A SOURCEBOOK FOR VAMPIRE: THE MASQUER ADE

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PLAyInG THe sABBAT
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The Black Hand: Playing the Sabbat

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LEGAL AND CREDITS

Rachel E. Judd, Khaldoun Khelil, and Saskia Liddick

W R IT T E N BY

E DIT I NG A N D R E A DI NG : Rachel E. Judd, Khaldoun Khelil, and Saskia Liddick

A RT DI R EC TOR : Khaldoun Khelil

COV ER A RT: Mark Kelly

I N T ER IOR A RT A N D I L LUST R AT ION: Mark Kelly, Pexel (Lucas Alves, CottonBro, Dids, Eberhard Gross-

gasteiger, Kourtney Gunderen, ItzyPhoto, Adrien Olichon, Aleksandar Pasaric, Farzad Sedaghat), and Un-

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Splash (Silvana Amicone, Andrew Amistad, David Bayliss, Volker Braun, BSD, Noah Buscher, James Cole-
man, Daniele Colucci, Yoal Desurmont, Hiep Duong, Cheng Feng, Samuele Giglio, Matt Hearne, Michael
Heuss, Casey Horner, Maksim Istornin, Jr Korpa, Zane Lee, Ed Leszczynski, Stephany Lorena, Testalize Me,
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Dima Pechurin, Alexander Popov, Alex Rainer, Jamison Riley, Joshua Rodriguez, Florian Schmetz, Sebas-
tiaan Stam, Nikita Shirokov, Zoriana Stakhni, Diana Vargas, Logan Weaver, Simon Zhu)
GR A PH IC DESIGN A N D L AYOU T: Khaldoun Khelil

Special thanks to the fans and playtesters that supported us and made this book possible.
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Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Table of Contents 2 Path of Death and the Soul 19

Introduction4 Path of Power and the Inner Voice 20

Themes and Goals 5 Path of Lilith 22

Styles of Play e5 Predator Types 24

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Sabbat Lexicon 7 The Antitribu 29
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Chapter One: Creation Rites9 Chapter Two: Vaulderie41

The Last Bridge Over the Abyss  11 Sabbat Packs  43

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Walking the Path 14 Running in Packs 45

Path of Caine 15 Pack Types  46

Path of Cathari 17 The Ritae 58

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Chapter Three: Blood Feast73 Chapter Four: War Party103

Disciplines76 Sabbat Chronicles 105

Rituals 89 Faith, Gore, and Sex 110

Sabbat Advantages
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93 Safe Play 111
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Weapons of War 96 Loresheets114

Servants and Pawns 99 Pack Map: Non-Stop Disaster Clique 132

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Allies and Mentors 100 Worksheet: Safe Play for The Black Hand 133
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Introduction

Introduction
The great floodgates of the wonder-world swung open...

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— HERMAN MELVILLE, MOBY DICK OR, THE WHALE

T
he Sabbat have always threatened the status quo. They cast aside all

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illusions of humanity and all pretence of deliberation. The vampires
of the Sword of Caine will not waste another second squabbling
over the corpse of a doomed world. This book builds on the ideas
presented in Sabbat: The Black Hand for the Fifth Edition of Vampire: The
Masquerade as antagonists, but includes systems that allow them to be played
as player characters. While the Sabbat could be called hypocritical, this book
prefers to present them as having powerful internal tensions. They want per-
sonal freedom, but the powers they face are too great to fight alone. Only uni-
fied, devoted, and immune to subjugation can the Sabbat stand against the An-

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tediluvians or their pawns in the Camarilla, Ashirra and Anarch movements.
To break the chains of the blood bond the Black Hand had to accept the
limitations of the Vaulderie, but there's power in their Packs and communal
rituals as well. Individualism, Clan identity, and personal ambition still exist in
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the Sabbat, but those have to be tempered against their culture of self-sacrifice
and wielded in service to the greater goal of defeating the Antediluvians. The
Sabbat is part death cult, part terror cell, and part revolutionary movement.
These vampires seek utopia. They want a world no longer controlled by a
few callous ancients that are happy to see their children ground to dust and
ash over pointless squabbles. The Sabbat can’t go back to sleep now that they’ve
seen the truth. When the Antediluvians finally reveal themselves and claim
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their thrones, neither mortal nor Cainite will be spared. The Sabbat see this
existential threat and have abandoned all half measures.

What crime is too great to commit in the face of Gehenna?

If it’s the end of the world, what are we waiting for?

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 T h e B lac k Hand

Themes and Goals sacrifice everything to stand against them. While

so-called Kindred ignore the warning signs and
The Sabbat in Vampire: The Masquerade explore play their petty games, the Sabbat seeks salvation.
themes that are now central to the entirety of the No price is too great for freedom and losing their
humanity is only the first cost they are willing to

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game. Never before has so much of the Sabbat's
philosophy, lore, and concerns been such an inte- bear. While all Sabbat understand the importance
gral part of Vampire’s core game play. The Beckon- of Caine and adhere to inhuman Paths of Enlight-
ing, Gehenna, and the nature of the Antediluvians enment, it is ultimately their Pack they figth for
on a nightly basis. Their brothers and sisters forged

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themselves are explored as story elements because
the Black Hand has opened these wounds and through blood and violence. Against the end of the
probed its fingers into them over and over again. world no one, kine or Cainite, can stand alone. If
The Gehenna War is everywhere and in turn so is the Sabbat are doomed to fail, then they’ll meet
the Sword of Caine. Pieces of their ideals and story their end the same way they've faced everything
are now deeply embedded in the game's DNA. else. Together.

