Thin-Blooded

Description:

A deteriorated breed, a portent of the end times, or a vampire for a brave new world? Balancing at the midpoint between life and death, the everchanging nature of the Duskborn evokes pity, jealousy, and fear in equal measure. Survivors of  the last decades of pogroms, prejudice, and ostracization, the thin-blooded are here to stay. Their messy street-alchemy and ability to pass as human makes them uniquely suited to thrive outside Kindred society and make their own fate in the post-modern nights.

Clan Affiliation: Anarchs

Additional Traits:

Blood Bonds:
Thin-bloods cannot create Blood Bonds or perform the Embrace with any certainty. A Rouse Check worth of thin-blood vitae imbues a mortal with ghoul-like powers, but only for a single night. Thin-bloods always have Blood Potency 0 (see p. 215).

Clan:
A thin-blood is always considered clan-less and never suffers any specific clan bane or compulsion.

Damage:
Most thin-bloods sustain damage like mortals but mend like vampires. In game terms, they take Aggravated damage not only from fire, but also from slashing and piercing weapons. Impalement with a stake does not paralyze them but instead causes massive physical trauma, likely sending them into torpor. Once damaged, thin-bloods heal according to the rules for other vampires.

Hunger and Frenzy:
A thin-blood suffers hunger just as any vampire. However, the Beast is far less overt, and a thin-blood never frenzies unless provoked by supernatural means (such as Ani-malism, p. 244).

Life-Like:
A thin-blood always counts as having used Blush of Life (se p. 218), the exact effects dependant on their Humanity rating.

Sunlight:
Thin-bloods take only one level of Superficial damage per turn in direct sunlight. Less direct sunlight causes damage with less frequency. For example, under heavy clouds or if masked and protected by clothing or thick sunscreen, the thin-blood might only sustain damage every third turn or once per minute.

Thin-Blood Merits:
Thin-bloods often display additional variations. See Thin-Blood Merits and Flaws (p. 183) for details.

A way out:
A thin-blood who manages to commit diablerie on a “true” Kindred absorbs not only their power and spirit but also their lineage, turning them into a 13th generation Kindred of their victim’s clan. Conversely a thin blood can end their curse by clinging to their humanity until they hunt down and end their sire.

Archetypes:

Live one:
This thin-blood is deeply connected to the mortal world, perhaps more so than the Kindred one. They still maintain a family and attempt to hold a job; paying the bills is more important than the whim of some baron they have never met.  Ironically, to maintain their human façade, they likely have to lean heavily on the powers in their Blood.

Weapon of convenience:
A former occultist, ghoul, or blood doll, they were close to the Kindred before joining their ranks and knew some of their secrets. This thin-blood was embraced out of their sire’s desperation when backed into a corner, and they were meant to take part in some war or pursue a vengeful dream. Whether they choose to do so or not is up to them. The Embrace released them from their former slavery, and now there is nothing forcing them to do their sire’s bidding.

Guilty embrace:
This thin-blood was not Embraced as part of some elaborate plan. A party-goer, a late-night worker walking home alone, or just someone in the wrong place at the wrong time – a vampire fed from them and drank a little too much. Perhaps the Embrace was performed by the drinker as an act of desperate guilt, or perhaps their sire was an onlooker who couldn’t bear to watch them die.

Natural vampire:
This thin-blood was destined to become one of the Kindred. As a mortal hunter or a member of Arcanum, they studied the lore of the clans and the myth of Caine and became too fascinated for their own good.  Meaning to kill, question, or request the Embrace, they tracked down one of the Kindred. But their sire was a not what was expected by the childe, who is now bitter at the weakness in their veins.

Redemption seeker:
This thin-blood was turned against their will and refuses to accept a place in a world of streetlights and blood. They are recently turned and desperately look for a way to cure their “condition,” seeking out rumours of others who have done it as well as weird legends of Golconda and blood transfusions. There is indeed a way, but before they figure it out this thin-blood will try anything and is easy to manipulate by callous Kindred.