Glossary

Glossary of common V:TES terms

In-Game Terms

Meta-Game Terms

Sects

Clans

Disciplines

Much of the original content for this list was taken from the rulebooks that come with the starter decks.

This post will be an ongoing process as I adjust and add to the list but its initial purpose will be as a starting point reference for some players new to the game that will playing a local once-off game at my place in a couple of weeks time. It seems to have taken a surprisingly long time to compile and may well still require corrections that will form part of this aforementioned ongoing process.


In-Game Terms

• Acting Minion:
  The minion performing the current action.
• Action Card:
  A card that a minion can play to perform a special action. Includes equipment, retainer, ally and political action cards.
• Action Modifier:
  A card that the acting minion can play to modify the action he is performing.
• Additional Strike:
  Allows a minion to strike an additional time in the same round of combat (at the same range as the initial strike).
• Aggravated Damage:
  Type of damage that vampires cannot heal. It can even burn a wounded vampire.
• Ally:
  A non-vampire minion. Brought into play by a "recruit ally" action, he acts independently of the minion who recruited him.
• Ash Heap:
  The discard pile. Cards that are burned are returned to their owner's ash heap.
• Bleed:
  An action that attempts to burn another player's pool. By default, it can only be attempted against a player's prey.
• Block:
  The successful attempt of a minion to prevent the action of another minion. Typically concluded with combat.
• Blocking Minion:
  The minion currently attempting to block an action, or the minion who has successfully blocked the current action.
• Blood (also Blood Counter):
  A token representing a vampire's capability to heal himself or to perform certain feats.
• Blood Bank:
  Repository of blood counters not in use.
• Blood Cursed:
  A vampire with Blood Curse cannot commit diablerie.
• Blood Hunt:
  The act of burning a vampire that committed diablerie. A referendum is conducted to see if a blood hunt is called.
• Bounce:
  To redirect a bleed action aimed at you on to another player.
  
• Burn:
  Discard. A burned card goes to its owner's ash heap. A burned counter or token is returned to the blood bank.
• Cainite(s):
  Another term for vampire(s).
• Capacity:
  The maximum number of blood counters a vampire can have. It is also a relative measure of the vampire's age.
• Circle:
  Each Blood Brother is identified with a particular circle. A vampire without a circle designation is his own circle.
• Combat Card:
  A card that a minion can play in combat.
• Combat Ends:
  A strike that ends combat before any damage or other strike effects happen.
• Contest(ed):
  The struggle for control of a unique card or title.
• Controlled Region:
  Area containing a Methuselah's controlled cards.
• Crypt:
  The deck of cards containing a player's vampires.
• Deflect:
  To redirect a bleed action aimed at you on to another player.
  
