Disciplines
Fortitude
All vampires possess a preternatural constitution that makes most normal damage inconsequential. Fortitude bestows a resilience and vigor far beyond even normal vampiric toughness. Kindred with this power ignore the mightiest punches and barely feel hails of bullets. This Discipline allows for continued survival, protecting against the claws of a Gangrel, the teeth of a Lupine, the envenomed blades of Assamite assassins, fire, or even sunlight.
Vicissitude
[ 1 ] Malleable Visage
A vampire with this power may alter her own bodily parameters: height, build, voice, facial features, and skin tone, among other things. Such changes are cosmetic and minor in scope -- no more than a foot of height gained or lost, for example. She must physically mold the alteration, literally shaping her flesh into the desired result.
System: The player must spend a blood point for each body part to be changed, then roll Intelligence + Body Crafts (difficulty 6). To duplicate another person or voice requires a Perception + Body Crafts roll (difficulty 8), and five successes are required for a flawless copy; fewer successes leave minute, or not-so-minute flaws. Increasing one's Appearance Trait is difficulty 10, thus usually requiring Willpower expenditure for even minimal success, and a botch permanently reduces the Attribute by one.
[ 2 ] Fleshcraft [ Vampire: The Masquerade (Revised) -- Page 186 ]
This power is similar to Malleable Visage, but allows the vampire to perform drastic, grotesque alterations on other creatures. Tzimisce often use this power to transform their servitors into monstrous guards, the better to frighten foes. Only flesh (skin, muscle, fat, and cartilage, but not bone) may be transformed.
System: The vampire must grapple the intended victim, while her player makes a successful Dexterity + Body Crafts roll (difficulty variable: 5 for a crude yank-and-tuck, up to 9 for precise transformations). A vampire who wishes to increase another's Appearance Trait does so as described under Malleable Visage; reducing the Attribute is considerably easier (difficulty 5), though truly inspired disfigurement may dictate a higher difficulty. In either case, each success increases/reduces the Attribute by one.
A vampire may use this power to move clumps of skin, fat, and muscle tissue, thus providing additional padding where needed. For each success scored on a Dexterity + Body Crafts roll (difficulty 8), the vampire may increase the subject's soak dice pool by one, at the expense of either a point of Strength or a health level (vampire's choice).
[ 3 ] Bonecraft [ Vampire: The Masquerade (Revised) -- Page 186 ]
This terrible power allows a vampire to manipulate bone in the same manner that flesh is shaped. In conjunction with Fleshcraft, this power enables a Vicissitude practitioner to deform a victim (or herself) beyond recognition. This power should be used in conjunction with the flesh-shaping arts, unless the vampire wants to inflict injury on the victim.
System: The vampire's player makes a Strength + Body Crafts roll (difficulties as above). Bonecraft may be used without the flesh-shaping arts, as an offensive weapon. Each success scored on the Strength + Body Crafts roll (difficulty 7) inflicts one health level of lethal damage on the victim, as his bones rip, puncture, and slice their way out of his skin.
The vampire may utilize this power (on herself or others) to form spikes or talons of bone, either on the knuckles as an offensive weapon or all over the body as defensive "quills." If bone spikes are used, the vampire or victim takes one health level of lethal damage (the vampire's comes from having the very sharp bone pierce through his skin -- this weaponry doesn't come cheaply). In the case of quills, the subject takes a number of health levels equal to five minus the number of successes (a botch kills the subject or sends the vampire into torpor). These health levels may be healed normally. Knuckle spikes inflict Strength + 1 lethal damage, while defensive quills inflict a hand-to-hand attacker's Strength in lethal damage unless the attacker scores three or more successes on the attack roll (the defender still takes damage normally). Quills also enable the vampire or altered subject to add two to all damage inflicted via holds, clinches, or tackles.
A vampire who scored five or more successes on the Strength + Body Crafts roll may cause a rival vampire's rib cage to curve inward and pierce the heart While this does not send a vampire into torpor, it does cause the affected vampire to lose half his blood points, as the seat of his vitae ruptures in a shower of gore.
Protean
[ 1 ] Witness of Darkness
The vampire with this ability can see normally in ordinary darkness - even a cloudy, moonless night is as bright as overcast day to the character. However, the Discipline does cause the character's eyes to glow a visible red, which unnerves most mortals who see it.
System: Activating the Discipline is a free action, but it takes a full turn to take effect. While Witness of Darkness is in effect, the character suffers no dice pool penalties based on ordinary darkness. It is impossible to disguise one's inhuman nature while using this ability. However, while the Discipline is active, the player adds one die to Intimidation dice pools against mortals who are not acquainted with the supernatural.
