House Rules - Game Mechanics
Tags are available at the sign in desk.
Social Traits (x3 or more)
- Alluring
- Gorgeous
Negative Traits (x3 or more)
- Clumsy
- Flabby
- Lame (roleplay this, even if x1)
- Puny
- Bestial (x2 or more with description)
- Repugnant
You do not change tags if you temporarily lose traits. The loss of traits in a challenge is not an actual loss of the attribute, but a representation of your PCs belief that they are no longer as "buff" or "eloquent" as they can be. This is the reason you can replenish your trait supply with a willpower expenditure.
The following Merits/Flaws must either be placed on a tag or be obvious in some way:
- Blush of Health
- Short
- Huge Size
- Smell of the Grave
- Disfigured
- One Eye
- Child
- Deformity
- Mistaken Identity (it even says so in the book)
- Eerie Presence
- Each Blood Trait is roughly equivalent to one pint (16 oz.) of blood, and as such will not quite fit into a standard glass, beer bottle, or soda can. However, this amount is strongly dependent on generation and as such, the following rule of thumb should be followed. For every generation below 10th, the Blood Trait takes up roughly one less ounce, and for every generation above 10th, one more. This property cannot be used to determine the generation of a vampire unless it can be proven that you have exactly one point of Blood in your possession (the size is given here only as a guideline). In most cases, you will have slightly more or slightly less, but for game balance it will act like one exact blood point. The most common method of transporting blood is in single blood bags, which can be seen in use wherever there is a blood bank or blood drive.
- It should be noted that unless the vampire in question has at least two levels of the Medicine ability, these points cannot be drawn and saved for future use. They represent blood drunk directly from a living vessel.
- Each hunting attempt takes 15 minutes. However, a character with specific blood tastes will generally take twice as long to hunt, unless that blood type is prevalent in the area being hunted. Hunting will frequently depend on circumstances.
- Drinking down a point of blood requires an entire action/turn. Celerity will not increase the rate of ingestion.
- Blood consciously burned for Physical Traits, Celerity, Potence, Protean, and healing may only be burned at the beginning of a turn and must be announced out loud.
- A vampire in frenzy will always burn blood to prevent torpor if they are able. They will also burn blood for physical traits if they have blood left over and the ability to spend it in a given round.
- Blood may be expended to create artificial, human like traits for one hour. (Warm skin, breathing, heartbeat, and foggy breath). For each Humanity trait below four a vampire possesses, she must expend an additional point of blood. For example, a vampire with three Humanity must expend two points of blood to create this effect. This effect is not possible for those on a Path other than the Path of Humanity.
- Once blood is removed from a vampire it becomes inert in a matter of minutes. No way is known to store the blood. There may be some magical ways to store the blood of a vampire, but if so, no one is talking.
When the challenge is started, both parties must bid an appropriate trait. If either side does not bid a trait, they lose on ties.
You can relent to any challenge, unless otherwise stated.
Retesting: You now only get one retest from each source. Abilities, Merits, Disciplines, and Willpower are the areas you can generally get a retest from.
You can only cancel a retest with an appropriate retest from the same source (ie. an Ability can cancel any Ability, A Merit can cancel a Merit and so on.)
- These are now burned when you call for a retest; you do not get to keep them when all the tests are done based on who won or lost.
- The other person in the test may use an ability to cancel out your retest. In this case, both parties would lose the level bid in the Ability for the night.
- Should you wish to have a better chance to get a retest you may call for a retest using multiple levels of the Ability, to your total for that ability.
- Your opponent can spend an equal number of levels to cancel your retest. This would mean that both parties lose all bid levels and the original challenge would stand.
- If they do not cancel the test, you do a normal test. At the end, regardless of the outcome, you lose the number of ability traits you have bid.
- You gain willpower back at the rate of one each game
- Only gives one retest when you are being challenged. It cannot be used as an offensive retest.
- A willpower retest cannot be blocked.
- Exception, if will power is used to simulate an Ability then it is treated just like an ability retest.
Moving and Attacking: You may take up to two steps and attack without penalty. On your third step, you suffer a two-trait penalty on your attack, which means that you have to bid three traits.
