In 1996, a short-lived television show loosely based on the game, Kindred: The Embraced, was produced by Aaron Spelling for the Fox Broadcasting Company.

Inspired by a comic book given to him by White Wolf business partner Stewart Wieck, Rein-Hagen developed the idea that the Biblical Cain was the original vampire.

[8] Shannon Appelcline suggests that its visual style was considered striking at the time – its simple cover featured a photo of a rose on green marble.

While the RPG industry in general had been trending towards a more narrative approach, Vampire is considered one of the first mainstream games to focus on these elements.

The 13 clans, based on vampiric archetypes, were added late in the development process, after a suggestion by Chris McDonough that players needed greater structure, similar to the character classes of other games.

Appelcline suggests this system aided a style of play which emphasized story over mechanics, as it was easy for new players to quickly grasp, though it sometimes produced unexpected results, such as a highly skilled character being more likely to fumble.

The 20th Anniversary Edition (or V20) contains revisions of rules and is a compendium of information previously provided in supplemental material in the game's earlier life.

[19][20] With game designer Kenneth Hite as lead developer, Vampire: The Masquerade, Fifth Edition (also known as V5) was subsequently released in early 2018.

[30][31] In November 2020, Paradox Interactive announced that Renegade Game Studios would become the publishing partner for the entire World of Darkness brand and they would release all future Vampire: The Masquerade products.

[34] In July 2021, Renegade Game Studios released the updated versions of Vampire: The Masquerade, Fifth Edition books for retail distribution.

[35] The online toolset World of Darkness Nexus, which supports Vampire: The Masquerade and other games in the series, was launched in June 2022.

Nexus includes bundles of both physical and digital game products, and contains a rules and lore compendium, character creation and management tools, matchmaking, and video chat functionality.

These tricks simulate many of those portrayed in film, such as turning into animals or mist, surviving and healing from grievous injuries or having unnatural charisma and powers of hypnotic suggestion.

If the individual's Humanity drops to zero, the Beast takes over and the vampire becomes a monstrous, barely sentient creature called a wight.

Kindred are thinking, feeling beings capable of thought, emotion, and empathy (though this capacity may diminish with age, or through a desensitization caused by immoral actions, referred to as "loss of Humanity").

Fire, sunlight, decapitation, supernatural powers, or succumbing to a clan weakness can cause Kindred to reach what is referred to as Final Death.

In-game, vitae is measured in blood points, which can be spent to fuel supernatural powers, to heal wounds, or to increase their physical strength, agility, or stamina.

[40] A vampire's vitae can be fed to others to inspire false feelings of love and obsession, creating a dependency called the Blood Bond.

It will also instantly break conventional blood bonds if performed correctly by a trained vampire, typically a Pack Priest.

Contentions between the different societies surrounding the origins of vampires and Gehenna are important in-game motivations for the Jyhad that color each character's understanding of their world.

The Camarilla believes the Masquerade is the cornerstone survival strategy for Kindred and fear that without it the kine (humans) would rise up and exterminate them.

During this period, Kindred were destroyed in large numbers by vampire hunters, prompting the formation of the Camarilla as a sect whose primary purpose was to promote and enforce the Masquerade.

[39]: 40–47 In-game, around the early 2000s, after the intelligence agencies of the world discovered the existence of a clandestine computer network known as the SchreckNET, they formed the Second Inquisition.

[39]: 19 Vampire: The Masquerade gives players the opportunity to play in a politically diverse world, divided by sect, clan, and bloodline.

[39]: 19–22 Most Sabbat vampires consider themselves to be "anti-clans" or antitribu, in rebellion against their parent clans' values, goals, or loyalties.

A Sabbat offshoot of the Followers of Set is known as the Serpents of the Light, and have rejected both the clan founder and his Egyptian origin, in favor of the cultural trappings of Caribbean voodoo.

[39]: 393 When released in 1991, Vampire: The Masquerade was one of the top ten best selling tabletop role-playing games of the year in the United States.

"[44] In the November 1991 edition of Dragon (Issue 175), Allen Varney said the production values were unprofessional, including "amateurish" artwork and poor copy-editing.

"[46] In a 1996 reader poll by Arcane magazine, Vampire: The Masquerade was ranked 6th on a list of the 50 most popular roleplaying games of all time.

The relaunch by Black Chantry changes the mode of distribution by scrapping booster packs in favor of non-randomized precompiled card sets.