Noob Questions on Red Court Infected

[pencilneckgeek]

I have a Red Court Infected in my game and I have a couple of potentially "duh" questions I could use some help with...

He's a "Blood Drinker" (obviously not to the point of death)--but he doesn't have the "Claws" feature--so he doesn't have fangs. So how is he going about this blood drinking?

Should he only be making Hunger-based Discipline rolls if he uses his powers? Or during other times as well? I'm a little fuzzy on that. It seems like Hunger should be a bigger part of his life than the rules indicate.

Any insights will be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Haru]

There's an important differentiation to make. Just because you don't have a power doesn't mean you don't have the thing attached to the power.

Best example: Say I'm a were-pidgeon. But I don't have enough refresh to buy the "diminutive size" power. That would mean that, when I transform, I'll be a 6 feet tall pidgeon. That certainly has potential, but isn't usually what you're going for.
Powers in Fate give you bonuses for something, they don't give you the baseline "you have this" as it might be in other games. So with or without the power, you're still the size of a regular pidgeon. But with the power, you have learned to utilize your size to the effect the power describes.

So just by being a red court infected, which is represented in your high concept, you would have fangs. Not because of a power, but because red court vampires have fangs. Without the power, you just aren't very good at weaponizing them, which is why you don't get the bonus to stress when attacking. Once you have the power, you get that bonus.

The discipline roll is only done when using the powers attached to the hunger. If the scene is dangerous enough, he'll probably have to use quite a bit of his powers, which will eventually mean he will need to feed. He'll probably have a high discipline skill as well, so he won't take too much stress even then. That's ok though, infectees without discipline don't stay infectees for long.
But rolls don't have to be the only way the hunger acts. You can very much compel his high concept in order to make him deal with his hunger.

[pencilneckgeek]

Thank you very much for the insights. This is extremely helpful. Thanks!

[Haru]

One is glad to be of service.

Also, welcome to the forum.

[Jabberwocky]

I second Haru. No Claws/Fangs Power = no weapon bonus. That doesn't mean he doesn't have any fangs, just not the Fangs with capital F :-) Btw. we have a werewolf without Claws in our game and we do it this way, too. Just no weapon bonus, that's it.
And yes, compelling the High Concept is the way you bring the RCI's hunger into the game. It's limiting the character's choices, complicating their life and it's worth a Fate Point, of course.

Edit: Too late, I see :-)

[Mr. Death]

Red Court infected don't have fangs. That's part of the transformation that comes with being a full Red Court Vampire.

Look to the books -- Susan isn't described as having fangs after she's infected. Even when she's biting Harry in Grave Peril, he never describes anything but her normal teeth.

As for how you'd drink blood, the fangs are not necessary. You just drink it or lick it up.

As for the hunger, normally you roll at the end of a scene where your powers were used. But the GM can (and should) compel that hunger when the situation calls for it.

[pencilneckgeek]

Again, forgive the "duh", but when I compel the Hunger, should this come in the form of a Discipline roll or just a role-playing situation based on what's going on in-game? My player is trying to hide the fact the fact that he's infected so I suppose that this would represent opportunities to complicate that. I want the Hunger to be a big factor for him character-wise so that

(click to show/hide)

when (eventually) the Red-Court is eliminated

it's a "big deal".

As far as the fangs, while I suppose he could break skin with his normal teeth, it does increase the "ew" factor for him   

[Jabberwocky]

A compel worth its name (and a FP) should always somehow complicate the life of the character or limit their choices. Having the player roll, succeed and get a FP is very weak in my opinion. Maybe you should discuss the exact nature of the compels with the player but when a compel is there it must hit the character in some way. Should the player insist on rolling, both results should still represent a clear disadvantage or limitation. This doesn't always have to be sucking someone dry or baring the fangs in public or whatever but the compel must be really felt as a complication. If the player doesn't want the character to be compelled this time he should pay a FP. Otherwise, wham! The only problem I can see here is that, generally, Fate is good with cinematic action rather than mystery. This can make some approaches easier than others. But then again, it's up to you as the GM and the player group to decide how often you want the compels to be happening and their exact nature. Btw., a nice compel concept has just come to my mind - what if the PC can sense a "calling" of the Red King and, if compelled sucessfully, tends to act in accordance with this subtle inner voice, furthering the Red Court agenda? A fine "invisible" complication, isn't it? :-) But you should have the player's placet for this.

[blackstaff67]

That always made me wonder about Rampires and Wampires--since the former are affected by holy symbols and the latter are not, would it be fair to say that the former qualify as Undead and cannot be strangles/drowned/poisoned and the latter (supposedly the closest to humanity) can?  Those would be my respective rationale for my rulings on those two types.

[Mr. Death]

They're not undead. They're living creatures that need to breathe and eat.

They might have resistance to strangling via strength powers or poison via their recovery powers, but they're still biological creatures.

[Taran]

Yeah, RCVamps are giant bats, not undead.  Giant vampire bats...

[pencilneckgeek]

Thank you all for the insights. Much appreciated!