Nature of the Beast
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Clan Nosferatu
Something dead approaches. You shouldn’t even know that it’s there. But you do! Imagine them all lurking, the sad monsters. Just hanging around unseen. Trying to feel like part of the surrounding humanity. They sit in cafes. They go to movies. They ride in cabs next to people on their way to the airport. Pretend they’re having conversations with the warm folk. Yet, their curse weeps like a cyst. People get the creeps. They don’t know why. You wake up with a horrid taste in your throat, thinking you swallowed a statistical spider. You don’t see the thing hanging above your face, drooling with longing. Oh, you would quiver to know what it would take to make a sad monster glad.
All vampires should be feared, but the Nosferatu control fear. They might look horrifying, or they might look like anyone else, but there’s something about them. Something of the grave, something of the deep places that writhe with too many eyes and limbs and fingers that are not fingers, something just…wrong.
The Haunts have always been there. Haven’t they? In the dark corners and crawly cracks of things. They haunted ancient Greece. Mothers prayed to them, even as their blackened babes ripened with plague. They called upon the name Nosphoros, “disease-bearing”; cursed by Artemis and Apollo to carry pestilent blessings. “O dread eater,” they prayed. “O glorious worm, O ruined mouth, O pale thing that is both ghost and flesh, please pass over my household tonight.” They haunted Rome, where the Brothers and Sisters Worm held court in the forever-dark of Necropolis. They haunted the hidden places of Romania when the empire fell. Through the dead rats, waste, and clotting gutters, they wriggled down the centuries, an undulant dread, lubricated on disgust.
Terror is a constant. Always, there is fear, always pouring, and the Nosferatu drink from a chipped cup. They wake to these strange nights, where grotesquery is chic. Always, they emulate not just the underground, but the Underworld. Look to the names of their modern Necropoli: Sheol in Los Angeles, Muspelheim in Hamburg, The Fields of Aaru in Detroit, and Mictlan in Mexico City. They answer the echo of something chthonic that wriggles in the ruins of their ribs. The elder Haunts tell stories of the Hidden Ones, the Gods Below, and even the most skeptical neonate can almost hum along to the song of the ancient and the sleeping. Whatever is in their Blood, it moves with a sickening plasticity of purpose. Every black drop is a carnival freak show. Horrid delights, grotesque wonders, endless putrid potential all stored in the family Vitae, expressed in endless variety through the petri dish of each living soul it slithers into.
See the street artist. For ten bucks, she’ll draw the most insightful caricature that you ever did see. They say for a little extra, she’ll draw something that’ll turn your hair white. You ask for the extra. Eels squeeze your lungs. Legs give out. You can’t take your eyes off your own warped face and what the impossible lines and angles reveal about yourself. She walks toward you, face like a rain-damaged charcoal drawing. She takes her payment.
See the urban legend. Sometimes he is a hook-handed brute stalking lovers’ lanes, or a masked maniac with a corn knife. Sometimes he appears as a bleeding woman when teenagers dare to say her name nine times before a darkened mirror. He writes spiraling limericks on bathroom stall walls, and if you read them backwards, you’ll die in three days. So they say. Sometimes he researches local legends. Sometimes he makes up his own. He creates living stories that evolve and mutate as they pass from lips to ears, fingers to keyboards. He infects minds, just as his Curse and fangs and Blood infect the neighborhood. The Kindred don’t know why he does this. Some say the circulating myths carry secret messages over the Cacophony. Some say it’s for his own vanity, an attempt at a more complete immortality.
See the underground cinema club. Very exclusive. Hush-hush. But you knew a cataphile who had an in with the urban subterranean exploration movement. “Do not fail to see this,” he said. How long have you been down here? One hundred seventy miles of catacombs beneath Paris. Roman-hewn stone. Walls of skull and bone. Everyone walks silently. Tunnels full of glowing paint. Strange symbols. Melting-wax faces in the half light. An amphitheater, terraces cut into the rock. Fully stocked concession stand and bar. Short horror films play on the full-sized screen. The things you see. The nervous laughter. The shrieks. Strobes interrupt the film, backlighting the silver screen, revealing the things writhing behind it. You’re so proud of yourself, the last one to keep from screaming, even when you cut your hand squeezing the Pepsi can. You join the chorus when pale salamanders, eyes sewn shut, lap up your blood.
The Haunts are still here. They never left. They perch on the edge of your periphery. They swim with the floaters, contaminating your vitreous humor. Always behind you. The more you turn, the more tired you get. Hush now. There are no such things as monsters. -
The Carthian Movement
"We're gonna have a new city. A clean city. And anybody who doesn't like it is gonna see the sun."
The Carthian Movement uses the ideologies of the living to bring democracy to the dead. Anyone who disagrees with that gets their haven firebombed.
The condition of the vampire is, according to the Carthians, in stasis. Stasis is equivalent to certain destruction. Human political movements can gain power swiftly and effectively, and keep it, and as far as the Carthians can tell, they do it well. The Carthians offer a new deal to the neonate and the outcast, a new way of governing the Kindred without the self-serving aristocracies of the Invictus, with whom the Firebrands of the Revolution often come into conflict.
Some of these revolutionaries want to tear things down, while others believe in diplomacy. The Carthians run from knuckle-headed thugs with bats and knives to smooth-talking politicians who use the voice of the common vampire. They recruit from those Kindred who feel disenfranchised or wronged — and vampires very easily feel wronged. We can fix it, say the Carthians. We can bring the change that you wish to see in the night, and you will benefit, as will we all.
The Carthians promise upheaval, and in many ways are the change they wish to see, modifying their ideals on an almost nightly basis. The Carthians do not question the necessity of reform, but they are willing to question reforms themselves. Some nights, this makes them fractious…but on many more, it leaves them well prepared.
The Carthians promise real change — but into what? Carthian elders, their consciences worn down by their long Requiems, are appallingly dangerous, because they do not back down. They’re pragmatic monsters, but see themselves as part of something bigger and will make sacrifices for the future. They will suffer and inflict suffering to make Carthian Law the only law.
Where they came from: In 1779, an apostate from the Parisian Lancea et Sanctum published a pamphlet on a private press entitled Contre Les Vampires Patriarcals. Like much of the best literature of France just before the Revolution, it was a subtle, nuanced text, rich with hidden meanings. Presenting as an allegory the idea of the aristocrat as bloodsucking monster, the pamphlet was in fact a call to arms for the neonate to throw off the shackles of the elder.
