Rules Clarifications
Updated 5/31/01
Learning Disciplines - In order for Kindred to learn a discipline that is not in their clan (ie a Brujah learning Obfuscate), they must seek out a tutor willing to teach them and strike up a deal. The tutor must have at least one level higher than the level the pupil seeks to learn (to learn a Basic, the tutor must have Intermediate in the discipline). Disciplines that are non-specific to certain clans, such as Potence and Dominate may be learned normally with a tutor. Clan-specific disciplines such as Protean and Serpentis require that the pupil drink a trait of blood from the instructor per level (i.e. 1 at Basic, 1 at Int, 1 at Advanced) in order to acclimate their body to the new use of blood.
Learning an Out-of-Clan discipline costs one additional point. Basics would cost 4 experience points, Intermediates 7, and Advanced would cost 10.
Clan disciplines may be learned on their own, with the exception of Master disciplines and combination disciplines. Usually these require special tutors and additional requirements or study. The special combination disciplines listed in various revised Clanbooks may be learned by characters in game (not at character generation), pending Storyteller approval.
Initiative - The new initiative system will follow the guidelines given in the book, with the following clarifications:
In the round, a character goes on a number equal to the number of traits he possesses in the category of the action he is performing. So, if a character is using a Social action such as Entrancement, and he possesses 9 Social traits, he would go on nine. Initiative is called from the highest number going down, so the character with more traits goes first in the round. Characters who go on the same intiative go simultaneously, neither actions pre-empting one another.
Celerity factors into the initiative scheme. The multiple actions granted by the Celerity powers Swiftness (2nd basic) and Legerity (2nd intermediate) are handled in separate phases after the main round. In a given round of combat, it goes:
Main phase - Swiftness phase - Legerity phase - Ambidexterity phase.
The Swiftness and Legerity phases also break down by initiative number, so that a character with higher traits goes faster in the Celerity rounds than an opponent with less. Please note that these extra phases cannot be used for most of the mental and social disciplines such as Thaumaturgy and Dominate.
The first basic of Celerity, Alacrity, works in the main phase of combat. If a character goes before another character with Celerity and does some obvious action (fire a pistol, motion to cast a spell, etc.), the character with Celerity may invoke Alacrity to pre-empt the first character. The pre-empting character forgoes the initiative he would have originally went on, and now goes right before the other character.
Three Kindred are involved in a combat: Remy, a Tremere with no levels of Celerity; Stephan, a Toreador with Legerity; and Molikroth, a demon with the equivalent level of Swiftness. We start with the main phase. Declarations of Celerity are heard from the demon and Stephan, each spending a blood point. Remy declares a Mental action and has eleven Mental traits. Stephan declares a Physical action and has nine Mental traits. The demon declares a social action and has eight traits. The demon plans to attack using his Ambidexterity after the social challenge.
We count down, coming first to Remy at eleven. He's casting a spell at the demon, an obvious action. The demon invokes Alacrity to pre-empt Remy with his baleful gaze. Stephan sees this and invokes Alacrity to pre-empt the demon (which will work since he has a higher level of Celerity). Stephan issues his physical attack against the demon, followed by Molikroth socially challenging Remy, followed by Remy casting his spell at the demon. All of this technically happens on the same segment, eleven. If either Molikroth or Remy had been felled by the attacks on them, their actions would not have taken place because of Alacrity.
The main phase over, we move to Swiftness phase. Remy has no Celerity nor Ambidexterity and can issue no more actions until the next round. Stephan's physical action goes in nine, but the demon has ten physical traits and goes first. The demon attacks Remy with his claws, then Stephan attacks the demon with his rapier. This ends the Swiftness phase. Then we hit the Legerity phase. Stephan is the only character with Legerity, so he goes, attacking the demon once more.
The final phase of the round is the Ambidexterity phase. The demon is only character with Ambidexterity, but Stephan could attempt to attack should he want to take the huge penalties and fight with his off hand. He chose not to (as that would have penalized his normal action), so we go to the demon's attack. He rakes Remy once more, finishing the round. We go to the beginning of the main phase of the next round.
Movement - While in combat, it is important to determine how far a character can move. If the character wishes to perform an action on their initiative segment other than movement, they are able to take up to three steps. For each step beyond the first, the character is down one trait for the appropriate action for purposes of ties. So a human using his eight mental traits to take three steps and fire a gun would be down two traits, therefore only having six traits in case of a tie.
