Auspex

Auspex gives the vampire uncanny sensory abilities. She starts with the capacity to heighten her natural senses significantly, but as she grows in power, she 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, a vampire with Auspex needs to be careful. Her increased sensory sensitivity can cause her to be drawn in by beautiful things or stunned by loud noises or pungent smells. Sudden or dynamic events can disorient an Auspex-using character unless her player makes a Willpower roll to block them out (difficulty of at least 4, although the more potent the source of distraction, the higher the difficulty). Failure overwhelms the character’s senses, making her oblivious to her 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 successes help the character gain more sensory information.



Ears of the Bat
This is a combo Discipline and requires Vicissitude 1.

The vampire grows long, pointed ears and achieves echolocation, much like a bat. She can “see” in pitch darkness and that sense extends 360° around her, leaving no blind spots for would-be ambushers to exploit.

System: The player must spend a blood point and roll Intelligence + Medicine (difficulty 7). While manifesting the ears, the character gains -3 difficulty on all hearing rolls and suffers a +1 difficulty to all Social rolls with mortals unless she takes steps to hide her ears.

Experience cost: 6

Eyes of a Thousand Shades
This is a combo Discipline and requires Necromancy 3.

While not everyone who has died went on to become a ghost, the dead are legion. They stand in your room while you sleep, and walk the halls when you work late. This power allows the necromancer to harness the ghosts in a given area to act as a kind of phantom clairvoyance. Some younger members of the clan refer to this power as “spook surveillance.”

System: The player spends one blood point and rolls Perception + Occult. Each success widens the effect by 25 yards/meters, giving the necromancer a wider variety of ghosts to pull from in a broader area. While this power is active, the necromancer can see through the eyes of all the ghosts within the area of effect. He can flip from one ghost’s perception to another’s at will. However, the ghost’s vision is filmy, colored by the ''sudario. ''The detritus of memory is strewn about, and can cause confusion or obscure fine details of the living world.

Experience cost: 12

Heightened Senses
This power increases the acuity of all of the vampire’s senses, effectively doubling the clarity and range of sight, hearing, and smell. While her senses of taste and touch extend no farther than normal, they likewise become far more distinct; the vampire could taste the hint of liquor in a victim’s blood or feel the give of the board concealing a hollow space in the floor. The Kindred may magnify her senses at will, sustaining this heightened focus for as long as she 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 as 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: It takes a reflexive action to activate this ability, but no roll or other cost is required. In certain circumstances, dice rolls associated with using the character’s sense (such as Perception + Alertness) decrease in difficulty by a number equal to the character’s Auspex rating when the power is engaged. 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 5, while the sudden realization that a rival for Primogen is planning her assassination may require a 9. Note that even this “precognition” comes only as a result of interpreting details the Kindred is able to notice. It’s not an all-purpose insight or miraculous revelation. At the character’s discretion, she may selectively heighten one specific sense, rather than leaving them all on. In these cases, the difficulty to perceive stimuli using that sense drops by one, but the difficulty to avoid distraction or temporary bedazzlement increases by one. This power does not let characters see in pitch darkness, as does Eyes of the Beast (p. 199), but it does reduce difficulty penalties to act in such darkness from +2 to +1, and the character may make ranged attacks, in pitch darkness if she can hear, smell, or otherwise detect her foe.

Pulse of Undeath
This is a combo Discipline and requires Potence 1.

Canny Brujah with this power can go into fights forewarned about their opponents’ capabilities. The Brujah can intuitively sense which, if any, physical Disciplines another vampire possesses.

System: The player rolls Perception + Empathy (difficulty 6). Each success informs the Brujah of one physical Discipline (Celerity, Potence, or Fortitude) possessed by the target observed, as well as that Discipline’s approximate level.

Experience cost: 6

The False Drink
This is a combo Discipline and requires Vicissitude 5.

Some independent elder Fiends who pay lip service to the Sabbat developed this trick. Using a heightened self-awareness and vitae control, the Tzimisce is able to divert imbibed blood to a discrete cavity within her body. The compartmentalized blood is not absorbed into the vampire’s system, and thus, the blood bond or Vinculum can be secretly avoided. The vampire can then vomit up the unwanted blood at her leisure.

System: Upon drinking the blood, the player must roll Intelligence + Medicine (difficulty 8). Failure means the vampire accidentally absorbs the imbibed blood as normal, affecting any blood bond or Vinculum as per normal. Botching the roll causes the vampire to vomit the imbibed blood, along with half of her own blood pool, in a messy spray.

Experience cost: 18

Aura Perception
Using this power, the vampire can perceive the psychic “auras” that radiate from mortals and supernatural beings alike. These halos comprise a shifting series of colors that take practice to discern with clarity. Even the simplest individual has 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 sympathy with the subject’s emotional state, blending into new tones in a constantly dancing pattern. 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; mage halos often flare and crackle with arcane power; the race of shapeshifters has strikingly bright, almost frantic, auras; ghosts have weak auras that flicker fitfully like a dying flame; and faerie creatures’ radiance is shot through with capricious rainbow hues.

System: After the character stares at the subject for at least a few seconds, the player rolls Perception + Empathy (difficulty 8); each success indicates how much of the subject’s aura the character sees and understands. A failure indicates that the play of colors and patterns yields no prevailing impression. A botch 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.

Successes Result

1 success Can distinguish only the shade (pale or bright). 2 successes Can distinguish the main color. 3 successes Can recognize the color patterns. 4 successes Can detect subtle shifts. 5 successes Can identify mixtures of color and pattern.

