- See also: Frenzy (disambiguation)
Frenzy is a term describing a supernatural fight-or-flight reaction experienced by characters in Vampire: The Masquerade.
Overview[]
- frenzy: crazed state of violent mental agitation
In Vampire: The Masquerade, Frenzy is when the Beast takes over the vampire's personality, usually a result of extreme stress such as starvation or public humiliation. The term only applies to the "fight" half of the "fight-or-flight" response, though Rötschreck (the "flight" half) is a similar experience in many respects. A Frenzy can be induced by many things, but great rage or hunger are the most common provocations. It is dangerous to deny or humiliate the undead.
The primary purpose of the Frenzy is to kill or otherwise neutralize the stimulus responsible for it, so a vampire driven to Frenzy will attempt to feed on anything she can catch whereas a character entering frenzy in combat will attempt to kill all nearby combatants. The Kindred of the Camarilla consider Frenzy dangerous, bestial and a sign of weak will and try to avoid it whenever possible. Sabbat vampires may resist or embrace Frenzy (or "ride the wave") depending on their Path of Enlightenment.
Game Mechanics[]
The following list shows common stimuli that can incite a Frenzy, and the typical difficulty for a character to resist. If the Frenzy has the potential to cause the vampire to commit an atrocity (killing a child or other innocent, for example), the Storyteller can rule that the difficulty is 9 (minus Conscience or Conviction) instead.
| Provocation | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Smell of blood (when hungry) | 3 (or higher in extreme cases) |
| Sight of blood (when hungry) | 4 (or higher in extreme cases) |
| Being harassed | 4 |
| Life-threatening situation | 4 |
| Malicious taunts | 4 |
| Physical provocation | 6 |
| Taste of blood (when hungry) | 6 (or higher in extreme cases) |
| Loved one in danger | 7 |
| Outright public humiliation | 8 |
The player may choose to resist Frenzy (with a Self-Control roll) or enter the Frenzy but attempt to guide the character's actions with Instinct rolls. The player may spend a point of Willpower to put the Frenzy on hold for one round. Character in Frenzy are immune to Rötschreck. More detailed rules may be found in Vampire: The Masquerade and Dark Ages: Vampire.
Benefits[]
A vampire in Frenzy gains several temporary benefits from the state. Vampires in Frenzy completely ignore all dice pool penalties inflicted by injury, until the Frenzy ends. Once the Frenzy is finished, the pain comes back and the crippling effects of the wounds take hold again.
All difficulties to Dominate or otherwise mentally control a frenzied character are increased by two, and all difficulties to resist the effects of such mental control are reduced by two. The character never needs Willpower rolls to accomplish a feat, because the rage fueling the vampire’s actions is both a catalyst to heightened state of mind and a barrier against unwanted intrusions. Lastly, characters in Frenzy are immune to the detrimental effects of Rötschreck.
Frenzy as a Clan Flaw[]
Brujah and Bratovitch Revenants are known for their short tempers and suffer a +2 difficulty to resist entering Frenzy. Gangrel gain a physical feature characteristic of an animal as a sign of their closeness to the Beast.
Other Frenzy Modifiers[]
If the vampire has consumed the blood of a werewolf, the difficulties of rolls to resist Frenzy (and Rötschreck) are increased by one per blood point of werewolf blood consumed. This effect stays until the blood has been used up. In the Dark Ages: Vampire Rulebook, the difficulty to resist the Frenzy increases by 1 if theres a significant source of fire nearby and if the character is a road initiate.
Other Creatures[]
Ghouls, Revenants and Dhampirs are also possible can also end up going into Frenzy but in different ways:
Ghouls[]
| Provocation | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Scent or sight of domitor’s vitae (when hungry) | 3 |
| Taste of blood | 3 |
| Threatened verbally by domitor | 3 |
| Use of narcotics or hallucinogens | 3 |
| Beaten by domitor | 4 |
| Domitor endangered | 4 |
| Domitor showing favor to another ghoul | 4 |
| Not administered dosage of vitae | 4 |
| Sight, smell or taste of human family member’s blood | 4 |
| Attacked by a Lupine | 5 |
| Overdose of domitor’s vitae | 5 |
| Humiliation in front of mortals | 5 |
| Humiliation in front of domitor | 6 |
| Abandonment | 6 |
Dhampirs[]
| Provocation | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Verbally harassed or threatened | 3 |
| Drunkenness or use of narcotics or hallucinogens | 3 |
| Beaten, struck or knocked down | 4 |
| Loved one endangered | 4 |
| Private humiliation | 4 |
| Total public humiliation | 5 |
| Gunshot, knife wound or other lethal damage | 5 |
| Crushing rejection by a loved one | 6 |
Fifth Edition[]
To resist frenzy, the vampire rolls Willpower against a Difficulty set by the Storyteller based on the level of provocation. Vampires add dice equal to one-third of their Humanity (rounded down) to their Willpower pool when resisting frenzy.
