RULES
vampire traits

using willpower

•	A Willpower point can be used to give you one automatic success in an action. Only one point of Willpower can be used in this way on a single turn, but it guarantees you a single guaranteed success. 
	
•	On some occasions, the Storyteller may tell you that your character does something because of instinct, primal urge or gut reaction. You can use a point of Willpower to avoid this so you can do as you please. 
	
•	When one of your Derangements is about to cause you to take a course of action you would not rather do, a Willpower point can be used to control yourself. 

regaining willpower

•	At the end of a story (not a game session), characters regain their Willpower; all of it returns, up to the amount of the Willpower rating.
	
•	You achieve some special success during the story that the Storyteller judges would cause the character to recover her self-confidence (and therefore some or all of her Willpower)
	
•	Fulfill some criterion of the character's chosen Archetype, thus regaining from 1 to 3 Willpower points, subject to Storyteller judgment. This must be achieved through roleplaying, and approved by the Storyteller.
	
•	Vampires regain one point of Willpower after they wake each evening. 

using blood pool

•	Every night of existence uses up one Blood Point (scratch it off after a day of sleep).
	
•	One Blood Point can be spent to restore one Health Level, but only if the character is at rest and inactive.
	
•	One Blood Point can add one point to a specific Physical Attribute (Strength, Dexterity or Stamina). The player must announce the expenditure of a Blood Pool point, and for the remainder of the scene she gains one extra die. The vampire may freely raise these traits up to one higher than their generational maximum. With effort, a character may increase a Physical Attribute beyond this limit, but each dot above the limit lasts for only three turns after the character stops spending blood. The absolutely maximum for all Attributes is 10. 
	
•	A vampire can give a portion of her Blood Pool to another, thus enabling him to restore Health Levels or take special actions. A mortal given a single Blood Point immediately becomes a ghoul. Additionally, if this is the third time someone has drunk a certain Cainite's blood, he will become the donor's Thrall unless he is already currently under the Blood Oath to another vampire.

gaining blood pool

•	When a vampire drinks the blood of a human or an animal, she is able to add blood to her Blood Pool. Up to three points of blood can be drained in one turn. Once a human is bitten, he no longer resists the attack of the vampire, and indeed becomes a full partner in the ecstasy. Thus, the vampire need not fear the victim once the teeth have sunk in. In the cases of exceptionally strong-willed individuals (9+ Willpower), resistance may continue, but eventually even they are deawn into the seduction of the Kiss.

starting blood pool (house rule)

At the beginning of a story (not a chapter), a player with a Cainite PC rolls a d10 and adds the number of however much the PCs Blood Pool exceeds 10. For example, a PC with the maximum of 14 Blood Points would roll d10+4 for her Blood Points at the beginning of a story.

using via

•	To a large extent, a Via rating determines how human a vampire appears and how easily she can pass for human in the general populace. 
	
•	Vampires tend to sleep very deeply and, even if there is danger, can be difficult to wake up. During the day, especially after being awakened, you can roll no more dice on any roll for any action than your character's Via rating. 
	
•	Roads directly affect Virtue rolls when you attempt to resist going into Frenzy. You cannot roll more dice than your character's Via rating. 
	
•	The length of time spent in torpor is also directly affected by the Via rating. The fewer the character's Via points, the longer he remains in torpor. 

mental states

frenzy

In situations where the Storyteller believes a vampire's instincts might kick into action, the player has to make a Self-Control/Instinct roll. It is an extended action, and five successes must be collected before the frenzy is entirely overcome. However, even one success prevents the frenzy from taking effect (one turn only). The difficulty for the roll is the number indicated on the chart below. You may not roll more dice on the roll than you currently have points in your Blood Pool: the Hunger invariably overwhelms even the best of intentions. A success indicates the character does not frenzy, while a failure indicates she does. A botch indicates a Derangement of the Storyteller's choice.

