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

tion best focused elsewhere. The Lancea Sanctum holds that Kindred should serve only God
and Longinus. The Carthians see Vinculums as the acme of antidemocratic elder tyranny,
while the unbound simply loathe submitting to anyone else. The Circle of the Crone merely
notes that while Kindred should accept the Vinculum as one more aspect of their existence,
forcing a Kindred into a blood oath serves no spiritual purpose. Political or spiritual dogma
seldom prevents members of these covenants from blood bonding other Kindred when it
suits their purposes, though.
GAME MECHANICS
Each time a character drinks another Kindred’s blood, the character’s emotional bond to
her grows stronger. A character may have several partial Vinculums to any number of Kindred.
Once an actual third-stage Vinculum forms, however, all other partial Vinculums vanish.
The fi rst taste generates a mild interest, but the delicious power in the Vitae outweighs any
personal interest. The character knows that the other vampire tastes good. The donor of the
blood gains no particular hold over the character.
The second drink generates a stronger connection between the two Kindred, quite apart from
potential Vitae addiction. The imbibing character considers the blood’s donor an important
fi gure in his unlife, though he is hardly enslaved. The character’s interest might take the form
of affection, trust, admiration or protectiveness, depending on the character’s personality. The
Storyteller might ask the character’s player to attempt a Resolve + Composure draw if the character
tries to attack the nascent regnant, or seriously harm her interests. The other vampire’s
player, meanwhile, receives a +1 bonus to all Social draws directed at the nascent thrall.
The third drink probably creates the complete Vinculum. Usually it does, so most Kindred
believe “three drinks, you’re bound.” Strong-willed or strong-blooded Kindred sometimes resist
the third drink, though. The third time a character drinks a potential regnant’s blood, ask
the player for a Stamina + Resolve draw (using the character’s natural dots in those Attributes
only). Adjust the draw by the difference between the two Kindred’s Blood Potency dots. If
the potential thrall has the higher Blood Potency, add the difference. If the potential regnant
has the higher Blood Potency, subtract the difference. If the adjusted Stamina + Resolve draw
generates four successes, the Vinculum doesn’t “take,” though the potential thrall still feels
great affection for the would-be regnant. If the character drinks the other vampire’s blood a
fourth time, call for another adjusted Stamina + Resolve draw to see if the bond forms this
time. Eventually, any vampire must succumb.
In the case of multiple Kindred’s blood being consumed simultaneously (such as through
commingled blood in a group ritual, for example), if the potential exists for multiple third-stage
Vinculums being formed, the most potent Blood takes precedence. If that Vinculum fails to
form, move down to the next most potent blood, and so on. If multiple vampires’ blood is
equally potent, determine randomly which of those equally potent Vitae takes precedence.
For example, Armand the Gangrel is two steps toward a Vinculum to the other two members
of his coterie. They all share blood in a chalice passed around before a night of raising
hell. Since this is Armand’s third taste of both of his coterie-mates’ Vitae, he might become
subject to a Vinculum to either of them. He makes his fi rst check for a Vinculum toward the
coterie-mate with the highest Blood Potency. If that Vinculum doesn’t form, he checks for a
Vinculum with the other coterie-mate.
A character whose Blood Potency is higher than that of the blood donor has a chance
to resist the formation of that blood bond. Once at each stage of the Vinculum, the player
may spend a Willpower point for the opportunity to make a Stamina + Composure draw
(the Willpower point does not add the +3 bonus to this draw). If the draw succeeds, the
Vinculum doesn’t take root at that stage. This does not, however, cancel any previous partial
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mind’s chapter eye three: theatre: special requiem rules and systems