Frenzy

Vampires work hard to hide the Beast Within. The politics of the Invictus and Carthian Movement, the mysticism of the Ordo Dracul, Lancea Sanctum and the Circle of the Crone, even the bravado of the unbound — all are masks that vampires wear to hide the rage and bloodlust of the Beast, most of all from themselves. Hunger, wrath or fear, however, can weaken the Man enough that the Beast escapes restraint. Then a vampire becomes a monster and menace to every creature that crosses its path. The Kindred call this awful state frenzy.^[1]

• A frenzying vampire ignores wound penalties to dice pools, until wounds become severe enough to render the character torpid.
• All attempts to influence the frenzying character’s mind, by Dominate, Majesty or other means, take place at a -2 dice penalty, while rolls for the character to resist or throw off mental influence receive a +2 dice bonus.
• Of course, a frenzying character cannot perform any action that requires much thought.
• The character receives one extra die for any Physical Attribute roll. The Beast goes all-out, all the time, and its blinding rage shuts out all distractions and doubts.

Resisting Frenzy

Resisting frenzy is an extended action. The player rolls Resolve + Composure. If any successes are achieved, the character resists the frenzy for one turn per success. At the end of those turns, the player rolls again in hopes of winning a few turns more of self-control for the character. If the player can accumulate a certain number of successes, the Beast subsides and the character completely avoids the frenzy. If any of the rolls fail, however, the character goes berserk and spends the rest of the scene in frenzy. If the player suffers a dramatic failure on a roll, the character stays in frenzy for as long as the Storyteller thinks is appropriate. The character also gains a derangement related to whatever caused the frenzy^[2].

-1 dice if Hungry (no more than four Vitae in her system)

-2 dice if Starving (having only one or no Vitae left)

If a player wants, he can spend a Willpower point for a character in the throes of frenzy. Doing so permits the player to control one of the character’s actions for one turn. In this way, a frenzying vampire might manage to give her soon-to-be victim a chance to run away, or a person who gave offense a chance to make a hasty apology. This moment of control does not actually avert the frenzy, but the changing circumstances might redirect the focus of the character’s rage^[3].

Anger Frenzy

Fear Frenzy

Rotschreck "The Red Fear" is a fear-based Frenzy caused by a character failing a Courage roll against an attack or sight of Fire or Sunlight. Characters under Rötschreck will hysterically flee from whatever caused the frenzy in the first place. Rotschreck can be caused by pain caused by fire, sunlight. The sight of these sources may also cause great fear on vampires. It is very similar to Frenzy though Rotschreck is a term especially given to state of fear against Fire or Sunlight which are one of the few source of injury that can destroy a vampire. In mythological speaking Vampires have been cursed not only by weakness to Flame but also cursed to fear from it. In Book of Nod, Archangel Michael clearly states while cursing Caine that he and his children will fear the flame and it will hurt them deeply causing unbearable agony and pain.

A vampire under the spell of this Rotschreck is completely controlled by their inner Beast instinctively driven to a flight-or-fight mentality and forced to flee blindly from the source of fear while they remove any obstacle or person in their way regardless of their personal attachments with them. Difficulty to resist Rotschreck varies depending on the source of the material.

1 success Lighting a cigarette

2 successes Sight of a torch

3 successes Flashbulb in the face

4 successes Bonfire

5 successes Burning building

7 successes Obscured sunlight

10 successes Direct sunlight

+2 dice Fire/sunlight at a safe distance

-1 die Surprised by fire/light

-1 die Surrounded by fire/light, but not immediately harmed

-3 dice Burned by fire/sunlight

Hunger Frenzy

Wassail can occur whenever a character feels hungry and encounters blood. Hunger frenzies are most dangerous when a character actually feeds. Kindred who care about their vessels adopt various strategies to reduce the danger to their loved ones, such as never letting themselves become too hungry, or having a favored vessel drain blood into a bowl instead of submitting to the Kiss. Few modifiers apply to hunger frenzies, and loss of control is less likely once a character has imbibed blood.

2 successes Sight or smell of blood (when hungry)

3 successes First taste of blood (when hungry)

4 successes Sight or smell of blood (when starving)

5 successes First taste of blood (when starving)

-1 die Has tasted vampire blood before

-2 dice Addicted to vampire blood

Resistance

Resisting frenzy is an extended action. When a character is on the verge of frenzy, the player rolls Resolve + Composure. If any successes are achieved, the character resists the frenzy for one turn per success. At the end of those turns, the player rolls again in hopes of winning a few turns more of self-control for the character. If the player can accumulate a certain number of successes, the Beast subsides and the character completely avoids the frenzy. If any of the rolls fail, however, the character goes berserk and spends the rest of the scene in frenzy. If the player suffers a dramatic failure on a roll, the character stays in frenzy for as long as the Storyteller thinks is appropriate. The character also gains a derangement related to whatever caused the frenzy^[4].

The greater the provocation to the character, the more successes the player must accumulate. Five successes suffice for most frenzies. Higher numbers represent the most extreme humiliation or peril to the vampire’s unlife. The Storyteller may also impose bonuses or penalties to Resolve + Composure dice pools to reflect a trigger that’s especially easy or hard to resist.

Willpower may be used

A hungry character, defined as one who has no more than four Vitae in her system, suffers a -1 die penalty.

A starving character, defined as having only one or no Vitae left, suffers a -2 penalty.

Vampire Glossary