Lexicon

The secret world of the Damned commands its own entire subculture, and this subculture includes language. In addition to the various proper names and titles that exist only among the undead, a complete lingual set of vampire-specific words and phrases has arisen over time, resulting in a sort of Kindred “dialect.” Like all language, this dialect grew and expanded, resulting in the eventual break-off of another, more modern style of speech. These two vampire dialects are referred to as “old form” and “common parlance.” A third vocabulary, the language of the Kindred “street,” is new to most everyone and is considered vulgar by all but the most brash of neonates. Being creatures of stasis, the Kindred loathe unnecessary change, and one can often tell the age if not the vampiric origins of a speaker by the way in which he uses the terms of his kind.

Common Parlance

The following terms are used freely and frequently by both neonates and those elder Kindred familiar with vernacular (or who wish to disguise their true age). Some of the newer words have come into circulation only in the last few years, but due to their utility or style, they are not considered vulgar argot. The common parlance lexicon includes a pronunciation guide for its uncommon vocabulary.

• Acolytes: A common nickname for members of the Circle of the Crone.
• Ancilla (an-SILL-uh): Kindred too old to be considered neonates, but not yet elders, whose Requiem has lasted roughly 50 to 150 years. (The plural term is ancillae (an-SILL-ae).)
• ancient: The rare vampire who has existed for over a millennium.
• Avus (AY-vuss): A character's "grandfather" or patron in a bloodline form which she is not truly descended.
• Barrens: Portions of the city unfit even for hunting.
• Beast: The inchoate urges that drive vampires away from the Man.
• Belial's Brood: A raucous, reckless covenant of vampiric Satanists.
• blood hunt: A citywide hunt for a particular Kindred fugitive, in which most if not all local Kindred are expected to participate.
• bloodline: A group of vampires that splits off from a parent clan to form a distinct lineage of its own. Some bloodlines do not differ from the parent clan in significant ways, while others claim different powers or weaknesses.
• Carthian (KAR-thee-enn): A vampiric idealist, one who believes in reconciling the Requiem with the politics and society of modern mortals.
• childe (CHILD): Kindred "offspring"; also used to refer to particularly young neonates, or as a minor insult (akin to calling someone a "child" in mortal circles). The plural is childer (CHILL-der).
• clan: One of five families of Kindred whose lineage links back to times beyond Kindred memory.
• Circle of the Crone:A covenant of ritualistic Kindred that reveres pagan gods, spirits, pantheons and/or progenitors.
• Coils of the Dragon:A mysticc way of learning that allows vampires to ignore certain aspects of their curse, as practiced by the Ordo Dracul.
• coterie: A group of allied Kindred.
• covenant: A faction of Kindred who share certain political and theological beliefs. The covenants exist woldwide, though details often differ from domain to domain.
• Crúac (KREW-ack): The bloody, witchcraft-like magic practiced by the Circle of the Crone.
• Daeva (DAY-vuh): A clan of vampires known for being emotional, sensual and desirable.
• Damned, the: The race of Kindred; vampires.
• Danse Macabre: The state of eternal infighting between and among Kindred of different clans, covenants and age distinctions.
• diablerie (dee-AHB-ler-ee): Kindred "cannibalism"; draining another vampire of not only his blood but his soul.
• Disciplines: The preternatural abilities and edges the Kindred possess, allowing them to vanish, turn into bats and perform myriad other inhuman feats.
• domain: A region ruled (ostensibly) by a single Kindred authority. The largest domains correspond to cities and often contain smaller domains with them.
• Dragons: A common nickname for members of the Ordo Dracul.
• elder: A vampire who has survived for over 150 years; also a term of respect.
• Elysium (ell-ISS-ee-um): A location used for Kindred gatherings and declared a neutral, "no violence" sactuary by the Prince.
• Embrace: The act of turning a mortal into a vampire.
• Final Death: A Kindred's real, true, ultimate death; when her unlife ceases and she never again rises as a vampire.
• First Estate: A common nickname for the Invictus.
• frenzy: A berserk state in which the Beast takes total control over a vampire. Rage, fear and hunger can induce frenzies; when precision is needed, the term is qualified by cuase (rage frenzy, fear frenzy or hunger frenzy) or by a special term (Rötschreck or Wassail). Unqualified, the term generally indicates rage frenzy.
