Generally, I'm following the basic vampire functions as outlined in Requiem, including healing, vinculum, diablerie, addiction, etc., but I'm altering a few of them for both reasons of fitting with the Masquerade world and for aesthetic preferences.
Blood Potency and Generation
Blood Potency is referred to as Beast.
From a character development stance, Blood Potency is superior. Also, while the Cain Myth might have some sway as a prevailing mythology, it probably wont be the real story. Also, Generation was always overpowered for a background. If both are to be implemented, I would use Generation as an indicator of lineage, and possibly as a status like bonus to social challenge with other vampires. Generally this would not stack with other status bonuses; only the highest relevant status bonus would prevail.
(Optional) The other effect it would have is to be a limiting factor on Blood Potency, so your spanking new 8th gen neonate doesn't just start out extra powerful, but has the potential of becoming so. In this case, each level in generation indicates how many extra levels of Blood Potency the character can gain. If the character diablerizes, he would potentially gain Blood Potency as normal, but would gain generation up to the level of the victim.
I'd also make a few other changes in Blood Potency. For ease of reference, I will introduce a unit called Blood Potency Points (BPP). Rather than gaining one blood potency every 50 years, a character instead gains a BPP every 25 years. Also, when purchasing with experience, it is possible to purchase BPP at a rate of 8 XP each, allowing them to round out existing BPP to reach the next Blood Potency level. Once current BPP = Current BP + 1, they are converted to the next level of Blood Potency. When a character goes into Torpor, he stops gaining them (Optional: they are lost at the same rate during Torpor, but only lower BP once he has lost BPP equal to current BP). This system also allows more interesting rules for Amaranth, which are somewhat inspired by Ricean vampires.
Amaranth
Broadly speaking, Amaranth is a donation of Blood Potency (tabulated by BPP) from one kindred to another, whether voluntarily or forcibly, and covers both Embrace and Diablerie. For Amaranth to occur, the donor must spend 1 Permanent Willpower Point to unlock his top level of Blood potency, which produces a number of BPP equal to that Blood Potency level, and reduces the Donor's BP by one. The donor can do this voluntarily, in which case it is referred to as the Embrace. This is how creating new vampires works, and it is possible for the new childe of a sufficiently powerful sire to consequently start at higher than BP 1, should the Storyteller desire, or should the Player build his character that way. If the optional Generation rule is used, this also brings the recipient's Generation (or allows the character to buy it up to) one less than the donor's Generation level. This can also be done for existing vampires, allowing them to incorporate them with their own existing BP, potentially raising both Blood Potency and Generation. This is also a possible method for changing bloodlines.
Diablerie
Diablerie is forcible Amaranth. Each round an attacker attempts Diablerie, he must spend a temporary Willpower point and make a Stamina + Resolve roll (after having drained all of the victim's vitae). Once he achieves successes equal to the victim's Permanent Willpower, he forces the victim to spend a Permanent Willpower and converts the victim's top Blood Potency level into an equal amount of BPP. These, plus any free amounts of BPP the victim may have had, are now converted to the attacker, allowing him to increase Blood Potency and also endowing him with Diablerie streaks, and subjecting him to possible addiction effects. If the victim was of higher Generation, one level of Generation is transferred to the attacker. This continues until the attacker stops, runs out of temporary Willpower points, or the victims runs out of Blood Potency or Permanent Willpower (either of which causes him to ash immediately).
Thus, in this system, it is possible to gain Blood Potency by Diablerizing individuals of lower Blood Potency. It is also possible that a victim may survive Diablerie, though undoubtedly such a victim would eventually seek retribution. Diablerie veins last for a number of years equal to the number of Blood Potency levels forcibly unlocked. Also, since the process is incremental, the attacker checks for Humanity loss for each Blood Potency unlocked, until he loses one.
Vampire Weaknesses
Generally, vampire weaknesses are the same as in Requiem, with a few exceptions.
Sunlight
Vampires don't take damage from sunlight (Unless they practice Tenebrus). Instead they take a penalty equal to the damage designated by the sunlight tables in the damage, health and healing chapter, and they also don't enter Rotschreck from it. They are still affected by Daytime in the same fashion. Vampires with Tenebrus taking bashing damage according to the sunlight tables, but no more than Tenebrus -1 per round. This counts as burning damage, and may elicit frenzy or rotschreck on account.
Other weaknesses and limitations are associated with the Traditions, which I will describe in detail later. Briefly though, here they are:
Masquerade - reflection issues
Domain - Predator's taint
Progeny - as described in the Amaranth section above
Accounting - childer cannot acquire domain
Hospitality - invitation limitation
Amaranth - as described in the Amaranth section above
Elysium - it is difficult to engage in violence in Elysium
More next time.
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