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

discretion, a character may resist such derangements for a scene, but he can never overcome
them through sheer quantitative endurance.
SAMPLE DERANGEMENTS
Some of these derangements have already been described in the Mind’s Eye Theatre rulebook.
These descriptions focus on how Kindred (or, in some cases, ghouls) experience the
ailments. We also add a few new ones.
Some derangements are severe forms of other conditions, but different from those discussed
in the Mind’s Eye Theatre book. In such cases, after a character acquires the mild derangement,
he and the Storyteller may choose what severe ailment might set in. For example, a
character who already has the irrationality derangement gains another. According to the
Mind’s Eye Theatre rulebook, multiple personality is the severe form of that derangement.
The character and Storyteller may decide, however, that the character is better suited to
delusional obsession. Of course, as the Mind’s Eye Theatre rulebook also states, sometimes
a single act or scene is so mind numbing that only full-blown insanity and dysfunction can
result. In these cases, Storytellers may decide that a character acquires a severe derangement
whether or not she already has the mild form.
Some of the following derangements are mild in and of themselves, and have no progression
to the severe form. These are marked as “mild only.”
Bulimia (severe; follows Fixation): People with this neurosis try to drown their anxiety
through activities that comfort them, especially food. Doing so leads to a binge-and-purge
cycle. The bulimic stuffs himself to relieve stress, then self-disgust at his own gluttony drives
him to vomit out what he’s eaten. The bulimic soon seeks to feed again, though, and the
cycle repeats.
Vampires face a special temptation toward bulimia because feeding is the strongest physical
pleasure left to them. A bulimic vampire relieves his fear and guilt by gorging himself on blood,
perhaps feeding several times a night and burning the Vitae as fast as he can. The character
can augment his traits for frenetic activity or wound himself as a form of punishment, then
heal the wounds so that other Kindred won’t see his weakness and self-loathing. At severe
levels, the vampire might even will himself to expunge Vitae by vomiting — no small feat and
a noteworthy act of will, since vampires don’t store blood in their stomachs.
Effect: A bulimic vampire becomes hungry more easily than other Kindred and has a harder
time resisting the urge to feed. Whenever the character feeds, the player must succeed at a
Resolve + Composure draw or the vampire feeds until full, whether or not he really needs the
extra Vitae. Additionally, the character must use that Vitae frequently. The player must spend
at least one Vitae per scene for the character until the character rests for the day, even if circumstances
wouldn’t otherwise warrant it. A player may, for example, devote Vitae to Strength
for a turn in which no Strength draw is necessary, or spend a Vitae to heal a single point of
bashing damage even though Vitae normally heals two points of bashing damage. A bulimic
character also suffers an automatic -2 penalty to resist hunger frenzies. Forcibly preventing the
character from drinking his fi ll might provoke a rage frenzy (no modifi er to diffi culty).
Delusional Obsession (severe; follows Irrationality): This derangement can emerge because
of centuries of torpid dreams, or simply a strong desire for the world to be the way a
character wants. Delusional obsession consists of a fanatical belief in something that just isn’t
true. Lots of people hold beliefs that other people fi nd absurd, of course, but a delusional
obsessive structures his life or unlife on them. Classic examples include the survivalist holed
up in a cabin with canned beans and a shotgun, the street-corner preacher ranting that “The
end is near,” and the dotty old lady with a hundred cats. Nearly any hobby, belief or interest
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mind’s chapter eye three: theatre: special requiem rules and systems