FAQ - Vampire: The Masquerade 6th Edition

Hello Vamily, 

Thank you for the amazing reception to the announcement of Vampire: The Masquerade 6th Edition. We’re so happy to finally share the alpha playtest with you!

We know many of you have questions about what we’re doing, and we’ll do our best to answer them in the upcoming months. We’ve got many dev diaries coming to cover these topics in-depth, but for now we wanted to put together a brief FAQ to cover some of the most commonly asked questions that we’ve seen from the community. 

Note that we’re still in early development and a lot of things are still subject to change. If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on our social media channels or on the World of Darkness Discord. 

General White Wolf Questions: Why are we doing a 6th Edition?

We want to create a solid baseline to support various styles of play, and a strong kickoff point for settings that will come after we’ve created the new Vampire: The Masquerade book. 

Does this mean all 5th Edition products are out-of-date/not usable at my table?

The 6th Edition line of books will have different mechanics, but many of the same characters and metaplot advancements will remain relevant. That means that, while not fully backwards-compatible, much of the lore in the 5th Edition books will carry over to the 6th Edition books.

What about Mage, Changeling etc - are they not receiving 5th editions?

They are not, but that doesn’t mean that some of them won’t get some attention in the future.

What about Werewolf and Hunters - are they receiving new editions already?

At the moment the White Wolf devs are fully focused on the new Vampire: The Masquerade edition.

V6-specific Questions:

Will we have to learn new systems, i.e. Hunger mechanics vs Blood pool? Yes, there will be new systems and mechanics to learn, such as “Drama”, “Quickening”, “Choose Your Pain”, “Devil’s Bargain” and the new “Beast/Nature” tracker. But don’t worry, playing and running the game are both easier and faster. You need fewer steps and less prep to jump right in, and the rules help you push play forward without friction.

Will there be more metaplot progression?

Yes. The history of the World of Darkness will be preserved, advanced and represented in the rules. 

What’s Drama?

Storytellers now have a resource called “Drama” that they can spend to complicate the PCs’ circumstances or introduce new twists into the Story.

What’s Quickening?

Quickening is a new mechanic that rewards players for rolling well, giving them a resource they can spend to improve their chances in future situations.

Will I be able to use my V5 dice at the table?

No, V6 uses a different system to count successes and failures, so we use regular D10 dice. We’ve also made changes to the Hunger system, so the Hunger dice are not relevant to V6.

Where did my Health and Blood Points go?

Health and Blood Points have been combined into a single resource called Vitae.

What’s the Humanity Scale?

The Humanity tracker has been updated to the Humanity Scale, which tracks the inner struggle between your monstrous and humane sides, as they constantly press their urges onto you.

How does physical and social conflict work now?

Physical and social conflict share a unified procedure, making both equally important and supported by the rules.

How will the Discipline powers change?

Each Discipline will have multiple powers, and many Discipline powers now scale with you, growing in power as you gain dots. The alpha playtest shows off many of these new powers, and the final book will include powers for each Discipline up to 5 dots.

How many clans will be in the final book?

There will be 14 clans total in the book; the alpha playtest includes 7 so far (Brujah, Gangrel, Lasombra, Ministry, Nosferatu, Toreador, and Ventrue).

Can I play as the different stages of Vampirism?

Yes, the final book will include rules for playing a ghoul, a duskborn, a neonate, an ancilla, a caitiff, or an elder. 

What about playing as Sabbat or other sects?

In V6 you will be able to align with the Camarilla, the Anarchs, the Sabbat, Independents or The Unbound.

Is there a release date yet?

No, not yet. We are still in the alpha phase of development and want to ensure we can polish the material and implement the valuable feedback we’re receiving before we announce specifics like a release date or cost.

Where do I go if I’m having technical issues with the Demiplane playtest?

Please reach out to the folks over at Demiplane, and they’ll be able to help you further: https://support.demiplane.com/hc/en-us