Join Eviliv3 Play as we examine how to play @Renegade Studios’ Vampire The Masquerade 5th Edition in this episode focused on Blood Resonance. Originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen and released in 1991 by White Wolf Publishing as the first of several Storyteller System games for its World of Darkness setting line. In 2015, Paradox Interactive purchased White Wolf. Vampire: The Masquerade (also known as V5) was then released in early 2018. You can buy Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/256795/vampire-the-masquerade-5th-edition?affiliate_id=50797 and you can learn more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Masquerade.
Time Stamps:
- 0:00 Intro
- 0:38 Preface
- 1:22 Resonance
- 3:03 Resonance and Disciplines
- 4:28 Hunting and humors
- 5:48 Afterword
- 6:15 Outro
About Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition
Vampire: The Masquerade is the original and ultimate roleplaying game of personal and political horror. You are a vampire, struggling for survival, supremacy, and your own fading humanity — afraid of what you are capable of, and fearful of the inhuman conspiracies that surround you.
The classic that changed roleplaying games forever returns! This fifth edition features a streamlined and modern rules design, beautiful new full-color art, and a rich story experience for players. Powered by the innovative Hunger cycle, the game also includes rules for creating system supported character coteries, Loresheets to directly involve players with their favorite parts of the setting and The Memoriam, a new way to bring the character’s detailed backgrounds and expand on them in-session.
V5 is a return to Vampire’s original vision, moving boldly into the 21st century. While the rules have been redesigned, this new edition honors the deep story of the original, advancing the metaplot from where it left off and detailing exactly what has happened in the world of the Kindred up until tonight. The terror of the Second Inquisition, the conspiracies behind the Gehenna War, and the rekindling of the War of Ages: these are the building blocks of the modern V5 chronicle.
Mature Warning: Contains graphic and written content of a mature nature, including violence, sexual themes, and strong language. Reader discretion is advised.
This PDF version of the V5 core book contains everything the physical book does, plus the implemented errata and a few bonus sections. These sections comprise 26 pages of added bonus material, and they include the following:
- More Loresheets: Descendant of Tyler, Descendant of Zelios, Descendant of Vasantasena, High Clan, Low Clan, Ambrus Maropis, Carmelita Neillson, Fiorenza Savona, Descendant of Karl Schrekt, Descendant of Xaviar.
- An Appendix on Standard Feats: A list of examples for various typical feats your character may do over their unlife, divided among Mental, Physical, and Social.
- An Appendix on Projects: Advanced rules with which your character can attempt long-term projects in order to accomplish goals that go beyond their night-to-night unlife.
- An Appendix on Considerate Play: Excellent advice on how to present complex topics in your game and to ensure everyone at the gaming table is having a good time.
Transcript
Cold Open
They cannot be seen because they creep only in the dark.
Intro
Welcome to Eviliv3 Play, a celebration of my favorite tabletop role playing games. This is a sister channel to Eviliv3. Subscribe if you’re new to the channel, because today we are continuing our How to Play Vampire the Masquerade series with this episode Blood Resonance.
Discussion
Preface
All vampires are aware that vital fluids are more than plasma, blood cells and platelets. Drink deep enough, and the Resonance of a victim rises to the surface. First you experience the sharp taste in the blood, then images, whispers and feelings; clots of unresolved trauma or clusters of rising hopes. The deeper you drink, the closer to death you bring your victim, the more lasting rush you receive. The vampire is always tempted to drink until their victim is dead, but the Masquerade is at stake, forever pitting the beast within the vampire against their sensibilities of lasting survival.
Resonance
Blood types are expressed as Resonance. Just as humans flavor their food, Resonance flavors the blood. Resonance is a combination of the vessel’s temperament and the victim’s state of mind at the moment of feeding. While every kindred employs their own framework for describing Resonance, the most common method relies on the four humors of classical medicine and medieval alchemy. The Crucible of Alchemy limns a metaphor for the vampiric body. The salts and metals in the crucible represent the elements of the blood, refined by the fire of the emotion in the moment. This may be medieval mystification, but scaring or inflaming kine in just the right way, and drinking just at the right moment, it will get you high.
The Four Humors
Originating in ancient Egypt and Babylon, the Four Humors were defined by Hippocrates around 400 B.C. as Choleric, Melancholy, Phlegmatic, and Sanguine. These may be interpreted by Licks as angry, sad, lazy, and horny respectively. Each of these resonances come in three temperaments: fleeting, intense and acute. The fleeting temperament occurs in the moment, as all humans experience fleeting bursts of all four resonances in their day-to-day lives. Intense temperament indicates a strong tendency towards a Resonance. And an Acute resonance is so intense that it creates a self-sustaining reaction in the blood. This is referred to as Dyscrasia, or ‘bad mixture’ by older vampires. Yonder licks refer to it as a clot.
Resonance and Disciplines
A vampire cares about the Resonance of blood because it not only flavors the blood, it also gives it power. While Dyscrasia gives the best hit of all. All of this is to say, Resonance energises Disciplines. This is how the Kindred overtly learn and develop disciplines: with a combination of feeding from a teacher and practicing conscious and often learned feeding habits. Humans say you are what you eat, and vampires interpret that as what you eat lays the foundation for what you can do. This can also be a hindrance, for as your feeding habits develop, your enemies may notice the pattern and use it against you.
Fleeting temperament of the blood for the most part is just a role-playing element, which justifies the buying of dots in a discipline. But intense temperament can give the drinker one additional die in their dice pool involving the corresponding Resonance’s discipline. This will last until the vampire’s next drink of blood, or their Hunger reaches 5. Acute temperament provides the same Discipline bonus as intense Resonance, but also conveys a more powerful benefit to the drinker. You must kill and drain the vessel or feed from them for three nights to gain this effect. It will last until the Kindred feeds again, or they reach hunger 5.
Hunting and Humors
As vampires gain specific benefits from their victim’s Resonance, they will often observe their victims from afar or engage them in conversation to determine the exact nature of their Resonance. With a Resolve + Insight test they can determine the specific Resonance. Of course you could also just have a taste and forego the investigation. This may be determined by the Storyteller beforehand, or determined randomly in the moment with the chart provided. Resonance may also be changed through Roleplaying, with the vampire actively engaging with the victim and manipulating their behavior and thoughts.
There are sample Dyscrasias, or Acute Temperaments, that can benefit the Vampire in a number of ways like a Choleric Dyscrasia of Bully which gives the drinker +1 damage against weaker foes in physical or social combat. Or the Melancholic Dyscrasia of Lost Love which allows you to add a dice to all pools to resist seduction or Presence. Or the Phlegmatic Dyscrasia of Eating your Emotions, which allows you to eat and digest food without becoming nauseous, or slaking Hunger. There’s also Sanguine Dyscrasias like High on Life, allowing the drinker to use Blush of Life without making a Rouse Check.
Afterword
This is an added roleplaying aspect of the Vampires need to feed, which can color an otherwise bland act of feeding, making the act itself into a potentially interesting scene or story arc. And naturally, in order to justify spending experience on Disciplines, your character must feed on blood with the matching Resonance type.
In the next episode we will discuss The Blood Bond, Diablerie, and Humanity.
Outro
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And as always, remember that evil spelled backwards is live, so get out there and Be Evil!