Age
While Generation may represent a kindred's proximity to Caine by blood, they may yet be young or old. With age comes experience and the ability to grow in power, like a fine wine which has matured perfectly. It is generally true that the older a vampire is the closer their link to Caine, either by lineage or diablerie, but exceptions do exist and some older kindred may have built their power base and respect the hard way.
In terms of respect, age does not necessarily grant a kindred automatic respect from their community. While a kindred of five centuries might wish to call themselves an Elder, if they have spent four of those five centuries in forced Torpor as punishment then they may be considered no better than a Neonate or Ancilla in the eyes of their peers. Age does not guarantee status; this is instead reflected by a combination of age and the background.
The specific available age categories are as follows, the years in brackets give an indication of the number of years spent as a vampire (or as a ghoul feeding from vampire blood) normally associated with these age categories:
| Level | Age Band | Age Category (Vampire) | Age Category (Ghoul) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ | Under 150 | Neonate | Thrall |
| ⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪ | 150 to 300 | Ancilla | Voice |
| ⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪ | 301 to 500 | Pretender Elder | Envoy |
| ⚫⚫⚫⚪⚪ | 501 to 700 | Master Elder | Hand |
| ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚪ | 701 to 1000 | Luminary Elder | Rod |
| ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫ | 1001 to 3000 | Methuselah | Primus (Jabal Major-domo) |
Benefits/Negatives of Age
The following elements are affected by a character’s age:
In combination with Generation, Age increases starting Attribute points.
Different Age brackets apply different advantages/disadvantages to Discipline use
The actions or movements of an older kindred will attract more interest and attention
Older characters will have more tolls, as time has taken its toll on the character
Older kindred require longer periods of time in torpor to ease their tolls
Starting Age
During character generation the ST team will discuss the starting age of all characters, attempting to fit their age to the concept as narratively closely as possible. The ST team reserves the right to ask that a character’s embrace date be adjusted.
Changing Age Category
The borders for Age Category are more kind of guidelines. Even if a character passes over into a new Age Category from one session to another it will only be possible for a character’s Age Category to change over a long time skip or over an extended period of Torpor. The ST team reserves the right to make a call on when a character moves into a new Age Category on a case by case basis, and through conversation with the player. It is the ST team’s wish to make these decisions as fair and reasonable as possible.