BLOOD FRUITS

By Kenneth Scroggins

Description

"Watch out for bright red apples offered by Malkavian antitribu. This may seem like an obvious piece of advice, but when the Fruits draw out your Beast, call out to that dark thing inside you, the only way to quell the urges toward madness is to sink your fangs into that fruit and drain out the potent blood within. To watch as the fruit burns like a hot coal from hell, and feel the inner fire become cold ash in your hand. Maybe I should have watched out for that Malkavian antitribu instead, if only I had known what he was."
-- Lucas, Caitiff pawn of the Bloodfruits
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The Bloodfruits are shiny red apples with nary a trace of green. They are warm to the touch, and will pulse gently if held. When sliced open with a knife, the insides appear very similar to the insides of a human heart. The fruits taste just like it too. When drained of blood (or Quintessence, Gnosis, or whatever), they briefly flare like a hot coal for one turn (doing no damage to the consumer, but maybe one die of non-aggravated damage to anyone it is thrown at). The fruits provide the equivalent of one blood point per fruit to Vampires, one point of Wyrm tainted Gnosis to Werewolves, one point of Quintessence to Mages, one point of Pathos to Wraiths and a point of Dark Glamour to Changelings. The effect of eating the fruits will also make non-vampires into ghouls, giving One dot in Potence, and a temporary blood pool.

The insidious danger behind these fruits is quite horrific; they are addictive in the extreme, and will blood-bond anyone careless enough to consume them on three separate occasions (separated by at least one day or night, or about twelve hours). The fruits must be consumed to release their benefits, although Mages may extract the Raw Quintessence with a Prime 4 effect. Just what exactly the thralls are directly blood bound to remains a mystery, but the desire for more and more fruits gnaws at the souls of those who are thralls to this dark hunger. The price is more than whatever the suppliers of these fruits can trick out of the gullible however. When under the influence of these fruits: Vampires experience a +2 penalty on all virtue or humanity rolls involving blood (+3 to diablerie); Werewolves become Wyrm tainted, possibly forever; Mages acquire the "Beast Within" Flaw; a Wraith's gains 2 points of Angst and become very susceptible to their Shadows; Changelings become Unseelie dominant and teeter on the edge of becoming Dauntain.

Distribution networks supplying the Bloodfruits have sprung up in a few cities in North America, and seem to operate in the manner of mortal drug dealers. Mostly selling to Vampires, Ronin Garou, and Verbena, they give freely, then begin to extract a greater and greater toll upon the thralls of the fruits. Just where these Bloodfruit dealers are getting their twisted harvests from is unclear, but rumors of a tree, or worse; an orchard, of Flesh created by some evil entity abound.

Bloodfruits can be introduced into the chronicle slowly, perhaps found on a particularly unlucky NPC, or inside the hideout of a enemy, or offered to a character from an addicted sire or mentor. Or an entire adventure could revolve around the sudden appearance of a bloodfruit "dealership" in the area. The subtle and unforgiving nature of these fruits should not be discounted; they are a profound influence on those who are enthralled by them, and those who seek to destroy them. Already the Camarilla Archons are ready to forbid this vice, and the Sabbat will kill anyone found with these Demonic plants. The Garou would want to destroy the source of this particular corruption if they knew about it. And mages are always searching for knowledge. The Technocracy would definitely want to eliminate these fruits and wherever they came from as well. A wraith caught with one faces the Soulforges or worse. Addicted changelings are refused access to noble Freeholds and Motleys alike, Seelie or otherwise.

Most characters will no doubt seek to destroy these evil fruits and those who would deal in them, but as any vice cop will tell you, it will not be easy. Tracking down a group of individuals dealing in forbidden fruit and getting proof of such activity may require characters to partake of the Bloodfruits, and run the risk of a infernal Blood Bond to some inhuman, alien regent. Once the characters find the dealers, they will be required to fight a large network that will outgun them, outnumber them, and be more ruthless than the characters. Furthermore, they will have no way of knowing just who is bound to these fruits and who is not.

Finally, introducing bloodfruits into a Chronicle will instigate major changes in the politics of the area, and should not be done without serious consideration. This is a very sick and twisted produce, found in the supermarkets of hell itself. Use it carefully, use it wisely, and use it to rip the most hideous scars into the very souls of your players...