Ghouls
A ghoul is a creature somewhere between the deathless state of the Kindred and the normal state of most mortals. In fact, ghouls are mortals, with the added condition that they have been fed Kindred Vitae and invested with some aspect of the curse of undeath. Not every mortal who simply tastes vampiric Vitae becomes a ghoul, though. It takes a specific devotion on the part of the Kindred to create ghouls, but once they do, those creatures can become as independent or reliant as their masters wish.
Creating a ghoul is an endeavor laden with risk. Ghouls are, by their nature, threats to the Masquerade, as they are mortals who have knowledge of the existence of vampires. Kindred who use ghouls argue that this knowledge also protects the secret, since a ghoul depends on vampiric Vitae to sustain that very state. Ghouls (and other mortals) suffer the same potential for Blood Addiction that the Kindred do, and since a single ghoul is rarely a match for any given vampire, most willingly suffer whatever eccentricities or cruelties their masters inflict on them as long as the promise of that precious Vitae is delivered.
Of those Kindred who create ghouls, most use them as agents for their agendas during the daytime, or as extra aides, muscle or specialists during their own active hours. Ghouls can and do come from all walks of life, from menservants of high-class Kindred to gangsters under a vampiric crime lord’s sway to crooked cops or valued informants. In most cases, ghouls are utterly dependent on their Kindred masters. Many of them are codependent, addicted to blood or their masters’ attention, or otherwise trapped in abusive, horrible relationships with their lords. And yet, stories travel through Kindred networks now and again concerning ghouls who go rogue, beholden to no particular master. They creep into sleeping Kindred havens to steal valuable Vitae.
Not every mortal who is a vampire’s thrall is a ghoul. At the same time, not every ghoul labors under a Vinculum to a single vampiric Regnant. It takes an act of will to create a ghoul, but a ghoul must drink from the same vampire three times to be subject to The Vinculum, just like everyone else.
A ghoul is a human being who drinks inhumanity. Alive and yet not aging, free from vampiric hunger and yet a slave to a vampire’s whim, he must balance the shuffle of mundane existence and the Danse Macabre. He experiences both supernatural and mortal conditions at all times, creating a situation far beyond the human one, yet so firmly rooted in it as to outstrip any horror a vampire might feel. Unlike the Kindred, ghouls are still fully capable of feeling, and those emotions are heightened by the awesome power of vampiric Vitae. The Damned walk in mimicry of pain that truly is nothing more than an echo. The triumphs, the loneliness, every last emotion is a hollow rendition never truly owned. A ghoul, on the other hand, has not been robbed of this essential, human characteristic. If anything, the Kindred are secretly jealous of their servant class. At least a ghoul can truly savor the exhilarating highs of supernatural existence as well as the wretched torment. A ghoul’s life is pain, and that exquisite pain becomes a religion.
To the Kindred, the formation of a servant class is both a necessity to them and a gift granted to a lesser being. The vampire who wishes to remain connected to the mortal world, to have an actual sway during daylight hours and a realistic touchstone whence to glean information can try to rely on normal mortal employees or dupes, but creating a ghoul makes this connection much more concrete. It rarely occurs to the sadistic, twisted creatures of the night that the blessing they bestow upon their property might be anything less than a grand gesture of favor, though not quite as significant as the Embrace. From the moment a mortal tastes vampiric blood, he embarks on a journey that pales in comparison to that of, say, a heroin addict. The need to maintain the blood connection as well as hold on to the Disciplines that come with the bond is so overwhelming, the ghoul allows himself to be subjugated without question. Eventually, after careful cultivation on the part of the Kindred, a ghoul is so deeply dependent upon the Regnant that he has no way out. Blood and power come with the satisfaction of his Regnant whereas extreme humiliation and sadistic acts accompany displeasure. Over time, however, the two melt into one masochistic dance that comes to mean the same thing.
Not every moment is misery for a ghoul, though. If such were the case, ghouls certainly wouldn’t be long for this world. While ghouls are a servant class, they are still gods among mortals, with Disciplines that effortlessly conquer the frailty of the human condition. Not banished to eternal night, able to operate with many of the same skills as a vampire and immortal as long as vampiric blood continues to be a diet staple, there is much to be said for straddling the line.
For those who think they would strain against the bonds of such slavery, the transformation from normal human being to a twisted creature of flagitious tastes might seem inconceivable. How does one go from the normal nine-to-five white picket fence missionary sex American dream to sleep-deprived Paranoia where participating in public orgies with a cheese grater as an accessory or sex toy is Status quo? Part of it is environmental and the rest is simply the effect of a monstrous lifestyle tainting Perception. After spending months or years under the thrall of a vampire, seeing the violence and perversity inherent to the Requiem, the conditioning upon the mind creates a fertile ground for the imagination to run amok. The ghoul’s perspective shifts completely left of norm. Even if they yearn for the blessed monotony that used to fill every day, ghouls know that the dull, mundane existence of normal life wouldn’t satisfy them. Eventually, ghouls find themselves not so much being dragged, kicking and screaming, into alternative behaviors but instigating them. Once the bar has been raised and new doors have been ripped open leading to wild experiences, simple pleasures of mortal flesh fall far short.
The transformation of perspective can be torturous for any number of reasons from religious to the moralistic, or even cultural. The simple knowledge of such a damned creature as a vampire is more than enough to haunt a particularly delicate soul. Blood curdles in agony and shame for the deaths the ghoul witnesses, or perhaps even participates in. The helplessness of watching her own life destroyed by the demands of her Regnant overwhelms her. Even the passage of time wreaks havoc on the sentient mind, as everything she held dear in mortality dies or fades into obscurity — which is something she shares with her vampiric master. Yet this corrosion is twice the excruciating experience for the ghoul, as she is still alive and still planted among the living. A vampire can find some twisted solace in the fact that he is dead. A ghoul is still alive regardless of the great gulf between her and the mundane world, and often that little bit of commonality is enough to drive her mad with longing.
In spite of it all, the ghoul learns to love every heady moment. He is a member of a clandestine club that gets all the inside jokes and sees the big picture that those walking around during the day in a haze of fairytale bliss miss. A ghoul’s blood sings with a power that intoxicates, perhaps painting lips with a smug smile during daylight hours as the ghoul walks among the frailty of unblessed, unwitting Humanity. Even among their own, ghouls create a hierarchy based on the power and Status of their Regnant, as well as the tasks with which they are trusted. In the end, however, it is ridiculously inconsequential, especially to the Kindred who catch wind of it. A slave with supernatural skills is still a slave.
To the casual observer, the initial indications that something is amiss — the lack of sleep, erratic behavior, becoming withdrawn, a vagueness that seems secretive when questioned — are easy to pick out. The symptoms mirror that of a drug problem or alcoholism. The health issues that come with drinking dead blood, even tainted blood, only further these notions.
For those ghouls with involved lives, the adjustment is heavily taxing. Trying to serve a Regnant while also seeing to one’s own obligations is problematic where it’s not outrageously difficult. Relationships fall to the wayside or are riddled with drama. Either way, these relationships are doomed to fail no matter how hard the ghoul works at them. The necessary secrecy of a ghoul’s alternative activities alienate the mortal side of a ghoul’s life. Wives, husbands or lovers perceive infidelities, and are not truly wrong. A ghoul has no more free time than he did as a mortal. His friends soon disappear or perhaps try to intervene should they suspect he has a problem. Family members, no doubt, are likely to pry, depending upon how close a relationship they maintain with the newly endowed ghoul. All of these factors spiral downward into a hellish alienation, if not a horrid revelation of what has actually come to pass. Some ghouls find that they need to relocate from the outset or disappear from their previous identities just to continue to survive while maintaining the obligation to their regnants. Eventually every ghoul’s lack of aging forces him to remove himself from his former life so as not to draw unwanted attention to his Regnant. As such, part of the journey into a damned abyss is the total ruination of a ghoul’s world as well as the effects of those losses upon his personality as time goes by.
The mindless need for blood is a point of control for the Regnant and a source of madness for the ghoul. A petulant ghoul trying to resist the disgrace of becoming the monster that he perceives himself to be is able to hold out for a time, but eventually the agony of withdrawal brings him once more to his knees. For a time shortly after the feeding, he feels exhilarated, but the potency always fades away to a dull ache that slowly progresses into a gut-wrenching pain that can only be quenched with Kindred blood.
Psychologically, the power of maintaining The Vinculum also has an effect upon a ghoul. The taboo of drinking blood, the rush that comes with the Kindred Vitae, can turn into any number of mental fixations and problems. During daylight hours, when a ghoul’s Regnant cannot see what he’s doing, he can engage in all manner of faux vampirism, drinking mortal blood in mimicry of the Kindred, hoping to slake the aching need for more. Many vampires dole out only enough to maintain The Vinculum and prevent the ghoul from aging, always leaving him yearning for more whether he wants to or not.
The proffering of vampiric Vitae could also be the moment of renewed “love” for the Devoted ghoul when the Regnant shows how much the ghoul matters. In doing so, he reinforces what is already a deeply moving act. Thus can contact and personal interaction with a ghoul’s Regnant become as much of an Addiction as Vitae. Conversely, it is not unusual for a vampire to keep a stable of ghouls for the purpose of always having Vitae readily at hand. (It isn’t always wise to feed from the populace, after all, as doing so taxes the Masquerade or can violate any rules set forth by the local Prince.) The erotically frightening sensation of having one’s blood siphoned off to strengthen the Regnant, combined with the dread of being drained completely or even the tease of the Embrace toys with a frail human mind. For the more sensitive ghouls, just being used as a meal is a difficult thing to mentally process.
While not nearly as widespread as in ancient times, blood worship still exists in such religions as Santeria, vodoun and Palo Mayombe. In these modern times, moralities have shifted, as have sensibilities. The use of blood is a taboo, and the ritual sacrifice of even the slightest animal is widely condemned. Yet the power of blood cannot be denied.
More serious than the repulsiveness of drinking blood are the diseases that that it can carry. The two most dangerous blood-borne diseases in the United States are HIV and hepatitis. There are three types of hepatitis, A through C. One can recover from either of the first two in three months and six months respectively. The third, hepatitis C, is the most common blood-borne disease in the US. It is the single largest cause of liver transplants and therefore is deeply concerning to a ghoul. HIV attacks the immune system, and while a ghoul can carry the virus for years before HIV sets in, it will kill her as surely as any mortal once it does.
It is important to note that Kindred are immune to mortal disease but with the more invasive diseases transmitted by bodily fluids such as HIV, a vampire can become a permanent vessel. Traditionally, the Kindred were not so concerned with those careless few who were carriers, but as mortal society’s medical sophistication refined, it became a necessity to nip such situations in the bud quickly lest such individuals become a danger to the Masquerade. Indeed, some strict Princes consider the act of spreading diseases an offense punishable by Final Death. Reportedly, those adept in the arts of Theban Sorcery can cleanse a carrier of disease, but a rumor isn’t a very solid defense for a vampire accused of being a plague dog.
Other health effects of the ghoul condition include sleep deprivation and impaired or diminished memory and cognitive skills brought on by exhaustion. Ghouls often find themselves unable to remember things properly, or they have a very hazy ability to recall past events. They are often confused about time lines or series of events, even forgetting important details if not mixing them up with unrelated situations. For this reason, an effective ghoul needs to be a meticulous note-taker, lest he suffer the wrath of his Regnant. This symptom of the ghoul condition makes some ghouls appear addle-patted when in fact they are just tired.
Another major danger to a ghoul with sleep deprivation is the increased risk of injuries from minor accidents. As such, ghouls often come across as ungainly, lacking in grace or just plain fumbling. The most exhausted ghouls can even have a battered appearance from the myriad bruises or cuts garnered from every day existence.
Extreme sleep deprivation in long stretches (about 100 hours without sleep is a good threshold) brings about hallucinatory spells. Such spells are more horrific for ghouls than for normal mortals, though, in that the surreal horrors that plague a sleep-deprived ghoul actually exist. When a ghoul starts seeing rats peeking at her from under furniture and scrambling up her pants legs, is she hallucinating or is her Ventrue Regnant trying to tell her something? Such hallucinations bring about a brand of danger that might end a ghoul up dead by his own hand in the attempts to battle these unseen demons. Any limitless number of strange occurrences can come to pass with such a handicap.
But love is the most potent naturally occurring mindaltering influence that exists. Under the influence of love unrequited in silence or openly sneered upon, already warped thought processes take an even more nauseating turn. It drives people to wild actions. Serial killers are undeniable examples of Humanity warped by drought of affection or rebuffed love by a parent. Spree killers and assassins sometimes dedicate their deeds to would-be lovers who spurned them. Sometimes, one who is scorned acts out in the form of cutting rituals that scar his inner thighs or arms. Others engage in highly ritualized BDSM activities performed in secrecy or in clandestine meetings in private dungeons. Insanity isn’t always a single drop down a cliff. This obsessive love already occurs in everyday life with these very results. Under the thrall of The Vinculum, rationale is even harder to get a foothold in and the reactions are far more insidious.
Unable to find fulfillment in the usual way without the object of his affection, a ghoul’s sense of sexuality slowly alters. Either sex becomes complicated, perhaps even a form of punishment for the inability to deserve the one he truly desires, or sex is replaced entirely with another activity, perhaps even a strange fetish that is charged with the same energy.
The human mind processes the most bizarre and innocuous of activities into erotic moments. Sitting under the table at Thanksgiving as a child, staring at all the aunt’s feet in heels and stockings can turn into a full-blown foot fetish 10 years down the road. Being kicked in the groin on the playground by the little red headed girl can one day become a twisted love of ballbashing. Watching a film in which an attractive character is captured and tied up for human sacrifice can easily seep into the imagination, rooting itself as the beginnings of a love for bondage.
Of course, violent or scarring acts can also render themselves into twisted sexual manifestations. A man whose wife cheats on him repeatedly with other men can find himself oddly aroused by the idea of his being so worthless in bed that she needs to sleep with another man. A child who is beaten hard can equate that act to love and require it as an adult to get off or just feel wanted. In such a way, a classic submissive or masochist is born.
In this same tradition of environmental conditioning, a ghoul, too, is transformed. A ghoul’s Regnant can become so furious with him that she neatly ties up his genitals with an industrial-strength thread in an intricate and tight webbing. As dispassionately as she brushes her hair, the Regnant attaches the ends of the thread to a doorknob and slams the door shut with preternatural speed, leaving the ghoul to writhe in agony. In the thrall of his Regnant’s blood, the ghoul suddenly finds his own sexual conditioning. Maiming his own genitals repeatedly by masturbating with toothpaste or sandpaper now fills him with satisfaction, echoing the memory of his experience.
Living in the shadow of the Damned and their wild and violent world, ghoul minds suffer a perspective alteration that forces them to view everything around them in an entirely different light. It can be both horrifying and fascinating at once. For the highly religious, the happenstance can tax, destroy or even pervert their faith. Plenty of cults or extremists have devolved into sex acts or self-mutilation, murderous deeds, even suicide in the name of a god. All are brought about by a dire stress that warps the mind into believing that this truly is the path of redemption or the only recourse left. Some find that they are latently masochistic or sadistic. This descent only gives them free reign to indulge in their true nature. It is a form of freedom unlike anything that mortal society has allowed them. It quiets the storm of their previously broken lives. In this sick way, some ghouls are better off in their estimation than they were previously.
The change in perspective affects everything the ghouls sees or experiences. Everything from movies to TV to literature can be translated in an entirely different fashion. For example, horror films or any form of violence might illicit arousal rather than disgust. Everyday objects become more useful or easily sullied in usage. A walk through an office-supply store can be a torture-monger’s candy store, rendering various types of binder clips into sweet instruments of erotic pain. Acts that had been inconceivable as a mortal become second nature to the ghoul. Scandalous conversational topics seem less so, or they become delightful for their shock value. The norm for the ghoul has the capacity to traumatize the mortals with whom he interacts.
For many ghouls, mortals become nothing more than ants in a child’s sandbox to be tortured, taunted or manipulated unwittingly as they are too tiny or insignificant to see the big picture. The temptation ghouls face to use their power in order to be feared or adored like a god is strong. For the sadistic ghoul, having human experiments to play with is a siren’s call with a delicious payoff. Some consider it their obligation to shield Humanity from the monstrosities of the night, even going so far as to prostrate themselves to the cause of mortal protection in all aspects when not in the service of their Regnant. The circumstance of becoming a thrall to a vampire is an extreme example of stress, and in that crucible, the unthinkable can become compulsory.
The Disciplines that Kindred blood grants ghouls do not manifest automatically into fully realized powers. Often, the ghoul suddenly finds that he is able to do something in a fluke of circumstance, unable to control the ability and then requiring some sort of training to put the pieces together. In such cases, it can’t truly be done alone. The ghoul needs his Regnant to guide him in the mysteries of preternatural skills. While the Regnant might very well want her ghoul’s skills to be fully realized for the purpose of being a foot soldier, she might be the sort to use these newfound gifts as a carrot for various reasons. It is an intricate dance of subjugation and tutoring, skillfully rendered so as to nurture the powers inherent in her creation yet not bring about so much spirit as to endanger herself.
The Regnant herself might compare the creation and breaking in of a ghoul to the experience of training a dog, but ghouls rarely wish to think of themselves in such terms. A few ghouls revel in the submissive degradation of servitude with full abandon — docile in public, compliant to a fault and all but running themselves into the ground with the single desire to please the master. Those prideful ghouls that repress the classic submissive hallmarks or find shame in the shocking pleasure it brings, harbor that perverse desire in secret.
In Kindred society, ghouls are property. They have no rights and are not given any credit for having thoughts worth suffering audience to. It is a dangerous faux pas for a ghoul to look directly at a vampire or speak out of turn. In fact, even mingling at a social function is downright scandalous, even to the most socially lax of the Kindred.
This in and of itself is difficult to swallow in modern times, but vampires are creatures bred upon the rituals of times long gone. To a vampire, objectification is beyond the mere ownership and subjugation of mortal flesh for errands. Ghouls can become furniture for special occasions or on a regular basis. With a little creative body-piercing and a set of hanging crystals, a marvelous human chandelier complete with candles held in outstretched arms might be a point of momentary amusement for guests. Glass tables can be especially glorious with a human pedestal to hold it steady.
Acting out definitely results from such oppressive and humiliating experiences. These manifest themselves in ghoul interaction with the mortal world but most palpably among the imagined caste system of the ghouls themselves. Those servants granted the most leeway or blessed by more potent blood lord it over the newly created or less trusted ghouls. Being seen as a piece of furniture at an occasion is guaranteed to engender a level of derision from one’s peers.
This stratification is very intricate among the ghouls. In many ways, it is an unspoken situation that becomes an awareness with time and then an allegiance with the growth of their own Status. Ghouls have their own selfcreated pecking order that rules how they deal with one another in subtle yet palpable ways. In social situations, the interactions are very hard to detect, being as subtle as classic Victorian discourse. It might be compared to an afternoon of high tea among British ladies with the wives of the business class mingling with the titled. While the derision is real, it is very finely honed and impossible to truly call anyone on. The result is the same, however. A person knows full well when one has been put in his place, even if it cannot be precisely articulated in so many words. The fine art of polite insult is favored pastime in many cultures.
When ghouls work together at the behest of their regnants, this self-created subculture is most obvious. Those who consider themselves higher up on the imagined ladder attempt to orchestrate while delegating the more menial of tasks to those thought to be beneath the rest of them.
Conflict easily arises between those ghouls who realize that the entire institution is a bunch of rationalized garbage. They violently butt heads with those who feel they have the most at stake, meaning the greater amount of Status. It makes for very complicated intrigue or politicking among the ghouls.
In the end, only to the ghouls does any of this truly matter. In the minds of their regnants, this pretentious play at importance has no meaning and is not to be tolerated. As such, those to whom it is vitally important carefully guard the entire structure.
Not all ghouls are drawn into Kindred society, however, or are even aware that any others exist. These servants live in an entirely different level of hell. They have no one with whom to commiserate. They have no frame of reference for their experiences. They live entirely within the confines of the sinister relationship of Kindred and servant, as well as the twisted shadows of their own thoughts. A ghoul in this situation is far more fearful, not sure when or where his Regnant might pop up.
At first the solitary ghoul might try to test the bonds of his slavery. Anticipating as much, a wise vampire has ways of keeping tabs on such ghouls so as to give the impression of a godlike awareness. It would not take much to establish dominance with a newly enthralled ghoul. The Disciplines at the Kindred’s disposal are beyond the wildest imagination of the average mortal. Witnessing a vampire cross a crowded room in the Blink of the eye or shrug off a wound that would cripple or kill a mortal goes a long way toward instilling the proper reverence in a mortal. It isn’t all horror and heart-stopping fear. The addictive blood as well as powerful Disciplines doled out sparingly as tempting rewards are often enough to ensure abject loyalty.
Nothing exists for these ghouls but their regnants and the will of the regnants. The ghoul’s days and nights are filled with the tasks dispensed to them. Interactions between ghoul and Regnant are dreaded yet craved, too infrequent yet haunting every other waking moment with promise. Nothing fills the mind of the solitary ghoul as much as the vampire who created him and the influence this new life has on everything else. This intense focus is far more alienating than being drawn into the fold is for other ghouls, which is far more difficult to suffer.
Actually, nothing could be further from the truth.
Independent ghouls’ lives are not easy ones. At best, they’ve traded one set of challenges for another. At worst, their lives are more wretched and painful than living under the thrall of a vampiric Regnant. Rare is the rogue ghoul who would, given the chance, make the same choices that put her where she is. And yet, they do possess the potential to change their nature and reverse the direction of their lives. The independent ghoul is one step away from being a mortal again, but it’s a step that many are unwilling to take. Frankly independent ghouls aren’t actually independent at all. They’re addicts, and their Addiction rules them as ruthlessly as any vampire master ever could.
The loss of a Regnant doesn’t automatically result in independence, however. Depending on the circumstances, a ghoul might respond in any number of ways. Some give in to despair and end their lives. Others are eliminated or enthralled by the master’s enemies or associates, seeking to prevent a Masquerade breach. Ghouls who expect the master to return one night might continue acting in the Regnant’s interests by choice, even when they are not supernaturally compelled to do so. And some ghouls, having lost the capacity to act independently after a lifetime under a Regnant’s control, reject their newly achieved freedom and try to find a new master as quickly as possible.
