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Depression (mild): If your character fails to achieve a goal (not just fails a roll, but fails to accomplish some personal, desired end such as getting a job or saving a friend’s life), he might go into a bout of depression for the remainder of the scene. A dramatic failure that occurs in any activity might also bring on a bout of depression. Regardless of the circumstances, make a reflexive Resolve + Composure roll. Effect: If the roll fails, your character loses one Willpower point and cannot spend any Willpower points for the remainder of the scene. Melancholia (severe): Severe depression. In addition to the above effects of a failed Resolve + Composure roll, all dice pools suffer a -2 penalty for the remainder of the scene. Narcissism (mild): Whenever your character succeeds at a goal (not simply succeeds in a roll, but achieves a desired end such as knocking a challenging opponent unconscious or hacking into a well-protected computer), it might go to his head and pump up his overweening ego. Roll Resolve + Composure to avoid a bout of vanity. Effect: On a failed roll, your character does not work and play well with others - even if the victory that brings on a bout of narcissism was partly won with their aid. For the remainder of the scene, when called upon to aid in a task your character does so only half-heartedly, unless it’s a task focused on him or his own needs or wants. He suffers a -3 penalty when participating in teamwork efforts (see p. 134). And he’s such a self-obsessed bore that Social rolls all suffer a -1 penalty. Megalomania (severe): The effects of Narcissism apply, except that the penalties intensify by one. Your character is also highly competitive. He cannot allow himself to fail a contest (even a contested roll). If he does, he obsesses about it and works to arrange a rematch when it’s most beneficial for him. If, for example, he fails to pick a lock while an ally succeeds, he doesn’t let it go. He constantly insists that he did the job and that his successor took the glory, and demands that similar efforts be tried again, even under inappropriate circumstances such as at an office or restaurant. If your character ever loses a contest to someone he feels is socially inferior, he loses one point of Willpower due to shame and self-loathing (which is at the heart of his megalomania; he secretly fears that he’s a fraud). Fixation (mild): If your character fails or succeeds at an important action such as leaping between buildings or making a getaway in a sports car, he might fixate on his loss or victory. Roll Resolve + Composure after such an event for him to avoid this unhealthy obsession. Effect: If your Resolve + Composure roll fails, roll a single die. The result is the number of scenes in which your character is focused on the offending or inspiring event or task, to the possible exclusion of more important goals. He fixates on what he believes caused him to lose or win his goal, whether it’s an opponent, a broken shoelace or the model of car driven. In the case of a defeat, he cannot help but simmer in anger, cursing a circumstance or trying to devise a method of circumventing it in the future. In the case of a victory, he becomes a fanatic, spending much of his time researching, observing or acclaiming an activity or factor that allowed him to succeed. Obsessive Compulsion (severe): The trauma, guilt or inner conflict that causes this derangement forces your character to focus nearly all of his attention and energy on a single repetitive behavior or action. Obsession relates to an individual’s desire to control his environment - keeping clean, keeping an area quiet and peaceful, or keeping undesirable individuals out. A compulsion is an action or set of actions that an individual is driven to perform to soothe his anxieties - placing objects in an exact order, constantly checking to make sure a weapon is loaded, praying every few hours to give thanks for surviving that long. Effect: Determine a set of specific actions or behaviors that your character follows to the exclusion of all else (even if doing so interferes with his current agenda or endangers his life or others’). The effects of obsessive compulsion can be negated for the course of one scene by making a successful Resolve + Composure roll at a -2 penalty. If your character is forcibly prevented from adhering to his derangement, he may lose control among enemies or allies and attack either (or both) indiscriminately. Suspicion (mild): Anytime your character suffers intentional misfortune at the hands of another, he might become extremely suspicious of everyone’s motives toward him. He might crash as a result of being cut off in traffic or receive little help from assistants in a teamwork effort (see p. 134). Roll Resolve + Composure for your character to resist the suspicion compulsion. “Misfortune” is characterized as failing an important task due to the intentional intervention of another person - even if it’s a friend or ally. Those people whom your character already mistrusts for good reason can still trigger his suspicious nature if they successfully foil his task - everyone then becomes a suspect, plotting to do him wrong. Combat does not necessarily trigger this derangement. A Resolve + Composure roll is made only if combat is the means by which someone intentionally prevents your character from achieving a goal. (Note: A roll for a task might fail and your character chooses to blame someone else, but that doesn’t necessarily trigger this derangement’s effect. Only if someone directly causes him to fail is a roll made to avoid triggering his suspicious nature.) Effect: Your character’s trust is undermined for the remainder of the scene, regardless of whether or not the person or persons who did him wrong meant any harm. He questions everyone’s sincerity and doubts that anyone tries to help him, even if someone saves his life. He suffers a -1 penalty on all Social rolls. Note that, even though your character is suspicious, he can