VAMPIRES

*** THIS TEXT IS INFORMATIONAL ONLY - ANY SPECIFICS IN ANY ROLE PLAYING GROUP SHOULD BE WORKED OUT BETWEEN BOTH THE CHANGELING STORYTELLER AND THE STORYTELLER OF THE OTHER SYSTEM *** I should also note that many of these rules are from the Changeling Storyteller's Guide; it's really a great book and a must-have for any Changeling game, especially crossovers.

General notes on vampires

Vampires and fae don't usually mix well. Most vampires (especially Elders) seem to exude Banality to such an extent that it is almost a palpable cloud around them, actually causing pain in nearby changelings. This is not to say that all vampires are inherently Banal, it's just a view on them. Kindred smell of the Wyrm to the Garou; that does not make every vampire a ravening fomor. Vampires carry Banality with them like a fog for kithain, but that does not make every vampire an Autumn Person. Each level of Banality incorporates those below it, i.e., a Banality of 9 will cause all effects up to and including level 9.

Generally, vampires actually have moderate Banality ratings. Nearly all vampires will lie between 6 and 9 Banality, averaging out at 7, like a mortal. (go here for more detailed information on Banality) However, like the Typhoid Dauntain, vampire Banality works a bit different than normal Banality.

Rare vampires with Banalities of 5 or 6 don't actually hurt changelings, they are like a background buzz. Most fae won't even notice them until they contact them physically or have a conversation. While the fae will notice the Lick, this is not a Highlander sense. Changelings will not get a tingle and say "Aha! There is a vampire in the room." It is more of a mild discomfort in contact, an eerie vibe, nothing definite. It should be noted that this effect can be overcome through extended exposure, kind of like "tuning it out." The changeling learns to just live with the feeling, although it is likely that in the process the kithain will gain Banality one way or another. Associating with vampires is dangerous.

Banality ratings of 7 in a vampire mark the beginning of the real difficulty for changelings. It is at this point that the vampire starts causing significant and diverting pain in nearby kithain. While not enough to actually cause dice penalties and what not, most fae will not associate with vampires of such Banality for longer than is necessary. The average vampire has a Banality of 7, although it will almost inevitably rise as they grow older. Rare is the Elder that has managed to keep their Banality as low as this.

At 8 Banality, the vampire actually starts to distract fae around them. All dice pool are a -1 due to the distracting pain of the Banality clouding around the walking corpse. Most of the younger Elders (250-500 years) are at this Banality, and some of the older ancillae are as well. This marks the beginning of the vampire's decline into the sessile inertia of Elder-hood. Eiluned scholars have pointed to the eldest of vampire's habit of entering a century-long sleep, which they call torpor, as evidence of the weight that Banality has on the oldest of Kindred.

Vampires of Banality 9 actually begin to negate Glamour in their immediate vicinity. The casting of all cantrips costs an extra point of Glamour and the difficulty is raised by +2. These vampires are the ones who are still active enough to rule their cities or sects, but they no are no longer what they once were. Not motivated by much of anything more than inertia, these Elders simply go through the motions of life, pursuing vendettas that are centuries old simply because that's what they have been doing for as long as they want to remember. Vampires call the manipulations of such old vampires as these the Jyhad. It is these vampires that can also create Typhoid Dauntain out of kithain if a changeling spends too much time near them.

It's the rare vampire with a Banality of 10 that truly terrifies the kithain. At this level the vampire is death incarnate for changelings. Not only is their presence painful and not only does it make Glamour more difficult to wield, but they actually give changelings in their presence temporary Banality. For each night in the vampire's presence, a changeling will gain 1 point of temporary Banality. If a permanent point of Banality is gained thus, it is likely that the fae will become a Typhoid. Thankfully, most vampires of this level are in torpor, though they still create regions of Banality around them. Needless to say, chimera avoid all vampires like the plague.