The treatise was published under the name of Emmanuel Baptiste Carth. This wasn’t the author’s name. His name was apparently Eric Giraud. Giraud met Final Death under a midnight guillotine in 1780, but Carth lived on; and as revolutionary fervor gripped France, Carth took on a life of his own. Across Europe, east and west, pamphlets under the name of E. B. Carth appeared, each offering a political message for the dead coded under an apparent tract for the living. Neonate movements and reformers had existed before, but now they had a name and banner under which to join, a shared identity. By the middle of the 19th century, vampires who followed the pamphleteers were calling themselves Carthians.
E. B. Carth is still publishing, mostly on the Internet. Everyone knows that Carth is a fiction, but then, that’s the source of his power. He is an idea, and the Carthians are those who will kill for an idea. It is the power of the Carthian idea that created, in the second half of the 20th century, the phenomenon of Carthian Law, where the Blood itself obeys the ideology of the vampires.
Carthian rhetoric, with its talk of equality and justice, can make the Movement seem the most benevolent of the vampire covenants. But the Carthians’ ideas of equality extend only as far as the dead. Some of them are capable of treating the living with a terrifying utilitarianism. After all, they are called to serve the greater good.
Everything the Carthians do is dedicated towards the creation of a new vampire order. The traditions of vampire society have their uses, but the way the established covenants enforce them leaves a lot to be desired. The Carthians preach that all vampires are equal, but the fact is that some corpses are more equal than others. Nobody’s going to shed a red tear for a knight who follows her prince to the stake.
Since the Carthians use political systems adapted from modern ideologies among the living, it’s only natural for them to use the human radical groups they so resemble. Political groups, particularly radical groups with uncompromising views, split like crazy. The Carthians, with the powers of the dead and the application of a few drops of blood, can bring splinter cells under their power.
All the Carthians muck in — it’s fair to say that Carthians are probably the busiest vampires, always seeming to have a project, always looking for an opening. They aren’t, however, mindless zealots. Where the Invictus deal in intimidation and bribes, the Carthians are often the first to the bargaining table. Somehow, though, they deals they make always manage to favor the Revolution.
Carthians are often found in the governments of other covenants. Being open about their shared agendas makes them a peculiar type of honest. Other covenants, particularly those that don’t possess a specific political ideology, find that honesty makes the Firebrands the devil you know. The Ordo Dracul and the Circle of the Crone often think this way. For all that Carthian ideology sets them in conflict with existing governments, their reputed ideological purity makes them reliable. Their usefulness as part of the state in turn gives them a wedge to push their reforms. -
Properties of the Blood
There’s blood, and there’s Blood. Kindred Vitae is not human blood, and it carries with it a series of potent and important properties in addition to fueling eternal life and Disciplines.
About Vitae
Vitae is not blood; at least, not directly. Kindred create Vitae as a byproduct of processing the blood they absorb. There’s no digestion; the blood seeps through the gullet and washes through decaying tissues. Vitae is the perverse fuel that exists within the Kindred’s blood. When Kindred use their Vitae, they do not normally lose blood. The Beast is too selfish to let go of that fluid. However, certain Disciplines, the act of creating a blood bond, and the Embrace require the vampire to contaminate the world around her with her Vitae. She does this through blood.
Vampires do not naturally bleed when cut. The Vitae is possessive; it pulls the blood back to the body in the way a drop of mercury absorbs back into a pool. When exhibiting the blush of life, vampires will bleed normally, but still not lose Vitae. Some heinous injuries can cause limited Vitae loss. For example, if the vampire loses a chunk of flesh or a limb, the blood will remain with the lost part, and pour out as the tissue and bone decays. Only in these terrible cases would blood loss equate with Vitae loss.
Blood bearing Vitae is slightly darker, and has an almost syrupy quality. It has all the normal metallic smells blood should, but also has a subtle, sweet smell, like a dessert wine.
Blood Sympathy
Blood calls to blood. Relatives by blood share a certain amount of mystical sympathy; they can feel one another at their most important moments. They sometimes feel strong sensations and emotions from their relatives, including frenzies, the pain of violent torpor, and the shame of crushing defeat. This is rarely with clarity; it comes in the form of cryptic symbols, daymares, and hallucinations. Only the strongest ties — such as those between sire and childe — result in clear messages.
The various effects depend on how many steps removed the two characters are.
Once Removed: This step is for sires and their childer exclusively. Sires and childer enjoy a +3 on all sympathy-based rolls. This level of sympathy has no range limits; sires and childer feel each other world-around.
Twice Removed: This step is for siblings, grandchilder, and grandsires. Twice-removed Kindred receive a +2 die bonus on all sympathy-based rolls. Sympathy affects any relative on the same continent.
Thrice Removed: This step is for cousins, a sire’s siblings, and great grandsires and great grandchilder. Thrice-removed Kindred receive a +1 die bonus on all sympathy-based rolls. Sympathy affects any relative in the same city.
Four Times Removed: This final step is for all clanmates. They receive no modifiers for sympathy rolls. Sympathy affects any clanmate within a mile.
Sympathy comes into effect automatically any time a vampire’s relative enters torpor or suffers Final Death. The feeling washes over the vampire and she senses her relative’s state in vague, often symbolic terms. As well, characters can initiate sympathy to communicate their states of being to their relatives once or twice removed. To do so, they must spend a Willpower point and make a Blood Potency roll. Each success allows them to contact a single relative; the relative must still make the roll to detect sympathy.
Any particularly powerful emotion can trigger sympathy, at Storyteller discretion. This is less a foolproof detective tool, more a dramatic device. Any time a relative suffers a horrible fate, sympathy may cause frenzies.
Detecting Sympathy
When prompted, a character may roll to detect blood sympathy. She may also spend a point of Willpower to force sympathy and detect a specific relative, assuming they’re within the range allotted by their tie. Some Kindred use sympathy to track their family members.
Dice Pool: Wits + Blood Potency + Blood Sympathy
Action: Instant
Dramatic Failure: Rolls to detect Sympathy cannot dramatically fail.
