The obese vampires of the Macellarius bloodline are masters of epicurean bliss, and it seems only fitting that their warped blood provides them with a mystical outlet for their gourmandizing sensibilities. Simply put, the Macellarius are pigs — ravenous bloodsuckers of bloated flesh and fat. Normal vampire bodies aren’t meant to withstand the gluttonous punishment these creatures put upon themselves, but, with Gustus at their disposal, their digestive capabilities become grossly impressive.
The Gluttons have gustatory desires unlike other vampires. One of these desires is the unusual hunger for human flesh. Normally, a vampire could stand such cannibal consumption for a time, but their bodies would eventually reject the bloody chunks without having broken them down. This ability allows a Macellarius vampire not only to circumvent that problem — thus allowing him to break down the fleshy gobbets — but also allows him to turn that “food” into Vitae. The meaty bits within are “digested” by acidic blood in the Glutton’s gut, which are then processed into useable Vitae.
Cost: 1 Willpower per pound of flesh consumed
Dice Pool: This power doesn’t require a roll. (However, if the vampire is attacking another in the hopes of biting off flesh, he must first make a successful grapple attempt and then make subsequent bite attack rolls. See p. 157 of the World of Darkness Rulebook for information biting as an attack.)
Action: Instant
For every four mouthfuls of flesh eaten in this way, the vampire gains a single point of Vitae. Eight mouthfuls constitute a full pound of flesh. In other words, if the vampire consumes eight or fewer mouthfuls of blood, she must spend a single Willpower point to will her body toward the act of unnatural digestion. For every subsequent pound of human meat consumed in this way, she must spend another Willpower point. If she doesn’t spend the Willpower, she eats the meat but quickly vomits it back up.
Only raw, human meat provides the sustenance of Vitae. If the meat is cooked, it will be regurgitated without any value. The meat must not be dead for more than 24 hours — after this period expires, the meat can no longer be consumed in place of Vitae.
Vampire flesh can be consumed, but only by Gluttons with a Blood Potency of 7 or higher. Lupine meat is potent for Gluttons of any Blood Potency level — each mouthful yields a full point of Vitae (so a pound of flesh would grant the vampire eight Vitae). The meat of a mage is no different than the meat of a normal mortal.
This power may be used during a hunger frenzy (Wassail), but not during any other type of frenzy.
Turning meat into Vitae is a pleasurable experience for the Gluttons. Some become addicted to the sensation. Every time the vampire eats human meat, he should make a Resolve + Composure roll. A dramatic failure means he becomes addicted to the sensation, and must make further Resolve + Composure rolls whenever drinking blood not to seek out mortal (or vampire) flesh to eat, as well.
Upon joining the bloodline, the body of a Macellarius vampire swells and bloats with so much dead fat, but this is of little practical use to them. At least, not at first. Once gained, this ability allows the Macellarius to harness that excess flesh for a limited time, storing Vitae in the dark pockets of rotten adipose tissue below his skin. In this way, the Glutton can go above his normal capacity for Vitae for a shortened period of time.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: No roll required.
Action: Reflexive
Once activated, this power allows the Glutton to add his Stamina to his Vitae capacity. For example, if he has a Stamina of 3, his Vitae capacity goes up by 3. Note that this extra potential is not immediately filled with Vitae, however. The Glutton must do that all on his own.
The power lasts for a single scene. Once the scene is over, the extraneous Vitae capacity disappears. If the Macellarius still contains any Vitae beyond his normal maximum, however, he heaves the Vitae back up pain- fully. Each point regurgitated in this manner causes one point of bashing damage.
When hunting for victims, many Kindred actively go out into the world and search for them — stalking the mortal pulse through nightclubs, alleys, parking garages and the like. The Macellarius, especially the younger set, do this as well. But some prefer another way.
These Gluttons prefer to sit like plump spiders at the centers of webs, waiting for sustenance to come to them. While of course this applies to the mortal herd that a Macellarius has built over time, they still enjoy the invigorating thrill of the hunt — they just want the prey to come to them. Many Marcellarius lure hapless mortals to their estates, often invited for dinner or called upon to make a sales or repair call. (“Unfortunately, the master of the house is available only after 6 P.M.”) And then, in the tried-and-true tradition of the family, the Macellarius feed their guests (it would be inappropriate to let them go hungry).
With this ability, the Gluttons can place a single drop of Vitae upon the food and poison it. The poison is slow acting and nearly tasteless. It doesn’t kill the victim; it instead acts as a soporific, lulling the mortal into a languid, sluggish state. Once this happens, the vampire can move in, slow and confident, like the plump spider.
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Strength + Medicine + Gustus – subject’s Stamina
Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The poison has the opposite effect on the victim. He becomes wild and enraged. Whether mortal, Kindred or otherwise, assume that the victim enters an anger frenzy (see pp. 178–179 of Vampire: The Requiem).
Failure: The victim gains more successes on the contested roll. The poison does not take effect; the victim remains fully in control of himself.
Success: The victim becomes groggy and disoriented. Each success inflicts a cumulative –1 dice penalty to the victim.
