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I'm creating a homebrew system for V20 which gives each of the Vampiric curses (Clan/Bloodline, burning in sunlight, vulnerability to fire, vulnerability to faith etc.) a severity rating from 1 to 5.
The general idea is that a Tzimisce with a severity of 2 in their Clan curse will be much less reliant on their two handfuls of soil than a Tzimisce with 5 in the curse.
As a general rule:
1: Minor drawback; the Vampire unusually resistant to the Curse. Most common in Fledgelings and Neonates.
2: Significant Drawback; the most common form the Curse takes.
3: A worse version of 2.
4: A worse version of 3.
5: A truly debilitating curse which must be carefully managed. This usually comes with new downsides and a marginal benefit.
So, for example:
1: If you sleep without your two handfuls, you'll lose 1 die from your dicepools over the following night. This is an unpleasant experience, but not a painful one. This penalty will not accumulate.
2: Each night you go without your two handfuls of soil, you will lose 1 die from all of your dicepools. These will accumulate over time up to a maximum of -5 dice. The experience is painful and leaves you in a bad mood.
3: Each night you go without your two handfuls of soil, you will lose 1 die from all of your dicepools, and take an unsoakable level of Lethal damage. The damage can be healed, but the dice accumulate up to -5. The experience is excruciating.
4: Same as before, but the Lethal damage becomes Aggravated. The pain is similar to being branded with a white iron or exposed to the sun's rays.
5: If you rest without access to your native soil, you will rise in the evening having taken 3 points of Aggravated damage. On top of the cumulative loss of dice (1 each evening), you will perform all actions at +2 difficulty. If you were to somehow survive 5 nights without access to your native soil, you would fall into a deep Torpor which would last until you were returned to the soil. The curse is so intense at this stage that the Tzimisce develops a stronger bond with the soil; if they sleep with their two handfuls of soil they will recover one lost point of Willpower every time they awaken.
How is Severity determined at character creation? For most curses, the default severity is 2. Severity can be decreased at character creation by spending freebie points in most cases. Some curses are only reduced to severity 1 in thin-bloods, the 14th and 15th Generations. Two specific curses have severity which is determined by your Humanity or Path rating.
How does Severity change over time? When a Vampire commits diablerie, one of their curses may become more intense. Since there are usually 6 or more, this intensification is typically minor at first (a one-time diablerist might be slightly more prone to Rotschrek than other Kindred), but the increase in severity becomes more obvious in repeat offenders. Botching certain Virtue rolls may also intensify a curse; the Brujah and Gangrel curse may be made more intense by a particularly extreme Frenzy for example. I'll post detailed rules for this development process in time.
Furthermore, simply aging can cause curses to become more intense. This ties in nicely with the Lore, and goes partway to explain the behaviour of Elders and Methuselahs; their solitary lifestyles are perfect for avoiding the worst aspects of their curses. This doesn't apply to most Player Characters, but will effect many NPCs and helps to reinforce the fluff surrounding elders with some crunch.
More intense versions of curses may be taken in exchange for freebie points, with a strict cap on the number of freebies that can be gained this way of course! Naturally an ST must approve all of these changes.
The incredible Mr Gone has created a V20-style sheet which will work with this system. I've developed the outline of the system already and I'll release the full system by mid October at the latest.
Here's a rough outline of the major clan curses.
Brujah: intensity will sum with the intensity of the normal "Frenzy" curse. This will be stepwise, and gradually will make frenzies more likely and more damaging. At its peak, this curse makes all actions taken in Frenzy -1 difficulty, as your beast channels some of your Antedeluvian's powerful rage. This is a blessing and a curse.
Toreador: intensity will effect the degree to which you are paralyzed by your favoured type of "art". A Toreador might be partial to paintings, music, dance or torture, but at 5 they'll be far more transfixed than at 2, for example. At the peak of the curse you are at -1 difficulty to create and perform your chosen form of art.
Malkavian: severity measures how badly your Derangement has taken hold of you, and how much Willpower it takes to suppress your Derangement (if you even can at all). Greater severity does give you a stronger connection to the Malkavian Madness Network, however, so seers with a severity of 4 are more likely to know something hidden and important than a seer with a severity of 2. This means that the most prescient Malkavians are also the ones who see and hear loads of things that aren't actually there in many cases.
