The Elmwood
Role Play Boards => Blood Lines => Gothic => Bloodlines Resource Board => Topic started by: Maxx on
-
Animalism --allows empathy with and power over the animal world, as well as the animal within, and embodies the Beast which lurks within the soul of every Cainite. Those with Animalism can understand and soothe the passions of animals and control the actions of such creatures by touching the heart of the beast within them all. Vampires lacking this Discipline or the Skill of Animal Ken can seem offensive to animals, as beasts are distinctly uncomfortable around the undead and will do all they can to move away.
Level 1--Sweet Whispers (communicate with animals)
System: No roll is necessary to talk with an animal, but the player must make a Manipulation+Animal Ken roll to get it to do favors (difficulty 6). This difficulty can be adjusted by circumstances and roleplaying skill. Depending on the nature of the character's inner soul, the approach of the conversation with the animal will differ--it is not completely up to the player to decide, and depends heavily on the character's Nature. The approach taken might be that of intimidation, teasing, cajoling, rationality, emotional pleading or practically anything. Interactions must be roleplayed through, but the player should understand that he does not simply play the character, but the Beast within instead.
Level 2--The Beckoning (summon animals)
System: The player must roll Charisma+Survival to determine how well the call is received by the intended targets (difficulty is normally 6) and consult the table below. The only animals that might respond are those within hearing distance of the song.
The summons may be very complicated, though the Storyteller will assign a higher difficulty if the player gets too carried away. For instance, a vampire could simply call out all the rats of the sewers (difficulty 6), all rats with white fur (difficulty 7), or even summon the specific rat that had the audacity to bite her (difficulty 8).
1 success One animal responds
2 successes A quarter of the animals who hear The Beckoning respond
3 successes Half of the animals respond
4 successes Most of the animals respond
5 successes All of the animals respond
Level 3--Song of Serenity (removing anger)
System: The player must roll Manipulation+Empathy (difficulty 7) and must collect as many successes as the target has willpower (five for most animals). This is an extended roll. Any failure indicates that the vampire must start over from the beginning, while any botch indicates that he will never again be able to steal that creature's Beast. Vampires are immune to this.
Auspex--extrasensory awareness, empathy, and perception.
Level 1--Heightened Senses (sharpening of all five senses)
System: through this power comes into play largely through Storyteller description, certain circumstances require the use of dice. The Storyteller secretly rolls a character's unmodified Auspex rating whenever danger might be sensed. The difficulty varies according to the circumstances (and whim). For instance, a warning that a gun has been pointed at the back of the character's head may only require a five, while a sudden realization that the prince is scheming against her at the next table may require a nine.
Level 2--Aura Perception (sensing aura of others, color/mood connection)
System: The player must make a Perception+Empathy roll (difficulty 8). The Storyteller may wish to make this roll so that the player doesn't know if he failed or botched. Each success indicates how much of the aura is seen and can be understood (see chart below). A botch indicates a misleading interpretation.
1 success Can only distinguish the shade (pale or bright)
2 successes Can distinguish color as well
3 successes Patterns can be recognized
4 successes Subtle shifts can be detected
5 successes Can identify mixtures of color and pattern
Aura Colors
Afraid: Orange
Aggressive: Purple
Angry: Red
Bitter: Brown
Calm: Light Blue
Compassionate: Pink
Conservative: Lavender
Depressed: Gray
Desirous or Lustful: Deep Red
Distrustful: Light Green
Enraged: Crimson
Envious: Dark Green
Excited: Violet
Generous: Rose
Happy: Vermilion
Hateful: Black
Idealistic: Yellow
Innocent: White
Love: Blue
Obsessed: Green
Sad: Silver
Spiritual: Gold
Suspicious: Dark Blue
A Vampire: Appropriate color is pale
Confused: Mottled, shifting colors
Daydreaming: Sharp flickering colors
Diabolist: Black veins in aura
Frenzied: Rapidly rippling colors
Psychotic: Hypnotic, swirling color
Magic Use: Myriad sparkles
Level 3--Spirits Touch (touching objects to gain impressions of former holders)
System: The player must make a Perception+Empathy roll. The difficulty is determined by the age of teh impressions and the mental and spiritual strength of the person who left them. The number of successes determines the amount of information gained, both in terms of snapshots (images of the scene when the object was being held) and the nature of the person who was holding the object. Generally one snapshot and one aspect of person's identity (Nature, Demeanor, aura, name, sex, or age) is received for each success.
