Creating a Coil

Vampire the Requiem - Covenant - Ordo Dracul

The first thing to consider when creating a new Coil is its origin, both in the imaginary world of the story and in the game itself. Understand the difference between what you want out of a Coil as a player of the game, and what a vampire in the fictional universe of the World of Darkness might want out of a Coil. A Coil of the Dragon becomes an innate part of the character that learns it, and manifesting a Coil requires a great deal of dedication and drive, so it should seem to arise out of a need the character feels.
Why are you creating the new Coil? From what perspective are you viewing the process of Coil design? Are you a Storyteller creating a new Coil to be introduced in your own chronicle? Are you a player designing a Coil for your own character, to be submitted to the Storyteller for approval? Are you inventing a new Coil in response to a fictional need that’s come up in the narrative of the chronicle or to satisfy a demand based on game mechanics?
The answers to these questions lead, suitably, to other questions you should consider as you conceptualize your new Coil. No universal answers exist to these questions, however. You can only determine what answers are right for the chronicle in which your new Coil will be used.
Players and Storytellers will probably approach the process of designing a Coil with different goals and different priorities in mind. Truly, it’s best if you look at a new Coil from both a player’s and a Storyteller’s perspective during the design process, to be sure you’re really getting the Coil you wanted — or that the chronicle even has room for a new Coil.
Coils are distinctly different powers from traditional Disciplines, both in the game world and in the game rules, but a good deal of the advice that applies to the creation of new Disciplines applies to the process of Coil creation, as well. Be sure your idea for a new Coil wouldn’t be better realized as a new Discipline. Review the guidelines for Discipline creation beginning on p. 260 of Vampire: The Requiem before you set out to craft a new Coil.

Purpose

A Coil’s purpose is closely linked to its origin, as Coils are created in response to the demands of a story or character. Coils created for either purpose are equally valid, in theory. In practice, however, every chronicle is different, and some demands must take priority over others. Some Storytellers have no interest in allowing new Coils into the chronicle without a compelling way to involve the appearance of a new Coil in a story, but other Storytellers are comfortable slipping new powers and game options into a chronicle without much fanfare. Some players love to see new powers become available over time, but others may not like to have the menu change after they’ve placed their order, as it were. Identify what’s really important to the stories and players of your chronicle before you create a new Coil.
How do you intend your new Coil to be used in the chronicle? This is not a question of game mechanics (not yet), but a matter of defining the demand to be met. A Coil can be the prize at the end a story, or it can be the catalyst for new stories about the consequences of change. Really, it can be both. But a new Coil isn’t necessary to fulfill these purposes. The Coils in Vampire: The Requiem can be used in all of the following ways, too, if they are new to the characters. Are you really looking for a new Coil, or a new way to use the Coils? It’s possible you’re looking for both, but keep that in mind as you read these guidelines.
Are you creating the Coil to individualize or empower a character? Is it meant to represent some strange and misunderstood quality of a mysterious ally or fearsome rival? Is it meant to separate one Dragon character apart from her coterie-mates? Will it be made available to the player’s characters, or is it just for Storyteller characters?
Are you creating the Coil to enrich a story? Is it intended as a reward for characters who pursue membership in the local chapter of The Ordo Dracul? Is it a lure meant to get a Dragon coterie to work with a potential enemy? It’s perfectly acceptable for a Storyteller to devise a new power just for non-player characters. Such powers create unique dramatic possibilities by redefining what’s mystically possible within a given story without necessarily redefining the power level of the whole chronicle.

Origin

What drove you to create a new Coil? Were you inspired by a story you read or some previous chapter of the game chronicle? Were you inspired by a desire to individualize your character or overcome some aspect of the Kindred curse? Does your idea for the new Coil come from an image you have in mind of a vampire shouting at her reflection to negotiate with the Beast, or have you decided that you don’t want your character to be so susceptible to frenzy anymore?
A Coil can be created to meet the needs of a story or the wants of a player and her character. Regardless of a Coil’s inspiration, you should consider its origins in the game world. The Coil you create might be new to you and your players but a century old in your World of Darkness. Perhaps it was created in the early nights of the covenant but was unknown in the local domain until a new Dragon arrived in town. Maybe the Coil had proven to be less popular in the past so few mentors exist to teach it tonight. Could The Ordo Dracul (or even just one coterie of Dragons) have kept the existence of the Coil a secret all these years?
If you are a player designing a new Coil for your own character to learn down the line, the first thing you have to know is how you expect this Coil to appear in the game. Do you expect your character to be the pioneer of this mystic change? Keep in mind that a new Coil isn’t just a manifestation of power in the blood, but a change in your character’s very being. Disciplines are powers, but Coils are philosophies as much as anything else. Your character shouldn’t be the same after she invents a new Coil, so don’t plan on creating new Coils unless you’re ready and willing to change the way your character behaves and even thinks.

Ramifications of New Coils

The discovery or first appearance of a new Coil can be exciting, but new Coils affect the game in a way that other Disciplines don’t. A Discipline comes into play sometimes, in some stories, but a Coil comes into play all the time, in virtually every story. Plus, while new Disciplines can cause a character to become overpowered, they do reinforce her monstrousness, her deviation from normal human existence. A surplus of Coils, on the other hand, can undermine a character’s monstrous nature and excuse her from the curse that this game is all about.

Guildlines for Coil Mechanics

When creating or conceptualizing further Coils of the Dragon, it might be helpful to know the precepts by which we wrote them and the “rules” that we’ve imposed for game balance purposes. As with any other rules, feel free to experiment with these rules if it suits the needs of your chronicle.

• The Coils are internal. The Coils of the Dragon do not directly affect others. They represent changes that the vampire makes to her own undead body, mind or soul. A Coil might alter the way the character interacts with others in some way, as The Coil of the Beast helps a Dragon to resist the torments and provocations of others, but it never alters others.
• The Coils are inherent. A vampire can’t lose a Coil of the Dragon, not even through Torpor or Diablerie. Once a change has been made, it is a permanent part of the vampire’s being. Most Coils are, as a result, reactive or innate abilities, rather than active.
• The Coils are incessant. A Coil of the Dragon is not a temporary power that is “switched on” or “summoned up” when it comes into play. Once learned, it is a facet of the Kindred’s form, and cannot be deactivated any more than a mortal can stop his own heart. Most Coils do not require the character to do anything to make use of their benefits. A few, such as Chastise the Beast, may involve the use of a Willpower point, but such powers aren’t being “activated” so much as they have actually changed what the character’s Willpower points can do. In the case of Chastise the Beast, the Coil has given the character a new use for his Willpower points.
• Some things are immutable. A Coil of the Dragon should not alter, overcome or counteract the following: a clan or bloodline weakness, a clan’s or bloodline’s selection of Disciplines or the degeneration roll to avoid Humanity loss. Naturally, some Coils skirt close to violating this rule (such as Salve the Mind), but these are important, defining elements of individual characters — and of the nature of the game itself.
  Coils should not affect clan weaknesses and Disciplines, because those are the purview of bloodlines. Coils should not undermine or oversimplify the relationship a character’s actions have with her Humanity, because that is a fundamental aspect of a vampire’s dramatic tale. That is, Coils should not alter degeneration rolls. A vampire (certainly a Dragon) who wishes to change her Humanity must demonstrate that she knows her actions — not her supernatural powers — are the real proof of her morality. The Coils are meant to be the means for a vampire to transcend her curse and change her fate, but a character who can behave any way she likes without morale, emotional or psychological repercussions is unlikely to change at all.