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Disciplines

All vampires possess Disciplines, supernatural powers granted by the Embrace. These powers separate the undead from mortals, providing vast physical and spiritual might. With Disciplines, a vampire can display the strength of 10 men, bend another being to her will, or transform into an animal. Elders, who have not only learned several Disciplines but mastered them as well, are truly beings to be feared.

No vampire knows exactly whence Disciplines originate. Some Kindred claim that Disciplines are gifts from Caine, or Lilith the Dark Mother; others believe they are simply innate supernatural abilities intrinsic to the vampiric form. Regardless, it is mastery of the Disciplines, more than any other factor, that enables a vampire to play at Jyhad and survive to tell of it.

Like other Traits, Disciplines are rated from 1 to 10 (though very very rarely does a vampire have even 7 or 8 ) . A score of 1 indicates that the Discipline in question has barely been awakened, while a higher score indicates mastery of the highest powers. As a character increases her score in a Discipline, she gains access to the powers listed next to the appropriate number of dots, and of course retains access to lesser powers as well. Certain methuselahs are rumored to have Discipline levels of higher than 7, but such beings are assuredly potent in Blood.

Players begin the game with 5 dots to spend on their characters' clan Disciplines, though a story teller may (and probably will) increase those dots substantially.

Caitiff may place 4 dots on any combination of Disciplines they like, subject to the Storyteller's discretion. Characters may also acquire Disciplines other than those commonly taught by their clan, provided they spend the proper freebie or experience points and have access to a vampiric teacher.

Note: Unless stated in the description, Disciplines cost no blood or Willpower points to activate.

Now disciplines work a bit oddly. Most of the first five levels have only one option. But once you get to level 6 you may choose ONE of the options presented if there are more than one. If you want one of the other powers offered at the same level you must earn enough XP to buy that power level again, and get one the desired second or third option.

This Discipline bestows uncanny sensory abilities upon the vampire. While Auspex initially heightens all of the Kindred's senses significantly, that is merely the beginning. As she grows in power, the vampire can perceive the psychic auras that flow around her and even project her mind into another being's thoughts. Furthermore, Auspex can pierce the disguises that Obfuscate creates.

Such sensory command gives the vampire a distinct advantage over mortals and even many supematurals. Whether these talents let her view a distant haven, sense the prince's mood or pluck secrets from a rival Kindred's ghoul, Auspex is a powerful tool.

Still, the vampire must be careful lest this heightened sensitivity cause her to be distracted by beautiful things, startled by loud noises or overwhelmed by foul smells. Sudden or dynamic events can disorient an Auspex-using character unless she makes a Willpower roll (difficulty 4) to block them out. The more potent the source of distraction, the higher the difficulty.

Failure overwhelms the character's senses, making her oblivious to her surroundings for a turn or two. Malkavians and Toreador are most susceptible to such distractions. Kindred from the Tremere and Tzimisce clans seem better able to regulate their sensory input, but they are not immune to the occasional distraction. A high Perception Trait is a great boon to using Auspex powers. The better the roll, the greater the degree of sensory information the character gains.

Level One Heightened Senses
This power sharpens all of the vampire's senses, effectively doubling the clarity and range of sight, hearing and smell. While her senses of taste and touch extend no farther than normal, they likewise become far more acute; the vampire could taste the hint of liquor in a victim's blood, or feel the give of the board concealing a hollow space in the floor. The Kindred may magnify her senses at will, sustaining this heightened focus for as long as she desires. At the Storyteller's option, this may make hunting easier.

Occasionally, this talent provides extrasensory or even precognitive insights. These brief, unfocused glimpses may be odd premonitions, flashes of empathy or eerie feelings of foreboding. The vampire has no control over these perceptions, but with practice can learn to interpret them with a fair degree of accuracy. Expanded senses come at a price, however. Bright lights, loud noises and strong smells present a hazard while the vampire uses this power. In addition to the possibility for distraction mentioned above, an especially sudden stimulus - like the glare of a spotlight or a clap of thunder - can blind or deafen the Kindred for an hour or more.

System: This power doesn't normally require the use of dice, instead being defined through the Storyteller's descriptions and the player's imagination. In certain circumstances, use of this power requires a die roll: for a normal Perception roll (the Storyteller may reduce the difficulty by the character's Auspex rating), to notice a subject using Obfuscate, or to perceive a threat (the Storyteller privately rolls the character's unmodified Auspex rating, applying whatever difficulty he feels best suits the circumstances).

For example, in the last instance, sensing that a pistol is pointed at the back of the character's head may require a 5, while the sudden realization that a rival for primogen is planning her assassination may
require a 9.
This power does not let characters see in pitch darkness, as does Eyes of the Beast but it does reduce difficulty to act in pitch darkness from +2 to +1, and the character may make ranged attacks in pitch darkness if she can hear, smell or otherwise detect her foe.

Level Two Aura Perception

Using this power, the vampire can perceive the psychic "auras" that radiate from mortals and supernatural beings alike. These halos comprise a shifting series of colors that take practice to discern with clarity. Even the simplest individual has many shifting hues within his aura; strong emotions predominate, while momentary impressions or deep secrets flash through in streaks and swirls.

The colors change in sympathy with the subject's emotional state, blending into new tones in a constantly dancing pattern. The stronger the emotions involved, the more intense the hues become. A skilled vampire can learn much from her subject by reading the nuances of color and brilliance in the aura's flow. Aside from perceiving emotional states, vampires use Aura Perception to detect supernatural beings. The colors in Kindred auras, while intense, are quite pale; mage auras often flare and crackle with suppressed power; werebeasts have strikingly bright, almost frantic, halos; ghosts have weak auras that flicker fitfully like a dying flame; and faerie creatures' radiance is shot through with rainbow hues.

System: The player rolls Perception + Empathy (difficulty 8 ); each success indicates how much of the subject's aura the character sees and understands (see the table below). A botch indicates a false or erroneous interpretation. The Storyteller may wish to make this roll, thus keeping the player in the dark as to just how good (or bad) the character's interpretation is.

1 success Can distinguish only the shade (pale or bright)
2 successes Can distinguish the main color.
3 successes Can recognize the color patterns.
4 successes Can detect subtle shifts.
5 successes Can identify mixtures of color and pattern.
The Aura Colors chart offers examples of some common colors and the emotions they reflect. The character may view a particular subject's aura only once with any degree of clarity. Any subsequent attempts that result
in failure should be considered botches. It is very easy for the character to imagine seeing what she wants to see when judging someone's intentions. After a full month, the character may try again at no penalty.
It is possible, though difficult, to sense the aura of a being who is otherwise invisible to normal sight.
Condition Aura Colors
Afraid Orange
Aggressive Purple
Angry Red
Bitter Brown
Calm Light Blue
Compassionate Pink
Conservative Lavender
Depressed Grey
Desirous or Lustful Deep Red
Distrustful Light Green
Envious Dark Green
Excited Violet
Generous Rose
Happy Vermilion
Hateful Black
Idealistic Yellow
Innocent White
Lovestruck Blue
Obsessed Green
Sad Silver
Spiritual Gold
Suspicious Dark Blue
Confused Mottled, shifting colors
Diablerist Black veins in aura
Daydreaming Sharp flickering colors
Frenzied Rapidly rippling colors
Psychotic Hypnotic, swirling colors
Vampire Appropriate color is pale
Magic Use Myriad sparkles in aura
Discipline Use Flashes of their aura (storyteller added)
Werebeast Bright, vibrant aura
Ghost Weak, intermittent aura
Faerie Weak,intermittent aura





Level Three The Spirit's Touch

When someone handles an object for any length of time, he leaves a psychic impression on the item. A vampire with this level of Auspex can "read" these sensations, learning who handled the object, when he last held it and what was done with it recently.

These visions are seldom clear and detailed, registering more like a kind of "psychic snapshot." Still, the Kindred can learn much even from such a glimpse. Although most visions concern the last person to handle the item, a long-time owner leaves a stronger impression than someone who held the object briefly.

Gleaning information from the spiritual residue requires the vampire to hold the object and enter a shallow trance. She is only marginally aware of her surroundings while using The Spirit's Touch, but a loud noise or jarring physical sensation breaks the trance instantly.

System: The player rolls Perception + Empathy. The difficulty is determined by the age of the impressions and the mental and spiritual strength of the person or event that left them. Sensing information from a pistol used for murder hours ago may require a 5, while learning who owned a set of keys found days ago might be a 9.

The greater the individual's emotional connection to the object, the stronger the impression he leaves on it - and the more information the Kindred can glean from it. Also, events involving strong emotions (a gift-giving, a torture, a long family history) likewise leave stronger impressions than does short or casual contact. Assume that each success offers one piece of information. While one success tells the character only that "a man held this pocket watch last," three reveal that he was petty, middle-aged and afraid. Four successes discover his name, and five or more reveal his connection to the watch as well as some of the things he did with it in his possession.


