Undead Menses
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A woman’s menstruation has in some primal societies or traditions been tied to the lunar cycles, to the tides, to magic as a sacrifice of blood. It represents a woman at the height of her power: she is fertile and capable of the creation of life, symbolized by the seemingly supernatural ability to bleed without being weakened or dying. It’s also a grave taboo in many cultures, particularly those that are male-dominated. The blood is seen as threatening. It is indicated as shameful, arguably because men seek to repress (or simply not admit to) a woman’s power. It is blood that an infant does not feed upon; it is blood that leaves the body and does not create life. For some, that is frightening.
Some Savages still bleed like this regardless of (or more appropriately, in spite of) their unliving state. The blood that flows is black, thick, a musky elixir. It does not come once a month as it does with humans, but instead flows whenever the vampire wills it: by expending a point of Vitae, she may expunge this undead menses from her body.
The blood expelled in such a way has a few different functions: if used in the blood magic of Crùac, it grants the Savage a +1 bonus to the roll to empower the ritual. If fed to a mortal being, it acts as a mild hallucinogen (-1 to all relevant dice pools) in addition to providing the other effects intrinsic to Vitae. Finally, the blood itself acts as a potent marker for other Savages or those with Auspex. Marking an area with the blood gives off a heady aroma long after the blood dries or is washed away (for a number of weeks equal to the marking vampire’s Resolve score). If a Gangrel vampire or a vampire possessing any dots in Auspex comes across that mark during this time, the vampire’s player may roll Wits + Survival to sense the mark and its nature. Some Gangrel use their undead menses to write messages in this way (symbols or short words) to their brethren.
Some Savages still bleed like this regardless of (or more appropriately, in spite of) their unliving state. The blood that flows is black, thick, a musky elixir. It does not come once a month as it does with humans, but instead flows whenever the vampire wills it: by expending a point of Vitae, she may expunge this undead menses from her body.
The blood expelled in such a way has a few different functions: if used in the blood magic of Crùac, it grants the Savage a +1 bonus to the roll to empower the ritual. If fed to a mortal being, it acts as a mild hallucinogen (-1 to all relevant dice pools) in addition to providing the other effects intrinsic to Vitae. Finally, the blood itself acts as a potent marker for other Savages or those with Auspex. Marking an area with the blood gives off a heady aroma long after the blood dries or is washed away (for a number of weeks equal to the marking vampire’s Resolve score). If a Gangrel vampire or a vampire possessing any dots in Auspex comes across that mark during this time, the vampire’s player may roll Wits + Survival to sense the mark and its nature. Some Gangrel use their undead menses to write messages in this way (symbols or short words) to their brethren.
Drawback: The vampire can only access this undead menses once per day for “free.” Gaining the blood (i.e. more than a single point of Vitae expelled) more than once per day is possible, but the vampire feels her insides twist up and cinch, as if something has been damaged. And it has; she takes one point of aggravated damage per point of Vitae menses expelled beyond the first.