Beast and Frenzy Compendium

The Beast is the vampire's predatory instinct: hunger, rage, and terror stripped of restraint. Frenzy is a distinct dramatic system from Hunger Dice, Bestial Failures, and Compulsions. A messy critical or bestial failure does not automatically cause Frenzy.

1. The three types of Frenzy

V5 recognizes three primary types:

• Fury Frenzy: rage, humiliation, insult, or physical provocation drives the vampire toward destroying the source of the provocation.
• Hunger Frenzy: hunger and blood-related provocations drive the vampire toward feeding.
• Terror Frenzy: fire, sunlight, and extreme danger drive the vampire toward escape.

Do not create a generic fourth "Protective Frenzy" as a standard V5 category. A specific Discipline, chronicle rule, or special effect may create another result, but identify it as a special rule rather than a fourth standard Frenzy type.

2. Resisting Frenzy

When a listed Frenzy provocation occurs, make a Resolve + Composure test against the difficulty set by the provocation.

Add a bonus equal to one-third of Humanity, rounded down, to the Frenzy resistance pool.

A vampire at Hunger 0 is immune to ordinary Frenzy while remaining at Hunger 0, unless a supernatural effect specifically triggers Frenzy.

Use the published provocation difficulties when a specific trigger is known. Do not replace them with a generic Hunger modifier.

3. Hunger Frenzy

Hunger Frenzy is not created simply by reaching Hunger 5.

At Hunger 5, a vampire cannot voluntarily Rouse the Blood. If another effect forces a Rouse Check while the vampire is at Hunger 5, make a Hunger Frenzy resistance test at Difficulty 4 instead.

If an effect would increase Hunger above 5, the vampire immediately succumbs to Hunger Frenzy rather than increasing Hunger above 5.

A vampire in Hunger Frenzy seeks the closest available source of human blood. Hunger Frenzy ends when the vampire's Hunger reaches 1 or lower.

Other published Hunger Frenzy provocations include blood-related stimuli while at high Hunger. Use the applicable published provocation rather than treating every high-Hunger scene as an automatic Frenzy.

4. Fury Frenzy

Fury Frenzy is triggered by serious provocation such as humiliation, insult, physical provocation, injury, or threats to people or things important to the vampire.

The vampire attempts to destroy the source of the provocation. Use the published provocation difficulty and ending procedure for the specific situation.

Do not turn an ordinary failed social or combat roll into Fury Frenzy unless the fiction actually supplies a Frenzy provocation.

5. Terror Frenzy

Terror Frenzy, also called Rötschreck, is triggered by serious threats such as fire and sunlight.

The vampire attempts to escape the source of terror. Use the published provocation difficulty for the specific fire, sunlight, or extreme-danger situation.

A normal combat failure is not automatically Terror Frenzy.

6. Effects of Frenzy

While in Frenzy, apply the V5 Frenzy rules:

• The vampire ignores normal wound penalties.
• The vampire may normally use only physical Disciplines.
• A vampire's own mental or social Discipline effects end when the vampire enters Frenzy unless the vampire Rides the Wave.
• Another character's mental or social Discipline effects normally continue, unless they interfere with the vampire's Frenzy directive.
• The vampire gains +3 dice to resist mental and social Discipline effects.
• The vampire remains driven toward the goal of the Frenzy until the Frenzy ends or the vampire is incapacitated.
• A vampire already in Frenzy is immune to effects that would trigger a different type of Frenzy.

Do not invent additional universal Frenzy penalties or conditions.

7. Riding the Wave

A vampire may choose to Ride the Wave, intentionally allowing the Frenzy while retaining control over their actions.

The vampire spends 1 Willpower to Ride the Wave. While Riding the Wave, the player controls the vampire's actions for that turn, including the use of mental and social Disciplines that would otherwise be unavailable during Frenzy.

Riding the Wave is not the same as resisting Frenzy and is not a Willpower reroll.

8. Frenzy is not a Compulsion

Keep these systems separate:

Hunger Dice

• Hunger dice can create a Bestial Failure when a test fails and a Hunger die shows 1.
• Hunger dice can create a Messy Critical when a successful critical contains a 10 on a Hunger die.

Compulsions

• A Bestial Failure may produce a Compulsion.
• Under the V5 Companion errata, a Messy Critical may also produce a Compulsion.

Frenzy

• Frenzy comes from specific Fury, Hunger, or Terror provocations.
• Frenzy is resisted with Resolve + Composure + the Humanity bonus.
• A Bestial Failure or Messy Critical does not automatically create Frenzy.

This distinction is important. A Bestial Failure may create a Compulsion without causing Frenzy, while a Frenzy can occur because of a specific provocation without any dice roll producing a Bestial Failure or Messy Critical.

9. Storyteller guidance

Announce a Frenzy test when a real published provocation occurs. Use the relevant provocation difficulty instead of inventing a generic "Beast complication" or converting an ordinary bad roll into Frenzy.

The consequences of Frenzy come from what happens during the Frenzy: violence, Masquerade breaches, damaged relationships, loss of control, and other consequences of the vampire pursuing the Beast's immediate goal.

Frenzy should expose the Beast while preserving the player's meaningful choices through resistance and, when chosen, Riding the Wave.