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Table of Contents
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Sunlight
Sunlight burns a vampire much faster, and much more thoroughly, than it burns humans. In seconds, a vampire can be reduced to a smoking pile of ash. A narrow beam of sunlight can burn off a hand or limb.
Sunlight does damage based on two factors: intensity and exposure. In game combat terms, the intensity is the DMT, while the Exposure determines the # of points of damage inflicted. The various intensities are as follows:
| Indirect sunlight, sun is still over the horizon | DMT 4 |
| Indirect sunlight, sun clearing the horizon | DMT 5 |
| Direct Sunlight | DMT 8 |
Exposure inflict damage as follows:
| Narrow beam (hand) | High 1A, Low 1A |
| Ray of light (limb) | High 2A, low 1A |
| Window-sized exposure (half body) | High 3A, low 2A |
| Full exposure | High 5A, Low: 3A |
- Heavy clothing covering your whole body will give you advantage against the DMT of -indirect- sunlight only. Clothing does nothing against direct sunlight.
- Remember that the damage-prevention aspect of Fortitude is halved (rounded up) when dealing with aggravated damage.
- In addition Sunlight may function as a frenzy-trigger. Frenzy checks for sunlight are particularly nasty. The first round of exposure, you check for frenzy for exposure, regardless of whether you take damage or not. Only one check per scene is necessary. If you continue to take damage for subsequent rounds, one more check for taking damage is required.
Fire
The outer tissues of a vampire's body are unusually dry compared to humans, since all endocrine systems have ceased functioning. A burn for a human is a blistering and cracking of the skin under heat. For a vampire the burning is more thorough and quick - It does aggravated damage. Subsequently vampires have an instinctive fear for fire. In game terms fire functions as a frenzy-trigger and may send them into a fear-frenzy.
Harmful Agents
While the vampiric condition is resilient to damage, wounds, etc. and it is unaging, it is not immune to the ill effects of toxins and germs. While stories of getting "high" drinking blood from drunks and dope fiends are not uncommon, for the most part the incidents of disease, poison, venom, bacteria, and virus infestation are not well known. They are available ingame via lore-locked newsfiles. We provide the information in these newsfiles for your reference here, but your character may only willfully employ knowledge that they have access to.
Policy Note: People employing such items should have a showable jnote(REAGENTS) or otherwise cooperatively negotiate such things. This jnote / cooperative negotiation policy applies to all lore-locked pages in +news sys/harmful.
Locked to Vampire Lore 1:
Vampires and Caustic Materials: (Acids, Bases, etc.) work to full effect on vampiric flesh, causing aggravated (flesh needs to be replaced) wounds, which are able to be healed once no longer exposed to the material.
The Fortitude discipline generally applies more to macro-effects - so while it may help against an Adder's fangs or hypodermic needle, it provides no assistance against anything injected.Electrical: Electrical damage is very difficult to quantify and subject to cooperative negotiation. It has been established, however, that "Taser" technology is NOT effective against a vampire other than to make it more angry.
Locked to Vampire Lore 4 OR Vampire Lore 2 + Medicine 1
Vampires, Poison and Venom: Vampires being able to control their bodily humors can often isolate the effects of injected or ingested poison and venom (if aware of it) as well as endure the side-effects or pain-effects of the toxin until cleansed through the daily bodily refresh process.
Additionally, poison gas can largely be ignored save for surface effects because the vampire does not need to draw the gas into its interior (does not breathe). In rare cases, Vampires have indeed been known to suffer toxin-based muscular paralysis, spasming, and relaxation, though respiratory and organ failure are obviously not fatal.
Anaesthesia is not generally effective against vampires.
Locked to Vampire Lore 4 and Vampire lore 1 OR Vampire lore 2 and Medicine 2
Vampires, Bacteria and Viruses: As the host is not living, the majority of these microorganisms have no compatibility with the inert cells. However, there are rare reported incidents of even greater sensitivity to blood-borne bacteria as well as some fungal agents and yeasts that thrive in the non-living material composing the vampiric body. Vampires have been known to be _carriers_ of diseases such as Leprosy.