A vampire resists frenzy on a normal win but must spend a turn to suppress the impulse. On a critical win, they resist the frenzy without losing a turn.
| Humanity | Dice Added to Resist Frenzy |
|---|---|
| Humanity 9 | 3 |
| Humanity 8 - 6 | 2 |
| Humanity 5 - 3 | 1 |
| Humanity 2 - 1 | 0 |
Riding the Wave[]
A vampire can also choose to Ride the Wave, intentionally succumbing to the frenzy without making a test. This act follows the usual frenzy rules, though the Storyteller should let the player play out the frenzy themselves, such as choosing who they feed on first, rather than having the Storyteller take complete control of the character. If not Riding the Wave, a vampire in frenzy becomes the property of the Storyteller for the duration.
Effects of Frenzy[]
While in frenzy, vampires remain immune to any Health-based penalties short of mutilation. They can only use physical Disciplines (such as Celerity, Fortitude, and Potence), but they resist mental disciplines (e.g., Dominate, Presence) with three extra dice added to their resistance pools. (If the Discipline has no resistance pool, the user adds +2 to their Difficulty.)
The player can spend a Willpower point to assume control of their character for a single turn while in frenzy, but may not use Willpower to re-roll dice.
The frenzied vampire cannot be provoked into frenzy by another stimulus, nor can they gain Compulsions. They try to achieve their goal at any cost (see Types of Frenzy, below), and their frenzy remains until they do so or until the scene ends.
Types of Frenzy[]
Different stimuli provoke different types of frenzy, roughly classified in three categories: fury, hunger, and terror. Each type of frenzy expresses itself in a different way, albeit through the actions of a maniacal Beast.
Fury Frenzy[]
Provocation causes fury frenzy; insults, humiliation, or aggression risk unleashing bestial violence. A vampire in fury frenzy stops at nothing to tear the cause of the provocation to pieces, often together with anyone nearby: friend or foe. After destroying the subject of their ire, the vampire can make a Willpower test at Difficulty 3 (or 5 if other enemies remain standing). Success ends the frenzy, while failing drives them deeper into the rage; they keep slaying anyone in the vicinity unless subdued.
| Provocation | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Friend killed | 2 |
| Physical provocation or harassment | 2 |
| Insulted by inferior | 2 |
| Public humiliation | 2 |
| Lover or Touchstone hurt | 3 |
| Lover or Touchstone killed | 4 |
Hunger Frenzy[]
Temptation causes hunger frenzy; the Beast always craves more blood. Every time a vampire fails a Rouse Check while at Hunger 5, they must make a hunger frenzy test. Depending on the chronicle, the Storyteller can enforce hunger frenzy tests more or less strictly, but they should always remain a possibility. During a hunger frenzy, the vampire seeks fresh human blood from the closest source. (If the closest source is their Touchstone, one hopes the player still has some Willpower to spend to take control of the vampire and send them after a different target.) The hunger frenzy ends when the vampire reaches Hunger 1 or below.
| Provocation | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Sight of open wound or overpowering smell of blood while at Hunger 4 or higher | 2 |
| Taste of blood while at Hunger 4 or higher | 3 |
| Fail Rouse Check while at Hunger 5 | 4 |
Terror Frenzy[]
Danger causes terror frenzy; the Beast must preserve itself against all threats. Also known as Rötschreck, a terror frenzy manifests when a threat like sunlight or open flames confront the vampire. Grave damage to the body of the vampire can also clicit this response. While in terror frenzy, the vampire flees from the source of danger, without regard to anyone or anything in their way. The terror frenzy ends when the vampire can no longer perceive any danger or when the scene ends.
| Provocation | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Bonfire | 2 |
| Being burned | 2 |
| Inside a burning building | 3 |
| Obscured sunlight (through window, etc.) | 3 |
| Fully exposed to direct sunlight | 4 |
Werewolf Blood[]
Lupine blood is potent stuff and a powerful allure to the Kindred. A werewolf's blood is so rich that every drink from its veins slakes twice the normal amount of Hunger: a sip slakes 2 Hunger, for example. Draining a werewolf dry can reduce Hunger to 0 for two vampires if they share the kill. However, the supernatural power of werewolf blood can also be a dangerous wine. A vampire who feasts on werewolf blood is far more susceptible to frenzy while the lupine blood remains in their system. Every point of Hunger slaked with werewolf blood increases the Difficulty to resist frenzy by one. Even if the vampire successfully staves off their Beast, they become paranoid and short-tempered for as long as the blood remains in their system. In some cases, vampires gain temporary Compulsions from feasting on particularly volatile werebeasts.
Gallery[]
References[]
- VTM/cMET: Laws of the Night, p. 117-118
- VTM: Ghouls: Fatal Addiction, p. 30-31
- VTM: Time of Thin Blood (book), p. 82-83
- DA: Dark Ages: Vampire Rulebook, p. 263-265
- VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 121, 297-299
- VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Corebook, p. 219-220, 241, 376