Level Four Telepathy
The vampire projects a portion other consciousness into a nearby mortal's mind, creating a mental link through which she can communicate wordlessly or even read the target's deepest thoughts. The Kindred "hears" in her own mind the thoughts plucked from a subject as if they were spoken to her.

This is one of the most potent vampiric abilities, since, given time, a Kindred can learn virtually anything from a subject without him ever knowing. The Tremere and Tzimisce in particular find this power especially useful in gleaning secrets from others, or for directing their mortal followers with silent precision.

System: The player rolls Intelligence + Subterfuge (difficulty of the subject's Willpower). Projecting thoughts into the target's mind requires one success. The subject recognizes that the thoughts come from somewhere other than his own consciousness, although he cannot discern their actual origin.

To read minds, one success must be rolled for each item of information plucked or each layer of thought pierced. Deep secrets or buried memories are harder to obtain than surface emotions or unspoken comments, requiring five or more successes to access.

Telepathy does not commonly work upon the undead mind. A character may expend a Willpower point to make the effort, making the roll normally afterward. Likewise, it is equally difficult to read the thoughts of other supernatural creatures.

Storytellers are encouraged to describe thoughts as flowing streams of impressions and images, rather than as a sequence of prose. Instead of making flat statements like

"He's planning on killing his former lover's new boyfriend," say "You see a
fleeting series of visions: A couple kissing passionately in a doorway, then the man walking alone at night; you suddenly see your hands, knuckles white, wrapped around a steering wheel, with a figure crossing the street ahead; your heart, mortal now and hammering with panic as you hear the engine rev wildly; and above all, a blazing anger coupled with emotional
agony and a panicked fear of loss."

Such descriptions not only add to the story, they also force the player to decide for herself what her character reads. After all, understanding minds - especially highly emotional or deranged minds - is a difficult and often puzzling task.

Seeing the Unseen

Auspex enables Kindred to perceive many things beyond mortal ken. Among its many uses, Auspex can detect the presence of a supernatural being who is hidden from normal sight (a vampire using Obfuscate, a mage cloaked with invisibility, a wraith) or pierce illusions created by the Discipline of Chimerstry.

- Obfuscate: When a vampire tries to use her heightened perceptions to notice a Kindred hidden with Obfuscate, she detects the subject's presence if her Auspex rating is higher than his Obfuscate. Conversely, if the target's Obfuscate outranks her Auspex, he remains undiscovered. If the two scores are equal, both characters make a resisted roll of Perception + Subterfuge (Auspex user) against Manipulation + Subterfuge
(Obfuscate user). The difficulty for both rolls is 7, and the character with the most successes wins. - Chimerstry: Likewise, vampires with Auspex may seek to penetrate illusions created with Chimerstry. The
Auspex-wielder must actively seek to pierce the illusion (i.e., the player must tell the Storyteller that his character is trying to detect an illusion). Auspex-wielder and Chimerstry-wielder then compare relative scores,
per Obfuscate, above. The process is otherwise identical to piercing

Obfuscate.
- Other Powers: Since the powers of beings like mages and wraiths function differently from vampiric Disciplines, a simple comparison of relative ratings isn't applicable. To keep things simple, both characters
make a resisted roll. The vampire rolls Perception + Subterfuge, while the subject rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge. Again, the difficulty is 7, and the character with the most successes wins.

Level Five Psychic Projection

The Kindred with this awesome ability projects her senses out of her physical shell, stepping from her body as an entity of pure thought. The vampire's astral form is immune to physical damage or fatigue, and can "fly" with blinding speed anywhere across the earth - or even underground - so long as she remains below the moon's orbit.

The Kindred's material form lies in a torpid state while her astral self is active, and the vampire isn't aware of anything that befalls her body until she returns to it. An ephemeral silver cord connects the Kindred's psyche to her body. If this cord is severed, her consciousness becomes stranded in the astral plane, the realm of ghosts, spirits and shades. Attempting to return to the vampire's physical shell is a long and terrifying ordeal, especially since there is no guarantee that she will accomplish the journey successfully.

This significant danger keeps many Kindred from leaving their bodies for long, but those who dare can learn much.

System: Journeying in astral form requires the player to expend a point of Willpower and make a Perception + Occult roll. Difficulty varies depending on the distance and complexity of the intended trip; 7 is average, with 10 reflecting a trip far from familiar territory (a first journey from North America to the Far East; trying to shortcut through the earth). The greater the number of successes rolled, the more focused the character's astral presence is and the easier it is for her to reach her desired destination.

Failure means the character is unable to separate her consciousness from her body, while a botch can have nasty consequences - flinging her astral form to a random destination on Earth or in the spirit realm, or heading for the desired destination so forcefully that the silver cord snaps. Changing course or continuing to another destination requires another point of Willpower and a new roll. Failure indicates that the vampire has lost her way and must retrace the path of her silver cord. A botch at this stage means the cord snaps, stranding the character's psychic form in the mysterious astral plane.

An astral form may travel at great speeds (the Storyteller can use 1000 miles per hour as a general guide) and carries no clothing or material objects of any kind. Some artifacts are said to exist in the spirit world, and the character can try to use one of these tools if she finds one. The character cannot bring such relics to the physical world when she returns to her body, however.

Interaction with the physical world is impossible while using Psychic Projection. At best, the character may spend a Willpower point to manifest as a ghostlike shape. This apparition lasts one turn before fading away; while she can't affect anything physically during this time, the character can speak. Despite lacking physical substance, an astral character can use Auspex normally. At the Storyteller's discretion, such a character may employ any Animalism, Dementation, Dominate,
Necromancy, Obtenebration, Presence and/or Thaumaturgy powers she has, though this typically requires a minimum of three successes on the initial Psychic Projection roll.

If two astral shapes encounter one another, they interact as if they weresolid. They may talk, touch and even fight as if both were in the material world. Since they have no physical bodies, astral characters seeking to interact "physically" substitute Mental and Social Traits for Physical ones (Wits replaces Dexterity, Manipulation supplants Strength, and Intelligence replaces Stamina). Due to the lack of a material form, the only real way to damage another psychic entity is to cut its silver
cord. When fighting this way, consider Willpower points to be health levels; when a combatant loses all of her Willpower, the cord is severed.

Although an astrally projected character remains in the reflection of the mortal world (referred to as the Penumbra in other World of Darkness games), she may venture further into the spirit realms, especially if she becomes lost. Other beings, such as ghosts, werewolves and even rare magi, travel the astral plane as well, and can interact with a vampire's psychic presence normally. Storytellers are encouraged to make trips into the spirit world as bizarre, mysterious and dreamlike as possible. The world beyond is a vivid and fantastic place, where the true nature of things is stronger and often strikingly different from their earthly appearances.


Level 6 * Babble (Malkavian ONLY)

Roll: Cha. + Empathy, difficulty Willpower

The vampire can converse with a number of other targets up to her Willpower rating, and a number of additional Malkavians (or similarly deranged individuals) up to her Empathy rating, at any distance. However, all such communications must be spoken aloud, at the same volume as would be necessary to be heard if the speaker was in the same setting as the listener. No roll is needed for a willing target.

Level 6 * Clairvoyance

Roll: Per. + Empathy, difficulty 6
The vampire may see and hear events in a distant place of her choice. She may also use other Auspex powers in conjunction with this one, but each such use is rolled separately.

Level 6 * The Dreaming

Roll: Wits + Empathy, difficulty 7
The vampire may dream about her surroundings, or any circumstances that might affect her, when in torpor or asleep.

Level 6 * Eagle's Sight

The vampire may psychically scan a bird?s eye view of an area of a radius of two miles, from an apparent view of about 250 feet up. If she also has Clairvoyance, she may close in on a smaller area.

Level 6 * Insight of the Talespinner

By spending a blood point, the vampire can tell a story off the top of her head, entrancing others who can hear it, as per the Toreador clan weakness -- even non-Toreadors. Others so afflicted may roll Wits + Empathy, difficulty 8, but must listen until the story is finished if they score less than three successes. This power also grants a -3 difficulty modifier to all storytelling-related rolls.

Level 6 * Prediction

Roll: Per. + Empathy, difficulty Willpower
By spending a blood point, the vampire may predict a target's next comment. With three successes, she may predict the target's next action. Each success gives the vampire a one-die bonus to all Social rolls directed at the target, and each success beyond the second imposes a one-die penalty to all rolls directed against the vampire.

Level 6 * Sense Emotion

Roll: Per. + Empathy, difficulty 7
The vampire may sense the auras and general moods of everyone within a ten foot radius. She may also pinpoint instigators of these emotions.

Level 6 * Telepatic Communication

Roll: Cha. + Empathy, difficulty Willpower
The vampire can converse psychically with a target in line-of-sight, project images, transmit sensory input, etc. No roll is needed for a willing target.

Level 6 * What People Want to Hear

Resist: Willpower, difficulty 7
By spending a blood point, the vampire can know exactly what to say to get a desired response from another. If the target of this power believes the vampire's statement to be fundamentally wrong, she may resist, as above. This power usually doesn?t permanently change a person's viewpoint, but it can.

