A vampire’s Hunger is the neverending drive to feed on human blood, the most primal desire of a vampire’s inner Beast. When Hunger is slated by periodically feeding on human, animal or bagged blood, the vampire can avoid her Beast driving her to Hunger Frenzy, just as she can avoid Fear Frenzy by avoiding fire. A vampire’s Hunger increases the more she Rouses the Blood to mend her wounds, power her Disciplines, etc.
In a live-action setting, Hunger is tracked from 0 to 5 on your character sheet. Each time your character’s Hunger increases or decreases, make or remove a check mark in the appropriate box on the Hunger track. Your Hunger level has a variety of effects on your character. The effects listed below are cumulative. For example, at Hunger level 4, you are subject to bestial failures and messy criticals.
| Hunger Level Effect |
| 0* Immune to all types of Frenzy unless triggered by a supernatural power |
| 1 Can only Slake to zero (o) by draining a mortal completely of all blood |
| 2 |
| 3 Bestial failures |
| 4 Messy criticals |
| 5 Can no longer voluntarily Rouse the Blood Effects that cause an involuntary Rouse check instead force you to immediately test for Hunger Frenzy Effects that cause your Hunger to increase automatically force you into a Hunger Frenzy |
* If your Hunger level rises to one, you are immediately subject to any Frenzy triggers as normal (see page XX)
Bestial Failures
While a vampire is at Hunger 3 or higher, her Beast does not deal well with failure. When she loses a contested or static challenge, and her test pool is lower than her opponent’s test pool or the difficulty of the static challenge, she must suffer one of the following consequences:
● The character must act out a Compulsion.
● She gains one Hunger. If this result would take her Hunger above five, the character immediately enters Hunger Frenzy.
● As her actions were unintentionally reckless, she has committed a Masquerade breach (if justified by the scene).
● She gains one Stain (if justified by the action causing the bestial failure).
Consequences are chosen by the Storyteller or, with their permission, by the player.
Example: Fox is trying to jump a three-foot gap from one rooftop to another. He fails the challenge. Because he has Hunger 4 and his test pool is smaller than the difficulty of the challenge, he suffers a bestial failure and ends up crashing through the brick wall of the building, causing a Masquerade breach.
Example: While walking down the street, Asher becomes the target of a mortal pickpocket. Asher tries to stop the theft by grabbing the thief’s hand. The challenge is lost, and, because they currently have a Hunger rating of 3 and a lower test pool than the thief, it is a bestial failure. Asher accidentally shatters every bone in the thief’s hand, gaining one Stain for violating a personal Conviction forbidding them from harming mortals except under vital self-defense.
Example: Octavius, a Brujah, is in the middle of a debate over successful military campaigns of the 15th century. Their opponent, Zachary, insists that they are a master of the subject. Zachary fails the contested Academics + Intelligence challenge to prove it and has a smaller test pool than Octavius. The Storyteller determines that they should act out their Compulsion. Because Zachary is a Tremere, their clan Compulsion is Perfectionist. Zachary continues to debate even though no one is listening.
Messy Criticals
A vampire with a Hunger level of 4 or more must always check to see if a challenge would be considered a critical win, even if there would be no benefit for a critical win. If a critical win would normally be achieved (their pool is one higher than the opposing pool/difficulty), she is subject to a messy critical. The character’s Hunger has driven them to an impressive success at the cost of having momentarily lost control of their Beast.
Mechanically, a messy critical forces the character to gain one Stain. Story-wise, the messy critical is largely up to the player and Storyteller to describe. Whatever activity she was
performing that resulted in the messy critical got out of control. Messy criticals can often result in a Masquerade breach; however, not all challenges involve doing something that can get that messy.
When it is too difficult to explain a messy critical resulting in a Masquerade breach, the character should roleplay the urges of her Beast by being assigned a Compulsion. The Stain is still gained.
Example: Raven attempts to use Telepathy on Nyx and wins the associated challenge. Because Raven is at Hunger 4, they consult their Storyteller to see if they make a critical win. If so, it is now considered a Messy Critical. Normally this would result in a physical display and Masquerade breach, but, since they were using Telepathy, an overt show of physical action doesn’t make sense. Raven still gains one Stain, but now also gains the Compulsion Paranoid, as their Beast is convinced they are being spied on in the same manner.
Alternative Example: Elias is trying to escape by pulling open a locked door to a nearby warehouse. They win the challenge, but, because they have a Hunger rating of 4, they must check for a critical win. If confirmed as a critical win, he suffers a Messy Critical. Their Beast takes control as they rip the steel door out of the wall and toss it across the street, an obvious breach of the Masquerade. Elias gains one Stain and is able to enter the building as originally planned.