The Aura Colors chart offers some example ideas of common colors and the emotions they reflect that Storytellers can use. Note that it is nearly impossible to determine with certainty if a particular character is lying or not with this power – vampires are inherently deceitful by nature, but even mortals might react with anxiety to questions while still being truthful. It is, however, helpful in determine the target’s emotional state, which might lead the vampire to decide that a particular target is suspicious. A character may choose to perform a very cursory aura scan of a large area like a nightclub’s dance floor or the audience in a gallery. In this case, the player decides which characteristic of auras she’s looking for, and that’s the only information she’s able to glean if the roll is successful. (At the Storyteller’s discretion, on this general scan roll, more successes on the roll may more quickly yield what the character seeks.) For example, the player may specify, “Who’s the most nervous person in attendance?” or “Are there any vampirically pale auras among the CEO’s entourage?” Thereafter, the player may narrow down her scrutiny of a single individual, with an additional roll as normal. The character may focus in on a particular subject’s aura only once per scene with any degree of clarity. Any subsequent attempts that result in failure should be considered botches. It is very easy for the character to imagine seeing what she wants to see when judging someone’s intentions. After 24 hours, the character may try again at no penalty. It is possible, though difficult, to sense the aura of a being who is otherwise invisible to normal sight. Refer to “Seeing the Unseen,”.

Baal’s Sight
This is a combo Discipline and requires Quietus (Sorcerer Caste) 4. Often times, the demon hunters of the sorcerer caste lack the time to activate the spiritual sight associated with Baal’s Caress. This power removes the requirement that they do so.

System: Upon learning this power, the sorcerer gains the permanent ability to see dematerialized spirits and the like. There is no roll and no cost for doing so, and this counts as part of the requirement for the sorcerer version of Taste of Death. However, the power permanently alters the sorcerer’s eyes, rendering them disturbingly bloodshot as if he had a permanent infection in both eyes. In addition, any spirit in the sorcerer’s presence will intuitively sense that he can see them, which some spirits find offensive.

Experience cost: 18

Blood Sigh t
This is a combo Discipline and requires Thaumaturgy – Path of Blood 1.

This power allows the user to analyze the potency and type of any blood they touch to a higher level than A Taste for Blood.They can determine which supernatural creature it might come from, and the relative potency of the being in question.

System: The user of this power must touch a small sample of the blood they wish to analyze. They then make a Perception + Medicine roll at difficulty 6. If they are successful, they can identify if the blood is human, animal, or supernatural. With two successes, they can also determine the type of supernatural being in question, such as vampire, lupine, mage, etc. If they gain five successes, they can also determine the relative power of the person in question, such as a vampire’s Generation and possibly Clan, or how strong a lupine is. In addition to this, up to one hour for each success, the power user will know if they touch the person the blood came from.

Experience cost: 9

Bloodied Hands
This is a combo Discipline and requires Necromancy 1.

Even among immortals, the act of murder is often concealed. Lazarenes use their connection to the auguries of death as potent blackmail material. Through piercing the obfuscations surrounding another being’s soul, the Harbinger can identify her target’s most recent victim.

System: The player rolls Perception + Empathy (difficulty 7). Success allows the necromancer to view details of the last sentient being killed by the target. The results are perceived only by the necromancer, and last the duration of the scene.

1 success: The victim’s face takes the place of the Killer’s 2 successes: The victim’s body also takes the place of his killer’s 3 successes: The victim’s cause of death becomes physically apparent 4 successes: The victim’s voice speaks the events immediately leading up to his death 5 successes: The victim can voice as much of his life history as time permits

Experience cost: 9

Chain of Slavery
This is a combo Discipline and requires Dominate 2.

By looking a target in the eyes, the user of this power can see if a target is under the influence of Dominate, and who controls him or her. They must be able to make eye contact with the target, and if they can, the image of the Dominator forms in their mind.

System: The user of this power must be able to make eye contact with the target. They then make a Perception + Empathy roll, with a difficulty equal to the controller’s Willpower. If successful, they get a glimpse of the target’s controller, which becomes more distinct the more successes they roll. With only one success, the image might only appear male or female. At three successes, it is a blurred but recognizable form, and at five successes, it is clear and distinct. If the target is not Dominated or the power user fails the roll, the result is the same: no image appears.

Experience cost: 12

Days of Passions Past
This is a combo Discipline and requires Dementation 3.

People’s moods shift from moment to moment. Vampires with Auspex can take their chances and try to interpret a person’s mood at that very moment from an aura. However, those with this power look into the chaos and see what moods the target engages in most frequently.

System: Roll Perception + Awareness, with a difficulty based on the chart below to see how far back the Malkavian can read the history of the aura. Each success allows the Malkavian to see another emotion. One success allows the most common color at the time to reveal itself; two successes allow the two most common, and so on. It may also be used to detect when the vampire has consumed the blood of a supernatural creature, including other vampires. This can be used to detect diablerie, but reporting such a crime becomes the Malkavian’s word against the target. The Malkavian gains no further insight about what happened, why the target felt this way, or to whom the consumed blood belongs.

Difficulty How Far Back: 9 Since last decade 8 Since last year 7 Since last month 6 Since last week 5 Since last night

Experience cost: 15

Divine Aura
This is a combo Discipline and requires Presence 3.

This power is commonly used by those Ventrue antitribu who also study Auspex. It allows the antitribu to instill the power of her Entrancement into her own aura so that anyone who attempts to study that aura risks bowing before her.

System: The antitribu must spend one blood point to activate Divine Aura for the night. Until the sun rises, if any other Kindred attempt to inspect the antitribu’s aura, she may make a reflexive Entrancement attack against him. The player makes the roll for the antitribu as normal, but the Cainite need not focus her attention on the target. Indeed, it is not even necessary for the antitribu to know that the aura reading attempt was made.

Experience cost: 15

Doubletalk
This is a combo Discipline and requires Celerity 1 and Obfuscate 1.