Another possibility exists for ghouls who find themselves without a Regnant. Of those few who manage to avoid destruction or a second thralldom, some take the opportunity to give up their ghoul Status and reconnect with mortality. Some ghouls have no choice. With no ready source of Vitae, their ghoul nature fades away and leaves them fully human. For other ghouls, the desire to live some sort of normal life motivates them to forgo Vitae deliberately. In either situation, those ghouls who become human again pay a significant price. Ghouls who stop taking Vitae must cope with tremendous cravings as their Addiction demands to be fed. These urges are powerful enough to cause Derangements, nightmares, even suicide. And even if she beats the Addiction, the ghoul must live with terrible memories of her experiences as a thrall, as well as the oppressive knowledge that vampires exist.
As a result, independent ghouls tend to be exceptionally tough and resourceful. To survive the dangers inherent in losing a master, and recover one’s sense of self after prolonged outside control, requires both physical hardiness and a singular force of will. Second, for whatever reason, independent ghouls don’t consider the life of an ordinary mortal to be a desirable or achievable goal. Some are too deranged or blood addicted to consider an attempt at normalcy. Others refuse to give up the rush of Vitae and the dark thrills of interacting with the Kindred. Some even have agendas that require them to maintain themselves as ghouls, to take revenge against the force that destroyed their Regnant, to lash out against Kindred who’ve wronged them or to protect themselves and their loved ones from supernatural threats.
As far as acquiring Vitae goes, some independent ghouls like to style themselves as predators of predators, hunting the Kindred for Vitae the way the Kindred stalk mortals. But unlike vampires, ghouls who take this approach have few advantages over their prey. Not only are most vampires more powerful and skilled than the average ghoul, it’s rarely possible for the ghoul to know ahead of time just how outmatched she is. And since most Kindred have enemies, they don’t often put themselves in vulnerable positions. Furthermore, while the Kindred have physical enhancements and the rhapsody of the Kiss to help them to draw blood, the feeding process for ghouls is a dangerous and messy affair. Vampire ichor doesn’t flow from a wound the way human blood does, so extracting it takes more than a scratch or a bite.
Despite all these handicaps, some ghouls sustain themselves by taking Vitae from unwilling vampires. Their success depends on maximizing what few advantages they do have, and the foremost of these is knowledge. The more a hungry ghoul knows about the habits of the local Kindred (their hangouts, their factions and their territories), the better chance the ghoul has of choosing the right victim. Some independent ghouls become expert observers of vampire behavior. They can identify a weak but overconfident neonate or spot a vampire who has barely enough strength to limp home after a night of debauchery and violence.
Hunting in groups can improve the success of independent ghouls, making it easier to ambush, overpower or ensnare a carefully selected victim. But remember that ghouls are addicts. Their first allegiance is to their Addiction, not their fellows. Small groups of ghouls do sometimes work together successfully, but conflict over Vitae often fractures such allegiances before too long. When ghouls do band together, it’s typically on an ad-hoc basis. A ghoul who needs some assistance might recruit whoever happens to be available (assuming he’s managed to establish some relationships with other independent ghouls, which is a difficult achievement in itself). Once that goal is met, the group probably splits up.
Some ghouls prefer to do their hunting in a “smashand- grab” manner. They overwhelm a vampire with physical force, carve or slice off a sizable portion of undead flesh, and then run, hoping their acquisition contains enough Vitae to satisfy them. Others find a way to immobilize the victim, with anything from heavy chains to a pit of wet cement to the use of an appropriate Discipline, so they can draw Vitae in a more controlled manner. Stories do circulate about ghouls who keep vampires imprisoned and gradually drain them until there’s no Vitae left. But since it’s hard for a ghoul to be certain what abilities a given vampire might possess, confining one for even a short time would be extremely dangerous. Such tales are… probably groundless.
Some independent ghouls see themselves more as scavengers and parasites than predators. Hungry ghouls have been known to appear at sites of vampiric conflict to take blood from weakened or incapacitated Kindred left behind after the battle, or to lap up Vitae from the ground or from discarded weapons. Certain ghouls excel at locating poorly defended havens and making a daytime entrance to siphon away Vitae while the vampire slumbers. (Perhaps the traditional notion of ghouls as corpse-eating monsters stems from witnesses who saw ghouls breaking into tombs where vampires slept.) These ghouls might create elaborate devices to penetrate a vampire’s flesh and slowly draw out Vitae without disturbing the sleeper.
A more common way of acquiring Vitae without violence, though, is for a ghoul to enter into some kind of agreement with a vampire. Independent ghouls might possess unusual skills or abilities or be privy to knowledge that makes it worth a vampire’s while to trade for Vitae (be it her own, or that of a childe, associate or captured enemy). Working for the Kindred can also provide a source of funds and material comfort to ghouls who lack the ability to achieve gainful employment. To that end, some independent ghouls spend almost all their time creating and sustaining a network of Contacts and informants, in the hopes of gleaning facts that the Kindred find useful. Others hire themselves out for short or long-term tasks, the kind that vampires can’t perform and ordinary mortals can’t be trusted with (such as intercity transport and various daytime activities). Bargaining with the Kindred is a risky proposition, of course. It’s hard for the ghoul to be certain that a prospective trading partner won’t decide to just take what he needs by force. Yet a ghoul who’s proven herself useful to multiple clients might develop a reputation that motivates local Kindred to negotiate in good faith (or something close to it).
To most Kindred, ghouls are thralls and nothing more. A ghoul who has no master, some would say, is a threat to the Masquerade and an affront to the superiority of the Kindred. They consider the phenomenon of kine willfully seeking Kindred Vitae to be a reversal of the natural order of things. And many regnants dislike independent ghouls for fear that their own thralls might become tempted to follow suit. The bottom line is that independent ghouls who seek to make deals with the Kindred need to be careful who they approach. A vampire who views ghouls with contempt might decide to slaughter the ghoul for such effrontery. Some Kindred even make it their business to actively hunt and eliminate any independent ghoul who lacks the protection of vampiric patron or ally. In a sense, independent ghouls must navigate a double Masquerade, hiding their nature from mortals as well as from hostile vampires. It’s a burden that’s uniquely theirs, and one to which these tenacious survivors are uniquely suited.
Creating a ghoul is an endeavor laden with risk. Ghouls are, by their nature, threats to the Masquerade, as they are mortals who have knowledge of the existence of vampires. Kindred who use ghouls argue that this knowledge also protects the secret, since a ghoul depends on vampiric Vitae to sustain that very state. Ghouls (and other mortals) suffer the same potential for Blood Addiction that the Kindred do, and since a single ghoul is rarely a match for any given vampire, most willingly suffer whatever eccentricities or cruelties their masters inflict on them as long as the promise of that precious Vitae is delivered.
Of those Kindred who create ghouls, most use them as agents for their agendas during the daytime, or as extra aides, muscle or specialists during their own active hours. Ghouls can and do come from all walks of life, from menservants of high-class Kindred to gangsters under a vampiric crime lord’s sway to crooked cops or valued informants. In most cases, ghouls are utterly dependent on their Kindred masters. Many of them are codependent, addicted to blood or their masters’ attention, or otherwise trapped in abusive, horrible relationships with their lords. And yet, stories travel through Kindred networks now and again concerning ghouls who go rogue, beholden to no particular master. They creep into sleeping Kindred havens to steal valuable Vitae.
Not every mortal who is a vampire’s thrall is a ghoul. At the same time, not every ghoul labors under a Vinculum to a single vampiric Regnant. It takes an act of will to create a ghoul, but a ghoul must drink from the same vampire three times to be subject to The Vinculum, just like everyone else.
A ghoul is a human being who drinks inhumanity. Alive and yet not aging, free from vampiric hunger and yet a slave to a vampire’s whim, he must balance the shuffle of mundane existence and the Danse Macabre. He experiences both supernatural and mortal conditions at all times, creating a situation far beyond the human one, yet so firmly rooted in it as to outstrip any horror a vampire might feel. Unlike the Kindred, ghouls are still fully capable of feeling, and those emotions are heightened by the awesome power of vampiric Vitae. The Damned walk in mimicry of pain that truly is nothing more than an echo. The triumphs, the loneliness, every last emotion is a hollow rendition never truly owned. A ghoul, on the other hand, has not been robbed of this essential, human characteristic. If anything, the Kindred are secretly jealous of their servant class. At least a ghoul can truly savor the exhilarating highs of supernatural existence as well as the wretched torment. A ghoul’s life is pain, and that exquisite pain becomes a religion.
To the Kindred, the formation of a servant class is both a necessity to them and a gift granted to a lesser being. The vampire who wishes to remain connected to the mortal world, to have an actual sway during daylight hours and a realistic touchstone whence to glean information can try to rely on normal mortal employees or dupes, but creating a ghoul makes this connection much more concrete. It rarely occurs to the sadistic, twisted creatures of the night that the blessing they bestow upon their property might be anything less than a grand gesture of favor, though not quite as significant as the Embrace. From the moment a mortal tastes vampiric blood, he embarks on a journey that pales in comparison to that of, say, a heroin addict. The need to maintain the blood connection as well as hold on to the Disciplines that come with the bond is so overwhelming, the ghoul allows himself to be subjugated without question. Eventually, after careful cultivation on the part of the Kindred, a ghoul is so deeply dependent upon the Regnant that he has no way out. Blood and power come with the satisfaction of his Regnant whereas extreme humiliation and sadistic acts accompany displeasure. Over time, however, the two melt into one masochistic dance that comes to mean the same thing.
Not every moment is misery for a ghoul, though. If such were the case, ghouls certainly wouldn’t be long for this world. While ghouls are a servant class, they are still gods among mortals, with Disciplines that effortlessly conquer the frailty of the human condition. Not banished to eternal night, able to operate with many of the same skills as a vampire and immortal as long as vampiric blood continues to be a diet staple, there is much to be said for straddling the line.
The Ideal Ghoul
Mortals selected by a vampire for servitude are never healthy, whole individuals. The people who would appeal to a cult or alternative religion are the same whom vampires select for servitude. They are broken human beings for whom the inevitable plunge into insidious perversity is not so unimaginable. They are so insecure that being picked out as something singular or special gives them enough of a rush to be willing to suffer the outrages of subjugation. It is an all-consuming erotic bond that transcends normal concepts of love or sexuality, though many mistake it for as much. Being ushered into the world of slavery to a vampire shatters so much of the human spirit and then muddles it with unnatural sensations of deepest affection. It is best (and strangely poetic) to select from those souls are already bent toward such a lifestyle.For those who think they would strain against the bonds of such slavery, the transformation from normal human being to a twisted creature of flagitious tastes might seem inconceivable. How does one go from the normal nine-to-five white picket fence missionary sex American dream to sleep-deprived Paranoia where participating in public orgies with a cheese grater as an accessory or sex toy is Status quo? Part of it is environmental and the rest is simply the effect of a monstrous lifestyle tainting Perception. After spending months or years under the thrall of a vampire, seeing the violence and perversity inherent to the Requiem, the conditioning upon the mind creates a fertile ground for the imagination to run amok. The ghoul’s perspective shifts completely left of norm. Even if they yearn for the blessed monotony that used to fill every day, ghouls know that the dull, mundane existence of normal life wouldn’t satisfy them. Eventually, ghouls find themselves not so much being dragged, kicking and screaming, into alternative behaviors but instigating them. Once the bar has been raised and new doors have been ripped open leading to wild experiences, simple pleasures of mortal flesh fall far short.
The transformation of perspective can be torturous for any number of reasons from religious to the moralistic, or even cultural. The simple knowledge of such a damned creature as a vampire is more than enough to haunt a particularly delicate soul. Blood curdles in agony and shame for the deaths the ghoul witnesses, or perhaps even participates in. The helplessness of watching her own life destroyed by the demands of her Regnant overwhelms her. Even the passage of time wreaks havoc on the sentient mind, as everything she held dear in mortality dies or fades into obscurity — which is something she shares with her vampiric master. Yet this corrosion is twice the excruciating experience for the ghoul, as she is still alive and still planted among the living. A vampire can find some twisted solace in the fact that he is dead. A ghoul is still alive regardless of the great gulf between her and the mundane world, and often that little bit of commonality is enough to drive her mad with longing.
In spite of it all, the ghoul learns to love every heady moment. He is a member of a clandestine club that gets all the inside jokes and sees the big picture that those walking around during the day in a haze of fairytale bliss miss. A ghoul’s blood sings with a power that intoxicates, perhaps painting lips with a smug smile during daylight hours as the ghoul walks among the frailty of unblessed, unwitting Humanity. Even among their own, ghouls create a hierarchy based on the power and Status of their Regnant, as well as the tasks with which they are trusted. In the end, however, it is ridiculously inconsequential, especially to the Kindred who catch wind of it. A slave with supernatural skills is still a slave.
A New Life
The hardest adaptation in the beginning for a ghoul is maintaining the sham of a normal, unaltered life. Every ghoul had a previous life — a job, a family, friends and a normal routine. The addition of a second life is no less of a strain than it would be for a stripper, hooker or drug dealer. In this case, there is no out. The ghoul is bound to this new fate with the potent Addiction of blood and the threat of death for any failure. Some secretly hope to be given the Embrace, but with no choice in this new arrangement, the ghoul must make it all work.To the casual observer, the initial indications that something is amiss — the lack of sleep, erratic behavior, becoming withdrawn, a vagueness that seems secretive when questioned — are easy to pick out. The symptoms mirror that of a drug problem or alcoholism. The health issues that come with drinking dead blood, even tainted blood, only further these notions.
For those ghouls with involved lives, the adjustment is heavily taxing. Trying to serve a Regnant while also seeing to one’s own obligations is problematic where it’s not outrageously difficult. Relationships fall to the wayside or are riddled with drama. Either way, these relationships are doomed to fail no matter how hard the ghoul works at them. The necessary secrecy of a ghoul’s alternative activities alienate the mortal side of a ghoul’s life. Wives, husbands or lovers perceive infidelities, and are not truly wrong. A ghoul has no more free time than he did as a mortal. His friends soon disappear or perhaps try to intervene should they suspect he has a problem. Family members, no doubt, are likely to pry, depending upon how close a relationship they maintain with the newly endowed ghoul. All of these factors spiral downward into a hellish alienation, if not a horrid revelation of what has actually come to pass. Some ghouls find that they need to relocate from the outset or disappear from their previous identities just to continue to survive while maintaining the obligation to their regnants. Eventually every ghoul’s lack of aging forces him to remove himself from his former life so as not to draw unwanted attention to his Regnant. As such, part of the journey into a damned abyss is the total ruination of a ghoul’s world as well as the effects of those losses upon his personality as time goes by.
Blood
Blood plays a central role in the Requiem. It is no less important and paramount to existence for ghouls than it is for vampires. It is the elixir that keeps them in stasis, forever frozen in time, just as it is with their regnants. As the decades march on, there comes a point where it is the only thing that keeps them alive. Without it, time quickly catches up with them. Regardless, dead blood introduced into a human body creates a chemical change, and the body has to adapt to its invasion. Anything that so drastically affects the chemistry of the body automatically creates a craving in its absence, resulting in an allout Addiction.The mindless need for blood is a point of control for the Regnant and a source of madness for the ghoul. A petulant ghoul trying to resist the disgrace of becoming the monster that he perceives himself to be is able to hold out for a time, but eventually the agony of withdrawal brings him once more to his knees. For a time shortly after the feeding, he feels exhilarated, but the potency always fades away to a dull ache that slowly progresses into a gut-wrenching pain that can only be quenched with Kindred blood.
Psychologically, the power of maintaining The Vinculum also has an effect upon a ghoul. The taboo of drinking blood, the rush that comes with the Kindred Vitae, can turn into any number of mental fixations and problems. During daylight hours, when a ghoul’s Regnant cannot see what he’s doing, he can engage in all manner of faux vampirism, drinking mortal blood in mimicry of the Kindred, hoping to slake the aching need for more. Many vampires dole out only enough to maintain The Vinculum and prevent the ghoul from aging, always leaving him yearning for more whether he wants to or not.
The proffering of vampiric Vitae could also be the moment of renewed “love” for the Devoted ghoul when the Regnant shows how much the ghoul matters. In doing so, he reinforces what is already a deeply moving act. Thus can contact and personal interaction with a ghoul’s Regnant become as much of an Addiction as Vitae. Conversely, it is not unusual for a vampire to keep a stable of ghouls for the purpose of always having Vitae readily at hand. (It isn’t always wise to feed from the populace, after all, as doing so taxes the Masquerade or can violate any rules set forth by the local Prince.) The erotically frightening sensation of having one’s blood siphoned off to strengthen the Regnant, combined with the dread of being drained completely or even the tease of the Embrace toys with a frail human mind. For the more sensitive ghouls, just being used as a meal is a difficult thing to mentally process.
The History of Blood
Ancient cultures have long revered and worshiped the power of blood. Blood has been consumed, spilled and worn for its presumed life-giving powers. Most religions ascribe some sacred or profane significance to blood, such as the modern blood-drinking ritual that persists in Christian communion. The sacrifice of living beings (mostly animals, sometimes human) has always had a foothold in faith, whether this sacrifice is literal or symbolic. For some, such as the Aztecs, Mayans and Zapotecs, the sharing of life force with the universe was all important. Blood sacrifice, especially human sacrifice, was seen as human actions intended to keep the cosmos in balance. It was as much a part of everyday existence as anything else. The Mixtecs regularly used blood from the ears and tongue as part of their rituals, resorting to the extreme of heart sacrifice for only the most important occasions. In short, there was a time in our history when every religion on Earth involved some form of blood worship or sacrifice. Eventually, though, the ancient Jews began to ban the use of blood as a ceremonial activity, beginning the slow elimination across the board.While not nearly as widespread as in ancient times, blood worship still exists in such religions as Santeria, vodoun and Palo Mayombe. In these modern times, moralities have shifted, as have sensibilities. The use of blood is a taboo, and the ritual sacrifice of even the slightest animal is widely condemned. Yet the power of blood cannot be denied.
Blood Pathology
For a ghoul, who still retains the Status of biologically functioning life, feeding from his Regnant is a problematic and often dangerous event. A ghoul could very well be taking his life into his hands should his Regnant have fed from mortals carrying various deadly, blood-borne diseases. Even Vitae itself can inflict a measure of shock to the system. The first thing a thrall must contend with is the simple fact that vampire blood is cold, unless the Regnant has fed recently.More serious than the repulsiveness of drinking blood are the diseases that that it can carry. The two most dangerous blood-borne diseases in the United States are HIV and hepatitis. There are three types of hepatitis, A through C. One can recover from either of the first two in three months and six months respectively. The third, hepatitis C, is the most common blood-borne disease in the US. It is the single largest cause of liver transplants and therefore is deeply concerning to a ghoul. HIV attacks the immune system, and while a ghoul can carry the virus for years before HIV sets in, it will kill her as surely as any mortal once it does.
It is important to note that Kindred are immune to mortal disease but with the more invasive diseases transmitted by bodily fluids such as HIV, a vampire can become a permanent vessel. Traditionally, the Kindred were not so concerned with those careless few who were carriers, but as mortal society’s medical sophistication refined, it became a necessity to nip such situations in the bud quickly lest such individuals become a danger to the Masquerade. Indeed, some strict Princes consider the act of spreading diseases an offense punishable by Final Death. Reportedly, those adept in the arts of Theban Sorcery can cleanse a carrier of disease, but a rumor isn’t a very solid defense for a vampire accused of being a plague dog.
Other health effects of the ghoul condition include sleep deprivation and impaired or diminished memory and cognitive skills brought on by exhaustion. Ghouls often find themselves unable to remember things properly, or they have a very hazy ability to recall past events. They are often confused about time lines or series of events, even forgetting important details if not mixing them up with unrelated situations. For this reason, an effective ghoul needs to be a meticulous note-taker, lest he suffer the wrath of his Regnant. This symptom of the ghoul condition makes some ghouls appear addle-patted when in fact they are just tired.
Another major danger to a ghoul with sleep deprivation is the increased risk of injuries from minor accidents. As such, ghouls often come across as ungainly, lacking in grace or just plain fumbling. The most exhausted ghouls can even have a battered appearance from the myriad bruises or cuts garnered from every day existence.
Extreme sleep deprivation in long stretches (about 100 hours without sleep is a good threshold) brings about hallucinatory spells. Such spells are more horrific for ghouls than for normal mortals, though, in that the surreal horrors that plague a sleep-deprived ghoul actually exist. When a ghoul starts seeing rats peeking at her from under furniture and scrambling up her pants legs, is she hallucinating or is her Ventrue Regnant trying to tell her something? Such hallucinations bring about a brand of danger that might end a ghoul up dead by his own hand in the attempts to battle these unseen demons. Any limitless number of strange occurrences can come to pass with such a handicap.
The Vinculum and Sex
The Vinculum creates a false sense of adoration so deep that most ghouls mistake it for love. As is typical of such situations, sex often becomes an issue. Some ghouls might actually be foolish enough to try to consummate their feelings with their Regnant, only to be swiftly dealt a contemptuous and outraged rebuff complete with a punishment severe enough to forestall such scandalously disrespectful actions in the future. Such an unadvised ghoul could then be the lucky recipient of a partial castration, the removed bit of which he must then compliantly wear in a less than comfortable spot until such time as the Regnant forgives his transgression. A clever vampire can conjure up a limitless number of hideous but effective punishments in this same vein with the slightest effort. No doubt, a number of ghouls bear the war wounds of these erstwhile advances.But love is the most potent naturally occurring mindaltering influence that exists. Under the influence of love unrequited in silence or openly sneered upon, already warped thought processes take an even more nauseating turn. It drives people to wild actions. Serial killers are undeniable examples of Humanity warped by drought of affection or rebuffed love by a parent. Spree killers and assassins sometimes dedicate their deeds to would-be lovers who spurned them. Sometimes, one who is scorned acts out in the form of cutting rituals that scar his inner thighs or arms. Others engage in highly ritualized BDSM activities performed in secrecy or in clandestine meetings in private dungeons. Insanity isn’t always a single drop down a cliff. This obsessive love already occurs in everyday life with these very results. Under the thrall of The Vinculum, rationale is even harder to get a foothold in and the reactions are far more insidious.
Unable to find fulfillment in the usual way without the object of his affection, a ghoul’s sense of sexuality slowly alters. Either sex becomes complicated, perhaps even a form of punishment for the inability to deserve the one he truly desires, or sex is replaced entirely with another activity, perhaps even a strange fetish that is charged with the same energy.
