Campaign of the Month: October 2017
Blood & Bourbon
Diablerie
“And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm…”
Isaiah 9:20, King James Bible
There is one thing that elder Kindred dread even more than fire or the light of the sun. This is the sin known as diablerie, or the amaranth. Among Camarilla society, diablerie is the ultimate crime; those who practice it are subject to the harshest punishments imaginable. It is as loathed and feared as cannibalism is among mortal society. The vampires of the Sabbat, as well as the assassins of the Banu Haqim, are said to indulge in diablerie freely, which is yet another reason why the elders hate them so.
Quite simply, diablerie is the act of feeding on a vampire in the way that a vampire feeds on a mortal. In so doing, not only does the murderer consume the victim’s blood (and vampire blood is far, far sweeter than even the tastiest mortal’s), but the victim’s power as well. By stealing the life of a vampire closer to Caine, the vampire can permanently enrich their own vitae. In this manner can even the youngest vampire can gain the power of the elders, should they have the strength and daring to wrest it from them.
Elders know the crime as the amaranth; in olden nights, it is said, an amaranth flower was presented to the victim a week before they were to be hunted. Kindred legend tells many dark tales of murderous childer betraying and cannibalizing their own sires, and it is for this reason more than any other that elder Kindred harbor such distrust for the neonates among them. Indeed, the great Jyhad itself may well have its roots in this eternal and savage struggle for ultimate power.
Knowing About Diablerie
“He cannot ever know that we know, or he would destroy us. Any elder would. No matter how useful we are or become, it will never outweigh the potential threat we pose. It will always be more economical to destroy us.”
Andreas Draco
The best defense elders have against diablerie is ignorance.
Few Camarilla sires tell their childer about diablerie. Their sires probably told them nothing, too. Indeed, many Camarilla vampires have no idea that one vampire can devour another’s soul. That’s just how the elders prefer it. What possible benefit is there to sharing that information? Only the most foolish sire would tell their progeny, “If you devour my soul, childe, you can acquire my powers.”
No sire wants their childe to develop a taste for diablerie. Even if the sire-childe relationship is amicable, the amaranth is incredibly addictive. Addicts will do anything to get their next score. Worse, if one neonate knows about diablerie, they might tell other neonates. Elders remember the Anarch Revolt. They remember the wave of diablerie-fueled patricides as childe rose up against sire. They know it could happen again. Far better to keep the whelps ignorant.
Far safer to destroy any neonates, too, who know about diablerie and might succumb to the temptation. Diablerie is one of the most dangerous subjects that younger Kindred can bring up around elders. Few who do so are long for this world.
Misconceptions about Diablerie
Elders can’t suppress knowledge of the amaranth completely, try as they might. It’s too big a secret. A neonate’s sire might never say the word “diablerie,” but the neonate can still learn about it from sources ranging from vice-dealing Setites to elder-hating Anarch gangs.
Getting information “off the street” can be misleading and even dangerous. Diablerie is like any other street rumor: the more it gets passed around, the more likely misinformation will slip in. Neonates who’ve heard about diablerie from less reliable sources may harbor any number of misconceptions about the amaranth. Some of these might include:
• It’s only possible to diablerize your sire. You can only do it once.
• Actually, it’s only possible to diablerize your clanmates. The blood has to “match.”
• You can only commit diablerie as part of a ritual performed by the Tremere. Best go to the warlocks for help.
• Only thin-bloods can commit diablerie to become true vampires. It does nothing for full-bloods.
• Only Kindred of X clan can do it; the Gangrel because they’re savages, the Toreador because they’re gluttonous hedonists, the Ventrue because it’s their sovereign right. Pick a reason.
• You can only perform diablerie “when the stars at right” at a certain place or time.
• If you ever perform diablerie, your sire will know. They can feel it through their blood. Best not to tempt fate.
• Kindred with Auspex can recognize a diablerist on the spot. Even if you did the deed a thousand years ago. Sure, you can do it, but it’s another thing to get away with it.
Potential lies and distortions are endless. Many are aimed at making would-be diablerists dependent upon someone else for help.
Elders lie to their childer about diablerie less often than one might think. They would rather not talk about the amaranth at all.
Doing the Deed
So a Kindred knows about diablerie, even if they believe they can only perform it upon their sire or some other lie. But do they actually know how to do the deed?
Contrary to what some neonates think, performing diablerie isn’t instinctive. There is no physical transfer of fluids. To an ignorant vampire, it makes no more sense to “keep going” once the vessel is empty than it makes sense for a human to keep eating off an empty plate. There’s nothing there. Continuing takes a deliberate act of will.
