# Welcome to Cape Town! We are an 18+ V5 play-by-post server that emphasizes maintaining a healthy and friendly environment. To best facilitate this, we are invite- and application-only. Join us [here](https://discord.gg/WbgrHqEB3U)!
SettingWhat makes Cape Town unique?/pages/oXowdX7sq2O7eqzXCmD6/files/02HnVQSUoWTdNee2zoyi
Character CreationLearn how to build a character for our server./pages/zdKnfYHO7EC20dM5xmiU/files/yFSiGJoG3kJu95w5DyAo
Beginner's GuideEverything you need to get started!/pages/lUJOeDOtXGioa78fXZss/files/nNpkjpbT3JM38T25y9Yo
# Setting Guide We trust that players know the ins and outs of the sect their characters belong to (most of what you need to know will be in the Core book, though sect-specific information can be gathered from the appropriate book). ## The Anarchs Revolution has come to Cape Town, and it was long in the making; too many crushed under the weight of Apartheid and the Elders' pressed thumbs against vampire kind. Mortal ambitions stewed and bred the perfect wildfire to burn the corrupt and powerful - countless Fledglings brought under the banner of the Anarch Movement and the Beckoning only served as the signal flare for all-out war. Martyrs died with dignity, Primogen burned in the daylight, prostrated with graffiti mingled into their ashes. Everyone could taste it, see it, and feel it. Freedom was here, and in one bloody battle, it was won. Congratulations, you're an Anarch Freestate. Now what? You have no obvious enemy to face, so you face yourselves. Each individual group of aligned Kindred barks and yells out their credits from the war and why you should follow them. Everyone is picking a side, and tension boils and smolders. There is one universal truth to the Kindred, nothing is free, and the work is never done. Find the cost of freedom, and try not to become the oppressor yourself as the new status quo of the recent victory of the Anarch Movement finds itself known in words and fists.
Anarch Expectations The Anarchs don’t have many rules, as is their nature, but the ones they do have are very important. One interesting rule is Junior’s insistence on meeting every new member of the sect and judging them at the jump. He doesn’t appreciate weakness and neither does anyone else in the sect. While the Anachs are made up of several different gangs, there are three major ones to note: 7KINGS, Red Scorpions, and the 15s. Each one has different ways of doing things and Junior insists that he be the emissary between Kindred until they find their own niche in the hierarchy. After that, they’re on their own and hopefully enmeshed in their chosen gang’s culture. The three secretaries under Junior are also open to accommodating new Kindred by getting them involved in the hustle. They’re less friendly and more business oriented, however, and consider Junior the face of the operation. Another rule is watching your tongue. Snitches get stitches and the current Anarch sect owes a lot of its current power to the major gangs. You will be required to do certain tasks to earn the trust of your chosen gang and those tasks vary just as much as they do. Talk to Junior or his secretaries for help with getting inducted.
Anarch Gangs The Anarchs are currently made up of three gangs working together on a common goal: Secure Cape Town for the sect, then fight over it once again when the other two aren’t looking. This is clearly very wise and definitely not a bad idea. Gang one is the 7KINGS, a gang known for their affluence and cutthroat business dealings. They love to be sociable but are also territorial over their hunting grounds, not appreciating more ‘brutish’ predators moving in. You’ll find members of the 7KINGS at nightclubs, pop up festivals, and stripclubs ensuring a more refined clientele. They’re allregedly led by a Toreador named Diallo Lark, who people describe as a ‘short king’. Gang two is the Red Scorpions, an offshoot of the Hong Kong Triad nestled comfortably in Cape Town. They run drugs and rake in money hand over fist while keeping their unique hunting grounds under lock and key. Anyone interested in intellect seeks out their hidden symbols and follows the breadcrumbs to their main haunt, a black market in CapeTown’s central Chinatown. They’re led by a young, headstrong woman named Jia xin Nkosi who moved back to South Africa to take her place at the head of the family business: Dealing cocaine. And finally, the 15s, a gang wholly dedicated to the Anarchs to the point where you could write this whole thing off as a giant breach. They demand physical prowess and can flip a car inside out as easily as they could any vampire who makes a wrong move. They value status in their sect and are known to help others take care of ‘problems’ that arise from the Anarchs’ lackadaisical approach to ‘rules’ and ‘guidelines’. They’re led by Malik Aadan, a man who enjoys his grip over the disenfranchised for both good and bad reasons. The desperate make good marks.
## The Camarilla The Camarilla is in disarray. There is no better word to describe the situation the ancient sect has devolved into. The Primogen Council is a shadow of its former self. No longer does a proud Keeper watch over and protect their vaunted Elysium. No more chatty Harpies stroll through the ivory halls of the Domain. All of them perished, leaving no clear replacements behind them. The aftermath of the Anarch Revolt was bloody indeed, but it was not solely the work of the Anarchs that decimated the Court. They turned against each other, using intrigue and daggers in the night. "Safe" Havens blazed and once respected members disappeared into obscurity. Camarilla's strongest and brightest fought each other, struggling for power and influence for decades. Such infighting went on until Prince Khumalo brought decisive action after he had seen enough - respected Primogen and the previous Prince's strongest supporter ashed by an Anarch raid. It showed weakness, for how could then Prince lead the Camarilla if he couldn't defend his most faithful subject? Khumalo couldn't abide by that and he declared Praxis for his own some time after, using his position as Seneschal to remove the weak Prince and finally bring order. He was triumphant in his endeavor but the Court strife left its ugly marks. Weakness was never felt so strongly before as the structure of the ancient order came so close to collapse. It is left to new blood to fill the ranks, to reinforce the order and rebuild what is broken and claim what is vacant. Prince Khumalo has re-opened the Elysium and wordlessly nudges his subjects to resume their nightly activities. Opportunity and death alike await the ambitious but such is the price for power. *Carpe Noctem,* Kindred.
Local Domain Laws All who enter my domain must come join me in prayer for both our safety and the future prosperity of our Sect. One will embellish the prayer to prove their unique traits and in turn be given my divine protection. We come together and share the blood through tithing and those who break my laws must give extra to repent. You will confess your sins to me and I will give you my grace. Bringing someone into our flock is an honor and a responsibility. Ghouls are the first step to strong, loyal members and you will seek permission before spreading the good word. If you treat your ghoul well and I grant permission, you may sire a childe. I must be presented all new members and remind all that my word is law when it comes to destruction. I am the one who gives permission to sire, and I'm the only one who can free you from this responsibility. There will be no technology or magic welcome at Elysium to not take away from God's grace. You will wear your finest clothes and behave yourself under His gaze. Ghouls are unwelcome until they have been deemed worthy by me. Remember our past and how it defines us. We will grow stronger by the grace of God and I will lead us there.
## Established SPCs The server has a list of established Storyteller-Played Characters in the [#spc-profiles](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1292865935220408384) channel. We will update this with any relevant characters, so stay tuned! ## Territory Map {% embed url="" %} # The Story So Far Decimated by the Beckoning, Second Inquisition, and the iron fists of resentful young Kindred, the Camarilla could not suppress the Anarch revolt that began in the late ‘90s. A brutal, violent revolution commenced, but Kindred will be Kindred and familiar problems arose. Retreating to key holdings the Camarilla survived, if only barely. In early 2024, Seneschal Bandile “Benjamin” Khumalo, a Lasombra who only ascended to the position a few years prior, launched a bloody coup to proclaim himself the new Prince. Prince Khumalo promised to restore the Camarilla to its past glory, but the Court remains insecure in his hands and the Primogen Council even smaller than before his ascent. Once victorious, the devoted Anarch cells which led the successful revolt were overwhelmed by newly Embraced Anarchs more concerned with feeding than with glorious revolution. Rival gangs coalesced around charismatic and brutal leaders alike, each willing to strike at the other as much as the remnant of the Camarilla. Of the prominent speakers at secret Rants before the revolt only the Brujah Junior Mokoena is known to have survived the dreamed-of victor, and now holds rich hunting grounds alongside his comrades. A young population in a city still suffering the effects of Apartheid, with no one to guide them or restrain their baser instincts. The blood grows weaker with each extraneous Embrace, Sects snap at one another like snarling dogs, and the status quo is untenable. Will they remain in the trappings of their mortal lives, affected by segregation and violence, or will a new night rise over Cape Town? # Do I Need the Book? Yes and no. We are happy to host newcomers to the game and expect all players to have a copy of the Core book to help them get a grasp on basic mechanics. If you are playing a more niche concept that's expanded on in another source book, you will probably want to check it out. However, all powers, merits, and flaws are listed here - alongside any adjustments made for the server - for ease of access and consistency. There are many places to buy V5 books, but if you're looking for electronic copies, we recommend [DriveThruRPG](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/256795/vampire-the-masquerade-5th-edition) for the older books and [Renegade Studio's website](https://renegadegamestudios.com/game-worlds/vampire-the-masquerade/vampire-the-masquerade-roleplaying-game/) for the newer ones. Please make sure your copy is up to date, as these books can sometimes go through several iterations! If previously-released content is ever reposted in a newer book, we will use the newer version of that content as it is likely that the developers altered it to better fit the current game's balance. # Character Sheet Best Practices ## Don't use your browser! Editing a PDF in your browser may look okay, but they frequently cause problems when our staff and sheet checkers try to view them. For instance, PDFs edited in Chromium browsers (Chrome, Edge, Opera, and others) often have "phantom dots" if you removed something from an earlier draft of your character. Firefox, on the other hand, causes lots of graphical and typeface glitches. ## Recommended editors The following editors are all free. A paid option often exists, but it is not necessary to purchase one. ### Windows * [Foxit Reader](https://www.foxit.com/downloads/#Foxit-Reader/) * [Sumatra PDF](https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/download-free-pdf-viewer) * [Xodo](https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/xodo-pdf-reader-editor/9WZDNCRDJXP4?hl=en-us\&gl=us\&rtc=1) ### Mac * [Foxit Reader](https://www.foxit.com/downloads/#Foxit-Reader/) * [PDF Viewer](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pdf-viewer-annotation-expert/id1120099014) * Preview (built-in; doesn't allow custom input in dropdowns) ### Linux * [Okular](https://okular.kde.org/) * [Xournal++](https://xournalpp.github.io/) ### Android * [PDF Viewer Pro](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pspdfkit.viewer) * [Xodo](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xodo.pdf.reader\&hl=en_US\&gl=US\&pli=1) ### iOS * [PDF Viewer](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pdf-viewer-annotation-expert/id1120099014) * [Xodo](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/xodo-pdf-reader-scanner/id805075929) # Character Creation This page is not meant to replace the instructions in the Core book, but to enhance them. Please follow along with both of these resources for the best chance at an expedient approval. ## Art and Crediting Any art that you use must be credited to the actual artist with either their name (if easily searchable), online handle, or social media link. Real life models may be used but you must credit the model themselves by name along with the photographer. AI images are allowed if they were generated from licensed websites. A few sites that properly credit and compensate their artists are [Tess](https://www.tess.design/) and [Exactly](https://exactly.ai/). AI images from generators that do not source ethically are **not** allowed. ## Starting at the Top All character sheets can be found [here](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IEZSBIUgkmafo7LxKQ-iRK0bJHnmlqOd?usp=sharing) and in the [#character-creation](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1292865935073476625) channel on the server. Please use the character creation rules starting on p.136 of the Core book. For more realistic or coherent characters, we recommend using the guided character creation process starting on p.144, titled "Your Human Life." This method emphasizes character building by focusing on characters' lives and assigning stats accordingly. If you are making a fledgling character, please note that they do not start with a Predator Type. They may, however, earn one in play. This is further described below.
Retiring a character? If you are retiring a character, you may have a bank of retirement experience to apply to your new character. You gain one experience point for every other reset (non-consecutive) that you were active, up to a maximum of 20 experience points. This retirement experience will not count towards your new character's [experience cap](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/cape-town-reborn/getting-started/beginners-guide/server-specific-information#experience-caps). Ask staff how much you have banked, as we keep a record!
## Core Concepts Before putting stats on paper, you should remember the facets of Vampire that you want to explore. Is your character old or young? Are they experienced, brand new, or jaded? Player characters must be local. Your characters should also be *yours*. It's okay to use a character from popular media as a face claim (a reference image for what your character looks like), but it is not okay to make that character into a vampire so that you can play them. This isn't that kind of server.
A Note on Playing Mortals and Ghouls We do not allow mortal or ghoul characters. Mortals inhabit a niche sphere in the World of Darkness and often find themselves never even touching the more supernatural aspects of the setting. For this reason, it is also hard for mortals to teach new players how the game functions and it is even harder to have them interact with the game as a whole. If you are new to Vampire, we recommend making a fledgling character as they are expected to have less knowledge of the world around them, in general. If you want to play with the inherent power imbalance between Kindred, consider playing a thin-blood.
When brainstorming your character concept, you should be able to answer all of the following questions: * What was your character’s name in life? * What did they do? * Where and when were they Embraced? * What is their name now? * Where are they now? * What sect are they in? * How do they provide for themselves? * What ties do they have to their mortal life, if any?
Tips for Ambitions and Desires Ambitions are long-term goals and should not change very often. Good questions to ask yourself while brainstorming are: What does this character want to achieve this year? This decade? Their lifetime? Many players choose Ambitions that game mechanics reflect, though this is not required. Ambitions also do not have to be attainable. Desires are short-term, ever-changing goals that can easily act as a launching point for that night's roleplay. Desires should not be repeated often and other player characters must be involved when possible. Log your desires in your ticket, either in the main channel or in a dedicated thread.
## Sect This is an anarch-only game. Camarilla and autarkis characters will not be approved. ## Sire and Clan ### Who Embraced You? Your character's sire is an important facet of their being, regardless of whether they remained in their unlife. Even if your character doesn't know their sire, you need to. You should be able to answer the following questions and fill out all the necessary information on your character sheet. * Who are they, and what is their general temperament? * Why did they Embrace your character? * What are they up to now? * How strong a presence do they have in your character's unlife? ### Choose Your Clan The clan you choose for your character determines a lot about them, from their bestial proclivities to their supernatural abilities. Whether you build something stereotypical or buck tradition is up to you, but be aware that stereotypes exist for a reason! We do not use the original banes for clans. The server character sheets have our choice of clan bane and compulsions written in, but they are also listed here for player reference. The Twice-Cursed flaw is available for players who want to interact with both banes.
Clan Banes * **Banu Haqim** - A mortal drinking the Blood of a Banu Haqim vampire suffers Aggravated Damage equal to the Bane Severity of the vampire for each Rouse Check’s worth of Blood ingested. In addition, Banu Haqim vitae cannot be used to heal mortal injuries (see p. 139). Banu Haqim vitae does not have any other toxic properties; in amounts below the quantity needed to create a Blood Bond, it inflicts no damage even if injected directly into the bloodstream, for example. *(PG p.56)* * **Brujah** - On a messy critical result on any Skill test outside of combat, a Brujah vampire causes damage (physical or mental, depending on the situation) to the subject of their interaction equal to their Bane Severity, in addition to any other result of the Hunger dice. The damage is Aggravated unless the player spends a point of Willpower, making the damage Superficial instead. *(PG p.56)* * **Gangrel** - Gangrel relate to their Beast much as other Kindred relate to the Gangrel: suspicious partnership. In frenzy, Gangrel gain one or more animal features: a physical trait, a smell, or a behavioral tic. These features last for one more night afterward, lingering like a hango- ver following debauchery. Each feature reduces one Attribute by 1 point – the Storyteller may decide that a forked tongue or bearlike musk reduces Charisma, while batlike ears reduce Resolve (“all those distracting sounds”). If nothing immediately occurs to you, the feature reduces Intelligence or Manipulation. \ \ The number of features a Gangrel manifests equals their Bane Severity. If your character Rides the Wave of their frenzy (see p. 219) you can choose only one feature to manifest, thus taking only one penalty to their Attributes. *(Core p.73)* * **Hecata** - The Hecata inflict a notoriously painful Kiss. The fangs of the Lazarenes bring not bliss, but agony. Victims caught unawares will violently resist unless restrained, and few people submit willingly to the torture that is the Hecata Kiss. When drinking directly from a victim, Hecata may only take harmful drinks, resulting in blood loss (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 212). Unwilling mortals not restrained will try to escape, and even those coerced or willing must succeed in a Stamina + Resolve test against Difficulty 2 + Bane Severity in order not to strain against the pain. Coerced or willing vampire victims of the Hecata bite must make a Frenzy test against Difficulty 3 to avoid falling into a Terror Frenzy. *(PG p.23)* * **Lasombra** - When making a Remorse roll, deduct a number of dice equal to the Bane Severity of the Lasombra vampire. This cannot reduce the dice pool below one die. *(PG p.57)* * **Malkavian** - Whenever a Malkavian uses a Discipline power, mortals in close proximity (roughly in the same room or equivalent) are spooked and any social interaction with them apart from intimidation suffers a dice penalty equal to the Malkavian’s Bane Severity. This sensation isn’t Masquerade-breaking, but the mortal is struck by a sudden fear or dislike of the vampire, lasting one scene. Other vampires experience a similar sensation, instantly recognizing the Malkavian as a vampire, though no penalties apply to interactions with them. *(PG p.57)* * **Ministry** - A vampire of the Ministry can only use Blush of Life if they have recently fed from a living vessel (in the same scene or up to roughly an hour ago, at the storyteller’s discretion), and when they do it requires a number of Rouse Checks equal to their Bane Severity rather than just one. *(PG p.58)* * **Nosferatu** - Hideous and vile, all Nosferatu count as having the Repulsive Flaw (-2) and can never increase their rating in the Looks Merit. In addition, any attempt to disguise themselves as non-deformed incur a penalty to your dice pool equal to your character’s Bane Severity (this includes the Obfuscate powers Mask of a Thousand Faces and Impostor’s Guise). Note that most Nosferatu do not breach the Masquerade by just being seen. They are perceived by mortals to be grotesque and often terrifying, but not supernaturally so. *(Core p.85)* * **Ravnos** - The Ravnos are doomed. The sun’s fire that incinerated their founder rages through the Blood of the clan, erupting from their very flesh if they ever settle down for long. If they slumber in the same place more than once in seven nights, roll a number *(PG p.42)* * **Salubri** - When their Hunger is below three, Salubri vampires suffer a penalty equal to their Bane Severity to any Discipline dice pools. This is in addition to the third eye, described on p. 47. *(PG p.58)* * **Toreador** - When a Toreador vampire feeding causes damage to a mortal, the vampire suffers similar (usually Aggravated) damage in return, though a single feeding cannot cause more damage than their Bane Severity. The damage takes the form of involuntary internal bleeding, the vampire exhibiting vivid bruising in whatever spot matches the bite location on the victim. *(PG p.59)* * **Tremere** - When a Tremere vampire performs a Blood Surge (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 218) they need to make Rouse Checks equal to their Bane Severity. If these Rouse Checks raise the vampire’s Hunger to 5 or higher, they can choose whether to back off their Blood Surge or to perform it and then immediately hit Hunger 5 afterward. *(PG p.59)* * **Tzimisce** - The Tzimisce are grounded: Each Tzimisce must choose a specific charge — a physical domain, a group of people, an organization, or even something more esoteric — but clearly defined and limited. The Kindred must spend their daysleep surrounded by their chosen charge. Historically this has often meant slumbering in the soil of their land, but it can also mean being surrounded by that which they tonight rule: a certain kind of people, a building deeply tied to their obsession, a local counterculture faction, or other, more outlandish elements. If they do not, they sustain aggravated Willpower damage equal to their Bane Severity upon waking the following night. *(PG p.54)* * **Ventrue** - A Ventrue vampire suffers a penalty to their Discipline dice pools equal to their Bane Severity when attempting to use their powers on a vampire of \*higher Status. They must also spend Willpower equal to their Bane Severity if they wish to directly attack a vampire of \*higher Status. *(PG p.59, adjusted for server play)*
Note that if you are playing a character who is pretending to be a clan that they do not belong to, you must take the Dark Secret flaw. This applies to all characters, including Caitiff and Thin-Bloods.
What Clans Are Where? **Core** * Brujah pp.65-67 * Gangrel pp.69-73 * Malkavian pp.75-79 * Nosferatu pp.81-85 * Toreador pp.87-91 * Tremere pp.93-97 * Ventrue pp.99-102 * Caitiff pp.105-107 * Thin-Blood pp. 109-113 **Players Guide** * Banu Haqim pp.17-18 * Hecata pp. 22-24 * Lasombra pp. 29-30 * Ministry pp. 35-36 * Ravnos pp.41-42 * Salubri pp.46-48 * Tzimisce pp.52-54
Additionally, Hecata characters may (but do not have to) the Shifts in the Blood options presented in Cults of the Blood Gods (p.202). If you wish to take the replacement Discipline as a fourth in-clan, you may take the [Shifts in the Blood](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/advantages-and-flaws#shifts-in-the-blood-trails-of-ash-and-bone-p.202) merit. This must be taken at character creation. ## Deciding on Convictions Convictions are a set of beliefs that assist in defining a character’s worldview and morals. There are examples of Convictions in Players Guide (p.207) and in Core (p.172). Each conviction must be linked to a living human, or “touchstone”, that exemplifies the belief. Touchstones must live in Cape Town and can be background characters gained from Advantages or Flaws (Contacts, Allies, Enemies, etc.). #### **What if my Touchstone dies?** The results of this are completely dependent on *how* your character's Touchstone died. Catastrophic events and violent deaths damage and destroy Touchstones, which results in Stains (Core p.240). Should your Touchstone die peacefully, you may attempt to transfer the Conviction with a Difficulty 4 Humanity test while meeting with or observing the Touchstone. If a Touchstone is destroyed and the Conviction is not successfully transferred as detailed above, that Conviction is lost. #### **What if all of my Touchstones are gone?** Nothing. Not directly, anyway. Your character will not, however, have any Convictions to rely upon should they earn Stains. ## Chronicle Tenets * Without a cause, you are nothing * Act like a person, not a Beast * Do not harm the innocent These tenets are similar to convictions but apply to *all* characters and are decided by staff. If your character wouldn't believe that one of these acts violates their personal code, you should write a Conviction that would mitigate Stains to shield them from said Stains. "My character doesn't think that" isn't a valid argument without a proper Conviction to back it up. ## Predator Types Predator types can be found in Core, Cults of the Blood Gods, Let the Streets Run Red, and the Players Guide. Should none of these Predator types suit your character, you may create your own using the following guidelines.\ \ By the rules as written, fledglings do not get Predator types, though you character may gain them in play. To justify this, your character must qualify for each Merit or Background either via projects or roleplay, whichever staff deems appropriate. Once you have earned all of the Advantages related to your character's prospective Predator type, you may ask to add it to your sheet. Adding a Predator Type does not cost experience. To gain the Predator type's Discipline, your character must either have tasted the Blood of someone who has it or they must already have it themselves. Thin-Bloods may choose a dot of Alchemy, though they do not need to.
Custom Predator Type Guidelines Custom Predator Types will only be approved if an already existing Predator Type doesn't suit the character. You may not get everything you want at your character to have at creation and that's okay! * Gain one specialty that makes sense for the predator type. This does not necessarily need to improve the hunt pool itself. * Gain one Discipline dot that relates to the hunting style. * Blood Sorcery is locked to Tremere, Banu Haqim, and Koldun characters. * Gain between 1 and 3 dots of Advantages. * Increasing Humanity costs 3 Advantage points. * Gain an amount of Flaws equal to the number of Advantages taken minus one. * Reducing Humanity is worth 1 Flaw point. * Decide on an appropriate hunting pool for the style. We recommend having 6 dice or more. When submitting a custom predator type, please use the following format: * **Predator Type Name** * *A short description of the predator type, either what your character does or who they hunt.* * **Specialty:** * **Discipline Choice:** * **Merits:** One for each advantage type * **Flaws:** One for each flaw type * **Pool:**
## Advantage Restrictions, Changes, and Clarifications Unless otherwise specified, every character is capped at 3 for all Backgrounds. Below are a few noted changes from the rules as written and some deviations to this restriction. All allowed Merits and Flaws are already listed in the drop downs on the character sheet. These entries also note their costs and the book and page number they can be found on. ### Allies We have removed Reliability from Allies. These background characters will simply be available when a Storyteller deems it makes sense. ### Haven: Warding Your haven possesses some kind of magical ward, barring supernatural forces. Whenever you select this merit, choose between Blood Sorcery and Oblivion. While within your haven, each dot of this Merit adds one to the dice pool or DC to resist supernatural scrying and to resist the chosen Discipline and effects related to it, such as a Gargoyle's abilities for Blood Sorcery or a Ghost for Oblivion. You must possess Blood Sorcery, Oblivion, or Occult 3 or greater to buy this merit. ### Mawla This Background is capped at 2 dots at character creation. ### Resources This Background is capped at 2 dots at character creation. It's important to understand that wealth availability is much different here compared to other countries. We've included a chart below to give you an idea of how much expendable income each level has per year.
Destitute0 USD
0 Dots2,500 USD
1 Dot7,250 USD1 Dot
2 Dots12,000 USD2 Dots
3 Dots20,000 USD3 Dots
4 Dots60,000 USD4 Dots
5 Dots140,000 USD5 Dots
### Status Anyone who has been a Kindred for less than 2 years is capped at 1 dot. Everyone else is capped at 2. ### Lore Sheets Every character may have one Lore Sheet and one Bloodline. Alternatively, you may take a second Lore Sheet if you do not take a Bloodline. You do not have to take either at character creation and both may be earned in play. ### Equipment and Resources *Vampire* isn't an equipment-heavy game, so you don't need to list everything your character owns. Unless they have the Destitute flaw, characters are assumed to possess basic everyday items. If you want something a little more exotic, make sure that it makes sense for your character to have. If your character has one dot of Resources, then it isn't reasonable for them to have a Lamborghini. Without the means to own proper permits, for example, they cannot legally own an exotic pet. #### Firearms To start play with a firearm, you need one or more of the following: * The Hidden Armory haven Merit * A criminal Contact/Ally/Retainer who could reasonably acquire one for you ## Spending Your Character Creation Experience Players must spend as much experience as feasible on character creation. This experience is meant to signify things that your character has gained due to their age, after all, and it doesn't make sense to bank it. You *must* note your experience spends in the labeled section on the sheet! This makes the sheet-checking process far quicker for everyone involved. You may not spend experience on out of clan Disciplines. These must be gained in play or with your Predator Type. # Getting Approved Once you're ready for staff to look at your sheet (or if you have any questions), go to [#ticket-creation](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1292865934780006430) and click the "Player Ticket" button. This will create a private ticket between you and the staff members looking over your sheet to help you get ready to play! This ticket is yours to keep, and you will use it as long as you remain on the server. You may keep notes and ask staff questions here. No one else can see it (aside from any sheet checkers, should you submit another character). Your sheet will need to be uploaded as a PDF to this channel. You must also name your sheet with the following format: First Name Last Name YYYYMMDD. This is for ease of staff uploading and is a basic courtesy. There may be a back-and-forth for a few days to hammer out your concept and ensure that everything fits just right, so please be patient! We have multiple staff members review the sheet to ensure no one misses anything. Once your sheet is approved, you will get a ping in the [#📣announcements](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1292865933555273767) channel. Once you receive that ping, your ticket will give you further instructions! If you wish, you may spend the time you will be waiting by reading over the [Beginner's Guide](/getting-started/beginners-guide). Please note that approved characters are final, especially once you have entered a scene! # Beginner's Guide The following pages are meant to give some context to new server members, whether they are experienced in Vampire or just learning.
Player EtiquetteA list of good practices when playing in our chosen medium.https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/cape-town-reborn/getting-started/beginners-guide/player-etiquette
How to FormatAssistance with Discord formatting./pages/MWwij1JRHy3MiBWa8pqD
Common MechanicsExplanations for many mechanics that players deal with regularly./pages/I5mD1Nfay8fVwEmwsrMd
Server-Specific InformationInformation on how to navigate the server itself./pages/bxMR2AlrimeNzCBWO0iI
# Player Etiquette ## Coordinating Scenes Use the [#rp-coordination](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1292865935362887793) channel and search through to see if anyone has recently posted looking for a scene partner. If you can't find anyone, tag @LFRP (you can get this role in the [#role-selection](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1292865933848743983) channel) and make your own post. Include which character you're looking to play in your scene along with any restrictions (No Camarilla, only other Brujah, etc) and other expectations you may have. When you have found a scene partner, create a thread for the two (or more) of you to coordinate. Anyone that you tag will be added to this thread. There is nothing wrong with having players you prefer to write with, but please make an effort to extend a hand outside of those people. Remaining in a contained bubble comes across as cliquish and makes the environment unwelcoming to newcomers! ## Knowing the Setting Before starting a scene, you should know where it will be set. Check the map and keep in mind what expected behavior should look like. You must have a location picked out. Scenes cannot use designations like "anywhere", "random bar", or "an alley". Vampire is a game about tension and consequences, and a scene can go sideways in a single post.; knowing where things happen is very important. We have a [server map](https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=11gaSFGWyAA_T8k2e3b05c87r65rOsbw\&usp=sharing) with a variety of location pins to help inspire you. ## Setting Up the Scene Discuss with your scene partners your desired turn order. You will *only* tag the person directly after you in the turn order unless that person has asked to be skipped. Begin all scenes with `!start` so that people know not to use that channel, just in case you can't post immediately. You will close out all scenes with `!end`. This lets players know that the channel is open for a new scene. Do not use a channel if there is a scene in progress! Cape Town is a big city, and there are many places where scenes can happen. Before your post, use the `/header` command that you set up after character approval. ## Timing Try to get at least one post in a day. If you cannot do so, promptly communicate your situation with your partner(s). If you will be away for an extended period, cut them loose so they can pursue other scenes. You may ping them again if your partner hasn't responded for 12 hours. You may close the scene if they do not respond for 24 hours. Do not spam ping people. Only tag the next person in the turn order when doing a scene with multiple participants. ## Storyteller Scenes To interact with SPCs, post in the #scene-request channel. When time is available, a Storyteller will contact you. Players can run touchstones and any background characters related to Advantages and Flaws as a vignette if desired. Care should be taken not to treat these as tertiary characters. They should interact with other PCs as little as possible. ## Power-Gaming and Meta-Gaming These terms are a little niche and ill-defined even in the TTRPG sphere. For our purposes, a power-gamer is commonly recognized as someone who: * Focuses almost exclusively on their character’s strengths and rarely showcases their weaknesses. * Attempts to use loopholes (both in RAW and ST rulings) to make their character stronger than they should be. (Usually exemplified by the thought process of “Well, the rules don’t say that I can’t…”) * Often puts their character’s advancement above the enjoyment of others. Bear in mind that there's nothing wrong with wanting your character to have strengths, but it's important to know that they will always have weaknesses. No one is good at everything, not even the supernatural undead. **Meta-gaming**, on the other hand, is far easier to define. It’s simply the act of using the information you, as a player, have access to that your character does not (comments made out of character, scenes read about the character in question, etc.). If you are unsure whether your character could or should know something, re-reading your previous scenes or checking with staff is always best. ## Character Bleed ### What is Bleed? Bleed is when events that occur in-character strongly affect your mood and behavior out-of-character. It most commonly manifests when you are extremely invested in your character (or, sometimes, someone else's), and something negative happens to them in-game. Those feelings "bleed" across the character/player boundary and can have adverse effects on your mental health and negatively impact those around you. Not all bleed is bad, however. For the sake of keeping things distinct, “good” bleed is often referred to as catharsis. This refers to a positive, ongoing experience where you immerse yourself in the character in a way that makes their arcs feel more real. It can be turned on and off as you take on your character and then when you step back again. In this state, you can identify with the character and, in a way, “live” their experiences in a controlled environment. This phenomenon is healthy and even common. Importantly, catharsis has defined beginning and end points and solid boundaries that the player holds themselves to. “Bad” bleed is when that level of emotion and immersion becomes detrimental. Your boundaries become blurred, and you may feel like things happening in-character are personal. There’s no on-and-off switch for bleed like there is for catharsis, and that loss of identity is where toxicity can begin to bubble up. ### What Causes Bleed? When you are roleplaying, you are taking on a character of your own, dictating everything they do, think, and say. Vampire, in particular, is a game about monsters—there are rarely good guys in the World of Darkness, and those that try rarely survive for long. It is a horror game where characters can and likely will do immoral things, as those themes are baked into the setting. Recognizing that a character’s actions, thoughts, and words do not represent the person playing them is important. This is one of the reasons why self-inserts are discouraged in RPG spaces; they make it harder for players to separate the character from the creation, including the person playing them. However, bleed can occur even if your character isn’t a self-insert. Bleed is a fluid thing, with in-character actions affecting out-of-character just as easily as the opposite (though the former is more common). An episode of bleed could be triggered by something as simple as having a bad day at work or another player character insulting your own in a scene. These situations may affect how you, the player, act and react to future scenes. Burnout and poor mental health (stress, depression, illness, anxiety) can become catalysts for episodes of bleed. Renegade Studios has a free guide to bleed on their [website](https://renegadegamestudios.com/vampire-the-masquerade-5th-edition-bleed-and-how-to-deal-with-it/). ### How to Avoid Bleed The first line of defense against bleed is simply communication. Being open and honest about your feelings is incredibly important, even in smaller games. When you join a larger community composed mostly of strangers, the need for transparency increases exponentially. While it is courteous to check in on your partner, it is important to communicate any boundaries that you have clearly and to openly speak about your feelings, whether they are positive or negative. Often, conversations like this are the most difficult to have, but they are the most necessary. Taking time to decompress is another important tool and often the one most commonly suggested. Someone starting to get worked up may be told to take five, go for a walk, or have something to eat. If you get upset because of in-character events, the most effective method can sometimes be to log off to decompress and give yourself breathing room. If needed, you can ask staff for a timeout in Discord. The times available are 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, and 1 week. This status means you cannot type in any channel on the server, though you can still see things. Asking for a mute does not count as a mark against you. Another helpful practice is setting up boundaries between you and your character. It is important to understand that everyone is separate from their characters, yourself included. Do not make a character too similar to yourself to aid in this distinction. ### How to Deal With Bleed After It's Started No matter how many precautions you take, it is still possible to experience bleed. Your feelings are valid and it's understandable for anyone to have a small moment of weakness and get too invested in their character. The first step for dealing with these feelings is asking yourself what caused this shift? Is it an in character issue or out of character? Is the person causing this usually someone you get along with or feel comfortable talking to? Second is getting up and taking a breather. Your emotions will even out if you make space from what's causing them. However long this takes is up to you and we don't need a heads up if you're taking a moment to recompose yourself. Prioritize your mental health above all else! Third is Communication: In this server we want people to feel comfortable talking through issues. If you need help broaching the topic please reach out to staff. We are here to help. # How to Format ## General Text Formatting The following formatting can be achieved by using specific symbols around the text you would like it to affect. *Italics* - \*italics\* or \_italics\_ *Underline Italics* - \_\_\*underline italics\*\_\_ **Bold -** \*\*bold\*\* **Underline Bold** - \_\_\*\*underline bold\*\*\_\_ ***Bold Italics*** - \*\*\*bold italics\*\*\* ***Underline Bold Italics*** - \_\_\*\*\*underline bold italics\*\*\*\_\_ Underline - \_\_underline\_\_ ~~Strikethrough~~ - \~\~Strikethrough\~\~ Don't want to use markdown? You can slap a backslash before your statement or put your message in a code block, escaping the markdown formatting. You'll see those asterisks as you'd like! ## Inconnu Headers We use a Discord bot called Inconnu to handle our dice rolls and create roleplay headers. You can use these headers to supply information that would be readily available to the other character(s) in your scene and denote your scene's location. People subscribed to Inconnu's Patreon page may use character images in their headers and the bot's `/post` command. More information can be found on Inconnu's [documentation page](https://docs.inconnu.app/).\ \ You will precede each post by using the `/header` command. We use these headers to calculate activity experience, so try not to forget! ## Posting Tips * Use third-person perspective. Past or present tense does not matter, but third-person creates a barrier between your character and yourself to help mitigate [character bleed](https://cape-town-by-night.gitbook.io/copy-ct-wiki/getting-started/beginners-guide/player-etiquette#character-bleed). * Enclose all spoken dialogue in "quotes". This helps to clarify exactly when your character is speaking out loud. Do not use quotes for thoughts. * *Italics* are generally used for inner thoughts, though many players forgo writing said thoughts out. * You should note this in your post whenever you make a roll, fail a rouse check, or activate a discipline. You may use code blocks, spoiler tags, or whatever suits you. Ensure that it is readable and not disruptive. * When changing locations, make a note at the end of your post and tag the channel that the scene will be moving to before using the `!end` command. * A location change generally counts as a scene end for powers, abilities, and effects that last until the end of a scene. # Common Mechanics ## Using the Dice Bot Once you're approved, you will need to add your character to Inconnu, which only takes a minute or two. Check the [documentation](https://docs.inconnu.app/guides/quickstart), which will guide you through the process. The documentation also goes over all of Inconnu's other features and how to use them. ## Messy Criticals and Bestial Failures If you suffer a messy critical or a bestial failure, you may usually click the Re-roll Failures or Avoid Messy buttons on the roll, which might help you escape complications. Be sure to click Mark WP afterward. If you can't or don't want to avoid the complication, ping @Storyteller for further instructions. Only ping if you're keeping the outcome! There's no need to ask if you're allowed to re-roll. The buttons to do so will only appear if your character is able to, though they will become disabled after ten minutes. Once they are disabled, you will be unable to click the re-roll buttons, so make sure that you have some time set aside when you choose to roll. ## **Awakening and Blush** After reset, you may post an awakening vignette if you want the extra experience. All vampires, including Thin-Bloods, must perform a wake-up Rouse check (use the `/awaken` command). For those who need to, rolling Blush of Life (`/bol`) is optional. If your character is staying inside their haven or sneaking around places that mortals don't tend to go (the sewers, a cave system, etc), there is no need to Blush. If your character intends to go to locations that mortals frequent at night, Blush is all but required to maintain the Masquerade. Heavy cover clothing (hoodies, face masks, gloves, sunglasses) can help but should only be used if your character's chances of being spotted are small and brief. For example, these outfits will typically attract attention when going to the supermarket. ## Slaking Hunger Use `/slake` to reduce your character's Hunger after they hunt or slake from their Herd. If they are at Hunger 4 or 5, click the frenzy check button and ping @Storyteller if you fail. * Bagged Blood: 2 that may be slaked later but must be refrigerated within 30 minutes. Does not carry Resonance. * Corpse: Up to 3 from an incredibly fresh corpse. A body already fed from or missing parts will slake less. Does not carry Resonance. * Human: Up to 2 safely. Anything above 2 slakes will result in blood loss and cause either Aggravated damage or death. * Vampire: Up to 5, each Hunger slaked increases the Hunger of the kindred being fed from. * Animal: Depends on the animal hunted. See the chart on p.212 of the Core book for some examples. ## Mending Damage Superficial health damage can be relatively quickly healed at any time with the `/mend` command. The `/aggheal` command heals Aggravated health damage, which can only be done upon waking and heals more slowly. These commands (and many others) take your character's Blood Potency (chart available on p.216 of the Core book) into account. They will also make the appropriate amount of rouse checks. ## Hunting Hunting and hunger management are central themes of V5. Each character gets three hunt attempts per night. They may use this either for themselves or to benefit another character.
For hunting rolls, we utilize a [forum](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1299239959986831410). All location descriptions, hunting difficulty levels, and modifiers are noted in each of the pinned posts. Post tags are utilized to make finding a character's preferred hunting grounds easier. If a location is tagged "unavailable", staff has not put together a description or figured out any mechanical benefits or drawbacks for the area. If you would like to contribute, please let us know! You will note in the [Server-Specific Information](/getting-started/beginners-guide/server-specific-information) that hunting vignettes can earn you one experience per week. You must link this in your experience request to get credit for it. ## Social Rolls Players should respect the builds and abilities of other characters. While you are not obligated to play out scenes that make you uncomfortable (and are encouraged to notify your scene partner and staff if you find yourself in this situation), you should always respect roll results from other players. Not everyone is a master manipulator or a charismatic ball of sunshine out-of-character and shouldn't be made to feel like they can only play characters similar to themselves. # Project Rolls The following is a rephrasing of the project rules found on pp. 417-420 of the Core book. The project system is designed to simulate the time a player character would need to accomplish a long-term goal, or to highlight the riskiness that comes with rushing into something that you really shouldn't have. Projects are only needed for Backgrounds rated 3 dots or higher. ## Figuring Out the Basics The best way to begin is to describe to your Storyteller what you'd like to accomplish. Figure out the best way to represent your character's goal in mechanical terms and decide which Background or potentially Merit dot would best suit their endeavours. The number of dots that your character will obtain if their project is successful is called the Scope. For instance, if you are increasing a 1-dot Retainer to a 3-dot, your Scope will be 2. This is also a base for the Launch roll Difficulty later on. ## Project Increments Once you've settled on everything above, you will then figure out the increment times table. Discuss with your Storyteller how long the project should take in-character. Once that has been decided, you will divide that timeframe up into roughly 10 increments. For example, if your character's project would take a year in-character, the project would have 10 increments, 1 for every month. ## The Launch Roll The next step is to do a launch roll for your character's project. Launch rolls typically follow a pairing of Skill + Background. Other things may help to boost your total pool, such as Boons, Teamwork, Coterie Backgrounds, and *very* rarely Disciplines. Make sure to get the okay to use any or all of these things from your Storyteller instead of assuming that anything extra will apply. Once your pool is assembled and approved, you will roll it against a Difficulty of your Scope + 2. You cannot spend Willpower or use Blood Surge on your launch roll. If your character succeeds, you must stake a number of Background dots equal to your project's Scope + 1 *minus* your success margin on the launch roll, at a minimum of 1. Backgrounds that are committed to a project may not be used until the project is either accomplished or completely abandoned. Staked dots *must* be relevant to the project's goal. If they fail, you may reroll the launch roll at the original Difficulty + 1. Should they suffer a total failure, your character might either gain a new Flaw or lose a relevant Background dot until the project is seen to completion. You may still reroll at a higher Difficulty, as above. On a critical win, a player does not have to commit any Backgrounds to the project. ## The Goal Roll A Goal roll is a shortcut. You can always wait for the 10 decided increments to tick down to succeed automatically, but if you want things to resolve more quickly, you can try your hand at succeeding this opposed roll.\ \ Your Storyteller will build a relevant pool for you, which may or may not be the same as your original launch roll. This pool has the same restrictions and allowances as the launch roll. Once your pool is assembled, you will roll it, and the Storyteller will roll a number of dice equal to the number of increments remaining on your character's project. As with the launch roll, you may not use Willpower or Blood Surge on this roll. Should you succeed, you decrease the project's remaining increments by the margin of successes on this contest. This may lower the number of increments below 1, which completes the project immediately. On a failure, your character will lose access to Background dots, starting with those you chose to stake. Should the stake be reduced to 0, the project collapses, and you must restart from the beginning. If you scored a critical success on the launch roll, you are able to keep the project going even if the number of staked Backgrounds drops to 0. ## Projects From the Past If your character would have started a project months or years ago, you will need to play out a launch roll in a Memoriam scene. The basic rules are the same as above, but the only Backgrounds that may be paired with your character's chosen Skill must also be earned in that Memoriam. Once those Backgrounds are earned, you may make the launch roll with them. The Memoriam Backgrounds are immediately staked. You may also lower your project increment by the number of Background dots you earn in Memoriam. This lowered increment will be where your project starts in the current in-character time. Any damaged Backgrounds affect your character's current Backgrounds, not the ones gained in Memoriam. # Server-Specific Information ## Server Reset The staff begins resetting the server every other Sunday at 8 PM UTC. Scenes must be finished before this! No scenes will be allowed to extend past reset and no new scenes may begin until the sunset announcement goes out. If you need to hunt or use Herd during reset time but before the beginning of the next in-character night, you may request to do so in your ticket. Any request after the new night has begun for previous weeks will be denied. ## Experience Requests Experience is given out on Monday between 4 and 8 PM UTC. Experience requests may be posted anytime outside of the window between 3 and 8 PM UTC on Sunday. Please follow the pinned template in the [#exp-request](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1292865935220408389) channel. Players may earn a maximum of 6 experience per reset. The following each give 1 experience point. * Awakening vignette * Hunting vignette * Progress towards an Ambition * Progress towards a Desire Completing a scene with either another player or a Storyteller will grant 1 experience point. You may post an additional completed scene for another experience point. You must post links to all of these things to get experience for them! If you don't make a request within the allotted time period, you will not be awarded experience. You must post Desires in your ticket within 24 hours of your first post for the week. Awakenings must be posted first thing. ## Experience Caps To maintain fairness and consistency, all characters are subject to an experience cap. Once your character gains 240 experience, they will not gain any more. For players who are consistently getting 6 experience a reset, this will take a little over a year and a half. ## Time Frames Often, you will see different words used to reference time. Here is a small chart that defines how those time frames pass in our game.
In Character Time FrameOut of Character Time Frame
One TurnA single post
One RoundOne round of posts
One SceneAll roleplay done between !start and !end in one channel
One Night or SessionTwo weeks
One Story (Two Nights)Four weeks
One Chronicle (Six Nights)Twelve weeks
## PvP Tag We have two roles here, depending on your comfort level with the unknown and unexpected. These are both detailed in our [#role-selection](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1292865933848743983) channel. You may change this role at any time. You need to have selected one of these two roles before you are able to post anywhere! # Creating and Pursuing Plots In a sandbox-style server, most plot points you pursue will be cemented in personal character arcs instead of those exclusively set up by Storytellers. Players are always welcome to pursue their arcs and assist in resolving others’ problems, with Storytellers offer guidance as needed or desired. Should you need Storyteller attention, please put in a [#scene-request](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1292865935362887791) and one will assist you as soon as they are free. You have complete control over your character's connections (via Advantages, Flaws, and Touchstones) unless your character would stand to gain some benefit from the interaction, such as a Contact granting you an item or information. At that point, you would ask for help in your ticket or your coordination thread with your Storyteller. You may be asked to make a scene request, should your ask need more than guidance. Staff are always happy to answer questions—in fact, we welcome them! However, you must be the driving force behind your character’s arcs and decisions. Staff and Storytellers will always strive to give everyone personal attention, but we must keep it fair for everyone and that may mean that you have to wait while we tend to others. If you are stuck on what things you can pursue, you may consult the chart on p.138 of the Core book to give you some ideas. Please bear in mind that the player is expected to have a general idea of what they want to do and how they’d like to do it when making a request, though it's fine if you need some help solidifying things! It is best to state both of these things in as much detail as possible at the same time to minimize any unnecessary back and forth. Also worth noting is that plots will not always resolve in a way that benefits your character. Sometimes, they will stumble to a conclusion or the thread may end before they can get a meaningful foothold and contribute. Communication is key, however, and a Storyteller will never intentionally bait you into failure or wasted time. If this is a worry, just ask! Surprise and suspense is never worth discomfort and we value being open and honest above all else. # Experience Spending Information on earning experience can be found [here](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/getting-started/beginners-guide/server-specific-information#experience-requests). Experience spending may be done at any time. Before submitting a sheet, make sure that your character qualifies for the increases you'd like to spend experience on. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in your ticket. * Increasing Disciplines (and, therefore, choosing new Powers) requires your character to have fed on the corresponding Resonance during their last feeding. These requirements are further detailed below. * Increasing Humanity requires a *lot* of selfless sacrifice, either for the benefit of others or in favor of your character's convictions. * Rituals, ceremonies, and formulae take the square of their rating in weeks to learn. Their requirements are further detailed below. * Advantages will require justification, usually in the form of a project roll. Please post links for all justifications when you submit your spending lists! Staff needs information to determine whether your character qualifies for certain purchases, so make sure you have everything in order before you submit. ## Attributes and Skills Attributes and Skills increase slowly. You may buy the first and second dot of any Attribute or Skill at once. After your character has gained their second dot, you may only increase that Attribute or Skill once per Chronicle. ## Disciplines Increasing your character's Discipline level requires them to have fed on the associated Resonance at their last feeding. Things like the Bloodhound merit (Core p.182) can help when searching for Resonance. Resonances are lost when a character feeds again or reaches Hunger 5. If you wish to learn an out-of-clan Discipline, your character must first taste the Blood of another Kindred that possesses that Discipline (whether in- or out-of-clan). This taste must come directly from the vein, resulting in a Blood Bond. | Resonance Type | Associated Disciplines | | :------------: | :------------------------------: | | Choleric | Animalism, Celerity, Potence | | Melancholy | Fortitude, Obfuscate, Oblivion | | Phlegmatic | Auspex, Dominate | | Sanguine | Blood Sorcery, Presence, Protean | ### **Rituals, Ceremonies, and Formulae** Experience is to be spent after research is completed, but before the ability is used. The table below shows the necessary study time for each level. Players are not required to have research scenes and they do not affect study time. | Ritual Level | Study Time Required | | ------------ | --------------------- | | Level 1 | 1 in-character week | | Level 2 | 4 in-character weeks | | Level 3 | 9 in-character weeks | | Level 4 | 16 in-character weeks | | Level 5 | 25 in-character weeks | Players can purchase as many rituals as their character has time to study based on the chart above (ie: one level 4, one level 2, and one level 1 would take 21 in-character weeks). Time spent during time skip counts toward the required learning time. You must make a note when your character begins research on a new ritual, ceremony, or formula. If you do not declare when the research began, you cannot go back and claim lost time; you must start from the current date.\ \ To learn any ritual or ceremony, your character must have a mawla or other teaching material that can enable them. If a player character is teaching another player character, they are only able to assist with rituals that they know. ### Humanity Increases Players do not have to spend experience to raise their character's Humanity up to the either the level that they entered play with or the highest level of Humanity that they have purchased. If the character's Humanity falls and a player would like to raise it again, they only need to play out the sacrifices that the character would make to return there. Humanity increases require a decent amount of effort and are subjective based on the character’s current Humanity level and Convictions. Characters will often need to put themselves at risk to defend others or their Convictions or do charitable deeds that negatively impact them (dedicating large amounts of time to something that won't benefit them, dipping heavily into backgrounds, etc). In addition to requiring justification, raising Humanity above the character's starting amount costs 5 experience points per level, in line with the suggestion in the Core book. ### Blood Potency Increases Increasing Blood Potency may be justified in a few different circumstances, per the Core book. * Vampires gain 1 level of Blood Potency for every century that they are active (stretches of torpor do not count) * Those who weather intense experiences in-character may have their Blood thickened by the severity of the events, at staff and storyteller discretion. * Should a character be drink extremely potent vitae (potent enough that most player characters wouldn't have it), their Blood Potency may increase. * A successful diablerie attempt may result in an increase, following the rules laid out in the diablerie section of the Core book (pp. 234-245). In addition, multiple, successful diableries on those of higher Generation than your character may qualify them for a Blood Potency increase. Blood Potency may be increased outside of time skip, should the character in question qualify for it. # Time Skip {% hint style="info" %} The next time skip happens on February 2, 2026. {% endhint %} ## Time Skip At the end of every Chronicle (6 in-character nights/3 out-of-character months), the server undergoes a time skip. There will be no roleplay taking place for the week, though you may submit requests for experience spends and write vignettes as desired in the [Bluebooking](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1359052034900492303) forum. After the time skip date, the in-game date advances by 30 days. The time skip date is treated as a normal reset otherwise. Characters will begin the Chronicle with their Hunger set to 1 and all of their damage, physical and mental, healed. # Frequently Asked Questions In addition to the questions and answers below, please check our rulings [page](/getting-started/rulings), [forum](https://discord.com/channels/676333549720174605/1237584988136804474), and section on changes to [Advantages and Flaws](https://cape-town-by-night.gitbook.io/copy-ct-wiki/~/changes/Zpb0Yfi4wmYUaSKQqNcs/getting-started/character-creation#advantage-restrictions-and-changes). ## **How do I spend Experience?** There is a detailed experience spending guide [here](/getting-started/experience-spending). ## **I got a messy critical/bestial failure on my roll. What do I do?** Ping the @Storyteller role in the channel with your result and give context for what is happening in the scene. We'll tailor the results to the situation on a case-by-case scenario. Remember to try to reroll with Willpower using the "Avoid Messy" or "Reroll Failures" buttons before pinging, should you wish to do that. \ \ Remember that there is a ten-minute time limit before the re-roll buttons get greyed out. We will not allow you to reroll if this time has passed. ## How do I fix a roll that I didn't do correctly? Ping @Staff and explain what is missing from your roll. Generally, you will have your roll negated and be asked to re-roll correctly. We suggest that players use the `/roll` command for ease of access. ## **How much can a Kindred feed from a mortal? What happens if they take more?** A kindred can slake a maximum of 2 Hunger from a single mortal (and far, far less from animals) before endangering them. Each slake requires 2 stories to recover for a regular mortal and a single story per slake for a ghoul. \ \ A mortal who has been fed on for 3 or more Hunger in a single feeding must make a Strength + Stamina roll (DC equals the amount of Hunger slaked) to stay alive. If they fail this roll, they die. If they succeed, they will survive the blood loss but will need to seek medical treatment. ## **How do mortals heal from feedings?** Kindred inflict harmful drinks on mortals when they either slake more than 3 hunger in a single feeding or feed while in frenzy. This inflicts a number of Aggravated damage equal to Hunger slaked. The mortal must then make a Strength + Stamina test at a Difficulty equal to the number of slakes taken. If they fail this roll, the mortal dies. If they pass, they can be safely transported to a medical facility where they can heal properly. Their wounds can be healed if they survive, per p.127 in the core book. Mortals heal back slaked blood at a rate of 1 slake every 2 stories (8 in-character nights total). Ghouls, in line with their rapid recovery rates, heal back 1 slake every story (4 in-character nights). Should they be fed from and be missing at least 3 slakes at any time, they must make a Strength + Stamina roll equal to the number of slakes currently being taken. If they fail, they die. If they live, they take the number of slakes worth of Aggravated damage. ## **How do I form a coterie?** Gather the intended coterie members together, between 3-5 kindred. You may create a group ticket in [#ticket-creation](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1292865934780006430) and add the other members for coordination. From there, use the coterie creation rules (Core p. 195). All coterie members must have met and done a few scenes together before the coterie is allowed to form on a mechanical level. No coterie sheets will be approved otherwise. ## How do I find drugs? You must make a successful Charisma + Streetwise roll to find various drugs. The DC depends on the type of drug desired: * **Cocaine/Meth/Speed:** DC 5 * **Hallucinogens:** DC 4 * **Heroin/Morphine/Oxy/Opiates:** DC 5 * **Marijuana:** DC 2 On a total failure, your character is poisoned. ## Can my Herd foster a drug type? No. ## Thin-Blood Alchemy and Resonance In the core book, p.283 dictates: "The specific amount \[of resonant blood] needed \[for Thin-Blood Alchemy] depends on the degree of the donor’s Resonance and the Storyteller’s whim." We use the following guidelines:\ \ **Negligible:** No Resonance possible \ **Fleeting:** 2 Hunger's worth required \ **Intense:** 1 Hunger's worth required \ **Acute:** 1 Hunger's worth required ## Supplemental Material For each supplemental book, we have a page that lists which additions are allowed and banned. You will find all you need to know there. # Rulings and Clarifications ## Advantages and Flaws * Cult-specific merits, flaws, ceremonies, formulae, and rituals are only available to characters that are part of said cult. * Mythic and Supernatural merits and flaws may only be taken at character creation. ## Ceremonies and Rituals ### Sharing Disciplines Vitae cannot transfer disciplines or be used to feed other kindred unless it is taken directly from the vein (as filling a vessel takes more than “a few seconds”). Vitae still retains all ghoul-sustaining and mortal-healing properties for a few days. ### Auspex - ***Share the Senses*** These are the rules for determining the DC for Share the Senses: * **Base:** DC 3 * **Target doesn't have user's blood:** +2 DC (ignore if target is present and well-known) * **Distractions:** +1-3 DC depending on severity * **Distance:** Note that the target must have the user's blood if not in line of sight * **No line of sight, but same ward:** +1 DC * **One ward away**: +2 DC * **Two to three wards away:** +3 DC * **Three or more wards away:** +4 DC If the target is a vampire, the user's Blood is valid until next feeding or the target hits Hunger 5, whichever is sooner. If the target is a mortal, the user's Blood follows the ghoul rules. ### Blood Sorcery - *Illuminate the Trail of Prey* * The caster must know the target's "permanent" face. Temporary appearances, such as those granted by Mask of a Thousand Faces, Protean shapeshifting, etc., are insufficient. * The trail immediately disappears if the target dies, or if their face is permanently changed, such as through Vicissitude. ### Protean, Animalism, and Animal Stats Your character's physical pools are capped by the stats of the animal that they shift into or otherwise control, including their exceptional pools. Mental rolls use your character's pool. Social rolls are subject to the limitations of the form. For example, your character couldn't roll Manipulation + Persuasion if they couldn't talk, but if someone were to use Feral Whispers, your character could roll Social pools against them. When shifted, your character uses the health levels of the animal they have turned into but retains access to their full willpower pool. ### Drug Effects * **Alcohol:** Lower Dexterity and Intelligence dice pools by one die. * **Cocaine/Meth/Speed:** Spend two Willpower points to reroll a messy critical or bestial failure. The difficulty to resist frenzy increases by one. * **Hallucinogens:** Unable to concentrate, the character's Wits, Resolve, and Manipulation pools are lowered by two dice. The difficulty to resist frenzy decreases by one. * **Heroin/Morphine/Oxy/Opiates:** Subtract two dice from all Physical dice pools. Reduce frenzy difficulties by one. * **Marijuana:** The mortal experiences a slightly altered perception of time, suffering a one-die reduction to Wits dice pools. Frenzy difficulties drop by one. ### Haven #### No Haven (Flaw) Characters who take the No Haven flaw must find a place to sleep by the end of the IC night. This will require either an Intelligence/Wits + Survival roll, usually at a difficulty of 4. Failing at this roll inflicts one level of aggravated damage per point of missed margin (though you will find shelter eventually). If your character finds someone willing to provide shelter, you must swap this flaw out for another. ### Resources Due to the non-linear nature of Resources, players may not gift Resources dots to each other. They may, however, gift specific cash amounts (such as "40 ZAR"). Because Resources represents income, such gifts can rarely justify purchasing a dot of Resources with experience. ### Sanctity of Merits According to **p. 180** of the core rulebook, characters may get back or replace lost Advantages purchased at character creation or with experience. This will be adjudicated on a case-by-case basis. However, please note that frivolously burning your Advantages to get something new is not allowed and *will* result in a permanent loss. The same, of course, applies to Flaws. Kill your Enemy, and another may take their place. However, Flaws gained during roleplay may be permanently removed with appropriate in-character actions. You must always have at least 2 flaws in addition to your character's predator type flaws. ### Torpor When ending torpor early by drinking vitae of higher blood potency, a character with a health tracker full of aggravated damage reduces one level of damage to superficial. # Extra Animal Stat Blocks ## Protean and Animalism Clarification We’ve added these African-focused stat blocks to accompany the ones in the Core book (p. 373) If you need a different animal type, let Staff know and we can work something out with you. ## Special Animal Qualities Some animals have abilities beyond what a character can normally do - a bat's sonar, for example. While this is represented mostly by the narrative quality of being able to see in complete darkness, it is mechanically represented by a high Awareness pool. A dog has a keen sense of smell, and are often used for tracking. They have a low Awareness and no Survival because, despite that ability, they do not inherently use it to track specific targets for humans. This is best represented by using your character using their Animal Ken skill to direct them *or* using their Survival skill and getting a teamwork die from the dog they are directing. There’s a narrative power to most of these special qualities that exist beyond stats; for instance, a cheetah can run incredibly fast compared to a person. That’s just part of being a cheetah, it doesn’t need any special mechanic for it beyond narrative implications.
American Alligator Snapping Turtle **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 4, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 5, Willpower 3 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Intimidation 4, Awareness 4, Stealth 6 \ **Special:** Does +2 superficial damage to attacks and +2 armor unless rolled onto their back
African Wild Dog Use ‘Wolf’ stats from Corebook.
Baboon **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 4, Social 1, Mental 1\ **Secondary Attributes:** Health 5, Willpower 3 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Athletics 5, Awareness 4, Stealth 3 \ **Special:** Has thumbs!
Big Cat (Lions, Cheetah, Leopards, Jaguar) Use ‘Wolf’ stats from Corebook.
Boa Constrictor **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 5, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 5, Willpower 3 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Brawl 6, Stealth 6, Intimidation 4, Awareness 4 \ **Special:** If a boa constrictor successfully grapples an opponent, it may constrict its victim as a +2 heavy impact Brawl weapon.
Cape Fox **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 4, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 3, Willpower 2 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Athletics 5, Stealth 6, Awareness 7
Cape Cobra **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 4, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 4, Willpower 2 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Brawl 6, Stealth 7, Intimidation 4, Awareness 4 \ **Special:** A cobra’s fangs are a light piercing Brawl weapon with a +2 damage modifier. Its venom kills or debilitates a mortal victim by the end of the scene if not treated. Against vampires, the venom from a cobra bite has no effect.
Crocodile/Alligator **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 6, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 7, Willpower 2 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Stealth 6, Intimidation 5, Awareness 5 \ **Special:** Does +4 damage.
Elephant Standard **Dice Pools:** Physical 8, Social 1, Mental 1 \ **Secondary Attributes:** Health 10, Willpower 3 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Awareness 3, Intimidation 6 **Special:** Does +4 damage. Feats of Strength auto success for Str 13 and below.
Giraffe **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 6, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 6, Willpower 2 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Awareness 4 \ **Special:** +2 Damage when trampling prone opponents
Greater Kudu **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 5, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 5, Willpower 3 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Athletics 6, Stealth 5, Awareness 4 \ **Special:** +1 Damage when trampling prone opponents
Hippo **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 7, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 9, Willpower 3 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Awareness 3, Intimidation 5, Stealth 3 on land and 6 underwater \ **Special:** +2 damage to attacks
Hyena Use Wolf stats from the Corebook.
Jackal **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 5, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 5, Willpower 2 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Athletics 7, Stealth 6, Intimidation 2, Awareness 3 \ **Special:** The jackal’s long, curved canines are a light piercing Brawl weapon with a +2 damage modifier.
Large Shark **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 6, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 7, Willpower 3 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Stealth 6, Intimidation 5, Awareness 5 \ **Special:** Does +3 damage
Small and Medium-Sized Birds **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 3, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 2, Willpower 1 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Awareness 5, Stealth 7
Warthog **Standard Dice Pools:** Physical 5, Social 1, Mental 1 **Secondary Attributes:** Health 6, Willpower 2 \ **Exceptional Dice Pools:** Awareness 3, Brawl 6, Intimidation 3, Stealth 4 \ **Special:** Tusk attacks from a warthog ignore 2 points of armor and get +1 to damage
Zebra Use Horse stats from the Corebook
# Powers Here, you will find all Powers, Rituals, Ceremonies, and Formulae that are allowed in play! Regular powers are marked in **red** while amalgams will be marked in **yellow**. Powers that have prerequisites will be marked in purple. If we have missed any errata or if there are any errors, please let us know in our [Server Suggestions Forum](https://discord.com/channels/1292865933525651466/1324638230263369798)! ## Animalism
Bond Famulus, Animalism 1 (Core p.245) **Dice Pools:** Charisma + Animal Ken **Cost:** The animal must be fed the user’s Blood on three separate nights, each of which requires a Rouse Check by the user. The amount of Blood needed to sustain the ghoul-state of the animal after this is negligible. Players starting with this power have completed this process and can chose a famulus for free. **System:** Without the use of Feral Whispers, below, giving commands to the animal requires a Charisma + Animal Ken roll (Difficulty 2); increase Difficulty for more complex orders. A vampire can only have one famulus, but can get a new one if the current one dies. A vampire can use Feral Whispers (Animalism 2) and Subsume the Spirit (Animalism 4) on their famulus for free. **Duration:** Only death releases a famulus once bound. As long as it receives vampire Blood on a regular basis, the famulus does not age.
Sense The Beast, Animalism 1 (Core p.245) **Cost:** Free **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Animalism vs Composure + Subterfuge **System:** Roll Resolve + Animalism vs Composure + Subterfuge. A win allows the user to sense the level of hostility in a target (whether the person is prepared to do harm or even determined to cause it) and determine whether they harbor a supernatural Beast, marking them as a vampire or werewolf. On a win, a critical gives the user information on the exact type of creature (for example, a werewolf), as well as their Hunger (or equivalent) level, and their Resonance. This power can be used both actively and passively, warning the user of aggressive intent in their immediate vicinity. **Duration:** Passive
Animal Messenger, Animalism 2 + Auspex 1 (Players Guide p.69) **Prerequisite:** [Bond Famulus](#bond-famulus-animalism-1-core-p.245) **Dice Pools:** None, though the Famulus must test Resolve + Streetwise/Survival (or equivalent) if the target’s location is unknown. **Cost:**One Rouse Check for each night. **System:** The vampire whispers a single sentence to the Famulus and states the target. If the location of the recipient is unknown the Famulus must track them down, making a tracking test at a Difficulty of 2, or resisted by the target’s Intelligence + Streetwise / Survival if they are actively trying to hide (from the famulus or from other perceived threats). The attempt can be made once per night. The message is delivered as soon as the Famulus makes eye contact with the target, at which point they return to their master. **Duration:** One or more nights depending in length of search
Atavism, Animalism 2 (Winter's Teeth #3) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Composure + Animalism **System:** The target must be able to sense (smell, hear, or see) the user in question to use this power. Roll Composure + Animalism vs. Difficulty 1-4, depending on type of animal, its training, and whether or not it is a ghoul. A win against the target allows the user to choose one of two primal responses: Fight or Flight. If Fight is chosen, the creature reacts in kind, lashing out at the closest perceived threat or prey. If Flight, the creature instead flies into a panic, trying to escape its surroundings at any cost to their safety. Well-trained and faithful animals tend to shake off this reaction quickly, and so, clever users tend to time their uses of this power in order to create maximum effect. **Duration:** A number of rounds equal to the test margin plus one, or the entire Scene in the case of a critical win
Feral Whispers, Animalism 2 (Core p.246) **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Animalism, Charisma + Animalism **Cost:** One Rouse Check per type of animal chosen for the scene. Allows one summoning and unlimited communication. Free when used on famulus. **System:** Simple communication requires no dice pool test. Persuading an animal to perform a service requires a Manipulation + Animalism roll; the Difficulty depends on the task required. Having a bird keep an eye out for anyone entering the park at night is Difficulty 3, while ordering any animal to defend a place with their lives is Difficulty 6. Summoning animals uses a Charisma + Animalism roll; Difficulty depends on the scarcity of the animals summoned. The number of animals summoned depend on the margin on the test; a critical win summons most, if not all, animals of the type in the area. **Duration:** One Scene
Leash the Beast, Animalism 2 + Fortitude 1 (Live From the Succubus Club p.27) **Cost:** One or Two Rouse Checks **System:** When you roll a 10 (potential Critical) on a normal die, you can turn that to a 9 (Success) by Rousing the Blood to activate this power. When you roll a 1 (potential Bestial Failure) on a Hunger die, you can turn that to a 2 (Failure) if you make two Rouse Checks to activate this power.\ You can also use this power to turn a result of 1–5 (Failure) on a Normal die made during a test to resist Frenzy to a 6 (Success).\ If the Rouse Checks made for this Power would drive you above 5 Hunger, you immediately enter a Hunger Frenzy. **Duration:** One Night
Tracing the Blood, Animalism 2 (Courts of the Damned p.214) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Animalism **System:** The character Rouses the Blood and tests Resolve + Animalism (Difficulty 3). Results are based on the margin of success, and all targets must be within their sensory range. Success reveals the target’s general direction (forward, backward, sideways, etc.), whereas a critical win allows the user to know precisely which vampire triggered the effect. * Basic Win (Margin 0): The vampire can sense when Blood is Roused. * Margin 1: The vampire can sense whether the Rouse fueled a universal Kindred Trait such as Blood Surge and Blush of Life, or activated a Discipline (and which Discipline it was). * Margin 2+: The vampire senses exactly which Power was activated and roughly what it does. The Storyteller may call for a Wits + Occult test (Difficulty of a Discipline Power’s level + 2) to recognize rare and uncommon Discipline Powers or gain a clearer understanding of the effect. **Duration:** One scene
Animal Succulence, Animalism 3 (Core p.246) **Cost:** Free **System:** Feeding from animals slakes 1 additional Hunger, and the vampire counts their Blood Potency as two levels lower in regards to penalties to slaking Hunger from animal blood.\ Consuming one's famulus slakes 4 Hunger, regardless of animal size. This act can never remove the final Hunger die. In addition, consuming one's famulus increases the vampire’s Attribute most associated with that animal (as determined by the Storyteller) by two dots. Consuming a cat might raise Dexterity or Composure; consuming a dog might raise Charisma or Resolve. Storytellers may vary the reward from famulus consumption: draining an owl might raise the Attribute in any perception pool by two dots, or in pools involving wise decision making. The bonus lasts until the vampire’s next feeding or until their Hunger reaches 5. **Duration:** Passive
Augury, Animalism 3 + Auspex 1 (Tattered Facade pp.89-90) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Animalism **System:** Test Manipulation + Animalism against a Difficulty based on the detail of the question being asked. In general, the Difficulty increases from places (easy), to things (moderate), to people (difficult). Using Augury to ask “Where is Clarice’s bar?” would be a Difficulty 2; asking “Who is Lyle’s secret Blood Bond?” might be a Difficulty 5 or more if the subject in question has taken pains to hide the answer. The Storyteller answers the vampire’s question by describing the image the flock forms, usually the most direct answer to the question possible. Perhaps it’s the likeness of a person’s face, or a house front, or the briefly animated depiction of someone’s workroom. A critical win reveals something important (regardless of the question directly asked), as the animals sense the changing tides of action and inaction. This experience terrifies the animals the vampire harnesses, and their terror scars the vampire’s Animalism until it has time to fade. For the rest of the session, any Animalism test the vampire makes involving this Power or living creatures increases in Difficulty by 1 for each use of this Power. **Duration:** A few minutes to gather the swarm’s knowledge
Awaken the Parasite, Animalism 3 (Tattered Facade p.90) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Animalism vs Humanity (Stamina + Wits for mortals) **System:** The vampire Rouses the Blood and spends their action concentrating before testing Resolve + Animalism against the Humanity of their target (mortal targets resist with Stamina + Wits). The victim must be within close proximity to the vampire. Results are based on the margin of the contest, while a critical win also increases a vampire target’s Hunger by one: ***Basic Win (Margin 0):*** The victim reduces Social and Mental dice pools by one die as maggots burrow and writhe beneath their flesh, causing confusion and headaches to the victim, and nausea among onlookers.\ ***Margin 1:*** The victim suffers a two-dice penalty on all pools as larvae burst from their flesh in significant numbers. In most cases, Social tests simply fail without needing to roll. At this stage, the Masquerade becomes severely strained, at best.\ ***Margin 2+:*** Eggs go from larvae to pupae in seconds, and pupating blowflies erupt in a shower of gore; killing mortal victims, while supernatural targets receive a two-dice penalty to pools, 2 unhalved Superficial damage, and find themselves unable to speak as their throats fill with squirming maggots. If the vampire uses Awaken the Parasite on themselves, perhaps to intimidate or disgust a foe, the vermin burst from their flesh and they suffer a two-dice penalty on any other pools this scene. The target resists with Composure + Resolve. If the vampire wins, the target cringes away, flees, or otherwise loses face; they also lose Willpower equal to the margin. **Duration:** One scene
Messenger's Command, Animalism 3 +Dominate 1 (Players Guide p.69) **Prerequisite:** [Animal Messenger](#animal-messenger-animalism-2--auspex-1-players-guide-p.69), either [Compel](#compel-dominate-1-core-p.256) or [Mesmerize](#mesmerize-dominate-2-core-p.256) **Dice Pools:** See Compel or Mesmerize, but the Dominate rating cannot exceed the user’s Animalism. **Cost:** None **System:** See Animal Messenger, above. Make the Compel or Mesmerize test as soon as the Famulus makes eye contact with the target. **Duration:** See Animal Messenger
Plague of Beasts, Animalism 3 (Players Guide p.69) **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Animalism vs Composure + Animal Ken **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The vampire picks a target within their line of sight and tests Manipulation + Animalism against the target’s Composure + Animal Ken. On a win the target becomes the focus of attention for all animals in their vicinity for the rest of the night, suffering a dice penalty to all Skill pools equal to the margin on the win unless they can physically isolate themselves from the local wildlife. The target also becomes easier to track, with any pursuer receiving a bonus equal to the same margin. The Skill penalty does not apply to physical conflicts, as the animals aren’t suicidal enough to stick around when fists and bullets start flying, though they return once the dust settles. **Duration:** One night
Quell The Beast, Animalism 3 (Core p.246) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Charisma + Animalism vs Stamina + Resolve **System:** Roll Charisma + Animalism vs Stamina + Resolve. A win against a mortal target incapacitates them for that scene, instilling severe lethargy. They act only to preserve themselves, not against the user or anyone else. A win against a vampire prevents the target from performing Blood Surges. While their Beast is quelled, vampires do not score messy criticals. Against vampires, this power lasts a turn plus a number of turns equal to the win margin on the contest. A critical win against a vampire target also ends their frenzy. **Duration:** One scene, or a number of turns equal to the test margin plus one.
Scent Of Prey, Animalism 3 (Sabbat: The Black Hand p.47) **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Animalism **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The vampire sniffs the air and rolls Resolve + Animalism. Each success on the roll allows them to sense and track the position of a mortal who has witnessed what a Camarilla Kindred would call a “Masquerade violation.” (The user senses the closest mortal first if there are more than one and order matters.) The effect lasts for one scene, or one night on a critical win. The power is ineffective on mortals who are familiar enough with vampires to sublimate the note of fear, such as ghouls, vampire retainers, or dedicated hunters. **Duration:** One scene (one night, on a critical win)
Unliving Hive, Animalism 3 + Obfuscate 2 (Core p.247) **Cost:** No additional cost **System:** This power extends all powers previously restricted to vertebrates to insect swarms, treating a swarm as a single creature. The vampire can bind the swarm as a famulus, and some even give it the ability to nest inside the cavities of their body. This hides the swarm from sight while allowing it to nurse the minute amounts of Blood needed to sustain it indefinitely. While nested, the swarm is undetectable by anything less than X-rays. Swarms do little damage in combat. They have Health 5 and a pool of 8 dice to resist attacks. Swarms take Superficial damage from Brawl; flame and insecticide cause Aggravated damage. Vampires can use swarms for spying, as distractions (resulting in a two-dice penalty on any roll for a single swarmed individual), or to intimidate mortals (add between one and three dice to Intimidation pools, depending on the type of insect and the victim’s phobias). Players and Storytellers can doubtlessly come up with even more creative uses of this power. **Duration:** Passive
Subsume The Spirit, Animalism 4 (Core p.247) **Cost:** One Rouse Check. Free if used on famulus. **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Animalism **System:** Make a Manipulation + Animalism test; Difficulty 4. On a win, the vampire can inhabit the animal’s body for one scene. On a critical win, the vampire can inhabit the animal indefinitely. Extending this possession into the daylight hours requires the vampire to stay awake (Core, p.219); seeing the sun requires a test for fear frenzy though the sunlight does not damage the animal being ridden. The user remains oblivious to their original body, but harm to it pulls them out of the trance and releases the animal. Death of the possessed animal also ends the trance, and the vampire takes a point of Aggravated Willpower damage from the shock. **Duration:** A scene / indefinitely
Sway the Flock, Animalism 4 (Players Guide pp.69-70) **Dice Pools:** Composure + Animalism **Cost:** One or more Rouse Checks **System:** The vampire decides on the behavior they want to encourage in the local animals and makes a Composure + Animalism test. The effect scales with the number of successes: At one success animals aren’t noticeably affected, while at five their behavior will be completely dominated by the desired impulse, with calmed animals falling asleep or riled ones attacking anyone or each other with no provocation. Any mundane attempt to control the animals increases in Difficulty equal to the number of successes on the test. The size of the area affected is roughly the size of a football field, though it can be extended with additional Rouse Checks, up to five for a small town. **Duration:** One night
Animal Dominion, Animalism 5 (Core p.247) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **Dice Pools:** Charisma + Animalism **System:** Choose a type of animal and make a Charisma + Animalism roll with a Difficulty depending on the nature of the animals and the order given. Getting a flock of crows to disperse and look for a specific individual (given some means of identifying their target) is relatively easy (Difficulty 3), but getting a pack of dogs to give their lives in a suicidal attack on another vampire is more of a challenge (Difficulty 5). The power does not allow the user to summon animals, but compels those already present to obey. The vampire can command the animals to return after completing their task, if they have means to do so. **Duration:** A single scene or until the directive is fulfilled, whichever is shortest.
Coax the Bestial Temper, Animalism 5 (Players Guide p.70) **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Animalism **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The vampire decides whether they want to agitate or calm, hums a wordless melody or similar subtle sound, and makes a Manipulation + Animalism test at Difficulty 3. Each success in the margin raises or lowers the Difficulty to resist Frenzy by one for all other vampires within earshot. If the difficulty is lowered, all vampires already in Frenzy can make a new test to resist it, snapping out of their Frenzy if they succeed. **Duration:** As long as the user keeps humming
Drawing Out The Beast, Animalism 5 (Core pp.247-248) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Wits + Animalism vs Composure + Resolve **System:** Instead of the Willpower roll to resist a terror or fury frenzy, roll Wits + Animalism vs Composure + Resolve of the target. If the user fails, they enter frenzy as though they had failed the Willpower roll. On a win, the target experiences that frenzy instead of the user. Later stimuli can still provoke frenzy in the user, but they can use this power as long as they can make Rouse Checks and further targets remain available.\ This power cannot transfer a hunger frenzy. **Duration:** Frenzy duration (Core, p.220)
Spirit Walk, Animalism 5 (Gehenna War p.46) **Prerequisite:** [Subsume the Spirit](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#subsume-the-spirit-animalism-4-core-p.247) **Cost:** None, though the cost for Subsume the Spirit remains **System:** When using Subsume the Spirit, the duration is always indefinite as though a Critical result was obtained. Furthermore the Kindred can activate Subsume the Spirit even while inhabiting an animal’s form, transferring their consciousness to beast after beast.
## Auspex
Heightened Senses, Auspex 1 (Core p.249) **Cost:** Free (but see below) **Dice Pools:** Wits + Resolve **System:** The user adds their Auspex rating to all perception rolls. If exposed to extreme sensations, such as loud bangs, flashes of intense light or overpowering smells while the power is active the user must succeed on a Wits + Resolve (Difficulty 3 or more) roll to dampen their senses in time, or the overload causes them to sustain a -3 dice penalty to all perception-based rolls for the rest of the scene. **Duration:** Until deactivated. Having the power active for longer stretches of time without rest (more than a scene), especially so for high-stimulus environments, might necessitate spending Willpower, at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Sense The Unseen, Auspex 1 (Core p.249) **Cost:** Free **Dice Pools:** Wits + Auspex or Resolve + Auspex **System:** Whenever there’s something supernatural hiding in plain sight, the Storyteller makes a hidden roll of Wits + Auspex against a Difficulty they choose. Against an entity actively trying to stay hidden, the Storyteller can call for a blind roll (“Lisa, roll seven dice for me”) as a contest against the target’s relevant pool. (For example, detecting a vampire using Obfuscate would be a roll of Wits + Auspex vs Wits + Obfuscate) If the vampire actively searches for a hidden supernatural entity, they roll Resolve + Auspex similarly. **Duration:** Passive
Panacea, Auspex 2 + Fortitude 1 (Players Guide p.70) **Amalgam:** Fortitude 1 **Dice Pools:** Composure + Auspex **Cost:** One Rouse Check and additional Willpower depending on circumstances. **System:** The vampire rolls Composure + Auspex against Difficulty 2 and restores a number of superficial Willpower damage levels equal to the margin on the roll. Alternatively, the user restores one Aggravated Willpower damage level for every three successes in the margin. If successfully used on a mortal, Panacea similarly calms them if they’re in a turbulent emotional state, or puts them otherwise at ease. Use of this power takes a whole turn. If the vampire spends an entire scene instead, reduce the Difficulty to 0. Panacea must be used on someone other than the vampire invoking the power. A subject can be affected by the power only once per night. If the user soothes more than one subject per night, the user suffers superficial Willpower damage equal to half the number of successes in the margin for every additional subject, as they take on the burden of so many charges. **Duration:** N/A
Premonition, Auspex 2 (Core pp.249-250) **Cost:** Free or one Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Auspex **System:** Whenever the Storyteller deems it appropriate, this power gives the character a sudden hint that aids them in some way: letting them find a clue they’ve missed or saving them from danger. Whether it gives the character a sudden vision of themselves walking into a trap, an inviting red glow over the second right turn during a chase, or the brief flash of a skeleton beneath the floorboards in the Prince’s office, this power always gives the Storyteller license to subtly speed up play or move the story onto a desired track. The suggested limit is one premonition per scene, even if more than one character has Premonition. The user can also actively provoke a premonition by focusing on a subject, making a Rouse Check and rolling Resolve + Auspex. The number of successes rolled determines the level of insight on the subject, if any. **Duration:** Passive
Unerring Pursuit, Auspex 2 + Dominate 1 (Sabbat: The Black Hand pp.46-47) **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Auspex **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The user locks eyes with the target, if only for a split second, and rolls Resolve + Auspex. On a win, the effect lasts for one night, plus one for each success in the margin. (If used against a vampire, the Difficulty of the roll is 3.) While the power is active the user can concentrate for a turn to gain a view of the last position of the target from the perspective of the target’s own reflection. Essentially, they view a mental impression of the most recent moment the victim saw themselves, intentionally or unintentionally, in a mirror or mirror-like surface (including polished chrome, shopping windows, or even someone’s sunglasses). Note that Obfuscate provides no protection from this power, as it relies on the victim’s self-perception. The user can recognize the surroundings of the target with an Intelligence + Streetwise (for urban areas) or Intelligence + Survival (for rural areas), the Difficulty depending on circumstances, such as being indoors, but should range from 2 to 4. The target can get a glimpse of their pursuer in their own reflection on a Wits + Awareness test at Difficulty 4, and only on a critical win will recognize their face, or recall it from where the individual saw them if they don’t know them personally. **Duration:** One night plus one for each success (or in the margin, in the case of a vampire target)
Reveal Temperament, Auspex 2 (Players Guide pp.70-71) **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Auspex vs Composure + Subterfuge **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** When the power is active the user can test Intelligence + Auspex vs a target’s Composure + Subterfuge. A win reveals the Resonance of the mortal observed as well as any other particulars of their blood, such as Dyscrasias. On a critical win the user also gains a two-dice bonus to interaction with the target for the duration of the scene as they are able to adapt their approach to the emotional state of the mortal. Versus a vampire, a win reveals the Resonance of the last mortal they fed upon, and a critical win provides a more nuanced picture of the vessel at time of feeding, revealing the method and Predator Type of the vampire. **Duration:** One scene
Fatal Flaw, Auspex 3 + Oblivion 1 (Players Guide p.71) **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Auspex vs Composure or Stamina + Subterfuge **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The user spends a turn intently observing the target, looking for a flaw in their defenses, and tests Intelligence + Auspex against the target’s Composure (for mental weaknesses) or Stamina (for physical ones) + Subterfuge. A win shows how they best attack their target, revealing the lowest defense pool in either category, and provides a two-dice bonus to attacks against that pool. If the user informs anyone about said weakness they gain a one-die bonus. **Duration:** One scene
Haruspex, Auspex 3 + Oblivion 1 (Tattered Facade p.91) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Auspex **System:** The vampire spends a turn examining the body of the recently dead or dying (they must have died within the scene), during which time they remove and scatter organs, stare into vacant eyes, and otherwise desecrate the corpse. Once complete, they Rouse the Blood and test Resolve + Auspex against Difficulty 3. Characters gain a one-die bonus if they killed the victim themselves, or two dice if they’re killed while undergoing the scrying process (such a torturous death likely grants Stains). If successful, the vampire can reroll every die in any single dice pool before the night’s end as the insight prepares them for such an eventuality. On a critical win, they may reroll up to three pools. When a pool is rerolled, the player may choose the most preferable result. This Power only works with mortal victims — vampires and animals provide no spark of insight. **Duration:** One night
Read the Room, Auspex 3 (Courts of the Damned p.214) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Auspex **System:** The vampire activates the power and mentally poses a question they want answered, as though they were taking a poll, then tests Intelligence + Auspex. Difficulty starts at 5 for a crowd of 12 (mortals or Kindred) and decreases for each additional 12 individuals down to a minimum of Difficulty 2. Storytellers may decide that certain questions are too complex to answer, and while numbers are always vague (some, many, most, etc.), they otherwise summarize the crowd’s general sentiment. On a critical win, they detect how this sentiment changes from any actions taken during the scene. **Duration:** Instantaneous, or one scene on a critical
Reveal the Invisible Leash, Auspex 3 (Courts of the Damned p.214) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Auspex vs Composure + Resolve **System:** The vampire must be in physical contact with their target and test Intelligence + Auspex vs their target’s Composure + Resolve. On a win, the vampire senses who in the room the target considers their political superior (if any). If there are multiple such individuals, they only identify the most immediate present, such as a sire whose Blood Bound the target rather than the Prince. For every 2 points of the Margin, a secondary superior is identified, moving from the target’s most immediate to the most distant. **Duration:** For as long as the vampire is touching their target
Scry The Soul, Auspex 3 (Core p.250) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Auspex vs Composure + Subterfuge **System:** Make an Intelligence + Auspex vs Composure + Subterfuge roll. On a win, the Storyteller truthfully answers a number of questions equal to the margin of the roll about the target’s aura and psyche, including: • The emotional state of the subject\ • The Resonance in the subject’s blood\ • Whether the subject is a vampire, werewolf, ghoul or any other supernatural being\ • Whether the subject is under the influence of Blood Sorcery or other magic\ • Whether the subject has committed diablerie in the last year\ • A critical win allows discovery of something unexpected, as determined by the Storyteller If scanning a crowd, roll versus a Difficulty determined by the size of the crowd and external distractions, as well as the type of trait being sought. (Finding the vampire in the living room might only be a Difficulty 3, while finding the most nervous person at a crowded rave is most likely Difficulty 6 or higher.) **Duration:** One turn, or Storyteller’s discretion
Share The Senses, Auspex 3 (Core p.250) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Auspex **System:** Roll Resolve + Auspex at Difficulty 3. This Difficulty can go up depending on distraction, distance, and other factors, such as the amount of the user’s Blood that remains in the target. The target usually remains unaware of the intrusion, but Sense the Unseen can allow the passenger to be noticed. To get rid of an unwanted rider, the victim must beat the intruder at a Wits + Resolve vs Wits + Resolve roll. An Auspex user thrown out this way cannot make another Sharing attempt until the next night. **Duration:** One scene
Vermin Vision, Auspex 3 + Animalism 2 (Fall of London p.30) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Animalism **System:** The user can view through the eyes of a group of animals (such as mice or cockroaches) and hop from one individual specimen to the next as suits her. **Duration:** One scene
Heart Laid Bare, Auspex 4 (Tattered Facade pp.91-92) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Auspex vs Composure + Subterfuge **System:** The user decides on whether they are looking for fears or desires and then engages the target in conversation for a few minutes before making the Power test. The test is made against Difficulty 0 on unsuspecting mortals, but mortals aware of vampiric abilities — as well as all supernatural creatures — can resist with Composure + Subterfuge. The margin on success determines how much information is gained: ***1–2:*** The user gets a general notion of the victim’s fears or desires, such as: “wealth”, “bugs”, or “loneliness.” ***3–5:*** The sense becomes more specific: “making it on the stock market”, “hornets”, or “losing my partner” ***6+:*** The user receives a clear picture of the element sought, complete with context or history: “getting away with that NDX Insider deal”, “a threesome with Billy and Jeanette”, “hornets, ever since I whacked that nest on a dare in third grade”, or “Warren finding out I lied about Billy and Jeanette.” Add one success to the result if the object of desire or fear is present, and add another success if the conversation touches upon the topic. (Though the victim can catch on to the intent unless the user wins a Composure + Subterfuge vs Wits + Insight test.) **Duration:** N/A
Spirit’s Touch, Auspex 4 (Core pp.250-251) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Auspex **System:** Make an Intelligence + Auspex roll versus a Difficulty depending on the information sought. Gleaning the emotional state of the user of a murder weapon used a few days before is Difficulty 3, but sensing the surroundings in which a 300-year-old letter was written approaches Difficulty 6 or higher. Each point of margin on the roll allows the user to sense roughly one additional previous handler and set of circumstances, counting backwards from the most recent. **Duration:** One turn
Clairvoyance, Auspex 5 (Core p.251) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Auspex **System:** Roll Intelligence + Auspex against a Difficulty based on the security and level of activity of the area. Using Clairvoyance on one’s own mansion would be Difficulty 3 while an unfamiliar city block in the slums of a major city would amount to 7 or more. The user adds their base Haven rating in extra dice to the pool when using Clairvoyance on their own haven.\ The Storyteller answers the vampire’s questions about the comings and goings in the area, what people have seen and heard, topics of local gossip, recent major shocks or impressions, and so forth. The player can ask roughly one question per point of margin; answers about deliberately concealed information might consume more than one point. A critical win reveals something major, regardless of the questions asked, assuming there is something to reveal. The vampire can also clairvoyantly monitor events in progress, though this requires them to remain in the area for as long as the effect is active. **Duration:** A few minutes for information gathering, up to a night for vigilance.
Possession, Auspex 5 + Dominate 3 (Core pp.251-252) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Auspex vs Resolve + Intelligence **System:** This power can only be used on mortals. If the mortal is a ghoul, they must first be Blood Bound to the user. Before possession can begin, the vampire must have eye contact with their victim (Core, p.254). The user then engages in a Resolve + Auspex vs Resolve + Intelligence conflict with the victim in order to inhabit their body. If the vampire’s player rolls a total failure, the victim becomes immune to further Possession attempts for the duration of the story. Once the vampire inhabits the body of their victim, their own body falls into a torpor-like trance, completely unaware of their surrounding and their own physical state except for Aggravated damage, which breaks the trance and ends the effects. A vampire possessing a mortal can use Auspex, Presence, and Dominate through them. If the user wishes to extend Possession into daytime, they must make a roll to stay awake (Core, p.219). Failure to stay awake ends the power. Any Aggravated damage to the subject also risks ending the possession – the user must succeed at a Resolve + Auspex roll (Difficulty 2 + damage taken) to stay in control. If the subject dies during Possession, the resulting spiritual trauma immediately causes the user to sustain three levels of Aggravated damage to Willpower. This power does not give the user the ability to read the mind, use the skills, or emulate the manners of the victim. Any skills employed use the possessing vampire’s rating. The user must make a Manipulation + Performance vs Wits + Insight roll to successfully impersonate the victim’s manners, expressions, and the like. Finally, Possession violates the victim even more profoundly than a Blood Bond. The Storyteller should consider awarding Stains for this action. **Duration:** Until ended, voluntarily or involuntarily.
Telepathy, Auspex 5 (Core p.252) **Cost:** One Rouse Check (plus one Willpower vs non-consenting vampires) **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Auspex vs Wits + Subterfuge **System:** The user is not required to roll any dice to project their thoughts to another, vampire or mortal, though they do require line of sight. To read the mind of a mortal within line of sight, roll Resolve + Auspex vs Wits + Subterfuge while looking into their eyes. (Unless the mortal consents, in which case no roll is required.) A win means that the user can discern surface thoughts as a stream of images, with higher margin allowing the user to probe for more distant or buried memories. A critical win gives a coherent picture of the subject’s current thoughts and intentions. To read the mind of a non-consenting vampire, spend one Willpower point before rolling. **Duration:** Roughly one minute per Rouse Check. Increased to a full scene on consenting subjects.
Unburdening the Bestial Soul, Auspex 5 + Dominate 3 (Players Guide pp.71-72) **Prerequisite:** [Panacea](#panacea-auspex-2--fortitude-1-players-guide-p.70) **Dice Pools:** Composure + Auspex vs. Humanity **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks, gain one Stain **System:** The vampire spends a scene in seclusion with the subject and rolls Composure + Auspex vs. the Humanity of the subject. For every success in the margin, they can remove one Stain from the subject, or erect a psychological “shield” that protects the subject from future Stains on a one-for-one basis. For example, a margin of three applied to a subject with no Stains would effectively “cancel out” up to three Stains acquired later in the session. On a critical win the user can choose to forgo the above benefits, instead restoring a single point of Humanity to the subject, but no vampire can gain that benefit more than once, ever. Unburdening the Bestial Soul works only on vampires, and automatically fails if the subject has a higher Humanity than the user. No matter the benefits received, for the rest of the session the subject is numbed, having part of their mind merged with the user, and any Dominate powers used on them by this power’s user succeed automatically with no eye contact necessary. When the power expires, all psychological “shields” not used up are lost, though Stains removed or Humanity gained on initial application do not revert. **Duration:** One session
## Celerity
Cat’s Grace, Celerity 1 (Core pp.252-253) **Cost:** Free **System:** The user automatically passes any Dexterity- or Athletics-based roll needed to keep their balance. Note that this power does not allow them to balance on support that cannot take their weight. **Duration:** Passive
Fluent Swiftness, Celerity 1 (Gehenna War p.46) **Cost:** None **System:** Whenever the vampire uses a Blood Surge to augment a Dexterity or Celerity test, they may reroll the Rouse Check.
Rapid Reflexes, Celerity 1 (Core p.253) **Cost:** Free **System:** With this power, vampires suffer no penalty to their defense pools for lack of cover against Firearms attacks. They can also take a minor action (Core, p.298) worth up to two dice per turn, such as readying or reloading a weapon, for free. **Duration:** Passive
Fleetness, Celerity 2 (Core p.253) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Add the Celerity rating to user's dice pool for non-combat Dexterity tests. Once per turn the user may also do this when defending with Dexterity + Athletics. **Duration:** One scene
Rush Job, Celerity 2 (Players Guide p.72) **Dice Pools:** N/A **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** When active, this power lets the vampire complete Skill-related tasks that would otherwise take whole turns in the span of a few seconds, and can treat a full action as a minor action (Core, p.298). The power cannot be used to speed up attacks, defenses, or to perform any other actively resisted task but it does allow the vampire to, for example, jimmy a lock and fire a gun (the latter with a two-dice penalty, as per the minor action rules.) **Duration:** One scene
A Thousand Cuts, Celerity 3 (Tattered Facade pp.95-96) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The vampire may add their Celerity rating to any single Brawl or Melee attack (not otherwise augmented by a Discipline) made with claws or an edged weapon. For mortal victims, the cuts and slices caused by this flurry of attacks only cause Superficial damage, but automatically inflict enough additional Superficial damage for the victim to be Impaired. (At the Storyteller’s discretion, victims are overcome with pain and effectively out of commission.) The attack also splashes blood far and wide, causing vampires at Hunger 3 or more to make Hunger Frenzy tests. Used against Kindred, the attack is relatively harmless, but the scores of vicious yet unbleeding wounds leave the victim a walking Masquerade violation, and might provoke a Fury Frenzy test at the Storyteller’s discretion. **Duration:** One action
Blink, Celerity 3 (Core pp.253-254) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Dexterity + Athletics, or as needed **System:** The vampire moves in a straight line toward a target, covering any distance under 50 meters while still having enough time to perform an action, such as an attack, during the turn. If the terrain is in any way hazardous, the character needs to make a Dexterity + Athletics roll to avoid stumbling and coming to a halt on the way. The Storyteller may call for other contests as desired, especially if the vampire races a distant foe to an object or an action. Vampires engaging a foe with this power act as if already engaged when the turn begins. **Duration:** One turn
Traversal, Celerity 3 (Core pp.253-254) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Dexterity + Athletics **System:** Make a Dexterity + Athletics roll with a Difficulty of 3 (inclined surface with traction) to 6 (slick vertical surface, open water), depending on the surface and angle. Each point of margin gets the vampire further up or out; a margin of 0 gets to a close target, a margin of 1 to one farther than that, and so forth. The Storyteller should inform the player beforehand if a target is too distant to even attempt Traversal; as a rule of thumb, anything over water farther than 60 meters (or more than 30 stories up a building) probably exceeds this power’s range. **Duration:** One turn
Weaving, Celerity 3 (Players Guide p.72) **Prerequisite:** Rapid Reflexes **Dice Pools:** N/A **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The user does not suffer diminishing dice pools when defending against multiple ranged attacks using Dexterity + Athletics. They can also add their Celerity rating to all such attempts while this power is active. **Duration:** One scene
Blurred Momentum, Celerity 4 (Players Guide p.72) **Dice Pools:** N/A **Cost:** One Rouse Check per turn **System:** Attacks that achieve fewer successes than the user’s Celerity rating always miss, no matter the result of a defense or dodge test (if any). This also works against surprise attacks or other attacks that disallow defense tests, such as Lightning Strike. Activating this power requires one Rouse Check and extending it requires an additional Check for each turn it is kept active. **Duration:** Until the user lets it lapse
Draught Of Elegance, Celerity 4 (Core p.254) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Drinking a Rouse Checks worth of Blood directly from the user gifts the drinker with temporary Celerity equal to half the Celerity dots (rounded down) of the donor. The drinker gains the same non-Amalgam powers as the donor’s, up to that level. **Duration:** One night; for vampires, until the next feeding or the vampire reaches Hunger 5
Faster Than Light, Celerity 4 (Live From the Succubus Club p.27) **Prerequisite:** [Blink](#blink-celerity-3-core-pp.253-254) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** When using Blink, the vampire makes an additional Rouse check, enabling them to pass through patches of sunlight or flame without sustaining damage or feeling their effects. If they end their action within this dangerous patch or trip during the passage, damage is applied as normal. This doesn’t negate any other impacts from operating in daylight or fire, such as Frenzy Checks, awakening, or dice pools. **Duration:** One Action
Unerring Aim, Celerity 4 + Auspex 2 (Core p.254) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Use before making a ranged attack. The target makes no roll to dodge or defend; make the attack at Difficulty 1. An opponent possessing Celerity 5 can nullify this power by making their own Rouse Check, defending at the same speed. **Duration:** A single attack
Unseen Strike, Celerity 4 + Obfuscate 4 (Players Guide p.73) **Prerequisite:** [Blink](#blink-celerity-3-core-pp.253-254) **Dice Pools:** Dexterity + Celerity vs Wits + Awareness **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **System:** This power combines effects of Blink with elements of the Obfuscate power of Vanish. To onlookers the vampire appears to disappear and the target is caught unawares, becoming subject to surprise attack. Unless the victim can react by beating the user’s Dexterity + Celerity with their Wits + Awareness in a contest, they are unable to defend against the attack and it is made against a set Difficulty of 1. (Core, p.300). If the attacker fails this test they still perform a regular attack, as per Blink power (Core, p.253), and Unseen Strike is also subject to the same movement restrictions as Blink. **Duration:** One turn
Lightning Strike, Celerity 5 (Core p.254) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Use before making a Brawl or Melee attack. The opponent makes no roll to dodge or defend; make the attack at Difficulty 1. An opponent possessing Celerity 5 can nullify this power by making their own Rouse Check, defending at the same speed. **Duration:** A single attack
Split Second, Celerity 5 (Core pp.254-255) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The player can supersede the Storyteller’s narration of events, within reason. They can choose to have their character move through a door before it closes, circumvent an ambush after it has been triggered, roll out of the way of an explosion, and so forth. The action taken must be reasonable and should not take more than a few seconds in real time. The Storyteller decides what Skills, if any, need to be checked to successfully accomplish an action begun using this power. **Duration:** Roughly one action, as determined by the Storyteller.
## Dominate
Cloud Memory, Dominate 1 (Core p.256) **Cost:** Free **Dice Pools:** Charisma + Dominate vs Wits + Resolve **System:** No roll is required against an unprepared mortal victim. Clouding the memory of a resisting victim or another vampire requires a Charisma + Dominate vs Wits + Resolve roll. **Duration:** Indefinitely
Compel, Dominate 1 (Core p.256) **Cost:** Free **Dice Pools:** Charisma + Dominate vs Intelligence + Resolve **System:** No roll is required against an unprepared mortal victim. Commanding a resisting victim, a victim the vampire has previously Dominated in the same scene, or another vampire requires a contest of Charisma + Dominate vs Intelligence + Resolve. Commands that go against the victim’s nature also require such a contest. **Duration:** No more than a single scene
Slavish Devotion, Dominate 1 + Fortitude 1 (Players Guide p.73) **Dice Pools:** N/A **Cost:** No additional cost **System:** Any attempt by a third party to use Dominate on a character already under the influence of the vampire’s Dominate suffers a dice penalty equal to the Fortitude of the vampire. **Duration:** Passive
Dementation, Dominate 2 + Obfuscate 2 (Core pp.256-257) **Cost:** One Rouse Check per scene **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Dominate vs Composure + Intelligence **System:** After engaging in conversation with a victim, the user can activate this power. For the duration of the scene, the use may attack a single individual each turn in a Manipulation + Dominate vs Composure + Intelligence conflict, causing Superficial damage to Willpower. A mortal who becomes Impaired by this power experiences a nervous breakdown or psychotic break, the shape and nature of which depends on their personality (and perhaps their blood Resonance). A vampire that becomes Impaired by this power must immediately succumb to a Compulsion, as chosen by the power’s user. If the user wants to affect multiple victims, they need to make a separate Rouse Check for each one. **Duration:** One Scene.
Domitor's Favor, Dominate 2 (Players Guide p.74) **Dice Pools:** N/A **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Defiance rolls for willful thralls under the effects of Domitor’s Favor are made at a three-dice penalty and thralls may not spend Willpower on them. Additionally, total failure on a defiance roll means that the Blood Bond does not weaken that month. (Core, pp. 233–244.) **Duration:** One month
Mesmerize, Dominate 2 (Core p.256) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Dominate vs Intelligence + Resolve **System:** No roll is required against an unprepared mortal victim. Commanding a resisting victim or another vampire requires a contest of Manipulation + Dominate vs Intelligence + Resolve. Commands that go against the victim’s nature also require such a contest. **Duration:** Until the command is carried out or the scene ends, whichever comes first.
The Stolen Voice, Dominate 2 (Tattered Facade pp.96-97) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Composure + Dominate vs. Resolve + Performance **System:** The vampire must be able to make eye contact with the victim. They need no test to activate the Power against mortals; Kindred and other supernatural beings can resist with Resolve + Performance. Anyone affected by this Power finds it impossible to meaningfully communicate — their voice makes no sound, writing becomes illegible, their gestures or signs shudder spastically, and even banging against walls produces nothing but a dull thud as their limbs fail to exert force. **Duration:** One scene
Chain of Command, Dominate 3 (Courts of the Damned p.215) **Prerequisite:** [Mesmerize](#mesmerize-dominate-2-core-p.256) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Auspex vs Composure + Resolve **System:** After delivering a Mesmerize command, the vampire can choose to invoke this power by immediately making another Rouse Check. Those affected become capable of executing slightly more complex tasks — even showing some degree of awareness — as they set about achieving their master’s goal, seeking out other suitable candidates to help them. The target of this power adds the vampire’s rating in Dominate to any Social tests they make when convincing others to assist them in their objective (and only those tasks), allowing them to better command underlings, delegate tasks, and spread the burden. Those so commanded aren’t operating under any supernatural compulsion and are free to object — the main benefit is making people in authority better equipped to order around those beneath them. **Duration:** Until the command is carried out or the scene ends, whichever comes first
Submerged Directive, Dominate 3 (Core p.257) **Prerequisite:** [Mesmerize](#mesmerize-dominate-2-core-p.256) **Cost:** No additional cost **System:** As Mesmerize, though the Storyteller might want to make any rolls in secret. There’s no way of knowing if the submerged suggestion works until the conditions are met. **Duration:** Passive
The Forgetful Mind, Dominate 3 (Core p.257) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Dominate vs Intelligence + Resolve **System:** The user rolls a contest of Manipulation + Dominate vs Intelligence + Resolve. Each point of margin allows the user to add or remove an additional memory. The victim recalls the edits vaguely, foggy ideations that can fall apart under close questioning. A critical win creates a flawless imprint, as real as any true memory. **Duration:** Indefinitely
Ancestral Dominion, Dominate 4 + Blood Sorcery 2 (Players Guide p.74) **Prerequisite:** [Mesmerize](#mesmerize-dominate-2-core-p.256) **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Dominate vs. Resolve + Occult **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** On a successful test of Manipulation + Dominate against Resolve + Occult, the victim acts to fulfill the dominating ancestor’s request, provided it doesn’t entail harming themself. For every generation separating the user of this power from their target, the resisting vampire gains an additional die to their roll. For example, when a ninth generation vampire attempts to use this power on an eleventh generation descendant, the descendant gains two extra dice in defense. The power needs neither eye contact nor verbal command — the request is silently transmitted from Blood to Blood — but it is subject to all other Dominate limitations. **Duration:** Until the command is carried out or the scene ends, whichever comes first.
Implant Suggestion, Dominate 4 + Presence 1 (Players Guide p.74) **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Dominate vs Composure + Resolve **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** No test is required against an unprepared mortal victim, but a prepared mortal or another vampire requires a test of Manipulation + Dominate against Composure + Resolve. Radical changes to core beliefs – making a vegan crave a steak or making a pacifist violent, for example – also merit an attempt to resist, even by unprepared mortals. The suggestion remains in effect for a scene, at which point the victim snaps out of it. **Duration:** One scene
Rationalize, Dominate 4 (Core p.257) **Cost:** No additional cost **System:** If pressed on their belief, the victim can make a Wits+Awareness test (Difficulty 5). A win makes them question their own statement, and possibly their sanity. **Duration:** Indefinitely
Lethe’s Call, Dominate 5 (Gehenna War p.46) **Prerequisite:** [Cloud Memory](#cloud-memory-dominate-1-core-p.256) or [The Forgetful Mind](#the-forgetful-mind-dominate-3-core-p.257) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Dominate vs Intelligence + Resolve **System:** The user tests Manipulation + Dominate vs a target’s Intelligence + Resolve, though unprepared mortals cannot resist this power. Each success in the margin allows the user to wipe up to an entire week’s worth of memories from the target. This use of Dominate does not require any verbal instructions, but will in this case simply blank the remembered time from the victim indiscriminately. With the addition of a verbal command, the Kindred can instead simply erase all knowledge of one individual or event from the same time, including the user themself. The user may choose to simply leave the target’s memory blank or leave the victim with a generic sense of time having passed and the assumption that the time passed about as expected, though the latter quickly reveals inconsistencies if the victim is pressed for details later. **Duration:** Indefinitely
Mass Manipulation, Dominate 5 (Core p.257) **Cost:** One Rouse Check in addition to the cost of the power amplified **System:** The vampire can amplify any of their other powers to affect a group of people, mortal or vampire, at once. All of the victims need to see the eyes of the user. The user makes any needed roll against the strongest opponent in the group. **Duration:** As per power amplified
Terminal Decree, Dominate 5 (Core pp.257-258) **Cost:** No additional Hunger cost, but the Humanity cost is potentially severe **System:** Terminal commands now must be resisted (see individual powers regarding rolls involved), rather than failing automatically. **Duration:** Passive
## Fortitude
Fluent Endurance, Fortitude 1 (Gehenna War p.46) **Cost:** None **System:** Whenever the vampire uses a Blood Surge to augment a Stamina or Fortitude test, they may reroll the Rouse Check.
Resilience, Fortitude 1 (Core p.258) **Cost:** Free **System:** The user adds their Fortitude rating to their Health track. **Duration:** Passive
Unswayable Mind, Fortitude 1 (Core p.258) **Cost:** Free **System:** The user adds their dots in Fortitude as extra dice in any roll made to resist coercion, intimidation, seduction, or any other attempt to sway the user’s mind against their will. This power also works against supernatural abilities such as Dominate and Presence. **Duration:** Passive
Earth's Perseverance, Fortitude 2 (Players Guide pp.74-75) **Dice Pools:** N/A **Cost:** One Rouse check **System:** When this power is activated, the only way the vampire moves is if they choose to do so independently. This doesn’t make them resistant to damage, and a vampire can still be crushed, ripped apart, or torn to shreds, as can the floor they’re standing on. **Duration:** One scene or until lapsed by user
Enduring Beasts, Fortitude 2 + Animalism 1 (Core p.259) **Cost:** Free (for famulus); One Rouse Check (for other animals) **Dice Pools:** Stamina + Animalism (for non-famulus animals) **System:** The vampire can choose to extend some of their Fortitude powers to animals affected by their Animalism. Any animal thus imbued gains additional Health levels equal to the Fortitude dots of the vampire. Using this power on their famulus is free and automatic. To imbue other animals besides their famulus, the user must make a Rouse Check and roll a test of Stamina + Animalism (Difficulty 3). The user can fortify one animal per point of margin. When the effect ends, remove unmarked Health first; this may result in the animal expiring. **Duration:** One Scene.
Invigorating Vitae, Fortitude 2 + Auspex 1 (Players Guide p.75) **Dice Pools:** N/A **Cost:** None beyond Rouse Checks for giving Blood **System:** Using vitae to heal the living (Players Guide, p.139) heals three levels of Aggravated Damage per Rouse Check rather than just one. Other effects (becoming a ghoul, risking Blood Bond) remain unchanged. **Duration:** Passive
Obdurate, Fortitude 2 + Potence 2 (Winter's Teeth #3) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Wits + Survival **System:** When activated, a vampire may use this power to become a sturdy and strong immovable object. Vampires falling from great heights find themselves able to literally hit the ground running. Vampires struck by moving vehicles don't budge an inch while the car crumples like aluminum. Users may consciously activate this ability in advance or may instinctively activate it by making a successful Stamina + Survival check at Difficulty 3. Any superficial damage received from falling or collisions is reduced by the user's Fortitude score, before being halved. **Duration:** One Scene
Self-Assurance, Fortitude 2 (Live From the Succubus Club pp.27-28) **Prerequisite:** [Unswayable Mind](#unswayable-mind-fortitude-1-core-p.258) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** If engaged in social combat, the character can activate this Power. Once activated, the character can absorb Superficial Willpower damage equal to their Fortitude rating without it affecting their actual Willpower reserves. If a Social Combat Action would inflict Aggravated damage, the character can expend any remaining benefit from this Power to negate that attack — in this case, the Power cannot be renewed during the same scene. **Duration:** One scene, until depleted, or the end of a social conflict.
Toughness, Fortitude 2 (Core pp.258-259) **Cost:** One Rouse check **System:** Subtract the Fortitude of the defender from all Superficial damage sustained. This occurs before halving the damage, and cannot reduce the damage below one. **Duration:** One scene
Calloused Soul, Fortitude 3 (Tattered Facade pp.97-98) **Cost:** Two Stains **Dice Pools:** Varies with the atrocity **System:** The vampire must carry out a well-planned and premeditated atrocity, thereby suitably numbing their mind for what is to come. The nature of this act depends on the Chronicle Tenets, but must involve at least three mortal deaths; their revulsion to this horror is such that the vampire gains three Stains (one of which they can mitigate by a Conviction). For the rest of the night, they cannot gain Stains from any future trigger, no matter how severe, and even diablerie has its potential for Humanity loss limited to one point — although if the tests would have the victim assume control, this still happens despite this power. **Duration:** One night
Defy Bane, Fortitude 3 (Core p.259) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Wits + Survival (to activate reflexively) **System:** The user can convert a number of Aggravated damage equal to their Fortitude rating to Superficial damage when sustained. They may not heal that Superficial damage for the rest of the scene. This power converts a number of damage per scene, not per wound or per attack. The user can renew this power once expired by making another Rouse Check. If endangered unexpectedly, the user can activate this power reflexively with a Wits + Survival roll (Difficulty 3) upon receiving Aggravated damage. If the user fails the test, the power does not activate; if they win the test, they must make a Rouse Check to pay for the power. **Duration:** One scene or until expired, whichever comes first
Fortify The Inner Facade, Fortitude 3 (Core p.259) **Cost:** Free **System:** Increases the Difficulty of using Scry Soul (Auspex 3), Telepathy (Auspex 5), and similar powers on the user by half their Fortitude rating (round up). If the rules allow the user to resist these powers, they add their Fortitude rating to their dice pool instead. **Duration:** One scene
Seal the Beast's Maw, Fortitude 3 (Forbidden Religions p.44) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **System:** At any time during a scene, the vampire may make two Rouse Checks and ignore the effects of Hunger for the remainder of the scene. Doing this reduces all dice pools by a number equal to half (rounded up) of their current Hunger rating. If their Hunger increases by any other means during this time, their dice pools reduce by an additional die. If a dice pool reduces to zero through the use of this power, the character must roll to resist a fury frenzy, as stifling their Hunger intensifies the Beast’s rage. **Duration:** One scene
Valeren, Fortitude 3 + Auspex 1 (Players Guide p.75) **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Fortitude **Cost:** One Rouse Check and additional Health depending on circumstances **System:** The vampire rolls Intelligence + Fortitude against Difficulty 2 and mends a number of superficial Health damage levels equal to the margin on the roll. Alternatively, the user mends one Aggravated Health damage level for every three successes in the margin.\ Use of this power takes a whole turn. If the vampire spends an entire scene instead, reduce the Difficulty to 0. Valeren must be used on someone other than the vampire invoking the power, and can be used only on vampires. A subject can be affected by the power only once per night. If the user mends more than one subject per night, the user suffers Superficial Health damage equal to half the number of successes in the margin for every additional subject, as they take on the burden of so many charges. **Duration:** N/A
Draught Of Endurance, Fortitude 4 (Core pp.259-260) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Drinking a Rouse Check's worth of Blood directly from the user gifts the drinker with temporary Fortitude equal to half the Fortitude dots (rounded down) of the donor. The drinker gains the same powers as the donor’s, up to that level. **Duration:** One night; for vampires, until the next feeding or the vampire reaches Hunger 5
Gorgon's Scales, Fortitude 4 (Players Guide pp.75-76) **Dice Pools:** N/A **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** On activation the vampire gains a set of immunities or resistances dependent on the Resonance of the blood they most recently fed upon.
