Ghouls

A vampire's blood has great power -- power that can be passed on.
Long ago, the Kindred discovered that mortals who drank vampiric blood
would become possessed of supernatural abilities and dark appetites.
Soon it became common practice for vampires to keep certain favored
servants, fattening them on vitae, and blood bonding them in the
process. In doing so, they created undying, hellishly loyal servitors --
 ghouls.

Most ghouls exist at the whim of their domitors (masters), serving
loyally in exchange for vitae. As they are as susceptible to the blood
bond as anyone, ghouls are almost without exception unfailingly devoted
to their masters -- and if the domitor has more than one ghoul servant,
the result may be a jealous struggle between them for the domitor's
favor. A ghoul's emotions run to extremes with the heady drug of vitae
in his veins -- such a creature often falls prey to great rages and
disturbing cravings. The name "ghouls" was not chosen at random.

## Ghoul Types

Vassals -- Ghouls that serve vampires, they are bonded and controlled. If your character starts off as a kine and later becomes a ghoul via a PC Kindred, this will be their type.

Independents -- Ghouls that do not serve vampires (they may have at one time, but the bonds
have been broken). Independents are rare, mostly due to the fact that all ghouls are bonded for life, or any independents that are found are either 're-adopted' or destroyed.

Revenants-- Ghoul families that serve the Sabbat. These generally twisted and/or deformed folk come about when two ghouls mate, producing a child with vitae already in their system. Revenants are not playable.

## Aging

A ghoul's immunity to aging is contingent on her supply of vitae. If
she misses her monthly feeding, she could be in real trouble. As long as
 she is still within her natural life span, she resumes normal aging.
But if she's lived from 100 to 250 years, then she begins aging at 10
times the normal rate -- a year becomes a decade, and so on. Ghouls who
have lived more than 250 years crumble instantly to dust if their supply
 of vitae falters. On the other hand, elder ghouls gain some benefits --
 in many ways, such prolonged exposure to vitae transforms them into
something not quite human.

## Blood Bond

Ghouls are still living beings, and so the mechanics of blood bonding
 them differ from those used to govern vampires. For a ghoul, a blood
bond is not a sudden plunge into love, but a gradual slide into an
emotional abyss.

After the first drink, a ghoul displays strong feelings toward the
donor. There are no mechanical effects, but the feelings or the battle
to suppress them should be roleplayed. Most independent ghouls,
especially those dealing with charismatic or attractive Kindred, prefer
to take one drink and move on.

 After the second drink, things aren't so simple; the ghoul is
considered to be under an effect equivalent to a Vinculum score of 5.

 Ghouls with Willpower scores of 5 and below may have to make
Self-Control rolls to avoid taking a third drink, and even ghouls with
high Willpower scores may have to roll if (in the Storyteller's opinion)
 the temptation to drink is strong. Unlike vampires, ghouls may actually
 "wean" themselves off a blood bond by refusing to accept blood from the
 domitor.

 However, it is by no means easy to abstain. At the Storyteller's
option, a ghoul may have to spend Willpower points to avoid the
enticement of an ex-domitor's vitae until she is completely free of the
bond.

## Clan Weakness

A few Clans' vitae possesses contagious properties. Ghouls imbibing or
injecting five or more blood points over time from certain Clans must
make a Stamina roll (difficulty 5) or "inherit" a lesser form of the
domitor's weakness; this lasts until the ghoul starts taking in blood
from a different Clan, diluting the influence. The Clans for which this
rule most commonly applies are:

* Brujah: A ghoul "pumped" on Brujah blood frenzies at difficulties equal to those of a non-Brujah vampire.
* Malkavian: The ghoul gains a mild derangement at the discretion of the STs.
* Nosferatu: Appearance drops by one or two points, but no lower than 1.
* Ventrue: Ghoul gains a marked preference for Ventrue blood, possibly endangering the domitor.

## Disciplines

Ghouls have much more difficulty learning Disciplines than Kindred
do. The powers passed down from Caine reach their full potency only in
his childer; they are alien to mere mortals. Generally, a ghoul may
learn only those Disciplines known by her most recent "donor." However, once she's learned a Discipline, any form of
vitae will allow her to use it. The exceptions are the physical
arts of Celerity, Fortitude, and Potence, which are instinctive enough
to be accessible to any ghoul.

Once a ghoul has learned a Discipline, the knowledge will likely
stay with her even if she doesn't practice it for a while (if her vitae
supply is cut off, for instance). Once her diet is restored, she may use
 her Disciplines as usual. Of course, any unused talent will eventually
atrophy -- after six months without drinking vitae, a ghoul loses a dot
in a Discipline. Each month after that, she loses another dot in a
Discipline until all are gone.

 Ghouls don't understand the Kindred well enough to teach Disciplines to them, neither can they 'teach' Disciplines to other ghouls.

## Frenzy

It is the Storyteller's duty to decide what situations might provoke
frenzy in a ghoul character. While any individual stimulus is relatively
 unlikely to send a ghoul into frenzy, ghouls experience provocation
much more commonly than vampires do. Ghouls' human natures battle
constantly with their Beasts, and most are not given instruction in how
to prevent their pseudo-vampiric natures from taking over. However,
since the Beast is weaker in ghouls, they typically face lower
difficulties (usually, a ghoul's frenzy difficulties are three lower
than a vampire's).

In order for a ghoul character to resist frenzy, the ghoul's player
 must make a Self-Control roll, the difficulty of which varies. The
player must score five successes before frenzy is overcome completely.
With each success rolled, frenzy is staved off for one turn.

## Healing

Ghouls may heal using their blood pool, just as Kindred do. They can
also regenerate limbs, though not automatically. To make a regeneration
attempt, a ghoul must spend a Willpower point, spend an appropriate
number of blood points (one for a finger or eye, two for a foot or
forearm, three for an entire limb) and make a Stamina roll (difficulty
8). If the roll fails or is botched, the ghoul may never regrow the
limb. Elder ghouls find regeneration easier: for each century of age,
the difficulty of the roll decreases by one.

## Overdosing

Ghouls can take in more vitae than their mortal bodies can
comfortably handle, but this often causes dangerous side effects. For
each point of Stamina a ghoul has, she can "cram" an extra blood point
into her body. If a ghoul imbibes more vitae than she can contain, she
must make a Stamina check (difficulty 8). If she succeeds, she may use
the excess blood normally.

If she fails, she suffers one point of lethal damage per blood
point above her maximum. Moreover, the excess blood can't be used. It
takes a full scene of vomiting to burn off such "useless" blood points;
until this takes place, the ghoul cannot use any blood points
whatsoever.

 While a ghoul is overdosed, her chance to frenzy becomes equal to
that of a vampire's, though certainly the ghoul will not hunger at this
point. Reaction time increases (the ghoul temporarily gains a dot in
Dexterity), but the overdosed ghoul must make a Perception +
Self-Control roll each scene or suffer from violent hallucinations
(effects are up to the Storyteller's discretion).

## Withdrawal

Withdrawn ghouls suffer symptoms for a period of weeks equal to six
minus the ghoul's Stamina. Whenever the opportunity to gain vitae
arises, the ghoul must make a Self-Control roll (difficulty 7) or
attempt to "score" however possible.

Additionally, each week of withdrawal requires the ghoul to make an
 Intelligence + Self-Control roll (difficulty 6); if this roll fails,
the ghoul begins to sublimate her cravings for vitae into a desire for
human blood, flesh, or sex. A Willpower point may be spent to resist
these cravings. If the roll is botched, no Willpower may be spent, and
the victim must act on her urges.