Anarch Setting Merits and Flaws

Setting-Specific Merits

BAM NOTE: These Merits and Flaws are not generally availiable to PC concepts without explict permission from the Storyteller.

Dauntless (2 point merit)

Your dedication to the Anarch ideal of libertas goes beyond idealism; freedom is the core of your being, and you cannot stand to be controlled. If you win a test against a user’s mind-controlling power (such as Dominate), you are immune to further mind-control powers (of that discipline or any others) from that individual for the rest of the night.

Dhampir (4 point bloodline merit)

A character can only take this merit if she has no dots in Generation. A dhampir is the offspring of a mortal and a vampire, causing her to exist in a half-state between life and undeath. It shouldn’t be possible, but it is — very, very rarely. By their very nature, dhampir are young, the oldest are no more than 25 years old. Although they are treated like ghouls, Dhampirs are not automatically blood bound and do not have a domitor.

Build your character using the rules for a standard ghoul, except where this merit specifically differs. Dhampirs are supernatural creatures, not mortals. They have no in-clan disciplines and place 7 (rather than the 5 dots normally assigned to ghouls) starting dots in any disciplines they choose. However, a dhampir can never purchase any discipline above the 3rd dot. Dhampir characters have no Beast and can never purchase a path merit. Unlike a ghoul, a dhampir cannot be Embraced; attempts to do so will simply kill the dhampir character.

Ear to the Ground (1 point merit)

During the Nights of Turmoil, the Anarchs tapped into vampire hunter communications, utilizing that information both to avoid hunters and to manipulate them into attacking the Sabbat and the Camarilla. Although some hunter organizations have increased their security measures (and some were not tappable in the first place), you still get advance warning about mortal incursions from your contacts in the Movement. You can spend a downtime action to gain knowledge about mortal hunters in your area, and if you choose, you can feed those hunters information or false leads.

Elder of the Revolution (2 point merit)

This merit must be purchased at character creation. The Anarch Movement primarily consists of young, relatively newly Embraced Neonates and Ancilla. A player who wishes to purchase the 4th or 5th dots of Generation (Master Elder or Luminary Elder) must first purchase the merit Elder of the Revolution. If you leave the Anarchs for the Camarilla (or Sabbat), you receive the XP spent on this merit back as a refund, while keeping your current dots of Generation. If a character becomes 7th or 6th generation as a result of in-game diablerie, she does not need to purchase this merit.

Note that buying this merit does not indicate the Anarch was also Embraced before 1800; for that, a character must purchase the merit Old Dog.

Lion of the Cause (3 point merit)

Wherever the Call to Arms is sounded, you are there. Throughout your history, you have always stood by your fellow Anarchs, holding your ground against any threat and protecting others with your very unlife. You are known and honored by the Anarch Movement for your loyalty; you are considered a Lion among the sect. When you are involved in a Call to Arms against the enemy specifically targeted by that Call to Arms, all Anarchs within a 10-step radius of you receive a +2 wild card bonus to either their Brawl or Melee skill, up to a maximum of your total number of dots in whichever skill they choose.

Moniker (1 point merit)

You are a member of a famous Anarch gang. Moreover, you are commonly attributed to be one of the most important members of that gang, responsible for its fame (or infamy). Other members of the gang may be proud of the group’s renown, but your name is synonymous with its moniker. When you purchase this merit, you gain the innate status of your gang name (Dead Eyes, Aces & Eights, and so forth). This innate status has the same function as the status Moniker. If you leave the gang, you must either join another (and change the name of this status) or remove this merit without XP refund.

Moral Compass (1 point merit)

You’ve spent a great deal of time protecting and retaining your Humanity. With that effort, you have become capable of controlling the vampiric Beast better than most. It’s likely that you are still deeply connected to the kine; you may have a night-to-night job or continually engage in mortal society and culture in some other fashion. If you spend 10 minutes counseling a vampire who has gained Beast traits, that vampire can reattempt one degeneration challenge she failed during that night. If she is successful in this second attempt, she removes any penalty she gained from the initial failure of that degeneration challenge. An individual may gain one Moral Compass retest per game session.

Old Dog (1 point merit)

This merit must be purchased at character creation. You were Embraced prior to 1800. Perhaps you were a part of the original Anarch Revolt, or you may even have been present at the signing of the Convention of Thorns. Note that buying this merit does not indicate the Anarch was also Embraced as an elder; if the player wishes to purchase the 4th or 5th dots of Generation (Master Elder or Luminary Elder), she must purchase the merit Elder of the Revolution.