Celerity--super human speed
This Discipline explains the superior quickness of vampires. A rating in Celerity allows a vampire to move extremely quickly in times of stress and take multiple actions in a single turn. While anyone can decide to split their Dice Pool during a single turn, a character with Celerity can perform extra actions without penalty. One extra action is allowed per point of Celerity, and the vampire must use his entire Dice Pool for each one. One Blood Point must be spent every turn the character uses Celerity, even if he does not take all the actions allowed. For instance, if a vampire has a Celerity rating of 4, and wishes to take three actions in a single turn, he will still need to spend a Blood Point.
Dominate--influence over the minds and actions of others
Level 1--Command the Wearied Mind (one word commands to others)
System: The character must make a Manipulation+Intimidation roll (difficulty of the target's Willpower). More successes force the target to act with greater vigor.
Level 2--Mesmerize (implant suggestions into unconscious mind of subject)
System: The player must roll Manipulation+Leadership (difficulty is the Willpower of the target). The number of successes determines how well the suggestion is implanted. With less than three successes, the subject cannot be forced to do anything which seems strange to her. The subject might walk outside, but is unlikely to pretend to be a chicken. With less than five successes, the suggestion is effective unless heeding it would endanger the subject. A businessman won't pick a fight with someone, but a bouncer will in a heartbeat. At five successes, nearly any sort of command can be made.
Level 3--The Forgetful Mind (steal, create, and remove memories from subject)
System: The player rolls Wits+Subterfuge (difficulty is the Willpower rating of the target) and then consults the following table to see how much may be done to the subject's memory.
1 success Memory loss lasts but a day
2 successes May remove, but not alter memory
3 successes May make slight alterations to memory
4 successes May alter or remove entire scene from subject's memory
5 successes Whole periods of subject's life may be reconstructed
Fortitude--supernatural toughness and vigor
System: Fortitude provides the ability to resist sunlight and fire to those who possess it. For each level of Fortitude a character possesses, he may roll one die to soak damage from fire and sunlight. Fortitude is also added to a character's ability to soak other wounds.
Obfuscate--hiding, disappearing from mind's eye
Level 1--Cloak of Shadows (hiding with slight cover or somewhere not normal)
System: No roll needs to be made, since the Obfuscate succeeds once the criteria have been met. However, those with Auspex higher than the character's Obfuscate will see right through the shadows. (note: all that is needed to complete this is some form of cover, or at least something between you and the person looking, e.g. a lamp post)
Level 2--Unseen Presence (hiding while moving around; stronger version of Cloak of Shadows)
System: No roll is normally required; however, if the character speaks or engages in violent physical activity (e.g. combat), she will probably draw attention to herself. The Storyteller may ask for a Wits+Stealth roll to determine how well the character remains unseen. At least three successes are required to allow her to speak and still not be seen.
Level 3--Mask of the Thousand Faces (appear as someone other than who you are)
System: The player must roll Manipulation+Acting (difficulty 7) to determine how well the character assumes his mask. Refer to the chart to see how successful the attempt is.
1 success People could still pick you out of a police lineup
2 successes The character looks somewhat different; subjects describe him differently
3 successes The desired look is successfully broadcast
4 successes Appearance, movement, and actions are completely different
5 successes The character can even appear as someone of the opposite sex
Potence--superhuman strength
System: The character's rating in Potence provides her with automatic successes on nearly any Strength roll--one automatic success per rating point. Thus she can succeed at most Strength rolls automatically without needing to make a roll at it. In melee and brawling combat, the automatic successes count on the damage roll.
Presence
Level 1--Awe
When you employ this power, everyone near you becomes intensely attracted to you. They will do nearly anything to be close to you, although their fascination is not so complete that they will endanger themselves. The effects last only as long as the subjects are in your presence, but the next time they see you, the feelings are likely to be reawakened. By carefully using this power, you can have phenomenal powers of mass communication. Since Presence uses emotion to sway victims, it doesn't really matter what is said, but you can more easily convince people of a certain course of action or the nobility of a purpose by using this Discipline.
