ABILITY SET: QUIETUS, CELERITY, AUSPEX
Source Books: Clanbook - Assamite, Revised Edition; Vampire The Masquerade, 20th Edition
Assamite viziers are and always have been a vital part of the Clan. Magical knowledge and research remains the purview of the sorcerers, but the viziers are necessary for compiling and uncovering information on philosophy, government, the arts, and religion. The viziers have acted as leaders within the Clan — not where matters of war are concerned (this they wisely leave to the warrior Assamites), but when it comes to understanding and relating to mortals, the viziers make the best consultants and advisers.
Unfortunately, while they can learn, understand, and interpret mortal customs and mores, they have difficulty actually relating to them. Assamite Viziers are driven to accumulate knowledge with a zeal that borders on obsessive. They can understand why people act the way they do on a large scale, but understanding the motives of a particular person is much more difficult. For many years, Assamite viziers and sorcerers were regarded as one caste (this is why sorcerers are still referred to as “viziers” by the ignorant). In modern times, the viziers have emerged from the shadows to conduct their scholarly research more visibly. Whether this will open the viziers to greater danger from the Assamites’ enemies or bring the caste more power remains to be seen.
Prior to the Final Nights, few modern Cainites would have guessed that a portion of the Assamite clan could be devoted to peaceful pursuits. Yet the vast majority of the vizier caste is, if not pacifistic, then at least inclined toward studies other than combat. By the most commonly accepted account, the viziers are the eldest of the three castes. Haqim was a warrior before he was a scholar, but his first brood was one of artisans and sages, each one the finest example of his chosen profession or craft that the Second City’s mortals had to offer. Such exclusive selection, so the stories say, caused no small amount of strife between Haqim and the Ancient Arikel, who most Cainite scholars agree was the founder of the Toreador clan.
Indeed, the vizier line appears to bear some vague similarities to the “Clan of the Rose,” though neither group is willing to admit any close relation. The viziers originated as seekers of knowledge, and a surprisingly strong majority of the line has held to this ideal over the millennia. It seems as if the caste as a whole is driven to create and learn, as if possessed by a solitary mania — or guided by a single will.
Yet few viziers consider their obsessive impulses anything more than perfectionism or the spark of inspiration (though the viziers are, in truth, no more capable of actual artistic creativity than other Cainites). To suggest that a vizier is mad — or, worse, lacking free will — is one of the greatest insults that one can bestow upon a member of this line.
After the fall of the Second City, as the Children of Haqim settled into their modern caste structure, the viziers became the clan’s thinkers, creators and occasional leaders, though the warriors never relinquished complete control of Alamut. They were also the Children who, as a general rule, had the closest contact with mortal society on a nightly basis. This latter state of affairs continues to the present night.
While the warriors gravitate toward the martial and religious aspects of any given culture and the sorcerers seek certain select professions, the viziers tend to associate with nearly any social stratum. However, their innate monomania makes them less than adept at efforts to guide, or even slightly nudge, the mortal masses.
The viziers’ “caste culture” may best be described as a very loose affiliation of individualists. Most of the caste is as disunited as the sorcerers, but without that body’s resources for magical communication and coordination. Viziers tend to keep to themselves unless involved in a mentor-protégé arrange mentor conducting some cooperative venture. This is a product of both the caste’s shared psychological tendencies and the need for secrecy during the Long Night and later periods. However, the Schism and the schismatics’ subsequent alliance with the Camarilla has allowed many viziers to exist relatively openly among other Cainites, and no few have chosen to enter social and political arenas — with varying degrees of success.
Nickname: Scholars or Artisans
Sect: The majority of the remaining viziers chose to follow al-Ashrad to the Camarilla. A minority of the caste remains loyal to Alamut. Few viziers are known to exist in the Sabbat, and even these are likely scattered fugitives.
Appearance: As a general rule, viziers are the Children of Haqim most adept at blending into mortal society. They usually dress professionally or informally as the situation requires. Their common particularity (or derangement) tends to polarize them toward the two extremes of hygiene and style.
Many viziers are either immaculate and perfectly poised or unwashed, rumpled and constantly distracted.
