Frenzy (World of Darkness)
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In White Wolf Game Studio's role-playing games set in the World of Darkness, a frenzy is a temporary state of rage and lack of self-control that a vampire character enters as a response to certain stimuli. During the frenzy, the vampire's inner Beast is in control.
The most common causes for a frenzy are:
- Anger or frustration: the vampire cannot keep his emotions under control.
- Danger: the vampire senses danger (real or imaginary) and reacts with a preemptive attack on (what he believes is) the source.
- Hunger: the vampire's blood pool (reserve of vitae) is dangerously low; he craves for blood and will try to feed from anyone in sight.
- Shame: the vampire feels embarrassed and attacks the source of his humiliation (and sometimes also its witnesses).
- Temptation: the vampire is tempted by the inner Beast to perform sinful actions, and cannot resist.
Some vampires can and do deliberately induce frenzy ("summoning the Beast"), and then try to direct their instincts ("riding the Beast") for specific purposes.
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[edit] Effects
Wounds received during the frenzy will not impact on the character's dice pool (the amount of dice he can roll for actions, which normally decrease when the character is wounded). That is, the vampire receives damage but ignores some of its effects.
The Beast that commands the frenzy has a strong will of its own; the vampire can employ the mental Discipline of Domination on others more easily, and will forcefully resist being Dominated by others. The frenzied vampire will also be able to perform certain actions that in a normal state he would not attempt unless he succeeds in a Willpower roll.
A frenzied vampire may enter the uncontrollable state of fear known as Rötschreck when/if threatened by fire or sunlight.
[edit] Rötschreck
The Rötschreck (also known as Red Fear) is a temporary state of uncontrollable fear that a vampire character suffers when threatened by fire or sunlight (as well as any other potentially lethal elements).
The vampire in Rötschreck will try to flee from the perceived source of danger in any suitable way, disregarding other concerns, including his own safety besides the immediate threat, and the safety of others. Anything and anyone in the vampire's way will be attacked if necessary. He may try to resist, in which case he may succeed in calming down for a while (the in-game mechanics of resistance to Rötschreck involve a Courage roll for VtM or a Willpower roll for VtR).
A vampire will not enter Rötschreck for fear of a lit candle or torch, but he may not be able to light even a small flame himself. A vampire trapped in a burning building will most surely enter Rötschreck and has almost no chance to resist; the same is true of a vampire who finds himself caught in the open just before sunrise.
Frenzied vampires will not enter Rötschreck.
Though the term "Rötschreck" appears to be a german word, the correct spelling of "Red Fear" would be "Rotschreck", without an umlaut.
[edit] Wassail
In the old World of Darkness a vampire who has lost all humanity or otherwise fallen to the beast enters a permanent frenzy. These individuals are said to have succumbed to Wassail.
In the new World of Darkness the three types of frenzy are referenced to as Rötschreck (fear), Frenzy (anger), and Wassail (hunger). Since the term Wassail is used for a specific type of Frenzy, permanently frenzied Kindred in the nWoD are now known as Draugr (pl. Draugar) , after the Norse myth.
[edit] Real-world parallels
The frenzy can be seen as a vampiric equivalent of the legendary berserk state (the beast-like fury attained by certain Norse warriors). This term has been used widely in other games (role-playing and otherwise) in order to indicate a state of rage, usually implying an unnatural strength at the expense of self-preservation and defense skills.