still be taken in by con men and hucksters. He gets no special bonus to resist their attempts to sway him even though he suspects them of being as bad as everyone else. Paranoia (severe): Your character believes that her misery and insecurity stem from external persecution and hostility. (That would be an accurate assumption in the World of Darkness, if people actually knew of monsters’ existence.) Paranoids obsess over their persecution complexes, often creating vast and intricate conspiracy theories to explain who torments them and why. Anyone or anything perceived to be “one of them” might be subjected to violence. Effect: A character who suffers from paranoia automatically suffers a -2 penalty on Social rolls. The character is distrustful and wary of everyone, even close friends and family. The slightest hint of suspicious behavior is enough to provoke a Resolve + Composure roll to retain control (made at a -2 penalty). A failed roll indicates that your character flees or attacks an offender. Inferiority Complex (mild): Whenever your character is subjected to a stressful situation in which the result of a single choice or dice roll can determine success or failure, she might be overcome with such self-doubt that she threatens the outcome. She might need to tell a convincing lie to get out of a dangerous situation or cut a wire to disable a bomb. Roll your character’s Resolve + Effect: If your roll fails, the weight of the momentous choice is too much for your character and she is flustered, doubting her ability to choose correctly or to perform adequately. Once in this state, any rolls made for the remainder of the scene-including the momentous act itself - suffer a -1 penalty. In addition, a Willpower point cannot be spent on the singular roll that inspires her bout of inferiority. Anxiety (severe): As Inferiority Complex, but your character’s general anxiety plagues things so badly that she suffers a -2 penalty on all rolls for the remainder of the scene, and Willpower points cannot be spent to bolster any rolls in that period. Vocalization (mild): Whenever your character is stymied by a quandary and must make an important decision about a course of action, or is under extreme stress, she might talk to herself without realizing it. Roll Resolve + Composure to avoid this discomforting habit. Examples of important decisions include: Effect: On a failed roll, your character vocalizes her internal monologue but only realizes it if it’s pointed out by others, at which point she can stop for one turn per dot of Wits that she has. After that period, she forgets herself and starts doing it all over again. This behavior persists for the remainder of the scene. Your character vocalizes even if opponents or rivals can hear. It’s hard to keep her thoughts and feelings secret when she speaks them aloud. For example, a rival might demand that she reveal the location of a hidden heirloom. She smirks and think to herself (and unwittingly speaks aloud), “You’ll never find it in my hidden wall safe.” Irrationality (mild): Whenever your character is threatened with violence or suffers extreme tension by being persecuted, challenged or accused, she might react without logic or reason. Roll her Resolve + Composure to keep her cool. The persecution, challenge or accusation needs to bear some realistic threat to your character’s wellbeing, whether related to finances, emotional security or social standing. A hobo threatening to sue is no real threat, but a rich executive who says he’s going to ruin your character qualifies as a threat. Likewise, a society-page gossipmonger who threatens to expose your character’s faults is a threat if your character relies on that crowd for social acceptance, but not if he is a bicycle messenger who’s never been inside a penthouse. Effect: On a failed roll, your character’s only way to comfortably deal with confrontation is to act crazy or over the top, in wild hopes that she will scare away her oppressor or at least mitigate her own fears. This behavior persists for the remainder of the scene. Ironically, she takes dangerous risks that might harm her worse than the actual threat posed. If a bouncer demands to know what your character is doing in an off-limits part of a club, she might overreact and get in his face. Make a Wits + Composure roll for her to be able to take any action that removes her from the scene or that directly diffuses the situation (such as accepting a hand offered in a conciliatory handshake). The truly ironic part about this behavior is that during such a bout, your character cannot initiate violence, only respond to it if it occurs. She can threaten or cajole challengers, but can’t take the first swing. (That, in fact, is what her crazed behavior tries to avoid.) Multiple Personality (severe; extreme): The trauma that spawns this derangement fractures your character’s personality into one or more additional personas, allowing her to deny her trauma or any actions the trauma causes by placing the blame on “someone else.” Each personality is created to respond to certain emotional stimuli. An abused person might develop a tough-as-nails survivor personality, create a “protector” or even become a murderer to deny the abuse she suffers. In most cases, none of these personalities is aware of the others, and they come and go through your character’s mind in response to specific situations or conditions. Effect: A character with multiple personalities can manifest different Skills or perhaps increased or diminished Social Attributes for each identity (the number of dots allocated to your character’s Social Attributes are rearranged by anywhere from one to three). Avoidance (mild): When confronted with a situation or person associated with a previous, significant failure or trauma (a long-term rival, an ex-wife, the house in which one suffered a painful childhood), your character prefers not to face the situation and might do everything he can to avoid it. Roll Resolve + Composure for him to master his nervousness. Effect: On a failed