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

chapter golconda one: society and transcendence
of the damned 279
every occasion possible, and resisting frenzy and Vice whenever those damning forces arise.
Indiscriminate feeding, using one’s powers to manipulate mortals and the cruel intrigues of
the Danse Macabre are anathema to the sincere seeker.
If a character can consistently show penitent, abstinent and honorable behavior over
many stories, she might be ready for the next stage in the quest. The character can fi nally
locate a mentor, or one might locate her. This mentor tests the resolve, wisdom and ethics
of the postulant through moral quandaries, enigmatic puzzles, strange tasks and dangerous
missions. A Kindred who won’t risk body and soul for salvation doesn’t want it enough to
earn it. Sometimes the challenge might be to teach another Kindred and help him begin the
quest for Golconda.
The climax of the chronicle comes when a worthy character experiences the Suspire. To be
ready, a character needs a Humanity of at least 7. No other traits really matter. As Storyteller,
you decide upon the nature of the Suspire. It may be some sort of ritual. It may be a riddle
or a seemingly innocuous task that nonetheless has its own metaphorical (or metaphysical)
gravity. It may be a dream that comes over the sleeping character. Follow whatever scheme
suits your sense of the mystical.
Tailor the Suspire to refl ect the character’s personality and whatever themes and confl icts
evolved in the course of the chronicle. Potential themes for a Suspire include the character’s
greatest hatred, fear or sorrow, an overwhelming Vice, how much she wants to be mortal or
a challenge to justify the existence of the Kindred and all their sins. This is entirely a moral
challenge. Do not use any situation that calls for draws. Work in a few hints, through references
to past stories, what choice the character should make to pass the test. After all, the
player isn’t a spiritual master, to pluck enlightenment from nowhere. Generally, this kind
of intense experience is worth an entire side session, with other players playing the roles of
different elements of the quest or perhaps even their own characters (as seen through the
seeker’s distorted personal view). The Suspire should be diffi cult, even cryptic, but try to make
it a fair challenge — one the player really has a chance to fi gure out.
If the character fails, that’s it. The quest is over. The character can never try again. She can
remain a highly moral vampire, but she can never hope to transcend that state. Maybe she
can fi nd a way to accept that, maybe not.
If the character succeeds and achieves Golconda… you have to decide what the legendary
state actually is. Once again, we can offer only suggestions, which you may accept or reject
as you will.
For a simple option, the character becomes mortal. She triumphs over the curse of undeath,
so it no longer troubles her. Any Kindred who guided the character were vampires
who failed their own Suspires or who had not yet dared to take the ultimate test, and who
chose to guide other Damned.
For a more complicated option, the character remains undead, but is free from many of
undeath’s restrictions. The character never suffers frenzy again. The Beast no longer has the
power to drive her into evil deeds. She may sin of her own volition, but never because the
player failed a draw. A vampire in Golconda still needs to drink blood, but she need never
fear taking too much because of the Beast’s hunger.
Also, the character does not need to drink as much blood as before. The character loses one
Vitae per week, instead of one Vitae per night. Her player still spends Vitae normally to heal
wounds, augment Physical test pools and power Crúac or any Discipline powers that require
it. Perhaps best of all, the Kindred’s Blood Potency can increase without the need to feed on
stronger and stronger blood. Her feeding requirements are those of Kindred with half her
Blood Potency. If she fi nds even that too much of a burden, she can voluntarily reduce her