Haven: Viziers tend to select havens that are indistinguishable from the homes of similar mortal professionals. As with personal appearance, depending on the focus and severity of the individual vizier’s tastes, the quarters are either immaculately clean or cluttered so heavily that walking becomes difficult. Many viziers maintain extensive libraries or workshops, preferring to “work from home.”
Background: As a caste dominated by intellectuals, artisans and a few politicians, the viziers usually Embrace individuals who are intelligent, hold advanced degrees, and are exceptionally dedicated to their chosen professions. Few viziers are Embraced in the hope that they will realize some previously neglected potential.
When the clan was more unified, many viziers selected their progeny on the basis of their ability to serve the Children as a whole. In these modern times, they are more egocentric as a caste, selecting only the best of those humans who represent the Viziers' values. Viziers choose their childer on the hopes that they will exceed them and bring pride to their bloodline.
Organization: The viziers have no formal structure as a whole. They resemble a loose organization of vaguely affiliated professionals more than any sort of occult conspiracy or military order. Prestige is generally a matter of who an individual vizier knows and what he/she/they has done, and varies depending on the audience. For example, a poet may not be all that impressed by a particle physicist.
The caste does have one unique custom derived from Arab scholarly traditions: Academic lineage is considered as important as blood descent. Thus, a vizier’s sire may not be as important as his instructors, and some go so far as to present themselves in such a manner when making formal introductions. As noted above, most viziers tend to their own affairs unless working on a specific cooperative project.
The leader of the vizier caste (also known as the “scholar caste”) goes by the title of Vizier. This may seem a confusing arrangement to outsiders, but the viziers are accustomed to it, usually applying a subtle emphasis to The when referring to The Vizier.
The Vizier is the foremost academician among the viziers and serves as the conduit for information that the Eldest needs from the caste. As the viziers’ studies range from theology to particle physics, this is a weighty responsibility indeed. Realistically, the Eldest rarely expects the Vizier to have comprehensive knowledge of every single item of data to which the viziers have access, but he must at least be capable of identifying the caste’s experts and gleaning from them information of greatest benefit to the Eldest.
Pronounced “kwi-EET-us” or “kwee-AY-toos,” not “QUIET-us.”
The Discipline of silent death, Quietus is practiced by those of Clan Assamite. Based on elements of blood, poison, vitae control, and pestilence, Quietus focuses on the destruction of a target through a variety of means. This Discipline doesn’t always cause a quick death, but the Assamites rely on its lethality to hide their involvement in the demise of their victims.
Description:
This ability makes the area around you completely silent, up to a 20 meter radius. No sound occurs inside this zone, though sounds originating outside the area of effect may be heard by anyone in it. While this is the distance of chat range in Second Life, this ONLY effects line of sight. Meaning the targets must be within sight. It does NOT effect characters that are in buildings, behind walls, or hidden from the Assamite's immediate sight range, within a max of 20 meters (4 meters per character's level). It DOES effect those within line of sight who are invisible.
System:
The Player spends 3 points of Energy/Blood and makes a successful roll. This power has a max of 20-metera (4 meters per level) radius of utter stillness around the Kindred for three full turns.
Description:
Create a contact poison that when applied to an edged weapon, greatly debilitates a victim physically. Stacks with Baal’s Caress.
By changing the properties of her blood, a vampire may create powerful venom that reduces the target's Physical Defense.
System:
The Player spends 2 points of Energy/Blood and makes a successful roll. This roll MUST be notecarded if being done in advance of use. If successful, the Assamite then applies the blood to their edged weapon. The poison remains potent for a total of three strikes of that blade at any time in the future.
The Vampire must successfully hit the Target with that edged weapon to cause the target to lose -5 points to their Physical Defense for the duration of the scene. The hit must be successful, though it is not required that the hit actually does any damage for the target's Physical Defense to go down. These hits are not cumulative, but they do stack with Baal's Caress.
Vampires attempting to drink the blood of anyone suffering with Scorpion’s Touch are automatically considered to be “successfully hit” and lose 5 pts to their Physical Defense. If the Assamite misses, it does not count against his three successful strikes.
