Page 101 - World of Darkness

by placing the blame on “someone else.” Each personality Every character starts play with one defining Virtue and
is created to respond to certain emotional stimuli. An one defining Vice, chosen during character creation. Virtue
abused person might develop a tough-as-nails survivor and Vice may clearly reflect your character’s background and
personality, create a “protector” or even become a mur- concept, or they can be used to contrast his outward nature
derer to deny the abuse she suffers. In most cases, none of to create sources of conflict that make for excellent
these personalities is aware of the others, and they come roleplaying. A character who is a priest might have the de-
and go through your character’s mind in response to spe- fining Virtue of Faith and the defining Vice of Pride. He’s a
cific situations or conditions. man of great conviction and belief in his fellow man, but
Effect: A character with multiple personalities can there are times when his beliefs lend themselves to self-righ-
manifest different Skills or perhaps increased or dimin- teousness. This is a fairly complementary application of Vir-
ished Social Attributes for each identity (the number of tues and Vices based on character concept, as they both
dots allocated to your character’s Social Attributes are stem from the character’s background. A contrasting ap-
rearranged by anywhere from one to three). proach might be to give the character the Virtue of Faith
Avoidance (mild): When confronted with a situa- and the Vice of Wrath. He believes in the path of righteous-
tion or person associated with a previous, significant fail- ness and the intrinsic worth of mankind, but sometimes the
ure or trauma (a long-term rival, an ex-wife, the house in state of the world is such that it fills him with a violent rage
which one suffered a painful childhood), your character to punish those who ignore the tenets of his religion. The
prefers not to face the situation and might do everything result is a source of conflict within the character as he tries
he can to avoid it. Roll Resolve + Composure for him to to reconcile an essential part of his nature with his dedica-
master his nervousness. tion to the church.
Effect: On a failed roll, your character does everything When a character’s actions in difficult situations reflect
in his power to avoid the situation, short of harming himself his particular Virtue or Vice, he reinforces his fundamental
or others. He might escape the scene or disguise himself as a sense of self. If the Storyteller judges that your character’s
bystander to sidle away. If he must confront (or can’t es- actions during a scene reflect his Vice, he regains one Will-
cape) the situation, any rolls made suffer a -1 penalty. power point that has been spent. If the Storyteller judges
Fugue (severe; extreme): Victims suffering from fugue that your character’s actions during a chapter (a game ses-
experience “blackouts” and loss of memory. When subjected sion) reflect his Virtue, he regains all spent Willpower points.
to a particular variety of stress, your character performs a Note that these actions must be made in situations that pose
specific, rigid set of behaviors to remove the stressful symp- some risk to your character, whereby he stands to pay a price
toms. This syndrome differs from multiple personalities in for acting according to his Virtue or Vice. Everyday expres-
that an individual in the grip of a fugue has no separate sions of, say, Faith or Pride are not enough to reaffirm a
personality. Instead, he is on a form of “autopilot” similar to character’s determination or sense of self.
sleepwalking. Decide on the kind of circumstance or expo- Example: Vasquez is a police officer with the defining
sure that triggers this state, be it the death of a defenseless Virtue of Justice and the Vice of Greed. In the course of an
person by his hand, a confrontation with a specific sort of investigation he discovers that a group of detectives is taking
creature or confinement in a small, dark room. a cut from local drug dealers in return for protection. If
Effect: Make a Resolve + Composure roll when your Vasquez reports the detectives to Internal Affairs he risks
character is subjected to his trigger. If the roll fails, roleplay being ostracized by his fellow officers as a snitch. If he does
your character’s trance-like state by performing a sequence so despite the risk, he acts in accordance with his Virtue and
of behaviors that he performs almost robotically. He might regains all spent Willpower. By the same token, if he uses his
repetitively untie and tie his shoes, walk to the corner of knowledge to blackmail the detectives into giving him a piece
the room and refuse to come out, or curl into the fetal of the action he risks going to jail if he’s caught. Doing that is
position. If the Storyteller is not satisfied by your in accordance with his Vice and allows the character to
character’s reaction, he might take control of your char- regain a single Willpower point.
acter for the duration of the bout. The spell lasts for the Fulfilling a Virtue is more rewarding than fulfilling a
remainder of the scene. At the end of the fugue, your char- Vice for two reasons. One, it is inherently challenging to
acter “regains consciousness” with no memory of his ac- accomplish a surpassing act of goodness in a world that’s
tions. If outsiders (including friends and enemies) inter- rife with selfishness and aggression. Doing so demands
fere with or try to prevent your character’s mechanical sacrifice and perseverance. Two, the temptation to indulge
activities, he may attack them in order to carry on. base inclinations and desires is constant and often means
taking the path of least resistance, which precludes doing
Virtues and Vices the greater good. Fulfilling Vices therefore offers small
rewards that are easy to come by.
All characters have strengths and weaknesses, noble Your character does not gain extra Virtues or Vices dur-
aspects and dark sides to their personalities. While most ing play. The fundamental qualities that define him do not
people try to cultivate virtues and eschew vices, both are change. Nor are they compounded with more such traits.
intrinsic elements of identity and both equally reinforce a The seven Virtues and Vices detailed below are osten-
sense of self, whether we like to admit it or not. sibly drawn from Western, Judeo-Christian beliefs (e.g., the

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Chapter 4- ADVANTAGES