Rules
HEALTH, WILLPOWER AND HUMANITY:
Health, Willpower and Humanity can take damage/Stains on unfilled spaces of their respective trackers.
HEALTH:
Maximum Health = Stamina + 3, fill in the remainder
Mark Superficial Damage with a “/” and Aggravated Damage with an “X”.
If the Health tracker is filled with Aggravated Damage your character enters Torpor.
WILLPOWER:
Maximum Willpower = Composure + Resolve, fill in the remainder
Mark Superficial Damage with a “/” and Aggravated Damage with an “X”.
If the Willpower tracker is filled with Aggravated Damage in a social situation your character breaks down and completely lose face.
You can spend Willpower (mark the tracker with a “/”) to:
(1) re-roll up to 3 non-Hunger Dice on any test except for Willpower tests,
(2) to regain control of your character from Frenzy, Dominate, or Presence,
(3) to open eyes or move fingers while staked,
(4) to ignore Impairment or other Health related penalties.
HUMANITY:
Fill in squares equal to your character’s Humanity
Characters with a high Humanity rating are more quickly affected by Stains than character with a low Humanity rating.
Mark all Stains with a “/”.
At the end of each session perform a Remorse test. Roll dice equal to the number of unmarked Humanity tracks (with a minimum of 1 die).
On a success remove all Stains.
On a failure erase one Humanity point and remove all Stains.
If at any time these Stains would overfill the unmarked Humanity tracks take one Aggravated Willpower Damage.
Humanity can be increased at Storyteller discretion, see V5 Corebook p.241.
| Humanity | Dice add to resist frenzy | Torpor length |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 3 | Three days |
| 8 | 2 | One week |
| 7 | 2 | Two weeks |
| 6 | 2 | One month |
| 5 | 1 | One year |
| 4 | 1 | One decade |
| 3 | 1 | Five decades |
| 2 | 0 | One century |
| 1 | 0 | Five centuries |
IMPAIRMENT:
When any of these three trackers are fully marked, your character becomes Impaired.
Health: -2 to all Physical tests.
Willpower: -2 to all Mental and Social tests.
Humanity: -2 to all tests.
HEALING/MENDING:
| HEALING / MENDING | HEALTH: | WILLPOWER: |
| SUPERFICIAL DAMAGE: | Once per turn, you may Rouse the Blood to heal Superficial Damage based on your Blood Potency. | At the beginning of a session, heal Superficial Damage up to your Composure or Resolve (whichever is higher). At the Story-teller’s discretion more can be healed for acting to further a Desire or for playing out a messy critical, frenzy, or compulsion. |
| AGGRAVATED DAMAGE: | At nightfall, you may Rouse the Blood three times to heal 1 aggravated damage. | At the beginning of a session, heal 1 Aggravated Damage if you acted to further your Ambition. At the Storyteller’s discretion more can healed for acting to benefit a Touchstone or uphold a Conviction against your character’s own best interest. |
COMPULSION vs FRENZY
Compulsions occur on a “bestial failure” and cannot be skipped with Willpower.
Frenzy occurs with a failed Willpower test after being provoked by fury, hunger, or terror and can be skipped with a Willpower expenditure.
| Provocation | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Friend killed | 2 |
| Lover or Touchstone hurt | 3 |
| Lover or Touchstone killed | 4 |
| Physical provocation or harassment | 2 |
| Insulted by inferior | 2 |
| Public humiliation | 2 |
| Provocation | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Sight of open wound or overpowering smell of blood while at Hunger 4 or higher | 2 |
| Taste of blood while at Hunger 4 or higher | 3 |
| Fail Rouse Check while at Hunger 5 | 4 |
| Provocation | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Bonfire | 2 |
| Inside a burning building | 3 |
| Being burned | 2 |
| Obscured sunlight (through window, etc.) | 3 |
| Fully exposed to direct sunlight | 4 |
HUNGER:
All kindred have an innate instinctual drive to consume blood.
This compelling force is sometimes personified as “the Beast.”