Description:
This terrible power allows a vampire to drown the target in his own blood. By concentrating, the Kindred bursts the target’s blood vessels and fills his lungs with vitae that strangles him from within. The blood actually constricts the target’s body from the inside as it floods through his system; thus, it works even on unbreathing Kindred. Until the target collapses in agony or death throes, this power has no visible effect, and many Kindred like it because it leaves no trace of their presence. Must show RP proof of contact.
System:
The Player's Character must touch the target, skin-to-skin. (Must have RP evidence of this occurring.) The Player then spends 3 Points of Blood/Energy and makes a successful roll. Within an hour of touching the Target, the Player may decide to implement Dagon's Touch by spending 3 points of Energy/Blood and making a successful roll.
The Vampire need not be in the presence or even in the line of sight of the Target. If used while touching your target, there is no resist. If activated remotely, resist is Willpower vs. the target's Willpower (separate roll).
Description:
The greatest use of blood as a weapon (short of diablerie itself), Baal’s Caress allows the Assamite to transmute their blood into a virulent ichor that corrupts any living or undead flesh it touches. Victims will become ill and their flesh will begin to decay where the touch occurred.
In nights of yore, when Assamites led the charges of Saracen legions, the Assassins were often seen licking their blades, slicing open their tongues and lubricating their weapons with this foul secretion. Baal’s Caress may be used to augment any bladed weapon; everything from poisoned knives and swords to tainted fingernails and claws has been reported.
System:
Baal's Caress is a pre-combat ability. This must be applied to an edged weapon prior to combat, and the resulting chat notecarded if not done openly immediately before the battle. If the Assamite misses, it does not count against his three successful strikes.
Description:
A refinement of Baal’s Caress, Taste of Death allows the Cainite to spit caustic blood at a target. The blood coughed forth with this power burns flesh and corrodes bone; some ancient vampires have been reported to vomit voluminous streams of vitae that reduce their targets to heaps of sludge.
System:
The Player spends 7 points of Energy/Blood and makes a successful roll. The vampire may spit up to 10 feet (3 meters). The Target of this attack must roll with a Mod of their Athletics/Reflexes to successfully dodge.
Description:
Although Silence of Death is an effective tool for the battlefield and the court alike, it is indiscriminate in its effects. The assassin who uses it in preparation for firing a shotgun also silences the radio over which her comrades might warn her of an oncoming guard. The courtier who suppresses a room full of dissenting voices is likewise unable to speak her own mind.
Selective Silence allows the skilled Cainite to overcome these limitations by silencing only those individuals or objects that she wants to silence. When using this power, most individuals exhale a thin mist of blood that clings to the selected subjects, gradually evaporating as Selective Silence’s effects fade. Some vampires also use a similar technique when invoking Silence of Death, in which case the mist surrounds them and moves with them.
System:
The Player spends 7 Points of Energy/Blood and makes a successful roll. Each subject must be within 20 yards or meters of the character using this ability. Objects/Targets larger than a man count as more than one target. A heavy machine gun counts as two, a car is three, and a small aircraft as 5. Objects larger than a small aircraft or an elephant cannot be silenced through the use of this power.
Each subject is completely silenced for three full turns, no resist, unless the Assamite successfully uses this ability again on a separate turn. Nothing it does generates sound, though the secondary effects of its actions will do so normally. For example, a gun silenced with this power will not produce an audible explosion when fired, but its bullets still make noise as they break the sound barrier, hit a wall or shatter a window. A silenced victim can scream all he likes and not make a sound, but may be able to summon help by smashing a window.
Description:
This ability is one of the most powerful attacks in the Assamite repertoire, allowing the attacker to physically draw the target's blood through their skin. This ability is an ideal attack when Assamites find themselves surrounded by enemies and are low on blood.
No longer required to actually bite a victim to drink their blood, it is pulled directly from the body and the blood flows into the mouth of the Assamite. This increases the Assamite character's Energy/Blood Meter by five (5) points per victim. This technique leaves no telling marks whatsoever on the victim. It will appear that their blood simply evaporated.
System:
The Player spends 14 Points of Energy/Blood and makes a successful roll. All Targets within the area of effect of 5 meters must roll to resist. This takes one full turn to complete. This negates all other actions during the Player's turn.