Failure: The sympathetic tie fails.
Success: The character connects with the relative. She gets a vague impression of the character’s mental state, and his general direction. If the relative enters torpor or Final Death, his relative knows one of those two things has happened (but not which).
Exceptional Success: The character connects clearly. She understands her relative’s mental state, his direction from her, and his rough distance from her. She knows if he’s reached torpor or Final Death. In addition, he send a message of a single, short sentence that she hears through the blood tie.
Discipline Sympathy
As well as feeling the sensations of their relatives, vampires are more capable of using their Disciplines on those with whom they share blood ties. If a vampire uses a Discipline on a relative, add the blood sympathy bonus to the roll. Rolls made to enact Crúac sorcery use double this modifier.
Vitae Addiction
Vitae is life. Life tastes very, very good. In fact, it tastes so good, it’s highly addictive to both mortal and Kindred alike. Vitae’s addictive quality is one of the strongest tools Kindred can bring to bear. Even ignoring the blood bond, Vitae is a remarkable bargaining chip. Just as in the mortal world, addiction’s a terrible thing when leveraged against a person.
Vitae addiction feels very similar to addiction to a strong drug. An addict does not have to see her vice to want it; she always wants it. It sits in the back of her mind, festering. An addict could just let her wound heal, but instead, she pokes at it, she tongues it, she just can’t let go. At any given time, no matter what she’s doing, she is also thinking, “I could be getting my score instead of this.” Some blood addicts resort to attacking other Kindred, or even committing Amaranth to get a fix. Many seek out contaminated blood when they casually hunt, using hard drugs as a tepid replacement for their true needs.
Any time a character drinks Kindred Vitae, he must roll Resolve + Composure, with a –1 die penalty for each point consumed. If he fails, he gains the Persistent Addicted Condition. Any time he’s faced with further opportunities to drink Vitae, he must indulge, succeed in a Resolve + Composure roll, or gain the Deprived Condition. If a character tempts him with Vitae, she may make a Contested roll (usually Manipulation + Persuasion or something similar) against his Resolve + Composure.
Elders and Addiction
Once Kindred reach a certain degree of power, blood addiction no longer threatens them. If a vampire can only garner sustenance from Kindred (at six dots or more of Blood Potency), she is immune to blood addiction. This doesn’t render her immune to blood bonds, however.
Blood Bonds
While addictive, Vitae carries a far more sinister effect for those who drink it: the blood bond. A blood bond, also called a Vinculum, is a strand of powerful, one-sided emotion borne of Vitae. One subject to a blood bond finds himself drawn to, wanting, needing, devoted to, and even loving the one from whom he’s fed.
While many Kindred expose humans to the blood bond, often as part of creating ghouls, other Kindred are just as vulnerable to the blood’s draw. Many sires bind their childer. Many Princes impose bonds on criminals. Every city, every covenant, and indeed every vampire views the bond differently. Some abhor it. Some find it a regrettable inevitability. Some revel in it. Most fear it. Some Kindred willingly succumb to the bond with a trusted ally, because a given Kindred may only be enthralled to a single vampire. This serves as a form of perverse protection against a less desirable bond. Some mutually blood bond each other, to heighten feelings of intimacy.
A bound character is called the thrall, the character he’s bound to is his regnant.
The Bond in Play
Any time a character imbibes a point or more of Vitae, it creates or reinforces a blood bond. The bond comes in three stages, usually at the first, second, and third drinks.
Kindred characters can attempt to resist the bond by spending Willpower. Make a Blood Potency roll, minus the number of Vitae ingested. The Willpower point does not add to this roll. If successful, that drink does not add to the bond. However, the character suffers Vitae addiction normally. Any further attempts to resist the bond from the same vampire suffer a cumulative –1 die penalty; even ancient Kindred cannot resist the bond forever. Mortals have no such defense.
First Stage: Have you ever felt a crush, that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling, but for someone you know you shouldn’t want to have anything to do with? Have you ever kissed someone, and loved it at the time, then regretted it later, only to know you were going to do it again and love it just as much? That’s what the first stage of the bond feels like. It’s not love. It couldn’t convince anyone but maybe an inexperienced teen that he’s in love. But it pulls you and makes you want. It makes you want to be close to your regnant. It makes you want their approval.
When taking a Social maneuver against her thrall, the regnant’s impression is considered one step higher. As well, she gains a +1 die bonus on any Social action or Discipline roll against the thrall. Causing direct or indirect harm to one’s regnant constitutes a breaking point at Humanity/Integrity 5.
Second Stage: Have you ever felt complete and utter tension when simply thinking about someone? Have you ever made a stupid excuse to run off and touch yourself to get rid of that tension? Have you ever blushed when someone’s name came up, then lashed out when someone accused you of having feelings for them? This is what the second stage of the bond feels like. It’s easy to confuse for love. It’s a strong, pervasive affection that makes you vulnerable, and keeps you persistently wanting more.
When taking a Social maneuver against her thrall, the regnant’s impression is considered two steps higher. As well, she gains a +2 die bonus on any Social action or Discipline roll against the thrall. Causing indirect or direct harm to one’s regnant constitutes a breaking point at Humanity/3, or on Integrity with a penalty of –3.
Third Stage: Has someone’s name alone make you bite your lower lip in anticipation? Has it ever aroused you to imagine her reaction to something you’ve done? Have you ever sabotaged something that could have been special, for fear of its intrusion between you and her? Has your brain gone wild, imagining the worst possible scenario when she meets someone new? Have you ever thought to intervene in order to protect what you have? Have you ever tried to agitate her, because her irritation is better than her neglect? This is the feeling of a full blood bond. It’s nothing short of infatuation. It’s a tantalizing, forceful affection that always eats at the back of your mind.
When taking a Social maneuver against her thrall, the regnant’s impression is always considered perfect. As well, she gains a +3 die penalty on any Social action or Discipline roll against the thrall. Causing indirect or direct harm to one’s regnant constitutes a breaking point at Humanity/Integrity 1. Lastly, all of the regnant’s lingering Discipline effects gain additional duration. Any Discipline that would last a scene lasts one night. Any that last a night instead last a week. One week becomes one month. One month becomes one year.
Once the bond reaches the third stage, it shatters all other existing bonds, and prevents further bonds from forming.
