A challenger appears! (Spoilers)

So, how is your world of Darkness? (please say that it is violent)

I might have to disappoint you if you are looking for a slasher here. Now, mark my words, I did not say it is not violent at times.

Alright, I'm not entirely sure where to start here...

Well.. For starters, my style of play is very realistic, the World of Darkness. It’s a place very much like our world, sharing the same history, culture and geography. Superficially, most people in this fictional world live the same lives we do. They eat the same food, wear the same clothes, and waste time watching the same stupid TV shows. And yet, in the World of Darkness, shadows are deeper, nights are darker, fog is thicker. If, in our world, a neighborhood has a rundown house that gives people the creeps, in the World of Darkness, that house emits strange sighs on certain nights of the year, and seems to have a human face when seen from the corner of one’s eye. Or so some neighbors say. In our world, there are urban legends. In the World of Darkness, there are urban legends whispered into the ears of autistic children by invisible spiders.

This should not be forgotten.

There won't be a action packed tale of heroism, rather we will follow the ups and downs of a selected few who strive to live from one night to another. There will be politicking and silent threats, and on occasion there will be the possibility to make new allies and enemies. There is plotting and hostility, hell, even deep conspiracies around every corner.

Mages and Werewolves are nothing but rumors and legends, no one you come to talk to would have encountered one, either they are lying to impress, or they really are impressive elders.

Then we come to what part in all of this you want to be? Are you new to the hellish Dance Macabre? Or are you starting to settle in, finding our place amongst the unnatural order? What will be your bane? Your destiny?

Dance Macabre is unheard of, and what are my options? Human? Vampire? or maybe something new, or forgotten?

Hahaha, Dance Macabre is unheard of? The requiem itself?

Your option is Vamp or Human.

Is Dance Macabre a synonym for Vampirism? And how much, if any exp will I be given at Character creation?

If an individual vampire’s existence is the Requiem, the way she interacts with her fellow Kindred is the Danse Macabre,through which any number of individual Requiems play, conflict,
resolve and end.To many Kindred, the Danse Macabre has negative connotations.Relationships between Kindred are forced, at best, as vampires are seemingly designed to be solitary predators. The Embrace doesn’t completely deny the urges the individual knew as a mortal, however. Inevitably over the course of undeath, all but the most withdrawn yearn for contact among those who might be able to understand them. Is it so unnatural to seek fellowship among others who have experienced the same pains and sorrows inflicted upon them (and inflicted by them) throughout the Requiem?

Indeed, the notion has undeniable risks. Although the Embrace doesn’t strip the Man from the individual, it leaves itsown mark, that of the Beast, the urges and wiles of the facet of personality inside all Kindred that requires blood to survive and doesn’t care who it hurts to fulfill that goal. When Kindred come in contact, they innately fear or see each other as a challenge. Indeed, all Kindred vie for limited resources
and secrecy, and other Kindred threaten both. In a world where
Kindred must skulk and kill to survive, how trustworthy isany other vampire?The Requiem weighs on the Kindred soul. When one know she will never truly die, he has no sense of urgency. Over the course of forever, what can sustain a vampire’s interest, or evena Kindred of a hundred years’ unlife? In the interests of fighting off their own timeless malaise, the Kindred plot and scheme against each other. Once they’ve exhausted all of the sources that legitimately brought joy or interest to their unlives, many turn to treachery in hopes of provoking any response at all
from their jaded emotions.This last, then, is the true Danse Macabre, the “dance of death” orchestrated by vampires to elevate themselves above their peers socially, politically or even physically. It is a dangerous dance, punctuated by vampiric traps, scheming elders,ambitious neonates and ruses that can take decades, centuries or even millennia to come to fruition. The Kindred potentially have forever to concoct their master plans and hatch their vendettas — they have no need to rush. For many vampires,revenge is best when left to grow cold, prompting another turn in the Danse Macabre in response. Thus the cycle continues indefinitely.The Danse Macabre is at once a saving grace and a resignation to damnation, for it distracts the Kindred from their nihilistic,introspective Requiems, but only by causing conflict that jeopardizes those very Requiems.

Now that we have covered what The Dance Macabre and the requiem, let's see what options you have

XP, well, that depends on how you want to play your character. Do you want to be a newly embraced vampire, or couple of decades old? Stats does not mean that much in the end, your character interaction and play is much more important than stats.