The Toreador are talented diplomats and politicians, but the Kindred who uses this power may literally hide an entirely different message within their speech. When a Toreador uses Doubletalk, she conveys an entirely different message between and underneath another sentence spoken normally. To most listeners, it looks and sounds like normal conversational placeholders and body language. But for those who know what to look and listen for, it is possible to hold a secret conversation in plain sight, behind an innocuous interaction.

System: When a character speaks in Doubletalk, the player rolls Intelligence + Expression (difficulty 6). If the roll succeeds, the character may seamlessly insert a phrase into her conversation. A failure means the character can’t be understood. A botch means the character accidentally spoke her phrase aloud. The listener then rolls Perception + Subterfuge (difficulty 6). If the roll succeeds, the character may understand the intended message. At the Storyteller’s discretion, this difficulty may be modified for circumstances — it’s more difficult over the phone or in a noisy area, and impossible in text messages. A failure means the character heard nothing, while a botch indicates that he completely misinterpreted what the character said.

Experience cost: 12

Eyes of Blades
This is a combo Discipline and requires Celerity 3.

The Assamite can use her preternatural speed to evade or parry a flurry of attacks.

System: At the start of the character’s combat turn, the player spends two blood points and one Willpower point. This counts as activating Celerity for a turn. During this turn, the character may take no action other than selfdefense, but she can defend herself with her full dice pool (whether dodging or parrying) against every attack made against her on that turn.

Experience cost: 13

Honeyed Words
This is a combo Discipline and requires Presence 1.

The viziers are preternaturally skillful at telling their listeners what they want to hear. So skillful, in fact, that a vizier sometimes doesn’t even need to know what he’s talking about. This power assures the vizier that, no matter what words tumble out of his mouth, they are always the perfect response.

System: The player must roll Manipulation + Expression (difficulty 6). For the remainder of the scene, the difficulty for all rolls to persuade, manipulate, or interrogate a single target through mundane conversation are reduced by the number of successes rolled to a minimum of 4. Additionally, the Storyteller (or player if this power is used against a player’s character) must advise the vizier’s player if the vizier is in danger of saying anything that might offend, confuse, or worry the target. It is possible to use this power to baffle someone with highly technical jargon that the vizier himself doesn’t understand at all.

Experience cost: 9

I Know
This is a combo Discipline and requires Obfuscate 2.

You don’t actually need to know a secret to use it as leverage. With this power, the Nosferatu is able to make it appear as if she knows something the subject would rather keep secret. Essentially, she surface scans the target for feelings of guilt, and uses Obfuscate to project into his mind the subtle body language and turns of phrase that convince him the vampire really knows something dangerous about him. The Nosferatu knows nothing in reality; even the light scan she does to establish guilt gives her no clue as to the nature of what he might be hiding. But the target doesn’t know that, and convinces himself the vampire must know his darkest secrets.

System: This power requires a Perception + Subterfuge roll at a difficulty equal to the target’s current Willpower. For each success the vampire gains, the subject is more convinced the vampire knows something confidential and dangerous about him. For one success, the target believes she may know something potentially damaging, whereas for five he is sure the vampire knows his deepest secrets. How the vampire chooses to use this leverage is up to her. Proving she doesn’t actually know anything, such as guessing badly about the secret or offering details that prove wrong, will break the illusion.

Experience cost: 12

Impeccable Manners
This is a combo Discipline and requires Presence 1.

The Ventrue intuitively senses the mood of another person through an unconscious awareness of her aura. Then, he instinctively modifies his actions so as to shy away from offensive conduct while effortlessly doing things that appeal to the subject.

System: While the Ventrue is interacting socially with another person, the player must roll Perception + Etiquette (difficulty 6 for mortals or 8 for supernatural beings). Each success on this roll reduces the difficulty of all mundane Etiquette or Persuasion rolls made against the same target by -1 for the rest of the scene. This benefit does not modify Discipline rolls.

Experience cost: 9

Mover and Shaker
This is a combo Discipline and requires Presence 3.

Playing the grand city game is beyond most Caitiff, but those who choose to take over a suburban town can learn to create a modest but effective hold over their minor territory. The Caitiff who becomes well acquainted with the people of their town can weave a subtle web of approval among them, harnessing not only their goodwill, but also their shelter from accusers.

System: The Caitiff must spend time meeting and getting to know all of the people of the town they want included in this effect. By spending a Willpower point for each night they spend mingling, they can gain the lasting trust of the citizens in a passive, undetectable fashion. This does not have as obvious an effect as Presence, nor does it give you control over them. What it does do is create a sense of basic goodwill and a positive impression. They trust the Caitiff, and anyone who starts asking suspicious questions or making accusations will find doors closing to them – all Social rolls regarding the Caitiff are at +2 difficulty for a number of weeks equal to the number of Willpower points spent. This can help shake off would-be hunters and even some Kindred. Werewolves and other supernaturals will have their own ways to find the Clanless.

Experience cost: 15

See the Reflected Form
This is a combo Discipline and requires Protean 4.

Using this power, the Gangrel may use Aura Perception to pull detailed information from his subject’s aura. In that aura, he can see the beast forms of Gangrel or other vampires possessing Protean; the forms of the Lupines and other shape-changing beasts; the half-real dream forms of fairies; and the shadows of vampiric forms from disciplines such as Obtenebration, Protean, Serpentis, and Vicissitude. Further, the user of this power can tell which form is “native” or original to the subject.

System: The player rolls Perception + Awareness (difficulty 6). One success gives the character knowledge of the individual’s native form, regardless of the form that the user inhabits at the time. Three successes allow the user to see all forms that the individual in question may assume, and know the Disciplines used to achieve those forms. With five successes, the user may see the images of all forms assumed by non-vampires (such as Lupines or Fae), though the user may not understand the powers used to transform into those shapes. This ability does not reveal the visual changes of Obfuscate, as those are not truly transformative powers.