Just how hungry your character has become is reflected on the Hunger tracker by filling in squares equal to your character’s Hunger.
TESTS
All tests require a number of successes ≥ the difficulty of the action.
A roll of 6+ is a single success.
A roll of 10 is also a success, but a pair of 10s is equal to four successes.
A typical test will see you roll a pool of dice equal to the sum of your character’s relevant Attribute and Skill levels.
A successful test is a “critical success” when there is at least one pair of 10s.
Win at a cost: If your roll includes any successes, but fails, the Storyteller may offer you to win at a cost. You achieve your goal, but something happens to make things worse for you anyway
| Routine | 1 |
| Straightforward | 2 |
| Moderate | 3 |
| Challenging | 4 |
| Hard | 5 |
| Very hard | 6 |
| Nearly impossible | 7 |
VAMPIRE AND HUNGER DICE
Substitute normal or Vampire Dice with differently colored Hunger Dice equal to the character’s Hunger, without exceeding the total dice pool.
If in a “critical success” there is at least one critical showing on a Hunger Die then it is then a “messy critical”— this means your character succeeds in their attempt, but they destroy something or worse.
A failed test with a skull on a Hunger Die is a “bestial failure”— this means they fail in their attempt and must act out a compulsion. See V5 Corebook p.208 for more information on compulsions.
HUNGER 4+
When your character reaches Hunger 4, they become prone to frenzy
| Source | Hunger slaked | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple small animals (three to four cats, a dozen or more rats) | 1 | One scene | Slakes no Hunger for vampires above Blood Potency 2 Animal Resonance; No Dyscrasia |
| Medium-sized animal (raccoon, dog, coyote) | 1 | One turn | Slakes no Hunger for vampires above Blood Potency 2 Animal Resonance; No Dyscrasia |
| Large animal (horse) | 2 | One scene | Slakes no Hunger for vampires above Blood Potency 2 Animal Resonance; No Dyscrasia |
| Blood bag | 1 | One turn | Slakes no Hunger for vampires above Blood Potency 2 No Resonance or Dyscrasia |
| Sip from human | 1 | Three turns | Includes licking wound closed |
| Maximum non-harmful drink from human | 2 | One scene | Includes licking wound closed |
| Harmful drink from human that risks death unless treated | 1-4 | One turn per Hunger slaked | Aggravated damage equals Hunger slaked; Human rolls Strength + Stamina against a Difficulty equal to Hunger slaked to survive blood loss |
| Human drained and killed | 5 | 5 turns | Only way to reach Hunger 0 (zero) |
TORPOR
(V5 Corebook p.223) The coma-like state between vampiric unlife and Final Death. A character can enter Torpor in three different ways by:
(1) attempting to Rise for the Night and failing the Rouse test while at Hunger 5,
(2) completely fill their Health tracker with Aggravated Damage,
(3) voluntarily increasing Hunger at the beginning of every night to exceed Hunger 5.
THE BLOOD
ROUSE THE BLOOD
Or “Rouse test.” Whenever an action requires you to Rouse the Blood roll 1 die.
On a failed Rouse test, increase your Hunger by 1 after completing the action.
A character cannot perform actions that would Rouse the Blood while at Hunger 5 unless forced to such as by Rising for the Night.
BLUSH OF LIFE
With a Rouse Test your character can appear like the living (with a pulse, body temperature, and breath), temporarily appear to consume food (up to an hour), and possibly participate in sexual intercourse.
BLOOD SURGE
With a Rouse Test you can add dice to one action relevant to your character’s Blood Potency.
RISE FOR THE NIGHT
At the beginning of each night a char-acter must Rouse the Blood to awaken.
FRENZY
If a character fails a frenzy test of “Willpower + (Humanity)/3” then the Storyteller takes control of them to fulfill one of the types of frenzies.
Fury: the vampire stops at nothing to destroy the cause of the provocation, often including anyone nearby.
Hunger: the vampire seeks fresh human blood from the closest source. Terror: (aka Rötschreck) the vampire flees from the source of danger, without regard to anyone or anything in their way.
