House Rules for
Vampire: The Requiem
The following rules are designed to make vampires more useable during the day (either as good guys or bad). Sunlight doesn't do as much harm (but it still does harm) and functionality during daylight hours is increased. Many vampires, pre-cinema were able to walk outside during the daytime, and while many of them didn't like or were harmed/killed by sunlight, they were not instantly consumed by it. Using these rules means that a vampire is going to consume blood faster as a result of being up during at least some of the daytime and some/most of the night as each qualify as different "days".
New Daylight Rules
Daytime Slumber
Vampires are overcome by a crushing fatigue upon the rising of the sun and remain immobile (and to all appearances truly dead) until sunset.
Stay Awake for the Day
Spend one point of Vitae and roll your character's Humanity as a dice pool.
- At sundown, as normal, a Vitae must be spent whether the vampire has slept or not.
- Dramatic Failure: The Kindred struggles, but is rendered immobile at dawn. During that day only a single die is rolled to awaken due to a disturbance.
- Failure: The Kindred is rendered immobile by full dawn.
- Success: Your character can remain awake for a single hour per success on the Humanity roll or spend a Willpower point to stay awake the whole day. During the day, all rolls are made at -2 dice due to lethargy caused by the Beast wanting to rest during the day.
- Exceptional Success: The Kindred is able to stay awake for the whole day. During the day, all rolls are made at -1 dice due to lethargy caused by the Beast wanting to rest during the day.
Daylight Sleep Interrupted
If the Kindred is attacked (or otherwise awakened) during the day, they can rise, but it is extremely difficult. Roll a dice pool made up of your character's Wits Attribute alone (depending on the attempt to awaken a penalty may be incurred); a success means your character notices the disturbance. Then you must spend one point of Vitae and roll your character's Humanity as a dice pool. Your character can rise for a single minute per success on the Humanity roll.
Use of Disciplines
During the daytime, a Kindred's mystical power is at it's weakest. Rolls to activate or use Disciplines have a maximum dice pool of Humanity + Discipline (after the -2 dice penalty).
New Sunlight Rules
Exposing specific body parts to fire or sunlight may have additional effects beyond simple damage. Blindness if the vampire looks unprotected into the sunlight, a shaft of sunlight sears an arm rendering it temporarily useless, a hand pressed to hot coals being unusable, etc.
Sunlight
Even the weakest sunlight presents danger. Sunlight filtered through a heavy curtain can still burn. The Resilience Discipline can help protect a vampire from the daystar's rays. Direct sunlight can sear even the mightiest Kindred to ash. A hand held in sunlight filtered through heavy drapes causes only one point per hour. Looking out a window on an overcast day causes two point per minute. Being fully exposed under direct sunlight causes three (or more) points per turn.
| Intensity | Time Increment | Examples |
| Faint, filtered sunlight | hours | light through heavy, closed drapes; thick cloud cover; twilight |
| Filtered or weak sunlight | minutes | light through thin drapes; outside on a cloudy day; daylight through a window; reflection of sun in a mirror |
| Direct sunlight | rounds |
| Exposure | Health Points | Examples |
| Small part of body exposed | 1 point (A) | one hand; part of the face; wearing heavy clothes, sunglasses, gloves, and a broad-brimmed hat or balaklava |
| Large part of body exposed | 2 points (A) | a leg; an arm; whole head |
| Most to all of body exposed | 3 points (A) | whole torso; wearing thin clothing |