Those who fail their resist roll suffer 31 HP of damage each. The Assamite's Energy/Blood Meter goes up 5 points per person drained.
While it is an obvious violation of the Masquerade, there is no limit as to how many victims the Assamite can draw from at a time as long as they are all within the 5 meter radius.
If the Assamite's Energy/Blood bar is full (or becomes full), then the extra blood will fall on the ground in a pool at the Assamite's feet.
Description:
NOTE: This special skill can only be used after successfully using Taste of Death on the same target.
After using Taste of Death on a Target, and spending ten more Energy/Blood Points, the Player's Character can immediately reduce the Target's Health Points by 40.
System:
The Player, after successfully using "Taste of Death" on the same Target, spends 10 Points of Energy/Blood and makes a successful roll. The target must be within visual sight in order to execute this move and the Assamite must have used Taste of Death on the target within the same scene prior to using Erosion. This ability requires one full turn to execute, and there is a two turn cool-down before it can be used again on the same target.
NOTE: This has a 3-Turn Cooldown.
When needed, some vampires can move fast — really fast. Celerity allows Assamites, Brujah, and Toreadors to move with astonishing swiftness, becoming nothing more than a blur of motion. The Assamites use their speed in conjunction with stealth to strike quickly and viciously from the shadows before they are noticed. Brujah, on the other hand, simply like the edge that the power gives them against overwhelming odds. The Toreador are more inclined to use Celerity to provide an air of unnatural grace to live performances or for an extra push to complete a masterpiece on time, but they can be as quick to draw blood as any assassin or punk when angered.
System:
Each point purchased in Celerity grants permanent, stackable mods to the player's character. For example: A character that has purchased three points in Celerity receives a cumulative +15 point mod in Athletics/Reflexes, 20+ mod in Initiative, and +5 mod in Physical Skill.
The vampire can supersede the Storyteller's narration and perform an action that only requires a few seconds like get through a door before it closes, roll out of the way of an explosion, etc. This does not use one of the Player's actions.
Description:
Make flawless defensive motions at the expense of taking no other actions. This allows the kindred a level of speed, fluidity of motion and poise that makes them a little harder to hit. While they may not be able to dodge a bullet 100% of the time, attackers will find their blows frustratingly difficult to land.
This level of reaction and speed also allows the vampire to use a short burst of added velocity to gain traction up a vertical wall or surface of around 6 foot or so before they will need to push back off. Think of it as something of an acrobatic skill and the vampire in question will be more athletic and graceful.
Auspex gives the vampire uncanny sensory abilities. Vampires with Auspex start with the capacity to heighten their natural senses significantly, but as they grow in power they can perceive psychic auras and read the thoughts of another being.
Auspex can also pierce through mental illusions such as those created by Obfuscate. However, vampires with Auspex need to be careful. Their increased sensory sensitivity can cause them to be drawn in by beautiful things or stunned by loud noises and pungent smells. Sudden or dynamic events can disorient an Auspex-using character unless the Player makes a Willpower roll to block them out (difficulty of at least 60 and dependent on the Storyteller's call,) although the more potent the source of distraction, the higher the difficulty. Failure overwhelms the character’s senses, making the Auspex-using vampire oblivious to their surroundings for a turn or two. While the Malkavians and Toreador are more prone to these kinds of distractions, the Tremere and Tzimisce aren’t immune. Dots in Perception are very useful for using Auspex powers, as more points purchased in this ability will help the character gain more sensory information.
Description:
This power increases the acuity of all of the vampire’s senses, effectively doubling the clarity and range of sight, hearing, smell and perception. While the vampire's senses of taste, touch and observation extend no farther than normal, they likewise become far more distinct. For example, the vampire could taste and identify the hint of liquor in a victim’s blood or feel the give of the board concealing a hollow space in the floor. When speaking with someone, they will sense if they are being lied to or someone is attempting to deceive them.
The Kindred may magnify his/her/their senses at will, sustaining this heightened focus for as long as the vampire desires. At the Storyteller’s option, this may make hunting easier. Occasionally, this talent provides extrasensory or even precognitive insights.
