Frenzy & Rötschreck

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An Introduction to Frenzy & Rötschreck

Vampires walk a fine line between their civilized human nature and the base passions of their vampiric nature. The dark side of their personality, commonly known as the Beast, relies on passion and instinct rather than reason. This part of the character usually comes to the fore at time of strong emotions -- fear, humiliation or hunger -- something most vampires try desperately to resist. Sometimes they succeed and they retain full control of their actions. At others, the Beast takes over and the result is an orgy of instinctual violence. These outbursts are known variously as frenzy and Rötschreck, or collectively as "succumbing to the Beast." Rötschreck differs from other manifestations of the Beast in that it is a primitive fear response (rather than one of anger and passion), so it is dealt with distinctly from frenzy.

Frenzy

Frenzy represents an uncontrolled emotional outburst, akin in may regards to a temper tantrum, but much more primitive and violent. The vampire is consumed with rage, attacking friend or foe alike and ignoring her usual standards of behavior and morality. The difficulty of resisting the Beast varies wildly, depending on the character's personality and outlook. Events that would send one vampire over the edge into frenzy may have no effect on another vampire. Most triggers are emotional, but some are physical, notably injury and hunger. If a character has yet to have his commitment to a his road tested (and is thus an initiate), resisting frenzy is notably more difficult. The times when a player should roll to resist frenzy are at the Storyteller's discretion, but they may include the following:

Anger or Frustration Frenzies

When something makes the character angry, she must fight to keep her emotions within normal bounds. Failure to do so may result in a frenzy, during which the vampire strives to destroy the cause of her anger. During the initial part of this frenzy, the vampire's actions are very focused, but even slaying or driving off the source of anger may be insufficient to sate the Beast, resulting in others becoming victims of the uncontrolled rage.

Danger induced Frenzies

Great danger may provoke a vampire to frenzy, prompting them to launch a preemptive attack. The frenzy is systematic in its targeting of threats, though the definition of "threat" while in the grip of the Beast is open to broad interpretation. A vampire in danger-provoked frenzy almost certainly targets the greatest threat first, and then works her way down through the lesser threats. However, their subconscious and bestial nature may also regard allies and bystanders as "threats" and result in their being attacked. Danger provoked frenzies are not manifestations of terror (that is Rötschreck), rather in is an effort to eliminate threats, real or perceived.

Deliberately inducing a Frenzy

Some vampires, notably those on the Via Bestiae or the Norse einherjar deliberately seek out the Beast and seek to harness it to their own ends. They push themselves into frenzy, relying on their instincts to control the manifestation of the Beast. This practice of deliberately triggering a frenzy is known by various names, but "summoning the Beast" is the accepted term for attempting to steer the frenzy (deliberately induced or not). See -- "Riding the Beast" below.

Hunger induced Frenzy

After anger, hunger is the most likely cause of frenzy in a vampire. A vampire's need for sustenance -- blood -- is not merely the dull ache that humans experience, but rather an all-encompassing addiction. She feels the need in every fiber of her body, so when her blood-pool is reduced, she feels compelled to feed from any -- any -- handy source. When a character's blood pool falls below a quarter of its full level, she begins to crave blood and must roll to resist frenzy whenever tempted by a vessel. As the vampire's blood pool diminishes, this desire mounts (increase the difficulty to resist by one per point of blood less than a quarter). If this roll fails, the character immediately attacks the nearest source of nourishment with a view to drinking from that individual. The vampire continues to drink until either her blood pool is replenished or the victim dies. If the former happens (she fills her blood-pool), she may attempt to end the frenzy. If this fails, or her blood pool is not fully replenished, she attacks another victim, and so on until the frenzy ends for she is sated.

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Effective Maximum Generational Blood Pool ----- Hunger Frenzy Threshold
3rd Generation = 100 blood points -------------------------------------------- 25bp
4th Generation = 50 blood points --------------------------------------------- 12bp
5th Generation = 40 blood points --------------------------------------------- 10bp
6th Generation = 30 blood points --------------------------------------------- 8bp
7th Generation = 20 blood points --------------------------------------------- 5bp
8th Generation = 15 blood points --------------------------------------------- 4bp
9th Generation = 14 blood points --------------------------------------------- 4bp
10th Generation = 13 blood points -------------------------------------------- 4bp
11th Generation = 12 blood points -------------------------------------------- 3bp
12th Generation = 11 blood points -------------------------------------------- 3bp
13th Generation = 10 blood points -------------------------------------------- 3bp
14th Generation = 06 blood points -------------------------------------------- 2bp
15th Generation = 04 blood points -------------------------------------------- 1bp

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Shame induced Frenzies

Embarrassment is another powerful emotion that can lead to frenzy. The severity of the embarrassment required to trigger a frenzy varies from character to character. Those with self-reliant Natures can usually resist all bu the gravest insults. Those to whom the opinion of others is important may be "set off" by relatively minor provocations. Once frenzy ensues, no one in the immediate vicinity is safe. The vampire's first victim is likely to be the person who embarrassed her, or who brought her the news, but the Beast may also seek to slay all other witnesses to the vampire's humiliation.

Temptation induced Frenzies

Some vampires try hard to walk a straight path, remaining true to a mortal code and their human nature. Temptation, however, is ever present, whispering in her ear and encouraging her to carry out grievous acts. Sometimes these voices are too strong, and the vampire must fight the Beast itself or enter frenzy.