• Gangrel (GANG-grell): A clan of vampires known for being primal, hardy and savage.
• ghoul: A mortal fed Kindred Vitae and possessed of various supernatural abilities, though far weaker than most vampires.
• Harpy: A Kindred in a position prominent or estimable enough to raise up or put down others in vampire society.
• haven: A vampire's residence; where one finds sanctuary from the sun.
• Herald: A spokesman for the Prince.
• herd: A collection of mortals from whom a vampire feeds regularly.
• Hound: A personal agent of the Prince; assassin, leg-breaker, capo.
• Invictus (in-VICK-tuss): One of the largest of the Kindred covenants, which believes in rule by a vampiric "elite" made up mostly of elders.
• Kindred: The modern (and most frequent) term by which vampires refer to themselves and their race.
• kine: A term for mortals; the phrase "Kindred and kine" refers to everyone.
• Kiss: Both the act of biting and taking blood from a mortal, as well as the pleasure it provides both participants.
• Lancea Sanctum (LAN-kay-uh SANK-toom): A covenant of vampires, made up of vampiric religious zealots who honor the Roman centurion Longinus, whom they have adopted as a form of "patron saint" for the act of testing Christ's divinity.
• Lupine: A werewolf.
• Man, the: The humanity a vampire maintains (or tries to the spark of mortality that distinguishes him from the Beast.
• Masquerade: The efforts and system of laws required by the Tradition of Secrecy to hide Kindred existence from the mortal world.
• Master of Elysium: The Kindred responsible for places of Elysium, who also makes sure that everything is prepared, that nobody fights and that word gets out about events.
• Mekhet (MEK-et): A clan of vampires known for being quick, discreet and wise.
• neonate (NEE-oh-nate): A young vampire, engaged in his Requiem for less than 50 years.
• Nosferatu (noss-fur-AH-too): A vampire clan known for being stealthy, strong and terrifying.
• Ordo Dracul (OR-dough drah-KOOL): A covenant of vampires known for its mystic studies and desire to transcend the vampiric condition.
• poacher: One who feeds in another Kindred's domain without permission.
• Primogen (PRIM-oh-jen): An elder who advises the Prince of a domain (also plural).
• Prince: The ruler of, or most powerful Kindred in, a domain.
• Priscus (PRISS-kuss): The informal "head" of a specific clan within a domain. The plural is Prisci (PRISS-key).
• Rack: The best parts of the city in which to feed, including nightclubs and other loud, crowded areas.
• regnant: The Kindred who holds regency over a thrall; the dominant member of a Vinculum. Also "domitor".
• Requiem: The Kindred condition; the whole miserable, cursed song of a vampire's unlife, whether singularly or metaphorically.
• revenant: A vampire who has lost all Humanity and exists in perpetual frenzy.
• Sanctified: A common nickname for members of the Lancea Sanctum, singular and Plural.
• Seneschal: The Prince's right hand and assistant.
• Seven: A clan, covenant or other group of vampires that detests the Kindred race and seeks to destroy it, its own members excepted.
• Sheriff: The Kindred responsible for enforcing the Prince's laws and dictates.
• sire: A vampiric "parent," one who has Embraced a childe; alternatively a verb, meaning "to Embrace."
• Theban (THEE-ben) Sorcerery: A mysterious form of blood magic practiced primarily by members of the Lancea Sanctum.
• thrall: One who is bound to a regnant; the enslaved member of a Vinculum.
• torpor: A death-like sleep into which Kindred fall if they are injured severly or starved for too long. Kindred can also enter torpor willingly to escape the world for a time.
• Traditions: The three primary Kindred laws, passed down through the ages and observed inviolate due to the Kindred condition.
• unbound: A vampire who refuses to accept the local rule of a Prince or other governing Kindred body. Also known as an unaligned or independent Kindred.
• Ventrue (VENN-true): A clan ov vampires known for being regal, commanding and aristocratic.
• vessel: Any source of blood for the Kindred to feed on; usually but not always used to refer to a mortal.
• Vitae (VIE-tay): Blood, particularly the blood of a vampire.
• Vinculum (VIN-cue-lum): The artificial love and loyalty spawned by feeding from the same vampire three times. Also known less formally as a blood bond.
• Whip: One who keeps his clanmates in line in order that they be taken seriously.
• witch-hunter: A mortal who seeks out Kindred and destroys them.

