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

character creation
of her planned chronicle. Preludes concerning the Embrace might take this decision out of
your hands entirely, basing it solely on the Storyteller’s discretion.
When choosing a clan, you might wish to choose a specifi c bloodline that deviates slightly
from the norm, a subset of your vampiric family that holds to different ideals and behavioral
standards. Be sure to confer with your Storyteller before making such a decision, as certain
bloodlines might not be allowed in her chronicle, or might not exist at all. Alternatively, it is
possible to create an entirely new bloodline, provided your Storyteller approves.
COVENANT
A covenant is more social than familial, concerned with a character’s worldview and relationship
to other Kindred rather than the advantages and bonds of the Blood. Each of these
societies seeks different goals using (sometimes dramatically) diverse methods, all sure in the
knowledge that their way is “right,” or at least more right than all the others. Covenant is
not governed by clan or sire, though childer often begin their Requiems in the covenants of
their sires, either out of familiarity or promise of Status.
If a covenant is chosen during character creation, there is no reason it can’t be changed
as a character comes to more fully understand her place in the world. While a character’s
covenant is not set in stone, those who change allegiances are often viewed with suspicion
and might have diffi culty gaining trust or status within the new social hierarchy. Characters
who attempt to “covenant hop” in order to learn the proprietary secrets of each covenant
discover very quickly that as much as different covenants may dislike each other, they all
share one common hatred: traitors. And that is exactly the label applied to characters who
attempt to change covenants solely in pursuit of power. If there is one thing no Kindred
will permit, it is traitors in possession of their secrets. So while switching covenants is by
no means an automatic death sentence, characters can certainly expect reprisals as harsh as
they are swift against themselves and their students if they dare to teach outsiders their old
covenant’s secrets. Discretion is therefore essential for those who have switched covenants, if
only to reassure members of their former covenant that they are not sharing any information
they shouldn’t be.
So in the end, don’t come crying to your Storyteller if your “clever” scheme to have your
character repeatedly switch covenants in order to become an über-vampire with mastery of
all their proprietary secrets like Crúac, the Coils of the Dragon and Theban Sorcery instead
results in your character being destroyed by a vampiric lynch mob long before your master
plan is close to complete. After all, the members of these covenants are perfectly within their
rights to attempt to discredit or destroy those who seek only their powers and disregard their
actual teachings. Covenants are social groups of Kindred with their own rules, beliefs and
traditions — they are not simply the means to provide your character with cool superpowers.
You have been warned.
Your character’s covenant need not be chosen at character creation, though your concept
should give some clue as to which covenants are most or least comfortable. Storytellers may
disallow this choice at the start of a chronicle, intending characters to handle this decision
during play. A character who chooses not to have even nominal membership in a covenant at
all is considered unaligned. These apolitical Kindred receive no special benefi ts, but neither
are they beholden to superiors or bound to act according to a particular dogma.
Covenants grant certain benefi ts to their members. A character must have at least a single
dot worth of the Status Merit in a covenant (see p. 133) to avail himself of its benefi ts. Note
that a character may still be considered a member of the covenant without purchasing the
Status Merit. While part of the covenant, he is simply not fully trusted or initiated yet. Covenant
advantages are as follows:
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