Main_Page > Vampire: The Requiem > Organizations > Daybreak Runners
Tightrope walkers. Lion tamers. Skydivers. Mortals revel in flirting with danger. Confronting their frail bodies with the possiblity of destruction, some go through immense training and risk just to feel the rush.
The Kindred are no different and this thrill becomes all the more tempting when their greatest threat blankets half the world at any given time. Daybreak Runners stay up roaming the streets until just before dawn. Experienced ones travel to unfamiliar places in the wee hours and then try to find their way back before the clock runs out. Though they are in every major city, Runners are not a covanent; it's a culture, an attitude. Runners do what they do for the thrill of danger. They rarely talk across cities but tend to know each other within one. After all, what other Kindred are up at that hour?
Members[]
Runners are like any other undead. They might vie for power at Elysium, paint in their studio, establish themselves as a godlike figure for a cult of mortals or visit their mother's grave every Sunday.
Sometimes they hide what they do because their peers might find it strange or juvinelle. In addition, most Kindred wouldn't want everyone to know he exposes himself so closely to final death on a regular basis.
But others flaunt their thrill-seeking: they form coteries, tell tales at Elysium and show scars. The hobby has advantages after all. Being pushed to the limit forces you to think outside the box. You can get honor and respect for being so brave. Feeding is easier. You get access to certain stores that aren't open at night. And dawn is the best time to remove a problem vampire, which often translates into favor from the Prince, even if he's just making sure you're on his side.
Daybreak Runners are mostly Gangrel and the majority know enough Protean to serve as an ace in the hole in case they can't find a haven. Only the truly stupid (brave?) toe the this kind of line without a back-up chute.
Pride and Lust are common Vices amongst the Runners; Fortitude and Faith are the favored Virtues. Naturally, Survival is a prevalant Skill.
Lexicon[]
Every sub-culture has its own slang.
- Bobby A kindred dumb enough to run around the city just before dawn without knowing Protean 2.
- Commando A runner that doesn't rely on Protean as a back up and doesn't need it. Commandos tend to be mistaken for Bobbys until their peers see what they can do.
- Diver A runner that does what she does primarily because she likes the thrill.
- Franklin's Pox Daylight Savings Time. More than one runner has been screwed because he forget to reset his watch. The slang's a reference to Ben Franklin, who proposed the institution (even though he was kidding).
- Mercenary A runner who hires out his skills for money or power. Naturally, there's tension between divers and mercs in cities where the population of runners is high enough.
- Weatherman In groups, this is a runner whose job it is to keep track of the time and know when dawn breaks. Other runners not appointed weatherman do this, too, of course, but they aren't expected to.