Mind's Eye Theatre - Vampire The Requiem.pdf - RoseRed

Rumors suggest that some few ghouls do manage to escape their bonds, whether through
the Final Death of their masters or by other means. These ghouls typically become rogues,
seeking out vampires from whom they can acquire blood. These ghouls serve adopted Kindred
briefl y and then depart for greener pastures, or physically assault vampires for their precious
Vitae. Rogue ghouls are suffi ciently rare that most Kindred never worry about them — many
doubt they even exist — but when they fi nd occasion to travel in groups, they can be dangerous
to lone neonates or even elders who aren’t prepared to deal with them. A handful of
ghouls sometimes fi nd themselves subjected to a Vinculum by a subsequent vampire, but
many don’t, either becoming true rogues on their own, or meeting their end in the process
of seeking “unattached” blood to support their ghoul states.
REGIONS AND TERRITORIES
The average Kindred domain is not a single, monogamous entity. As cities have districts and
neighborhoods, so too do the Kindred divvy up their domains into smaller regions. Many of
these divisions are entirely artifi cial or political in nature, but that makes them no less real,
and the petty lord of a tiny territory granted her by the Prince might punish trespassers or
violators more strictly than does the Prince himself.
THE BARRENS
The Barrens are those areas of the city unfi t for or otherwise absent of human habitation
— and, by extension, Kindred habitation. These regions include industrial wastelands, certain
abandoned buildings, graveyards and the like. Some truly desperate Kindred hunt the
Barrens, hoping to encounter the occasional homeless person or lost tourist. For the most
part, however, “beating the Barrens” is an expression that has come to mean that a Kindred
is horribly down on her luck and attempts desperate and largely doomed measures.
Some Princes have been known to grant the Barrens to other Kindred as personal feeding
grounds as a form of public chastisement for wrongdoings that were unworthy of more serious
punishment. More than just a humiliation, this “award” can lead to worse problems for
the unfortunate Kindred down the road. As lord of the Barrens, she is now responsible for
everything that goes wrong there — and as the Barrens attract only those Kindred in desperate
straits, things go wrong with remarkable frequency.
THE RACK
The opposite of the Barrens, the Rack is that portion (or those portions) of a domain
most suitable for hunting. It includes bars, nightclubs, high-crime neighborhoods, crack
houses, brothels, homeless shelters. Basically, it’s any place where the kine are distracted
or discomposed, where strange behavior can be hidden or passed off, and where mortals
go missing on a frequent basis. Hunting the Rack is nearly effortless, and any “accidents”
are easily disposed of. Many Kindred treat the Rack as fi ne restaurant or wine cellar, where
they can go if they seek a particular “vintage” of Vitae. Sooner or later, all sorts of Licks pass
through the Rack.
In those domains where the Prince parcels out feeding grounds, elders are in constant
competition for the right to the Rack. Most Princes refuse to grant anyone exclusive rights
to the Rack, preferring to make it available to the entire city. Others keep such feeding rights
for themselves, demanding favors from any who would hunt there. Still others choose to offer
portions of the Rack as territory to favored allies, granting them substantial power among
lesser Kindred.
Because the Rack attracts so many Kindred, and because vampires are at their least alert when
feeding, many potential Masquerade breaches occur there. The very nature of the region often
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chapter one: society of the damned