Level 6 * Crocodile's Tongue
The character must spend at least a minute speaking with the subject, and then she must make a successful Perception + Empathy roll (difficulty 6). For the character to phrase his own idea in terms to which the target will respond favorably, assuming, for whatever reason that the Storyteller chooses not to roleplay such a situation, she may allow the player to roll Manipulation or Charisma + [removed](difficulty 6). Such reliance on mechanics should only be used as a last resort, however, the very nature of this power is social, and should rarely dictated by dice instead of roleplaying.

Level 6 * Sybil's Tongue
The Malkavian must focus for a turn to attune herself to the Network. The player then rolls Wits + Investigation (difficulty icon_cool.gif. If successful, the Malkavian gets the anser of her choice; the more successes, the less cryptic the reply. However, the answer must be something that some Malkavian somewhere knows (excluding Malkav of course).

If the roll fails, then the Malkavian is in trouble. The stew of psychoses that makes up the Network invade her personal headspace, at a speed making it impossible to filter for the answer she wants. She immediately gains two dditional derangements for the scene's duration. If the roll is botched, then the effects are even worse--one of these new derangements becomes permanent.

At the Storyteller's option, particularly dangerous questions might inflict an extra derangement, even if successful, and have even harsher penalties for failure. This is especially true of questions that require tapping the mind of a Methuselah--a place nobody, no matter how well-prepared wants to go.
Note: This power may only be learned by a Malkavian.

Level 7 * Melange

The vampire can see an alternate view of reality, gaining whatever insights can be gained from the Storyteller's descriptions, which should be confusing, gibberish, and/or bullshit. While using this power, the vampire loses half of all of her dice pools (rounding down the loss), and is susceptible to missing details in the "real world".

Level 7 * Personality Metamorph

By spending two blood points, the vampire may create a personality, and adopt it as her own. This personality has its own Nature, Demeanor, abilities, mental and social attributes, Willpower, and Humanity. Sometimes, the new personality will even have a different set of disciplines, or a different Path of Enlightenment. Usually, physical attributes and Appearance remain unchanged. This power lasts for one scene, though the vampire may pay one blood per scene to extend its effects.

Level 7 * Soul Scan

Roll: Per. + Investigation, difficulty 6
The vampire may locate a target, anywhere in the world. The difficulty to use this power is 8 if the target has Obfuscate.

Level 7 * Spirit Link

Roll: Wits + Etiquette, difficulty 6
The vampire may telepathically link one person to herself for each success. All targets so linked will also hear each other. This power does not facilitate mind-reading.

Level 8 * Malkavian Madness Network

Roll: Empathy + Willpower, difficulty 6
The vampire may inform other Malkavians of, and organize, the meetings that no one has been able to figure out. This only informs other Malkavians about the meeting; it does not obligate them to attend.
1 suc. All Malkavians within three blocks.
3 suc. All Malkavians within ten blocks.
5 suc. All Malkavians within three miles.
7 suc. All Malkavians within ten miles.
10 suc. All Malkavians in the city.
13 suc. All Malkavians in the area (IE county).
15 suc. All Malkavians on the continent.
20 suc. All Malkavians in the world.
All Malkavians so contacted (and all similarly insane individuals, at the Storyteller's discretion) then get a secret roll of Perception + Malkavian Time, difficulty 6, to determine how far in advance they learn of the meeting. Those not contacted have no way of detecting the use of this power.
1 suc. The meeting just started. If you hurry, you might make it before it's over.
2 suc. The meeting is tomorrow.
3 suc. The meeting is in a week.
4 suc. The meeting is in a week, and you have some idea of its purpose.
5 suc. The meeting is in a week, and you know exactly what will be discussed.

Level 8 * Psychic Assault

Roll: Man. + Intimidation, difficulty 8
Resist: Willpower, difficulty 8
The vampire may do psychic damage to a target. If the target is a vampire, a willpower point must also be spent. If this assault reduces the target to zero willpower points, the target is rendered unconscious; with three or more successes, if the target is rendered unconscious, she awakens with a derangement. This power does damage as follows:
Botch The target is immune to all further such assaults from the vampire for the rest of the night.
Failure The target is unharmed, and may roll Perception + Occult, difficulty 6, to perceive the attack.
1 suc. The target loses a willpower point. Also, a Courage roll may be required, at the option of the Storyteller.
2 suc. The target loses 3 willpower points. A Courage roll is required, difficulty Auspex.
3 suc. The target loses 6 willpower points. A Courage roll is required, difficulty Auspex.
4 suc. The target loses all willpower points. Her Willpower is permanently halved.
5 suc. The target rolls Willpower, and dies if the roll fails. If successful, effect is that of four successes.

Level 8 * Omniscience

Roll: Per. + Empathy, difficulty 6
The vampire may perceive anything the Storyteller feels like telling her. She may learn about events, or individuals, and there is no limit to how much can be learned, except for how successful she is on the roll. Individuals with Obfuscate 8 or higher can not be detected or studied in this fashon.

Level 9 * Precognition

Roll: Int. + Alertness, difficulty 8
The vampire may see the future of any location with which she is familiar. These visions are based on the assumption that none of the current circumstances will change, and they do not take into account the plans of those who might act to change the future. The length of time by which the vampire can see ahead is as follows:
1 suc. one hour.
2 suc. one day.
3 suc. one week.
4 suc. one month.
5 suc. one year.

Level 10 * Pulse of the Canaille

Roll: Humanity, difficulty variable
The vampire may learn about a group of people. The difficulty varies according to the size of the group being studied, as follows:
dif. 6 an organization.
dif. 7 a city.
dif. 8 a region.
dif. 9 a country.
dif. 10 the world.
If the group of people is being controlled, then all aspects of all controlling forces will be seen, with enough successes. What the vampire learns from using this power is as follows:
1 suc. The vampire senses moods and attitudes.
2 suc. The vampire also senses the potential and future of the group.
3 suc. The vampire also sense the degree to which they are being controlled.
4 suc. The vampire also senses the aura of the controlling force.
5 suc. The vampire also knows who is controlling them, and why.

The Ravnos are heirs to a legacy of illusion, and none can say exactly why. The elders of their clan, when properly approached, speak cryptically of ghuls and rakshasas, and the shapeshifting antics of their Antediluvian founder are the subject of many a dark campfire tale among the clan. But whatever the source, the nomadic Ravnos have a potent weapon in the form of their Discipline of Chimerstry.

Chimerstry is an art of conjuration; the vampire may draw upon her inner reserves to bring phantoms to life. These false images can confound mortal senses and sensory equipment alike. If the Cainite's power is strong enough, illusions created by Chimerstry may even baffle the heightened senses of the vampire. The Ravnos are fond of using this power to seduce, swindle or enslave mortals, effectively purchasing their victims' souls in exchange for a sack of bouillon that isn't there.

Illusions created by Chimerstry may be detected by Auspex. They may also be seen for what they are by a victim who "proves" the illusion's falsehood (e.g., a person who walks up to an illusory wall, expresses
his disbelief in it, and puts his hand through it effectively banishes the illusion).

Level One: Ignis Fatuus

The vampire may conjure a minor, static mirage that confounds one sense. For instance, he may evoke a sulfurous stench, the image of a curtain, or the feel of raw silk. Note that although tactile illusions can be felt, they have no real substance; an invisible but tactile wall cannot confine anyone, and invisible razor-wire causes no real damage.

System: The player must spend a point of Willpower to create this illusion. It lasts until the Ravnos leaves its vicinity (such as stepping out of the room) or until another person sees through it somehow. The Cainite may also end the illusion at any time; this requires no effort, only the merest whim.

Level Two: Fata Morgana

The Cainite can now create illusions that appeal to all the senses, although they remain static. For example, the vampire could throw a mirage over a dank basement, making it appear to be a sumptuous boudoir, although she could not create flickering candles or a flowing fountain. Again, the dweomer has no solid presence, although it's easy enough to make a filthy mattress on two sawhorses feel like a four-poster bed.

System: The player spends a Willpower point and a blood point to create the dweomer. These static images remain until
dispelled, in much the same way that an Ignis Fatuus illusion does.

Level Three: Apparition

Not really a power unto itself, Apparition allows a vampire to give motion to an illusion created with Ignis Fatuus or Fata Morgana. Thus, the Ravnos could create the illusion of a living being, running water, fluttering drapes or a roaring fire.

System: The creator spends one blood point to make the illusion move in one specific way. She may change the image's movement only if she has done nothing but concentrate on the mirage since creating it.

Level Four: Permanency

This power, also used in conjunction with Ignis Fatuus or Fata Morgana, allows a mirage to persist even when the vampire cannot see it. In this way, Ravnos often cloak their temporary havens in false trappings of luxury, or ward off trespassers with illusory guard dogs.

System: The vampire need only spend a blood point, and the illusion becomes permanent until dissolved.

