Types of Damage

Bashing damage is done by blunt instruments (clubs, crowbars, etc.), normal firearms and blunt trauma (falls). When a vampire suffers bashing damage, the damage is soaked using stamina and armor, then the total damage is halved, rounding down. Fortitude provides its level in automatic successes against bashing damage. Mortals and ghouls suffer bashing damage normally.

Lethal damage is done by cutting instruments (swords, knifes) and massive trauma (car wrecks, close ranged shotgun blasts). It is soaked using stamina and armor, and the damage is applied normally. Fortitude provides its level in automatic successes against lethal damage.

Aggravated damage is done by fire, sunlight and supernatural weapons to vampires. Fortitude does not provide automatic successes against aggravated damage, but you can roll a number of dice equal to your Fortitude level to soak aggravated damage, against a difficulty of 8. You cannot soak aggravated damage with Stamina, only with Fortitude. Armor soaks aggravated damage normally.

Fire and Sunlight

Fire and sunlight are the great banes to a Kindred's existence. You cannot soak damage from these sources below 1. That is, you always take at least one level of damage from attacks with flame or sunlight, no matter what your soak roll is.

Innate Weaponry

Vampire fangs and any innate weaponry (claws, spines, etc.) given to you by a Discipline allow you to do aggravate damage, with the exception of Vicissitude weapons that only do lethal.

An attack with normal vampire fangs does aggravated damage. You must be grappling or be grappled by someone to bite them. You cannot use Potence in biting attacks, and you may only bite once per turn, no matter how many split attacks you may have. Bite attacks for damage do not cause the Kiss, as bite attacks rend and tear into flesh like a predator's attack, rather than sink in and stay. Bite attacks to drain blood draw up to 3 blood points per round, which cannot be sped up by celerity.

Protean claws and other aggravated natural attacks besides fangs can use Potence, multiple attacks, etc. If Shape of the Beast's fight form is being used, the vampire can bite and claw without grappling and may use Potence, multiple attacks, etc. Flight form's innate weaponry does not cause aggravated damage, only lethal.

Unlike fire and sunlight, aggravated damage from natural weapons can be soaked completely by Fortitude.