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

DIABLERIE
The act of diablerie, sometimes known by the poetic name of Amaranth after a fl ower that
never fades, is the process of drinking not only a Kindred’s Vitae, but her very soul. Needless
to say, diablerie is a heinous crime, much feared and punished by elders, and much misunderstood
and mystifying to young Kindred. If drinking Kindred Vitae is looked down upon
by other Kindred, the act of diablerie is held as an ultimate sin against both the Damned as
a whole and their society proper.
To call it a crime doesn’t do it justice, as diablerie provides a host of benefi ts along with its
detriments and social stigmas. This is why the elders fear it — it is potentially an equalizer for
young Kindred looking to cheat their way toward power, instead of letting time and experience
hone the power of the Blood.
COMMITTING DIABLERIE
Diablerie itself is a fairly straightforward act. Most importantly, the potential victim must
be staked or in torpor, when the soul is sluggish enough to be caught off guard, and the body
is placid. Most would-be diablerists attempt their crimes on Kindred who are already staked
or already in torpor, and little ignites the passions of power-hungry neonates like the rumor
of a torpid elder. It is not unknown, however, for particularly violent Kindred to beat their
victims into torpor themselves.
The diablerist must drink all of the Vitae the subject has in his system. Thereafter, the
diablerist must keep drinking, sucking at the blasphemous essence that animates the Damned.
Diablerie can benefi t only one vampire; it is not possible for a coterie of diablerists to consume
the soul of a single Kindred and spread it among themselves. In the event of multiple
Kindred attempting diablerie on a single target, the fi rst one to win the draw series outlined
as follows is the only one who reaps the benefi ts — and penalties — of diablerie. Should
multiple vampires tie during this draw series, whoever has the highest natural test pool is
victorious. Should this continue to result in a tie, any randomized process should suffi ce to
determine the outcome.
Consuming the soul requires a Resolve + Stamina draw on the part of the diablerist’s
player. This is an extended action. A number of successes must be accumulated equal to the
Willpower dots of the Kindred being diablerized. Each draw represents one turn of effort. It
is advised that the Storyteller does the record keeping, so the player doesn’t know exactly what
happens to his character, at least immediately. Circumstance penalties (such as those associated
with wounds and supernatural curses) apply to Resolve + Stamina draws. Furthermore, if the
attacking character is in frenzy or “rides the wave” (see p. 247) when attempting diablerie,
draws suffer an additional -3 penalty. Attempting diablerie has a limit of draws equal to the
diablerist’s Willpower dots. If the required successes haven’t been accumulated in that many
draws, the victim’s soul is just too potent or resistant and cannot be consumed. The victim
is consigned to Final Death, instead.
A player may not spend a Willpower point on a diablerie draw, nor do any augmentations
of his character’s Attributes (through blood expenditure, Disciplines or mystic artifacts) apply.
Only the character’s natural Resolve and Stamina are relevant.
Failure: The character makes no further progress in consuming the soul of the victim, as
the soul fi ghts to elude consumption. In the case of two consecutive failures, the victim’s
soul wrenches free at the moment of its consumption, infl icting horrifi c trauma on the mind
of the diablerist. The diablerist suffers the normal Humanity loss (see p. 251) and gains an
appropriate derangement of the Storyteller’s choice. The victim succumbs to Final Death
and cannot be diablerized.
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mind’s chapter eye three: theatre: special requiem rules and systems