Experience cost: 12

Soul Decoration
This is a combo Discipline and requires Obfuscate 3.

The body and soul are linked. Outer change brings inner change (and vice versa). The body’s experiences can be summed up in the aura, but this phenomenon is the product of physical forces. By physically adjusting certain locations on the body — chakras, joints, erogenous zones, and the like — a Tzimisce with this power can “paint” whatever aura he chooses. The aura artist uses tools such as needles, clamps, and electric shock to work such change.

System: Aura crafting is a sensitive and precise art and requires at least ten minutes of uninterrupted work. After spending three Willpower points, the player makes a Perception + Empathy roll. The difficulty of this roll is equal to the subject’s current Willpower — stronger personalities resist alteration. The number of successes indicates how completely the aura can be changed to the Tzimisce’s specifications.

Successes Result 1 Can alter primary color 2 Can alter secondary color 3 Can alter psychological state (frenzied, psychotic, etc.) 4 Can conceal or falsify diablerie and magic use 5 Can conceal or falsify natural condition (vampire, shapeshifter, ghost, etc.)

The deception lasts one night per success. During this time, the aura doesn’t change to reflect new conditions in its owner. This power changes only the aura, not the subject herself. At the Storyteller’s discretion, the subject may feel token emotions to match her new colors. She might feel somewhat distrustful if her aura was painted light green, for instance.

Experience cost: 21

Thaumaturgical Sight
This is a combo Discipline and requires Thaumaturgy 1(any path).

With this ability, the user can see magical auras. In much the same way as Aura Perception, she can see a halo of crimson over any magical items or effects. This sight extends to all Kindred blood magic, although some might show a different color of aura. Generally, the stronger the magic, the brighter the aura will be, but is it hard to gauge the relative power of any magical effect.

System: This ability is used in much the same way as Aura Perception. The user stares at the item or area in question for a few moments and makes a Perception + Occult roll (difficulty 8). For a single success, the power user can determine that magic is present. If she gets three successes, she can recognize the ritual or path in question, as long as she knows it herself. For five successes, she can recognize any thaumaturgical effect, regardless of whether she has seen it before. If the effect in question is beyond her skill or knowledge, the user will still gain an impression of what it is designed to do. Should the power user also wish to use Aura Perception on the target, she must take a new action to do so.

Experience cost: 6

Tune Out
This is a combo Discipline and requires Melpominee 2.

With this power the Kindred can dull their senses enough to avoid the effects of any sonic attacks or distractions. She simply picks what she wants to hear, such as conversation, and ignores loud alarms or white noise.

System: This power works at the will of the power user. She can tune out background noise to hear conversations without any penalties, or eliminate painfully loud alarms. However, when the power is activated the user cannot hear anything except for the sounds she has decided to hear. This might mean she can only hear the conversation she is having in a loud club, but not the music or background voices. Unfortunately, as she has to specify what she can hear, she will be unable to adjust the power to hear any new sounds unless she knows they are there, so she can easily add a new voice to a conversation when she sees someone join, but not hear someone talking behind her or hear a new alarm going off.

Experience cost: 12

The Spirit’s Touch
When someone handles an object for any length of time, he 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.) 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.

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 rolls Perception + Empathy. The difficulty is determined by the age of the impressions and the mental and spiritual strength of the person or event that left them. Sensing information from a pistol used for a murder hours ago may require a 4, while learning who owned a bloodstained puppet fashioned a century ago might be a 9. 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. Events involving strong emotions (a giftgiving, a torture, a long family history) likewise leave stronger impressions than short or casual contact do. Assume that each success offers one piece of information, as per the chart below.

Successes Information

Botch The character is overwhelmed by psychic impressions for the next 30 minutes and unable to act. Failure No information of value. 1 success Very basic information: the last owner’s gender or hair color, for instance. 2 successes A second piece of basic information. 3 successes More useful information about the last owner, such as age and state of mind the last time he used the item. 4 successes The person’s name. 5+ successes A wealth of information: nearly anything you want to know about the person’s relationship with that object is available.

At the Storyteller’s discretion, some impressions on objects may be so strong — a knife plunged into Caesar’s breast, the tip of the Spear of Destiny, a fang pulled from the maw of Dracula — that any use of this power may be deemed a success.

Under the Skin
This is a combo Disciline and requires Presence 3.

The Kindred of Clan Toreador are natural critics. With insight and zeal they analyze and deconstruct art, culture, and politics. Some studied Toreador possess the ability to do the same with their peers, reading them like texts and making obvious their failings of personality. The Cainite using this power analyzes the personality of another, finds its weaknesses, and then uses the force of his presence to make light of those weaknesses and hammer on them like a battering ram. The results can be quite dramatic. While this power is similar to Scalpel Tongue, it’s much more devastating. That one stings; this one draws blood (and possibly a lot of it).

System: The Toreador must interact socially with his target for a number of consecutive turns (2-5 turns is a good rule of thumb, at the Storyteller’s discretion) before this power can be activated. After that warm-up, roll Wits + Perception against a difficulty of 6 as the character begins his systematic analysis of the target’s psyche and self-esteem. The results of this assault are listed below.

Successes Result

1-2 Target is rendered utterly speechless with embarrassment and rage, and broods for the remainder of the scene. (One die penalty to all Social rolls) 3-4 Target storms out in a rage. (Two dice penalty to all Social rolls) 5 Target becomes violent, either toward the Toreador using this power (jumping over the table to attack, for example) or toward herself in a fit of self-loathing. (+1 difficulty to rolls to resist frenzy) 6+ Target enters frenzy. (+3 difficulty to resist frenzy)

The target may spend a Willpower point to lessen the effect by one category (e.g., from 6+ to 5 or from 3-4 to 1-2).