The human mind processes the most bizarre and innocuous of activities into erotic moments. Sitting under the table at Thanksgiving as a child, staring at all the aunt’s feet in heels and stockings can turn into a full-blown foot fetish 10 years down the road. Being kicked in the groin on the playground by the little red headed girl can one day become a twisted love of ballbashing. Watching a film in which an attractive character is captured and tied up for human sacrifice can easily seep into the imagination, rooting itself as the beginnings of a love for bondage.
Of course, violent or scarring acts can also render themselves into twisted sexual manifestations. A man whose wife cheats on him repeatedly with other men can find himself oddly aroused by the idea of his being so worthless in bed that she needs to sleep with another man. A child who is beaten hard can equate that act to love and require it as an adult to get off or just feel wanted. In such a way, a classic submissive or masochist is born.
In this same tradition of environmental conditioning, a ghoul, too, is transformed. A ghoul’s Regnant can become so furious with him that she neatly ties up his genitals with an industrial-strength thread in an intricate and tight webbing. As dispassionately as she brushes her hair, the Regnant attaches the ends of the thread to a doorknob and slams the door shut with preternatural speed, leaving the ghoul to writhe in agony. In the thrall of his Regnant’s blood, the ghoul suddenly finds his own sexual conditioning. Maiming his own genitals repeatedly by masturbating with toothpaste or sandpaper now fills him with satisfaction, echoing the memory of his experience.
Living in the shadow of the Damned and their wild and violent world, ghoul minds suffer a perspective alteration that forces them to view everything around them in an entirely different light. It can be both horrifying and fascinating at once. For the highly religious, the happenstance can tax, destroy or even pervert their faith. Plenty of cults or extremists have devolved into sex acts or self-mutilation, murderous deeds, even suicide in the name of a god. All are brought about by a dire stress that warps the mind into believing that this truly is the path of redemption or the only recourse left. Some find that they are latently masochistic or sadistic. This descent only gives them free reign to indulge in their true nature. It is a form of freedom unlike anything that mortal society has allowed them. It quiets the storm of their previously broken lives. In this sick way, some ghouls are better off in their estimation than they were previously.
The change in perspective affects everything the ghouls sees or experiences. Everything from movies to TV to literature can be translated in an entirely different fashion. For example, horror films or any form of violence might illicit arousal rather than disgust. Everyday objects become more useful or easily sullied in usage. A walk through an office-supply store can be a torture-monger’s candy store, rendering various types of binder clips into sweet instruments of erotic pain. Acts that had been inconceivable as a mortal become second nature to the ghoul. Scandalous conversational topics seem less so, or they become delightful for their shock value. The norm for the ghoul has the capacity to traumatize the mortals with whom he interacts.
For many ghouls, mortals become nothing more than ants in a child’s sandbox to be tortured, taunted or manipulated unwittingly as they are too tiny or insignificant to see the big picture. The temptation ghouls face to use their power in order to be feared or adored like a god is strong. For the sadistic ghoul, having human experiments to play with is a siren’s call with a delicious payoff. Some consider it their obligation to shield Humanity from the monstrosities of the night, even going so far as to prostrate themselves to the cause of mortal protection in all aspects when not in the service of their Regnant. The circumstance of becoming a thrall to a vampire is an extreme example of stress, and in that crucible, the unthinkable can become compulsory.
The Disciplines that Kindred blood grants ghouls do not manifest automatically into fully realized powers. Often, the ghoul suddenly finds that he is able to do something in a fluke of circumstance, unable to control the ability and then requiring some sort of training to put the pieces together. In such cases, it can’t truly be done alone. The ghoul needs his Regnant to guide him in the mysteries of preternatural skills. While the Regnant might very well want her ghoul’s skills to be fully realized for the purpose of being a foot soldier, she might be the sort to use these newfound gifts as a carrot for various reasons. It is an intricate dance of subjugation and tutoring, skillfully rendered so as to nurture the powers inherent in her creation yet not bring about so much spirit as to endanger herself.
Objectification
Objectification is a struggle for the new ghoul, as having free will is a thing of the past. For some, that grates deliciously; for others, the humiliation is too much. Not everyone processes it as suddenly being something special or having a sense of belonging. Not all broken beings are so far gone as to be willing to debase themselves or suffer second-class citizenship even to creatures as awesome and terrifying as vampires. Modern times are not such that slavery of any sort still exists. Entitlement is alive and well, especially in the Western world, and opinions are thought of as a God-given right to be dispensed at any moment it occurs to a person. As such, the average, mouthy individual is still from a culture where being silent or compliant without practice is rare.The Regnant herself might compare the creation and breaking in of a ghoul to the experience of training a dog, but ghouls rarely wish to think of themselves in such terms. A few ghouls revel in the submissive degradation of servitude with full abandon — docile in public, compliant to a fault and all but running themselves into the ground with the single desire to please the master. Those prideful ghouls that repress the classic submissive hallmarks or find shame in the shocking pleasure it brings, harbor that perverse desire in secret.
In Kindred society, ghouls are property. They have no rights and are not given any credit for having thoughts worth suffering audience to. It is a dangerous faux pas for a ghoul to look directly at a vampire or speak out of turn. In fact, even mingling at a social function is downright scandalous, even to the most socially lax of the Kindred.
This in and of itself is difficult to swallow in modern times, but vampires are creatures bred upon the rituals of times long gone. To a vampire, objectification is beyond the mere ownership and subjugation of mortal flesh for errands. Ghouls can become furniture for special occasions or on a regular basis. With a little creative body-piercing and a set of hanging crystals, a marvelous human chandelier complete with candles held in outstretched arms might be a point of momentary amusement for guests. Glass tables can be especially glorious with a human pedestal to hold it steady.
Acting out definitely results from such oppressive and humiliating experiences. These manifest themselves in ghoul interaction with the mortal world but most palpably among the imagined caste system of the ghouls themselves. Those servants granted the most leeway or blessed by more potent blood lord it over the newly created or less trusted ghouls. Being seen as a piece of furniture at an occasion is guaranteed to engender a level of derision from one’s peers.
This stratification is very intricate among the ghouls. In many ways, it is an unspoken situation that becomes an awareness with time and then an allegiance with the growth of their own Status. Ghouls have their own selfcreated pecking order that rules how they deal with one another in subtle yet palpable ways. In social situations, the interactions are very hard to detect, being as subtle as classic Victorian discourse. It might be compared to an afternoon of high tea among British ladies with the wives of the business class mingling with the titled. While the derision is real, it is very finely honed and impossible to truly call anyone on. The result is the same, however. A person knows full well when one has been put in his place, even if it cannot be precisely articulated in so many words. The fine art of polite insult is favored pastime in many cultures.
When ghouls work together at the behest of their regnants, this self-created subculture is most obvious. Those who consider themselves higher up on the imagined ladder attempt to orchestrate while delegating the more menial of tasks to those thought to be beneath the rest of them.
Conflict easily arises between those ghouls who realize that the entire institution is a bunch of rationalized garbage. They violently butt heads with those who feel they have the most at stake, meaning the greater amount of Status. It makes for very complicated intrigue or politicking among the ghouls.
In the end, only to the ghouls does any of this truly matter. In the minds of their regnants, this pretentious play at importance has no meaning and is not to be tolerated. As such, those to whom it is vitally important carefully guard the entire structure.
Not all ghouls are drawn into Kindred society, however, or are even aware that any others exist. These servants live in an entirely different level of hell. They have no one with whom to commiserate. They have no frame of reference for their experiences. They live entirely within the confines of the sinister relationship of Kindred and servant, as well as the twisted shadows of their own thoughts. A ghoul in this situation is far more fearful, not sure when or where his Regnant might pop up.
At first the solitary ghoul might try to test the bonds of his slavery. Anticipating as much, a wise vampire has ways of keeping tabs on such ghouls so as to give the impression of a godlike awareness. It would not take much to establish dominance with a newly enthralled ghoul. The Disciplines at the Kindred’s disposal are beyond the wildest imagination of the average mortal. Witnessing a vampire cross a crowded room in the Blink of the eye or shrug off a wound that would cripple or kill a mortal goes a long way toward instilling the proper reverence in a mortal. It isn’t all horror and heart-stopping fear. The addictive blood as well as powerful Disciplines doled out sparingly as tempting rewards are often enough to ensure abject loyalty.
Nothing exists for these ghouls but their regnants and the will of the regnants. The ghoul’s days and nights are filled with the tasks dispensed to them. Interactions between ghoul and Regnant are dreaded yet craved, too infrequent yet haunting every other waking moment with promise. Nothing fills the mind of the solitary ghoul as much as the vampire who created him and the influence this new life has on everything else. This intense focus is far more alienating than being drawn into the fold is for other ghouls, which is far more difficult to suffer.
Independent Ghouls
Vampiric power, mortal freedom: independent ghouls have the best of both worlds. With no Regnant to command them, they’re supernatural freelancers living on the edge between mortality and the Embrace. They can walk in the sun as well as the dark, staying young, cheating death, mastering Kindred Disciplines and enjoying pleasures that ordinary humans can’t imagine. Right?Actually, nothing could be further from the truth.
Independent ghouls’ lives are not easy ones. At best, they’ve traded one set of challenges for another. At worst, their lives are more wretched and painful than living under the thrall of a vampiric Regnant. Rare is the rogue ghoul who would, given the chance, make the same choices that put her where she is. And yet, they do possess the potential to change their nature and reverse the direction of their lives. The independent ghoul is one step away from being a mortal again, but it’s a step that many are unwilling to take. Frankly independent ghouls aren’t actually independent at all. They’re addicts, and their Addiction rules them as ruthlessly as any vampire master ever could.
Independence Day
How does a thrall become independent? Bound by Vinculum and Blood Addiction, few ghouls can take any action to bring about their own liberation. So the vast majority of unmastered ghouls become so by pure chance. The twists and turns of the Danse Macabre can send even the most resourceful vampire to a Final Death without warning, cutting his thralls loose from their blood bond in the process. Sometimes a Regnant goes into Torpor or becomes otherwise separated from her ghouls, causing The Vinculum to fade and eventually snap. Some regnants simply lose interest in keeping thralls or become unable to sustain them, allowing the blood bond to wither (if they don’t kill the thralls outright when they no longer want them around). And on rare occasions, a vampire might take pity on a ghoul and release him from service.The loss of a Regnant doesn’t automatically result in independence, however. Depending on the circumstances, a ghoul might respond in any number of ways. Some give in to despair and end their lives. Others are eliminated or enthralled by the master’s enemies or associates, seeking to prevent a Masquerade breach. Ghouls who expect the master to return one night might continue acting in the Regnant’s interests by choice, even when they are not supernaturally compelled to do so. And some ghouls, having lost the capacity to act independently after a lifetime under a Regnant’s control, reject their newly achieved freedom and try to find a new master as quickly as possible.
Another possibility exists for ghouls who find themselves without a Regnant. Of those few who manage to avoid destruction or a second thralldom, some take the opportunity to give up their ghoul Status and reconnect with mortality. Some ghouls have no choice. With no ready source of Vitae, their ghoul nature fades away and leaves them fully human. For other ghouls, the desire to live some sort of normal life motivates them to forgo Vitae deliberately. In either situation, those ghouls who become human again pay a significant price. Ghouls who stop taking Vitae must cope with tremendous cravings as their Addiction demands to be fed. These urges are powerful enough to cause Derangements, nightmares, even suicide. And even if she beats the Addiction, the ghoul must live with terrible memories of her experiences as a thrall, as well as the oppressive knowledge that vampires exist.
As a result, independent ghouls tend to be exceptionally tough and resourceful. To survive the dangers inherent in losing a master, and recover one’s sense of self after prolonged outside control, requires both physical hardiness and a singular force of will. Second, for whatever reason, independent ghouls don’t consider the life of an ordinary mortal to be a desirable or achievable goal. Some are too deranged or blood addicted to consider an attempt at normalcy. Others refuse to give up the rush of Vitae and the dark thrills of interacting with the Kindred. Some even have agendas that require them to maintain themselves as ghouls, to take revenge against the force that destroyed their Regnant, to lash out against Kindred who’ve wronged them or to protect themselves and their loved ones from supernatural threats.
Living with the Undead
Independent ghouls have all sorts of motivations and desires, but all ghouls who hope to operate independently must satisfy three imperatives: acquire Vitae, avoid blood bonds and survive.As far as acquiring Vitae goes, some independent ghouls like to style themselves as predators of predators, hunting the Kindred for Vitae the way the Kindred stalk mortals. But unlike vampires, ghouls who take this approach have few advantages over their prey. Not only are most vampires more powerful and skilled than the average ghoul, it’s rarely possible for the ghoul to know ahead of time just how outmatched she is. And since most Kindred have enemies, they don’t often put themselves in vulnerable positions. Furthermore, while the Kindred have physical enhancements and the rhapsody of the Kiss to help them to draw blood, the feeding process for ghouls is a dangerous and messy affair. Vampire ichor doesn’t flow from a wound the way human blood does, so extracting it takes more than a scratch or a bite.
Despite all these handicaps, some ghouls sustain themselves by taking Vitae from unwilling vampires. Their success depends on maximizing what few advantages they do have, and the foremost of these is knowledge. The more a hungry ghoul knows about the habits of the local Kindred (their hangouts, their factions and their territories), the better chance the ghoul has of choosing the right victim. Some independent ghouls become expert observers of vampire behavior. They can identify a weak but overconfident neonate or spot a vampire who has barely enough strength to limp home after a night of debauchery and violence.
Hunting in groups can improve the success of independent ghouls, making it easier to ambush, overpower or ensnare a carefully selected victim. But remember that ghouls are addicts. Their first allegiance is to their Addiction, not their fellows. Small groups of ghouls do sometimes work together successfully, but conflict over Vitae often fractures such allegiances before too long. When ghouls do band together, it’s typically on an ad-hoc basis. A ghoul who needs some assistance might recruit whoever happens to be available (assuming he’s managed to establish some relationships with other independent ghouls, which is a difficult achievement in itself). Once that goal is met, the group probably splits up.
Some ghouls prefer to do their hunting in a “smashand- grab” manner. They overwhelm a vampire with physical force, carve or slice off a sizable portion of undead flesh, and then run, hoping their acquisition contains enough Vitae to satisfy them. Others find a way to immobilize the victim, with anything from heavy chains to a pit of wet cement to the use of an appropriate Discipline, so they can draw Vitae in a more controlled manner. Stories do circulate about ghouls who keep vampires imprisoned and gradually drain them until there’s no Vitae left. But since it’s hard for a ghoul to be certain what abilities a given vampire might possess, confining one for even a short time would be extremely dangerous. Such tales are… probably groundless.
Some independent ghouls see themselves more as scavengers and parasites than predators. Hungry ghouls have been known to appear at sites of vampiric conflict to take blood from weakened or incapacitated Kindred left behind after the battle, or to lap up Vitae from the ground or from discarded weapons. Certain ghouls excel at locating poorly defended havens and making a daytime entrance to siphon away Vitae while the vampire slumbers. (Perhaps the traditional notion of ghouls as corpse-eating monsters stems from witnesses who saw ghouls breaking into tombs where vampires slept.) These ghouls might create elaborate devices to penetrate a vampire’s flesh and slowly draw out Vitae without disturbing the sleeper.
A more common way of acquiring Vitae without violence, though, is for a ghoul to enter into some kind of agreement with a vampire. Independent ghouls might possess unusual skills or abilities or be privy to knowledge that makes it worth a vampire’s while to trade for Vitae (be it her own, or that of a childe, associate or captured enemy). Working for the Kindred can also provide a source of funds and material comfort to ghouls who lack the ability to achieve gainful employment. To that end, some independent ghouls spend almost all their time creating and sustaining a network of Contacts and informants, in the hopes of gleaning facts that the Kindred find useful. Others hire themselves out for short or long-term tasks, the kind that vampires can’t perform and ordinary mortals can’t be trusted with (such as intercity transport and various daytime activities). Bargaining with the Kindred is a risky proposition, of course. It’s hard for the ghoul to be certain that a prospective trading partner won’t decide to just take what he needs by force. Yet a ghoul who’s proven herself useful to multiple clients might develop a reputation that motivates local Kindred to negotiate in good faith (or something close to it).
The Sweetest Poison
The catch-22 at the heart of an independent ghoul’s existence is the fact that the very substance that he can’t do without is the same substance that could cost him his freedom. Three draughts of Vitae from the same Kindred creates a blood bond, which means an independent ghoul must constantly seek new sources for the vampiric blood he craves. There’s no easy way to do so, which is why nearly every independent ghoul must be something of an opportunist. A ghoul who doesn’t make a habit of hunting Kindred would be sorely tempted to make a move if she happens to come across a vampire who’s too weak to fight back. A ghoul who prefers to secure Vitae through barter and bargaining finds it hard to Ignore a back door into a vampire’s favorite sleeping place.To most Kindred, ghouls are thralls and nothing more. A ghoul who has no master, some would say, is a threat to the Masquerade and an affront to the superiority of the Kindred. They consider the phenomenon of kine willfully seeking Kindred Vitae to be a reversal of the natural order of things. And many regnants dislike independent ghouls for fear that their own thralls might become tempted to follow suit. The bottom line is that independent ghouls who seek to make deals with the Kindred need to be careful who they approach. A vampire who views ghouls with contempt might decide to slaughter the ghoul for such effrontery. Some Kindred even make it their business to actively hunt and eliminate any independent ghoul who lacks the protection of vampiric patron or ally. In a sense, independent ghouls must navigate a double Masquerade, hiding their nature from mortals as well as from hostile vampires. It’s a burden that’s uniquely theirs, and one to which these tenacious survivors are uniquely suited.
Culture
Culture and cultural heritage
Ghouls by Clan
While a vampire’s clan is much less a determining factor of her personality than her covenant or simply her experiences, one can draw some generalizations with regard to the five major lineages of Kindred and their uses for ghouls.Daeva
Beauty, intelligence and confidence may all be attractive traits in a Retainer, but to the Daeva they are, at best, secondary. The one feature that figures most prominently in a ghoul’s service to this clan is corruptibility. On one extreme, these servants are drawn into the wretched mire of their Regnant’s excesses. Willingly or not, they are conquered, eventually becoming little more than tools of vice. These hollow souls breathlessly submit their bodies to the satisfaction of endless, unspeakable permutations of lust and willingly expose themselves to their regnants’ bone-shattering tantrums. Many see their extended victimization as an indication of the Regnant’s favor, wearing the resulting scars and bruises with pride.On the other end of the spectrum are those rare ghouls brought into service precisely because they will not indulge these whims. Although The Vinculum binds them, their unnatural love prompts them to defend the virtue of their Regnant and work to prevent the descent into inhuman decadence that plagues the clan. These ghouls shelter the Daeva, often imposing a rigid system of admission to her Haven — even, in some extreme cases, to her person. Needless to say, this circumstance can lead to a seriously strained relationship between ghouls and their Daeva regnants, occasionally approaching the brink of explosive release. The abyss of frenzied indulgence that follows when this line is crossed is utterly disastrous for all involved, and the hapless ghouls who bring it about are almost always destroyed. On rare occasions, a Daeva who recovers her senses after such excesses Embraces her mortally wounded servant to reward his efforts (or to avoid taking responsibility for his death).
Enabling the Daeva’s vices or working overtime to prevent indulgence, ghouls in service to this clan are involved in desperate, demanding work from dusk until dawn. Neither occupation allows for much of a life beyond service. Exhausted ghouls often find themselves forced to abandon their former lives, leaving friends, family and careers behind without warning. The ghouls of the Daeva might enjoy a life of glamour, but such lives are almost always tortured ones. Luckily, they have their Regnant’s company.
All Daeva ghouls pay strict attention to their appearance, making sure that it perfectly suits the needs and desires of their regnants. Of course, these needs and desires are as diverse as the Daeva themselves, so the ghouls come in a staggering variety of forms, including cultured, flawless beauties, scarred hard-bodies and ultramodern club freaks. Many bear coded marks or tags of ownership such as distinctive ribbons, pins or tattoos.
Because the selection criteria for Daeva servants tend toward aspects of personality more than skill or experience, any walk of life can produce a worthy ghoul. No matter who a mortal is in his everyday life, he might attract the eye of a Daeva, and that’s all it takes. Sometimes, the most satisfying results can be derived from most surprising sources. A completely Unobtrusive office worker might be hiding a seething mess of perverse urges that are just perfect for a particular vampire. That old woman in the retirement home could bear a striking resemblance to a guilt-ridden Daeva’s disciplinarian mother. No one who satisfies is off limits. Daeva do, however, favor physically robust ghouls. Stamina is a valuable asset when serving the clan.
Sample Concepts: corrupted prom queen, eager punching bag, fawning admirer, stern father figure, slave
Gangrel
Given the Gangrel’s relationship with their Beasts, they are the least likely to create ghouls as simple servants. Indeed, many of their ghouls are not even human. Instead, they often gift favored animals with Vitae so that they may walk the night as companions, sharing a basic trust that only The Vinculum can guarantee.Some Gangrel choose animals as these long-term “partners,” not only for company, but also to learn their ways in the wild. Once imbued with the mystical connection of The Vinculum, these creatures often accept the Gangrel As One of their own and are not likely to flee or bristle under observation. These same animals also become willing vessels for the Gangrel’s own consciousness, serving as more susceptible subjects of Animalism. But the relationship bears a price. Ties of Vitae to the Gangrel gradually warp the nature of any animal, cursing them with bloodthirst and diminishing all but their predatory habits. The creature soon becomes more like the Kindred, losing touch with its own world and providing little in the way of insight. Instead of the vampire learning any sort of purity from the animal, the animal learns true bloodlust from the vampire.
Those rare humans who serve as ghouls to the Gangrel are often little more than obedient Camouflage for their predatory masters — window dressing to help put prey at ease. They might be employed to keep a Haven occupied in the daytime to keep inquisitive mortals away or to distract and disorient potential troublemakers. Gangrel prefer to recruit these ghouls as surreptitiously as possible, often choosing recluses and other solitary folk so as to minimize the disturbance among the local mortal Herd. Most Gangrel retainers are able to drop everything and disappear at the instant they enter service.
Many Gangrel ghouls are free to rest or engage in daytime pursuits of their own choosing, though they are always expected to be available for duty. Because of this relative freedom, Gangrel ghouls tend to develop an intense, genuine loyalty to their masters rather than a sick, sycophantic relationship.
