The Traditions
Now this is the Law of the Jungle --
as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper,
but the Wolf that shall break it must die!
--Rudyard Kipling, "The Law of the Jungle"
The First Tradition: The Masquerade
Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood.
Doing such shall renounce thy claims of Blood.
The Second Tradition: The Domain
Thy domain is thise own concern.
All others own thee respect while in it.
None may challenge thy work while in thy domain.
The Third Tradition: The Progeny
Thou shall only Sire another with the permission of thine elder.
If thou createst another without thine Elder's leave, both thou and thy Progeny shall be slain.
The Fourth Tradition: The Accounting
Those thou create are thine own children.
Until thy Progeny shall be Released, thou shall command them in all things.
Their sins are thine to endure.
The Fifth Tradition: Hospitality
Honor one another's Domain.
When thou comest to a foreigh city, thou shall present thyself to the one who ruleth there.
Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing.
The Sixth Tradition: Destruction
Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind.
The right of destruction belongeth only to thine Elder.
Only the Eldest among thee shall call the Blood Hunt.
This information was obtained from Vampire: The Masquerade resource book or players guide, a storytelling game of horror by White Wolf, Inc.