* Choleric: A stake driven through the vampire’s heart is consumed with decay or turns to ash at the end of the scene, immediately freeing the vampire from paralysis. The Resonance is then lost.
* Melancholy: Aggravated Health damage caused by fire is reduced to Superficial. The Resonance is lost after reducing four levels of damage.
* Phlegmatic: The vampire gains a four-dice bonus to resist Auspex powers that would reveal anything about them or what they know. Once the power is activated it lasts for a scene, at which point the Resonance is lost.
* Sanguine: Aggravated Health damage caused by sunlight is reduced to Superficial. The Resonance is lost after reducing four levels of damage. **Duration:** Until the scene ends or the Resonance is lost, whichever comes first.
Shatter, Fortitude 4 (Cults of the Blood Gods pp.104-105) **Prerequisite:** [Toughness](#toughness-fortitude-2-core-pp.258-259) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Stamina + Fortitude vs. Stamina (+ Fortitude, if the attacker is attacking unarmed and possesses Fortitude) **System:** Anyone who makes a successful Brawl attack against the user suffers the damage which Toughness subtracts (Core, p.258) as Superficial Health damage. Melee weapons also suffer reflected damage, and break once they endure their damage modifier’s worth (unless it is holy, magical, or otherwise unbreakable). This power may only be used while Toughness is active, and can be used in response to an attack so long as the vampire has yet to use a Discipline during the current turn. **Duration:** One scene (or until hit)
Flesh Of Marble, Fortitude 5 (Core p.260) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **System:** With this power active, the vampire ignores the first source of physical damage each turn, including fire but not sunlight. If confusion arises about which source is “first,” the Storyteller either decides based on the narrative, or the vampire ignores the most damaging single source that turn. A critical win on an attack roll bypasses this power. **Duration:** One scene
Meat Shields, Fortitude 5 (Tattered Facade p.98) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** With this Power active, the vampire temporarily increases their Fortitude by a number of dots equal to half the weak mortals present (rounded down). They can gain up to five extra dots of Fortitude through this method. This increase does not provide any new Powers, but counts for the purpose of dice pools and other effects. The Storyteller counts all bystanders categorized as Weak Mortals (Core, p.185) toward this power, along with wounded or sick Average Mortals. **Duration:** One scene, or when the vampire leaves the presence of the affected mortals — whichever comes first.
Prowess From Pain, Fortitude 5 (Core p.260) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Upon activating the power the vampire no longer suffers any dice penalties from Health damage sustained, such as physical Impairment. Additionally, they can increase one Physical Attribute by one dot (derived stats are unaffected) for each level of damage on their Health track, aggravated or superficial. The user’s Attributes cannot exceed a value equal to their Blood Surge + 6 through this ability. **Duration:** One scene
## Obfuscate
Cloak Of Shadows, Obfuscate 1 (Core p.261) **Cost:** Free **System:** Follow the general rules for Obfuscate. The effect lasts until the user moves or they are detected by other means. **Duration:** One scene
Ensconce, Obfuscate 1 (Gehenna War pp.46-47) **Cost:** None **System:** The Kindred can hide a number of small, hand-held objects in their hands or on their person equal to their Obfuscate rating. Mortals ignore dangerous or out-of-place objects that the user is enshrouding or miss them in a search. Kindred with Sense the Unseen or others with supernatural senses can attempt to notice them as usual. Objects in plain view cannot be hidden by this power, nor can animate creatures. **Duration:** One scene
Mask of Ages, Obfuscate 1 (Live From the Succubus Club p.28) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Upon activating this Power, the Kindred choses to project their appearance as older or younger than their apparent age, as long as they remain roughly the same size. (Generally, late teens tend to be the lower limit). The user also adds their Obfuscate rating to any tests to impersonate someone of their projected age (including themselves at that age) or when evading someone looking for them via photo or description. Storytellers may limit the bonus dice based on the number of decades the user appears different from their apparent age. **Duration:** Until sunrise or ended by the user.
Silence Of Death, Obfuscate 1 (Core p.261) **Cost:** Free **System:** The user silences their footsteps, clothing, minor collisions, and other sounds of their person. This makes the vampire undetectable if an observer could only notice them by sound, such as when on a different floor of a house. This power does not eliminate sounds the user makes outside their personal space (throwing or dropping objects, or slamming doors, for example). Failing that, only Sense of the Unseen (Auspex 1) can detect the user. **Duration:** One scene
Cache, Obfuscate 2 (Gehenna War p.47) **Prerequisite:** [Ensconce](#ensconce-obfuscate-1-gehenna-war-pp.46-47) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Objects affected by Ensconce need merely be touched, not held or carried by the Kindred. Furthermore, the user need not maintain physical contact with the object. The effect lasts for a scene. The user may make an additional Rouse Check to extend the duration for the remainder of the night. In that case, the enshrouded object remains hidden until dawn. **Duration:** One scene or until dawn
Chimerstry, Obfuscate 2 + Presence 1 (Players Guide pp.76-77) **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Obfuscate vs Composure + Wits **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The vampire rolls their Manipulation + Obfuscate. Anyone unprepared and within eyesight of the vampire and eligible to experience the hallucination (by being in line of sight of its projected appearance, or by being the target of a tactile sensation) is distracted, losing two dice on their next action. Additionally, those who fail to resist using their Composure + Wits lose their next active action if they fail. (However, they can still defend and resist as normal, with a two-dice penalty.) Unlike most Presence powers Chimerstry can be used during a stressful physical conflict such as combat, but targets can only be affected once per conflict. Other effects resulting from the hallucination are up to the Storyteller, but they are advised to err on the side of caution. These hallucinations can never be recorded or transmitted (such as by using Ghost in the Machine). **Duration:** One turn
Doubletalk, Obfuscate 2 + Auspex 1 (Blood-Stained Love p.152) Cost: One Rouse Check System: The Kindred adds a secret message (up to one sentence) to their words that only a single intended listener can hear. Anyone else present only picks up the message if they can beat the user’s Composure + Obfuscate with their Wits + Auspex. Duration: One utterance.
Ghost's Passing, Obfuscate 2 + Animalism 1 (Forbidden Religions pp.18-19) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Animals under the user’s influence that the user targets with this power leave no track or trace that can be seen by mundane means. Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can still discern signs of an effected creature’s passing however, as per the general Obfuscate rules. **Duration:** One session
Unseen Passage, Obfuscate 2 (Core pp.261-262) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** As long as the user emits no overpowering odors and no sound louder than a whisper, this power automatically works. Only if the observer has their attention drawn to the user can they make a detection roll. Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can also detect the hidden vampire, as per the general Obfuscate rules. Note that the user cannot use this power to disappear while being actively observed; it automatically fails in such a case. **Duration:** One scene or until detection.
Ventriloquism, Obfuscate 2 + Auspex 2 (Fall of London p.31) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Wits + Obfuscate (opposed by the target’s Resolve + Composure if they’re unwilling) **System:** The power can be used on anyone in the user’s line of sight, granting the possibility to speak in the recipient’s ear from a distance so nobody else hears what’s being said. **Duration:** One scene
Fata Morgana, Obfuscate 3 + Presence 2 (Players Guide p.77) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pool:** Manipulation + Obfuscate **System:** The user makes a Manipulation + Obfuscate test against a Difficulty equal to one plus the number of senses the hallucination targets. (An audio-visual hallucination would thus be Difficulty 3, while a complete five-sensory experience would be Difficulty 6.) The easiest visual hallucinations to create are fairly small or discreet — increase the Difficulty by one for room-sized hallucinations, two for house-sized hallucinations, and so on. Further complications may add additional Difficulty at the Storyteller’s discretion. Any attempt to mimic the appearance of a specific individual or in other ways deceive can require additional Performance or Subterfuge tests as appropriate. Vampires and other supernatural creatures have a chance to disbelieve the hallucination, but mortals can do this only if they have reason to suspect it to be fake. In both cases they roll Intelligence + Awareness against the user’s Manipulation + Presence. A success means that the individual in question is no longer affected by the hallucination, and it effectively disappears for them. Any attempt to interact with the hallucination also causes it to lapse entirely, as everyone present becomes aware of its unreal nature (as with the collapsing staircase example, if someone is using the staircase). Note that the use of this power is not overt, so even if the hallucination is revealed, it is not obvious from whom it originated. These hallucinations can never be recorded or transmitted (such as by using Ghost in the Machine). If the hallucination could cause Frenzy or similar reactions in its targets, apply the same test at a Difficulty of one lower than the real thing. Duration: One scene, unless the vampire chooses to let it lapse before that.
Ghost In The Machine, Obfuscate 3 (Core p.262) **Cost:** No additional cost **System:** No additional roll is required when being viewed on a live feed. Treat observers as present with the vampire, with regard to the Discipline. The observer adds +3 to their Difficulty on tests to identify the user on film, video, in photographs, or the like taken during active Obfuscation. The user also gains three additional dice to pools they use when trying to circumvent automated electronic surveillance and countermeasures. **Duration:** As power used
Guise of the Departed, Obfuscate 3 + Oblivion 1 (Tattered Facade pp.98-99) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Wits + Obfuscate **System:** The user touches a mortal corpse that has been dead for less than a week. The Storyteller then makes a hidden test of Wits + Obfuscate at Difficulty 3. A failure means that the resemblance is less than convincing, and anyone close to the person copied notices something amiss automatically. A win creates a convincing disguise, but the user must win a Manipulation + Performance vs Wits + Insight contest against anyone close to the copied person or they will sense something is wrong. Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can pierce the mask as usual. **Duration:** Until dawn
Mask of a Thousand Faces, Obfuscate 3 (Core p.262) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** No test is required. Anyone viewing the vampire sees a forgettable face of the same gender and approximate build and height as the user. Clothes take on the same kind of blandness, depending on the environment. At an office the user might appear as a nightwatchman, while they may seem to wear overalls at an assembly plant. Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can pierce the power as usual. **Duration:** One scene
Mask of Isolation, Obfuscate 3 + Dominate 1 (Sabbat: The Black Hand p.48) **Prerequisite:** [Mask of a Thousand Faces](#mask-of-a-thousand-faces-obfuscate-3-core-p.262) **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Obfuscate vs. Charisma + Insight **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The user locks eyes with the victim and must then succeed at a Manipulation + Obfuscate vs. Charisma + Insight test. On a win, the effect lasts for one night, plus one for each success in the margin. While under its effect, the victim is treated as employing Mask of a Thousand Faces, and is unable to be recognized by anyone. (The user can try to persuade friends and family with a Composure + Persuade test, but even when presenting proofs, the apprehension caused by this particular power will make it hard to convince them.) If the subject is ever made aware of the power being used on them the effect ends, and the power cannot be employed on someone aware of its effects: It relies on the unconscious ignorance of the victim to remain active. As use of the power isn’t overt, it can be reapplied repeatedly though, so long as the user doesn’t reveal their intent. In most chronicles, use of this power to break someone should merit Stains. **Duration:** One night
Mental Maze, Obfuscate 3 + Dominate 1 (Players Guide pp.77-78) **Cost:** One or Three Rouse Checks **Dice Pools:** Charisma + Obfuscate vs. Wits + Resolve **System:** The vampire makes eye contact with their victim and rolls Charisma + Obfuscate versus the target’s Wits + Resolve, with lower Generation vampires being able to negate the roll with a Willpower point as per Dominate’s characteristics (Core, p.255). On a win, the victim struggles to find their way out of the building they’re in. An additional two Rouse Checks allows this power to be used in a single room or a densely packed outdoor environment (such as a construction site or forest). Mortals cannot attempt to escape but supernatural creatures can make a Resolve + Awareness test each scene using the vampire’s initial successes as the Difficulty, suffering a point of Superficial Willpower damage for every missing success if they fail. This roll cannot benefit from Teamwork, as any guidance given does not match what the victim sees. This power ends if the environment becomes dangerous (e.g. the building catches fire), unless the vampire has Terminal Decree (Core, p.257).\ **Duration:** One night
Mind Masque, Obfuscate 3 + Dominate 2 (Players Guide pp.78-79) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Obfuscate **System:** The user rolls Intelligence + Obfuscate against a Difficulty of 1 to 3 (or more), depending on the sophistication of the ruse they want to enact, with 1 representing a simple masking of their emotional state to 3 and beyond for elaborate alternate personas complete with false thoughts and memories. The margin on the win is added as Difficulty to any attempt to “read” them. Failing to reach the added Difficulty lets the reader see only the false personality the user has crafted, without any hint that the reader is being misled. (Failing to reach even the standard Difficulty yields nothing, as normal, so as not to let on that a false personality is present.) **Duration:** One scene
Conceal, Obfuscate 4 + Auspex 3 (Core pp.262-263) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Obfuscate **System:** The vampire touches the object and rolls a test of Intelligence + Obfuscate against a Difficulty from 2 (Concealing a ring in a drawer filled with other memorabilia) to 6 (Concealing a house in the middle of an open square), depending on the target’s size and location. The power lasts for one night. Each point of margin on the win conceals the object for an additional night. This power conceals anyone and anything inside the object (e.g., people in a car or shed), as long as the viewer remains outside. This power cannot affect anything larger than a two-story house or any object moving under its own power (such as a moving car). Someone with the Auspex power Sense the Unseen (or equivalent) can notice the object by winning a contest of Wits + Auspex vs the Intelligence + Obfuscate of the user. **Duration:** One night, with an additional night per point of margin on the win.
Seclusion, Obfuscate 4 + Dominate 1 (Tattered Facade p.99) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Obfuscate vs Resolve + Awareness **System:** The user catches the eye of the victim and must then succeed at a Manipulation + Obfuscate vs. Resolve + Awareness test. On a win, the user and everyone near appears to disappear to the victim, and the effect lasts for one scene (or night), plus one for each success in the margin. While under its effect, the victim is unable to perceive any living or unliving person. They will unconsciously avoid them and will be deaf to any sounds made by them. Only if someone attempts to do physical harm to the victim will they be momentarily perceived, as a person using Unseen Passage would. (Core, p.261). Each time this happens, make another Discipline test. If the victim successfully resists, the power’s effect breaks prematurely. **Duration:** Margin number of scenes or nights, or until broken
Vanish, Obfuscate 4 (Core p.263) **Prerequisite:** [Cloak of Shadows](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#cloak-of-shadows-obfuscate-1-core-p.261) **Cost:** As per power augmented **Dice Pools:** Wits + Obfuscate vs Wits + Awareness **System:** When vanishing in front of a mortal, roll a contest of Wits + Obfuscate vs Wits + Awareness. On a win, the observer questions whether the vampire was ever there to begin with; their memory clouds on the topic. With a critical win, the vampire vanishes entirely from the observer’s memory. This power does not affect vampires’ memories, but any win by the user hides them as if they initiated their power unobserved. This power can only be used once per scene. **Duration:** As per power augmented
Cloak The Gathering, Obfuscate 5 (Core p.263) **Cost:** One Rouse Check in addition to the cost of the power extended **System:** The vampire can extend their power of Obfuscation to a number of additional willing subjects equal to their Wits, plus one for each additional Rouse Check made. The Obfuscate power used on the group can be any known to the user, and every member of the group count as having used it on themselves, using the Obfuscating vampire’s rating as their own when needed for a roll. Members of the group can still perceive each other while under the effects of the power. If anyone besides the user is revealed, either through their own doing or an astute observer, the rest of the group remains hidden. If the user is revealed, so is everyone else. **Duration:** As power extended
Impostor’s Guise, Obfuscate 5 (Core p.263) **Prerequisite:** [Mask of a Thousand Faces](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#mask-of-a-thousand-faces-obfuscate-3-core-p.262) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Wits + Obfuscate, Manipulation + Performance **System:** The user must study the face to be copied for at least five minutes, from different angles. The user requires another ten minutes of observation to mimic the subject’s voice and mannerisms. The user can only copy human appearance, not animal form. The Storyteller then makes a hidden test of Wits + Obfuscate (Difficulty 4). A failure means that the resemblance is less than convincing, and anyone close to the person copied notices something amiss automatically. A win creates a convincing illusion, but the user must make a Manipulation + Performance roll to impersonate speech and mannerisms. A critical win creates a perfect illusion with no further roll necessary. Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can pierce the mask as per General Rules. **Duration:** One scene
## Potence
Fluent Strength, Potence 1 (Gehenna War p.47) **Cost:** None **System:** Whenever the vampire uses a Blood Surge to augment a Strength or Potence test, they may reroll the Rouse Check.
Lethal Body, Potence 1 (Core p.264) **Cost:** Free **System:** The user’s unarmed attacks can now do Aggravated Health damage to mortals, if desired. They also ignore one level of armor per Potence level of the user. **Duration:** Passive
Soaring Leap, Potence 1 (Core p.264) **Cost:** Free **System:** The user can jump a number of meters equal to three times their Potence level vertically, and five times their Potence level horizontally. The user needs no run-up to make these leaps. **Duration:** Passive
Prowess, Potence 2 (Core p.264) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** When activated, add the Potence rating of the user to their unarmed damage value as well as to feats of Strength, and add half their Potence rating (round up) to their Melee damage. **Duration:** One scene
Relentless Grasp, Potence 2 (Players Guide p.79) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The vampire adds their Potence rating as automatic successes to any attempt that involves holding on to something. This includes attempts to maintain a grapple, though the initial grapple test does not benefit from this bonus. **Duration:** One scene
Brutal Feed, Potence 3 (Core pp.264-265) **Cost:** Free **System:** The vampire can drain a human completely in seconds, usually within a single turn. Every point of Hunger slaked causes one point of Aggravated Health damage to the victim, as their blood vessels burst and organs bruise and rupture internally. Using Brutal Feed on a vampire does only Superficial Health damage to their dead and inert organs. In combat, Brutal Feed comes immediately after a successful Brawl attack using fangs. The victim first takes bite damage, followed by a number of automatically successful feeding actions up to the user’s Potence rating. Against vampires, the number of feeding actions is halved (round down). Armor does not protect against Brutal Feed, as the wounds are, or at least begin as, mainly internal. Of course, armor can protect against the bite itself as normal. Storytellers may decide such mutilation-killing warrants Stains (Core, p.239). **Duration:** One feeding
Exuberance, Potence 3 (Tattered Facade p.103) **Cost:** Free **System:** Whenever using Potence (including pools using half the Potence rating, such as Prowess), the vampire treats their Potence rating as if it were two levels higher — this can take the relative Discipline rating above the normal limit of 5. On any such test, if the vampire rolls a critical (messy or otherwise) or a failure (bestial or otherwise) they sustain 1 Aggravated damage as their own body tears itself apart from the strain. **Duration:** Passive
Spark Of Rage, Potence 3 + Presence 3 (Core p.265) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Potence **System:** When active, the user can add their Potence rating to any attempt to rile or incite a person or a crowd to violence. In addition, the user can activate this power and roll a contest of Manipulation + Potence vs Composure + Intelligence of another vampire. If they win, the opposing vampire must make a fury frenzy test at Difficulty 3. **Duration:** One Scene
Uncanny Grip, Potence 3 (Core p.265) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** A vampire using this power automatically succeeds on any Skill test to climb a non-metallic surface. The user might also be able to climb copper or bronze cladding or other softer metal surfaces, at the Storyteller’s discretion. Thin glass surfaces (though generally not the glass curtain walls of modern office buildings) may shatter under the stress. In the same way, a vampire can hang from a wall or ceiling for up to one scene, though only barefoot vampires can hang by their feet. The climb or clinging leaves obvious tracks detectable by anyone with an Intelligence + Investigation test at Difficulty 2. Detecting Uncanny Grip tracks on glass doesn’t even require a roll. **Duration:** One scene
Wrecker, Potence 3 (Players Guide p.79) **Prerequisite:** [Prowess](#prowess-potence-2-core-p.264) **Cost:** Free **System:** The user counts their Potence rating twice when using Prowess for feats of strength that involve damage or destruction of an inanimate object. **Duration:** As Prowess
Crash Down, Potence 4 (Players Guide p.79) **Prerequisite:** [Soaring Leap](#soaring-leap-potence-1-core-p.264) **Dice Pools:** Strength + Potence **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Upon using Soaring Leap, the vampire may activate Crash Down, and deal damage to a small area of effect. Anyone within a three-meter radius is subject to an attack roll of the user’s Strength + Potence against their Dexterity + Athletics, suffering Superficial Damage equal to the margin. Anyone suffering three or more levels of damage or a total failure on their defense test is knocked down (Core, p.122). **Duration:** N/A
Draught Of Might, Potence 4 (Core pp.265-266) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Drinking a Rouse Checks worth of Blood directly from the user gifts the drinker with temporary Potence equal to half the Potence dots (rounded down) of the donor. The drinker gains the same powers as the donor’s, up to that level. **Duration:** One night; for vampires, until the next feeding or the vampire reaches Hunger 5
Earthshock, Potence 5 (Core pp.265-266) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **System:** No additional test is needed to create the shockwave. (The ground is hard to miss.) Anyone within a five-meter radius of the user must make a Dexterity + Athletics roll (Difficulty 3), with the results below. Anyone prepared for the Earthshock (such as the user’s companions) can shift their results up by one step. *Critical Win:* No effect. *Win:* Knocked off balance. Lose current action *Failure:* Fall prone. Lose current action; must spend a turn getting up. This power causes significant collateral damage. If used on the ground, the earth cracks. If used indoors, furniture breaks and mirrors shatter. On anything but the ground floor the floor might shatter, causing everyone within the radius to plummet to the floor below. This power can only be used once per scene. **Duration:** One use
Fist Of Caine, Potence 5 (Core p.266) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** For one scene the user can inflict Aggravated Health damage to mortals and supernaturals alike while Brawling, as they literally rend flesh and tear their opponents limb from limb with their bare hands. **Duration:** One scene
Subtle Hammer, Potence 5 (Players Guide pp.79-80) **Cost:** Free **System:** Performing unarmed melee attacks or feats of strength now counts as two-dice minor actions (Core, p.298). A character can perform only one Subtle Hammer minor action per turn, though, and cannot make other attacks in the same turn. The ability to concentrate one’s full strength into any part of the body also has other benefits, and any feat of strength where the user’s movement is limited (such as breaking out of bonds) receives a four-dice bonus or more, at the Storyteller’s discretion. **Duration:** Passive
## Presence
Awe, Presence 1 (Core p.267) **Cost:** Free **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Presence vs Composure + Intelligence **System:** Add the Presence rating to any Skill roll involving Persuasion or Performance as well as to other Charisma-related rolls, at the Storyteller’s discretion. Anyone aware that they’re being affected can try to resist with a contest of Composure + Intelligence vs the user’s Manipulation + Presence. On a win, the target can resist the effects for one scene; a critical win makes the target immune for the entire night. Once the power wears off, victims revert to their previous opinions. **Duration:** One scene or until intentionally ended
Daunt, Presence 1 (Core p.267) **Cost:** Free **System:** Add the user’s Presence rating to any Intimidation rolls. Attacking the user requires a Resolve + Composure roll at Difficulty 2. Vampires cannot use Awe and Daunt simultaneously. **Duration:** One scene or until intentionally ended
Eyes of the Serpent, Presence 1 + Protean 1 (Players Guide p.80) **Cost:** Free **Dice Pools:** Charisma + Presence vs. Wits + Composure **System:** By catching the eye of a mortal (Core, p.255) the vampire can immobilize a victim, keeping them frozen in place as long as they themselves maintain eye contact. The effect can only be maintained on a single victim at a time, and ends if they suffer damage or are forcibly removed. The victim is still capable of speech, though not shouting. In order to paralyze a vampire in the same way, the user must win a contest of Charisma + Presence vs. Wits + Composure. The vampire victim can escape paralysis on any turn after the first by spending a point of Willpower. **Duration:** Until eye contact is broken or the scene ends
Lingering Kiss, Presence 2 (Core pp.267-268) **Cost:** Free **System:** The vampire can choose to use this power during each feeding where they sate at least one Hunger. The victim gains a bonus equal to half the user’s Presence (round up) to one Social Attribute of their choice. This benefit lasts for a single night. Once it fades, withdrawal strikes and all the victim’s actions not spent working toward acquiring a new fix receive a dice penalty equal to the initial bonus. A victim in withdrawal can spend Willpower to ignore the penalties for a scene, and the penalties go away after a number of nights equal to the user’s Presence rating. This power cannot be used on other vampires by a user who is under the thrall of a Blood Bond. Also, vampires with the Unbondable Merit cannot acquire this power. **Duration:** A number of nights equal to the user’s Presence rating
Melpominee, Presence 2 (Players Guide p.80) **Cost:** Free **System:** The vampire is able to use Awe, Daunt, Dread Gaze, Entrancement, and Majesty through their voice alone. They do not need to see the target, and the target does not have to be in their presence save to be close enough to hear their voice. **Duration:** N/A
Predator's Lure, Presence 2 (Courts of the Damned p.215) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Charisma + Leadership vs. Composure + Resolve **System:** The vampire makes a Rouse Check to target one victim. Mortals are automatically affected. Against supernatural creatures, the user must win a test of Charisma + Leadership vs. the victim’s Composure + Resolve. On a win, this Power compels an affected target to approach the user, whether or not the target knows or even is aware of the user. The victim won’t drop everything or risk their safety to approach the user, and the power is ineffective in any kind of violent altercation. They politely finish conversations, complete their transactions, cross streets with caution, and wait at a safe distance until the Power ends or the situation becomes safe. After using this power, the victim may recall an intense curiosity or an unexplainable compulsion to investigate or be near a person or location. **Duration:** One scene or until they are within 10 feet (3 meters) of the user.
Clear the Field, Presence 3 + Dominate 3 (Fall of London p.31) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Composure + Presence **System:** This roll is Difficulty 3 for mortals and ghouls, and opposed individually by Wits + Composure by other vampires. Gwenllian can select a number of people equal to her Composure to be exempt from the effect. Everyone else clears a space equal to a large room around the Brujah, in a calm and orderly manner. **Duration:** One Scene
Dread Gaze, Presence 3 (Core p.268) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Charisma + Presence vs Composure + Resolve **System:** Displaying their fangs, their face twisted in a predatory grimace, the user rolls a contest of Charisma + Presence against their target’s Composure + Resolve. *Failure:* Mortals are unable to act other than in their own defense, backing off for a turn. Vampires are unaffected. *Win:* Mortals run in fear. Vampires are unable to act other than in their own defense for a turn unless they spend Willpower equal to the users margin of win (to a minimum of one). *Critical Win:* Mortals freeze or crumple into a fetal position. Vampires must make a terror frenzy test (Difficulty 3). If they win, they are still affected as above. **Duration:** One turn
Entrancement, Presence 3 (Core p.268) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Charisma + Presence vs Composure + Wits **System:** The vampire only needs to gain the subject’s attention and win a contest of Charisma + Presence vs Composure + Wits. The effect lasts for roughly one hour plus one per point of margin on the win. The vampire can renew this effect indefinitely, but a failure ends the effect and makes the subject immune for the rest of the night. After succeeding, the user adds dice equal to their Presence rating to any Social dice pool against the entranced subject. Requests resulting in obvious harm to the subject or their loved ones, or that oppose the subject’s Tenets, fail and require an immediate power contest roll as above, or the Entrancement immediately fails. **Duration:** One hour plus one per point of margin
Invigorating Display, Presence 3 (Live From the Succubus Club p.28) **Prerequisite:** [Awe](#awe-presence-1-core-p.267) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Composure + Presence **System:** The vampire spends a scene entertaining a crowd of mortals (a minimum of ten people are required), Rousing the Blood and making a Composure + Presence test against Difficulty 3 (Storytellers may raise or lower this depending on the quality of the performance). If successful, the crowd’s reaction is notable and the vampire absorbs a specific Resonance from the audience, leaving them drained. The Resonance absorbed is usually intense, but may be accute (a Dyscrasia) on a critical win at the Storyteller’s discretion. Affected audience members are left with a fleeting Resonance at best. This power can be used once per scene. **Duration:** One scene
Passion Leech, Presence 3 + Auspex 2 (Tattered Facade p.104) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Composure + Auspex **System:** The vampire must spend a scene in close proximity to a mortal target but needn’t directly engage them. (This Power has no effect on Kindred targets, even Humanity 10 Kindred.) After rousing, test Composure + Auspex against Difficulty 3 (Storytellers might lower this in situations where emotions are running high or are deliberately provoked). On a success, the vampire gains all the benefits of Humanity 10 until sunset (although they still gain Stains and roll Remorse at their current Humanity rating). On a critical win, they may also heal a Willpower damage of either type. On a bestial failure or Messy Critical, the surge of emotion is too much to bear, and the vampire suffers a Compulsion. Vampires can only benefit from this euphoric feeling once per night but can keep trying should they fail. Human targets of this Power lose all trace of Resonance in their blood for three nights, turning it to a fleeting Empty Resonance (Tattered Facade pp.48–49) . While empty of Resonance, the target can freely indulge their basest desires, descending into psychopathy with no higher nature or positive emotion to push back on these impulses. **Duration:** Until sunset for the vampire, three nights for mortal victims
Thrown Voice, Presence 3 + Auspex 1 (Players Guide p.80) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** No roll is required, apart from the Rouse Check. If using this power in combination with Irresistible Voice, Melpominee, or similar powers, they must roll as usual. **Duration:** One Scene
True Love's Face, Presence 3 + Obfuscate 3 (Cults of the Blood Gods p.85) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Presence vs. Composure + Wits **System:** To impersonate someone the victim has strong emotions for, the vampire must know their appearance and what the victim feels for them. How they uncover this will vary between vampires. When activated the Storyteller rolls a hidden contest between the user’s Manipulation + Presence and the victim’s Composure + Wits, where failure means the visage holds no emotional charge, which is deeply uncanny and sours any social interaction with the victim. It also prevents them from falling victim to this power for the\ rest of the story. On a win, the vampire adds their Presence rating to any rolls for affecting a mortal’s resonance or a vampire’s emotional state. Appearing as a vampire’s Touchstone is a dangerous game, especially if the victim possesses Sense the Unseen (Core, p.249), but played right it can lead to Stains for the victim as their Touchstone appears to become damaged or detached entirely through shifts in behavior, ideals, or even apparent death. **Duration:** One Scene
Inflame Desire, Presence 4 + Obfuscate 1 (Tattered Facade pp.104-105) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Presence vs Composure + Resolve **System:** The user must touch the subject and win a Manipulation + Presence vs Composure + Resolve test for the power to take effect. (At the Storyteller’s discretion, mortals are affected with no test necessary.) If affected, the victim is afflicted by the Need Compulsion (see below), directed at whatever the target wanted most in the current scene, excluding any desire provoked by supernatural means, such as through other Presence powers, as well as desires unattainable in the current scene. At the Storyteller’s discretion, a vampire with Hunger 3 or above gains the Hunger Compulsion instead. If the subject’s object of desire is up for bargaining, the user gains a four-dice bonus to any negotiation test. **Duration:** One scene
Irresistible Voice, Presence 4 + Dominate 1 (Core p.268) **Cost:** No additional cost **System:** The user's voice alone is now enough to Dominate a target. This does not apply to voices transmitted through electronic media such as phones, television, or apartment door-buzzer speakers. **Duration:** Passive
Magnum Opus, Presence 4 + Auspex 3 (Winter's Teeth #3) **Cost:** One or more Rouse Checks **Dice Pools:** Charisma or Manipulation + Craft **System:** Before embarking on a Project Roll to create a work of art the user must make One Rouse Check for each roll made. The difficulty of the project must be 10 or higher. Upon successful completion of the project, the user finds that residual traces of their Presence linger within the work itself. When your artwork is on display, audiences must roll Composure + Resolve (Difficulty equal to the user's Presence rank) or succumb to the rough equivalent of either Awe or Daunt exuding from the piece. A Critical Success on the resistance roll renders the subject immune to further influence by the piece. Note: By integrating Disciplines into its creation, the work of art has no true staying power, aside from the initial exposure. Critics and observers may find themselves suddenly able to critique flaws or imperfections once they have left the immediate area. **Duration:** N/A
Suffuse the Edifice, Presence 4 (Players Guide pp.80-81) **Cost:** N/A **Dice Pools:** As power transmitted **System:** Anyone seeing the building from outside or who are present inside it needs to resist the power used as if the vampire was present, unless the vampire is within eyesight, at which point they themselves becomes the focus. As a building does not generally make Skill checks, apply the bonuses instead to any reaction the victim has to the place. A nightclub under the influence of Awe will have queues stretching around the block, while a haven under Daunt will turn away all but the most staunch investigators. Use of Majesty has to be done with extreme caution, as the results can be spectacular and volatile, far exceeding the effect of the more subtle powers. **Duration:** As power transmitted
Summon, Presence 4 (Core pp.268-269) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Presence vs Composure + Intelligence **System:** The user needs to concentrate for five minutes and think of the person being summoned, then rolls Manipulation + Presence vs Composure + Intelligence. On a win, the target hears the summoning, but may or may not heed it. On a critical win, the target arrives as quickly as possible, barring immediate risk to their well-being. **Duration:** One night
Wingman, Presence 4 (Blood-Stained Love p.152) **Cost:** One Rouse Check in addition to power used **System:** As a full action and with an additional Rouse Check, the user can provide the benefits of one of their Presence powers to another willing vampire, using the Presence rating and Blood Potency bonus of the vampire using Wingman. If the subject also possesses Presence, use the higher of the bonuses but not both. The subject cannot gain the benefit of the same Presence power twice. The vampire using Wingman cannot use the same power on themselves while extending it to another subject. Both the user or the subject must be visible to anyone affected by the extended power. **Duration:** As power used.
Majesty, Presence 5 (Core p.269) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **Dice Pools:** Charisma + Presence vs Composure + Resolve **System:** People in the presence of the user can only stare, slack-jawed, or avert their eyes in fear or submission. Anyone wanting to act in any way in opposition to the user, except for self-preservation, must successfully win a contest of their Composure + Resolve vs. the vampire’s Charisma + Presence. A win allows one turn of freedom, plus one per point of margin; only a critical win resists the effect for the entire scene. **Duration:** One scene
Star Magnetism, Presence 5 (Core p.269) **Cost:** One additional Rouse Check **System:** Awe, Daunt, and Entrancement can be transmitted through live feeds via screens or phones. If Entrancement is used, the victim’s name must be spoken clearly, as that power only affects one person at a time. Anyone else viewing the same transmission only finds the user charming, but not supernaturally so. **Duration:** As power used
## Protean
Eyes Of The Beast, Protean 1 (Core p.270) **Cost:** Free **System:** No roll is required to activate Eyes of the Beast. While active the user ignores any sight penalties imposed by darkness, including supernatural. While active, the inhuman appearance of the eyes confers two bonus dice to Intimidation pools against mortals. **Duration:** As long as desired
Squirm, Protean 1 (Tattered Facade p.105) **Cost:** Free or 1 Rouse Check **System:** Add the user’s Protean rating to any dice pools to wriggle through tight spaces, escape a grapple, or escape any form of restraints. The user can squeeze into tight spaces so long as their head fits into the space as their other bones can dislocate and reconnect with ease. If the user has about five minutes, they can make a Rouse Check to force their body into an even more pliable state. Their flesh and bones spread and collapse to let them fit through impossibly tight spaces about two inches (or five centimeters) in diameter. If the user is interrupted or forcibly yanked out of such a tight space, they suffer one Aggravated damage to Health.
Weight Of The Feather, Protean 1 (Core p.270) **Cost:** Free **Dice Pools:** Wits + Survival **System:** If the vampire has time to prepare, no roll is required. As a reaction, such as during a sudden fall, activating the power requires a Wits + Survival roll at Difficulty 3. As long as the power is in effect, the vampire is immune to damage from falls, collisions, and being thrown. The user also avoids triggering devices that rely on pressure, at the Storyteller’s discretion. **Duration:** As long as desired
Feral Weapons, Protean 2 (Core pp.270-271) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** No skill roll is needed to activate this power. When activated, the vampire’s natural weapon of choice becomes a light piercing Brawl weapon with a +2 modifier to damage. Vampiric Bite Attacks still only deal two points of Aggravated damage despite the number of successes, but do not suffer the 1-Success penalty. Superficial damage inflicted by the user’s natural weapons is not halved while Feral Weapons is active. **Duration:** One scene
Serpent’s Kiss, Protean 2 (Blood-Stained Love p.153) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** When the Kindred bites or kisses another, they may make a Rouse check to force some of their own vitae into their victim. The victim of the bite or kiss is treated as though they tasted the Kindred’s Blood for purposes of the Blood Bond, learning a Discipline Power, becoming a Ghoul, or other effects of imbibing blood. If the Kindred’s Blood normally or temporarily has deleterious effects, those are passed on to the victim as well. Additionally, Blood Sorcerers can use powers such as Scorpion’s Touch or Baal’s Caress via their bite, much to the surprise of those they Kiss. **Duration:** One scene
The False Sip, Protean 2 + Fortitude 1 (Blood-Stained Love p.153) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The character must activate this power immediately upon consuming blood from any source. The user is able to keep the blood down, but it doesn’t enter their system nor slake any Hunger, though the user can taste it. No other blood or vitae can be consumed during this time. The Kindred has one scene to vomit the blood back up, otherwise it enters their system. The effect can be extended to another scene by a second Rouse Check. **Duration:** One scene or more
Vicissitude, Protean 2 + Dominate 2 (Players Guide pp.81-82) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pool:** Resolve + Protean **System:** Roll Resolve + Protean. Every success on the roll allows a single Vicissitude change to be made to the user, though the total number of changes cannot exceed the user’s Protean rating, no matter the number of applications or successes. Each change causes the loss of a single Physical Attribute dot of the user, as the body mass must come from somewhere. (No Attribute can be taken below 1.) Each use of the power takes one full turn to perform. Potential Vicissitude changes are listed below: \+ Redistribution: Add a single dot to any of the user’s Physical Attributes. This cannot cause any Attribute to exceed 5 dots. These changes are visible, but not Masquerade-threatening. Note that player characters need to keep track of their original values as these are still used to calculate experience cost for Attributes. \+ Weapons (Once per subject only): The user gains the equivalent of a light piercing or heavy impact weapon (+2 Damage) in the form of bone spurs or bludgeons of dense cartilage. (In contrast to Feral Weapons, the damage caused by these weapons is mundane, but Feral Weapons employed by a vampire proficient in Vicissitude often take the shape of similar osseous spikes and blades.) \+ Armor: One Attribute point can be turned into two points of armor value (Core, p.304), with an upper limit of six points of armor. This often takes the form of reinforced sub-dermal reinforced bone or layers of fat and cartilage, and appears increasingly inhuman as the points so allocated increase. While vampires gain little benefit from this, apart from a disturbing appearance, it serves a purpose on mortal and ghoul retainers. \+ Appearance: The user can change their appearance, either for the sake of hiding their identity, enhancing their Looks Merit, or to mimic someone else. This is a time-consuming affair, taking an entire scene to perform, and requires a Dexterity + Craft test in order to succeed. Difficulty is 3 to hide one’s identity, 4 to increase Looks (each level of the Merit counts as one change) and 5 to mimic a specific person. A failure on the test yields no result (but the Attribute dot is still lost) while a total failure causes the Looks Merit to drop one level, potentially turning into a Flaw if at baseline. Nosferatu are unable to use this aspect of the power for anything but hiding their identity. \+ Other changes: More creative uses of this power, such as creating a secret pouch somewhere on the body or moving eyes around, are beyond the scope of these mechanics, and the Storyteller needs to decide on the number of changes (and Attribute points lost) required, and the Difficulty and time required for the operation. Dexterity + Craft or Intelligence + Medicine rolls may be required in these cases. Changes can be mended as Aggravated damage, with each change equivalent to a single level of damage (restoring lost Attribute points accordingly). **Duration:** Permanent
Earth Meld, Protean 3 (Core p.271) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** No test is required, but the vampire must be on a natural surface: rocks, raw earth, grass, etc. This power does not work on concrete, asphalt, or other artificial surfaces. It takes a turn for the vampire to sink into the earth, leaving carried objects behind atop the soil. While in the earth the vampire is aware of their surroundings, except during day-sleep. At those times, disturbances (e.g., digging or loud noises) awaken them or not as with all vampires (Core, p.219). **Duration:** One day or more, or until disturbed
Fleshcrafting, Protean 3 + Dominate 2 (Players Guide pp.82-83) **Prerequisite:** [Vicissitude](#vicissitude-protean-2--dominate-2-players-guide-pp.81-82) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pool:** Resolve + Protean vs. Stamina + Resolve **System:** In order to use this power, the user must be able to work undisturbed on the subject, who thus either needs to be willing or restrained. For a willing subject, follow the same system as Vicissitude (above). An unwilling subject can resist with their Stamina + Resolve, with the user’s margin counting as Vicissitude successes. Each use of this power takes a full scene to perform. Again, the total number of changes cannot exceed the user’s Protean rating, no matter the number of applications or successes. In case of multiple users working on a single subject, only count the highest Protean rating. Changes can be mended as Aggravated damage, with each change equivalent to a single level of damage. (Mortals thus require extensive surgery.) **Duration:** Permanent
Masque of Death, Protean 3 + Oblivion 2 (Live From the Succubus Club p.28) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The Kindred assumes the appearance of a corpse, either freshly dead, mummified, rotting, or even a dried-up skeleton. While so transformed, the Kindred cannot move or physically communicate, but retains enough of their senses to understand what is happening around them. Disciplines can still be used at the Storyteller’s discretion. Only injuries that would cause Aggravated damage are applied to the vampire, and only once they return to their unliving state. A Kindred may also choose to enter Torpor voluntarily when activating this power, where the power’s duration extends until they wake from Torpor. **Duration:** Until ended by the user or the user wakes from Torpor, otherwise until sunset.
Shapechange, Protean 3 (Core p.271) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** No test is required. The transformation takes one turn, during which the user may take no other actions. Upon transformation, the vampire gains the Physical Attributes, senses, and native Skills associated with that animal (Core, p.373) and also gains that animal’s natural limits of communication, manipulation (most animals can carry one thing in their mouth), and so forth. The vampire can use other Disciplines, at the Storyteller’s discretion. (By and large, they can use Auspex, Animalism, Celerity, Fortitude, Potence, and Protean; many powers of Dominate, Obfuscate, and Presence pose problems; Blood Sorcery is completely off the table.) **Duration:** One scene unless ended voluntarily before that
Visceral Absorption, Obfuscate 3 + Blood Sorcery 2 (Sabbat: The Black Hand p.49) **Dice Pools:** Strength + Protean **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Use of this power requires at least one dead body in the area of effect, roughly an area extending 5 meters in all directions from the user. The vampire rolls Strength + Protean, and is able to absorb the blood and eradicate the remains of one body per success rolled. The state of the body is of no significance so long as it is fresh, and even “somebody” whose remains are little more than a red smear will be consumed. The user sates one Hunger per body affected, but cannot sate more Hunger per use than their Blood Sorcery rating, nor can they reduce it below one through this power. Using this power takes one turn per body absorbed. It should also be noted that, while efficient in getting rid of evidence, the power is extremely overt while in use, as the user becomes a literal vortex of blood and viscera. Vampire remains aren’t affected by this power. **Duration:** One turn per body
Horrid Form, Protean 4 + Dominate 2 (Players Guide p.83) **Prerequisite:** [Vicissitude](#vicissitude-protean-2--dominate-2-players-guide-pp.81-82) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Horrid Form takes a full turn to activate, during which time the vampire can only defend, using their pre-Horrid Form dice pools. It then grants the vampire a number of free Vicissitude changes (no Attribute dots are lost) equal to their Protean rating. These can be spent on Redistribution, Weapons, and Armor. Generous Storytellers can also consider other changes such as wing-like membranes allowing the vampire to glide, extended limbs for reach, or other creative (but fair) uses. However, with the Beast so close to the surface, any criticals rolled while using Horrid Form for any reason are considered messy criticals, and any Frenzy test taken is at +2 Difficulty. The vampire also assumes an unmistakably inhuman appearance and is unable to communicate in anything but grunts, hisses, and roars. **Duration:** One scene, unless voluntarily ended sooner
Metamorphosis, Protean 4 (Core p.271) **Prerequisite:** [Shapechange](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#shapechange-protean-3-core-p.271) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Same as Shapechange. **Duration:** One scene unless ended voluntarily before that
Bloodform, Protean 5 + Blood Sorcery 2 (Gehenna War p.47) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The user transforms themselves into a liquid. In this form, they cannot be harmed by most conventional weapons (including stakes), though sunlight and fire still affect them as normal. The user can squeeze through small cracks, and even flow cleanly up walls or across ceilings. While in bloodform (or partially in bloodform), the user can perform general actions such as pushing and pulling, but the difficulty of fine manipulation of electronic devices or liquids increases by two if manipulating them as Blood. The user may use Disciplines as normal, provided they do not need to make eye contact or speak, though they can make a Rouse Check to partially reform eyes, a vocal tract, limbs, or head. The Kindred can transform only part of the body, such as a finger or leg, as desired, though it still needs to remain in touch with the main body. If part of the mass is separated (or entirely consumed) the user’s consciousness goes with the largest portion of Blood and the user reforms with one additional level of Hunger for each limb (or equivalent body mass) lost. If a portion of the user is consumed, it creates Blood Bonds as normal but the user cannot control their Blood after its been ingested by another. **Duration:** One scene or until the user ends the transformation
Face of the Victim, Protean 5 (Live From the Succubus Club pp.28-29) **Prerequisite:** [Vicissitude](#vicissitude-protean-2--dominate-2-players-guide-pp.81-82) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The Kindred must activate this power in the same scene after they’ve slaked one or more Hunger from a mortal or Kindred. The vampire assumes the physical appearance of the last mortal or Kindred they fed from, including their voice, but does not gain any clothing, artificial implants, knowledge, or items the vessel had. When attempting to pass as the person copied to somebody who knew them well, a Manipulation + Performance vs Wits + Insight test must be made to avoid suspicion. **Duration:** Until reaching Hunger 5, or using this power again.
Master of Forms, Protean 5 (Gehenna War p.48) **Prerequisite:** [Shapechange](#shapechange-protean-3-core-p.271) **Cost:** None **System:** The user is no longer limited to choosing one animal form when using Shapechange or Metamorphosis. Rather, they can take on the form of any creature that falls within the limits of those abilities, different each time if they so wish. Each time they choose a beast form, such as a wolf, owl, or bat, they assume the same specific form, which may be recognized by witnesses. Thus, if the character turns into a swan on multiple nights, it always looks like that specific swan. All other limitations of Shapechange and Metamorphosis still apply. **Duration:** As Shapechange or Metamorphosis
Mist Form, Protean 5 (Core pp.271-272) **Cost:** One to three Rouse Checks **System:** No roll is required. The transformation takes three turns, though it can be sped up with additional Rouse Checks on a one-for-one basis. While in mist form, the vampire moves at walking pace and perceives their surroundings through mystical means as if there as normal. A vampire in mist form cannot make eye contact or speak. They can use only those Disciplines requiring no physical form or presence, at the Storyteller’s discretion. While in mist form the vampire can only be damaged by sunlight, fire, and immaterial supernatural attacks (such as some Rituals). **Duration:** One scene unless ended voluntarily before that.
One With the Land, Protean 5 + Animalism 2 (Players Guide pp.83-84) **Prerequisite:** [Earth Meld](#earth-meld-protean-3-core-p.271) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **Dice Pool:** N/A **System:** As with Earth Meld (Core, p.270), except the vampire is not limited by the makeup of the surface where they take their rest. Some vampires have been known to suffuse themselves into the walls of their manors while others secrete themselves beneath the warped floorboards of a squat, or even hide beneath a shallow pool of “dead water.” Additionally, in a distance of roughly one kilometer in any direction from where the vampire’s body has become One with the Land, the vampire may elect to experience any sensory stimuli within that area, such as listening to a conversation therein, physically enjoying a lovers’ tryst, or catching the scent of a fire that an unruly mob may be stoking. The vampire experiences these senses through the presence of animals, however minute, in the vicinity of the events. If the events are discreet or intentionally hidden, a Wits + Animalism test vs. the relevant opposing dice pool used is required. Rising from this state before nightfall the day after it has been entered requires a Resolve + Protean test at Difficulty 4, and even then it can take up to an hour for the vampire to fully reemerge. A critical win allows them to rise instantly, however. **Duration:** One day or more, or until physically disturbed
Swarm, Protean 5 (Tattered Facade p.106) **Prerequisite:** [Shapechange](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#shapechange-protean-3-core-p.271) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **System:** The vampire Rouses the Blood and spends a full turn, their body breaking down into a swarm of creatures. The vampire may choose the species, but the creatures must be small, barely bigger than a human hand. Typical choices include bats, crows, rats, mice, cockroaches, spiders, flies, locusts, snakes, and leeches. Once chosen, the species remains constant for all uses of Swarm. While transformed, the vampire gains all the features of the swarm, including speed and movement abilities, and perceives everything the swarm does (although the mass of input makes it hard to focus on detail without concentrating). Disciplines cannot be used, as the vampire’s consciousness is spread too thin. The swarm can attack a number of individuals equal to the vampire’s Blood Potency rating each turn. Swarmed targets receive a two-dice penalty to all tests and sustain 1 damage each turn (Aggravated for mortals, Superficial for supernatural creatures). Conventional attacks aren’t enough to meaningfully damage the swarm, but fire and sunlight are still just as deadly, as are area effects. If even a single member of the swarm survives, the vampire can fully regenerate with no ill effects; if none remain, they meet their final death. Many mortals must make Willpower tests or flee in terror when swarmed. Difficulties start at 3 but may be raised or lowered depending on potential phobias or mental conditioning. **Duration:** One scene, or until ended voluntarily
The Heart of Darkness, Protean 5 + Fortitude 2 (Cults of the Blood Gods pp.85-86) **Cost:** None **System:** This power requires no roll, but inflicts two Aggravated Health damage to the vampire when removing their heart. No powers can be used to mitigate this damage, and reattaching the heart requires two Rouse Checks. Once removed the vampire gains a two-dice bonus to resist frenzy, but suffers a two-die penalty on Remorse rolls. If the heart is dealt Aggravated Health damage equal to or greater than the vampire’s Health, they fall into torpor. If an extracted heart is destroyed — only possible with fire or sunlight — the vampire experiences final death. While the heart is removed, the vampire’s body cannot be staked unless the heart is located and separately impaled, in which case the vampire falls paralyzed. If blood is fed to the heart, it will slake the vampire’s Hunger as normal (even Blood Bonding them if fed Kindred vitae from the vein), and the heart can be fed from in the same way — possibly leading to diablerie. The vampire is still susceptible to death via fire or sunlight even without a heart. **Duration:** Permanent (or until the heart is destroyed/returned)
The Unfettered Heart, Protean 5 (Core p.272) **Cost:** Free **System:** Increases the Difficulty on any non-combat test to stake the vampire by three. In Melee combat, only if the stake-wielder rolls a critical win does the stake penetrate the user’s heart. Even if staked, the user can make a Rouse Check and roll their Strength + Resolve (Difficulty 5) once per hour. A win means they manage to free themselves from paralysis as the stake is pushed out of their body. They cannot attempt such stake expulsion at Hunger 5. **Duration:** Passive
## Blood Sorcery
A Taste For Blood, Blood Sorcery 1 (Core p.273) **Cost:** Free **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Blood Sorcery **System:** The user dabs the blood on their tongue and makes a Resolve + Blood Sorcery roll (Difficulty 3). With a win, the user can determine the resonance and intensity of the blood if human. They can also identify whether the blood belongs to a mortal, ghoul, vampire, or other supernatural creature (it may not necessarily be able to identify the supernatural creature if not Kindred or ghoul). Tasting vitae also determines the relative Blood Potency (and thus the likely generation band) of the vampire. A critical win also reveals whether the subject has ever committed diablerie, and the generation (within one) of the vampire. If the user knows of the supernatural creature in question, they can identify the specific supernatural creature on a critical win after tasting the blood. **Duration:** N/A
Corrosive Vitae, Blood Sorcery 1 (Core p.273) **Cost:** One or more Rouse Checks **System:** No additional skill roll is required. The user concentrates for a turn and forces Blood through an open, usually self-inflicted, wound. The user then spills their Blood on a nonliving object (except unliving flesh such as that of the Kindred) to corrode and decompose it. Each Rouse Check corrodes approximately 35 cm of matter in all directions from the splash; this takes approximately five minutes (longer on soft metals like copper or cast iron). Harder metals such as alloys and steel merely scar and pit; whether they meaningfully weaken remains at the Storyteller’s discretion. (This power might corrode through handcuff chains given enough time and vitae.) **Duration:** N/A
Koldunic Sorcery, Level 1 (Blood Sigils p.61) **Cost:** One Rouse Check, and some Aggravated Health damage. **System:** After making the Rouse Check, the koldun opens the old cut of their initiation. They may inflict 1 point of Aggravated Health damage to themselves per dot of Blood Sorcery they possess. For each point of damage taken, the koldun extends their senses farther out.
Aggravated Damage TakenPerception Radius
115 meters
290 meters
3500 meters
41.5 kilometers
58 kilometers
\ Their perceptions focus through their chosen element. For example, a fire-bonded koldun sees, smells, hears, and feels through flames, stoves, furnaces, heater coils, lit cigarettes, etc., within their radius of effect. Koldunic Sorcery can perceive mystically-hidden beings such as Obfuscated vampires with a successful contest of Resolve + Blood Sorcery against Wits or Resolve + Obfuscate (or other relevant supernatural Trait). **Duration:** One scene, although the koldun can renew this power at its previous level at any time that night by making another Rouse Check and losing 1 point of Aggravated Health damage. The power expires completely at sunrise.
Shape the Sanguine Sacrament, Blood Sorcery 1 (Tattered Facade p.92) **Cost:** Free (or one Rouse Check if using your own Blood) **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Blood Sorcery **System:** The vampire makes a Manipulation + Blood Sorcery test and by concentrating on the image to be formed, sends the blood or vitae flowing into the prescribed pattern or shape. Difficulty varies with the pattern’s complexity: from a simple “SOS” (Difficulty 2), to a portrait (Difficulty 4), or topologically complex sorcerous sigil (Difficulty 6). Failure spatters the blood randomly; a critical win not only forms the desired image but also allows the vampire to change its shape freely during the scene. **Duration:** For the remainder of the scene or until dispelled by user
Blood’s Curse, Blood Sorcery 2 (Gehenna War p.48) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult or Fortitude **System:** The user targets another vampire or ghoul. On a win, add two (or four on a critical win) to the victim’s Blood Potency for purposes of Bane severity and feeding penalty (for vampires) only. When targeting a ghoul, Caitiff, or thin-blood, the target gains a clan Bane based on the clan of the vampire they most recently fed from or their own ancestry, as determined by the Storyteller. **Duration:** Until dawn
Extinguish Vitae, Blood Sorcery 2 (Core p.273) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Composure **System:** The user rolls a contest of Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs the Stamina + Composure of a target vampire in line of sight while concentrating for a turn and gesturing subtly. A win increases the target’s Hunger by one while a critical win increases it by two. The victim can discern who afflicts them if they can see the user while making an Intelligence + Occult vs Wits + Subterfuge roll. **Duration:** N/A
Scour Secrets, Blood Sorcery 2 (The Book of Nod Apocrypha p.34) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The user makes the Rouse Check and tests Intelligence + Blood Sorcery against a Difficulty set by the Storyteller: anything from 2 for a single letter in a regular office up to 5 for encrypted information hidden in a vast library. If the information has been supernaturally concealed the Difficulty increases further. The time spent depends on the size of the area to be searched: A single room might be scoured in minutes, while a library requires hours, if not the whole night. Additionally, the power does not impart the ability to parse the information if it comes in an unknown language or in a cipher. If the knowledge sought is stored in non-written formats, such as painting, music, or on old floppy disks, the power works at the Storyteller’s discretion, though the Difficulty is likely higher. **Duration:** One night or until the information is found or the search comes up short, whichever comes first.
Vinculum Magnum, Blood Sorcery 2 (Courts of the Damned pp.214-215) **Cost:** None **System:** The user concentrates their Blood’s bonding properties, and can force the Blood Bond on more Kindred than normal. Add the vampire’s Blood Sorcery rating to the number of Kindred they can Blood Bond. Vampires who cannot bond other vampires for any reason (such as the Tremere clan Bane or being thin-blooded) do not gain this benefit.
Blood Of Potency, Blood Sorcery 3 (Core pp.273-274) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Blood Sorcery **System:** The user makes a Resolve + Blood Sorcery roll against a Difficulty of 2 + their Blood Potency. A win increases their Blood Potency by one for that scene; a critical win increases it by two. The vampire can use this power to exceed their generation limit on Blood Potency during its duration. **Duration:** One scene or one night
Ripples of the Heart, Blood Sorcery 3 (Blood-Stained Love p.153) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The vampire chooses to affect their own Blood, or the blood of a mortal or Kindred from whom they are feeding. Choose any compulsion (including a clan compulsion). The next Kindred to drink the altered blood is affected by that compulsion. In a mortal, the blood remains altered for one month. In a vampire, the blood remains altered until they reach Hunger 5 or one month has passed, whichever happens first. The user of this power does not suffer its effects. Alternatively, the user may augment or reduce the target’s blood Resonance. The user may reduce the target’s blood Resonance from acute to intense, intense to fleeting, or fleeting to none. A Kindred may augment a Resonance only from fleeting to intense. The change is instantaneous, but not necessarily long-lasting as blood Resonance naturally changes and can be further influenced. Typically the Resonance of mortal blood has changed again after a few days, a week at the most.
Scorpion’s Touch, Blood Sorcery 3 (Core p.274) **Cost:** One or more Rouse Checks **Dice Pools:** Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult or Fortitude **System:** The user concentrates for a turn and forces Blood through an open, usually self-inflicted, wound. Each Rouse Check worth of poison made takes a turn and emits enough Blood to coat one bladed melee weapon stickily or to fill one mouthful to be spat at a foe. Spitting poison at someone involves a Dexterity + Athletics attack roll (which can be dodged like any ranged attack), although vampires have been known to French kiss a victim and transfer the poison that way. Even more subtle vampires scorpionate their Blood to poison would-be diablerists: drinking poisoned Blood from the vein guarantees a hit! Aside from such vein-to-fang transmission, however, scorpionated Blood is a contact poison that sublimes away in liquids and is too viscous to inject with a syringe. The user cannot poison beverages with it or (thanks to the pressure differential) inject it by their own bite. Arrowheads and bullets carry too little Blood to use this power with ranged weapons; the effect does not last long enough for the user to fill hollow bullets with scorpionated Blood. If the poison hits, the user rolls a contest of Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult. (Vampires with Fortitude may resist with Stamina + Fortitude.) If the user wins, the poison does the margin in Aggravated Health damage to mortals and in non-halved Superficial Health damage to vampires. A mortal who takes even one point of damage collapses unconscious. **Duration:** The poison remains potent for one scene
Blood Aegis, Blood Sorcery 4 (Players Guide p.98) **Cost:** One or more Rouse Checks **System:** The user expends Blood equal to one or more Rouse Checks. For each Check the floating barrier can reduce damage from incoming ranged attacks by five. The effect is automatic as the vitae intercepts each incoming projectile in a shower of Blood, only to reform as long as the power remains active. Once the protection is spent the Blood turns inert as it lies splattered over the zone of conflict. **Duration:** One scene or until damage levels are spent, whichever comes first.
Transitive Bond (Sabbat: The Black Hand pp.49-50) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The user activates this power when calling upon their Blood, either for storing or when giving it to a ghoul. Each use empowers three Rouse Checks’ worth of Blood. Anyone ensnared by the Transitive Bond will be unaware of its effect until they lay eyes on their eventual Regnant, but they might become restless and catch glimpses of them in dream-like visions during daysleep. The Blood Bond otherwise functions as described in Vampire: The Masquerade, pp. 233-234). **Duration:** N/A
Fulminating Vitae, Blood Sorcery 4 (Tattered Facade pp.92-93) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **Dice Pools:** Stamina + Blood Sorcery **System:** When the vial is broken — whether that’s by a cleverly timed explosive, a well-aimed throw, or an accident — the Fulminating Vitae explodes outward in a radius of approximately 20 feet. It deals Aggravated damage to any Kindred in its path equal to the margin on a Stamina + Blood Sorcery vs Wits + Athletics test. Mortals take only Superficial damage, in part due to the accelerated healing brought on by the Blood mixing with theirs. Inanimate objects are completely unaffected. Anyone taking damage from this Power also is affected by the vitae as though they tasted it for purposes of learning Disciplines and the Blood Bond. **Duration:** The vial remains “armed” until dawn
Marionette, Blood Sorcery 4 (Tattered Facade p.93) **Prerequisite:** [Shape the Sanguine Sacrament](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/~/changes/150/material-availability/powers#shape-the-sanguine-sacrament-blood-sorcery-1-tattered-facade-p.92) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Blood Sorcery **System:** The vampire concentrates for a turn, Rouses the Blood, and makes the activation test. Make tests against spilled blood (or dead bodies) at Difficulty 2, while living creatures can resist with Stamina + Occult (or Fortitude). For each point of margin, the vampire has full control over the blood for one turn and uses Manipulation + Blood Sorcery for all the marionette’s physical actions. Living targets maintain their faculties while being puppeteered and can still speak — although this rarely amounts to more than terrified screams once they realize their body moves seemingly of its own volition. Living targets can force control for a turn; however, the effort inflicts 1 point of Aggravated damage as their blood shreds their flesh from within. Blood without a body temporarily solidifies and sharpens, and inflicts +2 damage during combat. During the process, the sorcerer must maintain concentration — simple movement and conversation is fine, but most offensive actions requiring dice pools break the spell and end the power unless the user has a Critical Win on the offensive action’s test. Vampires and vitae cannot be puppeteered, only the blood of the living. **Duration:** One turn per point of margin
Theft Of Vitae, Blood Sorcery 4 (Core p.274) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Wits + Blood Sorcery vs Wits + Occult **System:** The user makes a beckoning gesture toward a mortal target in line of sight and rolls their Wits + Blood Sorcery vs Wits + Occult. A win opens an arterial wound, and the vampire can start feeding from across the room. (A target wearing full-body protection such as a hazmat suit merely bleeds ecstatically out into the suit.) The user can do nothing else while feeding, but they can feed at twice the normal speed (at triple speed on a critical win) thanks to the sorcerous pressure of this power. **Duration:** One feeding
Baal’s Caress, Blood Sorcery 5 (Core pp.274-275) **Cost:** One or more Rouse Checks **Dice Pools:** Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult or Fortitude **System:** This power uses the same system (and its poison has the same restrictions) as [Scorpion’s Touch](#scorpions-touch-blood-sorcery-3-core-p.274), with increased damage. If the poison hits, the user rolls a contest of Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult. (Vampires with Fortitude may resist with Fortitude in lieu of the Occult Skill.) If the user wins, the poison does the margin in Aggravated Health damage to mortals and vampires alike. A mortal who takes even one point of damage dies instantly. If a vampire target takes Aggravated damage from this poison, the user rolls the contest again; on a win, the vampire enters torpor when next they go to sleep. **Duration:** The poison remains potent for one scene
Cauldron Of Blood, Blood Sorcery 5 (Core p.275) **Cost:** One Rouse Check and gain one (or more) Stains **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Composure + Occult or Fortitude **System:** The user pays the cost and touches the victim (Dexterity + Athletics in combat or similar situations), rolling a contest of Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Composure + Occult. (Vampires with Fortitude may resist with Composure + Fortitude.) On a win, each point of margin causes one point of Aggravated damage in the victim. Mortals taking at least one point of damage die screaming. Vampire victims add 1 Hunger per point of damage inflicted, until Hunger is at 5. **Duration:** One turn
Reclamation of Vitae (Sabbat: The Black Hand p.50) **Cost:** One or more Stains (when called to return) **System:** The user concentrates for a turn and choses which of their servants are to repay their Blood-debt. The ghouls do not need to be present, and distance doesn’t matter. The vampire sates two Hunger for each ghoul, while the ghoul suffers five levels of aggravated damage as their body ages irregularly and rapidly, the undead Blood inside them feeling as if it were attempting to violently vacate them. While the power does not require the vampire to Rouse the Blood it should, if ever learned by someone outside the Sabbat, merit Stains to employ. **Duration:** N/A
## Oblivion
Ashes to Ashes, Oblivion 1 (Players Guide p.85) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Stamina + Oblivion vs. Stamina + Medicine or Fortitude **System:** The vampire makes a Rouse Check to expend vitae, and introduces the vitae to the corpse. Unless the corpse is animated, the body disintegrates over three turns with no test necessary. If it is, the user rolls a contest of Stamina + Oblivion against Stamina. (Corpses with Fortitude may resist with Stamina + Fortitude.) If the user wins, the animated corpse dissolves in five turns, minus the margin (minimum one, and disintegrating corpses suffer physical Impairment). On a critical win, the corpse disintegrates immediately. On a total failure, the corpse is subsequently immune to this power from any user. **Duration:** Variable
Oblivion's Sight, Oblivion 1 (Players Guide p.85) **Cost:** Free **System:** On activation, the user’s eyes become supernaturally attuned to darkness, allowing them to ignore all low-light penalties, including those of supernatural origin. They still need their eyes to see and are affected by blindfolds and the like as usual. If a ghost is present and not attempting stealth or using a power to conceal its presence, the spirit becomes visible to the vampire using Oblivion’s Sight. In such cases, ghosts appear as they wish to appear, whether as humans bearing the wounds that caused their death, as spectral monstrosities, or as perfectly immaculate corpses. Ghosts do not automatically realize when a vampire spots them, but if they do, many react with fear or anger rather than passivity. This power does not grant the ability to make physical contact with ghosts, and the pitch-black eyes incur a two-dice penalty to social interactions with mortals while active. **Duration:** One scene
Shadow Cloak, Oblivion 1 (Players Guide pp.85-86) **Cost:** Free **Dice Pools:** N/A **System:** The vampire gains a two-dice bonus to Stealth rolls, as well as on Intimidation versus mortals. **Duration:** Passive
The Binding Fetter, Oblivion 1 (Players Guide p.85) **Cost:** Free **Dice Pools:** Wits + Oblivion **System:** On activation, the user’s senses become supernaturally attuned to the energies of fetters, and they may identify these auras by sight, smell, and their other senses. While this power is in use, the vampire is distracted from other activity around them, conveying a −2 penalty to Dexterity and Wits rolls. **Duration:** One scene
Arms of Ahriman, Oblivion 2 + Potence 2 (Players Guide pp.86-87) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Wits + Oblivion **System:** The user takes one turn and pays the cost, summoning the extensions. Using these, the vampire can perform bludgeoning and grappling attacks against distant targets every subsequent turn. Additional arms can be created by splitting the dice pool, enabling the user to engage multiple opponents. (Core, p.125). The shadows use the vampire’s Wits + Oblivion to attack and deal Superficial damage or grapple, adding half the user’s Potence rating (round up) as a damage bonus. The vampire can do nothing else except control the shadows while this power is active. They can also use the shadows to perform simple actions (such as opening doors and pulling levers) but nothing as advanced as typing or controlling vehicles. The extrusions have a length (in yards/ meters) equal to twice the Oblivion dots of the user. (Note that they, being shadows, move across surfaces, not air, and any distances must take this into account.) The shadow arms can only be banished by bright light, such as from a powerful torch or daylight, but a successful Wits + Oblivion roll against Difficulty 3 allows the shadows to avoid the light for a turn. **Duration:** One scene or until ended or destroyed
Fatal Precognition, Oblivion 2 + Auspex 2 (Cults of the Blood Gods pp.204-205) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Oblivion **System:** The vampire must be able to see or hear their target when they use this power. After rolling Resolve + Oblivion (Difficulty 3 or more at the Storyteller’s discretion), the vampire becomes paralyzed in place as the vision plays out, preventing them from any form of physical or social interaction for that turn. The higher the margin, the clearer the vision. A win grants sight of the corpse, and with each point of margin an additional clue is provided, such as the manner of death, time and place of death, or the name and face of the first living person to find the corpse. A critical win on this roll grants the vampire a vision of crystal clarity, along with a sense of the motive, if the target is intentionally killed. A total failure renders the vampire blind for the remainder of the scene, and unable to use this power on the same target again. If anyone attempts to subvert the fate observed in this way, they find everything working against their hubristic ambition. Add one to all Difficulties while working to directly circumvent the precognition as cars break down, storms erupt from nowhere, and people become hostile for no reason. This penalty applies until the prophecy is fulfilled or avoided, or the current story ends. **Duration:** Until fulfilled, avoided, or the story ends.
Fatal Prediction, Oblivion 2 + Auspex 2 (Players Guide p.87) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Oblivion vs Wits + Occult **System:** The vampire makes a Resolve + Oblivion test against the mortal target’s Wits + Occult. For every success in the margin, the target suffers one point of Aggravated damage at some point during the next 24 hours. The source can be anything from sudden illness to freak accidents, but at no point must the vampire interact, directly or indirectly, with the victim as doing so risks negating the power. (The Storyteller decides exactly where the line is drawn on “indirect” interaction, but things like sending flunkies to “hasten” the outcome is definitely on the list.) Use of this power is invisible, though an onlooker can detect some sense of foul play on a Wits + Occult test at Difficulty 3. Only mortals (including ghouls) can be affected by this power, as vampires are dead already and far more resistant to these kinds of entropy manipulations. **Duration:** A night and a day – 24 hours
Shadow Cast, Oblivion 2 (Players Guide p.87) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Activating the power conjures a supernatural shadow from the vampire’s body. As long as the power is active, the user casts this shadow, which cannot be removed except by direct sunlight. Anyone witnessing the practitioner notices the shadow cast from no visible light source on a Wits + Awareness roll (Difficulty 3). The vampire can direct their shadow, elongating or distorting (but not detaching) it at will, though it can sometimes act on its own accord, at the Storyteller’s discretion. For the purposes of other powers such as Shadow Perspective, the practitioner can lengthen the shadow to up to twice the practitioner’s Oblivion rating in yards/meters. For anyone standing within the shadow’s reach, the Willpower damage from social conflict increases by 1 (after halving for Superficial damage). Standing in Oblivion’s shadow is a terrifying prospect. **Duration:** One scene
Where the Veil Thins, Oblivion 2 (Players Guide pp.87-88) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pool:** Intelligence + Oblivion **System:** Following a Rouse Check, the player rolls Intelligence + Oblivion (Difficulty 3) and on a win may determine the density of the veil in their nearby area, as large as an entire building or landmark. On a critical win, this roll reveals whether the veil density recently changed. On a total failure, the power backfires and gives a false reading.
Shroud DensityPossible CauseEffect
ImpenetrableNo deaths took place here, sacred groundWraiths cannot cross the veil here
Thick

Long ago a death took place here, a place

of joy

No effect
ThinA death recently took place here,
melancholic mortals often pass through
this place		−1 Difficulty on Oblivion Ceremony rolls
FrayedA series of deaths took place here,
Oblivion Ceremonies are often enacted
here		−2 Difficulty on Oblivion Ceremony rolls
AbsentSplit the Veil (p.96) was used here, wraiths
regularly pass through this part of the veil		−2 Difficulty on Oblivion Ceremony
rolls, wraiths can freely pass to and from
the lands of the dead, mortals suffer two
Superficial Health damage in this area that cannot be healed until they depart
Without use of this power, Oblivion users cannot benefit from a thinning of the veil, though penalties apply at the Storyteller’s discretion. **Duration:** One turn
Aura of Decay, Oblivion 3 (Players Guide p.88) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pool:** Stamina + Oblivion vs. Stamina + Medicine or Fortitude **System:** The vampire makes a Rouse Check. Following a win on a Stamina + Oblivion roll (Difficulty 3), unintelligent organic and inorganic material within five yards/ meters of them suffers — plants turn black and die, food rots in its packaging, and even bricks start crumbling. Material affected in this way can become toxic to ingest, if for instance this power is used in a kitchen or a water supply. Such toxic food and drink, if consumed, can be expected to inflict two Superficial Health damage in the following scene to the individual who eats it, and for each scene thereafter until treated with an Intelligence + Medicine roll (Difficulty 3). If anything living is caught in the aura, it makes a Stamina + Medicine contest against the vampire’s activation roll. For every point of margin the vampire has, the victim suffers one point of unhalved Superficial Health damage. This damage is slowly applied throughout the scene. Repeated applications of the power in the same scene have no effect on the Health of mortals already affected. The power is an aura that lasts for an entire scene before it fades away. Anyone with a sense of smell can detect a rotting odor emanating from the vampire during the time the power is active, inflicting a two-dice penalty to any Social rolls the vampire makes. **Duration:** One scene
Passion Feast, Oblivion 3 + Fortitude 2 (Players Guide pp.88-89) **Cost:** Free **Dice Pool:** Resolve + Oblivion vs. Resolve + Composure **System:** A vampire with this power can drain a wraith of their passion. While in close proximity (three yards/meters or closer) to the wraith, they may roll a contest of Resolve + Oblivion vs. the wraith’s Resolve + Composure. A win for the vampire inflicts one Aggravated Willpower damage to the wraith and reduces the vampire’s Hunger by one. Feeding from a wraith may merit a Stain at the Storyteller’s discretion, as the consumed passion dulls the wraith’s reason for being, likely sending them down a path to self-destructive acts. The Storyteller determines the number of passions a wraith possesses (though five or more is rare), and may deem that the wraith becomes an uncontrollable, murderous spectre once all passions have been consumed. **Duration:** Passive
Shadow Perspective, Oblivion 3 (Players Guide p.89) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Following a Rouse Check, the presence of the vampire’s senses in the shadow is undetectable by anything but supernatural means. (Sense the Unseen, for example). While this power is active the vampire perceives both their surroundings as well as what can be gleaned from the Shadow Perspective, as if looking through a screen or hole. **Duration:** Up to one scene
Shadow Servant, Oblivion 3 + Auspex 1 (Players Guide p.89) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pool:** N/A **System:** The servant has no mind of its own, but follows its creator’s mental commands. The shadow travels at running speed and can effortlessly slip under doors, climb walls, or slip into or through the smallest cracks, although it cannot endure brightly lit areas. It can also cling to moving vehicles, and its range is limited only by how far it can travel in one night. It hears and sees everything in its vicinity and can convey the information as soon as it is reabsorbed into its creator’s shadow. The shadow servant can only be banished by bright light, such as from a powerful torch or daylight, but a successful Wits + Oblivion roll against Difficulty 3 allows the servant to avoid the light for a turn. **Duration:** One scene
Touch of Oblivion, Oblivion 3 (Players Guide p.89) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pool:** N/A **System:** Following a Rouse Check, the vampire grips their victim, requiring a Strength + Brawl roll if the victim is trying to avoid the vampire. Once gripped, the victim suffers two levels of Aggravated damage as well as a crippling injury. If this injury is inflicted to an arm or leg, the targeted limb is rendered crippled and in the case of mortals requires lengthy rehabilitation, while vampires can mend the damage as regular Aggravated damage. Likewise, Touch of Oblivion may render a target mute, deaf, or blind. See crippling injuries (Core, p.303) for mechanical details. Storytellers may decide that inflicting such mutilation warrants Stains. **Duration:** One turn
Necrotic Plague, Oblivion 4 (Players Guide pp.89-90) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pool:** Intelligence + Oblivion vs. Stamina + Stamina or Fortitude **System:** The user makes a Rouse Check and then rolls Intelligence + Oblivion while touching their mortal victim. If the victim is weak (a baby, elderly, unwell, recovering from an illness, dying, or with 3 unmarked Health boxes or less), they are automatically infected. If the victim is healthy, they make a Stamina test (those with Fortitude may resist with Stamina + Fortitude), resisting the disease if they roll more successes than the vampire. Victims of the disease take one Aggravated Health damage at the start of every scene following their infection. The victim suffers from the disease for a number of scenes equal to the user’s Oblivion rating. This damage cannot be medically treated, as it is supernatural in origin, but it can be healed through drinking vitae. If the player rolls a critical win when activating this power, they can choose to make the disease communicable via touch, with subsequent recipients suffering the disease for one turn fewer than the victim by whom they were infected. Use of this power warrants Stains, at the Storyteller’s discretion. **Duration:** One turn to activate, variable length of condition
Profane the Sanctified, Oblivion 4 (Tattered Facade p.100) **Prerequisite:** Aura of Decay or Touch of Oblivion **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Oblivion vs. Willpower **System:** The user must make a contest of Resolve + Oblivion vs. the True Faith holder’s Willpower. On a win, the user can direct this Power against their opponent or one of their holy symbols. Used on the symbol, it corrodes it and renders it inert. Used on a believer, it negates their True Faith rating for one turn and causes them to stagger, costing them an action. (The apparent rot and decay does no damage; the shades merely reveal what inevitably must occur.) The vampire can repeat this contest each subsequent turn, without the need for additional Rouse Checks; however, the opponent loses no more actions. Losing the contest ends this power. If the user has a religious Conviction with this attack, the use of this Power incurs a Stain. **Duration:** One scene
Stygian Shroud, Oblivion 4 (Players Guide p.90) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The user makes a Rouse Check and spends a turn concentrating, spreading the shadow over the desired surfaces. The effect covers a circular area with a radius equal to twice the user’s Oblivion rating in yards/meters. The area is centered on the user or a spot in their line of sight. Anyone caught in the Stygian Shroud receives a three-dice penalty to all rolls, unless they possess the ability to see through supernatural darkness. Any mortals caught in the Stygian Shroud suffer one level of Superficial damage for every turn they remain within it, due to the power’s suffocating effects. **Duration:** One scene
Shadow Step, Oblivion 5 (Players Guide pp.90-91) **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The vampire must enter a shadow large enough to cover them, and emerge from another one turn later. The target shadow must be within sight, though it can be perceived by mystical means, such as Shadow Perspective, if desired. It is possible to bring another through the passage, but unless that person is willing, they must be held by a successful grapple. If a Stain is incurred as a result of using this power, the passenger also receives one. **Duration:** One turn
Skuld Fulfilled, Oblivion 5 (Players Guide p.91) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **Dice Pool:** Stamina + Oblivion vs. Stamina + Stamina or Fortitude **System:** The vampire makes two Rouse Checks as they expend sufficient vitae to coat both their palms and their face with blood, recalling the faces of their targets. If the user succeeds in a contest of Stamina + Oblivion vs. the victim’s Stamina x 2 (those with Fortitude may resist with Stamina + Fortitude), the targeted individual is affected by a serious condition they’ve historically suffered and recovered from, such as treated cancer, a broken bone, or a disease — including one gained through [Necrotic Plague](#necrotic-plague-oblivion-4-players-guide-pp.89-90) — with any debilitating effects from this condition occurring immediately. The condition’s effects are for the Storyteller to determine, but they should be severe (Core, p.303). If the victim is a ghoul, this power removes their immunity to aging and eliminates any vitae in their system, potentially resulting in older ghouls dying or even disintegrating where they stand. On a critical win, this power may kill the victim by stopping their heart completely if the user wishes. On a total failure, the vampire cannot use this power against that individual again. **Duration:** Variable, dependent on whether the condition is treatable
Tenebrous Avatar, Oblivion 5 (Players Guide p.91) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **System:** The transformation takes one turn, during which the vampire is unable to do anything else. Once the transformation is complete the vampire can move at walking pace across the ground or along walls, hampered only by hermetically sealed barriers. Vampires using Tenebrous Avatar can envelop victims, causing the victim to reduce all their dice pools by three and suffocating mortals as with Stygian Shroud, above. If surrounding a mortal, the vampire can feed from them without penetrating the skin with fangs. Practitioners of this power take no damage from physical sources but can be harmed by fire and sunlight as normal. Mental Disciplines can still be used at the Storyteller’s discretion. **Duration:** One scene or until ended
The Darkness Within, Oblivion 5 (Tattered Facade pp.100-101) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Oblivion vs. Composure + Resolve **System:** The vampire makes a series of beckoning gestures toward their target as the two enter into a contest of Manipulation + Oblivion vs. Composure + Resolve. If the vampire wins, they summon a dark entity from the victim, inflicting one level of Aggravated damage as it separates itself from its host. The victim must be clearly visible to the vampire. The entity possesses the same Physical Attributes and Skills as its host, no Willpower, six Health levels, and takes damage as a vampire. If its host has supernatural powers that supplement their physical capabilities — such as Disciplines — the doppelganger possesses those (ratings are halved and rounded down, while activation costs consume Health instead). It has one goal — the destruction of its living host — and ignores all other distractions. **Duration:** One scene, or until either it or its host are destroyed
Withering Spirit, Oblivion 5 (Cults of the Blood Gods p.208) **Cost:** Two Rouse Checks, Stains (variable amount) **Dice Pool:** Resolve + Oblivion vs. Resolve + Occult or Fortitude **System:** The vampire makes two Rouse Checks to expend sufficient vitae to coat both hands, and touches the victim. After rolling Resolve + Oblivion vs. the victim’s Resolve + Occult (Those with Fortitude may use it in place of Occult), the victim suffers two Aggravated Willpower damage for each point of the vampire’s margin. The attack erodes the victim’s spirit until they’re a broken husk, and if Impaired by this power they will not return as a wraith after death. Storytellers may decide that the spirit-destroying nature of this power warrants Stains, though as always, an appropriate Conviction may mitigate these. **Duration:** One turn
# Blood Sorcery Rituals At character creation, a player can choose one Level 1 ritual if they have at least one dot in Blood Sorcery. Characters can buy new rituals at the cost of the ritual’s level x 3 experience points. Learning new Rituals during play requires both experience and time. Expect a Ritual to take at least the square of its rating in weeks to learn. Unless otherwise noted, performing a ritual requires a Rouse Check, five minutes per level to cast, and a winning Intelligence + Blood Sorcery test (Difficulty = Ritual level + 1). Rituals usually require additional ingredients, though some need only the uninterrupted concentration of the user, and often involve the mingling of Blood with ingredients chosen according to the principles of sympathetic magic or alchemy. Unless otherwise stated the caster can only perform beneficial rituals on themselves. ## Level 1
Astromancy (Blood Sigils pp.59-60) **Ingredients:** The night sky; a silver mirror or platter; the blood, hair, spit, or flesh of the target **Process:** In the middle of the night, the caster goes to an area with a clear view of the stars in the sky and places their target’s biological material on the silver surface and spreads a Rouse Check’s worth of blood over the surface. The caster spends up to a half hour watching their blood shape itself into patterns and images regarding the answers they seek about the subject. **System:** A win on the Ritual roll reveals the target’s greatest aptitudes (i.e., any Attribute or Skill 4 or higher) and their current Ambition. A critical win also reveals their current Desire and at least one of their Convictions. If the sorcerer knows the correct birth date or Embrace date of the target, they can add one die to the Ritual pool. Knowing both still only adds one die.
Beelzebeatit (Sabbat: The Black Hand p.50) **Ingredients:** Vinegar or alcohol **Process:** The ritualist sprinkles the vinegar or alcohol on the floor and turns counterclockwise, visually circumscribing the area in which the lesser creatures are to be expelled. **System:** If the ritual is successful, living creatures of animal intellect and below hastily vacate the area of about a hundred meters square. Thereafter, nothing prevents a directed or controlled creature from returning (but such things may be visible, and stand out due to their active expulsion), but such creatures won’t do it of their own volition unless enraged or no other option to traverse it exists. The effects last for one scene or one night, whichever comes first.
Bind the Accusing Tongue (Blood Sigils pp.60-62) **Ingredients:** A picture, effigy, or image of the target, a lock of the target’s hair, a black silken cord. **Process:** The caster winds the cord around the hair and image while intoning the ritual charm. **System:** A win on the Ritual roll prevents the target from saying, writing, or otherwise directly communicating anything negative or harmful — even, or rather especially, if it’s true — about the caster without a Composure + Resolve test (Difficulty equals the caster’s Blood Sorcery rating +2). On a critical win, the Difficulty of the test equals the caster’s Blood Sorcery rating +3. The ritual lasts until the target succeeds on their test, or until the cord unwinds, at which point the hair and image crumble into dust.
Blood Missive (Live From the Succubus Club p.29) **Ingredients:** A drop of mercury and one rouse check’s worth of Blood. **Process:** The Kindred whispers a message to the mercury, which carries it through the Blood collected in a ceremonially prepared bowl. **System:** The Kindred encodes about one minute of speech into one Rouse Check worth of Blood in a ritual bowl. The ritualist then designates one or more intended recipients of the message whose Blood they have tasted. As part of the ritual, a Kindred, mortal, or beast messenger must consume the Blood to transfer the message to their own body, otherwise the Blood — and message — will rapidly sour. The first person to consume the ensorcelled Blood from the messenger automatically receives the message mentally if they are the intended recipient or possess A Taste for Blood. Any other imbiber must succeed on a Wits + Occult test (Difficulty 3) to understand the message. **Duration:** One month plus another month for each point of the margin of success
Blood to Water (Gehenna War p.48) **Ingredients:** Pure water, whether from a natural spring or purified mechanically. **Process:** The ritualist smears their own Blood on their hands, pours water through their fingers, and splatters it about the room. **System:** If the ritual is successful, blood (including the performer’s spilled Blood) exposed to the air is transmuted into water, leaving no traces behind. The ritual affects a space roughly the size of a living room. Larger spaces require repeated performances to cleanse.
Blood Walk (Core p.276) **IIngredients:** A silver cup filled with Blood from the subject. (One Rouse Check’s worth). **Process:** The user mixes their Blood with the subject’s and repeats an incantation over the cup, spending an roughly an hour. **System:** A win on the Ritual roll (see General Systems) allows the user to learn the generation and name of the subject as well as the subject’s sire. A Critical Win also informs the user of any Blood Bonds active on the subject, as regnant or thrall.
Clinging Of The Insect (Core p.276) **Ingredients:** A living spider. **Process:** The caster fills a vial with their own Blood and crushes the spider into it, mixing the ground bits with the Blood before ingesting it. (This does not refund any Hunger gained.) The caster can only perform this ritual on themselves; others gain no benefit from drinking the mixture. **System:** A successful Ritual yields the ability to cling to walls and ceiling for a scene, while a critical win extends the duration to a whole night. The caster must cling to the surface with both hands and feet; they move at approximately half their usual rate.
Coax the Garden (Cults of the Blood Gods p.55) **Ingredients:** Human blood, poppy seeds. **Process:** The vampire casts a concoction of human blood and poppy seeds onto the earth, and in doing so rouses all plant life within a 5 yard/meter diameter. While these plants are rarely lethal in their attacks, they can successfully disable and alarm their victims. **System:** A win on the Ritual roll following the casting of the Ritual ingredients animates the plant life. The affected flora causes a two-dice penalty to physical dice pools for those caught in the range of the Ritual, as plants trip and grip them. Victims who stay in the area for longer than a turn must make a Dexterity + Athletics roll (Difficulty 3), or be grappled and suffer one point of Superficial Health damage for each turn ensnared. If the caster achieves a critical win, the damage from plant attacks doubles. On a total failure, the plants attack the caster. The plants will target anyone who isn’t the caster. They remain active until the end of the scene.
Craft Bloodstone (Core pp.276-277) **Ingredients:** A pebble of iron ore or a small magnet and a liter of blood from any source in a silver bowl. **Process:** The user spills their Blood into the blood in the bowl and then recites a chant over it for an hour, repeating the chant over the next two nights. The pebble (or magnet) absorbs the blood over the three nights; upon successful completion, the liquid appears translucent. **System:** Make the Ritual roll at the end of the third night. On a win the caster attunes their mind to the Bloodstone. The caster can unerringly sense the direction and distance to the stone. This effect lasts until the Bloodstone is destroyed or a week has passed. A caster can have and keep track to a number of stones up to their Resolve.
Douse the Fear (Players Guide p.99) **Ingredients:** A holy object such as a crucifix, Bible, or Qur’an. **Process:** The vampire must expose the holy symbol to a flame. The object does not need to be completely destroyed, just touched by the fire. **System:** A successful Ritual roll following the burning of the holy object grants the character two additional dice on all rolls relating to resisting Rötschreck. A critical win results in the character needing to make no Terror Frenzy rolls at all. The effect lasts for one night.
Enrich the Blood (Forbidden Religions pp.76-77) **Ingredients:** A half-full vial of the target’s blood, five liters of unprocessed human blood no more than three hours old. **Process:** The caster slowly pours the unprocessed blood into the vial, which never fills up so long as the vampire retains concentration. Once all the blood is added, the resulting half-vial of blood must be fed back to the target. The ritual poses significant long-term medical problems to the donor/recipient (vulnerability to blood diseases **System:** A successful Ritual roll makes the target’s blood unusually rich and flavorsome. A sip from their veins slakes two levels of Hunger rather than one. On a Critical Win, two vampires can slake to Hunger 0 if they share the kill. If left alive, the effect on the target wanes after one week. This Ritual makes the human’s blood thick and hypercoagulable, prone to numerous medical complications, and causes the caster to suffer 1 Stain (unless Chronicle Tenets or Convictions negate it). A second casting renders the blood too thick to drink and kills the target.
Herd Ward - Minor (Let the Streets Run Red p.77) **Ingredients:** Scorpion poison, sufficient vitae to provoke a Rouse Check. **Process:** The sorcerer mixes scorpion poison with their own vitae to draw the ward. The vampire can ward a single mortal. **System:** The sorcerer makes the Ritual roll when another vampire tries to feed on the warded kine. The transgressor suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage if the caster wins the Ritual roll, or three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win. Once the Herd Ward is triggered, a Kindred still trying to drink from the kine must roll Stamina + Resolve against Difficulty 4 for a normal Ward, or 7 for a critical-success Ward.
Letter Ward (Let the Streets Run Red p.77) **Ingredients:** Pigeon blood, wax, dog blood. **Process:** The letter writer, who need not be the sorcerer, pens a missive in pigeon blood and clearly addresses the recipient. The sorcerer then melts wax and mixes it with dog’s blood to seal the letter. **System:** The sorcerer makes the Ritual roll when anyone other than the recipient opens the letter. The victim suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage if the caster wins the Ritual roll, or three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win, and the letter destroys itself in a burst of flame.
Preservation (Courts of the Damned pp.215-216) **Ingredients:** A quill or fountain pen, one or more Rouse Checks’ worth of the caster’s vitae **Process:** The user inscribes arcane sigils on the item to be preserved. **System:** The item withstands damage from normal wear and tear and the passage of time. Mold and rot do not take, pages do not yellow with age, insects will not damage the item, nor will the sun fade it, so long as some modicum of protection is maintained. Intentional damage still affects the item as normal, but scuffs or scrapes resulting from transportation or minor accidents, such as a spill or a fall from a height of only a few feet, leave no trace. One Rouse Check of vitae is enough to ward an item about the size of a chair or guitar case, or a handful of small items such as chess pieces. The addition of a second Rouse Check during casting doubles the size of the item that can be warded.
Revealing the Crimson Trail (Gehenna War p.48) **Ingredients:** A needle with an eye. **Process:** The Kindred ritually prepares the needle by stabbing themselves in one eye with it, and must then peer through its eye. **System:** If the ritual is successful, the vampire can clearly see any spilled blood, dried or not, as long as they keep looking through the eye of the needle. Exceptionally old or minute traces can require a Resolve + Awareness or Investigation test to spot, as determined by the Storyteller. The ritual lasts for the rest of the scene.
Rite of Introduction (Courts of the Damned p.216) **Ingredients:** An iron pot or cauldron, a Rouse Check of the user’s vitae **Process:** The user brings the Blood to a boil and speaks a brief incantation while it boils. **System:** The ritualist sends an impression of their face, their name, and a short, one-sentence message to any master of a Foundation of the Chantry (see below) within the same city. The caster can choose to withhold any of these elements but not alter them. If no Foundation is within range, the caster is aware that their message was not received.
Sanguine Tidings (Live From the Succubus Club p.29) **Ingredients:** Mirror, sufficient human blood to write the message, lightless room. **Process:** The practitioner designates a type of individual in their mind — e.g., mortal, ghoul, vampire, male, a child, unemployed — and suspends a mirror in a lightless room. The sorcerer writes a message on the mirror with a fingertip, using human blood as the ink. The message appears on another reflective surface (a mirror, polished glass, water) the practitioner has seen before and can mentally recall, when the designated type of individual passes by. **System:** The sorcerer makes the Ritual test when enchanting the designated surface. For every success the practitioner rolls, the message will repeat for each new individual of the chosen type who passes the surface. The message clears itself from the surface as soon as it’s been read once. It appears in the handwriting and language in which the sorcerer wrote it.
Seal the Brand (Players Guide p.99) **Ingredients:** Molten silver poured over a tattoo, brand, or other body modification. **Process:** The vampire casting the Ritual pours the molten silver over the target’s tattoo, brand, or body modification. The target suffers damage from the molten silver, but once mended, the affected modification remains permanent. **System:** A successful Ritual yields a permanent body modification for the target. This modification cannot be removed by any other means and is now considered part of the target’s undying body. Pouring the molten silver onto the body modification inflicts one point of Superficial damage, which may be mended as normal.
Shared Memory (In Memoriam p.145) **Ingredients:** One Rouse Check’s worth of vitae from the Kindred undergoing Memoriam for each additional participant in this Ritual, a wooden or stone chalice, and dried berries of deadly nightshade. **Process:** The sorcerer carefully muddles the plant matter into the vitae, then each participant drinks of it. **System:** The Memoriam works as usual, but anyone drinking one Rouse Check’s worth of the mixture also enters Memoriam. Participants observe the events and can offer advice but cannot directly influence the events. If used in conjunction with other Rituals or powers (such as Guided Memory), only one character can gain benefits other than information.
Unseen Underground (Fall of London p.31) **Ingredients:** Rat’s blood and eyes. **Process:** The caster drains a rat completely dry and removes its eyes from its skull, before throwing them into the nearest shadowed or unlit place. The caster can only perform this ritual on themselves. **System:** Success yields the ability to go completely invisible for an hour. The ritual immediately ends if the caster ventures above ground or takes hostile action. Sense the Unseen (Core, p.249) can reveal the caster.
Wake With Evening’s Freshness (Core p.277) **Ingredients:** The burnt bones and feathers of a rooster. **Process:** The caster mixes the ashes with their own Blood, drawing a circle with the mixture around their place of sleep. **System:** Do not make a Ritual roll unless true danger appears. If the caster is threatened during the day, make the Ritual roll then, with the caster rousing on a win. For the duration of the scene the vampire ignores the daytime penalties for staying awake. On a critical win, the effects last until the following dawn.
## Level 2
As Fog on Water (Players Guide p.100) **Ingredients:** A piece of wood from a ship, and water **Process:** The vampire submerges a piece of wood in the body of water they want to cross while spilling their Blood into it. **System:** Upon a successful Ritual roll the vampire can walk across the surface of the water for the rest of the night. They can end this effect any time they wish but cannot walk on the surface again until they recast the Ritual.
Calix Secretus (Players Guide p.100) **Ingredients:** An object that fits in the caster’s hand, and Blood of the user. **Process:** The user drenches the object with their Blood and speaks the words of the Ritual. When complete, the object absorbs the Blood. **System:** The process takes an hour. Make a Ritual roll, and if successful, the vampire imbues the object with an amount of Blood from the caster. If the caster wishes to release their Blood from the object, they need to say the command word. The amount of Blood stored can sate one Hunger for every two Rouse Checks made when storing the Blood. (Storing a single Rouse Check’s worth of Blood allows for a ghoul to get their fix or for use in another Ritual requirement.)
Calling the Aura's Remnants (The Chicago Folios p.171) **Ingredients:** A human corpse or the corpse of a destroyed vampire. **Process:** The ritual must be cast within ten feet of a human corpse or the corpse of a destroyed vampire. **System:** A successful Ritual test allows the caster to speak with the animate reflection of the deceased for one scene as if they were still alive. This communication is not with the deceased spirit and only has access to the memories of the deceased up to the time of death. A Critical Win extends the duration of the speech to an entire evening.
Communicate With Kindred Sire (Core p.277) **Ingredients:** An object previously possessed by the sire and a silver bowl filled with clear water. **Process:** The caster submerges the object in water and lets their Blood drip into the bowl, concentrating upon the last memory of their sire for up to 30 minutes. **System:** Make the ritual roll after 15 minutes have passed. A win allows for ten minutes of two-way silent mental communication once 15 more minutes have passed. A critical win allows immediate communication. Any major disturbance on either end breaks the connection.
Craftmaster (Blood Sigils p.62) **Ingredients:** Blood of a gifted subject, representative craft object such as a needle, page of a book, playing card, chisel, etc., vulture bones. **Process:** The caster chars the vulture bones in a fire and places the representative object in a bowl over the flames. They pour the blood of the subject into the bowl, completely covering the object. As the last of the bones crack and burn, the vampire drinks the blood from the bowl, letting the object touch their lips as they drink. **System:** On a win, the caster gains the subject’s dots and specialty in Academics, Craft, Performance, or Science until sunrise. The dots replace, not add to, any already possessed by the caster. If the caster already has that specialty, they gain one extra die on top of the specialty die. On a critical win, the Ritual lasts for a week. On a total failure, the caster accidentally swallows the craft object and takes 2 Aggravated Health damage from it traveling through their body, the object spiritually furious at its skill being stolen.
Depths of Nightmare (Blood Sigils p.62) **Ingredients:** Target’s hair; melted wax; natron (soda ash) **Process:** The caster mixes a Rouse Check’s worth of blood into the melted wax, then rolls their target’s hair in the mixture. The vampire shapes the bloody wax into a humanoid shape, as close to their target’s body shape as possible. After writing glyphs or curses in their native language, the sorcerer soaks the figurine in a bowl of water mixed with natron. **System:** On a win, the target receives a number of nightmare-filled days (or nights, for mortal targets) equal to the number of successes rolled. When they first awaken after each sleep, the target receives 1 Superficial Willpower damage. On a critical win, the damage is Aggravated instead. This damage cannot be healed normally until the spell has run its course: only magic or the like can remove the shock and horror of these dreams. On a total failure, the target not only has pleasant dreams, but dreams of an ibis-headed man who points the target in the caster’s direction. This occurs even if the caster used no Kemetic imagery on the figurine.
Elemental Grasp (Blood Sigils p.62-63) **Prerequisite:** [Koldunic Sorcery](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#koldunic-sorcery-level-1-blood-sigils-p.61) **Ingredients:** A handful of the koldun’s element or a ritual representation of it, such as a wooden staff for earth, a knife or bunch of feathers for air, etc. **Process:** The koldun scratches open their initiation scar and makes a Rouse Check while commanding the element to hinder a target the koldun perceives. Magical perception counts for this purpose. **System:** On a win, the element rises against the target. If the element is already awake during the casting (commanding air during a thunderstorm, for instance), the koldun adds one die to their Ritual pool. The target takes one point of Superficial Health damage per success, and must make an appropriate skill roll (e.g., Toughness + Athletics, or Composure + Drive) to continue against the element against a Difficulty equal to 1 + the total successes on the Ritual roll. On a critical win, the element rises against every suitable target within sight of the main target. The effect continues until the koldun does anything else besides command the elements: fight, move, make any other skill roll, etc.
Enhance Dyscrasia (Forbidden Religions p.77) **Ingredients:** An object of significance to the target, appropriate to the Resonance of their Dyscrasia. **Process:** The caster must taste the target’s blood, then hold the object and concentrate upon its Resonance for several minutes. The object must then be returned to the target. **System:** A successful Ritual roll increases the potency and utility of the target’s Dyscrasia, providing its effects to anyone who slakes at least 1 point of Hunger from the target. This effect dissipates after three nights.
Eyes of Babel (Core p.277) **Ingredients:** A fresh eye and tongue of a person **Process:** Plucking the ingredients fresh from the victim, the vampire chews and swallows them. (This most likely incurs a Stain.) **System:** The Rouse Check required for this ritual allows for the supernatural dissolution of the ingredients once swallowed. Once this is done, make the Ritual roll. A win gives the caster the ability to read and speak any language known by the victim, at the same skill level for a week. A critical win extends the duration to a month.
Illuminate The Trail Of Prey (Core p.277) **Ingredients:** A white satin ribbon. **Process:** The performer of the ritual soaks the ribbon in their own Blood, setting it alight. **System:** If the Ritual roll is a win the ribbon catches fire despite being wet, burning fiercely like a fuse. Once consumed, the ritual takes effect. While the ritual remains active, the caster can follow faint traces of the target even in areas where they left no tracks, such as crowded cities. To follow the tracks, the caster makes an Intelligence + Survival roll against a Difficulty equal to 6 minus the margin on the ritual test. The target must be known by face by the caster, who sees the path travelled by the victim over the previous 24 hours. The path remains visible for the entire night; a critical win extends this to two nights.
Le Sang de l’Amour (Blood-Stained Love p.154) **Ingredients:** Blood of the caster and their lover, two glass vials on chains. **Process:** The caster collects their own blood and their lover’s at the same time, careful to keep the two separate. They don’t need much blood—only a teaspoonful. The only requirement: both must desire the other at the time of the casting. The caster seals the two blood samples inside the vials, hanging each from a chain. As the lovers exchange vials and hang them around their necks, the caster sings a song in praise of their lover to Aphrodite, Ishtar or another love or lust deity. **System:** With a win on the Ritual test, le Sang de l’Amour allows both participants to concentrate (Resolve + Awareness) and know approximately where the other is on a success. They don’t get an exact location, but have a rough sense of distance — in the same city, the same state, across the ocean from each other. With more successes, they get more information, small details of the sensation of being in the other’s location: they feel a deck pitching up and down, the strain of climbing harsh terrain, or the vibration of loud noise. With a critical win, the ritual provides one automatic success on the lover’s perception roll. Any other successes let them actually see brief glimpses of their lover and their surroundings, and even hear snatches of conversation. On a total failure, the blood accidentally mixes in the vials and both participants get disoriented and confused if they try to concentrate on the other. Their Composure suffers, reducing by 1 until the end of the next scene even if they break both vials and end the ritual. The ritual only remains effective as long as both wear their partner’s vial and as long as the vials remain unbroken. If one of the participants does not actually desire the other during the ritual (if a player, they should state as much privately to the Storyteller), their vial dries and clots the first time they use it, becoming useless muck. This has no adverse effect on the two participants beyond the personal fallout.
Shroud of Silence (Forbidden Religions pp.22-23) **Ingredients:** A length of woven cloth, often silk. A golden ring through which the cloth can pass. Kindred vitae acquired from a vampire with the Obfuscate Discipline. **Process:** The caster passes the cloth through the golden ring, daubs each end of the cloth in vitae, then affixes it to a door handle or threads it through a keyhole. **System:** If the ritual succeeds, it creates a shroud of impenetrable silence centered entirely within the room to which the door serves as an entrance or exit. It lasts for a single scene. Anyone can disperse the effect instantly by removing the cloth from its place.
Silentia Mortis (Blood Sigils p.64) **Ingredients:** Paw of a cat or other silent desert predator, blood from caster (and from holder, if different), corpse-wax candle (Blood Sigils, p.139), a white rose. **Process:** The caster whispers the words of this ritual, cuts their palm, and clenches the paw in their fist, soaking it in a Rouse Check worth of their blood. If intended for a holder besides the caster, the holder also cuts their palm and holds the paw, making their own Rouse Check and mingling their blood. The holder remains completely silent during this ritual. After burning the rose in the candle, the caster quenches the candle flame with the bloody paw. **System:** A win on the Ritual roll creates a 6-meter radius of magical silence around the holder once they activate the talisman by making a second Rouse Check. The talisman must touch the holder’s flesh, but they need not keep it in their hand. The silence ends when the holder loses the talisman or after one hour, and the talisman shrivels into nothingness. A critical win increases the radius to 12 meters.
Soporific Touch (Players Guide p.100) **Ingredients:** A small amount of hashish or other narcotic substance. **Process:** The chosen substance is mixed with the user’s Blood and rubbed between their fingers as the incantation is read (or whispered). The Ritual takes only a few minutes to prepare. **System:** Make a Ritual roll vs. the Stamina + Resolve of the target when they make contact with the affected vitae. For the remainder of the scene, the victim suffers a dice penalty equal to the margin of win on the Ritual roll on all resistance pools involving Composure or Resolve. (Apply the penalty only once if the pool involves both Attributes.) The narcotic vitae retains its potency until it is touched, up until the end of the scene.
Stolen Memory (In Memoriam p.145) **Ingredients:** Your own vitae; a black scrying mirror or, in a pinch, a bowl of water; and something belonging to your sire. **Process:** The sorcerer smears their vitae on the mirror or lets it drop into the water. Holding the item belonging to their sire, they look into the mirror and count down from twenty, letting themselves fall into a meditative state. At the Storyteller’s discretion, characters can travel further back through the Blood, accessing the memories of their grandsire or great-grandsire, with a Difficulty increase of 2 per generation past their sire. **System:** The Memoriam works as usual, but the stolen memories fade like a dream once out of the Memoriam. The sorcerer will have to write down what they experienced within a scene or two to retain the information.
Tiamat Glistens (Blood Sigils pp.64-65) **Ingredients:** A place of power such as a furcus, dust of a precious metal (which one depends on the magical valence of the site). **Process:** The caster mixes a Rouse Check’s worth of blood with the precious metal dust. At the site of a place of power, they shout praises to Tiamat, scattering the bloody metal dust mixture into the air and on the ground for at least fifteen minutes. **System:** On a win, the sorcerer primes the place of power for any ritual taking place there for a number of nights equal to the number of successes on the Ritual test. During this time, any ritual performed by the caster on this place of power gains the bonuses or other advantages associated with it — usually a dice bonus to Ritual pools (Blood Sigils, p.35). On a critical win, the sorcerer also automatically succeeds on one die of their Ritual roll. Only one caster receives the benefits of Tiamat Glistens per place of power. If another caster successfully performs the Ritual during the time of another caster’s successful casting, the first caster immediately loses the dice bonus.
Truth Of Blood (Core pp.277-278) **Ingredients:** One pint of blood from the subject. **Process:** The performer of the Ritual mixes their own Blood with that of the subject in a vessel large enough to allow for the dipping of the finger. **System:** Instead of the regular Ritual roll, the caster immerses their finger in the mixture and makes a Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Composure + Occult roll for every statement made by the subject. The first failed contest ends the Ritual. A Win tells them whether that statement is true, as far as the subject knows. On a critical win by the caster, the subject involuntarily expands upon their answer, providing more information, including details they glancingly saw or subconsciously forgot. (The Storyteller should inform the caster if there is no more information about that topic.) The mixture bubbles and seethes during the process, turning completely to ash at the end of the scene. This Ritual cannot pierce Cloud Memory, the Forgetful Mind, or other memory-wiping powers. The caster may well guess the cause of a blank or foggy recollection, but cannot recover the actual memory.
Viscera Garden (Blood Sigils p.65) **Ingredients:** A plot of land, a day-old human or animal corpse, the caster’s Blood (for upkeep). **Process:** The caster clears out a plot of land and digs a hole. They tear open their wrist and pour a Rouse Check’s worth of Blood into the human or animal corpse. The corpse being a day old is essential in the human corpse’s case; accidental Embraces have occurred when a human corpse is too fresh. The corpse is eviscerated, and its mass thrown into the hole. The caster plants or transfers their preferred plants to the plot, then covers them in the corpse’s viscera. **System:** A win instantly disintegrates the buried body and viscera into blood-scented smoke. In addition, plants grown in the plot are unusually hardy and vampires can ingest them (consuming these plants as food slakes no Hunger, but it stays down). Vampiric influence Discipline tests against a mortal who ingested a viscerated plant take −1 to Difficulty (or the target loses two dice from their resistance pool, for contests). The plants must receive a Rouse Check’s worth of Blood every month, or else they wither and die within a week. A critical win extends the length of time between waterings to two months. An animal corpse can fertilize a Viscera Garden of about 1 x 1 meters, or about 3 x 3 feet. A human corpse doubles these dimensions.
## Level 3
Bladed Hands (The Chicago Folios p.174) **Ingredients:** A pair of razor blades, two drops of Kindred vitae. **Process:** The caster places a razor blade in each palm, gripping them tightly as the ritual is cast. At the end of the ritual, they vanish into the caster’s person, leaving a pair of supernaturally sharp hands in their wake. **System:** The caster must make a successful Ritual test and two Rouse Checks. Success grants the caster +2 damage on all Brawl attacks made with the caster’s hands. The caster must be very careful about what they touch while employing Bladed Hands (+1 difficulty to all rolls to handle delicate objects). A Critical Win increases the damage to +3. The ritual lasts for a single evening.
Blood Sigil (Blood Sigils p.66) **Ingredients:** Tattoo ink or other substances that can stain skin, a written message on paper, a photograph, or a painting, a sharp object with a tip heated by candle flame. **Process:** The vampire to be tattooed opens a vein in their wrist with the sharp object — usually a scalpel, a knife, or the needle in a tattoo gun — and bleeds into containers with their chosen painting material. Then, the caster tears the paper or picture, mixing the remains into the paints while chanting for fifteen minutes. The caster applies the Blood Sigil on another vampire by heating the sharp object’s tip, dipping the sharp object into the paints, and carefully carving an image into the vampire’s skin. This image need not be relevant to its hidden information. **System:** Make no Ritual roll until after applying the Blood Sigil. A win permanently seals the tattooed image into the vampire’s skin and perfectly preserves the message within. A failure creates a tattoo and preserved message that fades away upon the vampire’s next rising. Read the message within a Blood Sigil by viewing or touching the sigil for fifteen minutes and either winning a Resolve + Occult Test at Difficulty 5 (Difficulty 4 if touching the tattoo) or using Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1). The sorcerer who applied the Blood Sigil can erase the tattoo (and the message) by spending one Willpower and touching the tattoo for fifteen minutes.
Bloodless Feast (Forbidden Religions pp.66-67) **Ingredients:** An unconscious human, a flawless crystal chalice. **Process:** The caster chants scripture over the human target for three hours. Over the course of the ritual, the human gradually weakens, while the chalice fills with a clear, sweet-smelling liquid. **System:** A successful Ritual fills the chalice to the brim at the end of three hours and kills the human victim. The clear liquid produced functions exactly like fresh blood from the human victim for the next hour, carrying any Resonance and Dyscrasia the victim exhibited. Since the victim must be unconscious during the ritual, anything but a Phlegmatic resonance is difficult to obtain. Though it mostly functions as normal, this clear Blood has an unusual effect on Kindred who consume it: until the next sunset, their Hunger can be reduced to 0 (due to the donor’s death) and they are vulnerable to diablerie. A would-be diablerist gains three dice to her Strength + Resolve roll against the victim, and she may use the experience points she gains to increase her Blood Potency by at least one point, regardless of her victim’s power. She also does not gain the black veins in her aura that usually accompany the act.
Communal Vigor (Sabbat: The Black Hand pp.50-51) **Ingredients:** One fingernail of the Pack Priest **Process:** The Priest tears a nail from their finger and breaks it into pieces, one for each member of the Pack. They place their own portion of the torn nail in the Vaulderie chalice, while the other members place theirs under their tongue. If the Ritual is successful, the pieces of nail dissolve into the Vaulderie blood consumed. **System:** In addition to the effects of the Vaulderie, the members of the Pack have their Blood Potency raised to the same level as the officiating Priest. Additionally, the Priest gains three dice on any Dominate or Presence tests against other members of the Pack. The effects last for one night.
Dagon’s Call (Core p.278) **Ingredients:** A gold inlaid ceremonial dagger. **Process:** Before proceeding with the ritual the victim must be exposed the caster’s Blood, either by drinking it or having it touch an open wound or even their bare skin: a single drop smeared across the arm is enough. After an hour but before a week has passed the caster can perform the ritual by piercing their own skin with the ceremonial dagger, shedding blood. As their Blood hits the ground the ritual takes effect. **System:** Make a Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Resolve roll. Every point of margin on a win does a point of damage to the victim, as their blood vessels burst and their lungs fill with blood. This damage is Aggravated for mortals, but only Superficial on vampires. The caster can repeat this process up to two more times, each time requiring them to make an additional Rouse Check.