In general, Gangrel ghouls have a hard, quiet edge to them. They’re only really approachable when employed specifically for the purpose of attracting prey. They rarely pay much attention to grooming, choosing instead to concentrate on deeper aspects of the self. Animals in service to the Gangrel are well-fed predators, almost always noticeably robust in comparison with their nonghoul counterparts.
Sample Concepts: meditative Guardian, stoic gas-station owner, streetwise squatter, trailer-park weirdo, weathered sportsman
Mekhet
To serve the Mekhet, one must often show a willingness to learn the truths that most mortals dare not acknowledge. The urgent, ceaseless pursuit of knowledge and experience — preferably unhindered by moral or ethical concerns — is an attractive quality in Mekhet ghouls, many of whom serve double duty as both consultants and snoops. Some are sent out into their Regnant’s (or others’) domain with instructions to gather information, returning for regular, scheduled reportage. Those who serve well are rewarded with Vitae and exposure to occult or otherwise secret information. Those who don’t are likely to simply vanish one night, falling victim to their swift and shadowy masters. Others keep close to their regnants, practicing forbidden techniques and pursuing gruesome avenues of investigation, pushing the quest for understanding further than rational mortals would dare. Bloody occult practices, vivisectionist investigation, psychological torture, necrosexual habits — no subject is taboo to the servants of the Mekhet, and methodology is limited only by the Humanity of the Regnant. Some Mekhet ghouls begin their work with innocent curiosity and find themselves drawn ever deeper into a horrifying wash of inhuman ideas.Many servants of the Mekhet find themselves engaged in frequent discussion and comparison of technique with their regnants, and they learn to argue their points honestly instead of searching for the answer that will most please their masters. Since the truth of a ghoul’s words, indeed, sometimes her every thought, is laid bare by judicious use of Auspex, sincerity and intellectual integrity are well-advised at all times. Most ghouls do not see this fact as an invasion of privacy. On the contrary, they come to appreciate the intimacy that arises from serving a psychic master, and they relax into a relationship that seems entirely devoid of pretense.
Unfortunately, this relaxation carries a price. As the typical Mekhet ghoul comes to terms with her true feelings and motives, she has a tendency to treat those features of her personality as faits accomplis. A faithful servant of the Mekhet might accept her jealous urge to gouge out the eyes of anyone who looks upon her Regnant, and take opportunity to act upon it without consideration. Another might acknowledge his grisly Blood Addiction as an aspect of his being and make no effort to overcome it. All too often, Mekhet ghouls never bother to hide or resist inadvisable impulses, simply rationalizing them as honest expressions of their inner nature. This means that they are among the most actively, openly depraved of the ghouls, least likely to suppress the baser parts of themselves.
Mekhet ghouls usually bear the marks of tireless effort (not to mention bouts of paranoia): bloodshot eyes, mussed hair, perhaps a wracking cough. Some wear badges or uniforms to indicate affiliation with academic or athletic societies, while others dress as unobtrusively as possible, the better for hiding among mundane mortals in pursuit of a goal.
Sample Concepts: groundbreaking martial artist, insomniac forensic investigator, manic sound engineer, obsessed lab technician, tormented painter
Nosferatu
Servants to the most horrifying Kindred of all, Nosferatu ghouls tend to be an unsettling breed themselves. The Vinculum is their carrot, but terror is the oft-employed stick of the Nosferatu, a terror that is leaps and bounds beyond any simple, natural fear. So motivated, these ghouls are raw, desperate souls, ready and willing to go to any length in hopes of escaping the wrath of their masters. Nothing is beyond them, because nothing can be worse what lies in store if their regnants are disappointed.Contrary to expectation, many Nosferatu ghouls actually make very amiable companions. In fact, quite a number are employed simply because they are friendly, outgoing and altogether enjoyable company. All the better to assist in luring unsuspecting mortals into the clutches of the Nosferatu, and all the better to escape notice when assisting in the disposal of victims. Only the truly talented can maintain the façade of social grace in prolonged service, though. Most begin to crack under the pressure, becoming desperate and insincere in their social dealings. Those who do are bound to fail their masters, and in failing, to draw the very punishments that they dread. Some Nosferatu ghouls overcome this eventuality by willfully exposing themselves to truly awful stimuli, learning to appear outwardly calm while screaming inwardly. Others become master manipulators, turning strange behavior back upon their observers and inspiring guilt instead of Suspicion. A rare, generally short-lived few become “fear addicts,” craving the rush of adrenaline with which they’ve grown familiar and taking increasingly foolhardy risks.
Nosferatu ghouls often become abusive, turning the fear and pain they experience back upon their own friends and loved ones. They feel powerless, so they must assert dominance over someone, often failing to understand or anticipate the cost.
Nosferatu also often create Mandragora (see p. 59). Some claim that properly tended Mandragora make excellent disposal systems, while others acknowledge that their creations are just another tool of shock and horror. Regardless, an unsuspecting mortal who wanders into the ghoul gardens of a Nosferatu might be trapped, restrained and prepared for feeding with relatively little expended effort.
Most mortal Nosferatu ghouls take great pains to appear “normal” and unremarkable. The paunchy, middleaged man humming to himself as he trims his hedges is a much more likely ghoul than the filthy homeless man screaming curses at passersby. A few are exceptionally good-looking, but they rarely stay that way for long as the stresses of service take their toll. In general, Nosferatu ghouls are affluent (or at least self-sufficient) and comfortably out of the spotlight. Many are suburban wage slaves or inner-city homeowners with convenient access to the Regnant’s domain of choice.
Sample Concepts: avid gardener, charity organizer, Crippled ex-model, murderous suburbanite, retired couple on the patio
Ventrue
The Ventrue surround themselves with the best of the best in all things. Should they expect to be satisfied with anything less in a servant? To be a ghoul in service to the Ventrue, one must be immaculately dressed, impeccable in manner and absolutely discreet. To be imperfect is to be inferior. To be inferior is to diminish the Regnant. No Ventrue would allow such an embarrassment.Every ghoul in Ventrue employ provides an exacting service, whether it is keeping house, conveying the Regnant around the city or dutifully eliminating threats. They take pride in their own achievements and the foundation of dependable strength those achievements provide for their regnants. No assigned task is worth any less than one’s very best effort. Total fulfillment of duty is total fulfillment of the self. A ghoul in Ventrue service should be an ideal extension of his Regnant. These ghouls take great pains to appear dignified, well groomed and well appointed. Uniforms are common, and extensive training shows itself in everything from manner of speech to posture. Ventrue often choose as ghouls those mortals who are already experienced servants, so as to minimize the extra training required. Military backgrounds are appreciated as well, since they generally indicate both fitness and a willingness to take orders.
Ventrue ghouls are full of surprises, though. Since their regnants are so focused on achievement, it never hurts to have an ace or two up one’s sleeve. Many of the (seemingly) harmless maids and butlers in service to the clan are trained in techniques of assassination, extortion and espionage, all the better to tip the scales in the Ventrue’s favor.
Those with the skill and fortitude to maintain a spotless record of service to the Ventrue, whether they are traditional servants like valets and secretaries or less visible types, find that they are valued above all others. Often, they are rewarded with access to their Regnant’s incomparable Resources, wielding significant power in their master’s name. Sometimes, they even earn the Embrace. Quite an incentive, but then again the devotion to service and constant attention to detail required to garner such lofty rewards are monumental.
If the ghouls of the Ventrue share one weakness, it is that their obedience is directed by ambition as much as devotion. Whenever something goes wrong in a Ventrue household, the ghouls sometimes scramble to avoid attracting blame when they should be working to fix the problem. Such misapplied attentions are rarely public knowledge, though. Most Ventrue ghouls know better than to show discord outside the servant’s quarters.
Sample Concepts: cautious stable-hand, faultless majordomo, inscrutable bodyguard, observant maid, pistolpacking chauffeur
Shared customary codes and values
Animal Ghouls
Animals may be made into ghouls, but no animal is intelligent or aware enough to fully know what changes Vitae imposes upon its body. Animal ghouls suffer all of the detriments of being a ghoul (such as Blood Addiction, Vinculums, dependency on Vitae for survival) but gain few of the benefits. Ghouls animals may learn only Celerity, Vigor and Resilience by way of Disciplines. Further, they can use Vitae only to fuel these powers; they may not use Vitae to heal themselves or augment Physical Attributes. An animal ghoul may never spend its own Willpower during its sustenance feedings; it relies on the vampiric master to do so. Indeed, ghoul animals are relatively rare, and most Kindred with animal companions merely subject them to Vinculums to ensure loyalty rather than to make ghouls of them.It is possible for a vampire to choose an animal as his thrall. Of course, such a thing is uncommon for a number of reasons. For one, many Kindred (especially those of the Lancea Sanctum) look down upon the act of enthralling animals, seeing it as little more than fornicating with beasts. Why lower oneself? Are the predatory whims and needs of the Damned truly served by such stupid creatures? Another reason is that animal ghouls simply aren’t as useful. While a Regnant likely believes that her thrall will never match her own intelligence, mortals still possess a greater comprehension and intellect than their animal inferiors. Can a dog accurately convey a message? Can a python drive the Mercedes and take down messages from a digital phone? To many Kindred, animal ghouls are incomplete and lacking in any finesse.
That’s not to say some don’t prefer them, however. Animal ghouls offer some benefits that aren’t typically found in human ghouls. As simple creatures, animals are unlikely to rebel against their masters. While such treachery is rare and exceedingly difficult, a human thrall can exert her will to Ignore others’ plans to harm her master. Animals do no such thing, and they don’t come to despise their masters as human ghouls are wont to do. Plus, animal thralls are simple. They do not require complex training or vast emotional or physical effort to program them accordingly. A Hound will fetch the master’s slippers, a raptor will claw an enemy’s eyes with its talons, or a cat will act as its Regnant’s eyes and ears even in the middle of the day. Human beings come with emotional baggage; animals don’t.
Of course, many Kindred simply subject animal companions to The Vinculum, hoping to create a bond with such a creature without the investiture of will required to create a ghoul. Still, some prefer the long-standing potential of animal companionship, and since ghouls don’t age, the vampire need never fear having to bury her beloved pet. Vampires who do decide to take that step and enthrall an animal often have particular purposes in mind that range from the very simple (travel companion) to the elaborate (a physical avatar of the vampire’s faith and belief system).
Conventional Uses
Generally, a vampire who seeks to create an animal ghoul does so for simple, non-mystical reasons similar to those behind creating a human ghoul. The vampire needs to exploit someone for a certain function. In the case of an animal thrall, the vampire usually sees some function that either cannot be filled by a human, or he would prefer not to be filled by a human. Such functions aren’t too far afield from what one would expect from a regular animal Companion (pet or livestock), and they don’t elicit unusual attention.- Defense: Most Kindred are capable of defending themselves, at least against a single other foe. The Curse comes with a number of mystical and physical defenses, which appear the first night of a vampire’s existence. That’s not to say he’s perfectly protected, however. A vampire (especially a neonate) can be easily harmed by even an overwhelming number of mortals, and should his enemies be more serious or more focused, he might meet Final Death before he knows what’s happening. Hence, defense is worth considering. Some Kindred prefer human ghouls as protection, surrounding themselves with ex-cops, pit fighters or steroid junkies. Others, however, find animal ghouls to provide better and unexpected defense.
Most often, a vampire chooses a dog as an animal protector. A dog doesn’t attract undue attention, and dogs are easier to obtain and replace than most domestic animals (aside from cats). Finally, dogs can be capable fighters. The right dog is fast, can take a beating, and has a set of teeth that can rend meat from Bone if need be. Obviously, only certain canines are useful in this manner. While bigger isn’t always better, a rat terrier makes a far less fearsome warrior than, say, a Rottweiler. Other popular dogs include Shepherds (German, Belgian), Doberman pinschers, boxers, mastiffs and the pit bull terrier. Many such dogs are chosen from local pounds or are won (or stolen) at animal pit fights.
Some Kindred choose more… interesting animals to provide protection. Falcons have come recently into vogue with more upscale Gangrel. Some choose less acceptable animals. Some Kindred have been seen with wolves, or stranger still, with tigers, panthers or lions. Most such creatures are illegal to own, and those that are legal can only be raised in certain states with a number of very expensive licenses on hand. The biggest issue with such creatures is that aside from illegality and difficult care, such beasts draw undue attention. Such negative attention is exactly what most vampires fear, and it makes owning such animals hardly worth the risk. - Companionship: Much as some of the Damned choose humans as companions (pets, really), they might choose animals for the same purpose. Such animals aren’t chosen for any real use beyond very long-lived companionship. Again, dogs make a popular choice, except one needn’t choose a particularly tough or vicious breed. Cats are equally common.
Truthfully, nearly any creature can be made into a pet by using The Vinculum. The only reason to spend the time and energy in making a creature a thrall is out of some kind of twisted need for “love.” Some vampires are able to fixate on a single being as the “one thing” keeping them from falling over the edge. Many Kindred learn the hard truth about such a relationship, however, when they destroy a ghoul “pet” in a frenzy of rage or hunger. When that touchstone is destroyed, many Kindred topple into that monstrous darkness that perpetually threatens to consume them. - Travel/Beast of Burden: This last category is rarely invoked anymore, as animals are no longer required for travel or to carry pack items. What once could have been schlepped on the bowed back of an old mule can now be thrown in the back of a Lincoln Navigator. Why ride a horse when you can buy a fast motorcycle?
Still, it’s not completely unheard of for some Kindred to use animals in this manner. Particularly old vampires might have been Embraced before the implementation of automobiles (or even trains), and may have a piebald stallion as a ghoul from two centuries ago. Some vampires are simply uncomfortable with using modern machines. Plus, some nomadic Gangrel recognize that cars can’t take them everywhere. If there’s no access road, you can’t get to that old cabin up in the Rockies in a Suburu Outback.
Mystical Purpose
Animals have long been associated with mysticism. A cat might be a witch’s familiar; a charmed serpent is emblematic of Eastern mastery, the bull and scorpion are both symbols of old Mithraic blood cults. Therefore, choosing an animal as a thrall could also have a mystical reason as opposed to a mundane or practical one.- Avatar of Faith: Becoming Damned kills much of what makes one human. It guts an individual, scraping away the vestiges of a normal life. Many vampires recognize this growing barrenness and seek to replace it with other things — love, friendship, hope, faith. While these things become hollow mockeries of the original intention, many Kindred mistakenly assume that such distorted facsimiles are the same thing. Faith is perhaps one of the most commonly grasped straws, as many vampires place some kind of devotion in one of the more orthodox covenants like The Circle of the Crone or The Lancea Sanctum. Such a vampire’s choice of ghouls, animal ghouls in specific, attempts to reflect or even mimic the symbols of one’s supposed faith.
The Acolytes offer the best examples of this. Scattered among the Circle’s intense pagan symbology are animals. Some of these creatures are associated with specific goddesses. Owls are associated with Lilith, The Mother of Monsters. Cats are connected to Inanna, Queen of Beasts. Bats are linked to the Underworld’s Ereshkigal; crows to the flesh-eating Macha. Rats are sometimes associated with the stolen Persephone. Acolytes choose such beasts as ghouls to act as literal, living symbols of their faith. Most Acolytes call such creatures “fetches,” eschewing the more vulgar “familiar.” Kindred of the Circle tend to hold their fetches in reverent regard, treating the creatures as if they are true extensions of fiendish divinity. Such creatures live in as much opulence as the Acolyte can afford. The vampires go so far as to grant these beasts greater privilege and luxury than the Circle’s own human ghouls.
The Ordo Dracul engages in similar practice, though admittedly the scope of the custom is far more limited. Dragons often choose creatures who symbolize the covenant’s founder (and, according to them, the progenitor of all of the Damned). Some choose reptiles to epitomize the influence of their founder, Vlad Dracul, the sole reason being that such creatures are the closest extant manifestations of actual dragons. While some Kindred choose lizards (anything from monitor lizards to actual crocodiles), most select some manner of serpent as a ghoul. Serpents are both functional (poisonous snakes, specifically) and symbolic (representing not only Dracula, but also the ideas of forbidden knowledge and occult wisdom). Some vampires of the Order choose adders, pythons, boa constrictors or even cobras. Their treatment of such beings is far different than that of the Acolytes, however. Vampires of the Circle see their animal thralls as manifestations of the divine. Kindred of the Order, on the other hand, realize that the serpents are purely abstract. While the reptiles are certainly representative of vampiric power, they don’t actually count as divine vessels.
The other faith-based covenant, The Lancea Sanctum, cares little for animal symbols. While certainly some animals represent the power of God and others could theoretically exemplify the predatory condition, the Sanctified prefer to keep such symbols as metaphorical. They are better left to books and Sermons than actual use. Besides, the covenant perceives having animal thralls as “lying down with beasts,” and therefore strictly taboo. It is rumored, though, that one Gangrel Bishop actually has a small flock of sheep and a pond of koi, all of which are ghouls meant to embody Christ and his miracles. - Eyes/Ears: Some Kindred choose animal ghouls as mystical tools, and are relatively unconcerned with the symbolic nature of such beasts. While any animal can become a spy or a vessel for the appropriate vampire with Animalism, it’s far easier to use a creature with which one is comfortable. (Vampires looking to use Animalism on beast thralls have the normal +2 modifier.) In fact, employing an animal as a spy is difficult when the vampire is unfamiliar with the creature. Animals do not think or convey messages in easily decipherable terms — or even in human terms. Kindred seeking to commune with a creature for the first time with Feral Whispers must work hard to translate the images and instincts through the animal’s growls or snorts. Such conveyance is far easier when the animal has been with the vampire for a long period of time, however. It’s for this reason that many Gangrel like to have long-term animal thralls. Over time, they come to understand the nuances of communicating with the creature.
Animal thralls needn’t function only as spies. Vampires can also use the creatures as vessels for their consciousness by using Subsume the Lesser Spirit. In this way, a vampire can become a flying blackbird or a ravenous wolf. Again, it becomes all the easier when such a creature is a ghoul.
The intended use of the creature helps determine just what species of ghoul a vampire may choose. A vampire seeking a fast and easily hidden spy might choose a cat or even a rat. Ferrets are also popular, as they are swift and can squeeze in and out of tiny spaces. Moreover, they don’t attract undue attention. Provided he doesn’t mind attracting attention (or has a way around such notice), a Gangrel might instead seek a more vigorous creature, such as a falcon, Hound or even a wolf.
Bizarre
Few Kindred are the pinnacle of sanity. Time and the richness of the Blood confuses them, and the long sleep of Torpor does little to help. It only muddles the once-obvious line between reality and Nightmare. Moreover, some vampires are lunatics even before time thins their sanity.The fact is, many of these Kindred become incapable of having meaningful relationships with anybody. Relationships with human ghouls devolve over time into demented subjugation, removing any utility from the bond. It’s for this reason that some Kindred, seemingly unable to cope with “normal” communication, resort to creating and relying upon animal ghouls. Those who do so might choose simple animals for companionship, or as animals representing whatever broken faith the vampire holds dear.
Of course, not all Kindred choose animal thralls with such clear vision. Some barely make a conscious choice at all, almost inadvertently giving some destitute creature (or creatures) the blood and the fortitude of a thrall. When this happens, it cannot be categorized, nor can it be sliced up and understood in any sane manner. Such occurrences can only be classified as “bizarre.” A few examples of vampires invoking weird bonds with weird creatures include:
- An unaligned Nosferatu living in the slums gave his Vitae and his very will to a few roaches dwelling with him in his 15th-floor walkup. Few are certain why he did this, but a number of whispered stories persist. First, that the roaches are capable of acting as his eyes and ears, and being so small and robust, they are capable of getting just about anywhere. Second, in a story few believe but none are willing to dismiss outright, it’s suggested that the roaches have multiplied and the thrall condition has passed down to all the connected generations of roaches. This ghoulish “roach bloodline” is terrible in its scope once one realizes that a cockroach can lay up to 50 eggs at a time and lives for two years. It’s easy to see how far, wide and fast such a bloodline could spread.
- About 10 years ago, a Gangrel living in the hills of West Virginia with his Damned “kin” went down to the deep, dark fishing hole near his home and fed his blood to a couple of catfish. By now, those catfish are said to be up to 10 feet in length and nearly 500 pounds apiece. The Gangrel feeds them local stray dogs and cats and occasionally also fills their bellies with local children who have “gone missing.”
- A Daeva performance artist with a penchant for the shocking and the macabre made a ghoul of her favorite pet: a Goliath bird-eating tarantula she calls “Lord Byron.” Normal bird-eating tarantulas grow about 12 inches in diameter (the size of a dinner plate) and can run 25 miles an hour, even up walls or ceilings. Infused with Kindred Vitae, Lord Byron has outgrown such statistics, practically doubling them. The Daeva also uses the spider to hunt. While his venom isn’t enough to kill a human, it causes enough pain and numbness to hamper the movement of human victims.
Animal ghouls function almost identically to human ghouls. The only mechanical differences are as follows:
- Animal ghouls can only learn physical Disciplines. At the Storyteller’s discretion, it might be possible for an animal to learn the first dot of Auspex or Animalism, but this would require decades of training and an incredibly intelligent beast.
- Regnants receive a +2 bonus on any use of Animalism on an animal ghoul.
- Animal ghouls spend Vitae instinctively to increase Attributes to escape or attack or heal, but they never spend their last point of Vitae unless they would die otherwise.
- Animal ghouls cannot form Ghoul Families.
Average technological level
Abilities and Powers
Once the ghoul imbibes Vitae, he may use it in several ways similar to a vampire. One primary difference, however, is that the ghoul does not eliminate any quantity of his own blood when he expends a Vitae. Similarly, when a ghoul consumes Vitae, that Vitae does not add to or replace his own blood. “Vitae” in a ghoul is merely the lingering cursed power transferred from the vampire. A ghoul with seven Health dots still has seven dots after taking one Kindred Vitae — the Vitae does not add Health dots to him, nor does it add any volume to the ghoul’s own quantity of blood. A ghoul is still a mortal, and Vitae he consumes goes into his stomach as does anything else he drinks. A ghoul calling upon Vitae uses the power inherent in it, not the mass of liquid itself (which is eventually digested and otherwise eliminated). When using Vitae, a ghoul’s player may only spend one per turn. A ghoul may have a total number of Vitae in his system equal to his Stamina. If the ghoul’s Stamina drops for any reason and would leave a surplus, that extra Vitae is lost immediately. Examples of such situations include becoming sick or ending a scene in which the ghoul had activated Resilience.Upon becoming a ghoul, the individual immediately gains a single dot in a physical Discipline (Celerity, Resilience or Vigor). Which Discipline manifests depends on the clan or bloodline of the vampire who creates the ghoul. If that clan or bloodline has two physical Disciplines, the sire — not the ghoul — chooses which Discipline to impart. For example, a Ventrue ghoul gains a single dot of Resilience, while the ghoul of a Daeva obtains either Celerity or Vigor as decided by his master.
