Base Rules (Daze)

## Dice Rolls

Certain actions require a character to take a Roll against a difficulty given by the Storyteller or the Roll of another character.

To do so, roll one 10-sided dice (1D10) and add any applicable modifiers and boni.

### Skills and Subskills

Every character has a total of 9 skills, each with their own respective subskills and a bonus. Should their subskill apply to a given Roll, they may add their Skill bonus on the result of their Roll.

## The Daze

Characters enter the Daze, a intense rush, when consuming blood. During the Daze they grow stronger and gain access to their vampiric abilities; but they will also grow more erratic and uncontrollable. During a Daze a character is immune against previous wound effects and the symptoms of Infections.

### Stages of Intensity

A Daze is divided into three stages of intensity; depending on how much blood they drink. Every level of intensity requires about 250 ml of blood; although numbers can vary depending on quality and type. For every Intensity level a daze can last another hour. For every Intensity level consumed beyond the first they recieve a point of Addiction.

### Daze Dice

Every type of blood a character can drink has a different **Daze Effect** which can be activated at any time; providing them with a special bonus or ability but also giving them a single Daze Die. These Daze Dice will stick with the character as long as the Daze remains active. The maximum amount of Daze Die a character can have equals their Intensity \* 2. Should they have reached their cap they must either drink more blood or can no longer use Daze Effects. For every Roll a character makes during their Daze, they must roll their current Daze Dice alongside it.

Every Daze dice has 3 symbols and 3 empty sides. Every symbol respresents one emotional effect: **Wrath, Euphoria, Paranoia.** When rolling the same symbol atleast twice; the character suffers a (). Should the respective Roll have been a success, it will succeed at a cost in association with the rolled emotion. Should it fail, the failure will be far greater in association with the rolled emotion. If the Storyteller determines no side-effect fits the current action; they may instead place a () on the character which lasts up to a scene or until a new () is rolled.

### Bloodgifts

Every character has access to atleast one Bloodgift, a supernatural ability associated with their vampirism. To activate a Bloodgift a character requires atleast a single Daze Dice. Most Bloodgifts will scale in power depending on the number of daze dice the character has active. Every Bloodgift has a limited number of uses per Daze, depending on its **Intensity**. It can be activated at any time.

### The Comedown

After a Daze has ran out and the consumed blood has been fully used up, the character will suffer the **Comedown**. As soon as that happens the character must roll a single six-sided dice (D6) against a difficulty that equals their current number of daze dice. Should they succeed they will not suffer a Comedown; for every missing margin they will be reduced by -1 all the way up to -3. Should the Comedown be active they will suffer a Comedown Effect based on the type of blood they consumed. It will last an hour for every level of negative Intensity. The character can drink blood during the Comedown which can reduce the Negative Intensity or even bring back a Daze; but at no expense to their physical wellbeing. For every Intensity worth of blood consumed during the Comedown they suffer twice as many Addiction points.

## Combat

### Initiative

Every character can take a single action per turn. The order in which they take their actions depends on their Initiative. Their Initiative score is determined by their Agility + Focus. However, certain circumstances can modify a characters Initiative. Examples of these include:

* **Vunerable Positioning**- As combat is initiated, the character is in a bad position to smoothly enter the fight. For the first round their Initiative is reduced by - 1 up to -5.
* **Planned Positioning-** When preparing an ambush or planning out an attack, characters in a good position can add between +1 and +5 on their Initiative for the first round of combat.
* **Stunned-** Be it through a wound, a shock or an explosion- the character is not able to react as quickly as usual. Their Initiative is reduced between -1 and -5 until the effect ends.
* **Blinded-** Characters can be blinded through fleshbangs or wounds. A blinded character has an Initiative of 0.
* **Custom-** Depending on specific circumstances the Storyteller can choose to freely modify Initiative to make combat more dynamic and fluid.

### Movement

When taking an action characters may move up to 3 meters directly as long as it helps them perform that action. This could include a charge or a quick jump to get into cover. When wishing to move further, the movement will take up the characters action for this round- allowing them to move up to 10 meters. They can choose to run further when making a Sprinting Roll, but will be able to move 10 meters should they roll below a 10. When moving under fire, players are allowed to use their Evasion against shooting attacks.