These brief, unfocused glimpses may be odd premonitions, flashes of empathy, or eerie feelings of foreboding. The vampire has no control over these perceptions, but with practice can learn to interpret them with a fair degree of accuracy.
Expanded senses come at a price, however. Bright lights, loud noises and strong smells present a hazard while the vampire uses this power. In addition to the possibility for distraction, an especially sudden or potent stimulus (like the glare of a spotlight or a clap of thunder) can blind or deafen the Kindred for an hour or more.
System:
This is a Passive discipline, is always active, and requires no use of Energy/Blood points or a successful roll. Because it is always active, the Vampire can suffer from sensory overload due to loud noises, harsh smells, bright lights, etc. This is reflected in the negative -5 mods for both Physical Defense and Physical Attack.
In certain circumstances, a Storyteller may request a dice roll associated with using the character’s sense (Mod Auspex level, Willpower and Mental Skill). The Storyteller may also use this power to see if the character perceives a threat. In this case, the Storyteller privately rolls the character’s unmodified Auspex rating, applying whatever difficulty he feels best suits the circumstances. For example, sensing that a pistol is pointed at the back of the character’s head may require a roll of difficulty 50, while the sudden realization that a rival for Primogen is planning her assassination may require a 90.
Note: This “precognition” comes only as a result of interpreting details the Kindred is able to notice "while actively using Auspex." It’s not an all-purpose insight or miraculous revelation. At the character’s discretion, he/she/they may selectively heighten one specific sense, rather than turning them up. In these cases, the difficulty to perceive stimuli using that sense drops by -10, but the difficulty to avoid distraction or temporary bedazzlement via the enhanced sense increases by +20.
This power does not let characters see in pitch darkness, but it does reduce difficulty penalties to act in such darkness by -10, and the character may make ranged attacks in pitch darkness if the vampire using Auspex can hear, smell, or otherwise detect her foe via the senses.
Description:
Using this power, the vampire can perceive the psychic “auras” that radiates about mortals and supernatural beings alike. These halos comprise a shifting, swirling series of colors that take practice to discern with any level of clarity. Even the simplest individual can have many shifting hues within his aura; strong emotions predominate, while momentary impressions or deep secrets flash through in streaks and swirls. The colors change in response to the subject’s emotional state, blending into new tones in a constantly dancing pattern of emotions and impulses. The stronger the emotions involved, the more intense the hues become.
A skilled vampire can learn much from her subject by reading the nuances of color and brilliance in the aura’s flow. Aside from perceiving emotional states, vampires use Aura Perception to detect supernatural beings. The colors in Kindred auras, while intense, are quite pale, while mage halos often flare and crackle with arcane power. The race of shapeshifters has strikingly bright, almost frantic, auras, and ghosts have weak auras that flicker fitfully like a dying flame. While a faerie creature's aura is vivid and radiant, streaked with capricious rainbow hues.
System:
The Player's Character stares at the subject for a few seconds (this does not count as a action). The Player then spends 3 Points of Energy/Blood and makes a successful roll. Use the chart below to determine how much of the subject’s aura the Player's character sees and understands (see the table below).
A failed roll indicates that the play of colors and patterns yields no prevailing impression. A botched roll (rolling a natural 1-10) indicates a false or erroneous interpretation. The Storyteller may wish to make this roll, thus keeping the Player in the dark as to the veracity of the character’s interpretation.
