Beast Riders

by Michael Blank <@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu:MBLANK@UTCVM>

If you have any suggestions for levels 4+, then e-mail me

The bloodline known as the Beast Riders appeared in the middle 1500's in Western Russia. They began when a Brujah, whose name was never recorded, reached Golconda and then, through a heinous act of revenge for a family insult, he lost the state he had fought so long to achieve. In his horror over the act he had commited, which he would never reveal, he lost some of the understanding of the beast which had allowed him to work with it. But since he had come to terms with his beast once, he tried to regain it by force. He did not succede, but instead created the discipline of Mastery. Once he began to work with the beast again, he decided not to make it a part of himself as he once did because, in his words, "A mind at peace is a mind without growth."

As he gained knowledge of his own beast, he decided to teach his discipline to others. He then took on a student, a Gangrel searching for Golconda who couldn't control her beast enough to reach it. He taught her along with two of his progeny how to master the beast inside and still keep it's primal power. This is a unique bloodline in that the decendants are actually from three se perate "ancestors": Marina, the Gangrel he taught, whose childer have the discpline of Fortitude, Joseph, his quick-tempered progeny, whose childer have the disciplne of Celerity, and Tatayana, his young but tough lover, whose childer have the discipline of Potence.

Nickname: Animals

Appearance: The appearance of the Riders is as varried as the reasons for their embrace. The one feature that all have in common, however, is a distant look in their eye, as if they are listening to an inner voice only they can hear.

Haven: Usually somewhere with an area where they can let the beast run loose for a time. It can be a mansion with a reinforced gymnasiam or a country ranch house with a lot of wild land.

Background: Most of the Riders have had some great trauma in their past, other than the Embrace, which has hardened their will.

Character Creation:

Clan Disciplines: Animalism, Mastery, One of the physicals (Celerity, Potence, or Fortitude)

Weakness: Because of the difference between thier psychology and that of most other beings, the difficulty of ALL social rolls are two higher. They cannot purchase the flaw of Eerie Presence or the merit of Pitiable. Also, for every week that they do not allow a frenzy, the difficulty to contain the beast increases by one. If they frenzy and allow it to end naturally then they can avoid this.

Organization:

Gaining Bloodline Status:

Quote: "If I must possess the beast, I will use it to my own ends."

Mastery

Mastery is a dicipline based on using the beast to your own ends. The practitioner does not truely master the beast but can be in danger of losing himself to the beast. Whenever a roll is faied in any of these powers, the user must make an immediate Self-Control roll or go into frenzy. The circumstances determine the type of frenzy.

Also, use of any of these powers is a break of the Masquerade, since when they are used the fangs are fully extended and the vampiric nature of the user is fully evident because the beast is so close to the surface. ANYONE using this discipline around a lupine will show up as Wyrm tainted to the Gift: Sense Wyrm.

Supress Pain *

System: With a roll of Self-Control (difficulty of the number of wound levels +5) the Vampire can ignore pain and damage to perform an action. The each success is one round during which the Beast gives him the drive to shake off the penalty. However, a Botch on any physical action results in him causing a wound to himself (non-aggravated) because he ignored his body's message to slow down.

Strength of the Beast **

The wielder of this power can evoke the Beast in himself to perform great feats of strength without the need for as much blood. Doing so is very taxing, however, and can even harm the user as he overtaxes his system.

System: With a willpower roll (difficulty 8) and the expenditure of blood, the user can add two to his strength for every blood point. The bonus strength lasts for as many rounds as the number of willpower successes. When the extra strength fades, he must make Soak roll (difficulty 6) or suffer a wound for every point over his normal strength.

Calming the Fury ***

By the famiarity which the vampire now has with his personal beast, he is able to bring himself out of frenzy. The Beast cannot be immidately contained but can be subdued after he has run amuck for a while but he will still want to run wild.

System: By making a Self-Control roll with a difficulty equal to the original difficulty minus the number of rounds in full frenzy (frenzy uncontroled by willpower) he can bring himself out of frenzy. This will only work if he has been in frenzy for at least one round and the difficulty for resisting or controling a frenzy again in the same scene is one higher. This does accumulate. (ie. The beast is calmed twice in the same scene. The hungry Kindred then smells blood. His roll to resist is going to be two higher.)

Makala Fahr Thuren - Chalod@rpi.edu