Ghouls may use Disciplines, if they have them. A ghoul may learn Disciplines by spending experience points, which costs twice as much as it does for a vampire (10 times the new level in experience points for a clan or bloodline Discipline, 14 times the new level in experience points for an out-of-clan or -bloodline Discipline). In most cases, a ghoul must have a teacher to learn a Discipline or advance in level, with the exception of physical Disciplines. As long as the ghoul knows the first level of one of the physical Disciplines, he may learn other levels without a teacher (although he must be taught the first level). A ghoul may learn a unique bloodline Discipline if his master hails from the bloodline in question.
A ghoul may expend Vitae to augment physical Attributes, just like a vampire (see p. 157). A ghoul may also use Vitae to heal wounds, again like a vampire. If a ghoul doesn’t use Vitae to heal wounds, he recovers in the same amount of time that a mortal does, as described on p. 175 of the World of Darkness Rulebook.
Ghouls do not use Humanity to measure their morality. Instead, they use Morality as described on pp. 91-94 of the World of Darkness rules.
Ghouls may spend one Vitae per turn. They have no Blood Potency.
Embraced ghouls keep all of the Disciplines they learned as ghouls when they make the transition to the ranks of the Kindred. Vinculums and blood addictions the character has survive into undeath as well.
The Reward for Service Rendered
Ghouls can learn most of the Disciplines available to Kindred. Because they can learn them, however, does not mean that every ghoul has any proficiency with the arts of the Damned. Chapter Two discusses which Disciplines ghouls can learn and the systems for doing so. Here we discuss the spiritual and psychological ramifications of a living human wielding the powers of the undead.The Physical Disciplines
The first Disciplines that ghouls learn are the physical ones: Celerity, Resilience and Vigor. Frankly, they are the simplest to comprehend. Any ghoul can understand moving faster or becoming stronger. These Disciplines merely take existing human capabilities and amplify them. Of course, as these Disciplines increase, they grant capabilities that are impossible for normal mortals, but by the time a ghoul is capable of dodging bullets or lifting cars, she has probably long since passed the stage where her conscious mind tries to deny these abilities.The biggest danger in the physical Disciplines comes from using them by accident. Ghouls can spend Vitae instinctively, before they learn to fully control their power. A frightened ghoul with a Mekhet Regnant might flee from an assailant and outrun the cars driving on the street next to her for a moment. A Nosferatu’s ghoul in a fight might accidentally crush her opponent’s skull with a single blow. In any situation in which a vampire runs the risk of frenzy, a ghoul might accidentally activate a physical Discipline. (While a system isn’t really necessary, you can apply the same mechanics for Kindred frenzy if you’d like — p. 178 of Vampire: The Requiem.)
Animalism
Especially for vampires who create ghouls from animals as well as humans, having a ghoul with some proficiency in Animalism is invaluable. Some people have a better facility for this Discipline than others, however. Many people, especially in “civilized” countries, forget that animals are living creatures, seeing them as toys or Resources instead. Learning Animalism, then, is difficult and jarring for this sort of person, as she communicates on a basic, instinctive level with an animal, and is forced to confront the fact that the beast before her can feel pain, pleasure and fear, just as she can. More than one ghoul has bonded with her pets after learning Animalism (sometimes inappropriately).For those people who are better suited to this Discipline (typically those with dots in the Animal Ken Skill), Animalism is a bona fide thrill. Training a dog to respond to a certain command is one thing. Actually communicating is something quite separate.
Auspex
The first dot of Auspex allows for superhuman senses, which might seem like a boon (and, frankly, a lot of fun). The problem comes with control. Vampires can control the very blood in their bodies as a consequence of their undead condition, but ghouls must learn to control their bodies in ways that no mortal was ever meant to. Auspex, therefore, can activate itself whenever a ghoul feels curious or interested, and certainly whenever he feels frightened. Suddenly being able to hear any sound in a building or smell the sweat on a date’s body can be a shock, and it could even inflict a –2 distraction penalty in a combat situation at the Storyteller’s discretion.Crúac
Learning any Discipline distances a ghoul from the rest of Humanity. Learning blood magic actually erodes that ghoul’s ability to deal with people and can even drive her mad in time. This isn’t why The Circle of the Crone usually forbids teaching it to ghouls (the reasons are entirely spiritual), but it’s a solid reason.And yet, ghouls can learn Crúac. It doesn’t happen often and when it does, the ghoul and her Regnant are usually burned to death. (Rumors persist, though, of ghouls who were granted the Embrace after showing a great facility for Crúac.) Once ghouls wrap their minds around the notion of performing magic, they don’t suffer any particular problem performing the rituals by dint of the fact that they are ghouls. Occult knowledge, it seems, isn’t affected by the undead condition. Acolytes occasionally wonder if this means that normal mortals, with no Vitae at all, could perform Crúac, but these questions are taboo as far as The Circle of the Crone is concerned.
Dominate
The ability to glance at another person and command his very mind is an extremely dangerous one. Ghouls of the Ventrue often gain some basic facility with Dominate, but their regnants sometimes apply their own mindbending powers to hide the ability to use the Discipline. Experienced Kindred know that constantly using Dominate can result in Megalomania or other forms of insanity, and the victim of repeated use of the Discipline can become groveling and debased, bitter and resentful or simply lose her personality entirely and become little more than an automaton.That said, many ghouls apply Dominate without even knowing it. Any imperative statement can become charged with power, regardless of how important to the ghoul the statement really is. For instance, a mother might tell her child to “shut up” and then wonder why the boy doesn’t speak for the next week. Innocuous phrase like “get lost” or “bite me” likewise become problematic when an inexperienced ghoul with Dominate is involved.
Majesty
Similar to Dominate, but dangerous for different reasons, Majesty is typically taught to ghouls who are intended by their Daeva masters to act as bait. Like Dominate, a ghoul might activate this Discipline accidentally, but often the only result is that someone notices and fixates on him. Depending on where the ghoul is when this happens, though, this can result in the police taking an interest in the ghoul, in a violent criminal stalking her, or simply some unwanted advances at a time when she would prefer to be alone.Of course, many ghouls use Majesty to manipulate those around them (once they discover they can control the effect). The problem is that Majesty doesn’t bestow the same degree of control as Dominate, especially not early on. A bank manager might honestly want to help a ghoul who comes to him for a loan, but he isn’t going to rob his own bank to do it. The best the ghoul can hope for in such a situation is special consideration, but getting it means that the ghoul has been noticed, which many regnants prefer to avoid.
Nightmare
Becoming supernaturally attractive isn’t a terribly uncommon fantasy, but becoming frightening isn’t high on many people’s list of priorities. That said, people who have been abused or ignored throughout their lives might find the ability to scare the hell out of others with a glare to be exhilarating. Losing control of this power, however, can result in mass panic. One person flees the ghouls, screaming, and then someone else imagines that he has a gun, and soon the spooked Herd breaks in stampede.Obfuscate
Vampires sometimes ask ghouls to act as spies, and arrange for them to learn at least the fundaments of Obfuscate. Doing so is a gamble, because even with the Discipline, a ghoul might be discovered, and then the vampire has alerted his target that not only is he under surveillance, but his watcher has the Resources to teach a ghoul the secrets of remaining unseen. (The ghoul rarely survives being discovered, of course, but that’s only a problem for the ghoul.)But what does Obfuscate mean for the ghoul? The first two dots of the Discipline don’t allow for remaining unseen at all, merely for sleight of hand and disguising her Status as a ghoul from those Kindred inclined to look closely. As such, Obfuscate is difficult and time-consuming before the greatest amount of utility for a ghoul becomes evident, so only vampires with a great deal of time and patience teach it. A ghoul being taught Obfuscate is either a valued agent… or a well-trained sacrificial lamb.
Protean
Gangrel ghouls normally learn Animalism and Resilience and leave the shapeshifting to beings better suited to it. That said, sometimes a ghoul is deranged, open minded or just strange enough to learn Protean, and sometimes a vampire is morbidly curious as to what a mortal with the Discipline could do.The first dot of Protean grants a ghoul the ability to detect vampires via the Predator’s Taint, but it also places the ghoul in constant danger of being torn to shreds by any vampire who crosses her path. Gangrel occasionally teach this power to ghouls who are meant to patrol their hunting grounds for any intruding Kindred, but the “power” is more often viewed as a detriment that a ghoul must endure if she is to learn how to truly change her shape. Since most Gangrel are unwilling to impart their secrets to other Kindred, much less lowly ghouls, Protean is probably the rarest Discipline for ghouls to know (outside of Crúac and Theban Sorcery, of course).
Theban Sorcery
As with Crúac, ghouls are forbidden from learning the holy arts of The Lancea Sanctum, as the spiritual precepts of the covenant state quite clearly that humans are inferior to vampires. The very fact that humans can learn Theban Sorcery, though, is a truth that the Sanctified would rather not face. If any ghoul is found to posses working knowledge of Theban Sorcery, the best that ghoul can hope for is death. The Sanctified usually ask for a full confession first, though, which can take weeks to complete. Whatever a ghoul has suffered before, these “confessions” make it seem pleasant by comparison.Foods & Cuisine
The Care and Feeding of Ghouls
To reiterate from Vampire: The Requiem, a Kindred doesn’t create a ghoul simply by feeding a mortal dupe some Vitae. While doing so can make a mortal dependent and more loyal, it makes him no more powerful. Nor does it give him any actual Vitae to spend. To complete the transformation, the vampire’s player must expend a point of Willpower at the same time (i.e., reflexively during the same turn), imparting a whisper of his own damnation upon the mortal. Thereafter, the ghoul requires at least one Vitae and another Willpower point every 30 days for as long as he is expected to remain a ghoul. As long as he doesn’t spend that Vitae, however, he remains a ghoul.Yet over the course of his existence as a ghoul, the ghoul isn’t as solely dependent on his Regnant as the Regnant might wish him to believe. First of all, the Willpower points that must be expended need not come from the Regnant after that first fateful time. That first Willpower point forces the condition on the ghoul, but every subsequent point only reinforces the condition. That being said, the ghoul himself could spend the Willpower when he tastes the Blood, making him complicit in his own damnation. Kindred masters of younger ghouls don’t often tell their servants that such a thing is possible, though, since there’s no guarantee that the ghoul would actually do so. Once a ghoul has lived long enough and been thoroughly ensnared by The Vinculum, he’s usually all too willing to submit himself to his condition lest he be robbed of it. (Note, however, that no one else can spend this Willpower point to accomplish the same effect. The ghoul can submit himself or the Kindred feeding him can force it on him, but no third party can do so.)
Another aspect of the condition that many Kindred keep secret from their ghouls is that any vampire can supply the Vitae required for a ghoul’s upkeep. The childer of a weak or torpid vampire can feed his ghouls for him when he can’t do so, or a desperate ghoul could even beg Vitae of another vampire if his Regnant has gone missing or no longer requires his services. A ghoul who’s gone rogue can even support himself on the Vitae of unfortunate Kindred he hunts down and subdues (as long as he spends the requisite Willpower point). One thing a ghoul can’t do to maintain his state, however, is draw off a large portion of a vampire’s blood (likely as a prelude to leaving him out for the sun), store it in a freezer and sup on it for as long as it holds out. While doing so would preserve the physical blood itself, that blood would cease to actually be Vitae within a few moments of it leaving the vampire’s body, making it useless for the ghoul’s purposes. (See Vampire: The Requiem, p. 156.) Should 30 days pass since the ghoul’s last Vitae ingestion and the ghoul not receive any new Vitae, he finds himself in dire straits. He remains a ghoul for as long as his last lingering Vitae remains in his system and he continues to spend Willpower monthly toward that purpose, but if he should spend his last Vitae, every benefit he derived from being a ghoul vanishes. If he receives new Vitae and a Willpower point is spent, the 30-day countdown begins anew. At the same time, if a ghoul spends all of his Vitae before the 30-day limit expires, he doesn’t immediately cease to be a ghoul. It’s not until the sun rises on the 31st day that he gets into trouble. If he can get new Vitae and spend the requisite Willpower before then, he remains a ghoul.
Once a ghoul has exceeded his 30-day limit and run out of Vitae, however, he becomes mortal again as the Kindred’s pollution is scoured from him. Every benefit that being a ghoul gave him disappears, including the ability to use Disciplines. He doesn’t forget how to use those Disciplines (meaning he’ll have access to them again if he’s subsequently made a ghoul again), but he cannot use them without the taint of undeath inside him. He isn’t set free from any Vinculum or Blood Addiction to which he was subject as a ghoul, but the powers he was granted are stripped away.
What’s worse, the living stasis in which he existed as a ghoul goes away and life catches back up to him. From sunrise to sunrise after the mortal is no longer a ghoul, the character ages one year per day for every year that he remained in stasis as a ghoul. This process is painful and debilitating, levying a –5 dice pool penalty on any physical action until it has entirely run its course. That might not be so bad for someone who was a ghoul for less than a year or for only a few years, but legacy ghouls who served their regnants for decades or centuries are unlikely to survive another couple of months. Granted, how much time they have depends on how old they were when they first became ghouls, but aging 60 years in 60 days is more than the human body can withstand. And if becoming a ghoul originally halted the progress of some encroaching medical condition, that condition comes back with a vengeance as well, progressing one year per day without any benefit of treatment.
Yet hope persists even in these circumstances. Should an abandoned, rapidly aging ghoul receive a fresh infusion of Vitae and Willpower, the aging process stops again and a new 30-day countdown begins. The physical penalty for enduring the rapid aging disappears, and the ghoul can once again use any Disciplines he learned back when he was a ghoul the first time. This second chance doesn’t take the ghoul back to the person he was when he was first made a ghoul, however. It merely halts his decline at this new point and reestablishes that point as the “first” time he became a ghoul.
Some especially malicious regnants allow their ghouls’ Vitae upkeep to lapse briefly, either to punish the ghoul for failure or willfulness, or just to watch what happens. Doing so can either break a headstrong ghoul’s resolve, or it can push a strong-minded ghoul into open acts of rebellion. Such heartbreaking cruelty can even convince a ghoul that the worst pain and hopelessness is preferable to serving a callous inhuman monster for even one more night. Whether that means the ghoul flees his master and tries to ride out the withdrawal or drags the monster out into the sunlight in hopes of joining her in death depends on the ghoul’s history and his current mental state. That, and whether he has the strength to overcome The Vinculum…
Birth & Baptismal Rites
Ghoul Creation and Support
A vampire who wishes to create a ghoul must feed a mortal at least a single Vitae. In addition, the vampire’s player must spend a point of Willpower to invest the ghoul with some degree of the mystic state with which she is cursed. If a vampire simply gives a mortal Vitae but no Willpower point is expended, the mortal does not become a ghoul (though he is potentially subject to The Vinculum and blood addiction). This Willpower expenditure represents the creation of an artificial state, inflicting some of the benefits and detriments of undeath on the ghoul.Upon becoming a ghoul, a mortal stops aging. Although time still passes normally, the ghoul’s body doesn’t become any more decrepit with age, nor does a ghoul child continue to grow. (Pregnant ghouls almost universally miscarry after the change.) So long as the ghoul obtains regular feedings of Vitae, this state of static age continues.
A ghoul requires at least one Vitae per month to sustain the state of ghouldom. When receiving this monthly “upkeep,” either the vampire or the ghoul player must spend a point of Willpower. The Vitae need not come from the Kindred who initially created the ghoul. For the Kindred, this is a gamble. If the vampire player spends the Willpower point and/or Vitae herself, and the vampire never lets the ghoul know he can spend his own Willpower, the ghoul acquires a sense of expense associated with using that Willpower and Vitae. On the other hand, if the Kindred lets her ghoul know that he can spend the Willpower himself, she sets herself up for possible betrayal. If a vampiric master relies upon other Kindred to supply her ghouls’ Vitae, those ghouls may eventually become subject to a Vinculum to another Kindred, which isn’t always in the first Kindred’s best interests.
A ghoul who does not receive his monthly infusion of blood slowly returns to his previous mortal state. The erstwhile ghoul ages one year per day that he is overdue for his monthly draught. If the ghoul does manage to procure more Vitae, he does not revert to his original age of ghouldom, but rather, suspends his aging from the point at which it has caught up with him. A ghoul deprived of Vitae who has outlived a normal mortal lifetime rapidly ages and dies as time catches up with him after having been cheated for so long.
If a ghoul doesn’t have any Vitae in her system, she doesn’t suddenly cease to be a ghoul. Rather, the transition back to the mortal state begins only when the mortal comes due for her monthly sustenance. In other words, if a ghoul misses her monthly feeding and has no vampiric Vitae in her system, she’s no longer a ghoul. She loses all powers associated with being a ghoul and begins aging. If she later acquires more Kindred Vitae, she resumes being a ghoul, but not before any aging effects might have occurred in the interim. Ghouls who go through this “wayward” state do not forget any Disciplines they might have known. Without Vitae to employ them, however, those powers are useless — even those Disciplines that have no Vitae costs associated with them. Once the ghoul loses that state, supernatural powers are no longer available to her.
Common Taboos
Derangements
The stresses a ghoul experiences are often extraordinary. Many must abandon their former lives completely, becoming little more than objects of pleasure and tools of destruction. Horrifying demands, endless abuses and frenzied passions are heaped upon ghouls as a matter of course, and always from those whom they think they love. It’s hardly surprising, then, that a significant number of them go insane.Major organizations
Ghouls by Covenant
No covenant eschews the use of ghouls. Thralls are an unavoidable part of the Requiem, whether they are chosen as slaves or protégés. Each covenant has a different way of dealing with its thralls, however, so what we present here are generalities. Regardless of covenant, a vampire is an individual and can largely do as she likes with her ghouls. Still, the covenants come with built-in philosophies on how to handle all aspects of Kindred existence, including how to choose, use and discard ghouls.The Carthian Movement
Carthians are ultimately undecided regarding the creation, existence and function of ghouls. The politically charged covenant is a relatively new one and hasn’t yet chiseled its precepts in stone. Still, the Regnant/thrall bond is something of a “hot button” issue among the vampires of the Movement. After all, the Status quo among Kindred sees humans as cattle, playthings or slaves. Ghouls are simply an extension of that idea for most, acting as supernaturally gifted cattle, playthings or slaves. The Carthians, however, challenge the Status quo, sometimes to achieve specific measures, other times simply to fly in the face of stagnation. Moreover, they see themselves as potentially bridging the gap between Kindred and kine. How do thralls fit into that worldview? Are ghouls the key to bridging that gap? Or are they instead remnants of an old paradigm, acting only as illustrations of outmoded caste systems and blood-compelled fealty?Means to an End
In point of fact, many Carthians rebuke the very concept of the Regnant/thrall relationship, finding it representative of an ugly class-based system. It’s for this reason that The Carthian Movement, already small, features fewer ghouls than any of the other major covenants.
That said, the Carthians are hardly unified in their beliefs. Many Carthians reject the creation of ghouls, but others still favor fostering thrall-based relationships and concede that the end justifies the means. It all comes down to individual Carthians and the Status of the Movement in individual cities or regions. The Prefect of one city could make the creation of ghouls anathema, but the Prefect of another might not establish a rule either way.
When a Carthian does choose to foster a Regnant/ thrall bond, little in the way of any firm blueprint exists for what the covenant wants. It’s almost entirely up to the preferences of the individual vampire. Carthian Kindred do seem to gravitate toward a few different types of ghoul, however.
The first type is the politically motivated mortal. For the most part, mortals in the World of Darkness are as faithless in their politics as they are in their religion. Most people are ignorant of political issues, preferring instead to remain numb and uninvolved. Those who are politically aware tend to enjoy a self-interested perspective. The individuals that call to Carthian vampires are those people who espouse different, often radical, political agendas, and who are willing to take action to make such agendas a reality. Frankly, the actual political leanings matter little. Carthians are interested in wild-eyed liberals just as much as hard-line conservatives. Anarchists, libertarians, greenthumb eco-warriors — it doesn’t matter, as long as they are willing to challenge dominant worldviews with a combination of philosophy and action.
Another type of Carthian ghoul prospect includes people who are already in power. Those Carthians who truly espouse an “end justifies the means” philosophy are the most likely to approach these mortals in a frank attempt at manipulation. Carthians recognize that the world is a mortal one and that vampires are a distinct minority. To achieve certain goals and make gains, mortals must be manipulated. Yes, it’s unfortunate and perhaps enforces the Status quo, but again, sometimes a Carthian understands that some concessions must be made in the quest for change.
Many younger, inexperienced Kindred of this covenant attempt to make ghouls of prominent figures, such as mayors, celebrities or corporate CEOs. Doing so brings a quick and often painful lesson down upon their heads. First, a vampire is foolish to think that he was the first to have thought up such a plan in the first place. Some vampire out there has already either done it or rejected it for good reason. Second, it’s a good bet that claiming such a figure of significance will upset the balance and earn the Carthian quick enemies. Many covenants invoke a mostly unspoken laissez-faire approach to many prominent figures. Not only does fettering such a popular mortal one way or another upset whatever balance the covenants have achieved, but doing so is a subtle, inevitable breach of the Masquerade. Making the mayor or some pop star into a thrall is simply too obvious. Better instead to make thralls of those who have some power rather than all power. Directly manipulating the head of a particular hierarchy is perilous. Offering power in return for servitude to someone further down the ladder, however, is a more covert and acceptable way of gaining an influential thrall. Such choices might include county commissioners, building inspectors, club owners, even shipping clerks. All of these choices allow Carthians some access to what they want. The county commissioner might not be able to make citywide decisions, but not only can he influence them, he has access to important data and documents. A building inspector might not have his finger in every pie, but the one sphere of influence he has is considerable and allows him into protected areas easily, as well as to potentially condemn buildings.
