The monsters among us: Realism and constructivism in vampire: The masquerade

Abstract

In the roleplaying game Vampire: The Masquerade, players assume supernatural character identities with distinct goals, further framed inside conflictual in-game power structures and societal expectations. In this chapter, the author combines narrative analysis and player interviews with live-action roleplaying observations to assess in-game power and norms through the lenses of Realism (power) and Constructivism (norms). Drawing on liminality, or that in-game performances become emotionally real to the players, the author finds that Vampire: The Masquerade becomes a liminal space inside which players practice alternate political behaviors that magnify Realism’s and Constructivism’s most disturbing theoretical expectations.