Kindred Physiology

Fire & Sunlight

Fire presents an even greater danger to vampires than it does to mortals, and Sunlight burns a vampire with a righteous fury. Fire and sunlight inflicts aggravated damage on Kindred. Only Fortitude can shield a vampire from the flames or the rays, and even that to a limited degree.

Kindred Bodies

Kindred are dead, animated by the power of the vitae, still moving by the power of the blood, will, and the roar of the boast. Kindred bodies have no heat to them, unless a kindred uses counterfeit life (see the page on vitae) their bodies are only as warm as the room around them, which is a damn right cooler than 98 degrees that a human body should be at. They have no pulse, no heartbeat, and don't need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep to live. The only thing a kindred needs to keep on his unlife, is blood.

Many things that would bother a mortal dont bother a kindred: blunt force trauma must be incredibly immense before it poses a real danger to a vampire, stabbing (unless it's by a wooden stage to the heart) does little damage as kindred don't have to worry about bleeding or internal injury, ballistics only make a vampire pause if aimed at the head or are something large caliber enough to leave a substantial exit wound, electricity does not pose as much of threat, poisons and diseases have no effect, slashing is still a danger as it can rip the kindreds body to shreds, but this can be healed. Only fire and sunlight truly cause fear for a vampire's existence.

Unless they use counterfeit life (again, see the page on vitae) any fluids a vampire excretes is blood left over from the transubstantiation of blood into vitae: a vampire will cry blood or could spit (or even piss) blood if they really wanted to, sexual fluid will in fact, be blood. Fluids already in the system (aqueous humors in the eyes, moisture in the mouth and skin) is blood that the vampire's body transmutes automatically somehow so he looks human and not like a ripe cranberry.

A vampires sense of touch is as sensitive as a humans (if not moreso if they have Auspex), so vampires can still feel pain and pleasure as a mortal does. Though vampires who experience pain often will slowly stop having such visceral reactions to the sensation. When you realize the knife in your guts isn't going to kill you and with a few points of vitae can be healed up you're not going to shake and panic, though it still hurts like hell and you'll likely want to cave the skull in of whoever stabbed you.

All kindred can perfectly mimic a corpse at will. There is no roll involved, playing dead is extremely easy for a cainite. On the other hand if hooked up to any sort of monitors a kindred will read 100% dead, no brainwaves, even if solving a complex equation right in front of those performing the tests.

Kindred don't have the same physical drives as mortals. Eating and fucking are no longer biological imperatives. Mind you this doesn't stop kindred from having sex, but many look down on the practice. Feeding provides just as much (if not greater) physical pleasure for a kindred, why debase yourself with an action such as fornication? A kindreds base drives are simple: acquire blood, acquire safety.

Kindred Appearance

Upon the embrace (unless he is of a clan with a certain curses) the fledgling kindred will kind the process as made him more attractive: his complexion is flawless, his hair is nicer, he has less weight and what weight he does have sits on him better, small changes all over his body. Why this happens is unknown but it's speculated that the embrace makes a kindred more attractive so that he can be a better predator.

Unless they use counterfeit life (see the page on vitae) a kindred is always quite pale, depending on the mortals he's surrounded with, enough to rouse suspicion.

Kindred who are low (3 or lower) on their morality score look more beastial, their skin even more corpse grey, and their face turned into a predatory snarl. Likely kindred low of vitae have similar symptoms. Those with only 5 to 6 vitae in their system will have a corpse grey complexion, something that would make mortals suspicious, kindred with 3 to 4 vitae in their system show an even more dramatic difference, their cheeks and eyes begin to look drawn and sunken, with 1 to 2 vitae in their systems kindred look starved and sicky in addition to the other effects mentioned, and at 0 vitae a kindred looks shriveled and dry with papery skin clinging to their bones and hollow cheeks.

Reversion and Scarring

Normally, vampires revert to the state in which they were Embraced while they sleep during daylight hours. Hair cut during the course of the night grows back, a shaved five o’clock shadow returns if the Kindred was Embraced while scruffy,

and minor wounds correct themselves. In some cases, however, this reversion is prevented. If a vampire suffers damage, those wounds persist until the vampire heals them.

In a few instances, a vampire might actively wish to change his appearance. Such is the case with tattoos or piercings that would normally expel the ink or push themselves out of the skin while the vampire slumbers. A few vampires even like to force their bodies to permanently exhibit a scar after a particularly significant battle or physical ordeal.

If a vampire wishes to keep a scar or other change to his body, the player must spend a Vitae and a Willpower point to do so. Truly severe modifications, such as permanently losing a limb or other heinous modifications cost a Vitae and a Willpower dot, and the Storyteller is the final arbiter of what constitutes the distinction.

Daysleep

During the day a kindred falls into what is sometimes called daysleep. A kindred falls as dead as a corpse, only to potentially wake she takes damage or senses danger. Kindred do not normally dream during daysleep. The lower a kindreds morality the sooner they fall into daysleep and the the longer it holds them. Somehome with Humanity 10 would come out of daysleep right as the sun dipped below the horizon and not fall into it until the sun crested in the morning. Whereas someone with humanity 1 would lose hours of their night.

Upon waking from daysleep a kindred automatically spends a Vitae to get up and be animated. If the kindred has no vitae she takes a lethal damage and cannot do anything but spend vitae, she is however still aware. She remains in this state until her body gains a single blood point which is immediately spent to animate herself, so long as her rightmost healthbox isn't filled with Lethal Damage.

Waking from daysleep at signs of danger requires a successful Resolve + Morality roll and a kindred can never roll more dice during the day than her morality score, if she fails this roll she does not wake, the Beast does.

Kindred can avoid falling into daysleep by spending a Willpower and a Vitae point, however at dusk her body must still spend a Vitae to remain animated and her dice pool is still limited by her morality during the hours where she should be in daysleep.

Torpor

Torpor is the deathlike sleep common to the undead, particularly among ancient vampires. Torpor may be entered voluntarily (certain undead, weary of the current age, enter torpor in hopes of reawakening in a more hospitable time) or involuntarily (via damage, her rightmost healthbox being filled with lethal damage). Once in torpor a kindred is unaware and inactive, but if she is wounded she with automatically spend blood to heal. Vampires in torpor experience a strange dreamlike state, these dreams are more unpleasant the lower the characters morality is. However there is rumors of old kindred who know secrets to exert their influence over people while in torpor.

A character may enter torpor voluntarily. This state resembles the character’s normal daily rest, but is a deeper form of slumber and should not be entered into lightly. A vampire in voluntary torpor may rise after half the mandatory time period for involuntary torpor.

A torpid vampire may ignore the nightly need to spend blood; she is effectively in hibernation. A kindred is in torpor for an amount of time determined by her morality rating, once in a non-voluntary torpor, or during the first half of a voluntary one, the only thing that can awaken a kindred is the vitae of a lower generation vampire.