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

the traditions chapter • damage, one: wounds society of and the healing
damned 241
The act of creating a new Kindred exacts a steep price from those who break this law,
requiring a supreme effort of will. Kindred who sire childer seem to pass part of their souls
to their offspring. Their force of will weakens slightly, a debility that can remain for years. A
Kindred who sires several childer in a short time could render himself so weak-willed that his
enemies would surely ruin him — if his conniving spawn didn’t get to him fi rst.
In rules terms, a character must sacrifi ce a dot of Willpower in order to sire a childe. Nothing
can restore the lost Willpower dot except increasing the trait with experience points.
THE TRADITION OF AMARANTH
As a sort of fi nal commandment, the Damned fi nd it diffi cult to commit diablerie upon
each other. Any time the Kindred disobey their undead natures, they learn that their defi -
ance carries a price.
Kindred rarely feel sorry when they kill each other. Or if they do, their regret seldom lasts
long. Any Kindred, from the most ethical to the most jaded, fi nds herself a little more callous
and ruthless after killing a fellow vampire and consuming his heartsblood. No contrition
or atonement can avert this erosion of the Man and strengthening of the Beast. Vampires
become less able to pass for human with mortals, they fi nd that temptations to vice increase,
and deeds that once repelled them no longer prick their conscience.
In rules terms, the Humanity dots of a character who commits diablerie decrease by one.
The loss happens automatically, with no need for a degeneration draw (though the Humanity
draw that follows to check for a derangement occurs normally; see p. 260). The circumstances
don’t matter, either. No matter how much another vampire deserves to die, none may be
judged except by God, and the Tradition of Amaranth allows for no exceptions. A Kindred
who diablerizes another Kindred can recover her lost Humanity in time… but once again,
doing so requires accumulating and spending experience points.
Damage, Wounds and Healing
The Kindred dwell in a dangerous world. Aside from the threats they face from each other,
werewolves and other supernatural creatures, they can run afoul of muggers or thugs just like
mortals do. Although the Kindred possess a few advantages over mortals in dealing with such
dangers, they are not invulnerable. Kindred can also encounter disease, poison, electrocution
and other hazards. Players and Storytellers need to know how Kindred suffer damage, and
how they can heal it back.
TAKING DAMAGE
Kindred encounter many of the same hazards that mortals do. They have less to fear, perhaps,
from ordinary combat involving fi sts, broken bottles, guns and the like. On the other hand,
as supernatural creatures, vampires suffer from anathemas — conditions benign to mortals
but deadly to the undead, or that present special dangers and diffi culties in healing. Kindred
anathemas are fi re and sunlight. In addition, suffi cient damage of almost any kind can trap
a vampire in a deathlike trance called torpor, or it can destroy him.
It is important to note that vampires are subject to the same wound penalties that mortals
are when injuries are marked in one of their last three remaining Health boxes. See “Health”
on p. 235 of the Mind’s Eye Theatre rulebook for more information.