Is there possible that I can play an Malkavian? Heard rumors of that they are in the book Ventrue: Lords of the Damned.

Well, the bloodline you are referring to is MalkOvian. And they are quite different from the Malkavians you know.

However there is a rumor of a mysterious sickness within the undead populous, which is called Malkavia, when the sickness manifests itself the one infected by it might find that she can actually exploit it, rather than go fully dip shit insane, then she can use a discipline that is called Dementation or some such. And well, there is some nice quirks with that thing. And this sickness resembles the disciplines of the Malkavian in the Owod much more than the Malkovians do.

Im downloading the book now, will read what its about, and learn the differences. If I find it likeable, its ok for me to play one?

Yeah, if you think you are able to. And just keep in mind that even though you might be crazy and have some kind of shitz-nack mad insight, it does bot justify usage of OOC material

Also remember that it will be extremely difficult to interact with others (Depending on how severe your dementation is). Aint always easy to be treated like a nut job... Especially not when you're actually one of the nut jobs.

I have been treated as a nutjob more or less whole of my life, so I think I can to some degree RP one just fine And OOC material twisted beyond reckoning is fun^^

hehe, yeah. well, I've seen bad usage of OOC stuff, and that rarely end well. But it's worth a shot.

How much have you thought about the character?

My first thought is to recreate my old crazy vampire, but I will modify him, and if I know myself correctly, he will be slightly different from the old one. What the situasion for vampires there the story begins?

Well, by now. That's anyones guess. My guess is that your character simply lives his life as best as he can from night to night, without too much happening around. He would have to be stationed in one of the "Drabant" cities of LA though, A place called Fresno I guess there's about 6 - 8 vamps in that area alone.. If your character is a loner or if he's active in the vampire society if LA is your choice.

He is a Heavy Metal Superstar! XD

Whaaat?! He thinks or he IS?

Just lolligagging, not sure of anything at the moment.

Ok, just remember the Traditions. He would not have made it thus far being an idiot

Remind me again of those.

Vampire society, such as it is, would have fallen under its own weight long ago were it not for the ties that bind it together.Like any society, the Kindred world survives on the rules established and agreed upon by its residents. Vampire“laws” are even more essential to the society they concern because of the nature of that society. The Kindred are manipulative killers whose mutual survival depends on their ability to get along well enough to remain sufficiently hidden from the eyes of their prey. As conservative covenants are fond of saying, lawlessness among the undead is perhaps the greatest
threat facing the Kindred tonight.As a result, the Kindred have a body of vampire laws known as the Traditions. The three most important of these laws are curiously universal,given that no common origin story is accepted for the Kindred. They are immutable rules of the Blood, passed down as liquid truth by way of the curse of undeath, and are hardwired into the very physiology of the Damned. Upon the Embrace, each Kindred knows each of these laws intuitively.Beyond the Traditions are the less official, more fallible customs that arise within Kindred society over time. After weathering
centuries upon centuries of at least nominal adherence,a few of these customs have become unofficial traditions of their own. Some of these latter-day laws are provincial in outlook or unique to a particular clan or region, while others are observed only within a particular covenant of Kindred. Three of them in particular are considered nearly as important as the Traditions themselves, but without the fundamental connection.
They merely serve to further gird and bolster society as the Kindred know it. Each of the Traditions gave rise to one such custom, and each is discussed after the relevant law.
A great many of the Kindred take the Traditions to heart. Others justify them beyond “That’s how things have always been,”while still others accept them blindly as part of the Kindred condition.Kindred who have studied such things often suggest that though these physiological conditions have existed for as long as the Kindred themselves have, the actual wording of the Traditions as they are understood tonight was one of the efforts of the now defunct Camarilla. This is the most widely accepted theory. Particularly
fervent members of the Lancea Sanctum, unsurprisingly,sometimes claim that the actual codification of these customs is part of Longinus’ original dogma. Other scriptural, quasi-religious or philosophical wordings also exist, such as those held by the
members of the hoary Circle of the Crone and the Ordo Dracul,but the core ideas of the Traditions remain unchanged. True “heretics”against the laws of all Kindred were few and far between in the early nights of the Damned. Despite their differences (and
they had many), most of the Kindred were in agreement about what was and was not a good idea for their kind, especially when their own bodies told them it was so. They might disagree on theory or implementation, or even on basic precepts, but few argued with
the wisdom of such incontrovertible laws.