A character wishing to do nothing other than move may take the three steps without penalty. Also, such a moving character may make a static physical challenge against a narrator [decide number of traits] to move six steps instead of three. Passing the test means the character moves six steps; failing causes the character to fall prone on the ground, and a movement action must be spent to return to their feet. Athletics can be used to retest this challenge.
Negative Traits - It is not explicitly stated in the book, so we must clarify. A character is allowed to begin with up to five negative traits and up to seven points of flaws. Negative traits encompasses negative attribute traits (Clumsy, Callous, Violent, etc.), derangements, and lowered humanity traits. Therefore, if a character has gained two freebie points from taking a derangement at start, and two points from lowering their humanity by one, then they would only be able to profit from taking one negative trait such as Condescending.
We are encouraging players to start guessing at and using other character's negative traits. Also, we are watching to see if these traits are played properly. If a character continuously leads the charge into combat, but has the traits Cowardly, a Storyteller will warn the player. If the actions persist, the player may be forced to pay for removal of the negative trait with experience.
Status Traits - Status traits can be added to certain social challenges to make them effective. This effect represents that character's standing in society and the obvious pull she has within social circles. In order to bid status traits or use them for resolution of ties, the opposing character must be nominally aware of the standing or reputation of the high-status character.
Status traits must be declared before traits are compared. Status traits can be ignored in social challenges at risk of a breach of etiquette. If one is not aware that the opponent is Kindred, let alone respected in society, it is perfectly acceptable to disregard the use of Status. For this reason, it is common practice to be introduced so that others do not make the faux pas of disrespect. An 'esteemed Primogen of the city' should garner more respect than 'this is Bob'. That being said, ignorance is no excuse in Camarilla society. You may never have met the Archon travelling through your city, but blatant disregard will earn you a heap of trouble.
Characters can disregard status at their whim, even if they know their opponent in the challenge. Such an action usually takes the form of 'I know you're Respected, but I do not care'. Reporting such an affront can be tricky business, since you must know that your Status was ignored and it had some outcome on the challenge.
Subtle uses of disciplines generally do not invoke Status. Dementation is the primary culprit, since it rarely lets the target know who the attack came from. While Majesty relies on Status and force of personality, Summon does not let a target know who calls them, and therefore gains no bonus from Status.
Status comes from a variety of sources, and not all may apply to given encounters. Sect status, such as Camarilla Status and Sabbat Status, only apply to dealings within the particular sect. Humans have no knowledge (and rightly so) of the existance of these societies, and therefore no knowledge of their standing. Clan status applies only when dealing with members of your clan.
Morality - The morality system is the mechanics by which most Kindred characters resist the Beast that rages inside of them. Many follow the Path of Humanity, which is the same system of mores used before the embrace. A few others follow alternate paths, each being a new outlook with different motivations and ways to restrain or guide the Beast away from self-destruction.
When someone violates the tenets of their Morality path, they must test against a Storyteller to see if they have lost any of their Humanity (or other virtues). They compare their Conscience (or Conviction) against the level of the offense and throw a test. If they win or tie, they are fine, but if they lose the test, problems begin. A character who loses a test may spend a temporary Conscience trait to test again. If so, their Conscience is reduced by one for the night, and the test is thrown again.
Characters who lose on a Conscience test have their permanent Humanity (or appropriate path) reduced by one. Characters who are reduced to a one or two in Humanity have no concerns for higher violations of ethics. They do not have to test for violations greater than their Conscience, such as stealing. Intentional acts of murder and such still require a test to be made. Please note that attempting the consuming of a soul through Diablerie invokes an automatic loss of humanity.
Self-control and Courage tests are similar when it comes to spending a temporary trait to retest. Failing such a test usually invokes frenzy, which creates negative traits and possibly derangements for the character. Succumbing to frenzy does not affect a character's humanity, although failing to properly master the Beast may go against the tenets of certain Paths. And it is highly likely that actions caused during a frenzy may go against the base edicts of Humanity.
Having a Humanity score reduced to zero is the end of the character. He or she enters Wassail, the never-ending frenzy. The character becomes a maddened beast, and is given to the Storytellers to play from then on.
