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

hunger frenzies chapter • fear frenzies one: society • riding of the the damned wave
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ROLEPLAYING FRENZY
It’s important to remember that a frenzied character ignores all morals or loyalties in her blind
compulsion to destroy her enemy, slake her thirst or escape sunlight or fi re. She attacks friends,
family members, lovers and even — most to the point — other players’ characters if they get in
her way. For instance, a vampire raging in anger frenzy prefers to attack the person who rouses
her ire, but she just as readily tries to kill any friends if the enemy is not available as a target for
some reason. The character probably feels utter horror when she emerges from her frenzy to fi nd
that she slaughtered her own mother, but the Beast does not know or care about such things.
Atrocities committed during frenzy often lead to degeneration draws (p. 260) as a character tries
to deal with remorse. Repeated frenzies can certainly grind down a vampire’s Humanity.
Some players might not want to roleplay frenzy, but the Beast is part of being a vampire.
Storytellers should encourage players to portray the frenzy in its full, brutal horror. If a player
cannot do this, the Storyteller is fully within her rights to have him transfer control of his
character to the Storytelling staff, who dictates his actions until the frenzy ends.
If a player wants, he can spend a Willpower point for a character in the throes of frenzy.
Doing so permits the player to control one of the character’s actions for one turn. In this
way, a frenzying vampire might manage to give her soon-to-be victim a chance to run away, or
a person who gave offense a chance to make a hasty apology. This moment of control does
not actually avert the frenzy, but the changing circumstances might redirect the focus of the
character’s rage. For instance, the frenzying character might throw the furniture around instead
of ripping apart the mortal whose injudicious word uncorked several nights of building
frustration. In addition, if a player ever has a character perform an action that the Storyteller
thinks just isn’t possible or appropriate for a frenzying character, the Storyteller can rule that
the character expended a Willpower point to take that action.
The Storyteller decides how long a frenzy lasts. One scene is usually long enough, but keep
in mind that a scene is a very fl exible unit of time. A character trapped alone, or running
wildly through empty streets, might not calm down for hours. A character who meant to take
“just a sip” from her boyfriend and drank him dry instead might recover just in time to hear
his death-rattle… and have a chance to Embrace him instead of letting him die a true death.
Reducing a Kindred to torpor always ends frenzy.
A FINAL WORD ON FRENZY
Players must remember that all of the Only Rules That Matter still apply while a
character is in frenzy, perhaps more so than many other times. Just because a character
has lost control is no excuse for the player to forget the basic rules of safety and
conduct. While players in private venues or among close friends might be allowed to
get away with a bit more in terms of frenzy behavior, players are never allowed to
destroy scenery or props, touch other players or actually run around the play area in
an unsafe fashion. Any potentially dangerous or suspect actions should be handled
with tests, pantomimed or just simply narrated. Also, even if other players don’t mind
having the frenzied character scream in their face or make threatening gestures, bear
in mind that bystanders might not be aware that a game is going on. This warning
is not meant to limit roleplaying, but to avoid potential hurt feelings within troupes
or trouble with outsiders due to frenzy actions.
RIDING THE WAVE
Under some circumstances, characters might want to frenzy on purpose. For all the horror
of what a character might do in frenzy, succumbing to the Beast carries power. The great
diffi culty lies in controlling one’s actions so that the Beast achieves something useful. Young