Paranoia
Severe; follows Suspicion
Your character believes that her misery and insecurity stem from external persecution and hostility. (That would be an accurate assumption in the World of Darkness, if people actually knew of monsters' existence.) Paranoids obsess over their persecution complexes, often creating vast and intricate conspiracy theories to explain who torments them and why. Anyone or anything perceived to be "one of them" might be subjected to violence.
Paranoia is a species of delusion. The paranoid believes that enemies persecute her and make her miserable. As a paranoid’s delusions intensify, she spins out elaborate conspiracy theories to explain who’s doing the persecution, and why. Everything goes into the conspiracy. Do the neighbors stay up late? They must be spying. Does she have headaches? Her enemies have dosed her with some insidious toxin. Did she lose her job? The conspiracy arranged it… and of course, they want other people to believe she’s crazy. As paranoia deepens, the sufferer might plot to strike back at her persecutors, whomever she imagines them to be.
This derangement can be hard to diagnose among the Kindred because they really do have enemies in the Danse Macabre. A paranoid vampire, however, can’t tell a real enemy from one that exists only in his head. Imagined enemies can range from the CIA to Satan himself. Paranoid Kindred often turn obsessive-compulsive as well and adopt complex feeding precautions to prevent their enemies from “tainting their blood supply.” They also parse every question or comment for hidden motives and meanings. Suspicion extends even to progeny and thralls subjected to Vinculums — maybe they’re only pretending to be loyal!
Paranoia is a species of delusion. The paranoid believes that enemies persecute her and make her miserable. As a paranoid’s delusions intensify, she spins out elaborate conspiracy theories to explain who’s doing the persecution, and why. Everything goes into the conspiracy. Do the neighbors stay up late? They must be spying. Does she have headaches? Her enemies have dosed her with some insidious toxin. Did she lose her job? The conspiracy arranged it… and of course, they want other people to believe she’s crazy. As paranoia deepens, the sufferer might plot to strike back at her persecutors, whomever she imagines them to be.
This derangement can be hard to diagnose among the Kindred because they really do have enemies in the Danse Macabre. A paranoid vampire, however, can’t tell a real enemy from one that exists only in his head. Imagined enemies can range from the CIA to Satan himself. Paranoid Kindred often turn obsessive-compulsive as well and adopt complex feeding precautions to prevent their enemies from “tainting their blood supply.” They also parse every question or comment for hidden motives and meanings. Suspicion extends even to progeny and thralls subjected to Vinculums — maybe they’re only pretending to be loyal!
Symptoms
Effect: A character who suffers from paranoia automatically suffers a -2 penalty on Social rolls. The character is distrustful and wary of everyone, even close friends and family. The slightest hint of suspicious behavior is enough to provoke a Resolve + Composure roll to retain control (made at a -2 penalty). A failed roll indicates that your character flees or attacks an offender.
A paranoid character has difficulty with all social interactions because of her reflexive suspicion of everyone. A character who suffers from paranoia automatically suffers a -2 penalty on Social rolls. The character is distrustful and wary of everyone, even close friends and family. The slightest hint of suspicious behavior is enough to provoke a Resolve + Composure roll to retain control (made at a -2 penalty). A failed roll indicates that your character flees or attacks an offender. Additionally, among Kindred, the slightest hint that someone might be an enemy can provoke a frenzy check, with the number of successes required set by how threatening the trigger event seems. A casual remark that seems to show someone knows a bit about the character’s activities might require only one success to avoid frenzy. Finding an intruder in his haven would almost certainly require five.
A paranoid character has difficulty with all social interactions because of her reflexive suspicion of everyone. A character who suffers from paranoia automatically suffers a -2 penalty on Social rolls. The character is distrustful and wary of everyone, even close friends and family. The slightest hint of suspicious behavior is enough to provoke a Resolve + Composure roll to retain control (made at a -2 penalty). A failed roll indicates that your character flees or attacks an offender. Additionally, among Kindred, the slightest hint that someone might be an enemy can provoke a frenzy check, with the number of successes required set by how threatening the trigger event seems. A casual remark that seems to show someone knows a bit about the character’s activities might require only one success to avoid frenzy. Finding an intruder in his haven would almost certainly require five.
Type
Mental
Parent