Fan-Made Flaws
This material was originally presented on Sanguinus Curae |
Flaws by Benedira
Many of the classic vampire myths are given a place in Vampire: the Masquerade in the form of clan weaknesses, flaws, disciplines, or general facts of vampiric existence. Some are still left unmentioned, however, providing no explanation for popular myths that have developed on every continent. The following flaws are intended to take more of the legends into account, as well as provide new resources for players. All are Supernatural flaws.
Burned by Holy Water(2 pt Flaw)
Water blessed by clergy does aggravated damage when it comes in contact with your body. This damage cannot be soaked, even with Fortitude.
Warded by Salt (2 pt Flaw)
You believe in the old folk tales, and cannot cross a line of salt. Victims who surround themselves with salt are protected from you for as long as they remain inside. There is no willpower roll, nor damage should the Kindred attempt to cross the line - they will simply find themselves unable.
Victim of Hospitality (3 pt Flaw)
You cannot enter a private dwelling without the invitation of a resident of that dwelling. This does not apply to public buildings, such as office buildings or restaurants. In the case of apartment complexes and hotels, the Kindred will find that may roam the common halls freely - but access to the individual rooms or flats cannot be achieved without permission.
Coffin Bound (3 pt Flaw)
Something inside you believes in the old tale, that vampires must sleep in a coffin. Failure to meet this requirement halves the Kindred's dice pools every 24 hours, until all her actions use only one die. This penalty remains until she rests for a full day in a coffin.
Three Days Arisen (3 pt Flaw)
Most Kindred awake moments - hours at the longest - after being fed the blood of their sire. For you, however, it took more time to rise again. Your sire thought you had failed to be embraced and left you for dead, and when you woke three nights later you were alone, confused, and starving.
This flaw has created many Caitiff, and those who manage to be found by their sire come under a great deal of suspicion - after all, they saw you die.
This flaw inevitably affects the entirety of Neonates unlife, as failing to wake into the presence of a sire can have lasting, devastating effects.
Bane of Holy Ground (3 pt Flaw)
Perhaps you are more damned than other Kindred, or perhaps you simply place too much faith in old wives' tales. Either way, you cannot set foot on Holy Ground. Most cemeteries, all houses of religious worship, and even some other structures are forbidden to you. Every turn that you remain on Holy Ground inflicts one level of aggravated damage that cannot be soaked, even with Fortitude. If you are buried in Holy Ground, you will suffer damage until driven into torpor - if no one moves your body, you will never awaken.
For Whom the Bell Tolls (3 pt Flaw)
The sound of ringing bells strikes a chord in you, and the sound is often maddening. You suffer a -1 to your die pool for every turn you spend in earshot of the sound, and must spend a willpower point to choose to continue to remain near it. The degree of the sound is also a determining factor - a small, handheld bell may only be an annoyance, where tolling church bells may induce frenzy if endured. Deaf kindred may not take this flaw.
Cursed by Wood (6 pt Flaw)
For most Kindred, a stake in the heart will only result in paralysis. For you, however, the stake means death. This flaw should not be taken lightly, as there is no way for the Kindred to know she has this weakness until it's too late.
Flaws by Xavier Lev-Argonne
Clumsy (2 pt. Physical Flaw)
You are a klutz, and continuously stumble over yourself, drop things, fall over, etc. Whether this is chopped up to uneven legs or an inner-ear problem, all Dexterity-based rolls are made at a +2 difficulty.
Embarrassed (3 pt. Social Flaw)
While attending some kind of special Kindred function - Elysium, for example, or perhaps even a small conclave - you became a laughing stock for any number of reasons. Whatever the nature of your embarrassment is, you've made an ass out of yourself, and no one's going to let that slip by. You are at a +1 difficulty on all Social rolls with anyone who heard of your shortcoming(s) and a +2 Social roll difficulty with anyone who was actually present. At the Storyteller's discretion, you may lose a point or two of Status, depending on the exact nature of the incident (particular favorites including falling down a rather large length of stairs or having your pants pulled down by a sadistic 'friend').