Unique Perspective
Thralls of Carthian Kindred don’t often have shared experiences. Ultimately, for most ghouls, life in service to the covenant becomes an issue of feast or famine. Some Carthians seem to want to give to their thralls the same degree of freedom and choice that they themselves so desire. Among these ghouls is an unwritten “do what thou wilt” attitude, allowing them a surprising degree of latitude. Unfortunately, not all ghouls are interested in such latitude. For one, Vitae becomes less accessible. Not only is the vampire choosing to keep the ghoul free of his influence, but by their nature, most Carthians are consistently occupied. Moreover, any feelings of skewed love or Blood Addiction can’t be fulfilled or even tasted when the Regnant is unavailable. More than one Carthian has let his ghouls alone long enough to cause the bond between them to wither and die.
On the other end of the spectrum are the vampires who refuse their ghouls any freedom at all. Of course, such a refusal often comes in a very utilitarian guise, and the ghoul is told that to achieve one’s goals one must make the appropriate sacrifices. Thralls in this position rarely have a life of their own, and they often have their own identities drowned in whatever “cause” their regnants are pursuing that week. The covenant’s prevalence of Mekhet also means that many ghouls suffer near-constant manipulation. These Carthians often micro-manage their ghouls’ lives to the point of insanity. Ghouls suffering such manipulations at the hands of their Carthian regnants often begin to question what’s real and what’s not as their minds are pulled this way and that by Discipline use.
Prudent Carthians recognize the pragmatism of having ghouls, and they find a balance between allowing them needless freedom and crushing them with control. Ideally, thralls wouldn’t be bound and manipulated, but as the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. (Nor did it collapse in one, some Carthians add.)
Pragmatism
Other Kindred use ghouls as cattle, pets, servants and functionaries. Ever seeking to buck trends and kick the Status quo to the curb, the Carthians use ghouls in myriad ways in direct opposition to the slavery they see in other Regnant/thrall relationships. Where others use ghouls as pack mules or sex toys, the Carthians attempt to maintain some kind of skewed partnership with their thralls, an attempt that inevitably fails due to the hollow nature of the relationship. Can one truly be a friend or partner to someone who unswervingly follows your most debased command? Many vampires, even Carthians, suggest that the thrall isn’t innocent here, having entered into the bargain with some selfish motive driving him to accept The Vinculum. (Of course, this isn’t necessarily true, but it’s an easy way to turn the blame away from the Regnant and put it upon the ghoul.) Regardless of whether or not the thrall knew the true reality of the bargain, it is still improbable that any kind of authentic relationship can form from this mystical bond of blood.
Kindred of the Movement come to understand this over time, though how this changes the function of the ghoul is up to the individual vampire. Many, after realizing that the bond is ultimately a false one, give up on their thralls, allowing The Vinculum to lapse. Others go the other way, hardening their hearts against the reality of the relationship and treating their thralls much like any other vampire.
As mentioned, some Carthians choose ghouls specifically for their placement in the mortal world, so to speak. Some go for the big fish (mayor, chief of police, city celebrity others wisely choose less visible but equally influential candidates (members of the zoning board, health inspectors, reporters). For instance, a member of the zoning board could introduce a vote to change the zoning of an area from commercial to residential, thus overturning an out-of-the-way casino planned as a cash cow by Invictus interests. Such pawns might also serve as spies. The reporter, for instance, has access to a numberof places by virtue of having a press pass, and he can also gain a wealth of information from a global informational database such as LexisNexis. Of course, some Carthians violate the interests of their peers and use ghouls as the sycophantic abuse victims that some Kindred expect them to be. Others prefer to create ghouls and leave them with no function, and some avoid creating ghouls altogether. The Movement’s treatment of thralls is analogous to its political policies — scattered and without any such methodology taking prevalence.
As Good as It Gets
The benefits of life as a ghoul within the Movement are a mixed bag. As the years pass, a vampire’s predatory instincts deepen, and the Man dwindles as the Beast grows. Fortunately, The Carthian Movement is populated predominantly by neonates and young ancillae. Ghouls tend to be treated better by the simple fact that few regnants within the covenant have gone far astray from their Humanity. They still remember what it was like to live and breathe. While few Regnant/thrall relationships could ever be called “friendship” or “true love,” relationships within the Movement are probably as close as it gets. Not only do the vampires recall their fleeting Humanity more clearly, but their adherence to new and revolutionary political systems (particularly ones interested in equality and the link between Kindred and kine) also inspires a leniency that other covenants wouldn’t dare adopt. Still, Carthians must question the relationship that comes with the bond, knowing full well that the union’s intensity is largely artificial, spurred on by hunger and Addiction. Is such a model of interaction desirable or acceptable, or is it a damnable endeavor?
Regardless of whether a Regnant considers his thrall as a partner or as a pawn, that thrall ostensibly enjoys a degree of freedom unseen by other ghouls. The Carthians tend to keep a very long leash on their thralls, allowing them to have friends, family or jobs, all in an effort to maintain their Humanity. This is advantageous in theory, as ghouls are not restricted or enslaved as such. It’s also frustrating for some, because ghouls do not gain easy audience with their masters, or have easy access to Vitae, Disciplines or the object of their attraction — theregnant herself.
Circle of The Crone
Thralls of the Circle of Crone, typically called “votaries,” are worlds apart from ghouls in service to other covenants. To them, The Vinculum is a tie to very real dark gods, to powerful mystical energies, to true pagan grandeur. Ghouls of this covenant are adherents, worshippers, even ritual participants. Time and practice twists them into maladjusted zealots. Some are eventually chosen to join the ranks of the Circle, whereas others are graciously damned to a life of constant sycophancy.Accepting the Mystery
Ghouls of the Circle differ from the thralls of other covenants because they learn considerably more about the covenant in the beginning, even prior to becoming thralls.
Part of what attracts a mortal to The Circle of the Crone is the engaging and persistent “mystery” of the group. Admittedly, this quality appeals to only certain types of people (self-professed pagans, the obsessively curious, schizophrenics), but to those people, the covenant represents a kind of affirmation of the magical reality that they have secretly suspected. The Circle isn’t necessarily revealing a whole new truth to these converts, but instead only deepens the story, growing the mythology out of what was already believed true. These people arealready willing to accept hidden truths or a secret metaphysical reality shrouded in a pagan worldview.
Socially speaking, the concept of joining a cult is alluring to some. These individuals are allowed access to secrets, gaining entrance to some abstruse inner circle of people purporting truth. Ultimately, even those who aren’t so keen on the pagan ideals become zealous if only to remove the stigma of being a social outcast.
For as much as potential thralls learn, however, they’re still kept in the dark regarding the reality of the Circle and its Acolytes. Potentials might be aware that they could become part of some pagan circle, but they don’t necessarily know that it’s a blood cult. More importantly, when they finally do learn that blood is intrinsic to the group and its rituals, they’re still kept ignorant of the fact that vampires not only exist, but also control the cult. Yes, the drinking and sharing of blood is made apparent, but rarely does a vampire reveal her true condition. Instead, the passing and drinking of Vitae is explained away as a sharing of power, or as a metaphorical ritual implying a sanguine offering to dark powers. Some Acolytes explain the truth of the situation just before the third taste of Vitae so that a thrall is made aware of his final choice in this matter. Others of the covenant feel that such power cannot be chosen, but instead can only be forced outside one’s own locus of control. They choose to keep future ghouls completely ignorant until the time in which The Vinculum firmly takes hold.
When seeking a votary, a vampire of the Circle likely looks for a curious combination of both inner strength and obsequiousness. While those traits are typically opposite, they can be found as the core values of potential zealots. Zealots remain strong in their convictions, but their convictions are driven by a need to serve. Such is the nature of what the Circle seeks from its thralls.
Stunted Creation
Creation is power, say the Acolytes. The act of conception and nativity is impossible as a vampire, rendered permanently unattainable by the Embrace. Still, the Acolytes are not hindered by such limits. Instead, they strive to push past it and manage some kind of creation, such as gardens, animals, art or architecture. Some feel that such creation and invention is hollow, however, fueled purely by ennui. Such Acolytes take a more literal view of the concept of creation, and instead seek to come as close to human conception as possible. In doing so, they create others either through the Embrace or by making thralls. Since the act of the Embrace is forbidden, creating ghouls is a far more accessible route.
Therefore, ghouls are perhaps more significant in the eyes of Acolytes than to vampires of other covenants. Thralls to other Kindred might be seen as servants, or worse, beasts of burden. In the Circle, the Acolytes still believe that votaries are unformed and inferior as creatures, but they are more akin to children than fools. Children start off fumbling but have the chance to grow, to experience pain and suffering, and to eventually enter into an act of creation themselves. Votaries are considered children by their Acolyte regnants.
Ghouls are not treated any better in the Circle than they are in other covenants, however. Yes, some Acolytes treat ghouls more respectfully, even reverentially, but another core tenet of the covenant comes into play and can make a votary’s life very difficult, indeed. That concept suggests that enlightenment is gained through tribulation. All creatures are weak and fallible. The only way past such frailty is through pain and suffering. Such suffering comes in many spheres — social, emotional, physical — but no matter the shape, pain is the crucible in which a being’s core persona is formed. So, the Acolytes do their level best to bestow misfortune and difficulty upon their ghouls, all in an effort to enrich their existences and illumine their souls. Some within the covenant use this precept as an excuse to cause pain unto others, but most Acolytes are just as willing to create difficulty for themselves as they are for others.
The Regnant is responsible for his votary, so he is also responsible for his votary’s enlightenment. What form this enlightenment takes is up to the Kindred. Physical pain is an easy and popular option. Some seek to cause temporary pain (lashing with a Whip or running a ghoul through a gauntlet), whereas others prefer to cause lasting pain in an effort to see how well the votary can push past lingering difficulty. Lasting pain might be incurred through breaking the bones of an important limb or possibly sewing the votary’s mouth shut. Pain isn’t the only choice for invoking tribulation, and some even consider it unfashionable. Some Acolytes find it far more interesting to cause some manner of social or emotional pain. The ghoul might be vocally degraded and insulted on a day-to-day basis, humiliated in front of other Circle members. Or his loved ones might be tortured or harmed in some fashion instead, which is either videotaped or performed directly in front of him. (Particularly cruel or “enlightened” Acolytes might force the ghoul to commit the horrid acts upon his loved ones.)
One method that is gaining some Notoriety within the covenant is a survival test that loosely combines physical, social and emotional suffering. Thralls are let loose in the wilderness for a predetermined period of time (a week is common). They are given nothing to help them, and are sometimes delivered into the hands of Mother Nature much how they were born — naked and covered in blood. If they survive, they are worthy. If they perish or go mad during their blood-soaked exile, it’s regrettable but such are the ways of the gods. Those ghouls who purport to have learned something during the journey are considered destined for greater things within the Circle. Ghouls who learn how to kill animals (or one another) for food, or who perhaps return with a deeper understanding of the ineluctable cycles of life and death, are quietly noted and watched for a potential Embrace later down the line.
Intuition
Acolytes tend to differ on the function of votaries. That difference actually spawns from the fact that many within the covenant feel that ghouls shouldn’t be bred for function at all. Acolytes who claim as much don’t feel that the covenant is best served by such a detached and utilitarian mindset — leave such icy pragmatism to the prigs of The Invictus.
Circle members of this opinion create thralls partly because it helps give them power, according to covenant’s pagan principles regarding creation. Mortals are made votaries within the Circle for little other reason. From there they become companions, pets, ritual participants, even lovers (though true “love” rarely enters the picture). These Acolytes don’t choose a mortal based on any kind of skill set or potential function. Their choice of an individual to become a votary is one that is altogether more intuitive, more personal, based on emotion and “feeling” than anything practical. Whatever happens from that point forward is an organic development. While the Requiem puts the Kindred outside the natural order, at least such development harks back to a more natural progression. It is a luxury afforded to the thralls, according to their Acolyte regnants.
Other Acolytes choose mortals based solely upon their potential efficacy within the Circle. They hope that their choices reflect ability, that the mortals chosen make a functional fit within the group or at least to the individual vampire. Whether it’s a tough body, strong mind or some other requisite criterion, the votary is chosen to perform some particular duty or task.
Most prominent tasks relegated to votaries are the menial ones associated with the various rituals and ceremonies of the Circle. Vampires perform such grunt work if necessary but prefer to leave such chores to the votaries. Thralls may be required to entice mortals (or kidnap them) for blood rituals and human sacrifices. Votaries may also be required to fetch, or keep an inventory of, prominent ritual objects and reagents. (Unlucky is the ghoul who mistakes a jar of cow’s gall for one filledwith a mandrake’s lacrima.) All manner of menial tasks may be relegated to ghouls: collecting and storing various blood types for various rituals, going into the wilderness to find specimens, even feeding and caring for the Circle’s many pets and gardens.
One thing that separates Circle votaries from ghouls of other covenants, however, is that they are considered for more important tasks, as well. Votaries are often chosen with an eye toward an eventual Embrace into The Circle of the Crone, implying that not only is the ghoul better than an average lackey but that the votary will be subject to a number of tests and ordeals to determine his true worth. As such, Acolytes are willing to give prominent ghouls more important tasks. Votaries may be allowed to scout out new locations for cult temples, or might even be allowed to hunt for potential votaries or Kindred to bring into the Circle. A votary, even one who has performed only drudgery for his Regnant, might one night be asked for his advice on some semi-important matter. (Such a question is likely to be couched in ambiguity so as not to give away any unnecessary covenant secrets.) Ostensibly, the highest task a ghoul can be asked to perform is to head up, or even to establish, one of the Circle’s many mortal blood cults.
Of course, not all thralls are exceptional or considered for a higher station among the Acolytes. Some ghouls are boxed into an endless life of menial servitude. Those who offend the Acolytes or reveal an ineptitude regarding the Circle’s pagan ideology have it even worse. These votaries often end up as mere objects, literally acting as perhaps a table or a chair. Some of these lesser ghouls end up as humiliated and abused sexual servants. Strong but foolish thralls end up as studs, ghouls forced to impregnate other ghouls past countless bloody miscarriages in the hopes of finding that one connection that allows a true thrall lineage to form.
Dance of the Dark Gods
Probably the chief benefit for votaries of The Circle of the Crone is that they were chosen because of their beliefs. The Circle allows its ghouls to practice those beliefs (provided they are appropriately colored by the teachings of the covenant), and moreover, gives them the tools and encouragement to be devotees in some form. While some are expected to be slaves or servants, the majority of covenant thralls are allowed a measure of freedom and free-thinking that other covenants might not permit. Yes, pain and suffering are critical parts of the deal, but most ghouls are able to look past that and accept that they have been given a place among the “true” gods and goddesses — monstrous as they might be.
Of course, Circle thralls are also encouraged to explore the limited powers available to them. They are allowed to learn and use various Disciplines and are actually taught how best to use the vampiric Vitae that is given them. They aren’t told to hide their powers, and moreover, the covenant encourages its ghouls to use them to gain power over other mortals. They may notbe Kindred, but votaries are still made to understand that they are better than mere mortals, and are connected to something infinitely more powerful than those blind and fumbling sheep.
A more abstract reward expressed to Circle thralls is “love.” While the bonds formed by the Regnant/ thrall relationship tend to be either completely hollow or otherwise twisted, that doesn’t stop the Circle from calling it “love.” Acolytes tell their thralls that they love them and deserve love in return. Thralls are often pushed to label the intense feelings as such, and while a ghoul’s Regnant might be her master, she might also feel that he is father, brother and lover. While what results is rarely anything beyond the bloody bonds joining a cult leader and his sycophantic adherents, ghouls are still able to count this connection as an “advantage” of sorts. The sensation might be empty and without merit, but that doesn’t stop them from pursuing the illusion.
Invictus
Mortals are the key to power in this world, according to The Invictus. The covenant doesn’t see them as equals. Its perspective is a narcissistic self-assurance that even six billion humans can’t equal a single Prince of the First Estate, and that is because people don’t have power, they are merely the key to it. Mortals are like money, bullets or livestock. They are Resources to be used and controlled.This attitude clearly pervades the way that The Invictus sees and deals with ghouls. Not only are thralls not considered equal, they don’t even have the potential (as ghouls) to be on the same level as the Kindred of The Invictus. They are the serfs and vassals of this feudal faction, never allowed to rise above. Ghouls help their masters achieve power, but they are never meant to taste it themselves.
Subjugation
What, in the eyes of The Invictus, makes a mortal a good thrall? Alternately, what attracts a human to becoming a ghoul for a vampire of the First Estate?
Ghouls are largely chosen for their submissive tendencies. Key to the covenant’s attitude toward thralls is that they are to respect their masters, offer themselves completely and know their place in the hierarchy. Humans who are brash, confident or egomaniacal do not make proper ghouls for the covenant. Not to say that some vampires of The Invictus don’t relish the act of abusing such a person into surrender, but most simply prefer to start out with humans who already know their place. Submissives, conformists and those of negligible selfimage all make appropriate thralls, for these people act ostensibly as servants in their everyday lives. They are the abused housewives serving brutal husbands, the addicted runaways serving their habits, the civil servants clinging to the bottom rungs of the ladder. They are the perennially downtrodden, the terminally subservient.
Invictus regnants offer potential thralls a curious and somewhat ironic conundrum. They offer them a “special” life, but that “special” life isn’t much more than an endless stretch of Addiction and subjugation. Yes, it’s unique in the fact that thralls gain access to a supernatural world and are ultimately set apart from the rest of Humanity, but that doesn’t mean the cost truly matches the reward. Still, such a thing appeals to many mortals, even the parts of it that are seemingly at odds. Those submissive individuals without confidence see an opportunity where others might see a road to ruin. They get to be a part of something special, something different, and while the price may be exorbitant, it’s worth it to some just to have a taste of theextraordinary. The irony is that, while these potentials are consciously interested in being somehow exceptional, their subconscious is perhaps attracted to the potential abuse and slavery that comes part and parcel with being a thrall of the First Estate.
Hollow and Debased
Ghouls of the First Estate are a wretched lot, living lives that are barely their own. It’s the lot they’ve chosen, however, or at least the life to which they are now beholden. In a twisted way, perhaps by some grim symbiosis, it works out for both thrall and Regnant.
Kindred within The Invictus tend to keep the majority of their ghouls for a very long time. Other vampires may go through ghouls relatively quickly, but the Damned of the First Estate are seemingly bound by an unwritten tradition to hold onto thralls for as long as possible. Many ghouls have served their masters for decades, kept alive past their natural life spans due to the Vitae in their bodies. The tradition seems largely underwritten by the oaths that hold the covenant together. While a thrall’s oath to her Regnant is significant, also important is that which the Regnant promises to the thrall. This oath bonds the two individuals together, lord to lackey, and the bond is only made supernaturally more secure by the sharing of blood.
This long-lived and long-serving nature of ghouls in the covenant creates a psychological state less likely to be found in the thralls of other vampires. First and foremost, it creates a kind of Stockholm Syndrome in the thrall. While part of this dependency is present in all ghouls by virtue of The Vinculum, it’s a hair different for ghouls of The Invictus. Their long-serving nature coupled with the often passive-aggressive and disproportionate treatment shown by their regnants only serves to magnify and warp the “love” felt for their masters. Any act of kindness by the Regnant, however small or insignificant, is a wondrous gift, a boon from on high. Such generally inconsequential motions — holding the door for a thrall once in a blue moon, giving her a paltry trinket of cheap pewter, granting her a single night of total freedom a year — seem suddenly huge in comparison and are treated as expressions of the vampire’s love. Curiously, some ghouls experience a kind of reverse Stockholm Syndrome, whereupon the vampire begins to develop unusual (and potentially perverse) feelings of affection for the ghoul, even though the thrall is never considered an equal.
More sophisticated (or at least self-aware) thralls are able to look past this condition, but they are still unable to escape the long-term effects of existing as a ghoul beyond a rational timeframe. Such sensitive or attentive thralls begin to question their own compulsions toward love and sycophancy at every turn, and they often develop irrational bouts of Paranoia as well as feelings of overwhelming inadequacy. Some ghouls develop a complex love-hate relationship with their vampire masters. They are unable to deny the cravings to serve and the need for blood, but behind all that festers a deep-seated hatred. If they could, these thralls would drag their masters into the noonday sun. Many of these thralls eventually develop mild Derangements that grow to major mental fractures over the decades. What might start as obsessive-compulsive behavior could turn into fullfledged Schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder or even multiple personalities.
Live to Serve
The Regnant/thrall bond is seen as a critical link in the chain of being, at least by the standards of the First Estate. Much as the Catholic Church extols the virtues of having children or much as Southern landowners were expected to keep slaves, Invictus vampires are expected to have ghouls. As such, this covenant probably maintains the largest numbers of thralls in the Danse Macabre.
With such a broad array of ghouls within its estimable ranks, The Invictus doesn’t narrow its function of thralls to specifics. While other covenants generally use ghouls to fill a few particular functions, Invictus vampires are ultimately allowed to guide their servants in whatever fashion they deem most significant. (Those above the Regnant in the covenant hierarchy are allowed to “suggest” that the vampire use her thrall in specific ways, should she disagree with the ghoul’s current purpose.) Ghouls may serve as physical labor. They may serve as Staff at the manor. They may be used for sensual pleasure or cathartic pain. Thralls may be used as appointment setters, drivers or waiters, or they may be asked to perform more specialized functions such as bodyguard, accountant or real estate agent. Some are used as pets, while others are used in a form of twisted companionship and social dominance.
Two notable functions are particularly common within this covenant, however. The first of these is the role of pawn. Strategy is crucial to most of The Invictus Kindred. It’s critical to keep a vigilant eye toward what is often seen as a citywide chessboard. Ego generally dictates that each vampire sees himself as the king (or at least queen) of the board, with all of his inferiors filling in the lesser board positions. At the lowest level are, ofcourse, the pawns. Pawns can be neonates, but neonates are only so useful when operating in the world of mortals. Better still to have actual mortals when hoping to play that game.
What function do these pawns play? They act within the mortal world as secret representatives of the vampire’s will. They buy property, steal files from employers, negotiate labor disputes. They are lawyers, businessmen, politicians. They are not meant for menial tasks. Their jobs require having some authority within the human realm.
Ghouls acting as pawns live both better and worse than their peers in this covenant. Their lives are better because, when they are not acting out the will of their regnants, they are left alone. Pawns work better, after all, when they appear normal to other mortals and don’t “spook the Herd.” Moreover, if a vampire wishes to keep a pawn secret, he will keep his distance from the thrall except when absolutely necessary. Hence, regnants are mostly hands-off when it comes to these servants. The unfortunate part of being a pawn is the same as the advantage, which is the lack of proximity to one’s master. Vitae is harder to come by, and a ghoul wanting to bask in the glow of her Regnant is unlikely to be granted such an audience.
