House Rules/Blood

House Rules Blood The fear of blood tends to create fear for the flesh. -Silent Hill

Blood. Just the mention of the word can be enough to bring a shiver down the spine. It flows through us all, connects us, binds us together... and makes us a target of the creatures of the night that seek to steal the very essence of our life-force away from us. Some would have you believe that blood is blood, and that all those who prey on it - whether they call themselves 'Ananasi', 'Kindred' or 'Kuei-jin' - value the same kinds of blood equally. They would be wrong. Introduction There are many different kinds of blood, just as there are different kinds of bloodsuckers. It is not simply a matter of one type of blood having a given effect on everyone, though - what is valued by one kind might be useless or even downright harmful to another. This guide exists for one purpose: to detail who can feed on what, and what happens when they do. Just because they all drink blood doesn't mean they're all the same. Kisses, Bites and Bendy Straws What being bitten actually feels like varies considerably depending on what exactly one is being bitten by. The effect of the 'Kiss' of the western Kindred is relatively well-known; intense pleasure while the feeding lasts, after which the Kindred can simply lick the wound and make the bite marks disappear. Fewer know the effects of being bitten by Ananasi or Kuei-jin; assuming that it is exactly the same would be quite incorrect. Ananasi fangs do not look anything like Kindred fangs. While likewise retractable, they are not in fact TEETH, but rather come in the form of spiderlike pedipalps. The sensation of feeding is quite similar to the Vampire's Kiss - but only to the victim. These spider-fangs inject a fast-acting venom as they pierce the skin, causing a sensation of pleasure so similar to the Kiss that even a long-time blood doll would be hard-pressed to tell the difference - said difference primarily being the fact that the sensation lasts a few seconds longer, the effect being drug-based rather than blatantly supernatural. The werespider does not need to lick the wound to seal it; the toxin also acts to heal the puncture wounds left by the pedipalps. As long as the victim has enough blood left in them that they won't die from the feeding, the bite marks will have vanished completely within a few minutes. As for the Ananasi themselves, they do not even taste the blood they drink; it is drawn directly into the hollow pedipalps, never actually flowing into the werespider's mouth. To Ananasi, there is no real pleasure in the feeding; it is no more enjoyable than refueling one's car. A necessity, nothing more. Being bitten by a Kuei-jin, on the other hand, is nothing at all like the Kiss. There is no pleasure in their bite, only the sharp pain of teeth piercing skin and the highly unpleasant feeling that comes with having one's Chi forcibly removed. The draining of Yin brings about feelings of exhaustion, depression and calm, all at once; being relieved of one's Yang comes with feelings of panic, anger and strange mirth. The wound inflicted by the bite isn't going to heal from a lick, either... As for what's on the menu? Well, it turns out they have different preferences there, both when it comes to feeding on others... and on each other. Kindred Vitae Kindred are quite capable of feeding on each other; a potent treat, though with the risk of the Blood Bond or the complications of Diablerie to take into consideration. Kuei-jin suffer no notable ill effects from imbibing Vitae, and can draw Chi from it just fine; they are all immune to the Blood Bond, and they cannot commit Diablerie. It just might be considered socially unacceptable, but it is not in any way harmful. To Ananasi, on the other hand, Kindred Vitae is entirely unsuitable; they gain nothing from drinking it, and their bodies will violently expel it if for some reason they are stupid enough to try. Ananasi Ichor As far as Kindred are concerned, the almost sludgelike liquid flowing through a werespider's body is quite simply not blood. It doesn't even look like blood; the unnatural mixture of hemoglobin and hemocyanin gives it a purple hue. Somewhere between human and spider, it is simply too alien for Kindred to ingest. They may as well try to drink wallpaper paste. Kuei-jin, however, are perfectly capable of drawing Chi from Ananasi 'blood'; do note that a werespider's actual Blood Pool does not represent their own blood, but rather the blood they themselves have stolen from others (which isn't stored in their own circulatory system); an empty Blood Pool does not mean that a werespider is in any risk of dying from blood loss. As a result, there's no real point in Ananasi trying to feed on each other - it's the wrong kind. Kuei-jin Blood While Kuei-jin themselves can draw Chi from the blood of others of their kind, they are the only ones that have anything to gain from the attempt. To Kindred and Ananasi alike, Kuei-jin blood (technically refined Yin chi) is only so much dead, inert junk; trying to drink it is not merely unpleasant, but outright detrimental. Those foolish enough to try suffer the same effects as if they had been trying to feed on an unembalmed Risen; see that entry for details. Having it removed from their body still makes the Kuei-jin in question lose Yin chi, of course, but probably not very much - most would stop feeding at the first taste. Human Blood Nothing special here; human blood is fine. That's really all there is to say about it - at least so long as it's