RIDING THE WAVE
When a Frenzy test is presented, a player may choose to not resist and thus “Ride the Wave.” In this instance, the player may keep control of their charac-ter, but must play out the frenzy to its completion as above.
| Blood Potency | Blood Surge | Damage Mended (per rouse check) | Discipline power bonus | Discipline rouse check reroll | Bane severity | Feeding penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Add 1 die | 1 point of Superficial | None | None | 0 | No effect |
| 1 | Add 2 die | 1 point of Superficial | None | Level 1 | 2 | No effect |
| 2 | Add 2 die | 2 points of Superficial | Add 1 die | Level 1 | 2 | Animal and bagged blood slakes half Hunger |
| 3 | Add 3 dice | 2 points of Superficial | Add 1 die | Level 2 and below | 3 | Animal and bagged blood slakes no Hunger |
| 4 | Add 3 dice | 3 points of Superficial | Add 2 dice | Level 2 and below | 3 | Animal and bagged blood slakes no Hunger Slake 1 less Hunger per human |
| 5 | Add 4 dice | 3 points of Superficial | Add 2 dice | Level 3 and below | 4 | Animal and bagged blood slakes no Hunger Slake 1 less Hunger per human Must drain and kill a human to reduce Hunger below 2 |
| 6 | Add 4 dice | 3 points of Superficial | Add 3 dice | Level 3 and below | 4 | Animal and bagged blood slakes no Hunger Slake 2 less Hunger per human Must drain and kill a human to reduce Hunger below 2 |
| 7 | Add 5 dice | 3 points of Superficial | Add 3 dice | Level 4 and below | 5 | Animal and bagged blood slakes no Hunger Slake 2 less Hunger per human Must drain and kill a human to reduce Hunger below 2 |
| 8 | Add 5 dice | 4 points of Superficial | Add 4 dice | Level 4 and below | 5 | Animal and bagged blood slakes no Hunger Slake 2 less Hunger per human Must drain and kill a human to reduce Hunger below 3 |
| 9 | Add 6 dice | 4 points of Superficial | Add 4 dice | Level 5 and below | 6 | Animal and bagged blood slakes no Hunger Slake 2 less Hunger per human Must drain and kill a human to reduce Hunger below 3 |
| 10 | Add 6 dice | 5 points of Superficial | Add 5 dice | Level 5 and below | 6 | Animal and bagged blood slakes no Hunger Slake 3 less Hunger per human Must drain and kill a human to reduce Hunger below 3 |
| Generation | Minimum blood potency | Maximum blood potency |
|---|---|---|
| 4th | 5 | 10 |
| 5th | 4 | 9 |
| 6th | 3 | 8 |
| 7th | 3 | 7 |
| 8th | 2 | 6 |
| 9th | 2 | 5 |
| 10th - 11th | 1 | 4 |
| 12th - 13th | 1 | 3 |
| 14th - 16th | 0 | 0 |
Disciplines
AMALGAM POWERS
Some powers are a combination of Disciplines. When selecting an amalgam power a character must possess the required rating of both Disciplines. For the purpose of type and other classification these powers count as belonging to both Disciplines.
RESONANCE
Resonance is a new mechanic that can add an additional die to dice pools involving Disciplines depending on the condition and intensity of your character’s last drink. Resonance bonuses last until your character drinks again or reaches Hunger 5.
| Emotions & Conditions | Humor/Resonance | Disciplines |
|---|---|---|
| Angry, violent, bullying, passionate, envious | Choleric | Celerity, Potence |
| Sad, scared, intellectual, depressed, grounded | Melancholy | Fortitude, Obfuscate |
| Lazy, apathetic, calm, controlling, sentimental | Phlegmatic | Auspex, Dominate |
| Horny, happy, addicted, active, flighty, enthusiastic | Sanguine | Blood Sorcery, Presence |
| Animal blood | N/A | Animalism, Protean |
| Bagged | N/A | None |
| Psychopaths and the emotionally detached. | Empty of Resonance | Oblivion |