To Bond or Not to Bond

My apologies, dearest Annalyn, for the pun, but I could not resist. For once, Clan Toreador got it right when Mssr. William was offered the Embrace. But that is a story for another time.

The pun is based on a simple fact - unlike Bonds between Kindred, the Blood Bond created between a Kindred and a ghoul is of a limited duration. It is therefore possible to maintain a ghoul who is not fully Bound to you. Simply have the Ghoul sup of your Vitae from one to three times in the first fortnight, and once a fortnight from then on to maintain the Bond at the chosen level.

A ghoul who is fully Bound to you will "love" you, no matter what that Kine's original intent may have been. He will perform the actions you request, even though he may not wish it. In short, he is your slave. However, the Bond will not force your ghoul to do much more than what you instruct him to do. Oh, he will always act in what he considers to be your interest, but your Thrall may also do some strange things that you do not consider to be in your interest, such as destroying or damaging other items of interest to you, in fits of jealousy.

In that way, with your bishops and more trusted knights it is often better to not completely Bond them, but to give them some freedom of action. This almost always results in better service from the ghouls, especially with the bishops, and you can always leave them only one drink away from the full Bond, so as to not give them too long a leash.

It is also good to maintain a certain level of Bond in order to prevent your ghoul from thinking he is totally free of your influence, and ready to go to others. As I noted, you should always watch for this behavior among your ghouls, and even among your own Childer...

Some metagame notes here:

Stronger Blood Bonds work better if the Regnant and Thrall share interests. If the two of you are not willing to work together, then the Bond is going to be more of a burden on both sides than something to enjoy roleplaying.

The player of the Thrall must be willing to sacrifice some freedom of choice. On the flip side, though...

The player of the Regnant must ensure that the player of the Thrall is enjoying the game. Don't push it, don't do things like make the Thrall sit in a corner all night watching people. Remember, as the Regnant you not only have a second pair of eyes, but an extra pair of arms and legs to use.

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On to the next section, Finis.