[ 2 ] Talons of the Beast
A Cainite with Talons of the Beast can extrude wicked claws a few inches long from each fingertip. Despite the power's name, the claws are far more dangerous than those of a mere wolf or bear. They can tear through chain armor and still dig deep into flesh. Wounds inflicted upon mortals by the Talons of the Beast never quite heal; Cainites find that vitae alone is insufficient to heal them. Some vampires exhibit other minor changes when activating this power. Eyes might turn a chalky white, blood might seep from the palms, or the character might be unable to keep his fangs retracted.
System: Activating the Discipline is a free action, but it takes a full turn to take effect, and the player must spend one blood point. Wounds inflicted by the Talons of the Beast do Strength +1 dice of aggravated damage.
The user of such talons to tear through hard materials given enough time: They possess the supernatural resilience of the vampire who wields them, and can even eventually tear through stone and steel.
[ 3 ] Interred in the Earth
Many Gangrel claim to be descended from an ancient warrior-goddess called Ennoia, and some even purport to be pagan subterranean gods themselves. This ability is one of the reasons they can do such a thing. The vampire using it takes advantage of the Cainite affinity for the grave by sliding his body into the earth itself, as though stepping into a tomb for the day.
The Gangrel cannot move around once he is entombed in the earth; in fact, she cannot even be dug up. She is immaterial and merged with the soil around her. An attempt to dig her up will eventually fail, as the roughly man-sized blob of earth the vampire inhabits cannot be moved or pierced without powerful magic. However, the ground above her resting place is disturbed and overturned, as though a mortal were considering planting a garden there, so those who are knowledgeable in such things can uncover the place of entombment.
The vampire must have direct contact with the ground itself in order to use this power. A wooden or stone floor blocks her melding into the dirt. She also cannot use this power while standing on a large piece of rock. She can inter herself in earth, not stone. The power provides perfect protection against the sun's rays and the heat of ordinary fire above. The character can be considered to be six feet under the earth for such purposes. The Animal may choose to remain conscious while interred, though when the sun rises this becomes more difficult, as always.
The very existence of this power sets paranoid Cainites to thinking. If powerful vampires remain in torpor for centuries, and many of the eldest Cainites are assumed to be able to inter themselves, then there could be hundreds of elders buried in the earth, and they could emerge from torpor nearly anywhere at any time. Surely the emergence of a multitude of such creatures would be a harbinger of Gehenna. The ancient masters of the Roman nights are said to have known a ritual to lock such slumbering ancients in their earthly prisons. The secret apparently involved salting the earth with a special mixture of alchemical powders. It was used to greatest effect after the destruction of Carthage, when Brujah and other elders were locked under the soil of North Africa.
System: The player spends one blood point, and the character concentrates for a full turn, taking no other action. Once activated, the character is essentially immune to all attacks. The character can use Auspex and other purely mental abilities while interred, but he may not activate any Discipline with a physical effect.
[ 4 ] Shape of the Beast
This version of Shape of the Beast applies only to vampires of Clan Gangrel. The Gangrel may transform into a "fight" form and a "flight" form; these forms are chosen when the power is acquired and may not be changed. The vampire keeps her own personality, memories, and skills and can use the natural abilities of the animal form -- these are increased Physical Attributes in the "fight" form, and escape abilities in the "flight" form. Both animal forms grant improved senses; the Gangrel may choose to reduce the difficulty of Perception rolls in one appropriate sense group -- sight, hearing, or smell/taste -- by two in her animal forms (the sense group may be different in the two forms).
System: The character spends one Blood Point to assume either animal form. The transformation requires three turns to complete (spending additional Blood Points reduces the transformation time by one turn per Blood Points spend, to a minimum of one). The Gangrel remains in her beast form until the next dawn, unless she wishes to change back sooner. Clothing and small personal possessions transform with the Gangrel.
The Gangrel's "fight" form grants a total of five additional Attribute points split among the vampire's Physical Attributes. For the standard wolf form, these are allotted as +1 Strength, +2 Dexterity, and +2 Stamina. A bear form may increase the Gangrel's Strength by +3 and Stamina by +2. These points must be allocated when the "fight" animal form is chosen and may not be thereafter rearranged. In addition, the Gangrel's bite inflicts Strength aggravated damage (these damage values may be adjusted by the Storyteller as necessary to reflect the animal's primary mode of attack -- an alligator form may allow a greater bite bonus, but no claw damage). Running speed is usually doubled, unless an alternate method of locomotion like swimming is available.
The Gangrel's "flight" form reduces the vampire's Strength to 1, but allows her to fly at a speed equal to her running movement rate (Gangrel whose "flight" forms do not fly take a +2 bonus to Dexterity). In addition, attacks made against the "flight" form are made at +2 difficulty due to the animal's small size (those Gangrel who take large forms like the eagle may keep their full Strength by sacrificing this size bonus). While in animal's shape, the vampire can use any Discipline she possesses except Necromancy, Serpentis, Thaumaturgy, or Vicissitude. The vampire loses all of her hands and all facility of speech -- the vampire must use the Animalism Discipline ability Feral Whispers speak to animals. All Attributes and Abilities granted by animal forms are subject to the Storyteller's approval and modification at the time of definition.
