Generation Mechanic

[Benjamin]

Generation in Vampire the Masquerade is defined as the number of steps a character is from Caine. Think of it as a sort of messed up family tree with your character's "sire" being your vampiric father, their sire being your grandfather, and so on all the way till you reach Caine at the very top. In terms of values on a character sheet, Generation is expressed as "dots" on the sheet.

The two first dots of generation may be purchased normally at character creation without stipulation; you may decide to pull a straw for a chance at an additional dot of Generation. This luck-based mechanic represents the fact that lower generation vampires are more rare. The odds of a pull are as follows:

~13% (5/38) for 10th gen

~37% (13/38) for 9th gen

~29% (11/38) for 8th gen

~16% (6/38) for 7th gen

~5% (3/38) for 6th gen

Each player may pull twice per character. However, the second pull is final. If your second pull is a lower generation than your first, the lower generation is the one you will play; however, if your second pull is higher then you are stuck with that generation.

[Jake]

Q: What is the generation lottery?

A: It is a way to ensure a reasonable distribution of elder generations within the game population, and to give characters a fair chance to play significantly lower generation character. It is played by drawing a Generation from a container, and choosing whether or not to accept that the results or try one more time.

Q: If I draw a really low generation (e.g. 6th), can I elect to play a higher generation?

A: The Generation you draw is the lowest generation you can choose. If you draw 6th, you can still choose any generation including, or higher than, 6th.

Q: If I get two tries to pull a good generation, can I pick the lower of the two tries?

A: You don't have to pull twice. If you are happy with the generation you pulled first, don't pull again.

If you choose to pull twice, the 2nd pull is final, meaning that whatever you pull last is the lowest generation you can choose. If you pull 7th the first time and choose to try again and get 10th, you can choose any generation 10 or above.

Q: If I pull a lower ("better") generation, do I have to pay the full cost to purchase that generation?

You will have to pay for the dots as normal, but you can choose any generation including or above the lowest generation you pulled. You’re not required to be low-generation if you don’t want to be.

CHARACTER BUILDING NOTE: For the purposes of buying Generation ONLY, the cost will be new level x1. Since you don't really have a generation until you've bought generation, we will charge all Generation purchases at character creation time at the Neonate rate. Once you have chosen a Generation, however, all other XP costs use the appropriate rate for your Generation.

However, we’ll be charging new level x1 for generation, so if someone who wants to play a 6th generation character puts their free 3 dots in Generation and then buys the final 2 at level x1, that’s an additional 9XP, which is doable.

Q: If I want gen 8, and I pull and get gen 6 - can I decide to take 8?

Yes, absolutely.

Q: Why is 9th easier to get than 10th?

Staff added 10th to add risk to the lottery. We intend for 8th & 9th generation to be most commonly drawn generations in the lottery.