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Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition

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As part of our Month of Darkness, this digital title has been marked down by 20%. For more discounted titles, visit our Month of Darkness Sale page.

Vampire: The Masquerade is the original and ultimate roleplaying game of personal and political horror. You are a vampire, struggling for survival, supremacy, and your own fading humanity — afraid of what you are capable of, and fearful of the inhuman conspiracies that surround you.

The classic that changed roleplaying games forever returns! This fifth edition features a streamlined and modern rules design, beautiful new full-color art, and a rich story experience for players. Powered by the innovative Hunger cycle, the game also includes rules for creating system supported character coteries, Loresheets to directly involve players with their favorite parts of the setting and The Memoriam, a new way to bring the character's detailed backgrounds and expand on them in-session.

V5 is a return to Vampire's original vision, moving boldly into the 21st century. While the rules have been redesigned, this new edition honors the deep story of the original, advancing the metaplot from where it left off and detailing exactly what has happened in the world of the Kindred up until tonight. The terror of the Second Inquisition, the conspiracies behind the Gehenna War, and the rekindling of the War of Ages: these are the building blocks of the modern V5 chronicle.

Mature Warning: Contains graphic and written content of a mature nature, including violence,sexual themes, and strong language. Reader discretion is advised.

This PDF version of the V5 core book contains everything the physical book does, plus the implemented errata and a few bonus sections. These sections comprise 26 pages of added bonus material, and they include the following:
  • More Loresheets: Descendant of Tyler, Descendant of Zelios, Descendant of Vasantasena, High Clan, Low Clan, Ambrus Maropis, Carmelita Neillson, Fiorenza Savona, Descendant of Karl Schrekt, Descendant of Xaviar.
  • An Appendix on Standard Feats: A list of examples for various typical feats your character may do over their unlife, divided among Mental, Physical, and Social.
  • An Appendix on Projects: Advanced rules with which your character can attempt long-term projects in order to accomplish goals that go beyond their night-to-night unlife.
  • An Appendix on Considerate Play: Excellent advice on how to present complex topics in your game and to ensure everyone at the gaming table is having a good time.

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Reviews (20)
Discussions (54)
Customer avatar
Dontrell H December 02, 2023 5:46 pm UTC
I bought the bundle on Humble Bundle, which forces you to make an account on Renegade's website. Eh, okay...I can deal with that. What I can't deal with is the fact that they put a huge unsightly watermark on every page of every PDF. It isn't like DTRPG's watermark, where it's visible but small and not all that intrusive. No, these weiners put a white footer sized watermark with large font on the bottom of each page. If I could, I would refund the entire bundle.
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Dontrell H February 05, 2024 7:01 am UTC
The fixed it. There is still watermarks, but it gets the point across while also being less of an eyesore and doesn’t ruin the pages with a giant white footer. Im happy they decided to change it.
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Dontrell H February 05, 2024 7:01 am UTC
The fixed it. There is still watermarks, but it gets the point across while also being less of an eyesore and doesn’t ruin the pages with a giant white footer. Im happy they decided to change it.
Customer avatar
Tom W April 27, 2023 8:52 pm UTC
I want to like this. But it just doesn't feel like VTM to me yet. It feels like someone skinned VTM and is wearing it like an VTM-suit. I really don't understand why people like it...yet. For now I'm sticking with V20 and friends.
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Norbert C April 18, 2023 8:19 am UTC
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Could it be possible to have the newer version from renegade uploaded? There are still lots of mistakes in the version you have, like the blood potency charts. Thanks.
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Norbert C April 18, 2023 1:13 pm UTC
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After checking with some GMs on renegade discord, seems the charts are right but the description is wrong. So I don't know if they have a better version actually.
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Norbert C April 19, 2023 7:07 am UTC
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I just noticed you updated the book. Thank you so much, guys! It will be less confusing for new GMs.
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Michael C April 16, 2023 7:31 am UTC
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One of the classic games in updated version. I purchased this as design and reference material and I must say they do one of the best jobs in covering a game rated for adults with regard to their safe play & material content warnings. TTRPGs are for everyone much like movies are for everyone though not game or campaign setting is for everyone just like not every movie is for everyone.
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James H March 25, 2023 9:40 pm UTC
Has Renegade Game Studio ever updated the PDF to include books marks and update errata. Also is there any difference from the PDF version here and the one available directly from RGS?
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Brian F February 04, 2023 6:28 pm UTC
Is there any way to still get a physical copy?
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Steven S December 19, 2022 7:05 pm UTC
Can I add my own bookmarks to the PDF, or is it locked up tight?
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Jason H January 07, 2023 7:22 am UTC
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It's locked, but I wouldn't say tightly.
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Steven S January 07, 2023 5:52 pm UTC
Can I add and save my own bookmarks? Some PDFs are locked down so tightly that you cannot do that. *cough* Shadowrun
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Lesley N December 11, 2022 3:55 am UTC
Ended up here at random.

