All timing for things like feeding, beast traits, flaws, rituals, etc. will be taken into account and enforced. However, so will things like when the sun set (in game time) versus when the game is supposed to be taking place.

Abilities may be spent on a 1 for 1 basis to gain additional traits. Abilities used in this fashion last for one scene, and may not be used to more than double traits. They may be spent for retests as well.

We feel this will allow for a broader range of options and perhaps a bit more strategy on the part of the players.

To clarify an issue, in case of a tie during a test, you reveal the current number of traits you have in the appropriate category. Any traits you have lost due to other challenges or other reasons lowers your current number of traits. This will allow several weaker opponents to gradually wear down stronger ones.

Also, being bids down in a challenge means that you have to risk an additional trait for each bid you are down to enter the challenge (i.e., if you are two bids down in a challenge, you must risk an additional two traits to even test, otherwise you have just lost that challenge). Being bids up on a challenge means that your opponent must bid an additional trait for each bid you are up to enter the challenge or the difficulty of a Static Challenge is lowered by one for each bid you are up.

A character in Sanguis Priscus has five Health Categories. A character is in one of these categories at all times. The categories and their effect on gameplay are as follows:

Healthy

No effect on gameplay when at this category.

Bruised

When Bruised, you are one bid down in all challenges.

Wounded

When Wounded, you are two bids down in all challenges. In addition, if your opponent loses the challenge, he gets a free retest against you.

Incapacitated

When a character first reaches Incapacitated, he is completely unconscious (i.e., out of play) for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes has passed, the character is immobile and may not initiate a challenge until he has healed at least back up to wounded. If forced into a challenge while in this state, you are three bids down and your opponent gets a free retest against you.

Torpor

When a character is in Torpor, he is in a deathlike state. You can do nothing until you are revived, which takes two months plus one week for each Beast/Path Trait minus two weeks for each Ethics Trait you currently possess to a minimum of one day. Moreover, upon waking up, you permanently lose one Trait from a category of your choice. It is rumored that the blood of an ancient can prematurely revive a vampire in torpor. Torpor can be entered into voluntarily, if that is done the vampire will wake up at whatever time they specify and no Trait loss is incurred.

To force a Kindred into Final Death requires that the last box of Damage at theTorpor category be filled, after that the Kindred loses one Blood Trait for each level of damage done until empty. Once that has been achieved, then the kindred can be killed by anything that can cause Aggravated Damage.

To clarify the issue of surprise, someone who doesn't respond within the allotted amount of time (remember some Merits, Flaws, and Disciplines can change this) is considered surprised. Responding to an attack is defined by answering the attacker's challenge in kind; saying, "Wait a minute, I'll be with you as soon as I'm done over here," doesn't qualify. On the other hand, any challenge issued must be both coherent and audible, and cannot be made from excessive distance or in such a way that the environment of the game itself prevents the challenge from being heard clearly. You may not challenge someone who is already involved in a challenge.

Surprise simply means that only the surprised defender can be harmed by the outcome of the first challenge in a fight. The challenger, fully aware of what's going on, cannot be harmed during a challenge when he has surprise.

Other ways of being surprise exist (i.e., being in an ambush), but for these situations a Storyteller must be consulted and he will let the defenders know if they are surprised or not. Remember, surprise is only for combat, not any other situation.

(This section will be discussed and voted on by all players of the game. Please feel free to sends comments and concerns about this section to the Storytellers. Actually that goes for all sections of the rules, but doubly so for this one.)

Many powers in various Disciplines require a touch before they can be activated. While touching is generally discouraged in Live Action games, the following rules for such powers are being instituted.