roll, your character does everything in his power to avoid the situation, short of harming himself or others. He might escape the scene or disguise himself as a bystander to sidle away. If he must confront (or can’t escape) the situation, any rolls made suffer a -1 penalty. Fugue (severe; extreme): Victims suffering from fugue experience “blackouts” and loss of memory. When subjected to a particular variety of stress, your character performs a specific, rigid set of behaviors to remove the stressful symptoms. This syndrome differs from multiple personalities in that an individual in the grip of a fugue has no separate personality. Instead, he is on a form of “autopilot” similar to sleepwalking. Decide on the kind of circumstance or exposure that triggers this state, be it the death of a defenseless person by his hand, a confrontation with a specific sort of creature or confinement in a small, dark room. Effect: Make a Resolve + Composure roll when your character is subjected to his trigger. If the roll fails, roleplay your character’s trance-like state by performing a sequence of behaviors that he performs almost robotically. He might repetitively untie and tie his shoes, walk to the corner of the room and refuse to come out, or curl into the fetal position. If the Storyteller is not satisfied by your character’s reaction, he might take control of your character for the duration of the bout. The spell lasts for the remainder of the scene. At the end of the fugue, your character “regains consciousness” with no memory of his actions. If outsiders (including friends and enemies) interfere with or try to prevent your character’s mechanical activities, he may attack them in order to carry on. 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 selfdisgust 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 roll 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 roll 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 fill might provoke a rage frenzy (no modifier to difficulty). 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 find 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 can seem dangerously crazed when it takes over a character’s existence. Delusional obsession might be dismissed as fanaticism, but it is even more extreme. Effect: A Willpower point must be spent to resist whenever an opportunity arises to act in accordance with the character’s obsession, or whenever he must act in direct opposition to his obsession. For instance, a gardening fanatic might have to expend Willpower to stay out of a florist’s shop. A Kindred who believes that every instance of a crescent or lunar reference indicates Lupine activity might need to expend a Willpower point to step into an Islamic cultural center or to stay in the same room as someone named Moon. Dependent-Personality Disorder (severe; follows Irrationality): This emotional derangement most often afflicts ghouls or blood-bound Kindred. The character becomes utterly dependent on his regnant or domitor. He resists making even the most trivial decision for himself. This disorder might arise from fear of abandonment (especially strong in the case of ghouls who know that sudden aging or death awaits them if they lose their supply of Vitae). It might also grow from an exaggerated fear of displeasing a harsh or demanding master. Effect: If a character has this derangement, the player does not include Resolve in contested dice pools when the domitor attempts to Dominate him (although Blood Potency still applies). Indeed, the character often follows up on any statement that might be construed as a request for the character to do something. Phobia (mild): A person who suffers from a phobia has an unreasoning fear of something. A phobia can result from a traumatic experience associated with an object or condition, or might be a purely neurotic way of hiding from a real source of anxiety. Common phobias include a fear of open spaces, leaving one’s home, of enclosed spaces or germs, but nearly anything can become the focus of a phobia. Kindred are especially prone to phobias of fire, sunlight or hunger. A phobic vampire might avoid going outdoors for fear of sunlight, even if she knows dawn is hours away. Effect: Your character moves away from the object of her phobia. If she must be near it, she can tolerate being no closer than her Speed in yards. If it approaches her, she must move away at least her Speed in distance in her next action. She cannot easily target the trigger with close combat or ranged attacks. Such attacks suffer a -5 penalty as your character shakes just looking at it. If space or circumstances don’t allow her to maintain her distance, she freezes like a deer in headlights until she finds an opening by which to escape. (Her Defense still applies if attacked and she can choose to dodge and can take cover from Firearms attacks, but she can take no other actions while “frozen.”) A successful Resolve + Composure roll must be made for a phobic Kindred to simply approach the subject of her fear. Any sort of shock or surprise associated with the subject of the phobia can cause Rötschreck. Roll normally for the character to resist, suitably modified by the degree of exposure. Hysteria (severe; follows Phobia): Kindred hysteria operates much like that of mortals, except it rises to new heights, as would be expected for a mental ailment of the undead. The vampire’s emotions run high and stressful situations can cause fits of rage, weeping, fainting or other emotional displays. Effect: This condition operates as a phobia (see above), but on a failed Resolve + Composure roll your character cannot be in the same room with the object of her fear. She must run away from it immediately, and cannot tolerate being within sensory range (sight, sound, smell) of it. If the trigger comes within sensory range, she must move away at full running speed as soon as she can take an action. She cannot target it for an attack under any circumstance. If it touches her, make another Resolve + Composure roll for her to not freak out and