For centuries, the exotic realm of Asia has defied the Kindred's incursions. Those few Children of Caine dwelling in Asia whisper of the monstrous Cathayans - the shadowy vampires native to the East. For too long, the Cathayans have lain like sleeping dragons, allowing the Kindred a facade of omnipotence. Now, though, the new Age is at hand; Yin-daggers tremble in the talons of the Resplendent Cranes, and the Devil-Tigers howl for souls in the dark.
Live Action Role Play, usually abbreviated as LARP, is an extension of the more common table top role-playing game. LARP is quite different from table top gaming and is best described as improvisational theater--a play where you are an actor who creates the script of the story by taking actions and making presentations. Because of its theatrical nature, LARP is more accessible to a much larger audience than many role-playing games. Players need to know far less about the rules and mechanics of the game though they must be more willing to become an actor and present the embodiment of the character they are trying to portray.
In a lot of ways, storytelling resembles games such as how to host a murder. Players take the roles of characters - in this case, a denizen of the night - and engage in a form of improvisational theatre, saying what the vampire would say and acting as the vampire would act. Most people play V:tM as players. They create vampire players. In each group, however, one person must take the role of storyteller. The storyteller acts as a combination director, moderator, narrator, and referee. The storyteller invents the various situations for the players to act out. The players decide how the vampires act, but it is the storyteller who decides if the character actually succeed in their endeavours and, if so, how well. Ultimately, the storyteller is the final authority on the events that take place in the game...
Storytelling and role-playing games may feature many kinds of protagonists. In Vampire, the protagonists are, appropriately enough, Vampires - the immortal bloodsuckers of the horror genre- who live, love, fight, and hide out in the open streets and darkened parks of the world's cities. They interact with each other, mortals, and other beings, while maintaining (mostly) the tradition of the Masquerade. The Storytellers guide these characters through the world of darkness. The vampires who stalk the earth in modern times are in many ways similar to those we might expect from reading novels, comics, and watching films. However, as the intrepid Hunter soon finds out, not all the old myths are true.