Vampire, n. A creature that is neither truly living, nor truly dead, that feeds off of the blood of the living.
Clan, n. One of five lineages of vampires, each espousing a different archetype of the vampiric myths.
Bloodline, n. A specific sub-lineage of a Clan. They have specific variant strengths and weaknesses "in the blood."
LARP, n. "Live-Action Role Play." An improvisational play acted out for the enjoyment of the actors.
White Wolf, p. n. A company that creates a game in which one plays Vampires, as well as several others that take place in "the World of Darkness."
White Wolf released its new WW Quarterly yesterday. It contains a ton of preview information for their New (and Improved) World of Darkness. Even Mage. Now, see, I like their World of Darkness games. I'm planning on playing a character in an upcoming Vampire LARP. I was planning on creating a Ventrue (Clan) Architect (Profession). I was considering ties to the Ordo Dracul (a secret society), or maybe the Masons (another secret society). I was envisioning try to enact subtle change in society based on my architectural style.
White Wolf released a Bloodline of Ventrue Architects with ties to the Ordo Dracul and the Masons who enact subtle change in society based on their architectural style.
Now, if I choose to look on the brightside, that could mean that I end up playing the Signature Character for this Bloodline. I could end up being its coolest member, and also showing people the proper way to join a Bloodline. I know White Wolf just handed
jadasc a huge steaming pile of Plot for my character. But right now, all I'm thinking about is "White Wolf ruined my character concept." All of the superficial things that made my character a unique and special snowflake are gone. You no longer have to describe my character for the other players to know what he is, you can just say "he's one of those." 