run as far away as she can, thinking of nothing else until she’s left the subject far behind. (Even if this roll succeeds, your character must still leave the room or area.) If any of your Resolve + Composure rolls suffer a dramatic failure or your character is unable to escape, she faints and loses consciousness for the remainder of the scene. If your character is unaware of the object’s proximity until it touches her, a Resolve + Composure suffers a -3 penalty. If it touches her where she can’t see it but she can feel it — a spider dropping on her neck or in her hair — the penalty is -5. For a Kindred character, you must roleplay most aspects of hysteria, above, but also suffer a -1 penalty on all rolls to resist frenzy that relate to the object of fear. Any action that relates to the object and that results in a dramatic failure automatically causes your vampire to frenzy. Manic-Depression (severe; follows Depression): Severe mood swings characterize this derangement. It occurs in two forms, one psychological and one a defect in brain chemistry. The psychological form is a modified form of hysteria. The victim can swing from an enthusiastic, confident, even ecstatic state to lethargy and despair. The mood swings can happen any time, but any success can push the manic-depressive into exaltation, and any failure can plunge the person into depression. The second form of manic-depression is an organic disorder. It follows a regular cycle that can range from hours to weeks. The manic phase begins with an excess of energy and confidence, motives and meanings. Suspicion extends even to progeny and thralls subjected to Vinculums — maybe they’re only pretending to be loyal! Effect: A paranoid character has difficulty with all social interactions because of her reflexive suspicion of everyone. A character who suffers from paranoia automatically suffers a -2 penalty on Social rolls. The character is distrustful and wary of everyone, even close friends and family. The slightest hint of suspicious behavior is enough to provoke a Resolve + Composure roll to retain control (made at a -2 penalty). A failed roll indicates that your character flees or attacks an offender. Additionally, among Kindred, the slightest hint that someone might be an enemy can provoke a frenzy check, with the number of successes required set by how threatening the trigger event seems. A casual remark that seems to show someone knows a bit about the character’s activities might require only one success to avoid frenzy. Finding an intruder in his haven would almost certainly require five. Power Fetish Obsession (mild only): Although Kindred value their supernatural powers, their Disciplines and Vitae expenditures remind them of their undead state. Some Kindred project their powers onto an object, so they don’t have to take responsibility for them. Other Kindred develop the “power fetish” delusion as a stronger form of good-luck superstition. Whatever the reason, the character believes she cannot use her supernatural powers without the help of a special object. In folklore, for instance, the Swiss vampire called the Alp became powerless without its hat. A character with this derangement might believe that she cannot use her undead powers without the dress she wore when she was Embraced, her lucky bracelet or some other article. Effect: Any attempt to use Disciplines or expend Vitae without that object reduces any dice pools for an activity by three dice. Sanguinary Animism (mild only): Only Kindred can suffer from this special derangement. This delusion grows out of a vampire’s fundamental awareness of guilt about feeding on mortals. Kindred with this delusion believe they take part of victims’ minds or souls along with their blood. For hours after feeding, the Kindred hears a victim’s voice in his head, berating him, begging for mercy or making demands. The vampire even experiences ersatz memories from his victim’s life, all concocted by the vampire’s unconscious mind, but seeming very real. Weak-willed or especially guilt-stricken Kindred might even carry out actions on behalf of their victims. Whenever a sanguinary animist feeds on a mortal, the player makes an Intelligence + Composure roll. If the roll succeeds, the imaginary voice and memories of the victim torment the character for the rest of the night, but the character can function adequately. If the roll fails, the images in the character’s mind are so strong that the other personality can influence the vampire’s actions. The angry victim-personality usually means to harm the character, but the vampire might silence the victim’s voice by doing something he imagines the victim would like. If the player cannot roleplay the possessing victim’s personality, control of the character can pass to the Storyteller for short times. Control automatically reverts to the vampire just before dawn. For all the anguish that sanguinary animism causes, it illustrates how derangements work (badly) to relieve guilt and stress. As long as the victim’s voice continues, she isn’t really dead — or so it seems— while the vampire supplies her own punishment. Effect: Sanguinary animism becomes particularly severe when a vampire kills his vessel. In this case, the Intelligence + Composure roll is at -3 dice. A dramatic failure means that the ersatz personality of the victim becomes a permanent fixture in the vampire’s mind. Under stress, the victim’s voice becomes more insistent. The Kindred might distractedly respond aloud to the voices in his head. Further shocks could drive the vampire into multiple-personality disorder (see above), with the Kindred taking on the fantasized personalities of victims. Diablerie is an especially bad idea for sufferers of this derangement! Schizophrenia (severe; extreme; follows Vocalization): Schizophrenia is the most severe of all derangements. This mental illness includes hallucinations, delusions, radical mood swings, manic or obsessive babbling on certain themes, and outbursts of violence. The victim constantly hears strange hums, roars or