Tremere: severity measures how intensely you have become bound to Clan Tremere. At 1 you have somehow escaped notice, or the ritual didn't hold, so you are unbound. This is still a "curse" since this simply isn't allowed, and could get you into trouble if it were discovered. At 2 you are bound at level 1, at 3 you are bound at level 2, at 4 you are bound at level 3 and at 5 you cannot resist the bond at all; your priorities and will are the will of House Tremere. Severity also impacts how badly you are harmed by the Vaulderie rite (how much Aggravated damage it inflicts), should you take part in it and become a traitor. The degree of your blood bond will effect how easily your superiors within the clan can control you with Dominate.
At severity 5, advancing the goals of the Tremere becomes a second Nature. You regain Willpower every time you help the Clan to advance its goals.
Ventrue: severity measures how refined your tastes have become. At first you might prefer the blood of the rich. Then you develop a taste for those who have inherited their wealth. Ultimately your tastes might be so refined that you can only stomach the blood of heiresses of a certain "stock", who have attended the right schools and are engaged to the right sort of family. At the peak of this curse Ventrue can only stomach their chosen type of human blood, and the blood of other Ventrue; all other supernatural blood and vitae is disgusting to them. And this might go part-way to explaining why the Ventrue are so very terrified of their Methuselahs...
At 1 Ventrue have a preference, but can stomach other types of blood. At 5 their refined tastes mean that every fitting meal restores a point of Willpower.
Tzimisce: as explained earlier, the severity shapes how the curse manifests if they fail to sleep with their soil.
Because of this curse, many Elder Tzimisce stay within their native homelands, and send out their childer to fight their battles. This, indeed, was the cause of the Anarch revolt, and the birth of the Sabbat!
Giovanni: severity effects how painful their Kiss is, and how much damage it does to normal mortals. At the peak of the curse the kiss is the most horrifying torture, and will even inflict some harm on ghouls and various supernaturals (but not other Undead), making the worst form of the curse a mixed blessing.
Lasombra: at first, the curse is simply losing your reflection. Beyond the first point of Severity, it impacts how uncanny and inhuman you seem to mortals. At the peak of the curse you are terrifying even to Ghouls and most night-folk, straining relations further. This is part of the reason why Lasombra Elders despise humans and ghouls; the curse has shaped the culture of the clan. Terror is not always a bad thing though, and this curse can make intimidation of mortals (and some night-folk) easier.
Because of this curse, many Lasombra Elders only work through their childer and Sabbat allies.
Gangrel: effects how badly animal features impact you, and at the highest Severity some of the features can become permanent. At Severity 5 you man manifest permanent features like Claws and overgrown fangs with mechanical bonuses (climbing and Aggravated damage); this saves on blood but they can be inconvenient and socially debilitating.
Nosferatu: this is determined at the embrace, and rarely changes. Some claim that consuming other Nosferatu will lead to the curse getting worse, and some even claim that this is the origin of the legendary Nictuku. It's possible that this rumour was spread to put other Kindred off of diablerizing Nosferatu during the dark ages. At 1, you can pass for human even under harsh visual inspection. You look like you have some terrible congenital disease, or have been the victim of some horrible accident with fire or acid or a skin-eating pathogen. At 2 you are hideous at a glance, but not an immediate Masquerade breach. At 3 and higher you are increasingly monstrous, having a shape which is hideous even by Nosferatu standards. Those who have a severity of 5 are so horrifying and disgusting that they are at -2 difficulty to all Intimidation rolls, but often terrify others without even trying, earning a lonely existence.
Setite: determines how badly light effects them, ranging from discomfort in the brightest lights to taking lethal damage from moonlight. Those with the most extreme version of the curse gain 1 die to all dicepools while working in the darkness. This weakness also contributes to damage taken from sunlight; an expression of Ra's hatred.
Assamite: either determines how badly addicted they are to Vitae (and eventually Diablerie), or how much drinking Vitae harms them, depending on the state of the metaplot. At severity 5 of the addiction curse they regain Willpower when committing diablerie; a small compensation for the fact that they find resisting an opportunity to commit diablerie incredibly difficult. At severity 5 of the allergy curse they become immune to all blood bonds, as their body rejects any vitae which is fed to them.
I'd welcome any ideas or critiques. The intention is to tie the mechanical downsides of being a Vampire into the VtM lore, and help to make Elders more vulnerable to careful exploitation of their Curses. It's a great opportunity to get creative with the curses of the clans and bloodlines.