Slated for Punishment (3-6 pt. Social Flaw)
The Prince of your city has slated you for punishment for having violated one of his strictly enforced taboos. The exact nature of this Flaw depends on how many points you invest in it: three may indicate that you killed a valuable member of society, such as the local editor of the newspaper or even the mayor, whereas six may be assaulting another Kindred within Elysium. In any case, you are still to be punished; though this also depends on the nature of your crime. You may end up having your blood donated to the local Tremere chantry, or may simply have your fingers cut off and be forced to regrow them. Even after you are punished, you are still at a +1 difficulty on Social rolls with other Camarilla vampires in your city, and +3 when conferring with members of the local Kindred hierarchy. You must be a Camarilla vampire to purchase this flaw.
Former Lupine Addict (4 pt. Physical Flaw)
You have tasted Lupine blood so many times that it has left permanent scars on your mind. You suffer from a +1 difficulty to resist frenzy, due to the extraordinarily potent nature of Lupine vitae. Additionally, like Lupines, you are somewhat paranoid; you are at a +1 difficulty on all Social rolls involving Kindred or Kine that you do not completely trust. At the Storyteller's discretion, you may have to make a Self-Control roll the next time you are presented with the opportunity to partake of Lupine vitae.
Fascist (6 pt. Mental Flaw)
You disdain a certain breed of vampires, and will go out of your way to do as much harm to them as possible. Whether it is a large and well-known clan, such as the Toreador, or a tiny and rare bloodline, such as Kiasyd, you are completely biased against them. When you discover a member of the clan, you must make a Self-Control roll (difficulty 7) or lapse into frenzy and kill your target. Additionally, you cannot stand to be in their presence; you must make Willpower roll (difficulty 7) to remain in the vicinity with your enemy or flee in a terrible rage. Even further, if you end up in a social situation with one, such as Elysium, Social difficulties are increased by +3 due to your undying hatred.
Flaws By Belladonna
Child of the Mists - 4 point Flaw
A child of the mists is constantly wreathed in and following by tendrils of ghostly mist that coil and writhe about her lower body and in her vicinity. When she is moving quickly, these mists will nearly disperse completely - becoming little more than trailing tendrils along the ground behind her. But when still for any period of time, the mists will collect and form a layer of ground fog spreading slowly outward from her location - at a rate of several feet per hour. The presence of these unnatural mists makes it almost impossible to hide a vampire's immortal nature. Masquerade rolls of any kind are made at a +3 difficulty.
Indentured Servitude - 1 to 5 point Flaw
The indentured servant owes a portion of her unlife to serving another Kindred. This service may be to repay a debt, or to earn a boon. During the period of service, the vampire acts as a lieutenant to her master, and is expected to be servile and loyal. The precise nature of the service will vary according to the demands of the master - there is no supernatural influence backing this service, however, other than the honor of the vampire herself. As a one point flaw, the period of service may be only a few months - while at 5 points it may be as long as several decades.
Traveling Companion - 5 point Flaw
The vampire inflicted with a Traveling Companion suffers a very unusual difficulty - her beast is not simply a mindless creature of instinct. Rather, her beast is canny and cunning, and possesses rudimentary desires and a distinct will of its own - though all of these attributes are still rooted in the mind, will, and desires of the vampire herself. Whenever the vampire gives in to rotschreck or frenzy, her traveling companion (her beast) takes over, and remains in control until dawn forces her body to sleep. While the beast has control, it will act on the subconscious or denied desires of the vampire - whatever those may be - without hesitation. It might travel great distances to seek an item or person, hunt down an enemy, feed and kill indiscriminately, or engage in any number of behaviors depending on the repressed nature of the vampire herself. During these activities, the traveling companion acts with the full attributes and abilities of the vampire 'host' - though with a -1 to Intelligence and Manipulation, and a +1 to Wits and Charisma. When dawn comes and the beast succumbs to sleep, the vampire may find herself awaking in strange places and perhaps even in very trying or compromising situations - without any conscious memory of how she got to be where she is.
Blind by Jesse Balanger
Sometimes, through deliberate measures, or circumstance, a Kindred is, or becomes permanently blind. While this is quite the handicap, it can be offset, and even used as an advantage, by the wise and clever vampire.
Being blind does offer some protection from disciplines, yes. A purely visual illusion will fail outright, for it cannot be perceived. Some of the blinding powers of Obtenebration are useless. At the ST's option, some Presence powers may be reduced in effect.