Roll Chart:
COLOR | CONDITION | COLOR | CONDITION | |
Orange | Afraid | Sky Blue | Lovestruck | |
Purple | Aggressive | Neon Green | Obsessed | |
Red | Angry | Silver | Sad | |
Brown | Bitter | Gold | Spiritual | |
Light Blue | Calm | Dark Blue | Suspicious | |
Pink | Compassionate | Color or White Static | Anxious | |
Lavender | Conservative | Mottled Shifting Colors | Confused | |
Gray | Depressed | Thick Black Veins in Aura | Diablerist | |
Maroon | Desirous or Lustful | Sharp Flashing Colors | Day/Dreaming | |
Light Green | Distrustful | Fast Rippling Colors | Frenzied | |
Dark Green | Envious | Hypnotic Swirling Colors | Psychotic | |
Violet | Excited | Sky Blue with Gold Waves | True Love | |
Rose | Generous | Aura with Pale Blotches | Ghoul | |
Red-Orange | Happy | Sparkles in Aura | Magic Use | |
Black | Hateful | Bright Intense Aura | Werebeast | |
Yellow | Idealistic/Optimistic | Weak Intermittent Aura | Ghost or Spirit | |
White | Innocent/Guiltless/Naive | Rainbow Spikes in Aura | Faerie | |
Turquois | Deceptive | Pale Aura Colors | Vampire |
Description:
When someone handles an object for any length of time, that person leaves a psychic impression on the item. A vampire with this level of Auspex can “read” these sensations, learning who handled the object, when he last held it, and what was done with it recently. (For these purposes, a corpse counts as an “object” and can be read accordingly since it is merely a body without life.)
These visions are seldom clear and detailed, registering more like a kind of “psychic snapshot.” Still, the Kindred can learn much even from such a glimpse. Although most visions concern the last person to handle the item, a long-time owner leaves a stronger impression than someone who held the object briefly in comparison.
Gleaning information from the spiritual residue requires the vampire to hold the object and enter a shallow trance. She is only marginally aware of her surroundings while using The Spirit’s Touch, but a loud noise or jarring physical sensation breaks the trance instantly.
System:
The Player spends 5 Points of Energy/Blood and makes a successful roll. The Storyteller will provide a bonus of 0%-50% on the roll, depending on how strong (or weak) the psychic impression is imbedded on the item. The Player can add this additional percentage bonus manually into their HUD before they roll.
The difficulty for any object is determined by:
1) The age of the impressions
2) The intensity of the events the object was involved in
3) The mental and/or spiritual strength of the person who possessed it
Sensing information from a pistol used for a murder hours ago may provide a 40% bonus, while learning who first owned a bloodstained puppet fashioned a century ago might only give a 5% bonus. However, the same puppet might provide a 50% bonus regarding the blood on the puppet if the event was intense or led to the loss of life.
The greater the individual’s emotional connection to the object, the stronger the impression he leaves on it — and the more information the Kindred can glean from it. However, a very old gold necklace that was worn for many decades by a long deceased woman could easily carry her imprint for a hundred years after her death, even if the item had experienced no intense negative/positive connection. This might make it more difficult to read through the years of following contact clutter to find out more recent events involving the necklace or who most recently owned it.
Events involving strong emotions (a wedding/birthday gift, a torture, a long family history, murder of passion) likewise leave stronger impressions than short or casual contact do. (See the Roll Chart below.)
Roll Chart:
Description:
The vampire can project a portion of her consciousness into a nearby mortal’s mind, creating a mental link through which she can:
1) Communicate wordlessly or even read the target’s deepest thoughts, OR
2) Project a thought into the target mortal's mind.
When reading thoughts, the Kindred “hears” in her own mind the thoughts plucked from a subject as if they were spoken to her. When attempting to place a thought into the target mortal's mind, it is perceived as if it were the target's own thought. In either case, the mortal is none the wiser.
This is one of the most potent vampiric abilities since, given time, a Kindred can learn virtually anything from a subject without the person ever knowing. Or place a thought into the mind of a mortal. The Tremere and Tzimisce in particular find this power especially useful in gleaning secrets from others, or for directing their mortal followers with silent precision.
System:
NOTE: Projecting or reading thoughts are separate rolls. They are the same skill, but much like you cannot breath in and breath out at the same time, telepathically reading or placing thoughts requires separate actions. The vampire must declare which they will attempt to perform before they make their roll.
The Player spends 8 Points of Energy/Blood and makes a successful roll. The Target may choose to defend by rolling against the vampire Player's roll, modified by the target's own Mental Defense.
If the mortal target makes their roll and successfully defends against this mental attack, the vampire fails to read the person's mind and the target is none the wiser. If the vampire is attempting to place a thought into the mind of the mortal, the target will recognize that the aberrant thought is not their own, but the target does not know from whence it came. The mortal may be puzzled or confused by the thought, then simply dismiss it as an odd experience. They might consider it as the results of too much wine, drugs or lack of sleep and think on it no more.