Deflection Of Wooden Doom (Core pp.278-279) **Ingredients:** Wood splinters or shavings. **Process:** The vampire mixes the shavings with their Blood and draws a circle around themselves. They must then meditate in this circle for an hour, concluding by placing one splinter of wood under their tongue. **System:** Make no Ritual roll until the vampire is staked. If the Ritual roll is a win, the stake shatters as it touches the skin of the vampire. (A critical win blinds the attacker for two turns, showering their face with splinters.) This only works on genuine attempts at staking - merely holding the stake against the vampire does not trigger the effect. The protection lasts until the end of the night or until the splinter is removed from under the tongue of the vampire, whichever comes first.
Elemental Shelter (Blood Sigils p.66) **Prerequisite:** [Koldunic Sorcery](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#koldunic-sorcery-level-1-blood-sigils-p.61) **Ingredients:** At least enough of the element in question to envelop the koldun’s body. **Process:** The koldun scratches open their initiatory scar, bleeds into the element, commands it to receive them, and falls or dives into it. **System:** On a win, the koldun melds into the element. No physical attack can injure them, nor can sunlight or fire. While in the element, the koldun remains aware of their surroundings, except during day-sleep. At those times, disturbances such as digging or loud noises awaken them or not, as with all vampires (Core, p.219). The koldun’s form remains waveringly visible to Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) or to normal sight (Wits + Awareness) with a Difficulty equal to the margin of the Ritual roll. On a critical win, the koldun completely merges with the element, becoming entirely invisible. The koldun can emerge from the element at will by night at the spot they entered it. If a fire-bonded koldun’s fire goes out (or less likely, if someone drains a water-bonded koldun’s aqueous shelter), the koldun enters torpor within or beneath the ashes and coals. They can make a Resolve + Awareness test (Difficulty 2) to awaken in the presence of potential prey just as if they had fallen into torpor from hunger.
Essence Of Air (Core p.279) **Ingredients:** Leaves and berries of belladonna. **Process:** The caster steeps the belladonna in their Blood, reducing the brew over a brazier while incanting words **System:** Make the Ritual roll when reducing the mixture. (A critical win prepares two doses worth of potion.) The caster can tell whether the ritual succeeded, so they won’t end up with a dud. The resulting black potion retains its potency for a night and activates when imbibed. The potion enables the caster (and only them) to fly or hover at approximately running speed for a scene. The caster can carry a human-sized mass, though their speed drops to walking speed. Grabbing and carrying aloft an unwilling subject, or pulling the flier to the ground, both require a contest between the caster’s Strength + Blood Sorcery and the other’s Strength + Athletics.
Eyes of the Past (The Chicago Folios p.172) **Ingredients:** One drop of blood for each year the caster is trying to look backward in time (three or more drops requires a Rouse Check). **Process:** The caster selects the location for their ritual, cuts their hand, and allows the drops of blood to spill on the earth. **System:** A successful Ritual test allows the caster to see what happened in their present location at a specific time of their selection, up to five years ago. The caster can see what happened in the past as if they had been standing where they are now. Duration is one scene with clarity of vision determined by the number of successes scored. The vampire cannot recall the vision with any clarity after the scene elapses, meaning the Storyteller is not obligated to answer any questions about the vision after that time. A Critical Win permanently fixes the scene in their memory.
Fire in the Blood (Players Guide pp.100-101) **Ingredients:** A sample of the target’s blood, a visual depiction of the target such as a photo, painting, or video recording, and a candle made from red wax or a lighter made of iron. **Process:** The vampire concentrates on the visual depiction of their target (which can be the individual in person) and burns the target’s blood sample, usually held in a Petri dish, glass bottle, or vial, over the flame. The effect occurs almost immediately, as the victim’s blood heats up in their veins. **System:** Make a Ritual roll following the incantation versus the target’s Resolve + Occult (or Resolve + Fortitude, if the target is a creature with this Discipline). Each point of the caster’s margin is applied as Superficial Health damage that also inflicts wracking pain upon the victim, forcing them to incur a two-dice penalty to Physical pools for the remainder of the scene. On a critical win, the penalty increases to three dice. A Kindred target must make a Rouse Check due to the damage to their vitae. A victim can only be affected by this Ritual once per night.
Firewalker (Core p.279) **Ingredients:** A fingertip of the caster. **Process:** The vampire cuts one of their fingertips off and burns it together with their Blood in a golden chalice or bowl. **System:** Make a Stamina + Resolve test (Difficulty 3) to cut off a fingertip. On a winning Ritual roll, a bluish flame consumes the Blood and fingertip, signaling the completion of the ritual. For the rest of the night fire damage to the caster is halved. This ritual can be performed on others, but the fingertips sacrificed must all belong to the caster. The mutilation is not enough to count as damage to the caster; the fingertip regrows during day-sleep.
Gentle Mind (The Chicago Folios p.172) **Ingredients:** Crystal glass, Kindred vitae. **Process:** The caster shares blood with the target of the ritual while the caster whispers quietly into the target’s ear, weaving a temporary cage around the target’s beast. **System:** The caster must share a glass of blood with their target. A successful Ritual test grants the target a four-die bonus to resist frenzy for one scene. A Critical Win extends this duration to an evening. The caster must share blood with another and cannot cast this ritual upon themselves.
Grim Chrysalis (Tattered Facade pp.93-94) **Ingredients:** 200g of human hair, a moth or butterfly. Old-school sorcerers insist on death’s-head moths and hair from a corpse; younger licks suggest that a store-bought bottle of keratin supplements and any random caterpillar works just as well. **Process:** The vampire makes a Rouse Check, ingests and swallows the hair and the moth over a fifteen-minute period. It can form the Grim Chrysalis any time that night, and automatically begins forming it three minutes before sunrise unless it can vomit up the mass with a Resolve + Athletics test (Difficulty 3). **System:** The vampire begins drooling its keratin-laced saliva into the air, where it expands and hardens into the Grim Chrysalis. The Ritual test determines whether the cocoon forms entirely or remains incomplete. It only takes three turns to form the cocoon. Inside the cocoon, the vampire can mend all Superficial damage in one night, or 2 Aggravated Health damage; no Rouse Checks are needed for this mending. If the vampire has Vicissitude (Players Guide, p.81), use of this Power within the cocoon requires no test but assumes a number of successes equal to the user’s Discipline pool. The shell of the cocoon is hard as nails yet pliant. It protects the user from sunlight, lets in no air or liquids, and protects the user from fall damage from less than a hundred meters. Breaking it open by force requires inflicting a total of 30 levels of damage with an appropriate tool or weapon, such as an axe. The cocoon also takes damage from fire and acid, smelling like burning hair and giving off a thick black smoke. It takes three turns to destroy a Grim Chrysalis in this way, and the vampire within, floating in a thick blood sludge, may emerge before the damage reaches them. The process of breaking out of the cocoon can be a disturbing sight. Vampires that have undergone extensive Vicissitude within emerge, shredding their previous form like a molting insect. **Duration:** At least one day unless the cocoon is broken earlier. Vampires that remain in the cocoon risk torpor according to the usual starvation rules.
Haunted House (The Chicago Folios pp.174-175) **Ingredients:** Kindred vitae **Process:** The caster places a drop of Kindred blood on all entrances and exits to the haven in addition to all exterior walls and the roof over the course of a three-hour ritual. **System:** The caster makes three Rouse Checks in addition to a Ritual test. Upon success, the haven assumes an ominous cast and rumors begin to circulate that the house in haunted. Casual passersby will avoid the house at all cost and even the most courageous mortals will think twice before entering. Mortals attempting to enter the haven must make a successful Composure + Resolve test against the number of successes the caster made on their ritual roll. Success indicates they can enter while failure bars their passage (although they can spend Willpower to enter temporarily). The effects of Haunted House last for 10 years, after which the haven appears strange and run down, but not “haunted.”
Herd Ward - Major (Let the Streets Run Red p.77) **Ingredients:** Scorpion poison, sufficient vitae to provoke a Rouse Check. **Process:** The sorcerer mixes scorpion poison with their own vitae to draw the ward. The vampire can inscribe the ward on a door so all who stay within the ward for that night are protected. **System:** The sorcerer makes the Ritual roll when another vampire tries to feed on the warded kine. The transgressor suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage if the caster wins the Ritual roll, or three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win. Once the Herd Ward is triggered, a Kindred still trying to drink from the kine must roll Stamina + Resolve against Difficulty 4 for a normal Ward, or 7 for a critical-success Ward.
Illusion of Peaceful Death (The Chicago Folios p.172) **Ingredients:** A white feather. **Process:** The caster must symbolically “dust” the body with a white feather. **System:** A successful Ritual test causes a corpse to appear as if it died a natural death. This ritual does not add blood to the corpse, but does reduce the chance that this blood loss will be discovered (increase difficulty of all rolls to determine cause of death by three). The body must have at least half its original blood for this ritual to succeed. A Critical Win increases the difficulty of all rolls to determine cause of death by five.
Illusion of Perfection (The Chicago Folios p.174) **Ingredients:** A plain white mask. **Process:** The caster performs an hour-long ritual that concludes when they don a featureless white mask. A sweat of blood forms under the mask, spreading across the caster’s body until they are coated in a ruby crust that mystically conceals their true identity. The mask itself slowly turns crimson until the ritual wears off. **System:** A successful Ritual test is required to activate this ritual. Upon success, the caster is cloaked in the illusion that they are an ordinary person in their mid-20s, with a nondescript face and average body similar to the Obfuscate ability Mask of a Thousand Faces. Illusion of Perfection can be pierced by the Auspex ability Sense the Unseen, with a contested Wits + Auspex vs. the successes scored on the ritual roll. Illusion of Perfection lasts one scene, but a Critical Win extends its duration to an entire evening.
Nepenthe (Blood Sigils pp.66-67) **Ingredients:** Poppy seeds, starflower, honey, the subject’s tears, the caster’s Blood. **Process:** The caster pulverizes the solid ingredients together in a bowl and mixes in the Blood and honey. The last ingredient added should be the tears of the ritual’s subject. The potion gives off a strong, sickly sweet smell. The subject must drink the entire draught in one go. **System:** With a win on the Ritual roll, Nepenthe removes 1 Stain from the drinker’s tracker before a Remorse roll. On a critical win, Nepenthe removes 2 Stains before a Remorse roll at the end of the session. However, on a Total Failure, 1 Stain carries over to the next session, regardless of whether the Remorse roll succeeded or not. If a vampire uses Nepenthe more than two sessions in a row, their mind becomes dependent on it and one of their Stains becomes permanent. This is a cumulative effect—four sessions in a row results in two permanent Stains, etc.
One With the Blade (Players Guide p.101) **Ingredients:** A melee weapon and enough of the caster’s vitae to fully immerse it. **Process:** The vampire submerges their chosen weapon in their own vitae and swears an oath dedicating their unlife to the weapon. The weapon must remain submerged without interruption until the following sunrise. **System:** Once the Blood is collected and the weapon is submerged, make a Ritual roll. On a win, the weapon becomes mystically dedicated to the user. It remains of immaculate quality unless subjected to intentional harm when outside the caster’s ownership. Additionally, if again anointed by the Blood of the user it gains a two-dice bonus when used in combat. The anointment takes a single turn, forces a Rouse check and lasts for a full scene. A vampire can never possess more than one weapon dedicated this way. In order to perform this Ritual on a new weapon, the previous dedicated weapon must first be destroyed. If used against its original owner it deals Aggravated damage but gains no additional dice.
Sanguine Watcher (The Chicago Folios p.174) **Ingredients:** Kindred vitae, small quantities of alcohol, silver bowl. **Process:** The ritual is cast over the course of 20 minutes while the caster fills a silver bowl with vitae and measured doses of alcohol. A rat made of blood slowly forms as the caster stirs the mixture, becoming ever more solid until it scampers out of the bowl to serve its master. **System:** A successful Ritual test summons a rodent made of Kindred blood from the bowl that is bound to the caster and allows them to see through its eyes. The rat will go wherever the caster instructs it to go and observe whatever the caster tells it to look for. The rat can be instructed to steal small items, but the caster must be very explicit as to what they want stolen and where it is located. The rat remains in service until sunrise. A Critical Win allows the caster to provide the creature with extremely precise instructions.
Seeing with the Sky’s Eyes (Blood Sigils p.67) **Ingredients:** Euphoric mortal blood (usually from someone high on cannabis), incense, brazier, an effigy or photo of a target. **Process:** The caster drinks the euphoric blood, lights a mixture of their own Blood (one Rouse Check worth) and incense in a brazier, inhales it and falls into an ecstatic trance while studying the target image. **System:** After a half-hour of the trance, make the Ritual roll. On a win, the caster may ask the Storyteller one question about the target’s location and surroundings for every success rolled. On a critical win, the caster receives an additional three questions, and may ask about the target’s Ambition, Desire, Convictions, and Humanity in addition to any questions about the target’s location and whereabouts.
Seeking Tiamat (Blood Sigils p.68) **Ingredients:** A foot-long, sharpened piece of witch hazel or magnetized iron. **Process:** The caster jams the wood or iron into their forearm along the ulnar vein, causing themselves 1 point of Aggravated damage, and makes a Rouse Check. Then they must walk around the city or region for at least fifteen minutes. **System:** On a win, their arm begins twitching and pointing toward the closest furcus in the area; by changing their direction, intelligent casters can triangulate a location within a few minutes. On a critical win, the tool discovers the closest vein of the Earth, and points toward two furcae on that vein.
Sleep of Judas (Let the Streets Run Red p.77) **Ingredients: "**Blood" from a mystical landmark, opium. **Process:** The sorcerer distills and boils the blood of the Judas Tree until only a black tar-like substance remains. They mix this with an equal amount of opium, which can either be used as a paste or re-liquefied with no loss of effect. **System:** The sorcerer makes the Ritual roll when the target is drugged. On a normal success, the victim may oppose by rolling dice equal to their remaining undamaged Health boxes. A critical success immediately incapacitates a vampire and kills a mortal or ghoul. Sleep of Judas wears off after a number of hours equal to the success margin of their roll.
Soul of the Hemonculus (Blood Sigils p.68) **Ingredients:** Glass bottle blown on the night before the new moon, semen, chalk, graveyard dirt, the caster’s Blood, a dead man’s thumb, and a dead pig. **Process:** The caster puts the Blood and other ingredients in the glass bottle, corks it with the thumb, shakes well, and lets it sit in total darkness until the full moon. The bottle is then bathed in moonlight while the caster recites a short chant, before sewing it into the pig’s stomach. The caster buries the pig in consecrated ground, at least three feet deep, and makes the Ritual roll. If it succeeds, on the next new moon when the caster digs it up, the pig looks like a miniature version of them. The caster commands it to arise, and it must obey. **System:** Make the Ritual roll against the higher of 3 or the user’s Stamina: their very flesh resists this blasphemy. If the roll succeeds, the hemonculus quickens and births in a month. A hemonculus has its maker’s Attributes and the Skills from their mortal life, but each at one dot lower, to a minimum of 1, half the maker’s Health and one dot of Willpower. Hemonculi can’t become ghouls, be Embraced, or be Blood Bound, and any vampire who feeds on one gains no nourishment and finds the process repellent.
Stone of the True Form (Blood Sigils p.68) **Ingredients:** A hunk of metamorphic rock, such as slate or marble. **Process:** The caster must smooth, carve, or tumble the rock into a sphere somewhere between the size of a marble and a baseball. If they have a relevant Craft specialty, or access to a geology lab, they can make a test to do it in an hour; otherwise it takes six hours. The caster then coats the sphere in a Rouse Check worth of their boiling Blood and commands it to reveal in the oldest language they know. **System:** When the vampire throws the stone (Dexterity + Athletics) and hits something that is either an illusion, a being created by a Discipline or ritual (such as a Tzimisce’s vozhd or a hemonculus), or a shapeshifted being (either by Protean or by inherent means), the sorcerer rolls the Ritual roll versus the target’s Resolve + Occult. On a win, the illusion dispels in a spray of blood, the created being tears apart into its individual components, or the shapeshifter painfully shifts into its original form. This unveiling effect lasts for one round. Any margin equals the dice penalty to the illusion resuming, creation repair, or next shapeshifting attempt. On a failure, the caster may try again until sunrise, assuming they can recover the stone without being slaughtered. Once the ritual succeeds, the stone breaks in half and cannot be reused.
Trespass (Blood Sigils p.69) **Ingredients:** Fragment of the desired location’s cornerstone or doorstep, the blood of a thief, thread. **Process:** The caster ties one end of the thread around the fragment of cornerstone and soaks both in the blood. They then chant an efficacious prayer to Hermes or Set — the traditional patrons of the Trespass ritual — or any other spirit or deity associated with trespass. The caster wraps the thread about the trespasser’s body, starting at the heel and ending around the forehead. **System:** The ritual lasts for as long as the thread remains wet with blood (one scene, or about 30 minutes). When the vampire attempts to actually enter the building, make the Ritual roll. On a win, the caster enters without problem. With a Willpower spend, they can flow through air vents, cracks under doors, or anywhere else liquid blood could flow. On a critical win, they don’t need to spend Willpower to flow through such cracks, and gain an intuitive knowledge of the structure’s layout. On a total failure, the building itself rejects the caster. Everyone passing by gains two dice to their pools to notice and suspect the trespasser, who takes Superficial Health damage equal to the number of failed dice in that pool every turn they remain in the building.
The Unseen Change (The Chicago Folios p.172) **Ingredients:** Wolf blood, Kindred vitae, a silver jug. **Process:** The caster mixes Kindred vitae with wolf’s blood and pours the mixture from a silver jug around a specific area. This can be as small as a meter or large enough to encircle a house. **System:** The caster makes three Rouse checks to summon the blood necessary for the ritual and marks out a closed area with a mixture of Kindred vitae and wolf’s blood. A successful Ritual test forces all Lupines crossing the threshold defined by the caster to automatically transform into their Lupus form, unless they succeed on a contested Willpower test against the casters Intelligence + Blood Sorcery or the number of successes scored on the initial ritual roll (if year-long). The ritual dissipates at dawn unless the initial ritual roll is made at +2 to difficulty. If successful, the ritual lasts a year and a day. A Critical Win doubles the number of successes the Lupine needs on its roll to defeat the ritual. The Unseen Change forces the target Lupine into their form as a normal wolf, denying them the raw power of their dreaded half-wolf form.
Viral Haruspex (Blood Sigils p.69) **Ingredients:** Live rhinoviruses in caster’s Blood, a rat, a bowl or dish. Plague oracles love to use stainless steel surgical bowls for their rituals, but that’s not a hard requirement. **Process:** The caster mingles a Rouse Check worth of their Blood in the bowl with the brains of the rat and stirs it up widdershins. The vampire then drinks the blood while staring into the dish. **System:** A win on the Ritual roll produces a vague impression of the sought data, overlapping or echoey if more than one sick mortal is looking at or listening to the target. For factual knowledge, the information flows into the caster’s head: “That store was on 19th Street but it closed in 2009 when the owner got divorced.” More successes over the Difficulty provide more complete vision, knowledge, or other results.
## Level 4
The Balm of Bathory (Tattered Facade p.94-95) **Ingredients:** One cup of vitae from the sorcerer, one pint of blood from a youthful victim (or victims) of clear complexion (the needed amount doubles per brewing, see below), chamomile flowers, and shea butter or sheep’s fat; optional essential oils for scent **Process:** The sorcerer collects their own Blood and that of their victim in a heat-resistant container, adding the other ingredients while stirring and heating up the mixture. While brewing the mixture, the sorcerer concentrates on how it will perfect their imperfections, making them young and beautiful. Some believe it strengthens the balm if the victim suffers as much as possible when their blood is drawn. **System:** Make the Ritual test before taking the mixture off the heat. On a win, the balm emulsifies into a smooth and fragrant blend that can be used directly on the skin or dissolved in bath water. It remains effective for a week past brewing, as long as it’s applied regularly. The user gains the temporary effect of the Stunning Advantage (Core, p.179) This effect supersedes any innate Beautiful or Stunning Advantage possessed by the user and is not cumulative with these. However, the use of the Balm of Bathory can be highly addictive and the amount of mortal blood required doubles per brew. (The eighth brew requires 128 pints, enough blood to fill a small bathtub, but the amount does not increase afterward.) The first batch of the balm has no side effects, but after the second batch, the balm turns toxic on the user’s flesh past the first week. They suffer 1 Superficial damage worth of necrotic flesh wounds nightly, affecting any part of their body exposed to the balm, until they either brew another batch or until they go without the balm for one month per batch brewed.
Compel the Inanimate (Blood Sigils pp.69-70) **Ingredients:** Any inanimate object. **Process:** The caster smears a glyph on an inanimate object with one Rouse Check’s worth of their Blood and gives the object a quick order. After the caster’s Blood dries on its surface (about five minutes), the object carries out the order to its best ability. **System:** A win on the Ritual roll allows the object to understand their order as the caster intended it. A critical win allows for one additional order, which does not have to be carried out at the exact same time as the first order but must be carried out before the night’s end. Orders must be simple commands, not complex sentences: fall over, crash, or erase your databanks. Objects do not have concepts of time and cannot easily recognize individual people, so orders concerning a specific time or person cannot be carried out perfectly. The caster must be in the same relative environment as the object when the order is carried out, such as a caster ordering a lamppost in a park to shut off must still be in the park, a caster who commands a museum suit of armor to tumble must be in that museum, etc. Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can detect the caster with a contest of Wits + Auspex vs. the caster’s Composure + Blood Sorcery.
Defense Of The Sacred Haven (Core pp.279-280)*
Egregore Consultation (Blood Sigils p.70) **Ingredients:** Live influenza viruses in caster’s Blood,worms, flukes, or other parasites, a knife, a magnet. **Process:** The caster chops up the worms with the knife and smears them on the magnet. Holding the magnet in their left hand and facing north, they intone the ritual chant. **System:** The sorcerer picks a Skill they wish to enhance before making the Ritual roll. On a win, the next three times the plague oracle uses that Skill in a pool, they get a dice bonus equal to one plus their margin on the Ritual test. If the Storyteller decides the Skill is only somewhat uncommon, add a die to that bonus; if the skill is very common, add two dice. On a critical win, add a free Specialty or another bonus die if the caster already has the desired Specialty. For example, a Tremere in Cairo hunted by an Islamic anti-vampire society could use this to speed her research in this ancient center of learning. She rolls six successes: a margin of 1 plus 1 die, plus 1 more die for the numerous fluey scholars in the area. She gets three dice to add to her next three Academics rolls. She could similarly play the stock market with Finance in New York or Shanghai, or get off a crack shot or three in Dallas.
Eyes Of The Nighthawk (Core p.280) **Ingredients:** The eyes of the bird used, taken at the conclusion of the Ritual. **Process:** The caster feeds their Blood to the bird and enters a trance. **System:** On a winning Ritual roll the caster can control the bird and see through its eyes. On a critical win, the bird can perform simple actions under control, such as picking up objects or manipulating keys or dials. The caster can use most non-physical Disciplines through the bird, even Dominate assuming the caster has Telepathy (Core, p.252) or some other way to communicate with targets non-verbally. There is no limit to the range the bird can fly, though unless the caster plucks the eyes out of the bird at the end of the night they themselves suffer blindness for three nights to come.
Feast of Ashes (Players Guide p.101) **Ingredients:** A piece of parchment with the name of the target written on it and burned, and ashes from the burned scroll. **Process:** The caster writes the name of their target on a piece of parchment and burns it. They collect the ashes and use their own Blood mixed with the ashes to write the sigils required to perform the Ritual. **System:** Make a Ritual roll versus the target’s Resolve + Willpower. On a successful roll, the target cannot consume blood for one night, vomiting it up as if it were mortal food and drink. Only ashes sate their Hunger and cannot bring it lower than 3, though few victims think of eating ashes unless told of the spell.
Galvanic Ruination (Sabbat: The Black Hand p.51) **Ingredients:** A copper coin **Process:** The caster smears their Blood on the coin, drops it to the ground and grinds their foot on it, as if they were extinguishing a cigarette. If the Ritual is successful, the coin shatters like porcelain as a Blood-borne current ravages the electrical systems of the surrounding area. **System:** The Ritual instantly wrecks wiring in the vicinity to the extent that all electrical equipment ceases to function. This includes isolated circuits such as cars on batteries and any backup generators running or starting up within a minute of the casting. The area affected is equivalent to a large warehouse or a three-story building, though it can be extended at casting by adding a level of Difficulty for each additional building or building-equivalent. On a critical win the outage is relatively discreet, but will otherwise cause at least one fire, together with random bursts of static electricity raising hell with speakers, car alarms, and other loud electrical objects.
Guided Memory (Players Guide p.102) **Ingredients:** The vitae of another vampire, dried rosemary, and fresh poppies or forget-me-nots. **Process:** The sorcerer burns the flowers and rosemary, blending the ashes with the donated vitae, then drinks the Blood. **System:** The sorcerer selects a Memoriam goal (Core, p.312), or one of the goals below: • A Level 1 Discipline power; a one-dot Merit\ •• A Level 2 Discipline power; a two-dot Merit\ ••• A Level 3 Discipline power; a three-dot Merit The power may be encountered during the Memoriam, or the memory itself deals with the donor learning the power. The Merit may emerge from a similar circumstance, or result from the character unlocking some secret or potential in the past. While the player may pursue a specific power or Merit, the Storyteller is the final judge of which gift they gain. All gifts of guided Memoriam fade as new native memories overlay these resurfaced and imported ones. They last until the end of the session, or (if the guided Memoriam happened at the end of the session) until the end of the next one. **Powers** This power is independent of the sorcerer’s other powers and does not count against the limit of powers they can possess in a single Discipline, although they still need to fulfill the Discipline rating requirement. This power cannot be used as a requirement to learn another power, but a character could gain an Amalgam power temporarily if they already knew the other prerequisite power. **Merits** Merit dots cannot be spread among different Merits or added to existing Merits the player character may already have. **Entering the Guided Memoriam** A guided Memoriam follows all of the same rules as a standard Memoriam except the Kindred donating the Blood and memories rolls the required Rouse check. The donor remains present throughout the scene as a spiritual or disembodied presence or guide that only the Kindred experiencing the Memoriam can interact with. Everyone experiencing the guided Memoriam must partake of the offered Blood. Walking through another Kindred’s memories is a particularly unnatural experience and inflicts penalties based on how far back in time the journey delves. The Blood offered by the Kindred donor is always considered a deep drink (Core, p.312) and the bonuses supplied from that usually offset some of these penalties. **Additional Guided Memoriam Modifiers** * The scene takes place during or after your mortal life: lose one die * The scene takes place less than a century before your mortal life: lose two dice * The scene takes place one or two centuries before your mortal life: lose four dice * The scene takes place three or more centuries before your mortal life: lose six dice
Incorporeal Passage (Core p.280)*
Innocence of the Child's Heart (The Chicago Folios pp.172-173) **Ingredients:** A toy belonging to a mortal child. **Process:** The caster must acquire the toy of an innocent mortal child and use the ritual to mystically infuse it with the power of their Kindred vitae, drawing the child’s innocence into their aura. The caster must then carry the toy on their person to mask themselves from the powers of Auspex. **System:** The caster makes a Rouse Check and makes their Ritual test. Upon success, the caster’s aura is altered to a brilliant white, untainted by vampirism. Auspex users employing Scry the Soul on the caster will perceive their aura as white until the effects of the ritual dissipate, unless they make a contested roll between their Intelligence + Auspex versus the caster’s Intelligence + Blood Sorcery + four dice. The ritual lasts one night unless the ritual test is made at +2 to difficulty which extends it to a year and a day. A Critical Win doubles the ritual’s duration. Note that there is no recorded instance of Nicolai sharing this ritual with his fellow Tremere and can only be learned by capturing Nicolai’s notes or via other method of the Storyteller’s determination.
Innocence’s Veil (Gehenna War pp.48-49) **Ingredients:** A silver knife, a white candle, a mortal victim **Process:** The ritualist stokes their Hunger (usually through fasting or bloodletting) until they are at the verge of frenzy (Hunger 5), then slakes their Hunger on a mortal, draining them completely. **System:** If the ritual is successful, signs of diablerie on the user cease to manifest. Powers such as A Taste for Blood or Scry the Soul do not detect any evidence the ritualist has committed diablerie in the past. **Duration:** Until the ritualist slakes their Hunger again.
Invisible Chains of Binding (Players Guide pp.101-102) **Ingredients:** A link of chain **Process:** The sorcerer inscribes the sigils on the chain using their own Blood. The process takes an hour, at which point the chain link can be concealed on their person to be used on a target at a later time, at which point the chain is thrown at their feet. **System:** When throwing the prepared link at a target the user makes a Ritual roll against the target’s Strength + Resolve. The target is unable to move from the spot for one hour per success in the margin as long as the chain link remains intact and within three yards / meters of them. A bound target suffers a four-dice penalty to any physical defense tests as well as to brawl and melee actions. The chain link corrodes to dust at the end of the Ritual’s effect.
Land’s Sustenance (Blood Sigils pp.70-71) **Ingredients:** A place of power such as a furcus, anything that demarcates a territory such as police tape, a sign post, an enclosed space, etc., a dagger. **Process:** Over four nights, the caster uses a dagger to carve occult symbols into the corner of a plot of land or the corners of a wall within a place of power, one corner for each night. On the fifth night, the caster must stain all these symbols with half of a Rouse Check’s worth of blood, circumventing the entire location and staining them before the night ends. With the other half, the vampire stains something that demarcates the territory they’ve carved out and places it either around the area (if it’s something like police tape) or in a corner of the area (if it’s something like a sign). **System:** On a win, the land the vampire marked off hungers. A simple cut turns into a laceration. An otherwise harmless fall breaks necks. In general, injuries and accidents become bloodier. As the land sups on the blood of innocents, the benefits mystically pass on to the caster. Once per session, the caster may choose to automatically pass a number of Rouse Checks equal to their margin on the Ritual test. This ritual lasts until the end of the story. After that, the caster must recoat the symbols with a Rouse Check and a Ritual roll.
Protean Curse (The Chicago Folios pp.173-174) **Ingredients:** A vial of rabid vampire bat blood, Kindred vitae. **Process:** The target must drink a vial of blood from a rabid vampire bat, mixed with Kindred vitae. **System:** The caster makes a Rouse Check and mixes one Hunger worth of their blood with the blood of a rabid vampire bat and gives it to the target to drink. The ritual is cast, and upon a successful ritual roll vs. the target’s Stamina + Occult roll, the target is transformed into a bat per the Metamorphosis ability of the Protean Discipline. The target may elect to resist this transformation. If the target rolls more successes than the ritual’s practitioner, they prevent the transformation, while their Dramatic Failure can leave them in a horrifically deformed, half-human, half-bat state. The ritual can be cast on both Kindred and humans and lasts for a full evening or until the caster dispels the ritual via a successful ritual test. The duration of Protean Curse can be extended by making a Rouse Check and a successful ritual roll at the beginning of each night the caster wants to maintain the ritual. A Critical Win for the practitioner doubles the duration of Protean Curse.
Rending the Sweet Earth (The Chicago Folios p.173) **Ingredients:** A leather whip, Kindred vitae. **Process:** The caster locates the exact spot a user of Protean sank into the earth using Earth Meld. They then slit their palm, smearing vitae on the point of entry and repeatedly strike the ground with a leather whip. **System:** The caster makes a Rouse Check and a ritual test. Upon success, a 10-foot by 10-foot chasm opens, leading to the subterranean resting place of a vampire in an Earth Melded state. The ritual automatically awakens the target vampire if they are asleep, but will not do so if they are in torpor. A Critical Win opens the chasm without waking the target.
Riding the Earth’s Veins (Blood Sigils p.71) **Ingredients:** A furcus, a physical sign of entrance such as a ticket, key, or doorknob. **Process:** At the furcus, the caster bathes the sign of entrance in a Rouse Check’s worth of Blood while singing praises to a deity or famous figure representing escape, travel, or the wind. Traditionally, this ritual calls upon the Mesopotamian god Enlil. After ten minutes, pour the Blood on the ground. **System:** Make no Ritual roll until the vampire touches the soil (or floor) of their chosen furcus with their physical sign of entrance. On a win, the caster dissolves into a bloody mist, drawn into the Earth’s veins and reincorporated twenty minutes later at a furcus of the Storyteller’s choosing. On a critical win, they arrive at the nearest furcus to their Haven or to a place of power attuned to the caster by Tiamat Glistens (Blood Sigils, p.64). This ritual is one-way, and only activates at the specific furcus where the sorcerer first cast it.
Seek the Gathered Vitae (Live From the Succubus Club p.29) **Ingredients:** A mixture of fine red ink and pomegranate juice, bright white paper or cloth, and a large top **Process:** The ritualist sets their mind to find a strong concentration of vitae, then sets the top to spin upon the white cloth or parchment before pouring the mix of ink and juice on the spinning top. **System:** The sorcerer makes the Ritual test and learns of any concentration of Kindred within a one-block radius that has a total Blood Potency of over 13 or higher (a large gathering of neonates, or a few elders) within 3 miles (5km), plus one mile (1.5km) per point of the margin. For the next hour, the successful ritualist has a sense of the location and distance to any such gathering of Kindred.\ At the Storyteller’s discretion, ghouls count as a quarter point of Blood Potency, while Duskborn count as half a point.
Web of Hunger (Fall of London p.31) **Ingredients:** A weapon that has been used to kill at least a dozen mortals. **Process:** To perform the ritual, you must have six accomplices representing your own allies and organization which in itself must be over 50 people strong. You prick the tongues with the ritual implement of each accomplice while muttering the ritual incantation. **System:** If the ritual is successful, the vampire can resist the pull of the Beckoning for another month.
## Level 5
Antebrachia Ignium (Players Guide pp.102-103) **Ingredients:** Sufficient vitae (from any vampire) to coat the caster’s arms up to the elbows, and a source of flame (such as a lighter). **Process:** The vampire immerses their arms in the blood and withstands the urge to feed or Frenzy. After extracting their arms, exposure to flame ignites the vitae rather than the vampire it coats. The vampire can then go on to set targets alight using the fire on their skin. **System:** If the user is at Hunger 4 or more, make a Hunger Frenzy test at Difficulty 3 to avoid draining the ingredients. At any point during the night they may expose the vitae to fire and make a Ritual roll. Any success ignites flames on the vampire’s hands and arms, a spectacular display provoking a Terror Frenzy test (Difficulty 2) in all nearby vampires except the caster. They may touch others with Dexterity + Brawl in physical combat to inflict two Aggravated Health damage. Entering a grapple ignites the both combatants’ clothes, continuing the damage each turn until they make a Composure + Survival roll (Difficulty 3) to smother the burn. The caster is only resistant to flame on their arms, and burns as usual elsewhere. The fiery arms extinguish when the caster wills it or when the scene ends.
Atrocity's Release (Gehenna War p.49) **Ingredients:** Human reproductive organs thinly sliced, moss or a sea sponge, and scrapings of bezoar. **Process:** The performer must first create a number of poultices from the ingredients, something that takes at least one night to prepare, disregarding the time it takes to procure the components. Then, the sorcerer presses the ritually prepared poultices to a series of deep cuts on their target’s body, drawing out the stolen Blood. The Blood-soaked poultices are then burnt, their ashes left exposed to the sunrise. **System:** An unwilling target may resist with Resolve + Blood Potency, the Ritual’s Difficulty counting as the greater of the target’s successes or the standard difficulty. If successful, The Ritual reverses the most recent instance of diablerie that the target has committed, including changes to Blood Potency, Disciplines, or personality, though not Humanity. Even if the ritual is successful, the spirit of the previous victim of the diablerie remains destroyed. On a total failure, the target’s essence is destroyed instead, the victim becoming effectively possessed by their latest diablerie victim.
Dominion (Players Guide p.103) **Ingredients:** Seal made of iron embedded over every doorway in the building. **Process:** The ritual takes three hours to cast. During this time, the caster must be embedding iron seals over every doorway, consecrating them with their own vitae, and carving sigils on the doors. **System:** Upon a successful Ritual roll, the Blood sorcerer stops any uses of Animalism, Auspex, Dominate, or Presence except by themselves. Any uses of the Disciplines within the building still cause any Rouse checks to occur, though the amount of Blood spent to perform the Ritual varies – from Rouse Check for an apartment up to five for a large manor. The Ritual lasts indefinitely but can be broken by the destruction of at least one seal.
Foundation of the Chantry (Courts of the Damned pp.216-217) **Ingredients:** A polished sphere of amethyst, a white or albino mammal or bird indigenous to the region, and a human skull **Process:** The user brings the Blood to a boil and speaks a brief incantation while it boils. **System:** The gem and skull are bound to a spiritually significant location and become the Foundation of the Chantry. As long as the Foundation remains in place, the caster or their designee (who must be present to participate in the rite) can receive missives from the [Rite of Introduction](#rite-of-introduction-courts-of-the-damned-p.216). The caster knows whenever the Rite of Introduction is performed within the same city as the Foundation but must touch it to receive the introduction. Upon doing so, they may send a signal back to the caster of the Rite of Introduction, consisting of an impression of their name, face, the location of the chantry, and a single-sentence message. As with the Rite of Introduction, the caster can choose to withhold, but not obscure, any of the above. The Ritual lasts until the Foundation is disturbed.
Eden's Bounty (Cults of the Blood Gods p.56) **Ingredients:** A dead body, a living tree, one fresh apple, one rotten apple. **Process:** The vampire lays a dead body (age of the corpse is immaterial) at the foot of a tree and places the healthy apple in the corpse’s mouth, followed by the rotten apple into the vampire’s. If the apple does not fit in the corpse’s mouth, the caster may hammer it in, dislocate the jaw, or otherwise rend the throat open, so long as it fits. As the body rapidly merges with the tree’s roots and trunk, blood from mortals up to 1 mile/kilometer away drains into the earth and out through the rotten apple in the vampire’s mouth, sating Hunger. **System:** The player makes a Ritual roll following the placement of the corpse and the apples. On a win, the vampire’s Hunger is slaked to one, despite any Blood Potency feeding penalties. On a critical win, the vampire’s Hunger is slaked to zero without killing. On a total failure, the vampire falls into a hunger frenzy. Depending on the number of kine in the Ritual area and the type of kine nearby, Stains may accrue; for example vampires with a Prey Exclusion (Core, p.181) may suffer Stains if this Ritual is used in an area heavily populated by their excluded class of mortal, whereas varied groups with more kine to draw from are less likely to bear an ethical cost. A lot of blood is wasted with this Ritual, as all the mortals in the area lose a little blood to the earth, though the loss is not visible. For the remainder of the chapter, those kine suffer a one-die penalty to all Physical rolls and 1 Aggravated Health damage.
Elemental Attack (Blood Sigils pp.71-72) **Prerequisite:** [Koldunic Sorcery](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#koldunic-sorcery-level-1-blood-sigils-p.61) **Ingredients:** A weapon representing or made from the element, such as a wooden club, an icicle, a meteoric iron knife, a torch, etc. **Process:** Wielding the weapon, the koldun opens their initiation scar and makes a Rouse Check while commanding the element to attack a target the koldun perceives. Magical perception counts for this purpose. **System:** On a win, the element attacks the target. If the element is already awake during the casting (commanding air during a thunderstorm, for instance), the koldun adds one die to their Ritual pool. The target takes one point of Aggravated Health damage per success, and the same damage again every round afterward until they win an appropriate escape contest (e.g., Dexterity + Athletics) vs. the koldun’s Resolve + Blood Sorcery. Excepting fire, the elements only do Superficial damage to vampires, but they may still bury them, carry them away in a flood or tornado, etc. On a critical win, the element attacks every suitable target at the caster’s discretion within sight of the main target. The effect continues until the koldun does anything else besides command the elements: fight, move, make any other skill roll, etc. **Chain:** When chained with Elemental Grasp (Blood Sigils, p.62) and Tiamat Glistens (Blood Sigils, p.64), this ritual unleashes a nigh-apocalyptic elemental effect: earthquake, tsunami, tornado, magma flow, etc. Damage doubles to the targets, but collateral damage gets wildly out of hand, and continues until the kolduny stop casting.
Escape to True Sanctuary (Core pp.279-280) **Ingredients:** Two charred circles of approximately a meter in diameter. **Process:** The caster burns the circles into the ground or floor with an open flame, then consecrates each circle. Consecration requires two hours of chanting per night and two Rouse Checks, for three consecutive nights. In total, this ritual takes twelve Rouse Checks worth of Blood from the caster. **System:** Once the circles are complete the caster need but step into the one designated for departure and concentrate for a turn, making a Ritual roll. (The caster makes the Ritual roll each time they attempt to travel, but can only make one attempt per scene.) On a win the caster vanishes, reappearing in an instant in the middle of the exit circle. There is no limit to the distance between the two circles, but they must be inscribed on the ground or on the floor of a building, not on the floor of a vehicle. The caster can transport one person or an object or objects totaling roughly human mass with them. Damaging either circle ruins the ritual completely and renders both circles inert. A vampire can only have one pair of these circles functional at any given time.
Fisher King (Blood Sigils pp.72-73) **Ingredients:** A landmark representing a region, dirt from the region, a horse-hair paintbrush **Process:** The vampire blends a Rouse Check’s worth of blood with dirt from the region they wish to observe. With the blend, the sorcerer paints magical symbols on a landmark important to the land’s inhabitants. **System:** On a win, the caster develops a mental connection to the land. Once per session, the sorcerer may make a Wits + Streetwise (if urban or suburban) or Wits + Survival (if rural) test. For each success, the Storyteller truthfully answers one question the player has about the land: its greatest threat, does an enemy reside there, the Resonance of its inhabitants’ blood, etc. This ritual lasts until the end of the story, during which the caster may ask one more question per session. After that, the caster must replenish their symbols, making another Rouse Check and Ritual roll to renew it. **Chain:** When chained with Land’s Sustenance (Blood Sigils, p.64) and Compel the Inanimate (Blood Sigils, p.69), the coterie has almost total control over the place of power and its surrounding area. They have near-omniscience over the land, with three free questions about it per session, per caster. The land’s structures or trees watch and warn the casters of hostile approach, unless magically disguised or shielded. While on the land, the casters can mend up to 5 points of Aggravated damage per night, total (split between the casters on a first-come, first-serve basis).
Heart of Stone (Core p.281) **Ingredients:** A stone slab and a wax candle drenched with the Blood of the caster. **Process:** The caster lies on the stone slab with the candle on their chest letting it burn down to nothing over the course of a night. As the fire reaches their chest, it causes one point of Aggravated damage and forces a terror frenzy roll (Difficulty 3). If the caster fails the frenzy roll, the ritual ends. If the caster does not enter frenzy, they make the Ritual roll. On a win the ritual completes; a critical win heals the candle-fire damage. The effect persists indefinitely, and should the caster wish to reverse the process they must repeat the ritual. **System:** While under the effect of the ritual, the caster’s heart is literally made of stone. Stakes fail to penetrate it, breaking if forced. The caster also exhibits a complete emotional detachment, subtracting three dice from any Remorse rolls as well as active (not resisting) Social-related rolls, except for Intimidation and Dominate. The caster cannot employ Presence but gains three bonus dice to pools used to resist the effects of that Discipline.
Reawakened Vigor (Gehenna War p.49) **Ingredients:** 5 or more Rouse Checks worth of the sorcerer’s vitae, a finely crafted ceramic receptacle, molten lead **Process:** The sorcerer pours their vitae into the receptacle, stoppers it with lead and bloody sigils, and buries it in a place of power. **System:** The Sorcerer places at least 5 Rouse Checks worth of Blood into the receptacle. They may stop to feed while enacting this Ritual, but the ritual fails if interrupted for more than an hour, meaning any vessels needed to slake Hunger must be kept close at hand. On completing the task, the vampire crafts a rust-colored orb containing a small amount of their concentrated vitae. If this vitae is consumed (and on a successful ritual test), it restores one point of Blood Potency lost due to Torpor. For each success in the margin, another lost point of Blood Potency can be restored. If no Blood Potence has been lost to torpor, the ritual has no effect on the user. Any vampire other than the ritualist drinking the essence must test Stamina + Blood Sorcery or Fortitude against a difficulty of 6. For each point of margin of failure, they suffer one Aggravated Health damage. A sorcerer can only have one active use of this ritual cast at a time, and it loses potency at dawn once unearthed.
Shaft of Belated Dissolution (Core pp.281-282) **Ingredients:** A stake carved of rowan wood, inscribed with baneful runes. **Process:** The caster drenches the stake with two Rouse Checks worth of their Blood, while blackening it in an oak-wood fire while reading incantations over it. The ritual takes five hours to complete. **System:** This stake confers a three-dice bonus to any pool on any attempt to stake a vampire, whether hammered in while the victim sleeps, wielded in melee, or fired from a crossbow. The caster need not wield the stake themselves. If the attack roll wins with a margin of five or better, the vampire withers to dust in a single turn as if consumed by an invisible fire. If the stake hits, but the roll has insufficient margin (under five) to pierce the heart, the stake breaks off in the wound, the tip burying itself as it slowly begins to inch its way toward the heart of the victim. Depending on where it struck this can take hours or nights, but unless extracted by medical or mystical means, Final Death is assured. To remove it surgically someone other than the victim needs to win a roll of Dexterity + Medicine (Difficulty 6) in a process that takes up to four hours. If no medical expertise can be found, someone can remove the splinter by severing the afflicted limb – unless the splinter has already reached the torso.
## Aapilu Awakening
Aapilu Awakening (Tattered Facade p.92) **Ingredients:** A pentagram or other sigil inscribed on the floor, a burning brazier, a wooden wand, lit candles at the points of the pentagram, the aapilu’s True Name **Process:** The sorcerer chants the aapilu’s True Name and visualizes the hideous actions they seek to accomplish while draining a Rouse Check’s worth of their Blood into the brazier. They then dip the wand into the brazier, drawing symbols into the pentagram in burning Blood while completing the True Name. **System:** With a win on the Ritual test, the aapilu appears, open to negotiation: this may take the form of a Social contest, an opening offer, or any other process the Storyteller wishes. Unless offended or angered, the aapilu does not attack the sorcerer. With a critical win on the Ritual test, the sorcerer binds the aapilu (for the time being) and can make a take-it-or-leave-it offer with no further test needed. Bound aapilum do not attack the sorcerer unless the pentagram breaks. If the sorcerer’s Blood Sorcery rating exceeds the bound creature’s Aapilu Level, they can also command it to possess a target (present, or through an image, hair, or other magical connection), set something on fire anywhere in the city besides sacred ground, answer an occult question, or perform some other minor service. (One service per dot of Blood Sorcery.) The sorcerer can dismiss a bound aapilu at any time. On a failure, the aapilu seemingly doesn’t manifest. It might have seeped into the world for its own purposes, with its actions magically traceable back to the sorcerer. On a total failure, the aapilu attacks the summoner. Regardless of the Ritual test outcome, the sorcerer gains one Stain per Aapilu Level sought. All aapilum depart at sunrise except those possessing mortals or animals; these remain until they accomplish their goals or the sorcerer’s instructions. The level of the Ritual to awaken a specific aapilu is the same as its Aapilu Level.
## Wards The Tremere employ Wards extensively, basing them on their Hermetic traditional sigils. Banu Haqim Wards usually involve gematriac or abjadic writing, rather than occult symbols, but the methodology remains the same in both cases. Wards consist of a glyph or line of script keyed to repel a single type of supernatural, called “the trespasser” in these rules. When touched, they cause something like an electric shock to the trespasser’s mind and body, imparting both physical burns and a sudden bout of sheer terror. The ward does not work on forced contact - a warded sword will not trigger the ward when striking a trespasser, but it will if a trespasser tries to pick it up. Wards can only cover a space about a meter across: for example, a caster cannot ward a whole car, but they can ward a steering wheel. The caster pours their Blood on the object to be warded, tracing the glyph in it with their bare finger. Once the caster wipes the Blood off, the ward becomes invisible. The Ward lasts until the warded object is physically destroyed or broken; the trespasser cannot do this. Do not make the Ritual roll until the first time the trespasser touches the Ward, triggering its effect. Gloves or other garments offer no protection. If the caster wins the Ritual test, the victim suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage. On a critical win, damage for this Ward is three points of Aggravated damage. The caster does not need to make the Ritual roll for each trespasser touching the Ward, only the first. Anyone affected who wants to touch the warded object again must spend a point of Willpower and then win a Stamina + Resolve test (Difficulty 4, or 7 for a critical-success Ward) to make the attempt.
Ward Against Ghouls, Level 1 (Core p.277) **Ingredients:** Nothing apart from the caster’s Blood. **Process:** The caster pours their Blood on the object to be warded, tracing the glyph in it with their bare finger. Once the caster wipes the Blood off, the ward becomes invisible. The Ward lasts until the warded object is physically destroyed or broken; the trespasser cannot do this. **System:** Do not make the Ritual roll until the first time the trespasser touches the Ward, triggering its effect. Gloves or other garments offer no protection. If the caster wins the Ritual test, the victim suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage. On a critical win, damage for this Ward is three points of Aggravated damage. The caster does not need to make the Ritual roll for each trespasser touching the Ward, only the first. Anyone affected who wants to touch the warded object again must spend a point of Willpower and then win a Stamina + Resolve test (Difficulty 4, or 7 for a critical-success Ward) to make the attempt. Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can detect a Ward with a contest of Intelligence + Auspex vs the caster’s Intelligence + Blood Sorcery.
Ward Against Spirits, Level 2 (Core p.278) **Ingredients:** A handful of salt (in some versions, a handful of brick dust) mixed with the Blood. **Process:** The caster mixes the salt or dust with their Blood and pours it on the object to be warded, tracing the glyph in it with their bare finger. Once the caster wipes the Blood off, the ward becomes invisible. The Ward lasts until the warded object is physically destroyed or broken; the trespasser cannot do this. **System:** Do not make the Ritual roll until the first time the trespasser touches the Ward, triggering its effect. Gloves or other garments offer no protection. If the caster wins the Ritual test, the victim suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage. On a critical win, damage for this Ward is three points of Aggravated damage. The caster does not need to make the Ritual roll for each trespasser touching the Ward, only the first. Anyone affected who wants to touch the warded object again must spend a point of Willpower and then win a Stamina + Resolve test (Difficulty 4, or 7 for a critical-success Ward) to make the attempt. Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can detect a Ward with a contest of Intelligence + Auspex vs the caster’s Intelligence + Blood Sorcery.
Ward Against Aapilum, Level 3 (Tattered Facade p.144) * **This ward will need to be workshopped first. It has an official mention in the book, but not a specific write up.** **Ingredients:** The aapilu's true name **Process:** A Blood Sorcerer who knows the true name of the aapilu originally summoned to become the Baali can create a Ward against it. This Ward does not work against any other Baali. If they intone the true name, they can also add two dice to any other Blood Sorcery pool used against that specific Baali. **System:** Do not make the Ritual roll until the first time the trespasser touches the Ward, triggering its effect. Gloves or other garments offer no protection. If the caster wins the Ritual test, the victim suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage. On a critical win, damage for this Ward is three points of Aggravated damage. The caster does not need to make the Ritual roll for each trespasser touching the Ward, only the first. Anyone affected who wants to touch the warded object again must spend a point of Willpower and then win a Stamina + Resolve test (Difficulty 4, or 7 for a critical-success Ward) to make the attempt. Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can detect a Ward with a contest of Intelligence + Auspex vs the caster’s Intelligence + Blood Sorcery.
Ward Against Lupines, Level 3 (Core p.279) **Ingredients:** A handful of silver dust mixed with the Blood. **Process:** The caster mixes their Blood with the silver powder and pours their Blood on the object to be warded, tracing the glyph in it with their bare finger. Once the caster wipes the Blood off, the ward becomes invisible. The Ward lasts until the warded object is physically destroyed or broken; the trespasser cannot do this. **System:** Do not make the Ritual roll until the first time the trespasser touches the Ward, triggering its effect. Gloves or other garments offer no protection. If the caster wins the Ritual test, the victim suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage. On a critical win, damage for this Ward is three points of Aggravated damage. The caster does not need to make the Ritual roll for each trespasser touching the Ward, only the first. Anyone affected who wants to touch the warded object again must spend a point of Willpower and then win a Stamina + Resolve test (Difficulty 4, or 7 for a critical-success Ward) to make the attempt. Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can detect a Ward with a contest of Intelligence + Auspex vs the caster’s Intelligence + Blood Sorcery.
Ward Against Cainites, Level 4 (Core p.280) **Ingredients:** Ash warm from a still-burning fire; casters risk terror frenzy, and cannot inscribe this Ward that night if they succumb to it. **Process:** The caster mixes their Blood with the hot ashes (Getting the ashes requires a frenzy check at Difficulty 2) and pours their Blood on the object to be warded, tracing the glyph in it with their bare finger. Once the caster wipes the Blood off, the ward becomes invisible. The Ward lasts until the warded object is physically destroyed or broken; the trespasser cannot do this. **System:** Do not make the Ritual roll until the first time the trespasser touches the Ward, triggering its effect. Gloves or other garments offer no protection. If the caster wins the Ritual test, the victim suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage. On a critical win, damage for this Ward is three points of Aggravated damage. The caster does not need to make the Ritual roll for each trespasser touching the Ward, only the first. Anyone affected who wants to touch the warded object again must spend a point of Willpower and then win a Stamina + Resolve test (Difficulty 4, or 7 for a critical-success Ward) to make the attempt. Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can detect a Ward with a contest of Intelligence + Auspex vs the caster’s Intelligence + Blood Sorcery.
## Warding Circles A Warding circle resembles a regular Ward, painted on the ground or floor. It requires three times the ritual ingredients of a regular Ward of the same type. Knowledge of one Ward does not convey knowledge of its corresponding Warding circle, or vice versa. Trespassers who attempt to cross a Warding circle suffer its effect. Unless the caster inscribes the Warding circle “pointing inward” around the trespasser in the first place, it does not block attempts to leave the circle. Its rules differ from regular Wards in a few respects: It costs three Rouse Checks worth of Blood to paint the circle and pentacles, which can cover up to a three-meter radius. It takes one full night to cast and a Ritual roll made at the time (at +2 to Difficulty) if the caster wants it to last a year and a day; otherwise it dissipates at dawn. When the trespasser attempts to cross the circle, roll a contest of Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs the trespasser’s Willpower. (If the Storyteller or player wrote down the result of the original Ritual roll used to cast a year-long Warding circle, they can use that result here.) If the Warding circle fails, the trespasser can enter it. If the caster wins, the trespasser takes three points of Superficial Health damage (three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win) and cannot enter. The trespasser must spend a point of Willpower to attempt to enter the circle again. If the trespasser wins the contest, enters the circle and leaves it again, they must repeat their half of the contest (the caster’s initial result remains) to re-enter it.
Warding Circle Against Ghouls, Level 2 (Core p.278) **Ingredients:** The caster draws the Warding circle with a human bone dipped in three Rouse Checks worth of Blood. **Process:** The caster paints the circle and pentacles, which can cover up to a three-meter radius. It takes one full night to cast and a Ritual roll made at the time (at +2 to Difficulty) if the caster wants it to last a year and a day; otherwise it dissipates at dawn. **System:** When the trespasser attempts to cross the circle, roll a contest of Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs the trespasser’s Willpower. (If the Storyteller or player wrote down the result of the original Ritual roll used to cast a year-long Warding circle, they can use that result here.) If the Warding circle fails, the trespasser can enter it. If the caster wins, the trespasser takes three points of Superficial Health damage (three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win) and cannot enter. The trespasser must spend a point of Willpower to attempt to enter the circle again. If the trespasser wins the contest, enters the circle and leaves it again, they must repeat their half of the contest (the caster’s initial result remains) to re-enter it.
Warding Circle Against Spirits, Level 3 (Core p.279) **Ingredients:** The caster draws the Warding circle with an iron knife dipped in salt and Blood. **Process:** The caster paints the circle and pentacles, which can cover up to a three-meter radius. It takes one full night to cast and a Ritual roll made at the time (at +2 to Difficulty) if the caster wants it to last a year and a day; otherwise it dissipates at dawn. **System:** When the trespasser attempts to cross the circle, roll a contest of Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs the trespasser’s Willpower. (If the Storyteller or player wrote down the result of the original Ritual roll used to cast a year-long Warding circle, they can use that result here.) If the Warding circle fails, the trespasser can enter it. If the caster wins, the trespasser takes three points of Superficial Health damage (three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win) and cannot enter. The trespasser must spend a point of Willpower to attempt to enter the circle again. If the trespasser wins the contest, enters the circle and leaves it again, they must repeat their half of the contest (the caster’s initial result remains) to re-enter it.
Warding Circle Against Aapilum, Level 4 (Tattered Facade p.144) * **This warding circle will need to be workshopped first. It has an official mention in the book, but not a specific write up.** **Ingredients:** The caster draws the Warding circle with a silver knife dipped in wolfsbane and Blood. **Process:** A Blood Sorcerer who knows the true name of the aapilu originally summoned to become the Baali can create a Ward (Level 3, Warding Circle Level 4) against it. This Ward does not work against any other Baali. If they intone the true name, they can also add two dice to any other Blood Sorcery pool used against that specific Baali. The caster paints the circle and pentacles, which can cover up to a three-meter radius. It takes one full night to cast and a Ritual roll made at the time (at +2 to Difficulty) if the caster wants it to last a year and a day; otherwise it dissipates at dawn. **System:** When the trespasser attempts to cross the circle, roll a contest of Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs the trespasser’s Willpower. (If the Storyteller or player wrote down the result of the original Ritual roll used to cast a year-long Warding circle, they can use that result here.) If the Warding circle fails, the trespasser can enter it. If the caster wins, the trespasser takes three points of Superficial Health damage (three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win) and cannot enter. The trespasser must spend a point of Willpower to attempt to enter the circle again. If the trespasser wins the contest, enters the circle and leaves it again, they must repeat their half of the contest (the caster’s initial result remains) to re-enter it.
Warding Circle Against Lupines, Level 4 (Core p.280) **Ingredients:** The caster draws the Warding circle with a silver knife dipped in wolfsbane and Blood. **Process:** The caster paints the circle and pentacles, which can cover up to a three-meter radius. It takes one full night to cast and a Ritual roll made at the time (at +2 to Difficulty) if the caster wants it to last a year and a day; otherwise it dissipates at dawn. **System:** When the trespasser attempts to cross the circle, roll a contest of Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs the trespasser’s Willpower. (If the Storyteller or player wrote down the result of the original Ritual roll used to cast a year-long Warding circle, they can use that result here.) If the Warding circle fails, the trespasser can enter it. If the caster wins, the trespasser takes three points of Superficial Health damage (three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win) and cannot enter. The trespasser must spend a point of Willpower to attempt to enter the circle again. If the trespasser wins the contest, enters the circle and leaves it again, they must repeat their half of the contest (the caster’s initial result remains) to re-enter it.
Warding Circle Against Cainites, Level 5 (Core p.282) **Ingredients:** The caster draws the Warding Circle with a rowan wand dipped in the mixture of ash from a still-burning fire and Blood. **Process:** The caster paints the circle and pentacles, which can cover up to a three-meter radius. It takes one full night to cast and a Ritual roll made at the time (at +2 to Difficulty) if the caster wants it to last a year and a day; otherwise it dissipates at dawn. **System:** When the trespasser attempts to cross the circle, roll a contest of Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs the trespasser’s Willpower. (If the Storyteller or player wrote down the result of the original Ritual roll used to cast a year-long Warding circle, they can use that result here.) If the Warding circle fails, the trespasser can enter it. If the caster wins, the trespasser takes three points of Superficial Health damage (three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win) and cannot enter. The trespasser must spend a point of Willpower to attempt to enter the circle again. If the trespasser wins the contest, enters the circle and leaves it again, they must repeat their half of the contest (the caster’s initial result remains) to re-enter it.
# Oblivion Ceremonies Unless otherwise noted, performing a Ceremony requires a Rouse Check, five minutes per level to cast, and a winning Resolve + Oblivion test (Difficulty = Ceremony level +1). Ceremonies usually require additional ingredients or sacrifices to mingle the caster’s vitae with. Unless otherwise stated the caster can only perform beneficial Ceremonies on themselves. Ghouls of Oblivion practitioners, or thin-bloods, can gain temporary access to Oblivion powers, but not to Ceremonies. Ceremonies each have a prerequisite Oblivion power. At character creation a player can choose one Level 1 Ceremony if they have at least one Oblivion power noted as a prerequisite for that Ceremony. Characters can buy new Ceremonies at the cost of the Ceremony’s level x 3 experience points, providing they meet the power prerequisite as well. Learning new Ceremonies during play requires both experience and time, as well as a teacher who knows the Ceremony already. Expect a Ceremony to take at least the square of its rating in weeks to learn. ## Level 1
Summon Spirit (Players Guide pp.92-93) **Prerequisite Power:** [The Binding Fetter](#the-binding-fetter-oblivion-1-players-guide-p.85) **Ingredients:** One of the targeted wraith’s fetters ([The Binding Fetter](#the-binding-fetter-oblivion-1-players-guide-p.85)), a photo or other visual depiction of the wraith or their signed name, and the caster’s vitae. **Process:** The necromancer pours their vitae over a wraith’s fetter, and studying the picture or signature, calls out the wraith’s name. The wraith feels their fetter’s call, and begins a journey from their location in the Underworld to that of the caster. Though geography has differing scales in the Underworld, a journey may still take several nights if the spirit is on the other side of the world. If the veil is thin enough in the summoning location, the wraith is pulled through the veil between worlds by the fetter’s strength. The summoned wraith is under no obligation to serve the vampire upon being called and may act with hostility if they feel the vampire is threatening their fetter. Alternatively, the wraith may be grateful for the summoning and the possibility of companionship. **System:** The caster daubs the fetter with their vitae and makes an Oblivion Ceremony roll. The wraith cannot pass through the veil if it’s impenetrable in the Ceremony location (Players Guide, p.88). Moving the fetter after the Ceremony doesn’t help, as the wraith’s ability to pass through the veil disappears if the fetter leaves the Ceremony site. The wraith disappears at the end of the scene unless a separate Ceremony is used to compel or bind them. Wraiths summoned in this way do not manifest physically, but as shadows on the walls, quavering silhouettes of their living selves, from which voices might emerge. Wraiths speak the same languages they did in life, unless they’ve gone to the trouble of learning new ones in the Underworld.
The Gift of False Life (Players Guide p.92) **Prerequisite Power:** [Ashes to Ashes](#ashes-to-ashes-oblivion-1-players-guide-p.85) **Ingredients:** A human body (or multiple bodies), a small concoction of blood, phlegm, and bile. **Process:** After applying the concoction to the corpse or corpses and performing the Ceremony, the affected bodies animate into a form of false life. They follow a single simple command from the vampire, providing the corpse is physically capable of performing it, such as “sweep the floor,” “hold this door shut,” or “walk around the house perimeter.” They have no ability to think or calculate, so conditional or complicated commands such as “attack the next person to walk through this archway,” “drive this car,” or “build a shack” do not work. They may be directed towards a specific target for attack or other action if the user points at the target. **System:** The vampire makes their Ceremony roll and upon a win they raise a number of corpses equal to their Oblivion rating, or the number of bodies they have prepared (whichever is lower). A critical win doubles their Oblivion rating for the purpose of determining corpses raised. The mindless corpse’s animation ends when it is destroyed or it concludes its task. These corpses do not defend themselves from attacks, and decay as normal; the Ceremony does not grant them any form of immunity to the elements or time.3 #### **Mindless Corpse Stat Block** ``` Standard Dice Pools: Physical 2, Social 0, Mental 0 Secondary Attributes: Health 4, Willpower 0 Exceptional Dice Pools: Intimidation 4 Special: Mindless corpses take Superficial and Aggravated damage in the same way as vampires, except they are immune to sunlight. They cannot heal or mend damage, and rot at least one Superficial Health damage each day. They cannot be mentally dominated or influenced as they are bound to their master. They do not react to motion, words, or interference from anyone but their reanimator. Mindless corpses may always contribute to Teamwork (Core, p.122) for menial labor such as digging, lifting, or pushing even if they lack Skills. General Difficulties: 2/1 ```
The Knowing Stone (Fall of London p.264) **Prerequisite Power:** [Ashes to Ashes](#ashes-to-ashes-oblivion-1-players-guide-p.85) or [The Binding Fetter](#the-binding-fetter-oblivion-1-players-guide-p.85) **Ingredients:** A stone from a church wall (or other holy site) and a cup of the caster’s vitae. **Process:** The caster pours vitae from their body into a vessel and then uses it to write out the true name of a deceased human on the consecrated stone. If the individual still exists as a ghost, their location becomes clear to the vampire. **System:** The vampire makes their Ceremony roll. On a win, if their target exists as a ghost, the vampire receives a vision of the ghost’s location. The vision can be accessed for the remainder of the scene.
Traveler's Call (Cults of the Blood Gods pp.93-94) **Prerequisite Power:** [Oblivion’s Sight](#oblivions-sight-oblivion-1-players-guide-p.85) **Ingredients:** The black book gifted to them following their indoctrination into the cult **Process:** By using the Traveler’s Call with their black book in hand and the name of another Shalimite in mind, a priest can send a ripple out across Oblivion, calling the target to their location. Unlike a true summoning, this power does not place a compulsion upon the victim, but does alert the Shalimite being contacted to the vampire’s current location through a repetitive, flashing vision of the scenery surrounding the calling Kindred. **System:** The cultist must possess their black book and know the name of another Shalimite. The vampire’s player makes a Ceremony roll. The contacted vampire can choose to ignore the call, but the flashing vision gives them −2 dice to all rolls involving concentration for the remainder of the scene, at which point the call disappears. A critical win by the vampire allows them to send a single-word message to their point of contact along with the vision.
## Level 2
Ashen Relic (The Book of Nod Apocrypha p.35) **Prerequisite Power:** [Ashes to Ashes](#ashes-to-ashes-oblivion-1-players-guide-p.85) or [Oblivion’s Sight](#oblivions-sight-oblivion-1-players-guide-p.85) **Ingredients:** The decaying body of a vampire, plus salt and herbs associated with embalming. **Process:** The concoction is applied to the body or body part of the destroyed vampire. Since the decay of the remains — especially supernatural features such as fangs — only takes a few minutes at most, a swift performance is essential. **System:** The player makes their Ceremony test. A win preserves one small body part, such as a finger bone or a fang, while three successes in the margin can preserve a femur or skull. Once created, the relic (usually in the form of a mummified hand, skull, femur, or desiccated eye) persists until destroyed or exposed to sunlight. At the Storyteller’s discretion, a particularly high roll or a critical success may grant the relic the power to persist despite sunlight.
Awaken the Homuncular Servant (Players Guide p.93) **Prerequisite Power:** [Where the Veil Thins](#where-the-veil-thins-oblivion-2-players-guide-pp.87-88) **Ingredients:** The required body part or animal carcass, the weapon used to sever/kill it, a small concoction of urine, fecal matter, and semen. **Process:** The caster coats a blade (or other device suited to the task) in a gross cocktail of bodily fluids, and uses it to cut the targeted appendage off its root limb or body, or kills the small animal (which cannot be larger than a small dog and cannot fly, regardless of whether it has wings). After massaging vitae into the target, it comes to life as a homuncular servant, unfailingly loyal to its master. **System:** The necromancer makes an Oblivion Ceremony roll and on a win gains a homuncular servant that spies, follows, or intimidates at the necromancer’s command. If it strays farther than 100 yards/meters from the vampire, it falls inert, only awakening again once the vampire enters that range. Otherwise, it remains active for a number of nights equal to the number of successes rolled. A critical win on the roll keeps the servant active forever, while a total failure destroys all components involved in the Ceremony. Most homunculi can scale walls, hop (even if it lacks the limbs to do so), and hide effectively, though individual variation is great and depends on the tasks it was created to perform. While it cannot speak or perform actions requiring deep thought, it can telepathically communicate single images, scents, or sounds to its creator. **Homuncular Servant Stat Block** ``` Standard Dice Pools: Physical 1, Social 0, Mental 1 Secondary Attributes: Health 3, Willpower 1 Exceptional Dice Pools: Athletics 4, Stealth 6; Intimidation 4 Special: Homuncular servants take Superficial and Aggravated damage in the same way as vampires, except they are immune to sunlight. They cannot heal or mend damage. They cannot be mentally dominated or influenced as they are bound to their master. They do not need eyes or ears to perceive everything around them as someone with unimpeded vision and hearing might. They can telepathically broadcast a single image per scene Standard Dice Pools: Physical 2, Social 0, Mental 0 Secondary Attributes: Health 4, Willpower 0 Exceptional Dice Pools: Intimidation 4 Special: Mindless corpses take Superficial and Aggravated damage in the same way as vampires, except they are immune to sunlight. They cannot heal or mend damage, and rot at least one Superficial Health damage each day. They cannot be mentally dominated or influenced as they are bound to their master. They do not react to motion, words, or interference from anyone but their reanimator. Mindless corpses may always contribute to Teamwork (Core, p.122) for menial labor such as digging, lifting, or pushing even if they lack Skills. General Difficulties: 2/1 to their master. General Difficulties: 3/1 ```
Blinding the Alloy Eye (Sabbat: The Black Hand p.52) **Prerequisite Power:** [Shadow Cast](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#shadow-cast-oblivion-2-players-guide-p.87) **Ingredients:** A small piece of aluminum mesh **Process:** The user spends a scene in isolation, contacting the spectre and bonding it to the aluminum mesh. The mesh is then placed in a light-proof container, to be taken out when the effect is to be activated. Once removed and attached to a visible piece of flesh or garment of the caster, the effect is initiated. **System:** Do not make a Ritual roll until the effect is activated. If possible, the result of the test should be kept secret from the player. If successful, cameras around the caster will end up scrambling their image, though they will pick up everything else normally. The effect lasts for a full scene, or until the mesh is removed.
Compel Spirit (Players Guide p.94) **Prerequisite Power:** [Where the Veil Thins](#where-the-veil-thins-oblivion-2-players-guide-pp.87-88) **Ingredients:** A wraith’s fetter, the caster’s vitae, and an item (or threat) sufficient to damage the fetter. **Process:** The vampire must be in close proximity to a wraith in order to use this Ceremony, typically through use of [Summon Spirit](#summon-spirit-players-guide-pp.92-93). The necromancer casts a handful of their own vitae in the wraith’s direction as they hold a destructive item to the fetter (a knife, a hammer, a gun, or potentially holding the fetter over a fire) or speak threatening words that the wraith believes. The vampire and wraith engage in a contest of wills. If the vampire wins, the wraith must serve as the vampire decrees, at least temporarily. On a loss, the vampire is left mentally debilitated and the fetter disappears from their grasp. **System:** Make an Oblivion Ceremony roll vs. the wraith’s Resolve + Composure. If the vampire has no way of physically threatening the fetter, also make a Manipulation + Intimidation roll (Difficulty equal to the wraith’s Resolve + Composure). If the necromancer wins both rolls, they can command the wraith to perform a number of moderately difficult tasks (spying, research, answering questions truthfully, etc.) equal to the number of successes rolled on the Ceremony roll. For every two successes, the vampire can instead command the wraith to perform a difficult task (such as attacking someone, doing something repugnant to the wraith’s sensibilities, etc.). On a critical win, the vampire can demand any action from the wraith, and it tries its best to complete the task. The wraith remains in the vampire’s service until the end of the chronicle or until it has fulfilled its master’s commands, at which point it returns to the Underworld with an eternal enmity for the necromancer. If the wraith wins either contest, the vampire suffers the margin in Superficial Health damage, and the wraith then re-enters the Underworld. The compulsion placed on the wraith ends immediately if the vampire attacks it. If the vampire harms the threatened fetter, the wraith suffers between one and three Aggravated Willpower damage (depending on the importance of the fetter) and the wraith is sent back to the Underworld to be tormented by, and possibly converted into, a murderous spectre (Core, p.377).
Maw of Ahriman (Blood-Stained Love p.152) **Ingredients:** A room that no light enters and is quiet as the grave. **Process:** The vampire performing the Ceremony contemplates the darkness and the silence, then unleashes their voice as loudly as possible, casting it out to make room for the darkness of the Abyss. **System:** The vampire’s player makes a Ceremony roll. The character’s mouth or another orifice becomes a void of inky blackness, destroying inanimate objects placed within in a matter of seconds. For the duration of the Ceremony, the character cannot speak if the power was used on the mouth, as it most commonly is. A bite attack deals 1 aggravated point of Willpower damage in addition to the fang damage. The vampire is unable to slake Hunger while this Ceremony is in effect, though, as any blood swallowed is annihilated. The Ceremony lasts until sunrise or the vampire cancels it. Canceling the Ceremony requires the character to pay in flesh: they must stick a small portion of their body into an orifice, dealing 1 point of Superficial damage which cannot be reduced in any way as a bit of flesh is consumed by the Abyss. It can be mended normally.
## Level 3
Craft Flesh Golem (Tattered Facade p.101) **Prerequisites:** [Aura of Decay](#aura-of-decay-oblivion-3-players-guide-p.88) or [Necrotic Plague](#necrotic-plague-oblivion-4-players-guide-pp.89-90) **Ingredients:** At least three dismembered adult-sized corpses, embalmed or otherwise relatively free of decay; sea-bed clay and copper dissolved in nitric acid; a brass or platinum burin or other engraving tool **Process:** This Ceremony must be carried out in a location with a split or extraordinary thinning in the Veil. The vampire stitches the corpse parts into a single golem, pouring the acid into the golem’s body along the patterns of spine, viscera, and veins. The final step is engraving the word of Power tzel in the golem’s mouth with the burin, and dripping the vampire’s vitae onto the word to control and charge it. This act draws shadows from the Abyss into the golem’s body and animates it. **System:** The stitched corpse can be assembled manually (with a successful Difficulty 3 Resolve + Medicine or Difficulty 4 Resolve + Crafts test) or with the aid of a successful Difficulty 2 [Fleshcrafting](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#fleshcrafting-protean-3--dominate-2-players-guide-pp.82-83) test while the bodies are alive and then turned into corpses. Make a Ceremony test once the prepared corpse is ready. A failure on either the preparation or ceremony test ruins the body parts and wastes the acid. On a total failure, the shadows break free from the golem and attack the vampire in a three-round contest of Intelligence + Oblivion (they have four dice in their pool), doing Aggravated Willpower damage with their wins. The flesh golem’s Strength equals the total margin of success on both the preparation and Ceremony tests. It obeys the orders of its creator until the word in its mouth is destroyed; if its creator enters torpor or otherwise becomes uncommunicative, it follows its last order.
Create Corpse Suit (Tattered Facade pp.101-102) **Prerequisite:** [Shadow Perspective](#shadow-perspective-oblivion-3-players-guide-p.89) or [Touch of Oblivion](#touch-of-oblivion-oblivion-3-players-guide-p.89) **Ingredients:** Sufficient skin of a mortal with Melancholy Resonance, fat of a mortal with Phlegmatic Resonance, waxed thread, any decorative elements desired\ Process: The vampire calls on the powers of Oblivion and their hands fill with shadows from the Abyss as they cut, treat, and sew their chosen garment. It’s considered best to do this work by candlelight. Once sewn, the vampire rubs the garment with the fat while speaking to it as a friend. **System:** The more successes the vampire has on the Ceremony test, the nicer the Corpse Suit will look. At the end of the Ceremony, the vampire must convince the now vaguely sentient Corpse Suit that it will be their new closest and most treasured companion, making a test of Manipulation + Persuasion or Subterfuge (depending on sincerity) at Difficulty 2. The Storyteller need not reveal whether the test has been successful. If the vampire fails to convince the suit, it waits for an opportunity to betray them. When the vampire dons the suit, they gain a Folkloric Bane and Folkloric Block flaw chosen by the Storyteller. A correctly functioning Corpse Suit attunes to subtle signs of danger and senses all types of curses, wards, and the presence of ill-willed monsters. Noticing when its maker is about to walk into danger, the suit makes their skin prickle as if stuck by many small needles — assuming they’re wearing it. A discontented suit occasionally times these warnings to put the wearer at risk. The suit never contains any money except what others place in it. **Duration:** The suit lasts forever, re-knitting any damage over the course of a night. It cannot be destroyed except with fire, Blood Sorcery, or Oblivion.
Fortezza Sindonica (Trails of Ash and Bone p.173) **Prerequisite Power:** [Where the Veil Thins](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#where-the-veil-thins-oblivion-2-players-guide-pp.87-88) **Ingredients:** Powdered bones, salt, a steel chain long enough to encircle the desired area, the caster’s vitae, a severed human finger, a metal basin. **Process:** The steel chain is laid along the circumference of the desired area, meeting and leaving no gaps. Mixing the ingredients into the basin, the caster dips their hands into the mixture, coating up to the wrist, and applies the mixture by hand along the chain at equidistant intervals. With a final sigil located in the center of the chain, the Ceremony is complete. Wraiths who attempt to cross the chain are dragged into a horrid momentary echo of physical form, often in states of torturous wailing terror. Wraiths so affected are temporarily visible to any casual onlooker, leading to terrifying tales of the appearance of screaming ghosts. **System:** This Ceremony costs three Rouse Checks instead of the usual one, but the caster does not make their Ceremony roll until a wraith attempts to cross the chain, triggering its effect. This Ceremony is strongest when fresh, but lasts a year and a day after it’s performed. If the ward is triggered more than seven days after it was performed, subtract two dice from their pool. The wraith rolls their Willpower in a contest against the caster and if the necromancer succeeds, they inflict torturous pain upon their victim. The wraith suffers three points of Superficial Health damage. For as long as they remain within the boundary, they lose two dice to all Willpower rolls and rolls to use their supernatural abilities. On a critical win from the caster, they may choose to bar the wraith from leaving the boundary until they pass a Difficulty 4 Willpower test, which they may attempt once per scene. The other parameters of this warding Ceremony are identical to Blood Sorcery Warding circles (see Core, p.275). If the wraith is possessing an individual or object when they cross the chain, the same effects apply, and the unlucky individual suffers 3 Superficial Willpower damage as the wraith is violently forced from them.
Host Spirit (Players Guide pp.94-95) **Prerequisite Power:** [Aura of Decay](#aura-of-decay-oblivion-3-players-guide-p.88) **Ingredients:** A gift to be made as tribute to a wraith (whether the wraith values it depends on the individual), a parasitic bug, and two teeth extracted from the vampire’s mouth. **Process:** The vampire must be in close proximity to a wraith in order to use this power, typically through use of [Summon Spirit](#summon-spirit-players-guide-pp.92-93). The necromancer presents a tribute to the wraith, sometimes in the form of alcohol poured on the wraith’s gravesite, or a bag of coins to be buried in the earth, or even the freshly decapitated head of one of the wraith’s until-recently living enemies. The vampire then pulls two teeth from their mouth, usually with pliers, and bites into a parasite with their remaining teeth. The vampire then opens their mouth and the wraith can choose to enter it, inhabiting the vampire’s body. The benefits of having a wraith ride one’s body include an enhanced physique, access to whichever memories the wraith chooses to share, and the wraith’s voice offering the vampire advice. The wraith can take complete possession of the vampire if they wish to, which some necromancers view as a blessing to be experienced, and others deem the main reason not to use this power. Allowing a wraith to control one’s actions for a night effectively subdues the Beast, as well as demonstrating physical prowess and knowledge the vampire may not usually possess. **System:** Make a successful Oblivion Ceremony roll. If the wraith agrees to the proposition, it then enters the vampire’s body and can remain for a number of scenes equal to the successes rolled on the Oblivion Ceremony roll. With the wraith inside them, the vampire gains two dice to all Physical Attribute rolls and +2 Health until the wraith departs. The vampire can hear the wraith in their head, offering advice, and they can substitute the wraith’s Skills for their own, at the Storyteller’s discretion. A wraith can choose to assert its possession instead of acting as a passenger. If the vampire resists, they make a Resolve + Composure roll vs. the wraith’s Resolve + Composure. If successful, they reject the wraith’s influence. If failed, the wraith steers the vampire until the end of the scene, though it can’t make the vampire do anything self-destructive.
Knit the Veil (Trails of Ash and Bone p.174) **Prerequisite Power:** [Where the Veil Thins](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#where-the-veil-thins-oblivion-2-players-guide-pp.87-88) **Ingredients:** Ground bones, an iron needle, cat gut thread, the caster’s vitae, a goat tallow candle. **Process:** The caster scatters the powdered bone around an area no larger than a football field to mark the boundary of this Ceremony. Then, they prepare the candle by piercing their flesh and passing the thread under their skin. Using the needle, they carve runes down the length of the candle and then wrap the thread around it until they pull it from under their skin. The candle may then be placed inside the boundary and lit, burning with a pale and unmoving flame that artificially thickens the Veil around it with radiating, uncomfortable warmth. **System:** When lighting the candle, the caster makes their Ceremony roll, subtracting one die from their pool for every wraith present within the boundary, on either side of the Veil. Upon a win the Veil density (Players Guide, p.88) of the area becomes Impenetrable for as long as the candle burns. On a critical win, the Ceremony’s duration is doubled and no being may spy across the Veil. Undisturbed, it persists for as many nights as the caster has Oblivion dots. Another necromancer who attempts to [Split the Veil](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers/oblivion-ceremonies#split-the-veil-level-4-players-guide-pp.96-97) here must win against the caster’s successes as a Difficulty, doing so ends this Ceremony and reduces the Veil density as per that Ceremony.
Misfortune’s Hand (Courts of the Damned p.217) **Prerequisite Power:** [Shadow Servant](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#shadow-servant-oblivion-3--auspex-1-players-guide-p.89) or [Touch of Oblivion](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#touch-of-oblivion-oblivion-3-players-guide-p.89) **Ingredients:** Something related to the asset being affected (bank account details, hair or blood of a living target, voice recordings), lead, a heat source sufficient to melt the lead, and a glass of blood from someone considered to have bad luck **Process:** The caster drips blood into the lead as it melts while chanting the names of old gods, historic failures, and wishes of doom against the target. Once the blood is gone and the metal is molten, it’s poured over the remaining objects. Once cooled, it’s buried — tradition dictates a burial at sea, but anywhere will do. **System:** The caster prepares the ingredients, selects one Background of their chosen target, and makes the Ceremony test. On a success, the Background is temporarily reduced by one dot; however, if the margin equals or exceeds the Background’s rating, it decreases by two. Storytellers may prefer to make this roll if the rating should be kept secret. The changes to the Background are subtle at first, with a series of unfortunate events, coincidences, and setbacks temporarily limiting access to the victim’s assets. The change normally takes a few nights before it’s in full effect and lasts a week after that. On a critical success, the caster can choose to have the changes take effect immediately, as well as extend the impact for a full month. Backgrounds cannot be reduced below zero, and only one casting of this Ceremony can affect a given target at any one time, regardless of the source. All ratings return to their original level once this Ceremony expires.
Name of the Father (Cults of the Blood Gods p.94) **Prerequisite Power:** [Shadow Perspective](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#shadow-perspective-oblivion-3-players-guide-p.89) **Ingredients:** The ability to speak ancient Greek, eye contact with a victim, five charcoal sticks **Process:** The priest invokes an incantation in a dialect of ancient Greek, invoking the name of Shalim as they crush four charcoal sticks in hand. These words are spoken while making eye contact with the victim, therefore the victim must be able to see and hear the user for this power to be successful. Upon crushing the final charcoal stick, a shadow crosses the eyes of the priest and those of the victim, leaving the eyes of each participant entirely black as the victim succumbs to a crushing sense of despair. Those who have experienced this power and lived to tell of it speak of an all-consuming darkness closing in around their thoughts and robbing them of all sensation. The last thing they recall is a distant, rumbling laughter echoing in their mind. **System:** The vampire’s player makes their Ceremony roll vs. the victim’s Resolve + Composure. On a win, the vampire may activate this Ceremony’s effects any time they are in the victim’s presence. Upon activation, the victim is paralyzed with despair for a number of turns equal to the margin. While under this effect, victims cannot see, hear or experience any form of sensory input except touch and physical pain, which brings them out of the effect. The victim can expend Willpower equal to the number of turns they would remain paralyzed to break free of the power.
Shambling Hordes (Players Guide pp.95-96) **Prerequisite Power:** [Aura of Decay](#aura-of-decay-oblivion-3-players-guide-p.88) **Ingredients:** A mortal corpse (or multiple corpses), and a fresh mortal sacrifice. **Process:** The vampire must have a separate corpse in addition to a mortal prepared for sacrifice. The vampire slays the sacrificial victim, spilling their blood on the corpse or corpses intended for animation. If the Ceremony is successful, the corpses stand (the recent sacrifice does not) and serve the vampire’s commands. **System:** Due to the amount of blood spilled in this Ceremony, the caster must first test to resist Hunger Frenzy (Difficulty 2). Make a Ceremony roll, possibly incurring Stains in the process depending on the chronicle Tenets and the Storyteller’s discretion. Upon a win a number of aggressive dead equal to the necromancer’s Oblivion rating or the number of prepared bodies (whichever is lower) receive the gift of animation. Corpses animated this way do not decay and only enter repose if commanded to by the vampire, if the vampire meets final death, or if destroyed. The animated corpses can parse moderately complex orders such as “kill everyone who enters,” “groan if you see anyone pass this way,” or “terrorize that neighborhood.” Unlike the corpses raised using the [Gift of False Life](#the-gift-of-false-life-players-guide-p.92), these animated dead do not sit idle if left without commands, instead attacking anyone around them except for their master. As per the rules for temporary Advantages like these (Core, p.180), their continued usefulness beyond the current story must be ensured with Experience — such as through the Retainers Background (Core, p.196; one dot per loyal corpse) — or the aggressive corpses may become unstable and unruly. **Aggressive Corpse Stat Block** ``` Standard Dice Pools: Physical 4, Social 0, Mental 0 Secondary Attributes: Health 6, Willpower 0 Exceptional Dice Pools: Brawl 6; Intimidation 5 Special: Aggressive corpses take Superficial and Aggravated damage in the same way as vampires, except they are immune to sunlight. They cannot heal or mend damage. They cannot be mentally dominated or influenced as they are bound to their master. They do not need eyes or ears to perceive everything around them as someone with unimpeded vision and hearing might. Bites from the aggressive dead inflict +2 Health damage which is Aggravated to mortals. General Difficulties: 3/2 ```
The Shallow Slumber (Gehenna War p.50) **Prerequisite:** [Passion Feast](#passion-feast-oblivion-3--fortitude-2-players-guide-pp.88-89) or [Touch of Oblivion](#touch-of-oblivion-oblivion-3-players-guide-p.89) **Ingredients:** Charcoal and one Rouse Check of the user’s vitae. **Process:** The performer carefully writes a series of sigils on themselves or another vampire, while cursing the names of various gods or saints responsible for good health. **System:** So long as the sigils remain on the target’s body, for each success in the margin on the ceremony test, their Blood Potency counts as one lower for the purpose of torpor duration and premature awakening. Likewise, their Humanity counts as a similar number of dots higher but only for purposes of torpor duration. A total failure on the Ritual test extends the torpor instead, as if the subject had another dot more in Blood Potence and a dot less in Humanity. Only one attempt per subject per torpor can be made. A vampire can use this ceremony on themselves or another vampire, even if the subject has not yet fallen into torpor. The sigils stay on the subject’s body until they are washed away, marred by injury, or intentionally defaced, though rarely longer than a week due to natural abrasion. **Duration:** Indefinite, so long as the sigils remain.
Wisdom of the Dead (The Book of Nod Apocrypha p.35) **Prerequisite Power:** [Oblivion’s Sight](#oblivions-sight-oblivion-1-players-guide-p.85) or [Where the Veil Thins](#where-the-veil-thins-oblivion-2-players-guide-pp.87-88) **Ingredients:** The head or skull of the deceased, pure water and a small flame. **Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Oblivion **System:** The cermonist must possess a skull or head. After rolling Resolve + Oblivion (Difficulty 2 for a mostly intact head, or 3 for a skull), the Kindred begins to glean knowledge from the deceased. The Storyteller will name one skill the deceased was most knowledgeable about in life (or unlife if a Kindred skull) and an additional skill per point of the margin of success. For the rest of the night, the user may draw upon the deceased’s knowledge: each time the user rolls one of the deceased’s skills, so long as they are still carrying their skull or head, they may add 2 dice to your dice pool. This only applies if the deceased had a higher skill rating than the user. At dawn, roll one die for each skill roll boosted: a failure on any of these dice indicates the skull or head dissolves to ashes as the Ceremony ends and it cannot be reconstituted by any means. **Duration:** Until dawn or the head/skull is destroyed.
## Level 4
Bind the Spirit (Players Guide p.96) **Prerequisite Power:** [Necrotic Plague](#necrotic-plague-oblivion-4-players-guide-pp.89-90) **Ingredients:** A wraith’s fetter, the sacrifice of an innocent mortal, and sufficient salt to surround a property or individual. If the target for haunting is an individual, the necromancer must possess something of their body, such as fingernails, hair, blood, or skin. **Process:** The vampire must already have a wraith under their control using [Compel Spirit](#compel-spirit-players-guide-p.94). The vampire kills an innocent mortal (though innocence is subjective, this tends to apply to the young, caregivers, and genuinely pious individuals) in or close to a location or person they want their wraith to haunt. Subsequently, they mix their vitae with sufficient salt to surround the target for haunting, and paint a circle with the mixture. They place the wraith’s fetter somewhere within the location, or in the target’s possession. **System:** Following the steps of the Ceremony, the vampire may incur Stains from the murder depending on the Chronicle Tenets and the Storyteller’s discretion. They make an Oblivion Ceremony roll that cannot be resisted, as the wraith must already be compelled for this power to work. The wraith is bound to the location or individual targeted, with no duration applied to this Ceremony’s effects. Any emotion the wraith feels intensely during its binding affects the inhabitants of the location or the individual to whom it’s bound, with each person affected suffering a two-dice penalty to all rolls made to resist acting or feeling the way the wraith feels. Therefore, an angry wraith may make vampires more inclined to Frenzy, while a depressed wraith might make a mortal more likely to stop self-care. Bound wraiths have the same powers as spectres (Core, p.377). The wraith is forever bound to the target, unless the vampire cancels the Ceremony, the fetter ever moves from the location or individual’s possession, or the wraith is destroyed. Binding also ends if the necromancer attacks the wraith. Most wraiths bound in this way are furious or melancholic about their plight, and their mood affects the area around them. Many necromancers use this method to defend their havens or haunt their enemies.
Bind to Mortal Form (Tattered Facade p.102) **Prerequisite Power:** [Necrotic Plague](#necrotic-plague-oblivion-4-players-guide-pp.89-90) or [Skuld Fulfilled](#skuld-fulfilled-oblivion-5-players-guide-p.91) **Ingredients:** The chosen mortal, an Oblivion-touched iron chain, a candle made with human tallow, dirt from a fresh grave, a thimble of blood or other body fluids from the mortal **Process:** The vampire must be in possession of an iron chain that has been marked by the shades of Oblivion. They can create this themselves using [Touch of Oblivion](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#touch-of-oblivion-oblivion-3-players-guide-p.89) on the chain, or use one prepared by someone else or which hails from the Abyss. They begin the Ceremony proper by lighting the candle, which sputters and casts a circle of warm light around the two. The mortal must then swallow the grave dirt. Using a blowtorch or a similar high-power heat source, the vampire proceeds to heat up the chain, using it to brand the mortal. This sucks all the light out of the room, extinguishing the candle. It also traps the spirit of the mortal within their decaying flesh. The vampire then has three nights to deliver the blood or fluids gathered from the mortal to the same grave where they got the dirt. **System:** The necromancer tests Resolve + Oblivion (Difficulty 5). Each rolled success adds a decade to the mortal’s natural lifespan, but if the test is not an overall win, or if the vampire fails to take the mortal’s blood to the grave within the deadline, the mortal ages at twice the speed they would have otherwise aged, as the shadows binding their spirit eat away at their life force. Bind to Mortal Form can be performed several times on the same mortal; however, the chain loses its power with use. The shadows binding the mortal’s lifeforce also grow stronger with each Ceremony. Thus, the Difficulty for the Resolve + Oblivion test increases by 1 with each subsequent casting. A mortal sustained by Oblivion shades eventually grows withdrawn, confused, and fearful of the light.
Death Rattle (Trails of Ash and Bone p.174) **Prerequisite Power:** [Fatal Precognition](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#fatal-precognition-oblivion-2--auspex-2-players-guide-p.87) **Ingredients:** A wraith’s fetter, a personal item owned by the intended target (living or undead, but not another wraith), the caster’s vitae, over proof rum, a black candle, a clay bowl large enough to hold the fetter and target’s personal belonging. **Process:** The caster must be in close proximity to the desired wraith in order to successfully complete the Ceremony, typically through the use of [Summon Spirit](#summon-spirit-players-guide-pp.92-93). The fetter and target’s possession are combined in the bowl along with the caster’s vitae. The candle is held over the bowl and lit allowing the wax to drip into the contents of the bowl. The name of the wraith and the target are chanted repeatedly. As the wax melts, it forms a seal between the items inside of the bowl, creating a bridge between the wraith and the desired target. When this seal is broken, the rum ignites the possession of the target and they experience the death of the wraith. **System:** The caster makes their Ceremony roll and the target contests with Composure + Resolve whether or not they know they’re being targeted. On a win by the caster the victim experiences a vision of the wraith’s death, with a higher margin leading to a more vivid experience. If the wraith died a violent death, this causes Superficial Willpower damage equal to the margin of the roll, but even a peaceful death inflicts one point as they experience the wraith’s dying gasp. A critical win from the target rebounds this trauma back onto the necromancer, inflicting the margin as Superficial Willpower damage to them instead. The caster may choose to be the target of the Ceremony. They roll only against the normal Ceremony Difficulty, and the caster must open their mind to accept any resulting Willpower damage.
Split the Veil (Players Guide pp.96-97) **Prerequisite Power:** [Necrotic Plague](#necrotic-plague-oblivion-4-players-guide-pp.89-90) **Ingredients:** A blade that’s been used to cut into someone living, chalk or charcoal, a silk sheet, and a human sacrifice. **Process:** The vampire hangs a silk sheet over a wall in a place where the veil density (Players Guide, p.88) is standard, thin, or frayed. They then perform a human sacrifice against the sheet, and as blood coats the sheet, cut it open with a blade. The Ceremony widens the portal between the world of the living and the world of the dead. **System:** The caster performs the sacrifice, which may result in Stains depending on the chronicle Tenets and the Storyteller’s discretion. When cutting the silk sheet, their player makes the Ceremony roll). Due to the amount of blood spilled in this Ceremony, the caster must roll to resist Hunger Frenzy (Difficulty 2). For every success on the Ceremony roll, the veil’s density reduces by one level, down to being absent (Players Guide, p.87). Importantly, if the veil rating is reduced to absent, wraiths can spill into the physical world for the remainder of the session (or night). Once that period concludes, a veil density of absent increases to frayed and the gateway for wraiths closes.
## Level 5
Ex Nihilo (Cults of the Blood Gods pp.213-214) **Prerequisite Power:** [Withering Spirit](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#withering-spirit-oblivion-5-cults-of-the-blood-gods-p.208) **Ingredients:** Masks for each participant, a bowl containing sufficient quantity of the caster’s vitae so each participant might coat the soles of their feet in it, two coins of any value per participant. **Process:** Few Ceremonies of Oblivion come with as much doubt and fear as Ex Nihilo, the ability to migrate into the Shadowlands. This Ceremony enables a physical crossing into the lands of entropy. Vampires who physically enter the Shadowlands may interact with wraiths as if they were solid, but cannot carry objects beyond those on their person with them. Vampires destroyed in the Shadowlands disappear in a vortex of blood and ash, sucked into the false earth beneath their feet. Ex Nihilo appeals to a great many necromancers and mystics who want to study the Shadowlands without the impediment of a time limit. It’s an unmatched method for interviewing ghosts and exploring the necropoli — the cities spirits inhabit. It’s also incredibly dangerous, as many wraiths — especially spectres — seek to destroy vampires, draining them of their Willpower, and there’s always the risk of meeting the ghost of someone the vampire slew years earlier. Such wraiths tend to hold a grudge. The vampire must have used [Split the Veil](#split-the-veil-players-guide-pp.96-97) that night, in the location they’re currently occupying, in order for Ex Nihilo to function. If the Veil density is reduced to absent, the caster and any companions may enter the Shadowlands from that point, if they don masks to cover their faces, dip or paint their feet in the vampire’s vitae, and carry a coin in each hand. **System:** The user makes three Rouse Checks (sufficient to expend the required vitae) and spends a turn concentrating, expending a Willpower point to prepare for the crossing. They then make their Ceremony roll. If successful, the vampire, a number of companions equal to the number of successes rolled, and any objects on their person may then enter the Shadowlands. The Shadowlands follows several rules that do not exist in the world of the living: • Wraiths are capable of physical attacks on vampires (Core, p.377 for an average spectre’s stat block) but some are also capable of attacking a vampire’s Willpower specifically, as they drain a vampire’s passion. Defense pools against Willpower drain, which a wraith can attempt up to 3 yards/meters from the vampire, are made up from the vampire’s Resolve + Composure, vs. the attacking wraith’s Strength + Brawl. This attack inflicts Aggravated Willpower damage.\ • Though there is no sun (and therefore no daytime) in the Shadowlands, the vampire must still Rouse the Blood every 24 hours. With no sunlight, they are able to operate without rest.\ • Vampires in the Shadowlands cannot interact with the world of the living in a meaningful way. They can only touch or speak with living creatures by ending this Ceremony, which takes the expenditure of a Willpower point and another Rouse Check in a place where the Veil isn’t impenetrable. They can see snatches of motion through the Veil, and a Discipline such as Auspex may enable them to spy from beyond the veil, but for the most part, anything viewed has a Difficulty 4 or more to perceive.\ • Vampires can use their Disciplines in the Shadowlands just as they can in the land of the living.\ • If a vampire is compelled to feed in the Shadowlands, they cannot obtain sustenance from wraiths without [Passion Feast](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#passion-feast-oblivion-3--fortitude-2-players-guide-pp.88-89), but can feed from mortals or other vampires with them.\ • Oblivion absorbs individuals who lose all Health or Willpower in the Shadowlands. They leave no wraiths if destroyed.\ • Vampires cannot bring wraiths out of the Shadowlands without a Ceremony such as [Summon Spirit](#summon-spirit-players-guide-pp.92-93), which must be used in the land of the living to have this effect. **Duration:** Until the power is deactivated or the vampire is destroyed
Gift of True Life (Tattered Facade pp.102-103) **Prerequisite Power:** [Necrotic Plague](#necrotic-plague-oblivion-4-players-guide-pp.89-90) or [Passion Feast](#passion-feast-oblivion-3--fortitude-2-players-guide-pp.88-89) **Ingredients:** Two willing or unwilling mortals, a length of silk rope **Process:** Opening a vein on each mortal’s wrist, the vampire presses their wounds together, securing them with the rope. Holding on to each mortal, the vampire channels shadows from the Abyss to push vitality from one mortal into the other. **System:** The vampire makes their Rouse Check as they open the veins and a Ceremony contest of Resolve + Oblivion against the Stamina + Resolve of the mortal being drained as they start channeling the Abyss. A failed Ceremony contest forces the shadows to slink back to where they came from. A win starts the process of pushing vitality from one mortal to another. The results become apparent quickly. For every five minutes of siphoning, the targeted mortal loses 10 years’ worth of life they could have lived to the other. When the target has lost their ordained lifespan (traditionally 70 years), they start deteriorating quickly. The effect on the receiving mortal is more subtle. They become the image of health but aren’t otherwise immediately affected. Following the Ceremony, they age half as quickly as other mortals until the extra lifespan they have been granted has been spent (at which point, they once again age normally). Diseases develop at half the speed as well. They aren’t in any other ways protected from death. The conversion rate of vitality is 1:1 for mortals who are related or deeply emotionally bonded. Otherwise, the targeted mortal must give a decade for each three years of life received by the other. The vampire must make a Ceremony test of Resolve + Oblivion at Difficulty 6 to stop the process and cut the bond before the targeted mortal shrivels up like a dried prune and turns to dust. If the vampire cannot stop the Ceremony this way, simply killing the mortal works as well. Regardless of the outcome, the vampire performing this Ceremony most likely gains one or several Stains. Even more than most, this Ceremony is likely to attract attention from the other side of the Veil.
Lazarene Blessing (Players Guide pp.97-98) **Prerequisite Power:** [Skuld Fulfilled](#skuld-fulfilled-oblivion-5-players-guide-p.91) **Ingredients:** One mortal sacrifice, incense, the heart of any mammal, and powdered silver. **Process:** The necromancer burns incense to perfume the air before performing an act of sacrifice, cutting the heart of the victim out and replacing it with the heart of another mammal, though it doesn’t need to be stitched in and working for the Ceremony to function. After pouring a bag of powdered silver over the open eyes of the dying or dead mortal, the vampire invites a wraith to take the deceased mortal as a host. Wraiths cannot be forced to possess a body, but few refuse the opportunity to walk around in semi-living shoes again. **System:** Killing a mortal for this Ceremony may incur Stains, depending on the chronicle Tenets. If the replacement heart was likewise taken from someone the vampire murdered, that murder might also incur Stains. Following a successful Ceremony roll, a wraith can enter the freshly-dead body and live in it as if it were their own. The wraith must be present during the act of sacrifice. The possessed corpse wakes bearing the wounds that killed it, though the replacement heart is functional (no matter its origin or placement) and the body heals one point of Health damage upon possession. The remaining Health damage recovers with time (as vampiric healing). The body gains no special resistances to harm beyond Disciplines it might have possessed in life. The body possesses the same Physical Attributes, Disciplines (if a ghoul), and Advantages it had in life. Social and Mental Attributes, Skills, and any form of morality rating match those of the wraith. This possession lasts indefinitely, or until the possessed body dies again or the wraith is exorcised from the host.
Pit of Contemplation (Cults of the Blood Gods pp.94-95) **Prerequisite Power:** [Tenebrous Avatar](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#tenebrous-avatar-oblivion-5-players-guide-p.91) **Ingredients:** Pot of ink, three pints/six liters or more of blood from an innocent the user murdered, an unlit room **Process:** The vampire personally murders an innocent mortal, likely incurring Stains depending on the Chronicle Tenets and their Convictions. While innocence is subjective, traditional sacrifices are children, virgins, and holy individuals. The vampire then takes at least three pints/six liters of the deceased’s blood into an unlit room and uses it to paint a doorway on a wall in the chamber. Finally, the vampire splashes a pot of ink onto the blood-painted portal. Focusing their will upon the gateway, the priest opens a tear through to Oblivion. Anyone foolish or unfortunate enough to fall into the gap is immediately transported into a pocket of eternal black nothingness for as long as the priest sees fit. If the priest is destroyed without releasing their prisoners, any undead prisoners remain trapped in the void (unless and until another vampire reverses the Ceremony). Priests may choose to pass through the door, but doing so condemns them forever. Some Shalimites do this when they feel they have completed their work as a part of the cult. **System:** Following the Ceremony steps, the priest’s player makes their Ceremony roll, and on a success the effect is quick and implosive. A hole opens at the point where ink and blood mix. The hole draws objects, air, and people toward it and, if they fail a Dexterity + Athletics roll (Difficulty 4), sucks them into a pocket within Oblivion. While trapped, victims are suspended in an endless blackness. They cannot see or hear anyone or anything around themselves. Only the priest who conjures this blasphemous gateway can free those held within, by pouring a vampire’s vitae over the painted door (sufficient to provoke a Rouse Check). Mortals sucked into Oblivion are instantly killed.
# Thin-Blood Alchemy To learn a new formula requires research time, whether the Alchemist spends it poring through libraries or in meditation or on tasting expeditions or performing laboratory experimentation. Players should write down which formulae their character already knows, and any special ingredients it requires. A character receives a formula for free for each dot in Thin-Blood Alchemy and can purchase additional formulae with experience and experimentation. Alongside these specific formulae, Thin-Blood alchemists can also counterfeit the powers of other Disciplines. These formulae are rated at one dot higher than their legitimate counterpart. ## Level 1
Body Paint (Blood Sigils pp.73-74) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, choleric mortal blood, tattoo inks, henna, marker fluid, or any substance that stains skin. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Dexterity + Craft; Stamina + Resolve **System:** On Distillation rolls with 1–3 successes, the body paint dries faster, and the alchemist must Win a Dexterity + Craft test at Difficulty 3 to finish their work before drying. On Distillations with 6 or more successes, the target may reshape the tattoo any time after a week with a Stamina + Resolve Test at Difficulty 5. The alchemist may change the fluid’s colors at will while working, as can the target if they’re able to reshape their tattoo. **Duration:** Permanent, unless erased by flesh colored Body Paint.
Checkout Time (Blood Sigils p.74) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, phlegmatic mortal blood, embalming fluid, myrrh, a toad’s skull. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The alchemist writes a span of times and dates on the subject’s left arm in Roman numerals. The subject can be the alchemist themself. At the starting time, the subject enters a deep torpor and cannot be awakened until either the ending time transpires, or someone rewrites the ending time. Coming out of this slumber does not require a Rouse Check. While in this state, the recipient is indistinguishable from a corpse. They have no aura, they don’t need to make nightly Rouse Checks, and they don’t take damage from any accidental exposure to sunlight or similar banes. **Duration:** The written time span determines the duration, but cannot exceed nine nights.
Elevate (Blood Sigils p.74) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, sanguine mortal blood, fermented chocolate, rice vinegar, black coffee, often some kind of fun street drug. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Stamina + Alchemy **System:** Whoever consumes the formula instantly feels a rush of warmth and pleasure flowing through them, relaxing their muscles and quickening their nerves. They get a +1 on any Dexterity dice that they roll during the scene. El also can act as a carrier for regular street drugs, although the effects shift unpredictably if usually toward ecstatic stimulation. Badly made El makes the user feel great, but actively degrades Dexterity with a −1 penalty. **Duration:** One scene
Far Reach (Core pp.284-285) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, choleric human blood, melted nylon fibers or a grated refrigerator magnet or weird nootropics ordered off the internet **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Alchemy vs Strength + Athletics **System:** The alchemist can lift, push, or pull a physical object or person under 100 kg, within their sight and closer than 10 meters. The object moves swiftly, but not rapidly enough to injure a person with the blow; the object may break if it is fragile. The exception: knives or other small metal tools, which the alchemist can wield with a Resolve + Alchemy test, at a two-dice penalty because of the need for precision. A knife used this way does only one point of extra damage. Trying to move someone actively resisting requires a contest of Resolve + Alchemy vs Strength + Athletics. On a win, the alchemist can pull the victim within grabbing or clawing range, or throw them one meter for each point of margin on the contest, doing an equal amount of Superficial damage. They land prone. Keeping someone or something floating in mid-air requires a Resolve + Thin-Blood Alchemy (Difficulty 3) roll every turn. Fine manipulation (such as pulling the pin of a grenade) requires a Wits + Alchemy roll at a suitable Difficulty, as determined by the Storyteller. Duration: One turn unless held (see above).
Food Stain (Blood Sigils pp.74-75) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, melancholic mortal blood, some highly colored flavoring such as BBQ sauce, mustard, cheez-puff flavor dust, etc. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** If someone — mortal or Kindred — is marked by consuming or contacting this goo, the next individual who feeds from them becomes obvious to the alchemist who made it. Obvious means that if they see that person, hear them or smell them, they know. In the rare case that the alchemist has at least Auspex 2, they become aware the instant the feeding occurs. Moreover, for about an hour after, they know the direction toward the drinker, though not distance. **Duration:** Once created, the mystic potential of the substance persists until consumed or applied, but it starts to smell pretty bad after a week, even if refrigerated.
Haze (Core p.285) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, phlegmatic human blood, dry ice or cigar smoke or auto exhaust **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Upon activation a cloud of mist-like vapor surrounds the alchemist, masking their features and obscuring their silhouette. Anyone attempting to identify the user or hit them with ranged weapons suffers a two-dice penalty to their pool. The user can extend the cloud to encompass a group of up to five people by making another Rouse check. **Duration:** One scene or until voluntarily ended.
Gaoler's Bane (Winter's Teeth #10) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, sanguine human blood, two weeks worth of contents of a regularly used grill's grease trap **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Upon activating this ability the alchemist can twist bend or stretch their bodies in minor ways to free themselves from physical bonds or grapples. Dexterity + Larceny checks for the purpose of slipping one's self free of handcuffs zip-ties or other ligatures get a two-dice bonus. Additionally, any Strength + Brawl rolls made to escape a grapple also receive two-dice bonus. **Duration:** One scene or until voluntarily ended.
Mercurian Tongue (Players Guide p.102) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, blood of a mortal who speaks a different native language than the alchemist, the tongue of a fish or bird, hot sauce from another country, and copper filings. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The alchemist can speak the native language of the mortal whose blood they used in the Formula. By spending a Willpower point and feeding from a mortal, they can switch their new language to that mortal’s native language. **Duration:** One night, or until the alchemist feeds from someone with the same native language as the alchemist.
Plug-In (Players Guide p.102) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, sanguine blood, liquid nitrogen, tungsten shavings, and a broken battery **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pool:** Resolve + Alchemy **System:** Make a Resolve + Alchemy test (Difficulty 2). On a success, the alchemist fills with electrical currents that can be used to power small devices, such as a smartphone, a personal computer, or a light bulb. These currents power the item by touch; it loses power when contact stops. **Duration:** If lighting a room: one scene. If powering a device, until it reaches half battery charge.
Portable Shade (Sabbat: The Black Hand p.53) **Ingredients:** Blood of the Alchemist, sanguinic mortal blood, fresh plant leaves. Some alchemists also use various off-the-shelf sunblock ointments in the mix, though it is unknown whether they contribute significantly to the formula. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Stamina + Alchemy **System:** Make a Stamina + Alchemy test when ingesting the formula. The user is able to endure sunlight without taking damage for a number of hours equal to the number of successes on the test. At sunset, make another test with the same pool, this time with a Difficulty equal to the number of hours spent in daylight. A failure causes the user to sustain a level of aggravated damage, while a total failure has them sustain two, as the accumulated sunlight boils the Blood in their veins. **Duration:** A number of hours equal to a Stamina + Alchemy test, or the next sunset, whichever comes first.
Speak From the Heart (Blood Sigils p.75) **Ingredients:** A soft drink, the alchemist’s Blood, melancholic human blood, mercury, ink or paint. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The alchemist imprints the message while brewing the soda. Grape soda can carry seventy-one words or less. Orange reveals a sketched image in the drinker’s mind for about a minute. Lemon-lime conveys a brief but vivid emotional sensation. It’s possible that a mortal who drank the carrier’s blood would also get the effects, but no one’s run that experiment. **Duration:** The messages take about sixty seconds. They persist in the carrier until death, or until someone drinks their blood.
## Level 2
Advanced Torpor (Blood Sigils p.75) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, choleric and phlegmatic mortal blood, neem extract, diazepam, diphenhydramine, chamomile flower. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The alchemist creates (or for other Distillations, they or their vessel bleeds) a bright pink, watery fluid. Mixing this substance with mortal blood creates an elixir that causes its imbiber to immediately fall into torpor. This torpor lasts as long as if they have entered it through ordinary means. Unlike regular torpor, a vampire in Advanced Torpor always has a Rouse Check re-roll while under its effects, whether it’s for the day passing or for mending any damage. Should the vampire end their Advanced Torpor not at Hunger 5, they may keep their current level of Hunger when they awaken. All vampires in Advanced Torpor mend as a vampire, even if a Thin-Blood Flaw otherwise makes that impossible. If the vampire’s Hunger rises above Hunger 5 while in Advanced Torpor, the vampire enters regular torpor for the remaining portion of their torpor, and standard rules apply. ***Athanor Corporis:*** The alchemist can tap their vein once per night until their next feeding or reach Hunger 5. There is no further Distillation cost. ***Calcinatio:*** If the vessel survives the tap, the alchemist can tap them again in one week. The vessel takes 5 Aggravated Health damage per tap. **Duration:** Until the target awakens from torpor.
Blacklight Surprise (Blood Sigils pp.75-76) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, sanguine and choleric mortal blood, sunflower seeds, hand sanitizer, Luminol. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** A UV source smeared with Blacklight Surprise does 1 point of Aggravated damage every turn its light hits a vampire. It provokes fear frenzy like sunlight does. Kindred who already take damage from UV take an extra point. **Duration:** At least one hour, plus an additional hour for every success the alchemist scores with the dice. If the light source breaks, the formula burns off.
Blood of Mandagloire (Second Inquisition p.46) **Ingredients:** The Alchemist’s Blood, melancholic human blood, ketamine or Thorazine, melted human fat, verdigris (copper patina) **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** After taking this concoction the herd takes on a melancholic Resonance and becomes sluggish and unresponsive. Any vampire feeding off of them while they’re in this state must make a Composure + Resolve roll against a Difficulty equal to the cooker’s Alchemy or fall into a dreamless sleep for an hour. Aggressive shaking or slapping gives the vampire another roll to resist the stupor, while inflicting a wound awakens them immediately though the melancholy Resonance lingers. **Duration:** This formula stays active in the herd’s blood for three nights after dosing.
