Compulsions
A compulsion is a behavioral impulse imposed by Hunger, Blood Resonance, social pressure, or a supernatural power. It is not a punishment for playing badly; it is a dramatic engine that shows what the Beast, the blood, or the enemy wants from the character.
1. What a compulsion is
A compulsion is a short-term condition that forces a specific behavior, priority, or emotional reaction. It should change choices without removing the player’s ability to describe what the character is doing. A compulsion should always answer three questions:
- What the character must want, do, or avoid
- How long it lasts
- What ends it
A compulsion is recorded in the character’s Conditions section with a name, effect, duration, and ending condition.
2. When a compulsion appears
A compulsion may appear when:
- A vampire reaches Hunger 5
- A messy critical or bestial failure occurs
- A dyscrasia is used and the emotional field becomes visible
- A social conflict creates a meaningful concession
- A supernatural power such as Dominate, Presence, or another influence succeeds
- The Storyteller judges that the scene needs a dramatic behavioral turn
3. How a compulsion works
When a compulsion activates, the player should:
- Read the compulsion aloud or summarize it clearly
- Decide how the character will act under its pressure
- Roll to resist or reduce it if an appropriate power allows a save
- Record it in the Conditions section
- Choose whether the character obeys, resists at a cost, or seeks a way to end it
A compulsion usually lasts for one scene, one night, or until a stated ending condition occurs. It should not erase the character’s goals; it should force them into a narrower, more dangerous version of the same scene.
4. Resisting a compulsion
When a compulsion is created by hunger, blood resonance, or social pressure, the target may resist with Resolve + Composure at a difficulty set by the source:
- Difficulty 2 – mild pressure, social leverage, or a shallow emotional pull
- Difficulty 3 – moderate supernatural force, strong emotional pressure, or a messy critical complication
- Difficulty 4 – severe supernatural force, a major social concession, or an extreme Beast event
- Difficulty 5 – extraordinary, public, or nearly inescapable force
Spend 1 Willpower to reroll up to three failed regular dice on the resistance roll. Hunger dice cannot be rerolled. If the resistance roll fails, the compulsion is imposed at full strength. If the roll succeeds by 1 extra success, the compulsion is reduced in scope or duration. If it succeeds by 2 or more, the compulsion may be avoided or converted into a different, less controlling condition at the Storyteller’s discretion.
5. Acting under a compulsion
A compulsion should not make the character act like a puppet. It should make the character pursue a specific goal, emotion, or course of action under pressure. The player chooses how that compulsion manifests in behavior, speech, and tactics.
Examples:
- A Loyal compulsion does not mean the character cannot disagree. It means the character feels forced to side with a specific person, group, or code when a choice appears.
- An Aggressive compulsion does not require immediate violence. It means the character pushes every confrontation toward escalation unless there is a clear and meaningful reason not to.
- A Frenzied Hunger compulsion does not erase identity. It means the character cannot stop thinking about feeding until the hunger is satisfied or the night ends.
6. Ending a compulsion
A compulsion ends when:
- Its duration expires
- Its stated ending condition is met
- The character performs the required behavior in a meaningful way
- The source of the compulsion is removed, contradicted, or destroyed
- The character spends a significant cost to reject it
A compulsion should never last forever. It should change the scene, not erase the character.
7. General compulsions
These compulsions can appear in any Chronicle. They arise from Hunger, Blood Resonance, social conflict, or supernatural influence.
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggressive | Messy critical, Hunger pressure, Intimidation | Must escalate confrontation unless a meaningful cost is accepted | The scene ends or the character inflicts or accepts a serious consequence |
| Loyal | Social concession, debt, Presence or Dominate | Must side with the source of the compulsion when a choice appears | The character publicly refuses at a cost or the relationship is broken |
| Spiteful | Humiliation, insult, emotional leverage | Must hurt, embarrass, or obstruct the source of the compulsion | The target is harmed or the character accepts a loss of face |
| Paranoid | Fear, Auspex, supernatural pressure | Must distrust the nearest ally or source of safety | The threat is exposed or the character confronts the fear directly |
| Frenzied Hunger | Hunger 5, dyscrasia, desperate feeding scene | Must pursue feeding until the hunger is satisfied or the night ends | The character feeds or the night ends |
| Reckless | Bestial failure, social pressure, desperation | Must act boldly instead of waiting, hiding, or planning | The risk is accepted or the danger passes |
| Devoted | Presence, emotional bond, debt of honor | Must protect the object of devotion even at personal cost | The protected person is safe or the bond is broken |
| Fixated | Auspex clue, obsession, supernatural insight | Must pursue the named person, object, or truth when a safe opportunity appears | The fixation is resolved or the night ends |
| Withdrawn | Fear, trauma, supernatural pressure | Must avoid confrontation and seek safety | The threat ends or the character chooses to act in spite of the fear |
| Vain | Status loss, humiliation, social conflict | Must restore appearance, reputation, or control over the scene | Face is restored or the scene ends |
8. Clan compulsions
Clan compulsions arise from the blood, the Bane, and the emotional field common to that Clan’s curse. They represent what the Beast wants most when the vampire is under pressure.