Provocation	Difficulty	
Smell of blood (when at 3 or fewer BP)	3	
Sight of blood (when at 3 or fewer BP)	4	
Life threatened	4	
Taunting	4	
Being bullied	4	
Provoked into anger	5	
Taste of blood (when at 3 or fewer BP)	5	
Regent in danger	6	
Outright humilation	7	

During Frenzy, the vampire acts as an animal. If blood is available, the character will drink until she can drink no more. It is likely that a character will kill a vessel, for she is consumed by the desire for blood. If no blood is nearby, she will rush off in search of it. The character becomes enraged and attempts to destroy everything and anything in sight. While she will head for enemies first, if her friends get in the way (or she has no enemies near) she will attack her friends as well.

However, while in a Frenzy, the character gains some benefits as well. First of all, she may ignore Health Level penalties equal to her Stamina. Second, she does not have to make many Willpower rolls, since she is capable of doing nearly anything. 

A player can use Willpower points to control the character's actions on a single action for a single turn. A character's friends can help her overcome a Frenzy by making appropriate Social rolls, with success allowing the character a chance to make a Willpower roll (which, if successful, can end the Frenzy). However, only those who have successfully resisted Frenzy in the character's presence or are emotionally close to the character may attempt this. A botch means that he attacks those who tried so 
hard to help him.

rotschreck

Whenever a vampire encounters the sun or fire, the Storyteller can call for a Courage roll. The difficulty for the Courage roll is usually 6, but can vary according to the chart below. Each success indicates one turn during which the character can stay in the presence of the thing or circumstances creating the fear. When those turns are done, another Courage roll must be made. A failure indicates the character enters Rotschreck. A botch indicates the character also receives a Derangement. 

During Rotschreck, the character is incapable of taking any action other than fleeing. If she is trapped, she is incapable of making any sensible action. When the character reaches a safe place, the player may make a Willpower roll to regain control (difficulty 8). Each success reduces the amount of time to recover (from a base 10 minutes). 

Effect	Difficulty	
Torch in close proximity	6	
Obscured sunlight	7	
Bonfire	7	
Open sunlight	8	
Being burned	8	
Trapped in burning building	9	

degeneration

Sometimes a character will take an immoral action (according to her code of conduct as represented by her Via). Whenever a character takes an action which the Storyteller believes to be morally questionable (according to her Road), he may decide it is serious enough to warrant a loss of Via score. A degeneration roll is made by rolling Conscience/Conviction at difficulty 6 (or a difficulty of the Storyteller's discretion). If the character succeeds, then the character does not lose the Via point. If the character fails, then the character loses both a point of Conscience/Conviction and a point on her Road. A botch also indicates the character gains a Derangement.