In short, you cannot escape the Sabbat.

Styles of Play
The vampires of the other Sects can no longer
hide from what's coming, and in many ways the
Second Inquisition is only a symptom of the
greater doom over the horizon. A stopgap imple-
e While the modern Black Hand is fractured and no
longer tries to maintain a rigid hierarchy, there are
a few common modes of organization that can be
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mented by clueless mortals in hopes of eradicating helpful for players starting out as a Sabbat Pack:
the blank body plague, but it’s already too late. The
virus is ancient and has deep roots. The Antedilu- The Nomads: The player characters are an estab-
vians are coming and bombs and bullets are useless lished Pack of Sabbat that travel where they are
against them. The Sabbat: The Black Hand book for needed. They may have a greater purpose given
V5 tackles the question of what it means to win to them when they were formed or perhaps they
the Gehenna War. It asks what is an Antediluvian? are followers of one of the Seraphim or Warlords.
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and how can they be defeated? What secrets are the These Packs are often composed of a mixture of
Sabbat searching for in the blood of elders that will Clans and Paths, and they are unconcerned with
arm them against monsters clad in the armor of following orthodoxies such as calling each other
aeons? Antitribu or avoiding non-Sabbat vampires.
In this guide for players and Storytellers we The Pack Priest is a player character who is usu-
build on that book but provide no answers to ally devout, but their survival and leadership skills
those questions, but we give you the tools needed
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are what their brethren truly value. These Packs are

to tackle those questions in play. What secrets will often concerned with discovering ancients and pry-
your Pack uncover in the Final Nights and will it ing their secrets from their veins. Nomadic Packs
all be in vain? If you emerge victorious what will are often very large, some numbering as many as
you do with the power of a methuselah? 15 Cainites, but they have very high attrition rates.
Hope, loyalty, faith, and camaraderie are not The core four or five members of a Nomadic Pack
common themes in Vampire: The Masquerade , but remain fairly constant, but their shovel heads (vam-
they're arguably the guiding principles of the Sab- pires mass Embraced as cannon-fodder) lead short
bat. The vampires of the Black Hand understand and violent unlives. Though those that survive their
that they stand against gods. Their literal crea- early nights are quickly welcomed as true Sabbat.
tors come to devour them but they’re willing to

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Introduction

The Coven: The player characters are tied to a

domain or territory that is usually contested by YOUR TABLE, YOUR SABBAT
another Sect. The Pack is usually dominated by one The Sabbat are visceral and raw, and their stories
or two Paths and Clans, but not always. A Coven's often focus on the most gruesome aspects of being
purpose is usually defined by the circumstances a vampire. Gore, violence, sadism, cruelty, madness,

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of their territory and they can sometimes become fanaticism, and terror are staples of a Black Hand
embroiled in ‘politics’, such as supporting the game and your players should be aware of that. The
overthrow of a nearby Prince or squabbling over Sabbat deals with mature themes and stories that
hunting grounds with other Packs. These Sab- can make some players uncomfortable or remind

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bat often go out of their way to pay lip service to them of traumatic experiences.
orthodoxies, regardless of their personal beliefs. A Sabbat game should make use of safety tools
Covens are also the most likely to strictly adhere such as Lines and Veils, Session Zero, and the X
to the Ritae as a mystical calendar of holidays that Card. Understanding each player's limits and expec-
guide their nightly unlives. If they follow a Sera- tations can help create a game that challenges and
phim it is usually as a patron Saint they praise and terrifies players without crossing the line into harm.
align with spiritually and politically. Their willing- As with all things, enthusiastic consent is key to run-
ness to uproot the Pack for them will be limited by ning a successful and rewarding game.
the needs of their territory. For detailed information on the above tools, con-

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The Pack Priest is usually the most devout or
politically connected player character but some-
times the eldest rules, especially since Covens are
often dominated by the childer of the eldest among
sent, and respectful play see Safe Play on pg. 111 and
the V5 Corebook pg. 421.
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them. Covens usually number around six or seven
Cainites and they only mass Embrace shovel heads
when their territory is threatened or if they have
to relocate. Their shovel heads are used to insulate
their core members from the vanguard of battle
and are often left behind to cover their tracks.
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The Removers: The player characters are special-

ists called upon by a Seraphim or other Sabbat
leader. These Packs come from a mix of Clans and
Paths, but are often dominated by members of the
Path of Caine and the Banu Haqim. These Packs
are temporary and formed for the sole purpose
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of accomplishing an objective. The Pack Priest is

often a highly accomplished assassin with two or
more dots of Status, or an elder NPC played by the
Storyteller. These Packs are devout but pragmatic,
doing whatever is necessary to accomplish their
goals. They are rarely larger than four or five mem-
bers but their ranks can swell to many times that if
they need to tactically mass Embrace shovel heads.
Those that survive return to their original Packs if
possible or form a new Pack all together.