Experience cost: 18

Weigh the Heart
This is a combo Discipline and requires Serpentis 5.

The ancient Egyptians believed that conscience and judgment resided in the heart. In the afterlife, the gods weighed a person’s heart, the record of his deeds, against the feather of truth. A Setite who has learned The Heart of Darkness not only can remove a vampire’s heart to keep it safe, he gains a potential insight into the consciences of others. He can develop that potential through Auspex. Like the god Anubis, a vampire with this power can “weigh” another person’s heart to read his character and sins. Such knowledge of another person’s character makes tempting, corrupting, or teaching him much easier.

System: This power calls for a Perception + Empathy roll (difficulty 8). Each success reveals one truth about the target’s character, with particular emphasis on the person’s weaknesses, passions, and guilts. The first truth is always the target’s Nature. Subsequent truths might include any Derangements or mental Flaws, strong passions, or deep-laid fears and guilts (although never specific details about specific crimes).

Experience cost: 24

Ze Monkey’s Paw
This is a combo Discipline and requires Dementation 4.

Superstitions are little pieces of irrationality that still take hold in the rational world. Malkavians with this ability play on these notions to convince a perfectly normal person that an inanimate object is the source of all their troubles. It’s a great way to get someone babbling about strange connections, or dig a valuable item out of the trash when the victim throws it away.

System: Roll Wits + Subterfuge (difficulty 6), while touching an object, picturing a specific person, and spending a point of Willpower. The next time the target sees the object, the power starts working. Every success rolled robs the target of a Health level (when a minor accident involving the object occurs) or a Willpower point (when the target somehow blames a bad turn in their life on the object). The Malkavian chooses the split when the power is used, but the target loses no more than one Willpower point or one Health level per scene. The Malkavian has no control over what the target does with the object or when the curse strikes, but the target is unlikely to keep it for long.

Experience cost: 21

Command from Afar
This is a combo Discipline and requires Presence 4.

This power has lost much of its former value since the advent of the cellphone, but many Ventrue (in both Sects) still swear by it for its impeccable security. By combining the long range effects of Summoning with the communicative benefits of Telepathy, the Ventrue can give complicated instructions over nearly any distance to any individual who is blood bonded to her or that she shares vinculum with.

System: The player must spend a Willpower point to activate this power, and then roll the character’s Charisma + Expression. For each success, the Ventrue can communicate up to five words to a single ghoul, blood-bound vampire, or packmate with vinculum over any distance, so long as it is night where both of them are. The target will intuitively know whom the mental message comes from. The target is under no particular compulsion to obey, beyond any the compulsion normally attached to the bond or vinculum.

Experience cost: 24

Draught of the Soul
This is a combo Discipline and requires Quietus 5.

This power is largely a relic of the days before the Tremere Curse. While many Assamite elders still know it, Draught of the Soul is useless to those who cannot drink the blood of other Cainites. The antitribu can still make use of it, however, and if the Tremere Curse is ever lifted, all Assamites will have the potential to drink the memories of their victims instead of just their souls.

System: This power can only be used when an Assamite commits diablerie. The player spends a number of Willpower points equal to the victim’s Intelligence and then rolls Willpower (difficulty equal to the victim’s permanent Willpower plus one for every Derangement she had; maximum 9). If the roll is successful, the player gains one experience point for every Skill in which the victim’s rating was equal to or greater than that of the character. The bonus experience points can only be spent to improve Skills in which the victim’s rating equaled or exceeded that of the Assamite. These experience points should be kept in a separate pool. At the Storyteller’s discretion, the character may also be able to access specific memories of the victim, usually while in a dreamlike state. If the player’s roll botches, the character gains a permanent derangement, usually one previously held by the victim if appropriate.

Experience cost: 27

Eyes of Alamut
This is a combo Discipline and requires Quietus 3.

This power allows for a most cunning surveillance. The Assamite must touch the target to activate the power. If successful, then for the next hour per success, she can see through the target’s eyes and hear through his ears.

System: To activate Eyes of Alamut, the player must spend a Willpower point and roll Perception + Awareness (difficulty is target’s current Willpower). This power can only be used to scry on someone who the Assamite has physically touched, and the connection only lasts for an hour. A target who also has Telepathy (Auspex ••••) may notice the fact that someone is riding his senses with a successful Perception + Occult roll (difficulty 6). Such a character automatically realizes the intrusion if the Assamite uses Command From Afar and the control attempt is unsuccessful.

Experience cost: 21

Heart’s Desire
This is a combo Discipline and requires Chimerstry 2.

With this power, a Ravnos reaches into a target’s emotion and creates an image of the target’s greatest wish. This desire manifests as some sort of material object: a love letter, a stack of money, or the golden crown of a Prince. No matter what manifests, the Ravnos who used this power understands the meaning and nature of the item, and is able to comprehend the target’s deepest desire. The Ravnos has no magical ability to understand the why or wherefore of that desire; only that this is the person’s fondest dream. Obviously, handing that love letter to the target will not convince her that the Ravnos can (or has) caused her greatest desire to truly come true. Instead, most Ravnos cunningly use this power to discover a target’s secrets, and never reveal to the other individual that Heart’s Desire was used at all.

System: To target a player with this power, the Ravnos must have touched them within the last three rounds. Once that has been achieved, the player must spend a blood point and a Willpower point. Then, roll Intelligence + Subterfuge against a difficulty of the target’s current Willpower, and achieve three successes. If the Ravnos is successful, an illusory item manifests within the Ravnos’ hand as if Fata Morgana had been used, and the Ravnos instinctively understands the meaning of the item and the general nature of the target’s desire.

Experience cost: 18

Screams Made Real
This is a combo Discipline and requires Dementation 4.

Everyone has hidden, disturbing images that hide somewhere in his or her mind. This power allows the Malkavian to pull those images to the surface and confront their creator.

