Hunger

Mmmm, blood... notoriously a liquid. I wonder why this isn't called Thirst. Maybe it's like soup? That would be a terrible texture. Let's move on.

Tracking Hunger¶

0 Hunger: Sated

• Just fed well. No penalties. You couldn't possibly have another drop. Unless...

1–2 Hunger: Manageable

• The cravings are present but controllable. No mechanical penalties.

3 Hunger: Distracted

• Blood is on your mind constantly.
• Penalty: -1 Ongoing to all rolls except those made to Hunt, Feed, Dirty Your Claws, or Sate Your Hunger.

4 Hunger: Ravenous

• You need blood soon.
• Penalty: -2 Ongoing to all rolls except those made to Hunt, Feed, Dirty Your Claws, or Sate Your Hunger.

5 Hunger: The Beast Unleashed

• You remain in control of your character, but the Beast is driving. You must Feed until you reach 0 Hunger. Nothing else matters. This is commonly called "Frenzy" and it's something every Kindred experiences at least once.
• When you reach 0 Hunger again, the Beast releases you. Your character does not remember exactly what happened during their rampage. They will soon find out.
• Age Scaling:
  • Thin-Blood: Desperate, embarrassing. Starving wretch, not horror movie monster.
  • Fledgling: Violent and dangerous. You will hurt someone.
  • Neonate: Focused and highly dangerous. You will hurt multiple people.
  • Ancilla: Horrifying and efficient. Mortals are like cattle for the slaughter.
  • Elder: Apex predator, a terror in the night. The neighborhood should be afraid.

Hunger Checks¶

When you use Disciplines, use Blush of Life, mend Harm, or Blood Surge, or are otherwise instructed to, you must make a Hunger Check by rolling 1d6 separate from the other 2d6 (if present). If you're at 0 Hunger, a result of anything other than 6 increases your Hunger.

• If you roll over your current Hunger, you're fine.
• If you roll equal to or under your Hunger, increase Hunger by 1 (or more, depending on the action).

Some particularly taxing uses might require beating your Hunger by 2, or automatically increase Hunger without a roll.

Feeding¶

The actual process of a vampire bite, referred to as The Kiss, is ecstasy and violation wrapped into one. For the bloodsucker, it's pure satisfaction: warm blood flooding cold veins, the Hunger receding, the world snapping back into focus. For the mortal, it's overwhelming: a rush of endorphins that drowns out pain, fear, and reason. Most vampires' fangs carry a mild euphoric venom that makes victims pliant or even eager once they're connected. The experience leaves mortals dazed, often convinced it was a dream or that they wanted it all along. Vampires with the Siren Predator Type produce an especially potent Kiss, turning feeding into something mortals crave and chase.

The danger isn't just in the act, it's in the aftermath. Mortals who've been fed upon often return, consciously or not, seeking that high again. Some become willing vessels (even Blood Dolls), growing increasingly addicted to the vampire's touch. Others rationalize it away, their minds unable to process what happened. Either way, careless feeding creates patterns, and patterns create problems. A vampire who feeds sloppily leaves trails: witnesses, security footage, missing persons reports, or worse — mortals who remember.

Feeding is intimate in ways that transcend the physical. You're close enough to smell their fear, their arousal, their resignation. You taste not just their blood but their emotions, their Resonance coloring the Vitae like spice in mulled wine. Some Kindred treat it as a simple transaction. Others savor it and try to make it last. A few lose themselves entirely in the act, forgetting where the feeding ends and the Frenzy begins.

Practically speaking, a vampire needs to Feed roughly once every three nights to avoid the Beast clawing its way to the surface. Older vampires can stretch this longer through voluntary Torpor or sheer willpower, but younger ones, especially Fledglings, feel the pull sooner and sharper. Miss too many nights and the Hunger becomes all-consuming. The Beast doesn't negotiate, and it doesn't care who gets hurt.

Blood Resonance¶

Blood carries emotion as well as nutrients. A terrified victim tastes different from an ecstatic one, and Kindred can sense this difference as Resonance. The four Humors — Choleric, Melancholic, Sanguine, and Phlegmatic — represent emotional states that saturate mortal blood.

Anger and violence create Choleric Resonance. Fear and sadness produce Melancholic Resonance. Joy and desire generate Sanguine. Calm detachment yields Phlegmatic. Most mortals have faint or negligible Resonance, their emotions too balanced to leave a strong imprint.

When you successfully Hunt, one of your options is "The prey has the Resonance you want." If you choose this, the Storyteller confirms what Resonance they're carrying. When you Feed from someone with Resonance, you absorb its power in the form of a one-time use of Advantage on a roll of your choice — you can stock up to 3 Advantages in this manner.

For each instance of Advantage you gain from the Resonance, you can spend it on a single roll using the associated stat. After you spend a stocked Advantage, it's gone. Any unspent Advantages vanish when you sleep, when you Feed from another vessel with a different Blood Resonance, or the night ends, whichever comes first.

• Choleric (Angry/Violent): Spend to get Advantage on a +Blood roll.
• Melancholic (Sad/Scared): Spend to get Advantage on a +Shadow roll.
• Sanguine (Horny/Happy): Spend to get Advantage on a +Demeanor roll.
• Phlegmatic (Calm/Bored): Spend to get Advantage on a +Resolve or +Wits roll.