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 T h e B lac k Hand

Sabbat Lexicon

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Bond, the: Also known as the Blood Bond or Perfecti: A Cathari spiritual leader, not neces-
the chains. Refers to how Antediluvians and sarily a Priest. They fast, refuse earthly delights,
elders enslave their childer and take on vision quests to see beyond the ma-
terial world. Cathari usually treat them as saints
Book of Nod, the: Fragmentary text collect-
ed by Cainite scholars that tell the tale of Caine Revelations of the Dark Mother: A col-
the first vampire and how he survived the land lection of works that outline the beliefs of the
of Nod with Lilith’s aid Bahari, the followers of the Path of Lilith

Church of Caine, the: The heretical faith

of the Ashirra and Camarilla that openly wor-
ships the Antediluvians, calls Caine a myth and
e Seraphim: Also known as Warlords. A leader of
a Sabbat Host. These vampires have founded a
cult of personality who follow their teachings or
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denounces Lilith as an infernal diablierist example. Most gained a following after victories
in the Gehenna War. Only a few holdouts from
Dark Mother, the: Lilith. The Bond Breaker the old order have been able to gain the same
and the Gift Giver. The Path of Lilith is small but level of popularity or clout
growing in the Sabbat, and some of its teach-
ings have been adopted by Sabbat Noddists Takbir: A call of faith that is repeated in re-
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sponse by all present. In the Sabbat they include

Dark Union, the: The metaphorical joining Praise Caine!, Death to the Antediluvians!, May
of Caine and Lilith. When the Antediluvians are the bonds be forever broken!, and Ahi hai Lilitu!
defeated and vampires openly rule
Uriel’s Promise: Golconda. Although once
Host: A loose alliance of Sabbat Packs that fol- considered a heresy, the large number of Salubri
low or aspire to follow one of the Seraphim Antitribu in the Sabbat and the Sect's fractured
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leadership has allowed some new thinking to

Numinous Ritae: A set of secret rituals devel- flourish, especially among Cathari and Unifiers
oped by the Sabbat to prosecute the Gehenna
War and weaponize the Antediluvians secrets Word, the: The collected holy texts of the
Sabbat mostly passed down through oral tradi-
Oaxaca Diaries, the: A collection of notes tion. Foremost among them is the Book of Nod,
from the Diet of Oaxaca, the last Sabbat synod but many Priests also memorize pieces from
before the Gehenna War. The text claims Ante- the Revelations of the Dark Mother, the Oaxaca
diluvians cannot die and predicted that many Diaries, the Erciyes Fragments, and other texts
Lasombra would rejoin their father as traitors

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Introduction

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 T h e B lac k Hand

Chapter One:

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creation rites

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I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me.
I cannot even explain it to myself.
— FRANZ KAFKA, THE METAMORPHOSIS

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I had often thought of death, where my soul would go after
it left my body. Maybe an angel would take me away or I’d stand
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on some shore waiting for a ferryman to deliver. But it was actu-
ally just me, buried under thousands of others, bodies all writh-
ing, all scared, all hungry. A tangle of limbs, clawing through
each other and the dirt pressing down on us, writhing to break the
soil over our heads. I pushed myself out of that gore-filled hole, I
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wanted to wipe the dirt and offal out of my face, but the others
kept crawling out of our communal grave. Surging forward, shov-
ing me along with them.
There were voices around me, shouting, pushing me and oth-
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ers who could only stand and be bewildered away from the crater
in the earth as more of the mangled and bloody scrambled out.
The voices screamed, “For the Dark Father!” and “Bathe in their
blood”. Battle cries, but I couldn’t see the battle yet. A hunger
drove me after that, the shouts around me became muffled as one
voice cut through, the voice that told me to feed. I could smell the

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Creation Rites

blood on the wind, just up a winding trail. The others were run-
ning that way, blazing a path, leaping over corpses and piles of
ash as everything around us burned. The fire lit up the sky like a

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sunrise. The rising moon was framed by mountains and I could
smell the blood pouring from the tallest peak. That was where my
hunger wanted me to go, but my body ached at the thought of the

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climb.
“Do not falter, child, go. Prove yourself to the Sword and
you may survive to see the bounty.” A woman’s voice said and
she gave me a firm push forward. She wore a gray robe, her face
covered in tattoos, including one of a third eye, but that eye was
alive. She was calm and still and out of place in the chaos. I knew

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the crowd of bewildered people around me. They'd been pulled
from my tour bus and now they were charging up the hill, some of
them running on their hands and feet like wild animals.
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“Where are we going? I’m so hungry.” That was all I could
manage and her mismatched eyes took me in. “We go to our fate.”
she said and gave me another push. I staggered into a half run, as
something else, that thing in me that hungered, put me into action.
Her words didn’t make sense to me and I lost her in the crowd, but
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that thing in me... the Beast... seemed to agree, and I climbed.

— OSCAR ABADÍA, SERAPHIM AND HOST OF THE 'OUR BLOOD' PODCAST

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