Level Five: Horrid Reality

Rather than create simple illusions, the vampire can now project hallucinations directly into a victim's mind. The target of these illusions believes completely that the images are real; a hallucinatory fire can burn him, an imaginary noose can strangle him, and an illusory wall can block him. This power affects only one person at a time; although other people can try to convince the victim that his terrors are not real, he won't believe them.

System: A Horrid Realty costs two Willpower points to set in motion and lasts for an entire scene (although its effects may last longer; see below). If the vampire is trying to injure his victim, his player must roll Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty of the victim's Perception + Self-Control). Each success inflicts one health level of damage on the victim; if the player wishes to inflict less damage, he may announce a maximum amount of damage before rolling the dice. This power cannot actually kill its victims (although a target with a heart condition may well die from fright); a victim "killed" by an illusory attack loses consciousness or enters torpor. All injuries disappear once the victim is truly convinced that she wasn't actually harmed by the Horrid Reality. Of course, such a cure may take a long time, or even psychological therapy. The nightmarish power of Chimerstry is nothing to take lightly.

Level 6: Fatuus Mastery

The vampire may create illusions without paying the willpower costs described above. Also, all illusions created will last as long as the vampire is no more than a mile away, unless she wishes them to end before then; she need not sense them to maintain them.

In addition to the ability previously stated, Ravnos gain an additional benefit from mastering this level of Chimerstry, though in most cases even the wielder herself will not know it. Upon attaining Fatuus Mastery, illusions created by the character also manifest in th ePenumbra and the Shadowlands, and appear convincing to anyone viewing the scene from there. However, a Ravnos who cannot peer into these locations is still unable to affect them directly.

Level 6: Mass Reality

As Horrid Reality, but the vampire may use the illusions to "injure" everyone in her general vicinity

Level 6: Fata Amria

Rolls: Manipulation + Intimidation, diff targets Willpower
Using this power, a Ravnos may place a potent curse on a target. By evoking the power in her blood, the Ravnos essentially "locks" an illusory effect to the target, which manifests from time to time. The effects of Fata Amria can range from merely annoying to potentially lethal, depending on the severity of the curse and the number of successes rolled by the Ravnos.

System: A Fata Amria costs one Willpower point to initiate. The Ravnos verbally curses the target, then rolls Manipulation + Intimidation against a difficulty of the target's Willpower. The number of successes determines the strength of the effect, as shown on the table below. The example effect given is simply a guideline; the way in which the Fata Amria manifests is based solely upon the nature of the curse accompanying it.

1 suc - Inconvenient effects; target loses two dice from a given Dice Pool.

2 suc - Minor effects; difficulty numbers are raised by two when in a given circumstance.

3 suc - Major effects; target automatically fails a certain action at a pinnacle moment.

4 suc - Serious effects; target automatically fails certain actions in any stressful simulation.

5 suc - Disastrous effects; target fails all actions involving a given Attribute, Ability or Discipline.


Level 7 * Far Fatuus

Roll: Wits + Subterfuge, difficulty variable
The vampire may create illusions at a distance. Once she has succeeded, she may use any Chimerstry power at that location. The difficulty varies with her familiarity with the area, as follows:
dif. 6 She knows the area like her own haven.
dif. 7 She has been there frequently.
dif. 8 She has been there a few times.
dif. 9 She is basing her knowledge on the detailed description of someone else, having never been there herself.
dif. 10 She has a photograph, but has never been there herself.


Level 8 * Pseudo Blindness

The vampire will always know a lie when she hears it. She also can not perceive any power of Obfuscate or Chimerstry below level nine -- even if she wants to, and is incapable of either being affected by them, or realizing that they are being used. In addition to the benefits previously stated for this power, a Ravnos who has mastered Pseudo-Blindness is also unmoved by the effects of the Delirium, nor is she affected by faerie seemings. The Ravnos can also see any chimerical items or animals drawn from the Dreaming as if she were enchanged.

Level 8 * Sensory Overload
Roll: Intelligence + Occult, difficulty targets Willpower
By overstimulating all five senses, a Ravnos may physically incapacitate a target. Though the target may remain conscious, he is unable to move or speak coherently; he is effectively cut off from the outside world, save through his screams.
1 suc - One turn
2 suc - One scene
3 suc - One hour
4 suc - Six hours
5 suc - One day

Level 9 * Sensory Deprivation

Roll: Man. + Intimidation, difficulty Willpower
The vampire can cause her victim to lose all five senses, and all related abilities, like Auspex. This power lasts for the following time periods:
1 suc. one turn.
2 suc. one hour.
3 suc. one day.
4 suc. one month.
5 suc. one year.

Level 10 * Reality

Roll: Wits + Intimidation, difficulty Willpower + 2
Demand: successes = 3 or more
The vampire can invent a fantasy world, and put her victim into it. To escape, the victim must spend one willpower point for each success. This victim actually disappears from the real world, and can not be found with any discipline.

This Discipline involves influencing the very thoughts and actions of others through the vampire's own force of will. Use of Dominate requires that the Kindred capture his victim's eye; as such, it may be used against only one subject at a time. The extent of this control depends on the particular power being applied.

While truly potent, Dominate powers can be exacting to perform. Commands must be issued verbally; after all, direct mind to-mind contact is the purview of Auspex. Still, some simple orders may be made with signs - for example, a pointed finger and forceful expression to indicate "Go!" If the subject doesn't understand the vampire (she doesn't speak the same language, the order doesn't make sense, she cannot hear his words), she won't comply with the directive, no matter how mighty the
Kindred's supernatural will.

Not surprisingly, Kindred who use Dominate were often willful, controlling individuals in mortal life. Indeed, it's quite possible that this is what drew the vampires' sires to them in the first place. After all, the Giovanni, Lasombra, Tremere and Ventrue clans who specialize in this Discipline consider strong will a definite benefit. Due to this tendency toward control, characters with high Dominate scores may be unable to spend experience points to increase Abilities such as Empathy.


Level 1 * Command the Wearied Mind
Roll: Man. + Intimidation, difficulty Willpower
With eye contact, the vampire may give a one-word command to a target. This command may only be one word, but it may be used with slight emphasis in a sentence, to hide it. This command is obeyed instantly, unless it is ambiguous, in which case temporary confusion ensues.
The command may be included in a sentence, thereby concealing the power's use from others. This effort at subtlety still requires the Kindred to make eye contact at the proper moment and stress the key word slightly. An alert bystander - or even the victim - may notice the emphasis; still, unless she's conversant with supernatural powers, the individual is likely to attribute the utterance and the subsequent action as bizarre coincidence.

Level 2 * Mesmerize

Roll: Man. + Leadership, difficulty Willpower
The vampire can give commands to a target, which may be as simple or detailed as desired. Eye contact must be maintained throughout the command, but is not necessary once the command has been given.
1 suc. The target will not act in defiance of her nature, or her usual behavior, but she is otherwise obedient.
3 suc. The target can be made to act in ways that she otherwise wouldn't, except in the case of self-endangering behavior.
5 suc. Nearly any command may be given, Storyteller nimdyd excepted.

No matter how strong the Kindred's will, his command cannot force the subject to harm herself directly or defy her innate Nature. So, while a vampire who scored five successes could make a 98-pound weakling attack a 300-pound bouncer, he could not make the mortal shoot herself in the head.

If a vampire tries to Mesmerize a subject before the target fulfills a previously implanted directive, compare the successes rolled to those gained during the implanting of the first suggestion. Whichever roll had the greater number of successes is the command that now lodges in the target's subconscious; the other suggestion is wiped clean. If the successes rolled are equal, the newer command supplants the old one.


Level 3 * The Forgetful Mind
Roll: Wits + Subterfuge, difficulty Willpower

After capturing the subject's gaze, the vampire delves into the subject's memories, stealing or re-creating them at his whim. The Forgetful Mind does not allow for telepathic contact; the Kindred operates much like a hypnotist, asking directed questions and drawing out answers from the subject. The degree of memory alteration depends on what the vampire desires. He may alter the subject's mind only slightly - quite effective for eliminating memories of the victim meeting or even being fed upon by the vampire - or utterly undo the victim's memories of her past.

The degree of detail used has a direct bearing on how strongly the new memories take hold, since the victim's subconscious mind resists the alteration the vampire imposes. A simplistic or incomplete false memory ("You went to the movies last night.") crumbles much more quickly than does one with more attention to detail ("You went to the nine o'clock showing of the new Leonardo DiCaprio movie. You thought about getting some popcorn, but the line was too long so you went right into the theater. The couple next to you kept whispering through the film until someone else shushed them. You liked the movie well enough, but the plot seemed weak. You were tired after it ended, so you went home, watched a little late-night television, and went to bed.").

Even in its simplest applications, The Forgetful Mind requires tremendous skill and finesse. It's a relatively simple matter to rifle through a victim's psyche and rip out the memories of the previous night, without even knowing what the subject did that evening. Doing so leaves a gap in the victim's mind, though, a hole that can give rise to further problems down the road.