voices in his head. People on TV or passing by seem to look at and threaten him. Delusions of grandeur are common: The schizophrenic thinks he’s Jesus, Napoleon (no, really, it happens) or the president. Unlike most lesser derangements, schizophrenia has a proven organic cause, an imbalance of brain chemistry that drugs can treat in mortals. Stress also plays a role in sending a latent schizophrenic over the edge, though, and mortals need both drugs and psychotherapy to recover from the disease (if they can at all). Schizophrenia presents a formidable roleplaying challenge. The player must decide on a general set of delusions, hallucinations and behaviors that relate to the trauma that causes the derangement. The Storyteller, meanwhile, should prepare to include hallucinatory details in her descriptions to the player. The character doesn’t know what’s real, so the player shouldn’t either. The player can probably guess that when the TV weatherman looks at the character and says, “Your sire wants to kill you. You have to kill him first,” that isn’t real. When he waits at a bus stop and someone pulls a dagger from under a coat, however…. Effect: A character with this derangement is unpredictable and dangerous. His player automatically suffers a -2 penalty on all Social rolls, and he might be aggressive or violent toward people who confront him with trauma such as accusations, disturbing truths or heated arguments. Make a Resolve + Composure roll for your character to avoid escaping or attacking the source of trauma. The player and Storyteller should also designate a set of conditions that trigger the character’s mood swings and delusions. Under these conditions, a -2 penalty applies to resist frenzy and Rötschreck as the vampire’s mind is racked by imaginary horrors. Your character must experience a life-altering trauma or supernatural tragedy to acquire this extreme derangement. It cannot normally be acquired by failing a Humanity roll unless the sin performed is truly gut wrenching or horrific. Fetishism (mild): Your character formulates an irrational, pleasurable association with an object or situation. To fully enjoy himself, so to speak, he needs to duplicate the situation or be in the presence of the object. This can lead to some truly bizarre behavior, often triggering a cycle of gratification and guilt that's extremely difficult to break. If your character experiences something that reminds him of the event or object he's fetishized, roll Resolve + Composure. If the roll fails, your character focuses on re-creating the situation or coming in contact with the object in question. For example, an orderly who fetishizes licking female patients feet when they are restrained might see an attractive woman sunning herself by a pool and feel compelled to indulge himself. Masochism (severe; follows Fetishism): Your character is no longer satisfied with the presence of the object or duplication of the situation. He must now be hurt by it in order to enjoy himself. The effects of fetishism apply, but the character must also suffer an amount of bashing damage at least equal to his Stamina during the compulsive activity in order to be satisfied. Without the interference of an outside agent, he won't stop until the damage is inflicted in full. Insomnia (mild): Your character has trouble getting the required amount of sleep, and not just occasionally. It happens more often than not, and leaves her feeling tired, irritable and unable to concentrate. Any time the character is engaged in a stressful situation (Storyteller discretion), roll Resolve + Composure. Failure means that your character is unable to sleep properly and suffers a -2 penalty on all rolls the following day. Each day thereafter is considered stressful and requires a similar roll until the character succeeds and gets a full night's or day's rest. Cataplexy (severe; follows Insomnia): Your character has so much trouble resting that her body is beginning to fail her. Whenever the aforementioned sleep roll fails, the character suffers from bouts of overwhelming feebleness throughout the following day. Any circumstance resulting in an intense emotional reaction such as laughter, anger or fear requires a Stamina + Composure roll. Failure means that the character slumps to the ground, paralyzed with weakness for a full turn even though she remains fully conscious. Repression (mild): Your character has blocked out the memory of the event that caused this derangement. She might not remember pulling the trigger and killing that man. She might remember walking into the old house, but have no recollection of the horrors she saw there. In any event, only through intense therapy or memory-altering supernatural powers will she regain those memories. The character is aware that something happened, and is potentially open to discovering what, but cannot call up the memories herself. In addition, if she finds herself in a similar situation, the player must roll Resolve + Composure or else the character blocks out the memory of that scene as well. Denial (severe; follows Repression): Your character not only represses the memories that trouble her but has constructed a potentially elaborate scenario to replace them and grows hostile if someone tries to persuade her otherwise. Whenever someone tries to educate the character as to the truth of what happens, the character's player rolls Resolve + Composure. If the roll succeeds, the character's delusion remains intact, and the character becomes irate and refuses to discuss the matter. If the roll fails, her internal commitment to the safety of the delusion weakens a bit, and she is at least willing to listen. Supernatural Fascination (mild): Your character, usually following a supernatural event, has become convinced that the supernatural influences every facet of life. The supernatural here is defined by the character in question. He might become devoted to a particular religion, and see the hand of whatever God he chooses in every aspect of life. He might believe that aliens or secret government