The blood bond lasts a year from the most recent drink. Full or partial, the bond disintegrates after that time. Outside waiting out the year, methods for diffusing the bond — save for an overwhelming third-stage bond — are unreliable myths at best. The year limit isn’t quite on a calendar…it can vary by a few days or weeks. We simplify to a year for easy gameplay. -
Humanity
Kindred are not human. They were, once, but now they’re something entirely different. However, to blend in with mortals, to walk among the flock, Kindred must maintain perspective and understanding of their former lives. The Humanity trait reflects this perspective. Vampires who maintain high Humanity scores live side-by-side with mortals, and can relate to the living. Vampires with low Humanity scores grow distant and alien; they lose sight of what they once were, and more importantly, what they prey upon.
For some Kindred, Humanity is a downward spiral. It’s a great tragedy that ends in monstrosity and destruction. For some, it’s a constant struggle to maintain ties and never lose sight. Most Kindred find a range of Humanity that suits them, a certain distance or closeness to the breathing world.
Humanity exists as a continuum from zero to ten dots. Vampire: the Requiem characters begin play with seven dots. Higher Humanity scores are possible, but difficult to maintain.
Humanity level is reflected in a character’s behavior and appearance. As he sinks into depravity, he becomes less and less like the mortals around him. He becomes more a monster, more focused on survival than on abiding by the societal norms of the herd. Often, this presents as aloofness or detachment. The character simply ceases to relate to human mores and expectations. These descriptions are only guidelines; it’s up to you to determine how your character exhibits the path he walks. Also, there are minor Social modifiers listed. These modifiers apply to rolls relating to humans. Manipulating humans for food with Subterfuge or frightening them with Intimidation are not affected; but trying to understand a human’s emotional cues with the Empathy Skill would be affected. Note that these penalties do apply with Touchstones; inhumane vampires find establishing relationships with humans to be difficult, or even not worth the time.
Ascetic (Humanity 9-10): A rare vampire with this degree of Humanity goes out of her way to immerse herself in mortal affairs, and to feed sensibly. She’s poised and confident in her dealings; she’s an expert in the way humans behave, feel, and think. She manages to think and act the way they do, in the way an expert method actor would. She appears as an iconic, idealized human. Gain a +2 die bonus to any rolls to relate to humans.
Humane (Humanity 7-8): A vampire in this range of Humanity is either very good at maintaining her attachments, or she’s very new to the Danse Macabre. She has little difficulty blending in with humans. She remembers with perfectly clarity what mortal life was like. She remembers the way food tasted. She remembers the way sweat felt across her skin. She feels pain for those hurt by her actions and those of her kind.
Balanced (Humanity 5-6): At this point, she’s been around the block. Most neonates and some ancilla fall into this range. She’s seen pain and anguish as result of her condition, and is beginning to accept it as part of existence. She still has no issue relating to mortals; she just recognizes that she’s never going to be one again. She’s selfish, and lies like second nature. She has a subtle, ashen pallor. Take a –1 die penalty on any roll to relate to humans.
Weathered (Humanity 4): A weathered vampire has seen more death and devastation than most mortals will in a lifetime. Most ancilla fall into this range of Humanity. While not spree killers, a vampire at this level has taken lives, and understands that he probably will again in order to guarantee continued survival. He sees humans as fragile and temporary. He’s calculating and cunning, having a mind attuned to consequence. This shows in immediate behaviors. For example, he might avoid early morning social functions to avoid worst case traffic on the way home. Take a –2 die penalty on any roll to relate to humans.
Callous (Humanity 3): At this level, a callous vampire maintains a cynical and jaded world perspective. He’ll step over anyone and anything in the name of survival. Most elders fall into this range. Typically, he’ll take the safe route for the long haul. He’ll kill witnesses before risking their escape. By this point, Humanity takes its toll, and the vampire appears deathly or sickly. This appearance isn’t unnatural, per se, but it makes humans uncomfortable. Take a –3 die penalty on any roll to relate to humans.
Monstrous (Humanity 2): A monstrous vampire is barely recognizable as human, unless he’s specifically acting the part and using the blush of life. He looks like a moving corpse, with dry flesh tightened over bones and a faint red hue to his eyes. He’s short-tempered, selfish to a fault, and will kill to suit minor interests and petty desires. Not only does he have difficulty dealing with people, he doesn’t want to. Most of the mortals in his life are servants and feeding stock, viewed as resources at best. Take a –5 die penalty on any roll to relate to humans.
Animalistic (Humanity 1): A vampire this close to the Beast exists in a state of animalistic stoicism. She can speak and interact just like anyone else, but takes no action without intent. Words are but tools for the hunt. Every action is a step toward the next meal; nothing but blood is worth her time. While she could fake humanity with a bit of blood, she can’t be bothered, and instead looks like a corpse, a statue, a morbid doll. Crowds part when she walks through; her presence demands fright or obeisance. Your character cannot relate to humankind. Any such rolls use only a chance die.
Draugr (Humanity 0): A character who reaches zero Humanity dots becomes draugr, lost to her Beast. She becomes a threat, no longer able to interact with society productively — Kindred or mortal. Nothing is sacred; draugr will not hesitate to shred the Traditions as a means of escape. Draugr are forever lost to their monstrous natures; only the vaguest rumors suggest they can be redeemed. In most cities, authorities kill draugr immediately and without mercy.
Some draugr are careful predators, acting with stealth and bestial cunning, or retaining ritualistic behaviors from their former lives. For example, a fallen Mekhet might set up clever ambushes and sleep in an old library, nesting among moldering books he can no longer read.
Breaking Points
Breaking points are moments and experiences in a vampire’s Requiem that push her to risk detachment. Any time she experiences a breaking point, roll to resist detachment. For an event to constitute a breaking point, it must be applicable to her Humanity level, or lower. For example, a Humanity 5 character risks a breaking point if she commits manslaughter (Humanity 3 breaking point), but not if she’s rejected by a human (Humanity 8 breaking point).
The listed breaking points are examples only. Add breaking points at Storyteller discretion, or shift these up or down to fit the situation. Typically, the more personal the event is, the lower level a breaking point it should be. If something is significantly distanced from the character, or she had no way to prevent it, it should be a Humanity level higher. Many reflect experiences that serve as reminders of the vampire’s state. For example, watching mortals eat a meal is a harsh reminder that mortal food no longer nourishes Kindred, and that it’s an experience forever denied to the Damned.