Read a bit, discovered the drama. Vampire went woke.... hehehehehehe.
It's going to be a while before I see anything role gaming this funny.

I hate the word woke. But I suppose it prints out better than saying "don't be a dick".
And that's the message of woke eh, don't be a dick.

But seeing Vampire go woke :)
Almost like watching Marvel nerds cry about woke.
Customer avatar
Jamie H November 17, 2022 11:32 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hey, is the PDF going to get updated for the reprints / errata?

Some of the differences and clarifications are pretty significant; I don't want to purchase it if I'm going to have to keep separate notes on what's different.
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Romain D July 13, 2022 8:38 pm UTC
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So i wanted to use my coupon to download the pdf version but it says it expired ...
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Adriano A April 25, 2022 12:15 pm UTC
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Will the rulebook ever be correctly updated from the errata?
It's not a hard change but can be very annoying
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Jamian C April 14, 2022 3:46 am UTC
Will there be physical copies available at any point in the foreseeable future?
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Rory H April 14, 2022 7:42 am UTC
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The game is physically published by Renegade Game Studios.
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Justin G April 08, 2022 5:51 pm UTC
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I'm only here because we're playing V20 and the GM is talking about going to V5 at some point, and I figured maybe I'd pick up a copy and get a head start on it. I barely have time to play, let alone get into the drama involved in version infighting. For me, all the good and bad points really don't mean a thing. Our GM is awesome, the players in our group are awesome, and if the GM says we're going to V5, well, we're going to V5. :D

That said, if I had never played VTM and was here thinking about grabbing a PDF to see what it was all about, the comment section here would likely have me deciding to go try something else and avoid the community in general. Everyone is so worried about being right that they miss the fact that they're essentially chasing people away. If you went to a con and walked up to a table you were gonna play at and all the people were yelling at each other, you'd probably just keep right on walking. Same thing, different medium. Just something to bear in mind when you're...See more
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Steve R December 11, 2022 6:41 am UTC
They need a like button on this forum, for those like me who have nothing to add but absolutely agree with what you are saying :)
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Brian L January 09, 2022 6:39 am UTC
Couldn't review because I didn't buy it online, so I hope this helps somebody.

This is NOT the Classic World of Darkness. If you're hoping for a continuation or some kind of expansion, run away. Quickly. The best it does is pay lip service to established characters in Bloodlines that have become pop culture figureheads. You know the ones, in the nightclub, with the blonde hair... yeah. That's as close to "classic" as you're gonna get.

I didn't buy this as a PDF someplace else. I made the costly mistake of purchasing a physical copy, in hopes that they shed some light on changes between V20 and V5E.

They do not.

They open the book with a full-page warning label that directs you to an appendix about handling sensitive subject matter with your troupe. Okay, weird, since I've literally never played with people who couldn't tell me "this makes me uncomfortable" like an adult, even when I played these games as a teenager. I'll give it a look, once...See more
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P. C January 12, 2022 12:30 pm UTC
There is a link to download the pdf copy for free right inside the book, Brian.

Being on the same boat with you, I quite agree to your point here. To my personal experience, this is a half baked cookie where you need to purchase some more spat books to get the true flavor of the game. Seriously dude, if you are to make a core rulebook, at least have the decency put every ingredient in the package. As if Anarch and Camarilla is not enough, scattering the clans to Companion, then to Chicago by Nights, then to Cults of the Blood Gods? Except the Companion which is free, you need to shed around $80+ dollars more ($39.00+ for pdf) to get the whole clan (hope that's finally the whole clans!) Is that cash grab or what?

...and the photos?? Is that Stalin?? Jez man, are you guys promoting Communism or whatever political facism you had in mind?? I understand the political nature of Vampire the Masquerade, but this? or was that part of the Chechnya error thing that was missed out during the...See more
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P. C January 12, 2022 12:44 pm UTC
Errata.. It's Lenin, not Stalin. See Anarch page 26.
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Rory H January 16, 2022 6:11 am UTC
PURCHASER
New Year. New Rant.

The game is as much canon as any of the previous editions, and while it may be written with a view of seeking a new audience, its authors most likely have a lot deeper knowledge of the history of the game than you do. I’ve played Vampire since the 1st edition was released in 1991, and to me this is the best edition ever made. I’d prefer to go with a vision of the game that was overseen, approved and even co-written in some parts by the original author of the game (Mark Rein-Hagen) and is currently being developed by Justin Achilii who directed Vampire Revised and V20, along with a cohort of writers that have a wealth of experience across multiple editions and even the horror expertise of Ken Hite as a cherry on top.

