Frenzy & Rotschreck
The Beast unleashed — frenzy triggers, resistance, riding the wave, and the Red Fear.
Frenzy is the moment the Beast wins. The vampire surrenders rational control and becomes a creature of pure hunger, rage, or terror — feeding on whoever is closest, destroying the source of anger, or fleeing in blind panic from fire. It is the defining horror of the vampiric condition.
Frenzy
Triggers
| Provocation | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Smell of blood (when hungry) | 3+ |
| Sight of blood (when hungry) | 4+ |
| Being harassed | 4 |
| Life-threatening situation | 4 |
| Malicious taunts | 4 |
| Physical provocation | 6 |
| Taste of blood (when hungry) | 6+ |
| Loved one in danger | 7 |
| Outright public humiliation | 8 |
Hunger-related difficulties may increase further at Storyteller discretion based on degree of starvation.
Resisting Frenzy
Roll Self-Control (or Instinct — see below) against the listed difficulty.
| Successes | Result |
|---|---|
| 5 | Overcome completely — no frenzy |
| 1–4 | Resist for that many turns, then roll again |
| 0 | Full frenzy until Storyteller decides it ends (usually 1 scene) |
| Botch | Extended frenzy; may acquire a derangement |
Willpower: Spend 1 Willpower point to maintain control for one turn during frenzy. This does not end the frenzy, only suspends it for that turn.
Brujah weakness: All frenzy difficulties are permanently +2 for Brujah. Brujah may never spend Willpower to avoid frenzy (though they may spend 1 Willpower to end an active frenzy).
Effects of Frenzy
While frenzied, a vampire:
- Ignores all wound dice pool penalties
- Resists Dominate at +2 difficulty (harder to control)
- Cannot be mentally controlled as easily (–2 difficulty to resist mental control)
- Never needs Willpower rolls for feats of strength or endurance
- Is immune to Rotschreck (cannot also flee in terror while raging)
The vampire’s actions are Storyteller-directed: feeding on whoever is closest if hunger-triggered, attacking the provocation source if anger-triggered.
Instinct and Riding the Wave
Characters with Instinct (instead of Self-Control) relate to the Beast differently. They do not deny it — they steer it.
- A character with Instinct always frenzies when triggered, unless the difficulty to avoid it is less than their Instinct rating (in which case they may choose).
- During frenzy, the player may roll Instinct against the original avoidance difficulty to take one deliberate conscious action (“riding the wave”). Success = that action happens; the frenzy continues.
- Blatantly evil or cowardly acts may trigger a degeneration roll at difficulty (9 minus Conscience) instead of the standard Hierarchy of Sins roll — resisting such acts uses Instinct, not Self-Control.
Ending Frenzy
Frenzy ends when:
- The trigger is removed (the blood scent is gone, the provocation ends)
- The Storyteller decides the scene has run its course
- The vampire reaches a safe, stimulation-free environment and a scene passes
After frenzy: the vampire returns to their normal state with memory of what happened (unless a derangement specifically causes blackouts). Degeneration rolls are required for violent acts committed during frenzy.
Rotschreck (The Red Fear)
Rotschreck is terror-frenzy — not rage but blind flight. Triggered specifically by fire and sunlight. The vampire flees in panic, lashing out at anything in its way, making for the nearest exit.
Triggers
| Provocation | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Lighting a cigarette | 3 |
| A torch or small flame | 5 |
| Bonfire | 6 |
| Obscured sunlight (heavy clouds) | 7 |
| Being burned by fire | 7 |
| Direct sunlight | 8 |
| Trapped in a burning building | 9 |
Resisting Rotschreck
Roll Courage against the listed difficulty.
| Successes | Result |
|---|---|
| 5 | Ignore completely |
| 1–4 | Hold for that many turns, then roll again |
| 0 | Blind flight — flees at maximum speed, attacks anything in the way |
| Botch | Immediate frenzy; may attack allies |
Willpower: Spend 1 Willpower to maintain control for one turn.
Rotschreck vs. Frenzy
A vampire already in frenzy is immune to Rotschreck — the Beast is already fully unleashed and cannot be further frightened. Rotschreck can only trigger when the vampire is not yet frenzied.
Hunger Frenzy
A specific type of frenzy triggered by starvation rather than provocation.
Threshold: If a vampire’s blood pool drops below (7 minus Self-Control/Instinct), they are considered hungry and must roll frenzy resistance when catching prey (difficulty 4, modified by degree of hunger).
Feeding during hunger frenzy: A frenzied vampire feeds until full, without restraint — risking killing the vessel, exposing the Masquerade, or draining forbidden sources (e.g., Kindred blood creating blood bonds).
Wassail: When a vampire reaches 0 blood points without entering torpor (from Fortitude effects or similar), they fall into a hunger frenzy so severe it is called Wassail — a permanent derangement state. Recovery is very difficult and may require significant Storyteller intervention.
Frenzy and Humanity/Paths
Acts committed during frenzy still require degeneration rolls if the act falls at or below the vampire’s current Humanity/Path rating on the Hierarchy of Sins. “I was frenzied” is not a defense against losing Humanity — though the Storyteller may consider context.
Exception: Some Paths (Path of the Feral Heart, Path of Caine) consider frenzying without riding the wave a sin — the loss of control is itself a moral failure on those Paths.