Many breaking points reference human contact. This refers to interaction, usually verbal. While it does not have to be positive interaction, it should be human in nature, and meaningful. Jumping a derelict in an alley, feeding, and fleeing is not interaction. Nor is tying up an enemy’s ghoul and torturing her in a basement. However, the act of feeding the captive or finding the derelict a shelter for the night could be. Note that time unconscious in torpor does not count as time without human contact; torpor is its own breaking point.
Note that breaking points do not occur while a character is in torpor. At the Storyteller’s discretion, discovering a missed breaking point could trigger a detachment roll, but this is fairly rare, as the experience of torpor prepares a vampire’s mind for the shock of a new world upon waking.
Detachment
When reaching a breaking point, the character faces potential detachment: the loss of a Humanity dot. To resist detachment, roll the number of dice associated with the breaking point’s level. If the character has Touchstones, she can draw on additional dice. Willpower may not be spent to improve this dice pool. Any time your character faces a breaking point, take a Beat.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: Not only does the character lose sight of her Humanity, she sees the breaking point as nothing of consequence whatsoever. In addition to losing a dot of Humanity, gain the Jaded Condition.
Failure: Your character lets go of some of his mortal attachments, and moves toward monstrosity. In addition to losing a dot of Humanity, gain the Bestial, Competitive, or Wanton Condition as he revels in his selfishness.
Success: Your character holds onto a scrap of empathy, despite the urge to let go. She does not lose Humanity, but gains the Bestial, Competitive, or Wanton Condition as her nature pushes her to withdraw.
Exceptional Success: Not only does your character hold onto her concept of Humanity, she steps away from the conflict with renewed vigor. She takes the Inspired Condition. The inspiration relates to her newfound affinity for mortality. -
Feeding
The blood is everything. It’s life. It’s food. It’s power. It’s closeness. It stands to reason that feeding is an all-important act for Kindred. Ask a dozen Kindred how they feed, you’ll get five dozen answers.
While most vampires learn numerous feeding practices from their sires, every Kindred develops her own methods and tricks. With different skill sets, social circles, and Disciplines at her disposal, her best meal ticket is the one she finds herself.
The Assault, The Kiss
Vampires have two traditional avenues of feeding. They can feed aggressively, or subtly. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Normally, a vampire’s fangs retract, only looking barely sharper than normal canines. At will, a vampire can unsheathe them to bite, and to feed.
When feeding violently, a vampire’s fangs act as 0L weapons that use the Brawl Skill. That is to say, on a successful attack, they cause lethal damage equal to their successes, even to Kindred. As well, the attacker also takes one Vitae (which causes an additional point of lethal damage to mortals). The drawback is that a bite must be performed as a Damage move as part of a grapple. A mortal bitten violently gains the Scarred Condition. While still grappling and after a violent bite, the vampire gains access to the Feed move.
The Feed Move: The vampire may use this move once she has bitten her opponent in a grapple, and bests her opponent in the grapple roll. She steals one Vitae per success. Against mortals, this causes one point of lethal damage per Vitae taken. The number of Vitae taken may not exceed the vampire’s Blood Potency dots.
When feeding non-violently, the vampire’s fangs cause an enticing, invigorating sensation that distracts the victim, to draw attention away from the reality of the feeding. Many Kindred use this method as part of a seduction. A mortal bitten subtly gains the Swooning Condition. The bonuses and penalties for Swooning apply to the vampire’s Discipline rolls. With a subtle bite, the vampire can take one Vitae per turn, and may lick the wound afterwards, leaving no trace of her feeding.
At Storyteller discretion, particularly dramatic feedings can cause Persistent Conditions. For this reason, many vampire hunters have the Scarred or Swooning Conditions. On the other hand, so do many devoted blood dolls.
In reference to the effects of a bite, the word “mortal” applies to humans, ghouls, warlocks, and other things that are mostly human. Vampires, werewolves, mummies, fairies, and other things far removed from humanity are not normally subject to the Assault and the Kiss. The bite is pleasurable or unsettling; just not mechanically so.
If the vampire knows she’s feeding from something not human, and knows that it is otherwise immune to the benefits of her bite, she may spend a point of Willpower to give them the Scarred or Swooning Conditions as normal. Kindred are aware of this effect, and see its use as abhorrent and degrading. Kindred who rely on it with their own kind often end up ostracized or worse. -
Predatory Aura
Every step she takes, every corner she turns, a Kindred’s Beast stands ready to face threats, to defend territory, and most importantly, to feed. To the Beast, everything is a challenge, a potential conquest, a meal, or a combination of the three. To other predators, the Beast is a palpable thing, something that identifies another monster.
This presence, the predatory aura, builds a paradox in Kindred society. On one hand, it guarantees vampires will never truly be civil, as all remain one misstep away from each other’s throats. On the other hand, it forces Kindred to hold tight to traditions and propriety, in order to keep the Beast at bay and force a modicum of nicety.
Without a Discipline or other ability to mask or suppress the predatory aura, Kindred perceive other vampires as their own kind. If they can smell the vampire, they know it’s a vampire. If they touch a vampire, they know it’s a vampire. Note that this is one-sided: One character may not notice the other. It’s not just the aura, it’s all the right cues. Kindred notice the shallow or nonexistent breathing of their kind. They notice the subtle, predatory tones in a voice. They smell multiple victims’ blood on another.
Further, a vampire can voluntarily intensify her predatory aura to elicit a reaction. Against other Kindred, this escalates the encounter, forcing fight or flight instincts. Against mortals, this asserts power and cows the lesser creatures. Lashing out with the Beast takes an instant action, and against Kindred costs a point of Willpower. It’s free to use against a mortal.
The Bestial Triad
Every vampire can evoke three aspects of the Beast; the monstrous, the seductive, and the competitive. The aura chosen reflects the way the vampire approaches the confrontation. It also determines the Conditions given during the clash.
The Monstrous Beast: This represents the Beast-As-Destroyer. Its every instinct is to rip asunder. The monstrous aura inspires a witness to fight or flee. It evokes the most primitive survival instincts in its victims, and causes the Bestial Condition.
