Hunting & Feeding
Finding prey, feeding mechanics, vessel types, the Kiss, and the Herd background.
Every vampire must feed. This is not optional, not negotiable, and not reducible to a background process. Hunting is one of the most fundamental Kindred activities — and one of the most dangerous for the Masquerade.
Hunting
The Basic Roll
For each hour spent hunting, roll an Attribute + Ability appropriate to the method, against a difficulty determined by the hunting area.
Method examples:
| Hunting Style | Dice Pool |
|---|---|
| Seduction at a nightclub | Appearance + Subterfuge |
| Physical pursuit | Stamina + Athletics |
| Street predation | Wits + Streetwise |
| Social manipulation | Manipulation + Subterfuge |
| Animal feeding | Perception + Survival |
| Criminal method | Dexterity + Stealth or Streetwise |
Area Difficulties
| Area | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Slum neighborhood / The Rack | 4 |
| Lower-income or bohemian district | 5 |
| Downtown business district | 6 |
| Warehouse / industrial district | 6 |
| Suburb | 7 |
| Heavily patrolled area | 8 |
Results
Success: Found and subdued prey. The vampire may drain as many blood points as desired (or 1d10, at Storyteller discretion).
Failure: Hour wasted; no prey found. Roll again next hour.
Botch: A serious complication — accidental kill, disease in the vessel, entering rival territory, ambushed by a gang, potential Masquerade breach.
Background Modifiers
| Background | Effect |
|---|---|
| Fame | –1 difficulty per dot (minimum 3) |
| Domain | –1 difficulty per dot (minimum 3) |
| Herd | +1 die per dot added to the hunting roll |
| Nosferatu appearance | +2 difficulty or more |
| Humanity 4 or below | +1 difficulty (visible inhuman qualities) |
| Path of Enlightenment | +1 to +3 difficulty (depending on alien nature) |
The Kiss
The vampiric bite triggers involuntary ecstasy in the vessel — a supernatural response that overrides pain and fear. Victims feel pleasure, warmth, and often a dreamy euphoria. This is the Masquerade’s great enabler: a victim who enjoys the feeding does not report it.
Exceptionally strong-willed mortals (Willpower 9+) may briefly resist the Kiss’s effect, requiring Willpower rolls to remain agitated.
Kindred resistance to the Kiss: Any vampire may roll Self-Control/Instinct (difficulty 8) to resist the ecstasy of another vampire’s bite. This is relevant when being fed upon involuntarily — the bond-forming mechanism and the physical pleasure both require active resistance.
Blood Quantity
| Action | Blood Required / Effect |
|---|---|
| Take 20% (2 BP from adult human) | Safe; vessel feels lightheaded |
| Take 50% (5 BP) | Requires hospitalization to recover |
| Take 100% (10 BP) | Fatal |
A vampire draws up to 3 blood points per turn from a vessel.
Hunger Frenzy
Threshold: When blood pool drops below (7 minus Self-Control/Instinct rating), the vampire is Hungry. When catching prey while Hungry, roll frenzy resistance (difficulty 4, modified by degree of starvation).
Consequences of failed hunger frenzy check: The vampire feeds to full blood pool without stopping, regardless of consequences to the vessel. This is the most common cause of accidental mortal deaths during feeding.
Vessel Types and Quality
Mortals
Normal humans: 10 blood points. Standard nourishment.
Children: 5 blood points. A Humanity check (difficulty 8 for most vampires; feeding from children is a sin at Humanity 8 and above).
Athletes / healthy adults: May yield 11–12 blood points at Storyteller discretion.
Sickly or emaciated: May yield only 6–8 blood points.
Blood-Borne Disease
The Kiss does not sterilize blood. A vampire who feeds on an infected vessel may become a carrier of blood-borne diseases (HIV, hepatitis, etc.) that they can then transmit to subsequent vessels through feeding.
Detection: Intelligence + Medicine (difficulty 7) to notice signs of disease before feeding. Exposure: Failed roll means exposure; Stamina roll (difficulty 6) to avoid carrier status. Botch on detection: Automatic carrier status.
The vampire itself is unharmed by disease — but may infect every subsequent vessel for months. In some Camarilla cities, known disease carriers face isolation or Final Death.
