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

When portraying one of the Kindred a key element in capturing their nature is gaining
an understanding of this need for blood. In becoming a vampire, the character is seemingly
rendered immortal. As long as he takes care to avoid certain physical diffi culties and fi nds
ways to distract his mind from some of the realities of his existence, he can exist for quite
some time. This survival hinges on maintaining his supply of blood, however — just as we
need food to keep ourselves alive. But while all we have to do for food is call the local pizza
delivery place or walk to the corner store, the undead don’t have it that simple. In order to
gain his sustenance, the vampire must place its own existence in jeopardy.
Imagine that every time you needed to eat you had to risk your own well-being in some
way — maybe by crossing a very dangerous highway. That risk might be calculated and you
might have taken steps to prevent things from going wrong, but you could still be run over
by a car. Feeding is never a sure thing. Yet the other option is to sit and starve, which is no
option at all. And if they wait too long between feedings the Kindred increase the risk that
they will be unprepared if something goes wrong.
This is what the curse of their hunger means to the Kindred.
SOCIALIZATION
Unless they actively go to lengths to avoid it, human beings enjoy a certain natural level of
socialization. We’re social animals in the most literal sense. We tend to form social groups
almost despite ourselves, based on a variety of factors ranging from geographic location to
shared hobbies and everything in between. There are some true lone wolves, but for the
most part, we look to others to share our lives. Doing so allows us to receive validation for
the many joys and triumphs that life holds for us and to fi nd help when we are in pain or in
need. One of the most jarring results of the Embrace — and one of the most underestimated
— is that the new vampire suddenly fi nds himself completely disconnected from that social
herd. He can’t risk being too close to anyone he once cared about, for fear his hunger will
make him do something he will regret. Even if he tries, his innate predatory nature makes
it impossible for most people to be at ease around him, especially as his Humanity begins
the slow, inevitable decline. Cut off from the thousand tiny things that human beings do to
recognize and reassure each other on a daily basis, the vampire feels truly alone in a way he
never did as a mortal. This is why younger vampires often seek out coteries or other groups.
It’s a way to ease the creeping, pervasive loneliness that the undead feel.
Of course, it doesn’t take long for most Kindred to realize that there is no true comfort
to be found among their own kind — only usurpers, tyrants, rivals and spies. Alliances are
momentary, but grudges span centuries. Elders hunt the blood of the young for their own
survival, but they also fear the prey they feed on, since the thirst for power leads many young
Kindred to hunt the eldest for the might of their Vitae. For as much as young vampires style
themselves so, vampires can never be wolves in a pack; they are sharks swimming alone in
an endless sea of night. They lend their fi delity to one group or another, but most vampires
realize they can only truly rely on themselves. Experienced Kindred know that even trusted
coterie members might betray them to win a position of power and favor in the domain, and
the savagery of the Beast can turn ordinary disputes into savage, bloody confl icts.
As vicious as it sounds, however, most vampires cling to the perverse society of the Danse
Macabre with unnatural ferocity. As horrifying as it is, the only alternative is the utter loneliness
they ran away from upon the Embrace. At least among their own kind they can fi nd some
measure of power and social acceptance, as tenuous and transient as it is. Playing the petty games
of the Danse Macabre provides some diversion from the endless nights stretching out ahead
of them. Therefore, all but a rare handful of vampires eventually accept their disconnection
from the social herd and comfort themselves with only their alien kind for company.
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mind’s chapter eye four: theatre: storytelling requiem