The Kindred may describe new memories, but these recollections seldom have the same degree of realism that the subject's true thoughts held. As such, this power isn't always completely effective. The victim may remember being bitten, but believe it to be an animal attack. Greater memories may return in pieces as dreams, or through sensory triggers like a familiar odor or spoken phrase. Even so, months or years may pass before the subject regains enough other lost memories to make sense of the fragments.

A vampire can also sense when a subject's memories were altered through use of this power, and even restore them like a hypnotist draws forth psychologically suppressed thoughts. However, the Kindred cannot use The Forgetful Mind to restore his own memories if they were stolen in such a way.

System: The player states what sorts of alteration he wants to perform, then rolls Wits + Subterfuge (difficulty of the target's Willpower score). Any success pacifies the victim for the amount of time it takes the vampire to perform the verbal alteration, provided the vampire does not act aggressively toward the victim. The table below indicates the degree of modification possible to the subject's memory, depending on the number of successes gained. If the successes rolled don't allow for the extent of change the character desired, the Storyteller reduces the resulting impact on the victim's mind.
1 suc. The vampire may cause limited memory loss lasting a day, with control over which memories are lost.
2 suc. The vampire may cause more permanent memory loss.
3 suc. The vampire may make slight alterations to her victim's memory.
4 suc. The vampire may alter or remove an entire scene from her victim's memory.
5 suc. The vampire may reconstruct entire periods of a victim's life.


Level 4 * Conditioning
Roll: Cha. + Leadership, difficulty Willpower
Through sustained manipulation, the vampire can make a subject more pliant to the Kindred's will. Over time, the victim becomes increasingly susceptible to the vampire's influence while simultaneously growing more resistant to the corrupting efforts of other immortals. Gaining complete control over a subject's mind is no small task, taking weeks or even months to accomplish.

Kindred often fill their retainers' heads with subtle whispers and veiled urges, thereby ensuring these mortals' loyalty. Yet vampires must pay a high price for the minds they ensnare. Servants Dominated in this way lose much of their passion and individuality. They follow the vampire's orders quite literally, seldom taking initiative or showing any imagination. In the end, such retainers become like automatons or the walking dead. Such a victim will continue to obey the vampire, even when not dominated, and the difficulty for all other vampires to try to dominate her is increased by two.


Level 5 * Possession
Roll: Cha. + Intimidation, difficulty 7
Resist + Willpower, difficulty 7
At this level of Dominate, the force of the Kindred's psyche is such that it can utterly supplant the mind of a mortal subject. Speaking isn't required, although the vampire must capture the victim's gaze. During the psychic struggle, the contestants' eyes are locked on one another.
Once the Kindred crushes the subject's mind, the vampire moves his own consciousness into the victim's body and controls it as easily as he uses his own. The mortal falls into a mental fugue while under possession. She is aware of events only in a distorted, dreamlike fashion. In turn, the vampire's mind focuses entirely on controlling his mortal subject. His immortal body lies in a torpid state, defenseless against any actions made toward it.
A botch by the vampire makes the victim permanently immune to all Dominate attempts by that vampire. The actual possession (and torpor) occurs when the victim has no willpower points.


Level 6 * Loyalty
Those on whom the vampire has used the Dominate discipline are considered to have five extra dots in Willpower, when resisting other users of the Dominate discipline.


Level 6 * Obedience
The vampire may use any Dominate power without eye contact. Touching their skin, or even clothing, is sufficient.


Level 6 * Rationalize
Roll: Man. + Subterfuge, difficulty Wits + Self-Control
The vampire can make a victim of Dominate believe that she is acting of her own accord.
1 suc. The target won't suspect she has been dominated... at first.
2 suc. The target will suspect something... eventually.
3 suc. The target can only be convinced by others that the action was not her idea.
4 suc. The target will only suspect something if shown hard evidence.
5 suc. The target will ignore all evidence, and may become angry if the point is pressed.


Level 6 * Tranquility
Target + Humanity, difficulty 7
Roll: Willpower, difficulty 9 minus Target successes
Demand + successes = 3 or more
The vampire may bring another vampire out of frenzy. If she botches, the target vampire will attcak her.


Level 7 * Mob Rule
The vampire may dominate more that one victim. Each success in a given roll above the required number represents another person who can be Dominated. The roll is determined using the most difficult target; if she is unaffected, the rest of the targets are unaffected. Eye contact is only required for the first target.


Level 7 * Repression of the Obvious
Roll: Per. + Empathy, difficulty Willpower
The vampire can learn what thought, emotion, or urge is being most rigorously repressed. Three successes cause the victim to blurt out the thought being repressed.


Level 8 * Far Mastery
Roll: Per. + Empathy, difficulty 6
The vampire may use any Dominate power on any victim whose location she knows, even at a distance. Once the above roll is completed, the vampire may use Dominate as if eye contact was achieved. If she attempts to use this on a vampire, she must spend a willpower point.


Level 9 * Best Intentions
Roll: Cha. + Intimidation, difficulty Willpower
The vampire can make a victim act in her interests, without further command, and the victim will automatically know what constitutes the vampire's interests. This bond is broken when the victim gains a permanent willpower point, or gains Humanity.


Level 10 * Puppet Master
Roll: Cha. + Empathy, difficulty Willpower + 2
The vampire can make the victim act as if she was the vampire. This includes all the details of Best Intentions, as described above. This power may only be attempted once per year on a given victim.
1 suc. The victim occasionally acts as the vampire would.
2 suc. The victim feels both her mind and the other in her head, and is appropriately confused.
3 suc. The victim usually acts as the vampire would.
4 suc. The victim almost always acts as the vampire would.
5 suc. The victim may be roleplayed by the vampire.


Resisting Dominate
Most victims cannot stand against the effects of Dominate. Still, there are situations where this Discipline is powerless to sway the subject.

- Mortals: Few mortals can hope to resist Dominate, their strength of will nothing compared to the supernatural magnetism of a vampire. Still, there are extremely rare individuals who, due to strong religious faith, unique psychic talent or simple mental resolve, can shrug off this Discipline's effects. Beyond these scattered few, a select number of organizations like the Inquisition know certain rituals to render a mortal immune. Only a foolish vampire ignores the potential threat such human beings represent.

Vampires: It is impossible to Dominate another Kindred who is of stronger Blood - the vampire must be of an equal or lower generation than the target for the powers to be effective.

- Nature: A character's Nature can have a distinct impact on how easily Dominate influences her. A vampire might control subjects with inherently empathic Natures (Caregiver, Child, Conformist) more easily, while those whose Natures denote a great degree of inner strength (Bravo, Director, Rebel) can be more of a challenge. The Storyteller may reduce the required difficulty or number of successes by one or two when the player rolls against those subjects with "weaker" Natures, or raise them by a similar amount for "stronger" Natures. On the other hand, "strong" Natures might be more easily influenced to take aggressive actions - for example, coaxing a Rebel to denounce the prince is likely easier than goading a Conformist to do the same thing. Ultimately, the Storyteller must adjudicate this.

- Botches: If a Dominate roll botches, the target is rendered immune to future attempts by the same vampire for the rest of the story.

Koldunic Sorcery

Krome's Note: This is a discipline for Koldunic Sorcerers I may or may not allow these to be included in the game. If someone can make a convincing case, *and* understands Koldunic sorcery, then I may allow it. Otherwise it's just in here for story purposes and so you have an idea of what's available.


Level : One
Conjunction of Effervescent Kiss * Dexterity +Medicine (target Wits+2)
Creates an insurmountable feeling of pleasure in the individual, even beyond the vampiric "kiss". The effect lasts for a period based on the number of successes:

1 : one round
2 : three rounds
3 : ten minutes
4 : one hour
5 : four hours
6 : four hours + one hour/ success

Death's Embrace * Intelligence + Medicine (5)

Long drawn out embrace. Caster exchanges blood with the victim over a period of time. After exchanging ten blood points, the victim dies, and three days later arises as a vampire. This assures the individual is blood bonded before becoming a vampire.

Hospitality : Intelligence + Hearth Wisdom (5)

Ritual awakens objects within a structure. These objects are helpful and look to please the caster. They will, within their limited abilities, attempt to thwart intruders and warn the caster.

Sense the Quintessence : Perception + Occult (various)

Allows the sorcerer to detect magic emanations within 500 yards. This will give direction and the strength of the detection will determine range. The source determines the difficulty:

Mage (9)
Thaumaturgy (7)
Spirit/ Werewolf (6)
Sorcery (5)

Summon the Marked

Allows the sorcerer to bring an object pre-prepared to him. Distance is not a factor, but does not allow inter-plane travel.

Level : Two

Demesne Malaise - Intelligence + Occult (7)

This ritual takes three hours to cast per 10,000 sq ft. It creates an area of dread in the vampire�s haven. Creatures entering the area begin to feel as if being watched and that something bad is about to happen.

Kiss of Introduction *

The caster performs this quick ritual while drinking from the vessel.

