Classification: Union // Open
Classification: Union // Open Ref shared/trait/archetype/monster

Monster

Archetype

Shared

The Monster knows she is a creature of darkness and acts like it. Evil and suffering are the Monster’s tools, and she uses them wherever she goes. No villainy is below her, no hurt goes uninflicted, and no lie remains untold. The Monster does not commit evil for its own sake, but rather as a means to understand what she has become. Unstable individuals, those who have been greatly wronged or harmed, and those defined as sociopaths may come to display characteristics of the Monster Archetype. Kindred Monsters include many Sabbat, degenerate Kindred elders, and those who never adjust properly to what they have become after the Embrace.

— Malignant deeds reinforce the Monster’s sense of purpose. Monster characters should pick a specific atrocity, regaining Willpower whenever they indulge that urge. For example, a tempter regains Willpower for luring someone into wickedness, while an apostate earns back Willpower for causing another to doubt her faith. Pick a destiny and fulfill it. Storytellers, be careful with how you reward this Archetype. For example,

a player who chooses violence as an atrocity shouldn’t recoup Willpower in every combat, but perhaps only in those that involve wanton destruction, or even cause degeneration checks due to their gruesomeness. Monster is a difficult Archetype for which to offer rewards, and those rewards should come as a result of the character challenging his own descent into the Beast, not rampaging ungovernably because he gains an ever-refreshing pool of bonus dice.

Also in M20 p. 272 — text differs from V20 (48%)

Heaven lacks glory without the threat of Hell. It’s your noble chore, then, to be the Agent of Infamy. An obvious choice for Nephandic mages (though not, by a long shot, exclusive to their kind), this Archetype embodies unapologetic villainy. As Voltaire (the singer, not the philosopher) put it, “It’s so easy when you’re evil”… easy, fun, and satisfying!

You Reveal Dark Truths that many people are afraid to face. When you show up, Pollyanna runs screaming for the hills. Your existence undercuts the comfortable lies of polite society. Anyone can play a hero, but a memorable villain is worth his weight in blood.

The problem, of course, is that you’re Depraved. There might be a heroic heel-turn in your future, but that’s unlikely. Chances are, you’re headed for the Cauls; if you haven’t Fallen with the Nephandi already, you probably will soon enough.

– Regain Willpower by performing spectacular acts of heartlessness and ruin.

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