1. If your victim cannot dodge for any reason (i.e., he is bound or unconscious) the touch automatically happens, you do not need to actually touch you victim. Proceed with the effects of your power.
2. If you can role-play your way into touching your victim (i.e., handshake or pat on the shoulder) you have touched your victim and may proceed with the effects of you power.
3. If you can actually sneak up on a victim and lightly touch them without them noticing you at all, you have succeeded in your attempt and may then proceed with your power. Note, however, that if your victim has Heightened Sense (whether he is currently using that power or not) he may call for an immediate Physical Challenge after you touch him. In addition, if your victim has the Blind Fighting Ability, he may immediate choose to spend that abiltiy and call for a Physical Challenge.
4. If you are attacked and relent the Physical Challenge, you may activate your power as if you had touched him.
5. If you have no other options and cannot do any of the above, you may call for a Physical Challenge to touch your victim. In this case you do not actually touch them.

In all cases, you must inform your victim after touching them what is now happening as a result of you using your powers on them. In no cases are you to actually strike someone, these rules are for those powers requiring touch, they are not here to simulate combat, that follows the normal rules governing Physical Challenges. Also, you will not touch people in inappropriate places, offenders breaking this rule will be kicked out of the game.

Staking requires three challenges, in the following order:

1. A Physical Challenge to hit the target (this is a normal attack test)
2. A strength based Static Physical Challenge (normally difficulty of 7) to pierce the sternum. Abilities that help you know where the weak spots in the sternum/rib cage can be used to retest this Challenge (such as Medicine or Melee). Disciplines can also help.
3. A Static Mental Challenge (again, normally difficulty of 7) to actually locate and pierce the heart itself. Abilities that help you know the location of the heart (again such as Medicine or Melee) can be used to retest.

To clarify the issue on how long it takes to feed during game time, it takes 15 minutes to gain one Blood Trait using reasonable precautions and without killing the target. Double this time if being extra careful and half that (7 minutes) if taking hardly any safety measures. A second or third Blood Trait may be gained from each victim every 15 minutes, but the victim might die which may have other consequences. This rule will be strictly enforced and a character can only assume to have fed before the game if the game starts long enough after sunset to have fed using these rules.

Ethics Traits may be spent in place of Willpower for avoiding Frenzy. The Ethics Trait expended must be appropriate to the situation; however, no matter how Conscientious you are, it does not help face down a fire, and no amount of Courage will justify killing an unarmed innocent.

Ethics Traits are lost; at least temporarily, any time the character would have to make a Beast Trait Test in the stock Mind's Eye Theatre rules and at the Storyteller's discretion. A Static Ethics Challenge is made to determine whether the loss is permanent. If it is, the character must test immediately for a Beast Trait.

As in the stock Minds Eye Theater, once a character has reached five (5) Beast/Path Traits, he has entered Wassail and is now a NPC.

Frenzy occurs when the conditions of a Beast/Path Trait are fulfilled or if you fail a Storyteller called Frenzy Test. This Test is a Static Ethics Test (no traits risked, against a difficulty set by the Storyteller based on what is happening) called for a variety of reasons: you are facing the traditional banes of being a vampire, fire and sunlight; you have just been humiliated; you have no Blood Traits and see, smell, taste blood; you are in extreme pain, etc. Of course, Storytellers cannot be everywhere, so if you feel that your character might be in a state where he would frenzy you can find a Storyteller and have them conduct a test with you. That is up to you, of course, but it could be worth extra role-playing points.

Stopping Frenzy can happen in several ways:

• Spend a Willpower Trait or Ethics Trait before it starts.
• Spend a Willpower Trait or Ethics Trait after it starts and win a Static Mental Challenge against a difficulty of four(4).
• Go against your Nature and win a Static Mental Challenge against a difficulty of four(4).
• Burn out 10 minutes after the problem goes away
• Have someone win a Static Social Challenge against twice your number of Beast/Path Traits minus each Ethics Trait you currently have, minimum difficulty of one.

The benefits of Frenzy are that you may ignore wound penalties until Torpor and you are not susceptible to Mental or Social Challenges, though you may not initiate them either. You may use certain "intuitive" Disciplines such as Celerity, Fortitude, Potence, Wolf's Claws and others are possible, check with a Storyteller if you have questions.