System: The Kindred spends a blood point and makes a Manipulation + Empathy roll (difficulty 8). Each success pulls a disturbing image from the mind of the target. The target thinks the images are real and acts accordingly. The images last for a scene. Affected victims fly into a blind flight or frenzy. Kindred or other creatures capable of frenzy, like Lupines, may make a frenzy check with a difficulty penalty equal to the number of successes on the roll. Humans get no such roll. They much choose flight or fight immediately.

Experience cost: 24

Soul Painting
This is a combo Discipline and requires Presence 2.

The ancient Toreador art of “painting souls” flourished briefly in the early 1300s, but with the loss (and presumed Final Death) of Katherine of Montpellier, the technique was thought to be gone forever. In recent nights, Katherine has returned. Roused from an ages-long torpor, she has agreed to teach a few worthy students the knack of painting a portrait of a being’s inner nature. A few enterprising Toreador have attempted to adapt her principles to other expressive media, including music, song, and even acting. Art has long been held to be a doorway into the soul. Usually it’s the soul of the artist. In this case, the painting can expose the nature of the person portrayed. The message conveyed is powerful, subtle, and — when successful — undeniable. Falsehood cannot be portrayed through Soul Painting, for even the artist does not initially know what the image will reveal. To create this type of portrait, the artist needs to study the subject for a full, uninterrupted hour. This can be done in a sitting, of course, but (due to the sensitive nature of the portrait) it’s more often done from recalled observation. Looking not only at the minute details of appearance and carriage, but also at the subject’s aura, the painter forms a conscious insight. This alone is not sufficient, however: the painter must give himself over to a kind of creative fugue, setting aside his preconceptions completely, in order to make a soul portrait. The portrait must be painted in a single setting, and interrupting a soul painter while she works is as difficult as rousing a Toreador from a more mundane fit of artistic absorption. It generally takes 10-12 hours to create the picture, though more complex efforts may take longer — Katherine’s portrait of the Archbishop Monçada reputedly took over one thousand hours — but if successfully completed, it reveals a great deal indeed.

System: The player rolls Manipulation + Empathy (difficulty 6). If the roll yields even a single success, the painting (or other work) captures the subject’s Nature in the work itself. For each additional success, the player may opt to illustrate any one of the following: a rough gauge of Humanity (or Path, which usually won’t create a traditionally flattering work), Willpower, Self-Control, Conscience, Conviction, Instinct, or Courage. Anyone with the Soul Painting power can immediately recognize every insight portrayed in a portrait. Those who lack the power may (at the Storyteller’s discretion) be required to make Perception + Awareness, Empathy, or Crafts rolls to “decode” the portrait. The difficulty for such attempts should be low, however; the whole point of the power is the exposure of these hidden, abstract concepts. Note that Soul Painting does not necessarily make the artist a skilled artist — it is quite possible to have a crudely executed portrait that nonetheless communicates the subject’s personality. Such a ham-handed painter is unlikely to have learned this power from the mistress herself, though.

Experience cost: 18

Soul Separation
This is a combo Discipline and requires Vitreous Path 3.

A few Nagaraja have the ability to link their souls with another through what some call control of their unholy presence. In truth, it is more about knowing another’s 71 soul intimately through the use of Auspex that makes the vampire truly dangerous. Reaching out with his mind and spirit to his victim’s soul, the vampire may draw it out and devour it the same as any other spirit. Victims who have survived such a trauma say it is truly an out of body experience or a forced astral projection. They feel like they could go anywhere or do anything, completely free of their corporeal form, but are instead uncontrollably drawn into the Nagaraja’s jaws to be devoured. It is a nightmare of unparalleled proportions, often scarring the victim mentally.

System: The player spends 1 Willpower and rolls Manipulation + Empathy (difficulty 7) against the target’s Willpower (difficulty 6). Each success the target rolls cancels out one from the player’s roll. Leftover successes are compared to the table above.

Experience cost: 21



Telepathic Command
This is a combo Discipline and requires Dominate 1.

Generally, the Auspex power of Telepathy cannot be used as a means to silently Dominate another, as both powers require concentration from the vampire. A Ventrue with this power overcomes that limitation.

System: The vampire must still make eye contact with the target. If he does so, he can use Command via telepathic means so that the order is not audible to others nearby. The power cannot affect vampires of lower Generation.

Experience cost: 15

Telepathy
The vampire projects a portion of her consciousness into a nearby mortal’s mind, creating a mental link through which she can communicate wordlessly or even read the target’s deepest thoughts. The Kindred “hears” in her own mind the thoughts plucked from a subject as if they were spoken to her. This is one of the most potent vampiric abilities, since, given time, a Kindred can learn virtually anything from a subject without him ever knowing. 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: The player rolls Intelligence + Subterfuge (difficulty of the subject’s current Willpower points). Projecting thoughts into the target’s mind requires one success. The subject recognizes that the thoughts come from somewhere other than his own consciousness, though he cannot discern their actual origin without a successful Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty equal to the vampire’s Manipulation + Subterfuge). To read minds, one success must be rolled for each item of information plucked or each layer of thought pierced. Deep secrets or buried memories are harder to obtain than surface emotions or unspoken comments, requiring five or more successes to access. Reading thoughts with Telepathy does not commonly work upon the undead mind. A character may expend a Willpower point to make the effort, making the roll normally afterward. Likewise, it is equally difficult to read the thoughts of other supernatural creatures. However, the character may project her thoughts without expending a Willpower point. These thoughts, however, are still obviously intrusions into the target’s mind, but the character may attempt to disguise her mental “voice” with a roll of Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty equals the target’s Perception + Awareness) so the target doesn’t recognize her as the “speaker.” Storytellers are encouraged to describe thoughts as flowing streams of impressions and images, rather than as a sequence of prose (powers such as Telepathic Communication are of more use for that). Instead of making flat statements like “He’s planning on killing his former lover’s new boyfriend,” say “You see a fleeting series of visions: A couple kissing passionately in a doorway, then the man walking alone at night; you suddenly see your hands, knuckles white, wrapped around a steering wheel, with a figure crossing the street ahead; your heart, mortal now and hammering with panic as you hear the engine rev wildly; and above all, a blazing anger coupled with emotional agony and a panicked fear of loss.” Such descriptions not only add to the story, but they also force the player to interpret for herself what her character gleans. After all, understanding minds — especially highly emotional or deranged minds — is a difficult and often puzzling task.