Mirror of Trust (Second Inquisition p.46) **Ingredients:** The Alchemist’s Blood, sanguine human blood, truth serum, a white chrysanthemum taken from a grave **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The Alchemist has 3 extra dice on Persuasion or Intimidation rolls to make another person or blankbody be honest with them **Duration:** One hour
Blue State (Blood Sigils p.76) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, melancholy and phlegmatic mortal blood, cobalt. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Someone under the effects of Blue State cannot forgive. The next time a friend or ally violates the target’s Convictions, the target takes 1 Stain. A mortal target merely holds a seemingly unreasonable, intractable grudge. **Duration:** The Stain remains until the characters have, at least, a very uncomfortable conversation.
Envelop (Core p.285) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, melancholic and phlegmatic human blood, potassium chlorate, smog or halon gas **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Wits + Alchemy vs Stamina + Survival **System:** The alchemist activates the power and chooses a target within sight. A swirling mist envelops the target, obscuring their sight and penalizing them three dice from all sight-based detection and ranged attack dice pools. In addition, the alchemist can make the mist suffocate a mortal with a contest of Wits + Alchemy vs. Stamina + Survival. On a win, the target can take no action except coughing and choking; on a critical win, the target loses consciousness. The alchemist can only employ Envelop on single targets, and only on one at a time. **Duration:** Until scene ends or the alchemist ends the effect voluntarily.
Friends List (Players Guide p.104) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, phlegmatic blood, the eyes of a whippoorwill or owl or other nocturnal bird, and a silver thread. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Alchemy **System:** Upon activating this power, the alchemist makes an Intelligence + Alchemy test to see a thin, silver thread connecting a mortal to a vampire they have some sort of connection with. (Obviously, no thread is shown if the mortal isn’t connected to Kindred.) If the vampire is not physically close the alchemist can follow the thread. Stronger connections require fewer successes to see – a ghoul might only require one success, but a distant contact or ally up to five. A mortal with multiple vampire relationships displays the strongest thread first, but the alchemist can see all of them with enough successes. **Duration:** One scene
Red's Flamin' Hot Sauce (Winter's Teeth #10) **Ingredients:** The alchemist's Blood, choleric human blood, 2 ml of canola oil, a dash of lemon juice, cayenne seasoning **System:** Contrary to most formulas, this formula is not imbibed by the user but added to inert or spilled blood. Adding it to any amount of human blood or vampiric vitae creates a heavily flammable slurry. While this does not automatically cause the blood to combust, any introduction of flame to the spilled blood creates a slow-burning yet powerful inferno. This fire cannot be extinguished for the duration of the effect, though fires spreading from it can. For each success gained from the distillation roll, the alchemist creates one usage of this power. **Duration:** The formulas are preserved until used. The blood-fires last for an entire scene, or potentially longer depending on the fire's surroundings.
Whiff-Its (Gehenna War pp.50-51) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s vitae, phlegmatic or sanguine human blood, cologne or perfume, fresh compost, ammonia, crushed fingernails from an animal **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** When used, the potion grants the alchemist heightened olfactory abilities. For the next night, the alchemist can catch the scent of the Kindred with the highest Blood Potency in the area (as determined by the Storyteller). If there are multiple Kindred who share the same Blood Potency in the area, success on a subsequent Resolve + Awareness test at Difficulty 3 allows the alchemist to distinguish between individual Kindred and follow their trail. Kindred sealed in containers might likewise require a similar test to detect, with a Difficulty determined by the Storyteller. **Duration:** Until dawn
## Level 3
Bleed Out (Tattered Facade p.107) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, Melancholic human blood, diuretics, energy drinks, cornflower **Distillation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Activation Cost:** Free **System:** The alchemist vomits the formula into the victim’s mouth (Athanor Corporis), forces the victim to drink it from the vessel’s mouth (Calcinatio), or forces the victim to drink from the elixir container (Fixatio). Once the victim consumes the formula, the alchemist makes the activation test to determine the results. On a failure, the victim simply dies; their blood feeds one vampire as normal. On a total failure, their blood turns septic and can feed nobody. On a win, victims choke and drown on their own blood over an agonizing hour. This death provides enough blood to feed an entire coterie of Duskborn (and only Duskborn — true vampires can’t stomach the blood), reducing everyone’s Hunger to zero. Every participant gains at least one Stain from the act. The remains must be properly disposed of, as the resultant sack of skin and bones is bound to rouse suspicion.
Concoct Ashe (Cults of the Blood Gods p.45) **Ingredients:** A destroyed vampire’s ashes, an open flame reaching 1,500°C, aluminum filings **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Thin-Blood Alchemy **System:** The vampire’s ashes are contained in a vessel heated by an open flame and then mixed with aluminum filings. Each success on the distillation roll produces a single Ashe dose. On a total failure, the sample is ruined and a Beast Shard (p. 39) emerges in the area. When consumed, all Ashe allows a thin-blood to access more of the power in vitae and ash than is usually within their grasp. Their Blood Potency counts as 1 for the purposes of Blood Surges and Discipline Rouse Check re-rolls until the end of the chapter. The drug is far from lacking in downsides however, see Ashe Addiction (p. 46).
Chemically-Induced Flashback (Cults of the Blood Gods p.45) **Prerequisite:** [Concoct Ashe](#concoct-ashe-cults-of-the-blood-gods-p.45) **Ingredients:** A melted-down object belonging to the destroyed vampire. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check in addition to the cost of using Ashe **System:** When using Concoct Ashe, this formula may be used to imbue remains with the memories of the vampire they once formed. When consumed, this altered Ashe provokes a Willpower test at a Difficulty of 1 + the destroyed vampire’s Blood Potency. On a win the user immediately enters a Memoriam (Core p. 311), reliving an important memory of the destroyed vampire’s past rather than their own. This scene is resolved normally using their own stats, but the shifted perspective will be valuable. If they are meditating in a place of calm at the time they consume the Ashe, the thin-blood adds a one-die bonus to all dice pools during the Memoriam.
Defractionate (Core pp.285-286) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, sanguine and melancholic human blood, O-negative human blood (only a few ml), moldy spinach, hot black coffee, sodium octanoate **System:** The alchemist taps their vessel (Calcinatio), or their own vein (Athanor Corporis) to get the Defractionate elixir if they do not use Fixatio. For each success on the distillation roll, they get enough elixir to turn one blood bag (slakes 1 Hunger) from fractionated to unfractionated blood. Any vampire can consume this blood and slake Hunger with it. ***Athanor Corporis:*** The alchemist can tap their own vein once per night for this elixir until their next feeding, or until they reach Hunger 5. They need not pay the distillation cost again. ***Calcinatio:*** If the vessel survives the tap, the alchemist can tap them again in a week for more elixir. They need not pay the distillation cost again, but the vessel pays the Health cost (3 Aggravated damage) each time they are tapped.
Diamond Skin (Blood Sigils p.76) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, melancholic human blood, ground up granite, diamonds, or ceramics, lotion or oil. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** A number of Aggravated damage points equal to the alchemist’s successes on the Distillation roll become Superficial damage to the user. This only affects physical damage from slashes, punctures, or impact; it has no effect against fire, sunlight, sorcery, or acid. **Duration:** Until the margin is used up; on a critical win on the Distillation roll, the effect lasts for one scene.
Fang-Stinger (Second Inquisition p.47) **Ingredients:** The Alchemist’s Blood, choleric human blood, foxglove, absinthe, laundry detergent or phosgene **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The victim makes a contested Stamina + Resolve roll vs. the Alchemist’s Resolve + Alchemy. If the victim wins, the serum has no effect. For every success the Alchemist wins by, the victim takes 2 levels of Aggravated damage. **Duration:** One day
Fireskin (Blood Sigils p.76) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, powdered elemental salamander bone, tobacco, sulfur. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Whoever drinks the Fireskin formula feels like their skin and the air around them is strangely cold — at odds with the little flames that start to lick up and down their skin. The fire doesn’t spread from them, but their body is superheated and painful to the touch. They do +1 fire damage when they strike with their body (only the additional damage counts as fire), and can increase that to +2 if they manage to grapple someone. Fire does no damage to the user during this period, but cold damage is doubled. **Duration:** One scene
Freezer Fluid (Second Inquisition p.47) **Ingredients:** The Alchemist’s Blood, melancholy and phlegmatic human blood, echinacea, possum scent glands, local anaesthetic or ricin **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The victim makes a Contested Stamina + Resolve roll vs the Alchemist’s Resolve + Alchemy. If the victim wins, the serum has no effect. For every success the Alchemist wins by, the victim loses 2 dice from all physical dice pools. **Duration:** One scene
Hospital Chains (Blood Sigils pp.76-77) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, phlegmatic mortal blood, a sample from a fatal carcinoma, hydrofluoric acid. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Distillation Roll vs. Stamina **System:** Once Hospital Chains touches an injured person, they cannot clear physical injury by any means. Blood is Roused in vain; hospital visits yield no improvement, only bills. **Duration:** The restriction on improvement lasts for 2 days per point of margin; on a critical win, it lasts 2 days for each success on the Distillation roll.
Mandagloire (Players Guide pp.104-105) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, phlegmatic blood, human fat, candle wax, ether, sesame oil, iron sulfate or verdigris, and borax. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Stamina + Alchemy vs. Stamina + Resolve **System:** Tapping the athanor’s vein emits a pungent\ stench when spilled that fills a room (or a house\ on a critical win). Mortals who fail to resist enter a\ full-body paralysis state, a waking coma, for the rest\ of the scene. Supernatural creatures who fail feel\ the effects of rigor mortis: a two-dice penalty on all\ Physical rolls from intense cramping. *Fixatio:* The potion can be slipped into a drink or\ meal as a poison, or burned to act as a paralyzing\ fragrance, above. **Duration:** Three turns
Martian Purity (Blood Sigils p.77) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, choleric mortal blood, iron filings, gunpowder ash. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** This only works on a mortal or Kindred carrying a blood-transmissible infection. When consumed, the elixir forces the impurity out through their skin, outgassing through the pores of the back. It ignites on contact with air, doing 2 points of Aggravated damage to the carrier. It is up to the Storyteller whether this works on individual supernatural infections. **Duration:** Two rounds
Mask Off (Blood Sigils p.77) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, choleric and melancholic mortal blood, ground mustard seed, lemon juice, amphetamines, ground match heads. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Distillation roll vs target’s Stamina + Resolve **System:** The alchemist creates (or for other Distillations, they or their vessel bleed) a yellow-reddish paste. When loaded into an explosive and detonated, it creates an acrid gas that covers an area 3 by 6 meters, roughly the size of a large meeting room. The explosion and the gas inflict no damage, but any true vampires with the Blush of Life caught in the blast must make a contest of their Stamina + Resolve versus the alchemist’s Distillation roll. Any true vampires that lose the contest have their Blush of Life instantly, painfully come to an end for all to see. They also cannot use Blush of Life for the rest of the night. On Distillation rolls between 1–3 successes, true vampires that lose the contest have a few moments to hide before the gas takes effect. On a critical win on the Distillation roll, true vampires that lose the contest must also make a Fury Frenzy check at Difficulty 2. **Duration:** One scene
On-Demand Sunburn (Sabbat: The Black Hand p.53) **Ingredients:** Blood of the Alchemist, choleric mortal blood, gold shavings, mercury, as well as assorted halogens (usually chlorine or bromide). The formula also needs to be subjected to sunlight for several hours before use, and alchemists employing athanor corporis usually “juice up” on [Portable Shade](#portable-shade-sabbat-the-black-hand-p.53) for this. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** N/A **System:** On activation, the alchemist becomes an unliving battery of sunlight with a single charge seething in their veins. They can unleash this charge at will, inflicting aggravated damage upon themselves and another vampire whom they’ve successfully achieved skin contact with, as their own skin smolders and blackens. The user takes two levels of aggravated damage, while the victim suffers an amount equal to their Bane Severity, as if exposed to daylight for a full turn. If the victim has the means to reduce the damage (such as through Fortitude) they can do so. If the formula isn’t activated before then, the power automatically activates at the first sunset after ingestion, causing two levels of aggravated damage to the user. **Duration:** Until unleashed or next sunset, whichever comes first.
Profane Hieros Gamos (Core pp.286-287) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, melancholic and phlegmatic human blood, entheogenic substances. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Stamina + Resolve **System:** Whoever imbibes the formula mixed with a Rouse Check worth of their own Blood instantly falls into a catatonic fever dream until the following night, the depths of their psyche plumbed for their personal idealized form, or a form strongly desired. The effects of Profane Hieros Gamos are limited to the external morphology of the human form, the body refusing transformations too outlandish and fantastical to be without the wondrous spectrum of human anatomy. The imbiber makes a Stamina + Resolve roll against a difficulty of 8 minus the successes on the distillation roll, adding their Bane Severity to the Difficulty of the test. On a win, the transformation process is successful and their physical body molds to the desired shape. A critical win can grant and remove Merits and Flaws of the Looks category, though like all Advantages they need to be paid for with Experience points (Core, p.180). A messy critical or a bestial failure might cause a new Flaw to manifest, ranging from Repulsive, Obvious Predator, Stigmata or even Organovore as the Beast interferes with the transformation. Not even the blood of the Duskborn can spare the Nosferatu from their Bane, the process incorporating the clan’s hideous affliction despite the user’s mental image. **Duration:** Permanent until performed again.
Rumor (Players Guide p.105) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, phlegmatic blood, pepper, oil, and graphite or mercury. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Manipulation + Alchemy vs Wits + Awareness **System:** Upon activation, the alchemist makes a statement and invites the target to agree, e.g. “I heard you plan to invest in the new mortuary downtown. Is that true?” On a win, the target agrees and continues to believe they agreed to the statement of their own free will. To get the target to actually act on their agreement (e.g., sign investment papers) usually requires a further Manipulation + Subterfuge (or similar) contest, but the alchemist can add their margin on the Alchemy contest to their pool in that contest. **Duration:** One scene, and thereafter until something (or someone) persuasively contradicts the target’s agreement (“I would never have agreed to that! I must have been drugged!”).
Saraimu (Tattered Facade p.107) **Ingredients:** A cup of vitae each from three vampires including the alchemist, baking powder, crushed chalk (optional, for a soft voice), iron nails (for strength), battery acid (for oomph) **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Resolve + Alchemy **System:** The alchemist combines the ingredients by heating up the three cups of vitae in the athanor and adding baking powder and chalk. As the mixture bubbles, they stir in the nails, and when they add the battery acid and activate the mixture, it hisses aggressively and comes to something resembling life. The blob familiar is approximately the size of a football. Its personality takes a bit from each of the vampires whose Blood it was made from, and it can speak in simple, fragmented sentences. It probably calls the alchemist mommy or master. The blob is affectionate but slimy and inherently unstable. It can perform many simple tasks, including spying, fetching things, and tasks around the alchemist’s lab. It knows it’s incomplete and longs to be back inside the bodies where it came from. It never sleeps and tries to burrow inside its masters while they do, assuming it’s not currently out on a mission for them. It has many rows of short, sharp nail-teeth. **Duration:** The blob falls apart one to three weeks after it was created. The Storyteller may roll a die to determine the exact time. If its masters die before it does, the saraimu knows enough alchemy to prolong its existence until it can find — and burrow its way into — a new alchemist.
Stay the Falling Sand (Winter's Teeth #10) **Ingredients:** The alchemist's Blood, melancholic human blood, indica-dominant cannabis wax, juniper berries, a teaspoon of antifreeze **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pool:** Resolve + Alchemy **System:** This volatile mixture immediately begins to coagulate and thicken once exposed to air. However, it can be liquified or vaporized upon introduction to a heating element. The mixture may either be immediately consumed or inhaled through vapor. There, the substance remains dormant until activated with a Rouse Check. The alchemist may then make a Resolve + Alchemy roll to effectively freeze time in a small confined space (roughly 3 feet cubed). This power has no effect upon living creatures. The freeze lasts only for a single combat round, allowing for just enough time for a target to get out of the way of a hail of gunfire or halt falling debris. The alchemist may maintain this hold for additional combat rounds by spending a point of Willpower and rerolling Resolve + Alchemy. The difficulty of this roll may vary depending upon the actions being halted (difficulty 2 for a slowly lobbed grenade or 4 or higher to catch speeding bullets). **Duration:** One round, or more (if maintained). The power expires after one use
Tank (Players Guide p.105) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, choleric blood, oaked wine or bourbon, and Kevlar fibers or cement or ground tortoiseshell. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The first time the alchemist sustains damage in a scene, reduce the damage by five (before halving, as usual). The Formula then expires. **Duration:** Until the alchemist takes damage or the scene ends.
TLC (Blood Sigils pp.77-78) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, animal blood, choleric mortal blood, nettles, iron pieces, meat glue. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The alchemist creates (or for other Distillations, they or their vessel bleed and must sift out) a bluish-brown powder. Feeding the powder to an animal allows a vampire to feed on the animal as if it were a human. For every success on the Distillation roll, the alchemist can enrich enough animal blood to slake one point of Hunger, although only the largest dogs can slake more than 1 point of Hunger without dying. Horses, cattle, and other large mammals contain enough blood to slake 8–10 points of Hunger, if it’s dosed with TLC. Killing an animal under the effects of TLC cannot slake a vampire’s Hunger to 0.
Troll the Pious (Blood Sigils p.78) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, melancholic mortal blood, used hot tub water, cornstarch, a body hair from a living green-eyed natural redhead. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The procedure produces enough goo to wax about three square meters of floor — you can rub it into carpet, but it’s messy — or anoint one person all over, or smear a dozen books or about half the tools in a small workshop. Anyone who believes in a benign higher power, or whose profession involves religion, feels uneasy when in a waxed location, or when their attention is drawn to an anointed object. This is sufficient to give a one-die penalty to Social and Mental pools, and to Physical pools requiring close concentration. People with True Faith take a two-dice penalty and also have horrible hallucinations that feel like profound insights into the nature of evil but are actually expressions of their own fears and prejudices. To be fair, it is possible the fears of the truly faithful really could provide insights into evil. This penalty does not affect any pool (such as resisting vampires) to which they would add their True Faith, however. **Duration:** On a location, one dose lasts a couple of months. On an object, two months if no one touches it, one month if it’s handled infrequently, a week if it’s handled often. On a person, a dose lasts three days, and on the first day their skin looks waxy and oily.
## Level 4
Airborne Momentum (Core p.287) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, choleric and sanguine human blood, champagne, bird blood, helium, scopolamine or belladonna extract **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Strength + Alchemy vs Strength+Athletics (if resisted) **System:** The potion enables the alchemist (and only them) to fly or hover at approximately running speed. The flier can carry a human-sized mass, though their speed drops to walking speed. Grabbing and carrying aloft an unwilling subject or pulling the flier to the ground both require a contest between the alchemist’s Strength + Alchemy and the other’s Strength + Athletics. **Duration:** One scene
Copycat (Blood Sigils p.79) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, choleric and phlegmatic mortal blood, mirror glass, donor blood, Boquila trifoliolata leaves, chameleon skin. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Upon drinking, the user feels the unpleasant sensation of something wet and sticky oozing to cover their face. That feeling remains for the next twenty minutes, slightly itchy and tight as the Copycat brew slowly loses potency. When it’s finally through, a slightly itchy white residue like dry glue is left over the skin. For those who know the donor by sight, telling the drinker from the donor requires an Intelligence + Awareness test against a Difficulty equal to the Distillation roll’s successes. **Duration:** Twenty minutes (usually one scene if you’re smart).
Discipline Channelling (Cults of the Blood Gods p.46) **Prerequisite:** [Concoct Ashe](#concoct-ashe-cults-of-the-blood-gods-pp.45-46) **Ingredients:** Crushed leaves from the indigo plant. **Activation Cost:** The same as the channeled power. **Dice Pools:** The same as the channeled power. **System:** When using Concoct Ashe, this formula may be used to imbue remains with the abilities of the vampire they once formed. When consumed, this altered Ashe provokes a Willpower test at a Difficulty of the destroyed vampire’s highest Discipline rating. On a win, the thin-blood gains the use of a single Discipline power that the destroyed vampire possessed, until the end of the chapter. Use the destroyed vampire’s Discipline rating whenever a channeled power calls for one. The Storyteller may state the Disciplines and specific powers the deceased vampire held so the alchemist can choose from a list, or if the alchemist has a power in mind they can request it from the Storyteller. The Storyteller has final say. On a critical win the thin-blood gains the use of two Discipline powers that the destroyed vampire possessed.
Half-Living Conductor (Blood Sigils p.79) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, choleric and sanguine mortal blood, molten conductive metal (gold, silver, copper, and aluminum are popular choices), ground rubber, rainwater from a thunderstorm. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **Dice Pools:** Stamina + Alchemy **System:** The alchemist is immune to all physical damage taken from any electrical source, be it lightning, tasers, live wires, or a supernatural ability. Upon exposure to an electrical current, the alchemist may choose to redirect the current. They amplify the incoming electricity in their body and shoot it out in an arc from their fingertips, mouth, or eyes. Using electrical redirection in a conflict is a ranged attack using Dexterity + Alchemy. It inflicts margin + 2 in Superficial Health damage for vampires and in Aggravated Health damage for mortals. On Distillation rolls with 1–3 successes, the alchemist is protected from electrical forces, but their redirected electrical attacks do no additional Health damage. On Distillation rolls with 6 or more successes, the alchemist’s body bursts with electrical power. Their attacks inflict Aggravated Health damage to mortals and supernaturals alike. **Duration:** One scene or until voluntarily ended.
Hollow Leg (Winter's Teeth #10) **Ingredients:** The alchemist's Blood, non-resonant human blood, five powderized tablets of aspirin, rotten eggs or powdered sulfur **Dice Pools:** Intelligence + Alchemy vs. Stamina + Composure **System:** By tricking, forcing or otherwise coercing the victim to imbibe this formula, the alchemist then conducts an Intelligence + Alchemy roll against the intended victim's Stamina + Composure. A success indicates that the poison has taken hold and will remain in the victim's system for an entire night or until their internal reserves of vitae have been completely exhausted. Additional margins of success increases the victim's current hunger (one rank for every two additional successes) until the poison runs its course. No amount of feeding (including the blood consumed with the poison) will slake the victim's hunger. **Duration:** One night or until the victim suffers a hunger frenzy
Juice Box (Gehenna War p.51) **Ingredients:** The ingredients required for the original formula, methuselah vitae, and an empty juice box, complete with traces of concentrated fruit juice. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The alchemist distills the target formula as normal, but includes methuselah vitae in the concoction before performing additional treatment to it. Once distilled, the brew must rest in the juice box for 24 hours before activation. The result allows any Duskborn or Kindred to benefit from the brew created by the alchemist. All activation costs, dice pools, and duration apply per the original blood alchemy formula. **Duration:** As target formula
Red State (Blood Sigils p.79) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, sanguine and phlegmatic mortal blood, iron oxide. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** When applied or consumed, this places the subject in a peculiar state of moral forgetfulness. The next time someone close and trusted violates the drugged person’s Convictions or commits an act against them, those memories simply do not take. It slips free of the mind like amnesia, and cannot be restored. Being told, “Saphir killed your sister, man! Why are you still friends with him?!?” sounds fake and makes no sense. The very notion that the crime might have occurred fades within moments. **Duration:** Permanent until the target imbibes a choleric Dyscrasia.
Short Circuit (Players Guide p.105) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, battery acid, melancholy blood, and salt water. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** By making a Rouse Check and touching the equipment (or metal connected to it) the alchemist automatically and silently shorts it out. This allows an alchemist to, for example, cause a blackout of an entire building by touching a power outlet, or a car by brushing against its body.
Toxic Personality (Players Guide pp.106-107) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, choleric blood, potash or lye, animal spleen, cheesecloth, and iodine. **Activation Cost:** One or two Rouse Checks **Dice Rolls:** Strength or Dexterity + Alchemy vs. Dexterity + Athletics **System:** When active, the power allows the alchemist to corrode any material in seconds by simply making contact with it and gains +2 damage on brawl attacks as their mere touch becomes acid. (As the alchemist controls how and where they excrete the acid their own clothes are usually unaffected.) The Storyteller is the final arbiter on the extent of damage caused but the acid is supernaturally strong and far more potent than that produced by Corrosive Vitae (see Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 273). The alchemist may make a second Rouse check to projectile vomit the bile as an attack (Strength + Alchemy during melee, Dexterity + Alchemy for a ranged spitting attack). On a win, the bile does the margin +3 in Superficial Health damage (Aggravated to mortals). *Athanor Corporis or Calcinatio:* The alchemist or vessel can only hold this Formula after distillation for a week before they begin to look sickly: blue veins popping against their pale skin, and the skin itself sagging low on their bodies. After a month, the bile corrodes the Calcinatio vessel if not tapped. *Fixatio:* The container of the bile slowly corrodes, falling completely apart in Alchemy + 4 weeks. **Duration:** One scene
Vitae MSG (Blood Sigils pp.79-80) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, sanguine mortal blood, MSG, powdered sugar, knockoff (not genuine) Chanel No. 5. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The production process yields a clear, watery liquid that smells faintly of vanilla and jasmine. It does nothing until it is rubbed onto the skin of a person or animal, causing that being to inflame vampiric thirst. Any vampire who sees or smells anyone who has Vitae MSG on them feels an intense desire to feed on them. They can resist this urge with a point of Willpower, or by accepting an additional point of Hunger. If the vampire spends more than thirty minutes in the presence of the anointed one after that, they must feast — or else spend another Willpower, or accept more Hunger. The compulsion partially offsets the Ventrue Bane — blue bloods can feed from the person enhanced by Vitae MSG by spending 1 Willpower less if they aren’t in their preferred category. **Duration:** Once someone is anointed, the desire lasts until the next dawn, if they survive.
## Level 5
Awaken The Sleeper (Core p.287) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, choleric or sanguine human blood, adrenaline, ammonium carbonate, hartshorn, caffeine or benzedrine, melatonin **System:** The alchemist taps their vessel (Calcinatio), or their own vein (Athanor Corporis) to get the Awaken the Sleeper elixir if they do not use Fixatio. They then mix the elixir into human blood. For each success above 2 on the distillation roll, the elixir can awaken a vampire of that Blood Potency. ***Athanor Corporis:*** The alchemist can tap their own vein once per night for this elixir until their next feeding, or until they reach Hunger 5. They need not pay the distillation cost again. ***Calcinatio:*** If the vessel survives the tap, the alchemist can tap them again in a week for more elixir. They need not pay the distillation cost again, but the vessel pays the Health cost (5 Aggravated damage) each time they are tapped. The Alchemist can also simply feed the vessel’s blood to the sleeper directly.
Beast Mode (Gehenna War p.51) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s vitae, choleric or sanguine human blood, vitae of Blood Potency 4+, phenylcyclohexyl piperidine, adrenaline injector, spoiled two percent milk, sodium bicarbonate **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Beast Mode imbues the alchemist with access to a single level 5 power from the Disciplines of Celerity, Fortitude, or Potence, counting that Discipline rating as 5 for the duration of the formula. When consumed, the alchemist must succeed on a Willpower test (Difficulty 2) to avoid frenzy. The Kindred whose vitae was used in the distillation must possess the power’s associated Discipline at level 5 or the brew fails. **Duration:** One scene
Da Bomb (Tattered Facade p.108) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, Sanguine human blood, accelerants, matchstick heads, grains of sand from a sand timer **Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** This Formula is very temperamental and only works when imbibed by mortals (or brewed directly in a mortal via calcinatio). Once consumed, the potion remains in the drinker’s system for a week, during which time the mortal feels nauseous and unwell. The alchemist can activate the Formula at any time by making a Rouse Check, but if not activated while still potent, it passes harmlessly from the drinker’s system. When activated, the victim experiences a turn of panicked awareness, before exploding in a torrent of gore. Those within close range take Aggravated damage equal to twice the victim’s Stamina, while those further away halve that. Any vampires caught in the blast must also test for Hunger Frenzy at Difficulty 3. **Duration:** One week
Flowering Amaranth (Players Guide p.106) **Ingredients:** Blood from the alchemist and participating thin-bloods (up to three thin-bloods total), juice of red amaranth flowers from a plant fertilized with blood, pulverized leeches, hydrogen sulfide, and neon. **Activation Cost:** Everyone participating must roll\ one Rouse Check **Dice Pool:** Resolve + Alchemy vs. Willpower pool + Blood Potency **System:** The alchemist and up to two other participants tie a silk cord around their wrists, connecting them in a triangle surrounding a true Kindred target, also so bound. The alchemist rolls Resolve + Alchemy; each additional thin-blood participant can add one die to the pool by spending 2 Willpower. If the true vampire resists, they use their Willpower pool + Blood Potency. On a win, the participating thin-bloods gain one dot in one of the target’s core clan Disciplines, determined randomly. (On a critical win, the alchemist can choose the Discipline.) They cannot learn or purchase this Discipline higher than the first dot, but in other respects can use it as though they were true Kindred. They do not gain generation, but still lose 1 Humanity and gain the black-veined aura of diablerie. The victim vampire is destroyed in effect, as per rules of diablerie (see Vampire: The Masquerade, p234).
Moment of Clarity (Players Guide p.106) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, phlegmatic blood, cadmium, nootropics, and ash from burned pages of a meaningful text to the alchemist (scripture, favorite childhood novel). **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** Upon activation, the alchemist gains mental clarity, their wits sharpen, and the Beast is temporarily sated. They add four dice to Mental or Discipline Skill pools, and can add four dice to Mental resistance checks against Disciplines requiring them: Dominate, Animalism, Presence, Auspex, and their amalgams. They are also immune to Messy Criticals and Frenzy, if susceptible to the latter. **Duration:** One scene
Saturn’s Flux (Blood Sigils p.80) **Ingredients:** The alchemist’s Blood, phlegmatic mortal blood, lead, laxative, horse hair. **Activation Cost:** One Rouse Check **System:** The process yields a thumbnail sized pellet, crackly and gray. To gain the effect, smoke it in a steel pipe on a bed of ash, taking precautions as Kindred must for dealing with a small open flame. Within twenty-four hours of ingestion, the smoker literally shits out the Blood Bond — painful and bloody but not injurious for mortals. Kindred, with withered digestive tracts, take a point of Aggravated damage as the unwholesome influence resists expulsion. **Duration:** As mentioned above, the effect kicks in within a day’s span of ingestion—sometimes waking Kindred from daysleep with agonizing cramps. Until used, the pellet seems to stay fresh indefinitely. Given that this stuff has only been around two years, it may just be that its shelf life has not yet been reached.
# Advantages and Flaws ## Allowed Merits #### Blood Ties
Consanguineous Influence •• (Gehenna War p.44) Some find the powers of their Blood are more effective on those of the same bloodline. When you use a mental Discipline against a member of your own clan or a direct ancestor or descendant, you gain one bonus die to do so, or 2 bonus dice if the character is only one or two generations removed from you (e.g. your grandsire or grandchilde or closer).
Consanguineous Sense •• (Gehenna War p.44) Your Blood calls out to your close relations, whether ancestors or descendants. You instinctively recognize those in your direct bloodline when you get within a few paces from them. A Resolve + Awareness test at Difficulty 3 lets you determine if a Kindred within about 3 meters of you shares your bloodline. You only learn that they share your bloodline, not the exact distance from your in terms of Generation.
Sins of the Fathers ••-••• (Gehenna War p.44) After committing diablerie upon a direct descendant — or ancestor — you do not show any telltale signs of the crime. Powers such as Scry the Soul or A Taste for Blood do not detect your crime. As a three-dot Merit, this works when committing diablerie upon any member of your own clan. Caitiff and Duskborn cannot take this as a three-dot merit.
#### Bonding
Bond Resistance •-••• (Core p.181) Your Blood rebels against control. Add one die to your dice pools to resist a Blood Bond per level you take of this Merit (maximum three).
Bonds of Fealty ••• (Gehenna War p.44) **Prerequisite:** [Dominate](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#dominate) Your powers of Dominate do not require a target’s eye contact so long as the target is blood bound to you. You still need to be able to communicate your instructions to them, though you do not need to be physically present.
Enduring Bond • (Gehenna War p.44) Your bonds last longer than those of other Kindred. Complete and partial blood bonds only weaken every other month, not every month.
Short Bond •• (Core p.181) Blood Bonds on you lose their Bond strength more rapidly than normal, decreasing at both the full moon and new moon (i.e., by two each month) if not reinforced.
Unbondable ••••• (Core p.181) You cannot be Blood Bound. If you’re ever short of cash, you can probably sell your vitae to alchemists, too.
#### Cultists
Apocryphal Texts • (Children of the Blood p.95) You possess the writings of one of your church’s founders or prominent figures. While they’re not official canon, the revelations within make you a sought-after expert. Gain two dice on related Intelligence rolls.
Archangel's Grace ••• (Children of the Blood p.98) **Prerequisite:** Must be Nephilim You’ve invested considerable time in dance studios, gymnasiums, and dojos owned by fellow Nephilim. The training makes your movements lithe and assured, every gesture an art form in itself. You may use your Performance Skill in place of your Athletics Skill, or vice versa, when engaged in what for mortals would be a cardio-heavy physical exertion such as fighting, fleeing, or dancing.
Bargainer • (Children of the Blood p.98) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Cult of Mithras adherent Mithras was a god of merchants and traders, and as his devotee you see both the value and drawbacks to any deals you broker. Reduce the Difficulty on rolls to assess a transaction by 1.
Bull-Slayer ••• (Children of the Blood p.98) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Cult of Mithras adherent Like Mithras, when you set your sights on a target, you pursue it until it falls. You may suffer setbacks, but you don’t give up — you adapt. During an Extended Test, characters with this Merit can reroll up to three regular dice without spending Willpower once per scene. If rerolling the entire dice result, they can do so once per session.
Dark Mother's Song •• (Children of the Blood p.97) **Prerequisite:** Must be Bahari Your words make the listener’s pain and grief resonate like a struck harp. You drive them to deeper and deeper insights and plant the seeds of justice and vengeance in their hearts. Add three dice to Manipulation rolls when you’re convincing others to take up the worship of Lilith.
Fire Resistant • (Children of the Blood p.97) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Church of Caine adherent You’ve participated in the Sacrament of Firewalking (Cults of the Blood Gods, p.64) several times. As a result, your body is able to withstand exposure to flames outside of the ritual setting. You may convert fire-based Aggravated Health damage to Superficial Health damage, up to your Blood Potency in Health boxes, for one Rouse Check during daysleep, instead of three.
Fixer •• (Children of the Blood p.97) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Church of Set adherent With little more than a brief conversation, you know what people want. Even when — especially when — it’s something they ought not have. You procure questionable goods for your clients. If word of such acquisitions got out, they’d be ruined. You keep their secrets because it’s good business, but sometimes that leverage comes in handy. Once per story, call in a favor from or threaten to expose a former client who has something you need. This may be using their political pull, granting access to restricted files, or even require the client to perform a criminal act. Once you’ve called in a favor from this client, they can’t be leveraged in this way again.
Gardener •-••••• (Children of the Blood p.97) **Prerequisite:** Must be Bahari As a faithful Ba’ham, you lead a Garden of your own. You guide new initiates, lead rituals, and direct those who walk in your Garden to carry out the Dark Mother’s will. This Merit acts as a selective form of the Herd and Influence Backgrounds, where the adherents (mortal and Kindred) feed you willingly, providing they receive the religious teachings and guidance of the Bahari, and you gain the region specified as territory. If ever you fall out of favor with the cult, this Merit goes with your reputation. • Small Garden — 1-5 mortal adherents, located in a small, private space. The garden is no bigger than a few potted plants or containers. •• Growing Garden — 5-10 mortal adherents, 1-2 other Kindred, located in a slightly bigger private space. This may be a rooftop garden in the city or a backyard greenhouse in a rural area. ••• Community Garden — 10-30 mortal adherents, 3-5 other Kindred. The garden is a larger plot of land, about an acre. This may be part of a city park or a town green. •••• Sprawling Garden — 30-50 mortal adherents, up to a dozen Kindred. The garden covers a large swath of land: an entire city park, an orchard in the country. ••••• Major Garden — over 50 mortal adherents, more than a dozen Kindred, several of whom may branch out into Gardens of their own and oversee rituals. The garden’s territory covers an entire city, or several towns in rural areas.
Gematria • (Children of the Blood p.98) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Cult of Shalim adherent The Cult of Shalim uses a coded cipher called the gematria in their missives. You understand the system and can encrypt or decrypt messages using it.
Go to Ground • (Children of the Blood p.98) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Church of Set adherent The Church of Set teaches its members to be mobile, ready to slip away into the shadows if persecutors come calling. You’re prepared to disappear with a moment’s notice: exit routes mapped out, go bag prepared. Add two dice to rolls to evade pursuit.
Insidious Whispers •• (Children of the Blood p.98) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Cult of Shalim adherent The Embrace cracks a person’s very core, throwing into question everything she believed before her death. Many Kindred shore up their senses of self with ambitions, dreams, and ideals to see them through the long nights. As a Shalimite, you flow like water into those cracks, widening them until they split. When you make a Social roll to undermine a character’s Conviction (based on you guessing or interpreting it or something close to it), one rolled 10 counts as two 10s. Two rolled 10s still count as four.
Inspired Artist •• (Children of the Blood p.95) You channel your divine fervor into art. You’re a painter, a singer, a poet, a sculptor, and your creations inspire all who experience it. Any artwork you craft consisting of your cult’s symbology or channeling its message has an entrancing effect, with onlookers being at a 1-die penalty to resist Social rolls from cult members while in its presence.
Memories of the Fallen •• (Children of the Blood p.97) **Prerequisite:** Must be an Ashfinder You’re a social media sensation, with a follower count in the hundreds of thousands — minimum — hanging on your every post. They take your advice, purchase the products you hawk, and rally to any cause you point them towards. Once per story, you can call on them to perform a simple nonviolent action for you. It may be something like donating money to a crowdfunding campaign, flooding an elected official’s phone lines, or lighting a candle in their window on a certain night. Note that this only acts as a Merit for as long as your online status and actions are those of a mortal. If you start communicating Kindred secrets via the internet, you will earn a two dot Adversary Background (representing the vampire sent to silence you) and a two dot Enemy Background (representing mortal scrutiny, probably in the form of an Inquisitor).
Streamer •• (Children of the Blood p.96) **Prerequisite:** Must be an Ashfinder You’re a social media sensation, with a follower count in the hundreds of thousands — minimum — hanging on your every post. They take your advice, purchase the products you hawk, and rally to any cause you point them towards. Once per story, you can call on them to perform a simple nonviolent action for you. It may be something like donating money to a crowdfunding campaign, flooding an elected official’s phone lines, or lighting a candle in their window on a certain night. Note that this only acts as a Merit for as long as your online status and actions are those of a mortal. If you start communicating Kindred secrets via the internet, you will earn a two dot Adversary Background (representing the vampire sent to silence you) and a two dot Enemy Background (representing mortal scrutiny, probably in the form of an Inquisitor).
Traveling Preacher •• (Children of the Blood p.96) You spread your cult’s message wherever you go, despite the risks Kindred take when they travel. You’ve mapped out safe routes, established good places to go to ground along the way, and learned where surveillance systems falter. When traveling along established routes, reduce the Difficulty on rolls to avoid the Second Inquisition’s or Hunters’ notice by 1.
Vigilant •• (Children of the Blood p.98) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Church of Set adherent The Church of Set has an unfair reputation for paranoia, when in fact they instill in every initiate the need to keep eyes in the back of one’s head, having been subject to persecution for centuries. Staying alert keeps the cult safe. You always know when you are being watched, barring supernatural concealment like Obfuscate, but you still need to roll in order to recognise who and from where.
#### Feeding
Bloodhound • (Core p.182) You can smell the Resonance of a human’s blood without tasting it. You still need to be within olfactory range of the person. Make a Resolve + Awareness test at Difficulty 3. Increase Difficulty for perfume or distance; lower it for more intimate contact.
Drive-thru • (Live From the Succubus Club p.25) You’ve mastered the art of feeding while on the move, grabbing what you need before getting the hell outta there. Once per session, by adding +1 to the Difficulty, you can safely complete a hunt within minutes.
Iron Gullet ••• (Core p.182) You can feed from cold blood, rancid blood, and fractionated plasma. None of these provide Resonances. Ventrue may not take this Merit.
Vessel Recognition • (Players Guide pp.118-119) One easy way to piss off a Kindred is to feed off their kine. Kindred guard their herds jealously, and you’ve learned how to avoid them, being able to smell out which mortal belongs to a herd or is a particular Blood Doll. A win on a Resolve + Awareness test at Difficulty 2 lets you smell whether a mortal has been fed on recently. A critical win lets you sense if the feeding is recurring, likely making them part of someone’s herd.
#### Looks
Beautiful •• (Core p.179) You add one extra die to all appropriate Social dice pools.
Famous Face • (Live From the Succubus Club p.26) You bear a passing or very close resemblance to someone very well known. Sometimes this works in your favor. Other times this results in “Charlize Theron bit that cop on the neck!” You gain two dice to social tests in circumstances where you can leverage your lookalike status, but suffer a two-dice penalty whenever you try to hide in a crowd or in other areas where you want to avoid recognition.
Ingénue • (Players Guide p.118) You look completely innocent and blameless, making others believe in your good intentions much easier. Add two dice to any rolls related to avoiding suspicion or deflect blame, at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Remarkable Feature • (Players Guide p.118) You possess a rare, memorable feature such as a striking eye color, atypical pupils, or an unusual complexion, providing a two-dice bonus to social interactions with strangers. (The novelty quickly wears off.) Take a one-die penalty to disguise yourself.
Semblance of the Methuselah •-•• (Forbidden Religions pp.85-86) Whether you’re aware of it or not, you have a striking resemblance to a methuselah of your line. Perhaps your own sire felt a strange attraction to your appearance that drove them to Embrace you for reasons they couldn’t quite explain, or it may be that the raw power of your ancestor’s blood physically shifted your looks to more closely match theirs upon your embrace. Upon taking this Merit, you may choose a specific methuselah of your clan from whom you are ultimately descended and whom you resemble. Alternatively, you may allow your Storyteller to choose and leave the nature of your similarity a mystery to you — for now, at least. Each dot in this Merit grants you one additional die on dice rolls to impress, intimidate, or attract the attention of those who recognize and fear or respect the progenitor whom you resemble. Each dot in this Merit may also add to your Status dots within your clan during official gatherings or ceremonies or within a cult that venerates the methuselah whom you resemble. If you are luckless enough to encounter the methuselah in question, each dot in this Merit also grants you one additional die to any social rolls when interacting with them, although depending on the ancient in question, it may anger them to see such similarity.
Scene Kid • (Live From the Succubus Club p.26) Every subculture has its trappings; you’re the unliving embodiment of its particular style. While it may not impress the masses, for those in the know, you look every inch the part. Add one die to all appropriate Social pools when dealing with that subculture.
Stunning •••• (Core p.179) You add two extra dice to all appropriate Social dice pools, as above.
Up All Night ••, •••• (Blood-Stained Love p.151) Not all Kindred resemble walking corpses as they lose themselves to the Beast. For purposes of the Blush of Life, eating or drinking, and sexual intercourse, treat your Humanity score as one point higher than it is (maximum 10), or two points higher if this merit was purchased for 4 dots. Nosferatu cannot select this merit, and Hecata can only select it as a two-dot merit. This merit doesn’t combine with others that treat your Humanity as higher: if you have multiple ways to treat your humanity as higher than it is, choose the most effective one in any situation.
#### Mythic
Cold Dead Hunger ••• (Forbidden Religions p.87) When hungry, your Beast is a weak and quiescent thing; it still urges you towards self-indulgent atrocity but is easier to quell. Perhaps you starved it through meditation or self-denial, or girded yourself in rites of black sorcery and red transgression; perhaps it’s just the way you are, and you have no explanation for the cold, dead hunger that nestles in your bosom. Add two dice to your rolls to resist Hunger frenzy.
Eat Food •• (Core p.182) You can consume food without effort and might even enjoy it, though it gives no nourishment and must be expelled before resting for the day.
Ley Line Leech • (Live From the Succubus Club p.26) Whether through divination, archaic maps, or gut instinct, you follow the ancient paths of power while traveling, thus benefiting from their mystical energy. After spending more than a few hours travelling to a different city or locale, your Blood becomes positively charged, negating the need for a Rouse Check when rising the following night.
Mystic of the Void •-•• (Tattered Facade p.100) Choose one Oblivion Power you do not know with a level equal to or less than your current dots in Oblivion. You count as knowing that Power for the purpose of prerequisites to learning Oblivion Ceremonies. If you later learn a Power chosen for this Merit, you may select a new Power to replace it from among those you do not know. Hecata and Lasombra characters may select this merit at the two-dot level and choose three Oblivion Powers in lieu of one.
Nuit Mode •• (Players Guide p.119) Your body doesn’t automatically revert to the death-state each night, enabling you to keep things like new haircuts, tattoos, and other body modifications at your option. You are still able to return to your original death-state, though, and can mend any later modifications as if they were Aggravated damage. This Merit is available only to Kindred of Blood Potency 1 or lower. (If your Blood becomes more potent at any point, the Merit no longer grants any benefit, but if you drop back down to Blood Potency 1 it returns.)
Pack Diablerie •• (Forbidden Religions p.87) Your thirst for the corrupt essence of other vampires is horrifically intense. If you attempt to consume a victim via diablerie alongside other partners, you are always the one who has the opportunity to consume the full “soul” unless you choose otherwise or one of your partners also has this Merit (in which case, the diablerists gain nothing unless all but one are destroyed or voluntarily relinquish the claim, at which point the victor gains the benefit). Additionally, when you help another to consume the full soul and if they are successful, then you also gain 5 experience points to spend on raising Blood Potency or Disciplines known to the victim, as if you yourself had committed diablerie and achieved one success on the Humanity + Blood Potency roll. You can use these experience points in concert with personal experience but must spend them immediately. Duskborn vampires who engage in pack diablerie can spend experience on purchasing dots in the victim’s Disciplines and Blood Potency, their generation remains unaltered.
Persistent Blush ••• (Live From the Succubus Club p.26) Your dead flesh is uniquely receptive to the Blood when it’s time to imitate life. Your lifelike demeanor and biological responses last much longer than your peers, and you can walk among mortals for nights at a time without extra effort. A single activation of Blush of Life persists for one week.
Shifts in the Blood •••• (Cults of the Blood Gods p.202) **Prerequisite:** Hecata The Hecata have long been interested in the malleability of the Blood, and how their favored Disciplines in these nights differ from those of their ancestors and their ancestors before them. While they speculate it may be due to the formation of the Hecata and destruction of many Giovanni elders in recent years, Necromancers still guess at why some Giovanni favor forceful Disciplines and the *nasyon san an* prioritize subterfuge. Why the ability for heightened senses is the power so often lost, even the most accomplished Necromancers cannot say. When you purchase this merit, your character's bloodline replacement Discipline counts as a fourth in-clan Discipline. Giovanni have access to Dominate, *nasyon san an* have access to Obfuscate, Lamiae have access to Potence, and Nagaraja have access to Dominate.
Protean Sorcerer • (Courts of the Damned p.166) **Prerequisite:** Gangrel, Ministry, Tzimisce You can learn and teach Blood Sorcery as though it were a Clan Discipline. This replaces Protean as a Clan Discipline for you.
Oblivion’s Corruption • (Courts of the Damned p.166) **Prerequisite:** Ministry You can learn and teach Oblivion as though it were a Clan Discipline. This replaces Protean as a Clan Discipline for you. You cannot have both Oblivion’s Corruption and Protean Sorcerer.
#### Psychological
False Love • (Blood-Stained Love p.151) Choose a storyteller character as your obsession. When in their presence, treat your Humanity as one dot higher (max 10) for purposes of the Blush of Life, eating or drinking, and sexual intercourse. If this character dies you immediately gain three Stains, but can choose a new obsession at the beginning of the next session. This merit doesn’t combine with others that treat your Humanity as higher: if you have multiple ways to treat your humanity as higher than it is, choose the most effective one in any situation.
Penitence •-••••• (Forbidden Religions p.86) In pain, you find absolution. By scourging yourself — lashing your skin with a whip, driving needles into your flesh, or some other self-abusive act — you reaffirm your faith. For each dot you possess in this Merit, you can scourge yourself once per session as part of a scene, suffering one point of Superficial Health damage and immediately healing one point of Superficial Willpower damage. Scourging usually takes an entire scene to complete.
Soothed Beast • (Blood-Stained Love p.151) Choose a storyteller character as your obsession. Once per session when in the presence of your obsession, you can choose to ignore one Bestial Failure or Messy Critical. If this character dies you immediately gain three Stains, but can choose a new obsession at the beginning of the next session.
Unholy Will ••,•••• (Forbidden Religions p.86) Your will and soul are bulwarks against the power of True Faith (Core p.222). You may have spent many nights upon holy ground or argued with clever, devout theologians until the intricacies of their faith are as familiar to you as the dead stillness in your chest. You might have even gone to great lengths to harden your mind against the burning ardor of true believers or cast yourself so deeply into the role of demonic foe through ritual personae that you are firm in your conviction that your purpose is to test such belief. One way or another, as angel or devil, the signs and forms of True Faith do not hold sway against you. At two dots, add one die to any dice pool when you resist or contest an individual with true Faith on matters of their faith, including their miraculous abilities. Furthermore, you suffer one fewer point of damage from holy sources that harness the power of True Faith, such as blessed weapons or sacred ceremonies. At four dots, add two dice and suffer two fewer points of damage. The four dot and two dot versions of this Merit do not stack.
Zealotry •,••• (Forbidden Religions p.86) The fire of your faith is an unstoppable bonfire, driving you to intense heights of zeal. You won’t let anything come between you and the fulfilment of your beliefs, no matter the cost to yourself or others. For each dot in this Merit, once per session after rolling a normal success on an action that corresponds to or aligns with one of your Convictions, you may choose to turn that normal success into a messy critical instead. In this way, you gain the usual benefits for a critical win on the roll in question along with the appropriate drawbacks for the mess you create in the process. Note that this does not yield additional successes, but only allows you to count the win as critical in a case where it matters.
#### Substance Use
High-Functioning Addict • (Core p.180) You add one die to any one category of pool (specify when you choose which substance you use) when the last person you fed from was on your drug.
#### Miscellaneous
Check the Trunk • (Players Guide p.119) Mercenaries and gig workers have to keep their tools of the trade close at hand. They never know what their next job might require, but they do their best to keep a supply of useful tools close at hand. Caitiff, Ravnos, Anarchs, and even some mortals especially benefit from this Merit. You have easy access to an armory or cache of tools and hardware. None of these items can exceed a value available to a character with Resources 2. Common items found in a cache could include a sawed-off shotgun, rusty bolt cutters, half a roll of duct tape, homemade stakes, half empty squeeze bottles of lighter fluid, and whatever else the Storyteller allows. Take an additional two dots in Preparedness pools (Core p.410) for items within this Resource band. Losing your car, haven, or other storage space may interrupt this Merit until you build up a new stash.
Linguistics •-••••• (Core p.179) Each dot in Linguistics allows the character to fluently speak, write, and read one additional language besides those two default languages. Characters who are local to South Africa may take an additional language for free. Characters that are local may take an additional language for free, regardless of if they possess this Merit or not.
Side Hustler ••• (Players Guide pp.119-120) Folks on the fringes constantly have to grind to keep the little that they have. Juggling a million tasks, favors, and debts has become second nature to them. Once per session you can get your hands on an item, a piece of information, or access to an event as if you had two dots in the appropriate Resources, Contacts or Influence Background. (Items obtained with Resources likely have to be returned intact.) Often this requires you to spend part of the night calling in markers and pressing your informal network.
Tempered Will ••• (Players Guide p.120) Your stubborn spirit didn’t die during your Embrace, and you find yourself knowing when people are trying to force you to do something against your will. You are always aware of when someone is using Dominate and Presence against you. Once per session, when resisting Dominate or Presence, you may add two additional dice to your resistance pool. Only someone with no dots in either Dominate or Presence can take this Merit. (If you acquire the Disciplines afterward, or temporarily as with thin-bloods, the Merit no longer grants any benefit while you possess them.)
Untouchable ••••• (Players Guide p.120) The powers that be are very reluctant to punish you for even the most egregious crimes. Perhaps you’re the secret power behind the throne, or you hold some damning blackmail over the local Baron, or you’re the secret childe of a Justicar or other political potentate. Once per story you can escape all official punishment for a crime that would otherwise see you destroyed or cast out of your sect, though you may be privately reprimanded or face consequences through unofficial channels. The Court or Council often ignores your lesser crimes as well, but lower-level Kindred may take it upon themselves to step to you for your perceived transgressions and flaunted impunity.
## Allowed Backgrounds #### Allies
Allies •-•••• (Core pp.184-185) Allies are mortals who support and help you: family, friends, or even a mortal organization that owes you some loyalty. Although Allies usually aid you willingly, without coaxing or coercion, they are not always available to offer assistance; they have their own concerns and can do only so much for the sake of your relationship. Usually, Allies appear about once per story. Allies do not use Reliability. • Weak mortal, likely useless in a violent or potentially violent situation. `■ Attributes: Two at 2, the rest at 1`\ `■ Skills: Three at 2, five at 1`\ `■ Advantages: None` •• Average mortal or a tight-knit group of Weak mortals (neighborhood kids who solve mysteries, church group, NGO chapter) `■ Attributes: Two at 3, three at 2, the rest at 1`\ `■ Skills: Three at 3, four at 2, five at 1`\ `■ Advantages: 3 points, 2 points of Flaws` ••• Gifted mortal or a dangerous group of Average mortals (a street gang, a celebrity entourage, a blue-collar union local) `■ Attributes: One at 4, two at 3, two at 2, the rest at 1`\ `■ Skills: Two at 4 (one with a Specialty), four at 3, four at 2, four at 1`\ `■ Advantages: 10 points, 4 points of Flaws` •••• Deadly mortal, a Gifted mortal with magic or other supernatural powers, or a well-armed group of Gifted mortals (a private security squad , a lawyer contingent, a Russian Mafia bratva) `■ Attributes: Two at 5, two at 4, two at 3, the rest at 2`\ `■ Skills: One at 5, three at 4, five at 3, six at 2; three Specialties`\ `■ Advantages: 15 points, no Flaws`
#### Contacts
Contacts •-••• (Core pp.185-186) You know people – human people – from many different walks of life. Contacts primarily provide you with information in their areas of expertise, and they may want to exchange favors of various kinds. For different kinds of help, use your [Influence](#influence-core-pp.187-188) in the mortal world, or call on your [Allies](#allies-core-pp.184-185) or [Mawla](#mawla-core-pp.192-193). A Contact is someone in an excellent position to get information. They might be a police dispatcher, rather than a homicide lieutenant, or a congressional staffer, rather than a senator. Information brokers, gossip columnists, underworld fixers, and reporters make excellent Contacts. • One Contact who can do or get something cheap or common for you (Resources 1). Examples: a weed dealer, a car salesman. •• One Contact who can do or get something useful for you (Resources 2). Examples: small-time gun dealer, veterinarian. ••• One Contact who can do or get something expensive or hard for you (Resources 4). Examples: security systems expert; police lieutenant in homicide, narcotics, or other useful field.
#### Fame
Enduring Fame • (Live From the Succubus Club p.25) **Prerequisite:** [Fame •••+](#fame-core-pp.186-187) As an immensely beloved figure before your Embrace, you’ve learned that the benefits — and drawbacks — of stardom remain after death. When you lose points of Fame during a story, they return to full value at the start of the next story with no effort necessary.
Fame •-••••• (Core pp.186-187) Mortals know your name and eagerly seek out news of your activities. You might be a movie star, rock star, or other celebrity. Fame grants pull in mass and social media; you have more ways than most to manipulate the thoughts of the populace. You likely have ways to mask the fact that you’re never seen during the day, such as a body double. In some circumstances, the Storyteller may allow you to use Fame in a Social test dice pool instead of another Trait, especially to get into an otherwise exclusive venue or event. “Do you know who I am?” doesn’t work everywhere, but it does work. Each level of Fame subtracts one from the Difficulty of Social tests against your fans and from many hunting tests, depending on your predation strategy – you have less trouble attracting prey. Fame has its downside, of course – it’s harder for you to tail someone unobtrusively, for example, and who wants groupies hanging around the door to their haven all day tagging its location on Instagram? You should look into taking Disguise as a specialty. By default, Fame applies among mortals, but you can also buy Fame that applies among Kindred for the same cost. Some vampires, such as Dracula or Elizabeth Bathory, might have both! Vampires may admire, or at least be more interested in, a Kindred who was famous or infamous in life: Arthur Rimbaud, Crispus Attucks, Billy the Kid, and the like.
Influencer • (Live From the Succubus Club p.25) **Prerequisite:** [Fame ••+](#fame-core-pp.186-187) People don’t just love you — they take your word as gospel. You write social media posts that make or break businesses, and even high-ranking officials who should know better listen to you. Once per story, with the Storyteller’s approval, you have the equivalent of an Influence rating equal to your Fame minus one towards a single fan or a field related to your stardom.
#### Herd
Herd •-••••• (Core pp.189-190) You have cultivated a group of vessels from whom you can feed without concern. You can use them to per-\ form basic services, although they are neither as tightly controlled nor as loyal as Retainers. (If needed, build your Herd as a combination of Weak and Average mortals; see [Allies](#allies-core-pp.184-185).) You can slake your Herd rating in Hunger each week without a roll. (This benefit can be shared among more than one vampire.) Overfeeding endangers your Herd, potentially dropping the rating as members die or flee. • One to three vessels with random Resonance and no Dyscrasias: You can change one victim’s Resonance once a Chronicle with a successful Manipulation + Insight test (Difficulty 4). Examples: graduate students, musical pupils, cleaver family •• Four to seven vessels, half of whom share one Resonance that you pick when you buy this Advantage. Examples: Aging devotees of the city’s fading goth or bhangra scene, fellow club scenesters, large cleaver family ••• Seven to 15 vessels, with two different Resonances that you pick each Chronicle when you feed on different Herd members. Examples: rugby team, swinger scene, dance or night school class, night shift employees •••• 16 to 30 vessels: Pick two Resonances every Chronicle. Herd maintenance, cover ups, and recruitment take occasional roles in your chronicle. Examples: cult, large brothel, sweatshop ••••• 31 to 60 vessels: Pick three Resonances every Chronicle. Herd maintenance and recruitment begins to brush up against the Masquerade. Examples: Large cult, large sweatshop
#### Influence
Influence •-••••• (Core pp.187-188) You have pull in the mortal community, whether through wealth, prestige, political office, blackmail, or supernatural manipulation. Kindred with high Influence can sway, and in rare cases even control, the politics and society of their city, especially the police and city bureaucracy. By default, Influence applies most within one group or region of your city. Groups can be large, even diffuse: organized crime, media, religion, the police, city government, etc. Regions should be larger than neighborhoods or all but the largest individual domains: Brooklyn, the Rive Gauche, the South Side, the Ginza, etc. Your Influence applies to the city as a whole at one dot less than it does within your group or region. Using local Influence in another city in the same area, state, or province might be possible at an additional one-dot penalty, and so on. So, a vampire might be Powerful (••••) in Hollywood, Entrenched (•••) everywhere in Los Angeles, merely Influential (••) in San Diego or San Francisco, and just Well-Connected (•) in Chicago or New York. The Storyteller may require you to use Influence in place of a Trait in some dice pools, particularly Social tests attempting to sway minor bureaucrats or the equivalent in your group. This Background helps you have an “abandoned” building demolished (or preserved), not start global wars. • Well-connected: You’re guaranteed a respectful hearing. •• Influential: People want to do you favors. ••• Entrenched: Mortal power-brokers and factions hesitate to oppose you. •••• Powerful: Without a good reason to do otherwise, functionaries and foot soldiers obey. ••••• Dominant: Lesser figures try to figure out what you want and do it first.
#### Mask
Cobbler • (Core p.191) **Prerequisite:** Mask 2 You can make or source Masks. Making a Mask takes three days per dot and possibly exposes you online; sourcing Masks takes one day per dot, but costs something in return. How much depends on your leverage, margin on the Social test, or whatever else the Storyteller decides.
Mask •-•• (Core p.190) As stealth predators, vampires have few weapons more potent than their pretense of humanity. The lies the Kindred live constantly shadow your stories, and no description of a lick should omit how they navigate mortal society – what they wear as a Mask. A good Mask explains the character’s nocturnal existence and offers plenty of opportunities to be alone with mortals. Some vampires switch back and forth between Masks, risking deep identity confusion and slipups, while others forge single plausible identities and strictly adhere to them for a human lifetime before they switch, adding makeup as they “age,” and faking every aspect of life to look perfectly normal on paper. Others, almost always Nosferatu or unbound vampires, forswear safety for freedom off the grid or on the streets. By default (at no dots) a vampire either has no need of a Mask, such as those recently Embraced and still able to pass as the human they were, or has a single Mask and fake ID that can stand up to a traffic stop or similar surface scrutiny. A zero-dot mask does not pass a background check, much less a proper investigation by the authorities. • You have a good fake identity, including a credit card, bank account, credit history, birth certificate, etc., all in your Mask’s name. You can pass a state or provincial-level background check. •• Your Mask can pass a background check with the national police: FBI, Scotland Yard, or the equivalent. If you had a military or intelligence record in life, it has been classified.
Zeroed • (Core p.191) **Prerequisite:** Mask 2 Someone in high places has purged your real records. You officially don’t exist.
#### Mawla
Mawla •-••••• (Core pp.192-193) This Background represents one or a group of Kindred who looks out for you, offering guidance, information, or aid once in a while. The word comes from medieval Arabic, meaning different things from “a trusted one” to “uncle” to “source of neighborly protection” to “non-Muslim whose oath still binds them.” Western vampires brought the term back from the Crusades, and as the Ashirra and Camarilla find themselves increasingly allied in the Gehenna War, the word enjoys a resurgence in vampire society. A Mawla may act as your mentor. Such a role commonly falls to your sire, if they don’t treat you as property or ignore you. Your Mawla might trade information to mutual benefit, or even come to your aid if you have respected the relationship. A Mawla may be powerful, but their power need not be direct. Depending on the number of dots in this Background, your Mawla might be nothing more than an ancilla with a remarkable information network, or they might be a centuries-old creature with tremendous influence and supernatural power. They may offer advice, speak to the Prince or Baron on your behalf, steer other elders clear of you, or give warning when you’re walking into situations you don’t understand. Your Mawla, of course, expects reciprocity. A Mawla rating could even represent a group of like-minded vampires, such as the elders of the city’s Tremere chantry or a Trotskyite clique amongst the Anarchs in town. (The plural of Mawla is Mawali.) As a general rule, a Mawla group costs one dot more than a single Kindred of that level: a a coven of elder Mawali would be a four-dot Mawla group, for example. As a general rule, Mawali provide a helpful word and occasional political pushes or cover, but they don’t fight your battles or call in valuable favors. If they must do so for their own sake to aid you, you probably lose a dot or more of this Background, after arousing their ire. • Neonate •• Ancilla ••• Elder •••• Primogen or Anarch Revolutionary Council member ••••• Prince or Baron
#### Resources
Resources •-••••• (Core p.193) This Background describes your Resources. These benefits are not necessarily financial in nature and are rarely completely liquid, but you can often sell them to gain money. It could take weeks or even months to do so, depending on how much needs to be sold. Especially as the Second Inquisition closes down Kindred bank accounts, vampires increasingly return to holding their Resources in cash – or in gold, art, narcotics, guns, and slaves. Dots of Resources provide an income for you to maintain your standard of unliving, but you must detail the source of your income and the form this Background takes. After all, it might dry up, get stolen, or otherwise vanish during the chronicle. • Portfolio Proletariat: You live paycheck to paycheck: apartment, car, camping equipment. •• Middle Class: Nice apartment or small house, several cars, high-end equipment ••• Rich: Great condo or nice house, luxury items, high-end equipment for several people •••• Wealthy: Mansion, helicopter or private jet, very specialized high-end equipment ••••• Ultra Rich: Many mansions, “anything money can buy”
#### Retainers
Retainers •-••• (Core p.194) You have one or more loyal and steadfast servants or assistants. Retainers may be ghouls who are blood bound to you, individuals you have so Dominated over the years that they are incapable of independent action, or individuals you have so overwhelmed with your Presence that they would do anything for you. You must always control retainers in some fashion: a salary, vitae donation, or direct mesmerism. Though typically loyal, retainers may betray you if the reward outweighs the risk or if you have treated them badly. The Storyteller can always call for a scene between you and a retainer. Retainers should act as characters, not puppets. Even ghoul retainers aren’t supermen; the most skilled servants don’t always show the highest loyalty. Everything in Vampire is a tradeoff. Storytellers can use Retainers to add flavor to the chronicle; don’t let them or their misuse damage the story. • Underwhelming retainer: A child, criminal low-life, or horror nerd follows you around and does your bidding without a Blood Bond. Build them as a Weak mortal. •• A ghoul, a family servant, a human lover, or a dominated thrall: give them a backstory. Build them as an Average mortal or as a ghoul with no Advantages. ••• A retainer competent enough to act independently and make lesser problems go away. They are likely a ghoul with traits equivalent to Gifted mortals, on top of their supernatural abilities.
#### Status
City Secrets • (Players Guide p.118) You have somehow acquired a damning secret about the city’s Kindred power structure, perhaps specifically about someone in it. Decide the exact nature of the information with the Storyteller. If the secret refers only to mortal business (“the Mayor is secretly fucking a Russian Mafiya soldier”), it’s just a way to explain your Influence. A few power players in the city know you have this information, or strongly suspect it. Hopefully, you’ve made arrangements for the secret to get out upon your mysterious disappearance. You could sell this information for a high price, but its truest value is protection: those who want it to stay secret have some interest in keeping you happy. Of course, if you push your luck, they may decide keeping you quiet forever takes higher priority. This Background resembles Influence more than Status in some circumstances; the Storyteller should determine when or if it adds to a Social pool, or possibly a Research or Insight test. You can take this Background a maximum of three times, with a different secret each time.
Status •-••••• (Core p.194) You have something of a reputation and standing (earned or unearned) within a specified local community of Kindred, probably Camarilla or Anarch. Status among Camarilla society derives as often from your sire’s status and the respect due your particular bloodline as it does from personal achievement. High Status among Anarchs theoretically depends on the character’s contributions, but more often to their degree of connection (by Blood or coterie) to the current Baron or other ruler. Status in one sect does not transfer to the other. By and large, Status held in another city effectively reduces by one dot; an Influential (•••) vampire in Cartagena is only Respected (••) in Buenos Aires. The Storyteller may occasionally call on you to add your Status to a dice pool along with a Social Trait, especially for first meetings and court happenings. In other cases, the Storyteller may allow you to substitute your Status for a Social Trait – but other vampires may notice that you’re skating by on Status, instead of properly using the Etiquette Skill, for example. Caitiff characters begin with the [Suspect](#suspect-core-p) Flaw and may not purchase positive Status during character creation. • Known: A properly introduced, welcomed neonate, seen as an up-and-comer. •• Respected: You have responsibilities now, an average ancilla. ••• Influential: You hold authority over part of the group, an average elder. •••• Powerful: You hold office in the group, such as Sheriff, Harpy, or Scourge. ••••• Luminary: You sit at the table of power in the group, a respected member of the Primogen
## Allowed Flaws #### Allies
Enemies •-•• (Core pp.184-185) Enemies are the opposite of [Allies](#allies-core-pp.184-185) and are taken as Flaws. • Gifted mortal or a dangerous group of Average mortals (a street gang, a celebrity entourage, a blue-collar union local) `■ Attributes: One at 4, two at 3, two at 2, the rest at 1`\ `■ Skills: Two at 4 (one with a Specialty), four at 3, four at 2, four at 1`\ `■ Advantages: 10 points, 4 points of Flaws` •• Deadly mortal, a Gifted mortal with magic or other supernatural powers, or a well-armed group of Gifted mortals (a private security squad , a lawyer contingent, a Russian Mafia bratva) `■ Attributes: Two at 5, two at 4, two at 3, the rest at 2`\ `■ Skills: One at 5, three at 4, five at 3, six at 2; three Specialties`\ `■ Advantages: 15 points, no Flaws`
#### Archaic
Archaic •• (Core p.180) You haven’t been able to adapt to the present, or you have been long in torpor. You cannot use computers or cell phones, and your Technology rating is permanently 0. The Storyteller may penalize other dice pools involving very modern technology by one die.
Grief Phobia • (In Memoriam p.21) The traumatic loss of a Touchstone saddled you with a permanent phobia for something that reminds you of them, the way you lost them, or the Conviction they used to embody to you. You lose one die in all tests made while in the presence of your phobic stimulus (determine what this is when you take the Flaw). Examples could include a genre of music, a certain smell, or the Touchstone’s family members. You can take this Flaw once for each lost Touchstone in your past.
Living in the Past • (Core p.180) You haven’t grasped the modern mindset, or you just don’t want to. You have one or more seriously outdated Convictions, e.g. “The Pope’s word is law,” “Women are delicate flowers,” “Lower classes exist only to serve,” or “Burn your enemies’ baggage.” These archaic moralities maintain your Humanity but are odious to many; you lose one die from Social test dice pools involving such archaic beliefs except with vampires your age and older, who may admire your steadfast virtue.
Old Tricks • (In Memoriam p.21) You’ve never mastered the modern age: all your specialties must be Archaic specialties.
Shameful Childe • (In Memoriam p.20) You did the thing other Kindred have trauma from — you created a childe and left them to fend for themselves. Perhaps you didn’t know until it was too late, perhaps you lost control and were too ashamed to face the music. Either way, now they’re out there somewhere, and sooner or later, they’ll come back to confront you.
Touchstone Embraced By Your Enemies •• (In Memoriam p.20) This former Touchstone of yours didn’t simply die or change as a person — they were Embraced. Now they run with your enemies. This Adversary is a single neonate, but they have allies, and the mere confrontation with what they’ve become carries a risk of Stains.
#### Bonding
Bond Junkie • (Core p.181) The Bond feels sweeter to you once it happens. Subtract one die from your dice pools to act against a Blood Bond.
Bondslave •• (Core p.180) You bond instantly with the taste of another’s vitae; only one drink of blood binds you, not three. Either you begin as your sire’s thrall, or consult with the Storyteller to come up with a reason that first bond has broken.
Long Bond • (Core p.181) Blood Bonds on you lose their Bond strength more slowly than normal, decreasing by one for each three months without being reinforced.
#### Contagion
Disease Vector • (Forbidden Religions p.86) The corrupt life energy of your vitae is fertile ground for the festering sicknesses of the kine. Whenever you feed from a sick mortal, you always contract that sickness and will pass it on to your next vessel.
Plaguebringer •-•• (Forbidden Religions p.87) You have a disease in your vitae that you cannot expunge and that manifests its symptoms on your body despite your undead state; even totally flushing all the blood from your body and drinking afresh does not rid you of it. It seems to well up from your corrupt soul. At one dot, the disease is minor but expresses visible traces such as a rash, sores, coughing or sneezing, or oozing mucus. At two dots, the disease is potentially severe if you leave it untreated, although it is not necessarily fatal. Furthermore, it does not need to leave visible symptoms upon you. In either case, mortal victims of your bite who are susceptible to the disease will contract it. The dice penalties stemming from this Flaw are situational, and more narrative penalties — such as having a sickly herd or weaker victims dying from subsequent illness — are advised.
#### Cultists
Apocryphal Texts • (Children of the Blood p.95) You possess the writings of one of your church’s founders or prominent figures. While they’re not official canon, the revelations within make you a sought-after expert. The texts aren’t merely apocryphal, they’re considered dangerous by your cult’s leaders. On social combat rolls involving the writings, increase the Willpower damage modifier by 1. You add one extra die to all appropriate Social dice pools.
Empty • (Children of the Blood p.98) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Cult of Shalim adherent You’ve carved away all of your fleeting, temporal joys. No bonds of love or lofty ambitions remain. While within the cult, hollowness is good, that emptiness radiates from you in a way that disturbs the uninitiated. People try to extricate themselves from your presence quickly, making it hard to have more than superficial conversations with them. Subtract two dice from Social rolls.
Excommunicated •-•• (Children of the Blood p.96) Once, you belonged. Something you did caused the leadership to cast you out and make you persona non grata among your peers. They’ve stripped your access to the cult’s support systems and resources. At one dot, subtract two dice from all rolls dealing with the cult or its members. At two dots, cultists actively try to destroy you: tanking your finances, undermining your reputation, and even calling a Blood Hunt if you dare enter their territory.
Failed Initiate • (Children of the Blood p.98) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Cult of Mithras adherent You faltered while taking one (or several) of the Seven Steps, and your Pater has assigned a guide to ensure your future success. While it reflects the cult’s investment in you, this vampire watches — and scrutinizes — your every move. They may interrupt your plans at a whim, offering instruction and demanding you prove yourself at inconvenient times.
Faithless •• (Children of the Blood p.96) You don’t actually believe any of the cult’s doctrines. You’re only in it for the benefits, but true progress and power require a degree of commitment and you’re not willing to subject yourself to indoctrination. Keeping up appearances requires an exhausting degree of vigilance; it’s only a matter of time before someone asks you to prove your faith. Characters with this Flaw lose two dice on all Resolve and Composure rolls associated with acting for the cult and may learn no Rituals, Ceremonies, or purchase Loresheets associated with this cult higher than Level 2.
False Alarms • (Children of the Blood p.98) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Church of Set adherent The hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Your skin crawls. You feel the weight of unseen eyes upon you, even when you’re certain you’re alone. Your danger sense is not only always on, it’s in constant overdrive... and it’s not always right. All failed Awareness rolls count as total failures (Core p.122). The Storyteller may name up to three people or pieces of equipment in the scene the character believes is watching them. Any or all may be utterly benign.
Schism • (Children of the Blood p.97) **Prerequisite:** Must be a Church of Caine adherent, must be Lasombra One of your great-grandsires was among the members of the Night Clan participating in purging the Church of Caine several centuries ago. Others within the Crimson Curia eye you warily, lest you share your predecessor’s views in modern nights. Suffer a two dice penalty on Social rolls with other members of your cult.
Yearning • (Children of the Blood p.98) **Prerequisite:** Must be Nephilim Your master is gone from your life. Perhaps she was Beckoned. Perhaps you broke off contact, or she did, or someone else came between you. No matter how much time has passed, you still wish you were at her side, pursuing her goals. When your plans come into conflict with those your master set down for you, spend two points of Willpower to work counter to her wishes. For extended actions, spend one point for each roll. If you have no Willpower points left to spend, your next action must be in pursuit of your master’s goals.
#### Diablerie
Blatant Diablerist • (Gehenna War p.45) The telltale signs of diablerie are always noticeable to those who have the ability to sense it. Discipline Powers or Merits that reveal past evidence of diablerie, such as Scry the Soul (Auspex 3) or A Taste for Blood (Blood Sorcery 1)always reveal diablerie, even if the test would otherwise fail or fail to reveal other information. You can only take this Flaw at character creation if your character has a history of having committed diablerie at least once.
Inherited Bane •• (Gehenna War p.45) You gain another clan’s bane in addition to your own. Tremere may select this Flaw to gain the Salubri clan bane (Players Guide p.47) without having committed Diablerie.
#### Fame
Infamy •-••• (Core p.187) You are famous for something horrible. At the very least, the Difficulty of most reaction tests increases by the amount of the Flaw; at worst, the authorities attempt to kill or capture you whenever you appear. • Most people in the country know your name, at least. •• Everybody who even vaguely cares about social trends or your field knows something about you. ••• Your Infamy reaches mass national or even global audiences. You are a major movie star, stadium-filling rock act, or former president.
Dark Secret •-••• (Core p.187) You can also take Dark Secret, a milder version of Infamy. The Dark Secret Flaw provides one fewer point than the equivalent Infamy, as your black deeds remain unknown to all but you and perhaps one or two very motivated enemies. The one-dot version of Infamy also provides one point as a Dark Secret, because it’s easier to uncover than a truly life-threatening secret. • You owe a big debt to bad people or have made yourself generally odious. Alternately, your spouse, lover, or close family member has Infamy ••. •• You are a Cleaver or serial breacher of the Masquerade, have been Blood Hunted out of another city, or have grievously offended this domain’s ruler.
#### Feeding
Farmer •• (Core p.181) You feed only on animal blood. You must spend two points of Willpower to drink human blood. Ventrue may not take this Flaw.
Methuselah's Thirst • (Core p.181) Your Hunger can only be fully slaked by the blood of supernatural creatures. (Alchemists may be able to thicken the Blood of thin-bloods enough to sate you.) Otherwise, it constantly remains at a minimum of 1. (Or higher, depending on Blood Potency (Core p.215).
Organovore •• (Core p.181) You can slake Hunger only by eating human flesh and organs, especially those rich in blood such as the heart, liver, lungs, placenta, and spleen. (Most organovore Kindred these nights make smoothies from the organs first.) Only the heart provides Resonance, if any.
Outdated Preference •• (In Memoriam p.21) This Flaw resembles the Ventrue Clan Bane, except your preferred mortal has become almost impossible to come by. Examples include castrato singers, quaalude addicts, footmen, phrenologists, milkmen, Redcoats, and wet nurses. You either have to capture and force mortals to fit with your preference, or you always spend 1 Willpower to feed.
Prey Exclusion • (Core pp.181-182) You refuse to hunt a certain class of prey: drug users, women, children, policemen, innocents, a given minority or ethnic group, etc. If you feed on such prey, you gain Stains as though you had violated a chronicle Tenet. Witnessing other Kindred feeding on the object of your exclusion without interfering might also give Stains, at the Storyteller’s discretion. Ventrue with this Flaw gain an additional restriction, making their choice of vessels extremely narrow.
Resonance Mimic •• (Live From the Succubus Club p.25) The vessels you feed from have a habit of sticking around with you. You don’t just pick up the Resonances in their blood, you’re absorbing parts of their memories, personality, or maybe even their very soul. After you feed on a mortal of any Resonance at a Fleeting Temperament or higher, you experience vivid and distracting visions of your victim’s memories during the next scene, which inflicts a two-dice penalty to a test of the Storyteller’s choice. Killing someone through feeding has an additional effect: the victim’s personality and memories persist in your mind and might take over your body for a scene when your Willpower is Incapacitated. This effect lasts until your Willpower is fully restored or the end of the story.
Resonance Sensitivity • (Live From the Succubus Club p.25) You’re sensitive to the secret flavors of blood, and one of them really messes with your head. Pick one Resonance, excepting Animal and Void. When you feed on a vessel with that Resonance at an Intense or higher Temperament, your Storyteller creates a unique Compulsion (Core p.208) based on that Resonance that must be carried out before the end of the story. This Compulsion persists even if you feed from a vessel with a different Resonance or the same Resonance with a lesser Temperament later in the story. If it isn’t resolved at the end of the story, these suppressed emotions are released in a messy, potentially violent way of the Storyteller’s choosing. You may select this Flaw again to be sensitive to an additional Resonance.
Sloppy Feeder •• (Live From the Succubus Club p.25) Wherever you go, a telltale pattern of attacks follows, as your feeding style leaves much to be desired. If caught feeding by the authorities, they’ll have sufficient evidence to connect you to a series of assaults (and probably murders), as well as leaking your location to Second Inquisition assets.
Vein Tapper • (Players Guide p.120) You find the act of feeding extremely personal and cannot take blood from mortals while being observed. This means you often feed from the unaware and go out of your way to find (or create) drugged or unconscious victims.
#### Herd
Obvious Predator •• (Core pp.189-190) You exude a predatory demeanor, and humans instinctively fear and mistrust you. Lose two dice from any dice pool for hunting except purely Physical expressions of stalking, chasing, and killing. Lose one die from any dice pool for any Social test intended to put humans at ease. You cannot maintain a [Herd](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/advantages-and-flaws#herd).
#### Influence
Disliked • (Core pp.187-188) Subtract one die from Social test dice pools involving any group in the city except your Contacts and Allies or other explicitly loyal supporters.
Despised •• (Core p.187) One group or region of the city lives only to thwart you and your faction. Subtract two dice from dice pools attempting to convince a neutral actor to support you politically or do you a favor. The Storyteller should take any opportunity to involve your haters in the story.
#### Looks
Repulsive •• (Core p.179) You lose two dice from all relevant Social dice pools.
Stench • (Players Guide p.120) Your breath and body odor are supernaturally foul, redolent of open graves and rotting flesh. Even Nosferatu object to your stink. You can take minor steps to minimize the stench, such as splashing on plenty of cologne, but that causes other problems. Lose one die from seduction and similar Social dice pools, and lose two dice from Stealth pools against opponents who can smell, unless you are upwind.
Transparent • (Players Guide p.120) For whatever reason, you aren’t a good liar, and it shows. You either have a terrible poker face or your parents instilled in you a strong urge to be truthful even when it hurts. Lose one die from any pools requiring Subterfuge. You cannot gain dots in Subterfuge.
Ugly • (Core p.179) You lose one die from all relevant Social dice pools.
Unblinking Visage • (Gehenna War p.45) Your dead body has forgotten the basics: blinking, breathing, and automatic reflexes You count your Humanity as two levels lower (To a minimum of zero) for the purpose of Blush of Life and similar life-mimicking activities, such as mortal intercourse or food consumption.
#### Mask
Known Blankbody •• (Core p.179) Your biometrics, name, history, known associates, and aliases appear in several intelligence agency databases, flagged as a potential terrorist. Any inquisitor can read between the lines and recognize you as a vampire.
Known Corpse •• (Core p.179) People know you died recently and react with shock and horror if you appear among them. This Flaw also applies to any database lookups on your identity.
#### Mawla
Adversary •-•• (Core pp.184-185) A fellow Cainite who generally wishes you (or more likely your sire, lineage, or mentor) ill, an Adversary is the reverse Flaw of the Mawla Background. Adversaries range from one-dot elders to three-dot Princes or powerful cabals. The Storyteller uses either the Adversary’s Status or some specific other Background when building dice pools with which to oppose the player characters, not the dots in Adversary. • Elder •• Primogen or Anarch Revolutionary Council member ••• Prince or Baron
Secret Master • (Gehenna War p.45) **Prerequisite:** [Mawla **•**+](#mawla-core-pp.192-193) Your Mawla has a hold over you, and once per story requires you to do a minor task (equivalent to a minor boon) which cannot become public. If you fail to complete this task, next story it increases from the equivalent of a minor boon to a major boon. If the task is still left unresolved, this flaw is forfeited and should be replaced by 2 or more combined dots of other flaws, such as Shunned or an Adversary.
#### Mythic
Corpse Flesh ••• (Live From the Succubus Club p.26) Your body is truly and irrevocably dead, rendering you unable to use Blush of Life.
Folkloric Bane • (Core p.182) You take Aggravated damage from a folkloric bane. Folkloric banes include: ◻ Ultraviolet light (damage as direct sunlight)\ ◻ Silver or silver-plated weapons (damage as weapon damage: simply touching a silver coin or silverware does one point of Aggravated damage)\ ◻ Holy water (damage as fire)
Folkloric Block • (Core p.182) When faced with a folkloric block, you must shrink away from it or spend a Willpower point to push through it. Each folkloric block you take counts as a separate one-point Flaw. Folkloric blocks include: ◻ Holy symbols presented by any believer (even without True Faith)\ ◻ Crossing visible running water (not recommended in certain cities, such as Amsterdam, Stockholm, or Venice)\ ◻ Crossing a threshold to a home uninvited by the owner\ ◻ White animal\ ◻ Garlic\ ◻ Wild roses\ ◻ Spilled seeds you haven’t counted
Resistant Blush • (Live From the Succubus Club p.26) Your dead flesh accepts the Blood in every way save for the pretense of mortality. Blush of Life doesn’t come as naturally to you as your peers, and sometimes it won’t work without further effort. When you make a Rouse Check to activate the Blush of Life, roll twice and take the lowest result.
Starving Decay •• (Players Guide p.120) Your undead body is constantly on the verge of reverting to a corpse and only staving off Hunger keeps you from decaying. At any point in which your Hunger is 3 or higher your body shrivels and decays, incurring a two-dice penalty to physical tests as well as social interactions with mortals, not to mention risking the Masquerade.
Twice-Cursed •• (Players Guide p.121) You are cursed with additional Bane, making you labor under additional weight borne out of your clan founder’s flawed nature. Take your clan’s variant Bane (Players Guide p.56) in addition to your regular Bane. The Storyteller can prohibit this Flaw if the second Bane would cause problems for, or lack impact in, the chronicle.
Stigmata • (Core p.182) You begin to bleed from open wounds on your hands, feet, and forehead when you reach Hunger 4. This attracts attention, leaves traces, and may penalize some dice pools at the Storyteller’s discretion.
#### Psychological
Beacon of Profanity • (Forbidden Religions p.86) The dark power within you leaks out. Mortals with any amount of True Faith can sense your presence, not just those with True Faith 3 or higher.
Crisis of Faith • (Forbidden Religions p.86) You are terrified of losing control, especially to the Beast that threatens to make a mockery of your faith. Whenever your actions result in a bestial failure, you suffer one point of superficial Willpower damage in addition to any other effects from the roll.
Groveling Worm •• (Forbidden Religions p.86) You don’t get affirmation from scourging your own flesh; rather, your utter self-loathing and abject terror of offending some higher power demands that you perform such acts regularly just to function at all. You must find the time in a session to scourge yourself once per session, suffering two points of Superficial Health damage, or else you will suffer a point of Aggravated Willpower damage at the beginning of the next session. Characters with the Penitence Merit cannot take this Flaw.
Horrible Scars of Penitence • (Forbidden Religions p.86) Your devotion is writ large on your flesh in a mass of awful welts, the scarified marks of your faith, or the evidence of other tools of self-mortification emblazoned on your body. You are extremely distinctive in this respect, and anyone who looks at you can immediately recognize the signs of faith taken to an extreme — even if you cease to perform such physical acts of penitence. This Flaw is equivalent to the [Repulsive](#repulsive-core-p.179) Flaw, but only when you’re among vampires and mortals not from within your cult.
#### Resources
Destitute • (Core p.) You have no money and no home.
#### Retainers
Stalkers • (Core p.) You have a tendency to attract people who become a tad too smitten with you for your own good. A former Retainer retains their memory of you and a desire to reconnect. They may be hungry, love-maddened, desperate, opportunistic, or any combination or variation. Should you get rid of them, another soon appears.
#### Status
Mortal Pretender • (Live From the Succubus Club p.26) While all right-minded Kindred do their best to blend in with mankind, you go above and beyond to the point where you might have decided to lead a mortal life despite your new diet. It unsettles your undead peers. You suffer a two-dice penalty for all Social tests involving vampires specifically dedicated to upholding the Masquerade, such as Vehme coteries, Sheriffs and their Hounds, Archons and Justicars.
Shunned • (Core p.) You’re completely loathed by this sect. You betrayed them, crossed a local leader, or fought them in the past. Members of this group will actively work against you if they can.
Suspect • (Core p.) You’re not good with this sect at all. You weaseled out of a boon, broke an oath, or did something similar. You can try to stay out of sight and out of mind, but unless you somehow make amends, you suffer a two-dice penalty to all Social tests involving the offended faction.
#### Substance Use
Addiction • (Core p.180) Lose one dice from all pools when the last person you fed from was not on your drug, except pools for actions that will immediately obtain your drug.
Hopeless Addiction •• (Core p.179) Lose two dice from all pools when the last person you fed from was not on your drug, except pools for actions that will immediately obtain your drug.
#### Supernatural
Two Masters • (Blood-Stained Love p.151) You can be Blood Bound to two individuals at the same time. This may cause no end of trouble if your character is prone to drinking the Blood of other Kindred for recreational reasons. The Storyteller should disallow this Flaw if Blood Bonds are unlikely to be an issue for the player character.
#### Miscellaneous
Illiterate •• (Core p.179) You cannot read or write. Your Academics and Science Skills are capped at 1, and you can have no specialty in them incorporating modern knowledge.
Knowledge Hungry • (Players Guide p.121) You always feared that you wouldn’t have the time to learn everything you wanted about what’s truly important. Well, that’s one problem solved. The time to learn is not always now, though — you regretfully put a bookmark in your studies and attend to more life-threatening matters. At character creation, pick a topic that your character hungers to study. When your character comes across books, tutorial videos, college seminars, or other methods of learning about their chosen subject, make a Willpower roll at Difficulty 3 to resist chasing their obsession.
Risk-Taker • (Players Guide p.121) You’re one of those people who feel compelled to take every chance to experience life at its fullest. When confronted with a chance to indulge a risky temptation you haven’t done before (such as snorting a new drug, imbibing vampire blood, or taking a Kindred lover), you suffer a two-dice penalty to all actions until you either partake of the new experience or the scene ends. This Flaw doesn’t compel you to do something suicidal ... but you may not always accurately predict the full consequences of your actions.
Weak-Willed •• (Players Guide p.121) You struggle to assert your own personality when confronted with the will of another. You may not necessarily be submissive; perhaps you feel more confident when following another person’s lead. You might be part of a vampire’s entourage or Herd, but you aren’t necessarily loyal to that vampire. Take a one-die penalty to Social pools against your leader or superior. Even when you’re aware of an attempt to sway you mentally or emotionally (such as with Dominate or Presence), you may not use the active resistance systems to avoid those effects.
## Ingrained Discipline Flaws To acquire an Ingrained Discipline Flaw, a character should have at least three levels in one Discipline, and have the Storyteller’s consent. These Flaws have no associated dot value. When a character acquires an Ingrained Discipline Flaw, three ranks’ worth of new powers in that Discipline become available to purchase with Experience points. The cost for new powers is calculated as if bought at the appropriate level for the first time. New powers purchased do not affect the overall Discipline rating. Characters are typically limited to Flaws related to their Clan Disciplines (Caitiff experience no such limitation), but Storytellers may waive this restriction if it makes sense for the character. Characters may only take one Ingrained Discipline Flaw.
Ingrained Animalism Flaw: Untamed (Tattered Facade p.108) Such a tight relationship with the Beast comes at a cost, as it refuses to be leashed. Failing to Ride the Wave during Frenzy inflicts two Stains. Convictions cannot mitigate these Stains.
Ingrained Auspex Flaw: Daymares (Tattered Facade p.108) While rarely recalling more than an acute sense of terror, the vampire’s daylight rest becomes plagued by horrifying visions, causing them to sweat blood. When awakening for the night, make two Rouse Checks instead of the usual one.
Ingrained Blood Sorcery Flaw: Sanguinary Animism (Tattered Facade p.109) The sorcerer has become so attuned to reading the vagaries of blood that during feeding, the flood of information and voices from the victim cannot be avoided, even persisting beyond the hunt. For any scene following a feeding, the vampire loses two dice from all Social and Mental pools due to the distraction.
Ingrained Celerity Flaw: Breakdown (Tattered Facade p.109) The vampire’s physiology runs at the same pace as the vampire, burning blood and energy at equal volumes. Whenever the vampire fails a Rouse Check when activating a Celerity power, they sustain a point of Aggravated Health damage, and their body withers and ages before their very eyes.
Ingrained Dominate Flaw: Blunt (Tattered Facade p.109) The strain of enforcing their will upon others erodes something critical in the mind of the dominator, making mundane social interactions fraught. Vampires with this Flaw cannot spend Willpower to reroll a Social test.
Ingrained Fortitude Flaw: Scar Tissue (Tattered Facade p.109) This Flaw impairs the vampire’s ability to maintain the appearance of health following an injury. While rousing the Blood restores Health as normal, the physical appearance of any injuries sustained remains until they rest for the day. This can easily result in Masquerade breaches if not carefully managed.
Ingrained Obfuscate Flaw: Faded (Tattered Facade p.109) The vampire spends so much time hiding from others that they have begun to forget who they truly are. This lack of conviction weakens their moral fortitude and makes them second-guess decisions. When making Remorse tests, the vampire rolls one fewer die (the one-die minimum still applies).
Ingrained Oblivion Flaw: Monstrous (Tattered Facade p.109) The forces of Oblivion sap away at the vampire’s connection to even their sham life. Treat the vampire’s Humanity rating as if it were three levels lower for such things as Blush of Life, Social dice pools, physical appearance, etc. If this takes the rating below one, they gain the Repulsive Flaw — perhaps they appear as a rotting corpse, their shadow constantly taunts them, or reflections reveals only inner darkness. This Flaw does not affect daytime dice pools or how many Remorse dice they roll.
Ingrained Potence Flaw: Killer Instinct (Tattered Facade p.109) When the blood’s up, the echo of the Beast is never far away, and the unholy strength of Potence only serves to feed it. If the character fails a Rouse Check when activating a Potence power, they must immediately test for Fury Frenzy as if physically provoked.
Ingrained Presence Flaw: Egomaniac (Tattered Facade p.109) Having had others consistently fawn over you has stroked your ego to the point where you can’t tolerate a world without you at its center. Whenever a Presence power generates a messy critical or fails to sway your target, you must make a Fury Frenzy test at Difficulty 2.
Ingrained Protean Flaw: Stasis (Tattered Facade p.109) The vampire’s static nature rebels against the forces of change. If the vampire fails a Rouse Check while activating a Protean power, when they revert to their normal form the change is incomplete — dulled and useless claws persist, a foot remains stuck in the soil, or the fleshcrafter finds their skin attached to their subject. Unfinished transformations never provide any benefit. The vampire must remove the affected area (sustaining one Aggravated damage) or wait for it to revert (un)naturally during day-sleep.
## Ghoul Merits and Flaws These Merits and Flaws are exclusive to Retainer ghouls. ### Merits
Blood Empathy •• (Players Guide p.141) You share a closer bond to your domitor than most ghouls, able to sense their emotional and psychological state, even when not physically in their presence. An astute ghoul can “feel” if their current domitor is in peril or requires their presence immediately, but it does not allow for direct telepathic communication. You feel Blood Empathy at a distance of one mile or less from your domitor, and the domitor to whom you feel Blood Empathy is the one whose blood you have most recently consumed. Note that this does not require a Blood Bond, though the effect feels stronger if one is present.
Unseemly Aura •• (Players Guide p.141) The Blood did something strange to you. Whereas your aura was once vibrant and full of the flush of mortal-adjacent life, it has become muted and indistinguishable from that of a Kindred. While it may lead others to overestimate you, it could also lead to some awkward situations later down the line.
### Flaws
Baneful Blood •-•• (Players Guide pp.141-142) Due to some mysterious property of the Blood, you experience the bane of your first domitor’s clan to a degree. Your first domitor, the Kindred whose blood you tasted in order to become a ghoul, must be of Clan Lasombra, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Ravnos, or Ventrue. Even if your domitor changes, the bane you experience does not. You experience the domitor’s bane at one level for each dot in this Flaw.
Crone's Curse •• (Players Guide p.142) When you partook of your domitor’s vitae, you aged rapidly. You appear at least a decade older than you are. In addition, your health has suffered, and you have one fewer box on your Health tracker than you otherwise would. The Embrace negates this Flaw, unless the Storyteller rules otherwise (because the problem was you all along, not your domitor’s Blood).
Distressing Fangs • (Players Guide p.142) The Blood, in addition to giving you increased healing, physical prowess, and use of some minor Disciplines, also gave you sharpened teeth. But they’re strange, stunted, and unsettling to those who can discern them, causing mortals to think you’re part of some questionable subculture (ahem). You lose one die on Social pools involving mortals because your fangs make them uneasy.
## Banned ### Merits
Archaic, Custodian Of History • (In Memoriam pp.20-21) An elder has confided his version of a lost age to you before being called to the Gehenna War, destroyed in a FIRSTLIGHT paramilitary strike, or consumed by a Sabbat pack on the home front of the Eternal Struggle. You get tacit permission to refer to, use, read up on, and form your character’s opinion on one of the most important periods or characters in Vampire lore, granting +1 die to all relevant Skill tests pertaining to your subject. Possible subjects include:\ ▪ The Book of Nod and the First Cities (Noddist lore is still seen as heretical by many ancillae)\ ▪ The First Inquisition, including the Anarch\ Revolt and the Convention of Thorns\ ▪ Constantinople and the Trinity\ ▪ The Revelations of the Dark Mother (heretical to most)\ ▪ Antiquity and the War of Carthage
Moral Dissident •• (Courts of the Damned p.144) **Prerequisite:** Autark Autarkis do not have to compromise their morals to belong to a sect or ideological faction and are often much more humane. But as the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished. To reflect strength of will, spite, and fierce independence, choose two extra Convictions and Touchstones. The drawback is that the outsider can only take this Merit if they pay for it by buying appropriate Flaws. These represent enemies, fabricated sinister rumors, psychological scars, or even curses levied against them, or reflect a lonely life of someone judged too dangerous to be close to.
Mythic, Luck of the Devil •••• (Players Guide p.119) Someone else will always take the fall for your missteps as long as someone’s available to take the blame. Whether this is because of a face everyone loves, a guardian angel, or something far darker, you manage to slip, skate, and dodge out of trouble, though you’re in constant need of new friends as you burn through them like a wildfire. Once per session you can have a misfortune — an attack, an accusation, a blame, or anything in between — directed at you befall someone else close to you. This can be an ally, retainer, coterie mate, or even a Touchstone. The Storyteller is the final arbiter on what counts as a proper misfortune.
Mythic, Object of Power •-••• (In Memoriam p.21) Over the course of your travels, you’ve gotten your hands on a rare but powerful item. • A set of uncommonly lucky dice. You may reroll a single die once per story, excluding Hunger dice.\ •• Grimoire. It’s empty until you fill it, but it grants you a +1 die bonus to all Level 1 Ritual tests.\ ••• Golden eye amulet that protects you against threats. You get a free Premonition warning once per session when someone is about to cause you harm, even if you don’t have that power.
### Flaws
Banned From... •-••• (In Memoriam p.21) At some point in your illustrious past, you got yourself barred from a city ruled by Kindred who still won’t welcome you. • A small city like Salzburg, Tromsø, Napier, or Portland.\ •• A mid-sized city like Ljubljana, Malaga, Sacramento, or Venice.\ ••• A large city like Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo,Atlanta, or Cairo. Getting in anyway is possible, of course, but there’ll be all kinds of trouble. Storytellers should note that this city should be relevant to the chronicle at some point.
Cursed Object • (In Memoriam p.21) Something you own wants you dead. Once per session, at a time determined by the Storyteller, you must reroll a successful test, risking failure instead.
Prestation Debts • (Players Guide p.121) You owe another Kindred (or two others) two minor boons. The debt-holder wields more power and influence than you within vampire society, though not necessarily within your sect. They receive a one-die bonus in Social combat against you while they hold your marker. They may call in either of these debts at any time, but practically they do so when you really really don’t want to (or absolutely can’t) pay them off. However, if you do manage to successfully pay off both debts, you don’t need to take another Flaw to “balance” your character. The creditor still likes to lord it over you, though, and retains the one-die bonus. You can absolutely take this Flaw alongside one or more Minor Boons (Core pp.193, 315) at character creation. You cannot take this Flaw owing another player’s character the boons in question.
Stake Bait •• (Core p.183) You meet Final Death when staked through the heart, rather than entering torpor.
Land Locked • (Live From the Succubus Club p.26) You cannot leave the land, and any journey over air or sea enrages your Beast to the point of madness. You must make a Fear Frenzy test (Difficulty 3) to board a boat or plane.
# Haven Advantages and Flaws
Haven •-••• (Core p.188) Like all Backgrounds, the Haven Background is entirely optional. A vampire with no dots in Haven has a suicide’s grave, a room in an abandoned motel, a rented office, or an apartment with windows blacked out with plastic bags. They can still remain safe and hidden by day in this relatively small and insecure haven by default. The Storyteller may allow a player character to default a somewhat better haven from another Background such as Resources, Status, or Influence. Of course, if those Backgrounds go away, so does the character’s nice haven. A character with none of those other Backgrounds, however, can still have a perfectly reasonable haven as long as they have this Background. For instance, a character might not have enough money to afford a 20-room Victorian mansion in today’s economy, but if their great-grandmother left them one that had been fully paid for, there’s no reason they can’t remain in residence as it slowly dilapidates. Base ratings in Haven abstract the haven’s size, security, and privacy. All of those factors affect the chance of spotting, penetrating, and surveilling the vampire’s actual resting place. Add +1 to the Difficulty of, or one die to dice pools resisting, such efforts for each dot of base Haven rating. Kindred know their havens intimately. For each dot of base Haven rating, add one per dot to dice pools to notice danger (including awakening rolls, p. 219) while in your haven. • Small haven, but more secure and private than the default. Examples: basement apartment, crypt, locked storeroom in a warehouse. •• Good size, security, or privacy. Examples: a single-family home or row house, wolf enclosure at the zoo, branch sewer tunnel. ••• Very large, secure, or private. Examples: a compound outside town, a bank building, a decommissioned subway station.
No Haven • (Core p.188) You must go to some effort (at least a basic test) to find a new resting place every morning.
## Merits You can add Merits and Flaws to your Haven if you wish. They stack with the base Haven rating to produce the total dots in this Background for projects and other uses. Remember, you can make Haven a shared Background among your coterie – easily the best way to afford a Haven with lots of features.
Armored • (Live From the Succubus Club p.25) **Prerequisite:** [Mobile](#mobile-live-from-the-succubus-club-p.25) You’re taking no chances with your haven, taking pains to reinforce panels, locks, and tires, and swapping out the glass for something more resistant to whatever gets thrown at it. The vehicle continues running perfectly until it sustains ten points of damage, while only Critical Hits penetrate sufficiently to affect passengers.
Business Establishment ••-••• (Players Guide p.112) You rent out your haven to a separate business: a 9–5 call center, coffee shop, laundromat, or salon. You might even operate the business yourselves (or with Retainers) as a Corporate coterie (Players Guide p.160) although the Storyteller should avoid turning this game of personal horror into a game of business management horror. The kine mill around living their daily lives while you sleep in the repurposed storage basement, or one of the server rooms where all of the out of service equipment is stored. The business pays a monthly rent (or profit, if you own it), providing you with a steady stream of funding. The downside: A lot of strangers walking around, and exposure to local officials, and business taxes that potentially put you very much on the grid. Renting to criminals takes the taxes and paperwork out of the picture, but adds even more exposure to cops and other less pliable criminals. Reduce your base Haven dots by one for pools involving your Haven’s privacy and for security against either financial or criminal intrusion (pick when you choose this Merit). Dots in this Merit roughly equate to their Resources equivalent, and the Storyteller may let you use its dots instead of Resources if the substitution makes sense. It also adds two dice to pools to do things related to your business’ activities or core competency, to interact with other local businesses, and to tests of preparedness to already have something you need in the moment (Core p.410). Businesses have inventory and supply closets, after all. However, if something happens to your Haven, you don’t have those Resource-like dots any more: no money comes into your pool hall if it burns down or if the FBI closes it off as a crime scene. You may want to take “regular” Resources dots as a backup. They don’t stack: a two-dot Business Establishment plus two dots in Resources means you have two Middle Class income streams; you’re not four-dot Wealthy. •• Your haven’s business is a thriving local concern or national chain outlet. ••• Your haven’s business is a dominant local concern or an office of an international company. Perhaps you have a few floors of a skyscraper, or an office building near the airport, or even a pier and warehouses on the docks where you collect fees from ships and shippers alike.
Cell • (Core p.189) **Prerequisite:** Haven 2+ Your haven has a dedicated, locked place to store two prisoners, with a base Difficulty to escape of 5. Each extra dot either allows you to store twice as many prisoners (up to a maximum of 32, only in very large havens) or adds +1 to the escape Difficulty. This Merit is not available in small havens.
Furcus •-••• (Players Guide p.112) Your haven lies over a knot or fork in the veins of the Earth, or a frayed spot in the Veil. While invisible to normal sight (though not perhaps to Auspex or various Rituals), it underlies a prominent area: the top of a staircase, a fountain in the garden, the center of a room. (Intelligence + Occult might allow someone to deduce its location, if they know what they’re looking for.) Kindred feel the pull of magical energies at the site, and kine often feel nervous or nauseated. Blood Sorcery Rituals, Oblivion Ceremonies, or Thin-Blood Alchemy (pick when you take this Advantage) tap into the furcus’ power. Each dot in this Merit adds one die to Ritual (or Ceremonial) dice pools used at the furcus. (At the Storyteller’s discretion it may also subtract one die from Social pools used to calm or seduce mortals – or add a die when interacting with mortal hedge magicians or other occult groupies.) Bestial failures on such tests may also lead to especially horrific or eldritch results: energy from the furcus that harms or curses the sorcerer, accidental summoning of an entity, or a clear magical pulse from the haven’s location. Depending on the Ceremony, a total or bestial failure might automatically impose the Haunted Flaw on the haven.
Hidden Armory • (Core p.189) Each dot in this Merit adds a stand of arms to your haven’s supply: one pistol and one long firearm, with ammunition. They are as secure from discovery as your resting place.
Holy Ground • (Children of the Blood p.99) Your haven exists in a place of significance to your cult. You may keep an apartment once owned by a respected Pater or claimed an alcove in the catacomb where the cult’s founder is said to have slept. Other cultists view you as the custodian of a holy place. Once per story, you may call on a large group of up to ten cultists (half of them armed) to help defend your haven if it’s threatened.
Laboratory • (Core p.189) **Prerequisite:** Haven 2+ Your haven has an equipped laboratory with a dedicated industrial sink, gas jet, reinforced floor, etc. Each dot of this Merit adds one to the dice pool for rolls related to one Science or Technology specialty or to Alchemy dice pools for thin-bloods using the Fixatio method (Core p.284). This Merit is not available in small havens.
Library • (Core p.189) Your Haven has a dedicated library on the occult, Cainite legends, city history, vampire lore, or the like. Each dot of this Merit adds one to the dice pool for research rolls for one Academics, Investigation, or Occult specialty. Small havens limit this Merit to a maximum of one dot.
Location • (Core p.189) Your haven nestles in one of the most fashionable or otherwise exclusive areas of the city, in the Rack, on a small island, or otherwise in a prime spot. Add two dice (or +2 to foes’ Difficulty) to bonuses on the relevant die rolls from either Chasse (p. 195) or from your base Haven rating (pick one). If neither modifier precisely maps to what you have in mind, work out with your Storyteller when you can expect a two-dice bonus to occur. For example, a Haven close to Elysium might grant a two-dice bonus to Etiquette tests in Elysium and on tests to pick up on court gossip.
Luxury • (Core p.189) High-definition flat screens, designer furniture, objets d’art, or other expensive details give you a two-dice bonus to Social tests dealing with mortal guests in your haven. If you don’t have at least three dots of [Resources](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/advantages-and-flaws#resources), your décor was gained illegally.
Machine Shop •+ (Players Guide p.113) Your haven has state of the art tools, equipment, and machinery in a dedicated work space, plus supplies of oil, industrial chemicals, gasoline, and other household necessities. Each dot of this Merit adds one to the dice pool for Craft rolls, or to other tests related to building, repairing, or disassembling a piece of machinery or equipment: Intelligence + Firearms (Gunsmithing) to build a Sten submachine gun, Intelligence + Technology to fab a compound crossbow with a 3-D printer, Intelligence + Craft (Engineering) to soup up a car, etc. For particularly recondite machinery, you may have to explain how you sourced it if you don’t have Resources 3 or better. Small havens with this Merit can only add to pools for one specialty of Craft: they don’t have enough room for a general machine shop or for automotive work. A three-dot machine shop can include an incinerator; a three-dot machine shop in a large haven can include a car crusher or compactor.
Mobile •-•• (Live From the Succubus Club p.25) Your haven is on wheels, wings, or the wide open sea. A one-dot mobile haven may be a car, van, or truck with a sunproof trunk or other compartment for daysleep, or pull a small trailer to carry gear. A two-dot mobile Haven could be an RV, motor coach, or bus. A massive, three-dot mobile haven could be an entire train, jet, or large ship. Coterie dots can be used for this Merit.
Postern • (Core p.189) Your Haven has a rear exit, secret tunnel, grating in the cellar leading into the sewers, or other unobtrusive way out. For each dot of this Merit, add one die to your dice pools to evade or escape surveillance near your haven.
Security System • (Core p.189) Your haven has a better-than-average security system. For each dot of this Merit, add one die to your dice pool to resist (or alert you to) unauthorized entry into your haven.
Shrine •-••• (Children of the Blood p.99) You keep a shrine in your haven. The number of dots purchased in this Merit are equal to the dice bonus your character received on scrounging for, preparing, or otherwise acquiring Ritual and Ceremony ingredients. • Tabletop Shrine — The space is no bigger than a desktop or small table, with items that easily fit in a drawer or a box you can stow beneath a loose floorboard: a few candles, a ritual bowl, a small vial of vitae. •• Moderate Shrine — You’ve devoted a room solely to worship, complete with a small altar and several items relevant to your faith. ••• Large Shrine — You’ve spent considerable time and resources on making the shrine as close to your faith’s temples and basilicas as you can. If you also have the Security System Merit (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 189), add one additional die to rolls to resist unauthorized entry into the shrine.
Smugglers Stash •-•• (Live From the Succubus Club p.25) **Prerequisite:** [Mobile](#mobile-live-from-the-succubus-club-p.25) You’ve dedicated a small section of your Haven to security, ensuring that even if accessed and subjected to a thorough search, your cargo — or you — remains safely stashed away. For one dot, this space is equivalent in size to one person, while two dots expands the space to cover your entire coterie. Searches for the compartment are made at +2 Difficulty.
Spare Plates •• (Live From the Succubus Club pp.25-26) **Prerequisite:** [Mobile](#mobile-live-from-the-succubus-club-p.25) Vehicles are easy to trace, and their size makes them harder to hide. To ensure your home’s reputation never trips you up, you keep a series of spare plates, stickers, and other identifiers that you can switch out with a turn’s worth of activity, giving you sufficient cover to avoid all but the most invasive searches.
Surgery • (Core p.189) **Prerequisite:** Haven 2+ Your haven has one room equipped as a field surgery or better. Add two dice to relevant dice pools, generally Medicine, for tests performed in your haven. This Merit is not available in small havens.
Watchmen • (Core p.189) You have either private security or criminal thugs guarding your haven. Each dot of this Merit supplies four Average guards and one Gifted boss (see [Allies](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/advantages-and-flaws#allies)). If guards would be conspicuous here, buy this Merit cautiously.
Warding • (Core p.189) **Prerequisite:** Occult 3+, [Blood Sorcery](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#blood-sorcery) Your haven possesses some kind of magical ward barring supernatural forces. You may not be able to deactivate it, but it allows you to pass. Discuss the limits of your ward with the Storyteller. Each dot of this Merit adds one to the dice pool to resist supernatural scrying, as well as whatever other entry the Storyteller allows it to prevent. The Storyteller may require you to possess Occult 3 or better, or Blood Sorcery, to buy this Merit.
## Flaws
Compromised • (Core p.189) Your haven has been raided once before, perhaps before it was yours. It probably appears on someone’s watchlist. Invaders or spies can add two dice to their pool to penetrate or surveil your haven. If you ever do get on the Inquisition’s radar, you should think about moving out.
Creepy • (Core p.189) Your haven looks like the den of a serial killer, which in fairness is probably exactly what it is. Unknowing neighbors might phone in a tip to the cops or just talk about the creepy place they saw. Your dice pools on Social tests to seduce or otherwise put human guests at ease are at a two-dice penalty.
Haunted • (Core p.189) Your haven has a supernatural manifestation in it that you do not control or really even understand. It might just have a ghost, but a Haunted haven could hold a dimensional portal, a cursed meteorite, or anything else you can’t get rid of. Obviously, someone who does understand the manifestation could use it to breach your haven’s security. The Storyteller defines any other effect of the haunting, imposing at least a one-die penalty to affected pools used in the haven per dot of Haunted taken as a Flaw.
On the Rails • (Live From the Succubus Club p.26) **Prerequisite:** [Mobile](#mobile-live-from-the-succubus-club-p.25) Your haven’s movement is not entirely under your control, such as on a ship or train. You might speed or delay a departure, or make an unscheduled stop, but the destinations are likely fixed. Work with the Storyteller to determine where your haven travels.
Shared •-•• (Players Guide p.113) Your haven is not entirely your own. Other Kindred, besides you and your coterie, have access to it and can make decisions about it without consulting you. Decide the specific conditions and determine the severity of this Flaw based on those circumstances. The one-dot version of this Flaw covers joint havens: e.g., you have one or more Storyteller character housemates, or you and a whole clutch of fledglings squat in an abandoned building. Any problems they bring back to the haven become your problems, too. A coterie that takes a haven together does not automatically invoke this Flaw; sharing with your coterie has only as much downside as you mutually create in play. The one-dot Shared Flaw also covers short-term havens: you’re staying in an embassy or safe house or campground, with the expectation that you’ll be moving on and another Kindred may arrive to take your place at any time. Getting a new shared haven when that happens costs no more dots, but you may lose dots you put into improving the old one, in addition to moving all your belongings and re-training your Herd where to show up at night. The two-dot version of this Flaw means you have a local landlord. Another Kindred has rights to the property (either an actual land title or a grant from the local Prince or Baron) and graciously (or not) allows you to roost there. After haven creation, you must discuss any changes you wish to make to your haven with your landlord. The landlord can enter your haven at will. Especially older Kindred landlords may also call on you for service or dirty jobs, treating you like a vassal or apparatchik. Tremere chantries, Nosferatu warrens, and Ministry temples might be one or two-dot shared havens for characters of the appropriate clan, depending on the power balance between you and the other Kindred there.