### Ranged Combat

In order to fire a ranged weapon, a character has to make a roll on the respective subskill (Pistols, Rifles, Shotguns, Crossbows, Throwing Weapons). When firing a character has two modes to choose from:

* *Single Shot:* The Weapon is fired normally. When hitting its target it causes damage equal to the attackers Weapon Damage + Margin.
* *Burst:* The Weapon reduces its range to Short and the character may decide how many bullets they want to fire; although they can never fire more than the weapons Firerate. When hitting its target, divide the rolled margin by 2 to determine how many bullets hit the target; each causing the weapons damage. Excess bullets miss their targets; while excess margin causes no additional damage.

The difficulty to hit a target is determined by their position:

* **Open Standing Target:** A target that is not moving and has no cover can be hit on a Difficutly of 1.
* **Open Moving Target:** A target that is moving and has no cover can be hit on a Difficulty equal to the characters **Evasion**.
* **Target in Cover:** A target in half- or full cover is hit on a Difficulty determined by the respective cover.

There are factors that can further increase the Difficulty to hit:

* **Long Range:** While it is not possible to shoot further than the weapons max range, the Storyteller can choose to adjust the difficulty if the shot is taken from very close or very far away.
* **Obstructed Vision:** Bad lighting, dust or distracting effects can increase the Difficulty to hit. Darkness can increase the Difficutly to hit by up to 10. Fog can increase it up to 5. Should a target not be visible it can not be target.
* **Lacking Skill:** When trying to fire a ranged weapon without the required subskill the Difficulty to hit is increased by 5.

#### Reloading

Once a firearm has emptied its Magazine, it needs to be reloaded. Doing so consumes a characters action for the round.

### Melee Combat

During Melee combat characters have to make attacks with their respective melee subskills (Brawl, Blades, Blunt Weapons). When engaged in melee, both sides make a contested Roll against each other. The winner causes damage equal to their Margin + Weapon Damage.

However, characters can choose to purely defend themselves instead of attacking back. When doing so they may add the result of their Roll onto their Evasion. The difficulty to hit them equals the combined result.

### Firefights

Firefights are unique but not uncommon combat situations during which most or all characters are engaged in a shootout. During a Firefight certain rules of combat are modified:

* **Movement:** During a Firefight, movement must be declared before the round begins. Should a character have to move out of cover at any point during their movement they are moved to that position and others can attack them freely during their turns. Only when the characters turn comes up are they allowed to move.
* **Shooting out of cover:** During a Firefight, any character that chooses to shoot while in cover must declare it before the round begins. They are considered in Half cover for the rest of the round.
* **Dynamic Combat Rounds:** Storytellers can choose to initiative Dynamic Combat Rounds. During these all characters that wish to shoot roll simultaneously and the Storyteller declares damage and casualties on both sides in order to save time during drawn out engagements. This is especially good when a single character tries to make their way to the back lines while the rest of the group acts as a distraction.

### Cover

There are two ways in which Cover can apply to a character:

* Full Cover: The character is fully covered and tries their best to remain behind the cover. The Difficulty to be hit equals the Full Cover Value.
* Half Cover: The character is not fully covered, for instance through shooting or lack of space. The Difficulty to be hit equals the Half Cover Bonus + Evasion.

There are different types of Cover, differing in how much they can conceal and protect. Every cover has a Full Cover Value and a Half Cover Bonus. The common types of Cover are:

* **Lying on the Ground [4/+1]**
* **Loose Cover** **[6/+1]**- *High Grass, Shrubs, Brushes*
* **Soft Cover [8/+2]-** *Furniture, Cars, Thin Walls*
* **Hard Cover [10/+2]-** *Solid Walls, Concrete*

### Damage

When successfully hitting a target the damage is then compared to their targets Toughness:

* **Lower than Toughness**: The damage is ingored
* **Equal or higher than Toughness:** A single wound is caused
* **2x (+) the Toughness:** A single wound is caused. Additionally either custom wound effect is applied to the target (*eg. overwhelming pain, heavy bleeding, breaking a bone, severing a limb, blindness etc*.); or a second wound is caused.
* **3x (+) the Toughness:** Two wounds are caused. Additionally either custom wound effect is applied to the target or an additional wound is caused.
* **4x (+) the Toughness:** Three wounds are caused. Additionally either custom wound effect is applied to the target or an additional wound is caused.

