Blood Surge

What the Surge can touch

Treat Blood Surge as an optional, one-roll decision with a narrow target and a separate cost.

One eligible pool

The roll must use an Attribute-bearing Skill or Discipline, or a pool built from a second Attribute. Name the Attribute before building the pool. The Surge adds normal dice only; it never raises the printed Attribute rating and never persists.

One normal-die Rouse

Every Surge requires its own normal-die Rouse Check. The boost itself always applies regardless of that later result. Resolve the action first, then apply the Rouse outcome for later rolls.

Hunger must be 0–4

You cannot voluntarily choose Blood Surge when you are already at Hunger 5. If a failed Surge Rouse moves Hunger from 4 to 5, that failure does not cause a frenzy. A forced failed Rouse while already at 5 instead uses Hunger Frenzy Diff 4; a failed wake Rouse at 5 causes Hunger torpor, not frenzy.

Specific exceptions stay specific

Willpower does not reroll the Surge Rouse, and the Blood Potency Discipline-Rouse reroll does not apply. Fluent Swiftness may reroll this Surge Rouse once, but only for a Dexterity/Celerity test.

Blood Potency and added dice

Use the Companion and later-print table. These are bonus normal dice for this roll, not permanent dots.

Run it in this order

1. 01At Hunger 0–4, declare and name the Attribute you are surging.
2. 02Build the eligible pool, including the normal Surge dice from the table.
3. 03Replace dice with your current Hunger before the Surge Rouse; do not use post-Rouse Hunger for this roll.
4. 04Roll. You may spend Willpower to reroll up to three non-Hunger dice, but never a Hunger die and never the Surge Rouse.
5. 05Resolve the action, including successes, failures, and consequences. The Surge always worked as declared.
6. 06Make the Surge's one normal-die Rouse for later rolls: 6–10 unchanged, 1–5 Hunger +1.

1. 01

   It is a burst, not a new Attribute

   The added dice represent blood forcing an Attribute-bearing Skill or Discipline beyond its ordinary edge. They do not change the dots printed on the sheet, rewrite the Attribute, or follow you to the next test. Only one roll in a turn may be Surged, and that roll cannot be Surged twice, even if another pool or effect appears.

2. 02

   Keep every Rouse in its own lane

   A turn can include one Discipline activation, Blush, one Blood Surge roll, and one superficial Mend. Each is allowed to happen and each has its own Rouse Check. Do not collapse them into one Rouse for the turn, and do not let one result rewrite another.

3. 03

   The boundaries are part of the rule

   Blood Surge cannot be used for a One-Roll Combat resolution, cannot grant an automatic win or Take Half, and cannot be rerolled with Willpower. It does not create a multi-scene bonus, a tracker, or a Humanity/Remorse effect. It is a voluntary choice attached to one eligible roll.

4. 04

   Resolve Hunger after the action

   The roll uses pre-Rouse Hunger for its Hunger dice. First determine what the action did; then make the ordinary Rouse Check. A failed check at Hunger 4 can leave you at 5 without frenzy from that failure. Hunger 5's forced-Rouse and wake-up consequences are separate procedures, not a reason to retroactively undo a Surge.

Common mistakes

• Adding the bonus to the printed Attribute or carrying it into the next roll.
• Using one Rouse for every blood effect in a turn instead of one per activation.
• Letting a Blood Potency Discipline-Rouse reroll replace the Surge Rouse, or spending Willpower on that Rouse.
• Volunteering for a Surge at Hunger 5, or calling the failed 4→5 Surge Rouse a frenzy.
• Turning a one-roll boost into Take Half, an automatic win, a scene buff, or One-Roll Combat.

One Surge at the table

A single decision, with its timing kept visible.

• The sprint across the gallery

  Dexterity + Athletics with Celerity at Hunger 2, Blood Potency 3 — choose Blood Surge for +3 normal dice.

  The pool is built with three added normal dice and two Hunger dice, then rolled. A Willpower reroll can touch up to three ordinary failures, never the Hunger dice. After the result is narrated, make one normal-die Surge Rouse: 6–10 leaves Hunger at 2; 1–5 raises it to 3. The +3 is gone before the next test.

How Vampiro Life keeps the timing clear

The app puts Blood Surge beside an eligible roll so the choice is visible before dice are assembled, then keeps the action and its Rouse separate.

• The server checks the eligible Attribute-bearing pool, current Hunger, and stored Blood Potency before accepting a Surge.
• The roll shows normal and Hunger dice using pre-Rouse Hunger, while the one-roll bonus is never written as a permanent sheet change.
• The Surge Rouse is resolved after the action and does not merge with Discipline, Blush, or Mend Rouses in the same turn.
• The Storyteller can carry the consequence forward without hiding which cost belonged to which choice.

Frequently asked

Does the Surge always work?

Yes. The declared bonus applies to the eligible roll. The later normal-die Rouse decides whether Hunger rises for later rolls; it does not cancel or reduce the action.

Can I Surge more than once in a turn?

You can use at most one Surge on a roll. Other allowed blood effects can still occur in the same turn, each with its own Rouse Check. Do not treat that as a second Surge on the same roll.

Can Willpower reroll the Surge Rouse?

No. Willpower rerolls up to three non-Hunger dice on the action roll. It never rerolls the Surge Rouse, and it never rerolls Hunger dice.

What happens at Hunger 5?

You cannot volunteer for Blood Surge at Hunger 5. If a Surge Rouse fails from 4 to 5, that failure causes no frenzy. A forced failed Rouse already at 5 uses Hunger Frenzy Diff 4; a failed wake Rouse at 5 causes Hunger torpor, not frenzy.

Does Blood Potency's Discipline-Rouse reroll apply?

No. That reroll does not apply to the Blood Surge Rouse. Fluent Swiftness is the named exception: it rerolls this Rouse once, and only for a Dexterity/Celerity test.

Can I use Surge for One-Roll Combat or Take Half?

No. It is a one-roll boost for an eligible Attribute-bearing Skill or Discipline pool. It does not grant an automatic win, Take Half, a scene-long buff, or a One-Roll Combat benefit.