If the mortal target fails their defense roll, the vampire will be able to read the thought(s), or the vampire will successfully project a thought(s) into his/her/their mind. If the target is a Player Character, they will privately send the thought(s) in an IM to the vampire character's Player.
Reading minds or placing thoughts into the the minds of mortals can be a convoluted journey and must be accomplished in layers, like peeling an onion. For the most part, the human mind is a messy landfill of urges, impulses, emotions, song lyrics and trivia. The stronger your roll, the more you will be able to cut through the chatter and read/communicate meaningful thoughts.
Roll Chart:
If placing a thought in the mind of the target, the thought will become an actual memory. For example, if the vampire places the thought "Your wife is cheating on you with the guy who just walked into the bar. Remember that phone call and the photos that were mailed to you? That's the guy!" the target will visualize a memory of seeing the man and his wife together in a photo. The full memory will be up to the target to fill in the details per their own imagination.
Description:
Vampires with this awesome ability project their senses out of their physical shell, and stepping away from their bodies as entities of pure thought. The vampire’s astral form is immune to physical damage or fatigue, and can “fly” with blinding speed anywhere across the earth — or even underground — so long as they remain below the moon’s orbit.
There is a danger in psychic projection. The Kindreds' material forms lie in a torpid state while their astral selves are active, and the vampires are not aware of anything that befalls their bodies until they return to it. This leaves them vulnerable and open to attacks.
An ephemeral silver cord connects the Kindred’s psyche to his/her/their bodies. If this cord is severed, their consciousness becomes stranded in the astral plane (the realm of ghosts, spirits, and shades). Attempting to return to the vampire’s physical shell is a long and terrifying ordeal, especially since there is no guarantee that the Kindred will accomplish the journey successfully. This significant danger keeps many Kindred from leaving their bodies for long, but those who dare can learn much.
System:
The Vampire finds a safe place for their body and meditates for one full turn. The Player then spends 8 points of Energy/Blood and makes a successful roll. Exactly how high the roll is determines where and how far they are able to psychically travel. (See Roll Chart below.) This lasts for the duration of the scene, or until the Vampire decides to return before this time to his/her/their own body.
If the roll is not successful, the Player may continue to try again in two turns. Unfortunately, a botch can have catastrophic consequences.
An astral form may travel at great speeds (the Storyteller can use roughly 1000 miles per hour or 1500 kilometers per hour as a general guide) and carries no clothing or material objects of any kind.
Some artifacts are said to exist in the spirit world, and the character can try to use one of these tools if the vampire finds one. The character cannot bring such relics to the physical world upon returning, however. Interaction with the physical world is impossible while using Psychic Projection. At best, the character may spend 3 Blood/Energy points to manifest as a ghostlike shape. This apparition lasts one turn before fading away; while she can’t manipulate anything physically during this time, the character can speak in hushed whispers while in the ghostlike shape.
Despite lacking physical substance, an astral character can use Auspex and mental skills normally. At the Storyteller’s discretion, such a character may employ some or all Animalism, Dementation, Dominate, Necromancy, Obtenebration, Presence, Thaumaturgy, and similar non-corporeal mental powers the vampire has acquired.
Astral Shapes Meeting Each Other
If two astral shapes encounter one another, they can interact as if they were solid. They may talk, touch, and even fight as if both were in the material world. Since they have no physical bodies, astral characters seeking to interact “physically” substitute Physical Abilities for Mental Abilities. This means mental skills, attack and defense numbers replace physical Attacks, Skills and Defense. Willpower is the modifier on all rolls.
Due to the lack of a material form, the only real way to damage another psychic entity is to cut its silver cord connecting the spirit to the physical body. When fighting this way, consider Willpower points x10 to be health points; when combatants lose all their Willpower Points, the cord is severed. Although an astrally-projected character remains in the reflection of the mortal world, she may venture further into the spirit realms, especially if she becomes lost.
Other beings with particular sensitivity to psychic activity, such as ghosts, werewolves, and even some magi, travel the astral plane as well, and can interact with a vampire’s psychic presence normally (although the astrally projected character is not considered a “ghost” for powers such as Necromancy).
