Vampire V5 clans guide

Clan is the single most consequential choice in Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition. It defines your in-clan Disciplines, your curse and compulsion, and the political culture you inherit on your first night. This guide walks through every playable V5 clan so you can match concept to lineage before opening the character creator. For V20 20th Anniversary creation, use the Vampire V20 character creator guide instead; clan lists and mechanics differ.

Fifteen clans, three Disciplines each, and the personal horror that follows; a practical reference for Session Zero and new players.

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Lore and chronicle tone

Why clan matters beyond the sheet

In V5, clan is not a cosmetic tag. Elders expect certain behaviors, rivals exploit known weaknesses, and your Beast speaks with a clan accent. A Brujah neonate and a Ventrue neonate may share a coterie, but they answer different compulsions, hunger for different approval, and carry different histories of betrayal. Chronicle tone often flows from clan mix: a Hecata coterie leans necromantic intrigue, while Ministry-heavy tables flirt with faith and heresy. Choose clan after concept, not before; but let clan reshape the concept once chosen.

Sect, sire, and clan culture

Clan and sect interact constantly. Camarilla clans police the Masquerade differently than Anarch Brujah or independent Lasombra. Your sire's lineage may trump published stereotypes: a gentle Tzimisce or a diplomatic Brujah is valid if the table supports it. Use clan culture as a starting pressure, not a straitjacket. Predator type, Touchstones, and Convictions still do more daily work than lore blurbs, but clan tells your Storyteller which elders call, which boons feel plausible, and which disasters feel on-theme.

Rules and creation flow

Disciplines, banes, and compulsions at creation

Each clan grants three in-clan Disciplines. At creation you pick two of them and assign two dots to one and one dot to the other, choosing one power per dot. Caitiff may take any Disciplines within creation limits; Thin-Bloods use Thin-Blood Alchemy only. Every clan also carries a bane (ongoing curse) and a compulsion (behavioral trigger when the Beast stirs). The Darkness Weaver wizard validates discipline choices against your clan and exports bane and compulsion fields on the dossier PDF.

Legacy bloodlines and chronicle approval

Some chronicles allow legacy bloodlines: Salubri, Giovanni offshoots, Nagaraja, and others; with Storyteller permission. They are not part of the core fifteen below but may appear in extended campaigns. If your table uses them, confirm discipline spreads and bane rulings before locking the sheet. The core V5 creator focuses on the clans most tables expect at Session Zero.

At a glance

V5 clans at a glance

Core playable clans in Vampire V5, with in-clan Disciplines and a chronicle hook for each.

Brujah

Rebels with fire in dead veins. Disciplines: Celerity, Potence, Presence. Brujah compulsions push righteous anger; their bane makes frenzy harder to shake. Ideal for activists, brawlers, and Anarch firebrands who cannot stay quiet when injustice roars.

Gangrel

Beasts in silk or mud. Disciplines: Animalism, Fortitude, Protean. Gangrel drift toward the wild as they age, and their bane ties them to animal features. Play scouts, survivors, and loners who read the city through predator eyes.

Malkavian

Oracles in the static. Disciplines: Auspex, Dominate, Obfuscate. Malkavians carry a persistent mental fracture: not comic relief, but prophetic horror. Strong for investigators, artists, and characters whose insight costs sanity.

Nosferatu

Whispers in the walls. Disciplines: Animalism, Obfuscate, Potence. Their bane twists the body into nightmare; information is their currency. Perfect for spies, hackers, and coterie fixers who never show their true face.

Toreador

Artisans of rapture. Disciplines: Auspex, Celerity, Presence. Toreador compulsions fixate on beauty; their bane makes them lose time in awe. Bards, influencers, and predators who weaponize charisma live here.

Tremere

Warlocks of the pyramid. Disciplines: Auspex, Blood Sorcery, Dominate. Tremere politics are hierarchical and paranoid; their bane binds them to their regent's blood. Wizards, scholars, and occult bureaucrats fit the clan.