The Seductive Beast: This is the Beast-As-Tempter. It needs hot abandon, and a temporary escape from reality. It inspires the need for immediate, throwaway coupling. It evokes the primal need for instant gratification, and causes the Wanton Condition.
The Competitive Beast: This is the Beast-As-Alpha. It needs to come out on top, to command, to control. It inspires power plays and dominance games. It evokes the need for a rigid hierarchy, a food chain, and causes the Competitive Condition.
Lashing Out
To lash out, the vampire must take a simple action appropriate to the aspect of predator used. A monstrous Beast growls, threatens, gnashes teeth, or calls to action. A seductive Beast sidles up to the prey, whispers beautiful lies, or gives a telling gaze from across the crowd. A competitive Beast draws a line in the sand, announces terms, or takes the role of mouse in a chase.
Roll Blood Potency, plus a Power Attribute. Use Strength for monstrous, Presence for seductive, and Intelligence for competitive. The modifiers below apply to all rolls for predatory aura. Both sides may use whatever modifiers apply. Note that Disciplines do not add to predatory aura rolls unless specifically mentioned. For example, Vigor does not add to the monstrous Beast, and Majesty does not add to the seductive Beast.
Predatory Aura Modifiers: On your territory (+ Feeding Ground dots), Hungry (+1), Starving (+2), Victim has been targeted by predatory aura in the scene (-1 cumulative).
The opposition has two choices; fight or flight.
Fight: This represents a counter-challenge. One Beast flares, and is met with equal aggression. This requires a point of Willpower if the responding character’s Blood Potency is lower than that of the vampire who lashed out.
Roll an appropriate Power Attribute + Blood Potency to contest. This does not have to be the same aspect of the Beast. For example, if a vampire confronts another with the seductive Beast, the opposition may opt to respond with greater implied violence, and oppose with the monstrous Beast.
If the aggressor scores more successes, the victim gains the Condition associated with the aggressor’s Beast. As well, the aggressor gains a +2 die bonus on any rolls to pursue her aspect’s interests for the remainder of the scene.
If the opposition scores more successes, he turns the confrontation on the aggressor. The opposition imposes the Condition associated with his Beast, and gains a +2 die bonus on any rolls to pursue his Beast’s compulsions for the remainder of the scene.
Mortals can fight the Beast, but they cannot impose a Condition on the vampire. They do gain the +2 die bonus to attack, flee, or otherwise neutralize the risk.
If both characters achieve the same number of successes, they both impose their Conditions, but neither gets the +2 die bonus.
Flight: This represents a stark withdrawal. It costs nothing, and allows for a reasonable out from the challenge. This usually means a convenient escape or excuse to pull away. It typically makes the character look inferior or foolish. The aggressor may pursue. The victim gains the Condition associated with the initiating vampire’s aspect of the Beast. -
Trick of the Damned
The Embrace comes with many drawbacks. However, it also comes with numerous advantages. Every vampire can use the following edges. Many of these advantages require Vitae. These expenditures are reflexive, and subject to the vampire’s Vitae per turn limit as determined by her Blood Potency.
Blush of Life
Normally, a vampire looks the part of a corpse. He’s pale. He registers no pulse. He exists at slightly below room temperature. Food and drink taste terrible, and immediately cause violent, bloody vomiting. However, with a bit of Vitae, he can fake life temporarily.
By spending a point of Vitae, Kindred may invoke the blush of life for a scene. This makes them functionally human. They become warm to the touch, with a full, hearty pulse. They produce natural bodily fluids. They function sexually in the way a human can, becoming physically aroused, erect, and lubricated. They can keep food and drink down, ejecting it later in the night. They’ll pass medical inspection while the blush remains active.
Kindred Senses
Kindred exist in the dark. Not only can they see better than humans in the dark, their other senses are sharper to facilitate their predatory needs.
Kindred do not suffer normal vision penalties for being in the dark, and can compensate with hearing. In full darkness, they only suffer a -2 die penalty to rolls that require vision. If they encounter traces of blood, even if dried or hidden (in a carpet, for example), they immediately see even very small quantities.
Vampire hearing becomes similarly enhanced. They can hear heartbeats at three yards or meters per dot of Blood Potency (9 yards or 27 ft. for Dorian). Upon Embrace, a vampire’s sense of smell attunes to the scent of blood. A vampire can smell the presence of blood from about ten yards or meters per dot of Blood Potency without rolling. Multiply this range by her Auspex dots (so 30 yards or 90 ft. for Dorian). If she’s tasted a particular human’s blood, she can add her Blood Potency to any rolls to track him by scent. Kindred blood does not offer this advantage, since it’s mostly old, dead, and its smell is a blend of all the vampire’s recent victims.
If any of her Kindred senses apply, add her Blood Potency to any rolls to detect hidden people or details by the traces of blood.
A Taste of Blood
In addition to being able to smell blood and to identify and track with blood, Kindred discern subtle cues from blood they taste.
Dice Pool: Wits + Composure
Dramatic Failure: The Storyteller gives two true statements about the blood, and one very dangerous lie.
Failure: The blood offers no insight.
Success: You can discern basic details from the blood. These include blood type, clan, the presence of popular drugs, how long the blood has been out of the body, blood-borne diseases and poisons, if you’ve tasted that person’s blood before, and if the blood is human. It can also tell the number of steps removed a character is in blood sympathy to another character who’s blood you’ve tasted. If the donor is not human, your character detects what it is (if she’s tasted that type of creature’s blood before).
Exceptional Success: You can discern extensive details from the blood. These include whether the blood is from a ghoul and to what clan, infections, what the vessel ate recently, hormones in the bloodstream, diseases, some causes of death, and other fine details at Storyteller discretion.
Suggested Modifiers: Auspex active (+2), bloodtied (+2), currently hungry (+2), hour-old blood (−1), day-old blood (−3), week or more old (−5)
Physical Intensity
Vampire tales speak of creatures stronger and faster than anything human. With Vitae, any Kindred can accomplish massive bursts of physical prowess. By spending a point of Vitae, he may add two dice to rolls involving his choice of Strength, Dexterity, or Stamina for the turn. This does not increase traits derived from these Attributes. However, it will increase relevant resistances. For example, a Strength increase will reduce an opponent’s rolls to grapple him.