Drawing a Weapon: While you can draw a weapon and use it in the same round, doing so causes a 1-trait penalty, so you would have to bid two traits in order to hit. Items such as quick draw holsters or Arm rails remove this penalty.
Healing: In order to heal aggravated wounds, it costs 3 blood, 1 willpower, and a night's rest. If you wish to let the aggravated wound heal naturally, they will heal back at the rate of one wound per month. Please note that if left to heal naturally, the wound will leave scars. For each of these scars, you gain a repugnant negative trait.
Fair Escape: There are many circumstances under which kindred may call for fair escape. Under no circumstances does a properly called fair escape require a test. For fair escape to be possible at all, there must be a clear method of egress. Ask an ST.
Surprise: People who are Surprised may only soak (bid a Stamina Trait), and cannot dodge or attack for that turn.
Surprise is an ST call. If you want surprise in a situation, talk to an ST beforehand. Also, if both parties involved agree that someone would be surprised, then that person is surprised.
Staking: Vampires that have been staked are physically immobile. They may not use any disciplines. They remain aware of activity around them.
If you are staked while awake, you remain awake. While staked, you awaken with the sunset as normal, spending a blood trait each night. You cannot lapse into torpor willingly during this time.
If a character is able to successfully soak the damage, either through fortitude (i.e. Aegis, or reducing the damage), a ballistic vest (the vest takes the damage), or with some other means that will prevent them from taking the damage, then they cannot be staked
In order to stake someone with a missile weapon, you must succeed in four simple tests.
| HUMANITY LEVEL | TIME MISSED |
| Humanity 5 | 1 Month |
| Humanity 4 | 1.5 Months |
| Humanity 3 | 2 Months |
| Humanity 2 | 2.5 Months |
| Humanity 1 | 3 Months |
If you are on a path and fall into torpor, your character is out of play for 4 months unless they can get the blood of a kindred 3 generations lower. The blood of a Tremere using potency does count towards this. Blood rage also works to immediately revive; however, if you have no blood left in your system, feeding you and then blood raging you will not work.
There is a proper sequence to be followed in combat, which makes for combat that is as realistic and fair as possible. This sequence should be followed for all combat. Wound modifiers are in effect instantly upon receiving the wound.
- Spend blood (must be announced)
- Social or Mental Challenges (may choose to wait till 4th step; must be announced)
- Declare Normal Physical Action
- Alacrity (replaces the normal action)
- Normal Physical Action (includes a physical action bidding mental traits; i.e. firing a gun)
- Swiftness
- Legerity
- Elder-level Celerity (not that you have to worry about that)
- Thaumaturgy goes off just before normal actions (is declared in Soc/Ment actions)
- Willpower can be used to resist the Frenzy
- While in Frenzy, you cannot use Mental or Social based powers
- You don't suffer the effects of wound levels other than Torpor or Final Death
- You cannot do any Social Challenges other than Intimidation
- You need not risk a trait in a Social Challenge, and the only social tests you can take part in must have to do with calming you down.
- The Beast will use all of its power to remain in control; it will spend willpower for retests.
- While in Frenzy it is very hard to be Dominated. The person doing the Dominate must get right up in to your face to make eye contact. This will likely make them the closest target.
- Role-play the frenzy. The frenzy causes you to attack with teeth and claws. Weapons will rarely be used, only as bludgeoning weapons, and will quickly be discarded. You will attack the closest person, without regard to who the original target was.
- The Beast will use blood every turn it is in control. First, to heal wounds, followed by Celerity and then to pump up its physical traits.
For each point of blood you take from a human you cause one level of bashing damage (2 is safe). Damage affects humans as per the following table:
| WOUND TYPE | DAMAGE RECEIVED |
| Bashing | 1 |
| Lethal | 2 |
| Aggravated | 3 |
A social challenge cannot require someone to do something that is harmful or suicidal to him or her. Something stupid will give you the opportunity to spend willpower to ignore the suggestion, but you have to avoid that character for five minutes afterwards.
Social challenges should be played out. The test will usually represent at least several seconds of conversation; that time has to be played out before the test can be done.
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