V5 Rules Reference
Frenzy and Compulsions
Frenzy is a test against the Beast. A compulsion is a scene of skewed priorities. They are not the same event, and only one frenzy difficulty is fixed in these rules.
Looking for classic Willpower rolls and botches instead of a Hunger frenzy? Read the V20 target numbers and botches.The short answer.
Hunger frenzy, fury, and terror are resisted with Composure plus Resolve and no Hunger dice, or skipped by riding the wave. The only verified difficulty is 4, for a forced Rouse that would push Hunger past 5. Pass, and the blood is not spent. Fail, and the Beast has the scene. A compulsion lasts one scene and is not a second frenzy.
Three frenzies, then a compulsion
Name the trigger before you pick up dice. A messy roll is not automatically any of these.
- Hunger frenzy
- The Blood is called for and there is not enough. The verified case is a Rouse Check that would push Hunger past 5. Hunger stays where it was. The resist pool is Composure + Resolve at difficulty 4, with no Hunger dice.
- Fury frenzy
- Provocation, insult, or the sight of violence. Resist with the same pool, no Hunger dice, or ride the wave. This chronicle does not store a difficulty for fury. The Storyteller sets it. Do not borrow the 4 from Hunger frenzy.
- Terror frenzy
- Fire, sunlight, or fear the Beast will not face. Same pool, no Hunger dice, same choice to resist or ride the wave. No difficulty for terror is stored here. The Storyteller names it for the scene.
- Compulsion
- A clan compulsion or a hunger compulsion hijacks priorities for one scene. It is not a frenzy test and it does not spend the Blood. Hunger, Dominance, Harm, and Paranoia are the general kinds. A 10 on the compulsion die is the clan's own.
What is actually tested
Only the overflow Rouse has a number in this chronicle. Everything else is a Storyteller call, made with the same resist pool or with none.
| Test | What you roll | What is verified |
|---|---|---|
| Hunger frenzy | Composure + Resolve, difficulty 4, no Hunger dice. | A forced Rouse that would pass Hunger 5. Hunger stays. The blood is not spent. |
| Fury or terror | The same pool. No stored difficulty. | The Storyteller sets the difficulty. Riding the wave skips the roll. |
| Failed wake at Hunger 5 | No frenzy roll. | Torpor. The vampire does not rise, and there is nothing to resist. |
| Compulsion | One d10, not the frenzy pool. | One scene of a type. It does not start a second frenzy. |
Run it in this order.
- Name the trigger. Hunger, fury, and terror are frenzy. A compulsion is not.
- The player chooses to resist or to ride the wave. Riding the wave means no roll, and the Beast has the scene.
- If they resist, roll Composure + Resolve. Use no Hunger dice. Willpower is the rating you are rolling, not a reroll of this test.
- For a Rouse that would push Hunger past 5, the difficulty is 4. For fury or terror, use the difficulty the Storyteller just set. Do not copy the 4.
- On a pass, the character holds. On a failed hunger frenzy, Hunger is unchanged and the blood is not spent.
- On any failed frenzy, the Beast directs the scene until the Storyteller says it breaks. Then, if a compulsion was also earned, play that as its own scene-long pull.
Riding the wave is a choice
Resisting is the roll. Riding the wave is declining it. The character does what the Beast wants for the scene: the nearest throat, the wrecked room, the flight from fire. There is no second track and no bonus for giving in. Say which choice was made before any dice hit the table.
Hunger 4 to 5 is not the test
A failed Rouse that moves Hunger from 4 to 5, including a failed Blood Surge Rouse, does not cause frenzy. The test starts only when Hunger is already 5 and a further failure would pass it, or when fury or terror actually applies. A failed wake at Hunger 5 is torpor, not either of those.