One of the most common misconceptions about diablerie, then, is that draining the victim of their physical blood volume (usually followed by destroying them) is enough. It isn’t, but more than one neonate has performed an “abortive diablerie” in this fashion. The experience feels good for them, like drinking a large amount of blood always does (especially if it’s from an elder), but no more so than usual. Indeed, some Kindred who’ve performed “abortive diableries” believe the amaranth to be nothing more than an urban legend.
PCs and Diablerie
For PCs to know about diablerie, it must make sense for their background. This typically requires education in the occult and/or dealings with knowledgeable Kindred plausibly willing to share their knowledge with the character. It’s well and good for a Tremere savant to be an occult expert, but if they’ve learned everything they know from their sire and the chantry library, it’s entirely possible they’re ignorant of diablerie. (After all, those books aren’t going to be somewhere that any apprentice can access.) Contrariwise, a Brujah malcontent who spends their time with other elder-hating Anarchs may have picked up street rumors about the ultimate way to fuck over Camarilla bigwigs.
On a meta-level, of course, if a player wants their PC to commit diablerie, then “Your character doesn’t know about it, so you can’t,” is something of a non-starter. The GM should provide an avenue for PCs to learn about the amaranth if the player is seriously interested in it.
The knowledge won’t be free, though. Knowledge is power and power has a price. As a general guideline, sharing limited knowledge about diablerie (“You can only perform it upon your sire,” “You need help from the Tremere,” “Anyone with Auspex can find out,” etc.) is worth a single Debt. Sharing the full truth is worth potentially multiple Debts.
Thin-Bloods
One persistent rumor holds that the Camarilla rewards useful thin-bloods by allowing them to diablerize condemned criminals, thereby achieving full-blooded status. This also happens less often than one might think. A thin-blood who’s only committed diablerie once will probably remain high-generation: they still have a lot to gain from repeating the deed. Worse, they might share the knowledge with other thin-bloods tired of being third-class citizens.
Some thin-bloods may have been “elevated” in this way, but for most Camarilla elders, the question boils down to: will a thin-blood’s usefulness as a true-blood outweigh the risks of them developing a taste for diablerie? Or introducing other whelps to the practice? Most of the time, the answer is no. Elders are conservative, long-lived, and patient. Chances are, they can find another pawn who will serve just as well.
Thin-bloods absolutely perform diablerie to escape their wretched state, however. They’re just more likely to learn about the amaranth from other sources. In fact, this is one of the reasons that Camarilla cities brand their thin-bloods: if a true-blooded vampire shows up bearing a crescent mark, the crime speaks for itself.
Outside the Camarilla
Kindred from clans outside of the Ivory Tower are more likely to know diablerie exists. The Setites know all manner of forbidden temptations, while the Ravnos are no stranger to criminalized vices. Of the Giovannini, well, diablerie wrote the clan’s history.
Knowledge of diablerie is only near-universal among the Assamites and Sabbat. The Banu Haqim direct their neonates’ ambitions outwards and encourage them to consume the souls of Khayven’s corrupt get (ever since the Tremere curse was shattered in 2003). The Sabbat just cannibalizes its enemies and its own members with equal impunity. It is these groups’ open practice of diablerie that makes them so reviled—and feared—by the Camarilla.
Committing Diablerie
“You don’t just drink their blood and call it a day. You keep going. They’re empty, you keep going. It’s their soul. Their essence. Their life force. Their energy. Whatever makes them who they are. You take it for yourself.”
Jade Kalani
To begin with, the would-be diablerist must generally immobilize their target. (Voluntary sacrifice to diablerie is rare, but not unknown in the twisted opera that is the Jyhad.) Heavy chains, a stake, torpor, or many partners holding the victim down have all worked in the past. Then, the diablerist must drink all of the victim’s blood, a feeding similar to most others except, given the viscosity of vitae, it usually requires at least several minutes to accomplish fully.
After draining the target’s vitae, the would-be diablerist can commit the final blasphemy: the true diablerie. The vampire must continue to suck the dry corpse, for (according to legend) the very soul is withdrawn from the victim’s body and taken into the diablerist’s. The effort involved in diablerie is monumental, for the vampiric soul is a greedy thing and clings tenaciously to unlife, hoping to regenerate its body and rise once again. This also takes at least several minutes, during which time the diablerist is vulnerable and largely oblivious to their surroundings: total concentration goes into the struggle to draw forth the victim’s essence. If the diablerie is interrupted, the victim may never be the same afterwards. The experience of having one’s soul nearly devoured is incredibly traumatic, and it is not unheard of for some near-victims of diablerie to go mad and succumb to wassail.
Once the diablerie is complete, the victim meets final death and their essence is taken into the diablerist. Rare is the diablerist who does not then succumb to frenzy. The sensation is akin to orgasm, but so much more powerful.
The Rewards of Diablerie
“This is the shortcut. This is what the elders don’t want us to know. This is the freedom from their games. The ability to compete on the same playing field. Sin incarnate, and how exquisite the experience.”