Pierce the Veil : Perception + Occult (gauntlet Level � )

Allows the sorcerer to see into the Shadowlands or Umbra. Also allows communication with creatures from the other side. This does not give the caster any ability to control these creatures.



Level : Three

Conjure Lesser Demon * Intelligence + Occult (7)

These are more like the spirits the werewolves work with. The caster can retain a number of "demons" equal to his Charisma or Intimidation (whichever is higher).

Succulence of Screams * Manipulation + Empathy (Targets Wits)
Vampire draws sustenance from a victim's fear. Each success reduces the targets willpower until reduced to zero. At this point, each success provides one blood point for the vampire. This does not cause any damage to the creature, but may cause a derangement.


Level : Four

Call the Beholden * Manipulation + Leadership (8 )

Allows the caster to summon blood bonded and childre to him. The number of successes determines the number summoned and the closest will respond first.


Level : Five
Ultimate Embrace * Perception + Empathy (8 )

The sorcerer exchanges his entire blood pool with two or more individuals. This destroys any blood bonds and renders the vaulderie dead. This ritual requires a minimum of three sucesses to break an existing blood bond and as many successes as the viniculuum of the Sabbat. Each success will create a "buffer" to future attempts to bond the individual. The ritual can only be attempted once with the same individuals.

Crossover : Wits + Occult (various)

This ritual weakens an area of the gauntlet/ shroud to allow two way passage. Difficulty is based on the strength of the gauntlet. The spell has a limited duration based on successes and creatures may find themselves stuck on the wrong side if they do not return in time.

1 one hour
2 four hours
3 12 hours
4 one day
4 one day + one hour/ success

Necromancy

Necromancy is at once a Discipline and a school of magical learning, all dedicated toward the command of the souls of the dead. It has some similarities to Thaumaturgy in that, rather than being a strict linear progression of powers, Necromancy consists of several "paths" and accompanying "rituals." Well-trained and puissant vampiric necromancers can summon the dead, banish or imprison souls, and even reinsert ghosts into living - or unliving - bodies. Needless to say, the study of Necromancy is not widespread among the Kindred, and its practitioners - primarily Giovanni Kindred - are shunned or ignored whenever possible.

Over the centuries, the various schools of vampiric Necromancy have diversified, leaving three distinct paths of necromantic magic available to Cainites. All necromancers first learn the so-called Sepulchre Path, then extend their studies to the Bone Path or the Ash Path as time and opportunity permit. The Sepulchre Path is always considered the character's "primary" path; it increases automatically as the character increases her overall Necromancy rating. The Bone and Ash Paths must be bought separately, using the experience costs for secondary paths.

Like Thaumaturgy, Necromancy has also spawned a series of rituals. While not nearly so immediate in effect as the basic powers of Necromancy, Necromantic rituals can have impressive long-term effects. Unsurprisingly, the elements of Necromantic ritual are things like long-buried corpses, hands from the cadavers of hanged men, and so on, and so obtaining suitable materials can be quite difficult. Scarcity of supply limits the frequency of Necromantic rituals, giving cause for many other Kindred to breathe a metaphorical sigh of relief.
Necromancy is not quite so rigid a study as Thaumaturgy is, the rolls required to use Necromantic powers can vary from path to path and even within individual paths.

Sepulchre Path

Level 1 * Insight

Roll: Per. + Occult, difficulty 8
The vampire may look into the eyes of a target no longer living, and see the last things they saw. The difficulty to use this power is 10 if the target is a vampire.
1 suc. The vampire sees how the victim died.
2 suc. The vampire sees a rough impression of the victim's final minutes.
3 suc. The vampire sees and hears a rough impression of the victim's final minutes.
4 suc. The vampire sees and hears the last half-hour of the victim's life.
5 suc. The vampire completely understands the last hour of the victim's life.

Level 2 * Summon Spirit

Roll: Per. + Occult, difficulty 6
Resist: Willpower, difficulty 6
The vampire may summon a spirit, and speak with it. For each question asked, roll the number of successes in the initial roll; failure means that contact is lost. The vampire must know the name of the spirit, and have a fetter, to use this power.

Level 3 * Compel

Roll: Man. + Occult, difficulty Willpower
The vampire may attempt to control a spirit, once she has summoned it.
botch The spirit is pissed off, and attacks.
failure The spirit is free to leave, and free to attack.
1 suc. The spirit must remain, and can not attack anyone without the consent of the vampire.
2 suc. As above. Additionally, the spirit must truthfully answer questions.
3 suc. As above. Additionally, the spirit must truthfully -- and completely -- answer questions.
4 suc. As above. Additionally, the spirit must follow the orders of the vampire. If unwilling, it may intentionally misinterpret orders or follow them poorly.
5 suc. As above, but the spirit must do the best of which it is capable to follow orders.

Level 4 * Haunting

Roll: Man. + Occult, difficulty Willpower
The vampire may force a spirit into the world of the living, for one day per success. The spirit may still use Argos to escape. The difficulty to use this power is 4 if the spirit is willing.

Level 5 * Soul Stealing

Roll: Man. + Occult, difficulty Willpower + Occult
The vampire may force a soul out of its body, treating it as a spirit. The unoccupied body deteriorates as if dead or in torpor, and the spirit must spend a willpower point to return to it. In the meantime, the spirit treats its body as a fetter, and has no Arcanos. The difficulty to use this power is 6 if the victim is willing.

Level 6 * Zombie

The vampire may create a zombie from a body that has been dead for less than eight hours. This zombie has one more point in each of Strength and Stamina, and a Dexterity of one. Zombies can only move at ten feet per minute, and must be fed one blood point daily.

Level 7 * Torment

Roll: Sta. + Empathy, difficulty Willpower
The vampire may psychically assault a spirit. Each success inflicts one level of damage, and causes the spirit pain.

Level 8 * Soul Exchange

Roll: Man. + Occult, difficulty 7
Demand: successes = sum of Willpowers, or more
The vampire may switch souls between two bodies. Both victims must be within eyesight of the subject, and within ten feet of each other.

Level 9 * Possession

Roll: Willpower, difficulty 6
Demand: successes = 5 or more
Resist: Willpower, difficulty 6
The vampire may place a willing spirit into a body that has been dead less than thirty minutes. This power may be used on any dead body other than that of a vampire without a roll.

Level 10 * Death Pact

Roll: Int. + Occult, difficulty 6
By having a mortal victim sign an appropriate contract in her own blood, the vampire may bind the mortal, effective after death... but she must serve the mortal until then. Once the mortal has died, the vampire may demand service from them once for each success in the initial roll.



The Bone Path
The Bone Path is concerned primarily with corpses and the methods by which dead souls can be restored to the living world - temporarily or otherwise.

Level One Tremens
Tremens allows a necromancer to make the flesh of a corpse shift once. An arm might suddenly flop forward, a cadaver might sit up, or dead eyes might abruptly open. Needless to say, this sort of thing tends to have an impressive impact on people who aren't expecting a departed relative to roll over in his coffin.

System: To use Tremens, the necromancer spends a single blood point, and the player must succeed on a Dexterity + Occult roll (difficulty 6). The more successes achieved, the more complicated an action can be inculcated into the corpse. One success allows for an instantaneous movement, such as a twitch, while five allow the vampire to set up specific conditions under which the body animates ("The next time someone enters the room, I want the corpse to sit up and open its eyes.").
Under no circumstances can Tremens cause a dead body to attack or cause damage.



Level Two Apprentice's Brooms

With Apprentice's Brooms, the necromancer can make a dead body rise and perform a simple function. For example, the corpse could be set to carrying heavy objects, digging, or just shambling from place to place. The cadavers thus animated do not attack or defend themselves if interfered with, but instead attempt to carry out their given instructions until such time as they've been rendered inanimate. Generally it takes dismemberment, flame or something similar to destroy a corpse animated in this way.

System: A roll of Wits + Occult (difficulty 7) and the expenditure of a point of both blood and Willpower are all that is necessary to animate corpses with Apprentice's Brooms. The number of corpses animated is equal to the number of successes achieved. The necromancer must then state the task to which he is setting his zombies. The cadavers turn themselves to their work until they finish the job (at which point they collapse) or something (including time) destroys them.

Bodies energized by this power continue to decay, albeit at a much slower rate than normal.


Level Three Shambling Hordes

Shambling Hordes creates exactly what you think it might: reanimated corpses with the ability to attack, albeit neither very well nor very quickly. Once primed by this power, the corpses wait - for years, if necessary - to fulfill the command given them. The orders might be to protect a certain site or simply to attack immediately, but they will be carried out until every last one of the decomposing monsters is destroyed.

System: The player invests a point of Willpower, then spend a point of blood for each corpse the necromancer animates. The player then must succeed on a Wits + Occult roll (difficulty cool ; each success allows the vampire to raise another corpse from the grave. Each zombie (for lack of a better term) can follow one simple instruction, such as "Stay here and guard this graveyard against any intruders," or "Kill them!"