It’s important for a Regnant to consider who best will act as his representative in the daylight, mortal world without giving up the game. Ghouls of this stripe are of various levels of influence and power. Of course, a wise Invictus vampire chooses not the CEO, but his secretary, for her proximity to power and willingness to serve. People already in power are less hungry for it. Those near it but without it are starving for a taste, and they sometimes make fine thralls.
The other function used almost exclusively by the First Estate is the role of courier, as the covenant largely eschews modern communication. When no other choice presents itself, a vampire might buckle down and use a portable phone. He is unlikely to use such contemporary amenities as fax or email, however. When a message is particularly important, an Invictus vampire often relies upon the use of messengers. Some Kindred use other Kindred when passing along a missive of the utmost importance, but if The Message is less significant, the vampire is likely to place the epistle in the hands of a favored ghoul. Some vampires choose thralls specifically for this role, hoping that the ghoul will be fast and efficient. (Many such ghouls were once professional drivers or a bicycle messengers.) Ghouls carrying messages are at great risk, however, subject to attacks by the enemies of The Invictus. Hence, couriers are also expected to be good fighters, or at least smart and fast. (Of course, at times, The Invictus might want a message to fall into the wrong hands as a strategic move.) A rare few vampires of the covenant even allow prized ghoul couriers to carry only the most secret and noteworthy messages. Ghouls can be trusted, even if only because the Blood demands it. Unless they are tied to a Regnant through Vinculum, other Kindred are unlikely to be so easy to trust them with important information.
Of Patience and Power
Objectively, being a ghoul to a Regnant of the First Estate comes with the same advantages offered to any other ghoul: access to vampiric Disciplines, unnatural life span, boosts in physical prowess. Of course, the same disadvantages are present as well. For the most part, Invictus thralls are treated slightly better than most of their counterparts in The Lancea Sanctum or The Ordo Dracul.
One item that separates Invictus ghouls from other covenant thralls is the power, or, at least, the potential power, intrinsic to the position. Because ghouls are expected to serve their masters for decades or centuries, they gain more responsibility over time. Responsibility sometimes equates to secrets, stronger Disciplines, even a greater degree of freedom. While it could take 50 years to achieve such advantage, it isn’t an unobtainable dream. She can’t really use it to harm her master, though she can undermine the Allies of her master or the machinations of the covenant somewhat — which is extremely unlikely. Better yet to use such power against her Regnant’s enemies (provided she still feels the twisted bond and hasn’t bucked against the leash) or even againsther own enemies. Moreover, should her Regnant meet Final Death or should she find some arcane manner in which to sever The Vinculum, she has the rare opportunityto become a rogue ghoul whose power stops being only potential and becomes actual clout and strength.
While perhaps not technically an advantage, ghouls both suffer and benefit from what some call the “kick the dog” syndrome. The theory goes that, when a master kicks his dog, the dog goes on to bite someone else. Power is transferred down the line but never comes back to reverse the authority. In this case, a Regnant might lord over her thrall, demanding unreasonable things from him or even bodily abusing him. The ghoul cannot act out against his master, so he invokes his own authority upon others. Ghouls of The Invictus are given just enough freedom to still have extended dealings with the mortal world, a privilege that ghouls of other covenants don’t always have. In this manner, ghouls enact influence over human beings, thus furthering the “kick the dog” process. Ghouls of The Invictus are allowed (even encouraged) to lord over lesser beings. Not only does this allow the ghoul to displace any rage and frustration away from the covenant, but it also creates further links in the Regnant’s chain of control. If the ghoul gains power over another, the Regnant gains that power by virtue of the authority over her thrall. Hence, allowing ghouls that small freedom actually only strengthens the Regnant’s own locus of control.
Lancea Sanctum
The Sanctified think little of mortal beings. Yes, humans are children of God, but so are horseflies, sewer rats and pack mules. Such a designation provides only relative value. Moreover, the Sanctified consider themselves far above mortals on the cosmic chain of being, knowing that they are predators sanctioned by God.Ghouls, by their definition, are mortal beings. Those few benefits that separate them from average humans aren’t self-obtained advantages, but are instead granted by the Kindred. In the eyes of the Sanctified, ghouls are better than mortals, but only by a hair’s breadth. Ghouls are still weak, fallible creatures, nominally as blind as every other human animal. They aren’t useless, however.
God's Dogs
Becoming a ghoul to the Sanctified is a choice, albeit one where all the facts might not be known. A mortal entering into this pact generally knows little of the covenant, and probably instead knows only of the supposed spiritual and religious ramifications (i.e., the further connection and understanding of God’s plan). Beyond that, what else beguiles a human to become slave to a Sanctified vampire?
For one, the Sanctified tend to put forth a strong presence. The Sanctified seem surrounded by an intangible gravitas. While such an atmosphere can be off-putting to many mortals, it’s attractive to some. Such mortals include the types of people who would be drawn into the sphere of a religious or cult leader, or those whose self-esteem is weak and withered.These individuals are the kind most often chosen as ghouls to serve the Sanctified.
Of course, the choice goes both ways, and relies more heavily on the vampire’s desires than the sycophancy of the human. Kindred of The Lancea Sanctum seek specific things in the hunt for new thralls. The first consideration is generally the intended function of a prospective ghoul. Unlike other Kindred, the Sanctified don’t choose humans for general companionship or out of some twisted mockery of love. Those vampires also rarely enthrall ghouls out of religious duty, as meager mortals don’t merit any kind of salvation.
No, the Sanctified recognize when they need someone to do a job that is generally beneath their attention. As such, they choose a human As One would choose a tool or an animal. To pound nails, one shouldn’t use a saw. Alternately, a horse is for riding, and a mule is for carrying. Ghouls are seen the same way. If a vampire of the covenant requires a servant to carry boxes of sacred texts, he chooses a ghoul with a broad back and strong shoulders. If that vampire requires someone to help him navigate the world of mortal commerce (banks, stock market, tax fraud), he finds a human savvy with finance. As One Sanctified Archbishop often says to his congregation, “To write the Word of God I have my pen; to kill the enemies of the Word of God I have my Knife.” The same saying applies to how the Sanctified choose their ghouls.
Spiritual Self-Loathing
Make no mistake, life as a ghoul of the Sanctified is unpleasant at best. It’s not that ghouls are abused or tortured bodily. They are simply seen as lesser, and are treated as such. Abusing ghouls does little for the covenant (though such egregious behavior certainly happens). Needlessly neglecting or mistreating a dog eventually causes the dog to bite or become worthless. The same attitude commonly applies to how the Sanctified treat their ghouls. Harming them without reason only causes difficulty as the ghoul seeks to rebel or simply attends to important tasks with diminished Zeal.
Of course, two small exceptions to this unspoken rule of abuse apply. The first is that some ghouls necessitate abuse. Some of the thralls chosen to serve covenant members are creatures that loathe themselves. Self-hating ghouls often require maltreatment as part and parcel of the bargain. The other exception is punishment. The Sanctified generally feel that making a human into a ghoul is a gift. Most see it as an undeserved gift, as well, like feeding a dog filet mignon. Therefore, when ghouls go astray or don’t excel at their tasks at the appropriate and accepted rate, they are punished for mistreating God’s gift. The reprimand comes in whatever form the Sanctified Regnant chooses, though it often takes the shape of some kind of religious or ascetic punishment. Ghouls might be denied food, blood or sleep. Alternatively, they might be forced to stand facing a corner for days on end, reciting passages and prayers from The Testament of Longinus. Punishments are rarely extreme, though some more ardent Sanctified Whip their thralls with metal-beaded lashes or even hobble them by cutting their Achilles tendons or by crushing the bones in their feet with a mallet.
Pack Mules and Prey
Ghouls fill many functions within the covenant, though most ultimately end up as worker bees for the covenant, enslaved to perform the tedious tasks the Kindred see as beneath them. Yet some ghouls are elevated beyond such pathetic undertakings. Ghouls who show especial merit or appeal in some fashion to their regnants are often granted more significant jobs, much like how a prize horse is set aside to carry only the royals.
One such task that is gaining fashion in the covenant is using ghouls to fetch prey. Many Sanctified see the employment of thralls in this fashion as dismissive and lazy. After all, The Lancea Sanctum purports that vampires are consummate predators who don’t require paltry human assistance to scare up food. Those who exercise this tactic, however, offer that manipulating mortals to serve up other mortals as meals is the finest exemplification of one’s own monstrous nature. Wouldn’t wolves be more efficient if they could convince a single deer to bring back the whole Herd? Ghouls chosen for such utility are often monsters themselves, or are at least selfish enough to sell out their own kind for meager gifts from their masters.
Some ghouls in The Lancea Sanctum are chosen for more “human” functions. These thralls are used to negotiate land deals, buy property, transfer money or purchase goods or other services. They don’t typically serve the Kindred at all hours of the night as some of the lesser, unskilled ghouls do. For the most part, such ghouls are allowed to exist apart from the Sanctified except for crucial meetings (and sessions of sharing blood). Unfortunately, many ghouls in these positions don’t last long. Often, Kindred of The Lancea Sanctum have been apart from Humanity for too long and don’t necessarily understand how things work in that world. Moreover, some are simply too old to understand howodern mortals operate. When a thrall fails to get her Regnant master precisely what he wants when he wants it, even if the request is absurd or impossible, the thrall is likely to be punished. Punishment of this nature isn’t exactly fair, as the burden of misunderstanding belongs usually to the vampire, but who ever said life as a Sanctified thrall is fair?
Rare Sanctified take ghouls as pets. Most don’t approve of such behavior, for having pets requires getting awfully close to the “animals.” Others argue that using mortals as pets is on par with owning a wellheeled Hound, a cat or a hunting bird, and needn’t carry any gross stigma. Pets of the Sanctified ostensibly live the best lives out of all of The Lancea Sanctum thralls. They’re fed well, generally not mistreated, and might even sleep beneath the finest linens. Of course, they’re also granted no lives of their own. Thrall pets of the covenant live with or near their regnants, and while they are favored ghouls, they’re still treated like leashed animals. Moreover, regnants of such thralls often attempt to further evoke elevated feelings of love and devotion to both them and God, all of which breaks down the thrall’s mind until all that’s left is blind servitude.
Blood of Heaven
Some mortals make an ill-informed choice to be ghouls serving Sanctified masters. Others are beguiled or forced into the role. Regardless of how the ghoul is brought into the fold, most ghouls of the covenant live similar lives with comparable drawbacks and benefits.
Unfortunately, the advantages of being a thrall to a Sanctified Regnant end up being few and far between. Some advantages are obvious, as certain benefits are conferred to all ghouls, regardless of covenant or Regnant. For some, the ability to heal wounds and deny the ceaseless march of age is worth every stolen moment. For others, the violation of enthrallment ends up being a Devil’s bargain, made foolish and awful in light of what such slavery truly means.
Thralls of this covenant gain some small advantage that separates them from the mortal slaves of other covenants. For one, some mortals are engaged by the presumed proximity to God. While any human in his right mind would see the relationship as painfully flawed, and moreover, a relationship God would surely never endorse, ghouls are rarely in a “right mind.” As such, the artificial feelings of love and addicting bliss granted by The Vinculum sometimes elevate the ghoul to a seemingly beatific state. Such a glorious state, false as it is, is addictive not only physically but spiritually as well. While ghouls ultimately serve their Regnant before they can serve God, their Regnant still tells them to serve the Holy Father, and that’s good enough. It provides the ghoul with the belief that her state is not one of slavery, but instead one of Sanctity.
Of course, the ultimate reward that is dangled in front of many thralls is that they could eventually be chosen to become Kindred of the covenant. This potential promise, however, holds little truth and goes generally unfulfilled. The covenant maintains an unspoken rule disdaining the practice of bringing ghouls into the fold. Something about the idea remains base and vile, for ghouls (while better than most mortals) are often deranged, addicted creatures. Does God deserve sycophancy from such broken animals? Are such creatures worthy of God, as well? The answer to both questions is usually a swift and unchallenged “no.” It’s not completely unheard of, however. Some ghouls are capable of standing out, of excelling and showing a truly pious face in light of all that’s happened to them. Even then, such thralls are tested again and again (questioned on dogma, forced to suffer physical and emotional pain, asked to perform egregious tasks in the name of the covenant) before ever being granted the Embrace.
One advantage absent from most ghouls within the covenant is the learning of Disciplines. Most Sanctified see Disciplines as synonymous with the vampiric state. As such, powers tied so closely to the Curse are not to be granted to mortals. Allowing mortals to learn and use Disciplines is equal to giving a handgun to an infant, or worse, like trying to teach a mongrel dog to read. If thralls are ever allowed access to Disciplines, it’s almostalways the physical abilities, Vigor, Resilience and Celerity. No law or written dogma states that thralls cannot learn other Disciplines, but such a thing is socially unacceptable. For the most part, the Sanctified aren’t capable of preventing ghouls from manifesting Disciplines. Ventrue of the covenant can sometimes Dominate ghouls not to use these gifts, and more conventional mind-control techniques (shame, guilt, fear) can also be effective. The covenant has one other recourse: the Forbiddance of Blood ritual.
One rule that is written is that ghouls may not learn the covenant’s Theban Sorcery. This power is meant only for the Sanctified, and even then it isn’t meted out to just anybody. Whispers suggest that a few particularly favored ghouls over the centuries have been granted entrée into the secrets of Theban Sorcery, but no names or facts have yet been verifiable.
Ordo Dracul
Kindred of The Ordo Dracul are deeply contemplative of the vampiric condition. The Dragons test, investigate and explore every aspect of the Requiem, establishing a frighteningly complex picture of how all the elements of the Kindred’s state and existence fit together. The creation and utility of the Regnant/thrall relationship is one vampiric capability, so The Ordo Dracul encourages exploration of it just as it demands exploration of Blood Addiction, the origins of the Disciplines and the ways in which vampires beget other vampires. This covenant creates and uses ghouls quite regularly. For a relatively small group, its members maintain a large number of thralls.While being a ghoul to a vampire of The Ordo Dracul comes nominally with the same benefits and problems of being a thrall to any Regnant, proximity to the covenant makes a ghoul’s life unique and separate from others. For one thing, it’s a rather broad and unfortunate dichotomy, as Kindred of the Order generally see ghouls As One of two things: property or protégé.
The Process
Vampires of the Order choose their ghouls in one of two ways. The first and more common way is simply to find a mortal who seems to suit a number of qualifications and offer to him the Regnant/thrall relationship. The second way (one typically regarded as unique to the Ordo Dracul) is to “farm” a new ghoul from one of the many Ghoul Families maintained by the covenant.
The first method is similar to that of other covenants, though it arguably contains a more clinical slant. The Dragons believe that the act of creating a thrall is an integral part of the Requiem, so they take the process very seriously. Potential mortals are examined from afar for months and are examined up close through both fleeting and extensive “chance” meetings. Usually, ghouls found in this way are more of the protégé type than of mere property. Simple menservants are often culled from the thrall families associated with the Order. When a vampire seeks out a student and potential Dragon, he generally hunts down a mortal who exemplifies a very specific set of criteria.
Curiously, one of the ways many Kindred of the covenant find ghoul protégés is through the act of Following the Dragon’s Tail. When a vampire kills a mortal at the behest of her Mentor and scrutinizes the chain of events that occurs after such a murder, she leaves in her wake a number of affected humans. While murder has physical and economical ramifications to be sure, the murderer is usually more interested in the social and emotional affects such an act has on those who were part of the victim’s life. From this stable of people, a vampire often finds a prospective thrall. Some suggest that this is simply due to the proximity of the people in the victim’s life. When a vampire dissects and analyzes this social network, she is likely to become unusually informed in regard to these people. Others believe that something more intuitive is at work, some aspect of the predator that has yet to be defined. It goes against the natural order, really. When animals destroy competitors, they also tend to destroy their competitor’s family and companions. In this case, the vampire actually takes in one of the victim’s brood or associates and elevates him.
More “common” ghouls, however, are chosen from the Ghoul Families associated with The Ordo Dracul. While thrall bloodlines are rare, vampires of the Order claim a number of them as servant stock. When the time comes for a Kindred to choose a ghoul for himself, he may visit one of the many domiciles that house some or all of a particular ghoul family. He may even spend time, anywhere from a single night to a single year, among the family, testing, tasting, discovering who will best suit his needs.
Of course, this isn’t an option for all Order vampires. Some simply do not have access to any of these rarified bloodlines. These families aren’t widespread enough to be found just anywhere. Sometimes, a vampire is willing to wait and risk the perils of traveling in order to find a lifelong servant. Other times, the danger intrinsic to such a journey might be too high to justify the result. Another obstacle in the way of claiming a ghoul from one of these bloodlines is Status within the covenant. One is required to have certain eminence within The Ordo Dracul before he is allowed access to the esteemed breeding stock. (Barring exceptional circumstances, assume that a covenant member requires at least Covenant Status ••• to be able to select a personal ghoul from any of the Order’s claimed bloodlines.)
Under the Glass
Generally, vampires see ghouls as mortals among the vampires of The Invictus and Carthians, as models of creation to those of The Circle of the Crone, and as twolegged pack animals to the predators of The Lancea Sanctum. To the Damned of The Ordo Dracul, however, ghouls are hardly personified at all, perceived as little more than objects or automatons.
The Dragons tend to have a clinical outlook. The intellectual nature of the covenant, combining the two spheres of occult and science into an experimental amalgamation, demands such a detached and dispassionate attitude. Ghouls, as such, are viewed in a light complimentary to what the Order vampires need. Ultimately, human beings are complex social animals with intense emotions, connections to societal networks and frail psyches. The Ordo Dracul has interest in these things, but only from a distance. Covenant members are glad to explore them, but only without getting their hands dirty with such leftover feelings, and only if it can help to unlock the grim cryptography of the vampiric condition. If it can’t, then such human studies are worthless. A covenant ghoul, as a human being, is only put under the microscope when it suits the needs of his Regnant. Otherwise, that ghoul is expected to perform his task, and that is all.
This situation is both advantageous and problematic for a ghoul of the Order. It’s advantageous because, for the most part, ghouls are left to their tasks, provided they perform them well. They typically aren’t subject to some of the strange humiliations and violations that come with regnants of other covenants. Vampires of the Order just don’t have the time or luxury to play needlessly with their servants. Unfortunately, this indifference toward ghouls creates very little attachment between Regnant and thrall. Yes, the thrall still develops those addictions of the blood and that certain uncontrollable adoration for her Regnant, but any hope for returned feelings is a distant dream at best. Unless the vampire is hoping to experiment with that bond and note the power of his blood to affect the thrall, he’s likely to avoid her entirely until he needs something. Again, the Dragons see ghouls of this sort predominantly as objects. They can be picked up and used at will, and when finished, they may be quickly discarded.
Another problem for these ghouls is that they are a consequence of the blood as conferred by the Requiem. Thralls make up one small part of the larger equation, which makes them subject to experimentation. Experimentation in this manner can be unpleasant but tolerable, or it might be so horrifying that it leaves a thrall next to worthless. For the most part, vampires of the Order don’t plumb the depths of a ghoul’s social or emotional states. Although all rules have exceptions, generally those two spheres of existence matter little to the grand scheme of the Requiem. What does matter, however, are the physical and mystical properties of the Regnant/thrall relationship, and these properties are what most experimentation is meant to explore. It may involve drawing weekly draughts of blood, lightly damaging the flesh of the thrall to see how long she heals naturally, or commanding her to invoke her Disciplines in any number of ways. All experimentation is meant to help answer what ghouls are, how they are truly made, what they are capable of and how the ghoul condition relates to and can help a vampire trump the drawbacks of the Requiem.
In the end, most vampires of the Order are practical, and won’t sacrifice a perfectly good thrall to the autopsy table. Curiosity is a potent lure, though, and coupled with an insubordinate or inefficient thrall, it can lead to grisly experimentation. Many thralls have met untimely deaths at the end of a Bone saw or a toxic tincture of mercury-poisoned Vitae. Sometimes, to find out what really makes something tick, it must be dissembled, obliterated to its smallest components.
Servant Versus Student
The basic dichotomy that applies to ghouls of The Ordo Dracul is protégé versus property. Ghouls of each stripe are likely to have wildly different experiences and are chosen for clearly separate functions.
Ghouls chosen as “property” are just that, automatons owned (paid primarily in blood instead of money) to perform certain functions. For the most part, ghouls of this nature are a servile class within the covenant. Valets, maids, drivers, couriers — all are suitable concepts for thralls of the Order. Of course, each servile role is applicable to serving a Kindred master more than a mortal one. Maids polish Silver, but they also might be required to dust the display case of weird skeletons or scrub the bloodstains from the cellar floor. Butlers usher guests inside, and they might also need to bring the master of the house a certain “vintage” of Vitae — one not bottled but still trapped in the wriggling body of a 12-year-old boy.
About half of these ghouls are chosen from the bloodline breeding stock that is monitored and maintained by the covenant. Family ghouls, those chosen from the lineages of the Angustri clans or plucked from other “farmed” families, tend to develop a kind of servant culture within the homes and havens of the Order Kindred. Such cultures grow into an entire “lower class” within a manor house, as the servants collect in one lesser portion of the home while the Regnant lives hidden in opulence or among his other experiments. Servants might catch few glimpses of the master (seeing him once a week or even once a month) but hear his whispered missives and the screams of his “Research subjects” through the walls and ceilings. (Vampires subscribing to this pattern must be wary, however, for such a servant culture often knows more of his secrets than they are willing to let on.) Vampires not pulled from ghoul lineages and chosen independently often have a hard time assimilating with the current Staff of servants, and may even be abused at their hands, bullied because he’s different or lesser. Some regnants are known to purposefully create such a situation to see what results from such interactions.
Not all servants are relegated to menservants or housemaids, however. Many vampires believe that having a Staff of servants is antiquated and instead prefer to have a few ghouls assigned to key functions. Thralls could be scribes, for instance, copying old tomes into new books or even computer documents. In fact, as the Order is a technically sound covenant (at least in comparison to the other groups), a ghoul might even be used to maintain a physical computer network or to monitor, track and encrypt occult data over the Internet.
Protégés, of course, receive different treatment and are expected to perform different tasks than their inferior cousins. After all, the point of a protégé is breeding a ghoul eventually meant for the Embrace. It seems sometimes easier to test and mold candidates for The Ordo Dracul in this manner than to rely on already cursed Kindred who come with preconceived notions, bias and other baggage.
