nosferdoodle | Recent Entries

Gifts of the Blood

Blood Surge

Blood Surge Any vampire can call upon their Blood to temporarily augment their Attributes, whether Physical, Social, or Mental. A Blood Surge requires a Rouse Check.

Blush of Life

Unless intentionally brought to a semblance of life, the body of a vampire is functionally dead. Undeath signifies its presence in pale or ashy skin, cold flesh, and lack of breath (except to speak) or a heartbeat. By sending their Blood through the dead capillaries of their skin and into their shriveled heart, a vampire can appear completely human for a night, including but not limited to a heartbeat, body temperature, and breath. The vampire can even pass a cursory medical examination, though they still fail more intrusive screenings for minute tells such as the absence of intestinal flora. Non thin-blooded vampires must use Blush of Life to use touch screens – such as those on smart phones – unaided, which don’t work without the skin moisture and conductivity of the living.

Blush of Life generally allows a vampire to consume food and drink without vomiting for up to an hour. Depending on their Humanity, vampires can fake or sometimes even enjoy sexual intercourse while Blush of Life is active. At Humanity 9 or higher, vampires appear ill or “heroin chic” rather than dead; their heartbeat, pulse, and breath seem thready but detectable. They do not need to use Blush of Life for other than cosmetic purposes. Bringing on the Blush of Life requires a Rouse Check.

Vampiric Mending

Being dead, vampires do not heal naturally. Their unliving frames can still knit themselves together, given enough effort.

Obfuscate

Obfuscate powers work through ambient, low-level mesmerism. Observers see the vampire but their minds choose to ignore it. Witnesses unconsciously move out of the way if the user blocks their path and rationalize their behavior if pressed. Obfuscate affects all five senses unless otherwise noted. The Discipline does have limits: the illusion fails if the observer cannot ignore the user or if the user backs the observer into a corner. A vampire blocking a doorway cannot maintain Obfuscate against someone walking through it. Likewise, violent action jeopardizes the façade, as does actions like raised voices, failed pickpocket attempts, and weapons raised to strike. Whispering without breaking Obfuscate is still possible. Generally, the Discipline offers no protection against machine surveillance. A human staking out the vampire has a hard time pointing the lens in the right direction, but automatic cameras and other types of detectors can catch them.

Cloak of Shadows

Standing perfectly still, the user blends into the surroundings. As long as they have some kind of cover, make no sound, and don’t move, only mechanical or supernatural means can detect them.

Unseen Passage

With this power, the vampire can now move around while staying hidden. The user is functionally invisible, per the usual Obfuscate limitations.

Ghost in the Machine

The user can now transmit the effects of Obfuscate through electronic media, allowing the vampire to appear invisible or masked when viewed live on screen. If an observer views the image later, as in a photograph or recording, the effect lessens: the image seems slightly blurred, making identification hard. In addition, automated surveillance has a tendency to glitch in the presence of the vampire, lessening their chance of being caught by automated systems.

Potence

There is a popular saying among the members of Clan Brujah: “You only underestimate our strength once.” Potence is vitaefueled strength above and beyond other vampires’ capabilities. More powerful than any performance-enhancing drug, more unnatural than the physique of any bulging bodybuilder, Potence is the Beast let loose through the fists, feet, limbs, and raw bodily power of a vampire. The Discipline is used for more than just hitting things, though it is certainly good for this task. It is the vampire’s ability to force their body into actions impossible for mortals to replicate. Potence trumps the other Disciplines in sheer incongruity: an elderly-looking Nosferatu strikes harder than a mortal heavyweight boxer or a Brujah Embraced as a child can decapitate a target with one blow.

Soaring Leap

Possessing unholy strength in more than arms and fists, the user can leap far higher and further than any mortal. (30 ft)

*Blood Sorcery

* Not a clan discipline, learned through a boon.

Corrosive Vitae

Altering the properties of some of their own Blood, the user can make it highly corrosive to most substances, able to corrode most items down to steaming sludge, given enough time and blood shed.

Prices of the Blood

Frenzy

Frenzy waits for every vampire: a constant threat to their fragile peace. Outside circumstances usually provoke a frenzy, snapping the thin leash of the snarling Beast within. The ultimate expression of the basest drives of the Blood, a frenzy looses the Beast without thought or remorse: the predator in full abandon. A vampire in frenzy loses all capacity for rational thought, driven solely by rage, starvation, or panic. They do whatever it takes to rip their provocation to pieces, slake their Hunger, or escape the perceived threat, usually violently and with plenty of collateral damage. Unlike many other impulses of the Blood, a frenzy is never subtle.

While in frenzy, vampires remain immune to any Health-based penalties short of mutilation. They can only use physical Disciplines (such as Celerity, Fortitude, and Potence), but they resist mental disciplines (e.g., Dominate, Presence). The frenzied vampire cannot be provoked into frenzy by another stimulus, nor can they gain Compulsions. They try to achieve their goal at any cost and their frenzy remains until they do so or until the scene ends.

Fury Frenzy - Provocation causes fury frenzy; insults, humiliation, or aggression risk unleashing bestial violence. A vampire in fury frenzy stops at nothing to tear the cause of the provocation to pieces, often together with anyone nearby: friend or foe. After destroying the subject of their ire, the vampire can make a Willpower test at Difficulty 3 (or 5 if other enemies remain standing). Success ends the frenzy, while failing drives them deeper into the rage; they keep slaying anyone in the vicinity unless subdued.

Hunger Frenzy - Temptation causes hunger frenzy; the Beast always craves more blood. Every time a vampire fails a Rouse Check while at Hunger 5, they must make a hunger frenzy test. During a hunger frenzy, the vampire seeks fresh blood from the closest source. (If the closest source is their Touchstone, one hopes the player still has some Willpower to spend to take control of the vampire and send them after a different target.) The hunger frenzy ends when the vampire reaches Hunger 1 or below.

Terror Frenzy - Danger causes terror frenzy; the Beast must preserve itself against all threats. Also known as Rötschreck, a terror frenzy manifests when a threat like sunlight or open flames confront the vampire. Grave damage to the body of the vampire can also elicit this response. While in terror frenzy, the vampire flees from the source of danger, without regard to anyone or anything in their way. The terror frenzy ends when the vampire can no longer perceive any danger.

ᴊᴀsᴘᴇʀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛᴡᴏᴏᴅ.