# [[20 The Thin-Blooded|The Thin-Blooded]] A deteriorated breed, a portent of the end times, or a vampire for a brave new world? Balancing at the midpoint between life and death, the ever-changing nature of the [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Duskborn|Duskborn]] evokes pity, jealousy, and fear in equal measure. Survivors of the last decades of pogroms, prejudice, and ostracization, the thin-blooded are here to stay. Their messy street-alchemy and ability to pass as human makes them uniquely suited to thrive outside Kindred society and make their own fate in the post-modern nights. ## Who Are the Thin-Blooded? > [!div|grid-m] > > [!blank|span-3] > > [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Sire|Sires]] tell their [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Childe|childer]] of the [[46 The Blood#12th and 13th Generations Neonates|13th]] and [[46 The Blood#14th through 16th Generations Thin-bloods|14th]] [[46 The Blood#Generation|generation]] never to attempt the [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^TheEmbrace|Embrace]] as their [[46 The Blood|Blood]] is too far removed from [[46 The Blood#Caine and the Second Generation Myths|Caine]]. They say it will bring nothing but death and sorrow. But, be it by mistake or design, this edict is not always followed. > > $\quad$A 14th generation [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Kindred|Kindred]], who only by miracle avoided the flaw of thin blood themselves, drain a mortal in a fit of [[46 The Blood#Frenzy|frenzy]] and guiltily feed them a mouthful of [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Vitae|vitae]], hoping against hope that it might reanimate the broken body. > > $\quad$A [[18 Ventrue|Ventrue]] from a long line of liars thinks herself closer to her progenitor than she really is, and believes she is creating a worthy member for her clan. > > $\quad$A [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Prince|prince’s]] great-grandchilde attempts to force their diluted vitae into the mouth of their ancestor’s executed, treacherous ghoul just to get back at the old tyrant. > > $\quad$A [[17 Tremere|Tremere]], often overlooked by his clan for his weakness of Blood and spirit, experiments with the Embrace to prove himself as good as them. In all these cases, a dusk-born may awaken, if the Blood wills it. > > $\quad$Kindred who intend to sire thin-bloods often target individuals they already have a pre-existing relationship with, such as a trusted [[48 States of Damnation#Ghouls|ghoul]] or a human family member they cannot forget, or they seek out [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Vessel|vessels]] who demonstrate specific traits or rare talents that make them better equipped to survive as the weakest of predators. Many Kindred view the thin-bloods as a threat to the [[06 The Camarilla#The First Tradition The Masquerade|Masquerade]] and will destroy them, if given the chance. > > $\quad$The thin-blooded can be of any mortal origin and are not affected by their parent clan’s curse nor by their preferences in the same degree as their sire. If they are allowed to rise, they will likely be turned away, gaining the luxury of freedom and the danger of solitude. > > $\quad$In 2009 the Inner Circle of the [[06 The Camarilla|Camarilla]] issued an edict that all thin-blooded must be branded or tattooed with the “mark of the crescent moon”. Inked by a Tremere tattoo artist or scorched with a beam of sunlight, the brand is irreversible. Even [[06 The Camarilla#The Anarch Movement|Anarchs]] and unbound think twice before associating with a marked Mercurian. > > > [!recite|no-t span-3] > > My name is Oscar Reyes, and I should not exist. > > > > By the laws of Caine and his descendants, I should never have awoken. The vitae in my veins should have rejected me and left me fully dead, not fueled my unbeating heart. > > > > According to my sire, (I piss on him) the attempted Embrace was nothing but a drunken impulse to act out in some way. A mistake brought about by the drugs in my veins. He was as surprised by my reanimation as he was by my lunging for his throat. > > > > This second life of mine is a miracle. I shouldn't be, you understand. It's more than I deserve. I've committed many wrongs in my time, done much I'm ashamed of, but now I live again and can atone. Thank God. > > > > Each evening I wake with the goal to make myself a better man. To appreciate what I've been given. My Blood may be too thin to sire others, but I wouldn't want to do so. I can't make another man my slave nor do most of the things my elders can. But I can still see the dawn, and I wake before dusk. I can still eat, make love, and have my tequila. I can sin in pretty much the same ways I used to, but I'm trying to become a better person. God has shown me that hell isn't a story and that the damned walk among us. And he has shown me that I don't fully belong with them yet, and that gives me hope. > > > > What the Cainites use as an insult, I call a blessing. I'm neither man nor fully monster. I'm still one of God's sons, and I can earn back his love. I his wisdom and mercy, he has given me all the time in the world to do so. ### Thin-Blood Archetypes #### Live One This thin-blood is deeply connected to the mortal world, perhaps more so than the Kindred one. They still maintain a family and attempt to hold a job; paying the bills is more important than the whim of some baron they have never met. Ironically, to maintain their human façade, they likely have to lean heavily on the powers in their Blood. #### Weapon of Convenience A former occultist, [[48 States of Damnation#Ghouls|ghoul]], or [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^BloodDoll|blood doll]], they were close to the Kindred before joining their ranks and knew some of their secrets. This thin-blood was Embraced out of their sire’s desperation when backed into a corner, and they were meant to take part in some war or pursue a vengeful dream. Whether they choose to do so or not is up to them. The Embrace released them from their former slavery, and now there is nothing forcing them to do their sire’s bidding. #### Guilty Embrace This thin-blood was not Embraced as part of some elaborate plan. A party-goer, a late-night worker walking home alone, or just someone in the wrong place at the wrong time – a vampire fed from them and drank a little too much. Perhaps the Embrace was performed by the drinker as an act of desperate guilt, or perhaps their sire was an onlooker who couldn’t bear to watch them die. #### Natural Vampire This thin-blood was destined to become one of the Kindred. As a mortal hunter or a member of Arcanum, they studied the lore of the clans and the myth of Caine and became too fascinated for their own good. Meaning to kill, question, or request the Embrace, they tracked down one of the Kindred. But their sire was a not what was expected by the childe, who is now bitter at the weakness in their veins. #### Redemption Seeker This thin-blood was turned against their will and refuses to accept a place in a world of streetlights and blood. They are recently turned and desperately look for a way to cure their “condition,” seeking out rumors of others who have done it as well as weird legends of [[88 Lore Sheets#Golconda|Golconda]] and blood transfusions. There is indeed a way, but before they figure is out this thin-blood will try anything and is easy to manipulate by callous Kindred. ## Thin-Blood Characteristics A thin-blood is created when a [[46 The Blood#12th and 13th Generations Neonates|13th]] or higher [[46 The Blood#Generation|generation]] vampire [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^TheEmbrace|Embraces]] a mortal. While formally belonging to the [[46 The Blood#14th through 16th Generations Thin-bloods|14th, 15th, or even 16th generation]], these classifications mean nothing to the thin-bloods, as they exhibit a wide variety of traits with no connection to their supposed generation. A 14th generation thin-blood may be too weak to even Blood Bond with a mortal, while a 15th might still retain the ability to Embrace, and vice versa. Among the dusk-born, the lines are blurred. $\quad$Despite this, your thin-blood character is still fundamentally a vampire, and unless otherwise stated follows the same rules as other [[39 Vampires|vampires]] in this book. ### Blood Thin-bloods cannot create [[48 States of Damnation#The Blood Bond|Blood Bonds]] or perform the Embrace with any certainty. A [[44 Rousing the Blood|Rouse Check]] worth of thin-blood [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Vitae|vitae]] imbues a mortal with ghoul-like powers, but only for a single night. Thin-bloods always have Blood Potency 0 (see [[46 The Blood#Blood Potency 0 (zero) Thin-blood|p. 215]]). ### Clan A thin-blood is always considered clanless and never suffers any specific [[11 Clans|clan]] bane or [[43 Compulsions|compulsion]]. ### Damage Most thin-bloods sustain damage like mortals but mend like vampires. In game terms, they take Aggravated damage not only from [[46 The Blood#Fire|fire]], but also from slashing and piercing weapons. Impalement with a [[46 The Blood#Stakes|stake]] does not paralyze them but instead causes massive physical trauma, likely sending them into [[46 The Blood#Torpor|torpor]]. Once damaged, thin-bloods [[46 The Blood#Vampiric Mending|heal]] according to the rules for other vampires. ### Disciplines Thin-bloods pioneered and practice the art of [[65 Thin-Blood Alchemy|thin-blood alchemy]]. This potentially allows them to taste the [[52 Disciplines|Disciplines]] of other [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Kindred|Kindred]]… and to get more than a taste if they can find the vitae to fuel those workings. $\quad$Additionally, whenever a thin-blood [[45 Slaking Hunger|feeds]] they gain one dot in one Discipline associated with the [[47 You Are What You Eat#Resonance and Disciplines|Resonance]] of the blood consumed, together with one level one power in that discipline. If the [[47 You Are What You Eat#Resonance|Resonance]] is Intense or stronger, they gain an additional dot together with a second power. No additional powers can be gained in this way nor can the rating increase with experience. This Discipline lasts until [[41 Hunger|Hunger]] reaches 5 or the next feeding. ### Hunger and Frenzy A thin-blood suffers hunger just as any vampire. However, the [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^TheBeast|Beast]] is far less overt, and a thin-blood never [[46 The Blood#Frenzy|frenzies]] unless provoked by supernatural means (such as [[54 Animalism|Animalism]], p. 244). ### Life-Like A thin-blood always counts as having used Blush of Life (see [[46 The Blood#Blush of Life|p. 218]]), the exact effects dependent on their [[49 Humanity|Humanity]] rating. ### Sunlight Thin-bloods take only one level of Superficial damage per turn in direct [[46 The Blood#Sunlight|sunlight]]. Less direct sunlight causes damage with less frequency. For example, under heavy clouds or if masked and protected by clothing or thick sunscreen, the thin-blood might only sustain damage every third turn or once per minute. ### Thin-Blood Merits Thin-bloods often display additional variations. See Thin-Blood Merits and Flaws ([[35 Advantages#Thin-Blood Merits and Flaws|p. 183]]) for details. ## Ways Out Straddling the line between mortality and vampirism, thin-bloods have a choice. While they do not age, and can thus stay thin-bloods indefinitely, most of their kind sooner or later chooses the day or the night. A thin-blood who manages to commit [[48 States of Damnation#Diablerie|diablerie]] on a “true” [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Kindred|Kindred]] absorbs not only their power and spirit but also their lineage, turning them into a [[46 The Blood#12th and 13th Generations Neonates|13th generation]] Kindred of their victim’s [[11 Clans|clan]]. The [[06 The Camarilla|Camarilla]] occasionally dangles this prize in front of [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Duskborn|dusk-born]] who show themselves capable of running the dirtiest of errands and surviving, offering up a [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^Cainite|Cainite]] sentenced to a [[10 Lexicon of the Damned#^BloodHunt|Blood Hunt]] as sacrifice. $\quad$Conversely, every thin-blood knows someone who knows someone who returned to the daylight. The story usually goes that they became mortal again by clinging to their [[49 Humanity|humanity]] until they could hunt down and end their sire, thus ending their curse. $\quad$Of course, any mortal who knows about the Kindred is a threat to the [[06 The Camarilla#The First Tradition The Masquerade|Masquerade]]. [[19 The Caitiff|⬅️ Previous Section]] | [[Vampire - The Masquerade 5th Edition Core Book#Structure|Table of Contents]] | [[21 Rules|Next Section ➡️]]