Low humanity scores affect interaction with mortals. The less human you are (and therefore closer the the Beast), the more mortals can sense that there is something odd about you. Characters with Humanity scores less than five suffer a trait penalty for every trait less than five, up to a maximum of three. Blood may be spent to alleviate these penalties, mimicing breathing and skin tone to appear more human.
Characters following alternate Paths of Enlightenment are too distanced from humanity, and so always suffer a three-trait penalty for positive social interactions with mortals, regardless of attempts to appear human.
Low humanity also affects the time spent in Torpor. A character with a Humanity of 5 spends 1 week in Torpor. 4 spends 1 month in Torpor. 3 spends 1 year in Torpor. 2 spends 10 years in Torpor. 1 spends 100 years in Torpor. There are several ways a vampire in Torpor can be awakened, but those should be determined in game.
Diablerie - The act of consuming one's soul. Once a vampire is taken down to Torpor, an attacking vampire can attempt to drain the soul of their victim. The rules for Diablerie are mostly the same as the basic rule book (pg. 215).
I. Incapacitate target.
II. Drain 1 blood point per action. Continue until all blood is removed.
III. Drain health levels (if not at Torpor Health Level). Physical challenge versus the target; target may only defend with Stamina-related traits. Attacker may not be harmed as a result of this test. Continue until all health levels are removed, or attacker loses all physical traits and cannot continue.
IV. Drain the soul. Physical challenge against the target; the target is considered to be three physical traits higher than their current amount. If attacker wins, the soul is devoured. Attacker may continue testing until they can no longer risk physical traits. If the attacker fails, they give up and the victim is destroyed.
V. If victim was of a lower generation than the attacker, then the attacker has his generation lowered by one.
VI. Attacker throws a simple test with the ST. On a loss, the character gains one trait of the STs choice. On a tie, the character gains 2 points of abilities that the victim possessed. On a win, compare disciplines. Starting with basic (non-unique) disciplines, the attacker can gain the first or second level of a discipline. If the character has all of those disciplines, then they can gain a clan-specific discipline in the same manner (Serpentis, Quietus). If all are already possessed, then Intermediates may be learned in the same fashion, and then Advanced. Note that the attacker only gets one discipline dot for the diablerie. If the two characters disciplines are the same, or the victim is weaker, then the attacker gains abilities as listed with a tie.
VII. Attacker throws a simple test with the ST. On a win, the character gains a negative trait assigned by the ST. On a tie, the character gains a temporary derangement of the ST's choosing. On a loss, the character gains an appropriate flaw assigned by the ST.
Please note that the Deadman rule for diablerie supercedes the recommended 2 EP for diablerie. All of the rest of the effects of diablerie are the same, including the tainted soul and the effects of diablerizing powerful elders. Kindred who gain out-of-clan disciplines through diablerie are considered able to learn that discipline until the next echelon without a tutor, as per the rules on Out-of-Clan Disciplines.
Due to their rigors of study, Thaumaturgy and Necromancy may not be learned through diablerie alone. If texts are present, a successful diabolist may now take the time to learn them.
And please note, characters following the Path of Humanity automatically lose a Humanity trait for even attempting such actions.
Derangements - Insanity comes in many shapes and sizes. Characters who possess a derangement are prone to slip into this state when the trigger occurs. If the stimulus is there to provoke a derangement, the character automatically slips into their derangement. A willpower point may be spent to resist the frenzy, calling for a Self-Control (or Courage if appropriate) test against the storyteller or narrator on scene. The trait level of the challenge is determined by the storyteller.
Many of the derangements are tied in with frenzy. If a trigger calls for frenzy, then the character slips into either a rage frenzy or fear frenzy. Crimson rage would always go to a rage frenzy, while Immortal Terror would send the victim running in fear. If in question, ask a Storyteller.
Retests and Cancellation - Retests, most importantly the ones reflecting Willpower, are being changed to reflect the rulings in Dark Epics. For the most part, a point of Willpower can be used to retest any challenge, and it may not be cancelled.
Noticing Disciplines - If a power is unsuccesfully used against you, you may attempt a static mental challenge versus the person who attempted it (difficulty = thier mentals) to notice it. Retest with the Awareness ability. A narrator onhand can determined what the character will actually notice (some are more obvious than others).