Healing
Kindred blood seeks to return a vampire to the state of her Embrace. Her hair and fingernails regrow as she sleeps. More importantly, Vitae can force her injured body to reconstruct, mending bones and knitting torn flesh in seconds. In dramatic instances, severed limbs regenerate or even simply reattach (if she’s able to heal the entire injury in a turn).
A single point of Vitae heals two points of bashing damage, or one point of lethal damage. A single aggravated wound requires five Vitae and a full day’s sleep. Aggravated damage is the only type of wound that leaves a scar on Kindred. The scar appears natural, unlike the original damage.
The Cleansing
While Kindred sleep, they return to the time of their Embrace. Anything that wouldn’t constitute a Health level of damage heals automatically and returns to its original state. For this reason, many sires recommend their childer groom for the Embrace, as part of the ritual of entering the Danse.
If an injury would require Vitae to heal (represented by Health levels), the vampire will unconsciously heal it during daysleep. Sometimes, this means the vampire will not have the Vitae necessary to wake. As she falls to slumber, she may spend Willpower points to “preserve” wounds through her rest, to keep herself from healing them and spending excessive Vitae. This cost is once per wound, and covers the wound permanently.
Sometimes, Kindred force other marks to remain. For example, vampires often keep scars, tattoos, and piercings for spiritual reasons or just to fit in with the flock. Many Kindred remove long hair, in favor of wigs or cleaner, more modern styles. The vampire spends Willpower to fight the healing process while she sleeps. After a day’s rest, any damage heals as normal, but her body remains changed. -
Frenzy
Sometimes, the Beast grows impatient. When the vampire faces danger, hunger, or threat, the Beast goads her to immediate and extreme response, usually meaning a blood-soaked frenzy. Frenzy comes from many sources, but always shares the same response: End the problem by any means necessary.
When faced with a strong enough stimulus, the vampire risks losing control of her Beast. She can temporarily hold the monster inside, but eventually she must face her monstrosity. Either she’ll force it down, or the Beast overwhelms her to fight, feed, or flee.
A frenzying vampire can, but is under no compulsion to, lash out with her predatory aura.
Resisting Frenzy
To resist the Beast, roll Resolve + Composure. Check the suggested modifiers for penalties and bonuses depending on the circumstance. The Storyteller is encouraged to come up with other situational modifiers to reflect the relative tension of the scene. For example, if the vampire’s rival has made a point of goading her every time they meet, it may impose an additional –1 die penalty to the roll. Resisting frenzy is reflexive.
Dramatic failure on this roll results in frenzy, and the character cannot end the frenzy until she reaches a breaking point. If the Beast gets its desire, choose a new one. Failure means the character succumbs to frenzy. Success means she resists the Beast, but gains the Tempted Condition. Exceptional success means she not only resists the Beast, but regains a point of spent Willpower, and any Willpower she spent fighting the Beast during the scene. When a character enters frenzy, she gains a Beat. She can opt to turn a failure into a dramatic failure for a second Beat. As with any Beats, these Beats only come from dramatic situations with consequences.
Willpower cannot be spent for three bonus dice on a roll to resist frenzy. Willpower has a different effect. A point of Willpower holds off the Beast for one turn. The vampire visibly fights the frenzy. She may growl, hiss, smash something, or sprint off. But she’s temporarily in control. However, she must still face her Beast. Once she stops spending Willpower, make the Resolve + Composure roll like normal, but take a bonus die for each Willpower point spent. So, if you spend four Willpower points for your character to take four turns fighting her frenzy, on the fifth turn, roll her Resolve + Composure + 4.
Frenzy Penalties: Dead friend (-2), Dead lover (-4), Destruction of important property (-1), Hungry (-2), Hurt friend (-1), Hurt lover (-2), Inside burning building (-4), Insulted by a superior (-1), Insulted by an inferior (-2), Publicly ostracized (-2), Seeing a massive open wound (-1), Small fire (-2), Starving (-4), Sunlight causing Aggravated damage (-3), Sunlight causing Lethal damage (-1), Surprised by provocation (-1), Wounded at all (-1), Wounded in last three health boxes (-3)
Frenzy Bonuses: Destruction of minor property (+1), Expecting provocation (+1), On Elysium grounds (+2), Provocation was a Touchstone (+2), Seeing a trivial open wound (+1), Sunlight causing Bashing damage (+2)
The Frenzy
Upon entering frenzy, determine what the Beast wants. Does it want to escape? Does it want to punish the person who insulted his host? Does it want blood? Typically, frenzy ends when that thing occurs. Some Devotions and Coils may end frenzy prematurely. If the character enters torpor, the frenzy ends.
A vampire’s Touchstone can talk her down from frenzy with an extended Social roll, requiring a number of successes equal to three times the vampire’s Blood Potency. The Touchstone can make one roll per turn. So a Blood Potency 4 vampire’s Touchstone would require 12 successes to talk her out of frenzy. During this time, the vampire’s likely to cause significant problems for herself and others.
When in frenzy, the vampire becomes stronger, faster, and tougher. Her Beast drives her to feats of terrifying physical prowess. Add her Blood Potency dots to any Strength, Dexterity, or Stamina rolls or resistances. (Do not apply her improved Stamina to her Health levels.) Ignore any wound penalties she should suffer. She can grab and bite as a single instant action, as she ravenously mauls her victim. Apply the successes on her Strength + Brawl roll to establish a grapple as lethal damage, and she takes an immediate point of Vitae from the victim.
If a character tries to coerce her to behavior contrary to the Beast’s desires, either via Social actions or through Disciplines, the effort fails. They can, however, divert the Beast’s attention to another, similar target. For example, if Veronica falls to her Beast due to hunger and leaps at Elspeth, Elspeth might Dominate her to attack Dominic instead.
While frenzied, the vampire does everything in her power to accomplish the Beast’s desires. She does so with immediate, forceful, and destructive abandon. If there’s someone in the way, she throws him or decks him. If she’s hungry, she bites the closest thing to her mouth. That said, the Beast isn’t stupid. It’s capable of doing the kinds of things an enraged, terrified, or starving animal predator is, and it will lash out with the predatory aura if that will help sate it.
Taking any action contrary to the Beast’s agenda requires a point of Willpower per turn.