Should a characters Health be reduced to 0; or should too many wound effects apply at the same time; the character will not be able to continue fighting. They will require immedeate medical attention; although Vamps can hold out far longer than mortals when lethally wounded. Any further attack will directly result in death.

#### Wound Effects

Whenever a Wound Effect is applied, the character looses a point of **Vitality**. Listed below are a couple examples of how wounds effects can function:

* **Stunned-** Delivering a blow against the victims nervous system; their Initiative is reduced by -5 for the rest of the round.
* **Extreme Pain-** Suffering from unbearable pain, the victim looses 1-3 points of Vitality.
* **Crippled Arm-** One of the victims arms can no longer function, meaning it can no be used for any action. When forced to use their off-hand the victim applies a -2 to any further attack.
* **Crippled Leg-** Forced to limp, victim halves its Movement and can no longer perform dodge actions.
* **Blinded-** Either through extreme physical trauma, bloodloss or damage to their eyes; the character will no longer be able to see and apply a -5 to any attack roll and reduce its Initiative to 0.
* **Extreme Bleeding-** Having damaged an artery, the character will contiue to bleed out and face death if they are not provided medical assistance as soon as possible.
* **Concussion-** The character falls unconcious for a full round

## Health and Vitality

A characters **Health** represents their physical wellbeing and the number of injuries they have suffered; their **Vitality** represents their stamina and mental well being.

### Healing

Vamps are much more capable of regeneration than regular humans and can regrow any injury from a cut over a broken rib to a missing limb provided they have enough time and blood. Between each session a Vamp may heal a single wound for free. They can heal up to two additional wounds, gaining a point of Addiction for each.

### Vitality

Vitality is reduced through great acts of will, exhaustion or pain and adverse physical effects. A Storyteller may reduce chosen characters Vitality if they force their character to perform something unpleasant or exhausting; aswell as through the effects of pain and illness or the side- and aftereffects of their addiction. Vitality is restored through resting and eating. Usually players will also start with full Vitality at the beginng of each session.

## Addiction and Experience

At the end of every Chapter every character will recieve Experience and determines if their Blood-addiction gets worse. To do so they must make a standart Roll with one D10 against a difficulty that equals their current addiciton rating. They may consult the list below to determine their Experience:

* **Margin of 5+:** +2 XP, -1 Bloodlust
* **Margin of 3+:** +3 XP, +0 Bloodlust
* **Success:** +4 XP, +1 Bloodlust
* **Failure:** +5 XP, +2 Bloodlust; + 1 Condition

Afterwards their Addiction points are reduced to 0 for the next Chapter. The Storyteller is free to give players additional XP and Bloodlust ontop of the ones they recieve based on their blood consumption.

### Bloodlust

A characters Bloodlust determines how easy the succumb to their addiction to blood. When being exposed to the sight or smell of blood the Vamp must make a resistance roll against their Bloodlust. Should it fail they will be unable to hold back and attempt to consume it at any cost.

### Conditions

A characters Conditions represent them succumbing to their blood addiction and bestial nature- recieving increasing changes to their appereance, mind and the effect blood has on them. Storytellers are free to come up with their own or consult this article for examples.

### Experierence

Characters can spend XP the following way:

* **Gaining a Subskill** requires the current level of the respective Skill in XP
* **Increasing a Skill** requires the desired level + number of Subskills in XP
* **Increasing an Attribute** requires the desired level x 2 in XP

## Infections

Through feeding, improper medical care or normal transmission the character may recieve a variety of infections and diseases. Vamps have a much higher resistance against diseases even outside of a Daze. Only when weakened or during a particularly strong case will the symptoms of any disease make themselves noticable. However, careless feeding or low quality blood supply is going to be likely to turn the Vamp into a carrier of various plagues, which they will transmit with every meal. Should an infection come active it will have a visual effect on the character or may provide a debuff on certain actions.