Storytellers are encouraged to make trips into the spirit world as bizarre, mysterious, and dreamlike as possible. The world beyond is a vivid and fantastic place, where the true nature of things is stronger and often strikingly different from their earthly appearances.
Roll Chart:
Description:
By using Eagles Sight, the vampire can mentally fly like a bird and visually see the land and all beneath them with complete clarity. This is different than Psychic Projection since the vampire's spirit never leaves his/her/their body completely and they can "snap out of it" at any time without injury or disorientation.
Like the eagle, the vampire using this skill has a 340-degree field of vision that allows for both excellent peripheral and binocular vision. For example, an eagle is capable of sighting a rabbit two miles away (or 3.2 kilometers) while in flight the vampire can travel between 20-40 miles per hour (32-64 km) in normal flight at altitudes of 10,000 feet or more.
System:
The vampire takes one full turn to focus their energy, spends 6 pts. of Blood/Energy and makes a successful roll. The effect lasts for another two full turns of scanning the area as they mentally fly above the area, or until they end the ability. If the vampire is attacked by surprise while in this state, they suffer a -5% defense penalty on the first attack and all initiative.
The vampire still has access to his own hearing and other senses (not including sight). Think of it like wearing VR goggles playing a video game. You can't see what's going on around you, but you can still hear, touch and smell.
Description:
Psychic Assault is nothing less than a direct mind-to-mind attack which uses the sheer force of an elder’s will to overpower his target. Victims of Psychic Assault show little outward sign of the attack, save for nosebleeds and expressions of intense agony; all injuries by means of this psychic pressure inflicted are internal. A medical examination of a mortal victim of a Psychic Assault invariably shows the cause of death to be a heart attack, stroke or aneurysm, while vampires killed with this power decay to dust instantly, regardless of age.
System:
The Character must touch or make direct eye contact with his Target. This takes one action to complete. After which, the Player spends 14 Energy/Blood points and makes a successful roll. If the Target fails to defend, the Target takes 42 points of damage.
Description:
This powerful ability allows higher-level vampires to mentally link their minds to the minds of any other being or creature. When used on sentient beings, the vampire can mentally link and communicate via hold an ongoing dialogue with any number of people at the same time. Everyone the vampire has selected to link to can hear him in their minds, and also hear the minds of all others in the linked conversation. Distance is not a factor. When used on animal minds, the communication is very limited. The vampire can speak to animals and it will respond as if it physically heard the words, but the animal can only provide an emotional response, such as happy, sad, frightened, angry, confused, anticipation, etc.
An Unexpected Side Effect
For the purpose of conducting group meetings with her clan members across the globe, this skill was developed by an elder Toreador Primogen many hundreds of years ago before modern mass communication. However, she did not anticipate the side effect this type of mental link would have on her. While it worked perfectly in linking multiple minds through her own for an open dialogue, the skill itself effected her own mind in a way she could not control. In essence, she could never fully turn off the skill.
Such a thing could easily have caused a vampire to go insane. Fortunately for her, it had a powerful and unforeseen effect that forced her to continually reach out and touch the minds of all those around her, giving her a split second impression of impulses and basic non-verbal thought. The ability was reflexive, weak and easily unnoticeable in her normal activities. However, when she was in combat situations she found this constant stream of information allowed her to anticipate the defenses and attacks of her opponents without effort. With practice she honed the skill and became a Master of combat, often seen by the Prince's side to defend him against attacks and settle disagreements on his behalf with the sword.
System:
The Player spends 8 Points of Blood/Energy and makes a successful roll. The Player can then IM or set up a Group IM Chat IN CHARACTER with as many "Characters" (Player-Characters or NPCs) as he wishes. The vampire's mind serves as a hub from which all participants can communicate freely. His communication must be notecarded. And the IM/Group Chat communication must include the Storyteller, even though they are not an active part of the In-Character conversation.
However, if the vampire is attacked or he somehow loses focus, the communication is instantly severed. Length of the "call" is the duration of a scene, unless ended by the Vampire.
The combat bonuses/buffs for those purchasing this skill are permanent and always active.