Temperamental • (Live From the Succubus Club p.26) **Prerequisite:** [Mobile](#mobile-live-from-the-succubus-club-p.25) Whether you love it despite its flaws, can’t afford the repairs, or are ignorant to your haven’s mechanical imperfections, your vehicle is unreliable and waiting for the worst moment to disappoint you. Any failed Drive test sees the vehicle grind to a halt, unable to be restarted without a successful repair test. Should you change your vehicle, this Flaw follows you unless bought off with Experience.
# Coterie Advantages and Flaws ## Allowed Advantages ### Chasse
Apartment Towers •• (Players Guide p.176) A few very densely packed residential buildings filled with prey with a standard mix of Resonances. Vampires with the Extortionist Predator Type get one extra die on their hunting pools here. These buildings appear in almost any part of a city and often become the focus of conflicts between coteries with neighboring domains. High turnover means enemy observers can more easily infiltrate: subtract one die from your domain’s Portillon pools against observation or surveillance. All Resonance types are available here.
Back Alleys •• (Players Guide p.176) A good place to do business out of the sight of the authorities and the overly curious, providing quick access to sewers, coal tunnels, cellar networks, and other city infrastructure. Vampires with the Alley Cat or Montero Predator Types get one extra die on their hunting pools here. The rat population adds one die to the Animalism pool of any Kindred spying on your domain.
Funerary • (Players Guide p.176) This is often a cemetery, funeral home, or dedicated morgue. Most dying prey here have no Resonance, although mourners may present Melancholia. Kindred with the Bagger or Graverobber Predator Types get one extra die on their hunting pools here. Some vampires see Kindred that congregate and feed in such places as scavengers less worthy of status or respect, costing the coterie a die from Social pools in contests against high-clan snobs.
Gated Community •• (Players Guide p.176) A residential area with manicured gardens and dedicated security. The basic Difficulty for Larceny tests and similar here equals the Resources dots for the average resident: a Middle Class development has Difficulty 2, an Ultra-Rich one has Difficulty 5. Once entered, Sandman Predator Types add one extra die to their hunting pools. The mortals living in these communities are often highly educated professionals or retired military and a good source for Allies, Contacts, or Retainers with specialized knowledge and skills. They also may have law-enforcement contacts themselves, and get a respectful hearing when they describe strange red- eyed burglars. Storytellers may deny this Merit to a coterie located in the heart of a city. Melancholic Resonance is available here.
Hospital •• (Players Guide pp.176-177) This is usually a larger institutional medical facility with an attached morgue and psychiatric care facility. Depending on where the coterie is located, the facility could instead be a dedicated mental health asylum, a medical research establishment, or a sprawling assisted living facility for the elderly. Vampires with the Bagger, Consenualist, Grim Reaper, or Trapdoor Predator Types get an extra die on their hunting pools here, as do pools to obtain bagged blood or medical supplies. Hunter groups with a religious or medical background get an extra die to their pools to infiltrate your domain. Melancholic and Phlegmatic Resonance types are available here.
Nightlife ••• (Players Guide p.177) An area of businesses dedicated to serving food and entertainment open late into the night. Vampires with the Montero, Pursuer, Scene Queen, Siren, or Trapdoor Predator Type get an extra die on their hunting pools here. Kindred from other territories may also be willing to pay in boons for feeding access to this area. Any 1 rolled in a hunting pool here means the target has enough drugs or alcohol in them to taint their blood (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 310). City government and organized crime elements have extra leverage here: add one dot to those Influence types here, for your coterie and your foes alike. Storytellers may deny this Merit to a coterie located in the outskirts. Choleric and Sanguine Resonance types are available here.
Shelter •• (Players Guide p.177) Either a homeless shelter or an encampment of houseless mortals. Vampires with the Alley Cat or Sandman Predator Types get an extra die on their hunting pools in the Domain. Any 1 rolled in a hunting pool here means the target has drugs or alcohol tainting their blood (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 310). The mortals that live in these communities often know a lot about street life and make good Allies, Contacts, or Retainers with specialized knowledge and skills. Storytellers may deny this Merit to a coterie located in a prestigious area in the city. Choleric and Melancholic Resonance types are available here.
Built-In Flock • (Children of the Blood p.100) The cult maintains a front that attracts mortals such as a Shalimite self-help center or Cinder Institute-sponsored retreats. Once per week, coterie members may visit this establishment to feed, reducing the Difficulty to hunt by 1.
Mithraeum •• (Children of the Blood p.100) Your coterie’s domain overlaps with the local Mithraeum. Your coterie acts as enforcers for the cult’s protection racket, and in exchange gains access to its resources. This Merit provides the coterie with 2 dots of Haven Merits they can swap for other Haven features at the start of each story, representing borrowed stockpiles, watchmen, or other resources from the Mithraeum.
### Lien
Campus ••• (Players Guide p.177) A university, major library, or research facility that focuses on academic pursuits. Using its facilities after hours, it provides the equivalent of two dots in the Haven Merit Library (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 189), although access is limited at night and requires break-ins or a Mask that provides justification and clearance. Hunter groups with a religious or academic background get an extra die to their pools to infiltrate your domain. Choleric and Melancholic Resonance types are available here.
City Hall ••• (Players Guide p.177) The seat of the city government or possibly an office building where a lot of the city’s bureaucracy does its work. The coterie can wager these dots in political or urban-development Projects (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 417). Records access grants the coterie the equivalent of one dot in Mask for city records (land titles, driver’s licenses, tax papers, etc.). Foes (mortal or Kindred) with Influence in city government add one dot to pools to infiltrate your domain. Storytellers may deny this Merit to a coterie not located in the Heart of a city. Phlegmatic Resonance is available here.
Cultural Landmark •• (Players Guide p.177) These locations are usually cultural centers, art museums, sports stadiums, or famous landmarks, but they can also include tourist traps, zoos, or aquariums. During event hours, your Portillon lowers by one dot, as crowds of outsiders flood into your domain. If animals are kept on the premises, vampires with the Farmer Predator type gain an extra die on their hunting pools here. Coterie members can leverage their access to this location for an extra die in appropriate Social dice pools: to get in just before closing, to arrange a party, to trade tickets to a prestigious opening (or a deluxe fast pass) for a minor boon, etc. If an Elysium regularly occurs here, it costs an extra dot but grants a two-dice bonus on Etiquette pools with vampires of your sect and on all tests to pick up Kindred gossip. Storytellers may deny this Merit to a coterie located in the outskirts of a city. Choleric and Sanguine Resonance types are available here.
Marketplace •• (Players Guide p.178) A place of commerce and trade such as a shopping mall, port harbor, or trade district. The coterie can wager these dots in economic Projects (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 417). Add two dice to appropriate Social or Finance pools: e.g., to source an item or ingredient, pick up stock tips or other insider info, or hide a body (in a harbor district). These areas are also heavily patrolled by mortal law enforcement and rife with electronic surveillance; lose two dice from any Stealth or similar pool here against hunters or Kindred foes with law-enforcement connections. Kindred rarely fight over strip malls, but organized criminal gangs and federal authorities are very sensitive to any disruptions in a port or stock exchange. Melancholic and Sanguine Resonance types are available here.
Members Only •• (Players Guide p.178) An exclusive venue or club that serves a dedicated clientele paying for privacy and luxury. This could be anything from a university’s alumni clubhouse to a sex dungeon. Any haven the coterie establishes on the premises gains one dot in one of these Haven Merits: Luxury or Watchmen. But of course, any foe who can obtain membership or an invitation can enter your haven with impunity. Sanguine Resonance is available here.
Transitions •• (Players Guide p.178) This is a halfway house or addiction treatment center that helps people reintegrate into society. The coterie gains one dot in the Herd Background that defaults to the Melancholy Resonance. Hunter groups with a religious or medical background get an extra die to their pools to infiltrate your domain. Storytellers may deny this Merit to a coterie located in a prestigious part of a city. Melancholic Resonance is available here.
Community Outreach • (Children of the Blood p.100) The cult performs acts of community service and has earned the residents’ goodwill. It makes frequent donations to food banks or turns abandoned lots into community gardens, though it might hide these activities under a different name. Locals recognize your character or coterie as part of that group. Add one bonus die to all Manipulation and Subterfuge rolls when working with mortals in your domain.
### Portillon
Abandoned Building • (Players Guide p.178) This location is a rundown warehouse or foreclosed business. Any haven the coterie establishes within this facility gains one dot in the Cell and Postern Merits, but always has the Creepy Flaw. Unless the coterie uses their Influence, there is always a risk that the location gets demolished or renovated. Melancholic Resonance is available here.
Firehouse ••• (Players Guide p.178) This firehouse has a full fire engine crew vigilant to threats against your coterie’s haven and holdings. Any attempts to burn the coterie out of their haven or destroy their holdings fail or have very limited success unless this facility is neutralized. Melancholic and Choleric Resonance types are available here.
Police Station •• (Players Guide p.178) A police precinct full of heavily armed police. This Merit comes with a low-level clerical or IT contact in the precinct, who can add two dice to pools attempting to trace infiltrators into your domain. However, if the police (or an agency operating through the police, such as the FBI in America) moves against the coterie, subtract two dots from both the domain’s Portillon and their Haven Merit to resist. Many Anarch Barons especially advise against making the police your domain’s primary line of defense. Phlegmatic and Sanguine Resonance types are available here.
Prison •• (Players Guide p.178) A maximum security facility, usually crowded, for holding prisoners. While controlled by the state, criminal organizations are tacitly allowed to do business inside its walls. Add two dice to Streetwise pools to negotiate favors with criminals inside or outside the joint, or otherwise leverage their access. This Merit includes one (Difficulty 3) means of entry and exit, decided by the troupe: suborned guard, forgotten maintenance tunnel, contract with the laundry trucks, etc. A total failure on this roll launches an investigation, which lowers the domain’s Portillon by two dots until the end of the story. The prison’s nearness lowers the domain’s Lien by one dot to timid mortals and those who consider property values the most important kind. The Storyteller may deny this Merit to a coterie whose domain lies in the city’s heart or prestige areas. Choleric and Melancholic Resonance types are available here.
Transit •• (Players Guide p.178) A series of tunnels, warrens, or forgotten buildings connected to an active public transit station. Any haven the coterie establishes within this facility gains two dots in the Postern Merit. Add two dice to pools to evade pursuit on transit, summon rats with Animalism, or any other test relevant to subway tunnels. On the other hand, Nosferatu and other subterranean dangers can bypass these two dots in Portillon when infiltrating your domain. Phlegmatic Resonance is available here.
Networked • (Children of the Blood p.100) You share access to the cult’s security precautions. If they have security cameras around their temple, you can log in to the live feed. If a security team patrols the block, the guards recognize you as a member. Once per story, the coterie can use this asset in defense of its domain. For example, it may pull footage of an intruder, or ask the patrol to expand their beat for a few nights.
### Clan Coterie Merits
Banu Haqim: Call to Purpose ••• (Players Guide pp.179-180) Once per session, the Banu Haqim motivates a coterie-mate they can see with a rousing statement reminding her of her Convictions or even an intense stare that calls her to action. The coterie-mate gains the effects of a Willpower point that must be used immediately, such as to reroll three dice or to briefly master a Frenzy. This “Willpower point” isn’t taken from the Banu Haqim, and must be given to a coterie-mate. The Banu Haqim cannot use it on themselves. See Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 158, for more information on using Willpower.
Brujah: Boot and Rally • (Players Guide p.180) Sometimes the best way out of a bad situation is to try again, harder, while a Frenzy-prone coterie-mate impresses upon you the error of your ways. Once per session, the Brujah inspires a flagging coterie-mate, who may then reroll all regular dice on a failed Physical Skill test.
Gangrel: Pack Tactics ••• (Players Guide p.181) A lone wolf against an enemy risks much, but a pack of wolves working together can take down even the largest and most dangerous prey. When in combat, so long as you have another member of your coterie alongside you, you more effectively harry your common foe: Anyone attacking the same enemy as you adds a single die to their dice pools for Brawl or Melee attacks. This Merit is non-cumulative; no matter how many Gangrel with it gang up on some poor fool, it offers only a single additional die to each of them.
Hecata: Ars Moriendi •• (Players Guide p.182) Almost all members of the Hecata clan are at least cursorily familiar with death and the dead. Once per session, the Necromancer is able to mask the corpse of someone killed by a member of the coterie. They can disguise foul play in the case of a mortal corpse, or protect the Masquerade by making the remains of a destroyed vampire (usually a brittle skeleton unless the vampire was very young) draw less attention, usually by efficiently disposing of it. These are quick-and-dirty fixes, though, and will not divert someone already on their tail, but they can provide some proverbial breathing space to the coterie.
Lasombra: At Any Cost •• (Players Guide p.182) The Magister sets a ruthlessly effective example for their coterie-mates. Once per session, a member of the Lasombra’s coterie can choose to add two successes to a test made. The test is then considered a messy critical, including appropriate negative consequences.
Malkavian: Everything is Connected ••• (Players Guide p.183) The Malkavian is able to extract secrets from the most unlikely sources, such as discerning the location of an elder’s vault from someone’s casual exchange about the weather or unearthing an adversary’s deepest fears from the way they take a right at an intersection. Once per session, the Malkavian has the ability to let another member of their coterie substitute one Skill pool for another of their choice (that they possess) in a test involving the gathering of information. The Oracle is then able to interpret the results, gaining the same information as the original pool would have yielded, depending on the margin of success as usual.
The Ministry: Discerning • (Players Guide p.184) Once per session, the Ministry Kindred may discover something superficial a Storyteller character wants, so long as any member of the coterie has spoken to that character during the session, even if the Setite wasn’t present. This may relate to the individual’s Desire or Ambition or it could relate to a specific course of action they were undertaking (but should not expose any deep schemes or mysteries, especially if the coterie is unaware of them). The character who interacted with the Storyteller character in question describes the encounter.
Nosferatu: Contextual Contact •• (Players Guide p.185) Nosferatu Kindred often know more about their contacts than the contacts themselves, being able to leverage niche skills and hidden talents of their associates and others’. Once per session, a member of a coterie that has a Nosferatu with this Merit can add the highest single Contacts rating of another member of the coterie to any one test to recover or acquire information (e.g., recovering deleted data, using social engineering to acquire a login password, or rifling a physical file cabinet). The contact needs to be involved in some way, but the test is allowed to fall outside their usual area of expertise for this test only. A Contact can only be used once per story for this purpose.
Ravnos: Cryptolect ••• (Players Guide pp.185-186) Being forever on the move means having to find new ways to communicate with allies. Using coded language, onomatopoeia, and gestures, this Merit provides the Ravnos and their coterie with their own pidgin for the express purposes of communicating with each other — practically no one outside the coterie understands it, short of expert long term surveillance. The coterie’s cryptolect is not eloquent or robust, but can be used to convey high-level concepts quickly and securely, and isn’t identifiable as any other language. It also requires face-to-face presence to function, as its gestures and signs diminish when observed over phone or video calls. Leaving the coterie or losing its Ravnos member means the Kindred are no longer up-to-date on the cryptolect and can’t use it to communicate subsequently.
Salubri: Restraint ••• (Players Guide p.187) Whether from dire need to keep a low profile, or true moral conviction, Salubri are often paragons of self-control, a trait that can rub off on others. Once per session the Cyclops can restrain the Beast of another coterie member in their presence, enabling them to reroll all (and only all) of their Hunger dice in a test for free.
Toreador: All Access • (Players Guide pp.187-188) Whether it’s the premiere of a film by a budding auteur, a fundraising gala for an aspiring politico, or the dive bar that suddenly has a dress code because it doesn’t like the looks of you, you know how to get yourself in — even without an actual invitation. Once per game session, when a coterie is faced with a barrier to enter a mortal event or facility, they can get past the bouncers or security guards by being on the guest list or having a connection to whatever passes for owner or patron. This applies only to situations with some kind of door staff or guest list; it doesn’t circumvent security systems, mystical wards, or the like, and the Storyteller is of course free to block entry if this would somehow short-circuit a story (but should then provide the players with a juicy clue instead).
Tremere: Multi-Level Lorekeeping •• (Players Guide p.188) Despite the Tremere reputation for jealously hoarding occult knowledge, many vestiges of the notorious Pyramid actually facilitate the sharing of such among scholars of the forbidden. Once per game session, a single Kindred in a coterie with a Tremere who has this Merit can use a Loresheet Advantage (or a lower-dot Advantage from that same Loresheet) that someone else in the coterie possesses, including clan-specific Loresheets, at the Storyteller’s discretion. This additional Loresheet Advantage is usable only for the game session, and any knowledge supposed by the Loresheet Advantage is not retained thereafter by the borrower. All other limitations on the Advantage remain: for example, a “one use per story” Advantage is expended for the remainder of the story no matter who uses it.
Tzimisce: Old-World Hospitality •• (Players Guide p.189) Enter freely and of your own will. At the beginning of a session, any members of the coterie who stayed at the Tzimisce’s haven when the previous session concluded restore an additional level of Superficial Willpower damage. This includes shared coterie havens.
Ventrue: Kindred Legacies •• (Players Guide p.189) The Ventrue understand that a vampire’s legacy carries with it an accounting of the deeds of their progenitors. For some Blue Bloods, this emerges via written histories while others may have certain sires or scholars among their acquaintances. However it manifests, once per session, a member of the coterie with a Ventrue who has this Merit may ask the Storyteller to reveal a piece of relevant information about the history of a single vampire with whom they’ve come in contact. This could be something specific, such as “the Ministry club owner smuggled fugitive Anarchs out of town after an uprising in LA,” or more mysterious such as “the allegations levied against that Kindred’s great-grandsire having committed diablerie were untrue, but his childe still carries the shame to this night.”
Caitiff: Versatile Vitae •• (Players Guide p.190) A walking example of unshackled Blood, the Caitiff’s versatility is almost contagious. Once per session the Caitiff can influence a coterie member with their malleability, enabling them to use a Discipline power they do not possess (as long as they have the Discipline levels and other prerequisites for it) for the duration of the scene.
Thin-Blood: Mortal Heart •• (Players Guide p.191) By simply existing, thin-bloods prove that a bridge is possible between mortal and undead, between Humanity and the Beast. Once per session the thin-blood can remind their coterie of what it means to be alive, allowing them to count their Humanity as one dot higher for a scene.
### Miscellaneous
Bolt Holes •-••• (Players Guide p.171) The coterie’s domain covers an unusually large (or confusing) area. While controlling so much territory can be a logistical challenge at times, the advantages far outweigh the drawbacks. Every dot in the Bolt Holes Merit (to a maximum of three) gives the coterie a bonus die when trying to escape detection or evade pursuit when within their domain. This Merit may play into other dice pools at the Storyteller’s discretion.
On Tap •-••• (Players Guide p.171) Your coterie goes out of its way to create an atmosphere within your domain that instills a preferred Resonance in your prey. When taking this Merit choose a Resonance. Whenever hunting in your domain you can add dice equal to the rating of this Merit to find a victim with the specified Resonance.
Privileged ••• (Players Guide pp.171-172) The coterie has been granted special rights beyond that usually afforded to Kindred in their sect. Determine the remarkable deed you or perhaps one of your sires did to earn this unusual favor. Ideally, connect it to your coterie type: your Gravekeepers exorcised a dangerous wraith, your Questari solved a vexing murder that prevented the Court from dissolving in vendetta. Regardless of the reasons, the coterie cannot be punished for a specific crime that would see other Kindred ostracized or destroyed. The Storyteller is the final judge, but examples include being allowed to feed in areas off-limits to others, being allowed to openly carry weapons in Elysiums, or even a blanket permission to Embrace childer within their domain. While this immunity can be revoked if abused, as long as the coterie backs the winner it usually remains in place even through changes in a city’s leadership. This Merit may only be earned in play.
Transportation •• (Players Guide p.172) Getting around the city is never a problem for members of your coterie. A small fleet of luxury vehicles and drivers (Driving 6) are at your group’s disposal on short notice. Also, once per story the coterie can call upon a rare or expensive vehicle such as a helicopter or bulletproof SUV for a night. The death of a driver or destruction of too many cars makes this Merit unavailable for short periods as determined by the Storyteller.
## Allowed Flaws
Bullies • (Players Guide p.172) Your coterie is associated with a dark time when a tyrant Prince, corrupt Baron, or capricious Emir ruled the city. Whether willingly or because of prestation, your coterie enforced their will and many have not forgotten. The coterie has a one-die penalty on all Social dice pools (except Intimidation) when dealing with other vampires in the city. This Flaw does not apply to dealings with their old master’s cronies and henchmen.
Cursed •-•• (Players Guide p.172) A mystical curse afflicts everyone in the coterie while outside their domain. The coterie decides on a Mythic Flaw (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 182, and pp. 120–121) and takes the same number of dots in Cursed. They can pick multiple Folkloric Blocks or Banes. (For these purposes, consider Stench (p. 120) also a Mythic Flaw.) Whenever they are outside their domain, they suffer the drawbacks of their chosen Mythic Flaw.
Custodians •• (Players Guide pp.172-173) The Kindred of this coterie have a particularly odious or inconvenient responsibility within the city. While they gain no status or compensation for taking on these duties, if they ever fail or shirk this responsibility they risk censure, dishonor, or even death. The exact nature of this responsibility is left up to the coterie and the Storyteller to devise but common custodial tasks include cleaning up after parties at Elysiums, checking the Prince’s gates just before dawn, tending elders or other torpid vampires, babysitting fledglings of politically powerful sires, or leaving offerings at graveyards or temples. If the coterie should ever fail at their task or refuse to do it they lose one dot from their Status within their sect until they make amends and return to their service. (Lose coterie Status first, then individual member Status dots.) If they lose all Status, the coterie also becomes Suspect, but retains this Flaw as well.
Targeted • (Players Guide p.173) A mortal vampire hunting agency or some other threat knows that Kindred operate in your coterie’s domain and have penetrated at least some of your defenses in the past. Your coterie may even be in some Vatican filing cabinet or FIRSTLIGHT database. Your coterie’s Portillion rating is halved (round up) against this threat.
Under Siege •• (Players Guide p.173) Your domain is under attack and the powers that be seem content to let you handle it without their aid. The nature of your antagonists is up to the coterie and Storyteller to decide: lupines, the Order of St. Leopold, the Sabbat or another opposing sect, or a rival (and politically protected) vampire coterie. These invaders constantly test your defenses and capture key pieces of your territory without resorting to open violence or breaches of the Masquerade. Once per story the storyteller can reduce one of your coterie’s domain traits to one dot or deny the usage of one of your coterie Merits or Backgrounds as your rivals attempt to chisel your territory out from under you.
### Chasse
Disputed Domain •• (Children of the Blood p.100) Your cult’s domain overlaps with a rival organization’s territory, causing frequent tension and conflicts over resources. A group of Bahari may butt heads with members of Gorgo’s Nest, or Church of Set square off against the Cult of Mithras. Whenever you encounter its members, immediately roll to resist fury frenzy. For each subsequent encounter, subtract one die from the roll. The start of a new story resets the dice pool.
### Lien
Visibility •• (Children of the Blood p.100) Someone’s got it in their heads that the cult’s bad news. Whether they’re right or not, any spaces associated with the cult are watched. This may take the form of a lone conspiracy theorist posting members’ comings and goings on social media, a handful of bored teens holding up signs outside the meeting-place of the cult’s self-actualization classes, or a full-on protest attracting journalists and TV cameras. All failed hunting tests become total failures and rolls to conceal the coterie’s activities in the domain increase their Difficulty by 2.
### Portillon
Shared Vulnerabilities • (Children of the Blood p.100) Despite your coterie’s precautions, the cult’s own security is lax — a weakness your foes can exploit to get to you. Enemies who take advantage of this ignore the coterie’s Portillon rating so longer as they breach the cult’s security system first.
## Banned Advantages ## Banned Flaws
Territorial • (Players Guide p.173)
# Thin-Blood/Caitiff Merits and Flaws ## Caitiff ### Allowed Merits
Favored Blood •••• (Players Guide p.126) Vampiric power unfettered by the curse of the Ancients flows through you. Your intuitive and legendary command of Kindred prowess likely inspires both awe and fear in other vampires. You can buy dots in any Discipline even if you’ve never tasted the blood of another vampire with that Discipline. Cannot be taken with the Muddled Blood Flaw (see p. 127).
Mark of Caine •• (Players Guide p.126) You bear a mark, either physical or spiritual, that gives other vampires pause. Camarilla and Ashirra vampires look on your mark with fear, while Anarchs claim to respect you for playing with elder superstition — but they don’t look at your mark too closely either. Even Sabbat Cainites hesitate to tangle with you, though particularly religious Noddists might target you for special attention. You gain two bonus dice on any attempt to intimidate, bully, or cow other vampires who subscribe to the myth of Caine. Anyone attempting to commit diablerie on you cannot add their Blood Potency to the roll and any failure to their roll results in a bestial failure.
Mockingbird ••• (Players Guide p.126) Orphans are often unfairly labeled thieves and diablerists, but some actually do have the power to mimic the powers of other vampires after tasting their blood. For one night after drinking one Hunger die worth of blood from a vampire, you can choose and employ one Discipline power possessed by the Kindred from whom you fed. The power cannot be of a level higher than your highest Discipline, though you do not need to possess the same Discipline. Roll Rouse Checks as normal to activate this power. Any other rolls required to use the power use the donor’s Discipline level and your Attributes. During this time, you mimic the donor’s clan bane with the same severity level as the donor. Only one power can be “borrowed” in this way per night.
Sun-Scarred ••••• (Players Guide p.126) While it’s a common myth among Kindred that Caitiff and thin-bloods can walk in the sunlight, only a rare few have anything resembling that ability. These few are sometimes called Daywalkers, and those Caitiff who have this power usually keep it a secret for fear of being hunted and cannibalized by others. Unsurprisingly, Outcasts who can walk in the day may find themselves sought out for their particular acumen and the advantage it grants them over those who must slumber by day. The first turn you are exposed to Sunlight in a scene, take no Health damage, take 1 Aggravated Willpower damage, and automatically succeed on any rolls to resist Terror Frenzy. For the remainder of the scene all Aggravated Health damage you take from sunlight is instantly converted into Superficial damage.
Uncle Fangs ••• (Players Guide p.127) The local thin-bloods know you as a mentor and guide. Whatever your true motivations, you can often find aid among the Duskborn without having to ask twice. You have easy access to a local coterie of three to five thin-bloods. They often know what’s happening on the street before anyone else, and can sometimes provide you with Alchemical concoctions. Treat this group as an Ally group (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 192), though contrary to regular Allies, this group is undead, if only just. Cannot be taken with Liquidator (p. 127).
### Allowed Flaws
Clan Curse •• (Players Guide p.127) A Caitiff by hair’s breadth, you still suffer the curse of your sire’s clan. While this can sometimes help you pass for a member of that clan, most often than not it just adds another pain to your tortured existence. You suffer from a vampire clan bane of your choice, likely that of your sire (if you even know who they are). Its severity is halved (round down, minimum of 1).
Liquidator • (Players Guide p.127) Thin-bloods call you a Pander and avoid you whenever possible. They even refuse to speak openly with your coterie mates or other associates. Perhaps you served as a scourge, or just displayed particular cruelty as a member of the Sheriff’s posse. Take a two-dice penalty to all your Social skill dice pools against thin-bloods, other than Intimidation. Cannot be taken with Uncle Fangs (p. 127).
Muddled Blood • (Players Guide p.127) Your Blood cannot recall its nature and must be reminded of its inherent power every time you want to strengthen it. Even if you already possess a Discipline you must drink the Blood of someone who possesses it in order to buy dots in it. Cannot be taken with the Favored Blood Merit (see p. 126).
Walking Omen •• (Players Guide pp.127-128) Many vampires rely on prescience or read omens on a nightly basis, and you happen to act as a magnet, skewing these supernatural compasses. Any scrying, premonitions, or other forms of future-or fortune telling in your domain regularly points to you as a source of disaster and misfortune. While your close allies have learned to tune it out, other oracles single you out, screeching, when you are not being hunted by those who want to redirect a future that they believe will come to pass at your hands. The effects of this Flaw are ultimately up to the Storyteller, but it should at the very least cause one serious altercation per story.
Word-Scarred • (Players Guide p.128) Your body or a portion of it is covered in ancient texts of vampiric lore. Perhaps your sire inscribed them upon you, or they appeared on their own after the Embrace. Either way, shadowy forces conspire to use or destroy this lore. The major occult foe or force in the chronicle often interferes in your life, seeking to imprison, flense, mind-wipe, Blood Bond, or otherwise neutralize you. (They would never lower themselves to recruit a Caitiff, don’t be silly. You’re just a lost, disobedient book to them.) Maybe two such forces fight over the right to edit you! Any other character who “reads” the full text on your skin learns a terrible secret regarding Gehenna, Noddist prophecy, Bahari mysteries, or the like. You and the Storyteller may decide this together, or it may be a mystery to you!
### Banned Flaws
Befouling Vitae •• (Players Guide p.127) When you Embrace mortals or leave them for dead from feeding, the Blood twists them into maniacal corpses with an unquenchable hunger. Any mortal you Embrace or kill by feeding returns as a desperate wight within a few nights. While these unfortunates are often too weak to be much of a threat (treat as a Ghoul; see Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 372), sometimes a trick of the Blood sees a real monster arise (treat as a Wight; see Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 375). Your unlife is a steady stream of clean-up jobs, for as soon as the local Prince or Baron gets wind of your condition you are likely to receive a personal (and terminal) visit from the powers that be.
Debt Peon •• (Players Guide p.127) Orphans often have to sell their proverbial souls to Princes and Barons to find their place in the night. These debts add up and few Caitiff ever climb out of the pocket of those in power, because the prestation system breaks down when Kindred society refuses to recognize the political existence, much less the rights, of the debtor. You owe several minor boons, or even a few major boons, to a high-Status vampire, possibly originally incurred by your Sire. Tracking these debts proves pointless, as the creditor extracts new boons whenever they have leverage over you and only considers any boon settled when forced to by their peers. They have a two-dice bonus to Social combat against you in front of other Kindred. Refusal to honor your debt adds the Shunned (••) Flaw, and may even result in a Blood Hunt against you.
## Thin-Blood These Merits and Flaws only apply to Thin-Blood characters. They have no dot value; each Flaw balances a Merit, and vice versa. They thus do not count against the maximum dots in Advantages and Flaws allowed to be selected during character creation or purchased through experience. ### Allowed Merits
Abhorrent Blood (Players Guide p.135) Something in your Blood makes other vampires unable to stomach it. Whether it is the perverse mix of life and undeath or your history of questionable Thin-Blood Alchemy, other vampires gag and vomit when they try to drink from you. Other vampires abort any bite attempts after the initial damage and anyone who tries to keep drinking from you must spend two points of Willpower each turn that they do so. Mortals and Thin-Blood Alchemy are not affected by this anomaly.
Anarch Comrades (Core p.184) You have befriended the members of an Anarch coterie who tolerate your presence or even affectionately treat you as their pet. They cumulatively act as a one-dot Anarch Mawla, as long as you don’t deviate from the party line. Write them on the Relationship Map.
Camarilla Contact (Core p.184) You have caught the eye of a Camarilla recruiter who has promised you admittance and a chance at becoming a real vampire. All you need to do is keep your eyes and ears open, report on your and your coterie’s activities, and be prepared to perform any task asked of you. You have the equivalent of a one-dot Camarilla Mawla who treats you badly.
Catenating Blood (Core p.184) You can create Blood Bonds and perform the Embrace as a regular vampire. Any vampire you create this way will be a thin-blood.
Day Drinker (Core pp.184-185) Sunlight halves your Health tracker (rounded up), but otherwise simply removes your vampiric abilities, including all Disciplines and Health benefits, and does no other damage. You still suffer from Hunger, however, and sooner or later you’ll need to sleep. If your health drops below your currently sustained damage levels as a result of this, you suffer the effects of Impairment or torpor (depending on type of damage) until you are clear of sunlight.
Discipline Affinity (Core p.185) You have an affinity for a certain Discipline, picked at character creation. You gain a dot in this Discipline and can learn and retain additional dots in it through experience expenditures, as if you were a normal vampire. (The experience point cost is the same as an out-of-clan Discipline.) Drinking blood with matching Resonance does not reward you with any extra dots in this Discipline, temporary or not.
Faith-Proof (Players Guide p.136) Whether you consider yourself an atheist or devoutly religious, you remain too close to mortality for True Faith to affect you.
Lifelike (Core p.185) You have a heartbeat, can eat food, and enjoy sexual activities like a mortal. All but the most advanced medical inspections reveal nothing out of the ordinary, assuming they happen at night.
Low Appetite (Players Guide p.136) When at Hunger 0 or 1, and when rising at sunset, roll two dice on your Rouse Check and take the highest of the two.
Lucid Dreamer (Players Guide p.136) Most vampires don’t dream because they don’t sleep. You dream; you can recall and even sometimes control your dreams. Once per session, if you’re asleep by day you can ask the Storyteller to provide a clue from the previous night’s memories or a hint about the story suitable for dream revelation.
Mortality's Mien (Players Guide p.136) Your mortal nature still outshines your Beast. Your aura does not appear vampiric or supernatural; instead it looks mortal to anyone able to detect supernatural creatures. You can also add two dice to any attempt to make yourself appear mortal in other regards, such as makeup.
Swift Feeder (Players Guide p.136) Maybe you were a phlebotomist in life, or just didn’t like mess. You sip delicately and quickly, neatly slaking one Hunger in one turn, including licking the wound closed. This Merit can only be used once per scene.
Thin-blood Alchemist (Core p.185) The Duskborn change as they feed. Thin-Blood Alchemy is the mastery of this process. Whether it is spontaneous or a skill learned by comparing notes with other blood-cookers, you have gained one dot and one formula (p. 282) in Thin-blood Alchemy. You can purchase additional dots and formulae through experience as usual.
Vampiric Resilience (Core p.185) You suffer damage as a regular vampire, treating regular puncture and slashing wounds as Superficial damage.
### Allowed Flaws
Baby Teeth (Core p.183) You never developed fangs, or the ones you’ve got are useless for feeding. You either need to cut your victims open, or you extract their blood with a syringe.
Bestial Temper (Core p.183) You are afflicted with the Beast equal to a full vampire. You need to test for frenzy as per the normal vampire rules.
Branded by the Camarilla (Core pp.183-184) In some cities, the rulers simply hunt down and destroy thin-bloods. In other cities, the merciful Sheriff merely brands them, forcibly and painfully, to remind them of their place. (Many are then hunted down and destroyed, often on perceived slights or simple whims.) You have such an unhealing brand, and the Camarilla makes sure to keep its eyes peeled for the moment you step out of line. You can take Camarilla Contact with this Flaw; the Camarilla thrives on double-dealing of this sort.
Clan Curse (Core p.184) Remnants of your sire’s Blood still flows through your veins, carrying traces of their ancient curse. You must pick a Clan Bane to suffer from, counting your Bane Severity as 1 for this purpose. You can only pick the Brujah or Gangrel Bane if you possess the [Bestial Temper](#bestial-temper-core-p.183) Flaw, and the Tremere Bane only if you have the [Catenating Blood](#catenating-blood-core-p.184) Merit.
Dead Flesh (Core p.184) Your Blood is not strong enough to completely sustain you, and as an effect, your flesh is in a constant state of putrefaction, with a greenish tint and faint stench of rot. Any medical inspection will immediately identify you as deceased, and you receive a one-die penalty to any face-to-face Social test with a mortal. You cannot take [Lifelike](#lifelike-core-p.185) if you take this Flaw.
Heliophobia (Players Guide p.135) An overly cautious Sire hammered the reminder to avoid sunlight into you a little too hard, or you saw someone catch fire in a sunrise early after your Embrace. Either way, you fear sunlight as though you were a full vampire. You are susceptible to Terror Frenzy from sunlight.
Mortal Frailty (Core p.184) You cannot Rouse the Blood to mend, instead healing as a mortal (p. 126). You cannot take [Vampiric Resilience](#vampiric-resilience-core-p.185) if you take this Flaw.
Night Terrors (Players Guide p.135) You sleep as usual, with no memory of any of the dreams you may have had during the day. However, at night those dreams come flooding in at the most inopportune times. During times of stress, or when your Beast is strongest, nightmares pull through and feel excruciatingly real. They may be disjointed hallucinations, or they may be a way for the Storyteller to feed theme or foreshadow events. Once per session, your night terrors onset and you take a one-die penalty to all actions for the rest of the scene.
Plague Bearer (Players Guide p.135) You are still susceptible to mortal sickness: colds, flu, and other more severe infections. Every time you feed you must roll a die for each Hunger slaked, and if any come up a “1,” you’ve caught something nasty. (Effect is up to the Storyteller, but could range from die penalties to slow Health degradation.) Mortal medicine doesn’t cure you; only drinking a functioning immune system by slaking your Hunger to 0 does so. And of course, you run the risk of infecting anyone you feed on, using the same die roll as above.
Shunned by the Anarchs (Core p.184) You broke an unwritten rule or thought yourself equal among equals, where some turned out more equal than others. In whichever case, the Anarchs of the regnum know of you and shun you. They’d rather throw you to the Camarilla than listen to your pleas. You cannot take [Anarch Comrades](#anarch-comrades-core-p.184) if you take this Flaw.
Sloppy Drinker (Players Guide p.135) Your bite is careless, or your fangs are ill suited to puncture skin cleanly. When feeding, make a Dexterity + Medicine test against a Difficulty equal to Hunger slaked to cover your feed marks before too much blood is spilled. On a failure, the wound is too ragged to close: the mortal may bleed out with Masquerade-threatening neck wounds.
Sun-Faded (Players Guide p.135) You cannot use Discipline powers – including Thin-Blood Alchemy – in sunlight, and active powers cease when you enter sunlight. You can use them indoors by day, with a two-dice penalty, as long as you avoid any hint of sunlight.
Supernatural Tell (Players Guide p.135) Whether it’s your smell, your aura, or something even subtler, other supernatural entities can sense your presence. They may be curious, hungry, or irritated, but they definitely clock you. Lose two dice from Stealth pools and similar against supernatural opponents including other vampires.
Twilight Presence (Players Guide p.135) You make others uncomfortable around you. Most mortals don’t want to be around you at all, and other Kindred dislike you even more than they do regular thin-bloods. Only thin-bloods can adjust to your weird demeanor. Lose a die from Social pools involving anyone except thin-bloods.
Unending Hunger (Players Guide p.135) Your Beast always hungers for more, never finding sustenance with smaller sips. When feeding in a scene you sate one less Hunger than other thin-bloods. This applies only once per scene.
Vitae Dependency (Core p.184) Your Blood is unable to sustain vampiric powers by itself. Unless you drink enough vampire Blood to slake one Hunger each week you lose your ability to gain and use any Disciplines (including Thin-Blood Alchemy). You regain your powers as soon as you slake at least one Hunger with vampire Blood.
# Loresheets Below is a list of all Loresheets, sorted by book. Each entry has their availability and any changes listed. The Loresheet names are also color coded from most- to least- restrictive; if any Lores in the Loresheet are banned, the title will be red. If a Lore needs to be re-contextualized to fit the setting, it will be orange. Should any need to be earned in play, the title will be yellow. A Loresheet title in green means that every Lore is completely available at character creation. For the "Descendant of..." Loresheets, see [Bloodlines](/material-availability/bloodlines).
BookPage Number
Corepp. 382-406
Camarillapp. 184-190
Anarchpp. 190-198
Chicago by Nightpp. 262-287
The Chicago Foliospp. 158-169
Let the Streets Run Redpp. 224-233
Cults of the Blood Godspp. 228-231
Children of the Bloodpp. 103-108
Trails of Ash and Bonepp. 170-172
Fall of Londonpp. 229-234
Winter's TeethNo. 2, 3, 9
Forbidden Religionspp. 88-93
Boston by Nightpp. 80-87
Blood Sigilspp. 178-180
The Book of Nod Apocryphap. 39
Gehenna Warpp.157-159
In Memoriampp.149-153
Tattered Facadepp.171-172
Live From the Succubus Clubpp.162-166
Misc Official Loresheets
## Core
The Bahari (p.382) *Vampire adherents of the Path of Lilith, otherwise known as the Lilin, Lilitu, or Bahari, revere the progenitor vampire as primal femininity. They believe Lilith is the first, usurped vampire, the mother who births the vitae, and that all Kindred are her children. Stagnant, patriarchal vampire society perpetuates the lie of Caine as progenitor.* *The Bahari seek enlightenment through pain and conflict, turning this masochistic urge into the strength to endure and overcome. As Lilith rebelled against God’s commands and fought against her curse, her followers defeat the weaknesses and curses upon them to become something else. Some Bahari lead other Kindred to enlightenment, others become perfected predators. Bahari deprecate compassion in favor of fleshly pleasure, transient love, and strict parenthood over lesser Kindred.* *As a Bahari, you fulfill the role of torturer, student, teacher, or lover to other Kindred. All evidence you have seen points to Lilith as the first, usurped vampire. Or perhaps you secretly adhere to the Church of Caine and gnaw at the Bahari from inside out.* **• Dangerous Reputation:** Bahari intimidate vampires not of their order. Vampire believers in the Cainite mythos feel uncomfortable in your presence. Once per story, you may add two dice to Intimidation pools in tests against Caine-worshipers, assuming they know of your allegiance. **•• Ritual Scarification:** You know pain leads to enlightenment. Specifically, the Lilitu preach that bringing one’s physical shell to the extremes of sensation grants greater insight. Once per session, you may scar yourself with one point of Aggravated damage to recover a level of Willpower damage: superficial or Aggravated. **••• Sacrifice the Children:** The Bahari believe both in siring childer and sacrifice. Faithful Bahari know the ultimate sacrifice is the murder of their own childe. If you diablerize your childe, you gain three extra dice in your Humanity + Blood Potency dice pool to absorb Disciplines (see Diablerie, p. 234). **•••• The Womb’s Blood:** Bahari consider fertility and sex sources of strength, with some factions placing special prominence on blood or vitae taken from the womb. Once per story, after drinking blood from the uterus, you receive an additional two dots in either Stamina or Resolve (thus increasing Health or Willpower by two) until the dawn. **••••• First-Cursed:** Lilith’s worshipers maintain that she was the first living being cursed by God, before Adam, Eve, or Caine. The Bahari strive to emulate Lilith’s lesser curse, and in so doing find their Cainite weaknesses lessened. You retain your clan bane, but you can now walk in the first hour of daylight and final hour of dusk; you can also engage in intercourse without Rousing the Blood. However, you radiate danger: the equivalent of the Obvious Predator ( ) Flaw. All Social tests to ostracize or slander you have their Difficulty reduced by one. Finally, any vampire assessing you with Auspex immediately suffers migraine-like headaches; their Resolve and Willpower drop by half your Resolve (rounded up) for one scene.
Theo Bell (p.383) *Long-seen as the Camarilla’s loyal lapdog, Theo’s recent defection to the Anarch Movement triggered shockwaves still felt throughout Camarilla domains. It was Theo Bell who served at the whims of the Ventrue Hardestadt and Jan Pieterzoon for years, even begrudgingly taking up arms for the Lasombra Marcus Vitel in recent years. It was also Theo Bell who fired the first shot at the Convention of Prague, ultimately causing Hardestadt’s and Pieterzoon’s deaths.* *Kindred gossip these nights positions Theo Bell as an unwilling messiah among the Anarchs. He desires no position of leadership; he just got sick of bending over for blue bloods and snapped. His actions compelled hundreds of Brujah to follow suit, taking out the Princes who long lorded over them and forming Anarch bastions alongside the Gangrel.* *Despite his notoriety, Theo still acts as liaison between high-status Camarilla and Anarchs, for the sole reason that he brooks no shit at meetings. He shortcircuits Sabbat ambushes, quells any Anarch riots, and shuts down Camarilla extortion and coercion. As a mediator, Theo’s judgement cannot be faulted.* **• Rebel Cell:** You command a pack of rebellious mortals and fuel their fire with something that keeps them fighting. Perhaps you feed them vitae or maybe you embody their ideals. Either way, these rebels (a three-dot Ally group equivalent) perform a single dangerous task for you without your presence, before disbanding until the next story. **•• True Anarch:** You were an Anarch before Bell led an army of Camarilla Brujah into the Anarch Movement, and you resent these tagalongs joining the Anarchs just as they grow popular. You have records, names, places, and dates about who the rebels were and are, fed to you by the Man or gathered personally. Either way, you get two automatic successes on any Investigation test concerning vampires who defected to the Anarch Movement. **••• Contact Information:** Whether by dead drop, messenger, or arcane means, you can get word to Theo. Whether he responds, or even listens, depends on the message and your earlier interactions, but if he likes what you have to say, he might be able to move mountains. The precise game effects of a message to Theo are up to the Storyteller. **•••• Bell’s Circle:** Theo trusts you, perhaps because of your earlier revolutionary actions or because you manipulated your way into his good graces. Bell is equivalent to a five-dot Mawla, but your association with him also has many drawbacks. **••••• Sect Neutrality:** Following Theo Bell’s lead, you have a small contingent of a few Brujah loyal to your vision, and you can influence them in any direction: the Camarilla, the Anarchs, or even to form a smaller subsect neutral amidst the Jyhad. You may resent their existence or take pride in your following. Not mindless disciples, these Kindred keep track of favors granted. But until they rebel against you, you have five dots to spend among Contacts, Haven (safe houses), Mawla, and Retainers.
Cainite Heresy (p.384) *At the beginnings of Christianity, Gnostic heretics and Kindred exchanged information and Blood, creating the Cainite Heresy: the belief that Caine was the true messiah, Christ was the Second Caine, and Cainites are His angels on Earth, opposing the wicked Demiurge: the “God” of the Old Testament. The Inquisition burned the Heresy to its roots in the 15th century – but roots can grow back, if watered.* *The antinomianism of the Anarch Revolt and the millenarianism of Gehenna’s rising fertilized the Heresy in the last century. Vampires who use the Heresy to subvert human faiths and Cainites who truly believe in their divine mission evangelize the Heresy throughout Anarch circles.* **• Let He Who Hath Understanding:** The Storyteller will give you one clue freely to understand, investigate, or detect the Heresy’s actions or plans, now or in previous centuries. You can use this lore once per story. **•• Hand of the Heresy:** Take a total of three dots from among Allies, Herd, Mawla, or Retainers to represent your role in the city’s Heretical deaconate. For example, if you took Herd and Mawla, you might bless a small cult of human worshipers and have a renowned scholar of the Heresy as your teacher. You also have the Dark Secret Flaw (Heresy) in some domains. **••• Counter-Inquisition:** You can smell True Faith on a human; if you need to test to do so, your pool is Resolve + your highest rating in Cainite Heresy. You might also oppose the Heresy, and instead use this gift to know who to trust. **•••• Red Celebrant:** You know the rituals and the specific dosages to induce the Red Pentecost in a human congregation: a kind of ecstatic religious version of the frenzy. During the Red Pentecost, humans act according to their worst natures. You can procure enough herbs and fungi for one ceremony per story; the Red Ceremony requires a Hunger check and may trigger frenzy in Kindred participants. **••••• The One Named in Prophecy:** You are a linchpin of the Heresy’s plans: perhaps they consider you an avatar of Caine, you possess the only copy of the Testimony of St. Panteleimon, or your vitae is the only effective sacrifice to Ialdabaoth to propitiate or distract the Demiurge. Every informed member of the Heresy, and many who simply want to curry favor with the Anarchs, know your role. Once per story, you can use this fact to dictate the winner of a Social conflict if you can give a plausible reason for that outcome.
Carna (p.385) *Once Prince of Marseilles and Primogen of Milwaukee, Carna ultimately formed her own splinter cell from Clan Tremere. House Carna (as other Tremere dub it) speaks for freedom from the Blood Bond and against the tyranny of the Pyramid and the hard-coded misogyny present in the Tremere. Around the time the Pyramid’s head in Vienna intended to drop the axe on Carna and her band of rebels, the Second Inquisition paid a visit to the Great Chantry.* *Without the shadow of the Pyramid, House Carna draws increasing numbers of Anarchs and disenfranchised Camarilla. Carna seeks no followers, but she recognizes them for their value. Carna didn’t survive 600 years by ignoring possible danger; she believes it’s only a matter of time before Tremere himself appears to curse her to ash. Until then, she pushes as hard as possible for a modernization and feminization of Clan Tremere.* **• Embrace the Vision:** You are fully committed to Carna’s vision for a new Tremere clan and find yourself possessed of a greater sense of self-belief in the presence of your fellow sub-faction Kindred. When around other members of House Carna, you have one additional die for all Willpower tests. **•• The Rebel Trail:** You followed Carna’s trail after her initial breakage from Clan Tremere, soaking up the feelings of rebellion and freedom. You resolve to never be a Blood slave again. Whenever at risk of becoming Blood Bound, you may make a Willpower test (with a Difficulty equal to the Blood Potency of the ingested vitae) to ignore it. **••• Unorthodox Rituals:** Carna gives of her sanity or her soul to fuel her magic, instead of divesting her vitae in Hermetic orthodoxy. Your understanding of her process enables you to perform rituals in the same way. You can perform one known ritual per story without the need to expend Blood, but on a messy critical, you also become deranged in some way (typically becoming intensely paranoid or fearful of blood) until the end of the story. **•••• Reimagined Bond:** You have studied Carna’s magic and her unusual method of reimagining the vinculum, and you can extend the effects of her ritual to others. Having sex with a target, mortal or undead, creates a Blood Bond between the partner, yourself, and Carna, despite Carna’s absence. Repeated sexual encounters strengthen the Blood Bond, as per the normal Bond. You can thus circumvent the Tremere clan bane, but the Bond only lasts until the conclusion of the story. **••••• Book of the Grave-War:** According to rumor, the tome known as the Book of the Grave-War allowed Carna to break her Bond to Clan Tremere. You own a copy, granting you one automatic success on all Occult tests pertaining to Gehenna, its prevention, and breaking the shackles binding vampires to their elders. The book makes you unbondable for as long as you retain it and follow its arcane teachings. However, Tremere seek to destroy you and the book; the Storyteller can also penalize you one die on any Social or Mental test affected by your ongoing paranoia.
The Circulatory System (p.386) *The exploration of blood and its Resonances has spawned rings of Kindred eager for knowledge, power, and profit. The international human trafficking network known as the Circulatory System smuggle important vessels between domains and chronicle the powers of the blood vintages they move.* *The Circulatory System care little for the long-term well-being of their vessels, beyond the dip in profits they suffer when such kine die prematurely. Many Kindred can look past such minor issues to the pioneering studies the System makes possible by unlocking new and valuable features of the Blood.* *Your relationship with the Circulatory System may be as a trafficker, a client, or even as a former mortal vessel turned vampire. You may detest the faction’s exploitative practices or see their potential and crave a taste of their operations.* **• Tap into the System:** Once per story, you can request specific blood vessels from the Circulatory System to convey certain abilities – or to provide for a Ventrue who finds their feeding preference neglected in the domain. **•• Little Black Book:** You have come into the possession of one of the System’s little black books. These books contain records of blood experiments and theories on the power of select vessels’ blood. The Storyteller determines the book’s accuracy on specific matters; in general, it adds one die to Investigation, Alchemy, Medicine, or Science tests to track down or test a specific vintage. It also cuts the time to research a new two-dot or three-dot thin-blood Alchemy formula in half. **••• Farm Upstate:** You know where the System keeps a farm of valuable vessels: mortals with blood potent enough to convey benefits to Kindred drinkers. You can raid the farm, lease specific vessels at cost, or try to muscle your way in. These vessels are equivalent to four dots of Herd, but you can only feed from them once per week unless you overtly take over the farm. **•••• Secure Transit:** The Circulatory System uses armored vans and armed ghoul drivers to transport vessels from A to B. These protected modes of transit are more than simple security vans; they bristle with weapons and sometimes contain incredibly valuable vessels destined for important buyers. You have access to one of these vans. Whether you’re riding up front as a legitimate driver or have successfully hijacked one of these vans, you may arrange secure travel for one or more Kindred with little effort. **••••• Blood Sommelier:** You know the Circulatory System’s secret methods for taste, analysis, and refinement, and you can replicate them. Perhaps you own a blood laboratory, have an alchemist or blood sorcerer on call, or you just stay au courant on aficionado gossip. You can add two dice to any test to discover the Resonance of blood, and you can select three dots of Contacts, Allies, or Haven Merits to explain your knowledge. Once per story, you can ask the Storyteller the properties of the most valuable vessel’s blood.
Convention of Thorns (p.387) *You are a scholar of the Convention of Thorns, at which vampires of all clans arranged the formation of the Camarilla. Perhaps you descend from one of the most important participants who spoke up at the convention, voicing their proposals for the new Traditions. Maybe you study this historical period avidly, in search of higher meaning or understanding of the laws that govern Kindred society today.* *You can recite the names of vampires who attended, the iterations of the Traditions proposed at the convention, and even know some of the hidden proposals between clans that deigned not to join the Camarilla at that time. Knowledge of the Convention of Thorns can still be used to this night to apply pressure to Camarilla and Anarchs alike.* **• Thorns Historian:** The Convention of Thorns was a complex, moving beast of diplomacy. Hundreds of small meetings took place between representatives of this clan or that, forging pacts that lasted years, decades, or centuries in some cases. You possess an encyclopedic knowledge of the convention’s minor meetings, and you can call on this knowledge to apply legal pressures on the participants or their descendants, where pacts may still be in force but not practiced or revoked without consent of all parties. Once per story, you can ask the Storyteller for a piece of known information regarding the convention. **•• Tradition Master:** The six Traditions the Camarilla cling to tonight were first codified and agreed upon at the Convention of Thorns. Your knowledge of the convention extends to multiple apocryphal or proposed Traditions, some of which nearly passed. Once per chronicle, you can exercise fringe laws in domains where the ruling clans may still be sympathetic to the unaccepted Traditions of Thorns. Example pseudo-Traditions might include: Kindred in this domain are only permitted one Embrace; all law enforcement is forbidden as feeding stock; combat in Elysium is punishable by Final Death; diablerie is permitted against any Caitiff discovered in this domain; etc. **••• Convention Secrets:** The Ministry declined an invitation to join as the eighth pillar clan; the Lasombra rejected the Camarilla when it refused to acknowledge the existence of Antediluvians. You have uncovered still-more obscure secret proposals from the Convention: the Cappadocian petition to join, the Malkavians’ symbol draft, and more. You can drop enough hints to always take a one-die bonus to Social tests involving Kindred who were present at the convention. You also know a number of major secrets, each worth a Major Boon to some powerful Cainite. Once per story, you can ask the Storyteller for the name of a Kindred who needs your knowledge. **•••• Prospective Justicar:** The Camarilla Justicars first received appointment during the Convention of Thorns. No matter your political allegiance, somehow you (or your sire, if you are far too young) have powerful support to become the next Justicar of your clan. If your clan is not one represented widely in the Camarilla, perhaps this appointment signals a sea change among the sect’s clans. **••••• New Traditions:** Your knowledge of the Convention of Thorns is such that you can compile enough evidence and support to propose a new Tradition, or an amendment to an existing one, to the Camarilla’s Inner Circle. This Tradition may be accepted if it sounds sensible and helps the increasingly strict Camarilla in the world tonight, or it may mark you as a firebrand and danger to the sect. Importantly, your voice will be heard without prior judgment.
The First Inquisition (p.388) *You know what lit the fires of the First Inquisition that raged from the Middle Ages through to the Renaissance. Perhaps an ancestor spoke in fear of those nights. Maybe you own texts chronicling those terrible times or you have designs on recreating them by turning the church against your enemies.* *Your knowledge of the Inquisition is such that you may have capacity to manipulate the Second Inquisition of tonight, though their methods and some beliefs have changed. You know how best to evade the group and how to turn them against your foes. Such actions do not come without risk, just as your ancestors who attempted the same feat discovered.* **• Mistakes of the Past:** You know Kindred history and can cite chapter and verse of the domains and Princes the Inquisition destroyed in its original incarnation. You can educate any vampire on the Inquisition’s historic dangers. Once per story, you can ask the Storyteller for one piece of information regarding the original Inquisition. **•• Names of the Guilty:** Your knowledge of vampire and Inquisition relations extends to include Kindred manipulators. Though most are dead by these nights, many of their descendants survive, and they are at risk of blackmail for their sires’ treacheries. Once per story, you can ask the Storyteller for the name of one descendant of these traitors in your domain, if there is one. **••• The Sect of St. James:** You have contacts who consider themselves “old Inquisitors.” The Sectus Sancti Iacomi harbors a deep resentment for their fancy modern counterparts, acting with greater fanaticism and suicidal zeal than the more controlled Second Inquisition. Their abbé is a four-dot Contact, whom you can contact once per story. **•••• The Second Act:** You have a Contact within the Second Inquisition or the local Catholic archdiocese: a file clerk, scout hunter, exorcist, armorer, etc. You have no power over them, but you know how to pump them for information – or prime them with disinformation – if need be. **••••• Black Spot:** You have identified a location within your domain that the Second Inquisition fears to tread. Once per story, if you or anyone targeted by the Second Inquisition hides out at this location, the hunters call off the search. This anomaly seems to be a blessing, but it does throw up the question: What is so holy or unholy about this place that it deters the greatest threat to Kindred tonight?
Golconda (p.389) *Most vampires claim it’s a mythical state of enlightenment, but some few claim to have reached the fabled state of Golconda or know of others who managed it. Supposedly discovered by an ancient vampire named Saulot, Golconda is a state of perfect equilibrium between Humanity and the Beast. A vampire walking Golconda’s path can temper their Beast’s outrage, subdue their Hunger, and even stand in the daylight, or so it is said. The gifts accompanying Golconda’s achievement are great, and so many vampires make the pilgrimage. Few succeed on the journey.* *The route to reaching the state of Golconda has never been accurately recorded. Indeed, Saulot’s followers claim the journey is different for every vampire, dependent on their sins. What Golconda does to a vampire when they reach it is also disputed. Some claim it leads to a state of perfect serenity, while others say it makes a vampire into a cold-blooded shark of a predator, no longer susceptible to mindless rage, but just as hungry for blood.* *You may be a disciple of Golconda, a follower of Saulot’s words, or a Kindred who wishes to remove the misleading veil of Golconda from other vampires’ eyes. An elusive vampire named the Master of Ravens seeks to quash the myth of Golconda once and for all, and you may serve him in this task.* **• Seeds of Golconda:** You have heard of Golconda and can educate others on its nature without seeming like a total amateur. Once per story, you can ask the Storyteller for guidance before taking an action, and they will tell you if that action will jeopardize the chance of pursuing Golconda. **•• The One True Way:** You own a copy of the Master of Ravens-penned “One True Way:” a treatise on the supposed realities of Golconda. This piece of work tells you that Golconda is a method to become an apex predator, rather than a spiritually redeemed monster. Once per story, this pamphlet gives you three extra dice in any Social test involving the nature of Golconda. **••• Saulot’s Disciple:** You cling to the ideals of Saulot: the vampire who traveled to Asia and returned bearing a third eye and the enlightenment of Golconda. You believe in Saulot’s teachings that Golconda is the ultimate way in which a Kindred can overcome their curse. You practice a dual existence, allowing your Beast and Hunger off the reins occasionally, so you can achieve serenity at other times. Whenever you willingly succumb to frenzy, make a note; you can automatically succeed on your next frenzy test. **•••• Satisfy the Hunger:** You do not need to feed as often as other vampires. Your Golconda focus is to suppress your constant Hunger, potentially at the expense of other Traits. Your temperance acts as an inspiration to many other vampires. Once per session, you may lower your Hunger by one (but not below one) without feeding. **••••• Greet the Sun:** You know Golconda’s secrets. You may be incapable of walking the path forever, but for as long as you do, you can brave full daylight without suffering harm. However, the night after you walk in sunlight, you wake in a Hunger frenzy. You can do this once per story.
Sect War Veteran (p.392) *The Sabbat and Camarilla have ever existed at odds, but the war for North America in the 1990s and early 2000s cemented the sects as eternal blood enemies.* *In a move to exterminate their foes and cement their rule over the continent, the Sabbat slaughtered their way through Camarilla and Anarch domains, mercilessly slaying Kindred and revealing their powers to the kine without hesitation. The Camarilla realized it needed to take action, and it formed a strong, militant defense led by such icons as Theo Bell.* *Though more defensive than offensive, the Camarilla reclaimed several domains across the American South, but pockets of Sabbat control remain in a few major cities to this night. Every vampire participant has a story to tell of their involvement and the horrors they survived.* **• Survivor:** Your domain, or the domain of a vampire close to you, was scourged during the sect war. You can recount how the Sabbat and Camarilla strategized, how they warred in the city without alerting mortals, and the names of the fallen vampires caught in the middle. Once per story, you can ask the Storyteller for a piece of information relating to the sect war in your domain. **•• Active Participant:** No matter the sect, the war pulled in many vampires. Even independents served as mercenaries or suppliers for one or both sides. You have the scars to show for your participation. Your own sect may regard you as a war hero; the other as a war criminal. Take three dots of Status or Mawla to reflect your position or that of one of your comrades. **••• Trophy Kill:** Many notable vampires fell in the sect war, and to the Archons and Templars participating in the war, taking down a “name” on either side became a matter of competitive pride. Whether by luck or design, you are responsible for one such vampire’s death. You may wear this badge with pride or stifle the rumors, but either way, the vitae coats your hands. Once per story, you can use this legend to bypass a contest where it might assist, just as the Storyteller can always use it to send enemies after your head. **•••• No Vampire’s Land:** Kindred hit-teams on either side of the sect war ranged from domain to domain and then back across old ground as the defenders rallied. This Great War-style push-and-pull of conflict led to some vampires obsessing over domains and their hidden sanctuaries, armories, tunnel networks, and side streets. You know all the best spots in your domain and two adjacent domains for launching an ambush, hiding from attackers, restocking a militia, or making contact with mercenaries. Add two dots to your Domain’s Portillon, and add two dice to relevant Streetwise, Larceny, and Stealth pools in two neighboring domains. **••••• Sect Agitator:** Some vampires exist only to cause bloodshed, and you count yourself among that number. Individuals such as Lucinda of the Camarilla and Francisco Domingo de Polonia of the Sabbat spoiled for war and were left hollow when it concluded. You know all the trigger points and the correct fuse to light in order to spark a new sect war. It may be localized to a single domain at first, but once the flames start, you can fan them to extend. Add two dice to all your pools for Social tests to inflame sectarian tension.
The Trinity (p.393) *Vampires of a certain age remind their peers and descendants of the Golden Age of Constantinople, where the Trinity of Michael, the Dracon, and Antonius held sway. These three philosophers, a Toreador, Tzimisce, and Ventrue respectively, organized and upheld the vampire utopia of Constantinople. A combination of the Crusades, a Methuselah’s mania, and Setite corruption tore the coterie apart.* *Ultimately, the Dream of Constantinople, in which all vampires of disparate beliefs and practices could exist in harmony, shattered.* *Some still cling to the dream and hope for the Trinity’s resurrection in some form. You may still believe the Dracon can be brought back to his former enlightenment or that one of the new trinities of Constantinople or Istanbul hold the key to the domain’s growth and revitalization. Conversely, perhaps you study the disciples of the Trinity with wary eyes, preparing to take down a colossal threat to all Traditions.* **• Constantinople:** Outside the Ashirra, vampire tradition refers to Istanbul as “Constantinople.” You are one of the few who know why. Constantinople represented everything possible in a city where vampires shared ideas and discussed philosophy without falling to carnage. Once per story, you can ask the Storyteller a question about Constantinople’s past and be given an accurate answer. **•• Antonius’ Architecture:** Renowned for his architectural skills, both political and physical, the Ventrue Antonius built the structure that held Constantinople together. To some, he fathered the Primogen ideal. You study Antonius’ methods; you can add two dice to any Politics dice pool when making a test involving domain government. Once per story, you can mediate and calm any court debate, quashing violence with action or profundity. **••• The Dream:** For a millennium, the Trinity practiced Michael’s Dream: a vision of vampire utopia. Michael encouraged all vampires in Constantinople to learn and seek enlightenment, grow distant from the Beast, and become something beyond mere predators. You are a modern exponent of the dream, recognized as a Speaker of the Dream in your city. You can add one die to any Insight dice pool when testing to gauge another’s Beast. You inspire and calm souls; once per story, you can spend a Willpower point to allow another vampire to re-roll up to three dice when resisting frenzy. **•••• The Dracon:** Of the Trinity, only the Tzimisce known as the Dracon survived Constantinople’s fall. Passionate and wise, the lover of both Antonius and Michael, and spiritual guide for the Trinity, the grieving Dracon fell silent for many centuries following Antonius’ murder. Rumors whisper that the Dracon reemerges now, with unclear intent. You count yourself as one of his disciples, and likely know how to find him. He counts as a five-dot Mawla, assisting with spiritual and Discipline matters. **••••• The New Trinity:** One night, Michael’s Constantinople will be reborn, and you shall assist at the birth. You know this not from fragile ego, but from certain prophecy. You, along with two others who complement your skills without mirroring them, will rebuild Constantinople in a new city – no matter what you must do. If you earned them on the path to bringing about the New Trinity, you can remove up to five Stains per story before making a Remorse test (p. 239).
Jeanette/Therese Voerman (p.394) *Since its revival, Chicago’s Succubus Club has had only one rival for nightclub of the dead: The Asylum in Los Angeles. The Voerman sisters run the joint, or joints, as the Asylum franchise now appears in regnae across America, Asia, and Europe.* *Famous for both their enterprising natures and combative personalities, the Voermans loathe each other despite their success. In L.A., to “do a Voerman” is to make a member of your own coterie a sworn enemy. Therese and Jeanette now run separate Asylums, one in Santa Monica, another in Hollywood. They never appear in the same club.* *Only the Malkavians closest to the Voermans know that Therese and Jeanette are one vampire: two distinct personalities sharing the same body. Some say she bore this condition as a mortal, while others claim there were two sisters, but one killed the other. Other rumors whisper about another sister, who acts as an imprisoned thrall to the Malkavian. Highly volatile, the Voermans prove that Malkavians can be as inspired and prosperous as any Toreador or Ventrue, but many Anarchs anticipate the moment that Therese and Jeanette go to war with each other.* **• Asylum Membership:** You never need to wait in a queue for entry to the Asylum, you always have one of the best seats in the house, and as long as you don’t fuck up, you may hunt there once or twice per session (Difficulty 2) without any ruffled feathers. **•• Performing Monkey:** Jeanette and Therese know you as a reliable asset, and they frequently subject you to missions ranging from serious investigations to flights of insane fancy. Although dangerous, they are generous, and they repay any boons incurred. **••• Jeanette’s Favorite:** Jeanette Voerman, the wild child of the Voerman family, adores you, pets you, and flirts with you. Though she arguably is the less stable of the sisters, she’s also the more generous one. You may stay in the day chamber of any Asylum club if you require (if Jeanette is there, she insists you do), use the club to host your own parties, and ask for favors small and large from the Anarch Baron. Jeanette counts as a four-dot Mawla, but only for the purposes of Malkavian and Anarch dealings. **•••• Therese’s Favorite:** Therese Voerman, the upright, strict member of the Voerman family, respects and values you. Her business-oriented mind does not allow her to expend the Asylum’s resources on your luxury, but she speaks up for you in any regnum where an Asylum is present, and can school you in business and finance if you require it. She counts as a three-dot Mawla. **••••• Asylum Operator:** Jeanette or Therese permit you to franchise an Asylum club in your domain. As long as the club remains open, you have four dots to spend on Haven, Herd, Resources, or the Chasse of your Domain; depending on your club’s focus, which may be changed over time. Whether the club is an Elysium is up to you.
The Week of Nightmares (p.395) *Kindred debate when exactly the Week of Nightmares fell, with some claiming it landed just prior to the turn of the millennium, while others conflate it with the supposed commencement of Gehenna. In truth, the “Week” of Nightmares sprawled across years, sweeping up several thousand vampires in its wave. During the Week, an impossibly ancient vampire arose and purged its own clan: the Ravnos. Thin-blooded vampires emerged with omens and portents as the Red Star, Anthelios, blazed in the night sky.* *You witnessed the mania of the Week of Nightmares and survived it, manipulated the chaos to your own advantage, or you studied the actions of those who did. Now you watch for signs of dooms to come.* **• Oral History:** You have heard and told the tale of the Week of Nightmares countless times, and you know exactly what to embellish and which parts to conceal. Your telling of the tale is popular in Elysia, where you are sometimes invited to speak as historian and entertainer. Important Kindred from all over come to hear your retelling. Add three dice to Performance dice pools to tests to tell the story. **•• Ravnos Remains:** Prior to the Week of Nightmares, the Ravnos were a clan – now, they are little more than a bloodline. You know some Ravnos remnants and perhaps share their grudge against the Gangrel who left them to annihilation. You have three dots of Mawla representing this group of contacts. They carry news and warnings to you, and can perhaps be convinced to cast mighty illusions once per chronicle, but association with them is frowned upon, if discovered. **••• I Was There:** You didn’t just hear about it, you were on the front line. Your reputation as a survivor and on-the-spot veteran of the Week of Nightmares grants you Status among Kindred historians, occultists, Ravnos, and Gehenna cultists alike. Once per story, you can use this Status to earn a minor boon from one of those groups or from a prominent courtier in the domain with a sudden interest. **•••• The Red Star:** Anthelios (NASA designation 28978 IXION), called Wormwood, harbinger of Gehenna, still glows in the sky – to your eyes, at least. You believe it looks back at you, changing you somehow. Once per story, you can either reduce your Hunger to a rating of two or gain a die to the pools of one Discipline for a night by staring at the star for 10 minutes. **••••• Blood of Zapathasura:** The Ravnos Antediluvian met Final Death in July 1999 at the hands of parties unknown, armed with advanced weaponry and the power of the sun. Before he died, he drained vitae from all his clan, driving them to frenzy and cannibalism in his death throes. Thick, sentient ropes of his vitae stained the ground in Bangladesh where he fell. The noonday sun did not destroy it all. You own a small vial containing the Blood of the Ravnos Antediluvian. What you do with this vitae is up to you, and what it does to anyone who imbibes it is up to the Storyteller.
Rudi (p.396) *Rudi commands an impressive following as an Anarch representative for the oppressed and repressed minorities in vampire society. Though his concerns extend to kine as well, his recent entry into Kindred existence has shown him that the fights mortals must undertake for equality are just as pressing for immortals.* *Rudi’s nightly life hasn’t changed much since the Embrace. He still makes his haven in Copenhagen, still hangs with the same friends, and still attends the same clubs. He has only expanded his concerns; in addition to advocating for fellow mortal minorities, he now champions Gangrel kept out of havens and feeding grounds by sprawl, stands up for female Kindred in cities run by traditionally misogynistic elders, and encourages the adoption of progressive norms over tradition wherever possible. Some might think Rudi’s combination of practicing Islam and unabashed queerness contradictory, but few challenge the “Bear Gangrel” with this notion.* *Fast becoming the animale du jour, Rudi wins fellow discontented Kindred over with his targeted approach against elitists and Camarilla hardliners. Some European Princes fear he will lead a crusade in years to come, in an attempt to level the establishment.* **• Newfound Rights:** Flush with the success of the Gangrel clan’s independence from the Camarilla, like Rudi, you find this freedom energizing. Once per story, when striking out against or decrying the establishment, you can re-roll any one Skill test dice pool. **•• Them and Theirs:** When supporting the disenfranchised or persecuted, you are the resolute champion. Perhaps you believe vampires can only persist successfully when supporting each other, or you believe a pack is only as strong as its weakest member, but at great self-sacrifice, you defend others. When a Touchstone of any member of your coterie comes under threat, your ears prick up and your hair stands on end. **••• Gangrel Advocate:** As Rudi does in Northern Europe, many believe that you stand for Gangrel rights in your local domains, for good or ill. Gangrel react well to you; add one die to Social tests involving them. Although this reputation means that you speak for many, it also means that some hold you responsible for the actions of many. You can organize convocations and discreet truce meetings between Gangrel and Camarilla representatives with a successful Charisma + Politics test (Difficulty set by the Storyteller). **•••• The Bear Pack:** You are, or were, a member of the Bear Pack: hardcore Rudista Kindred who double as howling orators and fierce combatants. (Consider your fellow Bear Pack a three-dot Mawla group that actually likes getting in fights.) Once per story, these modern revolutionaries, including yourself, gain one automatic success whenever attempting to rouse Anarchs and disenfranchised mortals against the establishment. Members of the Bear Pack are feared throughout Camarilla domains, which might be both bane and boon, depending on who you talk to, and if they recognize you. **••••• Rudi’s Army:** Rudi’s Army comprises outsiders of all clans, all mortal colors, and creeds. You hold sway over an arm of this “paramilitary” force. You can call them to act against mortal or immortal governments in many ways, from staging peaceful protests outside a governor’s home to organizing rallies against the leaders of oppressive groups. Large, unwieldy, and potentially dangerous, your brigade of the army gives you six dots to split among Allies, Influence, and Contacts, that can be directed – but never controlled.
High Clan, Restricted to Banu Haqim, Brujah, Gangrel, Lasombra, Toreador (p.400) *Though formally abandoned with the rise of the Camarilla, some clans still consider themselves “High,” compared to their peers among “Low Clans.” You are a vampire from a High Clan, convincing you that you have certain rights to bully and order those of Low Clans. These rights can only be pushed so far, of course.* *Historically, the High Clans were Lasombra, Toreador, Tzimisce, and Ventrue, though Brujah and some of the Clan of Death clung to the epithet. In various parts of the world, the members of the High Clans change to include the Banu Haqim and Ministry, and rarely, the Tremere.* *As a High Clan vampire, your clan bane is, to your mind, less a curse than a blessing.* **• Peacock:** You are proud of your clan’s status as High, and you carry yourself with all the pomp and circumstance befitting a vampire of noble station. Once per session, you may re-roll a single die when attempting to command deference from one non-titled vampire in your domain. **•• Sway the Low:** The High Clans once sat upon thrones, ordering Low Clan vampires to die for them on battlefields and to subjugate themselves in court. You still possess the ability to persuade vampires of Low Clans more easily than you do the vampires of High Clans. You have bullied the equivalent of three dots of Mawla into a loyal, abused retinue of Low Clan vampires. You gain three extra dice to pools using Intimidation or Leadership against those Kindred; if you ever roll a total failure on such a test or contest, you need to compensate them, or they turn on you. **••• Elevate the Low:** Some quirk of your bloodline or an ancient Princely decree allows you to proclaim the ascendancy of one Low Clan in your city to High Clan status. You can do this once per chronicle, but of course, you can promise to do it “eventually” for quite a while first. Until then, add one die to Social tests against Low Clan Kindred when you allude to this possibility. **•••• Embraced to Rule:** Vampires of the High Clans often opted to Embrace mortals of noble birth or powerful ancestry. Your ancestors may not be kings and queens, but you were Embraced to rule. Add one die to pools for Leadership tests involving High Clan vampires who know your lineage. Once per story, other vampires of the High Clans defer to voting for you, or they allow you to take high responsibility (and power), unless you have created a personal grievance between you. **••••• Blessed, not Cursed:** Like many vampires of the High Clans, you have convinced yourself that you bear no Curse of Caine. Rather, your clan weakness is a blessing that reveals more to you about your nature, your position on God’s Earth, and the areas in life you must strengthen. Once per session, you may spend one Willpower to ignore the burdens of your clan bane.
Low Clan, Restricted to Hecata, Malkavian, Ministry, Nosferatu, Ravnos, Tremere, Tzimisce, Ventrue (p.401) *You come from one of the clans historically identified as “Low,” though in your domain, it’s less past than present-night fact. You labor under the weight of a heavy curse, heavier (you might argue) than those of High Clan vampires.* *Your geographical region determines which clans the eldest vampires still consider Low, but uniformly, the Gangrel, Malkavians, and Nosferatu fill that bracket, with Brujah and Tremere also occupying that position in various domains.* *Your status as a Low Clan Kindred marks you as less than your peers, but you are still a prominent source of rebellion and counter-culture. You have access to the bottom rungs of society, and all the benefits and drawbacks that come with it.* **• Thick Hide:** Often denigrated by those who name themselves “High,” your ambition and independence do not falter with belittling words and snubs. You do not respond easily to base provocations. Once per story, you can shrug off verbal barbs for a scene without needing to make a test. **•• Cursed with Pride:** In some cases, the Low Clans take great pride in the severity of their banes. For example, some Nosferatu believe their hideous appearances are a mark of glorious monstrosity, instead of something to be hidden. You have learned to use your clan bane as a weapon, gaining an automatic success on one roll per story when incorporating your bane into an action. **••• Uncanny Kinship:** Due to persistent persecution from the High Clans, vampires of Low Clans feel inclined to stick together. You often mediate between Low Clan disputants, and you see the merit of the underworld’s Kindred banding together against the hegemony of the High. You can select three dots from among Mawla or Status from other Low Clans in the domain. **•••• Trade Among Equals:** For all their suffering, the Low Clans benefited from their adversity in one key way – they taught each other their powers. This collaboration may not be true in all domains, but this old tale still holds in yours. You may select one Low Clan’s Discipline and buy dots of that Discipline, using experience points as if it was in-clan for you. **••••• Criticality Incident:** Your influence among Low Clan vampires can let you tip the scales of power in your domain – if you choose. Add one die to all your pools for Projects undermining High Clans in your domain. Once per chronicle, you can sacrifice up to 10 of your own Background dots to bring down the same number of High Clan Kindred in a coup.
Ambrus Maropis (p.402) *Ambrus Maropis rarely leaves his opulent apartment in Cyprus to meet the public, yet his reputation as a trend-setter and Masquerade-protector spreads widely throughout Kindred society. The Toreador who know that Ambrus is a Nosferatu loathe the vampire’s popularity. His disciples, akin to superfans, act as go-betweens to Princes and Barons while he remains forever hidden.* *Ambrus has a reputation as a vampire on the cutting edge of technology and culture. Embraced in his late teens, Ambrus is, at heart, an introverted fan of anime, gaming, and online roleplaying, with an elaborate online persona. Ambrus uses this persona to sell software and information he hacks; advise on the best security methods stolen from governments and corporations for Kindred to utilize; inform Elysia about emerging musicians, entertainers, and trends; and make himself an invaluable resource to Camarilla and Anarchs who want to appear more human than human.* **• True Believer:** If Ambrus has taught you anything, it’s that the Camarilla is right and the Masquerade is essential. You follow his edicts on security and subterfuge religiously, granting you knowledge of the best shared Kindred hiding places in a city, providing a one-die bonus to tests to find such a place. You may not have access to this bonus if the domain is typically opposed to your political or philosophical view. **•• Clandestine Information:** You can use a digital dead drop to request a hack from Ambrus’ fan community. Once per story, you can get one piece of information stored online about most mortals within two to 20 hours. **••• Taught by the Best:** As one of Ambrus’ disciples, you are provided with a ready supply of intel on topics from Second Inquisition operations to the fashion in Harajuku tomorrow night. Ambrus can also time-lock information in the Dark Web or set you up with your own Ukrainian hacker at “friend prices.” Consider Ambrus a three-dot Mawla ( ). **•••• Back Door Panopticon:** Ambrus hooked you up with a back door into PRISM/NUCLEON surveillance software, tracking and sorting online communications (including cell phone calls) for keywords and names. Or perhaps you stole it from him or found it on a machine in a safe house an Ambrusite abandoned in a hurry. Either way, you can only log in once per story for security’s sake, but it gets you two automatic successes on any Investigation test involving anyone’s cell activity or online presence. **••••• On Another Grid Entirely:** Ambrus went all out with your false identity. You have two two-dot Mask ( ) cover identities and have been Zeroed (p. 192). You get three extra dice to resist attempts to research you online or uncover your activities in the mortal world.
## Camarilla
Carmelita Niellson (p.184) *Desperate elders seeking ways of staving off Gehenna and the Beckoning increasingly seek out the Brazilian-Irish Toreador archaeologist Carmelita Neillson. She unearths the past and interviews Kindred, chronicling a vast array of vampire history and conversations with vampires as old as two millennia. The Camarilla forbids her from archiving any of her findings electronically, so she has established several “Neillson Libraries” in discreet locations.* *Her friendly manner, natural curiosity, and abilities as a polyglot make her a natural choice to debrief a Methuselah just awakening from torpor, investigate a ruined temple, or interpret a captured Sabbat scripture. Believing that art need not be in a frame or museum to be admired, Carmelita strongly feels the greatest art, one ignored by Kindred for so long, is the storytelling of their own kind. A gifted storyteller and writer, Carmelita’s skills appeal to many Toreador who wish to break the “pretty and talentless” stereotype.* **• The Art of Story:** You and Carmelita share the belief that storytelling is one of the lost art forms. Whenever regaling other vampires with historic lore or tales of myth and legend, Toreador naturally gravitate to hear your words, regardless of your standing toward each other. **•• The Art of Will:** A specific objet d’art or relic, entrusted to your safekeeping by Dr. Neillson, inspires and enthralls you. If you spend an hour meditating on this object (and make a Resolve + Academics test at Difficulty 5) before resting for the day, you awaken with one extra Willpower point. You can meditate in this way once per session. **••• Neillson Library:** Carmelita Neillson’s small libraries dot the world in Camarilla domains, serving as hives of information used to prompt and support elder vampires’ memories. You are the curator or warden for one of these libraries, which counts as a two-dot Haven with a two-dot Library. Other vampires and Kindred historians meet there as well, which has both advantages and downsides. **•••• Interview With the Methuselah:** You have obtained a recording of Carmelita interviewing an impossibly old vampire who divulges secrets about one of the clans in your domain. Once per story, you can ask the Storyteller to provide you with such a secret. Whether Carmelita knew of this recording and gave it to you or someone made the recording in secret, the information in the interview gives you an advantage over the vampire in the clip and the clan discussed. Interestingly, the voice following Carmelita’s at the end of the tape mentions further recordings. **••••• Ancestor’s Tomb:** Carmelita has entrusted you to guard the supposed resting place of one of your ancestors. As long as you keep it safe, you can call upon her for a major boon once per story. Should you fail to keep it safe, there will likely be... other consequences.
Fatima Al-Faqadi (p.185) *Embraced in the 12th century C.E., Fatima al-Faqadi is ancient among tonight’s active Kindred. Known within the Children of Haqim as the Hand of Vengeance, she is one of the most dangerous and skilled assassins who have ever been among the Kindred.* *Fatima is a faithful Muslim and a sworn enemy of the blood cultists of Ur-Shulgi. She once worked for vitae, undertaking contracts for Blood funneled back physically or by sorcerous rituals to her clan’s fortress, Alamut. But these nights, Alamut is under Ur-Shulgi’s control, and Fatima is reported to be the leader of a charge of Banu Haqim fighting side by side with the Camarilla in the Gehenna war.* *Evil tongues would have it she is in the fight only to find out what happened to her once-lover and rival, Lucita. For her part, Fatima silences such rumors with a stare almost as deadly as her knives.* **• Weapons Locker:** Your connection to Fatima or her network of Banu Haqim gives you access to a hidden weapons locker somewhere within your domain, or the domain you are visiting. You know from rumor or reliable sources where one of these lockers should be located. Once per chronicle you can use this knowledge to equip yourself with a hand-held weapon of your choice, subject to the Storyteller’s approval. **•• Extended Web:** Fatima once held membership in the cult known as the Web of Knives. Though the Web remains loyal to the demonic Ur-Shulgi and the Alamut branch of the Banu Haqim, some cultists from the Web followed Fatima in making overtures to the Camarilla. You are either a member of the Extended Web, or have a close bond to those who are. You can take three dots allocated to Allies, Contacts, and Mentor and assign them to members of the Extended Web, who may assist you for a price, or school you in the art of killing. Note that unlike regular Backgrounds, use of these dots require payment, often severe. **••• Missed Hit:** You are one of the rare Kindred to survive an assassination attempt by the Hand of Vengeance. Whether or not you were the target or collateral damage, you have a reputation as someone Fatima couldn’t bring down. As well as granting two dots in Status, this lore grants one bonus die to Social dice pools when your survival story can be used for good effect. **•••• Recognized Judge:** The Banu Haqim are meant to be judges of other Kindred. Either you were taught the ways of judgement by Fatima, or the Web of Knives taught you Ur-Shulgi’s dictates. In either case, in any non-Camarilla domain you may formally announce judgement and execute a Kindred without open retaliation from the ruling sect, as few wish to cross Banu Haqim law. Your judgement does not prevent other Kindred from subtly attempting reprisals. **••••• Open Contract:** Your relationship with Fatima is such that she has agreed to eliminate any one opponent of your choice. She will not ask questions. Perhaps your relationship is one of trust or care, or perhaps Fatima owes you. Her success is not guaranteed, but is likely.
Fiorenza Savona (p.186) *When the Lasombra reasserted control over their old religious power centers, the Ventrue responded by expanding their influence in the new nobility: government and multinational corporations. With global political pull, Fiorenza Savona keeps the clan relevant and dangerous – at the center of global power.* *Hard-nosed and unafraid to tell another vampire to take a running jump, Fiorenza worked hard as a mortal and continues to do so as a Kindred to ensure that wealthy and powerful vampires remain in their positions.* *Moving up through NGOs and the UN, she knows everyone worth controlling in the Davos elite. Her sire targeted her for her contacts list and discovered her Machiavellian political and business acumen.* *A fresh power player in the Camarilla, many elders and ancillae consider her a mere “new money” Ventrue. Their wiser clanmates know her actions sway councils, corporations, and individual mortals possessing real power. Where her predecessors focused on vampire politics, Fiorenza believes the key to Kindred longevity lies in the manipulation of the living.* **• On Fiorenza’s List:** Fiorenza knows who you are, which either means she thinks you’re an asset to the clan or a problem. Consequently, she has assigned a Gifted mortal (Core p.185) Retainer – bodyguard, driver, butler, etc. – to you, though they remain in her employ. They make no secret of spying on you and reporting back to Fiorenza, and they never drift far, even if dismissed. If the mortal is harmed or killed, Fiorenza makes a note that you’re not to be trusted, but if your conduct is good, you move further into her good graces. **•• Breakfast with Fiorenza:** Despite her high-profile role, once per story Fiorenza will make a space in her busy schedule to meet with you. Maybe you have dirt on her or perhaps you are close friends. A meeting with Fiorenza can be lucrative and informative, if you ask her the right questions. **••• Friendly Benefits:** You were close to Fiorenza before she became "the next big thing" in Clan Ventrue, and this friendship pays dividends: she can smooth over ruffled Ventrue, provide you with insider trading tips, loan a Gulfstream equipped with polarized windows and pre-cleared flight plans, etc. If you overuse or misuse this connection, the equivalent of a three-dot Mawla, she cuts you off without hesitation. **•••• The Directorate:** The shadowy Ventrue Directorate approached you. Concerned about Fiorenza’s meteoric rise, they chose you to approach her, suborn her, and break her to their will. If you accept, you submit to a Blood Bond and have your memories of the Directorate’s identities erased – but you receive six dots to select from among Contacts, Mawla, and Resources. Of course, you could approach Fiorenza and offer to work as her double agent. **••••• Government Motion:** Fiorenza owes you a favor – once per chronicle, she agrees to influence a mortal political leader as you request. Her suggestions equal five dice to distribute as you like among any roll involving government action. If you create a major political disturbance or otherwise act to reinforce Fiorenza’s “suggestions,” the Storyteller may add other dice based on your plan and on how well you succeed at it.
Pure Ventrue Lineage, Ventrue Characters Only (p.187) *More than any other clan, the Ventrue obsess over lineage, reciting their ancestry many generations back. Some claim their ancestors convey abilities to the descendants, while others state reputation is power enough.* *The Ventrue understand the importance of history and purity of vitae. When they speak, others listen. It is one thing to know your ancestry, it is quite another to speak it proudly in a court of peers or as a challenge to your enemies. At important occasions, whether a public function or the hours before going into battle, Ventrue expect each other to not only list the names of their ancestors, but to recite their deeds, accomplishments, failures, and — in some cases — dramatic deaths, to honor the past, lift the spirit, and best impress the audience, whether a rabble of Brujah or a jaded Prince.* **• Sire of Renown:** Your sire is a Ventrue notable for their nobility and adherence to clan values. To an extent, you can lean on your sire’s name to curry favor with other Kindred mainly of Clan Ventrue. This lore enables you to gain one die in appropriate Social checks where naming your sire could have impact. If the sire still exists, they may come to resent you using them as a line of credit. **•• A Lineage of Title:** You come from a line of Princes, Primogen, or possibly Barons. If you ever attempt to acquire title in a domain, Ventrue — even those you’ve never met — will automatically support your claim, unless they have sufficient reason to oppose you. **••• Recitation:** You can name your ancestors all the way to a methuselah of the Fourth Generation, impressing all Kindred within listening distance. Each Kindred of your line has a tale, and you know at least a shortened version of every single one. Reciting the whole thing (something that takes a good 30 minutes or more) gives you a one die bonus to all Social-based tests against other Kindred for the rest of the scene. This can be used once per story. **•••• Legendary Lineage (choose one):** *The Line of Alexander:* A patron of the arts, passions, and beauty, Alexander of Paris appeared to many as more a Toreador than a Ventrue. Kindred who name their ancestor as Alexander of Paris gain two bonus dice on all Persuasion and Performance rolls made in a crowd of people, as Alexander’s line love an audience. If someone interrupts your oration, you must make a fury frenzy check at Difficulty 3. *The Line of Antonius:* Antonius was a strategic thinker, obsessive planner, and master architect of Clan Ventrue until his apparent destruction. If you descend from Antonius, you gain two bonus dice on all Academics and Leadership rolls made when planning the defense or building of a domain. If someone disrupts you while making a long-term plan of this nature, you must make a fury frenzy check at Difficulty 3. *The Line of Mithras:* Mithras exemplifies pride and power. Kindred of his cult claim he was impervious to flame, and somehow this fortitude ripples through to his descendants’ willpower. Your Difficulty to resist fear frenzy from exposure to fire is reduced by two. You suffer a two dice penalty when attempting to withstand Dominate attempts by older vampires also of Mithras’ line. **••••• Name the Antediluvian:** The Ventrue Antediluvian went by many names, and each methuselah of his clan knows the ancient entity by a different epithet. You know one of these names or titles, and once per chronicle can announce yourself as the descendant of this creature to force all Ventrue in the vicinity to stop what they’re doing, fall silent, and sometimes drop to their knees. The name vanishes from the minds of all who hear it, but they will stop anything — even combat — to hear you speak.
The Cult of Mithras (p.188) *Some vampires claim the status of deities among both Kindred and kine. Next to Set, Mithras is likely the most infamous of the god-Cainites. A Ventrue of incredible age and power, and one of the longest standing Princes in Kindred history, Mithras formed a cult of faithful adherents to the Mithraic religion, incorporating trappings from the legitimate religion of old and ancient vampiric traditions.* *Though Mithras was destroyed in the 20th century, and his diablerist in turn reportedly destroyed in the Second Inquisition’s purge of London, his long-time seneschal and confidant Roger de Camden leads the Cult of Mithras in his absence. You may be a member of the cult, or even one of its leaders. Perhaps you believe the cult is the key to dominance in the Jyhad, taking Mithras’ millennia of rule as inspiration.* **• Neophyte:** Your service to Mithras is in its infancy, but you have learned how to manipulate the kine with talk of religion and grandeur. You can effectively lead a small mortal cult, granting you one bonus die to all Social rolls when interacting with your herd or retainers. This lore comes either from adherence to the cult or through study of its practices. **•• Nymphus:** Mithraists award the title of Nymphus to new sires within the cult. This lore grants you knowledge of Ventrue lineage and customs of Embrace, along with the ceremonial status of a revered sire. You gain two bonus dice to all rolls in which Ventrue or Mithraic customs are discussed or studied, and the equivalent of two dots in the Status Background when among Ventrue. **••• Leo:** Among the most honored members of the Mithraic cult, those Kindred with the title of Leo are entrusted to deliver clandestine messages between Mithraists, and sometimes even outside the order. Mithraists will not hesitate to trust you with information and messages, and you gain one dice to all non-Discipline rolls in which you attempt to get other vampires to trust you. Of course, if your allegiances lay outside the cult, this lore grants you access to deeply dangerous intelligence. **•••• Perses:** The Cult of Mithras frequently indulges in ritual bloodletting and sacrifice, with the Perses as the master of such ceremonies. A vampire declared Perses of Mithras receives a short sword and authority to murder enemies of the cult, with the guarantee of full protection (alibis, secret havens, access to resources) should their identity as killer become known. This lore gifts you three Background dots to allocate in any domain in which the Cult of Mithras is present. **••••• Unconquered:** You carry the spark of Mithras within you. Perhaps you took vitae from his diablerist Monty Coven, or maybe you once drank from Mithras himself as part of a Blood Bond. Now, Mithras lives in you. Occasionally the ancient vampire speaks to you in command or guidance, though he’s not powerful enough to compel. When you please Mithras, you gain three additional dice in Dominate, Fortitude, or Presence tests (choose one) for the remainder of the night.
The Pyramid, Tremere Characters Only (p.189) *It was not so long ago the Tremere were the strongest clan, or at least, one of the most organized. You know the Pyramid was a perfect structure for Kindred hierarchy, enforcing loyalty through bonds of Blood and oaths of loyalty to house and family, ensuring power rose to the top, with the rewards trickling down. Or perhaps you studied the Pyramid for the corrupt bastion it was, and celebrated its collapse.* *You know the inner workings of the Tremere Pyramid. You could construct such an hierarchy again, or help to erode it.* **• Apprentice:** Despite their recent destabilization, most sires of Clan Tremere still readily awards their fledglings the rank of apprentice. You are one such apprentice, or the master of one, awarding you with the equivalent of a one-dot Mawla. **•• Savant:** Despite your new entry into the Pyramid, you have already drawn the attention of members greater than yourself for a successful experiment in which you courted danger, the creation of a new minor ritual, or the discovery of lore once lost to the clan. Once per chronicle, this lore enables you to ask a major boon of a Regent, and providing the boon is not insulting, remain on good terms with that Tremere thereafter. **••• Regent:** Every chantry has a Regent. The Regent is responsible for the tutelage of all other Tremere in the domain. While the Regent may not teach them personally, she must ensure all Tremere are being educated. The Regent’s other duties extend to the clan’s protection in the domain, and sometimes its representation on the Primogen Council. You are the Regent of a chantry. This gives you a dot in Tremere Status, as well as three dots in Haven, representing the chantry. Be aware that you are expected to oversee the safety of the chantry, as well as provide lodging and resources to other members of the clan. **•••• Pontifex:** Each Warlock on the Council of Seven has seven Pontifices reporting to him. These Pontifices will oversee a vast domain, though it is rarely geographically defined. Different Pontifices are appointed as clan representatives in the fields of art, economics, werewolf studies, and other such fields. You are seen as the clan’s foremost expert in whichever domain you’re made Pontifex, and your resources regarding that field are extensive. You gain a three dice bonus to any information-gathering test relating to your particular field, provided you have access to your library, as well as three dots in Tremere Status. **••••• The New Council:** The new Tremere Council of Seven was assembled as an emergency measure following the Second Inquisition’s successful attack in Vienna. The explosion was timed to coincide with a meeting between the Council’s members, rendering all but a couple into ash, while the remainder entered torpor. You are considered one of the new potential members of the Council of Seven because you have something unique to offer the Tremere clan. What that is and how you wield your power is up to you and the Storyteller. You also have four dots in Tremere Status.
Victoria Ash (p.190) *Victoria Ash stands as one of the most prominent and influential Kindred active tonight.* *Embraced in the 17th century C.E. when she was still known as Victorine de Perpignan, she came from poverty, worked as a camp follower for the French army, and drew little regard but for her beauty and stunning singing voice. Her eventual sire, Maximillian, recognized her true talents of diplomacy, etiquette, and strategy, Embracing her for them and for the reasons the mortal soldiers adored her so.* *Combined with the devotion Victoria draws from Kindred due to her charisma and apparently benevolent personality, she is remarkable for her steady success in rising the ladder of the Camarilla. Most recently, she was selected by the Justicars of the Camarilla to seal the Vermilion Wedding agreement with Tegyrius of the Ashirra.* *The kine bend over backwards to serve her every whim, her clan adores her for natural talents and wit, and our sect points her out as everything other Kindred should aspire to be. One wonders if Tegyrius knows what is awaiting him.* **• Ashen Kiss:** At some point you have danced, kissed, or even slept with Victoria Ash. This does not make you a rarity, but it does make you special. Victoria has a perfect memory for faces and intimate encounters going back centuries (some suspect it’s how she clings to her humanity). Difficulties of Social rolls involving Victoria Ash or someone connected to her is reduced by 1. **•• Vermilion Invitation:** Maybe you were a guest at the Vermilion Wedding or you just know one of the attendees well enough to describe what took place. This enables you to recognize those who attended the wedding, their function, and where they stood on the matter of union between the sects. Once per story you can use this information to blackmail, spin tale, or relate to other attendees of this tense meeting in a familiar way, gaining a three dice bonus to a Social test, provided you can come up with a plausible explanation. **••• What Makes Them Tick:** Victoria Ash is an expert at reading people. She knows how to get to your most sensitive secrets and exploit them and has taught you a few tricks. You gain two extra dice to Insight when scrutinizing a target for their vulnerabilities. **•••• Celebrity Affectations:** Emulating the stories of Victoria Ash, you too have access to a well-stocked tour bus to allow ease of transit between domains, and a small crew of roadies. Whether you masquerade as a singer, magician, actor, or any other form of en- tertainer, is up to you. This is equivalent to holding two dots in Haven (Mobile Home) and two dots in Herd or Retainers (Roadies). **••••• Patron, Lover, Companion:** You occupy an important place in Victoria’s heart. Once per chronicle she will move heaven and earth to protect you, potentially cashing in the good will she carries with the Camarilla to do so if your crimes are egregious. For an entire session she counts as a five-dot Mawla and provides you three dots of Status.
## Anarch
Salvador Garcia (p.190) *Salvador Garcia is not famous as a killer of Camarilla Kindred or a reckless Masquerade breaker, yet many Princes fear his coming to their city more than any violent troublemaker. Garcia fights the war of ideas, traveling from city to city rousing up the local Anarch underclass to fight for their rights.* *Garcia's role is like that of a union agitator: He talks to young licks, helps them see that they don't have to accept their miserable role in undead society and carries news from other domains. One single visit can leave ideas germinating in the mind of a city's disenfranchised, leading to the birth of a new Anarch Movement.* *Originally famous as the chief ideologue of the Anarch Free States in California and the killer of the old Prince of Los Angeles, Garcia now visits his home city only rarely. Instead, he uses his extensive contacts in the Movement to travel from domain to domain, spreading the revolution and evading Camarilla forces keen to see the "undead Che Guevara" executed.* **• A Way With Words:** You've studied the thoughts of not just Salvador Garcia, but all well-known Anarch political ideologues. You're a veteran of the Movement's political debates and can hold your own. For this reason, you get two extra dice in any roll involving a political debate where you invoke Anarch principles. **•• Old School:** You've met Garcia and advocated the ideas of abolishing Princes and establishing domains with decentralized power. This gives you cred among old school Anarchs of the California Free States generation, who kept the Movement going through the lean years before the current explosion of activity. Because of this, you have the equivalent of a three dot Mawla representing older Anarchs who like you, though they will help you only in matters of the Movement. **••• Enemy of the State:** The Camarilla despises you because of your open advocacy of Anarch ideas. They attempt to discredit you by spreading bizarre rumors: You sold out your domain to strange Chinese vampires, you didn't really do the heroic acts ascribed to you, you're actually a Sabbat infiltrator, and so on. As an unintended consequence of these rumors, all attempts to find real facts about you are made at a two dice penalty to the relevant roll, and any information gained is tainted by falsehoods unless the roll is a critical win. **•••• The War of Ideas:** Garcia teaches many young licks about the ideas of the Anarch Movement. Some of those ideas were formulated by him, but not all. Indeed, you once wrote down a vision of how undead society should be organized and that text has become part of Garcia's standard spiel. Because of this, you're known all across the Anarch territories and can use this fame as the equivalent of three dots of Allies in any Anarch domain. **••••• Rise Up:** You know how to talk to your fellow Anarchs, and they know what you stand for. When you call for a revolution, things will happen. Unfortunately, you have no control over what exactly will happen. Once per story you can make make a politics roll to rile the local Anarchs into action. Gauge the scale of the effect to the number of successes rolled. (three can give you a spontaneous raid on the Prince's Haven while six might starts a revolt encompassing most of the city's Anarch population).
Agata Starek (p.191) *For a Ventrue ancilla, the name Agata Starek summons images of nihilistic, gleeful terror, Anarchs as a wave of destruction demolishing everything in its path. But for the neonate anarchs living under the arbitrary and cruel rules imposed by that same Ventrue, she's the very personification of revolution as revenge. Who cares if we're going to live another night? Let's tear these bastards down right now.* *More ideological and principled Anarch leaders tend to despise Starek because of her practice of diablerie and lack of interest in any utopian cause. For them, she's nothing but a monster, little better than the creatures of the Camarilla. Yet their perspective might be tainted by the power they wield, because Starek does have one single principle: She always punches up, usually literally. She's famous for turning on her friends and allies in favor of a mistreated ghoul or suffering human.* *For all their dislike of Starek, few Anarch leaders really want to make a move against her. Deep in their unbeating hearts, they too appreciate the idea of a monster of their own, a joyous terror giving the Camarilla something to be afraid of.* *The less power you have, the more hope Agata Starek gives you.* **• Terrorizing the Powerful:** Like Agata, you have an uncanny ability to strike terror in the hearts of licks more powerful and influential than you. Once per story, you can reroll an Intimidation test when confronted with a lick of greater means than yourself. This can mean age, resources or Sect status, but the final call on whether your ability applies is up to the Storyteller **•• Apprentice:** You've met Agata Starek personally, and something in you caught her interest. Sometimes she sends you little tidbits of information about the weaknesses and private vices of the powerful licks in your city, often with the aim of allowing you to taste their sweet, sweet blood. Once per story you gain the equivalent of a four-dot contact for the purpose deducing a weakness in a stronger enemy. This could be anything from their feeding habit, their Touchstones or the flaw in their haven’s security. **••• A Favor Owed:** You've met Agata Starek once or twice, perhaps in a delicate situation involving murder and the spilling of Camarilla blood. Because of your shared history, once per story you can cash in a boon someone in your city owes her. A known appreciator of vitae, the boons owed to Starek always involve gaining access to particular type of vampiric Blood. You explain what kind of Blood you need, and the Storyteller tells you who owes the boon to acquire it, limited by what's possible in the domain. For example, methuselah Blood is probably not possible, but the Blood of the Prince might be. **•••• Unlikely Allies:** Starek is a figure of hope for many who no longer believe that a better world is possible. They are content to yearn for revenge, and like her, you've begun to seem like someone who could make things difficult for the powerful. Because of this, once per story an oppressed servant or minion of your undead enemies will help you in a tight spot as long as they can do it without getting caught. The Storyteller can make this happen, or you can appeal to a minion with a Persuasion roll with four additional dice. **••••• The Joy of Transgression:** Agata Starek argues that diablerizing powerful Camarilla vampires is not only an Anarch responsibility, it's also one of the chief joys of the revolution. You've taken her words to heart and no longer suffer an automatic loss of a point of Humanity when diablerizing someone with more Sect status than yourself. However, the potential Humanity loss from when you roll the effects of the diablerie can still apply.
Hesha Ruhadze (p.192) *Though the Ministry have largely aligned with the Anarchs in these turbulent nights, Hesha Ruhadze stands like an old rock in a stream. When asked about sectarian allegiances, the Nubian archaeologist rolls his eyes and mutters to himself. He spurns politics, referring to it as a wasted focus for creatures that might live for an eternity. His dedication is to history, the mysteries of vampire origins, and importantly, discerning their fates. All the while, he sits in at Anarch moots and listens attentively.* *Hesha is a willing servant of the Blood, and believes he can understand the voice of Sutekh calling from his vitae. Where this might be a mark of insanity for some vampires, Hesha’s standing among Kindred far and wide lends credence to his claims. He is still the same coolly charming man, and every word he speaks feels heavy with gravitas, but now he speaks as the herald of his god’s will. Every time he does so, it is with a smile.* **• One of Hesha’s Works:** You own one of Hesha’s treatises on the history of Kindred existence. While the work may be controversial, and oppose the traditional Cainite mythology, it conveys one additional die on Occult-based dice pools, or pools relating to vampire origins. This work may be sold in exchange for one dot of the Resources Background. **•• Something Hesha Wants:** You know what Hesha currently seeks, and can access it, or already own it. This item can be used to bargain with, blackmail, or threaten Hesha, or even present to him as a gift for future favor. This artifact or piece of information conveys an additional three dice to Persuasion or Intimidation dice pools involving Hesha or his cult. It can also be sold, adding three dots to your Resources (up to five) for the duration of the story. **••• Museum of the Faithful:** You possess the rare privilege of membership in one of the Ministry’s museums of vampire history. These underground treasure troves are securely guarded but contain a plethora of accessible information about legendary Cainites. You must submit a new treasure to the museum every year for continued membership and will have your access denied if you fail to do so, or ever steal from one of these Setite hoards. You gain three additional dice to all tests involving the research of vampires and vampire history for as long as you keep you membership. **•••• Blood Cult (Ministry characters only):** Hesha has taught you the old ways of the Followers of Set, in which mortals and ghouls perform more than a servile role. Your cult encompasses a warrior, a priest, and a scholar, as well as willing vessels from which you feed. Three Background dots can be split between these specialzed cultists, who can count as Herd or Retainers. They possess more knowledge and ability of your kind than typical servants and ghouls, giving them an additional die in all interactions with vampires. **••••• Hear the Blood Sing (Ministry characters only):** Maybe Hesha taught you how to hear the words, or perhaps you accomplished the feat yourself. You hear the voice of Sutekh more loudly than you do your Beast. Through riddles, visions, and musical refrain, the Storyteller will occasionally offer you guidance from the godlike voice issuing from your vitae. Once per session, you are also able to automatically resist Frenzy, treating it as a Ministry Compulsion instead.
The Church of Set (p.193) *Most Ministers have rediscovered their cosmopolitan, multi-faith routes. While they still revere Set as their founder and the first vampire, it is less common for a Setite of the Ministry to cling only to the worship of Sutekh. This is not the case among those Setites who claim membership in the very Church of Set. Dedicated to the rites of Setite Orthodoxy, the Church of Set’s members believe they must conspire to weaken all other clans and their founders in order to pave the way for the resurrection of their founder. Your membership in the Church of Set may be as a new adherent, desperate to find meaning and mentorship in a hostile world, or you may be one of the dedicated faithful, rejecting the idea of enslavement to other Antediluvians and seeking freedom from all chains by following Set’s holy guidance.* **• Congregation:** You have access to a herd of kine, but these mortals are a unified religious flock you can manipulate. This congregation can belong to any mainstream of fringe religion, and whether they see you as their leader, or just another parishioner, you can feed from them easily. This lore is equivalent to a two-dot Herd, though it requires you to show up and uphold the faith regularly. Tap the Secret Vein: Through the method of a simple interview, you can analyze whether a mortal or Kindred has a secret they’re trying to hide. You gain a two-dice bonus to Insight-based tests to find whether someone is keeping a secret. Freedom from the Aeons: Set despises his fellow clan founders, or so the legend says. The Setites consider the other founders Aeons, and demonstrate a resistance to their power. You gain two additional dice on rolls resisting Dominate and Presence attempts from vampires of other clans. **•• Tap the Secret Vein:** Through the method of a simple interview, you can analyze whether a mortal or Kindred has a secret they’re trying to hide. You gain a two-dice bonus to Insight-based tests to find whether someone is keeping a secret. **••• Freedom from the Aeons:** Set despises his fellow clan founders, or so the legend says. The Setites consider the other founders Aeons, and demonstrate a resistance to their power. You gain two additional dice on rolls resisting Dominate and Presence attempts from vampires of other clans. **•••• Degenerative Process:** The Church of Set teaches its adherents that a man must be brought to his lowest before he can rise to meet glorious Sutekh. You can push any being, mortal or immortal, to indulge in degenerative corruption only to come out clean on the other side. With a successful Manipulation + Persuasion roll, you can persuade any individual to break a Tenet or Conviction, gaining at least one Stain. When it is done, they feel purified. The targeted character restores up to three Superficial or one Aggravated Willpower damage. **••••• Body of Set:** You possess a fragment of Set’s skeleton, sarcophagus, or burial robes. Though the implication of Set’s Final Death is debatable, the holy (or unholy, depending on your perspective) artifact gives you drive to succeed and impressive influence over other Followers of Set, conveying a four-dot Status among other Ministers. The relic also helps you to touch the mind of Set through meditation, and once per story you are able to reduce Stains gained from breaking a Tenet by one, if following what you and the Storyteller perceive as the will of your god.
Ruins of Carthage (p.196) *You are a vampire who traces their line back to the height of Carthage, or an attempt to rebuild the great empire that opposed Ventrue and Malkavian-controlled Rome. Likely of Clan Brujah or the Banu Haqim, you were taught the words of your ancestors, carry the fire of hatred for tyranny, and crave the nights when you can establish a domain where mortals and vampires alike can relax the need for the Masquerade.* *Knowledge of the principles of vampiric Carthage is both enlightening and damning, for once a vampire tastes the freedom of this fallen empire, they struggle within the Camarilla’s strictures. Licks who obsess over the Ruins of Carthage often get caught in webs of intrigue, paying for their curiosity with the formation of inescapable pacts.* **• Clan Historian:** You have studied the path of Clans Brujah, Lasombra, and the Children of Haqim from pre-Carthage nights through to the formation of the Camarilla. You know their rises and their falls, their constant battles with the Ventrue, Malkavians, and Toreador, and can recite names and dates with ease. This lore impresses other Kindred historians and rebels looking for a cause, giving you a bonus die on social tests where you can put this knowledge to use. **•• Punic Pride:** To this night, Brujah still look back on Carthage as the ultimate symbol of rebellion. They believe Carthage was the most successful domain to successfully resist Ventrue-controlled Rome, until its calamitous end. You take great pride in your Carthaginian ancestry, whether through mortal links, or immortal bloodline. When invoking this ancestry, you speak with increased confidence and draw the attentions of fellow rebels. Gain two dice in Leadership-based tests to lead others against perceived oppression. **••• Death to Tyrants:** If Carthage taught the Brujah and Children of Haqim anything, it’s that it’s always worth fighting until the end. Never since – even when considering the Anarch Revolt – have the pillars of the establishment been so shaken. You harness the strength of the vampires who fell fighting Rome whenever taking the fight to a figure in power. Gain a bonus dice to all contests against someone who can claim authority over you. **•••• Troile’s Wish:** Many Brujah claim the damning tales of Carthage are simply Ventrue propaganda spread from Rome, and extant to this night. Brujah and Banu Haqim scholars alike claim Troile was a benevolent ruler, treating both Kindred and kine fairly, and ensuring every soul in the empire remained fed, educated, and loved. You believe in this credo, and exude a reassurance that convinces others to trust you, supplicate before you, and help you in whatever schemes you have to mind. You gain a two bonus dice to all social tests involving vampiric servants, yours and others, whether they are retainers or just part of a herd. **••••• Carthage Anew:** You are an advocate of Carthage anew. Plans have been set in motion and you already have an Anarch city selected where the Masquerade will soon fall without being targeted by mortal agencies. (The deals and pacts you had to make for this to happen are left to you and the Storyteller.) Up until that time, you are able to break the Masquerade and get away with it in that city once per story, no matter the severity of the breach.