Ghouling a changeling has an interesting effect. While ghouled (meaning having vitae in the bloodstream), the changeling may not raise Arts, Realms, or Glamour. They can be lost, however. This applies only to permanent ratings. A ghouled changeling can use and regain Glamour, he just cannot actually increase his trait. Fae ghouled to truly Banal vampires (level 9 or 10) have a more serious problem; each drink grants them one point of temporary Banality, regardless of the amount of blood drunk. Long-time ghouls will almost invariably become Typhoid Dauntain.

Embracing a changeling is about as effective as Embracing a werewolf, just less productive. After the Embrace, roll the changeling's Glamour against a difficulty of the vampire's Banality + 2 (this might be lessened if the vampire had a very low Banality or was a Kiasyd or Malkavian). A single success means that the changeling survives. Otherwise the changeling simply dies, and her soul goes on to reincarnate. Even with the success, the fae soul still dies (the ST's Guide has it in stasis, but that's too happy for me) and the changeling is reborn as a vampire with the Faerie Blood/Affinity merit. Such a vampire might be likely to create a new Discipline or spawn a new bloodline, but they lose access to all their Glamour, Arts, Realms, and Birthrights. They are now a vampire through and through.

The Mists thankfully cover all memory of the vampire's life as a fae, unless she is later enchanted. Then they return for the duration of the enchantment, fading away again afterward. It is generally more merciful to leave the vampire in the dark about her past, since enchantment merely rubs in everything that she has lost.

Enchanting the average vampire is the same as a mortal, although Malkavians and Kiasyd are an exception. Malkavians are enchanted 3 days per Glamour point spent and the Kiasyd 5. Other vampires are enchanted 1 day per point.

Drinking fae blood has interesting side effects for vampires. Generally, the vampire rolls Courage (difficulty equal to 3 + the number of points drained). If the roll is failed, the vampire enters the second threshold of Bedlam (has debilitating hallucinations, like the 4 point flaw Bedlam). Bringing a vampire into the Dreaming can have disastrous effects, depending upon the vampire's Banality. All vampires in the Dreaming, with the exception of the Kiasyd, has a dark "aura," almost like they were glowing black. It is not overtly obvious, but it apparent. Not only that, but those Kindred with higher Banality scores (8+) can actually erode the Dreaming and chimera near them. The effect is minor at a Banality of 8 (merely causing distortions and oddities), but above that the reality of the Dreaming begins to dissolve around them and fades away, erased from existence. Eventually the vampire will "fall" out of the Dreaming, but it can cause a lot of damage on its way. (Note: I do not consider the Dreaming to be either alive or sentient, per se, but neither is it totally inanimate. The vampire "falling" from the Dreaming is it attempting to defend itself, as are the Mists that affect nearly every Changeling at least once.)

Disciplines and their effects

Auspex: An Kindred with Auspex 2 (Aura Perception) can see a changeling's aura. With 3 successes you can see colors and as such you will see the aura as a pattern of rainbow highlights. Reading such an aura is at +2 difficulty. Intelligence + Occult roll (difficulty 8) allows the vampire to recognize the changeling as fae. Additionally having fae lore will give you some knowledge of what this may be. (fae lore for vamps needs to be approved by the fae ST) This does not allow the viewing of chimera in any way; it only works on those the vampire can already see. In addition, compare Auspex against Chicanery or another "illusionary" Art in the same way as you would compare Auspex and Obfuscate. In other words, Auspex will pierce faerie glamours and illusions if the vampire has a higher rating.

Chimerstry: Any illusion created by this Discipline is considered to have an incidental chimera reflection in the Dreaming. These chimera often remain in existence long after the illusion has faded away, generally a day per success the Ravnos rolled on the creation roll. The chimera behaves as would a "real" version of the illusion would, i.e., a knife lays there while a dragon goes off to wreak havoc. Any kithain can sense the use of Chimerstry within a mile with a simple Perception + Kenning roll (difficulty 7). One success gives a general idea of the location while five allows the changeling to pinpoint it.