Note: Zombies created by Shambling Hordes will wait forever if need be to fulfill their functions. Long after the flesh has rotted off the mystically animated bones, the zombies will wait... and wait... and wait - still able to perform their duties.


Level Four Soul Stealing

This power affects the living, not the dead. It does, however, temporarily turn a living soul into a sort of wraith, as it allows a necromancer to strip a soul from a living - or vampiric - body. A mortal exiled from his body by this power becomes a wraith with a single tie to the real world: his now-empty body.

System: The player spends a point of Willpower and then makes a contested Willpower roll against the intended victim (difficulty 6). Successes indicate the number of hours during which the original soul is forced out of its housing. The body itself remains autonomically alive but catatonic.

This power can be used to create suitable hosts for Daemonic Possession.


Level Five Daemonic Possession

Daemonic Possession lets a vampire insert a soul into a freshly dead body and inhabit it for the duration. This does not turn the reanimated corpse into anything other than a reanimated corpse, and one that will irrevocably decay after a week, but it does give either a wraith or a free-floating soul (say, that of a vampire using Psychic Projection) a temporary home in the physical world.

System: The body in question must be no more than 30 minutes dead, and the new tenant must agree to inhabit it - a ghost or astral form cannot be forced into a new shell. Of course, most ghosts would gladly seize the opportunity, but that's a different matter. Should the vampire, for whatever reason, wish to insert a soul into another vampire's corpse (before it crumbles to ash), the necromancer must achieve five successes on a resisted Willpower roll against the original owner of the body. Otherwise, the interloper is denied entrance.

Note: The soul can use whatever physical abilities (Dodge, Brawl, Potence) his new home possesses, and whatever mental abilities (Computer, Law, Presence) he possesses in his current existence. He cannot use the physical abilities of his old form, or the mental abilities of his new one.



The Ash Path
The Ash Path allows necromancers to peek into the lands of the dead and even to affect things there. Of the three Paths of Necromancy, the Ash Path is the most perilous to learn, because many of the Path's uses increase a necromancer's vulnerability to wraiths.

Level One Shroudsight
Shroudsight allows a necromancer to see through the Shroud, the mystical barrier that separates the living world from the Underworld. By using this power, the vampire can spot ghostly buildings and items, the landscape of the so-called Shadowlands, and even wraiths themselves. However, the odds are that an observant wraith will notice when a vampire suddenly starts staring at him, which can lead to unpleasant consequences.
System: A simple roll of Perception + Alertness (difficulty 7) allows a necromancer to utilize Shroudsight. The effects last for a scene.

Level Two Lifeless Tongues
Where Shroudsight allows a necromancer to see ghosts, Lifeless Tongues allows her to converse with them effortlessly. Once Lifeless Tongues is employed, the vampire can carry on a conversation with the denizens of the ghostly Underworld without spending blood or causing the wraiths to expend any effort.

System: To use Lifeless Tongues requires a roll of Perception + Occult (difficulty 6) and the expenditure of a Willpower point. This power also grants the effects of Shroudsight, so the vampire can see with whom, or what, she is conversing.

Level Three Dead Hand

Similar to the Sepulchre Path power Torment, Dead Hand allows a necromancer to reach across the Shroud and affect a ghostly object as if it were in the real world. Ghosts are solid to necromancers using this power, and can be attacked.

Furthermore, the necromancer can pick up ghostly items, scale ghostly architecture (giving real-world bystanders the impression that he's climbing on air!) and generally exist in two worlds. On the other hand, a necromancer using Dead Hand is quite solid to the residents of the Underworld - and to whatever weapons they might have.

System: The player spends a point of Willpower and makes a successful Wits + Occult roll (difficulty 7) for the vampire to activate Dead Hand. For each scene the vampire wishes to remain in contact with the Underworld, he must spend a point of blood.

Level Four Ex Nihilo

Ex Nihilo allows a necromancer to enter the Underworld physically. While in the lands of the dead, the vampire is essentially an extra-solid ghost. He maintains his normal number of health levels, but can be hurt only by things that inflict aggravated damage on ghosts (weapons forged from souls, certain ghostly powers, etc.). A vampire physically in the Underworld can pass through solid objects (at the cost of one health level) and remain "incorporeal" thus for a number of turns equal to his Stamina rating. On the other hand, vampires present in the Underworld are subject to all of the Underworld's perils, including ultimate destruction. A vampire killed in the Deadlands is gone forever, beyond even the reach of other necromancers.

System: Using Ex Nihilo takes a tremendous toll on the necromancer. To activate this power, the vampire must first draw a doorway with chalk or blood on any available surface. (Note: Doors can he drawn ahead of time for exactly this purpose.)

The player must then expend two points of Willpower and two points of blood, then make a Stamina + Occult roll (difficulty 8 ) as the vampire attempts to open the chalk door physically. If the roll succeeds, the door opens and the vampire steps through into the Underworld.

When the vampire wishes to return to the real world, he needs merely to concentrate (and the player spends another Willpower point and rolls Stamina + Occult, difficulty 6). At Storyteller discretion, a vampire who is too deeply immersed in the Underworld may need to journey to a place close to the lands of the living in order to cross over. Vampires who wander too far into the lands of the dead may be trapped there forever. Vampires in the Underworld cannot feed upon ghosts; their only sustenance is the blood they bring with them.

Level Five Shroud Mastery

A bit of an exaggeration, Shroud Mastery is the ability to manipulate the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead. By doing so, a necromancer can make it easier for bound wraiths in his service to function, or make it nearly impossible for ghosts to contact the material world.

System: To exercise Shroud Mastery, the necromancer expends two points of Willpower, then states whether he is attempting to raise or lower the Shroud. The player then makes a Willpower roll (difficulty 9). Each success on the roll raises or lowers the difficulties of all nearby wraiths' actions by one, to a maximum of 10 or a minimum of 3. The Shroud reverts to its normal strength at a rate of one point per hour thereafter.





Necromantic Rituals

The rituals connected with Necromancy are a hodgepodge lot. Some have direct relations to the paths; others seem to have been taught by wraiths themselves, for whatever twisted reason. All beginning necromancers gain one Level One ritual, but any others learned must be gained through in-game play. Necromantic rituals are otherwise identical to Thaumaturgy rituals and are learned in similar fashion, though the two are by no means compatible.

System: Casting times for necromantic rituals vary widely; see the description for particulars. The player rolls Intelligence + Occult (difficulty 3 + the level of the ritual, maximum 9); success indicates the ritual proceeds smoothly, failure produces no effect, and a botch often indicates that certain "powers" notice the caster, usually to her detriment.

Call of the Hungry Dead (Level One Ritual)
Call of the Hungry Dead takes only 10 minutes to cast and requires a hair from the target's head. The ritual climaxes with the burning of that hair in the flame of a black candle, after which the victim becomes able to hear snatches of conversation from across the Shroud. If the target is not prepared, the voices come as a confusing welter of howls and unearthly demands; he is unable to make out anything intelligible, and might well go briefly mad.


Eyes of the Grave (Level Two Ritual)
This ritual, which takes two hours to cast, causes the target to experience intermittent visions of her death over the period of a week. The visions come without warning and can last up to a minute. The caster of the ritual has no idea what the visions contain - only the victim sees them, after all. Each time a vision manifests, the target must roll Courage (difficulty 7) or be reduced to quivering panic. The visions, which come randomly, can also interfere with activities such as driving, shooting and so on.
Eyes of the Grave requires a pinch of soil from a fresh grave.

Ritual of the Unearthed Fetter (Level Three Ritual)

This ritual requires that a necromancer have a fingerbone from the skeleton of the particular wraith he's interested in. When the ritual is cast, the fingerbone becomes attuned to something vitally important to the wraith, the possession of which by the necromancer makes the casting of Sepulchre Path powers much easier. Most necromancers take the attuned fingerbone and suspend it from a thread, allowing it to act as a sort of supernatural compass and following it to the special item in question. Ritual of the Unearthed Fetter takes three hours to cast properly. It requires both the name of the wraith targeted and the fingerbone already mentioned, as well as a chip knocked off a gravestone or other marker (not necessarily the marker of the bone's former owner). During the course of the ritual the stone crumbles to dust, which is then sprinkled over the fingerbone.

Cadaver's Touch (Level Four Ritual)
By chanting for three hours and melting a wax doll in the shape of the target, the necromancer turns a mortal target into a corpselike mockery of himself. As the doll loses the last of its form, the target becomes cold and clammy. His pulse becomes weak and thready, his flesh pale and chalky. For all intents and purposes, he becomes a reasonable facsimile of the walking dead. Needless to say, this can have some adverse effects in social situations (+2 difficulty on all Social rolls). The effects of the ritual wear off only when the wax of the doll is permitted to resolidify. If the wax is allowed to boil off, the spell is broken.