Blood Plagued (p.197) *Vampires are immune to most diseases, but some plagues make their way into the vitae and transfer from vampire to vessel with ease, while others fester and mutate, becoming something threatening only to the vampire hosts.* *A Blood plague, sometimes known as the Curse, swept through the undead society in the late 20th century, decimating domains and striking down vampires no matter their clan or status. Gustav Breidenstein, former Prince of Berlin and powerful elder, was one of the highest profile victims of the contagion that brought countless Damned to frenzy and forced vitae to escape from every orifice until the victim withered and died.* *It is said the Blood plague died out, or was cured through a great ritual sacrifice. Unfortunately, the plague may just be torpid, like so many of its victims. These infections rise again and again across the centuries.* **• Detection:** The Blood plague manifests in vampires in a variety of ways, depending on the incarnation of the disease. As the curse afflicting vampires evolves, so must the experts who seek to study and eradicate it. You are one such vampire, who knows all associated symptoms of the Blood plague. You can use this lore to easily determine if someone carries infection, or more malignantly, you can sow rumors in a domain of the plague’s existence, by using facts about the disease’s course. Add two dice to any Medicine or Occult roll involving the plague. **•• The Science of the Blood:** You believe the Blood plague to be largely medical in genesis, possibly even started among mortals before it infected Kindred. Your thorough study of the Blood plague enables you to simply detect the plague’s recent paths and patterns, analyzing where an infected host may have been, who they might have been infected by, and when. Such information can be incredibly useful when attempting to quarantine all infected subjects. Add two dice to all Investigation rolls and other tests to track active victims of the plague. **••• Trace the Torpid Victims:** You see the strains of Blood plague wind through the earth. Your interest in this condition goes further than just quarantine and healing of the infected; you can follow the plague’s stench and unholy aura to its torpid victims. You already know where many of the bodies are buried. By making a Resolve + Occult roll (Difficulty 4, modified depending on the vampire population and the history of the Blood plague in the area) you can locate the body of an infected victim still in torpor. Who they are and whether they are still contagious is up to the Storyteller. **•••• Curative Vitae:** You believe any disease is curable, with the correct research, and the willingness to sacrifice. Your vitae is clean of the Blood plague, and you show no symptoms despite your proximity to many victims. You believe your Blood may hold the cure, but scientists of other clans require a lot of your vitae to test this idea. By giving enough Blood to force a Rouse Check you can add two dice to any attempt to manufacture a cure, temporary or even permanent (Storyteller’s discretion). **••••• Vector:** You have a secret. You carry the Blood plague, and can even infect others with it, but you display none of the symptoms. This dangerous lore allows you to spill your vitae in an Elysium or feed a mouthful of it to a popular vessel, and watch the terrible effects as the other Kindred succumb to the Blood plague. If you feel more altruistic, you may volunteer for thorough tests on your vitae, and how it may be applied by your sect as a weapon, or by those looking for a cure. The specific effects of your strain of plague are up to you and the Storyteller.
Anarch Revolt (p.198) *You claim lineage to a vampire important to the Anarch Revolt of the 14th and 15th centuries, or perhaps you possess records chronicling the fall of tyrannical Princes, or rise of upstart Barons. You know the time and place Tyler murdered Hardestadt the Elder, and the participants in the diablerie of the Tzimisce Antediluvian. Maybe you’ve even spoken with Lugoj or Lambach, two of the Fiends present during that incident.* *Your knowledge of the Anarch Revolt is such that you can see the waves and eddies of time repeating itself in the society of the Damned tonight. You recognize the exact same crimes of the past repeated now, and can predict, and perhaps control, the way the young will rise up to smash the old.* **• Critical Ancestor:** Vampires largely of Clans Brujah, the Banu Haqim, and Lasombra led the Anarch Revolt across Europe, with power-hungry Tzimisce taking part to eliminate the greatest monsters in their own clan. However, Anarchs rose from all clans, as most elders manipulated their young to disastrous ends. You can name one of your ancestors as critical to the Anarch Revolt, either as an instigator, chronicler, or opponent. Your ties to this ancestor give you credibility in discussions regarding the Revolt, and a passion for its analysis. Gain a point of Anarch status as well as the Suspect (Camarilla) flaw, or vice versa. **•• Speak the Words:** The Anarch Revolt was driven more by words and energy than flashing blades and spilling blood, at least at first. You possess the same ambition as the Anarchs of the past, and can accurately pinpoint where oppression occurs, and where revolt is necessary. When vampires listen to you, they feel more inclined to seize power from their masters. Add two dice to social tests involving the instigation of Anarch activism. **••• Enemy of the Establishment:** You consider yourself an Old Anarch, not necessarily by age, but by ethos. The new Anarch Movement has its strengths, but also many weaknesses. Your views put you in direct opposition to the Camarilla and its Victorian methods of subjugation. The Camarilla has marked you as an enemy, which only draws more listless Anarchs to your banner. You gain the equivalent of a four-dot Mawla, representing your comrades among the Anarchs, as well as a one-dot Adversary, representing someone tasked with keeping tabs on you and, if necessary, bring you down. **•••• Icon:** You have taken the name of one of the Anarch Revolt’s original participants, and act as that vampire’s successor. This would be disrespectful, if you had not performed many of the same actions as your forebears. Many Anarchs see you as the next great leader of the Revolt, whether or not that is your intent. You may have seized an historic identity for the cult status and easy access to herd, but now the sect puts increasing pressure on you to act in their interest. Gain two dots of Status, two dots in Herd and two dots in Resources for as long as you put the Anarch cause before anything else. Any misstep and they are lost until you redeem yourself. **•••••** Reignite the Revolt: The time has come. You know how the Anarch Revolt took place half a millennium ago, and know how it needs to take place tonight. You know the weakness of your city, the greatest threats, and the Camarilla positions direly in need of removal. You can threaten your enemies with the prospect of war for extortion purposes, or to prevent the Camarilla taking more liberties with the Anarchs than they have already. Once per story you can use this leverage to gain four dice in any Social conflict against a member of the Camarilla establishment. If you fail the roll you either need to make good on your threat or lose this Advantage permanently.
## Chicago by Night
Annabelle (p.262) *Toreador Primogen Annabelle has been involved in Kindred politics for nearly two centuries. She’s served on the council throughout the reigns of four Princes and survived fires, purges, and Lupine attacks. So far, she seems unaffected by the Beckoning. Some of her enemies (and a non-zero number of her allies) whisper about what it is that lets her come through so many calamities unscathed. Is she that politically savvy, and has simply made smart bargains and surrounded herself with strong protectors? Or does some mysterious benefactor watch her from the shadows, stepping in to keep her out of harm’s way?* *Annabelle throws frequent parties — one or more a week — where invitees can rub elbows with the powerful, admire art both new and old, and set any number of political plates spinning. Though other Cainites find it amusing to scoff at her taste in art, only a rare few do so to her face. While she might not have an eye for masterpieces, it’s foolish to assume she therefore has no head for politics.* *Annabelle’s connections span not only Kindred society but run deep into mortal affairs as well. Her money and influence are extremely welcome in the art world. She still maintains contacts within the media under her human guise, Elaine Stanley-Greer. Although her husband’s newspaper empire shut down 20 years ago, she knows who to call to get a story pulled or a headline bumped to the front page.* **• Intern:** Fledgling vampires who want to learn the ins and outs of Kindred politics often spend time working for Annabelle. Once per story, you may ask for Annabelle’s guidance on a particular matter. She may even decide to help you, though whether that’s to your benefit or detriment is questionable. **•• Glitterati:** Whether you’re this week’s one-hit wonder or are famous by virtue of your last name, your presence makes Annabelle’s parties more interesting. Once per story, you can get on the guest list for an event to which you weren’t previously invited by simply asking “Do you know who I am?” **••• With Thanks to Our Donors:** Annabelle knows someone at every museum and recording studio in town. Once per story, she will pull strings to get you a meeting with someone in charge, but the rest is up to you. **•••• Patronage:** Your exceptional talents have drawn Annabelle’s eye. She invites you to sing at an exclusive gathering, or finds a buyer for your latest painting. When you perform for her associates or when Annabelle brokers a deal for your artwork, your Resources increase by one dot until the end of the story. This may be used once per story. **••••• Inner Circle:** You’ve proven indispensable to Annabelle. She heeds your judgment and entrusts you with sensitive information. Once per story, she will present an issue of your choice (at the Storyteller’s discretion) before the Primogen council.
Ballard Industries (p.263) *With a healthy mix of administrative businesses, trust funds, financial firms, and industrial companies, Ballard Industries is one of the pillars of Chicago’s economy. It is also one of the largest conglomerates in the country, with significant holdings in companies in other fields.* *Horatio Ballard still runs his corporate empire in secret, either through his direct descendants or employees that only exist on paper. The company provides the Camarilla of Chicago with a significant amount of its funding, ensuring that Elysium is lavish and secure. In addition, it provides the Kindred with legal services.* *As a member of Ballard Industries, you have access to a share of Horatio’s wealth and power. Whether you’re just a trusted employee or his childe, you rarely find yourself in a state of need. As long as you maintain your loyalty to Ballard, the world is yours.* **• Deep Pockets:** Ballard knows better than to screw you out of your hard-earned pay. You’ve saved enough of it to weather the very rainy days to come. Once per story, after any event that causes a reduction in your Re- sources, you may choose to immediately restore your Resources to their original value. **•• Where the In-Crowd Goes:** As an agent of Horatio Ballard, you carry a surprising amount of authority in the business world. If you let them know who you are and who you work for, they’ll let you do just about anything. Once per story, you may invoke one of Ballard’s false identities to receive three extra dice on a Social test in a corporate environment. If you choose to invoke Ballard’s real name instead, you will automatically succeed the test, but it may be declared a Masquerade breach at the Storyteller’s discretion. **••• I Fought the Law, and I Won:** Ballard Industries owns some of the best law firms in the country, and where legitimate legislation doesn’t work, bribery certainly will. A number of law-enforcement officers dance to Ballard’s tune, and they might not even know it. You can be their conductor. No matter what crimes you commit, you will always have access to Influence: Police (•••) in your home state or district. **•••• Favors for Favors:** Ballard taught you that no one gets ahead in business without a little quid pro quo. If you can make sure you come out with the better end of the bargain, even better. You know how to wield this on the desperate, and make them bend to your will. If you spend your resources for an SPC’s benefit, you may declare they owe you a debt and have two additional dice to add to an Intimidation or Persuasion roll if this proves a hard pill for the SPC to swallow. If they agree to repay the debt, from the next scene onward, you may call in that character’s debt at any time. The debt can be anything within the character’s natural ability and morality. They are not obliged to repay, of course, but will suffer social backlash among the Ventrue if they do not. You can hold as many debts as your total Status at any one time. Note that this Lore is not equivalent to Kindred boons, as these debts are only considered sacrosanct in Ventrue and financial circles. **••••• The View from the Top:** You have earned Horatio Ballard’s respect — or his fear. Whichever the case, he has chosen to place you in charge of a piece of his empire. Name your company and state what it does, then choose one of the following Backgrounds at (••••) and the other at (•••): Haven, Herd, Influences, Resources, or Retainers. This is what your company provides you. You will earn an Enemy (••) who represents a major business rival and another Enemy (•) who is an employee you leapfrogged to seize your piece of Ballard Industries.
Blacksite 24 (pp.264-265) *The former Chanute Air Force Base lies 130 miles south of Chicago and was first established in 1917 as an Air Service training camp following the United States’ entry into World War I, being used primarily to train pilot cadets to fly over the battlefields of Europe. Following the declaration of World War II, Chanute’s importance as a technical training center and enlistee entry point increased. The first all-black fighter squadron was activated there in March 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron, who trained first in ground-support roles and would later go on to form the core of the other black squadrons. The Women’s Army Corps Training School was established there in early 1944 and produced class after class of WACs until the end of the war.* *In 1988, as part of a general reduction of forces consideration, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended that Chanute be closed and redeveloped for civilian use. Certain portions of the former base have, however, not been turned over to the public. Careful inspection of the site turned up the extensive use of asbestos in many of the oldest buildings on site, as well as toxic levels of volatile organic compounds in soil and groundwater requiring extensive environmental remediation. Those areas of the former base were declared an EPA Superfund clean-up site closed to the public, cordoned off, and assiduously patrolled to keep the curious and the foolish away.* *Two months later, FIRSTLIGHT took possession of their new blacksite and began shipping captive Kindred into the facility via the conveniently located civilian airfield for long-term detention and processing. It’s not like blankbodies need to eat or drink or worry about mesothelioma, after all, and the isolation protocols followed by the interrogation crews generally also act to ameliorate exposure to environmental toxins. In 2015, the operation expanded from mere warehousing and interrogation when FIRSTLIGHT obtained possession of the former Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum, also on the site of the former base, and converted it to use as a medical research facility. An international team of specialists now makes its home there studying blankbody physiology to their hearts’ content once intelligence is done with them.* *As a Kindred resident of Chicago, you have acquired knowledge of Blacksite 24’s existence and what you do with that knowledge could have a serious impact on your own, for good or for ill.* **• Rumors:** You know a lick who knows a lick who knows somebody that got scooped up by creepy, suspiciously well-informed and well-armed MIB-looking dudes in unmarked black vehicles on the way into the city. Once per story, you may ask the Storyteller to feed you one rumor — which may or may not be based in anything resembling reality. **•• No, Really!:** You are the lick the other lick knows. Whether you’re a recent arrival in Chicago who witnessed something in your travels or part of a Kindred underground railroad who helps ferry the desperate fleeing from their situations, you know what you’ve seen. Once per story, you may ask the Storyteller for a solid piece of information about the weirdness you’ve witnessed. **••• Paranoia Strikes Deep:** Maybe you were a SchreckNET administrator once. Maybe you’re a paranoid conspiracy theorist now. Maybe you’re a top-flight investigator with a million burnable alternate identities and sources all over the globe. Whatever the explanation, you know about the existence of FIRSTLIGHT and you know they’re active somewhere near, and possibly inside, Chicago. You possess Contacts (••••) whose particular expertise relates to FIRSTLIGHT or related government-sponsored vampire hunting operations and may uti- lize them once per story before they disappear out of reach. **•••• It’s My Job To Know This Stuff:** You are part of the security apparatus of the Chicago Domain — a specialist advisor to the Prince, an agent of the Sheriff, a protector employed by one of the Primogen or another high-ranking member of a powerful clan — whose task encompasses ferreting out and neutralizing possible threats to the Kindred as a whole. Subsequently, you’ve had greater cause than most to discover the truth of certain disturbing rumors, including employing investigators of your own to sort fact from rumor. Consequently, you have managed to uncover considerable amounts of information about the government’s own vampire hunters, including the fact that they have some sort of permanent installation near Chicago. This specialist knowledge grants you Status (••) among the Kindred, who frequently come to you to benefit from it, and Influence (••) among the kine, which you use to manipulate the mortal world for the benefit of your clients. **••••• The One That Got Away:** You escaped from containment at Blacksite 24. You are very likely being hunted by your former captors, who have every reason to want to retrieve you before you can go to ground or, even worse, reach others of your own kind and warn them of the horrors you’ve endured or witnessed. Fortunately for them, those horrors are not clear in your own mind, even though you have reached safety: The after-effects of Rötschreck and protracted near-torpid starvation have clouded your memories of your experiences — you can only clearly recall what you saw, or heard, with the greatest effort. Once per story, you may ask the Storyteller for one clear snippet of memory from your incarceration. You have gained immunity from FIRSTLIGHT-induced Rötschreck.
The Blue Velvet (p.266) *The Blue Velvet opened its doors in 1972, and has been a hotspot for Kindred nightlife and politicking ever since. Located in the heart of the Rack, the club had several incarnations before its current one. An anonymous entrepreneur bought out Fantastica and immediately closed the bar’s doors for three months of extensive renovations. When it reopened, the Blue Velvet boasted four separate bars, a VIP lounge, and a dance floor big enough to handle fans of the hottest bands. It was an ambitious endeavor, and one that’s worked for nearly 50 years.* *The bar draws Kindred and kine alike. While mortals dance their cares away below, Cainites high above engage in a different kind of dance, moving carefully through the rhythms that control the city and its future.* *For decades, no one knew who owned the Blue Velvet. Rumors and speculation swirled. Most attempts to dig into the club’s financials to unearth its owner led nowhere. Only one investigator got close, in early 1987, but she disappeared right after confiding to a friend that she’d made a stunning breakthrough. Her notes and research never surfaced. In the mid-1990s, the mystery ended with the Malkavian Bronwyn’s emergence into Kindred society. Her revelation that she’d been the force behind The Blue Velvet all these years gave her an immediate in with Kindred all across Chicago, and a storefront from which to illicitly traffic blood on behalf of the Circulatory System.* **• Est. 1972:** You’ve been there since the start, and may have been familiar with some of the bars that preceded The Blue Velvet. In many ways, the club’s history is your history, and others consider you an authority on it: bands whose rise started here, Kindred rivalries that played out in the VIP lounge, if it happened at The Blue Velvet, you’ve got the skinny. Add two dice to any roll related to recalling and using the club’s history. **•• Who’s Who:** Everyone who’s anyone stops in at the Blue Velvet. You know them all by name, but they don’t know you’re keeping tabs on who comes and goes, who they talk to, and when they leave. Once per story, ask your Storyteller for information on a fellow club-goer’s movements. The Storyteller will tell you when the named patron was last at the Blue Velvet, how they acted, and who they were with. **••• Standing Gig:** Only the hottest bands play at the Blue Velvet, and its dance nights have lines stretching around the block. You’ve played or DJed at the club and appear on its calendar regularly. Once per story, when you perform at the club, choose between gaining a three-dot Resource Background (lasting until the end of the story) or a three-dot Herd from fans who attend your every performance. **•••• VIP Club:** Your status is well-respected at The Blue Velvet. Your fame or influence draws others to the club, and Bronwyn appreciates your patronage, acting as a four-dot Ally or Mawla. A table’s always ready for you, and you have access to a private room in the VIP lounge for meetings and feedings. **••••• Backstage Pass:** You are a trusted, high-level employee at The Blue Velvet. Ian Gibson relies on you for night-to-night operations, and you’re a member of Bronwyn’s inner circle. One per story, you may request and receive her aid, whether that’s via influence, financial backing, or use of the club for a private endeavor.
Capone Gang (pp.268-269) *After Capone’s disappearance from Chicago, some of his lieutenants wanted to continue the great prosperity their gang saw in his mortal heyday. One lieutenant in particular, the Ventrue Eddie Wu, became a vampire not long after Capone and ran one of the only vampiric arms of the gangs in Chicago. Although during Lodin’s reign this was all very hush-hush, he feels he has no reason to hide and in fact is growing in power. The new gang he leads is called “The Capone Gang” and, while small, is influential amidst the criminal underground.* *The Capone Gang’s main imports are drugs from Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, but they still employ cooks for Chicago-made meth. The gang operates out of the Green Mill, a jazz club that’s been around for over 100 years and was a famous Capone hangout. Since Capone has long since become a relic of Chicago’s past, it’s a surprisingly good cover, and too old-fashioned to be a gang hangout in modern times. There are two cemeteries nearby that act as exchange points among the undead gang and any human gangs or other vampires.* *Eddie Wu is well known for his ruthless “shoot first, ask questions later” attitude. His second in command and ghoul, Lily DeAngelis, is more balanced, looking to the long-term future of the gang instead of making violent snap judgments. She balances out Eddie’s temper, and is the real brains behind the operation. Eddie stays outside Chicago’s limits to avoid Prince Jackson’s notice, while Lily handles the night-to-night business.* **• A Favor for a Favor:** The Capone Gang will do something for you if you do something for them. You know a gal that can get what you need done. Favors are in the realm of procuring drugs, weapons, information, or some other illegal thing. Gain Contacts: Capone Gang (•) and Allies: Capone Gang (•) for one use each per story. **•• In Debt:** You’ve got a big ask of the Capone Gang. Maybe you need someone gone, or you have to launder some cash, or you’ve got a clean-up job they can handle. No problem. Now you’re in Eddie’s debt. Once per story you can utilize this to fix some sort of problem but in exchange, at some point in the story, Eddie’s going to call on you for a favor. **••• Just One Job:** Job: When you help the Capone Gang out with a heist, you get a cut of the profits. They often use another Kindred on these jobs, either as an enforcer, or just to utilize their supernatural abilities in tandem with the ghouls. They plan out the job, mapping the location for the robbery, taking into account security and surveillance, just leaving you to walk in, grab what’s good, and walk out again. Gain Resources (•••) from a successful completion of the job. Other characters could join in, but how much you decide to cut them in is entirely up to you. **•••• One of Us:** It’s official, you’ve spent enough time with the gang to become a member. You can join in a “making” ceremony, where you swear an oath of loyalty to the other vampires in the Capone Gang and gain access to their stash. This gets you Resources (••) and Allies: Capone Gang (••), allowing you to hire some of the members to do work for you as well as some extra cash if needed — with Eddie Wu’s permission, of course. You get one additional die o Streetwise rolls concerning organized crime. **••••• Prodigal Child:** Eddie Wu has put an incredible amount of faith in you, and sees you as a trusted lieutenant. You’re in on the organizational meetings, and can help influence big decisions on what the gang does next. Gain Contacts: Capone Gang (••••), Mawla: Eddie Wu (••), and Haven: Capone Gang Safehouse (••). Now you have to help build a lasting empire in Capone’s name. You gain access to all resources, people, and power this position can grant you within a gang, providing Prince Jackson doesn’t clamp down your operation. Should you ever put your own interests before that of the gang, you lose the above benefits, potentially gaining Eddie as an Enemy.
The Cobweb, Malkavian Characters Only (p.270) *You’re never truly alone. Not anymore. Not even if you want to be. Not even if you try to be. The Cobweb catches so many thoughts in its sticky strands, sends them skittering further inside, or reverberating out to the far edges. You’re not always sure the thoughts you’re hearing are from now. Some feel like they’ve been stuck for years and have just shaken loose. Others taste like tomorrow.* *The Cobweb, also known as the Madness Network, is a psychic network to which all Malkavians are linked. No two clan members describe it exactly the same way. For some, it’s a constant low murmuring in their Blood. Others describe it as a kind of hivemind operating alongside their own cognition. Many — even most — Malkavians are only reminded of its presence a few times a year, like a sudden burst of static on a forgotten radio.* *No one knows the Cobweb’s ultimate purpose, though it’s been used to summon a gathering of Oracles together with a subconscious imperative dubbed The Call. Some suspect Malkav himself uses the Network to view the world through his descendants’ eyes and ears, or that he simply is the Network.* **• A Break in the Static:** The Cobweb is just barely perceptible to you. You catch sporadic snatches of conversation, often just a few distinct words or images. It’s enough to piece together an order or a call for aid, though you’re unable to respond. **•• Step into My Parlor:** You can communicate over the Network with other Malkavians nearby. These discussions are heavily abstract, limited to short phrases, simple images, and strong emotions. **••• Across the Web:** Your voice is one of the strongest on the Cobweb. You can hold more involved conversations with Malkavians in your city. Once per story you may initiate the Call, sending impressions of the time and gathering place to all who can hear. This does not guarantee obedience —herding cats is child’s play compared to organizing the children of Malkav. **•••• Pluck the Strands:** The tensile strength of spider silk rivals steel’s, and your connection to your Cainite ancestors and descendants is equally powerful. Once per story, you may use the cobweb to piggyback on your sire’s or one of your childer’s senses. You are only an observer, and cannot control their responses or their movements. **••••• Malkav’s Will:** The entity in the Cobweb is awake and aware. They know your name and tell you their secrets. They have a plan and want you to help carry it out. Malkav — or a consciousness pretending to be him — speaks to you directly via the Network. Once per story, you may ask the Storyteller to divulge a secret about another Malkavian or reveal what orders the mind in the Cobweb wants you to follow.
Cultivar (p.271) Horticultural science defines a cultivar as a plant selected intentionally and carefully shaped and maintained through cultivation. Such are those called who are singled out and shaped by Nerissa Blackwater to be agents of the Ancestor, working to uproot the Cannibals — descendants of Caine — and establish a New Garden upon the broken shells of the first. Some vampires and some mortals dangle the tantalizing prospect of stability, of an ancient power, a pathway to enlightenment for Kindred who have lost faith in all factions. **• Dark Seedling:** The legends of the Dark Mother always appealed to you, but perhaps you were too intimidated to openly approach one of the Bahari. Now, though, your new associates have put you onto something that makes sense, feels real. They are tapped into something powerful and that’s worth getting to know. Once per story you may use two dots in Allies: Cultivars representing mortal cultists who come to your aid. **•• Fresh Cutting:** Under the sponsorship of a current Cultivar, you are tested, pushed to your limits, and forced beyond them. At this stage, it is expected that you regularly engage in some sort of mortification of the flesh — scarification, scourging, even passing a candle flame over your skin. You gain a free Skill Specialty in Occult, with that Specialty being Bahari, Lilith, or the Ancestor, and a ritual scar to mark your membership in the cult, conveying one dot in Status: Cultivar. **••• Suppressing the Beast:** Hunting mortals brings you near-constant misery, but you are forbidden from feeding upon animals. Thankfully, your sponsor gives you access to feeding grounds where mortals in pursuit of the Mother’s wisdom spill their blood in service to her and, as a kindness, allow you, a curse-carrier, to consume it. This grants you a three-dot Herd. You also gain a one-dot Haven you can access once per story, in the form of a cultist’s home. You may never again feed from animals, however. **•••• Newly Made Initiate:** One month spent on a private yacht, 150 miles out into the waters of Lake Michigan, enduring night after night of searing torment and delirium-induced visions earns you the title of Initiate. You enjoy elevated status and are now a guide for others on the path. As an Initiate, you enjoy Status: Cultivar (•••). Once per story, you may use an additional two dice on a Willpower roll when calling to mind the harsh fasting endured during your month on water. **••••• Jewel in the Garden:** Three drops of a methuselah’s blood now sing fiercely within your veins, granting you visions, leaving you in no doubt: The Mother will return. Whether this vitae came from the Ancestor, Nerissa, or some other source is a matter to interpret from your vision-addled daydreams. You are expected to maintain your own Garden — be that a physical space with growing things or a more figurative interpretation — and come when summoned by the Ancestor or the Blackwaters. As a Jewel, you receive an additional four dice on rolls to resist frenzy due to the harmony of your inner Eden.
Cult of Shalim (p.272) *Shalim is the name of the Canaanite god of dusk and night. This name was passed down to the city of Jerusalem and possibly to King Solomon.* *To the Lasombra in the modern nights it has a different meaning altogether. Shalim is a name spoken of in hushed tones by those who have returned from the Gehenna Crusade unharmed. Some celebrate it quietly, others speak it with fear. It is a name that has driven the awakened members of the clan to seek sanctuary in the arms of their once enemy, the Camarilla. It is their beginning and, some fear, their end.* *In truth, adherents to this mad religion seek nothing less than total annihilation, not of a clan or a sect, not of a nation, but of the entirety of reality itself. The twisted philosophy of the group comes from the simple fact that all pain, all suffering, all hate and injustice exists only in what we call “reality.” Heaven, Nirvana, Jannah, Shamayim, all afterlives promise a place where there are no more tears, no more pain, no more sadness. Only in the absence of existence can this be achieved. In the absence of self, all are one, all are equal. In the absence of reality, we become part of the infinite nothingness, we return to Shalim.* *For this reason, the cult’s members often speak the phrase “Shalim is” to the initiated, since they believe that nothingness is the ultimate reality and the end of all things, embodied in their dark master. In their minds, nothingness is indestructible, has always existed, and will always exist. Thus, Shalim is the only true infinite, the only true immortal. Shalim is beyond existence.* *Shalim, simply, is.* **• Dark Whispers:** You have heard rumors of the cult from those returning from the Gehenna Crusade. Once per story, you gain an additional two dice to either Insight or Investigation to look into the myths of the cult or to identify if someone is a member. **•• Cult Initiate:** As an initiate into the cult’s mysteries, you are aware of the significance of the Semitic phrase “Shin-Lamedh-Mem” as the identifier of other members. You can speak this phrase to an initiated member to immediately gain two dice on any Persuasion roll to gain their assistance. Speaking it to the uninitiated may not only result in their confusion but may expose you to a savvy Lasombra as a member of the doomsday cult. **••• Power of Faith:** The cult’s reach extends deepest into the religious community. When they speak of heaven, a place where suffering, sadness, and misery do not exist, you know this can only be found in the bliss of nothingness. In the peace of any church or temple, your zeal allows you to ignore the negative effects of Impairment. **•••• Crush the Dreams of Life:** Shalim’s teachings say the dreams and ambitions of the flesh must be cast off to achieve perfection. All are equal under its gaze and so all must witness the path to the glorious dark of emptiness through the felling of their conceited ambition. When you succeed on an Insight roll against any character, the Storyteller reveals to you their foremost ambition in addition to the information sought by the roll. Armed with this knowledge, you may now reroll any dice in a failed Persuasion roll per scene against them as you turn their desires to your advantage. Furthermore, you may choose to roll Manipulation + Persuasion against the difficulty of the target’s Composure + Insight. If you succeed, you crush their hopes and dreams, plunging them into despair and inaction for the remainder of the story in the form of one Aggravated Willpower damage. A total failure exposes your ruse and turns them against you. **••••• Shalim Is:** You are a true servant of Shalim. Your zeal and faith in the coming end know no bounds and you are certain that the Abyss has chosen you to enact its purpose. Your position in the cult gives you access to the Herd background (••) for your followers as well as Influence (•••) in the religious community of your choice from the cult’s many contacts in those circles. You gain the Dark Secret Flaw (•) when taking this loresheet. You also automatically pass any Composure-based roll to hide your position as a member of the cult.
Fires and Floods and Devil's Night (p.275) *Chicago has suffered and survived several disasters since its founding in 1833. Often, the chaos and confusion generated by a catastrophe presents the perfect smokescreen for vampires to rid themselves of enemies or sabotage a rival’s holdings in the city. The most famous of these was the Great Fire of 1871, started by the Malkavian O’Leary. More recently, the 1992 Chicago Flood has been blamed on a weakened utility tunnel wall giving way, though rumors among the clans suggest it was a Tremere attack on the Nosferatu living belowground. Of course, disasters also create chances for the city’s Kindred to wield influence over rebuilding and reconstruction efforts. Over the last two centuries, enterprising vampires have hidden havens beneath new skyscrapers, or influenced city planners into adding extra branches off of sewer tunnels.* *This knowledge can apply to other cities’ disasters as well, such as the Great Fire of London or the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.* **• Trivia Buff:** Your knowledge of Chicago disasters is rock sol- id. You know dates and details, and have written listicles on the strange-but-true facts about the tragedies. Add two dice to Academics or Investigation rolls pertaining to the topic. **•• Old Bones:** New parts of the city were rebuilt on top of the old. Perhaps you’ve studied architectural records, or maybe your old haunts were in the path of destruction. Parts of them still stand, and you know how to get into them. Once per story, you may hide in one of these places to throw off a pursuer. **••• Devil’s Night Survivor:** You lived through the Great Fire and Devil’s Night, and may have participated in Lodin’s purges. Once per story, add three dice to a Social roll involving another person who survived the fire or their childer. **•••• Local Hero:** You helped rebuild after disaster struck, or were one of the rescuers at the scene, and people remember you fondly for it. Once per story, you may leverage this good- will to sway mortal opinion to your side of an issue, granting you Influence: Goodwill (•••••) for a single session, once per chronicle. **••••• Puppetmaster:** You were one of the primary orchestrators of a disaster. Work with the Storyteller to determine how you were involved and what the results were. What were your goals? Who died as a result? Who knows you were behind the tragedy? What are some of the rumors surrounding it? What did you gain from it?
FIRSTLIGHT (p.276) *FIRSTLIGHT is a joint operation among the world’s intelligence agencies, tasked with learning about — and hunting — tonight’s vampires. Camarilla, Sabbat, or Inconnu, a Cainite’s sect doesn’t matter to the people whose directives involve killing them and dismantling their power over mortal affairs. FIRSTLIGHT’s operatives often aren’t aware the people they’re tracking down are no longer mortal, and possibly haven’t been for centuries. Most receive information portraying their targets as human terrorist cells; reports after the fact uphold that narrative.* *FIRSTLIGHT relies on both ultra-modern technology and old-fashioned investigation, making their nets tough to dodge. FBI agents and their expert systems monitor internet chatter for certain keywords; some calls coming in to their tip line get rerouted to FIRSTLIGHT when they might involve the so-called “Blankbodies.” Months’ worth of footage is surveilled, searching for the blurred images and shadowy shapes indicating a Lasombra’s presence. TSA agents working for FIRSTLIGHT have the authority to search cargo at O’Hare and Midway, which has made already-difficult air travel even harder for Kindred who don’t have access to private planes.* **• Evasion Tactics:** You’re familiar with some basic surveillance tactics, and know simple ways to avoid being followed or spied upon. You keep your online footprint minimal or locked down, and own a white-noise generator, a cell-phone jammer, or a burner phone to keep from being recorded. Add one die on rolls to avoid being tailed or listened in on (Potential Skills: Drive, Stealth, Streetwise, Technology.) **•• Branch Office:** Maybe someone slipped up and you’ve got their scent. Maybe the military-looking types at the bar thought they were talking too low for others to hear, but your keen ears picked up their conversation just fine. Maybe you clicked their thinly disguised trap of a URL and hacked them right back. However you did it, you know where their closest base of operations is located. **••• What Do They Know:** You’ve intercepted some communications between agencies, whether you learned the location of a dead drop or decrypted their signal. Once per story, you may ask the Storyteller for a piece of information FIRSTLIGHT has on you or a coterie-mate that you’ve managed to seize. **•••• No Records Found:** Through bribes, break-ins, and a heaping dose of paranoia, you’ve managed to erase yourself from FIRSTLIGHT’s records. Your slate is clean... for now. It’s up to you to remain off of them going forward, but should you find yourself in their targets again, you know where to start to rectify the situation. Add three dice to Larceny, Stealth, or Survival rolls when handling FIRSTLIGHT operations. **••••• Friend on the Inside:** You’ve got someone on FIRSTLIGHT’s payroll who reports back to you. Discuss with your Storyteller whether your control over them takes the form of supernatural coercion, threats, or a hefty periodic bribe. The mole alerts you if their organization is coming after you, and once per story will commit an act of minor sabotage (destroying evidence, screwing up an operation, etc.) on your orders.
Kevin Jackson (p.277) *Kevin Jackson is one of Lodin’s younger childer, a lieutenant Embraced to reorient the then-Prince’s influence over Chicago’s criminal underground, expected to succeed where Capone’s grip was beginning to fail, to bring those operations into the future where they belonged. Recognizing opportunity when he saw it, Jackson played the long game: acting the deferential head-thug-in-charge to his frequently paranoid sire’s face while building a massive personal power base behind his back. Lodin’s fall and presumed destruction presented Jackson with an unprecedented opportunity to seize power for himself — one he took his time to capitalize on, securing for himself the throne, vast influence among the Kindred, and access to his unlamented sire’s financial resources.* *These nights, Jackson is principally focused on solidifying his own powerbase, building alliances, and establishing his personal diplomatic cred. He has forged and maintained a peace with the local Lupines and may be about to cut a deal with the Lasombra that, if it goes off, will establish him as a force to be reckoned with among the Camarilla as a whole. Getting in on the ground level with him could be just the sort of leg up an ambitious young lick needs to get ahead in the Second City.* **• New Blood:** A newcomer to the Prince’s service, possibly a recent arrival from another domain, you have access to a specially constructed Mask worth two dots for use once per story, created using Jackson’s Influence. If you cause a breach of the Masquerade using that Mask, you suffer no adverse consequences beyond a stern talking-to by the Sheriff or the vocal disdain of Harpies in Elysium. **•• Recent Graduate:** You have emerged from one of the Prince’s new “finishing schools,” devoted to his cause and ready to help him achieve his goals of unity and justice. You have been granted the assistance of one of his ghouls equivalent to Retainers (••) who schools you in Chicago and its workings and is tasked with assisting you in whatever duties the Prince assigns you. **••• Up and Comer:** The Prince has granted you provisional access to one of his non-criminal areas of interest, equivalent to Influence (•••). Once per story, you may invoke Jackson’s name to automatically succeed in a Social test with a Kindred SPC whose interests overlap with those of the Prince. **•••• Adjutant:** The Prince knows your capabilities and values them. He has granted you access to the core of his personal power, the gangs he spent years developing into his personal army. Once per story, you may call upon the Bloods to assist in an upcoming scene, where they count as an effective Allies (Bloods) ••• and Contacts (Bloods) •• Background. **••••• The Prince’s Lieutenant:** You are the Prince’s strong right hand, the vampire he turns to for decisive action and wise counsel alike. You possess Mawla •••• (Kevin Jackson). Once per story, you may request the opportunity to gift the mortal of your choosing the Embrace and the Prince will approve that request. *do.*
Kindred Iconography (p.278) *Attend any Kindred gathering and you’ll see signs and sigils of clan affiliation everywhere: the Toreador with roses twining around her sleeves, the Ventrue with scepters embroidered on his lapels. Over the millennia, Cainites have raised their symbols not only to an art form, but to an entire language of its own.* *Out on the cities’ streets, Neonates and Anarchs have taken those icons and others and created images that offer information at a glance. They warn those savvy enough to interpret them that a particular rack has been claimed by a coterie, or that there’s a safe place to rest for the day just ahead. What looks like a wall covered in plain old graffiti to human eyes speaks volumes to vampires.* **• Iconographer:** You’re versed in Kindred symbols, able to identify someone’s clan by the motifs in their clothing and could lecture neonates on how and why the imagery has changed over the centuries. Add two dice to relevant Academics rolls. **•• The Writing on the Wall:** You’ve learned to look for marks other Kindred have left behind. Gain three dice on relevant Streetwise rolls when looking for information on local domains and vampires available in graffiti, posted flyers, or other artwork in the area. **••• Trendsetter:** You make this look good. Your style catches eyes in Elysium, and other Kindred look to see what you’re wearing this week. Add two dice to Social rolls when you’re decked out in the imagery of your clan or chosen affiliation. **•••• Graffiti Artist:** Those warnings on the wall? That’s your design. Your murals are works of art, and have drawn the eye not only of coteries heeding your warnings, but of Toreador who come to admire it. You may even have attracted the attention of Annabelle herself. Craft rolls regarding your art receive three extra dice when involving Kindred iconography. **••••• Giorgio Who?:** You’ve dressed Princes and Primogen, subtly weaving clan iconography into the lines of a suit or the cut of a dress. You don’t make statements with your work, you make dissertations. Once per story, an outfit of your design grants two dots of Status to a character of your choosing for the session. Alternately, your scathing critique of another Kindred’s poor sartorial choices removes one dot of Status for the same period of time.
The Labyrinth (p.279) *In downtown Chicago there’s an abandoned “superstation” for the L that was built but never used, under Block 37. This leads to a series of tunnels that are in various stages of disrepair, since construction on them was halted. The series of connected stations and places they lead to is known colloquially among Kindred as “The Labyrinth.”* *There are various lairs and hideouts within the Labyrinth, but it’s a chaotic place that’s difficult for the Camarilla to police. It’s said there’s all manner of Kindred and other things down there, and sometimes when Kindred head down into the Labyrinth they never return. Others however, have come back with everything from useful knowledge to new allies.* **• Tunnel Access:** There are several tunnels one can travel through in the Labyrinth that exit to different levels of the city. A Kindred from the Labyrinth who knows the way has shown you which turns to take and markers to follow. If you follow that path, none in the Labyrinth will harm you, but if you stray from it you risk death or worse. This knowledge is useful when trying to escape a pursuing enemy or you need to hide for a night by taking your time in the tunnels. **•• Boxcar Blues:** The stories told in the Labyrinth are strange and unusual tales of what its inhabitants have seen in their years of Chicago. For one reason or another the Kindred inhabitants of this place have decided to go underground, and because of that they have a unique form of spreading news through word of mouth. Well, through song. There are various folk songs they sing that have double meanings, or characters in them who represent certain political figures currently in power. You’ve been taught how to decipher these lyrics and discern important information from them. Gain free Skill Specialties in Performance (Folk Song) and Streetwise (Labyrinth Rumors)**.** **••• Church:** Once a month there’s a small club night hosted in one of the larger empty concrete rooms. The subterranean Kindred have kitted it out with lights, speakers, and bars. It’s called Church, ironically of course, and it pumps dungeon synth and witch house music until sunrise for its dancing night worshippers. There’s darker vampiric activity in some rooms adjacent to this open space, designed to confuse humans with altered states of consciousness who wander in and become meals. Nobody’s shut it down yet because the Kindred who run it are careful to cover their tracks. You know its location and are welcome to bring a plus one anytime. **•••• Lydia’s Lair:** There’s an oracle named Lydia who lives amidst these abandoned train ruins. Her lair is decorated with beautiful silks and a collection of the bones of dead things she’s cultivated over the years. She’s a young-looking white woman with long black hair who wears simple jeans and a t-shirt. Lydia’s a Tremere, and blind, a condition that becoming Kindred didn’t solve for her. It’s possible she’s very old but she won’t reveal her exact age, and nobody understands how she utilizes Blood Sorcery to see such specific futures. If you bring her something to eat, she’ll read your palm, telling you one specific thing about the future. You’ve got access to her, since she won’t see just anyone, only those who are trusted by the subterranean vampire community. Lydia counts as a Mawla (••••). **••••• Hideout:** The Kindred living here trust you enough to hold you over for a time if you’re looking to hide out from anyone. It’s a safe haven for outsider vampires, and no judgment is made. If crimes are committed against the community, however, you’re quick to be ousted. Gain Allies: Labyrinth Kindred Community (••••).
Lupine Expert (p.280) *Outside of the safe haven of cities, the Lupines roam. These shapeshifting beasts lie in wait to catch Kindred and tear them limb from limb. Every vampire these nights seems to have a story of a nightmarish Lupine encounter. They are a terrifying and infuriating threat. No one is ever sure where they come from, when they will strike, or why they even want to kill vampires in the first place.* *No one except you, that is. Unlike other Kindred, you have encountered the Lupines and lived to tell the tale. You know their secrets, and most importantly, how to use those secrets to keep your fellow vampires safe You may have learned them by spying on a pack, from a rogue Lupine, or just surviving a traumatic event like the War of Chicago. Whatever the reason, when the wolves start howling, the Kindred turn to you first.* **• Huntsman:** You’ve developed a keen eye for tracking Lupines, even when they’re pretending to be human. Once per session, you may receive three extra dice to any Mental test to pursue Lupines. **•• Tactician:** A Lupine attack is one of the most terrifying experiences in a vampire’s unlife. You’ve lived through enough of them to keep a cool head and help your coterie fight back. When you and your allies use Teamwork (Vampire: The Masquerade p. 122) against Lupines, the group can always assist each other. Every character can contribute one die to the Teamwork roll, no matter what Skill the test requires. **••• Soldier:** A werewolf’s ability for combat should never be underestimated. You know that more than anyone, but it won’t stop you from getting into the thick of it. When engaging you in Physical combat, a shifted Lupine only has a −2 damage modifier when using its claws and teeth. **•••• Trophy:** You have slain a Lupine, and you have the evidence to prove it. This memento may be something like a fragment of the Lupine’s human skull, a scrap of their clothing with an insignia representing a Lupine faction, or the shattered remains of one of their prized weapons. Once per story, when you reveal this trophy to a werewolf, you may choose its initial reaction: Either it flees from you, or only targets you for Physical conflict. Revealing this trophy to Lupines for more than once per story initiates the same choice, but the Storyteller chooses the reaction instead. **••••• Ambassador:** Your knowledge of werewolves is so great that you can parley with them. You’ve earned mutual respect from both the Kindred and the Lupines, and you can use that respect to establish alliances between the two. The alliances you form are tense and fleeting, but compared to the status quo of “kill on sight,” they’re a dramatic improvement. Whenever you try to heal the rift between individual vampires and werewolves, or stir the two to unite, you receive two extra dice to Social tests in pursuit of your goal. With sufficient effort and sacrifice, you may convince the Kindred and Lupines of a city to act as one to accomplish a task once per chronicle, with no roll necessary.
Nathaniel Bordruff (p.281) *Nathaniel Bordruff is an elder of the Chicago Nosferatu warren, one of the late Prince Lodin’s personal minions. Lodin’s fall opened a vista of opportunity before Nathaniel to seize the ruler- ship of the city, a goal he pursued with a will for reasons that most other Kindred failed to fully appreciate but which he ultimately failed to achieve thanks, in part, to the refusal of his own clan’s elder to support his bid for greater power. Furious and embittered, Nathaniel broods upon this injustice, among many others, and has gone increasingly further and further off the Kindred reservation in his ultimate goals in the years since.* *Nathaniel Bordruff is a vampire who loathes all other vampires and most other humans with his entire heart and soul. He would like nothing more, now that a Second Inquisition rages, to expose the entire corrupt Kindred edifice to the cleansing light of day like the crusading monster hunter he once was. His all-devouring egotism allows him to believe he will be celebrated for this act and not another pile of ash with a rather greater constituent element of treachery to it once all is said and done. He has begun seeking allies to assist him in his mad endeavors and this may yet be the key to his undoing.* **• Recruit:** Something about you — maybe it’s your jaundiced attitude, maybe it’s your angry heart, maybe it’s the way you complained bitterly once not about vampire society but about the vampiric condition itself — has attracted Bordruff’s attention. Whether or not you’re Nosferatu, he has extended his hand in friendship to you, in the form of Mawla (••) but requires you accept a one-step Blood Bond with him. **•• Collaborator:** For whatever reasons, you have chosen to accept Bordruff’s friendship or patronage. At first, this seems like a perfectly reasonable quid pro quo arrangement in which you do one another small but meaningful favors, but gradually the relationship grows deeper than that and you begin to suspect he wants more out of you than the occasional bag carrying or act of minor social sabotage. As a result, you have developed Resources (•) and Status (•) and a reputation as ambitious and hardworking, but with a certain stench clinging to you from your associations. **••• Accomplice:** Bordruff has begun offering you greater favors in return for greater risks or actions taken upon his behalf. You have begun to realize, either because he has begun sharing more insight into his greater goals or through investigation or intuition of your own that there is some cause here whose dimensions you are only now beginning to comprehend. Your patron’s largesse has granted you access to Haven: Secured Room (•) in a parishioner’s basement, Contacts: CoC Consistory (••), and a growing knowledge of the inequities of Kindred society. **•••• Conspirator:** You know it all know — Bordruff, satisfied of your loyalty, has brought you fully into his confidence, exposed to you the full scope of his vision, and asked you to join in his conspiracy to bring down Kindred society from within as a partner and fellow visionary who will cleanse the world of the stain of vampirism. He has granted you access to his principal human minions, the pastor of the Church of Christ and the consistory, all of whom are his ghouls and in whom he has instilled a virulent hatred of the undead. This constitutes Allies (••••) who regard you as a potential savior of humanity. **••••• Betrayer:** What course will you choose: to betray the Kindred as a whole and seek some means of bringing the world where you now exist wholly to destruction? Or will you betray the one who chose to trust you to the Prince and the justice of the damned? Choose wisely. Either way you stand to gain (Status and potentially Mawla with the Prince) and lose.
The Painted Lady (p.282) *Any number of upscale tattoo parlors, piercing studios, and BDSM dungeons exist in Chicago, but only one can claim to be completely exclusive. Edith Beaubien’s by-invitation-only salon is something of a legend among ink collectors, body modification enthusiasts, and those seeking an edge to their sexual kinks. Invitations to events hosted at The Painted Lady are coveted by certain elements among the city’s Kindred, but the truest indication that one has “arrived” upon the Chicago scene is the receipt of a slim, metal membership card and a tattoo or piercing bearing the distinctive Painted Lady style. While many strive to collect ink from Beaubien herself, only long-standing VIPs may boast of that honor. It is even rumored some of the most prominent Kindred in the world have been passed over for membership in favor of random Thin-Bloods, Caitiff, and Anarchs with seemingly nothing at all to recommend them.* **• Plus One:** By a stroke of luck, your companion (or snack) of an evening secured an invitation and asked you to be their “plus one.” You could only observe, not participate, but being there alone automatically raised your social capital amongst the city’s Kindred. You gain two dice to Persuasion and Status (••) in any encounter with a fan or regular of the Painted Lady who sees you during the week following their visit. **•• Engraved Invitation:** Invitation: In your hand rests a glossy, ruby-red business card. On one side is engraved, in white, scrolling letters, “The Painted Lady, Chicago, est. 1907.” The reverse is stamped with a date and a time in silver ink. Below, some- one has hand-printed, “You are invited to come and play.” At this level, you receive Influence: Painted Lady Enthusiasts (••), and you may participate in BDSM scenes, feeding upon any mortal willing to engage in blood play. **••• Schedule an Appointment:** The slim, matte metal card looks nearly identical to the black business cards you received when you first came to The Painted Lady, only the name of the establishment is etched in silver on the front, and on the reverse is engraved, “Member” along with a day of the week. This card entitles you to attend one party per week as well as to schedule an appointment to receive a standard tattoo or piercing. Due to your elevated status, you attract the particular notice and regard of one regular patron, playmate, tattoo artist, or piercing technician equal to Retainers (••) and if you receive a piercing or tattoo, your Status among domain counter-culturalists improves by one dot. **•••• VIP:** Your card is now the color of silver mist and the back is simply stamped “VIP.” You may attend the salon on whatever night or nights you prefer, and you may access more...enticing scenes. A considerable amount of pain and blood is involved, but the mortal and Kindred celebrants engage in these semi-tortures enthusiastically. Accept the invitation to join the action or coolly observe; the choice is yours. At this level, your character has access to a Herd: Painted Lady Enthusiasts (•••) and gains Contacts: BDSM Community (••). **••••• A Beaubien Original:** Tattoos, piercings, and body modifications from The Painted Lady’s staff are remarkable, but to receive a commissioned piece executed by Edith Beaubien herself is a rare and unforgettable experience. The Nosferatu works in the Japanese tebori style, and something in her hand-crafted pigments makes it feel as if drops of the sun itself are being slowly deposited into your skin. The pain is worth it for a tattoo that never disappears upon waking and the satisfaction of telling other Kindred precisely who inked you. A Beaubien original allows you to add two dice to all Streetwise rolls, grants a permanent Status (•••) among Painted Lady enthusiasts and art lovers, and a permanent Status (••) among other Chicago Kindred.
Revenant Family: Ducheski (Tremere Characters Only) (p.283) *The Ducheski were once the Krevcheski, a family of scholars in Eastern Europe patronized by its nobles. The Tzimisce subjected them to years of experimentation, transforming the family into revenants, a hereditary line of ghouls born with a semblance of vampiric vitae in their veins but afflicted with a craving for the real thing. For a time, they served the clan faithfully, developing a knack for creating advanced clockwork devices for siege warfare and torture.* *When war broke out between the Tremere and the Tzimisce, the Krevcheski betrayed their masters, pledged fealty to the Tremere, and took their new name. They have served the clan in secret ever since, maintaining the Warlock’s libraries, sanctums, and laboratories. The family is in decline; few are permitted to continue their line and even fewer are allowed to join the clan as Kindred. At least one member of this illustrious family is at your service.* *Unless stated otherwise, purchasing any level of this loresheet for the first time provides the player with Retainer (•), representing the revenant. A Ducheski revenant is a ghoul built as a Weak Mortal that always has access to Auspex 1 and Blood Sorcery 1.* **• Nourishing Blood:** While a revenant’s vitae is nowhere near as potent as the Kindred, drinking it can be just as sustaining. When you feed from your Ducheski revenant, they are not subject to the Human slake penalty of your Blood Potency. Feeding from them never risks a Blood Bond. The revenant is still harmed by your feeding like a human would be. **•• Personal Library:** The Ducheskis hold a wealth of knowledge within their dilapidated ancestral strongholds. Your revenant has added their personal library of ancient texts to yours, increasing your understanding of the world’s mysteries. Choose two of these three Skills: Academics, Investigation, or Occult. Whenever you make a test with any Specialty in your chosen Skills, you receive one extra die, in addition to any applicable bonuses. **••• Research Team:** You have a tight-knit family unit of three to five Ducheski revenants in your care. You receive Retainer (••) to represent them. Once per story, when you task your research time with studying a new Ritual, their dedication and teamwork allow you to learn the Ritual in half of the usual learning time. **•••• Ritual Assistant:** Your Ducheski revenant has a special aptitude for the story of Blood Sorcery, and can help enhance your magical techniques. When your revenant is present and helps you prepare a known Ritual, the Difficulty of the roll to activate it is reduced by 1. If more than one Ritual Assistant is present, the Ritual pool increases by one die for every two Ritual Assistants present after the first. **••••• Ducheski Invention:** You own a one-of-a-kind Ducheski creation. This could be one of their infamous clockwork devices, or even a modern technological marvel designed by a revenant in your service. Give the invention a name and function, and choose a Skill. Your Storyteller will name up to three components that make its function possible. The invention is a Specialty of that Skill that provides three extra dice when the invention is used in tasks involving that Skill. If it is damaged or destroyed, any Ducheski in your service knows how to fix it, if they have all the components available.
The Society of St. Leopold (pp.284-285) *Chicago is a city of faith as much as high finance and haute couture; the Roman Catholic Archdiocese centered on the Holy Name Cathedral serves a flock of more than two million — most of whom are alive, some of whom are not. Scattered among the ecclesiastical ranks, hidden among the priests and nuns, the vicars and deacons, the missionaries in training and the lay brethren, is one of the oldest threats known to the Kindred: the righteous and implacable vampire hunters of the Society of St. Leopold.* *Named for their spiritual founder and inspiration, the Dominican friar Leopold von Murnau, the Society has existed in one form or another since the formation of the Holy Inquisition Contra Diabolus enim et alii Daemones in the 13th century CE, the very earliest of the mortal forces to turn their hands to the pursuit and destruction of the Kindred and all their works. The organization has changed shape considerably over the centuries as its fortunes have risen and fallen in the regard of cardinals and pontiffs, at some points regarded as an invaluable tool in the battle for men’s souls, in others as an embarrassing relic of the past, best left to molder forgotten in the darkest corner of the Vatican archives available. Never, however, has their mission changed nor has it entirely ceased attracting the service of those in the Church who have looked more deeply into the darkness than most and found horrors gazing back at them, even if their numbers slowly dwindled nearly to extinction over the years.* *The Society of St. Leopold is no longer fading away. Since 2008, and the development of the joint program to ferret out and destroy the undead — referred to as “blankbodies” by the sort of individuals who can accept the existence of paranormal entities abroad in the world but can’t bring themselves to speak the word “vampire” aloud — the Society’s membership has swelled from a few dozen to several thousand members worldwide.* *Their extant mass of accumulated knowledge of the undead, collected and guarded and disseminated down the centuries, has formed the basis of much of the modern research into Kindred physiology and capabilities currently underway in blacksites the world over, now aided by science as well as faith. The organization’s members now primarily function as specialist knowledge resource officers and field investigation agents for joint SOCOM/ ESOG task force operations, the “first boots on the ground” when FIRSTLIGHT’s Analysis Division indicates the need for more information from a suspected nest of “anomalies.”* *As a Kindred resident of Chicago, you possess some knowledge of the Society of St. Leopold, how it is organized, and how it functions — or, at the very least, how it did prior to the last decade — and may have some idea how or capacity to ferret out more current information.* **• Postulant:** Your relationship with your former (or current?) Church is that you once seriously considered taking Holy Orders. During the process of consideration, you dove deep into the history of the archdiocese and its constituent organizations, which may or may not have already included an office associated with the Society of St. Leopold. Once per story, you may ask the Storyteller for a piece of known information about the Society. **•• Novice:** Your interest in entering into a profession of faith went deeper than most: you were on the verge of entering into your novitiate when that life was permanently torn away from you. Whether you resent this or have accepted it, you retain a considerable amount of interest in and potential contact with members of the local church. These Contacts (equivalent of ••) would naturally include your confessor, the members of the order you were seeking to enter who oversaw your training, fellow novices, or members of the local congregational volunteer groups. **••• Brother or Sister:** Before your Embrace you were a member of the Church, sworn and consecrated to a religious community of contemplative, monastic, or apostolic character. Your current state of existence no longer allows you to pursue your vocation but you nonetheless retain the knowledge you acquired during the period of your existence when you actively served the Church. You possess detailed knowledge of the local diocese, including its members and properties, when groups meet and where, and which are affiliates of the Society, allowing you two extra dice on all Academics and Occult rolls relating to the religious district of your expertise. You may use this knowledge once per story to find a safe place to hide among the various properties belonging to the Church (equivalent of Haven •). **•••• Father or Mother:** You were a fully professed and ordained priest or the senior canoness overseeing a community of nuns prior to your Embrace. While you are separated now from your former profession of faith, you nonetheless still possess many of the advantages you gained while in service. You know exactly who the members of the Society of St. Leopold are in the city and where they meet, generally how often, have some idea which secular forces they are affiliated with, and have developed some strategies on how to avoid or misdirect them, amounting to Influence (•••) with the diocese when it comes to dealing with the Society. Additionally, you still possess access to church properties that can act as a permanent Haven (••) where no vampire hunter will generally think to look for you. This loresheet comes with the Infamy Flaw (•), as while the local diocese might trust you, the grander Society does not. They know what you were and know you stepped back from that life. They just don’t yet know why. **••••• Inquisitor:** You are a former, fallen member of the Society of St. Leopold or one of its constituent organizations (the Condotierri, the Gladius Dei, the Office of the Censor, or the Order of St. Joan). You may have chosen to accept the Embrace for treacherous reasons of your own or you may have been Embraced and bound for some purpose of your sire’s, but in any case, you possess deep personal knowledge of the Society and its inner workings, how it functioned historically and how it may be functioning in concert with the Entity Special Operations Group. Once per story, you may ask the Storyteller for one piece of true and accurate information about the Society and its current activities. If you are a traitor, congratulations! Your treachery may yet bear fruit. If you are in bondage against your will, congratulations! Your vengeance may well be nigh.
Talley (p.286) *Cold, professional, and possessing a rare specialty in both bodyguarding and murdering, the Lasombra idolize Talley, while most vampires outside the Night Clan despise him. To hear him tell it, Talley was among the first Lasombra to join the Sabbat as a way of breaking the elders’ chains. Now that he’s an elder, his view hasn’t changed much. He feels a vampire can never stop punching up at unworthy masters, and these nights, it just so happens the Camarilla are better placed to do so than the degenerated Sabbat and the chaotic Anarch Movement.* *Never a rebel in his own right, Talley works for the highest bidder and never reneges on a contract. This code of honor, combined with a truly dry sense of humor, is all he possesses to mark him as anything other than a bloodthirsty predator. Few Kindred cross Talley and survive, and the vampire who does feels inclined to constantly look over their shoulder.* *Representing an assortment of powerful Lasombra, Talley participates in talks tonight permitting Keepers into the Camarilla’s ranks. Word is, he put the flame to Lucita at the Camarilla’s command, and did so without hesitation. Unfortunately for Talley, it seems he’s soon to be hung out to dry by the very masters he’s served so diligently for centuries.* **• Recognize the Signs:** Like Talley, you have a sense of when danger approaches, and it’s time to change allegiance or flee a domain. Once per story, if an action is likely to cause a severe social backlash, the Storyteller will tell you at your request. **•• Secret Communications:** Talley’s mastery over the sub-channels of Kindred communication allows him to operate as a highly successful assassin, existing outside the Camarilla hierarchical chain. You know of these channels, and can claim a prominent member of the Camarilla (such as a Prince) as a three- dot Mawla for use in a single session per chronicle. How you treat this contact is up to you, but blackmail or warm relations will produce different results. **••• Tangled Strings:** You do not fight the elders like the Sab- bat or the Anarchs. Instead, you seek to manipulate the masters from beneath. You gain two bonus dice to Intelligence and Wits dice pools when seeking to determine whether you’re being manipulated. You gain an additional two bonus dice to your Social dice pool if you ever attempt to directly manipulate the person attempting to control you. **•••• Trained Killer:** Talley acts as your mentor in the art of killing, either because his current master requested it, or because you paid his high price yourself. Once per chronicle, Talley counts as a Mawla (••••) and can supply you with access to his transportable armory on the same night, allowing you to purchase automatic weapons, explosives, blades, and even flamethrowers if you have the cash. **••••• Personal Defender:** Talley is your bodyguard. You have already arranged payment, whether in cash, favors, or blood, and for the time being Talley is your loyal defender. He will accompany you anywhere you wish him to be at your side, casting no judgment and offering no counsel unless you request it. Once the contract ends at the end of the session, Talley will speak of no sins he witnessed you perpetrate.
Wauneka (p.287) *The Nosferatu Wauneka is one of the most well-connected Kindred in the city due to his vast whisper network on the streets. As a Nosferatu, many Kindred tend to stay away from him, fearing his monstrous physical form. He’s not the easiest to talk to, but he’ll go places most others won’t and that makes his information incredibly valuable.* *His network of teen runaways, young victims of sex trafficking, abused sex workers, and homeless veterans contains vast knowledge of the city’s underground. They see things most of human society doesn’t, both human and Kindred crimes that occur in the darkness of the Chi- cago streets. Wauneka even schooled some of them how to watch out for the things that go bump in the night. He feels connected to them, like they’re his family, and they accept him when most of “proper” society won’t.* *This vast network of secrets secures Wauneka’s continued survival in Chicago, and even nets him some wins politically now and then if he can give the right info to the right person.* **• Secluded Meetup:** Wauneka has decided you’re an okay enough Kindred to meet up with and have the occasional chat about what’s going down. Once per story, meet in a secluded place with Wauneka that he chooses, and he’ll dish on one secret you’re after as related through his underground whisper networks. **•• Spy Paths:** You’ve proven you don’t mind hanging out with the outcasts of society, and while you may switch between respect and pity for them, they make you feel welcome. Wauneka has noticed this, and so has his outsider family. Once per story they’ll allow you access to their secret pathways in order to spy on someone from a hard-to-detect vantage point. If you make a loud noise or a lot of motion, your perfect camouflage — perhaps a false wall, a shadowed ledge, or one-way mirror — loses its use. **••• Insider Connections:** Wauneka knows someone inside of almost every industry and business inside of Chicago. Usually they’re the people that go unnoticed, like the janitors, sanitation workers, or food workers connected to these places. Need someone on the inside? Once per story, Wauneka can hook you up with someone who can get you inside, or get you the info you need from the inside for a price. This individual counts as Retainers (••) for one session per chronicle, but will remain Contacts (•) for you from this point on if you spend the required Experience. **•••• Spy Skills:** Skills: You’ve spent enough time with the underground people in Chicago that you’ve begun to pick up on their subtle skills of going unnoticed. You’re friends with them, and even help care for them the way that Wauneka does. You can gain three pieces of secret information once per story, either through use of your learned spy skills or your close bonds with the underground people. You also gain free Skill Specialties in Investigation (Espionage) and Insight (Secrets). **••••• Darkest Whispers:** Wauneka has come to trust you like one of his family, a thing he does rarely and not without great caution. He welcomes you into his most secret places (at least as far as he lets you know), and confides in you the darkest things he learns about the Kindred in the city. You are his confidant, his friend, and trusted ally. Wauneka counts as Allies: Wauneka (•••) and his underground associates. Additionally, once per story he’ll ask your advice on what move to make to influence Chicago’s politics, and take it to make permanent change in the city.
## The Chicago Folios
Archons (p.158) *Archons are the bogeymen of the Camarilla, the unliving extension of their Justicar’s will. They are the watchful eye at the Anarch gathering, the fly on the Prince’s wall, and blade in the dark to all who violate the Traditions.* *Archons are the Camarilla’s elite guardians, inquisitors, and spies. They relentlessly prosecute all violations of the Traditions uncovered during their nightly vigil and have the authority to destroy all Kindred who stand in their way. So fearsome is their reputation that entire domains tremble at word of their passage. And tremble they should, for even the greatest Prince bends the knee in their presence.* *Life is hard, if not lethal, for most Archons, but the authority they wield and rewards they reap can be great. A vampire with this Loresheet is not automatically an Archon, but through narrative, is more likely to be recruited as one.* **• Undercover:** *Banned* You perform your work undercover, assuming a false identity to get close to your prey. You maintain a false identity as a minor member of the faction you are investigating and gain one bonus die to all rolls related to maintaining your cover. Additional work is needed to make your cover foolproof against intense scrutiny, but Undercover will buy you the time necessary to get your foot in the door without being killed on sight. This advantage may be purchased multiple times to represent a range of false identities. **•• Watcher in the Dark:** *Banned* Like many Archons, you are just as formidable a scholar and investigator as you are a warrior. You have access to a vast repository of Camarilla contacts, records, and informants when prosecuting your duties. Once per game, you gain two automatic successes on any Investigation or Academics test concerning the subject of your investigation. **••• Red Phone:** *Banned* You have a reliable way of contacting your patron Justicar. This can be via sorcerous means, trusted messenger, or almost any covert method that matches your Justicar’s particular preference. Their response to your message varies depending on their current workload and can range from silence, to providing valuable information, exerting political influence, or even deployment of further Archons. The precise game effects of Red Phone are up to the Storyteller and overuse or abuse of this ability may cause your Justicar to reconsider their choice to make you an Archon. **•••• Color of Authority:** *Banned* Your Status as a duly appointed Archon of the Camarilla gives you sweeping powers, including the right of destruction. You may sit in, and pronounce formal judgement over, any Camarilla Kindred without retaliation from your fellow sect members. You hold the equivalent of four dots of Status in most Camarilla domains, but stand the risk of earning Adversaries if you judge other Kindred arbitrarily. Note that Archons who abuse their authority often fall victim to unfortunate “accidents.” **••••• Justicar’s Blood:** *Banned* You have access to the potent vitae of the Justicar you serve and are authorized to use it in the line of duty. This vitae may be derived from a blood bond with your Justicar or be an award for meritorious service. Either way, you gain three bonus dice for rolls related to one of the three clan Disciplines (player’s choice) of your patron Justicar for the remainder of the night. You may use this once per chronicle.
The Convention of Chicago (p.159) *The Convention of Chicago was the first large-scale gathering of the Camarilla in almost a century. Born of the fires of the Second Inquisition, the Convention gathered representatives of Princes and Primogen the world over to discuss the Camarilla’s path forward in its time of crisis. Publically, the Convention was a resounding success, a show of unity, and sterling example of everything the Camarilla has to offer. Privately, the Convention succeeded by the narrowest of margins. Intrigue between the delegates and interference by Anarchs nearly derailed the entire event, but swift action by the Archons and Anarch disunity saved the convention from an ignominious end.* *You attended the convention as a Chicago native or were a representative from afar. Camarilla, Anarch, or independent, you took this rare opportunity to gather information, make new allies, and further your schemes. Many profited from the convention, and you are not the least of them.* **• Rabble Rouser:** *Banned* Prince Jackson and his allies were extremely efficient at thwarting Anarch plots to disrupt the convention, except in your case. You managed to disrupt one of the convention’s important after parties, embarrassing the host, humiliating their security detail, and damaging the status of multiple Kindred. Success breeds success, and once per story, you can assemble a small group of fledgling Anarchs to your cause. They count as a three-dot Ally group that will perform one dangerous action for you once per story. They respect your rep, but will not sell their lives needlessly. **•• Convention Attendee:** *Banned* You attended the convention and participated in its formal sessions, working groups, and more importantly, after parties. You navigated this web of intrigue successfully and gain two dots to distribute between Allies and Contacts in addition to being able to ask the Storyteller once per story for a piece of information related to the convention. This information can be part of the public record or a juicy behind the scenes detail (Storyteller’s discretion). **••• Troubleshooter:** *Banned* Conventions have a way of bringing out the rabble, and Chicago was no exception. You are an agent of Prince Jackson, the Archons, or some other group whose best interests were served by the convention’s success. You gain two dots of Status among the Kindred of Chicago and a “get out of jail free” card from the Prince. Once per chronicle, you can use your service at the convention to have the authorities of your domain turn a blind eye toward a minor violation of the Traditions out of respect for services rendered. **•••• Formal Delegate:** *Banned* You were one of the formal delegates to the convention and successfully prosecuted the objectives of your patron Prince or Primogen. Your wild success grants you four dots to distribute among Allies, Contacts, Retainers, and Resources related to the convention. You also have a standing invitation to Elysium events in Chicago or your home domain. **••••• Mover and Shaker:** *Banned* You played an active role in the Convention of Chicago’s success. Your rhetoric purchased many a vote during the formal sessions, and your whispers purchased many more during the after parties. These votes are a byproduct of your love affair with uncovering your fellow delegate’s secrets. You know who sleeps with who, which closets hide skeletons, and why the trunk of that BMW sounds like its moaning. You use this information and the power it provides to enlist the (grudging) aid of your betters. Once per story, you can collect a Major Boon from a convention attendee in your debt. Work with the Storyteller to determine the identity of the Kindred in question and nature of their aid.
Goblin Roads (p.161) *Travelling between Chicago and Milwaukee is perilous in the extreme. Lupines infest the roads and towns that connect the great cities and far stranger things inhabit the eerie wetlands, forests, and quiet spots between. The safest way to avoid these perils is to navigate the “Weird,” a collection of lonely roads, switchbacks, and roadside alters that tortuously thread their way between “oasis” of spiritually unnerving ground repulsive to Lupines. Dubbed “Goblin Roads” by local Kindred, Prince Decker of Milwaukee and Elder Inyanga of Chicago organized a group of intrepid Gangrel known as the “Psychopomps” to ferry Kindred between their cities.* *Unusual on the best of nights, the Psychopomps know the secrets of the Goblin Roads and have a unique sense of the Weird that surrounds and infuses them. They perceive the Weird’s presence constantly, always feeling its eyes in the darkness, never deviating from their well-marked paths. Passage along the Goblin Roads is a lonely and terrifying experience as the Psychopomp leapfrogs from oasis to oasis, offering sacrifices of blood, alcohol, or prayer to forces unknown. Many Psychopomps go mad, wandering off the road and vanishing forever. Others simply disappear. But none have abandoned their charges mid journey, always dropping their passengers off at their destination before vanishing back into the Weird to begin their journey anew.* *Kindred seeking passage between the two great cities have only to call upon Prince Decker or his newly-minted counterpart Rosa Hernandez. Survival is never guaranteed, but few things truly are.* **• Night Rider:** *Banned* You are a frequent passenger on the Goblin Roads and have become accustomed to their nature. Your knowledge grants you an additional two dice to all Survival tests related to surviving the Goblin Roads if you become isolated in the Weird. **•• Summon the Ferryman:** *Banned* You have arranged passage on the Goblin Roads with Prince Decker, Rosa Hernandez, or one of their Psychopomps. The price of this arrangement can take the form of cash, a minor boon, or something else entirely (Storyteller’s discretion). Once per story, you can enlist a Psychopomp to ferry yourself and your coterie between Chicago and Milwaukee. **••• Psychopomp:** *Banned* You are a Psychopomp and travel the Goblin Roads at will. This journey requires 24 hours preparation to attune yourself to the proper rites and sacrifices necessary for safe passage and you gain two-dots of Status reflecting your occupation. **•••• Weird Ally:** *Banned* You led an expedition into the Weird or were separated from your Psychopomp for a protracted period of time. During that time, you encountered and formed a pact or alliance with a supernatural denizen of the Weird. This creature is unusual at the best of times, but will come when called. You gain a four-dot Ally that is a werewolf, mage, wraith, changeling, or something stranger still (see Vampire: The Masquerade p. 376 and p. 377 or the Storyteller creates the monster). Once per game, your Ally will come to your aid within 10 hours of your summons. **••••• One with the Weird:** *Banned* You spent many nights looking into the Weird, and one evening, it looked back. You have unraveled one of the deeper mysteries of the Weird. It might be the hidden nature of the Goblin Roads oasis, the true name of a powerful spirit, a potent ritual, the dark secret of a mist-shrouded town, or the location of an artifact of great power. Work with the Storyteller to define the exact nature of your secret, but remember, the Weird does not reveal its secrets casually and there will be a price.
Justicar Lucinde (p.162) *Lucinde is one of the most formidable members of Clan Ventrue, advancing from Archon, to Alastor, to Justicar. Her role as the first Alastor, or hunter of Kindred declared Anathema by the Camarilla, led to the creation of the Camarilla’s infamous “Red List” of most wanted Kindred. As Alastor, Lucinde and her fellow Archon’s routinely went deep undercover to stalk their prey, a practice she maintains in her present role as Justicar. Named “Justicar for Unlife” in recent years, Lucinde and her agents have vanished once again into the dark underbelly of vampire society to stalk all who would challenge the Camarilla.* *Lucinde’s Archons and other agents frequently visit Chicago while prosecuting their duties. You might have worked directly with these agents, or even Lucinde herself at some point in her long career. You may even be an Archon or Alastor in Lucinde’s employ. Whatever the case, you stood in Lucinde’s shadow and were transformed by the experience.* **• Snake Charmer:** *Banned* Lucinde bears a unique ire for members of the Ministry and knows them well. You gain one additional die for all Investigation rolls related to the Ministers. **•• Patient Hunter:** *Banned* Lucinde’s investigation skills are legendary, skills she imparted to you. Once per story, you automatically succeed on one Investigation check related to a member of the Anathema or other Kindred who poses a threat to the day-to-day existence of the Camarilla. This success will not necessarily reveal the immediate location of said Kindred, but it will definitely point you in the right direction (Storyteller’s discretion). **••• Legend Killer:** *Banned* You have destroyed, or participated in the destruction, of a member of the Red List. This fame (or notoriety) precedes you wherever you go and allows you to automatically succeed on one test per chronicle, where the tale of this event might be of assistance. **•••• Lucinde’s Revenge:** *Banned* Lucinde has astonishing resistance to the effects of Presence. Formerly exclusive to her descendants, Lucinde has begun to instruct other Kindred in this supernatural resistance. Once per chronicle, Lucinde’s Revenge renders you immune to a single use of Presence wielded against you as long as the vampire assailing you is of equal-to or lower generation. Vampires of a higher generation than you are unaffected by Lucinde’s Revenge and can assail you regularly. Lucinde only teaches this ability to her Archons, Alastors, and chosen allies who have assisted in one of her hunts, or who have been of great service to the Camarilla. **••••• Alastor:** *Banned* You have joined Lucinde as an Alastor and hunt Kindred on the “Red List.” You operate under deep cover and enjoy immunity from prosecution by any Prince. You report solely to the Camarilla’s Inner Circle and have a mystical mark on your right palm identifying you as an Alastor when revealing your rank and station becomes necessary. You have a two dot Mask and have been Zeroed. Additionally, you receive three additional dice to resist all attempts to uncover your identity. Should you reveal your identity, you gain the equivalent of four dots of Status. You have also earned the undying enmity of all who oppose the Camarilla and are in turn hunted by an Anathema the Storyteller designates as your Adversary.
Khalid Al-Rashid (p.163) *Ancient and powerful, Khalid was a well-respected member of Chicago’s Primogen, and still is to those who believe Cedrick Calhoun’s subterfuge. Khalid walked the earth for nearly a thousand years in continual battle against his Beast, always seeking, yet never achieving, Golconda. Khalid’s quests led him to Chicago in search of a legendary Inconnu. What he found was a city firmly in the grip of an unending Jyhad between Helena and Menele. Taking to the shadows, Khalid managed to remain unbeholden to either Methuselah and managed to identify a circle of Kindred equally free from their influence. Digging deeper, he found something else entirely, and may well be in hiding, met the final death, or worse.* *Khalid is your Primogen, Mawla, or even sire. You pity his inability to attain Golconda, but admire the fact that Khalid never, ever, quits.* **• Safe Haven:** *Banned* Khalid’s tutelage provides two dots to divide between the Haven Merits of Postern and Security System. **•• Deadly Stroke:** *Banned* Khalid was a master swordsman in life, and more so in death. You may have fought beside him during the War of Chicago, or studied at his feet as your Mawla. Either way, you learned well. Once per chronicle, you gain three dice to a single Melee test while using a sword. **••• Khalid’s Notebook:** *Banned* Khalid recorded his suspicions about the eternal war between Helena and Menele in a notebook filled with coded pages. He tore out many pages of this notebook and secreted them about Chicago and beyond. You have acquired pages from this book and the secrets they contain. Once per story, you may ask the Storyteller for one secret Khalid would have access to about Helena, Menele, or the identity of one Kindred under (or formerly under, in the case of Menele) their control. **•••• Wicked Garden:** *Banned* You learned from Khalid or discover notes he left behind about strange entities living in Lake Michigan with oblique references to his sightings and suspicions about the creature known as Nerissa Blackwater. Once per story, this knowledge reduces the difficulty of all Investigation tests involving Nerissa Blackwater or the being she serves by four. Total Failure means Nerissa becomes aware of your inquiry. **••••• Unbeholden:** *Banned* Khalid knew about Helena and Menele and assembled a coterie of “wild card” Kindred free from their influence. You are not presently under the control or dominion of Helena, Menele, or a similarly ancient vampire. Once per chronicle, you automatically escape one attempt by an ancient to ensnare you in their Jyhad. Work with the Storyteller to determine exactly how this feat occurs, but you manage to retain your freedom, for now.
Kindred Dueling (p.164) *Formal duels between Kindred have taken many forms over the ages, halting only with the rise of the Camarilla and its formal proscriptions against them. Since that time, duels have gone underground were largely confined to the domains of Anarchs, the Sabbat, secretive dueling societies, and cities with permissive princes like Milwaukee. Ancient duels known as “Trials of Death” were fought with strength and fang, two Kindred draining one another until one succumbs to desiccation or destruction. Contemporary duels employ swords, guns, stakes, or even flaming brands. Whatever the form, these turbulent nights have seen a resurgence in Kindred dueling — one that is unlikely to abate anytime soon.* **• Honorable Combatant:** *Allowed* You are familiar with the rules, strictures, and customs of Kindred Dueling. You gain +2 dice to all Etiquette tests related to Kindred Dueling. **•• Fight Club:** *Allowed* You have established a flourishing Kindred dueling society in your domain. This society is a lucrative venture and excellent way for Kindred to settle their differences but is frowned upon by the Prince and/or Primogen of your domain. Gain three dots to distribute between Resources, Allies, or Contacts reflecting the profits and connections made through your society. **••• Stake Fighter:** *Allowed* You honed your stake fighting skills to a razor’s edge through years of Camarilla honor duels or Anarch street fights. You ignore the ‒2 penalty for called shots when attempting to stake another vampire. **•••• Fire Eater:** *Allowed* Duels with torches and flaming brands are increasingly popular among young Kindred out to demonstrate their courage. They have even become a rite of passage for many Anarchs. These duels are fought with one or two torches around a blazing bonfire, each participant fighting until one succumbs to their wounds or the terrors of Rötschreck. Once per game, you can call upon your experience with fire duels, ignoring the regular provocation to terror frenzy provided by a bonfire. The difficulty to resist terror frenzy induced by being burned is also reduced by one for the scene. **••••• Trials of Death:** *Allowed* You are a veteran of countless Trials of Death or learned at the feet of a true master. You only remove one die from your pool when making a bite attack. Opponents directing bite attacks against you remove three dice from their pools. The Beast is particularly strong in you during these trials and slakes its thirst with wild abandon. After a successful bite attack, your opponent increases their Hunger by two instead of one.
Malkavian Family, Malkavian Characters Only (p.165) *Being Embraced as a Malkavian in Chicago brings with it an almost instantaneous new family. Many of their number look upon one another as kin: Jason Newberry’s sire considered him like her own son; Bronwyn and Corbin grew up like sisters in their mortal days.* *While other clans allow their members their autonomy, Son wields his authority as Primogen to micromanage his clanmates’ lives. He hosts mandatory group counselling sessions, which he leads. Attendees bare their souls at his behest, providing information the others could use against them. Son also requires the Malkavians under his control to share territories and havens, giving them little respite from one another. They know one another’s weaknesses the way only a close-knit family can, and Jason Newberry positions himself as their domineering patriarch.* *These ties have also caused some Malkavians in Chicago to form close bonds. Having many members of the clan in the same territory makes guarding it easier, and when one of their number puts out a call via the Web, chances are someone is close by to answer. Though Son has duped outsiders into thinking he’s an upstanding member of Kindred society, his abuse of power within the clan gives its members someone to unite against, should the time come to get rid of him.* **• Family Secrets:** *Allowed* Attending Son’s therapy sessions gives you glimpses into your clanmates’ schemes and goals. As careful as most attendees are not to spill everything, over time the shapes of their plans come clear. Gain two dice on an Awareness or Insight roll involving another Malkavian. **•• Sibling Bond:** *Allowed* You’ve grown extremely close to another member of your clan, someone who is like a favorite sibling to you. You share a two-dot Haven and a one-dot Herd, and once per story can call on this person for a significant favor. However, they will ask for your assistance in turn and may lay their burdens at your door. **••• Tangled Web:** *Allowed* Your frequent contact with other Oracles has heightened your ability to sense and use the Cobweb. Once per story, you may extend your perceptions along it to locate a specific clan member in the city. You may either catch a short glimpse of where they are and who they’re with, or deliver one short sentence (“Meet me at the Blue Velvet,” “A Hound came looking for you.”) into their mind. **•••• A Little Peace and Quiet:** *Allowed* With Son constantly forcing you to share space and secrets with other Malkavians, you’ve had to carve out creative ways to get some alone time. Once per story, you may use an Auspex, Dominate, or Obfuscate power you haven’t yet learned (at your current level or below) to hide in plain sight, escape a crowded area, or avoid detection. **••••• Favorite Childe:** *Discuss With Storytellers* A respected elder member of the clan has taken a shine to you and appointed themselves your surrogate parent, your favorite aunt or uncle, or doting grandparent. They’re intensely interested in helping you achieve your goals, possibly cloyingly so. Gain them as a five-dot Mawla. Once per story, this person will act as a buffer between you and Son, relieving you of whatever obligation the Primogen was attempting to impose.
Occult Artifacts, Tremere and Banu Haqim Characters Only (p.166) *The 21st century saw a great decline in the use of occult artifacts among the Kindred outside the chantries of Clan Tremere. As the Age of Reason flowered, the Age of Magic withered, and occult objects once prized among the Kindred were cast aside in favor of modern innovation. The destruction wrought by the Second Inquisition, the Beckoning, and Tremere schism, combined with the Camarilla’s edicts against technology have begun to reverse this trend.* *Many elders’ havens are now abandoned, or in the hands of “trusted” ancillae. Entire Tremere chantries lay fallow, and prized artifacts from an older time lay forgotten in slumbering elders’ collections, ripe for the taking.* *You have gained access to, or knowledge of, one or more precious occult artifacts. These were likely entrusted to Nicolai for safekeeping in the Chicago Chantry or may be located elsewhere. Note that all are powerful in their own way and are likely sought by others, which can make them more trouble than they are worth. It is unlikely that more than one of these will be available to any given coterie.* **• Rowan Ring:** *Allowed* Rowan Rings are feared tools of assassination employed by elder members of the Banu Haqim or their trusted neonates. They appear to be simple wooden rings, though they are detectable as magical with Auspex or other occult means. After making a Rouse Check, the ring mystically sharpens and elongates into a wooden stake that can be used to make a stake attack (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 221). The stake detaches after use and the ring falls off its wielder’s finger. A simple thought transforms the stake back into a ring when not in use. **•• Cloak of Abalone:** *Allowed* Woven by the Tremere as a powerful weapon against Toreador, the Cloak of Abalone is dull black, brown, or gray on the outside, but opens to reveal a lining that forms a scintillating shower of mesmerizing color. The wearer must make a Rouse Check to activate the cloak, after which the targeted Toreador is immediately treated as if they rolled a Bestial Failure and are afflicted as if their Toreador Obsession was in effect (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 210). Note that the cloak only works on one target at a time, and there is seldom more than one cloak per Tremere Chantry. **••• Powder of Rigidity:** *Allowed* This uncommon mixture of rare herbs, Gangrel blood, and wolfsbane is increasingly sought after in the wake of the War in Chicago and Clan Gangrel’s defection from the Camarilla. Coming in long tubes, the concoction is hurled on the target in an opposed Dexterity + Athletics test. If the thrower succeeds, the tube shatters on the target and coats them in a viscous purple dust. As the magical effects take hold, the target, whether they be a user of Protean, Lupine, or other shape changer, loses all ability to change shape for the next four hours. **•••• Monocle of Clarity:** *Allowed* Designed by the Tremere to detect Obfuscated spies, the Monocle of Clarity is a beautifully etched monocle set into a delicately filigreed gold and silver frame. The user makes a Rouse Check to activate and rolls Wits or Resolve + five dice against the Targets Wits + Obfuscate. Success pierces the targets Obfuscate. Total Failure pierces the veil between this world and the next, exposing the user to “things” best left unseen, inflicting one point of superficial Willpower damage. **••••• Tapestry of Blood:** *Allowed* A rare and powerful artifact highly sought after by all. The Tapestry of Blood is a massive medieval tapestry said to have graced the halls of the Vienna Chantry before its transfer to Chicago. The user must make five Rouse Checks and spend a full evening contemplating the weave of the tapestry. As the first rays of dawn strike, the user makes a Wits or Resolve + Occult check with each success granting them greater clarity of vision. This vision can take almost any form, from glimpses of ancient civilizations to glimpses of the future. The only certainty is that the subject of each vision will directly relate to the fate of the user. Total Failure indicates the user saw something truly unsettling about their fate and immediately triggers a compulsion as detailed in the Vampire: The Masquerade core book.
Sheriff Damien (p.168) *Damien never wanted to be Sheriff of Chicago, but now that he’s accepted the position he takes it damned seriously. The Brujah was at his most content onstage as the lead singer of the punk band Baby Chorus. The War of Chicago tore that away from him, shattering his found family, sending the surviving band members on a long hiatus, and leaving him adrift. Damien’s lack of allegiance to the likes of Annabelle, Ballard, and DuSable drew Prince Jackson to him. Who better to serve as Sheriff than someone who knew the city and its power players, but was beholden to none of them?* *Before he assumed the mantle, Damien traveled the United States on an unofficial solo tour, playing Baby Chorus’ music and his own in cities across the country. Doing so, he’s made contacts from coast to coast in both Camarilla- and Anarch-controlled cities.* *Tonight, Damien’s loyalties lie with Prince Jackson and the recently reunited Baby Chorus. He keeps dossiers on Chicago’s Kindred, and sends his Hounds after those who threaten the Prince’s agenda. In addition to those enforcers he inherited when he took the job, Damien continues to build up the Hound roster with fierce fighters, should the Lasombra prove a problem or his former Anarch associates make a move.* *Damien is canny and self-reliant. He carved out a living for himself as a teenager and cobbled a family together out of those he trusted. He did the same after his Embrace, running with the Nihilists. Tonight, he fiercely protects the people he’s closest to. He’s lost enough family over the years. Now that he’s Sheriff, he intends to use that power to keep the ones who remain safe.* **• Fan Club:** *Banned* You’ve been a Baby Chorus fan for decades. You’ve collected their albums and have boxes full of bootlegged tapes and CDs from their shows. Damien recognizes you as a frequent face in the front row, and other fans see you as an authority on the band, giving you two dots of Influence among other Baby Chorus devotees. **•• Patroller:** *Banned* Patroller: Damien frequently taps you for patrol duty, sending you out among Chicago’s feeding grounds to keep an eye on Kindred activity. Your reports are clear and concise, alerting the Sheriff to potential trouble well before it lands on his — or worse, Prince Jackson’s — plate. Once per story, add three dice to an Insight, Intimidation, or Streetwise roll. While this position grants you some authority, others consider you a snitch. **••• Guest Artist:** *Banned* Though its current roster is fairly solid, Damien spent several years trying to resurrect Baby Chorus without Kathy Glens and the other surviving members. You played with the band in one or several of those interim incarnations, and Damien occasionally invites you to open for them, or play a set. Once per story, you may use Damien as a three-dot Contact in the entertainment world. **•••• Postcards From the Road:** *Banned* You’ve made a deep connection with Damien. Perhaps you’ve bonded over music, or had his back in a particularly ugly brawl. You have his respect, and Damien acts as your four-dot Mawla. Once per story, you may also ask him to put you in touch with one of his varying contacts around the country. **••••• Loyal Hound:** *Banned* Prince Jackson handed Damien a crew full of wannabe diplomat Hounds, but the Sheriff wants fighters and you’ve got a reputation for solving problems with your fists. Gain Contacts: Sheriff Damien (••••), Status: Camarilla (••). You may act with the Sheriff’s authority on Kindred matters, and must respond when Damien requires your assistance.
The Wolf Pack (p.169) *Wind whips through their hair as the Wolf Pack stalks the lonely roads and cities of southern Illinois. They strike quickly, their presence marked by the roar of engines and wild laughter, leaving only vanishing pavement and broken Anarchs in their wake. The Wolf Pack has served the Camarilla for decades, rebels for a cause that reject their clan’s abandonment of the Ivory Tower to bend rules and crack heads in service of the Traditions.* *The Wolf Pack roams far and wide in their role as roving Archons, but are short a few members after the brutal War of Chicago against the Lupines. Maybe you met them on the open highway and rode with them a spell? Maybe they saw something in you and decided to make you a prospect? Whatever your interaction, it probably made you a little bit stronger, and a whole lot meaner.* **• Prospect:** *Banned* Surviving Tyrus’ “initiation” into the Wolf Pack requires a certain degree of resilience. Reduce the difficulty of all Survival rolls related to travel and outdoorsmanship by one. **•• Member:** *Banned* Rule one of joining the Wolf Pack is that you have to be able to ride. Your association with the Pack grants you a two-die bonus to all Drive tests while riding a motorcycle. **••• White Line Nightmare:** *Banned* The Wolf Pack lives frugally, but spares no expense on its bikes. Once per game, you can call on the Wolf Pack’s contacts in the motorcycle community across the country to obtain immediate access to a custom motorcycle. **•••• Dread Riders:** *Banned* Your association with Anthius gives you access to a veritable army of Midwestern motorcycle gangs. Once per chronicle, you can call on Anthius’ influence to assemble hundreds of Hell’s Angels anywhere in the continental United States within three nights (although the first groups arrive within hours). These bikers provide you with a five-dot Ally group that can be roughly directed toward a single objective of your choosing. Be forewarned the potential for massive collateral damage and government involvement are high. **••••• Gives no...:** *Banned* Tyrus infuses you with a measure of his hard-headed, hard-hearted, and hard-riding personality. You never take anything from anybody and are willing to stare down Caine himself if he has the balls to challenge you. Once per session, you can ignore even the most formidable attempt to intimidate you. You become immune to any single attempt to intimidate, cow, or make you back down or retreat (mundane or supernatural). This ability disappears at the start of the next scene.
## Let the Streets Run Red
The Anubi (p.224) *The Lupine attack on Chicago is a stark reminder of how vulnerable Kindred are to werewolf assault. The Princes of the Camarilla looked to Milwaukee, and its guardians the Anubi, for a solution. Led by Milwaukee’s Prince, Mark Decker, the Anubi are the Camarilla’s premier force of Lupine hunters. They are well organized, well equipped, and determined to repulse every Lupine incursion into the city.* *Other cities began emulating Milwaukee’s model with mixed results. Many coteries failed due to inexperience or left their posts when Clan Gangrel abandoned the Camarilla. Others overthrew their Princes or became the kingmakers of their domain. A few even sided with the Anarchs, defending the Baronies of the Free States and newly acquired Anarch cities.* *More successful Princes recruited Gangrel with greater loyalty to their city than to their clan, or built mixed-membership coteries by offering money, special privileges, hunting rights, or boons. Even the legendary Anubi had to offer grants of hunting grounds to young Kindred after many of their members abandoned Milwauee in the face of Sabbat invasion.* *These newly formed coteries are as deadly as the Lupines they hunt. Some, like the Sun Devils of Phoenix or the all-Ventrue “Hunt Club” of Quebec, maintain the Anubi’s militant structure and battle Lupines nightly. Others, like “The Pack” of Vancouver or the mixed Lasombra/ Toreador “Order of Saint Sabastian” in Rio de Janeiro, wield diplomacy as effectively as silver to forge tentative (although not lasting) treaties with their local Lupines.* **• Argent Fury:** *Banned* Your connection to the Anubi or a similar organization provides access to hidden caches of silver weapons and/or those who manufacture them. Once per story, you can equip yourself with a silver hand-held weapon or ammunition of your choice. **•• What Big Eyes You Have:** *Banned* A Lupine must be located before it can be slain. Your organization has seeded your city with a web of informants, contacts, and surveillance devices to facilitate the hunt. Once per story, you gain two automatic successes on an Investigation roll related to locating Lupines within your domain. **••• Brick House:** *Banned* The hunter often becomes the hunted when Lupines are involved. You spend substantial resources outfitting your haven for just such occasions. You gain four points to spend between Haven and Retainers relating to defense against Lupines. **•••• In the City, In the Woods (choose one):** *Banned* * War Eternal: Your organization takes the fight to the Lupines. Your advanced knowledge of Lupine hunting grants you two bonus damage from all Firearms and Athletics rolls when fighting Lupines. * Strange Bedfellows: Your organization seeks peace with Lupines, forging strained but (mostly) effective truces with the werewolves in your area. Gain two bonus dice to all Persuasion rolls when dealing with Lupines and a two-dot werewolf Ally reflecting your contact in the local Lupine community. Your Ally is unlikely to risk their life for you but will at least listen to your side of the story before the howling starts. * Most Dangerous Game: Your nightly hunt grants you access to a quantity of Lupine blood that may reflect an unhealthy addiction to werewolf blood. Once per story, you can slake two Hunger via a sip of werewolf blood with all the attendant benefits and drawbacks (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 376). **••••• Summon the Pack:** *Banned* You are a formal member of the Anubi or a similar Lupine-hunting organization and can call on these Kindred for aid at a moment’s notice when Lupines are near. Situations not involving Lupines may require favor trading and/or boons, depending on your relationships with the individuals within the organization. Your membership grants you a temporary Mawla (•••) and four dots of Allies (Anubi Bikers), representing mortal bikers who follow the Anubi, who can be called on once per story when Lupines are involved.
Eletria (p.225) *Eletria occupied an unassuming position among Chicago’s Kindred for decades prior to her recent disappearance. Few understood the immense power hidden behind the quiet strength of the enigmatic vampire that dotingly watched over “Portia” all those nights. Fewer still realize that Eletria was once Prince of Veracruz and one of the most talented artists in history. Born of Sparta, reborn of Helena, Eletria travelled the world, drowning herself in life’s myriad pleasures and always returned panting for more. Painting, sculpture, and music came effortlessly to her. The Kindred of Veracruz bent their knees to her will and were better for her presence. Her very passions conquered the hearts of all who met her, ensnaring Lodin’s sire, Datura, then Lodin himself, loving and losing both in the process. Her presence in Chicago had the potential to change everything, but in the end, she changed you.* *You knew Eletria. It might have been Chicago, Veracruz, or someplace more distant still, but you knew her. Lover, friend, subject, or slave: Her presence haunts you to this day.* **• Muse:** *Allowed* Eletria saw great potential in you and fanned the embers of your talent. All Craft (Painting or Sculpture) or Performance (Music) tests have their difficulty reduced by one. **•• Portrait of a Woman:** *Allowed* Eletria entrusted you with a rare and precious piece of art of deep importance to her. It could be her cherished portrait of Datura on the cliffs of Veracruz or another painting, sculpture, or piece of music created by her hand. Granting you this piece is a sign of her deepest trust and contains an almost literal part of her soul. Once per session, you can spend an hour meditating upon this piece and make a Resolve + Craft (Painting or Sculpture) or Performance (Music) test at Difficulty 4 before resting for the day. If successful, you awaken having recovered all Superficial Willpower damage. **••• This is Sparta:** *Allowed* You served under Eletria in Veracruz during her war against the Sabbat or fought by her side during the War of Chicago. You gain a bonus die to all Investigation, Academics, and Occult rolls related to defending your city against hostile sect incursions. **•••• Ageless Beauty:** *Allowed* You shared blood with Eletria and inherited a measure of her ability to see the past. You can see a person as they were at any point in their life (or unlife). If artistically inclined, you can render Kindred as they appeared centuries ago with shocking accuracy. Make a Wits + Resolve or Auspex test (difficulty assigned by Storyteller depending on how far back you attempt to see). Success means you have captured a photographic image of the subject in your mind with perfect accuracy and gain two bonus dice to your relevant Craft test to replicate it. This ability can be used once per session. **••••• Conspicuous Consumption:** *Allowed* Your search for Eletria leads to Helena. You become part of the circle of vampires used to slake her thirst and keep the Beckoning at bay. This arrangement is not without its benefits, as you gain five dots to distribute between Mawla, Resources, Allies, Herd, and Contacts. You also have access to Helena once per story, although she has compelled you not to reveal her presence. If lucky, your perilous association may reveal Eletria’s fate.
Kindred Social Media Influencer (p.226) *Sometimes it’s worth risking the ire of those elders who have banned social media use, especially for fledglings Embraced in recent nights. Though the Second Inquisition makes having an online presence dangerous for vampires, having a large internet following brings potential benefits: information, influence, money, and food. When the choice is between feeding on a flash mob participant or frenzying from hunger, you pick the one that isn’t a sure breach of the Masquerade.* *Often, a vampire can entirely avoid mentioning Kindred lifestyles on their social feeds. Maybe their Instagram account is all pictures of books artfully posed beside glasses of wine, or their Twitter timeline consists only of cat memes and dad jokes. Throughout the centuries, vampires have adopted mortal personas that give no whiff of their nighttime pursuits. Tonight’s fledglings aim to do the same, only with more likes, favorites, and followers.* *Kindred can display authority in all kinds of areas on social media. Some present historical analyses on YouTube so insightful you’d swear they’d been at the events they’re describing. Exquisite Instagram accounts capture the city when most of its residents are asleep. This isn’t to suggest no one’s ever come close to breaching the Masquerade since SchreckNET came down: One scandalous (and highly anonymous) account displays cutting edge Kindred fashion, replete with the clans’ iconography. Mortal followers like and thumbs-up the posts, believing it experimental fashion or possibly a high-end LARP, while not knowing the messages the outfits send to their Kindred counterparts. Should any elders discover Kindred of their own clan are behind the account, however, it won’t be long before someone is blood hunted.* **• Friends Everywhere:** *Allowed* You have a small following, mostly consisting of friends and close acquaintances. Occasionally, someone with a larger social media footprint will boost or share one of your posts, bringing you a temporary increase in visibility. Once per chapter, you can crowdsource a solution to a problem, providing you have enough time to consult your followers, allowing you to roll two dice in a Skill you don’t possess or adding two automatic successes in an area you already have familiarity. **•• Niche Following:** *Allowed* Your knowledge in a specific area grants you a degree of online authority. Your Twitter threads occasionally go viral, and you’ve been paid to write articles for newspapers and websites thanks to your unique voice. Gain two dots of Influence in your field. Once per story, you may temporarily increase your Resources by one dot when you pen an article or do a video hangout for a small audience. **••• Internet Famous:** *Allowed* Your follower count is in the tens of thousands across several social media platforms. Loyal fans provide a small amount of ad revenue and buy branded swag, providing you with an additional two dots in Resources. Once per story, you can arrange a small, local meetup and feed from one of the attendees, granting you one dot in Herd. **•••• Collabs and Sponsorships:** *Allowed* Everyone who’s interested in your particular subject matter knows your name. Companies offer to work with you to create branded products and attempt to woo you with freebies they hope you’ll promote. In addition to two dots in Fame, gain Allies (••) from among your fans and declare a two-dot Contact at one of the companies you’ve promoted. **••••• Superstar:** *Allowed* Your social media presence makes you a household name. You set trends and pull in a sizable income from products, promotions, ad revenue, and patron donations. Maintaining your presence and place in the ever-changing hierarchy requires a full-time schedule of recording, posting, promoting. While this grants you three dots in both Fame and Resources, your notoriety also puts you in a precarious position with Kindred elders. Should they (or worse, FIRSTLIGHT) discover your vampiric identity, punishment will be swift and deadly.
Juggler (p.227) *Juggler has been a pain in the Chicago Camarilla’s ass and a thorn in Modius’s side for the better part of a century. He ruled the Anarchs before Maldavis came along, and he directed much of their activity from Gary. During some of the tensest periods in the War of Chicago, Helena and the powerful Brujah Tyler controlled his actions. Juggler may have a sense of this, especially since Tyler’s disappeared from Chicago, but it’s not something he’d ever let slip to his followers.* *In recent nights, he’s orchestrated the Anarchs’ takeover of Gary, relishing his rival Modius’s rage as the pauper Prince’s power ebbed away. Rumor had it he’d triumphantly captured Modius — whose own childe turned Anarch and gave him up — and may at last have destroyed his enemy. This move made Juggler the Baron of Gary at last, but a month into his reign, he disappeared.* *Unlike his disorganized Camarilla counterpart, Juggler understands how to run a revolution. His childe, Evelyn Stephens, was privy to his plans. He kept some secrets, but he ensured that the schemes he’d set in motion could carry on in his absence. As much of a blow as it was to the Anarchs to lose their leader, Evelyn has stepped up and rallied them right back to the cause.* **• For the Cause:** *Allowed* You’ve run with the Anarchs in Chicago under Juggler’s direction. Gain one reroll per session on Brawl, Melee, and Streetwise rolls when going up against members of the Camarilla. **•• Guns to a Knife Fight:** *Allowed* When a Prince starts losing, he blames the Anarchs first and tries to wipe them out. Juggler learned that lesson with Lodin, and in more recent nights, when Modius ratted out his enemies to Sullivan Dane. Once per story, you have access to a weapons cache that Juggler has secreted away in Gary and can buy up to Resources (•••) worth of gear. **••• Rabble Rouser:** *Allowed* You have a knack for dirty fighting. Juggler put you in charge of a group of Anarchs who Get Shit Done around Gary. Once per story, you can call upon a small group (3-5 people) to sow chaos in Gary’s streets or back you up in a brawl. This counts as a temporary Allies Background rated at an effectiveness of two dots, with the benefit of their being Kindred and carrying Disciplines. They cease following you for the rest of this story. **•••• Coordination is Key:** *Allowed* Juggler set you up as a key part of Anarch communications. Other Kindred slip you information about their activities, which you pass along to those who need to know. This grants you significant cachet in the Movement, manifesting as Status: Anarchs (•••) and Influence: Gary (•••). Once per story, ask your Storyteller for a piece of intel that’s recently come across your desk. **••••• Rust Never Sleeps:** *Allowed* Juggler trusted you with his plans and valued your input in his strikes against the Camarilla and Modius. He is your four-dot Mawla (in his absence, Evelyn Stephens fills this role). Once per story, work with your Storyteller to name a member of the Movement in another city whose skills or access are useful to you. A friend of Juggler’s is a friend of theirs, and they’re eager to help the Anarchs rise. They act as a three-dot Contact for you until the end of that story.
Lost Secrets of the Milwaukee Chantry (p.228) *The Tremere of Milwaukee were once one of the most exclusive coteries in the United States. Their sole purpose was to unravel the secrets of the strange mystical “Null Zone” near Marquette University, where magic does not function (see p. 231). Then Carna abandoned Milwaukee on the eve of a Sabbat invasion, and her fellow chantry members, Victor and Dr. Mortius, disappeared soon after. The Tremere have not reestablished their presence in Milwaukee, leaving their Chantry’s secrets vulnerable to outsiders.* *Kindred from Chicago and beyond flock to Milwaukee to uncover its occult secrets before the Tremere return. Karl Schrekt is assembling an elite coterie to reestablish the Milwaukee Chantry before Carna and her allies can do the same. Interested parties race against time to recover whatever they can before their window closes forever.* **• Carna’s Primogen Files:** *Banned* While nominally apolitical, Carna managed to collect a significant amount of information about her fellow Kindred during her tenure as Primogen. You have access to Carna’s Primogen Files and gain a bonus die on all Politics rolls involving the Kindred of Milwaukee. **•• Abandoned Real Estate:** *Banned* Carna and Victor maintained numerous havens throughout the wealthier areas of Milwaukee. Your search uncovers one such haven, providing you with access to a two-dot Haven in Milwaukee, equipped with a two-dot Occult Library (Carna) or two-dot Hidden Armory (Victor), and potential clues to the location of additional havens or Tremere secrets (Storytellers discretion). Tremere agents are certain to follow, so take up permanent residence with extreme caution. **••• Victor’s Grimoire:** *Banned* Victor was the deadly enforcer of the Milwaukee Tremere and had access to a potent array of unique rituals. You have located Victor’s Grimoire and cache of occult rituals. Subject to Storyteller’s discretion, Blood Sorcerers may immediately learn one of the rituals located in The Chicago Folios, p. 174 and have a roleplaying justification to learn additional rituals from The Chicago Folios through the standard expenditure of time and experience. Non-Tremere are hunted mercilessly for mere possession of this knowledge. Learning these rituals still requires Experience expenditure. **•••• Objects of Desire:** *Banned* You have uncovered the subject of Tremere study in Milwaukee, a strange “Null Zone” where magic does not function, centered on Marquette University. Tremere records indicate that objects of incredible power are located somewhere in the zone and may be possible to recover, but opposition from Clan Tremere, Lupines, and/or Magi, is extremely likely. You gain a precarious Haven Background rated at four dots, though with it comes an Adversary at two dots and an Enemy at two dots. **••••• Dr. Mortius’s Haven:** *Banned* You have located Dr. Mortius’s haven, a “haunted” house near Marquette University. It is a three-dot haven with an awe-inspiring, yet utterly disorganized, occult library. The library grants you a three-dot bonus to all Academics and Occult rolls and is filled with a wide range of other secrets. At the Storyteller’s discretion, these secrets might include access to Blood Sorcery, innocuous magic items, information about Milwaukee’s magical “Null-Zone,” theories on ancient Kindred in Lake Michigan, and even a copy of “The Book of the Grave-War” — although missing half a page or so. At the Storyteller’s discretion, Mortius’s haven may contain a variety of mundane and mystical defenses to penetrate prior to entry.
Mark Decker (p.229) *Mark Decker prefers hunting Lupines to ruling Milwaukee. He uses the position to protect the city, placing his Anubi in top-ranking jobs and strictly enforcing the Masquerade. In recent nights, he’s grown even more suspicious of the Kindred in his territory — who’s plotting against him? Who’s undermining his agenda? Breaking his strict new laws results in swift punishment, up to and including the final death.* *He trusts very few people outside of his inner circle, and even those he watches warily. After all, he was unprepared both for Carna’s exodus from Milwaukee and his clan’s defection from the Camarilla. Who else, he wonders, is ready to turn on him? On occasion, he reaches out to Inyanga in Chicago to seek an outside perspective on local matters. These nights, those communications are fewer and longer between.* *Decker keeps his city on constant high alert against werewolves and Anarchs, and respects those Kindred who display the same vigilance he does. Perhaps some night, if he can push the Lupines back far enough and strike a massive blow to the Anarchs, he’d consider relinquishing his throne. But that’s a long, long way off, and there’s much work to be done before then.* **• Good Graces:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Decker has put a small amount of trust in you, assigning you to patrol duty around the city and allowing you to act with his authority in minor breaches of his laws. Still, he requires you to enter a one-step Blood Bond in case that feeling is misplaced. **•• Tyrant’s Recognition:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Decker is aware of the body count you’ve racked up protecting Milwaukee. He grants you feeding rights to a small rack, providing you with a two-dot Herd and a one-dot Haven. **••• One Strike:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Your penchant for not only upholding but enforcing the Prince’s laws has caused Decker to loosen his reins on you. It’s still unwise to break them, but once per story he allows you to plead your case if you’re caught for a minor infraction. Rather than the final death, he’ll impose sanctions. **•••• The Prince’s Trust:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You’ve fought at Decker’s side against the Lupines and rooted out Anarch incursions. You’ve learned how to talk to him without setting him off, or at least how to push those buttons without turning his suspicions on yourself. Decker listens to your counsel, and his trust in you gives you a little leeway in the city. Gain Mark Decker as a five-dot Mawla once per story. Additionally, once per story, you may dine with him at the Hyatt or join him in his private suite at Brewers Stadium for an audience. **••••• Childe of Mark Decker *****(Gangrel Only)*****:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Decker granted you the gift of his Embrace and expects you to treat such an honor accordingly. He’s trained you as one of his Anubi and placed you in a position of power in the city. Work with your Storyteller to determine where your authority lies. Decker provides you with a three-dot Haven, two-dot Status, and you gain one free Skill Specialty in Athletics, Brawl, or Melee. Many Kindred despise Decker, and this antipathy extends to his childer. You earn three dots in Adversaries, to be made into one vampire or split across two or three.
Maxwell (p.230) *Maxwell’s been off the chess board a long time now. The one-time Prince of Chicago, a Brujah, might have ruled again after Lodin’s death, were it not for Kevin Jackson’s rise to power. He disappeared after that, though wise Kindred know better than to think he’s suffered his final death.* *In fact, Maxwell still considers himself Chicago’s Prince, and suggests Kevin Jackson’s merely keeping the throne warm. He’s gotten a better handle on the modern world these last few years and dedicated time and resources to quietly shoring up his support. He still holds sway with Chicago PD’s Internal Affairs. In recent nights, he’s focused on building up the Vanguard, a group of Camarilla based in Gary, Indiana, who are loyal to him and his play for praxis. Gary is little more than a staging ground to him, a place from which to launch his strikes against Chicago before he reclaims his throne.* *Maxwell’s opponents (and many of his supporters) recognize his penchant for violence. Signing on with him is a dangerous and probably bloody endeavor, but he’ll handsomely reward those who help him take Chicago.* **• Tactician:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You’ve studied Maxwell’s strategies as Prince of Chicago and sussed out some of the secrets of his rule. Add two bonus dice to an Academics, Politics, or Subterfuge roll relating to political planning or military maneuvers. **•• Travelling Companion:** *Discuss With Storytellers* While Kindred considered him dead after Devil’s Night, Maxwell roamed the world building up allies in other countries. One thing he learned in these hyper-surveilled modern nights is how to evade detection while travelling. You traveled with him during this time, and he’s willing to share his contacts. Once per story, you can call on Maxwell’s allies for reliable and secure transportation between cities. **••• Vanguard:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You’re a member of Gary’s Vanguard, trusted by Eric Sharpe and Maxwell alike. Gain Status: Gary (•••). Sharpe has granted you territory in the city, where you have a two-dot Haven and feeding rights. If not participating in Rusted Jungle (see p. 125), this lore gives you standing as a long-time, respected Kindred resident of Gary. **•••• The Art of Disappearing:** *Discuss With Storytellers* If your enemies think you’re dead, they stop worrying about how you’re plotting against them. Maxwell has taught you tricks for staying hidden and working from the shadows. Once per story, he’ll help you create a two-dot Mask under which you can anonymously further a goal. Alternately, he’ll help you convincingly fake the death of one of your current Masks and transfer its resources to a new identity without leaving a paper trail. **••••• The Once and Future Prince:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You’re one of the highly placed Kindred Maxwell is counting on in Chicago. He’s guided and financed your rise among your clan’s ranks, helped rid you of enemies, and provided you with information about the machinations of Prince Jackson and the Primogen. Gain Resources (•••••); two dots must be spent securing Maxwell’s plans, but the remaining three are yours to spend as you like. You have a list of those Kindred in Chicago who owe Maxwell boons. Once per story, you can call in a minor boon from someone on the list. Once per chronicle, you can call in a major boon. Though you may use these for any purpose that suits you, Maxwell expects you to send him an account of how you’ve spent his favors. Using them foolishly will earn the soon-to-be Prince’s ire. He’s built you up; never doubt that he can tear you back down.
The Milwaukee "Null Zone" (pp.231-232) *The “Null Zone” is a mystical dead zone centered on Marquette University and the surrounding area where magic simply ceases to function. This site was once the location of the final battle between the Lupine Usla and, Hrothulf’s Kindred wife, Chiclena and her allies. With his dying breath, Usla called upon the mighty spirits of his people, transforming parts of his very being into a pair of potent talismans, destroying Chiclena. Almost no one knows these talismans are buried under Marquette University, or that they are responsible for creating the “Null Zone.” Kindred, Lupines, and magi study the Zone with great vigor, but few outside the Lupines know its secret.* **• Legends of Usla:** *Banned* You know the legend of the battle between Usla and Chiclena and discern something extremely important to the Lupines is buried inside the “Null Zone.” You don’t know exactly where the item is buried, but you are on the hunt. Gain one bonus die to all Investigation and Occult rolls related to the “Null Zone.” **•• Into the Zone:** *Banned* You have access to the Milwaukee “Null Zone” and can linger there for brief periods without observation or being assailed by outside forces. Within the zone, all uses of Auspex have their difficulty reduced by one. Uses of Protean do not require Rouse checks, but you must spend one Willpower per scene to prevent transformative powers like Feral Weapons and Shapechange from activating automatically. All Blood Sorcery rolls require seven successes to succeed and its attendant rituals fail automatically. Failure on any of the above uses of Auspex, Protean, or Blood Sorcery delivers levels of Aggravated damage equal to their margin of failure. Total Failure delivers the same amount of damage in addition to leaving a mystical mark on your aura that acts as a powerful beacon to all Lupines in the area. **••• St. Joan of Arc Chapel:** *Banned* You discover that a powerful mage had the medieval St. Joan of Arc Chapel moved and reconstructed directly over the center of the “Null Zone” in the 1960s. While ultimately slain by Lupines, his legacy endures. The chapel is surrounded by extremely powerful wards against Lupines and the presence of the Joan of Arc Stone makes it almost unbearable to Kindred (the structure has the equivalent of True Faith 5). A secret staircase concealed under the stones behind the altar leads to a series of underground tunnels and excavations used by the mage to facilitate his investigation. The chapel is one of the primary reasons Kindred and Lupines have been unable to claim their prize, and it is warded by a variety of sorcerous and mundane protections. Any entrance to the chapel will be opposed by Lupines, magi, or agents of the Society of St. Leopold stationed on the Marquette campus. **•••• Church of Isis:** *Banned* Mount Mary College plays host to the Church of Isis, an occult society espousing radical feminist views composed of humans and magick users from the Cult of Isis. They are eager to recover Usla’s talismans and work with Kindred and Lupine alike to achieve their purpose. Formerly affiliated with Dr. Mortius prior to his disappearance, they seek new Kindred allies to further their quest. You forge an alliance with the Church of Isis, allowing you to call upon their aid once per Chronicle. They count as a five dot Ally group that can provide both mundane and sorcerous assistance. **••••• Usla’s Talismans (choose one):** *Banned* * Eye of the Coyote: With Storyteller’s permission, you know where to find the Eye of the Coyote. You have the equivalent of five-dots of Auspex with all related abilities and the difficulty of single Blood Sorcery roll made against you is increased by four while the Eye is on your person. The Storyteller can grant the Eye additional abilities and you are hunted day and night by all Lupines until the Eye is recovered. The Eye is only usable once per story, but the lure attached to it is permanent. * Talon of the Eagle: With Storyteller’s permission, you know the location of the Talon of the Eagle. All your physical Attributes are doubled (up to a maximum of five) once per story, and you have the equivalent of five dots of Protean with all related abilities while the Talon is on your person. The Storyteller can grant the Talon additional abilities, and you are hunted day and night by all Lupines until the Talon is recovered. The Talon is only usable once per story, but the lure attached to it is permanent.