Riding the Wave
Some Kindred choose to grab their Beasts by the reins, and wield that monstrous power. It’s a risky proposition, but one with great rewards. This practice is called riding the wave of frenzy.
To ride the wave, spend a Willpower point, and make the normal Resolve + Composure resistance roll. The Willpower point does not add to this roll. Success holds off the frenzy for a turn as if she’d spent Willpower to fight the frenzy. She can continue to do this until she fails, runs out of Willpower, or until she accumulates five successes. Treat any failure on this roll as a dramatic failure.
If she reaches five successes, she rides the wave. This functions identically to a normal frenzy, with all normal benefits. However, you may choose the Beast’s desire and specific target at the outset. This desire does not have to align with the provocation. For example, if Victoria risks frenzy because she’s starved, she might choose to kill Dominic instead of feeding.
Normally, a frenzied Beast will not force its host to commit diablerie. However, a vampire riding the wave may choose diablerie as the desire. -
Curses Great and Small
While Kindred carry many gifts and advantages, their Requiems are far from blessed. Vampires suffer numerous banes. Collectively, Kindred all suffer from the “great banes”: fire, sunlight, and stakes through the heart. In due time after the Embrace, vampires suffer the banes of their clans. All Kindred feel the pull of the Beast, which tempts them into violence. Torpor drags them to lengthy slumbers. As the years pass and they fall away from humanity, Kindred develop other, unique banes.
The Pain of Purity: Sunlight
Sunlight represents truth and honesty. It stands for visibility, where Kindred exist in the deceptive darkness. While it isn’t always immediately deadly, it burns Kindred flesh. The Lancea et Sanctum attributes this to the judgment of God, as potent Kindred and particularly monstrous vampires burn hotter and faster than young, humane Kindred. Damage taken quickly looks like a normal burn; the flesh chars, sears, and smokes. Damage taken slowly looks more like decay, as the flesh sloughs off with time.
When sunlight strikes Kindred, the rays begin to decay and burn their flesh. Their Humanity dots determine the intensity of the damage, and their Blood Potency dots determine how quickly they disintegrate. Resilience does not affect sunlight damage. at Humanity 6 and Blood Potency 3, Dorian suffers 2 Lethal wounds per minute from sunlight.
The Pain of Knowledge: Fire
Fire represents humankind’s dominance over the natural world, and ability to manipulate its environment as a tool. This symbolically human tool destroys Kindred flesh like nothing else. The Circle of the Crone believes fire burns as a lesson to Kindred, reminding them from whence they came, and can never return. Most Kindred just acknowledge that it could mean Final Death within moments, and avoid it at all costs.
Fire automatically inflicts aggravated damage per turn of exposure (no attack roll is required). The larger the flame, the more harm that’s inflicted. The hotter the flame, the greater the injury. Mortals take only lethal damage. Each turn, a vampire may turn a number of aggravated damage levels to lethal levels equal to his dots in Resilience.
Size of Fire: Torch (1 damage), Bonfire (2 damage), Inferno (3 damage)
Heat of Fire: Candle (first-degree burns, -), Torch (second-degree burns, +1), Bunsen Burner (third-degree burns, +2), Chemical Fire/Molten Metal (+3)
Clan Banes
The five lineages of Kindred each carry affinities for certain Disciplines. This gives them advantages others may not have access to. On the other hand, each clan also has a bane, a particular aspect of the curse that only affects their familial line.
Clan banes do not affect a vampire until she reaches six dots of Humanity. They do not go away if she regains her seventh dot; they remain with her throughout the rest of her Requiem.
Nosferatu: The Lonely Curse: Nosferatu embody fear, disgust, and all manner of uncomfortable feelings. Some are inhumanly ugly. Some have a gaze that makes a person feel violated. Every Nosferatu has something that stands in the way of normal relationships. When dealing with humans, treat the Nosferatu’s Humanity as two dots lower for the purpose of Social penalties, and treat any Presence and Manipulation failures as dramatic failures. This bane does not apply to interactions with Touchstones or Kindred.
Torpor
Over time, through great injury, as result of feeding restrictions, or because of starvation, Kindred fall to the sleep of ages: torpor. This cold, dead slumber equalizes the young and the old, thinning the blood with time and leaving elders to awaken fresh and new.
When one of the Kindred falls to torpor, she appears dead. Her skin tightens over her flesh and dries out. Her joints harden, and the top layer of her tissue turns to a faint, ashen dust. During her slumber, she experiences strange, nonsensical dreams that keep her mind active and exercised. Usually, this means she’s prepared to adapt to a new world. Sometimes, this goes awry; she wakes up a whole new person, or, rarely, with distorted memories of her past existence.
At the end of a vampire’s turn, after any reflexive healing, if her last (rightmost) Health box is filled with lethal damage, she falls to torpor. If she’s in daysleep, and has no blood with which to awaken, she instead drifts into the torpor. As well, a vampire can voluntarily fall into torpor, to shake off the feeding limitations imposed by her Blood Potency.
During the first day of torpor, the vampire subconsciously spends as much Vitae as it takes to heal any wounds she may have. If, after spending all her Vitae, she still suffers a wound in her last three Health boxes, consider her Humanity one dot lower for determining how long she slumbers. For every twenty-five years a vampire remains in torpor, she loses a dot of Blood Potency.
Use the following chart to determine how long a character must remain in torpor. Multiply the base duration (based on the vampire’s Humanity dots) by her Blood Potency. After that amount of time in torpor, she can awaken. This isn’t always exact; it could be up to a quarter of the time shorter or longer. As well, any vampire with two more dots of Blood Potency than she has can feed her a point of Vitae to awaken her (with the normal risks of blood bonds and addiction). This can happen at any time.
At Humanity 6 and Blood Potency 6, Sundown's base Torpor duration is 6 weeks.
A Stake to the Heart
When a wooden stake penetrates the Kindred heart, the vampire immediately enters torpor. Unlike normal torpor, he awakens immediately upon the stake’s removal, but not before. To target the heart, make an attack roll with a –3 die penalty after factoring Defense. If the attack causes five points of damage, it penetrates the heart. The heart must be entirely pierced; wooden shotgun slugs won't do the trick but a long, wooden spear or a wooden arrow will.
