Favorite Malkavian Derangements

[Aya Tari]

I was just curious what everyone's favorite Malkavian derangement is? I like Sanguinary Animism.

[CTPhipps]

Visions and hearing voices.

Always.

[Pleiades]

All of them...except satyriasis *ugh*

[ChristopherZacher]

I'm actually going to be diving into the clan in my next story arc. I'm going to try to be somewhat creative but I find myself getting pulled into the stereo types when it comes to one single NPC.

[Pleiades]

but I find myself getting pulled into the stereo types when it comes to one single NPC.

a stereotype is still a valid concept. Just forget about Toreador pianists, we're out of stock.

[AnubisXy]

Power Object Fixation: A Large Fish.

[CTPhipps]

All of them...except satyriasis *ugh*

I'm now flashing back to Eternal Hearts.

WHY GOD IS THAT INCLUDED IN THE RECENT BUNDLE!

[Aya Tari]

That would be one frustrated vampire...unless they had a Humanity 8+.

[ChristopherZacher]

I'm now flashing back to Eternal Hearts.

WHY GOD IS THAT INCLUDED IN THE RECENT BUNDLE!

lol a buddy of mine said that wasn't a great pick to welcome new players into the game lmao.

[Browman]

I had a malkavian npc in my last campaign that was obsessed with counting. No matter what else she was doing she was also counting something.

[CTPhipps]

That would be one frustrated vampire...unless they had a Humanity 8+.

Animal blood is the new viagra? Drink it before you work your magic!

[The Dreamweaver]

My best friend has paranoid schizophrenia, and he's been candid enough about his experiences that I feel comfortable enough to play a character with that. The very nature of Kindred existence and the Network would also mean the PC would never be 100% sure if what he's hearing is his own thoughts go awry, thoughts from the Network, or thoughts that "someone else was putting into his head". The scariest part would be that it might actually be someone putting thoughts into his head.

I do tend to look at certain Batman villains for inspiration. Harley Quinn, The Riddler, Two-Face, Mad Hatter, hell even Penguin has some issues. I think, however, my favorite ones are the ones you'd almost never realize were there. Subtle. Since the Embrace is apparently supposed to inflict the derangement on you, does that mean you could "catch" sociopathy? I wonder what that would be like, especially for someone that, pre-Embrace, really did care a lot about other people. Now they feel alienated. Yeesh.

[Pleiades]

That would be one frustrated vampire...unless they had a Humanity 8+.

With the derangement, you only need 1 BP.

I'm now flashing back to Eternal Hearts.

I must be on the minority...but I actually enjoyed the book...as long as I have nothing to do with it, it's fine.
My hate for satyriasis is just that I prefer fangs for my own characters.

[cobweb]

I tend to run malkavians that don't have a definable mental illness (mostly because real mental illness is a serious topic that I feel I don't have the ability to handle well while still being respectful and accurate), though from a ST standpoint I use ones that allow for a good plot twist (stuff involving multiple personalities, memory loss, and rapid and shocking changes in temperament). I also toy with the ideas of the secret malkavian, who's derangement is not obvious until the PCs get close enough for it to create a sense of uncertainty or tragedy. Having the PCs befriend the odd happy go lucky neonate in Elysium thinking he's a caitiff only to find later (often indirectly) he has a second personality that wants to kill him and everyone else. Leaving the player characters with the moral dilemma of severing all ties to him and risking him breaking down or staying close to what may be a ticking time bomb. I am strongly opposed to the idea of malkavians being funny. I always focus on portraying their derangements as either terrifying, tragic, debilitating or some mixture of the three.

[Rumata]

For PC Malkavian concepts I make, I usually pick illnesses that are relatively unobtrusive and unlikely to be annoying or crippling - prosopagnosia, OCD, and the like. PTSD makes for easy drama, though it's effects are better downplayed. Actual megalomania would be cripplingly unplayable, but the corebook version is basically "am a PC" and comes up with bonus willpower, making it the best choice.