straight from the tap. If it isn't? Well, that brings us to... Blood Packs Kindred can get by on blood packs in a pinch, but it's the blood equivalent of cheap instant ramen; bland, boring, and not particularily filling. Still, it's better than nothing. Ananasi could gain some benefit from blood packs too, but they'd need to heat it up first; between not actually needing to drink blood in order to live and not having to worry about silly things like Humanity, though, the werespiders generally aren't likely to bother. As far as the Kuei-jin are concerned, blood packs are completely worthless - there simply isn't any Chi left in stored blood. Animal Blood Though generally weak, unflavorful and generally sneered at, animal blood will still keep Kindred going. Ananasi are a little more restricted here; they need warm, mammalian blood, and thus birds, reptiles and the like do not make suitable prey. Kuei-jin simply cannot draw Chi from animal blood at all; feeding on such lowly creatures is quite simply beneath them. Only sentient beings will suffice. Mage Blood See 'human blood', above; unless the Mage does something to change things to the contrary, there is no difference. Likewise for Sorcerer/Psychic and Kinfolk blood. Wraith Plasm Plasm is not blood. Kuei-jin with a Dharma rating of 5 or higher can convert drained Pathos into Yin Chi, but actually ingesting plasm is a terrible idea. Pandemonium 4 can create blood; drinking it is not advisable, however, as it is every bit as nasty as unembalmed Risen blood; see the entry below this one for details. Risen Gunk If a Risen has been embalmed, their veins will be filled with what is essentially antifreeze; if they have not been embalmed, their blood is dead, inert, chunky and disgusting. Either way, trying to drink it is a very bad idea. A Kindred that attempts to feed on a Risen must immediately roll Stamina + Fortitude, difficulty 7 (embalmed) or 9 (not embalmed). For each success below 5, the unlucky Kindred vomits up one blood point worth of their own vitae, in addition to what little they managed to actually swallow. The others are somewhat less affected: with the Kuei-jin's massive alcohol tolerance, a mouthful of antifreeze isn't THAT big a deal, and Chi isn't really something that can be vomited up. Ananasi are more susceptible to antifreeze, but as they don't actually taste what they feed on they are not as likely to vomit. Either way, though, there is no benefit (though Dharma 5+ Kuei-jin can steal Pathos from Risen as easily as they can from regular Wraiths). Changeling Blood Sparkly things here. Shifter Blood To the Kindred, the blood of most shifters is potent indeed; though they have no more actual blood than others in terms of actual volume, they are still considered to have 25 blood points rather than 10 simply because it packs more of a punch. As a downside, each point of shifter blood increases the difficulty of rolls to resist Frenzy by one for as long as it remains in the Kindred's system. This does not apply if the shifter the blood was taken from does not have a Rage score, however; while still potent, Nuwisha blood isn't going to make frenzy any likelier. Ratkin blood is also poisonous to those who feast on it. Each turn a vampire or other supernatural creature drinks the blood of a wererat, he receives one unsoakable health level of aggravated damage. In addition, the creature is also overwhelmed by disturbing and terrifying psychedelic images. Such experiences "reveal" nothing; they're just really bad trips. The Ananasi's use of blood is more biological than mystical; to them, there's nothing special about Shifter blood, and most of them are cautious enough not to seek it out. It just isn't worth the risk. Even if they do, it still needs to be mammalian; a Corax, Mokole, Nagah or Rokea in any form other than Homid does not have suitable blood for the werespiders. There's nothing all that special about shifter blood to the Kuei-jin either; the average shifter doesn't really have any more Chi than the average human. A Kuei-jin with a Dharma rating of at least 5 can get some more by sucking out their Gnosis, though (but not their Rage). Demon Blood Exactly the same as regular human blood. Kami Blood There's nothing special about Kami blood in itself (unless the Kami in question is using a power or gift that alters their blood somehow); Kami in general tend to be exceptionally healthy individuals, but it lacks the punch of, say, Shifter blood. The blood itself is not the problem. The PROBLEM is that Gaia's spirit-servitors tend to keep very close tabs on the Kami, and they're probably going to rush off and tell the Garou what you just did. They are not likely to approve of bloodsuckers preying on the Avatars of Gaia... Drone Blood It doesn't matter what kind of bloodsucker you are, attempting to feed from a Drone is nothing short of an exercise in futility. Not only is the taste (for those that care about such things, primarily Kindred) bland, uninteresting and generally lacking, the Weaver simply will not tolerate any outside changes being made to a Drone - and this includes the amount and location of the Drone's blood (and Chi). Drink however much you like, it will only keep disappearing from your system and reappearing back where the Weaver says it should be (inside the Drone). Worse still, the global hive-mind these Weaver-servitors share will mean you have just outed yourself to every Drone on the planet. Fomor Blood http://youtu.be/YyK8ASLpfmw (sorry) Gorgon Blood TERRIBLE IDEA HERE Bygone Blood Zero fucks given here.