masters control everything. In any event, he believes that the world has a secret set of rules and codes that, if he abides by them, he will go to Heaven/have good luck/be safe from harm/etc. At least once a scene, and more often if signifi cant events occur during a scene, the player must roll Resolve + Composure. If that roll fails, the character must perform some action appropriate to his beliefs. He might utter a brief prayer, mumble into his wallet (which he's sure contains a communication device), line his hat with tinfoil to prevent the aliens from reading his mind and so on. Because this derangement is so pervasive, it shouldn't cause major disruptions to the character's life, but its effects are almost constant. Zealotry (severe): Your character has decided that his spiritual or supernatural beliefs are so important than everyone should share them. He proselytizes to everyone he meets, given only a few minutes of conversation. He might ask people if they have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior, or he might simply warn people engaging in sinful behavior that they are bound for Hell. He might snap pictures of agents of the government conspiracy and warn other people to stay away from them. He might occasionally curse while looking at sky, as though expecting the aliens to arrive any moment. The game system for this derangement works similar to Supernatural Fascination, but the effects are more extreme, as described. Diogenes Syndrome (severe; follows Inferiority Complex): In Kindred, this derangement often follows a traumatic loss of Humanity. The vampire begins to see herself as something less than human, and either makes a conscious decision to stop grooming herself normally or simply forgets to bother, satisfying the subconscious urge to chastise the self. She stops changing her clothes, makes no attempt to bathe or comb her hair and doesn't bother cleaning spilled blood from her face after feeding. She makes no attempt to clean up her haven, and will readily sleep in filth. She ignores vermin that infest her clothes or hair, and although she may be shamed by the disgust of onlookers, she rarely acknowledges the real reason for their reaction. Worse, vampires suffering from this derangement often fail to heal wounds in their waking hours, bearing them as if unawares and waiting for them to heal in the day's sleep. Effect: The character suffers a -3 dice penalty on all Social Ability rolls (except Intimidation and Disciplines) because of her filthy, disheveled state. A Willpower point must be expended if the character attempts to clean herself in any way or pay attention to her injuries. Even crippling pain will fail to compel her to heal herself unless she makes this expenditure. She will, however, expend Vitae to heal her wounds while she sleeps. Withdrawal (severe; extreme; follows Irrationality): Some Kindred, overwhelmed by the demands of vampire society and unable to keep up with the complexities of Status, intrigue and predatory warfare, sometimes suffer an overwhelming urge to withdraw completely from the world around them. Severe trauma can lead to the dissolution of rational bounds on this urge, resulting in an absolute abandonment of social interaction and obligation regardless of the detrimental effect on the vampire's own existence Vampires suffering from Withdrawal avoid leaving their havens and interacting with others as much as possible. They do not attend any Elysium events, and they allow all friendships and alliances to wither, never bothering to initiate communication. The Requiem of a vampire in Withdrawal is one of solitary nights spent in silent retreat. Some turn to scholarly pursuits, losing themselves in dusty tomes and occult research, but most just take on idle hobbies, accomplishing little of value and waiting until hunger demands that they strike out in search of blood. Withdrawal is not a derangement for characters in play. It should be restricted to Storyteller characters only, because Withdrawal isolates the vampire and threatens to destroy all of the work he's done to establish himself in Kindred society. A player may wish to add Withdrawal to his character's history, as a cured derangement (or one that awaits him if he drops again to a formerly low Humanity rating) to explain a long absence from Kindred society, but should be aware of its implications if he does so. Effect: The character must succeed on a Resolve + Composure roll to leave his haven each night. He suffers a -3 dice penalty on all Social Ability rolls (except for resistance on contested ones) because of his extreme unwillingness to speak to others, and his obvious attempts to get away from public dealings as quickly as possible. Erythema (mild): This derangement emerges because of a vampire's subconscious wish to deny the truth of her undead state. Without willing it, she spends Vitae to bring warmth and color to her skin whenever in the company of others, draining herself in an effort to maintain the facade of life. Even conscious attempts to prevent the expenditure fail; there is a part of the vampire that is simply broken, forcing her to present the illusion whether she likes it or not. Vampires suffering from Erythema are often subjected to the derision of their contemporaries, either because they seem to be desperate to pretend that they are still alive or because they are unable to control their own expenditures of Vitae. They also suffer an increased need to feed, since they spend so much blood fueling their pitiful masquerade. Effect: The vampire automatically spends a point of Vitae to counterfeit life (see p. 51) whenever she is in the company of others. Attempts to prevent this expenditure requires a successful Resolve + Composure roll. This roll carries a -2 dice penalty if the encounter with others is unexpected, and an additional -1 if there are more than three people present at the encounter (in addition to the vampire). Aphasia (severe; extreme; follows Vocalization): There are some Kindred who are so shattered by an explosion