Requiem Diary
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Effect: While some Kindred claim to have spent a century or more in Torpor and remember their earliest nights clearly, others spend a mere decade in Torpor before forgetting which city they were Embraced in. Because of this nigh-inevitable strain of the Requiem, some have turned to the practice of keeping written accounts of their unlives. Depending on the time period from whence a vampire came and the culture’s technology, these written accounts can vary from engraved tablets to hand-written journals to blogs on the Internet. This Merit represents not only how complete a written record is, but also how organized the vampire keeps those records.
Totally assimilating decades or centuries of accounts and memories could involve prodigious study. However, a Kindred’s Requiem Diary Merit is helpful for gaining an edge when dealing with one’s past. Upon taking this Merit, the player should write a background for his character, especially detailing where the vampire resided, major events that he witnessed, and important individuals that impacted his unlife. The Storyteller may always reserve the right to insert additional places and time periods if it suits the story, as the vampire would not necessarily remember he wrote such information into his journal.
When presented with an issue that the Storyteller and player agree could be related to the vampire’s earlier years, he may consult his Requiem Diary. Successful Research provides an amount of inspiration and insight, bringing those events of the past back to his mind. The player rolls Intelligence + Academics. For each dot in the Merit, the vampire gains the 9-again quality on a single Mental or Social dice pool directly related to the subject of the Research.
Depending on the nature of the information sought, penalties may apply to the roll. Researching the Status of his own covenant at the time and place of his Embrace is only slightly obscure in relation to his diary, imposing a -1 penalty. Uncovering details of the specifics behind an individual rival and his weaknesses could be a bit tougher to find, imposing a -3 penalty. Based upon details and information provided by the player, the Storyteller should also assign bonuses to certain rolls. If the player has specifically mentioned a person or event that the vampire needs to Research, a +2 bonus could be applied to the roll. Should a mere reference to a related group of people or time period be written in the player’s notes, a +1 could still be applied. The player can choose, of course, to describe the journal in very general terms, and the Storyteller shouldn’t penalize the player for not writing a novel. However, if the Requiem Diary is going to be any use at all, the Storyteller needs to know what span of time it covers and what sorts of things the character put in it.
If the character has any rating in this Merit, he gains bonuses to certain types of rolls upon awakening from Torpor.
Optional Rule: Indoctrination, Optional Rule: Regaining the Self
Totally assimilating decades or centuries of accounts and memories could involve prodigious study. However, a Kindred’s Requiem Diary Merit is helpful for gaining an edge when dealing with one’s past. Upon taking this Merit, the player should write a background for his character, especially detailing where the vampire resided, major events that he witnessed, and important individuals that impacted his unlife. The Storyteller may always reserve the right to insert additional places and time periods if it suits the story, as the vampire would not necessarily remember he wrote such information into his journal.
When presented with an issue that the Storyteller and player agree could be related to the vampire’s earlier years, he may consult his Requiem Diary. Successful Research provides an amount of inspiration and insight, bringing those events of the past back to his mind. The player rolls Intelligence + Academics. For each dot in the Merit, the vampire gains the 9-again quality on a single Mental or Social dice pool directly related to the subject of the Research.
Depending on the nature of the information sought, penalties may apply to the roll. Researching the Status of his own covenant at the time and place of his Embrace is only slightly obscure in relation to his diary, imposing a -1 penalty. Uncovering details of the specifics behind an individual rival and his weaknesses could be a bit tougher to find, imposing a -3 penalty. Based upon details and information provided by the player, the Storyteller should also assign bonuses to certain rolls. If the player has specifically mentioned a person or event that the vampire needs to Research, a +2 bonus could be applied to the roll. Should a mere reference to a related group of people or time period be written in the player’s notes, a +1 could still be applied. The player can choose, of course, to describe the journal in very general terms, and the Storyteller shouldn’t penalize the player for not writing a novel. However, if the Requiem Diary is going to be any use at all, the Storyteller needs to know what span of time it covers and what sorts of things the character put in it.
If the character has any rating in this Merit, he gains bonuses to certain types of rolls upon awakening from Torpor.
Optional Rule: Indoctrination, Optional Rule: Regaining the Self