Ventrue

Lords of the blood. Disciplines: Dominate, Fortitude, Presence. Ventrue compulsions demand control; their bane restricts feeding to specific vessels. Aristocrats, CEOs, and princes-in-waiting anchor chronicles here.

Banu Haqim

Judge, jury, executioner. Disciplines: Celerity, Obfuscate, Blood Sorcery. Formerly Assamites, they carry judicial traditions and a dangerous reputation. Assassins, investigators, and moral absolutists suit the clan.

Hecata

Death keeps its ledgers. Disciplines: Auspex, Fortitude, Oblivion. A necromantic family of merged bloodlines obsessed with mortality's economy. Morticians, occult merchants, and grief-eaters thrive in Hecata chronicles.

Lasombra

Thrones cast in shadow. Disciplines: Dominate, Oblivion, Potence. Masters of shadow and ruthless politics; their bane breaks mirrors and cameras. Play bishops of the night, saboteurs, and leaders who rule from darkness.

Tzimisce

Sculptors of the soul. Disciplines: Animalism, Dominate, Protean. Flesh-crafters and territorial horrors; compulsions fixate on aesthetic violation. Scientists, warlords, and body-artists push the clan's grotesque elegance.

The Ministry

Faith weaponized. Disciplines: Presence, Obfuscate, Protean. Former Followers of Set, they corrupt belief and loosen chains. Cult leaders, counselors, and tempters who ask what you worship belong here.

Ravnos

Roads of smoke and mirrors. Disciplines: Animalism, Obfuscate, Presence. Illusionists and wanderers with a revised clan curse in V5. Tricksters, romani-inspired nomads, and con artists; with table sensitivity required.

Caitiff

No crest but hunger. Any Discipline within creation limits; no clan compulsion, but prejudice from structured Kindred society. Orphans, survivors of bad embraces, and characters defined by exclusion fit Caitiff.

Thin-Blood

Barely Kindred, barely mortal. Thin-Blood Alchemy only; unique merits and flaws around diluted vitae. Play mortals on the edge: alchemists, experiments, and characters fighting to matter in a world of elders.

Ready to build a sheet? Read the Vampire V5 character creator

What you get

All core V5 clans in the wizard
Discipline validation by clan
Bane and compulsion on the dossier
Sheet-aligned PDF export

How to create a character

1
Read the clan list
Shortlist two or three clans that fit your concept and chronicle tone.
2
Open the Vampire creator
Select clan, disciplines, predator type, and backgrounds in the V5 wizard.
3
Export your Kindred
Download the PDF and share with your Storyteller before session one.

Storyteller and player tips

Storyteller guidance

Present clan as culture plus curse, not a class kit. Ask each player one scene their compulsion could ruin and one elder who expects clan loyalty. If the coterie mixes hostile clans, establish why they hunt together before fine-tuning Disciplines.

Player guidance

Pick two in-clan Disciplines that support your concept's first five sessions, not an endgame build. Read your bane aloud at Session Zero. If torn between two clans, choose the compulsion you want to roleplay; you will feel it more often than your third Discipline option.

Frequently asked questions

How many clans are in V5?

This guide covers fifteen commonly played options: thirteen core clans plus Caitiff and Thin-Blood.

Can Caitiff take any Discipline?

Within V5 creation dot limits, yes. The wizard allows any discipline spread Caitiff can buy at creation.

Are legacy bloodlines included?

Salubri, Giovanni, and other legacies may appear in some chronicles with Storyteller approval but are not the V5 core fifteen.

Does clan lock my sect?

No. Clan and sect are separate choices, though culture often suggests a default allegiance.

Is this guide free?

Yes. Read the guide and use the creator at no cost.

Can I change clan after export?

Edit in the wizard and re-export PDF; chronicle approval is between you and your Storyteller.

Turkish support?

Yes. Vampire hub, wizard, and guides are available in English and Turkish.

Official V5 content?

No. Independent fan reference under the Dark Pack license; rules disputes go to your table and official books.

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