VARKOLAK
aka Demoniacs, Maenads or Tricksters
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Although they may be ancient, the Varkolak do not compete to be treated as an Elder House. In fact, they barely interact with the other Houses at all. The Varkolak are maddened by their condition but also exalted by it. They have great powers, but little focus. If they learned to marshal their divided psyches, they would be among the greatest of the creatures of the night.
Starting HP: d8+4
HP per Level: d8 Weapons & armour: any Attack Damage: 1d8/1d6 unarmed Special features: +1 to starting INT and WIS Leveling Up: roll twice for INT and WIS |
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Instead of distinctive supernatural powers, each Varkolak has a divided personality. A starting PC has 4 personas and nominates one to be Dominant. At the start of each night, a randomly determined persona is in charge.
- Personas may perceive themselves to be of different ages, races, genders and backgrounds but they have the physiology of the Dominant Persona
- They share the same Stats and Blood Usage Die
- They have different Backgrounds and their own Morality Die (when asleep, they obey the Morality Die of the Dominant Persona)
The Dominant Persona
- Upon awakening, the PC can choose to have the Dominant Persona in charge by passing a WIS test; otherwise the persona is rolled randomly
- If the PC is ever Out of Action (OofA) as a result of non-Killing Damage, they are always KO'ed and recover on 1d4 HP with no other penalty and a random persona takes charge (the PC can make a WIS test at Disadvantage to make the Dominant Persona in charge)
- While the Dominant Persona is in charge, the PC can invite any other Persona to take over (but not the other way round)
The Alter Personas
The personas are aware of each other and have access to (but don't necessarily take any interest in) each other's memories and experiences. They often have separate wardrobes, social circles and agendas. If persona and physiology do not match (a young girl in the body of an old man), costume and make-up can make a persona convincing to onlookers on a successful INT test (at Disadvantage in extreme cases like an adult and a small child). Remember that vampires are active at night and do not photograph.
The Varkolak PC has the normal selection of Blood Gifts and these are usable by all the personas. However, each persona other than the Dominant Persona has an extra Blood Gift (and Blood Rituals, if the Gift is Mysticism) of their own that the other personas do not
At 4th level, the PC gains 2 more personas (both with d6 Morality) and may change who the Dominant Persona is. All personas except the Dominant Persona gain an extra Greater Gift of their own.
At 8th level, the PC gains 2 more personas (again, both with d6 Morality) and may change who the Dominant Persona is. All personas except the Dominant Persona gain an extra Elder Gift of their own.
Integrating Personas
Based on roleplaying, a PC might be able to integrate two personas into a new combined persona that has access to the Gifts of both and uses a single Morality Die. This usually involve the Dominant Persona merging with one of the others. If a high level Varkolak could integrate all its personas it would become one of the most powerful vampires in existence.