Jade Kalani
• Generation: If the victim is of lower generation than the diablerist, add the victim’s generation to the diablerist’s and divide by two, rounding up. The result is the diablerist’s new generation. This is the most coveted reward of the amaranth, for the diablerist can shatter the “glass ceiling” imposed by their sire’s blood and bring themselves closer to the mythical power of Caine. The amaranth tempts all vampires, but it is most irresistible to weaker-blooded ones who cannot grow more powerful with the passing of years.
• Blood Potency: If the victim had higher Blood Potency than the diablerist, add the victim’s Blood Potency to the diablerist’s and divide by two, rounding up. The result is the diablerist’s new Blood Potency.
• Disciplines: The diablerist may gain additional Disciplines known by the victim. Generally, the larger the gulf between the victim’s total Disciplines and the diablerist’s, and the larger the gulf between the victim’s Blood Potency and the diablerist’s, the more Disciplines the diablerist is likely to gain. Victims weaker than the diablerist are unlikely to provide any Disciplines.
• Other Traits: The diablerist may also gain dots in Attributes and Skills or other supernatural powers known by the victim. This is particularly likely to occur when there is significant overlap between the victim’s Disciplines and the diablerist’s, but the victim’s Blood Potency was still higher.
The Perils of Diablerie
“Even were this not a crime in law, it is premeditated murder, cannibalism, and rape.”
Caroline Malveaux-Devillers
Committing diablerie seems like the perfect crime to many power-hungry neonates. But those who commit the atrocity soon learn that diablerists wear the evidence of their crime on their very souls.
• Addiction: Amaranth is sweet beyond all other pleasures—so sweet that perpetrators can easily become addicted to the sensation. All Kindred fear these vampires, known as “rogues”, for their addiction to the pleasures of amaranth makes them a threat to everyone. Even vampires too weak to provide additional power are devoured for the simple pleasure of the act.
• Humanity: Diablerie is worse than murder: the amaranth allegedly absorbs the victim’s soul, destroying any chance of the victim finding peace in the afterlife. Such a heinous crime makes the perpetrator’s Humanity sink like a stone.
• Social Stigma: Such is the horror of diablerie that, according to many elders, even a blood hunt is no grounds for its practice. Hunters may drink a victim’s blood, even to the last drop, but may not continue the process of diablerie once the victim is drained. Indeed, by decree of the Inner Circle, only a sire is permitted to diablerize their childe, and then only during a blood hunt. In practice, many younger Kindred take the opportunity of blood hunt’s chaos for kinslaying, and princes often look the other way if the criminal was heinous enough. A few particularly cruel or traditionalist princes actually consider it the right of hunters to devour the criminal’s soul, under the rationale that a blood hunt negates a vampire’s very existence and no longer makes them Kindred.
• Stained Aura: Vampires with the Auspex Discipline can detect a diablerist by reading their aura. The stolen energies of the victim mingle with the energies of the diablerist, leaving thick black marks running across the diablerist’s psychic aura. These marks stand as clearly as motor oil on a crystal-clear pond, covering the softer colors of the victim’s own aura and betraying the crime beyond question. These marks remain in evidence for a variable amount of time before fading.
Not all vampires know of diablerie or the stains it leaves behind. Many younger Kindred might simply question the odd discoloration on the vampire’s aura. Most elder vampires understand what the stains mean, though, and could well call for the diablerist’s immediate punishment or use the information as blackmail at a later date. For this reason, many diablerists go into seclusion and attempt to limit their contact with other Kindred until the stains on their aura can fade. Practitioners of thaumaturgy, however, are rumored to have rituals that can detect the diablerist’s sin long after the crime was committed. For that reason, and for many others, practitioners of the amaranth fear the Tremere. Other powers can also potentially detect diablerie with the same ease or difficulty they might detect other dark secrets.
Mass Diablerie
“This process you’ve described. Eating her soul. You’re going to do it alongside me. If anything goes wrong, you’ll suffer the consequences too. And if this all goes right, you’ll be equally complicit in the crime.”
Andreas Draco
Diablerie does not have to be limited to one diablerist. A pack of neonates can swarm an elder like hungry sharks and rip the victim’s soul to pieces between themselves. This process is thought to be even more painful and traumatic for the victim, but there aren’t many survivors of attempted mass diableries who can attest.
If multiple vampires participate in a diablerie, they all gain the benefits and drawbacks as normal. For every diablerist beyond the first, treat the victim’s generation as one higher and their Blood Potency as one dot lower. This means the rewards of diablerie are diminished: if there are enough diablerists to treat the victim’s Blood Potency as 0, someone will have to get left out. More than one coterie of diablerists has turned upon one another when they tore apart a victim’s soul and realized there wasn’t enough for them all.
by:
False_Epiphany