THE FIRST TRADITION: MASQUERADE
Do not reveal your true nature to those not of the
Blood. Doing so forfeits you your claim to the Blood.

THE SECOND TRADITION: PROGENY
Sire another at the peril of both yourself and
your progeny. If you create a childe, the weight is
your own to bear.

THE THIRD TRADITION: AMARANTH
You are forbidden from devouring the heartsblood
of another of your kind. If you violate this
commandment, the Beast calls to your own Blood.

Well, there is a lot more to say about them. But this is getting way too long. hehe.

Have been checking out the Ventrue book, seems cool, so most likely I will recreate Nemo. So im totally free when it comes to character creation? Statwise?

Well, I guess age is limited at 30 years past dead, which translates to 10 xp each decade. 30 xp max, after character creation that is.

Also, keep in mind the reality of things. If you are going to be a mad S.O.B. You need to pick either two severe degenerations, or three mild. Which you have to play out as the mad part of the character.

All covenants are in the LA metropolis.

Lancea Sanctum and the Invictus are the two with most influence

The carthian movement is a up and cummer They get more members by the day, but does not hold any real power.

The Circle of the Crone is not worthy of mention within the city limits. There are some practitioners amongst the Carthians, and there is even rumored that some Invictus practice their believes but they are for the most part anonymous.

The Ordo Dracul have not had a presence within the city for over 20 years, but there are rumors of a coven a good drive out into nowhere north-west of LA.

I didnt get half of what you just said..I think I have to read up on the orders..

Hmmm. If you are so unsure of the things within the vampireverse, why don't we go for a fledgling eh? That way you get to learn the ropes as we go

Boehlke wrote:

Hmmm. If you are so unsure of the things within the vampireverse, why don't we go for a fledgling eh? That way you get to learn the ropes as we go

Nah, tired of playing "new guys" I'll rather just learn the most importants stuff again, long time since I read in my vampire book. Mostly been Mage this year.

I got some questions :p

mostly game mechanic wise...ok here we go.

1. do you count the automatic dot in attributes when buying dots? My previous ST said we didnt have to include that one in the calculation.

2. may I create my own derangments? or atleast tweek an existing one slightly? And are one severe derangment and 2 minor enough?

3. Do I get bonus exp if I start with 5 i morallity? Fits Rp'wise to only have 5.

4. Could you explain what you ment with the 30 years limit?

5. Who others gonna join the session(s) and what are they playing?

Nemonomicon wrote:

I got some questions :p

mostly game mechanic wise...ok here we go.

1. do you count the automatic dot in attributes when buying dots? My previous ST said we didnt have to include that one in the calculation.

I did not understand that, could you rephrase that?

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2. may I create my own derangments? or atleast tweek an existing one slightly? And are one severe derangment and 2 minor enough?

You do realize that one severe and two minor is worse than 3 minor? If that is what you want, by all means, knock yourself out.

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3. Do I get bonus exp if I start with 5 i morallity? Fits Rp'wise to only have 5.

Yes, you start out with 7 Humanity. You gain 3 XP pr. Humanity. Making it a total of 6 XP if you do it.
Also, How does this fit RP'wise?

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4. Could you explain what you ment with the 30 years limit?

What I meant is that, for example, you are 40 years old when you become a vampire, then you live another 30 years as a vampire, making your total age 70. Got it? 30 years past dead, making you a 'neonate' status vise.

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5. Who others gonna join the session(s) and what are they playing?

Well, by now there's only Charles the Gangrel, Prometheus or what his name is, might join in later, he is a Mekhet. I don't think Ray will join, he's almost never on here, he's also a Mekhet. I guess you'll stumble across Nickolas too at some point.

ok..Let me try to rephrase it...Everyone starts with one dot in Attributes, lets say that I got 1 dot in strenght. When I decide to buy the second with experience I have gained, since the first dot is automatic, I do not add it when I calculate the price of the new dot. Ergo, the second dot only cost 5, instead of ten. the third dot would cost 10, the fourth 15 and the fifth dot would cost 40 (20x2). instead of them to cost; 10,15,20,50. Which my previous ST (Beast King) said where way to expensive.

at the answer to question 3. I misstyped apperently, I meant morality 4. Well, since I have been vampire for a awhile and is a psycothic Ventrue. (my derangments reflect that of a psycho rather then a mumbling doomsayer) so I thoought 4 in Humanity would be more realistic then 7. which few vampires uphold for long.