Guess what? The core rules for V:TM 1st and 2nd edition didn’t include all 13 Clans either. Nobody cried about it then - the core game experience is still complete as is. Just because the new edition is seeking a particular focus on themes and aspects...See more
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Rory H January 16, 2022 9:10 am UTC
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Guess what? V5 is an Adamantine seller and is still going strong. It isn’t going away soon, no matter how much you guys whinge about it. I guess V20 just isn’t interesting enough to be able to ignore V5’s comments section.

It’s hilarious how you want to bring Nazis into everything! :)

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Customer avatar
Michael B January 16, 2022 4:31 pm UTC
That’s rich. V20 has been out for over a decade here and has never left the best selling section and, just like now, has been ahead of V5 almost always. There is no other game that has been for so long in the best selling section.

And you talk about ignoring v5’s comment section? Oh boy that’s some top hypocrisy right there. Face it. V5 has issues that many people don’t like, other people need to know about those issues. No one’s saying it should go away. It’s literally struggled up and down the best selling list since it came out. That’s for a reason. One you need to come to grips with.
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Rory H January 16, 2022 5:25 pm UTC
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V20 doesn’t sell on its own website like V5, or in retail shops or on Amazon. It just sells here, if you want to make that comparison. Moreover, you can’t get higher on the chart than Adamantine, so how you can describe V5 as having ‘struggled' on a best selling list is best left to you.

I’m not quite understanding what you mean by hypocracy, either. You don’t find me hanging around and highlighting ‘issues’ on V20 forums, or other games I don’t like, because, whatever they are, I’m able to move on from them. The 'issues’ you have are all to do with your own baggage, not an appreciation of others.
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Michael B January 16, 2022 5:48 pm UTC
The hypocrisy is you can’t seems to ignore v5’s comment section, or any v5 supplement comment section for that matter.
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Rory H January 16, 2022 6:03 pm UTC
PURCHASER
That is because I like V5, I am a customer and have an interest in it.

It really isn’t that hard to figure out and, no, there is no hypocrisy whatsoever in it. What you appear to be arguing here is that negative comments should be given a protective ring-fence and people who like the products shouldn’t be allowed to defend them. Sorry, doesn’t work that way.
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Michael B January 16, 2022 6:32 pm UTC
They don’t need to be protected but it’s you and only you doing it. It’s coming off as pathetic shilling. You’ve been doing it for years and it’s old. If you could have one shred of honesty and admit that the edition is divisive It would do the game and yourself a world of good. Instead it’s a one way street with the Rory Defense Force of One. Your behavior here is a dime a dozen on the internet but not surprisingly, the only one here doing it for this issue ridden edition.
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Rory H January 16, 2022 6:53 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I wasn’t the first person to start this thread and you are clearly making your own ‘contribution' here.

There is no shilling going on, just your assertion that somehow, I shouldn’t be allowed to comment here or defend a product I like. There are plenty of positive reviews and comments about V5 which people can read for themselves, and indeed, plenty of people on this comments section asking reasonable questions about the game. Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not going anywhere and neither is V5. Your own behavior notwithstanding.
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Michael B January 16, 2022 7:00 pm UTC
Oh we all know you won’t be going anywhere.
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Rory H January 16, 2022 7:07 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Well, feel free to make comment yourself, as long as you aren’t being a hypocrite about it.

The fact that there are 44/69 people giving this product a five star rating here, and plenty of other positive reviews that are easily accessible online, can give people whatever information they want from such things.
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Todd M January 17, 2022 12:37 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I prefer the V5 systems; the rest just keeps aging like buttermilk, and buttermilk sucks fresh.
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Todd M January 17, 2022 12:39 pm UTC
PURCHASER
And just like Amazon, for example, ratings never lie.

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Todd M January 17, 2022 12:41 pm UTC
PURCHASER
It's just because the new thread "is seeking a particular focus on themes and aspects that you clearly don’t get."
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Rory H January 17, 2022 7:44 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I’m not sure what witticisms you are attempting here - one sentence at a time, no less - but I will point out that V5 is available on Amazon too (unlike V20), and continues to have lots of 5 star ratings there also. Whatever issues some posters here may have with it, they are a minority within the actual customer base. So I guess quite few people 'get it', even if you don’t.
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P. C February 15, 2022 11:53 am UTC
Some people prove things to a personal level. Forgetting the fact that everybody deserves a fair share of the opinion. By taking this road, neither can you achieve your goal to show them the good side of your point nor inspire them to reconsider their conclusion.

