Ghouls

A vampire's blood has great power -- power that can be passed on. Long ago, the Kindred discovered that mortals who drank vampiric blood would become possessed of supernatural abilities and dark appetites. Soon it became common practice for vampires to keep certain favored servants, fattening them on vitae, and blood bonding them in the process. In doing so, they created undying, hellishly loyal servitors -- ghouls.

Most ghouls exist at the whim of their domitors (masters), serving loyally in exchange for vitae. As they are as susceptible to the blood bond as anyone, ghouls are almost without exception unfailingly devoted to their masters -- and if the domitor has more than one ghoul servant, the result may be a jealous struggle between them for the domitor's favor. A ghoul's emotions run to extremes with the heady drug of vitae in his veins -- such a creature often falls prey to great rages and disturbing cravings. The name "ghouls" was not chosen at random.

Ghoul Types
Vassals -- Ghouls that serve vampires, they are bonded and controlled. If your character starts off as a kine and later becomes a ghoul via a PC Kindred, this will be their type.

Independents -- Ghouls that do not serve vampires (they may have at one time, but the bonds have been broken). Independents are rare, mostly due to the fact that all ghouls are bonded for life, or any independents that are found are either 're-adopted' or destroyed.

Revenants-- Ghoul families that serve the Sabbat. These generally twisted and/or deformed folk come about when two ghouls mate, producing a child with vitae already in their system. Revenants are not playable.

Aging
A ghoul's immunity to aging is contingent on her supply of vitae. If she misses her monthly feeding, she could be in real trouble. As long as she is still within her natural life span, she resumes normal aging. But if she's lived from 100 to 250 years, then she begins aging at 10 times the normal rate -- a year becomes a decade, and so on. Ghouls who have lived more than 250 years crumble instantly to dust if their supply of vitae falters. On the other hand, elder ghouls gain some benefits -- in many ways, such prolonged exposure to vitae transforms them into something not quite human.

Blood Bond
Ghouls are still living beings, and so the mechanics of blood bonding them differ from those used to govern vampires. For a ghoul, a blood bond is not a sudden plunge into love, but a gradual slide into an emotional abyss.

After the first drink, a ghoul displays strong feelings toward the donor. There are no mechanical effects, but the feelings or the battle to suppress them should be roleplayed. Most independent ghouls, especially those dealing with charismatic or attractive Kindred, prefer to take one drink and move on. After the second drink, things aren't so simple; the ghoul is considered to be under an effect equivalent to a Vinculum score of 5. Ghouls with Willpower scores of 5 and below may have to make Self-Control rolls to avoid taking a third drink, and even ghouls with high Willpower scores may have to roll if (in the Storyteller's opinion) the temptation to drink is strong. Unlike vampires, ghouls may actually "wean" themselves off a blood bond by refusing to accept blood from the domitor. However, it is by no means easy to abstain. At the Storyteller's option, a ghoul may have to spend Willpower points to avoid the enticement of an ex-domitor's vitae until she is completely free of the bond.

Clan Weakness
A few Clans' vitae possesses contagious properties. Ghouls imbibing or injecting five or more blood points over time from certain Clans must make a Stamina roll (difficulty 5) or "inherit" a lesser form of the domitor's weakness; this lasts until the ghoul starts taking in blood from a different Clan, diluting the influence. The Clans for which this rule most commonly applies are:
 * Brujah: A ghoul "pumped" on Brujah blood frenzies at difficulties equal to those of a non-Brujah vampire.
 * Malkavian: The ghoul gains a mild derangement at the discretion of the STs.
 * Nosferatu: Appearance drops by one or two points, but no lower than 1.
 * Ventrue: Ghoul gains a marked preference for Ventrue blood, possibly endangering the domitor.

Disciplines
Ghouls have much more difficulty learning Disciplines than Kindred do. The powers passed down from Caine reach their full potency only in his childer; they are alien to mere mortals. Generally, a ghoul may learn only those Disciplines known by her most recent "donor." However, once she's learned a Discipline, any form of vitae will allow her to use it. The exceptions are the physical arts of Celerity, Fortitude, and Potence, which are instinctive enough to be accessible to any ghoul.

Once a ghoul has learned a Discipline, the knowledge will likely stay with her even if she doesn't practice it for a while (if her vitae supply is cut off, for instance). Once her diet is restored, she may use her Disciplines as usual. Of course, any unused talent will eventually atrophy -- after six months without drinking vitae, a ghoul loses a dot in a Discipline. Each month after that, she loses another dot in a Discipline until all are gone. Ghouls don't understand the Kindred well enough to teach Disciplines to them, neither can they 'teach' Disciplines to other ghouls.

Frenzy
It is the Storyteller's duty to decide what situations might provoke frenzy in a ghoul character. While any individual stimulus is relatively unlikely to send a ghoul into frenzy, ghouls experience provocation much more commonly than vampires do. Ghouls' human natures battle constantly with their Beasts, and most are not given instruction in how to prevent their pseudo-vampiric natures from taking over. However, since the Beast is weaker in ghouls, they typically face lower difficulties (usually, a ghoul's frenzy difficulties are three lower than a vampire's).

In order for a ghoul character to resist frenzy, the ghoul's player must make a Self-Control roll, the difficulty of which varies. The player must score five successes before frenzy is overcome completely. With each success rolled, frenzy is staved off for one turn.

Healing
Ghouls may heal using their blood pool, just as Kindred do. They can also regenerate limbs, though not automatically. To make a regeneration attempt, a ghoul must spend a Willpower point, spend an appropriate number of blood points (one for a finger or eye, two for a foot or forearm, three for an entire limb) and make a Stamina roll (difficulty 8). If the roll fails or is botched, the ghoul may never regrow the limb. Elder ghouls find regeneration easier: for each century of age, the difficulty of the roll decreases by one.

Overdosing
Ghouls can take in more vitae than their mortal bodies can comfortably handle, but this often causes dangerous side effects. For each point of Stamina a ghoul has, she can "cram" an extra blood point into her body. If a ghoul imbibes more vitae than she can contain, she must make a Stamina check (difficulty 8). If she succeeds, she may use the excess blood normally.

If she fails, she suffers one point of lethal damage per blood point above her maximum. Moreover, the excess blood can't be used. It takes a full scene of vomiting to burn off such "useless" blood points; until this takes place, the ghoul cannot use any blood points whatsoever. While a ghoul is overdosed, her chance to frenzy becomes equal to that of a vampire's, though certainly the ghoul will not hunger at this point. Reaction time increases (the ghoul temporarily gains a dot in Dexterity), but the overdosed ghoul must make a Perception + Self-Control roll each scene or suffer from violent hallucinations (effects are up to the Storyteller's discretion).

Withdrawal
Withdrawn ghouls suffer symptoms for a period of weeks equal to six minus the ghoul's Stamina. Whenever the opportunity to gain vitae arises, the ghoul must make a Self-Control roll (difficulty 7) or attempt to "score" however possible.

Additionally, each week of withdrawal requires the ghoul to make an Intelligence + Self-Control roll (difficulty 6); if this roll fails, the ghoul begins to sublimate her cravings for vitae into a desire for human blood, flesh, or sex. A Willpower point may be spent to resist these cravings. If the roll is botched, no Willpower may be spent, and the victim must act on her urges.