Psychic Projection
The Kindred with this awesome ability projects her senses out of her physical shell, stepping from her body as an entity 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 she remains below the moon’s orbit. The Kindred’s material form lies in a torpid state while her astral self is active, and the vampire isn’t aware of anything that befalls her body until she returns to it. An ephemeral silver cord connects the Kindred’s psyche to her body. If this cord is severed, her 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 she 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: Journeying in astral form requires the player to expend a point of Willpower and make a Perception + Awareness roll. Difficulty varies depending on the distance and complexity of the intended trip; 5 is within sight, 7 is nearby or to a familiar location, and 9 reflects a trip far from familiar territory (a first journey from North America to the Far East; trying to shortcut through the earth). The greater the number of successes rolled, the more focused the character’s astral presence is, and the easier it is for her to reach her desired destination. Failure means the character is unable to separate her consciousness from her body, while a botch can have nasty consequences — flinging her astral form to a random destination on Earth or in the spirit realm, arriving in a place where the sun is active (necessitating a frenzy roll, although the sunlight doesn’t do any damage), or hurtling toward the desired destination so forcefully that the silver cord snaps. The player may spend a point of Willpower to activate this power, and an additional point of Willpower to gain the success necessary to perform the jaunt. This is an exception to the normal rule where a player may not spend more than a single point of Willpower per turn. Each scene in Psychic Projection requires another point of Willpower and a new roll. Failure indicates that the vampire has lost her way and must retrace the path of her silver cord. A botch at this stage means the cord snaps, stranding the character’s psychic form in the mysterious astral plane. 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 she finds one. The character cannot bring such relics to the physical world when she returns to her body, however. Interaction with the physical world is impossible while using Psychic Projection. At best, the character may spend a Willpower point to manifest as a ghostlike shape. This apparition lasts one turn before fading away; while she can’t affect anything physically during this time, the character can speak. Despite lacking physical substance, an astral character can use Auspex 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 powers she has, though this typically requires a minimum of three successes on the initial Psychic Projection roll. If two astral shapes encounter one another, they 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 Mental and Social Traits for Physical ones (Wits replaces Dexterity, Manipulation supplants Strength, and Intelligence replaces Stamina). Due to the lack of a material form, the only real way to damage another psychic entity is to cut its silver cord. When fighting this way, consider Willpower points to be health levels; when a combatant loses all of her Willpower, 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). The observing character notices the astrally projecting vampire with a Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty 8), requiring more successes than the Psychic Projection activation roll. Even those who do notice you won’t be able to identify you; you are merely an immaterial shade hovering in the general area. 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.

Babble
This power allows a Kindred to speak with multiple targets using telepathy. All of their minds are linked, but they must communicate with each other by speaking out loud. Furthermore, each person linked speaks as if the person her or she is talking to is standing right next to him or her. For example, if Alexandria and Mister E. are connected with Babble, Alexandria can murmur quietly and be heard since he’s in a movie theater, while Mister E. has to shout because she’s on the dance floor of the local dance club.

System: The vampire may link a number of targets equal to her permanent Willpower. Malkavians may push the number of people connected to Babble to her Willpower + Empathy, if all the subjects possess at least one derangement and don’t resist the Discipline. Kindred with the Malkavian Time Specialty may choose to use their Awareness instead.

Clairvoyance
By using Clairvoyance, a vampire can perceive distant events without using Psychic Projection. By concentrating on a familiar person, place, or object, a character can observe the subject’s immediate vicinity while staying aware of her own surroundings.

System: The player rolls Perception + Empathy (difficulty 6) and describes the target she’s trying to look in on. If the roll is successful, the character can then perceive the events and environment surrounding the desired target for one turn per success. Other Auspex powers may be used on the scene being viewed; these are rolled normally. Clairvoyance does split the vampire’s perceptions between what she is viewing at a distance and what is taking place around her. As a result, while using this power, a character is at +3 difficulty on all rolls relating to actions that affect her physical surroundings.

Prediction
Some people are capable of finishing their friends’ sentences. Elder vampires with Prediction sometimes begin their friends’ sentences. Prediction is a constant low-level telepathic scan of the minds of everyone the character is in proximity to. While this power does not give the vampire the details of his neighbors’ conscious thoughts, it does provide a wealth of cues as to the subjects’ moods, suppressed reflexes, and attitudes toward the topic of conversation.

System: Whenever the character is in conversation and either participant in the discussion makes a Social roll, the player may pre-empt the roll to spend a blood point and make a Perception + Empathy roll (difficulty of the target’s Manipulation + Subterfuge). Each success is an additional die that can be applied to the player’s Social roll or subtracted from the dice pool of the Social roll being made against the character.

Sibyl’s Tongue
Many Kindred look to the Malkavians as seers and prophets, but elders of the Clan are the ones who are most often consulted for their augury. Those with Sibyl’s Tongue can take their propensity for prediction one step further and actually seek out the answer to a question from the gestalt-mind of the Clan. If anyone in the Clan knows the answers, the elder will be able to pluck it out of their mind. However, there is a price: those elders who are unable to navigate the churning rivers of madness might find themselves dragged along in a direction they didn’t intend.