So yor age before you turned Vampire has nothing to say Exp wise? rather odd, but ok.

The idea so far is that Nemo, have sadistic narccistic sort of derangments and a few quirks. Like the that he always, no matter what, talks about himself in third person(even though he do not notice it himself)

Nemonomicon wrote:

ok..Let me try to rephrase it...Everyone starts with one dot in Attributes, lets say that I got 1 dot in strenght. When I decide to buy the second with experience I have gained, since the first dot is automatic, I do not add it when I calculate the price of the new dot. Ergo, the second dot only cost 5, instead of ten. the third dot would cost 10, the fourth 15 and the fifth dot would cost 40 (20x2). instead of them to cost; 10,15,20,50. Which my previous ST (Beast King) said where way to expensive.

haha, yeah. Now I catch your drift. Yeah, those stats who are already filled in does not count, so when you put the first dot in f.ex. Strength you have two dots and the secound dot costs only five, just as Beast King said. That is correct. Also, you do have the character creation dots to put out. Just remember that I won't allow 5 dots in any given stat. It takes a great ammount of time and effort to master things after all. 4 dots I might allow under special circumstances under character creation. Also, I rule that if you have brawled your way through a session, you can't put xp in let's say seduction, because you never tried to persuade anyone, let alone seduce them to your will. Get what I mean?

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at the answer to question 3. I misstyped apperently, I meant morality 4. Well, since I have been vampire for a awhile and is a psycothic Ventrue. (my derangments reflect that of a psycho rather then a mumbling doomsayer) so I thoought 4 in Humanity would be more realistic then 7. which few vampires uphold for long.

That is true.
Yet discarding humanity for the benefit of XP would impose even more derangements than the two or three you already have because of your madness. You'll have to do 3 derangement rolls at character creation to see if you get any more derangements.

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So yor age before you turned Vampire has nothing to say Exp wise? rather odd, but ok.

No, it is not odd actually. Character creation, the stats you get there is what you can expect of a human adult. Only the supernatural can transcend that. This of course is a dual bladed sword. You can argue that, then if you play a human you can't gain as much xp. And well, to some extent that is correct, the human learning curve is not as steep as the supernatural. A human can under no circumstance raise his stats above 5. The dots you get during character creation reflects what your character has done thus far in life. And that's simply it. Stats does not matter if you a are 30 year old or 60 year old human. What the difference between the two is how they would act at any given time, that's the RP.

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The idea so far is that Nemo, have sadistic narccistic sort of derangments and a few quirks. Like the that he always, no matter what, talks about himself in third person(even though he do not notice it himself)

Sounds good.

You asked if you could make up some yourself. I'd rather you did not, not to be an ass. But you could pick one from any supplement such as the clan books and what not. There are some cool new things in them.l

Im aware of Rp justification when it comes to buy skills and merits

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That is true.
Yet discarding humanity for the benefit of XP would impose even more derangements than the two or three you already have because of your madness. You'll have to do 3 derangement rolls at character creation to see if you get any more derangements.

How I see this, is that since Malkavia only give me one core derangment, the 2 minor ones, is derangments I already gained through Humanity loss. the two additional derangments are not really necessary if I had 7 in Humanity.

Concerning age, in mortal years, im 24-28, and have been a vampire nearly 30 years.

Concerning Derangments, the way WoD presents them are unrealistic and sometimes retarded. Real world derangments are not that stereotypish. And what I meant about creating/addjusting them, is that I gave them more a unique flavour. this does not change them much mechanically. Just giving it a personal touch
.

Okey, we'll see. Tell me what derangements you want, and how you plan to make them more 'personal'

If they are good enough you won't need to add any more derangements. One core (severe) and two mild. Right?

Thats the main plan, I will get back you on that when I have know more.

One question, the gangrel Beat King gonna play, aint the one he has on his character sheet? cuz thats grossly overpowered compared to mine XP

My Character Sheet is made. Check it out and ask me if you got any questions.