Grasp the Ghostly (Level Five Ritual)
Requiring a full six hours of chanting, this ritual allows a necromancer to bring an object from the Underworld into the real world. It's not as simple as all that, however - a wraith might well object to having his possessions stolen and fight back. Furthermore, the object taken must be replaced by a material item of roughly equal mass, otherwise the target of the ritual snaps back to its previous, ghostly existence. Objects taken from the Underworld tend to fade away after about a year. Only items recently destroyed in the real world (called "relics" by wraiths) may be recaptured in this manner. Artifacts created by wraiths themselves were never meant to exist outside the Underworld, and vanish on contact with the living world.

Obeah

Level 1 * Panacea

By licking a target?s wound, and spending blood, the vampire may heal a level of damage for each blood point spent.

Level 2 * Anaesthetic Touch

Roll: Willpower, difficulty Willpower
By touching a target, the vampire may numb and paralyze her. This power lasts for the following time periods:
1 suc. one turn.
2 suc. two turns.
3 suc. five turns.
4 suc. one hour.
5 suc. one day.

Level 3 * Neutral Guard

Resist: Willpower, difficulty 6
Roll: Willpower, difficulty 6
By spending two willpower points, the vampire may create a protective barrier. No one who is further than ten feet from the vampire may come closer than ten feet away from her. Those who try must roll as above. If the vampire gets three successes, the intruder is paralyzed for five turns.

Level 4 * Treat the Sick Mind

Roll: Perception + Empathy, difficulty 7
The vampire may sense a derangement of a target. When the vampire uses this power, her third eye and the target both glow in gold light.
Roll: Charisma + Medicine, difficulty Willpower + 3
The vampire may cure a derangement of a target. If she first made a roll to sense the derangement, each success on that roll grants an extra die on the roll to cure the derangement. When the vampire uses this power, her third eye and the target both glow in gold light.

Level 5 * Unburdening of the Bestial Soul

Roll: Willpower, difficulty 6
Demand: successes = 3 or more
Resist: Willpower, difficulty 6
By looking at a target with her third eye, the vampire may store her soul within herself. This soul, once inside her, may have some of its Humanity restored; the vampire may spend a willpower point for each point of Humanity she wishes to restore to the target, up to her own Empathy score. She may only use this power on a target once. If she does not return the target?s soul to her body in a reasonable time, she automatically loses Humanity. No roll is needed for a willing target.

Level 6 * Renewed Vigor

By touching a target?s skin and spending a willpower point, the vampire may heal all of the target?s wounds, including aggravated wounds.

Level 6 * Pain for Pleasure

Roll: Willpower, difficulty 8
The vampire may cancel all of a target's wound penalties, and this target will feel pleasure instead of pain. This might lead to the target?s self-endangerment, or even self-mutilation.

Level 7 * Repulsion

The vampire may alter her spirit to make others avoid her, without realizing what they are doing. This power draws no attention to the vampire.

Level 8 * Vitae Block
Roll: Intelligence + Occult, difficulty [blood pool, to 8]
The vampire may make one point of a victim's blood pool unusable for each success. The victim must spend a number of willpower points equal to the number of blood points that are blocked in this manner. This blood must be freed in its entirety before any of it can be used.

Level 9 * Spirit Marionette

Roll: Willpower, difficulty 6
Demand: successes = Willpower or more
Resist: Willpower, difficulty 6
The subject may force a victim to move exactly as she does, and use her disciplines, Talents, Skills, etc, as if the victim also had them. However, the vampire must roll Empathy, difficulty 9, to move without the victim copying her.

Level 10 * Resurrection

By spending one willpower point for each hour that the mortal has been dead, the vampire may bring her back to life, but the body must be eighty percent complete. The third eye will glow so brightly that it will blind anyone looking directly at it. All parts missing will regenerate.

The bailiwick of the Lasombra, the Obtenebration Discipline grants its users power over darkness. The precise nature of the "darkness" invoked is a matter of debate among the Keepers. Some believe it to be shadows, while others, perhaps more correctly, believe the power grants a Kindred control over the stuff of her soul, allowing her to coax it tangibly forth.

In any event, the effects of Obtenebration are terrifying, as waves of enveloping blackness roil out from the vampire, washing over their targets like an infernal tide. Blatant uses of this power are obvious breaches of the Masquerade - of course, as Obtenebration is proprietary to the Sabbat, any Camarilla neonate or ancilla caught using the Discipline had better have an impeccable explanation.

Note: Lasombra vampires can see through the darkness they control, though other Lasombra cannot. Dreadful tales of rival Keepers struggling to blind and smother each other with the same wisps of darkness circulate among young members of the clan, though no elders have come forth to substantiate these claims.


Level 1 * Shadow Play

By spending a blood point, the vampire can manipulate shadows and dim (but can not extinguish) lights, gaining a one-die bonus in all Intimidation and Stealth rolls.


Level 2 * Shroud of Night
Roll: Manipulation + Occult, difficulty 6
The vampire may cover ten square feet, per success, in a black matter that obscures all light and sound. Most are blind and deaf within it; those with Heightened Senses or Gleam of Red Eyes are not, but lose three dice in relevant pools. If the vampire can not see the area to be blackened, she must spend a blood point, and the difficulty is increased by two.


Level 3 * Arms of the Abyss
Roll: Manipulation + Occult, difficulty 7
The vampire may create dark tendrils. Each success either summons a six-foot shadowy tendril, or increases such a tendril by six feet. Each tendril has Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Brawl 2.


Level 4 * Nightshades
Roll: Wits + Occult, difficulty 7
The vampire may create a circle of moving shadows. Within such a circle, all adversaries, and even all allies who don't have Obtenebration, suffer a +3 difficulty to initiative rolls, and lose one die from all pools. With one success, this circle is ten feet in diameter. Each additional success adds five feet to the diameter.


Level 5 * Shadow Body
By spending three blood points, the vampire may transform, over three turns, into a shadow. In this state, the vampire may see in absolute darkness, slither through cracks, and is invulnerable to physical attack. The drawback is that R?hreck rolls are increased in difficulty by one.


Level 6 * Call the Lamprey
The vampire may summon from within herself a large shadowy monster. If it attacks mortals, it may draw blood at one point per turn, and if drawn back into the vampire, she gains half the blood it drew. Other vampires suffer a +3 difficulty to all rolls, and if bitten, must roll Courage, difficulty 8, to avoid R?hreck. The Lamprey is immune to physical attack, has Stamina 4, and any non-physical damage done to it, or any attack against the vampire, will kill it. The vampire must concentrate solely on the Lamprey; she may not split her dice pool.


Level 6 * Shadow Step
Roll: Intelligence + Stealth, difficulty 6
The vampire may teleport, by stepping into one shadow, and emerging from another, up to fifty feet away. By rolling Intelligence + Brawl, difficulty 7, she may even pull someone else through the shadow.


Level 6 * Eyes of the Night
The vampire can see in absolute darkness -- even darkness created by Obtenebration. She gains Gleam of Red Eyes if she did not already have it, and if in a poorly lit area, may close her eyes and concentrate to see anything in a fifty-foot radius.


Level 7 * Shadow Slave
Roll: Willpower, difficulty 8
By spending a blood point, the vampire may animate her own shadow, which may move up to 150 feet away from her. In the event of a botch, the shadow will be hostile to her. The shadow has no disciplines, except for Obtenebration at half that of the vampire, and its abilities and attributes are half those of the vampire, except for Stealth, which is that of the vampire. If the shadow is destroyed, the vampire loses half of her willpower, must make a Rotrshrek roll at difficulty 9, and can not use this power for a month. This power lasts for one hour per success.


Level 8 * Entombment
Roll: Wits + Security, difficulty Dexterity + Occult
The vampire may trap the victim in an impenetrable darkness, which will dissipate under sunlight, or at the will of the vampire. The vampire may choose to make it airtight, and mortals trapped within will asphyxiate after a number of minutes equal to their Stamina.

Level 8 * Master of the Night
By spending one willpower point, and spilling five blood points on the ground, the vampire may create a shade, and by spending one blood point each, she may summon up to three. These shades obey every command she gives them. The shades have the following traits: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3, Charisma 0, Manipulation 0, Appearance 0, Perception 4, Intelligence 1, Wits 5, Athletics 1, Brawl 3, Dodge 1, Stealth 8, Celerity 1, Obfuscate 1, Obtenebration 6. Additionally, they do not take wound penalties, and all hand damage that they inflict is aggravated.


Level 9 * Summon the Abyss
Roll: Intelligence + Stealth, difficulty 6
By spending two willpower points and concentrating for three turns, the vampire may summon a sentient darkness. The number of successes is the amount of damage this darkness does to anyone within fifty feet of the vampire. This darkness remains for one turn, and cleans up after itself; all corpses are removed.


Level 10 * Banishment
Roll: Willpower, difficulty Humanity
The vampire may send a victim to the abyss, for the following time periods:
1 suc. one day.
2 suc. one week.
3 suc. one month.
4 suc. one year.
5 suc. forever, until the victim finds the way out herself.