System: The player must roll Charisma + Acting (difficulty 7 ). Those affected can use Willpower points to overcome the effect, but must continue spending Willpower every few minutes for as long as they remain in the same area as the character. However, as soon as a number of Willpower equivalent to the number of successes rolled is spent, the Awe is completely shaken off, and the subject can't be affected for the rest of the scene. The number of successes rolled also determines how many people can be affected.
1 success one person
2 successes two people
3 successes six people
4 successes 20 people
5 successes everyone in the vampire's immediate vicinity (e.g. an entire auditorium of people)
Level 2--Dread Gaze
The exhibition of your full vampiric powers can cause great fear and loathing in mortals. This is usually accomplished by baring teeth and claws while hissing loudly. While most vampires can performing this action, you are exceptionally adept at it, and are capable of driving mortals insane with fear, or frightening them into submission or flight with the merest snarl. The subjects are cowed by your appearance and will do anything to avoid incurring your wrath.
System: The player must roll Charisma + Intimidation (difficulty is the victim's Wits + 3). Any success indicates that the target is cowed, while three or more successes indicate that he runs away in fear. Moreover, each success reduces the number of dice the victim is allowed to roll the next turn by one. This roll may be attempted only once per turn, though if performed in successive sums; the vampire may collect successes as an extended roll in order to completely subjugate the target. Eventually the target may lose so many dice that he will be unable to do anything but curl up on the ground and weep. Failure indicates that the attempt has faltered. All collected successes are lost, the victim may act normally again and the player must start over next turn. A botch indicates the victim is not at all impressed, and any use of Presence by the character will not be effective against him again this story.
Level 3--Entrancement
Entrancement is used to convince another to serve you. The subject of Entrancement will be enchanted with you and desire to serve your needs. However, unlike a person Possessed with Dominate powers, the subject of Entrancement retains her freedom of action and creativity. This can be both good and bad. The subject is certainly much more enjoyable to be around and tends to remind a vampire of the cruelty of control less often, but such a victim can be unpredictable in how she will attempt to please the Kindred. Because so much freedom of will is maintained, an Entranced person does not count as a new Retainer.
System: The player must roll Appearance + Empathy to Entrance a subject (difficulty of the target's Willpower). The number of successes determines how long the victim is Entranced. There is no way to extend a period of Entrancement; indeed, once the condition wears off, the victim is likely to think ill of the vampire.
1 success one hour
2 successes one day
3 successes one week
4 successes one month
5 successes one year
Protean--transforming your body or a part of your body into something inhuman
Level 1--Gleam of Red Eyes (ability to see perfectly in normal darkness, and limited vision in absolute darkness)
System: No roll need be made, but it takes one full turn for the change to occur. Your eyes glow red while this is in use.
Level 2--Wolf Claws (growing inch-long claws on each finger)
System: No roll need be made; the transformation is automatic and takes but one turn to accomplish. However one Blood Point must be spent each time the claws are grown.
Level 3--Earth Meld (merging with the earth, sinking down into the ground)
System: No roll is necessary and the transformation is automatic, but a Blood Point must be spent.
Thaumaturgy--Few Kindred are able to practice the rigorous discipline of Thaumaturgy. This is the practice of blood magick, and is largely the province of the Tremere Clan, who created it and guard its secrets jealously.
This magick is directly descended from the theories and practices of the Order of Hermes, a medieval order of magi. While few humans know aught of blood magick, this art has been developed for centuries by the Tremere to take advantage of their vampiric strengths. Tremere Thaumaturgy is despised and feared by most mortal wizards.
Thaumaturgy also allows the wielder to use rituals, as well as a number of different paths: the Lure of Flames, Movement of the Mind, and Weather Control.
Level 1--A Taste for Blood (Perception-based abilities related to blood) You may determine how much blood is left in a Kindred or mortal, how recently a vampire has fed and the approximate generation of a vampire. You must touch the blood in order to be able to tell anything about it.
System: The player must roll Perception+Occult (difficulty of 7). Number of successes determines how much information is received and how accurate it is.
Level 2--Blood Rage (force another to use blood with touch)
System: The player must roll Dexterity+Subterfuge against a difficulty of the target's Willpower. Every success forces the target to immediately spend one Blood Point in a way of the Thaumaturgist desires.
Level 3--Blood of Potency (temporarily lowering your effective generation)
System: Roll Manipulation+Survival (difficulty 8); successes must be spent both to decrease the vampire's generation and create a duration in hours.