Killing off the coolest vampire you ever wrote is like a rite of passage

hahahaha, I love your energy

did you at least get to lower your generation for the diablerie?

whatchu gunna do?

self-defense argument?

Bribe the prince/baron?

don't forget you can do In Memoriam!

What kind of zombie?

-Virus?
-Necromantic magic?
-Cordyceps?

I submit the VtM curse would override a viral or fungal infection, since vamps are immune to disease.

and a necromantic zombie fueled by magic, I would rule, is not contagious.

3 (okay sorry last one)

I also give them a benefit for library/occult (if they gather ingredients, steal a spellbook, use a foci, etc) with additional dice.

It sounds nuts, but most rituals only go for 3 rounds of rolls.

2.5

I let everyone roll (not just blood sorcery folks) b/c it gives other players skin in the game, & raises the stakes in terms of risk/reward.

My Tremere player spent a TON of XP on her cult, & I want her to benefit from that investment, so the cult gives +1 per round too.

2/2

They need minimum 1 success each round to keep going.

I encourage them to burn vitae/willpower to goose the rolls for big effects.

With all the blood dice flying around, it gets risky.

One time, my Gangrel player had a bestial failure mid-ritual & blew up the whole thing. It was awesome.

1/2 My homebrew:

-Primary caster uses Rouse blood + Blood sorcery
-Helpers give +1 dice
-Everyone can contribute each round for as many dots in stamina they have (then they have to make stamina + willpower/3 check)

-Kindred burn vitae or Mages can use tass/quintessence each round (+1 dice per)

gangrel* ? on further look, I imagine it could be a gangrel having a bestial failure, since she isn't a baldy with pointy ears

did you design it to be so the Nosferatu's nose peeled open to reveal a bat nose? (like a bestial failure?) '

or is that just an all-the-time look for her?

3/

It was a great way for a player to reconcile his meta-knowledge, keep the story fresh for the others and still help guide the team to a great answer with the discoveries they made.

2/

It was gracious of him to step back and let the other guys realize they were digging up a bunch of corpses, with a fledgling vampire tucked in the mix.

They didn't know what to do with her.

Suddenly, he cleverly said "She's evidence of Sabbat crimes, we need to take her to the Prince."

4/

The other players howled with glee.

"I bet he's the son of the woman you killed last season!" (He was. I rewarded my astute Toreador some extra XP)

Then the Tremere player sniffed - "I would have known it was a trap from the beginning."

Me: "Of course, that's why it's not a trap for YOU."

3/

Turns out, he was a vampire hunter on a quest for revenge.

He laced his blood with a poison that would paralyze a vampire. When she bit him, she ingested the poison.

The player rolled her constitution saving checks & failed.

She awoke, bound & imprisoned in a warded ring of salt.

2/

Player: "I have to have him. I want to be his sire & make him my vampire boytoy!"

I telegraphed the signs he dabbled in the occult.

She never even asked his name. When it came time to drink wine laced with poison, she didn't even question it.