Animal features acquired by a Gangrel after a frenzy do not necessarily conform to those of her beast forms. Most Gangrel seem to be patchworks of feral features rather than changing to resemble one specific animal.
It is often difficult to predict what forms a Gangrel will assume when she learns Shape of the Beast. Three factors play an important roll in the die process: The vampire's personality, his sire's animal forms, and the local environment at the time of the vampire's Embrace.
The vampire's personality and beliefs are perhaps the most important factor -- after all, the animal forms assumed using Shape of the beast are an expression of the Beast Within. Vampires with strong personality traits often transform into the animal most often attributed that trait by superstition; wolves with cunning, lions with courage, reptiles with callousness, ravens with curiosity, etc. These superstitions are culturally based, and their interpretations will naturally change between cultures. Individuals who felt a strong affinity with a particular animal when alive, who considered the animal to be a totem or protective spirit, will usually transform into that animal upon learning Shape of the Beast.
The role of the Sire is a matter of dispute among Gangrel researchers. It is possible that the Sire's influence affects the childe's expectations; if the childe sees her sire transform into a tiger, she may assume that she will do the same so completely that her assumption becomes reality. The Discipline exhibits lines of descent, however, in which grandsire, sire, and childe all share the same animal forms. Given the tenacity of the Gangrel blood, elders interested in such matters do not consider it to be out of the question that such preferences are a factor of blood.
The influence of the local environment can perhaps be credited with the popularity of the wolf and bat forms even among the Gangrel - wolves and bats of varying species populate the globe. The vampire's beast, in the absence of overriding personality or blood-related factors, provides the vampire with the most survivable form available in the surrounds; a form that provides not only hunting or escape, but also camouflage, offers an undeniable advantage. It is unlikely that a vampire raised and Embraced in the Great Plains will transform into a tiger or a shark. The forms of wolf and hawk, in this instance, are both useful and safe. They are native creatures suited to the environment.
Koldunic Sorcery [Way of the Spirit]
The element of Spirit binds and transcends the four elements of the material world. Spirit is life in all its purest and most debased forms. It flows sluggishly in the blood of vampires and dances in the currents of wind and water. It burns in every flame and shakes the foundations of the earth. Ancient koldun learned to extend the spirit of their blood into the world around them, joining and dominating the ambient living essence for a brief time. Unto itself, the Way of Spirit grants preternatural awareness over a wide area. The true power of the art, however, lies in channeling other manifestations of koldunic Sorcery. A master koldun may whisper his thoughts to the edge of his domain and strike down intruders with tempest, fire and devouring earth. His mystical will is law unto the very edge of his bloated spirit.
To activate the Way of Spirit, the player spends one Willpower point and rolls Charisma + Occult (difficulty 4 + the rating of the intended area of effect; see below). Characters may not attempt a range greater than their current mastery of the way permits. A failure has no effect apart from wasting Willpower. On a botch, the earth itself rejects the koldun and bars any further use of the way until the sun next sets. Success grants sensory omniscience in the area of effect, lasting one hour per success. Within this territory, the koldun sees, hears, smells and even tastes everything at once. His touch flows through the dominion as on a breeze or a ripple in the soil, invisible and so capable of perceiving the invisible and spiritual realm. While such wide-reaching senses can immediately detect the presence and rough locations of intruders and spirits, the koldun must concentrate to focus on specific objects or individuals. This requires a Wits + Alertness roll (difficulty determined by the Storyteller). As with Auspex, the mystical senses conferred by the Way of Spirit may confound Obfuscate and other forms of illusion or concealment.
Once a koldun extends his senses with this path, he may evoke powers of other koldunic Sorcery paths anywhere within the territory. Apart from their extended range, such powers operate as normal. No power may be used that has a level exceeding the vampire’s rating in the Way of Spirit. For example, it is not possible to create earthquakes many miles distant without a rating of 5 in both the Way of Earth and the Way of Spirit.
[1] 50 feet
Koldunic Rituals
[1] Level One
Deflection of Wooden Doom
This ritual protects the Tremere from being staked, whether or not she is resting or active. While this ritual is in effect, the first stake that would pierce the Tremere's heart disintegrates in the attacker's hand. A stake merely held near the Tremere is unaffected; for this ritual to work, the stake must actively be used in an attempt to impale the vampire.
The thaumaturge must surround herself with a circle of wood for a full hour. Any wood will work: furniture, sawdust, raw timber, 2' x 4's, whatever. The circle must remain unbroken, however. At the end of the hour, the vampire places a wooden splinter under her tongue. If this splinter is removed, the ritual is nullified. This ritual lasts until the following dawn or dusk.
Author
Topic: Daniel Cebanu - Retired (Read 19118 times)