OK, Looks good enough, Now I want you to tell me about his past, do that in such a way that it will justify his stats, and we'll see if I am in an arguing mood
Explain to me what it is that drives him. What makes him tick, what drives him from one night to another.

The thing is, Charles has been hanging on for quite some time.
This is either your salvation, or your damnation. Which helps impose the feel of the game, Nemo has to do what is best for him, just as Charles does. Stats does not mean that he is superior, you must not forget that. Also, you don't know his story, his battles, his victories and losses. this is all for you to explore, and if you will exploit.
I hope you don't see this as a problem, or see it as unfair. The World of Darkness is both problematic and unfair.

Besides, all cannot be raving fledglings, nonates, anchillae and elders.

Should I post his biography here? or just give you fragments?

Post the whole darn story Everything from what kind of color his turd was at the age of two. To his last meal as mortal.

Boehlke wrote:

Post the whole darn story Everything from what kind of color his turd was at the age of two. To his last meal as mortal.

Aight, I will try to write it all down as fast as I can..I just have to make up 90% of it But aint the first time I made one in less then an hour.

Don't strain yourself. We got quite some time. I have not the session ready yet

Only got the background part of his biography left, I assume that I will be finished writing within the next 40 minutes.

SPOILER ALERT!

Name: Nemo
Sex: Male
Age: Alive; 25. Kindred; 32
Born: 1951, Los Angeles
Occupation:
Virtue: Fortitude
Vice: Pride
Concept:

Height: 180 cm
Weight: 82
Hair: White
Eyes: Cold blue

Path: Ventrue/ Malkovian
Order: The Invictus

Apperance: With his snow colored white hair, fashionably combed backwards and his flawless pale skin and physical features, he could at first be mistaken as an angel or something equally otherwordly. His eyes resembles clear water captured under a thin layer of ice,when looked into is almost hypnotic at start, but prolonged eyecontact gives most persons a feeling of watching a mirror, reflecting the something inside you, which you fear. Nemo only wear black clothing, which is usually an expensive looking suit or something simmilar semi-formal attire. He usually keeps a poised stoic impression in social situations, only occasional been seen smirking sadistically, self-satisfied.

Personality: As mentioned, Nemo appears stoic and self confident in social gatherings and meetings. But one-on-one, and with someone Nemo finds inferior, his stoic mannerism dissapears and a crueler, more dominating aspect of his personality appears. Nemo is mad, quite mad, but not the type of mad one sees in the streets, warning others of judgement day, or talking to invisible friends. No, Nemo's madness is the type of madness which chills the bones and makes your skin crawl. He is driven by a sadistic desire to dominate and inflict suffering on those he marks inferior or have offended his pride, feeding on their mental and physical suffering and watching them slowly go mad. While psychotic, Nemo is not dumb, and would not let this passion for other peoples suffering ruin his social status or expose him to danger more then he think he could handle. He has a couple of other quirks his insanity compels him to uphold. Like the fact that he refuses to where anything but black clothing, always tries to well groomed and pristine, no matter what he does. He also always refer to himself in third person, something himself is unaware of, and when confronted by it, looks at the subject as if he or she is joking.

Background: Born in LA, Nemo was the son of a sucssessfull real-estate agent and his housewife. Living a seemingly normal life before the embrace, he tried to make a name for himself, in any prestigous oppurtinity which showed itself. One night at a VIP party he aquired acsess to, he met this women which cold only be described as a gothic beauty, with long black hair, dressed in a red satin dress sitting at the bar, surrounded by a several suitors, but she seemed uninmpressed by them . Nemo, which where confident in his charm and good looks saw this as challenge, an oppurtunity to shine, and went for it. He dont know it where his charm, good looks or something else that made her interested in Nemo, but he was avaible to get what the other suitors where unable to achieve; her attention.

To his suprise, it where not her that was enthralled by his charm, but he of hers. While attractive as she where, there was still this air that surrounded her. Like if the shadows in the corners of his eyes where alive, and her eyes, had this numbening effect on him. Seduces by this mysterious women, he was lead to a secluded building, where he was embraced. He now a Vampire, totally devouted to his Sire, felt slowly the madness creeping in on him, making him want, and see, things which he never knew about. His Sire met her Final Death soon after his embrace. The last thing she said to him was " Gather the spiders, and create the cobweb". Nemo was now alone with his insanity, and it took many years before he became customed to his existence, both as being a vampire and mad...or atleast as customed one could get to either of them. Up til now he have spent his unlife making a name for himself, in the Invictus and the vampire society at large. Searching a way, to gather all the spiders.