Exceptional Success: As a success. The extra successes are their own reward.
The poison takes effect 10 minutes after consumption. The effects last for one hour per success. Every hour, the victim’s dice penalties decrease by one until no penalty remains and she has returned to her normal state of mind and body.
This poison may be used on vampires, but only by having the vampire consume the blood of the affected mortal. If a Kindred drinks the blood of the victim, she becomes subject to the same effects and dice penalties that affect the mortal. Of course, this means that should the Glutton consume the Vitae of the victim, the Glutton will become poisoned as well. The Macellarius know this. They not only accept this, but often enjoy the sweet indolence and foggy-headedness that comes part and parcel with using this ability.
Note that blood ties do not affect the implementation of power against the Kindred, as the poison must first be processed through the mortal’s body and does not require a second “vampire-specific” roll on the part of the Macellarius.
The belly of a Glutton is a terrible cauldron, a fleshy grotto where Vitae burns and roils. For the most part, the vampires of the Macellarius are civil enough — almost frighteningly so — but when one has truly earned their ire, they can summon the contents of their awful stomachs to discharge upon their enemies. The eruptive spew is an agglomeration of burning blood and rotten stomach lining, and the vomit sears the flesh of all touched.
Cost: 1 Vitae per point of aggravated damage (though the vampire cannot invest more than his maximum Vitae per turn as determined by his Blood Potency)
Dice Roll: No roll required to activate the power. However, unless the victim (or object) is prone or otherwise unaware, the vampire must succeed in the vile attack. Aiming the horrid vomit requires a Dexterity + Athletics roll. Only one success is required on this roll — if the vampire succeeds, the vomit does the full aggravated damage. Extra successes do not grant additional points of damage. An exceptional success, however, reflects an effective aim, causing the victim to be stunned and unable to do anything other than make reflexive actions for the subsequent turn. Failure indicates that the attack misses, whereas a dramatic failure means that the vampire has retched the burning blood onto himself, and suffers all the damage.
The vomit projects for a number of yards equal to the vampire’s Strength times two. Thus, if the Glutton’s Strength is 2, the discharge spews up to four yards.
The Glutton can use this power to harm or destroy an object. Simply ignore the object’s Durability; the aggravated damage destroys the object’s Structure points. If all Structure points are overcome, the object is totally destroyed. (For further reference, see the World of Darkness Rulebook, pp. 136–137).
Blood and flesh contain power; the Gluttons recognize this. Locked in the fibers of muscle tissue, hidden in the crimson depths of blood, flows the essence of the victim. Those Macellarius who have advanced their digestive capabilities to this level not only understand this, but have learned how to unlock that essence — and appropriate it for themselves. After swallowing a mouthful of the victim’s flesh, the Glutton can use the victim’s power as if it were her own.
Cost: 2 Vitae
Dice Pool: Unless the victim is prone, the Glutton must first succeed on a successful bite attack (see p. 157 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). If successful, during the subsequent turn (after swallowing the meat), a Dexterity + Empathy + Gustus roll is required.
Action: Instant
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The bite is successful — but processing the flesh is not. The Glutton immediately vomits up the gobbet of meat and his own foul humors, suffering a point of lethal damage in the process.
Failure: The Macellarius swallows the meat, but it has no effect.
Success and Exceptional Success: Provided the bite attack was successful, as was the roll to use this level of Gustus, the Glutton may apply and spend his successes in the following ways:
Cost Result
1 success Add +1 to any Attribute
1 success Gain 2 points of Skills possessed by the victim
1 success Gain 1 Willpower point
1 success Heal 1 point of bashing damage
1 success Gain +1 Speed
2 successes Heal 1 point of lethal damage
2 successes Gain +1 Size (and the concomitant health level)
3 successes Heal 1 point of aggravated damage
3 successes Gain 1 point of a Discipline possessed by a Kindred victim
The Glutton can spend his successes in any of combination of the above parameters. However, he may not “buy” Skills or Disciplines that the bite victim did not herself possess. Moreover, the Glutton cannot increase his own Skills or Disciplines above the victim’s own level. (This does not apply to Attributes or other Traits, however.)
Example: Jubal Macellarius successfully bites a hunk of meat from a Gangrel’s flesh. Jubal gains five successes on his activation roll. He chooses to spend three of his successes to gain a single point of the Gangrel’s Disciplines. The Gangrel possesses Protean 3 and Resilience 2. The Glutton’s own Resilience is already at a 2 — but he (obviously) possesses no Protean. His only choice is to gain the first level of Protean, Aspect of the Predator. Jubal has two successes left. He spends one to temporarily acquire two points of Skills the Gangrel possesses. Again, Jubal can choose only from what the Gangrel possesses, and so the Marcellarius adds +1 to his Survival score, and +1 to his Brawl. The final point remains; Jubal spends it to recover a single point of the damage he suffered previously in the fight with the Gangrel.
The effects of this power last for one scene. This ability may not be used in conjunction with the first level of Gustus (Pound of Flesh). If used on a vampire in which the Glutton has a blood tie (see p. 162 of Vampire: The Requiem), the roll to activate is at +2 dice.