The protagonist can also feed on innocent humans, though there are repercussions for that. It can be replenished by feeding on certain types of enemies. Blood is used to activate the vampire disciplines, working similarly to magic points in other games. Melee combat is viewed from third-person perspective, but the view switches to first-person if the main character is using a gun. The protagonist can fight unarmed, use melee weapons and firearms, or employ special vampire abilities. The player can make the main character stronger in combat, proficient in computer hacking or stealth, more powerful in vampire disciplines, more attractive, more intimidating, and so on.Ĭombat in the game is action-based.

Experience points can be manually allocated to raise the protagonist's attributes, as well as improve various vampire feats. Many side quests are available during the course of the game. The main character gains experience points only for completing quests, not for killing enemies. In some cases the choice of a clan greatly changes subsequent gameplay: for example, Malkavians are insane and will therefore have completely different, surreal dialogue choices Nosferatu are so ugly that they can't pass for humans and will have to travel through underground paths throughout the game, etc. In the beginning, the player creates the protagonist, choosing between vampire clans, each with its own unique abilities and disciplines: Brujah vampires are suitable for melee fighting, Tremeres can cast spells, etc. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is based on the pen-and-paper RPG Vampire: The Masquerade. Before long the new vampire becomes involved in a net of intrigues between powerful organizations and vampire clans, and must choose his own place in this terrifying new world. The Prince takes responsibility for the protagonist from now on, and decides to test his abilities, sending him to Santa Monica. The hero's short vampire life would have come to an abrupt end, if a mysterious person hadn't stepped in and convinced the Prince to spare it.

Apparently, the protagonist's sire turned him into a vampire without permission, so Prince LaCroix, the head of Los Angeles Camarilla branch, decides to execute both. Before the protagonist is able to reflect upon this new and unexpected form of existence, he is taken to a court room, where he gets acquainted with the Camarilla - an organization that preserves order among vampires. Well, not exactly dead, but turned into a vampire - 'sired', as the vampires themselves call it. 'One morning, a seemingly ordinary inhabitant of modern-day Los Angeles wakes up and discovers that he (or she) is dead.

Disciplines vampire the masquerade