System: The vampire must spend a turn focusing on the collective madness of the Malkavian Clan, and then rolls Wits + Investigation, difficulty 8. If the roll is successful, and if it is an answer that some Malkavian knows somewhere, the vampire gets an answer to her question, with each success adding clarity to the answer that comes back. If the roll is failed, however, the collective madness begins to overwhelm the vampire. She gains two additional derangements immediately (Storyteller’s choice) for the duration of the scene. On a botch, one of the acquired derangements becomes permanent, although it can be removed as normal (unlike the derangement gained from the Malkavian clan weakness). For particularly dangerous or powerful questions, the Storyteller may give the vampire a temporary derangement even on a successful roll, and even more dire consequences for failure.

Telepathic Communication
Telepathy allows a character to pick up only the surface thoughts of other individuals, and to speak to one at a time. With Telepathic Communication, a character can form a more powerful link between his mind and that of other subjects, allowing them to converse in words, concepts, and sensory images at the speed of thought (and without the need for Willpower expenditure, unlike with Telepathy). Vampires with this level of Auspex can act as “switchboard operators,” creating a telepathic web that allows all participants to share thoughts with some or all other members of the network as they choose.

System: The player rolls Charisma + Empathy (difficulty equals the target’s current Willpower points) to establish contact, although a willing subject may allow the vampire access and thus obviate the need for a roll. The maximum range at which a subject may be contacted and the maximum number of individuals who may be linked simultaneously with this power depends on the Auspex rating of the vampire who initiates contact.



Karmic Sight
The power of Aura Perception (Auspex 2) allows a vampire to take a brief glimpse at the soul of a subject. This power takes Aura Perception several steps forward, allowing a vampire who has mastered Auspex 2 to probe the inner workings of a subject’s mind and soul.

System: The player rolls Perception + Empathy (difficulty equals the subject’s current Willpower). The degree of success determines the information gained.

Successes Result

Botch The character gains a Derangement or Psychological/Mental/ Supernatural Flaw similar to one of the target’s for one night, at Storyteller discretion. 1 success As per five successes on an Aura Perception roll. 2 successes Subject’s Nature, Demeanor, and Humanity or Path can be determined. 3 successes Any outside influences on the subject’s mind or soul, such as Dominate or a demonic pact, can be detected. 4 successes Subject’s Willpower, Humanity or Path, and Virtue ratings can be determined. 5 successes The state of the subject’s karma may be determined.

This is a highly abstract piece of information best left to Storyteller discretion, but should reveal the general balance between “good” and “bad” actions the subject has performed, both recently and over the course of his existence. If the plot merits it, the character may receive visions of one or more incidents in the subject’s past that radically altered his destiny. With this degree of success, some fate-related Merits and Flaws (e.g. Dark Fate) can be identified as well.

Mirror Reflex
This power was developed by a Toreador elder who made a fearsome reputation through her fencing prowess, acting as a hired champion in dozens of Ventrue duels. Mirror Reflex is similar to Prediction in that it is in essence a low-level telepathic scan of an opponent, but this power taps into physical (rather than social) reflexes, allowing the character to anticipate an enemy’s moves in personal combat.

System: The player spends a blood point and rolls Perception + the combat skill the opponent is using

(difficulty of the subject’s Manipulation + combat skill in use). Each success is an additional die that can he applied to the character’s dice pools during the next turn of combat for any actions taken against the scanned opponent. The use of Mirror Reflex does take one combat action, and the power has a maximum range in yards or meters equal to the character’s Willpower rating.

Psychic Assault
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 or aneurysm, while vampires killed with this power decay to dust instantly, regardless of age.

System: The character must touch or make eye contact with his target. The player spends three blood points (and a Willpower point, if assaulting a vampire or other supernatural being) and rolls Manipulation + Intimidation in a contested roll against the victim’s Willpower. The result depends on the number of net successes the attacker rolls.

Successes Result

Botch The target becomes immune to the attacker’s Psychic Assault for one night per each “1” rolled. Failure The target is unharmed and may determine that a psychic assault is taking place by succeeding on a Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty 6). 1 success The target is shaken but unharmed. He loses a temporary Willpower point. 2 successes The target is badly frightened. He loses three temporary Willpower points and, if a ampire, must roll Courage (difficulty of the attacker‘s Auspex rating) to avoid Rötschreck. 3 successes The target loses six temporary Willpower points and, if a vampire, must roll Courage as above. If this causes him to lose his last temporary Willpower point, he loses a permanent Willpower point and receives three health levels of bashing damage (soaked normally). 4 successes The target loses all temporary Willpower points and half of his permanent Willpower points (round down) and suffers three health levels of lethal damage (soaked normally). 5 successes The target must roll his permanent Willpower (difficulty 7). If he succeeds, apply the effect of four successes, and is also rendered unconscious for the rest of the night. If he fails, the Psychic Assault kills him instantly.

False Slumber
Possibly the source of many Malkavians’ conviction that their sire is alive and well on the astral plane, this power allows a Methuselah‘s spirit to leave his body while in torpor. While seemingly asleep, the vampire is able to project astrally, think, and perceive events normally.

System: No roll is needed. This power is considered to be active whenever the vampire’s body is in torpor, and astral travels are handled as per the rules for Psychic Projection. The vampire is not able to awaken physically at will, however waking from torpor is handled per the normal rules for such an action. A vampire with this power whose silver cord is severed in astral combat loses all Willpower points, as per the rules for astral combat under Psychic Projection, but is not killed. Instead, he loses the use of this Auspex power and half of his permanent Willpower points. Both the Auspex 9 power and the Willpower must be bought back with experience points. The vampire’s soul slowly returns to his body over the course of a year and a day, during which time he may not be awakened from torpor by any means.