Vampire lore is one of those things that, in modern times, has become a bit of a hodgepodge. Nominally similar bits of folklore from different cultures have all been lumped together into an amalgamation that, depending on interpretation, sometimes only vaguely resembles the source material -depending on which source material one even wants to use.
Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series solves this by explaining that, in universe, there are actually several different kinds of supernatural creature that human beings all refer to as “vampires,” showing why sometimes vampires are depicted as the hideous living dead and other times they’re dashingly handsome and sparkle in the sunlight.
Black Court Vampires are the archetypical Dracula-type vampire: the ones who sleep in coffins and who are vulnerable to garlic and stakes through the heart. Red Court Vampires are monstrous, bat-like creatures who wreathe themselves in illusory human forms and feed on blood. Lastly, White Court Vampires are the most humanlike: fully alive individuals that feed off of human emotion.
This last type of vampire, the members of the White Court, are the only type that are a suitable PC option in Evil Hat’s Dresden Files RPG (and even then, only in campaigns with a sufficient power level). Their unique abilities, their place in the setting’s lore, and their position on the fence between man and monster make them an intriguing choice for a player character and offer a potentially very fun dynamic with the rest of the characters.
Setting Overview
Anyone who’s read the Dresden Files novels is certainly very familiar with White Court Vampires and their role in the setting, but for the uninitiated, here’s a quick overview of what they are and how they work (avoiding as many spoilers as I possibly can).
Unlike the classic take on vampires, where human prey can be transformed by a bite, White Court Vampires are born, not made. To the White Court, family is everything, with clan ties reaching all over, its leaders acting via cat’s-paws and intermediaries so as not to get their hands dirty in their nefarious, behind-the-scenes doings. The children of these families often grow up ignorant of their true nature, and with good reason: it’s so much harder to fight against something when a person doesn’t know it’s there to be fought.
Offspring of White Court Vampires are born as what is known as White Court Virgins: mostly human, like their forebears, but possessing only a fraction of their true vampiric power. Only upon making their first kill, by feeding off of the emotions of a victim, do they leave this nascent form and become a full-fledged vampire in their own right–with many individuals never knowing what was inside of them until the deed is done. Now armed with their new abilities and their urge and need to feed, they are ready to properly serve their family.
Most of the series’ lore on the White Court comes from House Raith, a breed of White Court Vampires that feed on lust. Less information is available on Houses Skavis and Malvora, whose vampires feed on despair and fear, respectively, and there are implications of another house that feeds on wrath. While the various houses are subject to strife, infighting, and sometimes outright conflict, they are all governed by the White King, who nominally oversees them all.
Playing a White Court Character
In all likelihood, a PC who belongs to the White Court will probably belong to a branch of House Raith; being a creature that can create and feed off of fear or despair is a much tougher fit for a heroic PC role, though playing a Skavis or Malvora WCV could be a fun and interesting roleplaying challenge for the right player or group.
Player characters in the Dresden Files RPG actually have two templates available to them: White Court Virgin and White Court Vampire. Both offer their own unique feel, and will probably have a very different set of interpersonal relationships with the rest of their party, as well as play very differently when push comes to shove.
White Court Virgins: Playing With Fire
White Court Virgins only have a base Refresh Adjustment of -2, making them valid PCs for any of the system’s four suggested starting power levels. This gives the character two powers: Incite Emotion, and Emotional Vampire.
This second power is, for a Virgin, really only useful for killing people and recovering from nasty consequences–which will force the character to adopt the White Court Vampire template, as the demon inside the character has now come to the fore, causing them to fully embrace their vampiric heritage. Depending on the Refresh available to the character, this can easily cause some characters to lose any and all free will, rendering them an NPC driven by their urge to feed on humanity without remorse.
Incite Emotion, however, is the character’s supernatural bread and butter, as it were. While the PC must be able to touch the target to activate the ability (at least in its base form), the ability to force an emotional aspect on a target, or use the ability as a block, can render even the staunchest social opponent at your mercy, or certainly open to exploitation from you and your friends (particularly in the case of the seductive members of House Raith). This ability gives you a bonus on top of the social skill linked to it (Deceit for lust; Intimidation for others), which is a skill that will probably already be pretty high given your character’s strengths and party role, allowing you to be a real powerhouse – but be careful, since a good GM will probably be compelling your High Concept fairly often to potentially entice you to lose a bit of control, since the emotion you create is also the one you feed on.
