Inc. for the Chronicles of Darkness setting, and the successor to the "" line. Although it is an entirely new game, rather than a continuation of the previous editions, it uses many elements from the old game including some of the clans and their powers. In the first edition, it required the World of Darkness core rulebook for use, and was released alongside it in August 2004. In December 2013 the supplement "Blood and Smoke: The Strix Chronicle" was released, adding a default world setting and  significantly revising certain aspects of the game to bring them in line with the upcoming changes to the core rules of the new World of Darkness. At GenCon 2014, it was announced that "Blood and Smoke" would be re-branded as "Vampire: The Requiem, Second Edition", with a new cover, index and very minor changes in November 2014. This release in both its forms was a stand-alone game, able to be played with no other books as references. History. "Vampire: The Requiem" was released by White Wolf Publishing on August 21, 2004, as a supplement to the simultaneously released  book "The World of Darkness", giving players rules for playing as vampires. It became the publisher's flagship title, and was in turn supplemented with its own line of supplements; the line developer was initially Justin Achilli, who was succeeded by Will Hindmarch in November 2004. The first Storytelling Adventure System adventure was Hindmarch's "The Resurrectionists" (2007) for "Vampire: The Requiem". Greg Stolze was working on "Vampire: The Requiem" when he developed the One-Roll Engine for "Godlike" (2002). In 2015, the "new" "World of Darkness" was rebranded as the "Chronicles of Darkness" by White Wolf Publishing, in an  effort to further differentiate the setting from the "Classic World of Darkness". Background. The game takes place in modern-day earth where vampires form complex societies hidden from human awareness. Vampires are unliving humans created when a vampire drains a human of blood and then feeds the corpse a few drops of their own vampiric blood. Vampires that have inherited common physical powers and qualities group themselves into "clans", but they also join "covenants" along religious, political or philosophical lines. These groups differ radically in purpose and outlook and are often in conflict, though they agree that they must hide  their existence from humans. Vampires generally dwell in large cities, where they can find plenty of prey and easily remain inconspicuous. Vampires do not need to kill humans to steal blood; humans go into a trance when a vampire feeds on them and do not remember the moment, and a vampire can erase the bite marks it made by licking them. While vampires use the stolen blood they call "vitae" to bolster their physical prowess, heal wounds, and wield Disciplines, it is also the fuel they use to arise every night; a vampire cannot awaken if it does not  have any blood. Clans and covenants. Similar to the previous game, Kindred are brought into one of five clans as part of their metamorphosis into vampires. Each clan covers a broad range of vampiric archetypes: Within these clans are many sub-clans, known as s. There are also many political or religious factions, known as Covenants. These include: Powers, abilities and weaknesses. A vampire's Blood Potency increases steadily with age, but can also be boosted by spending experience points or consuming the soul of another vampire (diablerie). A more potent vampire can store more blood points and access greater  supernatural powers. However, his feeding needs become more stringent as well: the weakest vampires can live on animal blood, but the most powerful vampires can only live on the blood of other vampires. Powerful vampires who cannot meet this need usually go into a prolonged slumber either by their own will or from hunger; either way, the centuries weaken the blood so that they may feed again. Kindred can use a variety of supernatural powers called Disciplines, reflecting such traits as inhuman speed, strength, or charisma, as well as other vampiric attributes such as control over vermin and predators . These are special abilities associated with their curse which, like their undead bodies, are "fed" in a way by the living blood they take from mortals. Weaknesses. Unlike many fictional portrayals, vampires in Requiem are not universally repelled by crucifixes, garlic or holy water, and they can enter any private domain without invitation. A stake through the heart merely paralyses them. Fire, sunlight and the claws and fangs of supernatural creatures inflict terrible injuries that take significant time and blood to heal. During the daytime most vampires slumber; while their bodies will not begin to degrade (unless exposed to the  sun or other means of harm) they cannot otherwise be distinguished from corpses. Vampires all have an aspect of their personality they refer to as "The Beast," which exists only to feed when hungry and kill when upset. When a vampire is sufficiently distraught, either through threat, injury, hunger, or humiliation, they enter a berserk rage called Frenzy during which the Beast takes hold. Vampires keep the Beast in check with the memories and behaviors of mortal life, collectively referred to as a vampire's Humanity. Without actively working to maintain it, a vampire's humanity will degrade: the  need to feed upon humans can drive a vampire to become inured to the cruelty they inflict, and a centuries-long life can leave them jaded to the human experience. In addition to the ever-present threat of losing oneself to the Beast, the Kindred have other motivations to maintain their humanity: vampires with lower humanity are also more grievously harmed by exposure to sunlight, spend longer in the extended slumber called "torpor", and their alien perspective makes it more difficult for them to relate to humans. Antagonists. Vampires have many enemies, most from within their own clans and covenants . There are some that stand out as being opposed to vampire society as a whole, and some of the most prominent enemies vampires face are vampires themselves. There are only two "enemy only" in the core rulebook: The second edition also focuses on a different race with vampiric traits that have often clashed with the Kindred: Reception. "Vampire: The Requiem" was met with critical acclaim. "Vampire: The Requiem" won the 2005 Gold Ennie Award for "Best Supplement" and the Silver Ennie Award for "Best Interior Art". Other media. New Line Cinema optioned the feature rights to "Vampire: The Requiem" in  2004, but to date no script has emerged. White Wolf released two board games for the "Vampire: The Requiem" setting: "Prince of the City" was released in October 2004, and "Dark Influences" was released in October 2006. An original "Vampire: The Requiem" book trilogy was released in 2004, written by Greg Stolze and Lucien Soulban. In 2004, White Wolf conducted a novel writing competition, shortly before canceling their fiction line in 2005. One of the winners, "The Silent Knife" by David Nurenberg, was eventually published in December 2012.