Ok... Let's see if I got this right. What drives him is the wish to be successful? Does this wish come from a deeper more sinister urge to be "accepted" or do I read too much into it?

Also, what has he done, that would result in the two lesser derangements? Or the Major one for that matter.
I want to know because Derangements are behaviors that occur when the mind is forced to confront intolerable or conflicting feelings, such as overwhelming terror or profound guilt. When your character is faced with impressions or emotions that he cannot reconcile, his mind attempts to ease the inner turmoil by stimulating behavior such as megalomania, schizophrenia or hysteria as an outlet. People in the World of Darkness, unwittingly tormented, persecuted and preyed upon by incomprehensible beings, often develop these ailments by the mere fact of existing. And this is more true for the Ventrue, and double true for the Makovians, they in a way contract derangements easier, due to their affinity towards madness.

The question above again leads to the question of what way do he enjoy hurting, and seeing others suffer?

Major: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadistic_personality_disorder

Minor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder

Minor: This one I not sure what catagory it falls under, most likely an obsession compulsive thing.. "Like the fact that he refuses to where anything but black clothing, always tries to well groomed and pristine, no matter what he does. He also always refer to himself in third person, something himself is unaware of, and when confronted by it, looks at the subject as if he or she is joking"

This things is not a choice, it MUST be like this.

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The question above again leads to the question of what way do he enjoy hurting, and seeing others suffer?

Any! XD

His major derangment is from the embrace, She was an Ventrue Malkovian. The two others slowly developed while endulging in his sadistic passion. Maybe as a way to assert self control.

The sucsessfull part is a trait from his living life, he always gets what he wants, and never gives up (fortitude ) This and the fact that he still is partially Ventrue. Its a lifestyle.

OK, sound fun enough. Then I impose these things, and you will have to follow them. I need something solid as a base. I hope you understand that. If any of these does not fit, remake that list as you feel fit the most.


# Has used physical cruelty or violence for the purpose of establishing dominance in a relationship (not merely to achieve some noninterpersonal goal, such as striking someone in order to rob him/her).
# Humiliates or demeans people in the presence of others.
# Has treated or disciplined someone under his/her control unusually harshly.
# Is amused by, or takes pleasure in, the psychological or physical suffering of others (including animals).
# Has lied for the purpose of harming or inflicting pain on others (not merely to achieve some other goal).
# Gets other people to do what he/she wants by frightening them (through intimidation or even terror).
# Restricts the autonomy of people with whom he or she has a close relationship, e.g., will not let spouse leave the house unaccompanied or permit teenage daughter to attend social functions.
# Is fascinated by violence, weapons, injury, or torture


However, I don't see Pride being justified enough. Why not envy? That would go real good with his derangements.
One can be a prideful entity without having it as vice.

You gave some pointers in the bio as to how his pride works, I want to know more about just that if you are going for pride.

# Has used physical cruelty or violence for the purpose of establishing dominance in a relationship (not merely to achieve some noninterpersonal goal, such as striking someone in order to rob him/her).
# Humiliates or demeans people in the presence of others.
# Has treated or disciplined someone under his/her control unusually harshly.
# Is amused by, or takes pleasure in, the psychological or physical suffering of others (including animals).
# Has lied for the purpose of harming or inflicting pain on others (not merely to achieve some other goal).
# Gets other people to do what he/she wants by frightening them (through intimidation or even terror).
# Is fascinated by violence, weapons, injury, or torture

The pride thing is quite vital to his derangment, he tortures those he find and not worthy. It what gives him the permision to use them, like the lowly puppets they are. In his world power is nothing if you have noone to use your power on. He do not envy those of higher rank than him, he just se them as stepping stones to his own progress. since everyone might be one day, his inferior. This atop his narssissistic derangment, makes him a man of pride, and will destroy anyone that insults his pride sucssessfully. Actually, he sees his own insanity as a proof of superiority. Since he have been granted a view into something he calls greater then normality.