What are protégés expected to do? Plenty. One of the advantages of being just property is being left alone for much of the time — an apprenticed ghoul is not so lucky. A ghoul of such importance is under the gun and under the microscope every hour of every night. These thralls are expected to partake in some of the Order’s arcane experiments, they are schooled and tested on the group’s occult philosophies, and they are even allowed to learn what The Coils of the Dragon are (though they cannot learn such abilities themselves, of course). Such prized ghouls are practically the analogs of mortal medical students. They are quizzed constantly, required to learn inhuman amounts of information and granted very little sleep. This is a testing ground for the Embrace, but there’s no telling how long a protégé must endure such a lifestyle. A few are allowed into the Order as a vampire within the year, but most wait decades before being given the Embrace.
Failure for ghouls of any kind within the Order is not an option. When an object has lost its function, it is abandoned or destroyed. A ghoul who has lost her function is either subject to disfiguring experimentation or simply exsanguinated.
To Be Left Alone
Ghouls of the Order are not granted much benefit. They are servants, meant nominally to act as handmaidens or butlers to their Dragon masters. Worse still is that any servant is subject to experimentation at any time, be it physical, social or emotional. Is there any benefit?
One advantage is that servant ghouls of the Order are generally left alone to do their job. They are programmed with certain tasks and expected to perform them accordingly, without fail. Bring a draught of blood upon waking, press the linens, dust the beakers and so on and so forth. If a ghoul attends to these tasks regularly and with minimal error, she is likely to be left to her own devices for the rest of the time. What she does with this time is up to her. She may commune with the other servants, take long walks around the vampire’s estate or read books from the common shelves. Order regnants are generally detached and hardly notice their servants. Only when a ghoul stands out as particularly strong or weak does she become the target of scrutiny and action by her master. Standing out as weak is a surefire way to end up as nothing more than a dismembered corpse and few notes in the master’s experiment log.
Standing out as strong, however, is a way toward future advantage. Being skilled or able means that a ghoul might be able to transcend her place as property and become more of a protégé within the covenant. Doing so comes with its own sets of advantages and disadvantages. Advantages have already been mentioned, for being a protégé is an inroad to power within the ranks of the Order (and possibly the Embrace). The disadvantages are, of course, that a ghoul is now an obvious and unavoidable part of her Regnant’s Requiem. She is no longer off the map, so to speak, and anything she does will be studied with a grim scrutiny that could get her tortured or killed for a single misstep.
Ghoul Game Mechanics
Werewolves and mages are immune to the Embrace. If a vampire is somehow able to extract all the blood from a werewolf or mage and attempt the Embrace, that Embrace fails automatically. Likewise with Vinculums and attempts at creating ghouls — they simply do not work with regard to Lupines and mages. Other supernatural creatures are subject to Blood Addiction, however, the absence of other supernatural effects notwithstanding.
Naturally, this physiological situation doesn’t deter rumors of such things from spreading. Savvy Kindred who hear of such things, however, wisely dismiss them as the efforts of inexperienced vampires trying to codify something they don’t understand.
Optional Game Mechanic
Optional Rule: Even Better Ghouls
Not all Carthians are possessed of patience or wisdom. All in all, many vampires of the Movement are young, passionate and brash. Those who are able to look past such impetuousness, however, have found a curious and somewhat unprecedented social model that serves as an unusual function for the covenant’s ghouls. Ghouls are arranged secretly in localized cells. The term “secret society” would be applicable except for the fact that such an order rarely extends past the borders of a city or domain. The thralls populating these cells are everymen, for lack of a better term. Common, blue-collar individuals who would generally slip under the radar of most Kindred if only because carpenters, housewives and warehouse workers are so low in the pecking order to warrant little to no attention.
These “commoner” thralls are given as much power as the Carthians are willing to grant, including Disciplines, information on the local power structure for both mortals and Kindred and even specialized training such as computer Hacking or lock-picking. Such groups act more or less like insurgent or terrorist cells. One cell does not know of the next and probably knows next to nothing about his fellow ghouls. These thralls undermine the political and social configuration of a city’s Kindred through both covert subterfuge and overt violence. Anything goes in regard to what the cell is asked to do. It might organize a union protest, thus stopping work on The Invictus Prince’s new pet project. Members might hack into the wireless network of a prominent Ordo Dracul member or help distribute propaganda to an isolated group of Lancea Sanctum novitiates.
Some particularly zealous Carthians use their cells for violent purposes. Should the Movement feel particularly persecuted in a domain or end up as a constantly oppressed scapegoat, its members might resort to strapping explosives to cell members in an attempt to blow up the Sheriff’s limousine. The Carthian party line doesn’t generally support such extremism, but every bushel features one or two bad apples.
Votaries know very little truth about the covenant. They are initiated into some of the core concepts of the group, to be sure. For instance, all ghouls of the Circle are taught that creation is The Crux of all things, and that through tribulation comes illumination. For all intents and purposes, however, votaries are necessarily below the uninitiated “chorus” of the group (meaning those vampires not-yet-Acolytes). Votaries are allowed to take part in some of the lesser rituals or more common holidays, but are never granted access to any of the Circle’s secrets, great or small. Crúac, as well, usually goes completely unmentioned, though there is no reason a thrall can’t learn the secrets of blood magic.
Ultimately, it’s important to know that while all ghouls are loosely familiar with the overarching covenant, most believe that they are in on all the truths, and that those truths indicate the presence of scattered blood cults and dark gods. They are unlikely to know how far the Circle extends, for while the covenant remains unconnected from city to city, it still maintains a global presence. Such ghouls are likely to think that the cult they belong to is purely a local phenomenon. Only later, with age, experience or the Embrace do votaries grow to learn the breadth and depth of The Circle of the Crone.
The Acolytes are the most likely Kindred to create animal ghouls. Beasts play small parts in many pagan traditions, symbolizing primal nature and existing without a need for mere Humanity. Moreover, witches have the custom of using creature “familiars,” animals that act as spiritual touchstones and beastly servants. As such, many Acolytes choose animals as ghouls, often their first act of creating a thrall.
Hounds and cats are typical animal thralls, but some Acolytes prefer more exotic beasts. Owls are particularly popular, symbolizing both The Crone herself and her esoteric wisdom. Hares are also common (representing fertility), as are foxes (cunning) and serpents (wisdom). Occasionally, a member of the Circle attempts to make a dangerous predator her thrall. Creatures such as bears, wolves or any of the “big cats” are sought after as predator thralls. More often than not, though, attempting to engender such a relationship ends in the vampire losing hope, or a hand.
Acolytes are also prone to creating Mandragora. For one, the mystical mandrake tears are used in a number of Circle rituals. But more importantly, plants are symbols of fertility and creation. Fruits represent the yield of copulation and are often used in sacred sexual rituals within the covenant. Thorns draw life-giving blood. Leaves of different plants can be used to cure diseases or kill as poisons. Plants symbolize that constant life-anddeath cycle, and all the better to have them living ceaselessly on as Mandragora.
The supernatural process of molding a mortal into a thrall isn’t all that’s required of a ghoul serving a Regnant of the First Estate. While that process creates a fierce bond between Regnant and thrall, it doesn’t create any connection to the covenant as a whole. Like all members of the First Estate, a ghoul must swear an oath not only to her Regnant, but to all The Invictus.
The oath, called the Oath of Villein, refers to a type of village-born serf from medieval feudalism. The villein was a bondsman, bound to the land and the lord that owned the land. He had no rights save that to live. That is, his lord could not kill him without reason and propriety. A villein’s assets were his lord’s assets.
This oath invokes much of this same principle and carries it over to thralls. The oath itself is generally public, done before someone of local importance within the covenant such as Primogen, Priscus or Sheriff. (Rarely does a Prince concede his time for such a paltry oath.) Truthfully, the physical act of the oath itself changes from city to city, though most would have the ghoul believe it remains static and has since the Middle Ages. Generally, a draught of blood is taken from the thrall’s wrist, and those present all sample his Vitae. The ghoul swears fealty to his lord and to the First Estate. From there, he is meant to take his third and presumably final drink before the bond is fully established, though typically, this act is now more cosmetic. Generally, the Regnant secures the final bond before the oath takes place, in an effort to save herself any potential embarrassment.
One practice that has long been out of form but is recently coming back in vogue is the usage of ghouls as “proxies” at court. A proxy stands in for the vampire at certain auxiliary functions. Rarely is the ghoul allowed to make any particular decisions beyond those scripted offerings sent along by the Regnant. Generally, the proxy is a powerless mannequin. Some regnants who are dismissive of or disinterested in political affairs allow thralls more power, but this is atypical.
The Invictus uses ghouls-as-proxy more often than any other covenant. First, the covenant has an obscene number of ceremonies and affairs that need tending, and some younger members of The Invictus consider these traditions tedious. Second, The Invictus is willing to grant a little power here and there to particularly prominent or longserving ghouls. While they never recognize thralls as equal beings, they also don’t consistently relegate them to animals or objects, like some of the other covenants do.
Sanctified vampires have little problem lying to their thralls about hope and salvation. If converting a mortal to a thrall means promising some kind of God-sent deliverance in the beginning, so be it. If getting a ghoul to perform unique or difficult tasks requires offering intangible rewards of spiritual blessing, that’s perfectly acceptable. The point is, the Sanctified believe they owe their thralls nothing. Enslavement is their only reward.
The Sanctified create and use ghouls, for the utility of such a practice is undeniable. Still, there exists within the covenant a disdain for the custom. Why? Because of God.
The Vinculum creates feelings of unnatural, hollow “love” for the Regnant. The thrall is held by this artificial attraction, bound by it theoretically forever. The problem is that the only entity that the covenant truly believes deserves love is God. The Vinculum, on the other hand, establishes the Regnant as the highest and most significant being (if only in that single Regnant/ thrall relationship), and leaves God and the teachings of Longinus completely out of the equation.
Most are able to see past this, explaining it away that a mortal’s devotion to his Regnant means little. Why care what the thralls think when such creatures are nothing more than chattel? Still, many are uncomfortable placing themselves before God, for fear that such an act is a divine offense and tantamount to the lowest treachery. It’s for this reason that Vinculums between Kindred of The Lancea Sanctum are especially frowned upon; such a bond bypasses God entirely.
Certain Kindred within The Ordo Dracul are expected to track as many ghoul bloodlines in the world as possible. This role, given the title of Balaur Gard, or “Dragon’s Fence,” is granted to Kindred of the Order who are roughly in the middle of the Dragon’s Tongue. The title (a Dacian term said to have been in use for several centuries) is passed to a new vampire in a region approximately every decade or so. While not the most important duty in the Order, it carries with it a certain prestige that stays with a vampire even after she has left the role and passed it along to another.
The function is, as said, to note and track as many ghoul bloodlines as possible. While the focus of this study is slanted more toward those thrall families who are already associated with The Ordo Dracul, it’s important to note that the list also includes many non-Order-related lineages. It’s not enough to merely list the families, however. The entire bloodline must be mapped as far back as genealogy allows, and moreover, the actions of individual family members are tracked and noted. Of course, the Dragon’s Fence is not capable of performing this task by himself, so he uses an extensive panel of Order vampires and esteemed thralls to maintain this information.
Morbid curiosity leads to constant experimentation within the Order, which is sometimes reflected in the manner in which ghouls are chosen. Some vampires within the covenant actively seek out mortals who are somehow already affected by the occult world, be those mortals haunted by ghosts, Crippled by shapeshifters or possessed of arcane or psychic abilities.
One current trend among some of the more mysterious covenant members is to attempt a Regnant/thrall bond with humans who live on or near to so-called “wyrm nests,” or those presumed geographical junctures of ley lines. The in-vogue assumption purports that humans chosen from such places of power are somehow special or that they have a greater aptitude for esoteric talents or might instead make better vampires. (In fact, most ghouls chosen from these places fall under the “protégé” category, selected to eventually become vampires of The Ordo Dracul.)
Should a vampire choose to Embrace a ghoul, perhaps as a reward for years of exemplary service, you proceed more or less as you would in creating any Kindred character. The erstwhile ghoul’s Blood Potency becomes 1, and he gains a dot in one of the two favored Attributes listed for his sire’s clan. He retains any dots in any Disciplines he learned while he was a ghoul, even if his ghoul condition had lapsed due to lack of Vitae. If he had only two Discipline dots at the time of his Embrace, he gains one more from those that are now in clan for him. If he had more than three Discipline dots already, he doesn’t gain any. Also, only the Disciplines that are in clan for his sire are now in clan for him. The new vampire now uses Humanity rather than Morality, though his Humanity rating remains the same as his Morality was before the Embrace. Finally, once the ghoul is Embraced, he retains any Blood Addiction and Vinculums he possessed as a ghoul.
The Blood and Other Supernatural Creatures
Kindred Vitae, while potent, does have its limits. When the other supernatural creatures with whom the Damned occasionally cross paths come into play, certain realities of the World of Darkness supersede the mystic strength of the Blood.Werewolves and mages are immune to the Embrace. If a vampire is somehow able to extract all the blood from a werewolf or mage and attempt the Embrace, that Embrace fails automatically. Likewise with Vinculums and attempts at creating ghouls — they simply do not work with regard to Lupines and mages. Other supernatural creatures are subject to Blood Addiction, however, the absence of other supernatural effects notwithstanding.
Naturally, this physiological situation doesn’t deter rumors of such things from spreading. Savvy Kindred who hear of such things, however, wisely dismiss them as the efforts of inexperienced vampires trying to codify something they don’t understand.
Optional Rule: Even Better Ghouls
Insurgent Cells
Not all Carthians are possessed of patience or wisdom. All in all, many vampires of the Movement are young, passionate and brash. Those who are able to look past such impetuousness, however, have found a curious and somewhat unprecedented social model that serves as an unusual function for the covenant’s ghouls. Ghouls are arranged secretly in localized cells. The term “secret society” would be applicable except for the fact that such an order rarely extends past the borders of a city or domain. The thralls populating these cells are everymen, for lack of a better term. Common, blue-collar individuals who would generally slip under the radar of most Kindred if only because carpenters, housewives and warehouse workers are so low in the pecking order to warrant little to no attention.These “commoner” thralls are given as much power as the Carthians are willing to grant, including Disciplines, information on the local power structure for both mortals and Kindred and even specialized training such as computer Hacking or lock-picking. Such groups act more or less like insurgent or terrorist cells. One cell does not know of the next and probably knows next to nothing about his fellow ghouls. These thralls undermine the political and social configuration of a city’s Kindred through both covert subterfuge and overt violence. Anything goes in regard to what the cell is asked to do. It might organize a union protest, thus stopping work on The Invictus Prince’s new pet project. Members might hack into the wireless network of a prominent Ordo Dracul member or help distribute propaganda to an isolated group of Lancea Sanctum novitiates.
Some particularly zealous Carthians use their cells for violent purposes. Should the Movement feel particularly persecuted in a domain or end up as a constantly oppressed scapegoat, its members might resort to strapping explosives to cell members in an attempt to blow up the Sheriff’s limousine. The Carthian party line doesn’t generally support such extremism, but every bushel features one or two bad apples.
How Much Do They Know?
Votaries know very little truth about the covenant. They are initiated into some of the core concepts of the group, to be sure. For instance, all ghouls of the Circle are taught that creation is The Crux of all things, and that through tribulation comes illumination. For all intents and purposes, however, votaries are necessarily below the uninitiated “chorus” of the group (meaning those vampires not-yet-Acolytes). Votaries are allowed to take part in some of the lesser rituals or more common holidays, but are never granted access to any of the Circle’s secrets, great or small. Crúac, as well, usually goes completely unmentioned, though there is no reason a thrall can’t learn the secrets of blood magic.Ultimately, it’s important to know that while all ghouls are loosely familiar with the overarching covenant, most believe that they are in on all the truths, and that those truths indicate the presence of scattered blood cults and dark gods. They are unlikely to know how far the Circle extends, for while the covenant remains unconnected from city to city, it still maintains a global presence. Such ghouls are likely to think that the cult they belong to is purely a local phenomenon. Only later, with age, experience or the Embrace do votaries grow to learn the breadth and depth of The Circle of the Crone.
Beasts of the Circle
The Acolytes are the most likely Kindred to create animal ghouls. Beasts play small parts in many pagan traditions, symbolizing primal nature and existing without a need for mere Humanity. Moreover, witches have the custom of using creature “familiars,” animals that act as spiritual touchstones and beastly servants. As such, many Acolytes choose animals as ghouls, often their first act of creating a thrall.Hounds and cats are typical animal thralls, but some Acolytes prefer more exotic beasts. Owls are particularly popular, symbolizing both The Crone herself and her esoteric wisdom. Hares are also common (representing fertility), as are foxes (cunning) and serpents (wisdom). Occasionally, a member of the Circle attempts to make a dangerous predator her thrall. Creatures such as bears, wolves or any of the “big cats” are sought after as predator thralls. More often than not, though, attempting to engender such a relationship ends in the vampire losing hope, or a hand.
Acolytes are also prone to creating Mandragora. For one, the mystical mandrake tears are used in a number of Circle rituals. But more importantly, plants are symbols of fertility and creation. Fruits represent the yield of copulation and are often used in sacred sexual rituals within the covenant. Thorns draw life-giving blood. Leaves of different plants can be used to cure diseases or kill as poisons. Plants symbolize that constant life-anddeath cycle, and all the better to have them living ceaselessly on as Mandragora.
The Oath of Villein
The supernatural process of molding a mortal into a thrall isn’t all that’s required of a ghoul serving a Regnant of the First Estate. While that process creates a fierce bond between Regnant and thrall, it doesn’t create any connection to the covenant as a whole. Like all members of the First Estate, a ghoul must swear an oath not only to her Regnant, but to all The Invictus.The oath, called the Oath of Villein, refers to a type of village-born serf from medieval feudalism. The villein was a bondsman, bound to the land and the lord that owned the land. He had no rights save that to live. That is, his lord could not kill him without reason and propriety. A villein’s assets were his lord’s assets.
This oath invokes much of this same principle and carries it over to thralls. The oath itself is generally public, done before someone of local importance within the covenant such as Primogen, Priscus or Sheriff. (Rarely does a Prince concede his time for such a paltry oath.) Truthfully, the physical act of the oath itself changes from city to city, though most would have the ghoul believe it remains static and has since the Middle Ages. Generally, a draught of blood is taken from the thrall’s wrist, and those present all sample his Vitae. The ghoul swears fealty to his lord and to the First Estate. From there, he is meant to take his third and presumably final drink before the bond is fully established, though typically, this act is now more cosmetic. Generally, the Regnant secures the final bond before the oath takes place, in an effort to save herself any potential embarrassment.
Proxies
One practice that has long been out of form but is recently coming back in vogue is the usage of ghouls as “proxies” at court. A proxy stands in for the vampire at certain auxiliary functions. Rarely is the ghoul allowed to make any particular decisions beyond those scripted offerings sent along by the Regnant. Generally, the proxy is a powerless mannequin. Some regnants who are dismissive of or disinterested in political affairs allow thralls more power, but this is atypical.The Invictus uses ghouls-as-proxy more often than any other covenant. First, the covenant has an obscene number of ceremonies and affairs that need tending, and some younger members of The Invictus consider these traditions tedious. Second, The Invictus is willing to grant a little power here and there to particularly prominent or longserving ghouls. While they never recognize thralls as equal beings, they also don’t consistently relegate them to animals or objects, like some of the other covenants do.
The Big Lie
Sanctified vampires have little problem lying to their thralls about hope and salvation. If converting a mortal to a thrall means promising some kind of God-sent deliverance in the beginning, so be it. If getting a ghoul to perform unique or difficult tasks requires offering intangible rewards of spiritual blessing, that’s perfectly acceptable. The point is, the Sanctified believe they owe their thralls nothing. Enslavement is their only reward.
For the Love of God
The Sanctified create and use ghouls, for the utility of such a practice is undeniable. Still, there exists within the covenant a disdain for the custom. Why? Because of God.The Vinculum creates feelings of unnatural, hollow “love” for the Regnant. The thrall is held by this artificial attraction, bound by it theoretically forever. The problem is that the only entity that the covenant truly believes deserves love is God. The Vinculum, on the other hand, establishes the Regnant as the highest and most significant being (if only in that single Regnant/ thrall relationship), and leaves God and the teachings of Longinus completely out of the equation.
Most are able to see past this, explaining it away that a mortal’s devotion to his Regnant means little. Why care what the thralls think when such creatures are nothing more than chattel? Still, many are uncomfortable placing themselves before God, for fear that such an act is a divine offense and tantamount to the lowest treachery. It’s for this reason that Vinculums between Kindred of The Lancea Sanctum are especially frowned upon; such a bond bypasses God entirely.
The Dragon's Fence
Certain Kindred within The Ordo Dracul are expected to track as many ghoul bloodlines in the world as possible. This role, given the title of Balaur Gard, or “Dragon’s Fence,” is granted to Kindred of the Order who are roughly in the middle of the Dragon’s Tongue. The title (a Dacian term said to have been in use for several centuries) is passed to a new vampire in a region approximately every decade or so. While not the most important duty in the Order, it carries with it a certain prestige that stays with a vampire even after she has left the role and passed it along to another.The function is, as said, to note and track as many ghoul bloodlines as possible. While the focus of this study is slanted more toward those thrall families who are already associated with The Ordo Dracul, it’s important to note that the list also includes many non-Order-related lineages. It’s not enough to merely list the families, however. The entire bloodline must be mapped as far back as genealogy allows, and moreover, the actions of individual family members are tracked and noted. Of course, the Dragon’s Fence is not capable of performing this task by himself, so he uses an extensive panel of Order vampires and esteemed thralls to maintain this information.
Occult Variables
Morbid curiosity leads to constant experimentation within the Order, which is sometimes reflected in the manner in which ghouls are chosen. Some vampires within the covenant actively seek out mortals who are somehow already affected by the occult world, be those mortals haunted by ghosts, Crippled by shapeshifters or possessed of arcane or psychic abilities.One current trend among some of the more mysterious covenant members is to attempt a Regnant/thrall bond with humans who live on or near to so-called “wyrm nests,” or those presumed geographical junctures of ley lines. The in-vogue assumption purports that humans chosen from such places of power are somehow special or that they have a greater aptitude for esoteric talents or might instead make better vampires. (In fact, most ghouls chosen from these places fall under the “protégé” category, selected to eventually become vampires of The Ordo Dracul.)