A compulsion is one scene
The Storyteller's compulsion die maps like this. 1–3 is Hunger, satisfied by slaking 1 Hunger. 4–5 is Dominance, satisfied by asserting control. 6–7 is Harm, satisfied by significant harm. 8–9 is Paranoia, satisfied by flight or a fortified place. 10 is the clan compulsion. The tool's suggested penalty is 2, or 3 on a 10. That number is guidance. It is not written onto the next pool, and the pull ends when the scene does or the satisfaction is met. It is not frenzy.
Bestial and messy can prompt one
A Bestial Failure or a Messy Critical is a legal moment to call a compulsion. They are not the compulsion, and they are not a frenzy check. At Hunger 4 or 5 the Storyteller may follow the mess with a frenzy test. The dice flag does not roll that test, and a thin-blood uses the same Hunger frenzy test as any other vampire. Bestial Temper sits on the sheet. This roll does not read it, and no extra difficulty is invented for it.
Name the Beast before the dice
Vampiro Life rolls the starved Rouse's frenzy and leaves fury, terror, and compulsions where the Storyteller can still see them.
Common mistakes
- Using difficulty 4 for fury or terror because that number belongs to a starved Rouse.
- Putting Hunger dice into the resist pool, or spending Willpower to reroll a test the server already closed.
- Calling a failed Surge from Hunger 4 to 5 a frenzy, or frenzying a failed wake.
- Treating a Messy Critical or a Bestial Failure as frenzy, or as an automatic clan compulsion.
- Letting a compulsion last past the scene, or stacking it on top of a frenzy as a second Beast.
One frenzy at the table
The power is not paid for. The test is only whether she keeps the wheel.
Sera reaches anyway
Sera, Composure 3 and Resolve 2, Hunger 5. A Discipline Rouse would push her past 5. She resists.
The pool is five dice at difficulty 4, with no Hunger dice. The faces are 2, 3, 5, 8, and 4: one success. She fails. Hunger stays 5 and the power does not activate. The Beast has the scene. Riding the wave would have skipped the roll. The server does not ask her. On this trigger it rolls the test.
How Vampiro Life handles frenzy
Strict chronicles roll one frenzy for you, and only one. Fury, terror, riding the wave, and compulsions stay with the Storyteller.
- In Strict, a Rouse that would pass Hunger 5 rolls Composure + Resolve at difficulty 4 with no Hunger dice. Pass or fail is stored as final. Hunger does not change, and the blood is not spent.
- Casual chronicles do not run that test. In Strict, a failed waking Rouse at Hunger 5 is torpor, not a frenzy roll.
- Fury, terror, and the choice to ride the wave are not on a button. The Storyteller sets those difficulties and narrates the scene. No other difficulty is stored.
- A compulsion check maps a Storyteller-supplied d10 to Hunger, Dominance, Harm, Paranoia, or clan, and returns a suggested penalty. It does not time the scene, alter the next pool, or start frenzy. The clan's own text is a separate lookup.
Frequently asked
What do I roll to resist frenzy?
- Composure + Resolve. That is the Willpower rating, rolled as the pool. No Hunger dice. The verified difficulty is 4, and only when a Rouse would push Hunger past 5.
Can I ride the wave instead?
- Yes. That is a player choice to skip the resist roll and give the Beast the scene. Say so before the test. The Hunger-frenzy roll the server makes does not present that choice.
Does a Messy Critical mean I frenzy?
- No. A Messy Critical keeps the success and taints the method. Frenzy is its own test. The Storyteller may call one afterward, especially at Hunger 4 or 5.
How long does a compulsion last?
- One scene, or until it is satisfied, whichever the Storyteller closes first. It is not a second frenzy, and the suggested penalty is not an automatic modifier on the next roll.
What is the difficulty for terror frenzy?
- This chronicle does not store one. The Storyteller sets it for the fire, the sun, or the fear in front of you. Do not reuse difficulty 4 unless that is the ruling for this scene.
Related rules
Name the Beast before the dice
Vampiro Life rolls the starved Rouse's frenzy and leaves fury, terror, and compulsions where the Storyteller can still see them.