Modius (p.233) *Modius has never been content. Not in his mortal days, when he yearned toward greatness even as he traded furs and toiled in the fields. Not in all his waking nights, when the throne of Chicago has eluded him at every turn. It’s certainly not for lack of trying — he’s gone to war for Chicago. He vies to lift Gary from the mire Lodin sank it into. He’s yanked the city back from Juggler and his Anarchs time and again. Modius could be transcendent, if only his fellow Kindred opened their eyes.* *Though many vampires dismiss Modius as a pauper Prince, he’s done his damnedest to revive Gary, even as his enemies in Chicago push it deeper into decline. He’s built up alliances in the city he rules and gathered followers who admire him — or who at least lie about it convincingly. He keeps up correspondence with his sire, Toreador Primogen Annabelle, keeping her abreast of his achievements should she spot an opportunity for him in Chicago. His letters go mostly unanswered.* *These nights, Modius’s name is most often whispered alongside his long-standing enemy, Juggler. The two revel in their ongoing hostilities, letting their violent conflict add to Gary’s already abominable crime rate.* **• Followers:** *Banned* You believe in Modius’s capability, even if most others don’t understand why. You’re in contact with a few other like-minded Kindred. Once per chapter, you can call on one of them to do a small favor for you in Gary. **•• Windy City Ally:** *Banned* You were one of the few who backed the idea of naming Modius as Prince of Chicago this last go-round. It earned you sneers and enmity within the city, but word of your support got back to the pauper Prince. As thanks, he sent one of his employees to you and permitted you to make them your two-dot Retainer. **••• Keys to the Mansion:** *Banned* Modius values your strategic mind, especially when it comes to out thinking the Anarchs. He’s provided you with keys to the guest quarters at the governor’s mansion (Haven •••) and access to his files, with intel on Juggler’s plans. Once per story, ask your Storyteller for a piece of information on recent Anarch movements in the city. **•••• Since 1913:** *Banned* You were part of Modius’s original attempt at seizing praxis and took part in some of the attacks on Lodin’s loyalists. He’s never forgotten your service and made sure the vampires in Gary heard about your deeds. Gain Status: Gary Camarilla (••••). Modius has also declared that you may feed anywhere in Gary, though the Anarchs are unlikely to abide by that if you wander into their territory. **••••• Pauper Dynasty:** *Banned* Whatever Chicago’s Kindred think, Modius is a Prince and has been one for over half a century now. He has insight into what it takes to rule and imparts that wisdom to you in the hopes you’ll seize praxis in some other domain — provided it’s neither Gary nor Chicago. Gain Modius as a five-dot Mawla, and gain Influence (••) in a city of your choosing to reflect the groundwork he’s helped you lay there.
## Cults of the Blood Gods
Calling the Family Reunion, Hecata Characters Only (p.228) *The Clan of Death, in all its forms, has always had a gift for understatement. The latest, the so-called “Family Reunion,” was a combination of the strategic removal of some high-profile elders, the burying of some ancient axes — sometimes in another vampire’s head — and the subsequent unleashing of millions of outraged and ungrateful ghosts taking out centuries of pent-up ire on any necromancer they could find.* *You are party to the hasty (by Kindred standards) discussion between ancient enemies of the necessity and utility of working together. You may have been involved in some of the acts that led to it, or you were present at the Reunion itself. In your own way, you’ve contributed to this new step in the Clan of Death. And even though you’ve become one big happy clan again, that doesn’t mean you just forgive and forget.* **• The Kids’ Table:** *Allowed* You were present at the dinner where the final details of the Reunion were discussed. You didn’t have any significant impact in the discussion, but you know what was debated, so you’re familiar with all the old animosities and arguments. You get two dice on any Persuasion checks against another Hecata who tries to resurrect old disagreements. **•• Updating the Rolodex:** *Allowed* Not everyone gets along in the new-and-improved Hecata, but since you were present during the initial dealmaking, you now have access to a lot of new contacts. When asking for information or small favors, you have the equivalent of three dots of Status within the Hecata clan. **••• Hiding the Bodies:** *Allowed* Even the Clan of Death doesn’t have the luxury of flaunting all the corpses they’ve left along the way. You were involved in the cleanup of a key murder, and a Hecata elder is greatly in your debt as a result. Once per story, you may remind them of that debt to cash in the effects of a minor boon or less (see Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 315). Once per chronicle, you may clear the debt in return for the effects of a major boon. Call upon them more often, or for favors beyond their reach, and they will grudgingly comply... only to become a persistent Adversary once your business concludes. **•••• Dealmaker:** *Allowed* For all the visible debates during the Family Reunion, there were just as many backroom deals made in order to make the reunification of the Hecata a success. You were a part of one of those deals, and an influential elder in the Hecata owes you as a result. That elder counts as a five-dot Mawla Background but will become a potent Adversary if the secrets are ever revealed. **••••• Spiritual Assault:** *Allowed* You were involved in the murder of Augustus Giovanni, the methuselah responsible for the alleged destruction of the Cappadocians. As such, you know it was Augustus’ death that unleashed the maelstrom of wraiths coming after the Hecata. Anytime you or someone who consults you uses an Oblivion Ceremony to deal with a spectre or other antagonistic ghost, you gain two automatic successes.
Child of the Angel Michael, Unavailable to Nosferatu Characters (p.229) *That which is perfect is beautiful. That which is beautiful is good. That which is good leads to utopia. This is what the Nephilim believe — that if they can embody all that is beautiful and perfect, they can recreate the utopic dream of the perfect Kindred city: Constantinople. A recent cult chided in equal parts as a Toreador fever dream and an excuse for lavish parties, the Nephilim nevertheless draws in a large share of proponents, eager to ogle the great and the good, or to find ways to improve themselves toward their personal ideal.* *Of course, the pursuit of ideal perfection shouldn’t be sullied by base concerns like money or power. Those that give up all that they hold dear to the Nephilim will be rewarded, becoming more perfect and more beautiful with each passing night. Besides, once the Dream of Constantinople comes to pass and all vampires are living in harmony, none of that will matter anyway. Right? You might be a seeker of beauty, or one of the beautiful yourself, but you’re definitely invested in the Dream, one way or another.* **• The Great and the Good:** *Allowed* Even just being around perfect and beautiful people has its advantages, and you’ve been able to leverage your connection to fellow cultists into a few small gains yourself. You have two free dots to distribute between the Contacts, Fame, Herd, and Influence Backgrounds, though the kinds of followers you attract verge on the fanatical and dangerous to you and your loved ones. **•• Outer Beauty:** *Allowed* You make trips to the local Nephilim temple, and the accentuation of your “inner beauty” leads to outer effects. Your skin becomes clear, your hair gains luster, and your limbs become long and firm. You get the Looks Merit at four dots, even after character creation. The negative side is you have to really disguise your appearance if you want to avoid attention. Inevitably, your face will be the one witnesses remember. **••• Hedonistic Pleasure:** *Allowed* Of course, there’s no point being beautiful if you can’t enjoy it, right? Lots of long nights of excess have taught you a thing or two about having a good time, even when you’re not in a Nephilim temple. You gain two dice on any rolls to score drugs, get a date or sexual partner, or get yourself invited to a party. In addition, your exploits are legendary — take either two dots in Fame or two dots in Status. **•••• Michael’s Calling:** *Allowed* You’ve been in past cults in which the childer of Michael were worshiped to bring about the Dream. While it’s novel and convenient that all of these fringe cults have come together under one roof, as it were, you see it all as the sham it is. That won’t stop you from leveraging it for your own gain, however. Once per story, you can use all of a cult member’s appropriate Backgrounds as if they were your own. **••••• Wiping Away the Stains:** *Allowed* The most horrific and flawed parts of the Kindred are, of course, on the inside. Most of the cult claims they want inner beauty as well as outer perfection, but the sex and drugs tend to get in the way of true enlightenment. Luckily, you haven’t lost the true path. Once per story, you can spend a Willpower to remove a Stain from another vampire. The vampire must have sex with you, do drugs with you, or engage in some other hedonistic activity for at least an hour.
The Promise of 1528 (p.231) *After the Giovanni engineered the fall of the Cappadocians (or so they thought), the up-and-coming Camarilla expressed concerns about the so-called “Devil Clan.” The purge of the Cappadocians entered full force soon after the Anarch Revolt, and the Kindred of the Camarilla were worried that this was more of the same. With the upstart Anarchs forming into what would become the Sabbat, the Camarilla couldn’t afford a war on yet another front. So, Augustus Giovanni and the Inner Circle of the Camarilla met in Venice in 1528, and signed an agreement.* *The problem is, no one really knows what’s in the agreement. For years, all that was known was that the Giovanni had some degree of autonomy in Camarilla domains, and that the clan was given ownership of the city of Venice (in exchange for the Inner Circle being allowed to hold their meetings there). After the Family Reunion, however, an additional detail has been revealed: The Promise has a limit of 500 years, meaning it will expire in 2028. Both the Camarilla and the Hecata are scrambling to find out the details of the agreement, as well as the consequences once it expires.* **• Legal Scholar:** *Banned* You are an active student of the Promise. You don’t know much, but that’s more than most Kindred know. Even the fact that you know such a document exists gives you leverage. In legal disputes with Camarilla Kindred or members of the Hecata, you gain two dice on Persuasion rolls. **•• Scrap of Information:** *Banned* You saw a scrap of a transcript of the Promise once. A lot of forgeries have circulated among the Kindred over the centuries, but you’re reasonably sure this one is genuine. This makes you a hot commodity among other Kindred who hunger to know what’s in the Promise. Once per story, if you allow Kindred access to your notes on the Promise fragment for research, you gain a temporary dot in Contacts, Herd, Influence, or Resources for the remainder of the story, and may call in a major boon (see Vampire: The Masquerade p. 315) from the vampire in future. **••• Tick Tock:** *Banned* You know, or believe you know, the consequences of allowing the Promise to expire, and they aren’t good. Once per story, you can give advice to members of your local faction (the Camarilla court if you are a Camarilla Kindred, or the local family if you are Hecata) and expect to be taken seriously. You will get an audience, and two automatic successes on any rolls which leverage your knowledge during the meeting. **•••• Faulty Memory:** *Banned* You read the Promise once, but for some reason you can never recall the text in full, even if you have advantages or powers that would normally allow you to remember things or uncover buried memories. But once in a while, snippets surface to help you at just the right time. Once per story, you can add three dice to an appropriate roll where memory of the Promise would help you. **••••• Signatory:** *Banned* You are directly related to one of the signatories of the Promise (or you are a signatory yourself). Once per chronicle, you can leverage your knowledge of the Promise to force a Camarilla Prince or a Hecata anziani to permanently change a ruling or local law in your favor, using your knowledge of the Promise to give you political clout. However, you must decide why you are unable to ever speak of the details of the Promise — perhaps it’s a thaumaturgical compulsion, the spirit of a loved one threatened with eternal torment, or a lot of Ventrue Dominate.
## Children of the Blood
The Ashfinders, Thin-Blooded Characters Only (p.103) *The Ashfinders is a cult for the modern era. Its word is spread over the internet, its holy land is the island of Ibiza, and its sacred ritual is developing designer drugs. The brainchild of a renegade Tremere and an influential Duskborn, the Ashfinders are a radical new form of Golconda cult. They seek transcendence through the creation and consumption of Ashe, formulated from the ashes of deceased full-blooded vampires. The drug is ineffective on mortals and full-blooded vampires, but in thin-blooded, it enhances their blood and can even grant them memories or abilities from the dead vampires mixed into the concoction. The cult hypes themselves with social media posts and advertises as a New Age solution to mortals, and an exciting journey into enlightenment to Mercurians. What the trendsetters don’t talk about is Ashe’s highly addictive nature, and the strange creatures the drug’s creation generates.* *As an initiate of the Ashfinders, you find yourself in a thrilling, dangerous time. You’re certain that you’ve found a new path out of your condition, even if some of your full-blooded peers consider your faith a complicated form of diablerie. Let those wizened old has-beens believe what they want. They can either get with the program or find themselves in your furnaces.* **• Influencer:** *Allowed* As a member of the Cinder Institute, the Ashfinders’ mortal-facing front, you’ve developed some sway among mortals. This keeps your cult hidden in plain sight. Pick a local subculture. You receive two dots of Influence over that subculture. **•• Shard Defense:** *Allowed* Beast Shards, known among the Ashfinders as “Shards,” are the monstrous remains of dead vampires used in the Ashe creation process. They flicker in and out of existence and manipulate human emotions. You’ve become an expert a hunting and destroying Shards, and it’s carried over to similar creatures. When you are hit by spectral claws or other forms of semi-material weaponry, you always take −1 damage. **••• Addiction Resistance:** *Allowed* Ashe addiction (Cults of the Blood Gods, p. 46) drives a Duskborn into a vicious cycle of hunger and frenzy. You’ve developed a natural resistance to that cycle. When you use Ashe, you no longer make a Rouse Check. **•••• Strange New Forms:** *Allowed* Ashe is exclusively made using the fixatio distillation method (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 284). Alchemists who join the Ashfinders quickly become versatile in multiple forms of distillation to accommodate, and you’re no different. When you learn an additional Thin-Blood Alchemy distillation, you may choose up to four formulae to carry over to that new form of distillation without having to spend experience points. Ashfinder Blood Alchemy (Cults of the Blood Gods, p. 44) cannot carry over to other forms of distillation. **••••• Cook:** *Allowed* As an important part of the Ashfinders’ supply line, you’ve had plenty of opportunities to hone your craft. It’s improved your overall prowess with Thin-Blood Alchemy. All times to research formulae are halved.
Amaranthan (p.104) *Legend states that Amarantha, a childe of the Toreador Antediluvian, was one of the first victims of diablerie. Her grieving lovers took vengeance upon the act’s first culprit, and as the practice came into fashion, swore to ensure anyone who drained a vampire would face Final Death. The Amaranthans survive to this very day hunting down diablerists with little mercy. While they had long been tolerated in Camarilla domains for their swift action against the Sabbat, the sect’s withdrawal has led many domains to reject the cult as their focus turns towards the Ivory Tower and the Anarch movement.* *You were Embraced by an Amaranthan and indoctrinated. You know the true evils of diablerie, and what must be done once rumors of the act surfaces in your domain. You hunt without regard to allegiance or status. When you catch your quarry, you are courteous enough to deliver their final message, carry out any non-blasphemous final wish, or perhaps grant mercy. Your faith may clash with your coterie and domain, but you will see justice done.* **• Judge:** *Allowed* You know time and supernatural forces hide the telltale black veins in a diablerist’s aura. You’ve been taught to look for psychological signs, like panicked glances or smiles that are too haughty. Whenever you interrogate suspected diablerists, you receive three dice to all relevant rolls. **•• Jury:** *Allowed* You are capable of granting clemency. It keeps your faith from being a glorified excuse to murder people. Once per story, when you catch a diablerist, expose their crime beyond any doubt, and argue truly for the sparing of their life, you may take that vampire (if they survive sentencing from a Prince or Archon) as a two dot Mawla until you feel their crime has been repaid. **••• Executioner:** *Allowed* While you may take pleasure in turning diablerists to ash, there is a process to the execution that must be obeyed. That’s how you keep your conscience clean. When you deliver a diablerist’s final message or complete their final wish, you may erase one Stain from your Humanity tracker. **•••• Tense Respect:** *Allowed* Your refusal to acquiesce to sect and domain traditions regarding diablerie doesn’t make you well-liked, but it does bring about grudging admiration. Even if you hold no position in your domain, you have a Status equivalent to three dots in the eyes of any Kindred who view diablerie in a negative way. Conversely, you earn a one dot Adversary, who holds the act of diablerie as sacred. **••••• The Final Hunt:** *Allowed* Unlike other Amaranthans, you’re dedicated to hunt down and consume the cannibalistic descendants of Amarantha’s murderer. It’s dangerous, but you’re prepared to sacrifice your soul for justice. When you perform diablerie on a confirmed descendent of Amarantha’s diablerist, you do not suffer an automatic drop in Humanity, but may still lose Humanity if you roll poorly in the contest between souls. All other effects still apply.
Cleopatras, Nosferatu Characters Only (p.105) *Long-lived Nosferatu know the story of Yima, the beautiful and virtuous childe of Absimilliard. She either sacrificed herself to take the full brunt of Caine’s curse, or was rejected by her sire when the curse refused to take hold in her. In the modern nights, some Nosferatu are visited in daysleep dreams by a woman who removes their blemishes and guides them to rule the Kindred. These Vagrants defy the clan’s stigmas and stereotypes, dressing in fine clothes and adorning themselves in oils and perfumes. The confidence and charisma they project brings them into positions of high society often denied to the clan. Though no one is sure if the dream woman is the influence of a Methuselah, the machinations of their Antediluvian, or the spirit of Yima herself, few can deny the results.* *You are a Cleopatra, one of the few Nosferatu that receives these communal dreams. The woman who visits you in your slumber shows you the person you could be, and when you see them, you know it’s attainable. She tells you about the secret ugliness in your superiors, the kind that aesthetics just papers over. You can exploit them. With the woman’s counsel, you can conquer anything, even a clan’s Bane.* **• Close Examination:** *Allowed* You remember things the woman told you at just the right time. Once per story, you may select an SPC, and tell the Storyteller you want to discover their deepest flaw. You gain three bonus dice to a Wits + Insight roll against that individual, with a critical success conveying the desired information. Revealing this knowledge is a certain way to earn a long-term Adversary Background, however. **•• Clothed in Power:** *Allowed* You know how to make the ideal self in your dreams a reality. Pick an outfit, perfume, hair style, make-up routine, or skin-care routine. When you use this, you may reroll a Social roll failure or roll to resist fury frenzy once per story. **••• Dream Appearance:** *Allowed* Your Bane fades while you experience daysleep, allowing you to look like you did as a mortal until you wake, although you still bear wounds if you’re suffering damage. The return of your horrific appearance is incredibly traumatic, and if anyone witnesses your Bane return they undoubtedly know what you are. **•••• Figure-in-Waiting:** *Allowed* Following your dreams paid off. Name a titled position in the domain. The current titleholder considers you next in line should something happen to them, granting four dots to spread between Mawla (the present titleholder) and Status. However, being second-in-line also earns you a one dot Adversary, in the form of a vampire who also wants the position. **••••• The Beauty Within:** *Allowed* You are destined to rule the Kindred, and not even Caine’s curse hinders you. Once per story, when you are dressed in your finest clothes, you may negate your clan’s Bane entirely for the duration of a session for the purposes of interaction with other vampires. Your appearance has not changed, but your intense confidence radiates and negates your blemishes. This Lore has no effect on kine.
Meneleans (p.106) *The Meneleans once sought to rebuild Carthage. Under the guidance and vitae of Menele, their patron Methuselah, they learned the lost city’s secrets. They believed vampires had a higher purpose and enlightenment could be found through assimilation with humanity. They struggled for a fairer society for the Kindred. To the Meneleans, one of the greatest forms of tyranny was one that elders held over younger generations. When Menele vanished and the cult’s Blood Bonds shattered, his cultists were fully aware of the irony. Abandoned by their Methuselah, the Meneleans search for meaning. How much of their faith came from their own morals, and how much came from Menele’s direct influence? Though they may never know for sure, some press on.* *You are one of those adherents. You’ve set aside any questions of whether or not you’ve been manipulated, because you still feel that Menele had ideas worth spreading. You’ve come away from the experience with insights into the Blood Bond that the rest of the domain is keen to hear.* **• Mortal Empathy:** *Allowed* You believe in the importance of cleaving to humanity and ensure you see them as people, not just as food. Once per session, you may reroll up to three dice on a Social roll involving mortals without spending Willpower. **•• Peacemaker:** *Allowed* Menele’s school taught you the importance of conflict resolution. Those around you tend to see you as a voice of reason. Once per session, when you are involved in a social or physical conflict, you gain two bonus dice in an attempt to resolve things through diplomacy. If one of your allies (such as a retainer or member of your coterie) then breaks the terms of your negotiation, you must roll to resist fury frenzy. **••• Show of Defiance:** *Allowed* Tyranny is the enemy of peace. One of the best ways to prevent it is to humble the powerful. Once per story, when you chastise or humiliate someone in a higher position of authority than you, you may add the number of dots you possess in Status as bonus dice to your roll to cajole the individual or persuade the crowd to turn against them. The outcome of using this Loresheet is a likely Adversary possessing dots equivalent to your target’s power level. **•••• Becoming the Mask:** *Allowed* You’ve assimilated into humanity so well you have a separate, almost mortal life. You receive an identity represented by Mask 2 and may split two dots between Contacts, Resources, and Influence. When you take on this Mask, you take on mortal connections, including family and friends (assumed to have been cultivated in the build-up to this Loresheet), though they pose risks to your security and privacy as they’ll ask the usual questions of “where are you going to work these days?”, “why are you out all night?”, and “why did someone come to my door saying you’re a vampire and part of something called a charcuterie?” **••••• Bond Breaker:** *Allowed* The dissipation of Menele’s Blood Bond permanently changed you. You’ve become Unbondable (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 181), and feeding a Rouse Check’s worth of vitae to a thrall immediately breaks the regent’s hold. However, you are incapable of creating your own Blood Bonds.
The One True Way (p.107) *Led by the “Master of Ravens,” the One True Way encourages vampires to seek Golconda by mastering the Beast and becoming the ultimate predator.* *Followers gather in meetings and encourage everyone, including curious newcomers, to openly discuss the lowest, darkest moments in their unlife. This is for two reasons: to advise the Kindred on how to overcome their inhuman natures, and to gather secrets the cult can use to gain followers and power. The One True Way is banned in many domains across the world, but this has only seemed to increase its popularity.* *As a traveler on the One True Way, you know that Golconda isn’t about redemption, but about progression and mastery. You’ve learned much about the darkness within yourself and others. Taming the Beast is agonizing, and it resists at every turn, but you work at it the best you can. You know there’s times when the Beast must run free, but you take heart in knowing even this is under your control. You know the benefits of confession, which sooths the spirit and gives you secrets to hold over your friends and enemies. You hope you can fully understand your place as a human predator, and that one night your higher instincts and your Hunger will work in tandem.* **• Trust Me:** *Allowed* Showing vulnerability is dangerous among Kindred, but it’s necessary for the One True Way. You know how to sidestep a vampire’s hesitance and get them to say things they’d never tell their closest friends. When you speak to a vampire with genuine empathy, the Difficulty of any roll to get them to tell the truth is lowered by one. **•• Secret Keeper:** *Allowed* Attending or running meetings let you in on so many secrets the Nosferatu consider you a trusted source. Once per story, when you act on a secret, a single roll concerning that secret gains two extra dice. **••• Beast Communion:** *Allowed* You see your Beast as a separate persona. When it comes to the surface, it finds details you’ve missed. Whenever you roll a Messy Critical or a Bestial Failure, you may ask one question about the situation to your character’s Beast. Your Storyteller gives you a truthful answer in the voice of the Beast. **•••• Calling the Wave:** *Allowed* You see your Beast as a companion. It’d be wrong to keep a companion locked away forever, and so you release it on your own terms. Once per story, you spend a point of Willpower to immediately enter frenzy and Ride the Wave (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 219). **••••• The Road from Hunedoara:** *Allowed* When the Master of Ravens himself invited you to journey to Hunedoara, Romania to meet him, you accepted. He taught you much, and you have returned a near apex predator. No matter what heinous acts you commit in frenzy, you never suffer more than 1 Stain. This can only be applied once per story, and Convictions cannot further reduce these Stains.
Starfall Ranch, Malkavian Characters Only (p.108) *Starfall Ranch is well-known as one of the top ranches in the Northeastern United States. Its cattle are consistent state fair winners. Its horses have been seen at dressages and other equestrian sports events around the world. Owning these animals come at a high price, and part of that premium involves the quality service of Alberta Pennilee and the expert training of a man only known as “Dr. Starr.” Starr is Kindred. He serves the One Moon, a faith that believes that Clan Malkavian is actually one single person, experiencing themselves and the world around them through the lives and perspectives of those they Embrace. Aside from being a popular grange, Starfall Ranch serves as a halfway house for dispossessed Malkavians. There, they can work, feed, and learn their place as part of the One Moon. Starfall Ranch plays a major part in your life, whether you once worked there after your Embrace, or you still call it home. You might know the secrets of Starr’s ranch hands, or the basic philosophies of the One Moon. Perhaps you had the privilege of meeting the Methuselah that sleeps beneath the farmland.* **• Herd Mindset:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Your time on the ranch brought you closer to your fellow wayward Malkavians. Sometimes this was a bit too close, and parts of their identities still linger within you. Once per session, you may either take two dots in a Skill you do not know for a single roll, or ask the Storyteller for one fact about an SPC that you do not know. The Storyteller decides on which fact is received. **•• Clarity of Mind:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Starfall Ranch is a peaceful place. Here, Malkavian from all levels of society can rest and reflect upon their future. Those that do find that they have a better chance of achieving their greater ambitions. When you start a Project at Starfall Ranch, you receive three bonus dice to the Launch roll. **••• New Perspectives:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You understand some basics of the One Moon, and you’re starting to discover how you are only a single aspect of a greater person. You can even borrow the talents and abilities of your faith’s other followers. Once per story, you may take one Skill rating and replace it with that of another One Moon cultist. This may either be another player’s character or an SPC. This Lore is in effect for the remainder of this story. **•••• Starr and Marta:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You’ve had the chance to see Marta with your own eyes, and it changed you forever. You may take Dr. Starr as a four dot Mawla. Once per story, Marta will speak through him. You may ask her any relevant question to the story, and she answers truthfully, to the best of her knowledge. **••••• But I Saw You Die:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Starr is infamous for cheating death. He’s shared his secret with you. Once, when you undergo final death, you may select another One Moon cultist SPC. This SPC is now you, even taking on your physical likeness if possible. Your Skills, Advantages, Flaws, and any out-of-clan Discipline dots remain, but you must redistribute your Attributes and your in-clan Discipline dots.
## Trails of Ash and Bone
The Ruby Throat (p.170) *Atlantic City has a reputation to uphold, and for those who travel to the shore to toy with the fickle whims of lady luck, there’s no reason that death need stop the fun. Originally established in the prohibition era as a member’s only roulette club by a popular boardwalk dancing girl, the Ruby Throat became a den of powerful people wagering far more than money. Rumor has it a well-known sea facing hotel was won over a single roll one night at the Ruby Throat.* *During the Second World War, the location the Ruby Throat operated out of was retrofitted into a factory. The founder, now a rich woman well past her dancing years, planned to happily retire and allow the club to fade into the shadows. A local Kindred named Edith Blumenau loved both her and the marvelous club she had built far too much to allow either to leave the city, and made both a permanent fixture of the boardwalk.* *Note: The Ruby Throat is easily moved to any other city with a history of gambling or organized crime, and switches locations from opulent sites to flea-bitten dens.* **• Rubbing Shoulders:** *Allowed* You’ve sat at the table for a game or two at the Ruby Throat. You didn’t win, but you picked up a little knowledge on the other Kindred round the table. By name-dropping a significant individual around the streets of Atlantic City, you gain one die on rolls to get into places or acquire information otherwise out of your league, but pick the wrong name and it’s likely to get back to them.
**•• What’s in your Sleeves:** *Allowed* Someone accused you of cheating at the Ruby Throat and you publicly put them in their place. You dealt with the situation so well, you were offered work as a bouncer. This role allows you a two-dice bonus to all intimidate rolls when dealing with Kindred in the crime scene, and you can put names to faces of almost any Kindred who might frequent Atlantic City night spots. **••• Chicken Dinner:** *Allowed* A hand went your way recently and you got your choice of coveted prizes. Once per story you gain a human vessel with a Dyscrasia of your choice, to feed from as desired. Unless specified, the Dyscrasia does not fade after use. You are responsible for this retainer for the time you use them, and if anything happens to them, you will owe the house significant reparations. **•••• High Roller:** *Locked* You’ve had a string of luck at the Ruby Throat that got attention, some even said it was unrealistic. Any existing Resources Background is increased by two (to a maximum of four), and you gain access to Herd (••) whenever you are within Atlantic City, each vessel has a resonance of your choosing. You also suffer the flaw Adversary (•), as a fellow Kindred thinks you’re gaming the house. **••••• Dead Man’s Hand:** *Allowed* You’ve been invited to play at the Johnson table, the highest risk game the Ruby Throat offers. The annual event draws spectators and is the talk of the Kindred underworld. The prizes of such an event are fabulously desirable and often unique. Winning or losing could be a matter of significant status gain, or terribly embarrassing loss. Word gets out about the players involved, and up until the game comes to pass, you benefit from Status (•••) among Kindred in Atlantic City and the ability to access any lesser games and gambits without a roll.
Relics of the Veil (p.172) *When mortals speak of haunted rooms, of places where temperature drops and whispers tickle the senses, they are often unknowingly in the presence of a powerful fetter or relic connected closely to the realms of the dead. In the hands of mortals or Kindred without the proper understanding, relics connecting those in the world of the living to those beyond the veil provide nothing more than a feeling of unease, but in the right hands they can be powerful talismans assisting those who deal in the power of Oblivion. Strange objects, some found in passing, some passed down through families and bloodlines over centuries, each one is connected somehow to the world beyond the veil, and brings with them the attentions of wraiths and other entities.* **• Torn Shroud:** *Allowed* This small fragment of torn material resembles a frail, semi-translucent shroud. It’s cold to the touch, and the fibrous, fleshy nature of the material gives it a feeling of almost biological consistency. The Shroud was of great importance to something once, and echoes of its old purpose remain. While holding the shroud, you gain one dice to your pools to use any Oblivion Discipline. The Shroud is delicate, and with too much use simply dissolves to nothing. **•• Burning Effigy:** *Allowed* The origin of this odd little doll is unknown. You came across it by chance, and although it’s made of nothing more than a jumble of sticks and colored string, something about it makes you think it looks a little like you. Once, you can ignite the doll and burn it to ashes. Upon waking next dusk, you heal up to two extra levels of Aggravated Health damage. Somewhere, possibly even a great distance away, this pain is felt by something else. **••• The Gaunt Robe:** *Allowed* The plain gray robe has existed in your family for generations. Its origin is unclear, and the thing is hardly worth holding onto. It’s threadbare and falling apart, and needs careful care to keep together for much longer. When the robe is around your shoulders, it’s oddly comforting, like being held closely. While wearing the robe, you can spend one Willpower point to gain two automatic successes in any roll to resist the abilities of wraiths. The robe is delicate, and must be taken care of to avoid being damaged beyond use. **•••• The Nails of Dismus:** *Allowed* Three of these 8 inch long, gnarled lengths of unidentifiable metal are known to exist, usually on display in a cathedral of the old world. Somehow you possess one of these coveted and cruel looking relics. They function as a light piercing weapon with a +2 damage value and can incapacitate a vampire as if it were made of wood. Any Kindred staked with the Nail of Dismus suffers a level of Aggravated Willpower damage at dawn every night they remain staked, as the nail drives their waking moments into constant visions of suffering and horror. The Nails of Dismus are known to be linked to an ancient and deeply hateful wraith. **••••• Codex Caecitus:** *Allowed* Bound in white flesh from a pig fed on human remains, this massive book is held shut with a locking brass latch. Page after page of the heavy tome is filled with maddened scrawling, nightmarish biological sketching, and blocks of seemingly incomprehensible text in an unknown cipher. Allegedly penned by a blind monk under the service of Cappadocius, the codex has been passed between monks and scholars for centuries, each of them seeking meaning in the yellow and cracking pages. Once per story the current owner can, after long hours of meditation over the book, decipher one of the hundreds of coded passages. The revelations contained therein could be any number of powerful secrets surrounding the realm of the dead, including the names of significant wraiths, the fetter of a particular wraith, or the knowledge of any chosen Oblivion ritual. If the codex is in the hands of a non-Hecata, the Necromancers aggressively seek to reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs.
## Fall of London
Agent of Justicar Parr (p.233) *Juliette Parr is the current Malkavian Justicar, given the authority to investigate traitors to the Camarilla, and to punish those that would flaunt or undermine its Traditions. Parr has a long-standing association with law enforcement; prior to her appointment she served as one of the Sheriffs of London. Her presence, knowledge, and charm are considerable, and her compulsive tendencies have served her well when interrogating suspects, examining crime scenes, and poring over other important evidence. The Justicar continues to maintain a Haven in her home city of London, and she can often be found there when she is not attending Camarilla matters overseas personally.* *You are a confidant of Justicar Parr, serving as her eyes and ears, and given the authority to command Camarilla resources in her name. She trusts your observations and recommendations, all in the name of the greater good, protecting the Camarilla from enemies within and without.* **• Information Drop:** *Banned* You routinely provide information to Justicar Parr, reporting on the movements and conversations of other Kindred, but sometimes you receive useful information in return. Once per story you can ask the Storyteller for a piece of information relevant to an ongoing investigation, which could be reasonably provided by the Justicar’s wider network of agents and informants. **•• Camarilla Conditioning:** *Banned* Beyond your personal commitment to the Camarilla, you have also received training and indoctrination that ensures your loyalty to the sect. You gain 1 die in all Willpower tests performed in the course of your duties, and you also add 1 additional die to your pool when making tests to resist any attempts to intimidate or compel you away from your duties. **••• Request Backup:** *Banned* You are important enough to Justicar Parr that you may call upon other Camarilla assets in her network to assist you in your work. Once each story you may call upon a 4-dot Ally to back you up for the duration of a scene. They could grant you access to places you normally cannot go, introduce you to people you would not normally meet, perform a task beyond your own expertise and experience, or simply provide physical protection or escape in a high-risk situation. **•••• Favored Protégé:** *Banned* You are acquainted with Juliette Parr at a personal level, and you have a shared history beyond serving the Camarilla in an official capacity. You correspond with the Malkavian often, while she trusts you implicitly, her interest comes with a certain degree of possessiveness. You may consider Parr a 5-dot Mawla, but she also makes constant demands of you. It would be unwise to upset an elder of her power and influence. **••••• Camarilla Archon:** *Banned* You are publicly named as an Archon serving the Camarilla under Justicar Parr, and you hold a warrant that you can present to any Camarilla Kindred to demand their cooperation in your activities and investigations. Your position taints all your interactions with other vampires for better or worse. Sycophants will try to impress you, while others may resent you or avoid you. Enemies of the Camarilla will also consider you a target to make an example of, if possible.
Court of Shadows (p.234) *The King of Shadows is a mysterious figure in London’s supernatural society. Variously described as a vampire, a criminal kingpin, a champion of the downtrodden, and a ghostly agent of retribution, few know the truth. The darkest and ugliest corners of London now belong to the King, and they suffer no insult, and brook no competition. While the King is not known to foster friendships, they have many agents and allies that serve them across the city, both on the street and below it. These agents can be found everywhere: near train and tube stations, on street corners and bus stops, outside all-night convenience stores, in hostels, under bridges, and in other more downtrodden places.* *Many mortals and Kindred alike are in the King’s debt, and those that are foolish enough to become their enemy are seldom seen for long. To be in the King’s favor is considered a blessing by many, and certainly not something to be scorned.* *There are many benefits to serving the King of Shadows. They always look out for their own, ensuring their agents are never hungry, and never want for a roof over their heads. The King also offers security and sanctuary – many of London’s organized crime syndicates are aware of their existence, but few would dare to cross them.* **• Free Meals:** *Allowed* The King of Shadows is aware their Kindred associates need to remain well-fed, and to this end they employ mortals across the city as willing vessels who can be made available to those in need. Once per game session you may approach the Court of Shadow for sustenance. The vessel will be willing, and of a random Resonance with no Dyscrasias. If you have any feeding restrictions, then the vessel is compatible with your predilections. **•• Rumor Mill:** *Allowed* The Court of Shadows encourages a lively trade of information and rumors. Once each game session you may approach the network to exchange useful information. The veracity and accuracy of the information given to you is left to the Storyteller’s discretion, but it should consider the value of the information that you trade in return. If you cannot pay in kind, then you may be asked to perform a service for the King instead. **••• Contraband:** *Allowed* The Court of Shadows is also a place where you can find illegal narcotics, weapons, explosives, and other contraband. Once per story you may approach the Court of Shadows for what you need. They will be willing to provide, but always at a price, which can be paid in hard currency, or with barter – either information or other goods of an equivalently high value. **•••• Sanctuary:** *Allowed* The Court has access to many buildings above ground across the city, and many structures below ground, all of which are claimed by the King as their domain. The King’s agents know many hiding places, located where few prying eyes would think to look. Once per story you may approach the Court of Shadow to request sanctuary. You will be blindfolded, and you will not know where you are taken, but you can be sure that you will be kept safe for as long a time as you need. **••••• Favored by the King:** *Allowed* You are one of the few Kindred in London who has ever been in the presence of the King of Shadows. For some reason they have taken an interest in you, and regularly correspond and meet with you. The King wears a mask and is still an enigmatic figure, but you know more about them than many others. Once per story you may call upon the King directly for aid. The manner and degree to which they respond is left to the Storyteller to determine, but it should materially serve your needs in some way. **• Free Meals:** Allowed\ **•• Rumor Mill:** Allowed\ **••• Contraband:** Allowed\ **•••• Sanctuary:** Locked\ **••••• Favored by the King:** Locked
Hunt Club (p.235) *The organization known as the Hunt Club has been operating covertly in London since the end of the Second World War. Highly secretive in nature, the organization is dedicated to the pursuit of hunting Kindred for sport and is reputed to endorse the practice of diablerie. Members join using pseudonyms and disguises to protect their own reputations, and rumor has it that some are highly placed within Kindred society.* *The nominal leader of the Hunt Club is known simply as The Count, a title commonly believed to be a homage to Count Zaroff, a Russian vampire known to have hunted his peers in the mid- 20th century, but who has not been seen for decades. The organization’s practices have evolved over the years into baroque and theatrical affairs, teasing and taunting victims, and using regalia and calling cards that recall mortal Britain’s long history of fox and game hunting.* *Before London’s fall, the Hunt Club was quick to join in the action each time Queen Anne declared a Blood Hunt, and the organization was unscrupulous at identifying its own targets for sport during quiet times. London and the United Kingdom have proven to be a rich hunting ground, populated by many reclusive and antiquated elders with poor defenses but rich vitae for the taking. In modern nights the organization must be wary of Operation Antigen, but some members argue that getting closer to these mortal hunters may be a way of finding new quarry for their sport.* **• Huntsman’s Newsletter:** *Allowed* As a fledgling member of the Hunt Club, you are notified when important events occur, including when Blood Hunts are declared in the various Kindred domains in Avalon and in the cities of western Europe. You can expect to receive such a notice once per story, but exactly when this might happen is left to the discretion of the Storyteller. **•• Experienced Diablerist:** *Allowed* You have previously participated in a hunt, and in its culmination have committed the act of diablerie on another vampire. Due to your prior experience, you may add 1 die to your pool in all future Strength + Resolve tests when attempting the same act again in the future. This also means that the signs of diablerie may be visible in your aura, and you would be wise to avoid this being detected. **••• Huntsman’s Dossier:** *Allowed* The Hunt Club devotes significant resources to watching and researching elder vampires to assess their defenses and suitability as a target for sport. Not all these Kindred end up as victims, but the information gathered about their movements and nightly habits may still be interesting to other members. Once per story you may contact the organization to ask for information regarding the current whereabouts, or the favorite haunts, of a named Kindred that dwells in the local domain. **•••• Huntsman’s Steed:** *Allowed* You have acquired and adapted a modern vehicle to perfectly complement your hunting pursuits. The exact make and model are left to the Storyteller’s discretion, but it will be a plain-colored van or truck with blacked-out windows. The exterior will be subtly armor-plated, and the interior will be sound-proofed and reinforced with metal cage strong enough to contain an angry Kindred. The vehicle can be registered to your name, or one of your Masks. As with any vehicle, you should take care not to let it get stolen or impounded by the authorities. **••••• Leader of the Hunt:** *Allowed* Your good standing within the Hunt Club gives you the right to name any Kindred as the next quarry for the organization’s sport. Once per story you may circulate the name of your target, which will cause them to be taunted, harassed and attacked by members of the organization. This will prove to be a significant inconvenience and distraction, but whether they survive the assault is left to the discretion of the Storyteller.
London Under London, Nosferatu Characters Only (p.236) *The subterranean landscape underneath London’s streets could be considered an entire and separate city of its own. The tunnels of the underground rail system, bored over a century ago, worm alongside crypts and basements of much older structures, and more modern shafts dug to provide water, power, and telecommunications services to London’s residents above.* *In the city center, within the approximate area marked as Zone 1 on transport maps, the underground infrastructure is particularly dense. New digging work associated with the groundbreaking Crossrail project – still incomplete at the time of writing – has come within centimeters of other existing structures. These underground pathways can be used to traverse the oldest parts of the city without ever setting foot on the street.* **• Tube Safety:** *Discuss With Storytellers* While it is not normally recommended for Kindred to use the Tube for transport or feeding purposes, your knowledge of this transport system places you at an advantage. You know the layout of each station and where all the CCTV cameras are placed. While you cannot control them, you can take care not to present your face to them, and you know the blind spots in their coverage. As a result, you may attempt a Wits + Stealth test at Difficulty 3, which, if successful, allows you to pass through or hunt in any tube station undetected. Anyone travelling with you can also benefit from your knowledge, should you choose to share it. **•• Somewhere to Hide:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Your knowledge of London’s underground infrastructure is good enough to let you hide in desperate situations. Maybe you are being pursued, or maybe you just found yourself too far from your haven too close to dawn. Whatever the reason, you can attempt a Wits + Larceny test at Difficulty 3 to find a suitable hiding place below ground that will be overlooked by anyone not in possession of similar knowledge. The location could be an old sewer pipe, a maintenance hatch, or a less-used section of the London Underground tunnel system – the Storyteller may rule on how large or small your hiding place is, and how long you may be able to safely stay there. **••• Network of Vermin:** *Allowed* You have spent enough time below ground in London to become familiar with the multitudes of vermin and other creepy-crawlies that live there. These creatures are more readily available to do your bidding, and more willing to defend you from intruders. Your chances of finding useful creatures in any scene situated underground are increased, and you may add 1 die to your pool when using any Animalism powers that concern the interaction with other bestial creatures below the surface of London, including Bond Famulus, Feral Whispers, Unliving Hive, and Animal Dominion. **•••• Personal Bolt-Hole:** *Allowed* In addition to your regular haven above ground, you maintain a secret underground hideout that you can retreat to where no other Kindred can find you, and where you can store valuable items that you dare not leave anywhere else. You do not use it frequently, as to do so would risk its discovery, but here you are safe from traditional means of discovery (and the harmful rays of the sun). Note that this entirely mundane location will not conceal you from those that would use supernatural means to track you – e.g. Auspex or Blood Sorcery. **••••• Freedom of the City:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Your knowledge of the subterranean landscape of London is enough to let you travel and access important locations without ever needing to step above ground. Once per story you may transit between two surface locations using underground routes in a manner that would not be detected by anyone watching at ground level. This could mean accessing a private or public building illicitly – e.g. a bank vault, a secure office, or another Kindred’s Haven – but this would not protect you from any security measures you might encounter inside the building.
Operation Antigen (p.237) *Operation Antigen is the name of the coalition of police, military, and intelligence assets that purged the city of London of organized vampire influence. Antigen is still active tonight, in a second phase dedicated to ensuring that supernatural criminal influence does not return. The success of the operation has led to similar anti-vampire initiatives being sponsored in other cities in the United Kingdom and abroad. You carefully cultivated allies and contacts that give you some insight into Operation Antigen and its ongoing efforts in London, and to similar activities elsewhere. You may also be able to exert some limited influence over its night-to-night affairs, to better protect yourself and the ones you love, or to set them upon your enemies and rivals. These interactions do not come without risk, however, as no Kindred can be considered truly safe from Antigen’s reach.* **• Early Warning:** *Allowed* You have a trusted insider who has made you a simple promise: if Antigen ever identifies you, or plans your capture, they will give you advanced warning. This is a one-time thing: they won’t stop or delay the agents, but they will do you the courtesy of letting you know that they are coming. **•• Tactical Dossier:** *Allowed* You have acquired (or been leaked) a dossier which discusses typical Antigen operating procedures, covering surveillance protocols, how to plan raids, and tactical advice for engaging with IC0s. During a scene which involves Operation Antigen, you can use the contents of this dossier to predict and outwit their behavior. If the outcome of the scene results in Antigen being aware that they have been outmaneuvered (e.g. their agents are killed, or their mission objectives are thwarted), then they will change their operating methods and the dossier will become useless. **••• Sympathetic Insider:** *Allowed* You have a relationship with someone placed high up on Antigen’s apparatus who knows a great deal about current operational activities and targets. This person has their own reasons for sharing information outside the chain of command – perhaps they do not agree with Antigen’s methods, or they are more curious about the supernatural? Regardless of their motives, they are also cautious and paranoid about being caught leaking information by their peers. Using suitably clandestine methods, you may reach out to this four-dot Contact once per story to ask them questions about Antigen’s current activities. **•••• Get Out of Jail Free:** *Allowed* You have leverage over someone in the upper echelons of Operation Antigen. They do not know it yet, and what you have can only be used once – as soon as the organization knows this person is compromised, they will be cycled out and their clearance revoked. Whoever it is in the government, police or military, you can contact them and successfully blackmail them into performing one service for you once. This is a card that can be played in the event you are (or someone you know is) captured by Antigen forces, but it could also potentially be used to deflect resources or delete sensitive information. Once your leverage is used, not only will it become valueless, but your use of it will place you on Antigen’s watch list. **••••• Official Credentials:** *Allowed* You have managed to obtain or manufacture false credentials that will give you temporary access to Antigen resources. You can use this identity to briefly take command of Antigen personnel at a location under surveillance, or at the scene of a raid. You can also use this identity to take custody of prisoners or evidence, or to infiltrate a location currently under Antigen control. How long your cover lasts depends on how well you can blend in, and how long it takes before people start to ask awkward questions. Once used, however, the cover is blown and it cannot be used again.
Oskar Anasov (p.238) *Oskar Anasov is one of the most influential vampires active in London tonight. He is responsible for the analog communication systems which connect London’s Kindred Landlords, and he is a staunch believer and enforcer of the Compact. He can also arrange passage into or out of the city safely.* *Embraced by the Nosferatu Boronisk in Prussia in the mid-19th century, Oskar was once a political revolutionary, with a hand in the upheavals that occurred in France, Italy, Germany, and Hungary. After the Russian Revolution, and subsequent purges, he traveled with many political exiles to London. Oskar joined with the Anarchs of London and instigated unrest against the Ventrue rule. He was caught painting Anarch graffiti on the walls of Elysium and was hauled before then-Seneschal Anne Bowesley. He had a choice to serve her or to be executed. For many years, he remained a loyal, if grudging, servant to the Court of London. When Anne succeeded Mithras as the Prince of London, Oskar became her Herald, issuing decrees across the domain of Avalon on her behalf.* *Oskar was clever enough to survive the Fall of London, and was instrumental in devising the Compact. In addition to maintaining the network of carrier pigeons used to send messages between London’s Landlords, Oskar also devotes considerable time to studying and monitoring Operation Antigen.* *Anasov’s services aren’t usually free, and each time you call upon him he will require payment for his efforts. He typically prefers to receive information and favors over hard currency – in each case the specifics of each payment are left to the Storyteller’s discretion.* **• Messaging Service:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You are acquainted with Anasov well enough to use his messaging network, which is a reliable method for contacting other Kindred in London, without risk of the communication being intercepted by Operation Antigen. Anasov promises successful delivery, regardless of how elusive the recipient might otherwise be. **•• Personal Introduction:** *Discuss With Storytellers* For a higher fee Anasov can also arrange for a face-to-face meeting with any other Kindred resident in London. Once per story you can name any Kindred known to be in London – regardless of whether they hold domain or are just passing through – and the Nosferatu will arrange the meeting after receiving payment. Anasov facilitates the introduction, but cannot vouch this Kindred’s behavior or reaction to meeting you. If a meeting turns violent, or otherwise ends badly for the Kindred you named, then Anasov will refuse all your future requests, for the sake of his own reputation. **••• Safe Passage:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Anasov has the means to smuggle mortals and Kindred in and out of the city of London without fear of detection by other vampires, or the agents of Operation Antigen. Once each story you may call upon the Nosferatu to perform this service for a group of up to six individuals. If entering the city, they will be delivered safely and securely to an address of your choice. If leaving the city, then you may name a destination outside of London’s borders. Typically, Anasov will arrange a pickup or drop off in a town or city in the south-east of the UK. Arranging international transit is possible for a higher fee, but Anasov will not vouch for the party’s reception or safety after they have been delivered to the requested destination. **•••• Mentor:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You are personally acquainted with Anasov, and your interactions with him are more than just business. You may count him as a four-dot Mawla, and you receive a significant discount when paying to utilize his services. However, this also means that he may call on you at least once per story to help him with message delivery, people smuggling or another similar activity which furthers his interests. **••••• Landlord Council:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Meetings of vampires from neighboring domains occur from time to time to settle debts, resolve disputes, and to recognize new Landlords. Larger gatherings of all of London’s domain holders are rare, and usually mark the need to discuss a great threat or opportunity that might affect them all. Through Anasov, you will be notified and invited to any meeting of Landlords that takes place in London. Once per story, if you have a suitable justification, you may also ask Anasov to use his influence to call the Kindred Landlords of London to a meeting. Note that these Kindred are paranoid, fickle, and prideful, and will mark you as a fool or as an enemy if they should decide that you are wasting their time.
## Winter's Teeth
Minneapolis (No.2, p.1) *While St. Paul may claim the distinction of age over her twin sister city, Minneapolis has her beat on both size and population. Beginning life as a milling outpost along the Mississippi river, Minneapolis has swung back and forth on the pendulum of progress in nights since.* *Skyscrapers loom proudly over the downtown district while soft, yellow streetlights illuminate the fine dining of the riverfront. Between the city's expansive sculpture garden and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, an appreciation for the fine arts has been blended into the city's soul. Outside of New York City, Minneapolis boasts the largest number of theaters per capita in the United States. Even pop culture has been shaped by the City of Lakes, who can claim famed musicians such as Bob Dylan and Prince as native sons.* *When the Camarilla arrived in Minneapolis, they had already laid claim to the sister city of St. Paul. Despite Anarch protestations, Prince Samantha Merrain has claimed praxis over both of the Twin Cities and considers all Kindred dwelling within to be her subjects. However, cooler heads within the Camarilla of the domains are wary to directly support her reign, having grown fearful of uprisings in similarly fractured domains, such as Berlin. Some within the Anarch movement have also noticed certain similarities to those of their German brethren, and rumors of a possible revolt have begun to propagate the night..* **• The Nod Lot:** *Banned* This unofficial district located in the northwest of the city is known among the local Kindred as the "Nod Lot." Though the hunting there is just as bountiful as it is in more posh locales such as the Rack, the population of the Nod Lot consists of the discarded, forgotten, and despairing. You have cultivated a small Herd (••), whose blood resonance varies from the Melancholic to completely absent. Additionally, feeding from such victims presents a high-risk of transferring blood-borne pathogens, potentially poisoning the well. You must take the Flaw Addiction (•) or Dark Secret, Plague Bearer (•). **•• The Artist Formerly Known As...:** *Banned* You are one of the lucky few who has managed to make a name for themselves within the music industry as a performing artist. Unfortunately, since your Embrace, your renown has become a double-edged sword, especially after the highly publicized reports of your death. You gain Fame (•••), however, must also take the flaw Mask, Known Corpse (•). **••• The Revolution:** *Banned* Minneapolis, like many American cities, is plagued with a history of racism and societal injustice, whose wounds still bleed well into the modern nights. However, Minneapolis also has a strong tradition of those who fight for equal rights and representation. Perhaps you were once an active force for change within your community, or have otherwise become familiar to those who are, currently. You gain four dots to spend among Allies, Contacts, or Influence, to represent your affiliation with prominent grassroots movements, local leaders, or institutions. This activism among mortals has made you a target among your elite Camarilla enemies, however -- you must take the Status flaw, Shunned (Camarilla) (•) **•••• The River Rats:** *Banned* The Kindred of Clan Nosferatu infest the city of Minneapolis from the sewers and the riverfront, to the dark corners of the skywalk and the ruins of ancient flour mills. While many object to their loathsome presence, few can deny the invaluable intel that information brokers within the Clan of the Hidden will provide for the right price. You have somehow managed to ingratiate yourself to this cabal of secret-seekers; you may distribute three dots between Contacts and Mawla, and, once per story, you may gain one valuable piece of information relevant to your characters Ambition. **••••• The Minneapolis Six:** *Banned* In 2003, a riot stemming from a University of Minneapolis hockey victory was blamed on the Anarch community. Prince Merrain capitalized upon the opportunity to cripple Minneapolis' Anarch leadership, and had three of the six perpetrators put to Final Death. The remaining three were forcibly blood bound to the Prince to ensure their continued loyalty. You are one of the surviving three. Your blood bond has broken, and now, you and your kin hunger for retribution. Once per chronicle, you may evoke the memory of the Minneapolis Six in order to sway the Anarch community to your cause, at the discretion of the Storyteller.
St. Paul (No.2, p.2) *Built upon native Dakota land, the kine have their various pseudonyms for it: Imnzaska, the Saintly City, the "Pig's Eye," and the Last City of the East. That final nickname is particularly true for the city's Kindred who view St. Paul as the last bastion of American Camarilla power before one reaches the lupine-dominated Rockies and the chaotic battlegrounds of the so-called Anarch Free States. Of late, even its sister city of Minneapolis has become more and more defiant of Camarilla authority. Nevertheless, those who claim praxis over St. Paul tend to claim the title happily: "Prince of the Twin Cities".* *To many within the Ivory Tower, St. Paul is little more than a bourgeois pretender, an up-jumped satellite domain to the realm of Chicago. But for those who have dwelled there through decades and centuries, St. Paul represents everything that Clan Toreador holds dear From its Gallic origins to the thriving (if humble) local arts scene, the Clan of the Rose fancy themselves as the bringers of culture and civilization to a raucous American frontier.* *For the past century the monarch of St. Paul has been Prince Samantha Merrain - a Toreador of seemingly ancient origins. Though her true age and generation are a closely guarded secret, Merrain has seemingly avoided the siren call of the Beckoning. A beloved protector of the arts and and culture to some and a spoiled, vapid tyrant to others, Merrain's direct influence over Minneapolis has waxed and waned with the tenacity of the local Anarch movement, yet her hold over St. Paul is all but absolute.* **• Dirty Boot:** *Banned* If there is anything that Prince Samantha values, it's talent. Those who are useful for furthering the Prince's goals often find themselves wash in superficial praises from Merrain and her court. However, word travels fast between the Twin Cities, and those who may find themselves celebrated in St. Paul may be marked with suspiscion elsewhere. You gain one dot of Status (Camarilla) within the domain of St. Paul, however, you gain the Status flaw, Shunned (Anarchs) (•) when in the borders of Minneapolis. **•• The Caves:** *Banned* An open secret to locals, the man-made caves located underneath the otherwise innocuous Wabasha Street have played host to miners, mushroom farmers, bootleggers and nightclubs throughout the years. Suffice it to say their subterranean location has made them the ideal haven for Kindred, and many an Elysium has been held in the spacious, sandstone dancehall carved into the underground tunnels. As one of the denizens of the caves you gain Haven (**••**) with the merits Postern (**•**) and Luxury (•). **••• Criminal History:** *Banned* Though the age of Prohibition and gangsters may be over, organized crime still finds a foothold in St. Paul. From Babyface Nelson, to John Dillinger, to Machine Gun Kelly, you repensent a heritage of underworld culture that lives on to the modern nights You gain a two-dice bonus in all Streetwise rolls made to gather information on local criminal activity, and a specialty of your choice in Larceny. **•••• Courtier:** *Banned* Those who know to cater to a Toreador Prince's whims have learned to make themselves not only little worker bees, but beautiful social butterflies You gain the specialty Etiquette (High Society) and may add two dice to any Social Conflict roll made within an Elysium or Courtly setting once per session. **••••• Dual Citizenship:** *Banned* Perhaps your service to Prince Merrain has been so subtle as to not attract the ire of your fellow Kindred across the river. Or perhaps you've become so well-embedded as an Anarch within St. Paul that none would dare question your presence in either city. You gain a cover identity, in the form of Mask (**••**), for the purposes of undercover travelling within whichever Twin City you do not reside. That identity may also gain two dots of Status with either the Camarilla (for St. Paul) or the Anarchs (for Minneapolis). Once per story any egregious breaking of the Masquerade (or that city's Traditions) may be blamed upon that false identity (and by extension, that Sect), leaving you to suffer little to no consequences. This is an ideal strategy for both infiltrators and Agents Provocateur within both sects.
Wolves in Sheep's Clothing (No.3, p.1) *Discarded and disenfranchised ghouls forming themselves into confederations and cults is no new phenomenon. Animosity between servant and master is a tale as old as the practice of servitude itself, and woe to the vampire who carelessly abuses his faithful retainer. More than one city in the modern nights are plagued with hands of independent ghouls, stalking their former domitors to feast upon the vitae that fuels their unearthly addiction using the gifts bestowed upon them to bite the hand that feeds.* *Though this practice is hardly novel, the cabal that calls itself the Wolves in Sheep's Clothing has personalized this poetic justice in unique and perverse ways. The Wolves use their augmented blood coupled with a strange and blasphemous form of mortal Hedge Magic to technomantically graft preserved kindred body parts onto themselves. By harvesting, say, the eyes of a Kindred, they may in turn temporarily harness a semblance of that Kindred's ability to control the minds of others into the depths of the through eye contact or to see into the depths of the soul.* *No one truly knows from where these reprehensible mongrels first gained their taste of vitae, (though their passing familiarity with some form of necromancy implies a possible connection to a certain family of the Hecata) and any Kindred found responsible for such a blunder would surely find themselves upon the Red List. It is only their relatively small number and covert activities that keep them from being perceived as a bigger threat - instead, they are merely another faction of dangerous mortals to watch out for in the modern nights.* **• What Big Teeth You Have!:** *Banned* As their names suggest, the Wolves in Sheep's Clothing are deadly simply because - as ghouled mortals - Kindred have a tendency to underestimate them, allowing them to get in close enough to strike with lethal precision. You have learned to recognize the telltale signs of these abominations as your Beast instinctively finds itself agitated around these callous usurpers. **•• Huntsman:** *Banned* You have engaged in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the Wolves in Sheep's Clothing for years. The lines between predator and prey have become blurred as you seek out these deadly foes while simultaneously ensuring your own safety during daylight hours. You gain an extra die to all Investigation rolls made to track down or investigate the Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, in addition to gaining an extra die to all rolls made to act during the daytime. **••• Carrion Preservation:** *Banned* You have managed to replicate the way in which the Wolves harvest vampiric body parts without them immediately decaying into dust. While you are certain to not gain the benefits they do by grafting such parts onto yourself, such a talent can nevertheless prove useful when it comes to preserving evidence, or grisly keepsakes. By dousing the organ or extremity into one Rouse Check's worth of vitae and succeeding at a Resolve + Occult roll (difficulty 3), the vampire may embalm the object for a year, at which time the preservation needs to be renewed. Final Death of the caster, however, immediately renders this preservation null. **•••• A Wolf in the Fold:** *Banned* You have been victimized by the Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, though have managed to escape. To this night, some up-jumped ghoul stalks the streets, wielding pieces of your body as their own. While this may serve them for now, you have managed to turn this plunder into a Trojan Horse. Once per Chronicle, you may attempt to inhabit the perception of your assailant, as per the Auspex power [Share the Senses](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#share-the-senses-auspex-3-core-p.250). Should you already possess [Share the Senses](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/powers#share-the-senses-auspex-3-core-p.250), you instead reduce the difficulty of the roll by two. **••••• The Shepherd:** *Banned* You have made yourself a mysterious benefactor to the Wolves in Sheep's Clothing to such a degree that they have become your loyal, if ignorant, hounds. You gain Allies (••••) representing a cell of these redoubtable ghouls. Once per Chronicle, you may send this cell to dispatch a Kindred enemy. However, should the Wolves discover your true nature, said Allies may very easily become Enemies (••••) instead, not to mention any objections your local Camarilla may take to those who willingly aid and abet anathemas such as these.
The Nictuku, Nosferatu Characters Only (No.3, p.4) *In the underground tunnels of the Clan of the Hidden, there are whispered legends and cautionary tales shared among the Sewer Rats. Sires warn their childer of dangers lurking in the darkest corners of night, and of monstrosities that would chill the vitae of even the most hideous of horrors.* *Nictuku.* *That single word is enough to spread like wildfire throughout the ranks of the Nosferatu rumor mill, sending neonates and elders alike scuttling back to their warrens in paranoid dread. To some, they are believed to be the vengeful offspring of the clan progenitor - a vindictive and cannibalistic bloodline whose thirst can only be sated by the blood of the Antediluvian's lesser childer. To others, it is the colorful sobriquet applied to those Nosferatu who have succumbed to their Beasts - a less existential, if similarly harrowing, threat - and now stalk the caverns and catacombs of the world as they hunt their own kind. Even others maintain that it is a title taken by the eldest of the clan, merely another mask adopted to feed upon their own.* *Whatever the truth may be, no Kindred currently active in the modern nights knows for sure, and those who are unlucky enough to actually encounter one of the Nictuku are certain never to survive to tell about it. You, however, have managed to piece together key pieces of knowledge that may, one night, save your unlife.* **• Signal-To-Noise:** *Banned* More than one mysterious death or disappearance has been attributed to be the work of the dreaded Nictuku by conspiracy-minded Sewer Rats. Whether it's a scouting party that has vanished beneath the streets of Manhattan, or a warren in St. Louis suddenly going dark, time and resources are often wasted on wild goose chases. Once per story, by examining the tell-tale signs (or lack thereof), you may definitively know whether such a crime was committed by your ancestral enemy, or some other circumstance. **•• Morbid Curiosity:** *Banned* Whether through legend, gossip, or indirect exposure, you have grown obsessed with the concept of these ancestral nemeses and have devoted your unlife to the study of the Nictuku. When making an Occult or Investigation roll regarding the Nictuku you may add two dice to the roll. **••• Blindspot:** *Banned* Most Nosferatu believe the most powerful weapon in their arsenal is the Discipline of Obfuscate. However, while this may make them all but imperceptible to humans, Kindred and other supernatural beings have senses that extend beyond mortal means. In keeping with their name, the Hidden have had to hone their skills to counter not only the perceptive Tremere regent on whom they are spying, but also the unknown shadows that haunt their every step. Once per session, you may add two dice to your Obfuscate roll when contesting against a power such as Sense the Unseen. **•••• Deathmark:** *Banned* Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. You've managed to attract the attention of one of the Nictuku (or something that appears as one), and now it is but a matter of time before they catch up with you. You gain Adversary (••••) however, you may spend an equal number of points on Haven Merits relating to the added security measures taken against your phantom nemesis. Once per story, you may permanently sacrifice up to three dots in Backgrounds to make a clean getaway, at the Storyteller's discretion. **••••• Hunted-Becomes-Hunter:** *Banned* You have developed skills of survival and combat against more than just the Nictuku. Indeed, you have managed to hone yourself into a defensive weapon against any Kindred who would seek to consume the vitae within you. You gain the specialization Brawl (Kindred) and may add an additional two-dice to all conflicted rolls against cannibalistic Kindred (diablerists, Blood Leeches, and the like).
The Mortician's Army (No.9, p.1) *Rafael Deluna was a pathologist working for the Medical Examiner's office in downtown Minneapolis when tragedy befell his family and changed his life forever. In the winter of 2010, conditions in the Midwest proved particularly lethal as dozens of homeless in the Twin Cities died of exposure due to the extreme cold. Of the many dead bodies unclaimed by friends or family, one turned out to be the body of a freshly embraced fledgling who, in their frenzy, murdered DeLuna's wife.* *That night, upon his horrific awakening to the dark truth of the world. Rafael was consumed with a singular purpose all vampires must die. Rafael's fellow survivors were quick to join his cause and from there his influence grew throughout the Midwest. Little by little, small-time hunter cells began to coordinate their tactics with one another until several pockets of previously independent units grew into a vampire-hunting network known (perhaps erroneously) as "The Mortician's Army".* **• Mortician's Hammer:** *Banned* Though their means and methods may be as varied as the individual members of the Army themselves, all of the Mortician's soldiers carry this unique item with them. Half weapon, half calling-card, members of the Mortician's Army carry these hammer-hook hybrids to recognize one another and - in a pinch - to slay Kindred. Whether through sheer coincidence or as a spoil of war, you've managed to procure one of these instruments. The Mortician's Hammer counts as a +2 Heavy bludgeoning or piercing weapon, depending upon how it is used. Carrying it will also automatically grant you -1 Difficulty on all interactions with members of the Mortician's Army, provided they do not know you are Kindred. **•• Marked For Death:** *Banned* You have tangled with the Mortician's Army before and have managed to come out ahead. While the Mortician's Army may never forgive, you never forget and have come to adapt against their methods, attacks, and techniques. You gain the Enemy flaw (••). However, you gain a one-die bonus on all contested rolls made against the hunters of the Mortician's Army. **••• Eyes-On:** *Banned* You have sniffed out the presence of the Mortician's Army within your domain and have been able to keep a consistent eye on their movements and tactics. Once per story, you may ask the storyteller if any of your surveillance suggests an impending attack on a vampire within your city Whether you choose to warn them or not is up to you... **•••• The Sleeper Agent:** *Banned* In life, you served as a soldier in The Mortician's Army. In undeath, you continue to serve their agenda as a spy within the Kindred community. You gain four dots to be spent within the Allies or Contacts representing your affiliation with the mortal hunters. You also gain the Dark Secret flaw (•) relating to your involvement in the Army. Once per story, you may call upon the full support of the Mortician's Army to bear against your enemies, though doing so will forever reveal your true identity. **••••• The Unseen:** *Banned* You are one of the few who has betrayed their kind and embraced a mortal hunter. Whether a calculated move in a long game against those who have slighted you or something committed under duress, you now have learned how to deftly manipulate your childe and their network of contacts. You gain Mawla (•) to represent your new progeny and Allies (•••••) representing a faction of the Mortician's Army that you have bent, perhaps unknowingly, to your undead will. You gain the Dark Secret flaw (•) as your secret childe is likely a punishable offense in most domains, and the truth about them is likely even more forbidden.
## Forbidden Religions
1444 Chamber, Hecata Characters Only (p.88) *The 1444 Chamber were once the closest advisors and confidantes to Augustus Giovanni, and the beating, black heart of the Clan of Death’s necromantic might. The more things change, the more they stay the same. It’s the Chamber that leads the clan these nights, not Augustus. Many of his old loyalists met their Final Death to make way for new members rising through the ranks or brought in from the cold with the clan’s formerly disparate splinters; but the 1444 Chamber is still the center of power and influence, even if some of the faces of its members have changed.* *You’re an agent of the Chamber’s will, somewhere directly on the operations flowchart that cascades down from the so-called Board of Directors. Maybe your sire’s sire sits in the Chamber; maybe you backed one of the up-and-coming bosses in the uprising against their complacent superiors; maybe you’ve just got the talent that the Board looks for in this new age of unity within the clan. Someone up there has invested trust and responsibility in you. Don’t disappoint them.* **• Shadow of the Chamber:** *Allowed* Other Hecata know that at least one member of the Chamber trusts you to carry out their will — and no one wants to cross one of the ancient monsters who sit at the heart of the Clan of Death’s web. You have the equivalent of two additional dots of Status within the Hecata clan, but only for the purposes of forcing compliance or intimidating other Hecata. **•• Mercenary Work:** *Allowed* When outsiders need the Clan of Death’s expertise, you’re a go-between trusted to pursue the Chamber’s agenda. Once per story, you can arrange the mercenary services of your fellow Hecata for a vampire who is not part of your coterie or clan, calling up to three dots in any appropriate Background that represents the mercenaries’ talents. **••• Gilded Promises:** *Allowed* If there’s one thing the Hecata aren’t short of, it’s money. If you satisfy the Chamber with your performance, you have access to four dots of Resources. The Clan of Death has little patience for talented students who fail to live up to their promise though; disappoint your patron, and you lose these dots until you make things right. **•••• Deathly Slave:** *Locked* Never forget that the Chamber comprise the most powerful concentration of vampiric necromancers in existence. Once per story, you can request the service of a spectre or another form of wraith, naming a specific task; unless it contravenes your patron’s agenda, they will compel a single such ghost to perform that service for you. **••••• Anziani Patron:** *Banned* You directly serve one of the anziani, and you know that they are on the Board of Directors — making you one of the trusted few they confide in. As their agent in the outside world, you can’t rely on their direct influence to help you on a night-to-night basis, but when the Chamber wills it, the whole Clan of Death moves as one. Once per chronicle, you can call upon your patron to push the 1444 Chamber into action and call all loyal Hecata in the region to your aid regardless of their other priorities, as long as it does not contravene the agenda of your patron or the Chamber. The Chamber will expect you to repay this debt to them.
Blood Asceticism (p.89) *If blood is an addiction for the Kindred, then it’s no surprise that some vampires try to kick the habit. Of course, you can’t just go cold turkey; that’s a quick route to torpor, or ravenous frenzy and waking up covered in someone else’s blood. Those who take this endeavor seriously model themselves on mortal ascetics, trying to slowly starve their Beast into submission or to reduce their reliance on the red stuff over years or even centuries. Some see it as a potential path to Golconda.* *Blood asceticism is a harsh path to follow, demanding the vampire reject the satisfaction and pleasure of sanguine satiation. This requires great willpower, and practitioners often resort to distracting their hungry Beast through the agony of self-mortification or fully embrace isolation and privation. Most Kindred reject such asceticism out of hand, since those who succeed are usually starving hermits and those who fail serve as fearsome lessons in the folly of denying your hunger when they snap and go on a rampage.* **• The Starveling Path:** *Allowed* You’re not quiet about your dedication to blood asceticism and your desire to conquer the red thirst. Other Kindred may think you’re mad or a fool, but they can’t doubt your devotion. Once per session, providing you’ve not fed that night, you may add two dice to any roll to prove your strength of will, or to convince others of your dedication. **•• Glade of the Sleeping Beast:** *Allowed* You have found a place of quiet solitude to contemplate the shackles of your immortal hunger. It may be your haven, if you have one, or it may be a more remote location. While in your place of contemplation, as long as you are alone, you can re-roll one Rouse Check per session. **••• Lesser Vessels:** *Allowed* To subdue your thirst for human blood, you have learned to subsist on the lesser vitae of base animals. While you are alone, feeding from animals rather than humans slakes one more point of Hunger than it usually would for you, but never more than one level per scene. However, you also gain the Infamy Flaw: (•) Animal Drinker (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 187) if news of your reliance on animal vitae gets out. Some Kindred may not care, but plenty will look down on you with contempt for being more like one of the kine than a real vampire. **•••• Bloodless Pedestal:** *Locked* Whether or not you’ve really managed to conquer your hunger, your displays of ascetic self-denial have attracted other Kindred who desperately want your claims to be true. This provides you with the equivalent of five dots of Status solely among vampires who see you as some sort of holy figure. You lose the benefits of these dots for the duration of any scene in which they witness you drinking blood, and the following scene thereafter. **••••• Leash the Beast:** *Locked* You’ve starved your Beast so often that it’s a weakened, feeble thing, bound beneath the chains of your willpower. Few other Kindred possess this level of self-control. The Difficulty of your Hunger frenzy rolls is always 2, regardless of the provocation.
Plagues of Gehenna (p.91) *Vampire and disease have been intertwined since the dawn of time. It’s inevitable; the blood-drinking parasite spreads sickness with her bite, weakens her victims before the advent of illness, and in a very real way is a disease upon the heaving throng of humanity. Minor cults of Kindred who embrace this ruinous connection have emerged throughout history, but the tumultuous modern nights see many more such plaguebringers springing up than ever before. The most base and simplistic of these cults embrace disease at the most literal level, believing that vampires are the harbingers of plague upon humanity and that they must spread sickness to usher in — or finish off — Gehenna itself. More sophisticated groups like the Third Day develop elaborate nuances or justifications, connecting disease upon the kine with the Beckoning that now seizes elders, or hoping to afflict Kindred themselves through corrupting the herd upon which they feed. Whatever the reasoning, the outcome is usually the same; heaps of putrefying bodies, vampires retching up tainted vitae, and swarms of flies. It’s no wonder that most sect-aligned Kindred try to stamp out blisters as soon as possible.* **• Blister Marks:** *Allowed* You’re a member of a new, loose association of Kindred keeping vigil for any signs of blisters — those Kindred who willingly or ignorantly spread disease among the kine. Whenever you succeed on a Medicine roll to examine the health of a mortal, living or postmortem, you also discern whether any disease they may have was inflicted on them by a Kindred. **•• Autoclave:** *Allowed* Fearful of becoming a disease vector, you have three dots in Herd that will remain clean and uninfected even should sickness run rampant through the local population. However, you must maintain the purity of this blood source and shepherd it carefully, which means that no one can draw upon the Herd more than once per story. If you share it with anyone, even once, you lose access to it yourself for the remainder of the story. **••• Fire in the Blood:** *Allowed* Strange diseases infected you once, bringing a delirium that wracked even your Kindred physiology with fever and filled your waking hours with bizarre phantasmagoria. While the sickness passed, it has left its mark upon you. Once per scene when you feed on a mortal and contract a disease that you could then spread on to future victims, you mend one Superficial Health damage and one Superficial Willpower damage; you also immediately become aware whenever the blood of a vessel you feed from bears infectious disease. **•••• Firebreak:** *Allowed* You’ve studied disease outbreaks in mortals and vampires alike and understand how far an infection can slither through Kindred society before being detected. You possess five dots in Influence solely for the purpose of controlling and quelling disease outbreaks among the kine that would affect the Kindred; when you exercise this Influence and succeed, you gain two dots in Status with your sect for the remainder of the story. **••••• Plague Sample:** *Allowed* In your possession is a phial of blood drawn from a sick, maddened elder while in the throes of the Beckoning. It seethes with the contagious power of a plague that will affect Kindred with lethal results. What exactly it does to vampire victims, how it spreads, and what link it has to the Beckoning is up to the Storyteller, if you are ever desperate, brave, or mad enough to unleash the disease upon your fellow undead.
Praepositor, Tremere Characters Only (p.92) *You’re a Praepositor, one of the militant Tremere of the Praesidium devoted to restoring the clan’s old power — by force, if necessary. The cult looks back to the Pyramid of authority and blood that once united Clan Tremere as the ideal to which they must once again aspire, but the realities of the modern nights demand that they adapt if they are to achieve this goal. Praepositors have become eldritch soldiers of fortune, trading their services for the occult and secular resources the House needs.* *House and clan need you, and you stand ready to answer their call. Your every success reinforces Praesidium’s position within the Camarilla, but Praepositors aren’t picky; your superiors expect you to take up contracts with Anarchs or even in domains of Autarkis, if it serves the cult’s purposes. As for the old Blood Bonds that once tied the clan together, the Praesidium sees their restoration as one of its end goals — and expects you to act with the same devotion and swiftness as those bonds once assured.* **• Chastise the Wayward:** *Allowed* You embrace the cult’s ideology of war against those who oppose the clan — including the renegades within the Tremere. You may reroll a single die in any dice pool to cause direct harm to another Tremere character if you believe them to be a renegade. **•• Discreet Professionalism:** *Allowed* You’ve been at the cutting edge of Praesidium efforts to build a network of clients and contracts that will prop up a reinvigorated Clan Tremere. Once per story, you can draw on favors due or debts yet to be paid to acquire two dots in Status with any sect or clan for a single interaction. You can expect the person you leverage to want something in return for their assistance in the next story, if not before. **••• Guard the Clan:** *Allowed* You joined this cult because you wanted to rebuild and protect what had gone before. Whenever you Rouse the Blood to protect your clan’s members and secrets, you may roll two dice and pick the highest result. **•••• Expert Security:** *Allowed* You’re one of the cult’s top experts in security and protection and have a team of Praepositor specialists on speed-dial. Once per story, you can spend a scene establishing a safehouse or strong-point to grant yourself or another character up to five dots of Haven that lasts until the end of the scene. This Lore drains the use of three dots of Resources for the remainder of the story, requiring you to obtain outside funding if you do not possess these dots yourself. **••••• Blood Loyalty:** *Locked* The Praesidium’s early experiments to rebuild the clan’s Blood Bond bear unexpected discoveries — mere shadows of a true bond but, perhaps, more useful in the House’s current state. If you and another participant (mortal or vampire) signs a contract you write using their blood or vitae, you must make one Rouse Check per level of Blood Bond you intend to initiate. Once signed, treat the contracted service as if the co-signee was Blood Bound to it; to attempt to breach the contract, they must succeed in a contest of Resolve + Intelligence vs. Bond Strength. Once the contract is complete or you destroy the contract, the simulated Blood Bond immediately ends. This power supercedes an actual Blood Bond, but that Blood Bond returns once the contract concludes.
Spear of Orthia, Ventrue Characters Only (p.93) *Clan scholars believe that Artemis Orthia is the first childe of Ventrue, and say that she once held sway over Sparta in the guise of its patron goddess. She burned with the desire to destroy her foes and acted decisively — but her headstrong hunger for conflict would prove her downfall at the hands of the Brujah of Carthage. The cultists of the Shattered Spear venerate this ancestor-figure, hiding in the shadows of Clan Ventrue and conducting their worship in defiance of Camarilla dictates. Now the cult waxes in strength and gathers new adherents to its banner, drawn by the whispered gospel of Artemis’ divine nature and the rediscovery of her torpid remains.* *You are a member of the Shattered Spear, a descendant of Orthia, and a believer in the sacred nature of your forebearer. Carrying the torch of the Spear means that you are a warrior, and the cult expects you to fight against the Second Inquisition, the Sabbat, and any other groups that threaten Kindred society. You are to revile passive indolence, but your peers and leaders laud your decisive action and willingness to spring into battle.* **• Tip of the Spear:** *Allowed* You are a member of the new wave of Shattered Spear adherents spreading through Clan Ventrue and bearing the tidings of Elena Andreas’ ground-breaking discoveries. Once per session, when interacting with another Ventrue character, you may ask the Storyteller whether the Ventrue will be receptive to your faith, tolerant of it, or will be opposed to it should you reveal your allegiance to them. **•• Soldier’s Code:** *Allowed* You have embraced the liturgy of the Spear with ardent zeal. Choose one of the Convictions of the Spear. Once per story, you may use it to mitigate Stains as if it was one of yours. **••• The Enduring Faith:** *Allowed* You know one or more of the Ventrue in the region are secretly followers of Orthia. If you can contact them and enlist their aid, they will provide you with four dots of either Allies or Mawla. **•••• Witness to Orthia:** *Allowed* You went down beneath Lisbon with Elena, and you saw the revelation of Orthia with your own undead eyes. You speak with the conviction of the Voice herself, and your testimony stirs those of Ventrue Blood. Once per scene, after rolling the dice to convince one or more Ventrue of your beliefs, exhort them to violence, or lead them in battle, you may turn all 1s rolled into 10s. **••••• Splinter of the Spear:** Locked You possess a splinter of the spear of Orthia itself. This fragment of such a legendary weapon doubtless possesses great power, and is a relic of great importance. As long as you have it about your person, channeling the power of Artemis Orthia grants you two automatic successes on Melee rolls when wielding spears or other piercing weapons — including stakes. However, committing an act of cowardice such as retreating before a foe or falling to terror frenzy is an insult to its legacy. You suffer one point of Aggravated Willpower damage should such happen. Furthermore, actually losing the splinter would be an utter disaster for you and for the Shattered Spear.
## Boston by Night
The Hartford Chantry (pp.80-83) *The dominant Kindred in Hartford and New Haven were the Gemini League, an elected consortium predominantly consisting of Ventrue and Tremere, who manage the domains of Connecticut, engage in the cryptic passwords, handshakes, and rituals of mortal secret societies, and wish for nothing more than splendid isolation away from the Kindred politicking of “lesser vampires.” When dragged into events beyond their realm, they respond with ferocity and frustration. In these nights, the Gemini League’s natural successor is the Hartford Chantry, though links between the Tremere of Hartford and Ventrue of New Haven remain strong.* **• Arcane Authority:** *Banned* Once per story, you may select an object, and tell the Storyteller you want to discover if it was constructed through mundane or sorcerous means. You gain three bonus dice to an Intelligence + Occult roll to determine the object’s makings, with a critical success conveying exactly the manner of sorcery involved (if present). Revealing this knowledge can of course make this item highly sought-after, such as by an Enemy or Adversary. **•• Cryptic Politics:** *Banned* Once per session, during a social conflict you are a part of or observing, you gain two bonus dice in an attempt to determine whether one of the participants is a member of a mortal secret society, such as the Freemasons, Rosicrucians, or Skull and Bones Club. Revealing this information at the wrong moment could put a target on yours, or the target’s back. You need to know of the society to identify it, otherwise your roll just tells you the participant/s belong to a society with coded gestures and cryptic sayings. **••• On The Square:** *Banned* You benefit from a four-dot Ally from a secret society, such as the Knights Templar or a tradition of mages. However, to maintain this alliance you must attend a meeting with this ally at least once per story, and provide the society with one dot of Resources (deducted from your Resources for the remainder of, or at the start of the next story) in the form of an arcane artifact or intelligence. This Lore also provides you with token membership in this society, though if you wish to join fully, it requires a greater expenditure and should be handled under the Backgrounds of Contacts and Influence. **•••• The Chantry:** *Banned* You may use the Hartford Chantry as a three dot Haven with access to the library, which in turn reduces the cost of learning new Blood Sorcery Rituals to new Blood Sorcery Ritual ×3 (−1). In order to maintain this benefit, you must be a member in good standing of your faction. This benefit applies regardless of your clan. **••••• Blood Loyalty:** *Banned* You’ve been elected to a position of authority in your faction, conveying four dots of Status in all domains within New England (or wherever your faction is present), and a two dot Retainer of complete loyalty. You gain a two dice bonus on attempts to use Intimidation, Leadership, and Persuasion-related rolls on anyone in the financial industry of New England (or appropriate locality), and all subordinate members of the faction. In order to maintain this Lore, you must court votes from other vampires in your faction and not embarrass the faction. If you are seen to frenzy, your position is stripped immediately.
The Boston Camarilla (pp.84-87) *The Kindred of Liberty fought a long series of wars against the British Camarilla, the Sabbat, and the Hecata, and whether through skill or just being the last faction standing, they survived. They dissolved in recent nights, abandoning their factional name and becoming the Boston Camarilla, though many “coals” still cling to the memory of the K.O.L. Now they govern Boston and intend to reach beyond the domain, absorbing the other cities of New England into their widening praxis. They do not suffer attempts to manipulate them or take what they’ve spent so long trying to capture.* **• Comrades in Arms:** *Banned* You’re strengthened when alongside your comrades. Once per story, when announcing your identity as a member of your faction among your fellow factioneers, you may add three dice to a Resolve, Composure, or Willpower-based roll. **•• Sic Semper Tyranis:** *Banned* The Kindred of Liberty fought against tyrants and foreign invaders for over a century (despite themselves being, in large part, foreign invaders). Once per story, after identifying by sight an enemy of your coterie, you may make a staking maneuver in combat without the traditional −2 called shot penalty. You must have a staking device on you to fulfill this Lore. **••• Unification:** *Banned* You just have a way of drawing people to the negotiating table. Once per story, you can send out invitations to courts in up to four neighboring domains, and expect them to send a high-ranking representative to your domain for a sit- down, even if they don’t like or respect you. You must succeed on a Manipulation + Etiquette roll when crafting this invitation, with Difficulty 6 succeeding in attracting a Herald, Difficulty 7 attracting a Primogen, and Difficulty 8 attracting a Prince or Baron. Additionally, once they’re in your presence, you gain a once per story two dice bonus to an attempt at diplomacy or negotiation with this group, even if what you’re selling is bunk. On the flipside of this Lore, if you fail in your negotiations with any of the attendees, the same individual won’t return to your domain, and could become your Adversary (variable dot rating, depending on the individual) as if you offended them. **•••• Heart is Where the Home Is:** *Banned* Your territory (agree with the Storyteller beforehand over what location constitutes your territory) is vitally important to you, as are the people who live there. You have a Conviction as follows: Suffer no crimes against the people of my territory. This Lore enables you to enact violent reprisals against violators of this Conviction without fear of accumulating Stains. As well as a Touchstone character you must name and choose who lives on your territory, you gain a two dot Contact from persons on your territory (who may also be your Touchstone). This Lore also creates a one or two dot Adversary, in the form of an intruder’s domitor, sire, or coterie-mate, if you destroy them just for stepping on your turf. **••••• Levers and Pulleys:** *Banned* You benefit from a three dot Retainer in the midst of the domain’s political backroom dealings, both mortal and undead, who regularly supplies you with information as a two dot Contact. However, this individual needs to be kept sweet — or they might reveal your identity as their master — and secure — as they’ll divulge a lot of information about you, if they’re caught ratting people out. At any time, you can pull this individual from their position and just keep them as a three dot Retainer, providing you keep supplying them with cash, vitae, or whatever their need happens to be.
## Blood Sigils
Student of Kirin Tauk, Thin-Blood Alchemists Only (p.178) *Get a group of old alchemists together, and the conversation inevitably turns towards Kirin Taunk (p. 140). These conversations are always the same: some speak of her with admiration, and others with barely hidden jealousy. One of the celebrated alchemists of the 1990s, Taunk pioneered formula techniques still used to this day. Untouched by alchemist purges in other Domains and the horrors of the North American theatre of the Sect War, Taunk’s work served as a source of stability for the bourgeoning thin-blooded community. Her guile made her a role model and a folk legend among those hiding from the local Scourge. Since her Final Death in 1998, her legacy continues through the many alchemical flocks (p. 111) founded by her apprentices.* *Her legacy continues through you as well. Whether you’ve discovered her works by chance on the internet, study in one of the alchemic flocks dedicated to continuing her approach to alchemy, or were one of the thin-blooded lucky enough to know her when she was still around, Kirin Taunk left a mark on your half-life. One day, it’ll be your formulae that alchemists will pay hand-over-fist to get a glimpse of. You’ll be the one to stand in a Prince’s court or hang with the local rabble and feel at home in both worlds.* **• Stunning Efficiency:** *Allowed* Kirin Taunk’s brewing speed was legendary. You’ve matched it, and surpassing it is within sight. All distillation times for formulae are halved. **•• Professional Mindset:** *Allowed* Studying Taunk’s life taught you that it’s best to let your work speak for itself. Once per session and at the Storyteller’s discretion, you may use your dot rating in Thin-Blood Alchemy in lieu of any Social skills at a lower rating. **••• A Taunk Formula:** *Allowed* Through hard work or a great deal, you’ve obtained a sliver of Kirin Taunk’s alchemical notes. Choose one formula of any level. You may purchase it with no experience cost, though you cannot use it until your Thin-Blood Alchemy reaches its level. Add two dice to your Distillation roll for that formula. **•••• Diplomatic Power:** *Locked* Kirin Taunk was a social force of nature, capable of fitting in amongst Camarilla and Anarch alike. Though recent events make the divisions between the two sects sharper, you carry yourself with enough grace and charm that these divisions mean little to you. You have Status •• (Camarilla) and Status •• (Anarch). **••••• Taunk’s Patron:** *Locked* Kirin’s mysterious benefactor took an interest in you, and still has it to this night. Gain Mawla ••••• (Taunk’s Patron). Every story, pick three formulae you know. If your Mawla is active and approves of your actions, they send a shipment of rare or magically potent ingredients that give each formulae a two-dice bonus to the Distillation roll. Your Storyteller creates or chooses a powerful Kindred (maybe one that’s already on the Relationship or Scene Map) as your patron’s identity and may reveal it (and the consequences it brings) at their leisure.
Veins of the Earth (p.179) *The Earth lives. It vibrates on frequencies far beyond human senses. As everyone carries on their day, as plants grow and animals thrive, the Earth’s power ebbs and flows across the surface like water. It’s in the air the kine breathes, and it’s in the ground everyone walks on. The rise of Tiamat, the Blood Serpent (p. 150) only makes clear what many have known for years. The earth carves a web of energy patterns into its flesh. It waits for someone to take hold of it.* *That someone is you. Maybe you were always fascinated by ley lines. Perhaps being undead opened your mind to new possibilities. You could have tapped into the planet’s power accidentally, and you’re trying to recapture that energy.* *Your knowledge and passion make you a unique figure in the blood craft scene. You’ve established yourself as an expert, a pioneer in your field, or just a fanatic. When the scene needs someone who knows the city’s places of power, you’re the first on their list.* **• Seeking a Vein:** *Allowed* You’ve developed a knack for finding weird things, and it’s only now that you’ve realized that it’s because you just know where the planet’s blood converges. Once per story at the Storyteller’s discretion, you may declare that the location you are on is a furcus (p. 35). **•• Drawing the Flies:** *Allowed* Some kine are drawn to the venae terrae just like you are. You’ve gotten to know quite a few people seeking out the planet’s energies. They seek your knowledge, and you ask for a small price in return. Gain Herd ••• representing this group—but without new and interesting information about Tiamat’s coils, they could fall away. **••• Revelations of the Earth:** *Allowed* You listen to the veins of the Earth, and hear who passes along them. Once per session, when you meditate for at least a half hour on a furcus, you may ask the Storyteller one question about one Kindred’s location, direction of movement, and speed at that moment. The Storyteller answers truthfully. The venae cannot locate a Kindred who is in the air at that moment. **•••• Channeling the Earth:** *Allowed* While your ability to tap into the veins of the Earth may not be as powerful as Blood sorcerers or mystics, you know how to use the planet’s power for your own benefit. Once per session, when you meditate for at least a half hour on a furcus, add one die to a Discipline pool in addition to any provided by Blood Potency. **••••• Tiamat’s Exchange:** *Allowed* Your knowledge of the veins of the Earth is so great that it feels like the Blood Serpent itself blesses you if you pay the price. Once per story, if you provide a large (human-sized or larger) offering of flesh or blood to a furcus at the beginning of the story, you may automatically gain three additional successes on a test or contest of your choosing.
Vienna Zero, Blood Sorcery Users Only (p.180) *Officially, it’s the United Nations Vienna Recovery Zone. The Magyar Arrow Brotherhood attack on the city was localized to three city blocks, but the damage was so devastating and thorough that since 2008, all that’s left is makeshift canvas buildings, light blue tarps, and disaster scene tape. Common theories on what occurred there include a missile strike, a dirty bomb, or a biological weapon.* *You know what happened. Hungarian fascists played no role, and the missile strikes were made in the U.S.A. with love from the Vatican. The IAO attacked the Tremere’s headquarters, the Vienna Prime Chantry. In the years since, the Leopoldites and the rest of the Coalition’s forces dig through the ruins as a major archeological project. Each new discovery teaches them more about the blankbody threat. They call it Vienna Zero.* *Perhaps you have direct clearance to the site through a compromised operative, or maybe you’re the compromised operative. Maybe you have a direct supply chain that brings you bits and pieces of what the investigation recovers. Either way, the artifacts and texts of the Tremere in their prime can be yours to access.* **• Inside Knowledge:** *Allowed* The knowledge you picked up from when you scavenged Vienna Zero is invaluable, both in a practical and political sense. When rolling Occult for anything related to blood craft, or when rolling Politics for anything related to the Tremere, you always have a +2 dice bonus. **•• Off the Back of a Truck:** *Allowed* The Vatican officially destroys everything from Vienna Zero they deem too dangerous or useless to their investigation. Unofficially, some of it ends up in your hands. You gain a Contact ••• (The Slow Drip), a disgruntled contractor from Vienna Zero. If you’ve got something to offer, they can sometimes source the good stuff. **••• Instrument of Power:** *Allowed* Through a friend of a friend, you’ve gotten your hands on something special and to your delight, you’re very good at using it. Agree with the Storyteller on one Artifact (pp. 136–142), and add a one-die bonus to your pool for whatever tests it requires. However, every session you use it, you need to succeed on a Wits + Stealth (plus your Influence, if any, with the media) test against Difficulty 3 (or possibly more, for more powerful artifacts) to avoid attracting the attention of the Leopoldites, FIRSTLIGHT, or some other Coalition force. **•••• The Very Last Copy:** *Allowed* By chance or through an incredible heist on Vienna Zero, you own the last remaining copy of a Tremere grimoire. Name the grimoire, and name four rituals you do not yet know. These rituals may be at any level. You can learn these rituals without a teacher at half the learning time. Experience cost remains the same. **••••• Deep Clearance:** *Allowed* You’re not just read in on Vienna Zero, you’re a valued member of the team. Gain Mask ••• (Zeroed) and describe your place on the excavation project. Once per story, you may take one artifact (p. 136–142) from the Vienna Zero site and use it as you wish, though the team will notice it’s gone. You also have Enemy ••••, a FIRSTLIGHT or St. Leopold team member who suspects your true nature.
## The Book of Nod Apocrypha
The Book of Nod (p.37) *The Book of Nod collects oral histories, text fragments, and other media detailing the history of Caine and his childer, with additional poems and prophecies regarding Gehenna and the Final Nights. Its author — or authors — are unknown, though many Kindred believe Caine, Malkav, and Saulot contributed significant portions of the text. The stories and fragments have been carefully passed down through the generations; those who own physical pieces of the book take great pains to ensure they don’t end up in non-Cainite hands. The Book of Nod also provides the theological basis for the Sabbat’s worship of Caine.* *The first and largest section of the book, the Chronicle of Caine, recounts the tale of the first vampire, his childer, and the rise and rebellion of the Antediluvians. The Chronicle of Shadows lays out a series of laws attributed to Caine, though some Kindred doubt its veracity and view it as the work of Carthaginian scholars. The Chronicle of Secrets is the shortest and most enigmatic section. Its highly symbolic passages describe the author’s visions of Gehenna. Some Noddists have dedicated their entire unlives to attempting to interpret the predictions and apply them to their modern nights. Additionally, some scholars view the Erciyes Fragments as another version of Caine’s story, while others dismiss the Fragments as apocryphal and relegate mention of them to a footnote in their dissertations, if they’re acknowledged at all.* *The Book of Nod’s collectors, translators, and editors have introduced myriad inconsistencies and contradictions over the millennia, and no two scholarly analyses ever completely agree on its true content. Many among the Camarilla denounce the book and ban, confiscate, or destroy any related texts they discover their fledglings passing around.* **• Precis:** *Allowed* You are familiar with the broader concepts of the Book of Nod and some of the more commonly known prophecies. Once per story, add two dice to an Academics roll related to ancient Cainite history. **•• Well-versed:** *Allowed* Your sire or Mawla taught you certain passages from the book, and may even have physical fragments in their possession. Once per story, you may seek their input on a matter regarding Noddist lore, gaining a two-dice bonus to any Occult test related to the book. **••• Scholar:** *Allowed* You’ve dedicated significant time and study to the Book of Nod, and are familiar with at least one complete version of the text. You can support your theories with quotes from that version and are aware of counterarguments or alternative interpretations. Once per session, add three dice to a Persuasion roll when debating the Book of Nod’s finer points. **•••• Collector:** *Allowed* You own several fragments from the book or have memorized sections of Caine’s history. Noddists seek you out hoping to examine your copies or hear you recite the tales, and they’re willing to pay for it. This isn’t always a monetary trade; some offer favors, an exchange of information, or access to other resources your character finds valuable. Once per story, when you grant someone access to your collection, gain three temporary dots in Resources (or other appropriate Background as approved by your Storyteller) for the remainder of the story, or the ability to call in a future favor from the Noddist. **••••• Noddist Master:** *Allowed* Other Noddists look to you for insight and interpretation on the texts, and your theses on the subject are regarded as must-reads. You have exchanged correspondence with Noddist experts on finer points of lore. Once per story, you may derive a fact or prophecy from the Book of Nod that your character can apply to sway a decision, automatically succeeding at a Persuasion test at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Gehenna Cults (p.38) *Depending on whom you ask, Gehenna will soon befall the Kindred, or it’s happening right now, or it’s happened already and vampires are just play-acting in the crumbling ruins of their unlives while the world comes apart at the seams. While some deride the notion of Gehenna as an invention for duping the guileless, a feverish millenarianism has gripped many Kindred with the belief that these are indeed the Final Nights, one way or another. Blood cults and heresies spring up from the shadows in ever-growing numbers.* *The creeds of these new blood cults come in a dizzying variety of hatreds, anxieties and hungers. The most successful spread their black wings from one city to the next, forming something like a cohesive doctrine even as feuding Kindred splinter off new schisms and heresies. Charting out the spread of such subversive elements requires an agile mind to keep track of the shifting tapestry, not to mention a strong stomach even by vampire standards. All too many Gehenna cults delve into stomach-churning practices.* **• Mark the Bloody Trail:** *Allowed* Once per session when you begin investigating or researching the presence of a blood cult you’ve not previously used this lore for, the Storyteller gives you one free clue to help locate the cult or to understand their current plans. **•• Faithful Bloodhound:** *Allowed* You’re a proven investigator; you’ve exposed and taken down at least one Gehenna cult already, and shown your mettle in the eyes of the sects. Either the Camarilla or the Anarchs trust you as an expert on Gehenna cults. You wield three dots of Status while taking action to investigate or persecute a cult on behalf of that sect. **••• Dogma:** *Allowed* You’re steeped in the lore of Gehenna, and you’ve learned many permutations of warped faiths that your fellow Kindred wrap themselves in. Once per session, when you discuss a vampire’s faith with them or observe them practicing their faith, you can extrapolate the rough nature of the doctrines, Convictions, or code that the religion focuses on. The Storyteller does not need to give you the exact wording, but must convey the primary themes, limitations, and beliefs, even those that are not evident in what the vampire has said or done. **•••• Cult Breaker:** *Allowed* The charlatans and demagogues of millenarian cults rely on charisma and their followers’ desperate need for someone else to provide answers, direction, and justification for their dark indulgences. Such self-deception is hard to overcome, but you know how to shatter their illusions and tear apart the foundations of their faith. Once per story for a scene, while socially interacting with you, cult members do not benefit from any dots in Status they may have within their own cult. If they are unable to overcome you in a conflict, they lose any such Status dots for the rest of the story as you shake the cult’s faith in them to the core. **••••• Red Truths:** *Allowed* Investigating the rising tide of blood cults and Gehenna worshipers has put you in a prime position to sift a few precious grains of truth from the bloated clot of lies that sits at the heart of most of these misbegotten faiths. Whether you want to believe it or not, you can’t deny the evidence you’ve gathered — and why not exploit it for yourself, rather than leaving it in the blood-stained hands of frothing zealots? Once you have studied the practices or texts of any blood cult, you are able to learn any Rituals or other unusual supernatural capabilities they possess without need of a teacher, although you must pay any experience point costs as normal.
Machinations of Saulot, Tremere and Salubri only (p.39) *While some Noddists regard Saulot as a veritable saint, others who study the history of the Salubri and Saulot see him as a dangerous player in the eternal struggle: possibly the most sinister of all antediluvians. Clans Salubri and Tremere, among others, have studied the travels and words of Saulot, and fear the mastermind that may lurk behind the façade of saintliness.* *Saulot is rumored to have sired the Salubri as a means of testing his knowledge and creating goodwill towards his fellow antediluvians, with no qualms about discarding them as he vanished, a victim of diablerie by Tremere. Rumors spread among those in the know that Tremere may have lost the battle of wills when committing diablerie on Saulot and Saulot’s diablerie may have been simply another move in the Jyhad.* *If Saulot’s ultimate goal is mastery over his fellow Antediluvians and all Kindred, he would manipulate a small remnant of philosophers, healers, and warriors as well as a world-spanning authoritarian cabal of once blood-bound sorcerers. With the recent fractures in the Tremere clan’s pyramid structure, the Beckoning, and the Gehenna Crusade, Saulot’s ultimate plans seem increasingly inscrutable. This does not stop many from speculation, however.* **• Rumors and Signs:** *Allowed* Those aware of the age-old conflicts of the Salubri are on the lookout for signs of their recurrence. You can ask the Storyteller if an event or location shows signs of Salubri or Tremere influence. You can ask this question once per session. **•• Prolonged Conflict:** *Allowed* While Saulot’s words were gentle, his actions are said to have spurred on conflict between the Salubri and Tremere. You have learned to defend from these forces. Once per session gain two bonus dice when resisting Auspex, Blood Sorcery, Dominate, or Oblivion powers. **••• Saulot’s Smile:** *Allowed* When Tremere committed diablerie on Saulot, the sire of all Salubri smiled. Once per story when witnessing another Kindred perform an action, you can ask the storyteller what their motivation was for doing so. **•••• The Madness of Blood:** *Allowed* When Saulot was destroyed, his childer supposedly went mad, slaying one another as they were drawn to the site of Saulot’s awakening. Once per story, you can summon your sire or one of your childer or someone who has tasted your Blood as per the Presence power Summon, using your Auspex or Dominate rating instead of Presence. You can also ignore such a summons yourself, once per story. **••••• Ultimate Disguise:** *Allowed* Your expertise in Saulot’s ways gives you an advantage few others have. You possess traits of both Clans Salubri and Tremere. You may learn Blood Sorcery or Fortitude as if they were a Clan Discipline if they weren’t already, but suffer both Clan Banes and Compulsions.
Servitor of Irad (p.40) *According to the Book of Nod, Irad the Strong was the third childe of Caine, and he served as his sire’s enforcer and military leader in the First City. The Kindred of the Servitors of Irad seek to emulate that mythological vampire, who is said to have pledged to serve the Antediluvians in all things before his kin or his childer destroyed him. They hope that, if they spend their existence showing they serve the Antediluvians, they will be spared when the ancients rise. Irad believed it, but received the revelation too late to preserve himself.* *The cult doesn’t actually have any contact with the Third Generation, but they assume that the Antediluvians would want the elders of Kindred society to be weak and divided. As such, they infiltrate any vampiric organization they can find — Camarilla cities, Anarch gatherings, and even other cults — to sow dissension and shatter fragile alliances. And now you’re one such deep cover member. You’re cut off from the other members of your cult, trying to enact a hazily understood plan set down by mythological figures with whom you have no direct contact, with the knowledge that if any other vampire ever found out, you’d be immediately and painfully killed. But you have faith, and that’s enough.* **• Shield of Irad:** *Allowed* You can’t do the work of the Antediluvians if you get discovered by others. Luckily, you have a lot of experience shielding your true intentions from the gaze of outsiders. You gain an additional die on rolls involving lying to other Kindred. **•• Sword of Irad:** *Allowed* Sometimes you must act decisively in the name of the Third Generation, and that conviction adds additional strength to your act. Once per story, you can add three dice to a roll that is integral to your cult’s plans. **••• Know the Will of the Ancients:** *Allowed* You are firmly convinced you know the will of the Antediluvians. Perhaps you even hear their voices in your head, or gain prophetic dreams from them. As long as you are a member of the cult, you can take an additional Conviction that is directly related to the goals of your infiltration (your membership in the cult acts as your “touchstone” for the purposes of this Conviction). If you infiltrate a new group, you can change your Conviction to reflect the new assignment. **•••• Do the Will of the Ancients:** *Allowed* All actions are in service to the Third Generation, the thirteen vampires that will someday rise and destroy the world. There is nothing you won’t do to fulfill that goal, and you have devoted your entire existence to it. The blood you have inherited from your clan founder is secondary to this higher purpose. Your clan Bane can be ignored once per story while you are a Servitor of Irad. **••••• Kill Thy Brother:** *Allowed* When the Third Generation eventually rise, you know that most of Caine’s errant childer will be destroyed. So, killing another vampire in the name of the Antediluvians just makes their job a little easier. Once per story, when using a weapon or power that inflicts Aggravated Health damage on a vampire, your attack inflicts two additional damage, and you don’t need to roll to resist frenzy if that weapon or power involves fire.
## Gehenna War
Beckett (p.157) *According to Kindred cultures that acknowledge the generation model, the fourth generation of vampires was a kind of Cambrian explosion, increasing and solidifying emerging vampiric strains in the previous generation. Sometimes nicknamed methuselah due to their age, most of the known Kindred of such low Generation have been Beckoned or chose to serve in the Gehenna War, but some lie dormant in domains outside its battlefields.* *One of the greatest seekers of Kindred lore, most knowledgeable about the resting places and graves of the ancient dead, is the Gangrel Cuthbert Beckett. Where some Kindred scholars are content to theorize from the comfort of their libraries, Beckett has always gone out to look for himself.* *As the Gehenna War intensifies, there’s a sudden demand for those with the specialized knowledge to know what the Kindred of various domains are really facing. Beckett is not the only Kindred archaeologist who has suddenly started to receive invitations to the courts of mighty vampire Princes.* **• Bloody Ancestry:** *Allowed* You trail a methuselah by tracking their descendants. You own and maintain notes on vampiric ancestry concerning vampires in your region in a physical or digital form. You receive a +2 dice bonus to all Occult tests when investigating the ancestry of any vampire. **•• Dream Interpreter:** *Allowed* Sometimes, methuselahs and even older vampires communicate to their progeny through the daysleep. Once per story, when a character or Storyteller character tells you a dream, you may make an Intelligence + Occult test at Difficulty 2. On a win, you receive a number of actionable facts from your Storyteller equivalent to one plus the margin of win. **••• Perks of Youth:** *Allowed* From your contact with Beckett, you’ve learned that those with knowledge are targets for manipulation by older Kindred. You’ve developed hardiness to such supernatural manipulations. Once per session, when a vampire of a higher Blood Potency uses a supernatural coercive power on you, you have receive a two-dice bonus to resist it. **•••• Ancestor Cult’s Favor:** *Allowed* You’ve entered the good graces of a cult worshiping a methuselah. Assign six dots in any way you like to the following Backgrounds to represent what they provide you: Influence, Haven, Herd, Resources, Retainers, or Status. You keep these benefits as long as you obey at least one of their requests once per story. **••••• Face to Face:** *Allowed* If you seek out the Ancients, you risk finding them. Once per story, if facing a methuselah or an elder, you can make an Intelligence + Occult test at a Difficulty of 4. If you succeed, you manage to recollect a detail or an angle that prompts the vampire to answer a single question about their own past or the Kindred of bygone eras truthfully, at least from their own perspective, as long as it doesn’t significantly jeopardize them or their plans.
The Eternal Arena (p.158) *Kindred society needs activity and entertainment. It gets them in the lulls between hunts. Some take solace in accumulating knowledge; others try their hand at taking up art or engaging in indulgent social manipulation. Then there are the vampires that beat the shit out of each other. One venue for such things is the Eternal Arena in a small town in Greece, where a violent Kindred tournament has taken place for decades, perhaps centuries. (See p. 126.)* *Higher-minded Kindred may scoff, but they can’t deny the excitement of watching two or more vampires in a bare-knuckle brawl. Some domains sanction the activity, forming underground fight clubs where their opponents are their peers, unsuspecting mortals, or animals on vitae. Other places do it openly, like the Eternal Arena. Blood sports aren’t only fist-to-fist events, bladed weapons and firearms are sometimes used. Vampire blood sports require incredible resilience and push Hunger to the limit. At the Arena, the fighters agree beforehand on weapons but all Kindred powers are allowed. The only limit is that the fight has to take place within the Arena and can’t involve friends or allies unless it’s coterie versus coterie.* *You’re involved in these blood sports, either as a fighter or an organizer. You may even have had a connection to the Arena itself. You know the best techniques to shatter a vampire’s body. Should a mortal get on your bad side, you know how to rend them into bits.* **• Champion’s Aura:** *Allowed* You’ve bested all kinds of Kindred, and you’re not afraid to remind everyone around what you’re capable of should they choose to cross you. Once per story, you receive a two-dice bonus to Intimidation tests against vampires during a scene, as long as these vampires are aware of your reputation (or you make them aware of it). **•• Bring It On:** *Allowed* You’ve fought at the Eternal Arena or a similar Kindred blood tournament. Once per story, you can goad a target into a physical fight with you. For the rest of the scene, they’ll engage in combat with only you. Targets that would put themselves in lethal danger by doing this must first be bested in a Charisma + Brawl vs Composure + Insight test. **••• Combat Analysis:** *Allowed* Blood sports require a tactical mind. You’ve followed the exploits of the best vampire fighters in your domain, learning from how they approach each match. You don’t see fights as desperate struggles, but as puzzles you can solve. Once per session during a physical conflict, you may make an Intelligence + Awareness test at Difficulty 3 before making an attack. On a win, you receive two additional dice on your next physical attack action. **•••• Talented Manager:** *Allowed* You’re an organizer or coach in an underground fight club or other gathering of like-minded Kindred pugilists. You pull the best out of them, and your talents extend to anyone who fights with you. Once per session, when you lead a group of people through a fight involving Brawl or Melee, you gain four bonus dice on any Leadership tests. **••••• Die Hard:** *Allowed* In your time in the pit, you’ve brushed up against final death many times. One night, it’ll come for you, but when it does, you know how to get one more moment. Once per story, when you face final death due to a violent conflict or act, you survive, as long as you can describe how it happened. (The Storyteller must decide if this explanation is plausible, but if it isn’t, they should provide you with the opportunity to come up with a better idea.)This does not mend any more damage you suffered than is absolutely required to survive, nor does it guarantee that you won’t end up in the hands of those eager to make your extended unlife even worse.
Tegyrius the Vizier (p.159) *From his soldiering days on the battlefields with Alexander the Great to his time as Vizier of the Banu Haqim stronghold Alamut, Tegyrius has prioritized his ideals over personal self-interest. Instead of claiming the Black Throne for himself, he ceded the privilege to Jamal and used his wise counsel like a guiding hand to shape the destiny of the clan. And when Ur-Shulgi the Shepherd awoke and demanded the Banu Haqim abandon their mortal faiths, Tegyrius refused to take part in his violent tyranny. Alongside his friend and colleague, al-Ashrad, the pair abandoned Ur-Shulgi to safeguard their clanmates and led them out of Alamut.* *In the tumultuous years that followed, Tegyrius solidified his position within the Ashirra and opened negotiations with the Camarilla, culminating in the Vermillion Wedding to Victoria Ash. On the surface, it seemed the marriage was a purely political union. And at first, it was. Yet, what many failed to realize is that during their brief courtship, despite his best efforts, Tegyrius experienced something akin to love. Since the consummation of their mutual Blood Bond, those feelings have only intensified.* **• The Art of Negotiation:** *Discuss With Storytellers* As a skilled diplomat, advisor, or negotiator, the legacy of Tegyrius is reflected in you. When you mediate between two opposing individuals or groups, you receive a two-dice bonus to Intimidation or Persuasion skill tests. **•• The Pen is Mightier:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Following in the footsteps of Tegyrius, you value knowledge and choose to hone your mental abilities just as much as you do your fighting skills. As a protégé of Tegyrius, you have access to a Banu Haqim library transplanted from Alamut during the Schism. The library counts as a two-dot Haven (••) with a two-dot Library (••), but its contents are being sought after by one of the Shepherds of Ur-Shulgi, counting as a two-dot Adversary. **••• Hear My Words:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You are a known ally of Tegyrius, and when you speak, others listen. As a source of wisdom and restraint, you get three additional dice for any social test against another Banu Haqim of the same sect, and two additional dice for any social test against a Banu Haqim of a different sect. **•••• Perception is Power *****(Banu Haqim only)*****:** *Discuss With Storytellers* In the hallowed halls of Alamut, the Council of Scrolls dedicated their unlives to the pursuit of academic knowledge. But when Ur-Shulgi awoke and seized the Black Throne, the Council disbanded. You sat on the Council, and under Tegyrius’ guidance, learned that one cannot fight what one cannot see. You have access to the Auspex Discipline and may buy dots using experience points as if it was one of your clan Disciplines. **••••• A Matter of Honor:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Not only were you a guest of honor at the Vermillion Wedding, but Tegyrius himself owes you a debt of gratitude. Perhaps you assisted in his negotiations with the Camarilla, or maybe you saved his life several years ago. Once per chronicle, Tegyrius functions as a five-dot Mawla, and uses his lofty position to aid you as best he can (short of violating the alliance between the Camarilla and the Ashirra).