Sorcerous Dabbler (2 point merit)

You may not be a dedicated magical practitioner, but you’ve picked up a few tricks. A character with this merit can perform a few magical rituals even if she has no dots of Thaumaturgy. You do not have to purchase the Thaumaturgic Training merit to buy Sorcerous Dabbler. When a player purchases this merit, she selects a number of Thaumaturgical rituals: either three level 1 rituals, or two level 2 rituals, or one level 3 ritual. The character must then purchase these rituals with XP at standard cost. Anarchs who possess Thaumaturgy are particularly valuable to the Movement (and particularly persecuted by Camarilla Tremere and Sabbat kolduns). Remaining among the Anarchs provides a level of political and personal safety the character would not otherwise possess. If this character loses her Committed acceptance, she is removed from the game, and it is assumed that she has been located and destroyed by her sorcerous enemies.

Tech Junkie (2 point merit)

You are well-known in tech circles; perhaps you were a famous hacker in life, or perhaps your fascination with technology led you to discover the vampire world, forcing a vampire to Embrace you before you became a threat to the Masquerade. You possess newly-invented or still-in-development technological items before they become available to the public. You receive a +2 bonus to test pools involving Computers or Science, and you may spend a downtime action to place either the Stylish or Nondescript equipment quality on a piece of equipment. This quality may exceed an item’s two-quality maximum.

BAM note: This merit requires the Kindred be embraced no earlier than 1995

Wild One (1 point merit)

You are well-known in scurrilous circles; perhaps you spend a lot of time among gang-bangers, prison lowlifes, or with some of the more dangerous motorcycle clubs. What’s more, this reputation is well-deserved. You receive a +1 bonus to test pools involving Brawl or Drive, and you gain a +2 to defense test pools against powers used by individuals who currently hold a formal position in the Camarilla or the Sabbat.

Setting-Specific Flaws

Bastard Childe (2 point flaw)

This flaw must be purchased at character creation. You were sired without the permission of local authorities. While this isn’t technically illegal among Anarchs, the Camarilla frowns on it — and on you. If you’d been created by a member of the Camarilla, you (and your sire) would have certainly been killed. Only the fact that you are an Anarch keeps you from the retribution of Princes and Justicars. If you ever suffer negative status from the Anarch Movement, you also lose access to your backgrounds, as your friends and allies realize you’re no longer protected and hide from the potential wrath of your Camarilla enemies. When the negative status is lifted, these backgrounds return.

Black Sheep (2 point flaw)

This flaw must be purchased at character creation. The genealogy of your vampiric blood is distinguished, and includes some of the Camarilla’s most well-known names. Your lineage considers you an embarrassment, and you’re constantly under pressure to “grow up” and join the Camarilla. Worse, the other Anarchs find such a privileged heritage worthy of ridicule, and you must work twice as hard to prove yourself to them. You lose 1 downtime action a month, due to your constant need to avoid the Camarilla and prove to the Anarchs that you are truly Committed to their cause.

Dubious Loyalties (2 point flaw)

Because of something that happened in your past, other Anarchs have a good reason to be suspicious. Perhaps you abandoned your brothers and sisters in combat, perhaps you were once a Camarilla Prince before you joined the Movement, or perhaps you’ve been duped once too often. Other Anarchs are generally skeptical of your dedication and treat you with less respect. Your maximum fleeting status is 1 less than usual while you have this flaw. This penalty adds to that imposed by any status ban.

Escaped Shovelhead (2 point flaw)

Your sire was a member of the Sabbat. The mental trauma of being a shovelhead lingers, and those horrible memories affect you most when you come into conflict with the monsters you were nearly forced to join. You have a -2 to your mental test pools (including defense pools) when you engage in a challenge against a known member of the Sabbat.

Once Enslaved (2 point flaw)

At some point in your past, you suffered the awful love forced by the blood bond (or the Vaulderie). It terrifies you to think you might endure that feeling again. When faced with a situation where you might become even partially blood-bound (or gain a vinculum rating), you suffer the effects of an immediate psychotic break as though you had a Phobia Derangement relative to that specific individual.

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Merits and Flaws

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