The Storyteller should decide exactly when a player must check to see if his character frenzies, allowing her to tailor its prevalence and nature to her chronicle. If she decides a check is appropriate, the following rules are in order:

When faced with provocation, a vampire either fights the Beast or tries to work with it. The former allows her to try and maintain control, forcing her humanity (or other supporting ethic -- Road) to the fore, but if unsuccessful, she allows the Beast to rage unchecked. "Riding the Beast" -- working with the frenzy -- allows the vampire to retain some control over her actions, but largely guarantees that the outburst takes place. How a vampire reacts depends on her morality. Those who follow roads that teach Self-Control resist the Beast; those who learn Instinct embrace it.

Fighting the Beast

The player makes a Self-Control roll against a difficulty that depends on the provocation (see the chart). If the vampire is trying to resist temptation to commit a heinous, evil act (remember, the definition of a sin varies from road to road), the player can roll against a difficulty of 9 - Conscience / Conviction instead (if that is a lower difficulty for him or her). The vampire must score five successes to completely master the Beast. A lesser number of successes postpones the frenzy one turn per success (remember though, each passing turn "uses" a success), during which time she may continue to resist. Each new success further postpones the frenzy (though a botch means that each turn of postponement costs two successes in successive resistance or riding rolls), and if she accumulates five unused successes "unused" successes in this time, the Beast recedes until a new provocation presents itself. If the number of unused successes decreases to zero, or if the player rolled none initially, the character frenzies. A botch on the initial roll indicates that not only does she frenzy, but the character may also suffer some form of derangement (at the Storyteller's discretion).

A player whose character is held in the grip of frenzy may spend a Willpower point in order to regain control of the character for a turn. He may do so in order to attempt to flee, to utter an apology (or receive one) or to turn away from an intended victim. This brief exertion of will does not end the frenzy, however. That only happens when the provocation has been removed (or eliminated) and the vampire's fury has spent itself, typically after a scene.

Riding the Beast

In this case, the character automatically enters frenzy unless the difficulty is less than her Instinct trait rating (in which situation the decision to frenzy or not lies with the player). If she desires, the player can spend a point of Willpower to boost her Instinct rating by one, allowing her to resist minor temptations. Once in frenzy, however, she may not use Willpower to reason with the Beast. Instead, the player can attempt to direct the character's actions by making an Instinct roll against the frenzy provocation's difficulty (see the following chart). Each success allows the character to resist (or more appropriately, redirect) the frenzy for a turn, though it does not end it.

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Provocation -------------------- Difficulty Modifier
Smell of blood (when hungry) --------------- 3+
Sight of blood (when hungry) --------------- 4+
Being harassed --------------------------------- 4
Life-threatening situation -------------------- 4
Malicious taunts ------------------------------- 4
Physical provocation -------------------------- 6
Taste of blood (when hungry) --------------- 6+
Loved one in danger --------------------------- 7
Outright humiliation -------------------------- 8
Significant source of fire (nearby) ---------- +1
Character is a road initiate ------------------ +2

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Rötschreck -- The Red Fear

Fear is a major motivating factor in all beings, living and unliving, yet vampiric resilience and effective immortality frees them from many of the worries inflicted on humanity. Yet, while this freedom results in characters who tackle the world head-on, it also results in a more extreme reaction to those few sources of true fear for vampires. The primitive terror response in vampires in known as Rötschreck, the Red Fear. Fire and sunlight are the principle triggers for this condition, which is as mindless as frenzy but leads the vampire to desperate attempts to flee, utilizing violence and powers to speed her progress. As with frenzy, if a character has yet to have his commitment to his road tested (and is thus an initiate), resisting Rötschreck is notably harder.

All vampires have some control over the reaction and can largely suppress their instincts to shy from fire -- which is just as well, given that fire is a common enough element in any part of the world or throughout history. The key here, is that the flame has to present a real threat to the vampire to trigger a test for Rötschreck, so the presence of a decorative torch, fireplace or candelabra does not require a roll. However, if the very same torch is thrust into the vampire's face, all bets are off. The presence of large sources of fire does put vampires on edge. Vampires resisting frenzy under such conditions suffer a +1 difficulty penalty to do so. For this penalty to be in effect, there needs to be substantial open flames in the immediate area. A simple decorative candle, lit cigarette or other minor source of flame will not cause this penalty.

To avoid Rötschreck, the vampire must make a Courage roll, the difficulty varying dependent on the degree of danger. Just as with frenzy, five successes are required to fully quell the Beast, and fewer successes allow the vampire to resist for a period of time. Each success holds off the Red Fear for a turn, but each turn of postponement decreases the net number of successes by one. If the total drops to zero, Rötschreck grips the vampire. A botch during this period increases the "cost" of postponing the effect to two successes per turn, but if the character achieves five unused successes, the risk of Rötschreck abates.

Failure at the initial roll means the vampire flees madly from the danger, taking the shortest route to shelter and attacking anyone or anything that gets in her path. A Willpower point may also be spent to retain control or (if the character is already seized by the Red Fear) to direct her actions, perhaps avoiding an attack on a trusted companion. A botched initial roll results in the character entering a frenzy and attacking the source of the danger.

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Provocation -------------------- Difficulty Modifier
A candle thrust into your face ---------------- 3
Being threatened with a torch ---------------- 5
A Bonfire as obstacle or threat ---------------- 6
Facing Obscured Sunlight --------------------- 7
Being burned ------------------------------------- 7
Facing Direct Sunlight -------------------------- 8
Being trapped in a burning building --------- 9
Your character is a road initiate -------------- +1

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