You have never heard of any successful viral infections - even in the blood. The general belief is the added heartiness of the system, inert cells aside, stems from the daily restoration of the body to its state at death. Treatments for bacterial, fungal, and yeast infections vary from Tremere Blood Magics to induced Frenzy where the Beast purifies the body (this method is known to be unreliable.)
Staking
Staking is the process of spearing a vampire through the heart with a wooden stake, or some similar wooden pointy object. Staking another character through the heart in combat is not really possible. You need to incapacitate or restrain a character first. It is an immutable fact that a vampire that is staked through the heart with a wood object, he/she cannot take any actions other than talk quietly until someone else removes the stake.
This inability to take actions includes any use of vampire powers such as disciplines. Furthermore, all rituals maintained by the concentration of the staked vampire are broken.
Any roughly sharpened wood object through the heart will work. No coded Weapon is necessary. A broken leg of a wooden chair, etc, in the description of a room will do.
Torpor
Torpor is a state, akin to coma in humans, which vampires enter when they are injured beyond their ability to recover, or when they do not have enough blood in their system to awaken from the day's sleep.
There are essentially two types of torpor: voluntary, and involuntary. The difference is simple. In involuntary torpor, the vampire is incapacitated, or suffering from an aggravated wound. Voluntary torpor includes a vampire who has entered the state willingly (which can be done at will by any vampire with Vampire Lore 3 or higher) or who has entered torpor as a result of insufficient blood.
Voluntary Torpor
'Voluntary' torpor is so-called because it is almost impossible for a vampire to fall into it accidentally. With no blood, the vampire will eventually hunger-frenzy - only a deliberate effort of will is likely to hold off the Beast until sunrise claims the vampire in sleep.
To awake from voluntary torpor, a vampire must be fed blood. It need not be vitae. It is usually advisable to feed such a vampire sufficient blood to avoid frenzy when they wake.
Alternatively, a vampire can wake themselves from voluntary torpor by surrendering to the Beast. With such a surrender, the vampire awakens in an automatic hunger frenzy, at zero vitae, and will receive a new Subhuman Beast Trait.
Because of the nature of voluntary torpor, players who let their character slip into it accidentally are advised that staff will typically run a hunger frenzy scene for the character if asked to reset the torpor status.
Involuntary Torpor
Involuntary torpor can arise in a number of ways: deliberate infliction of damage till no blood remains, failure to hunt sufficiently to allow an aggravated wound to heal, or slipping off for the day with insufficient blood to heal your wounds.
To awake from involuntary torpor, a vampire must be fed the vitae of a vampire of higher Sanguinis than themselves. A single point will suffice to break the torpor, but it is advisable to feed the vampire sufficient blood (of any sort) to avoid hunger frenzy when they wake.
Alternatively, a vampire can wake from involuntary torpor by surrendering to the [[[vampiric-state:beast|Beast]]. With such a surrender, the vampire awakens in an automatic hunger frenzy, at zero vitae, and will receive a new Monstrous Beast Trait.
Players are warned that if a character with aggravated wounds slips into torpor because they have bad luck hunting, or forget to hunt - the torpor will stand. Involuntary torpor is one of the long-term side effects of aggravated wounds.
Diablerie
Diablerie is a dark, evil word that is not mentioned lightly in polite vampire society. Please refer to '+news lores/vampire' to see if you have any knowledge of such things.
For those with the lores to know, diablerie is the process of bringing another vampire to Final Death by drinking all of their blood. Diablerie consumes the very essence of a vampire, stealing the power of their blood. It is regarded as the worst sin a vampire can commit.
There are rumors, which are discouraged by Elder vampires, that committing diablerie on a vampire of stronger blood (i.e. higher Sanguinis) will increase the strength of one's own blood. It is also whispered to bring terrible burdens to the diablerist, as well as great power.
A diablerist's aura is marked distinctively for some considerable time, and the punishment for diablerie is almost invariably death.
The rules for diablerie will not be disclosed here. If your character decides to take this path, then you can discover the affects as your character does. Again, bear in mind your character's access to information about diablerie in '+news lores/vampire.