Intoxicated Vessels
When a vampire feeds on a mortal under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the effects pass through the blood.
Rate: Every 2 blood points consumed = roughly 1 drink or 1 dose of effect. Duration: Effects last approximately 1 hour per blood point consumed, then fade. Resistance: Self-Control roll (difficulty 4 for alcohol, 6 for harder drugs, 8 for hallucinogens) to shake effects early — each success reduces duration.
| Substance | Effect on Vampire |
|---|---|
| Alcohol | –1 to Dexterity and Intelligence pools per 2 drinks in vessel’s blood |
| Cocaine/Speed | +1 Celerity level for (10 – Stamina) minutes; Frenzy difficulty +1 |
| Hallucinogens | –1 to –3 all pools; Dementation-like effects; possible Auspex bonus |
| Heroin/Opiates | –2 Dexterity and Ability pools; dreamlike state for hours |
| Marijuana | –1 Perception pools; Frenzy difficulty –1 |
Animals
Domesticated/common: See vessel blood pool table.
- Cow: 5 BP
- Dog: 2 BP
- Cat: 1 BP
- Bird: ½ BP
- Bat/rat: ¼ BP
Animal blood is mechanically present but less satisfying than human blood. Many vampires find it hollow — it sates hunger but not the deeper craving. Long-term animal feeding has no mechanical penalty in V20 core, but the Storyteller may apply Humanity checks at sustained Humanity 8+ for the deliberate choice to live as an ascetic.
Werewolf blood: 20 BP and highly concentrated. Also extremely risky — werewolves are among the most dangerous things a vampire can attempt to feed on.
Vampire Blood
Feeding from another vampire is mechanically functional (they have blood equal to their blood pool) but carries significant risks:
- Blood bond: Consuming a vampire’s blood voluntarily follows the same three-drink blood bond rules as mortal blood — but with one important difference: each drink of elder (lower Generation) blood counts as more significant and may advance the bond more rapidly.
- Addictive quality: Kindred vitae carries the supernatural intoxication of the Kiss in reverse. Blood addiction to specific Kindred (especially elders) can develop rapidly.
- Diablerie risk: If the vampire drains another past 0 blood points to incapacitation, the opportunity for diablerie is present.
The Herd Background
The Herd Background represents a stable group of willing mortal vessels — people who return to the vampire for feeding, whether through Domination, Presence, blood bond, or genuine (if confused) consent.
| Herd Rating | Effect |
|---|---|
| ● | 3 vessels; +1 die to hunting |
| ●● | 7 vessels; +2 dice to hunting |
| ●●● | 15 vessels; +3 dice to hunting |
| ●●●● | 30 vessels; +4 dice to hunting |
| ●●●●● | 60 vessels; +5 dice to hunting |
Herd members are not unlimited resources — over-feeding damages their health and may trigger Masquerade problems. The Storyteller may require occasional attention to maintain the Herd’s availability and loyalty.
Special Feeding Restrictions
Ventrue Refined Palate
Each Ventrue can feed only on one specific narrow category of mortal — determined at character creation, permanent. Attempting to feed on a vessel outside this category yields zero nourishment: the blood is simply vomited. Vampiric blood is exempt.
Giovanni Hungry Kiss
Giovanni feeding is uniquely painful. The Kiss provides no ecstasy — only pain. The victim is conscious and aware throughout. Vessels must be controlled, compelled, or subdued to feed on without causing a scene.
Ravnos Compulsion
Each Ravnos has a specific vice they must indulge at least once per night or lose 1 temporary Willpower. This may include feeding-adjacent behaviors (specific vessel types, specific situations for feeding) at Storyteller discretion.
Hunting Downtime
For scenes where detailed hunting resolution is not narratively necessary:
Extended downtime: A vampire spending several nights hunting in familiar territory with appropriate methods succeeds without rolling — they have a functioning feeding practice. Use rolls only when:
- The vampire is in unfamiliar territory
- The hunting method is unusual or risky
- The timeline is compressed
- A complication or dramatic tension is appropriate
The Storyteller may call for a single hunting roll to represent a week of activity, using average results rather than turn-by-turn tracking.