Depending on the campaign’s power level, you may want to look into taking a few Mortal Stunts for a White Court Virgin character, since there’s a good chance you can afford the Refresh cost. Unfortunately, while a White Court Virgin is very close to a mortal character, you don’t get the +2 Refresh bonus that the Pure Mortal template does, but you can probably still afford a Stunt or two. Calm Blue Ocean stands out for it’s +2 to Discipline checks to keep your emotional state under control, which could prove invaluable to help fend of compels against your High Concept (and take a high Discipline anyway, since you shine in the social arena anyway). For a Raith character, the Deceit Stunts are all worth a look, and social skills in general for any WCV.
White Court Vampires: Much More Monstrous
A full-on White Court Vampire has, compared to a Virgin, a lot more in terms of supernatural oomph to bring to the table. It all combines to form a very interesting package. You retain the Emotional Vampire and Incite Emotion abilities from before, only now you layer on the triple combination of Inhuman Speed, Inhuman Strength, and Inhuman Recovery, which suddenly makes you a very capable combat character in addition to being a powerhouse in social situations. You’re also slapped with Feeding Dependency, mitigating the Refresh hit slightly in exchange for a fourth stress track for your character: the Hunger Track, which can cause temporary power loss and force you to go and feed in order to regain your abilities and recover from consequences in the event of a failed Discipline check.
You also have a Catch that bypasses your Inhuman Recovery, which in all likelihood is True Love (assuming you’re a House Raith WCV); this unfortunately doesn’t give you any extra Refresh, but since True Love is something so incredibly hard to come by, you almost never have to worry about your Inhuman Recovery being nullified–which is good, because you lack Inhuman Toughness, meaning you’ll still be taking damage as easily as a Pure Mortal would; you’re just much better at recovering from it afterwards (and, in a pinch, you can always kill a victim to help you recover even faster, though that starts you down a very slippery slope).
In the end, you’ll still excel in social situations the way a White Court Virgin would, but you’ll have a lot more tricks up your sleeves for when things get rough. Honestly, you’re pretty powerful: at -7 Refresh for the template, that puts you on par with a starting Wizard character, and while you won’t be as flashy or have as much varied utility, you’ll be excellent at what you do, and your party will be glad to have you around (provided they’ve gotten past the fact that they’re friends with a vampire). That -7 also means that, even in very high-powered campaigns, you don’t have a lot of wiggle room before your Refresh runs out, and your monstrous nature takes over.
Roleplaying Considerations
Whether you’re planning on playing a full-on White Court Vampire or simply a White Court Virgin (with the threat of someday becoming the former), chances are, you’re looking at playing a character that is entrenched in personal conflict, both internal and external. After all, you’re playing one of the monsters–or, if nothing else, someone else who can very easily become a monster if he or she isn’t careful. Given how humanlike members of the White Court are (and seeing as how most of them are raised to believe they’re just as human as anyone else), you’ve got human morals and values on your side, but those can easily fall by the wayside, given how powerful a vampire can be.
The gaming group’s comfort and maturity levels are also going to come into play. Even the most PC-friendly of the WCV options, members of House Raith, deal with sex, lust, and (sometimes) love, and different groups are going to have different boundaries when it comes to that. It’s important to work with your GM and the other players to establish what’s okay to play out ‘on-screen’ versus what’s best left to implication.
While a Skavis or Malvora PC doesn’t run into the same uncomfortable area, they run into a different problem: why would they be working with/for the “good guys,” and vice-versa? It’s not an insurmountable task, but it does probably require a good, long discussion with the GM and other players in order to establish the right relationship and setup. It’s not something I’ve ever seen tried firsthand, but it’s certainly possible, however unorthodox, and for some groups it may be just the kind of dynamic they’re looking for. (Dresden Files does, after all, feature unusual alliances beteeen various supernatural creatures fairly regularly.)
Some Final Advice
Lastly, if you’re playing a White Court Virgin at a power level at which conversion to a full vampire would put you past your Refresh limit, make sure you and your GM are on the same page as to whether or not being taken out of the game is something you’re potentially okay with happening; otherwise, it’s perfectly acceptable to experience the drama and temptation of your character’s inner nature (whether the character is aware of it or not) without it being a potential game-ender for your PC.
Whether you’ve played The Dresden Files RPG before or not, and whether you’ve read Jim Butcher’s novels or not, White Court Vampires offer a unique and unusual PC experience, letting you play a potential monster in a world where the monsters are the bad guys. Whether you want to play against type or see your character’s nature through to its bitter end, there’s a lot of rich potential here. And who knows–perhaps, if you play your cards right, you’ll see yourself in a position where all the pieces have fallen into just the right place for you to exploit them to your own ends.
Kevin Frane
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Thanks for the refreshing reminder of such a fantastic universe and RPG system. Oh Hell’s bells! I just finished reading Small Favor and your article just put me in the mood to read the next novel, Turn Coat. 🙂