The general idea is that a Tzimisce with a severity of 2 in their Clan curse will be much less reliant on their two handfuls of soil than a Tzimisce with 5 in the curse.
As a general rule:
1: Minor drawback; the Vampire unusually resistant to the Curse. Most common in Fledgelings and Neonates.
2: Significant Drawback; the most common form the Curse takes.
3: A worse version of 2.
4: A worse version of 3.
5: A truly debilitating curse which must be carefully managed. This usually comes with new downsides and a marginal benefit.
So, for example:
1: If you sleep without your two handfuls, you'll lose 1 die from your dicepools over the following night. This is an unpleasant experience, but not a painful one. This penalty will not accumulate.
2: Each night you go without your two handfuls of soil, you will lose 1 die from all of your dicepools. These will accumulate over time up to a maximum of -5 dice. The experience is painful and leaves you in a bad mood.
3: Each night you go without your two handfuls of soil, you will lose 1 die from all of your dicepools, and take an unsoakable level of Lethal damage. The damage can be healed, but the dice accumulate up to -5. The experience is excruciating.
4: Same as before, but the Lethal damage becomes Aggravated. The pain is similar to being branded with a white iron or exposed to the sun's rays.
5: If you rest without access to your native soil, you will rise in the evening having taken 3 points of Aggravated damage. On top of the cumulative loss of dice (1 each evening), you will perform all actions at +2 difficulty. If you were to somehow survive 5 nights without access to your native soil, you would fall into a deep Torpor which would last until you were returned to the soil. The curse is so intense at this stage that the Tzimisce develops a stronger bond with the soil; if they sleep with their two handfuls of soil they will recover one lost point of Willpower every time they awaken.
How is Severity determined at character creation? For most curses, the default severity is 2. Severity can be decreased at character creation by spending freebie points in most cases. Some curses are only reduced to severity 1 in thin-bloods, the 14th and 15th Generations. Two specific curses have severity which is determined by your Humanity or Path rating.
How does Severity change over time? When a Vampire commits diablerie, one of their curses may become more intense. Since there are usually 6 or more, this intensification is typically minor at first (a one-time diablerist might be slightly more prone to Rotschrek than other Kindred), but the increase in severity becomes more obvious in repeat offenders. Botching certain Virtue rolls may also intensify a curse; the Brujah and Gangrel curse may be made more intense by a particularly extreme Frenzy for example. I'll post detailed rules for this development process in time.
Furthermore, simply aging can cause curses to become more intense. This ties in nicely with the Lore, and goes partway to explain the behaviour of Elders and Methuselahs; their solitary lifestyles are perfect for avoiding the worst aspects of their curses. This doesn't apply to most Player Characters, but will effect many NPCs and helps to reinforce the fluff surrounding elders with some crunch.
More intense versions of curses may be taken in exchange for freebie points, with a strict cap on the number of freebies that can be gained this way of course! Naturally an ST must approve all of these changes.
The incredible Mr Gone has created a V20-style sheet which will work with this system. I've developed the outline of the system already and I'll release the full system by mid October at the latest.
Here's a rough outline of the major clan curses.
Brujah: intensity will sum with the intensity of the normal "Frenzy" curse. This will be stepwise, and gradually will make frenzies more likely and more damaging. At its peak, this curse makes all actions taken in Frenzy -1 difficulty, as your beast channels some of your Antedeluvian's powerful rage. This is a blessing and a curse.
Toreador: intensity will effect the degree to which you are paralyzed by your favoured type of "art". A Toreador might be partial to paintings, music, dance or torture, but at 5 they'll be far more transfixed than at 2, for example. At the peak of the curse you are at -1 difficulty to create and perform your chosen form of art.
Malkavian: severity measures how badly your Derangement has taken hold of you, and how much Willpower it takes to suppress your Derangement (if you even can at all). Greater severity does give you a stronger connection to the Malkavian Madness Network, however, so seers with a severity of 4 are more likely to know something hidden and important than a seer with a severity of 2. This means that the most prescient Malkavians are also the ones who see and hear loads of things that aren't actually there in many cases.
