Discipline use, physical altercations and feeding scenes are resolved by the same abstract system through in-game expressions by the characters involved.
The following will introduce you first to the basic mechanics, and then show you how to apply them to specific situations.
The Battle Of The Beasts
When two Kindred or ghouls are at odds, their Beasts of are fighting for dominance with intense stares, escalating growls or hisses, and threatening body language.
The attacker begins by telegraphing their action and accompanying it with an expression of the Beast, thus bidding their first level of Blood Potency.
The defender can relent or counter by a gesture of defiance.
If the attacker wants to assert dominance, they need to intensify their roleplaying and challenge again. If the defender is able to counter, they will do likewise.
The stronger Beast will win in the end, leading to that party achieving their objective. The weaker Beast will lose, leaving that party at the mercy of their assailant.
While blood and age are powerful, fervour goes a long way. In case of a draw, the attacker wins. If one party is already wounded, they will lose instead.
You may always choose to lose a confrontation for the sake of drama or playing to lift, even when your character would win.
Permutations
The Subtle Beast: Discipline Use
To use a supernatural power lock eyes with your target and say the words "You will truly...", followed by the key phrase associated with that power as noted on your character sheet,
If you hear a "bring it on", proceed to follow the standard rules for a Battle of the Beasts.
Escalating bids should happen rather quietly with intense stares and a menacing tone, rather than open growls, as the use of disciplines is usually not noticeable to third parties.
When you use a Discipline, your character's Hunger increases by one level.
When you are the target of a successful Discipline use, your character will not be aware of having been influenced by a supernatural power but will rationalise their own actions, with the exception of Potence and Fortitude, the effects of which are very overt.
The Violent Beast: Physical Conflict
To engage in a physical struggle the purpose of which is to cause harm to another character, get close and use the key phrase "You are done for" as you rev up to a fight, waiting for the response that will allow you to continue.
If you hear a "bring it on", proceed to follow the standard rules for a Battle of the Beasts.
With a each escalation, act out a few movements in slow, controlled, exaggerated motions, implying the terrible violence that is being enacted.
Depending on what you have pre-calibrated with the other player, you might even engage in a few prepared moves that look impressive, but be slow and careful with each other at all times. The baseline, however, is no real stunts.
As an off-game safety measure, two opponents engaged in a fight radiate a strong predatory aura that acts as a literal repellent to all other beings. No one can get closer than about ten feet and no one can influence the outcome of the fight from the outside. Other characters might cheer, condemn, plead, or threaten the combatants, but they must wait until the fight is over.
The winner of a fight inflicts one level of damage to their opponent's Health.
During the first two acts, a humilating, painful defeat is where things end.
Once the game has entered its third act, the winner of the fight can choose to inflict the Final Death on their victim, tearing out their throat and draining them.
This act of dread diablerie must never happen without the explicit consent of the victim's player.
The Seductive Beast: Feeding Scenes
No Kindred or Ghould will part with their precious blood willingly, except to create a new fledgling, bind someone to their will, or restore their own servant. Even two Kindred in the throes of a passionate dalliance will fight to claim their prize or withhold their own vitae, which, to them, is a part of foreplay.
To engage in a feeding scene, engage in some verbal banter with a seductive context, using the key phrase "I hunger for your blood" .
If you hear a "bring it on", proceed to follow the standard rules for a Battle of the Beasts.
Escalating bids should happen with enticing purrs and pleasurable growls, rather than menacing hisses or aggressive posturing, as feeding is a game of seduction.
The winner of the confrontation will get to sink their fangs into the loser.
Portray this by putting your own hand on the body part the other party offers to you, leaning in and then touching your lips to the back of your own hand.
This will look great for everyone else and still give you and the other player some distance.
Unless you have specifically pre-calibrated a more intimate way of playing this with the other party, always stick to the baseline for acting this out!
Feeding causes intense sensations for both parties involved. It wreaks havocs on the senses like a strong drug trip and causes sensations of intense physical (though not necessarily sexual) pleasure.
Blood taken in a hostile manner, while providing sustenance, will taste bitter, establish no bonds and does not cloud the mind or causes pleasure in the victim.
Feeding on another character will decrease Hunger by one level. Note that while Kindred can feed on Ghouls and other Kindred, Ghouls can only feed on Kindred.
Only committing diablerie, draining someone to Final Death after a fight, will make Hunger go down all the way at once.
Effects Of The Blood
Blood Bonds
A character who has fed on a Kindred chatacter, will have a Blood Bond towards them.
For the purposes of this game that means they take a more positive view towards them, are likely to keep their word to them (which is why Kindred require drinking vitae when swearing oaths) and would like to repeat the experience.
A Ghoul is considered to have fed on their Domitor, their vampire master, so often, that they are deeply loyal to them past the point of self-preservation.
The Embrace
When a mortal is drained of all blood and fed some of the vitae of a vampire, they will die slowly and painfully, only to revive later, having turned into one of the Kindred. Sires will take care to isolate their childer during this time for they ate helpless and suffer uncontrollable Hunger. After about a quarter of an hour the horrendous miracle of the Dark Gift is complete.
When a character is turned during the game, after playing out the scene of the Embrace, the sire will drag their fledgling progeny to a secluded area. Off-game, both players retire to one of our black box rooms and get a storyteller to accompany them.
The player of the new childe will receive a vampire make-over and a narration sequence to get them into the mindset of having just awakened to undeath.
After this is done, both players can return to the game, proud sire and very, very hungry childe.
Blood Sorcery
The secrets of Blood Sorcery offer more than just discipline powers; ritual magic that uses stolen life-force to call and command spirits. It is extremely dangerous for practitioners, requires great sacrifices, and can produce uncertain results, but promises great power. Many Tremere and some other characters will have access to these dark arts.
There are no hard and fast rules for the use of Blood Sorcery in the game. Ritualists are encouraged to collaborate on creating how they would like to portray their arts in the context of the game. We encourage elaborate, bloody and engaging horror shows that make everyone feel the power and danger of what is being unleashed. The storytellers stand ready to talk about and deliver on effects.
There is a side-plot in the game that concerns the secrets of Blood Sorcery and dangerous, spiritual entities. Any character may happen upon and delve into the secrets of the dark arts. It isn't Tremere only.