Old Form

The following terms have been in circulation for as long as most elders can remember, and they are still considered the “proper” usage for the ideas they describe.

• abactor: Literally, a "cattle thief;" a poacher.
• Amaranth: Diablerie; the act of consuming another Kindred's blood and soul.
• anarch: Historically, a Kindreed rebel who opposed vampiric tyranny. Some anarchs sought to tear down the feudal systems of Kindred society in nights past, but many merely wished to be left to their own devices. Arguably the forerunners of the modern unbound.
• blood oath: The Vinculum.
• caitiff: A vampire of unknown clan. Usage: Am I to understand that this caitiff is truly a Nosferatu of Wellington's brood? how could I not have guessed?
• Canaille: The masses of humanity, especially the uncultured or unsavory. Typically connotes a reference to sources of sustenance.
• cauchemar: A vampire who feeds solely on sleeping victims.
• cockalorum: A loud-mouthed iconoclast, or any weak vampire who acts the big shot.
• comprador: A vampire who works for some other creature, such as a mage or even a mortal organization willing to uphold the Masquerade; also indicates the reverse (a supernaturally awakened creature in the service of a vampire).
• consanguineous: Literally, "of the same blood," especially regarding lineage. Usage: That vampire is consanguineous with the Ventrue Prince.
• co-sanguineous: Being brothers in the Blood; sharing the same sire. Usage: We're rumored to be co-sanguineous but my sire is actually Maxwell, whereas his is not.
• cunctator: A Kindred who avoids killing whenever feeding from mortals.
• draugr: The term for revenants in antiquity; still widely used by some Gangrel.
• fief: A domain; still the favored term among many Ventrue, even numerous young ones.
• footpad: One who feeds from vagrants, derelicts and other dregs of society.
• fledgling: A neonate; a newly created vampire under his sire's protection.
• gallant: A vampire who feeds from other vampires out of necessity or perversion.
• gentry: The collective group of Kindred who prefer to prey at nightclubs, bars and other "red-light district" establishments.
• Golconda: A fabled state of complete oneness with the vampiric condition; the true comprehension fo both Beast and Man within a vampire's soul, wherein balance can be found. Rumored to be similar to mortal Nirvana, Golconda is only very rarely achieved.
• inceptor: The founder of a new Disciplline, a new bloodline or both. Such feats carry some measure of prestige among the Kindred.
• Leech: A mortal who drinks vampire blood acknowledges no regnant.
• Lextalionis: The tradition of the blood hunt.
• lineage: A vampire's bloodline; one sire and the line of sires before him.
• Osiris: A vampire who builds a mortal cult following around himself as a means by which he can better feed or influence the mortal world.
• Papillon: The red-light district; an area of a city that is punctuated by bars, whorehouses, gambling casinos and other places of debauchery. Also refers to a city's prime hunting grounds, where mortal disappearances go largely unnoticed.
• praxis: The right of Princes to govern; one's claim to domain. Can also refer to a Prince's matter of policy or individual edicts.
• retainer: Any individual who serves a vampiric master (whether under thrall or not). The term hails from a time when vampires kept large estates with entire entourages of servants.
• Rötschreck: The "Red Fear"; a afear frenzy, usually instigated by the presence of fire.
• siren: A female vampire who seduces mortals in order to feed from but not kill them.
• Suspire: The rumored moment of epiphany a vampire experiences just before attaining (or failing to attain) Golconda.
• Wassail: Hunger frenzy during which a vampire seeks to feed until sated.
• whelp: Derogatory term for a young Kindred, originally used in reference to one's own progeny.
• whig: Contemptuous term for a vampire who retains interest in mortal trends.

Vulgar Argot

The newest of terms, those rising out of the grime and crime of the modern-gothic streets, reflect both the times and the attitudes of tonight’s brash neonates.

• alleycat: A vampire with no permanent haven, who sleeps in a different place each day. Also refers to one who feeds exclusively from the homeless.
• banking: The practice of "withdrawing" blood from bloodbanks and hospital reserves. Such refrigerated blood has very little taste, but it provides some small nourishment nonetheless. Banking is frowned upon by older or more refined Kindred.
• blister: A vampire "Typhoid Mary" who contracts a mortal disease and spreads it to the vessels upon whom she feeds.
• blood doll: A mortal who freely gives blood to a vampire, gaining a peverse satisfaction from the Kiss and actively seeking out vampires to give it to them.
• butterfly: A Kindred who mingles among mortal high society and prefers to feed from the rich and famous.
• Casanova: A vampire who seduces mortals to feed but does not kill them. Most prefer to erase the memory of their presence from their vessels' minds, if possible.
• Change: The moment a person ceases to be mortal and becomes a kindred.
• Cleaver: A vampire who tries to maintain the illusion of a human family life.
• donor: Sarcastic term for a vessel, typically a mortal.
• farmer: Derogatory term for vampires who prefer to feed from animals alone.
• head: A vampire who feeds on drug or alcohol-laced blood. Those with a fondness for specific drugs have their preference added as a prefix (e.g., crackhead, pothead, smackhead)
• headhunter: A Kindred who hunts and feeds on other vampires.
• juice: Human blood, often modified by a descriptor, usually one indicating either the origin of the blood or some chemical within the blood (e.g. "cranberry juice" indicates Irish blood, while "happy juice" is mortal blood laced with stimulants).
• juicebag: Contemptuous term for mortals.
• Lick: A mortal, especially one from whom a vampire feeds.
• lush: One who feeds regulary from drugged or drunk mortals to experience the euphoria or inebriation in teh blood.
• pedigree: A sarcastic term for lineage, typically used to make fun of another vampire's Kindred family tree (or the self-importance drawn therefrom).
• rake: The newest euphemism for gentry; a habitual visitor to the Rack.
• ripper: Modern term for revenant, based upon the condition in which such creatures typically leave their victims.
• sandman: A cauchemar.
• slumming: The practice of feeding form derelicts and other dregs of society.
• tease: A siren.
• turf: Modern term used in reference to a domain; can also refer to the area under one gang or coterie's influence.