It's crucial to understand that Resonances aren't static. A Phlegmatic office worker might become Choleric after a road rage incident. A Sanguine partygoer could turn Melancholic when they get a text with some bad news. The Storyteller determines how emotions change Resonance based on what's happening in the fiction.

Vampires who want specific Resonances learn to manipulate their prey's emotional states before feeding; scaring them, seducing them, or enraging them to get the flavor they crave. Doubling down on an emotion a mortal is already feeling can intensify the Resonance, increasing its strength when consumed. If blood has Resonance, it will have one of three strength levels:

• Fleeting: Grants 1 stocked Advantage
• Intense: Grants 2 stocked Advantages
• Acute: Grants 3 stocked Advantages

Blood Bonds¶

Blood, specifically Vitae, is far more than just sustenance. Yours carries supernatural power and probably many centuries of curses, innate abilities, feuds, and more. Feeding somebody else your blood or drinking another's is an exceedingly intimate act that is equal parts addiction, devotion, and bondage.

The Process¶

When you give your Vitae to any recipient on multiple occasions, keep careful track of who has drunk from whom. Somebody consuming any amount of your Vitae for any reason automatically gives you +1 Hunger at minimum, possibly more.

On the third drink, if the recipient hasn't drunk Vitae from another vampire in between, the Blood Bond takes hold. That's it. No fancy ritual, no stuffy ceremony, no incantations, no candles, no nonsense. Just blood, repetition, and the weight of what you've done. You gain 3 Stains.

On Death's Doorstep¶

If you feed your Vitae to a dying mortal (someone at 0 HP or moments from death) the Bond forms instantly instead. Just one lifesaving drink is all it takes when someone owes you big time and their blood agrees.

What It Creates¶

A completed Blood Bond creates a Debt that the one who provided the Vitae holds over the one who consumed it. This Debt has several special properties:

• It cannot be refused, transferred, or erased by normal means
• The vampire who holds it can Invoke it once per scene rather than once per night
• Cashing In this Debt does not consume it; it persists until the Bond itself is broken
• A person can only be Bonded to one vampire at a time; while Bonded, they are immune to further Blood Bond attempts from anyone else

Bonding Mortals: Completing a Blood Bond with a mortal makes them a Ghoul; a slightly souped-up mortal with a crippling addiction to you. They gain the benefits and the curse described in the Ghoul Playbook, and the Debt functions as described in the Ghoul's Blood Bound Bane. If the mortal is someone the Coterie cares about, the Storyteller should make it personal.

Bonding Kindred: Vampire-to-vampire Bonds work the same way, but a vampire can only hold Blood Bonds over a number of other Kindred equal to their Blood Potency. If they exceed this limit, their oldest Bond begins to decay. Reduce it by 1 drink per week until it breaks or is reinforced.

If two vampires complete Blood Bonds on each other, the result is a Blood Wedding. Both hold the enhanced Debt over each other simultaneously. It's the closest thing that Kindred have to marriage, and is exactly as codependent, long-lasting, and volatile as that implies.

Breaking a Bond¶

Blood Bonds are notoriously stubborn, but not necessarily eternal. There are three ways a Blood Bond can be broken:

1. Decay: If the drinker goes a full month without consuming their Bond-holder's Vitae, the Bond weakens by 1 drink. When it reaches 0, the Bond and its Debt are erased. If both parties are vampires, the decay time is 1 year instead.
2. Final Death: If the vampire who holds the Bond meets Final Death, the Bond breaks immediately and the Debt is erased.
3. Diablerie: If the drinker commits Diablerie against their Bond-holder, the Bond is destroyed simultaneously. This is... one way to handle it.

Notable Exceptions¶

The Tremere Clan carries corrupted Vitae that cannot Blood Bond other Kindred at all. They can still Bond mortals, create Ghouls, and be Blood Bound to others themselves, but their Bond requires additional drinks equal to their Blood Potency (minimum 1) before it completes.

Thin-Bloods, while technically vampires, have a Blood Potency of 0. Their Vitae lacks the supernatural oomph required to create either Blood Bonds or Ghouls.

More information can be found in the Tremere and Thin-Blood Playbooks.

Diablerie¶

This is the ultimate taboo amongst Kindred, and also the fastest path to power. You consume the entirety of another vampire's Vitae; the very essence of another vampire that contains their strength, their knowledge, and their skill. Most of Kindred society considers this an unforgivable sin. The few who dare risk everything. It's up to you to decide if it's worth it.

The Process: To commit Diablerie, you must spend an entire scene Feeding on an incapacitated vampire (staked, restrained, or at 0 HP). Once you've drained them completely, the real work begins: roll to Stay Chill a number of times equal to the victim's Blood Potency. Every roll must be a success (7+). Fail even one, and the victim dies and your efforts are for naught — no power, no knowledge, just a corpse and whatever consequences follow.

If All Rolls Succeed:

• Your Blood Potency increases by 1 after your next slumber
• You unlock your choice of one of the victim's Disciplines, including its Discipline Perk
• You gain XP equal to the victim's Blood Potency × 2, which can be spent as normal
• Black veins appear in your aura for 1 year, visible and identifiable to anyone using Auspex
• You lose 1 Humanity

If You Fail a Roll: You gain nothing but 3 Stains and a mess to clean up. The Storyteller decides what went wrong — their soul fought back, you were interrupted, the Beast consumed everything before you could claim it, or something even worse happened.