Tremere: severity measures how intensely you have become bound to Clan Tremere. At 1 you have somehow escaped notice, or the ritual didn't hold, so you are unbound. This is still a "curse" since this simply isn't allowed, and could get you into trouble if it were discovered. At 2 you are bound at level 1, at 3 you are bound at level 2, at 4 you are bound at level 3 and at 5 you cannot resist the bond at all; your priorities and will are the will of House Tremere. Severity also impacts how badly you are harmed by the Vaulderie rite (how much Aggravated damage it inflicts), should you take part in it and become a traitor. The degree of your blood bond will effect how easily your superiors within the clan can control you with Dominate.
At severity 5, advancing the goals of the Tremere becomes a second Nature. You regain Willpower every time you help the Clan to advance its goals.
Ventrue: severity measures how refined your tastes have become. At first you might prefer the blood of the rich. Then you develop a taste for those who have inherited their wealth. Ultimately your tastes might be so refined that you can only stomach the blood of heiresses of a certain "stock", who have attended the right schools and are engaged to the right sort of family. At the peak of this curse Ventrue can only stomach their chosen type of human blood, and the blood of other Ventrue; all other supernatural blood and vitae is disgusting to them. And this might go part-way to explaining why the Ventrue are so very terrified of their Methuselahs...
At 1 Ventrue have a preference, but can stomach other types of blood. At 5 their refined tastes mean that every fitting meal restores a point of Willpower.
Tzimisce: as explained earlier, the severity shapes how the curse manifests if they fail to sleep with their soil.
Because of this curse, many Elder Tzimisce stay within their native homelands, and send out their childer to fight their battles. This, indeed, was the cause of the Anarch revolt, and the birth of the Sabbat!
Giovanni: severity effects how painful their Kiss is, and how much damage it does to normal mortals. At the peak of the curse the kiss is the most horrifying torture, and will even inflict some harm on ghouls and various supernaturals (but not other Undead), making the worst form of the curse a mixed blessing.
Lasombra: at first, the curse is simply losing your reflection. Beyond the first point of Severity, it impacts how uncanny and inhuman you seem to mortals. At the peak of the curse you are terrifying even to Ghouls and most night-folk, straining relations further. This is part of the reason why Lasombra Elders despise humans and ghouls; the curse has shaped the culture of the clan. Terror is not always a bad thing though, and this curse can make intimidation of mortals (and some night-folk) easier.
Because of this curse, many Lasombra Elders only work through their childer and Sabbat allies.
Gangrel: effects how badly animal features impact you, and at the highest Severity some of the features can become permanent. At Severity 5 you man manifest permanent features like Claws and overgrown fangs with mechanical bonuses (climbing and Aggravated damage); this saves on blood but they can be inconvenient and socially debilitating.
Nosferatu: this is determined at the embrace, and rarely changes. Some claim that consuming other Nosferatu will lead to the curse getting worse, and some even claim that this is the origin of the legendary Nictuku. It's possible that this rumour was spread to put other Kindred off of diablerizing Nosferatu during the dark ages. At 1, you can pass for human even under harsh visual inspection. You look like you have some terrible congenital disease, or have been the victim of some horrible accident with fire or acid or a skin-eating pathogen. At 2 you are hideous at a glance, but not an immediate Masquerade breach. At 3 and higher you are increasingly monstrous, having a shape which is hideous even by Nosferatu standards. Those who have a severity of 5 are so horrifying and disgusting that they are at -2 difficulty to all Intimidation rolls, but often terrify others without even trying, earning a lonely existence.
Setite: determines how badly light effects them, ranging from discomfort in the brightest lights to taking lethal damage from moonlight. Those with the most extreme version of the curse gain 1 die to all dicepools while working in the darkness. This weakness also contributes to damage taken from sunlight; an expression of Ra's hatred.
Assamite: either determines how badly addicted they are to Vitae (and eventually Diablerie), or how much drinking Vitae harms them, depending on the state of the metaplot. At severity 5 of the addiction curse they regain Willpower when committing diablerie; a small compensation for the fact that they find resisting an opportunity to commit diablerie incredibly difficult. At severity 5 of the allergy curse they become immune to all blood bonds, as their body rejects any vitae which is fed to them.
I'd welcome any ideas or critiques. The intention is to tie the mechanical downsides of being a Vampire into the VtM lore, and help to make Elders more vulnerable to careful exploitation of their Curses. It's a great opportunity to get creative with the curses of the clans and bloodlines.
) would get vulnerability from faith symbols to symbolice the posibility of Kupala being an Earthbond Demon instead of an spirit whose bane is faith.Toreador get a split (A poetic way to say depresion) and cannot spend WP etc...
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