of the unthinking Beast that they never really seem to return to their fully rational selves. Driven over the threshold of madness by degeneration or torment, they lose the capacity to understand and form speech, seeming more the mute animal than the thinking man. Rising from torpor, frenzy or torture into uncomprehending psychosis, they wander through a world of gibberish, unable to draw meaning from anything they hear. This is a purely psychological derangement. The vampire can still hear everything that is being said and has all of the physical faculty necessary to form words, but just doesn't understand what comes in and seems to have no control over what comes out. His speech is reduced to meaningless babble or clicks and smacks. This is a horrifying derangement, especially for Kindred who tend to rely on their wit and charm for survival. Frustration and resulting frenzy always threaten a vampire who suffers from Aphasia, arising whenever he is forced to acknowledge that he can no longer comport himself normally in social situations. Effect: The vampire is unable to communicate via speech. A Wits + Empathy roll must be made to get the basic emotional gist of conversational dialog, and cannot be undertaken at all if the speaker is not visible. He cannot speak intelligibly, and must resort to sign language, written text or telepathy to get his meaning across. The expenditure of a Willpower point allows the vampire to comprehend and form speech for one scene, but he descends back into his sorry state within minutes or hours, at the Storyteller's discretion. Intermetamorphosis (severe; follows Irrationality): Kindred Intermetamorphosis arises almost exclusively after long periods spent in torpor. The vampire suffering this derangement confuses the identities of mortals and Kindred he has known over the ages, often swapping those that he knew in life (or before his bout of torpor) with those who greet him in the modern world. For example, a vampire arising from a 400-year torpor might mistake his neonate grandchilde for his long-destroyed sire, or a living woman for his centuries-passed mortal wife. Most who observe this derangement in action believe it is caused by the vampire's overpowering nostalgia for nights (and days) long gone, working in conjunction with the befuddlement prevalent in those arising from decades or centuries of torpor. These Kindred may or may not be aware that the people they are dealing with cannot possibly be who they seem, but they cannot deny the identification. They feel as if the target of their derangement is actually someone else, even if it doesn't make any sense. Some construct elaborate systems of belief to explain the phenomenon, ascribing it to reincarnation, telepathic body-swapping, miraculous second chances or more bizarre occult phenomena. They will not accept evidence to the contrary, and may even attempt to have a contemporary who denies the truth. The mistaken identity will influence and supersede a vampire's opinion of the modern subject. If the vampire believes that a neonate female is really his former lover, he will not accept acts of aggression at face value, always attempting to explain it in terms of his real relationship to her. If he can't dismiss her actions out of hand, he will assume that she is acting against her will or is somehow unaware of his identity. Effect: The character suffering from Intermetamorphosis will instantly draw associations between modern individuals and those from long past based on the flimsiest of similarities. Hair color, certain mannerisms, tone of voice or even gender could be enough to set off the Kindred's derangement. Once a mortal or vampire is associated with a figure from the sufferer's past, nothing (short of the actual interference of the figure in question) will convince him otherwise. He may spend Willpower to shake off the delusion for one scene, but must operate under its influence at all other times. Animalistic Dependency (mild or severe): Your character feels isolated, vulnerable and alone when not in the presence of animals. Kindred and kine are untrustworthy, two-faced and wicked. Animals are honest and dependable. While, in most cases, your character is able to make do with her discomfort provided she is not too far removed from wild creatures, when frightened, pressured, or imperiled, she seeks out or summons the reassuring presence of mundane animals just for her own peace of mind. This derangement most often manifests in the minds of Kindred who practice the Discipline of Animalism, though no particular level of ability in that Discipline is necessary to open the door to this disorder. A Kindred with the power to summon animals may be more likely to recover from her discomfort, but the anxiety does not wait for the Kindred to gain that power before it deranges her. Mild Effect: In any scene set in an environment where your character cannot expect to see or hear wild animals (even squirrels or birds), roll Resolve + Composure to avoid a bout of anxiety. If the roll fails, the character suffers a -1 penalty to all dice pools for the remainder of the scene. Not actually seeing a wild animal isn't enough to trigger the mild effect of this derangement; if the character can see a patch of ground or sky where animals would be able to reach her, should she call for them, that's usually enough to ward off anxiety. GM discretion should dictate what environments are problematic for the character. Severe Effect: The mild effects apply, as above, but in addition your character feels trapped whenever she is uncertain if her calls to nearby animals will be heard. It's not enough to simply see sky or ground, at this level of derangement the character cannot function unless she knows that some form of animal life can hear her. If the player fails the Resolve + Composure roll to overcome the character's anxiety, the character must spend one Vitae and activate the Call of the Wild power (Animalism •••, just to get a sense of how well she can be heard by nearby animals. If the dice pool