Touchstones

Touchstone

Your character’s Touchstone is a person, place, or thing that reminds her of her humanity, and helps keep her grounded. You’ll need to name a Touchstone, and write it next to your sixth Humanity dot (or seventh dot for Ventrue). If you choose to take the Touchstone Merit, you may start with additional Touchstones at lower levels of Humanity.

A Touchstone is part of the mortal world, usually a living, breathing person. Rarely, it can be a place or thing. The Touchstone tests a vampire’s Requiem; and by her very existence, she asks challenging questions of the Kindred. She tests his values, his priorities, and his true nature. She touches his Requiem in a fundamentally positive way, even though her association might cause complications and tribulations for the vampire.

For young Kindred, the Touchstone is usually someone he knew in life. She may be a family member, confidante, lover, or even a rival. She’s someone who reminds him of what he was when he was alive.

For older Kindred, the Touchstone is usually tied to his less savory affairs. She may be the daughter of his prized ghoul, someone who looks like his long-dead wife, or the janitor he passes by every morning on his way to sleep. She’s someone who reminds him that once, he was alive.

Touchstones provide built-in conflict for every character. When thinking of a Touchstone, consider how your character might potentially lose it. Think of how he protects it. Think of how he reacts when it’s threatened.

In game terms, Touchstones help a vampire maintain his Humanity by adding dice to detachment rolls. If a character has a single attached Touchstone, it adds a +2 die bonus to detachment rolls. With multiple Touchstones, add a +3 die bonus. See p. 108 for further details on detachment. When a vampire has no Touchstones, detachment rolls are made at a –2 die penalty.

Write Touchstones alongside your character’s Humanity track. Write the first Touchstone next to the sixth Humanity dot. Consider a Touchstone attached when there is a dot next to it. For example, with only four Humanity dots, your character’s initial Touchstone is no longer attached. Any timethe vampire defends her attachment to her Touchstone, she regains a Willpower point. If this defense causes her serious harm, she regains all her spent Willpower points.

If a vampire loses her last Touchstone — for example, if he died — then she has two choices. She may immediately lose a dot of Humanity. If she takes that path, she has one month to find a new Touchstone to replace him. If she does not within that time, she gets the Languid Condition (see p. 304). Alternately, she may take the Languid Condition immediately. The vampire doesn’t consciously choose the Condition, but she resigns herself to the slowing of her blood. This applies whether or not the Touchstone was attached at the time.

Taking a new Touchstone requires the Touchstone Merit (see p. 115). Write the new Touchstone in next to the appropriate Humanity level. Replacing a lost or dead Touchstone requires gaining a dot of Humanity. Replace the Touchstone on her Humanity track.

Remember that additional Touchstones bought with the Touchstone Merit are subject to the Sanctity of Merits rule if lost. (See p. 109.)