Variant Rules & Mechanics

This section is meant to offer variant rules and mechanics that you can use to spice up your campaign.

Everyone is welcome to add things here. Come one, come all!

Lucky 7s
If a player gets three 7s in a roll, those three 7s count as a single success.

Modified Dramatic Failure
Other than rolling a 1 on a chance die, getting three or more 1s and no successes on a roll counts as a dramatic failure.

The Rule of Cool
If players take time out to describe the moves of their character in an impressive fashion, and/or they decide to do something decidedly epic or amazing, the ST may grant a bonus circumstance modifier to performing the roll related to the action in question.

Each player can avail of the Rule of Cool once per game session.

Learn by Doing
For every exceptional success that a player rolls on a Skill-based roll that is not part of a combined roll, they will gain one experience point that they can use for the sole purpose of advancing the Skill in question.

Learn Through Failure
For every dramatic failure that a player rolls on a Skill-based roll that is not part of a combined roll, they will gain one experience point that they can use for the sole purpose of advancing the Skill in question.

The Beasts Are Old and Hungry
It is generally assumed that most of the supernatural creatures in the different systems of World of Darkness have roughly the same life spans as mortals do, with just a few exceptions. Vampires cannot die of old age or sickness; Arcadia's influence over the bodies of the Lost can make some Changeling greatly outlast their peers; some Mages can extend their lifespan through magic. Alternatively, Storytellers may want to consider greatly adjusting the life spans of supernatural creatures. This can vastly change how the World of Darkness influences mortal lives in one's setting, which makes for intriguing roleplaying possibilities.

It should be noted that doing this naturally presupposes making plausible lifespans for the templates at hand - "plausible", in this case, meaning that there's a suitable story explanation for why they live longer than mortals would. Are Awakened, for example, "perfected" reflections of humanity? Does a Werewolf's half-spirit nature change their physiology?