Blood Addiction
Even mortals can taste the stolen life that charges them with power and turns them into ghouls (see p. 166). That power makes Vitae the most delicious taste in the world. What could satisfy more than life itself? Stolen fruit is always sweetest. Anyone — mortal, animal, vampire or other — who drinks a vampire’s blood risks becoming addicted to it. They want to taste that power again. A character might know perfectly well that this bloodthirst could enslave him, maybe even destroy him, but knowing doesn’t make the thirst easier to resist. Just like an alcoholic offered a shot of whiskey, it’s all too easy to swear that you’ll quit — after this one.
In rules terms, any time a character who has imbibed Vitae receives a chance to do so again, the player rolls Resolve + Composure. A single success allows the character to resist the temptation.
The more one gives in, the harder it is to exercise self-control. Each time a character gives in to the thirst for Vitae, subsequent attempts to resist temptation suffer a cumulative -1 die penalty on the Resolve + Composure roll. Eventually, the character’s Resolve + Composure dice pool drops to zero and a chance roll is all that’s left. At that point, the character is completely addicted. Not only does he have very little chance to resist the thirst, he doesn’t want to. A derangement (see p. 186) is imposed instantly if the player makes a dramatic failure on a Resolve + Composure roll to resist the temptation of the Blood.
Addicted mortals and animals often become obsessed with drinking mundane blood, thinking that they might gain some power by doing so. They also frequently grow obsessively dependent on any vampire who supplies their Vitae, becoming willing to do anything — anything! — for another fix. The Kindred exploit such addiction, but doing so carries its own risks. Obsession can take many strange forms. Ghouls might preemptively punish themselves for imaginary infractions, to show “the master” the depth of their loyalty. Two ghouls might become insanely jealous of each other. A ghoul might think that his master speaks in his mind, telling him to do things. Others suffer even stranger varieties of insanity.
Addicted Kindred have been known to wound themselves to lap at their own blood. Vitae addicts also often turn to diablerie in their search for an even greater rush. The connection between Vitae addiction and diablerie is so strong that many Kindred simply assume that a known Vitae addict is also a diablerist and blame him for any unexplained disappearances of local Kindred. If no one has disappeared, the Prince and Primogen might still order the Vitae addict to be chained and driven into torpor. Twenty-five years of torpor — long enough for a vampire’s Blood Potency to drop by one — cures Vitae addiction… or at least the physical craving. The memory of pleasure can start the cycle all over again, but at least the character’s dice pool to resist Vitae is reset to the standard.
If a mortal or Kindred character can resist the lure of Vitae, +1 die bonus is gained to subsequent attempts to deny the thirst. The character can beat her nascent addiction if the player ever scores an exceptional success on a Resolve + Composure roll. It’s as if the character never tasted Vitae at all. If she drinks vampire blood again, however, she feels the thirst once more.
When a character falls short of complete addiction, the thirst for Vitae can fade with time, as long as the character avoids temptation. For each year in which a character stays away from any exposure to Kindred blood, one die is added to Resolve + Composure pools to avoid temptation. A character never really beats the thirst, however, until the player scores an exceptional success on the Resolve + Composure roll.
In rules terms, any time a character who has imbibed Vitae receives a chance to do so again, the player rolls Resolve + Composure. A single success allows the character to resist the temptation.
The more one gives in, the harder it is to exercise self-control. Each time a character gives in to the thirst for Vitae, subsequent attempts to resist temptation suffer a cumulative -1 die penalty on the Resolve + Composure roll. Eventually, the character’s Resolve + Composure dice pool drops to zero and a chance roll is all that’s left. At that point, the character is completely addicted. Not only does he have very little chance to resist the thirst, he doesn’t want to. A derangement (see p. 186) is imposed instantly if the player makes a dramatic failure on a Resolve + Composure roll to resist the temptation of the Blood.
Addicted mortals and animals often become obsessed with drinking mundane blood, thinking that they might gain some power by doing so. They also frequently grow obsessively dependent on any vampire who supplies their Vitae, becoming willing to do anything — anything! — for another fix. The Kindred exploit such addiction, but doing so carries its own risks. Obsession can take many strange forms. Ghouls might preemptively punish themselves for imaginary infractions, to show “the master” the depth of their loyalty. Two ghouls might become insanely jealous of each other. A ghoul might think that his master speaks in his mind, telling him to do things. Others suffer even stranger varieties of insanity.
Addicted Kindred have been known to wound themselves to lap at their own blood. Vitae addicts also often turn to diablerie in their search for an even greater rush. The connection between Vitae addiction and diablerie is so strong that many Kindred simply assume that a known Vitae addict is also a diablerist and blame him for any unexplained disappearances of local Kindred. If no one has disappeared, the Prince and Primogen might still order the Vitae addict to be chained and driven into torpor. Twenty-five years of torpor — long enough for a vampire’s Blood Potency to drop by one — cures Vitae addiction… or at least the physical craving. The memory of pleasure can start the cycle all over again, but at least the character’s dice pool to resist Vitae is reset to the standard.
If a mortal or Kindred character can resist the lure of Vitae, +1 die bonus is gained to subsequent attempts to deny the thirst. The character can beat her nascent addiction if the player ever scores an exceptional success on a Resolve + Composure roll. It’s as if the character never tasted Vitae at all. If she drinks vampire blood again, however, she feels the thirst once more.
When a character falls short of complete addiction, the thirst for Vitae can fade with time, as long as the character avoids temptation. For each year in which a character stays away from any exposure to Kindred blood, one die is added to Resolve + Composure pools to avoid temptation. A character never really beats the thirst, however, until the player scores an exceptional success on the Resolve + Composure roll.
Elders, Addition and Diablerie
Vitae addiction does not seem to become a problem for vampires who are so old and potent that mortal blood no longer sustains them. They must feed on other Kindred, but they do not seem to suffer the derangements and lack of control of Vitae addicts… unless they commit diablerie. In that case, the elder risks diablerie addiction. (Indeed, merely drinking vampire blood is different from the act of diablerie — described momentarily.) Diablerie addiction works just like Vitae addiction, but a player must roll her character’s Resolve + Composure for her to resist the urge to diablerize another vampire, even if the character knows her crime could be discovered in a short time and bring her destruction. Few threats inspire as much terror among the Kindred as the possibility of such a diablerie-crazed elder.Special Exceptions
In certain special cases, Kindred can drink another vampire’s blood without risking Vitae addiction. Most importantly, the Vitae consumed during the Embrace does not provoke a further thirst for vampire blood. Compared to the shattering power of the Embrace itself, the addictive qualities of Vitae are as a light breeze compared to a hurricane.Some rituals also require one vampire to drink another’s blood. Such blood rites do not addict participants. In such cases, however, the Kindred use small quantities of Vitae, and the ritual channels the blood’s power to a specific goal. The ordinary Vitae-junkie just lets the power roll over him. It’s the difference between a doctor prescribing an opiate and a fiend shooting up. The drug is the same, but the application, the effects and the dangers are very different.