Brujah
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rage | Insult, frustration, social challenge | Must escalate toward physical or verbal conflict unless a serious cost is paid | The character lashes out, is restrained, or accepts a meaningful loss |
| Iconoclasm | Tradition, authority, hypocrisy | Must challenge or break a symbol of authority or tradition | The symbol is defied, rejected, or destroyed |
Ventrue
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrogance | Status challenge, perceived inferiority | Must assert dominance, superiority, or control | The character is publicly obeyed or accepts a loss of face |
| Selectivity | Hunger, feeding, contact with the unworthy | Must reject an inferior source, vessel, or solution | A worthy alternative is found or the character endures the violation at a cost |
Toreador
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obsession | Beauty, art, emotional resonance | Must pursue or possess the object of aesthetic fixation | The fixation is obtained, destroyed, or rejected as false |
| Sensory Overload | Strong emotion, Auspex, Presence | Must attend to the overwhelming stimulus instead of the scene’s primary threat | The stimulus is dealt with or fades |
Nosferatu
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shyness | Social spotlight, public exposure | Must withdraw from direct attention or find a hidden approach | The threat of exposure ends or the character escapes notice |
| Hatred | Beauty, status, cruelty toward the hidden | Must sabotage, mock, or undermine the object of hatred | The target is humiliated or the character chooses to let go |
Malkavian
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delusion | Confusion, contradiction, stress | Must act on a perceived truth that may not be real | The delusion is exposed or the scene ends |
| Epiphany | Auspex, mental pressure, mystery | Must pursue the insight, even if it is dangerous or socially destructive | The insight is used or the night ends |
Gangrel
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feral Impulse | Hunger, wilderness, primal threat | Must act like a predator instead of a person | The prey is caught, the threat ends, or the character accepts a cost to resist |
| Solitude | Crowds, social obligation, pressure | Must withdraw from the group or act alone | The scene ends or the character chooses a risky return to company |
Tremere
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curiosity | Mystery, occult clue, power gap | Must investigate, experiment, or seize occult advantage | The mystery is explored or the night ends |
| Command | Authority, ritual, hierarchy | Must impose order, obedience, or control over the nearest subordinate | The hierarchy is enforced or the compulsion is rejected at a cost |
Tzimisce
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pride of Possession | Disrespect, trespass, betrayal | Must protect, reclaim, or dominate a claimed person, place, or thing | The claim is enforced or abandoned |
| Alienation | Humanity, mortal habit, emotional intimacy | Must act in a cold, territorial, or inhuman way | The scene ends or the character accepts a Humanity consequence |
Lasombra
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domineering | Weakness, hesitation, opposition | Must crush resistance, take control, or force a decision | The opposition is broken or the character accepts a loss of control |
| Emptiness | Stillness, despair, emotional intimacy | Must pursue power, motion, or oblivion to escape the void | The night ends or the character confronts the emptiness directly |
Hecata
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duty to the Dead | Death, family, occult obligation | Must tend to the dead, honor a promise, or protect a family secret | The duty is fulfilled or the night ends |
| Detachment | Emotional intimacy, public trust, Humanity pressure | Must treat the living as tools, objects, or temporary resources | The scene ends or the character accepts a Humanity consequence |
Banu Haqim
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judgment | Dishonor, weakness, broken oath | Must punish, test, or condemn the nearest failing person | The judgment is delivered or the compulsion is rejected at a cost |
| Secretiveness | Exposure, inquiry, vulnerability | Must conceal the truth, motive, or method even from allies | The night ends or the secret is sacrificed |
Ministry / Setites
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temptation | Restraint, hypocrisy, dogma | Must offer a forbidden choice or undermine a rule | The target accepts the temptation or the scene ends |
| Liberation | Control, tradition, suppression | Must destroy, bypass, or corrupt the nearest source of control | The source of control is broken or the night ends |
Ravnos
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wanderlust | Captivity, repetition, restriction | Must escape confinement, change direction, or abandon the current plan | The character escapes or the night ends |
| Trickery | Honesty, certainty, dullness | Must deceive, outwit, or reframe the situation | The trick succeeds or the scene ends |
Salubri
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compassion | Vulnerability, suffering, innocence | Must protect the nearest victim even at personal cost | The victim is safe or the character accepts a serious loss |
| Martyrdom | Failure, guilt, supernatural pressure | Must sacrifice comfort, safety, or status to atone | The sacrifice is made or the night ends |
Thin-Bloods
| Compulsion | Trigger | Effect | Ends when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instability | Hunger, blood magic, supernatural pressure | Must act in a volatile, desperate, or emotionally unfiltered way | The scene ends or the character accepts a Masquerade risk |
| Mimicry | Social pressure, identity crisis | Must copy the behavior, speech, or method of someone nearby | The mimicry is dropped at a cost or the scene ends |
9. Using compulsions in play
A compulsion should make the next choice harder, not erase choice entirely. It should:
- Create a new cost for the obvious solution
- Reveal the character’s Beast, hunger, identity, or emotional fault line
- Pressure the player to choose between safety, desire, reputation, and Humanity
- End before it becomes a permanent penalty to every roll
A compulsion is successful when it changes what the character wants long enough to create a meaningful scene.