Vampire: The Masquerade Brings Back Hunger Dice in Its Second Alpha

White Wolf opened the second public alpha for Vampire: The Masquerade Sixth Edition on Monday 9th November. The free playtest includes revised Player and Storyteller Packets and an updated version of the introductory scenario, Not in My Domain! Feedback is open until Wednesday 2nd December 2026.

In the latest Developer Diary Lead designer Diogo Nogueira wrote that more than 1,000 people filled in the first alpha’s feedback forms. One of the clearest findings from the first alpha round of playtests was that players were holding back on using their supernatural powers. In Alpha 1.0, vampires drew on the same supply of blood to power their Disciplines and to recover from injury. Spending Vitae on a power could feel like taking damage, so some players were simply saving their blood.

Hunger returns, and Storytellers roll again

Health and Vitae now have separate tracks. Spending blood still carries a risk, though. As Vitae drops, Hunger Dice replace ordinary dice in a character’s pool. Fifth-edition players will recognise those dice, but in this alpha the amount of Vitae left determines how many you roll, with thresholds that vary by the vampire’s age category. There’s no separate Rouse Check. Fail a test with a 1 on a Hunger Die and it’s a bestial failure, which can expose your true nature or push you towards frenzy.

Storytellers roll for their characters again, and difficulty is measured in successes instead of shrinking the player’s dice pool. The optional Taking Half rule still lets the Storyteller set passive opposition without rolling. Sneaking past a distracted guard can go quickly, while trying to bend another vampire to your will can still put dice on both sides of the table.

Drama and Quickening have dropped out of the core rules. Characters can spend Willpower to push beyond their limits, and the Storyteller can offer a Beast’s Bargain, turning a failed roll into a success at the cost of a complication. The packet lets players ask for a bargain, with the Storyteller deciding what the Beast demands. Humanity returns to a ten-box track, while the returning Paths of Enlightenment give vampires other codes to live by if the Storyteller allows them. A follower of the Path of Power, for instance, can find that turning down a chance to gain power is itself a transgression.

Social Conflict also gets a lighter treatment. For a dispute important enough to need its own rules, such as a formal hearing at Elysium, the packet uses a series of opposed rolls. A relatively simple dispute can run for three rounds, with five or seven for larger arguments.

The Tzimisce join the playtest

The return of the Tzimisce bring the playable clan count to eight, alongside the Brujah, Gangrel, Lasombra, Ministry, Nosferatu, Toreador and Ventrue. The Player Packet covers t

eshcrafting and other bodily transformations, while some of Protean’s old animal transformations now sit under Animalism. Tellurgy draws on a vampire’s warped connection to the natural world to twist plants, terrain and even fate.

The Storyteller Packet adds a Masquerade Tracker to gauge how close mortals are to discovering that vampires exist. An incident might initially be written off as special effects, but if your characters let enough evidence pile up, people will start taking notice and hunters could start arriving in town. The packet also revises non-player characters and includes True Faith rules for mortals who can ward off vampires. The updated Not in My Domain! scenario gives groups a chance to try the tracker alongside exploration, a fight and a social conflict.

How to join the playtest

The Alpha 2.0 rules and scenario are free. Get the PDFs through DriveThruRPG, read the rules on Demiplane or run the scenario on Roll20. White Wolf is taking responses through its playtest feedback survey until Wednesday 2nd December 2026.