In White Wolf Game Studio's role-playing games set in the World of Darkness, a frenzy is a temporary state of rage and lack of self-control that a vampire character enters as a response to certain stimuli. During the frenzy, the vampire's inner Beast is in control.
The most common causes for a frenzy are:
* Anger or frustration: the vampire cannot keep his emotions under control.
* Danger: the vampire senses danger (real or imaginary) and reacts with a preemptive attack on (what he believes is) its source.
* Hunger: the vampire's blood pool (reserve of vitae) is dangerously low; he craves for blood and will try to feed from anyone in sight.
* Shame: the vampire feels embarrassed and attacks the source of his humiliation (and sometimes also its witnesses).
* Temptation: the vampire is tempted by the inner Beast to perform sinful actions, and cannot resist.
The Kindred of the Camarilla consider frenzy dangerous, bestial and a sign of weak will and try to avoid it whenever possible. Sabbat vampires may resist or embrace frenzy (or "ride the wave") depending on their Path of Enlightenment.
Brujah are known for their short tempers and suffer a +2 difficulty to resist entering frenzy. Gangrel gain a physical feature characteristic of an animal as a sign of their closeness to the Beast.
Effects
Wounds received during the frenzy will not impact on the character's dice pool (the amount of dice he can roll for actions, which normally decrease when the character is wounded). That is, the he vampire receives damage but ignores some of its effects.
The Beast that commands the frenzy has a strong will of its own; the vampire can employ the mental Discipline of Domination on others more easily, and will forcefully resist being Dominated by others. The frenzied vampire will also be able to perform certain actions that in a normal state he would not attempt unless he succeeds in a Willpower roll.
A frenzied vampire will not enter the uncontrollable state of fear known as Rötschreck when threatened by fire or sunlight.