Drawing an edition war is a good sign of ruining the game, both your edition and the edition you criticized. Afterall it is a matter of personal taste. No need to go beyond the threshold of a civilized mind by acting defensively on a preference each time a new challenge arise.
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Customer avatar
Robert M February 18, 2022 2:31 pm UTC
The book contains the exact same 7 clans as every other core rulebook for Vampire has had. Brujah are intentionally shown specifically as a clan that rebels against ANY form of rulership that seeks to bind them. This means that its members are of any more extreme political faction, so long as they fight against whatever power is already established.

The horror of the game is more mature now in the current edition and it focuses more on the personal battle of fighting against the beast than previous editions did by making using your blood more risky rather than being a pool of precise numbers of points to spend on your abilities. Hunger grows as you use your abilities (as a replacement for blood pool), but does so unpredictably, so you can have nights when you are throwing out disciplines left and right as well as nights when just trying to heal a gunshot wound can near cause you to frenzy.

The emotions of your prey matter as well, as that now changes the flavor of blood and helps you...See more
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Robert M February 18, 2022 2:45 pm UTC
Also, the beast now directly has aspects of your clan and can literally override your thought processes to push your character to act to it.

And as far as the Brujah are concerned, specifically, the Brujah are mentioned as philosopher kings still, but as with previous editions, the book focuses on younger kindred who are less likely to be part of the older bloodlines.
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Customer avatar
Martin G March 05, 2022 10:57 am UTC
Like you I bought the game IRL.
I recognize your right not to like the game but I wanted to added a counter opinion that wasn't a personal attack on you.

1: I don't think it's fair to compare V²⁰ with V5. V²⁰ is a Love letter to all the previous works, to the fans & for those who have all helped contribute to Vampire.

While V5 is really just meant to be a shake up from the old game without trying to completely reboot it like Requiem did. It's not like individual ideology hasn't made it through in the past. ( Such as using She rather than He as the default pronoun).

If you want to compare V5 to something I think comparing it to Requiems Intial release would be more fair & accurate.

² while the Sabbat book was a bit of a miss, the Cult of the Blood gods book for V5 is arguably the best supplementary splat book of Any of Vampire book.

New core books almost always do better as they age through their life cycle, But the contents...See more
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Justin G April 08, 2022 5:16 pm UTC
PURCHASER
@Martin G, Thank you for this review. I don't know what I was hoping to find skimming through the childish spatting, but this was far above and beyond anything I expected. An actual counterpoint to the criticisms raised above. Taking in both posts, it gives me a great deal of perspective on the overall meta differences. I, for one, appreciate you taking the time to write that post.
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Customer avatar
Keet B November 04, 2022 8:14 am UTC
Your comment, right here? (Even though I like more of the V20 lore?) this comment is making me /want/ to buy this book, even though I got it as a gift already. Why? Your attitude is appalling, grow up. It's a game, and a book, get over it, and play what you want with your friends. v20's power structures are all over the place, and difficult to follow. V5, while flawed, is overall easier to manage and create with so I'm taking this and enjoying myself. Thank you for literally doing the opposite of your intent <3
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Craig A March 05, 2024 11:34 pm UTC
Excellent review mate. I wish I never bought this trash. They destroyed an awesome game.
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Philipp N September 09, 2021 7:56 am UTC
PURCHASER
I just got an update notification.
What is the difference between V5CORE_Book.pdf and V5_Corebook_Web_0821.pdf, except form V5CORE_Book.pdf missing the bookmarks?
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Rory H September 28, 2021 8:33 am UTC
PURCHASER
The second file is an updated one - basically having bookmarks. I’m not sure if the V5 Companion rules updates hadn’t already been updated.
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Philipp N October 15, 2021 1:16 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Thank you for the clarification!
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Joshua B August 11, 2021 4:41 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Bought this long before Renegade became the publisher, so to see all the changes is very problematic. First, the price goes up by a significant margin is drastic, and I can't tell if this was a Paradox call or a Renegade call. Second, the book basically lost all Bookmarks with the new PDF version, making it significantly harder to find stuff while adding little to the book outside of the errata. Overall, don't buy until significant sale, if at all, as a V5 fan these problems are really problematic.
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Joshua B August 19, 2021 8:06 pm UTC
PURCHASER
They have changed the price back to their original form.
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Product Information
Adamantine seller
Rules Edition(s)
Pages
421
Publisher Stock #
MUH051571-PDF
File Size:
190.89 MB
Format
Original electronic Click for more information
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File Last Updated:
April 18, 2023
This title was added to our catalog on November 01, 2018.