Everything

For lesser creatures, their size precludes them from being fed upon or having a lot of blood in their bodies. Thus, a rat has 1/4 of a blood point. This means that four rats may all be maintained as ghouls with a single blood point. Eight, then, would be maintained with two, twelve with three, and so on. For animals smaller than a rat or a bat, the amount of blood that creature contains is at the discretion of the Storyteller.

Narrating and managing eight, individual rats during an attack, however, is not only cumbersome, it breaks the tension of the scene. Thus, when managing a swarm, Storytellers should treat the swarm as if it was its own character. When the swarm attacks, roll once to see if that action is successful (difficulty 6). If it is, follow the chart for guidelines to assess damage. If the animal is rabid or venomous, add an additional level of damage.

Please note that bugs, stray cats, and small dogs are included in the chart instead of the ghoul bestiary which begins on the next page. These animals are rarely maintained as ghouls over longer periods of time, and are more effective when used as a group.

If the character dodges, however, then the Storyteller should narrate what happens based on what is appropriate for the animals involved. A swarm of rats, for example, wouldn’t necessarily reduce an antagonist’s visibility, but they would probably slow that character down. Thus, Storytellers should increase the difficulty of the player character’s next roll. To determine the outcome and nature of the attack, remember that the environment is also an important factor in the scene. Don’t be afraid to use all elements in the player character’s surroundings, because even the most innocuous pieces, like a manhole cover or a fallen tree limb, can be used in creative ways. A colony of bats might bar the player character’s exit from a sewer or a cave, but that same colony might not fly around the player character in a tight cluster if they’re out in a field.

To successfully disperse a pack or swarm, the character must fight back against its health level noted in the table. If a character attacks the swarm and achieves two levels higher than its health level, then the animals or insects die. Both Storyteller and player characters may attack the swarm at a rating of one health level per strike, regardless of how many successes were rolled. Small melee weapons, like a pocket knife, would damage an individual insect or animal, whereas large melee weapons would remove a health level of the entire swarm. Combining the use of Disciplines like Celerity, on the other hand, with a small melee weapon would increase the damage to that of a large melee weapon in addition to large, area attacks.

Swarms and packs may attack more than one character if present in the scene, and all characters affected may fight back or attempt to outrun the horde. Unlike an individual animal, however, swarms cannot soak damage.