A blind character cannot be normally Dominated. However, the elder-level Dominate power that allows one to not bother with eye contact, as well as the Blood Bond, will both allow the user to Dominate the blind character, as eye contact is not needed.
The flip side is that the blind character cannot use Dominate, himself. Some STs, however, have interpreted that the target must see the user's eyes. However, since the blind person doesn't know when the target is looking, he's got a bit of a problem. (Note that under this interpretation, sunglasses do not protect you from Dominate. They do, however, keep you from using yours.)
Some other powers also require 'line of sight'. This, unfortunately, gets handled on a case-by-case basis. Many Dementation powers require line of sight; however, since the blind character can never have line of sight, this can either be interpreted as 'is aware of the presence of' or 'is within earshot'. I usually go for the first. Blind people can use Aura Perception, as is said in the Flaw. Other perception based powers, therefore, should also work without flaw.
What's the main downside to being blind? Well, you're blind. Consider walking into a room you've never been into before. Your normal vampire will take maybe two seconds to locate all possible escapes, the position and relationship of everyone in the room, possible weapons, and so on.
Your blind Kindred, on the other hand, will get a jumble of voices, know that he can get out the way he came in, and that's about it. And consider that if you're attacked, and you don't have Blind-Fighting, you can kiss the character good-bye, since he can't even dodge attacks sent his way. That's right. 'You fail all rolls based on visual perception', which normally includes things like fists, knives, and bullets (yes, bullets, since the bullet travels faster than sound).
Disiplines
Let's also look at the main disciplines for the 13 clans.
Animalism: Unaffected, save for Subsume the Spirit, which requires eye contact.
Auspex: The blind person's best friend. Even with Heightened Senses, the amount of information gleaned is vast. Heightened Hearing allows him to pick out voices, clothes rustling, the small creaks of furniture, etc. Heightened Smell lets him identify an individual's scent, with the obvious advantages thereof. Telepathy, when properly used, can substitute for eyes. Just bring along a ghouled Retainer, and use Telepathy to scan his surface thoughts. Once you get used to the disjointed perceptions, things may function a bit easier.
Celerity: Use with caution, especially in unfamiliar places. Running into a wall at high speeds is not good for one's health.
Chimerstry: Visual illusions are going to be mighty hard for a character to reproduce. Even images gleaned through Telepathy are going to be filtered through two brains, and will probably look fuzzier than normal.
Dementation: This is a double edged sword. It can be useful for distracting your enemies and the like, but you gotta be nuts to use it.
Dominate: Covered above, 'nuff said.
Fortitude: The blind guy's second best friend. Let's face it, if he's blind, he'll likely be seen as weak, and someone will try to take him out. (To say nothing of running into things at high speed.) While this isn't necessarily next on the blind's Discipline shopping list, it should be up there.
Obfuscate: Same thing as Fortitude. Note that Obfuscate is basically a mystical 'Ignore Me' sign, not an Invisibility spell, and so the blind person cannot detect Obfuscated characters without Auspex.
Obtenebration: If your character knows a friendly Lasombra, then Shroud of Night is wonderful at leveling the playing field.
Potence: Eh. Low on the list. Let's face it, most of your blind folks aren't going to be major-league ass-kickers.
Presence: Fairly handy. It's always good for the blind guy to have people watching his back, especially since he can't watch his own front. Dread Gaze can be awfully useful; rip off the shades, give your attacker a shot of immortal terror, and you're good. Well, better off, anyway.
Protean: Gleam of the Red Eyes (or Red Socket, depending on how your character was blinded) will probably not help much. Other than that, Protean's low on the list of 'must have' disciplines.
Quietus: Again, not generally too terribly useful in overcoming the lack of sight.
Serpentis: Eyes of the Serpent gets tossed right down the drain, but other than that, it's all good.
Thaumaturgy: Oh, lord, there's too much to cover here. Just try and extrapolate from the other examples given. (i.e., it's tough to try and aim that fireball, but enhancing your Generation shouldn't be a problem.)
Vicissitude: At lower levels, it's possibly to take working eyes from others and craft them into your own sockets. And while a blind Zulo might seem amusing in thought, in game, it's probably a different story.
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