to activate the power is penalized by the Storyteller due to the nature of the physical environment (sealed windows, secure foundations, etc.), that same penalty affects all the character's dice pools for the scene if she fails to summon any animals (or if the summoned animals fail to reach her). Delusional Mania (mild or severe): This derangement sometimes strikes Kindred who have experienced (and survived) traumatizing events while using the Discipline of Resilience, even if that Discipline isn't why the character survived. If your character suffers from this disorder, he imagines himself to be much tougher than he actually is. When your character first suffers lethal or aggravated damage in a scene, reflexively roll Stamina + Composure. This dice pool is penalized by the nature of the damage dealt: -3 for bashing, -2 for lethal, -1 to aggravated. (The amount of damage suffered does not affect the dice pool.) If the roll succeeds, the character keeps his head about him. Mild Effect: If the roll fails, the character is unable to appreciate just how serious his injury is. Instead, he convinces himself that he's better off pushing through any pain and presenting a strong front. For the rest of the scene, the character cannot Dodge unless you spend a Willpower point. Severe Effect: If the roll fails, the character is unable to appreciate the seriousness of his injury and feels practically invulnerable to harm. The character cannot Dodge or voluntarily stop the action causing harm (e.g., he continues fighting or holds on to a speeding car) unless you spend a Willpower point. Irrational Defiance (severe; follows Irrationality): Your character feels trapped by his superiors and may lash out when he feels persecuted, accused or smothered. This disorder causes your character to feel personally threatened (see Irrationality in the World of Darkness Rulebook) by seemingly harmless instructions and orders given by people with authority over him, especially when the deeper reasons behind such instructions aren't revealed. Roll Resolve + Composure to keep his cool. Severe Effect: If the roll fails, your character undermines his own attempts to carry out the action instructed or ordered, no matter how innocuous or even beneficial it really is. For the rest of the scene, your character suffers a -5 penalty on dice pools for actions that contribute to the fulfillment of the order or instruction. How this manifests through your character's behavior depends on the nature of his derangement. In the style of Irrationality, your character may fume and overreact, complaining loudly the whole time. On the other hand, your character may passive-aggressively acquiesce, and then seethe and procrastinate, before finally delivering only half-hearted work. Memory Obsession (mild or severe): This derangement sometimes affects practitioners of the mind-altering powers of the Ventrue clan. If she suffers from this disorder, your character no longer trusts that her memories are genuine. She suspects that hostile Kindred are rewriting her recollections with Dominate or that her every impulse is actually a missive coded into her psyche by some shadowy Lord. Whenever your character fails a Mental action to recall some detail or scan her own memory, she becomes suspicious and paranoid. Mild Effect: For the rest of the scene, your character suffers a -2 penalty on all Mental rolls as she struggles to overcome her own self-doubt and wastes time double-checking her instincts and rational thought. "Wait", the paranoid doctor might say, "I'm trying to think if that's really how the pulmonary arteries work. Severe Effect: At this level of derangement, your character is quite certain that her memory has been altered, either maliciously or as a side-effect of her own usage of Ventrue blood. She suffers a -2 penalty on all actions for the rest of the scene, at least, as she is rattled by doubt and anxiety. This penalty persists into the next scene, as well, until she has gone over her memory sufficiently enough to convince herself that she is not the victim of someone's Ventrue blood. The process of double-checking her memory requires an extended Intelligence + Composure action, with each roll taking one minute, versus a target number of 10 successes. Preferential Obsession(mild or severe): Your character erroneously believes that blood of a certain quality is essential to his wellbeing. He might think that only the blood of virgins (or of successful executives, or of Latinos, or of children, or whatever else) is sufficient for his delicate system. Or perhaps he believes unsuitable blood will soak up his mystic energy and rob him of his vampiric powers. Folkloric wisdom among ancient Ventrue has led some to think they must sup from a series of athletic, intelligent and sexy vessels in a precise sequence, lest the delicate cocktail of Vitae within their undead bodies be thrown out of balance and their Aenead powers be diluted. ("No! It is the second Monday! I must have someone strong of leg or back! Keep her until the Sabbath, when I can drink of the wise." Your character's feeding restrictions must be defined when this derangement is taken, and cannot be changed unless the derangement is "cured" and then reacquired. Mild Effect: Your character simply won't satiate himself with improper Vitae. He will not take more than two Vitae from a vessel who does not meet his particular feeding restriction, even if hungry or starving, unless driven to frenzy. Severe Effect: Your character's delusions overpower even his Beast. He cannot satisfy himself from an improper vessel, even if hungry or starving, even in the throes of frenzy. If faced with the dilemma of consuming improper Vitae or suffering frenzy and torpor, your character drinks only if driven to frenzy, and even then he expends one Vitae per minute just to flush the unwelcome blood from his system. (Vitae spent in this way can be used to enhance Physical dice pools, simulate the blush of life, or simply be vomited up, but it cannot be used to activate Disciplines.) |