Amaranth: The act of devouring the lifeblood of another vampire. See Diablerie.

Antediluvian: One of the oldest Kindred, a member of the third generation. These beings remain hidden from the world and are said to be the architects of the Jyhad.

Autarkis: A vampire who refuses to be part of Kindred society and does not recognize the Domain of a Prince.

Beast, The: An allusion for the drives and urges that prompt a vampire to become entirely a monster, forsaking all humanity and existing only to satisfy those drives and urges.

Becoming, The: The moment a mortal becomes a vampire; the metamorphosis from Kine to Kindred. Also called The Change.

"Blood: The vampire's heritage. That which makes a vampire a vampire. Or simple the actual blood.

Bloodline: The vampire's heritage traced through her Sire.

Blood Kindred: The relationship between vampires of the same lineage or clan. Analogous to the human term 'blood brother'.

Blood Oath: The most potent bond that can exist between vampires; the receiving of blood in an acknowledgment of mastery. If this process is repeated the drinker will become mystically bound to the feeder through the Blood Bond.

Book of Nod: The "sacred" book of the Kindred detailing their races' origins and early history. Supposedly comprised of the words of Caine and his Progeny. Though never published in its entirety, fragments are known to exist in different languages and collections

Brood: A group of vampires gathered around a single leader (usually their Sire or Regnant) often a specialized form of a Coterie. The original thirteen clans are Broods, after a fashion, albeit scattered across the world and the millennia.

Caine: The supposed progenitor of all vampires. Vampirism is said to be the curse set upon him for the murder of Abel.

Cainite: A vampire; a descendant of Caine. See Kindred.

Canaille: The bulk of mortals, especially that element of it that is the most unsavory and lacking in culture. See Kine. Cauchemar: A vampire who feeds only on sleeping victims and prevents their awakening.

Change, The: The moment and the process of becoming a vampire. See Becoming.

Childe: A term for young, inexperienced, or foolish vampires. True Childer have no rights in Kindred society until released by their Sire after a period of education (see the Traditions, Accounting).

Clan: A group of vampires who share certain mystic and physical characteristics because they are descended from the same bloodline.

Consanguineus: One of the same lineage (usually a younger member).

Cunctator: A vampire who avoids killing by drinking shallowly and taking too little blood to kill the prey.

Damned, The: The immortal, undead race. All the vampires as a whole.

Domain: The fiefdom claimed by a Kindred, most often a Prince. See Traditions.

Elder: A Kindred who has survived the tumultuous period of power struggle and danger common to younger vampire. Although these powerful being are often over 300 years of age they are merely entering a new arena of competition and strife.

Embrace, The: The act of being made into a vampire. Usually a mortal is drained of her own blood to the point of death and then fed a measure of Kindred blood.

Farmer: A derogatory term for a vampire who keeps animals for the purpose of feeding. See Vegetary.

Fief: A sarcastic term for the Domain or clan of a Prince.

Fledgling: A young, newly created vampire. See Childe.

Footpad: One who feeds of the derelicts and the homeless, and who frequently does not have a haven of her own.

Gehenna: The impending Armageddon hinted at in Kindred lore. This final war between all vampires will supposedly take place when the Antediluvians shall rise from the earth and devour all their Progeny. Some even believe Gehenna to be upon us.

Generation: The number of steps between a vampire and the first vampire (rumored to be Caine). These Progeny were the 2nd generation, their progeny the third and so on. The youngest and weakest are 13th. Later generations are rumored to exist but they are probably impotent and feeble.

Gentry: A Kindred who hunts the nightclubs, districts of ill repute, and other places of entertainment where mortals seek to pair off.

Ghoul: A servant created by allowing a human to drink vampiric blood. Ghouls often have a small measure of vampiric powers but are limited in many ways.

Golconda: The state of being to which some vampires aspire, in which a balance is found between opposing urges and scruples. The slide into bestiality is halted, and the individual reaches some kind of stasis. Considered a myth by most.

Haven: The place where a vampire sleeps during the daylight hours; generally a jealously guarded secret.

Humanitas: The degree to which a Kindred still retains some humanity.

Hunger, The: An aspect of The Beast that drives Kindred to consume blood. Over time The Hunger drives a Kindred to consume more and more potent blood (animals, humans and then finally other Kindred).

Jyhad, The: The shadowy war being waged among the Elders. In theory all theKindred and much of the world are merely pawns in this ancient conflict that will climax with Gehenna.

Kine: Mortals: the descendants of Seth. Often used in opposition to Kindred. The expression Kindred and Kine means "all the world". Includes ghouls but not Lupines.

Lextalionis: The code of the Kindred, allegedly created by Caine. It suggests biblical justice; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Lineage: The bloodline of a vampire, traced by Embrace.

Lupine: A werewolf, a breed of shape changers who often clash violently with the Kindred.

Man, The: The element of humanity that remains in a vampire, and which strives against the base urgings of The Beast. Rarely used.

Methuselah: An elder vampire who no longer actively dwells among other Kindred. These ancient and immensely powerful creatures either slumber in Torpor or wage the Jyhad. Usually 4th or 5th generation.

Osiris: A vampire who surrounds himself with mortal or ghoul followers in a cult or coven to better obtain sustenance. The practice is less common than it once was.

Praxis: The right of Prince to rule, as well as the rules, laws and the customs enforced by a particular Prince.

Prince (m. or f.): Among the Camarilla, the single Kindred who lays claim to the Domain of a city, administrating it and interpreting and enforcing theTraditions. The Prince's rulership can stem from support, personal power, charisma or all of the above.

Progeny: A collective term for all the vampires created by one Sire. Less formal, and less flattering, is Get.

Rake: One who habitually uses the Rack is a Rake in vulgar argot; Papillon and Gentry are progressively older terms for the same.

Regnant: One who has a Blood Bond over another Kindred, through giving saidKindred blood three times.

Retainers: Humans who serve a vampire master. They are generally either ghouls or mentally Dominated by their vampire master. This control is sometimes so complete that the mortals are unable to take any action of their own volition.

Riddle, The: The essential dilemma of a vampire's existence; to prevent the occurrence of greater atrocities, one must commit evil deeds of a lesser nature. "Beasts we are lest Beasts we become."

Rogue: A vampire who feeds upon other vampires, either out of need or perversion.

Sire: The parent/creator of a vampire, used both as the female and male form.

Siren: A vampire who seduces mortals, but does not kill them and takes only a little blood after putting the mortal into a deep sleep.

Third Mortal: Caine, the progenitor of all vampires, according to popular Kindred lore and the Book of Nod.

Thrall: A vampire who is held under a Blood Bond and thus under the control of another Kindred. See Regnant.

Torpor: A deep, sleep like state Kindred enter. It can occur after taking grievous damage or among the oldest Kindred for periods of time.

Vessel: A potential or past source of blood, typically a human.

Vitae: Blood.

Wassail: The final release and the last frenzy. Wassail occurs when the last vestiges of humanity are lost and a vampire plunges into madness.

Whelp: A contemptuous term for any young vampire; originally used only in reference to one's own Progeny.

Witch-hunter: A mortal who searches for vampires in order to kill them.

Whig: Name for a vampire who possesses an obsessive interest in mortal fashions and current events.