• Diablerie:
  The act of burning a torporous vampire. Can be used to gain a Discipline.
• Diablerist:
  A vampire who commits diablerie. A blood hunt can be called to burn a diablerist.
• Directed Action:
  An action of one Methuselah's minion that targets one or more other Methuselahs (or the minions or cards they control).
• Dodge:
  A strike that protects a minion and the cards on him from an opposing minion's strike. Retainers are not protected.
• Draft:
  A card effect that can only be used in a draft or sealed deck tournament.
• Edge:
  A token symbolizing who has the upper hand at the moment.
• Equipment:
  An object a minion uses for a special bonus or ability.
• Event:
  Event cards represent events that affect the World of Darkness as a whole. Each discard phase, a Methuselah may use a discard phase action to put an event card in play. Each unque event can only be played once in a game.
• First Strike:
  An offensive strike done faster than normal, so that the strike resolves before a normal offensive strike would.
• Hunt:
  The action that a vampire takes to regain blood.
• Infernal:
  An infernal minion doesn't untap as normal in the untap phase. During the controller's untap phase, the player may burn a pool to untap him.
• Influence Phase:
  The phase of a turn in which a Methuselah may make transfers to her uncontrolled vampires and during which vampires are moved from the uncontrolled region to the ready region.
• Intercept:
  A measure of how well a minion can block the action of another minion. If it equals or exceeds the acting minion's stealth, the minion's block is successful.
• Kinred:
  Another term for vampires.
• Library:
  The deck containing a player's minion and master cards from which her hand is drawn.
• Life (also Life Counter):
  A token representing a retainer's or an ally's health.
• Maneuver:
  The efforts of a minion in combat to move away from or to close in on the opposing minion.
• Master Card:
  A library card that can be used as a master phase action.
• Master Phase Action:
  The Methuselah's personal activity for the turn.
• Methuselah
  Each player represents one of these, an ancient vampire, mostly influencing the world through younger minions. The term is generally interchange-able with player.
• Minion:
  A vampire or ally.
• Minion Card:
  Any library card that is not a master card -- a card that a minion can play.
• Out-of-Turn Master Card:
  A type of master card that can only be played during another player's turn, using the next master phase action of the player playing it.
• Phase(s):
  The sequence which each player follows each round, made up of the Untap, Master, Minion, Influence and Discard phases.
• Polling:
  The step of a referendum during which votes are cast.
• Pool:
  A token representing a Methuselah's status. Also, a collection of such tokens. A Methuselah is ousted if she loses all of her pool.
• Predator:
  The player to a Methuselah's right.
• Press:
  The efforts of a minion in combat to escape from or to give chase to the opposing minion.
• Prey:
  The player to a Methuselah's left. A player receives a victory point and 6 pool when her prey is ousted.
• Reaction Card:
  A card played by a Methuselah's ready, untapped minion in response to an action taken by a minion controlled by another Methuselah.
• Ready Region:
  Area containing a Methuselah's minions that are not in torpor.
• Red List:
  Any player may use a master phase action to mark a Red List minion for the current turn. Once per turn any ready vampire controlled by that player may take a a +1 stealth (D) action that costs 1 blood to enter combat with a marked Red List minion. If a vampire burns a Red List minion in combat or as a (D) action, including diablerie, the controller may go through their library, ash heap and/or hand to get a master trophy card to put on that vampire and then reshuffle her library or draw back up to her hand size as necessary. This is done before the blood hunt referendum is called, if any.
• Referendum:
  The part of a political action (or a blood hunt referendum) during which the terms are set, the votes are cast and the effects are applied (if it passes).
• Research Area:
  Some cards can be moved to a special area called the research area. The cards in the research area are face down and out of play; they can be affected only by cards and effects that say so explicitly. A player may look at the cards in their research area at any time.
• Retainer:
  A mortal creature or being that serves a minion. Brought into play by an employ retainer action, he remains with the minion who employed him and cannot act independently.
• Scarce:
  When a Methuselah moves a scarce vampire from the uncontrolled region to the ready region during the influence phase, they must burn 3 pool for every other vampire of the same clan already in play.
• Stealth:
  A measure of how well a minion evades other minions' attempts to block his action. If it exceeds the blocking minion's intercept, the block fails.
• Slave:
  Some minions are identified as slaves of a specified clan. A slave cannot take a directed action if unless the controller controls a ready member of the specified clan. If a member of the specified clan is blocked, the controller can tap the slave and untap the acting vampire and to have the slave enter combat instead.
• Sterile:
  A vampire that cannot take an action to create a vampire.
• Strength:
  The amount of damage a minion inflicts with a normal hand strike.
• Strike:
  The effort of a minion in combat to harm his opponent or to avoid being struck by his opponent.
• Tap:
  Turn (a card) sideways. Typically done to indicate that the card has been activated for some purpose.
• Torpor Region:
  Area where vampires are placed when they cannot heal damage done to them. A vampire in torpor is vulnerable to diablerie attempts. A vampire in torpor is not ready but is still considered controlled.
• Transfer:
  Influence phase action used to move pool to or from an uncontrolled vampire or to move a card from the crypt to the uncontrolled region.
• Trifle Master Card:
  A special 'lesser' master card that allows up a single extra master phase after being played.
• Uncontrolled Region:
  Area containing a Methuselah's uncontrolled vampires. Allies are also placed here when they are recruited to indicate that they cannot act, although they are controlled.
• Undirected Action:
  An action that is not directed.
• Untap:
  Restore a card to the normal, upright, position. See Tap.
• Victory Point:
  The measure of a player's ranking. A player receives a victory point when her prey is ousted and for being the last player in the game. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins.
• Withdraw:
  An attempt to leave the game by a player who has run out of cards in her library.
• World of Darkness:
  A fictional dark alternative world to our own in which the game takes place.
• Wounded:
  A vampire who has received damage that he has not healed or a vampire in torpor or on his way to torpor is said to be wounded.