common rolls

Action	Roll (note: difficulties can always vary)	Difficulty	Page	
Awakening	Via (5 successes: awaken completely)	8	VDA206	
Carousing	Cha + Empathy	6	VRev205	
Climbing	Dex + Athletics (1 success: 5 ft.)	var.	VDA207	
Combat, Archery	Dex + Archery	var.	VDA191	
Combat, Bite	Dex + Brawl (Str + 1, agg)	6	VDA195	
Combat, Block	Dex + Brawl (success subtracts one from opponents')	6	VDA194	
Combat, Bodyslam	Dex + Brawl (3 succ. needed, each fewer than 3, dam.)	7	VDA194	
Combat, Choke	Dex + Brawl (lose one HL per turn)	7	VDC35	
Combat, Claw	Dex + Brawl (Str + 2, agg, Protean needed)	6	VDA195	
Combat, Damage	Damage pool	6	VDA189	
Combat, Dbl Str.	Dex + Melee (must be knife)	+1	VDA194	
Combat, Disarm	Dex + Melee (3 succ., if dam. more than Str, disarm)	+1	VDA194	
Combat, G. Rend	Dex + Brawl (need Prot 2 or Pot 2, if dam., lose 1 BP)	8	VDC35	
Combat, Grapple	Dex + Brawl (more succ. than opp's Str, grappled)	6	VDA195	
Combat, Initiative	Wit + Alertness	4	VDA188	
Combat, J. Break	Dex + Brawl (Dam Str + 2, Brawl 4 nec, limb useless)	8	VDC36	
Combat, Kick	Dex + Brawl (Str + 1 damage, non-agg)	7	VDA195	
Combat, Melee	Dex + Melee	var.	VDA191	
Combat, Mounted	Dex + Melee or Dex + Ride, whichever is smaller	var.	VDA195	
Combat, N. Snap	Dex + Brawl (Dam Str +3, if no soak (Str+Stm), dead)	9	VDC36	
Combat, Parry	Dex + Melee (success subtracts one from opponents')	6	VDA194	
Combat, Punch	Dex + Brawl (Str damage, non-agg)	6	VDA195	
Combat, Riposte	Dex + Melee (succ. parry first, can get an attack back)	6	VDC34	
Combat, Sidearm	Dex + Athletics - 1 (Str increased by two)	8	VDA194	
Combat, Stake	Dex + Melee (5 successes needed)	8	VDA194	
Combat, Sweeps	Dex + Melee (3 succ. needed)	+1	VDA194	
Combat, T. Slice	Dex + Melee (must have a 4, 2 HL damage, cripples)	9	VDC34	
Combat, Thrown	Dex + Athletics	yards/Str	VDA191	
Credibility	Man + Leadership (5 successes: completely convinced)	Int + Subt	VDA208	
Damage, Falling	Stm + Fortitude	8	VDA199	
Damage, Fire	Stm + Fortitude (agg, soak only if possesses Fortitude)	var.	VDA200	
Damage, Soak	Stm + Fortitude	6	VDA189	
Damage, Sunlight	Stm + Fortitude (agg, soak only if possesses Fortitude)	var.	VDA200	
Dodge	Dex + Dodge (success subtracts one from opponents')	6	VDA188	
Fast-Talk	Man + Subterfuge 	Wit + Lar	VDA208	
Feats of Strength	Willpower (simple roll, Strength needed)	9	VDA207	
Horseback	Dex + Ride or Wits + Ride	6	VRev201	
Hunting	Per + Herd (each success is one BP)	var.	below	
Interrogation	Man + Intimidation (ST makes roll)	WP	VDA209	
Jumping	Str (long, 4'/succ.) or Str + Athletics (high, 2'/succ.)	3	VDA207	
Oration	Cha + Leadership (simple roll)	7	VDA209	
Pursuit	Dex + Athletics	6	VDA207	
Search	Per + Investigation 	7-10	VDA211	
Seduction (intro)	App + Subterfuge (extra succ. add dice to next stage)	Wit + 3	VDA211	
Seduction (wit)	Wit + Subterfuge (extra succ. add dice to next stage)	Int + 3	VDA211	
Seduction (convo)	Cha + Empathy 	Per + 3	VDA211	
Shadowing	Per + Investigation (to follow)/Dex + Stealth or Ride	6/Per+Alt	VDA207	
Sneaking	Dex + Stealth 	Per+Alt	VDA208	
Swimming	Dex + Athletics	var. 	VDA208	
Track	Per + Survival (each succ. lowers diff. of next by one)	8	VDA211	
hunting

Area of hunt	Difficulty	
Large city, seedy district	4	
Large city, middle class* district	7	
Large city, upper class district	8	
Small city/town, nice part	7	
Small city/town, not-so-nice part	6	
Village	8	
Hamlet/fields	9	

* Middle class refers to areas patrolled with greater frequency than a seedy district; places like "market squares," governmental offices and commercial quarters are considered middle class.

sunlight

Rays	Difficulty	
Indirect rays, heavy cloud cover or twilight	3	
Fully covered with heavy clothing	5	
Through a window	7	
Struck by one small direct ray of sunlight, or being outside on a cloudy day	9	
Direct rays from an unobscured sun	10	
Exposure	Wounds	
Only part of body exposed (only a hand)	1	
Part of body exposed (wearing a hood)	2	
Much of body exposed (wearing normal clothing)	3	

fire

Heat of fire	Difficulty	
Heat of a candle (first degree burns)	3	
Heat of a torch (second degree burns)	5	
Heat of an intense bonfire (third degree burns)	7	
White-hot metal	9	
Molten metal	10	
Size of fire	Wounds	
Torch (part of body burned)	1	
Bonfire (half of body burned)	2	
Raging inferno (all of body burned)	3