## In Memoriam
Birth of the Anarch Free States (p.149) *The Second Anarch Revolt started with the toppling of the old Camarilla Prince in Los Angeles in 1944. Soon violence gripped the city, with Anarch gangs seeking out Camarilla holdouts, those loyal to the old order seeking to escape or make a glorious last stand. Havens burned, Kindred met their ends, and the Anarchs triumphed. Due to the legendary nature of those nights of revolution, many of the Kindred who were there enjoy bragging about it. Some of those who were not there have made up invented histories for themselves, pretending that they too were part of this great event.* *Now in the wake of the Third Anarch Revolt, being connected to the birth of the Anarch Free States in Los Angeles carries a certain cachet. You are an original revolutionary.* **• Fake Revolutionary:** *Banned* You’ve been telling people stories of your exploits in Los Angeles in the fateful first nights of the Revolt. They’re not true, but who cares? You’ll take the status that comes with being a revolutionary hero. You get a bonus die to all attempts to rally, cajole, and manipulate Anarchs. However, if you meet someone who genuinely was in Los Angeles at that time, you must succeed at a Manipulation + Subterfuge test (Difficulty 4) to convince them you are what you claim you are. **•• Connections:** *Banned* You were not there for the Revolt, but you know someone who was. Once per story, you can contact them and ask a question related to Anarch politics or the history of the Free States and get an honest answer. **••• Original Rebel:** *Banned* You were in Los Angeles at the time of the Second Anarch Revolt. You fought to free your city from the oppression of the Camarilla. You know how to rebel and receive a bonus die to all tests involving a revolution against Camarilla hegemony. **•••• Hero of the Revolution:** *Banned* Not only were you in Los Angeles, you were pivotal to the success of the Revolt and your compatriots know it. You fought in a crucial battle or stopped an important VIP from escaping. Once per story, you may call on former allies to summon an Anarch gang to your aid. There’s five of them, all neonates, with 4 dots in Disciplines each (with no power higher than level three) and a General Difficulty of 4/3. They only help if the action can be presented as part of the righteous struggle against the Camarilla. **••••• Legacy of the Revolution:** *Banned* What has happened before can happen again. Once per chronicle, you can ignite a proper, domain-wide Anarch Revolt in any city you visit, subject to Storyteller approval. The Revolt has a decent chance of success but you will need to participate in decisive battles and risk your unlife to make sure.
Childe of the Revolution (p.150) *The French Revolution was a time of tremendous upheaval, unleashed brutality, and political change. The elite Camarilla old guard lost a lot of control from their old aristocratic and landlord roots, while the newly formed Bohemians rallied entrepreneurial and reformist younger generations to tip the balance of power. The infighting, rioting, and war escalation allowed the Anarchs to roam Paris unimpeded for several years and to recruit in numbers. The Camarilla elite worked towards culling these upstarts and driving them out after the Restoration.* *Kindred who made it through the Revolution can tell many stories of this unique time, its careless brutality, its vibrant hope for change, its dark memories of the dead and dying, and streets running with blood.* **• Rousing Speech:** *Banned* You underwent a time of unique political change and breathed an atmosphere of contestation. When arguing in favor of going against the established order, you can add two dice to a Persuasion or Leadership test. **•• Under the Guillotine:** *Banned* You participated in frantic celebrations under the Guillotine, where people would slather themselves with blood. You have learned to keep a cool head amid complete crowd chaos. Once per story, you may reroll a failed Hunger Frenzy test. **••• Bal des Victimes:** *Banned* After the Revolution, you attended the famed Bal des Victimes, where mourners of revolutionary violence could connect and share their grief over the death of their loved ones. You might be mourning someone yourself or just used the meetings for connections. You can get +2 dice on social tests if you find a way to connect to your target through grief, or +3 if the target was another Bal des Victimes participant. **•••• Friend of Beaumont:** *Banned* You were close to Félicien Beaumont and helped him advance his political agenda and secure important positions in the heat of the Revolution. You have remained in his circle of proteges ever since. Beaumont counts as a five-dot Mawla, but once per story, he’ll request something from you in return, the equivalence of one minor boon. **••••• Bohemian Affinities:** *Banned* Your influence with the reformist Revolutionary faction is extensive, as you provided help to their cause, or maybe you were Embraced in their group. You get five dots to distribute among Haven, Contacts, and Resources. Furthermore, and can access the Halls of Montmartre location (p. 42), using it as a hideout from time to time.
The Order of Repentants (p.152) *The Repentants are Kindred who lost much of their humanity but regained enough to maintain control. They now devote themselves to repenting the vile actions they performed while the Beast controlled them. To join their ranks, you must convince the order of your will to pay for your sins, usually by prostrating yourself in front of a whole chapter of other Repentants. In many ways, being one of the Repentants is similar to belonging to a monastic order as the rules are strict and many. A Repentant exists in fear for what happens if they give in to the whispers of the Beast, and some take extreme measures to stay on that narrow path of self-control. This may involve self-inflicted pain, asceticism, or extensive meditation. Some become self-absorbed in their martyrdom, finding a sort of enjoyment in the constant punishment.* *To be a Repentant, something must’ve happened that caused the character to drop in Humanity and to regain it again. If there isn’t already something in your backstory that fits, you committed an atrocity and have since saved more lives than you took. Choose a method for how your character keeps on the right track and how they’re trying to make amends. You could also include a goal that would make the character leave the Order of Repentants.* **• Sponsorship:** *Allowed* Repenting is easier with someone to support you and keep you focused on the horror’s you’ve committed. You gain a three-dot Mawla from the Order who’ll help you once per story. They may also interfere in other ways if they hear of you straying from your path. **•• Surface Empathy:** *Allowed* Being part of a community that requires you to lay bare your worst regrets has taught you to look beyond the surface. Once per session, you get +2 dice in an Insight or Persuasion test. **••• Flagellation:** *Allowed* Self-punishment is the key to keeping the Beast in check. You get one extra die to resist Frenzy but need to severely punish yourself for it later that night, inflicting 1 Aggravated damage. If you forget, you automatically fail your next Frenzy test. **•••• Superior Focus:** *Allowed* Monastic methods of self-regulation have taught you to focus on what you want, whether it’s obsessing over your own evil or moving towards a goal. You can reroll one bestial failure roll per story without sacrificing Willpower. **••••• Benevolence:** *Allowed* You are devoted to saving your immortal soul, or at least acting as though you could. You can reroll one failed Remorse test per story or let another player reroll theirs.
The Red Lady (p.153) *There is a Toreador ancilla somewhere in Prague called “the Red Lady.” She’s important in the local Camarilla, but not the strictest when it comes to her alliances, since she’s famous for her parties where no one asks questions about what affiliation you belong to. It’s a perfect place to disappear into a crowd, make deals with people you shouldn’t do business with, or just give in to some base, carnal desires. What happens in her parties, stays in her parties. But break that agreement, and you’ll never be invited again, or worse.* **• You Gotta Know Somebody:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You have a contact who can get you into one of the Red Lady’s famous parties. **•• Person of Interest:** *Discuss With Storytellers* The Red Lady is known for her tastes in younger Kindred, even though her particular preferences vary and shift, and many opportunities arise if you embody what she currently favors. You happen to possess some quality she likes. Add one die in Charisma tests when in her presence or toward her partygoers. **••• A Pretty Pet:** *Discuss With Storytellers* To be one of the Red Lady’s favorites comes with a long list of perks, as she happily shares her vast resources with you. You are one of her current pets. She is the equivalent of a two-dot Mawla, and you also gain a dot in Herd and one in Resources. These dots will stay as long as you have her good graces and disappear if you lose them. **•••• A Trusted Friend:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You are one of her recruiters and a trusted enforcer of her will. Once per story, the Red Lady will attend one of your gatherings, and as a token of goodwill and your glorious mutual history, she will grant you a favor. When this occurs, also add one dot in Status (Camarilla). **••••• Red Haze:** *Discuss With Storytellers* The Red Lady’s tastes are broad, ranging from the pedestrian to the exotic to the forbidden—the amaranth. Of course, it wouldn’t befit one of her station to display these telltale signs of a murderous appetite, so she had one of her devoted acolytes develop a method to remove these pesky marks. Once per story, the Red Lady will cleanse your Blood and aura of any evidence of diablerie.
## Live From the Succubus Club
Succubus Club Copycat (p.162) *The legendary Succubus Club of Chicago set the gold standard for hiding in plain sight, with kindred from all over the world going out of their way to visit when possible. Following a series of devastating attacks on the local Camarilla in the mid-nineties, the club shuttered its doors, and the never-ending beat that once drew thousands through its doors was finally silenced.* *Nature abhors a vacuum, and it didn’t take long for a roaming iteration of the Succubus Club to surface. While it ultimately ended in a disaster of its own, it opened the floodgates for many other pale imitations, each hoping to cash in on the original’s reputation. While the OG Chicago version is back up and running, numerous competitors have sprung up, some even use the Succubus Club name feigning authenticity only Helena’s bloodline could provide.* *Business, like the ever-present beat, is booming.* **• Finger on the Pulse:** *Allowed* The club acts as the nexus point for anyone who’s anyone, and as the owner, you know them all. You receive a one-die bonus to Social pools involving important mortals (even if only in their own minds), as they seek to curry your favor (or discretion). **•• Energizing Beat:** *Allowed* A success owes much to its hedonistic vibe and world-class set lists, and for the Kindred guests, this makes for a rich hunting ground. All blood Resonance is considered Intense for you when hunting in the club. **••• Damage Control:** *Allowed* Trained staff are on standby to negate the worst impacts of a feed gone wrong, no questions asked. Once per session, while hunting in the club, if you get a Messy Critical on a test or fail a Frenzy test, you can reroll all dice. **•••• Loyalty:** *Allowed* Your staff are dedicated to you in a way that’s hard to explain, almost as if the club itself had got its hooks into them to ensure their unwavering loyalty. Any attempts by other Kindred to blood bond, Dominate, or sway your staff with Presence automatically fail if it would negatively impact you or the club. **••••• Destination of Choice:** *Locked* The reputation and mystique of the Succubus Club is legendary, so much so that even its clones carry that same seductive atmosphere of excess, edge, and danger. This unique cocktail of ingredients marks it as the place to be, and it’s common to see the city’s kindred in attendance. If the city’s undead leaders are hosting a gathering, you can successfully petition to have it hosted in your club, should you wish, once per session.
The Pony Express (p.163) *The Pony Express was founded by an enterprising group of Ventrue ancillae in response to the Camarilla’s abandonment of electronic communications in the aftermath of the Second Inquisition. Recognizing the need for a method of coordinating intercity communication across the sect, the group’s founder, Elliot Praxton, assembled a group of like-minded Ventrue to found what Praxton deemed “The Pony Express.”* *The Express is a system of physical couriers that crisscross the nation using various modes of transportation ranging from muscle cars and unremarkable sedans, to boats, planes, and helicopters. Agents of the express in each city include Kindred and their ghouls who may be permanent fixtures of that domain, or move from city-to-city in a circuit. They operate a dizzying array of blind-letter drops, secret meets, and other anonymous forms of communication that they use to “collect the mail” in each domain. This mail ranges from heavily-encrypted flash drives to old-fashioned physical correspondence. Express drivers are culled from the ranks of Gangrel loyal to the Camarilla and an ever-increasing pool of young Ventrue and other ambitious Kindred.* *Drivers brave the perils of the open road, handing off their packages to other drivers at pre-arranged drops or occasionally making long-hauls with particularly sensitive information. Anarchs, Lupines, and the Inquisition stand in their way, but they get the mail through, never taking the same route twice, and always covering their tracks. Working for the Express is dangerous on the best of nights, but it is vital to the Camarilla’s survival and Praxton pays extremely well.* **• Access to the Network:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You have access to the Express and can send or receive a secure message or packet to or from any domain the Express operates in. The delivery will arrive within three nights to a week (Storyteller’s discretion). **•• Station Agent:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You collect the mail in your domain and facilitate the handoff to a driver. You have two-dots in Mask and are Zeroed. You also have access to the local Express station, a two-dot Haven with a one-dot Postern. It is owned by Paxton, but available to you while on official Express business. The obligation that comes with this Loresheet sees the vampire often chased or held accountable if expected deliveries do not make it to their recipients. **••• Driver:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You are a driver for the Express, granting you access to a wide array of vehicles and bolt holes across the nation. You can acquire a vehicle appropriate to your journey’s needs (Storyteller’s discretion) once per story. This is typically a car, truck, boat, small aircraft, or even motorcycle suitable to reach your destination. You also have access to the full Pony Express station network, representing a collection of two-dot Havens within one night’s travel of each other. They are owned by Praxton, but available to all his agents and drivers in time of need. **•••• World Tour:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Praxton recently took the Pony Express international, arranging secure stations at many of the world’s major air and seaports, and you are at the forefront of this new initiative. Once per story, you gain access to an international mode of travel specifically tailored to accommodate the unique needs of Kindred. This transportation is likely something fast and maneuverable, like a Lear jet, or slow and clandestine, like a birth on a faceless freighter. Two-dot Havens in the form of Express stations anchor each end of your journey. **••••• Passenger Service:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Always the innovator, Praxton operates a clandestine passenger service for “special” clients. Once per story, you and your coterie obtain passage from your domain to any destination the Express operates in (Storyteller’s discretion).
Road Courier (p.164) *Camarilla domains learned the hard way that online communication is a death trap for Kindred. To escape the fires of the Second Inquisition, vampires have turned to physical couriers. Europe can sometimes rely on rooftop runners and the discretion of sewer-dwelling Nosferatu, but the vast empty spaces of the continents, especially the New World, require messengers to brave the open road. While ghoul couriers have the advantage of operating during the day, they can be vulnerable whenever they stop, so Princes and Barons are sometimes forced to employ discreet and loyal Kindred to transport vital documents and artifacts.* *Whether you travel alone on a Yamaha cruiser or with a whole crew in an armored van, you know how to survive the roads, and how to get under cover with your precious cargo before the sun rises.* **• Bucket:** *Allowed* As long as you’re in an urban area or along a major road, you rarely have problems finding a ride for the night. Add two extra dice to your Intelligence + Streetwise tests while looking for a temporary vehicle. Every success above the margin of difficulty gives some extra comfort and ensures you won’t instantly alert the police. **•• Six in the Morning:** *Allowed* You know a hundred forgotten caves, empty garages, and abandoned warehouses. Once per story, receive a four-dice bonus to a Survival test to find shelter, as long as you’re on a road or street and have a vehicle. Your temporary haven is big enough for a large van. **••• Chosen Steed:** *Allowed* Unlife is filled with uncertainties, but at least there’s one thing you know you can always count on. Select one vehicle that you’ve had for at least one entire story; the bonus for operating and working on this vehicle is three dice. **•••• Highway Harbinger:** *Allowed* You’ve been delivering bad news long enough that vampires know your arrival spells trouble. For the first three nights in a new city after you announce yourself, you gain a three-dice bonus to all Intimidation, Investigation, and Streetwise tests with vampires, as people make stupid mistakes and rumors spread like wildfire.\ However, your coming is now ominous enough that a paranoid Prince or other notable vampire makes it their business to end you or drive you out. Gain a two-dot Adversary for as long as you stay in the city. **••••• Midnight Express:** *Allowed* You know spotters, scouts, and fellow couriers across the country. They function as two dots in Contacts. In addition, once per story, you can order them to watch and clear the roads ahead of you for a single night, letting you maintain a highway speed of 75 miles per hour in even the worst bucket and 150 miles per hour in a high-end cruising vehicle like a Mercedes or a sports car. You need to decide on a start and end point before you set out. Your spotters clear out any mundane problems, like speed traps. They can’t protect you from vampires, Lupines, or other supernatural threats, but they can usually warn you or provide you with alternate routes if you come under fire.
Stories of the Daughters (p.165) *Not many young Kindred have heard of the Daughters of Cacophony, but stories of undead singers extraordinaire are occasionally told in Elysia by those who claim to have met one. A rumored bloodline (although rumormongers cannot agree whether of clan Malkavian, Toreador, or another), the legendary sirens can allegedly sway and hurt using their voice alone, capable of shattering much more than glass. Any appearance of a particularly vocally talented Kindred (of any gender, as “Daughters” is but a title) in the domain may spark gossip, and a few Kindred fear the legends enough to act preemptively on such news, turning rumor into danger for the alleged Siren. Some do not believe in Daughters’ existence, while others successfully pretend to be one, despite their sires knowing nothing of such connection.* **• Aspiring Idol:** *Allowed* Perhaps you trained your voice daily before your Embrace, and find the nightly routine a practice that helps you maintain some connection to your mortal past, or maybe you’re just naturally gifted with a pleasant voice and you like the sound of it. Receive two additional dice to any test involving singing, but if you fail, suffer an immediate Compulsion for the shame you brought on yourself. **•• Surprise Performance:** *Allowed* The talent lies dormant within you, and comes to light in the most unexpected moments. Once per story, receive two extra successes on a test involving public speaking. This can be done after the test has been made, and can be paired with using Presence. **••• Wayward Daughter:** *Allowed* You’ve heard about Daughters of Cacophony, and whatever you’ve heard, you turned into your identity. You successfully (so far) pretend to be a Daughter in the domain you reside in. You’ve also convinced the local Kindred society to treat you like a big deal (though some individuals may argue). This comes with benefits—receive four dots to distribute among Status, Herd and Mawla. However, someone - like your sire—knows your secret, and might use it against you if you give them a reason. Once that happens, lose your gained advantages and gain Flaw: Suspect among the faction you’re the most acquainted with. **•••• Songstress Supreme:** *Allowed* Maybe the vitae of the Daughters really does flow in your undead veins, or maybe you’re just exceptionally talented. Regardless of the source, the beauty and power of your voice surpasses most mortal singers. Gain four additional dice to any vocal performances, but your talent has earned you some unwanted “fans.” Gain the Stalkers Flaw, and a single powerful Adversary who feels either jealous or possessive of you. **••••• Rejuvenating Voice:** *Allowed* Your voice is almost supernaturally soothing. Gain two additional dice to your non-intimidation Presence tests, as well as while using Quell the Beast or Obeah. Additionally, once per story, you can restore three levels of Superficial Willpower damage to everyone capable of hearing your voice. This performance must last for one scene. If interrupted, all listeners suffer one point of Superficial Willpower damage.
Temple of Boom Contract (p.166) *Victor Temple is, in his own words, the “Undisputed Baron of the Valley.” This Ventrue controls the largest Anarch territories in Los Angeles, and perhaps in North America. Victor’s enterprises include several popular nightclubs and an expanding music label business that he promotes under the name Temple of Boom. He also uses this entertainment empire to conceal his unlife — hiding in plain sight, as he likes to say.* *Victor may be based in L.A., but his influence is beginning to extend beyond his home domain: having a connection to the Baron can open up opportunities of wealth, power, and fame, as long as you maintain loyalty to Victor Temple himself, and don’t mistake his affability for complacency.* **• Chocolate Drop:** *Discuss With Storytellers* You’re the newest employee of Temple of Boom, either as a performer or promoter in your city. Gain a dot in Fame and a dot in Contacts. Your newfound status has a downside: Gain the Stalker Flaw **•• I Got Connections:** *Discuss With Storytellers* The Temple of Boom is always looking for new talent, and they are not above poaching from competitors. At the Storyteller’s Discretion, you may request an advance on your salary, and add two dots of Resources or Contacts for the rest of the current Story, in exchange for procuring new talent for Temple of Boom. **••• This is Fine:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Once per Story, you may name-drop Victor Temple and gain 3 extra dice to Social tests in a business/entertainment environment, such as gaining entrance to a nightclub, for the remainder of the scene. Should you do this, however, you will automatically become a person of interest to someone who has beef with Victor Temple or the Temple of Boom in general. Gain the Enemy Flaw at one dot for the rest of the current Story. **•••• Maharaja/Maharani:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Temple of Boom isn’t just a recording label, but also a coveted name in the nightclub business. By demonstrating loyalty to the Temple of Boom business family, Victor Temple has granted you the right to open one of his clubs as a franchise in your city. Your Haven, Fame, Resources, and Herd all increase by one dot, and you receive a specialty in either Finance (accounting) or Performance (showmanship). Due to Victor Temple’s tactic of “hiding in plain sight”, your association with the club will gain you the Compromised Haven Flaw. **••••• If Not Now, When?:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Victor Temple owes you a Major Boon. Whether you obtained this from him personally, or got it through transfers, it is the most valuable currency you own. At Storyteller Discretion, you may personally request something significant from the wealthy, influential Ventrue, such as access to Hunter weapons or even the phone number of a local Werewolf. Should you do this, the Ivory Tower will not be able to ignore your connection to the Anarch Movement. Gain the Shunned (Camarilla) Flaw.
## Misc Official Loresheets\*
Amanda Chastain **• The Pulse:** Allowed\ **•• Boss Lady:** Allowed\ **••• Hacking the System:** Allowed\ **•••• Blood Work:** Allowed\ **••••• Learning the Sytem:** Allowed
Sheriff Qui **• Ally of an Ally:** Allowed\ **•• He calls his Car "She":** Allowed\ **••• Private Eye:** Allowed\ **•••• Comrades in Arms:** Locked\ **••••• Dangerous Secrets:** Locked
The Parthenon Troupe **• Silent Actor:** Allowed\ **•• It Speaks:** Allowed\ **••• No Longer in the Shadow:** Locked (coteries only)\ **•••• Diva:** Locked\ **••••• Impresario:** Locked
# Bloodlines Below is a list of all Bloodline Loresheets, sorted by book. Each entry has their availability and any changes listed. The Loresheet names are also color coded from most- to least- restrictive; if any Lores in the Loresheet are banned, the title will be red. If a Lore needs to be re-contextualized to fit the setting, it will be orange. Should any need to be earned in play, the title will be yellow. A Loresheet title in green means that every Lore is completely available at character creation. For regular Loresheets, see [Loresheets](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/loresheets). | Book | Page Number | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | [Core](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/bloodlines#core) | pp. 390-406 | | [Anarch](#anarch) | pp.194-195 | | [Chicago by Night](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/bloodlines#chicago-by-night) | pp.273-274 | | [The Chicago Folios](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/bloodlines#the-chicago-folios) | p.160 | | [Cults of the Blood Gods](#cults-of-the-blood-gods) | p.226 | | [Children of the Blood](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/bloodlines#children-of-the-blood) | pp.101-102 | | [Trails of Ash and Bone](https://wiki.capetownvtm.com/material-availability/bloodlines#trails-of-ash-and-bone) | pp.171 | | [Players Guide](#players-guide) | pp.223-229 | | [Blood Sigils](#blood-sigils) | p.177 | | [In Memoriam](#in-memoriam) | pp.149-153 | | [Tattered Facade](#tattered-facade) | | | [Live From the Succubus Club](#live-from-the-succubus-club) | pp.158-161 | | Courts of the Damned | pp.218-222 | ## Core
Descendant of Hardestadt, Ventrue Characters Only (p.390) *To hear many Ventrue tell it, Hardestadt was the most important Ventrue for eight centuries, until his destruction by Brujah rebels led by the betrayer Theo Bell during the Convention of Prague in 2012. Hardestadt was the Ventrue founder of the Camarilla, alongside six peers from other clans, and Ventrue credit him with the sect’s strength and survival since then.* *Hardestadt did not Embrace many mortals, and oddly for a Ventrue, he never confirmed his lineage back to a Fourth Generation methuselah. As far as Hardestadt was concerned, he was the be-all and end-all of the Ventrue. None who came before or after could hold a candle to his achievements.* **• Voice of Hardestadt:** Hardestadt shouted often, punctuating his remarks with fist blows to tables, walls, or unfortunate ghouls. Your Blood allows you to speak over any noise and draw attention, whether in a buzzing meeting room or at a rave. Something in your voice allows others to hear you. Whether they go on to pay attention depends on what you say. **•• Supreme Leader:** Hardestadt’s self-confidence as a leader was in many ways his undoing, but until his Final Death, it saw him rise to greatness. You can convince others to follow you into deadly situations or command from the rear, and you can send subjects to their doom to better your position. Once per story, you suffer no penalty to your dice pool for sending people into danger. **••• Ventrue Pillar:** Due to your prestigious lineage, other Ventrue look to you for guidance. Regardless of your Status with other groups, you always have three dots of Status ( ) with Ventrue. **•••• Line to the Founders:** Hardestadt ensured his entire line could reach him when endangered. He rarely answered communications unless the situation was dire, and he punished misuse severely, but his method still holds despite his death. Once per chronicle, you can call, write to, or arrange a meeting with one of the Camarilla’s founders in lieu of Hardestadt. Whether they deign to respond depends upon the importance of your request **••••• Hardestadt’s Heir:** You hold in your possession a signed document in which Hardestadt names you as his successor. You’re not sure what you are a successor to: mere wealth and power, Ventrue kingship, or even the Inner Circle of the Camarilla. When you take the name of “Hardestadt,” the document claims that the Camarilla shall march to the beat of your drum – and ensures that the Anarchs will swarm to take you down.
Descendant of Helena, Toreador Characters Only (p.391) *Some claim she dwells in the Americas, constantly at war with a rival. Others say she runs the most popular vampire nightclub in the world. A few believe she is the clan founder’s lover, and that she is in the process of waking the Toreador Antediluvian.* *Beautiful and gifted, it is said none can look away from Helena unless she wills it. Mortals have died to be the first to witness her artistic creations. Her descendants all display an immense level of talent, exemplifying the traditional Toreador role. It is a stereotype few Toreador resent; Helena is a clan icon. Toreador want to get to know you, so they can get a little closer to her.* **• Skin-Deep:** No matter your standing, dropping Helena’s name in conversation with a Toreador or a vampire who knows of her effectively raises your Status by one dot. You can drop Helena’s name once per story for this effect, or more often to make everyone sick of you. **•• Real Talent:** Unlike other vapid Toreador relying on their faces and bodies alone, you were Embraced for your talent. Choose one Skill from Craft, Etiquette, or Performance. Increasing this Skill costs half the experience points (rounded down) that such an increase would typically cost. **••• Embrace the Stereotype:** When the time comes, you can play the role of shallow Toreador, surround yourself with an entourage of sycophants, and throw a party that becomes legend. Once per story, you may host a party to increase your Status and/or Influence by two dots with an invited group; the increase lasts as long as the party does. **•••• Divine Purity:** Unlike most within Helena’s extended family, your perfection is more angelic than devilish. You can commit any sin, but you will always look innocent. Add two dice to your dice pools when making tests to avoid blame for your actions. **••••• Succubus Club Franchise:** Helena succumbed to the Beckoning in recent years, leaving the Succubus Club in Chicago to a manager once again. She bestowed a license upon you to establish a franchised Succubus Club in your domain. This rare honor guarantees the city’s Kindred respond to your call, as every vampire Embraced in the last 200 years has heard of the Succubus Club. As long as the club remains open, the Chasse rating of your coterie’s Domain increases by two dots. You also have four dots to select among Resources, Fame, and Status among all Kindred.
Descendant of Zelios, Nosferatu Characters Only (p.398) *All of Clan Nosferatu knows their great architect Zelios as a master planner, mason, and scholar of geomantic power. Though he disappeared beneath New York in the 1990s, he left behind libraries of books, plans, and treatises on the power of location and sacred geometry.* *Zelios’ descendants continue his good work, instructing other vampires on the building of havens, dungeons, prisons, and labyrinths. They can supposedly sense ley lines and, for a price, advise Princes where to locate havens at these epicenters to ensure both armor and power from the earth and stars.* **• Sanctuary:** Your haven is a wonder of modern design, possessing security in the form of secret passages, electronic security, and even a self-destruct button, all while looking stylish and comfortable. Split two dots between either or both of the Haven Merits Postern and Security System, but someone, somewhere likely has all the details of the setup. **•• Saboteur:** You instinctively know where a building’s weaknesses are, and you don’t even require explosives to destroy it. With maul, crowbar, cable, and cold chisel, and as many nights on site as the difficulty the Storyteller sets for the building (i.e. four for a family home, six for a bank, eight for a prison, nine for a skyscraper), you can collapse an edifice like a house of cards. **••• On Commission:** Other vampires know you descend from Zelios and ask for advice on how best to build their own havens. This business ensures you often have a boon or two to collect (roughly one minor boon per story) and that you know where a number of powerful vampires sleep – which, in the end, probably does you more harm than good. **•••• The Labyrinth:** You used Zelios’ work to construct a labyrinth beneath your domain, made in part with sewers, disused drains, cellars, basements, and maintenance tunnels. You added your own chambers, dead ends, and connections to form a true underground maze. Only those you tell know of your labyrinth. You cannot treat the labyrinth as a Haven, as it terrifies you, but if you reach it when chased, no one can pursue you. **••••• Sense the Ley Lines:** You occasionally glimpse throbbing red tendrils snaking through the earth: ley lines. Vampires who make their havens where these vessels converge find their Hunger grows more slowly (when making a Rouse check for awakening, roll two dice and pick the highest) if they sleep there by day. Ley lines have other powerful magical effects – secrets you can research along lines the Storyteller indicates – and your fellow Sewer Rats harshly punish disclosing anything about such secrets.
Descendant of Vasantasena, Malkavian Characters Only (p.399) *Vasantasena and her Malkavian sire Unmada traveled the world throughout the Middle Ages, preaching against the Blood Bond. They rejected the vinculum, traditional Kindred hierarchy, and all loss of free will. Ultimately, they condemned the Antediluvians for their cruel tyranny through Jyhad, joining the Sabbat during its formation.* *As the Camarilla had, the Sabbat rejected her cause, instituting both hierarchy and ritual enslavement through vitae. She eventually rejected them in turn, assembling a faction of Malkavians to embrace freedom from the Sabbat.* *Vasantasena’s descendants are many and varied, and all of them followed her from the Sabbat before the sect’s recent, bestial devolution. Some joined the Camarilla, others the Anarchs. All possess the zeal and charm she wields like a knife. All fight for something.* **• Agent of Chaos:** You thrive while everything around you burns or spins into catastrophe. In turbulent situations, such as an unusually chaotic and unpredictable combat, a car chase through a crowded city, or when fleeing an exploding building, once per session, you may re-roll a single die without spending Willpower. **•• Hear My Words:** You carry your ancestor’s skills of persuasion, finding your voice speaks to the Blood of others before it reaches their minds. Once per story, if you attempt to counsel others in a chaotic environment and they actually stop to listen, they may re-roll one dice pool in one future test during the same situation. **••• Scent the Bond:** Vasantasena’s loathing of Blood Bonds was part of the reason she targeted the Antediluvians and the ties they maintained with their offspring. Such was her power that she could smell the Bond on individual vampires and recognize the same odor on the vampire Bonded to, or Bonding, them. Once per story, on a successful Resolve + Awareness test (Difficulty 4), you can do the same. **•••• Destroy the Bond:** Vasantasena’s greatest act is the destruction of the Blood Bond. Some say she performed this act many times in recent years among the Sabbat, in part leading to their rapid degeneration. Once per story, you too can remove the Blood Bond imposed on a victim, if you drink a mouthful of the thrall’s vitae and then ride out a frenzy. **••••• Sabbat Becomes Camarilla:** Vasantasena achieved the impossible and showed her descendants how it was done. Alien, inhuman philosophies locked most vampires into the Sabbat. Once per story, you can deprogram a vampire from their sect beliefs. To do so, you must completely isolate the subject and make an extended test (p. 293) of either Intelligence or Charisma + Insight in an atmosphere of specialized perfumes. Roll once per three nights of disputation; you win after achieving a number of successes equal to twice the subject’s Willpower.
Descendant of Karl Schrekt, Tremere Characters Only (p.405) *Clan Tremere is a hollow reflection of its former glories. With the Pyramid decapitated and its leadership scattered, Tremere traditionalists look to one vampire for authority: former Justicar, Karl Schrekt. A legend within his own clan and the Camarilla, Schrekt hunted vampires before his Embrace in 1235. For centuries, he acted as the Camarilla’s weapon against the Sabbat, Anarchs, and occult menaces. He suppressed or destroyed lore regarding Antediluvians, eliminated countless threats to the Masquerade, and did it all without mercy. He earned his share of disciples, but few enemies. Those he got, he killed.* *Now he’s one of the eldest Tremere remaining.* *Schrekt’s descendants largely follow their ancestor’s hardline clan and sect views: enforce the Traditions, strengthen the clan, and hide the secrets of Blood magic from other vampires.* **• Remember the House:** Once per story, you can ask the Storyteller for one piece of information regarding the activities of House Tremere or the clan before its grievous injury. **•• Hardliner:** Schrekt’s way is the only way forward for your clan. You follow Schrekt’s laws fanatically. With the Storyteller’s agreement, add two dice to any dice pool when testing to resist attempts to sway you from Schrekt’s goals. **••• Ritual Preparedness:** Allegedly, Karl Schreckt prepares all of his rituals in advance and keeps several such-preprepared rituals about his person at all times. Once per story, you may perform one of your rituals in five minutes, without preparation, having done all the preparations beforehand. **•••• Archon’s Bane:** You find Schrekt’s targeting of supernatural entities deplorable, and you have formed a tight bond with a member of another supernatural background. You have a four-dot Ally: a mage, werewolf, wraith, changeling, or something even stranger. You must keep your friend safe, as they are being hunted. Once per story, they come to your aid within one to ten hours when called. **••••• Know the World:** Karl Schrekt believes knowledge is power and that vampires who limit their learning to the study of fellow Kindred are fools. Whether Schrekt’s puppet or nemesis, you agree with his assessment and keep archives on werewolves, magi, wraiths, fae, and other weird entities. This collection equates to a three-dot Haven Library (pick three suitable specialties of Occult), although you might not store your reference materials in your haven. Also once per story, you can ask the Storyteller to answer any simple question related to such creatures.
## Anarch
Descendant of Xaviar, Gangrel Characters Only (p.194) *Nobody, even fellow Gangrel, listened to Xaviar the first time he spoke. It took marching into a convocation of the Camarilla’s biggest players for other Kindred to take notice of him. He spoke of interacting with one of the Antediluvians and seeing his entire coterie eaten alive by this mythological creature. He accused the Camarilla of perfidy against its members and cast aside his role of Gangrel Justicar.* *News travels slowly among the Gangrel, as a clan with little hierarchy and lacking an effective communication network. Slowly, Gangrel followed Xaviar out of the Camarilla, some becoming Autarkis, while more ultimately joined the Anarchs.* *Gangrel now share a communal guilt for their initial disbelief of Xaviar’s claims and slow reaction to his proclamation, as he met Final Death soon after. Few know if the Camarilla or some other agency slew the mighty Gangrel, but all know their ancestor was wronged. Now they take up his torch and attempt to bring the Gangrel into truth’s flickering light.* **• Martyred Ancestor:** Other Gangrel treat you with the respect they took too long to afford Xaviar. Despite any personal grievances, you can always find sanctuary with other Gangrel, if any are present in your current domain, at least until you insult them grievously. With them, you have two dots of Status. **•• Where the Bodies Are Buried:** Xaviar’s experiences with melding through earth, blood, and vitae left a mark on his lineage. Gangrel of his line can make a Resolve + Awareness test to detect whether a vampire has merged with the earth or lays torpid beneath the soil. Difficulty depends on the area you have to search. **••• Loyal Hound:** You resisted the winds of change, remaining with the Camarilla despite your clan’s actions. For your loyalty, the local Camarilla Prince awarded you status, feeding rights, and territory, amounting to four dots you can distribute among Domain, Herd, and Status. Non-Camarilla Gangrel despise you, and even Camarilla vampires of other clans pity your solitude, but you guarantee yourself a voice among the Primogen, should any rebel Gangrel pass through your domain. **•••• Monstrous Bat:** Xaviar’s preferred bestial form was once that of a bat, but following his encounter with the Antediluvian, he found his form capable of changing into a hybrid between human and bat. Once per story when the moon is just right, you can take the same form. This man-sized bat has an extra dot in all Physical Attributes and can glide in the air from any height. Biting in this form adds +1 Aggravated damage to mortals and vampires alike. **••••• Experienced the Antediluvian:** Xaviar was not the only Gangrel to sink into the ground and find himself inside his clan founder’s vast, inhuman form. You have done the same, and the experience changed you. You are now a little mad, likely suffering from paranoia or claustrophobia. Whenever you call your encounter to mind, you feel your veins rooted to the ground, connecting to every other Gangrel in the world. Once per story, you can sense any Gangrel’s location and drain a thimbleful of vitae from them to reset your Hunger level to 2. You must be touching open ground, not concrete, to use this ability.
Descendant of Tyler, Brujah Characters Only (p.195) *Every aspiring Brujah rebel worships Tyler – once known as Patricia of Bollingbroke – and going by many names since. Her revolutionary violence against tyrant elders and insidious methuselahs irrevocably changed Kindred society and inspired the Anarch Movement. Tyler herself doubts that her actions led to effective praxis, but her childer and clanmates compare her to everyone from Robin Hood, to Malcolm X, to Che Guevara, to Gavrilo Princip.* *Tyler still exists: a quiet, studious rebel in these nights. With centuries of reflection, she struggles to reconcile her actions with the results of modern nights. Her descendants continue the fight with the hopes of uplifting her to her destined greatness one night.* **• Instigator:** Once per story, whenever you attempt to persuade a mortal crowd into violent action, your hot-blooded nature adds two dice to your dice pool to do so. **•• Champion of the Cause:** When vampires want a leader for a rebellion, large or small scale, they come to you for advice or leadership. They might even listen to your words, and providing your advice is not completely ridiculous, might even defer to your authority. You add two dots to your Status with them during such rebellions, but you might find the numerous contacts gained before a rebellion more valuable and certainly less dangerous. **••• Tyler’s Mercy:** You know when to stop. Tyler recognized when the Sabbat went too far with her Anarch ideals, and you likewise recognize the limits of violent revolution. Once per story, when frenzying, you may at any point take a Brujah Compulsion (p. 210) to immediately cease the outburst. You do not suffer any confusion or tiredness after an interrupted frenzy, abruptly snapping back to Humanity. **•••• The Furores:** Tyler’s philosophies first emerged among a historic vampire group known as the Furores, dedicated to the destruction of all Kindred tyrants. This group still exists in secret, and you claim membership. When the time is right (once per chronicle), the Furores arm you, provide you with sanctuary in a regnum where they have influence, and activate assets in the target domain as surprise Allies (available within one scene). The Allies add up to five dots of Effectiveness; the rest depends on your collaboration with the Storyteller. Furore assets can only be used when attempting to take down a Prince, unfit Baron, or vampire of higher station. Misuse makes you a target of the Furores and their unknown operatives. **••••• Permanent Revolution:** You have already taken down one sect figurehead. You now lead an army of revolutionaries to sweep the board in the neighboring regnae. For as long as you keep fighting and are not found to be indulging in the luxuries of station, Anarchs stop to listen to your every word, and Brujah Anarchs do exactly as you say, including embarking on suicide missions. No rolls are required if your speech is strong and argument convincing enough.
## Chicago by Night
Descendant of Lodin, Ventrue Characters Only (p.273) *Before Lodin came to power, one thing was true: He was not the only Ventrue in the city, only the most ruthlessly ambitious, the one who seized opportunity when it presented itself and claimed a throne for himself. After Lodin came to power, this was also true: He systematically eliminated any who might grow into a significant challenge to his claims of praxis, particularly the members of his own clan whom, rightly or wrongly, he considered primary threats instead of potential allies. He ruled for decades, siring a series of lieutenants to enact his will and solidify his control over the domain he had claimed, permitting those lieutenants to sire broods of their own as they, and he, deemed necessary.* *Lodin is gone now, pulled down by treachery and inhuman savagery, but his legacy lives on in those that carry his bloodline — both of the childer he sired once he came to his throne and those he sired before the tides of conflict washed him up in Chicago.* **• Baby of the Family:** You are the (current) youngest member of the lineage, Embraced within the last decade and still young enough to be treated with some degree of indulgence while you learn the ropes — and pretty much every Ventrue you encounter thinks they have something useful to teach you. With other members of your clan in Chicago, you always have a Mawla rating of one dot. **•• Responsible Middle Childe:** You are a steadfast and proud member of Lodin’s wide bloodline, just coming into your own power and responsibilities. Due to your lineage and position, other Kindred of similar age and Generation to you look to you for leadership. With them you always carry a minimum of Status (••). **••• Black Sheep of the Family:** You are a descendant of Lodin...and you don’t like it one little bit. You have split with the rest of the late Prince’s consanguinity in some dramatic way: running off to join the Anarchs, publicly siding with the (dis)loyal opposition in political matters affecting the stability of your bloodline’s rule, turning into the world’s worst and least appeasable Herald. You have a little bit of dirt on every one of Lodin’s childer. The Storyteller will reveal a secret about any one of them you encounter, once per story. **•••• Like Sire, Like Childe:** Like your ancestor, you are a virtually unkillable cockroach of a vampire, capable of taking anything that unlife throws at you and turning it, if not into gold, then at least a solid shot at survival. Add two dice to your dice pools when making tests to avoid physical or supernatural injury outside of direct physical conflict. **••••• Long-Lost Relative:** Lodin had an unlife before he came to Chicago and your existence is proof of that fact: You are the descendant of one of the childer he sired in the years between his departure from Veracruz and his arrival in Chicago, when he was a rootless and pragmatically unsupervised wanderer. Your arrival has sent a shockwave through the city and now you are among the most sought-after of its residents, enjoying Status (••••) among Ventrue and court officials, the attention of every social gadfly in Chicago, and a definite seat at the Prince’s table.
## The Chicago Folios
Descendant of Menele, Brujah Characters Only (p.160) *Menele has walked the Earth since his breathing days as a philosopher-king in ancient Greece. His insatiable lust for enlightenment led him first to India, then to Carthage, a utopia purportedly built on the ideal of peaceful coexistence between Kindred and kine. A utopia reduced to ash by the treachery of Helena.* *Apoplectic with rage, Menele razed Helena’s beloved Pompeii to a cinder, lighting the spark of their unending rivalry. Helena and Menele fought across the ages until they beat themselves into mutual torpor near present-day Chicago. Menele was on the verge of renewing his ancient grudge with Helena when he was called east by the Beckoning, freeing his childer from his vice-like mental grip.* *Many of Menele’s descendants inherited his passion for philosophy, enlightenment, and greater ideals, while others became fearsome warriors selected for their ability to defend Menele from Helena’s agents. Both were needed to realize Menele’s weary dream of founding a new Carthage based on ancient Brujah ideals. Now, Menele’s descendants are free to choose their destiny for the first time in millennia. The question is: What will they do with it?* **• Symposium:** *Allowed* Menele always liked a good argument and sired many childer after debating the mysteries of life for evenings on end. All of your Persuasion rolls have their difficulty reduced by one. **•• Carthago Delenda Est:** *Allowed* Menele maintained an elaborate network of spies, informants, and retainers. His network fragmented upon his destruction, but you managed to claim a portion of it for your own. You have three dots to split between Retainers, Influence, Allies, and Resources, with the absolute certainty that Helena and her agents will attempt to take them from you. **••• Know Thyself:** *Allowed* Menele believed the Brujah needed to return to their roots as thinkers and positive agents of change. You are trained to resist the pull of your Brujah fury. Once per session, you can spend a Willpower point to re-roll a frenzy brought about by your Brujah clan bane. **•••• Knowledge is Power:** *Allowed* Menele was impossibly old and held many secrets about the Kindred of Chicago and beyond. You were steward of those secrets before. The Beckoning drew him away. Once per story, you may request a single secret from the Storyteller about a clan or Kindred in Chicago or similar domain that felt Menele’s influence (Storyteller’s discretion). **••••• The Greater Mysteries:** *Allowed* Menele spent years learning the meditative practices necessary to perceive the astral plane in his quest for spiritual perfection. You inherited a portion of his ability and remain fully cognizant of your surroundings during your daily slumber. Reduce the difficulty of all Rouse checks to awaken during the day by two. You also have the ability to perceive fractured glimpses of events to come that may affect your character while you slumber. Once per session, you may roll Resolve + Occult to interpret your nightly visions. Each success brings the vision into greater focus and the Storyteller may offer you one cryptic hint or fact relevant to your character.
## Cults of the Blood Gods
The Criminal Puttanesca, Hecata Characters Only (p.226) *For a few decades, the Giovanni had a reputation as being nothing more than vampire mobsters. Savvy Hecata ancillae confronted by such ethnic stereotypes in Camarilla Elysia laugh and suggest the rumor started from too many late-night showings of The Godfather. And once the Hecata gets a chance to slip away, they call their cousins and ask what the fucking Puttanesca have done this time.* *The fucking Puttanesca family, as they’re often called by other Hecata, were acquired from Sicily in the 1660s as talented street hustlers — perfect for dirty, low-level jobs that the more moneyed Giovanni couldn’t be bothered to handle. Over the years, these Puttanescas leaned into the mafioso stereotypes, because you might as well be a legbreaker if you break legs for a living. After the Family Reunion, any remaining connections to organized crime have been quickly shuffled over to the Puttanescas. The anziani say it’s a reward for loyal service. But the Puttanesca know it’s a way to put all the Hecata’s embarrassing assets in one place.* *So if they’re going to be “the fucking Puttanesca,” that’s fine. This family knows all about beating on the little guy before you get beat on by a bigger guy. But soon they’ll be the big guy, and it’ll be everyone else that gets fucked.* **• Friends in Low Places:** *Allowed* Puttanesca Kindred have close ties to the street, and usually have a few side hustles happening at any one time. It’s easy to get your hands on a little bit of cash and a little bit of muscle whenever you need it. You get two dots to spread between Allies and Resources, and you can reallocate those two dots at the start of each story. These Advantages are immediately subject to police scrutiny. **•• Show Your Belly:** *Allowed* Some members of your family survive by looking as harmless as possible to people more powerful than them. Sure, it’s not dignified, but if you can survive the night, that gives you time to get your revenge later. You get three bonus dice to rolls to convince people not to hurt, endanger, or act against you. **••• Show Your Fists:** *Allowed* On the other hand, it’s not all being pushed around. Some Puttanesca prefer to kick around those smaller than them. You need to show them who’s boss. Prick probably would’ve done something to piss you off anyway, so better to get your licks in first. Against mortals you get two bonus dice for rolls to intimidate, and your unarmed damage modifier increases by one. **•••• Get the Squad Together:** *Allowed* Occasionally you just need to get some people together for a good old ass-beating. Once per story, you can get a gang together for a brawl. This gang comprises any local Puttanesca Kindred, as well as mortals equivalent to five dots of Allies. You also get an automatic success in rolls to convince other characters that this beatdown is necessary. **••••• The Don:** *Allowed* Against all odds, you’ve kissed and kicked ass in equal measure to make your way to some amount of respect, wealth, and influence. Other Hecata might even stop insulting you to your face. You have three additional dots each in Contacts, Influence, and Resources, but they must be assigned to criminal enterprise and require careful maintenance to not draw the attention of groups such as the FBI, agents of which can become potent versions of the Enemy Flaw.
## Children of the Blood
Grudge Masters, Hecata Characters Only (p.102) *In the 1950s, the Milliner family joined Clan Giovanni out of spite. They weren’t known for their prowess with Oblivion, but their connections helped the clan survive major shifts in organized crime, and the rise of the Second Inquisition. Their only reward was more work and tighter restrictions on feeding and the Embrace, something the Family Reunion did little to rectify. The Milliners have the most responsibilities and the least respect.* *As a Milliner, you’re not a household name like the Clintons or the Waltons, but the right people double-take when they hear it. You know that the Giovanni haven’t and won’t give you the credit you deserve, and it’s a deep and simmering grudge, one of the most important among the many you hold. Now everyone is one big happy family, it’s time to air all those grudges out. After all, you’ve got plenty of new cousins that’d just love payback.* **• You Know Who I Am:** *Allowed* The Milliners are a true American dynasty, and the name carries a power even now and outside of the United States. Once per story, when you invoke the legacy of the Milliner line, you may add three dice to a Social roll. **•• Family Bank:** *Allowed* The family has plenty of money, but anyone that calls upon that fortune needs to repay with cash, blood, or labor. Once per story, you may borrow money from a new or existing Milliner SPC. You have Resources 5 for the rest of the story but owe that SPC a favor that must be fulfilled before the end of the story. Your Storyteller will tell you the favor, and the consequences you face if that debt isn’t repaid when the story ends. **••• Perfect Grudges:** *Allowed* The Milliners are known for their grudges, but you’re the true poster child. When you are slighted or beaten on a roll by a SPC, you may create a Project (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 415) dedicated to taking revenge. Its Launch Roll automatically succeeds, and you may add two dice to any Goal Rolls. The character can have as many grudge Projects as their dots in Composure. Any aspirations of revenge beyond that limit are regular Projects. **•••• You Owe Me:** *Allowed* The Milliners always get their due, even at the worst possible times. Once per story, you may spend a Willpower and declare an SPC in the scene owes you a favor in secret, and it’s now due. The SPC must fulfill that favor to the best of their ability by the end of the story, as decided by the Storyteller. **••••• Friends in High Places:** *Allowed* The Milliners’ connections in law enforcement turned them on would-be vampire hunters. This is more difficult these days, but you still have the little black books. Pick a faction within the Second Inquisition (FIRSTLIGHT, the Entity, a local intelligence agency, etc.). Once per story, when that faction acts against you, you may automatically redirect that action onto any enemy Kindred SPC. If they survive, that SPC will know you are to blame.
## Trails of Ash and Bone
Descendant of Roger de Camden, Hecata Characters Only (p.171) *Few figures among the foundations of the Clan of Death are as ancient and enigmatic as Roger de Camden. Known by many names throughout history, the shadowy Kindred who now rules as Prince of Edinburgh has spent lifetimes studying and honing an intimate understanding of the boundaries between life and death.* *A scholar, martyr, and a survivor, de Camden walked among the eldest Cappadocians, his powerful vitae resonating down through the centuries all the way to tonight’s Hecata. To you. Whether through the boasts of your sire, or poring over a dusty book of names delivered to your haven, you have discovered that you are a descendant of Roger De Camden himself.* **• Proud Childe:** *Allowed* Your grandsire is among the most storied and respected of any to walk among the Clan of Death. While within any Hecata controlled domain, haven, or social gathering, you have two dots of Status (••). **•• Corpsense:** *Allowed* You follow in your ancestor’s footsteps with a fascination and understanding of the deceased. You gain two dice to any pool for investigating the cause of injury or death of a body. At any time, if a nearby wraith chooses to, they can always communicate to you with ease. **••• Eye to Eye:** *Allowed* Roger de Camden’s relationship with the godlike Ventrue Mithras was deep, complex, and the gossip of generations. While the Blue Bloods respect little outside their own clan, they recognize how significant de Camden was to the lonely unlife of one of their greatest. You receive a benefit of two dice to all pools for Persuasion or Intimidation actions when dealing with Kindred of Clan Ventrue, and careful mentions of your lineage could get you through doors non-Ventrue might normally never pass. **•••• The Way of all Flesh:** *Allowed* The bloodline of de Camden screams out to the spirits of the recently deceased, dragging them back to the physical realm long after they should have departed forever. You can perform the Embrace as normal on an old corpse so long as it has not rotted beyond recognition. This rebirth is far more traumatic than usual, and the fledgling is deeply affected by whatever they experienced in their brief time between lives. **••••• Perchance to Dream:** *Allowed* Like your forefather before you, you are forever preoccupied with the world of the dead, their souls so close you can almost reach out to touch them. Occasionally during your daily rest, or indeed when lying in torpor, your spirit wanders into the Shadowlands (see Cults of the Blood Gods). What you may see there, or what wraiths may be drawn to your presence, is anyone’s guess. If you are attacked while in the Shadowlands, you are immediately returned to your physical form, suffering one level of Superficial Willpower damage.
## Players Guide
Bankers of Dunsirn, Hecata Characters Only (p.223) *Sometime around the 18th century, the Giovanni wanted a foothold in the markets of the New World. But all of their attempts were constantly blocked by a Scottish family of bankers who owned several shipping ventures. Impressed by their financial acumen, the Giovanni investigated bringing the family into the fold. What closed the deal was the discovery that the Dunsirn were cannibals as well as financiers. It was the perfect balance of money, depravity, and ability to keep a secret.* *For centuries, the relationship between the two families was clear: The Dunsirn made the money, and the Giovanni family spent it like water. Surprisingly, even though mortal members of the Dunsirn family still indulge in the occasional bit of “long pork,” the Kindred don’t show much aptitude or interest in necromantic pursuits. Prior to the Family Reunion, there was an effort to force them into learning the ways of Oblivion, but now the Dunsirns are happy to go back to what they do best: bleeding people dry.* *And this time, they don’t need to answer to the fucking Giovanni to do it, either.* **• Money Obfuscates:** *Allowed* It’s hard to make money and not be noticed, but the Dunsirn have worked in the shadows for centuries. You’ve spread some of your family’s money around to make an alternate identity for yourself. You get two dots of the Mask Background for free, though you must maintain this Mask at least once per story. **•• Money Talks:** *Allowed* The Dunsirn find information in the most interesting places. All you have to do is spread a little money around, and people jump out of the woodwork to tell you things. Once per story, you can find information as if you had the Contacts Background with a number of dots equal to your Resources. This ability lasts for a single scene. **••• Money Enhances:** *Allowed* You always have access to the best that money can buy. Having access to quality products not only acts as a status symbol, it also makes everything a little easier. When making a roll in which you can use your own equipment, you get a bonus die to the roll. **•••• Money Multiplies:** *Locked* All the Hecata know the Dunsirn are bankers. But most of them think of it in the abstract, as if “banker” is just a different way of saying “someone with a lot of money.” But you are (or are directly related to) a legitimate investment banker. Gain three dots (up to five) in Resources. In addition, anyone in your coterie loses the Destitute Flaw (Vampire: the Masquerade, p. 193), and can purchase dots in Resources at 2 experience points per dot, instead of the usual 3. **••••• Money Dictates:** *Locked* You are the head of the Dunsirn family accounts. You have your undead finger on the pulse of the Hecata’s financial accounts. And you make sure that everyone else knows it. You gain three free dots of Status in the Hecata. In addition, once per chronicle, you can either give every Hecata in the chronicle two additional dots of Resources or remove all Resource dots from every Hecata in the chronicle. These Resources additions or removals last for a single story, and if removed, generate a chronicle-length Adversary Flaw in the form of one of the robbed vampires.
Children of Tenochtitlan, Hecata Characters Only (p.224) *In the early sixteenth century, Spanish Giovanni met representatives of the Aztec civilization as part of the Cortez expeditions. In the city of Tenochtitlan (now part of Mexico City), these Giovanni were introduced to a massive, formalized necromantic tradition. So naturally they killed, enslaved, and converted the “heathens,” bringing them into the fold. The Giovanni called these converts pisanob, a Mayan term that roughly translates to “ghosts of the dead that walk the Earth” (the fact that the Aztecs weren’t Maya didn’t concern the Europeans). That these vampires already had a name, a legacy, and their own beliefs mattered little to the Giovanni.* *Their leader, Pochtli, was still in charge of the Pisanob up through the Family Reunion. However, the family had been whittled down to a bare few remaining Kindred after the ongoing attacks by the Harbingers of Skulls (see p. 226), although the reasons for the attacks were unknown. Pochtli offered his unlife to the Harbingers in exchange for an end to hostilities, which the Harbingers accepted.* *Now, the remaining children of Tenochtitlan are deciding on a new leader, while planning their revenge.* **• Hiding from the Wolf:** *Allowed* The remaining Pisanob survived because they are really, really good at hiding. You’ve learned all manner of techniques to remain out of sight of those that would hunt you... and those you would hunt. You get one extra die on any roll to hide, including via the use of Disciplines or Ceremonies. **•• Ghostly Instincts:** *Allowed* The original Kindred embraced in Tenochtitlan were extremely talented necromancers, and they have carried on a wide variety of tips, tricks, and secrets among their brethren. You’ve learned some of those secrets, which give you two additional dice on any Oblivion Ceremony roll involving the summoning, control, or destruction of ghosts. **••• Forward Thinking:** *Allowed* After years of being hunted down by the Harbingers of Skulls, you’ve learned to always plan ahead, turning potential tragedy into a triumph. Once per story, you can reroll any Skill roll. In addition, you always get one free Skill reroll in any scene in which you work against another Hecata. If the Hecata in question is a member of the Harbingers of Skulls, you get an additional success on that reroll. **•••• Necromantic Prodigy:** *Locked* The secrets of Oblivion are yours to command, whether through study, your ancient bloodline, or secrets you have acquired from your cousins over the years. Your mastery of necromantic Ceremonies is unparalleled. You get two automatic successes on any roll necessary for activating a necromantic Oblivion Ceremony. **••••• Next In Line:** *Locked* Now that Pochtli has sacrificed himself to the Hecata’s grand plan of unity, it is time for another to step up and lead the Pisanob to future glory. You are one such individual, wielding a balance of necromantic skill and political savvy. You have an additional two dots of Status within the Hecata. Further, you have an ally among the Hecata leadership, who acts as a five-dot Mawla once every other story. (You can purchase the Mawla Background as normal to make the character a more regular mentor or patron.
Flesh-Eaters, Hecata Characters Only (p.225) *The Nagaraja are the most wayward of vampires in a clan now full of wayward vampires. They believe themselves to be the first ever necromancers. They revel in the fact that their lineage is not easy to trace back to one of the known Antediluvians. They believe they once mastered the lands of the dead, having converted their Blood to live in such a place. And, perhaps as a result of said Ceremony, they ate human flesh in lieu of drinking blood. They believe one night they can become masters of the Underworld again. The Nagaraja are rightly seen as bogeymen, as they number but few and advocate for the horrible practice of capturing mortals and stripping them of flesh and blood night after night, while keeping them alive through first aid and gifts of vitae. As a disparate group, they have little that binds them as a society beyond their affinity or ghosts (most master Oblivion ahead of any other Discipline) and their belief*\ *that torment of the body and spirit brings any witnesses (or victims) closer to the mysteries of life, death, and undeath.* *A handful of Nagaraja showed up to the Family Reunion, claiming some kind of catastrophe drove them out of their home. Initially they were believed to be some kind of radical form of Dunsirn, but while the bankers are hobbyists in the realm of cannibalism, the Nagaraja are experts. Years of avoiding attention from both mortals and Kindred society have honed them into efficient serial killers — quite useful to their new clan-mates. They may no longer need flesh the way they did, but their skills are still useful in this new age. And some never lost the taste.* **• Viscus:** *Allowed* You can still eat flesh in lieu of drinking blood — biting a mortal and causing an Aggravated wound acts in all other ways like drinking blood for you. You can also eat fresh corpses, although the taste is not as good. **•• Unseen Spirit:** *Allowed* Some of the Nagaraja can make themselves unseen to ghosts and spirits. If you do not already have access to the Obfuscate Discipline, take Cloak of Shadows (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 261) at no cost — you do not necessarily have the Obfuscate Discipline, but rather a special power of your own. This power works like Cloak of Shadows, except that it only works against spirits and ghosts. If you do have (or later acquire) Obfuscate, instead all your Obfuscate powers work against ghosts and spirits in addition to their usual effects. **••• The Perfect Murder:** *Locked* You have a lot of experience in planning murders. As long as you have at least a night to plan a cold-blooded, intentional murder, you get one extra success on all rolls for that murder scene. These successes are negated by someone who possesses the Send a Murderer Bloodline ability (below). **•••• Send a Murderer:** *Locked* You’re a serial killer, or maybe you’ve spent a lot of time studying them. You get two extra dice on rolls to study murder scenes or track down killers. In addition, you’ve worked with law officials (mortal, Kindred, or both) on some cases, whether it’s through sending them anonymous emails or as a direct consultant. You have three dots to spend between Contacts with the police force, Contacts with investigators in Kindred society, and Status. **••••• Monstrous Bite:** *Allowed* When ready to attack or feed, your teeth extend to lengthy, splayed, and vicious daggers that protrude from your mouth. When attacking with your bite, you suffer no called shot penalty, gain one extra success on all Intimidation rolls, and increase your bite damage to 3.
Harbingers of Ashur, Hecata Characters Only (p.226) *Holding the Jyhad’s longest grudge, the Cappadocians were the Clan of Death before they were usurped by the upstart Giovanni. Believed for centuries to be destroyed, the Cappadocians either took to wearing masks and calling themselves the “Harbingers of Skulls” or a subfaction of the clan named themselves “Harbingers” generations before. Whatever the truth, the majority joined the Sabbat and worked aggressively against Giovanni interests. For many years it was thought that both sides would never stop until one obliterated the other, but that appears to have changed with the Family Reunion.* *Despite the reconciliation and the acknowledgment of the remnants of the Cappadocian Kindred, the Harbingers of Skulls as they were could no longer exist. But neither could the Cappadocians return to their former state after so many centuries of anger. As such, these vampires respond to either name, but they have become some synthesis of the two. Like all things, the past form has died, and enriched the earth so that something new can grow.* **• The Ashen Mask:** *Allowed* You don a plain mask made of ash wood, for while you respect the traditions of the Harbingers, you care more about studying death than status, glory, or revenge. If a Touchstone of yours is dead or dies after you purchase this lore, study of their corpse allows you to transfer the Conviction they represent to another mortal (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 240) as if they died peacefully. If they actually did, gain a one-die bonus to the Humanity test. If anybody else interferes with the corpse, you must test against Fury Frenzy at Difficulty 3. **•• The Gold Mask:** *Allowed* You don a rose gold mask, because you strive to balance your existence between the living and the dead. Gold has connections to both wealth and alchemy, with golden grave goods sitting in the perfect intersection between the two. As such, you have the capacity to hide your actions, and the actions of your coterie, as you explore death. You have the equivalent of four dots of Influence when attempting to cover up a death. **••• The White Mask:** *Allowed* You don a bone-white mask, with not a speck of dirt on it, because it is the mask of a respected Harbinger lost in one of the historic purges. You speak for the elders of your bloodline, and most Harbingers (and even other Hecata) listen to you. You add three dice to any social roll against another Harbinger, and two dice to any social roll against another Hecata. **•••• The Obsidian Mask:** *Allowed* You don a polished black mask, because you are more than just a vampire — you are truly half-dead. You are a wraith that has inhabited a vampire’s body. You may learn Oblivion Ceremonies without a teacher (and with half the training time if you have one anyway) due to your experience in the Underworld, but are vulnerable to effects which target ghosts (such as some Oblivion Ceremonies). You suffer a two-dice penalty to resist these effects, but gain a two-dice bonus when resisting effects that control your physical shell (such as Dominate). **••••• The Lazarene Mask:** *Banned* You don the mask engraved in the image of one of the clan founders, for you know the true secret of the Harbingers. Their crusade was never solely about destroying the Giovanni, but annihilating all those who serve the Clan of Death. The final stage of necromancy is for all who practice it to die, and become the masters of death. You incur no stains for any action taken in the pursuit of killing another Hecata Kindred, or any character who serves the Hecata.
La Famiglia Giovanni, Hecata Characters Only (p.227) *Until recently, whenever an outsider Kindred thought about the Clan of Death, they pictured the Giovanni family. Their origins stretch back before the Roman Empire (when they were known as the Ioveanus or Jovians), and the entire time they’ve had their hands in Kindred affairs. The original Giovanni family knew how to play the game better than anyone, crafting an identity as “Devil Kindred” to strike the right balance of fear and respect in their rivals — and their relatives.* *Identifying the Giovanni family with the Clan of Death was a useful fiction for centuries, until the Vatican and the FBI joined forces against the clan — starting with the family. Reputation comes with records, and the Second Inquisition rolled up every family retainer and bank account it could find. When the Family Reunion restructured the Clan of Death, the surviving Giovanni found safety in new anonymity. But they resented having to hide themselves, and further resented upstart bloodlines tossing out years of family history for security or worse, for political convenience. The “true Giovanni” have grown used to being top dogs, and they’ll murder to retain that position.* *After all, no one fights like a family.* **• A Cousin's Ear:** *Allowed* Even if family members hate each other, the whole family lives by a certain code to share information — that’s how they’ve survived everything from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Second Inquisition. Once per session, you can ask a direct question of another member of the Giovanni family, and get a straight answer. However, you have to answer a question in return. You can also ask a favor of mortal members of the family once per story, as if you had the Allies Background at three dots. **•• Faded Glamour:** *Allowed* Being a Giovanni still means something, even if it’s not your name on the clan anymore. Old habits die hard, and the instinct to obey is still ingrained in much of the Clan of Death. Once per session, you can add one automatic success to any social roll against another Hecata Kindred, ghoul, or retainer. **••• Petty Cash:** *Allowed* The Giovanni started as merchants, and they still know the power of cold, hard cash. As one of the favored childer of the family, you have access to a substantial bank account. You get four dots to spread among the Resources and Retainers Backgrounds for free, but these dots can be pulled back by elder members of the family at any time, especially if you cross them. **•••• Spectre Servant:** *Allowed* There’s a lot the family is good at, but in particular they’re excellent at enslaving the spirits of the dead to their will. You have inherited or personally captured a spectre to act as your servant. This Ally uses the spectre stats (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 377). The spectre wants nothing more than to break the leash and devour your spirit. Until then, they can be summoned once per session and arrive within 10 hours. **••••• Aspiring Anziani:** *Banned* You have managed to work your way through the hidden politics of the Family Reunion and come out on top. You’ve done so partially from political skill and ruthless zeal, but mostly because you know where the bodies are buried (in every sense). You get five dots of Status among the Hecata, and you can get a private audience with the Capuchin every few stories. Just don’t push your luck, or you’ll join the corpses.
The Gorgons, Hecata Characters Only (p.228) *The Lamiae were a bloodline of Kindred believed to be descended from Lilith as well as Caine — their founder and high priestess (named Lamia) claimed to be the daughter of the Dark Mother herself. In ancient times, a Cappadocian elder found Lamia performing sacred Bahari rites, and was so taken by her skin and resistance to pain that he Embraced her. From then on, the Lamiae were dedicated warriors protecting the Cappadocian clan, until the clan’s alleged destruction by the Giovanni. The last Lamia was believed destroyed in 1718.* *However, the Gorgons lived on, much like their Cappadocian charges. While the latter claimed the title “Harbingers of Skulls,” the Lamiae took the title of “Lilins,” spreading the word of Lilith and the Bahari faith while secretly uncovering the fate of the Cappadocians and undermining the Giovanni. Now, in the wake of the Family Reunion, these women stand proudly once again at the side of the Kindred that Embraced them — although they are less inclined to tolerate so-called “Cainites” who chastise their faith.* **• The Serpent's Kiss:** *Allowed*\ Legend claims the bite of the Lamiae once spread plague to their victims. These nights the bite of the Lamiae is no longer fatal, although a few like yourself have some remnants of the disease left in their system. Once per story, you can choose to infect your mortal prey with disease, causing them one Aggravated Health damage every night for three nights. This ability has no effect on vampires. **•• Protection:** *Allowed* You embody the original purpose of the Lamiae — the protection of your charges, by any means necessary. You gain a two-dice bonus when using the Block maneuver (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 297) to protect someone else. **••• Four Humors:** *Allowed*\ Many ancient Lamiae practice manipulation of the four humors, allowing control over their victim’s body or mind. Once per story you may bite a mortal and inflict a two-dice penalty on all actions which don’t immediately further their current resonance, until the end of the night or their resonance changes humours. If their blood contains a Dyscrasia, increase this penalty to three-dice. **•••• Controlling the Beast:** *Allowed* Chaos and pain are key aspects of the Bahari faith (and, thus, the faith of many Lamiae). However, mindless chaos and pain do not lead to education, so controlling accidental infliction of both is important. Once per session, you can convert a messy critical in combat into a critical. **••••• Medusa's Gaze:** *Allowed* The Lamiae most steeped in the bloodline’s mysteries hold a private power that betrays a more literal meaning behind their epithet than many realize. Once per session after you win an Intimidation or conflict roll, those who lost become unable to act on the following conflict turn. Outside of combat, they become unable to move for a scene unless they succeed at a Willpower roll (Difficulty 5).
Nasyon San An, Hecata Characters Only (p.229) *A young lineage with Black Atlantic roots and rumored Cappadocian connections, the vampires once known as the Samedi carried on business as mercenary spies and necromancers, maintaining herds and confidants in religious circles and keeping a low profile. Rumors and misconceptions shrouded them in secrecy; but at the Family Reunion, they emerged from the lies to enter into the Clan of Death.* *Unanswered questions still abound, many focused on their infamous paterfamilias, known in modern nights as Doc San. But times change, vodou isn’t hiding anymore, and neither are they. Nasyon san an are stepping out in billowing dresses, immaculately coordinated streetwear, and even the occasional silk hat. From Bahia to Ilé-Ifẹ̀ to New Orleans and beyond, ready the rum and cigars. Laissez les bon temps rouler.* **• CSI Shit:** *Allowed* As an aspiring gede, you’ve learned a few tricks about death. One of them is knowing a lot about rot, decay, and how bodies die. By carefully examining a mortal corpse you can immediately know the cause of death. If the cause of death is supernaturally concealed, you gain the ability to roll despite that. **•• Pound of Flesh:** *Allowed* Something of your bloodline’s original weakness remains with you, even as a full-fledged Hecata. In fact, you can even share it around. If you accept a gift freely given, you and whoever gave it to you receive a three-dice penalty from any pools used for any actions against one another for the remainder of that night. **••• Treat Yourself:** *Allowed* You’ve taken the gedes’ legendary appetite to heart. Once a night, you can indulge in a meal, a cigar, an alcoholic drink, or a sexual tryst just as a human would, regardless of any penalties which Humanity might inflict and incurring no negative effects in terms of Hunger. Your consumption thereof appears convincingly human to anyone paying attention to that kind of thing. **•••• My Setite Friend:** *Allowed* Your bloodline has a strange relationship with the Ministry. There’s a lot of overlap in interest, and more than a few have decided to join the Ministry rather than stay with the Hecata. You have a connection with the Ministry, whether it’s one of those wayward “Samedi” or another Follower of Set. You can ask your friend for a favor once per story, which translates to the equivalent of three dots in appropriate Backgrounds such as Allies, Influence, and Resources. **••••• The Silk Hat:** *Discuss With Storytellers* No one is entirely sure who the Bloody Doctor is, but they do know you have his favor, and are the next in line to his practice. Whatever that is. You’re not entirely sure what will happen if you step up and claim the silk hat of the Doctor. It may be a purely political position within the Hecata, or it may invest you with fantastic spiritual powers. It’ll certainly invest you with the Doctor’s enemies. Before you accept the role, however, you have the effect of Mawla at five dots, although the help comes in cryptic ways and via mysterious actions.
## Blood Sigils
Descendant of Al-Ashrad, Banu Haqim Only (p.177) *When Haqim and ur-Shulgi walked the earth, al-Ashrad walked with them. Legends say he knew magic when he was mortal, but after a violent disagreement with Haqim, ur-Shulgi Embraced al-Ashrad. As a vampire, al-Ashrad led them from the clan’s home in Alamut as Amr, the most learned and respected of the clan’s sorcerers.* *When ur-Shulgi rose from torpor and demanded the clan follow the old ways, al-Ashrad helped lead a portion of the Lawmen into the Camarilla before going into hiding. Since the Schism, he only emerged as his true identity once, to attend the Vermillion Wedding where he and Tegyrius saw their great plan to join the Camarilla come to fruition.* *As a member of al-Ashrad’s line, you are the heir to an incredible legacy. Few can rival your potential for Blood Sorcery. Those who fled Alamut look to you with respect, or at least jealousy. Some even regard you with hope. Maybe you’ll be the one who outshines your ancestor, who puts an end to ur-Shulgi’s schism once and for all.* **• Stories of Old:** *Allowed* You’ve learned from the stories you’ve heard from your sire, passed down from al-Ashrad, and you know how to apply those lessons in these nights. When you invoke the legacy of al-Ashrad and Haqim to motivate others, you receive a two-dice bonus to Leadership tests and contests. **•• Sight Beyond Sight:** *Allowed* Before his Embrace, Haqim tore out al-Ashrad’s left eye. As a vampire, he replaced it with a diamond rumored to give him visions of worlds beyond ours. A fraction of this power passed to you. Once per session, you (or your Storyteller on your behalf) may use the Auspex power Sense the Unseen (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 249) as if you had the Discipline, using your Blood Potency in place of Auspex when actively using the power. If you already possess this power, you receive a +2 dice bonus when actively using it. **••• Vengeful Sorcery:** *Allowed* You’ve never forgiven your clanmates for the Schism, and you channel your rage into your sorcery. Once per session, in a violent conflict you may choose to take a two-dice bonus to use any Blood Sorcery power intended to harm another vampire. **•••• Banish the Intangible:** *Allowed* Al-Ashrad’s hatred for malevolent spirits is legendary. Though incorporeal beings are not necessarily malevolent, they still cower when they realize whose blood you share. Any Blood Sorcery power or Ritual that brings harm to corporeal things also affects incorporeal creatures with the same effect. **••••• Amr-in-Waiting:** *Locked* Al-Ashrad has chosen you to succeed him as Amr, should he face final death before the schism is resolved and the sorcerers regain their place in the clan. Gain Status ••••• (Banu Haqim), and one free Ritual at your Blood Sorcery level or below. Gain Adversary ••• in the form of a leader of ur-Shulgi’s Blood sorcerers and your brother-in-blood.
## In Memoriam
Descendant of Dracula, Tzimisce Only (p.151) *As Vlad Tepes moved Europe, he made many enemies, not least among the Kindred. But where he moved, he also took childer, and his childer took childer too. At least, that’s what the rumors say. It’s known that for a time, it was all the rage to be a childe of Dracula. Young Kindred, eager to set themselves apart, perhaps deserted by their actual sires, claimed the title often enough. Some hinted coquettishly at their mysterious ancestral lands, carrying a jar of dirt for the aesthetic of it, others did so with the reluctance of those who know that the honor of belonging to a bloodline many would see ended is a most uncertain one.* *Tonight, only a few would openly claim the bloodline of the Impaler as their own. Some even suggest that Tepes’ childer were all destroyed in the last century, perhaps by Dracula himself. Nonetheless, you are just one such descendant.* **• Blood of the Dragon:** *Allowed* Your vitae carries a hint of Dracula’s legendary strength. Once per story, you can amplify your physical prowess, gaining an additional die to all Physical tests for one scene. **•• Of the Earth:** *Allowed* Your connection to the land is profound. Once per story, you can dig yourself down in the ground to mend all levels of Aggravated Willpower or Physical damage over 48 hours. The use of Earth Meld is optimal, though a shovel is permissible. **••• Charisma of the Count:** *Allowed* Your lineage grants you an otherworldly charm. You gain a free specialty in Persuasion and receive a bonus die to all tests involving seduction or charm. **•••• Whispers in the Blood:** *Allowed* Vlad has taught himself countless Disciplines. Your Blood is also full of potential and unawakened powers. Once per story, you may use any power you don’t already know as long as it is on a current or lower level of a Discipline you already have levels in. **••••• Dracula’s Chosen:** *Allowed* Among the descendants of the Dragon, you’re considered to be the main heir. You gain the grudging respect and jealousy of your bloodline. Once per story, you can call in a favor, the equivalent of up to a major boon, from your relations. Your relatives will expect you to favor them in turn, or at least prove yourself worthy of your title. Should you fail, the machinations to replace you will no doubt begin.
The Vanderbilt Ventrue, Ventrue Only (p.154) *The Vanderbilt family was one of the most influential families in late 19th century New York, their immense wealth amassed through the business of railroads and shipping. Cornelius Vanderbilt was the richest man in America by his death in 1877, and his son William Henry Vanderbilt doubled the fortune in the following decade until his own untimely and suspicious death. The epitome of Gilded Age opulence, the Vanderbilts held almost royal status in American society. The main family themselves were mortals, but the same cannot be said for their wider circle of friends and relatives. At the height of their fortune, the Vanderbilts were all but surrounded by Ventrue. You were one of the parasites on the corpse of the gilded family, making alliances to keep as much of it to yourself as possible.* **• Well-connected:** *Banned* You are a cousin or descendant of the Vanderbilt Ventrue. Once per story, you can call upon a distant relative for a minor favor. This could be access to a social event, a small financial loan, or a recommendation from someone influential. **•• Financial Problem-solving:** *Banned* Gain an additional dot in Resources. Additionally, you can spend a level of Willpower to gain a temporary Retainer (such as a private investigator, legal counsel, or a mortal bodyguard) for the duration of the story. **••• Someone of Worth:** *Banned* You were one of the Four Hundred, the crème de la crème of fashionable New York society. You gain an extra die in Social tests when interacting with high society figures, both mortal and Kindred. Additionally, you have a knack for reading social situations, allowing you an extra die to tests to gauge someone’s intentions no matter their status. **•••• In the Know:** *Banned* You became privy to some of the most closely guarded secrets in the Vanderbilt inner circle. Once per story, you can blackmail a suitable ancilla or elder Storyteller character—even antagonists. You can make the attempt on an additional victim but a test of Manipulation + Intimidation or Persuasion at Difficulty 5 is needed. The consequence of failure is never mild. **••••• Ancient Pact:** *Banned* You have knowledge of the occult ritual William Henry Vanderbilt and Alva Vanderbilt performed to double the family fortune. You can perform it, too. The ritual requires the sacrifice of a mortal of great promise—someone at the cusp of fame or with extraordinary talent, manifested as a rare Dyscrasia. If performed, the Ancient Pact Ritual gives extraordinary luck in financial matters. You gain +2 successes on any test connected to finances, financial crime, or the investigation of such. However, it comes with a curse. You get −1 die to all tests that would incur final death if failed. The pact lasts for a story and must then be renewed.
## Tattered Facade
Descendant of the Ankou, Malkavian Only (p.171) *Since the dawn of history, Kindred have broken the edicts to assume the person of gods. The Ankou is likely one of these Kindred or at the very least probably not a Breton psychopomp. But their descendants have become obsessed with death and deriving information from it.* *The Ankou was obsessed with death and visions, having settled in what is now northern France. The descendants of the Ankou have a vicious streak, a propensity for spilling blood, and an ability to deal with the death rivaling la Famiglia Giovanni and the Church of Set.* **• Bleed Them Dry:** *Allowed* You gain three of the following specialties: a fangs specialty for Brawl, a blades specialty for Melee, a blood specialty for Occult, or a hematology specialty for Science. These specialties ignore the normal limits for the number of specialties one character can possess, and you benefit from this specialty even if you have no dots in the Skill. Your penchant for bloody work leaves every Haven you occupy with the Creepy Flaw. **•• Crimson Visionary:** *Allowed* You learn Oblivion at the in-clan rate and do not need to drink the Blood of another Kindred to learn it. When you select Oblivion Powers, however, you must select one that relates to perception or gaining information for your first power (including, but not limited to: The Binding Fetter, Oblivion’s Sight, Fatal Prediction, Where the Veil Thins, or Shadow Perspective). You must have two such Powers by the time you select your third Power, and three by the time you select your fifth. Upon learning your first dot of Oblivion, you also gain a one-dot Folkloric Bane or Block Flaw. **••• Bloody Work:** *Allowed* Add two-die bonus to any Auspex dice pool or Occult dice pools for Rituals or Ceremonies designed to gain information so long as you spill at least two additional Rouse Check’s worth of human blood or kill an animal. The spilled blood cannot slake any Hunger. You may still use a Blood Surge on the same test. **•••• Focus of Clarity:** *Allowed* You have an object that helps you focus on your craft, resisting the pull of the Beast. It must be high quality, antique, or cutting edge. Choose one skill. Once per session when you use that object in conjunction with one chosen Skill, you may change a single 1 or 10 in the results on a Hunger die to a failure (2–5 or blank), potentially avoiding a Messy Critical or Bestial Failure. Should your focus of clarity be lost or destroyed, a suitable replacement cannot be found until the start of the next story. **••••• The Prophet of Death Reborn:** *Locked* Your visions have brought you local renown. Local luminaries seek you out for your prophecies, mortal and Kindred alike. At the start of each story, you can temporarily gain two dots of Contacts, Influence, Resources, or a minor Boon from a local Kindred which can be called on once during that story. Work with your Storyteller for any backstory on what prophecies you delivered or specify a more specific payment.
Descendant of Baron Vollgirre, Toreador Only (p.172) *Baron Philip Vollgirre’s influence on Clan Toreador has been understated by most. Cruel and sadistic, he gave in to many of the clan’s basest urges for centuries as a literal Baron when he ruled over his Domain in what would become France, much as the Dragons of the Old Clan did in their ancestral homelands. He is known to have studied their fleshcrafting arts as well, passing this unusual mastery to some lines of his own childer. Over the centuries, he has sired and slain dozens of childer, but at least 13 survived beyond his demise.* *While no fewer than nine of his childer went on to despise him and join the Sabbat, others of his bloodline flourished among the Camarilla and Anarchs hiding their proclivities among the monsters of those sects. Most have reputations as hard workers, willing to do whatever must be done to maintain the Masquerade with other Kindred. In private, however, their havens and hunting grounds are littered with the bodies of their victims.* **• The Seven Arts:** *Allowed* Your curriculum of study has been passed down from Baron Vollgirre’s love of the classics. Choose three specialties for the Academics, Crafts, Etiquette, Performance, Persuasion, Science, or Subterfuge skills related to grammar, logic, rhetoric, geometry, mathematics, astronomy, or music. These do not count towards the standard limits for specialties, and you benefit from this specialty even if you have no dots in the skill. You also gain the Disliked Flaw as your erudition begins to set you apart. **•• Prodigy of Flesh:** *Allowed* Vollgirre’s Blood is infused with fleshcrafting. You needn’t drink the Blood of any Kindred to learn Protean, pay in-clan costs to learn Protean, and may use Presence in lieu of Dominate or Blood Sorcery when selecting Protean amalgams. When you learn your second dot of Protean, you must select the Vicissitude Power (Players Guide, p. 81), and when you select your fourth dot you must select one Power with Vicissitude (e.g., Fleshcrafting or Horrid Form) as a prerequisite if you don’t already know one. Upon learning Vicissitude, you also gain a Dark Secret (•): Vicissitude. Should your abilities to mold flesh become known, your Dark Secret is exchanged for another flaw of the Storyteller’s Choosing, such as an Adversary or Infamy. **••• Sadistic Hunger:** *Allowed* Pain and fear help sustain you. Sadism slakes one additional hunger so long as you deal 3 levels of damage to a vessel’s Health or Willpower immediately before or during your feeding. This cannot reduce hunger below your Blood Potency’s limit, or below 1 unless you also drain the victim. **•••• Unusual Connections:** *Locked* You maintain connections with one of those distrusted by the city. Gain a five-dot Mawla that is a current Sabbat member, another descendant of Vollgirre, or Tzimisce. This connection awakens a yearning in your Blood to be bound, and you gain either the Bondslave, Bond Junkie, or Long Bond flaw, or lose any Bonding Merits you have. **••••• Voice of Treachery:** *Allowed* Your Blood causes those of similar bloodlines to cower before you and accede to your demands. Once per story, while determining the success in a social dice pool related to intimidation, torture, or influencing Sabbat members, Toreador, Tzimisce, or anyone possessing the Vicissitude power, you may set any one die you just rolled to a 10, even a Hunger die.
Descendant of Montano, Lasombra Only (p.173) *Montano has achieved much for Clan Lasombra, but it is only now that the clan feels comfortable singing his praises. As one of the few who walked with the clan’s founder, his conversance with the Abyss is unequaled. It is said it was by his will that Christianity rose to prominence and that his legions of armies shaped the history of Europe itself.* *Yet, Montano was always a man of honor. When vampire society split into sects, he refused to abandon the newly born Camarilla. For centuries, he was branded a traitor.* *As his progeny, you have felt the sting of his decision and stand to reap its fruits. Whether you served the Camarilla openly or in secret, the clan now looks to you and your ancestor for guidance. You will show them what loyalty truly means.* **• The Shadow of Yesterday:** *Discuss With Storytellers* Montano remembers nothing about his early days but remembers plenty about his sect and clan. Once per story, you may write a letter to Montano asking for a single piece of information about either the Camarilla or Clan Lasombra. From his distant haven, he will respond either with truth or clues leading to it, with the implication that the journey is its own reward. **•• Siblings in Darkness:** *Allowed* Montano’s deeds brought the clan to its lofty position. The line he has cultivated is one based in the same honor that kept him in the Camarilla. You are afforded a respect even your clanmates in the Sabbat and elsewhere cannot help but acknowledge. Your Status: Lasombra (••) applies to Lasombra across all sects. **••• Abyssal Apprentice:** *Allowed* Montano cannot teach you everything about the secrets of Oblivion, due to the comparative weakness of your Blood, but you’ve picked up a few tricks. Once per story, you may use an Oblivion Power you do not already know that is at your current level or lower. **•••• Word of Mouth:** *Allowed* Inspired by Montano’s patience, you held fast to your place in the Camarilla even when the rest of your clan served as leaders in the Sabbat-held domains. As your siblings join the fold, your allies in the Camarilla have not forgotten where you truly stand. Your status among non-Lasombra in the Camarilla is at the same level no matter where you travel in your home country, even if you do not hold any position in the city you currently reside in. **••••• Purity of Remorse:** *Allowed* Once, Montano murdered his beloved friends and family to save the rest of his village from his sire. Though he cannot remember this, he weeps over it just the same. You hope to mourn for your sins as deeply as he does. Whenever you roll for Remorse, you never roll with fewer than two dice.
Little Siblings, Hecata Only (p.174) *The Rossellini and the Giovanni were once rivals in necromancy. The Rossellini had more talent, but the Giovanni had more ambition. That led to the Giovanni appearing on far more SAD files, and thus disappearing in far more hunter raids, which balances the scales somewhat in these modern nights. The two families have much in common, but differ in their treatment of ghosts. The Giovanni prefer to coax and cajole, with an occasional threat. The Rossellini begin with threats, browbeating, and dominating wraiths into doing their bidding. The Family takes a sadistic glee in using Oblivion.*\ *As a Rossellini, the lands of the dead are your playground. Sure, your enslaved wraiths were human, just like you were, but you conquered death. They are the pitiful remains, doomed to lament what they once had. The least you can do is give purpose to their miserable unlives. One day you’ll die and join their sorrowful ranks, but for now, you will show your cousins the true depths of Oblivion.* **• Grave Attitude:** *Allowed* Your experience commanding wraiths has led you to believe that even Kindred may eventually cross the Shroud. This certainty gives you peace. In any attempt to intimidate or manipulate you, your aggressors always suffer a one-die penalty, which stacks with other penalties. **•• Ghostly Dominance:** *Allowed* You brook no tolerance for the pleas and threats of the intangible dead. They are your tools. If they don’t see it that way, you will remind them. When you damage a wraith’s fetter, loved ones, or intangible form, you receive three bonus dice to any tests to command them. **••• Necromantic Expertise:** *Allowed* Your siblings in the Giovanni see Oblivion as a means to an end. You know Oblivion is more than that. It’s a wondrous art, one that rewards those with the patience and ruthlessness to examine its depths. When you perform an Oblivion Ceremony, decrease the Difficulty level by one. **•••• Stolen Will:** *Allowed* Ghosts are bundles of emotion cased in an intangible shell. While some Hecata slake their Hunger from ghosts, you know a more sustainable use. When you bite into the fetter of a ghost under your command hard enough to damage it or cause it injury, the fetter bleeds raw passions drawn from the ghost’s corpus. Consuming this bitter substance heals a level of Aggravated or Superficial Willpower damage. **••••• Purge:** *Allowed* You shred ephemeral bodies with ease. Any attack made on a ghost always causes Aggravated Health damage, even outside of the lands of the dead. You are also capable of striking them when they are intangible.
## Live From the Succubus Club
Descendant of Idder, Banu Haqim Only (p.158) *Tales of the Second City suggest that each clan resembled a Kindred family. Idder was rumored to be the first Kindred to break with his clan, leaving the city and striking out on his own. His descendants likewise wandered with the nomadic peoples of North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and beyond. Sometimes called the Bedawi or Bedouin Banu Haqim, members of Idder’s line traveled with various nomadic groups and pilgrims, tending their Herds and keeping them safe from the predation of other Kindred.*\ *For a time, most upheld Haqim’s code even if they rarely saw others of their clan, but after centuries of sail, steam, and into the new digital age, these traditions have broken down as some leave autarky behind to join the Anarchs, Camarilla, or lesser factions. A few of Idder’s descendants have begun to make a name for themselves in the Circulatory System or as couriers between Domains.* **• Animal Affinity:** *Allowed* Idder’s descendants have a knack for animal ghouls. They may reroll any rouse checks to maintain animal ghouls. If they possess the Bond Famulus power, they may have two Famuli. **•• Shepherd:** *Allowed* Your sire passed down his collected wisdom related to maintaining a Herd. This wisdom allows you to slake one additional Hunger from your Herd per session. **••• Never Unprepared:** *Allowed* Your Blood tells you where mortals may be and when they are easy pickings. The first time you hunt mortals in a new city or environment, you gain a two-dice bonus to the attempt. **•••• Safe Haven:** *Allowed* Fear of the Sun doesn’t drive you like it does other Kindred, as your Blood knows where to find shelter. If you ever need sanctuary from the sun, so long as you are not restrained and you have 30 minutes before sunrise, your Beast finds you shelter from the sun at the cost of gaining one Hunger. **••••• Haqim’s Justice:** *Allowed* Your Blood drives you to protect your own. Whenever your Herd, Contacts, Allies, Touchstones, or other close Relationship-Map connections are threatened, you gain a two-dice bonus to all actions in a scene to defend them or seek retribution for their harm. Once per story, you can declare a vendetta and gain a two-dice bonus against one specific target until justice or vengeance has been served.
Descendant of Kerwiya, Gangrel Only (p.159) *Kerwiya rarely felt the wanderlust of most Gangrel. Though she was forced to move from whatever lost village or city she was Embraced in, the wilderness never called to her. Through the ages she moved from towns along the rivers of Mesopotamia and India to the cities of the Caspian, Black, and Mediterranean seas. Many of her descendants were notable for dwelling in Constantinople, sometimes called Greek Gangrel.* *Her descendants likewise thrive in cities, much more so than other Gangrel. Though they occasionally wander between these bastions of the Kindred, they rarely dwell in rural or suburban communities. They are rumored to be as adept in Kindred politics as the Ventrue, Toreador, or Lasombra.* **• Hidden Predator:** *Allowed* Kerwiya’s vitae cloaks you from others. You do not need to drink the Blood of another Kindred who knows Obfuscate to learn it, though it is still counted as a non-clan Discipline for the purpose of experience cost. **•• Politically Adept:** *Allowed* You develop an instinctive sense for Kindred politics. You gain a specialty for Politics, Insight, and Subterfuge usable against other vampires. If you do not already possess a dot in one or more of these skills, you instead gain the first dot. Your focus on the politics of the dead has made you ignore the nuances of mortal assembly. You can’t take specialties related to mortal politics or social customs. **••• Actions have Consequences:** *Allowed* Your Blood warns you before you make foolish mistakes. Once per story, you can ask the Storyteller if the decision you’re making increases the danger you’re in in matters related to other Kindred. The Storyteller gives a yes or no answer. You can use this Merit again if the Storyteller cannot answer clearly. **•••• The Boon Economy:** *Allowed* You leverage prestation better than most, noting minor causes for Boons that others might miss. Once per Story, you may upgrade a trivial or minor boon owed to you by one degree (e.g., trivial to minor, minor to major). **••••• Echoes of Constantinople:** *Allowed* The Greek Gangrel of Constantinople were renowned for their political insight, and you have the same knack for winning political battles against your rivals with one decisive move. When your dice pool involves Insight, Subterfuge, or Politics, you can set any single die to a 10 after rolling.
Descendant of Phaedyme, Ravnos Only (p.160) *While the Ravens may often be considered vagrants, wanderers, and drifters, the ancient methuselah Phaedyme and her descendants were drawn to different childer. Phaedyme Embraced a line of pilgrims and knights whose reputation is still remembered in some corners of the globe. A Macedonian woman who fought alongside Alexander’s forces as a man, she was Embraced in India but journeyed west to Gaul to establish herself. Fighting off the threats from locals was easy given her history, and she instilled that sense of martial prowess and duty to her childer.* *Her descendants gained fame in Antiquity and the Dark Ages, traveling with pilgrim bands to and from the Holy Land and delivering messages between Domains.* **• Skilled Traveler:** *Allowed* Your Blood has given you an instinct to keep you safe on your travels. Select a specialty for Athletics, Brawl, or Melee, and another for Drive or Stealth. If you do not have dots in this skill, instead, gain the first dot. These do not count against your limit of specialties. All your time on the road has kept you from delving deep into the realms of knowledge. You can’t take specialties in Academics, Science or Medicine. **•• Safe Routes:** *Allowed* You keep track of your options and don’t need a map app to tell you which routes will likely be blocked or under construction. Once per session, you can evade roadblocks and obstacles by taking the longer route, possibly suffering the consequences of arriving late instead. **••• Renown Guardian:** *Allowed* The name of your ancestors carries weight. Once per Story, if you ask the Prince, Baron, Justicar, or other local authority for responsibility in security, they’ll grant it to you, possibly with minor conditions, without reward, or even officially deputizing you as a temporary hound or archon. **•••• Honor among the Honorless:** *Allowed* The blood of your ancestor offers succor through honor and duty, providing a bulwark for your heart. Choose one additional Conviction related to duty, honor, or chivalry. You can maintain this conviction without recourse to a Touchstone. **••••• Defender:** *Allowed* Phaedyme’s Blood drives you to defend your charges, quickening your limbs and strengthening your attacks. Once per story, when defending someone or something important to you (not merely yourself, but a Touchstone, coterie-mate, or other Relationship Map connection), you reroll all Rouse checks for Blood Surges for any dice pools related to defending your charge for the entire scene.
Descendant of the Fallen Lord, Salubri Only (p.161) *Sometime in the late 20th century, a Sabbat pack uncovered a Kindred locked in Torpor in a Polish mine. After he came to understand the changes of the past millennium, he threw his lot in with the Sabbat, bearing an ancient grudge against the Tremere and the Camarilla that protected them. He trained his childer initially with ancient martial arts and then began mastering modern guerrilla tactics. This individual is often referred to only as the Fallen Lord today, glossing over various blasphemous titles used in the past.* *Over a decade or two, his childer swelled within the ranks of the Sabbat. With the Sabbat’s fall to civil war and the fractured remnant’s focus on the Gehenna Crusade, many of his descendants fled the Sabbat, whether they were new recruits or unwilling converts looking to salvage what was left of their souls. The Fallen Lord’s brood is rumored to be responsible for many of the Salubri found in the modern nights.* **•** I**nstinct for Death:** *Allowed* The Fallen Lord’s Blood gives you a knack for violence. You gain two combat-related specialties divided among Athletics, Brawl, Firearms, or Melee (or gain the first dot if you have no existing rating). These do not count against your specialty maximum.\ Unfortunately your violent demeanor also increases the Difficulty of Social tests with Kindred of Humanity 9 or 10 or particularly humane mortals by 1. **•• Tracker’s Mark:** *Allowed* The Fallen Lord’s Blood sings to you a sacred rite to hunt your enemies. You gain a two-dice bonus on all checks to track any opponent you have attacked in combat. **••• Fury’s Strike:** *Allowed* You embody the warriors of old, feeding your Beast on violence. Once per scene, you may activate a Discipline Power against one target immediately after hitting them in close combat. You are considered to have eye contact or touch them if required by the power. **•••• What Must Be Done:** *Allowed* You possess a righteous anger and the right to do what must be done, whether in combat or cold-blooded murder. You gain an additional Conviction, which cannot be lost and is not tied to a Touchstone. This conviction must be related to destroying your enemies. **••••• Vengeful Eye:** *Allowed* Your gaze terrifies your enemies and helps your blade strike true. When you spend Willpower to re-roll dice in melee combat, you can reroll one additional die, which can be a Hunger die. Your third eye reveals itself to your adversary, which may violate the Masquerade or draw unwanted attention.
## Courts of the Damned
Descendant of Count Jocalo, Ministry Only (p.218) *Among the Kindred of Europe, one of the most infamous members of the Ministry is Count Jocalo, an Iberian noble turned spy for the Church of Set back when the Clan and Church were largely the same entity. Jocalo traveled between Europe, Africa, and Asia, visiting Court after Court to gather pawns and artifacts for the Hierophants of Set. Legend has it that he was even exiled from London for his role in the Great Fire.* *Jocalo was very much the stereotypical tempter and schemer, and most of his descendants follow suit, using drugs, sex, religious beliefs, or occasionally plain burglary to obtain anything needed. His own religious convictions were dubious at best. His extensive travels and independence from the usual court system led Jocalo to sire many offspring across the world, and Ministers claiming him as an ancestor spread further still during the Ages of Sail and Steam.* **• A Name You Can’t Refuse:** Your reputation precedes you, providing the equivalent of one dot of Status with both the Anarchs and Camarilla—even autarks, the Hecata, and most blood cults won’t refuse you entry into their domains so long as you don’t overstay your welcome or cause obvious trouble. Most domains will also watch you like a hawk, with the fame of Jocalo’s schemes coloring your reputation. **•• Tools of the Trade:** Jocalo’s Blood gives you an understanding of his methods. You gain a free specialty in your choice of three of the following Skills, or the first dot in the Skill if you don’t already possess one dot: Insight, Larceny, Persuasion, Streetwise, or Subterfuge. You are, however, known for inheriting Jocalo’s teachings, and local authorities or boon holders often come to you to get underhanded tasks done—or consider you a suspect. **••• A Taste So Sweet:** Your Blood and Kiss are more potent when ensnaring others. You gain the Enduring Bond Merit (complete and partial Blood Bonds to you weaken every other month; see Gehenna War, p. 44), and gain a two-dice bonus to interact with any mortals during or immediately after feeding from them. Your Discipline powers relying on others drinking your Blood or receiving your Kiss (such as Lingering Kiss, Draught of Might, or using Scorpion’s Touch to affect the Blood in your own body) have their durations doubled. **•••• Relic Hound:** Following in Jocalo’s footsteps, you’re a collector of lore and relics. You gain a two-dice bonus to all dice pools directly related to seeking out texts or items pertaining to Kindred history or sorcery (including Blood Sorcery, Oblivion, and Thin-Blood Alchemy), and you may turn a single 1 or 10 on a Hunger die (your choice) to a 2 for these tests. **••••• Rapid Entanglement:** The Blood teaches you to shed connections and forge new ones. Once per story or month of game time (whichever is shorter), you can exchange all the dots invested in an Ally, Contact, Influence, or Retainer for another, whether the same category (such as Influence with local law enforcement for Influence within the local funeral industry) or another Background (such as Influence with local law enforcement for a Retainer).
Descendant of Marconius, Lasombra Only (p.219) *Marconius was already old when he and a coterie of his fellow Lasombra experimented with fell Oblivion Ceremonies. He disappeared for a time, emerging around Strasbourg in the late Middle Ages. Impeccably polite and erudite, Marconius and his brood became powerful members of the city, vying with the Ventrue for influence in the region. During the Age of Steam, many of his brood nominally accepted membership in the Sabbat while others remained loners and autarkis. From the Second Sabbat Civil War through the Sect Wars of the 1990s, Sabbat purges of moderates and “the undevout” within their ranks, as well as the expansion of Kindred metropolitan domains to include smaller cities in their orbit, led many of Marconius’ brood to leverage their ancestor’s name to abandon the Black Hand quietly. Whether prescient or just pragmatic, many of Marconius’ childer rejected the Sabbat before the cost to leave skyrocketed.* *Marconius’ brood has a reputation for politeness and suffers from common superstitions. Few cities have more than one weirdling, as they tend to eschew the company of their clanmates and shoo their childer away after a decade or two.* **• Darkling Ward:** You can master any ward or warding circle Blood Sorcery Ritual as though it were an Oblivion Ceremony with no power prerequisite. Your Wards deal Aggravated Willpower damage, rather than Health damage, and those affected by them lose all sense of direction and location until they wander away from the ward. The first time you learn a Warding Ceremony, you must also take a Folkloric Bane or Block Flaw. **•• Abyssal Scholar:** Marconius’ Blood gives you a knack for Oblivion Ceremonies, gaining an Occult specialty for Ceremonies. You can learn Ceremonies without needing the prerequisite power; however, each time you learn a Ceremony without the prerequisite, take an additional Folkloric Bane or Block Flaw. If you later master the prerequisite Power, you may remove that Flaw. You must still possess the correct level of Oblivion to master Ceremonies. **••• Fey Beauty:** You appear tall and lithe, with an odd, fey-like feature that makes you stand out in a crowd. You gain the Stunning Merit but suffer a two-dice penalty whenever attempting to disguise yourself, even supernaturally. **•••• Nightingale’s Song:** Dominate ordinarily cannot be used to force someone to tell the truth, but Marconius’ Blood helps you steal secrets. Once per session, you can use Mesmerize to demand a target reveal a secret; however, without a cleverly worded order, the secret may be unpredictable. Revealing damning information counts as harm, so getting specific secrets may still be impossible. Should your attempt to compel a secret fail, you visibly shed one large, bloody tear for each point of the margin of failure (or seven tears if the Power otherwise fails). These tears cause a Rouse Check if shedding four or more, and risk provoking Hunger Frenzy in other Kindred or uncomfortable questions among mortals. **••••• The Grandest Trick:** Marconius’ odd Blood embraces the light, if only for a moment. The effects of your Oblivion Powers or Ceremonies can survive three rounds of sunlight before they fade away. Whenever you are exposed to sunlight, you may choose to take Aggravated Willpower damage instead of Aggravated Health damage for up to three rounds. This is often enough for the weirdlings of Marconius to escape, though the damage to the Masquerade could be severe if they don’t escape the sun in time.
Descendant of Meerlinda, Tremere Only (p.220) *Meerlinda was one of the first Tremere and a participant in the Ritual of Usurpation that founded the clan. Whenever a schism arose within her cabal, she deftly walked the line between the accuser and the accused, preserving allies and avoiding enemies as she worked to rehabilitate the clan’s image as usurpers and low-clan villains. Many say it was her intervention that allowed the Tremere a place in the Camarilla or that the Camarilla was a Tremere scheme to gain acceptance within Kindred society in the first place.* *Her descendants tend to share her views, spinning neutrality to the benefit of everyone rather than scheming for their own gain. Now, in the era of a divided Clan Tremere, her descendants often bridge the gap between feuding houses and even work with solitarchs (autark chantries) or non-Tremere sorcerers.* **• Strength of the Coven:** Your sire taught you when to step back and let others take the reins. You can assist in any Blood Sorcery Ritual (see “Teamwork” in Vampire, p. 122) even if you don’t know the Ritual. If you’ve ever assisted another Blood Sorcerer in a Ritual, you gain a two-dice bonus to Persuasion tests to convince them to share a Ritual with you or use one on your behalf. The other sorcerer may still request a reasonable payment or other compensation. **•• Wealth of Boons:** Your Blood compels you to exchange minor favors with other Kindred, often to your benefit. Once per story, you can treat one boon owed to you as one category higher or a boon you owe as one category lower. Trivial boons treated as lower are immediately satisfied: no recompense needed. **••• Sanguine Understanding:** Meerlinda’s Blood whispers of politeness and politics. You gain a specialty related to Kindred or their factions for Etiquette and Politics, or the first dot in the Skill if you don’t have any. Furthermore, once per session, when dealing with Kindred, you can use your Etiquette or Politics (including specialties if relevant) instead of Insight, Persuasion, or Subterfuge in a dice pool. **•••• Meerlinda’s Heir:** You emerge from Meerlinda’s shadow as a well-known force on your own. Increase your Status by 1 (to a maximum of 5). Once per session, you can demand to be treated by your faction as though your Status were one level higher (if adding your Status to a test, this can bring it above 5), or use your full Status even when far from home or dealing with another sect. **••••• Bestial Neutrality:** You excel at negotiating with your own Beast. You gain a Conviction related to diplomacy or neutrality, such as “Peace among the Kindred is worth any cost,” which is not tied to a Touchstone and cannot be lost. Once per session when acting in line with this Conviction, you can change a single 1 or 10 on a single Hunger die result to a 2 (a simple failure) after seeing the results of the roll.
Descendant of Menele, Brujah Characters Only (p.221) *Menele has walked the Earth since his breathing days as a philosopher-king in ancient Greece. His insatiable lust for enlightenment led him first to India, then to Carthage, a utopia purportedly built on the ideal of peaceful coexistence between Kindred and kine. A utopia reduced to ash by the treachery of Helena.* *Apoplectic with rage, Menele razed Helena’s beloved Pompeii to a cinder, lighting the spark of their unending rivalry. Helena and Menele fought across the ages until they beat themselves into mutual torpor near present-day Chicago. Menele was on the verge of renewing his ancient grudge with Helena when he was called east by the Beckoning, freeing his childer from his vice-like mental grip.* *Many of Menele’s descendants inherited his passion for philosophy, enlightenment, and greater ideals, while others became fearsome warriors selected for their ability to defend Menele from Helena’s agents. Both were needed to realize Menele’s weary dream of founding a new Carthage based on ancient Brujah ideals. Now, Menele’s descendants are free to choose their destiny for the first time in millennia. The question is: What will they do with it?* **• Symposium:** Menele always liked a good argument and sired many childer after debating the mysteries of life for evenings on end. You gain the ability to reroll a single die on all of your Persuasion tests. **•• Carthago Delenda Est:** Menele maintained an elaborate network of spies, informants, and retainers. His network fragmented upon his destruction, but you managed to claim a portion of it for your own. You have three dots to split between Retainers, Influence, Allies, and Resources, with the absolute certainty that Helena and her agents will attempt to take them from you. **••• Know Thyself:** Menele believed the Brujah needed to return to their roots as thinkers and positive agents of change. You are trained to resist the pull of your Brujah fury. Once per session, you can spend a Willpower level to reroll a Frenzy affected by your Brujah Clan Bane. **•••• Knowledge is Power:** Menele was impossibly old and held many secrets about the Kindred of Chicago and beyond. You were the steward of those secrets before the Beckoning drew him away. Once per story, you may request a single unspecified secret from the Storyteller about a clan or Kindred in Chicago or a similar domain that felt Menele’s influence (Storyteller’s discretion). **••••• The Greater Mysteries:** Menele spent years learning the meditative practices necessary to perceive the astral plane in his quest for spiritual perfection. You inherited a portion of his ability and remain fully cognizant of your surroundings during your daily slumber. Reduce the difficulty of all Humanity tests to awaken during the day by two. You also have the ability to perceive fractured glimpses of events to come that may affect your character while you slumber. Once per session, you may roll Resolve + Occult to interpret your daytime visions. Each success brings the vision into greater focus, and the Storyteller may offer you one cryptic hint or fact relevant to your character.
Descendant of Rasalon, Nosferatu Characters Only (p.222) *Rasalon believed in the unity of Clan Nosferatu; many of his descendants continue to maintain this belief: neither sectarian lines nor coteries should prevail over the unity of the Blood. A crusader who traveled in the Middle Ages, Rasalon established lines of communication between individual Nosferatu, and his name is still revered by many of the clan. As sectarian lines divided other clans, the legacy of Rasalon maintained lines of communication that benefited the Nosferatu for centuries. Many Nosferatu push for open lines of communication — even with their Sabbat brethren — out of fear of a mythical group of murderous elders, although Rasalon did his best to assuage those fears and focus more on clan unity.* *Your ancestor’s name has opened doors for you that may be closed to others, and you find yourself becoming a fulcrum of knowledge for the clan.* **• Whisper to the Brood:** You communicate with the Nosferatu in the closest neighboring city, plus one additional city for each dot of Politics you possess. You speak through animal or mortal messengers, local cyphers and metaphors, and/or a hodgepodge of various languages, rendering the messages no threat to the Masquerade. **•• Shared Knowledge:** Your clanmates reveal secrets that help you excel in Kindred society. You gain the first dot of Etiquette, Politics, or Occult (choose any two) or, if you already possess the first dot, a specialty related to Kindred. Many Nosferatu seek you out for your knowledge, which occasionally costs you time. Once per story, you may ask the Storyteller to reveal any secret you may have heard that is relevant to a current plot or event, though which plot or event it relates to may not always be clear. **••• Underground Support:** Your reputation precedes you, at least among the sewer rats. You gain a four-dot Mawla representing all the Nosferatu neonates and ancillae in nearby cities. Once per story, you can petition a Nosferatu for shelter for one day (if it includes your coterie) or three (for just you), and at least one clanmate will offer refuge, though there may be a cost. Your connections often drag you into minor squabbles between clanmates. **•••• Clan of the Hidden:** Your Blood resonates with other sewer rats. When activating Obfuscate Powers to hide or disguise yourself, you can extend that effect to include other Nosferatu (up to your Obfuscate + Blood Potency) so long as everyone maintains physical contact. Those losing physical contact become noticeable. With you, a group of Nosferatu can huddle under the effect of Silence of Death for secret conversations, be hidden with Cloak of Shadows, or thwart cameras through Ghost in the Machine. **••••• Hidden Primogen:** All the Nosferatu in the region look to you. No Nosferatu other than explicit Adversaries reject reasonable boons from you. Nosferatu treat any boons involving you as one step in your favor: trivial boons you might owe are instantly expunged, a minor boon owed to you is treated as major, or a life boon you owe is treated as a major boon.
# UNDER CONSTRUCTION - NOT FOR PLAYER CONSUMPTION # Sect War Rules ### Preface No one will be forced into PvP that truly does not want to be. However, active participation may result in PvP, due to the nature of the situation. ### Territories Its state determines a territory’s defenses and abilities; Weak, average, and strong. This will likely not feature too much on the player side and is more for staff, though players can increase a location’s strength once they’re appropriately entrenched. The state determines the area's current defenses and how difficult it would be to take it. The farms and such out in Maitland are weak - easy to grab up and maintain, but don't give a whole lot unless you're willing to put in the work - while Matroosfontein would be strong due to its airport access. ### Claiming Territory Without any conflict, players need to gain a certain number of Backgrounds in the desired area to claim it. Only domain Backgrounds can be gained in the name of claiming territory; Portillon, Lien, Chasse, and everything that falls under them. Gaining these Backgrounds does not require an experience spend, only project rolls. If you wish, you may tap your character’s Background dots to gain a one-die bonus to your project roll. This taps the Background for one story or four IC nights. Any character may work towards these, though it’s prudent to make claiming domain a team effort as a single person can be an easy target. Backgrounds, whether gained by an individual or a coterie, only benefit the person or group that purchased them. The number of required Backgrounds depends on the strength of the area; 3 for weak, 5 for average, 7 for strong. If two individuals or groups are attempting to claim the same territory, one side will need to gain a number of Backgrounds over the other (3 for weak, 5 for average, 7 for strong) in order to successfully take it from the other. This may be accomplished by either building up Backgrounds of their own or sabotaging the Backgrounds of the other side. ### Investigation Players can investigate an area to gauge the territory’s current Backgrounds. This uses up their project roll for the night and requires a pool that makes sense for the area they’re investigating. The DC is decided by the number of Backgrounds that are sunk into the territory; the DC is 7 as a base and every dot invested into the area lowers the DC by 1 (more established territories are, therefore, easier to sniff out). Portillon does not affect the DC, but will subtract from the investigator’s dice pool per dot. Success gets the investigator the general gist of the operation, while a critical success will net identifying information on the person(s) running the operation. Players can also investigate their own, claimed areas if the feel another PC is muscling in on their territory. The DC required follows a similar formula to the above; the base DC is 7 and the number of Background dots invested into the attempt by the intruder lowers the DC by 1 for each dot. Lien adds a number of dots equal to its rating to the investigator’s dice pool. Success gets the investigator information on what the interloper was poking at, while a critical success will net identifying information on the person(s) involved. In addition, if a PC scores a messy critical or bestial failure in your domain, Storytellers will make a roll to determine if your character hears of it. This will be a single die + Portillon. On a success, you will receive vague information about the situation. With a critical success, you will receive identifying information about the player character. You will also be alerted if a player character has sabotaged any of your territory Backgrounds. ### Events When putting Backgrounds into an area, there is the chance that an event will proc. This generally happens at 3, 5, and 7 dots of Backgrounds (dependent on the strength of the area). The event itself will be tied to the relevant area and will be completed as either a full scene or a guided vignette, depending on the Storyteller and player involved. These events will increase in difficulty as more Backgrounds are put in. The final event (the one at 7 dots in Backgrounds) requires the permanent ousting of another presence but is usually only relegated to strong territories. This presence will always be members of the previously owning sect, if it was in fact controlled by another sect before the takeover was initiated. If a player wishes to upgrade the strength of their territory, they must gain 5 dots in Backgrounds that make sense to show this improvement and increase the strength by one level. This is in addition to the Backgrounds needed to initially claim an area. ### How Are Coteries Affected? All coteries that form will still get their free Backgrounds, but cannot take domain Backgrounds for territory outside of their sect’s control. They can, of course, work to claim other territories after creation.