More info::

The Lasombra's V:TES Abbreviations List

Meta-Game Terms

• ARDB:
  Anarch Revolt Deck Builder - software that allowed you browse all the cards, create/record decks and inventory
As the name suggests, a deck constructed to focus on bleeding their prey.
• Bleed deck:
  As the name suggests, a deck constructed to focus on bleeding their prey.
• CCG:
  Collectable Card Game.
• Combat deck:
  As the name suggests, a deck constructed to focus on combat.
• ELDB:
  Elder Library Deck Builder - software that allowed you browse all the cards, create/record decks and inventory. Deprecated, mostly replaced by ARDB and FELDB.
• FELDB:
  Fragment of Elder Library Deck Builder - software that allowed you browse all the cards, create/record decks and inventory
• Intercept deck:
  As the name suggests, a deck constructed to focus on intercepting other players actions.
• Jyhad
  The original name of the game and often now used to refer to that base set of cards.
• TCC:
  Trading Card Central - an online card trading site.
• TCG:
  Trading Card Game.
• Toolbox:
  A diverse deck style that rather than focusing on bleeding, voting or intercept and combat, does mixture of all of them.
• Vote deck:
  As the name suggests, a deck constructed to focus on political actions.

More info::	extrala's V:TES colloquial dictionary
	The Lasombra's V:TES Deck Terminology List

Sects And Titles

• Anarch:
  Not a sect as such, the Anarchs are independent but with a special attribute. More info: section 10.5 at the V:EKN
• Antitribu:
  The 'anti-clans' made up of members of a former Camarilla clan that have joined the Sabbat which oppose the Camarilla.
• Black Hand:
  Not an actual sect as such, but an elite sub-sect of the Sabbat that essentially comprise the Sabbat assassins.
• Camarilla:
  The traditional sect that enforces the Traditions and Masquerade, composed of six to seven clans (dependent upon chronology) Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere and Ventrue, plus to an extent the clanless Caitiff. Refer section 10.1 at the V:EKN
• Indepedent:
  All clans not aligned with the other major sects are termed Independent. More info: section 10.4 at the V:EKN
• Laibon:
  The third major sect, the "Laibon" compsoed of the four clans Akunanse, Guruhi, Ishtarri and Osebo. More info: section 10.3 at the V:EKN
• Sabbat:
  The vampire sect that rejects the Camarilla Traditions and Masquerade, composed of the Ahrimanes, Blood Brothers, Brujah antitribu, Gangrel antitribu, Harbingers of Skulls, Kiasyd, Lasombra, Malkavian antitribu, Pander, Nosferatu antitribu, Salubri antitribu, Toreador antitribu, Tremere antitribu, Tzimisce and Ventrue antitribu. More info: section 10.2 at the V:EKN
• Votes:
  
  

  Title:	Sect:	Votes:
  Archbishop:	Sabbat	2
  Baron:	Anarch	2
  Bishop:	Sabbat	1
  Cardinal:	Sabbat	3
  Inner Circle:	Camarilla	4
  Justicar:	Camarilla	3
  Kholo:	Laibon	2
  Magaji:	Laibon	2
  Primogen:	Camarilla	1
  Prince:	Camarilla	2
  Prisci:	Sabbat	3
  	The prisci as a group have 3 votes. During a referendum, the prisci block of 3 votes is cast "for" or "against" the referendum according to the prisci subreferendum.
  Priscus:	Sabbat	1
  	This vote is only usable for the Prisci sub-referendum, the result of which then decides the Prisci vote of 3 votes for, against or abstain (if the sub-referendum is tied) from the main referendum.
  Regent:	Sabbat	4

Clans:

	Name:	Main Sect:	Notes:	Common Disciplines:
	Abomination:	Independent		?	?	?
	Ahrimanes	Sabbat	Scarce.
	Akunanse	Laibon
	Assamite	Independent	Blood cursed.
	Baali	Independent	Infernal.
	Blood Brothers	Sabbat	Sterile.
	Brujah	Camarilla
	Brujah antitribu	Sabbat
	Caitiff	Camarilla	Clanless	?	?	?
	Daughters of Cacophony	Independent
	Followers of Set	Independent
	Gangrel	Camarilla
	Gangrel antitribu	Sabbat
	Gargoyles	Independent	Slave. Flight.
	Giovanni	Independent
	Guruhi	Laibon
	Harbingers of Skulls	Sabbat
	Ishtarri	Laibon
	Kiasyd	Sabbat	Cold iron vulnerability.
	Lasombra	Sabbat
	Malkavian	Camarilla
	Malkavian antitribu	Sabbat
	Nagaraja	Independent	Scarce.
	Nosferatu	Camarilla
	Nosferatu antitribu	Sabbat
	Osebo	Laibon
	Pander	Sabbat		?	?	?
	Ravnos	Independent
	Salubri	Independent	Scarce.
	Salubri antitribu	Sabbat
	Samedi	Independent
	Toreador	Camarilla
	Toreador antitribu	Sabbat
	Tremere	Camarilla
	Tremere antitribu	Sabbat
	True Brujah	Independent	Scarce.
	Tzimisce	Sabbat
	Ventrue	Camarilla
	Ventrue antitribu	Sabbat

