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

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mind’s chapter eye three: theatre: special requiem rules and systems
Derangements
The human mind has its limits. People retreat into madness when they can no longer cope with
extreme guilt, grief, terror or confl icting demands. A person might seek an illusion of self-control
through elaborate private rituals, fantasies of power or emotional fi xations. In more severe cases,
the mind succumbs to stress, crumbling and losing nearly all contact with reality.
Kindred suffer from derangements even more often than mortals do in the World of Darkness,
and no wonder. Their entire existence is one long battle between a human conscience and
the drives of the Beast. Many neonates still think of themselves as mostly human, but they must
feed upon mortal blood to survive. How can they commit assault — potentially murderous assault
— night after night and still think of themselves as reasonably good people? As the decades
pass, Kindred face other grief and traumas. Either they abandon all the people they love, or they
watch them age and die. Society itself changes. What mortals once found unthinkable becomes
accepted without question, and the old standards become quaint, rustic or crude. Kindred can
also suffer more specifi c horrors. They include the stark terror of Rötschreck or killing loved
ones during frenzy. Most insidious of all, the Danse Macabre takes its own slow toll. As Kindred
enmesh themselves in the endless struggle for power, they can trust fewer and fewer of their
fellows. Other people are the greatest of all reality checks. Denied any sort of healthy emotional
connection to other people, Kindred lose themselves in their own thoughts and fears.
Ghouls are also prone to derangements. They love masters who regard them as slaves. They
must move between a secret, supernatural world and mundane society. They are tainted with
undeath while they yet live. Of course their situation can drive them crazy.
GAINING DERANGEMENTS
Undead characters can fall into madness through several methods. Some are automatic.
Others are largely a matter of the Storyteller’s discretion. We have mentioned some triggers
for madness elsewhere, but include them here for your convenience.
• Failures : The character gains a derangement if the player fails the degeneration series
and the subsequent Humanity draw; or if he suffers a failure on a Resolve + Composure
chance draw to resist frenzy, Rötschreck or Wassail. The Storyteller chooses a derangement
that has some connection to the situation that leads to the draw.
Example: A Kindred who suffers an extreme Rötschreck (the player gets a failure on the Resolve +
Composure chance draw as he had suffered a number of penalties to his test pool) incurs a permanent
phobia about fi re. He tries to prevent the slightest chance of any fl ame coming near. He checks power
cords every half-hour to make sure they aren’t overheating, and searches through his haven to make sure no
one left an oily rag anywhere. He demands that known smokers turn out their pockets to prove that they
aren’t carrying matches or lighters. He might not even ride in a car with a working cigarette lighter.
• Extreme Pain, Frustration or Horror: Truly shocking events can topple a character’s
reason. Examples include killing loved ones in frenzy, a long period of torture by a witchhunter,
or (for elders) perhaps seeing centuries of work and scheming suddenly crash into
ruin. Under such circumstances, the Storyteller may ask the player to draw the character’s
Resolve + Composure (at whatever penalty seems appropriate) to avoid a derangement.
• Very Long Torpor: Kindred who spend decades or centuries asleep wake up with confused
minds. Sometimes a Kindred’s mind clears, sometimes it doesn’t. Very long torpor is
not common among players’ characters in most chronicles, so the Storyteller can use such a
penalty to justify a crazed elder without worrying about draws.