Obfuscate: A sluagh can pierce Obfuscate on a successful Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 7), regardless of the vampire's Obfuscate rating. Other Disciplines and Arts against vampires: Other Disciplines (Dominate, Dementation, etc.) usually work normally against the fae, although the ST is the final arbiter. There are a few notes though: a necromancer who pulls a fae soul from its body may make the same roll as an Auspex user to recognize what he has before him. Whether any other Disciplines work oddly, it is up to the Storyteller to decide.

Arts work against vampires just as they would against a mortal, unless the Storyteller thinks that there are mitigating circumstances. Remember, a vampire using Mytherceria 1 (Fey Sight) is considered enchanted for the purpose of cantrips and chimerical interaction.

Malkavians

Malkavians present some odd traits to kithain. They are closer to the Dreaming than most and are actually immune to the Mists. Few fae realize this until it's too late, after they have enchanted a Malkavian and expected the Mists to cover their tracks. While Malkavians cannot automatically see faerie mien, they do remember everything once enchantment wears off.

Malkavians are also less likely to have a bad reaction to drinking faerie blood. The problem lies in that many become addicted after only a few drinks. Many childlings huddle in fear of tales told about Malkavians hunting kithain for their blood. Malkavians are drawn to the fae and many unseelie are drawn right back. Not a few of the darker kithain have decided to "patronize" Malkavians, especially Malk pranksters. While dangerous, this can prove beneficial. All Reverie rolls involving Malkavians have their difficulties reduced by 1.

Ravnos

The Ravnos are perhaps the most dangerous of all vampires in the eyes of the fae. With their Discipline of Chimerstry, the Ravnos create what are illusions to the real world but chimera to creatures of the Dreaming. Such "illusions" cause chimerical damage to changelings and the enchanted (including Kiasyd with level 1 Mytherceria active). It is rumored that an eshu taught the Ravnos their powers after losing a talecraft contest. Well since nearlly all the Ravnos are now DEAD .. I think we don't really need worry about this.

Kiasyd

The only special rules for the Kiasyd, other than their x5 multiplier on enchantment duration, is the fact that the level 1 Mytherceria power, Fey Sight allows the Kiasyd to see the fae and chimera. A vampire using this power counts as enchanted for the purpose of being affected by chimera or cantrips. Kiasyd are also subject to weakened Mists. They do no forget what happens during enchantment until they suffer Chimerical death (which can occur if they use Mytherceria 1), then they are affected normally. Most Kiasyd have Banality ratings of 4 or 5, although Elders might get up to 6 or even 7. Base Banality ratings for the Mists chart on 208 of Changeling: the Dreaming 2nd Edition on either assigned values (4 for exceptionally creative Kiasyd, 5 for the average, 6 for an "old fogey") or on (10-Path Rating), whichever seems more sensible in the game. In a Changeling game, I would assign Banality. In a Vampire game, use the Path rating.

The Kiasyd as a bloodline tend to keep to themselves, especially in their Elder years, but they do have relationships with various fae. They seem to have a natural affinity for the sluagh, in interests, mannerism, and appearance. It is not unheard of for a sluagh to have a Kiasyd over for tea regularly. Oddly enough, the Kiasyd are also known to associate with eshu and nockers as well. For some reason, more technically minded Kiasyd (a sizable minority of the bloodline) feel drawn to the nockers, despite their vulgar manners. Nockers seem to be the only people Kiasyd will forgive a lack of manners, and the nockers seem to warm to the vampires like few others. That doesn't mean the nocker will actually admit that however. The strangest link is perhaps the eshu. It may seem odd until one realizes the similarity between the younger and more adventurous Kiasyd and the travelling kith. Both are blessed with surreal luck and both often travel odd paths. They just seem to "coincidentally" run into each other in their travels.

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