Discplines:

	Abombwe:	cancelling and/or activating frenzy effects
	Animalism:	retainers, animal themed damage, maneuver, press, combat-based familiars
	Auspex:	intercept, tapping/untapping, dodge, card reveals, forced discard, strength increase, minion find,block cancellation, vote cancellation, bleed reduction, strike cancellation
	Celerity:	dodge, additional strikes, maneuver, weapon theft, ranged damage, undodgeable strikes, stealth, intercept, card cycling, direct combat, stealth bleed and continued combat
	Chimerstry:	minion swaps, weapon aquisition, blood gain, pool gain, specialised blood theft, stealth
	Daimoinon:	aggravated damage, aggravated damage immunity, corruption, pacts, negative effects on minions/methuselahs
	Dementation:	increased bleeds, bleed-based pool gain, forced tap, untap restriction, forced combat, discpline restriction, reduced intercept, direct torporisation
	Dominate:	increased bleeds, action-based influence, block cancellation, vote cancellation, action cancellation, minion control, untap restriction
	Fortitude:	damage prevention, blood gain, torpor rescue, untap, unblockable actions, press, aggravated damage conversion, temporary fortitude, delayed torpor
	Melpominee:	forced tap, vote gain, block prevention, stealth, intercept, bleed increase, aggravated damage, stackable pool burn
	Mytherceria:	forced tap, location burn/find, card cycling/recycling, grapple cancellation, ranged damage, blood/discpline theft, bleed reduction, stealth, intercept
	Necromancy:	card recycling, allies & retainers, intercept, stealth, blood gain, location/torpor protection
	Obeah:	ally life gain, blood gain, blood transfer, recycling retainers/allies, untap, increased bleed, minion lockdowns, minion control
	Obfuscate:	stealth/block cancellation, increased bleed, acting minion swap, vote gain, dodge, end combat, maneuver, press, mid-combat weapon equip
	Obtenebration:	stealth, intercept reduction, block cancelling, strike:torpor, end combat, aggravated damage, dodge, ranged damage, maneuver, set range, press, blood burn, demon allies & retainers
	Potence:	strength increase, weapon destruction, press, location burn, direct minion damage, bleed increase, weapon damage increase, card cycling, grapples
	Presence:	vote increase, vote benefits, increased bleed, bleed-based pool gain, block cancellation, end combat, dodge, forced tap, action restriction, ally/retainer find
	Protean:	aggravated damage, torpor rescue, press, maneuver, end combat, strength increase, damage prevention, unblockable actions
	Quietus:	ranged damage, aggravated damage, maneuver, rang set, first strike, combat reducers, location burn, forced tap, untap, block cancellation, ally life gain
	Sanguinus:	strength increase, blood transfers, blood gain, combat cancellation, card recycling, stealth, intercept, bleed increase, additional strikes, damage prevention, combat transfer, equipment transfer
	Serpentis:	blood theft, edge-based pool burn, blood burn, bleed increase, corruption, phobia, minion control, stealth, maneuver, end combat, dodge, damage prevention, bleed reduction
	Spiritus:	directed combat, blood gain, untap, retainer find, maneuver, press, hunt increase, aggravated damage, stealth, intercept decrease, minion control
	Temporis:	untap, card recycling, influence, unpreventable damage, minion burn/find, aggravated damage, card cancellation, action cancellation, unblockable action, vote gain, strength increase, set range
	Thanatosis:	aggravated damage, damage prevention, block cancellation, bleed increase, dodge, maneuver, incremental stength damage, additional strike cancellation, stealth, minion control, retainer transfer/boost
	Thaumaturgy:	aggravated damage, blood theft, press, maneuver, strength increase, damage prevention, reaction restricters, blood burn, equipment find, untap, increased action cost, stealth, action cancellation
	Valeren:	block cost, bleed increase, aggravated damage, direct combat, blood gain, torpor rescue, blood hunt restriction, hand increase, damage prevention, unpreventable damage, end combat, bleed reduction
	Vicissitude:	bleed increase, stealth increase, stealth decrease, ally protection, mirrored damage, end combat, aggravated damage, maneuver, grapple cancellation, torpor rescue, burn prevention
	Visceratika:	gargoyle protection, location protection, stealth increase, maneuver, press, end combat, set range, ranged damage, first strike, damage increase, damage prevention, intercept

The above table is by no means an exhaustive list of the effects that any given discpline has available to it, so much as simply providing a rough idea of the sort of effects some of the cards for each discpline are capable of.

More info::

James Coupe's General Discipline Explanations