Draft3

Animalism

V20 Core, pg 127

The Beast resides within all creatures, from scuttling cockroaches to scabrous rats up through untamed wolves and even powerful Kindred elders. Animalism allows the vampire to amplify his intensely primordial nature. He can not only communicate with animals, but can also force his will upon them, directing such beasts to do as he commands. As the vampire grows in power, he can even control the Beast within mortals and other supernaturals.
Beasts grow distinctly agitated in the presence of a vampire who lacks this Discipline or the Skill of Animal Ken, often to the point of attacking or running from the vampire. In contrast, vampires possessing Animalism exude a dominant vibe to lower creatures, which attracts them.
Animalism is commonly found with vampires of the Gangrel and Nosferatu Clans. Manipulation and Charisma are important for the use of Animalism powers; the stronger the vampire’s personality, the more influence he has over animals.

[+/-] Feral Whispers

Feral Whispers
V20 Core, pg 129

This power is the basis from which all other Animalism abilities grow. The vampire creates an empathic connection with a beast, thereby allowing him to communicate or issue simple commands. The Kindred locks eyes with the animal, transmitting his desires through sheer force of will. Although it isn’t necessary to actually “speak” in chirps, hisses, or barks, some vampires find that doing so helps strengthen the connection with the animal. Eye contact must be maintained the entire time; if it’s broken, the Kindred must re-establish contact to continue communication.

The simpler the creature, the more difficult it becomes to connect with the animal’s Beast. Mammals, predatory birds, and larger reptiles are relatively easy to communicate with. Insects, invertebrates, and most fish are just too simple to connect with.

Feral Whispers provides no guarantees that an animal will want to deal with the vampire, nor does it ensure that the animal will pursue any requests the vampire makes of it. Still, it does at least make the creature better disposed toward the Kindred. The manner in which the vampire presents his desires to the animal often depends on the type of creature. A Kindred can often bully smaller beasts into heeding commands, but he’s better off couching orders for large predators as requests.

If the vampire successfully uses the power, the animal performs the command to the best of its ability and intellect. Only the very brightest creatures understand truly complex directives (orders dealing with conditional situations or requiring abstract logic). Commands that the animal does understand remain deeply implanted, however, and guide its behavior for sometime.

System: No roll is necessary to talk with an animal, but the character must establish eye contact (see p. 152) first. Issuing commands requires a Manipulation + Animal Ken roll. The difficulty depends on the creature: Predatory mammals (wolves, cats, vampire bats) are difficulty 6, other mammals and predatory birds (rats, owls) are difficulty 7, and other birds and reptiles (pigeons, snakes) are difficulty 8. This difficulty is reduced by one if the character speaks to the animal in its “native tongue,” and can be adjusted further by circumstances and roleplaying skill (we highly recommend that all communication between characters and animals be roleplayed).

The number of successes the player achieves dictates how strongly the character’s command affects the animal. One success is sufficient to have a cat follow an individual and lead the character to the same location, three successes are enough to have a raven spy on a target for weeks, and five successes ensure that a grizzly ferociously guards the entrance to the character’s wilderness haven for some months.

The character’s Nature plays a large part in how he approaches these conversations. The character might try intimidating, teasing, cajoling, or rationalizing. The player should understand that he does not simply play his character in these situations, but the Beast Within as well.

Using this power cannot force an animal to do something against its nature, or to force a creature to risk its life. While the aforementioned grizzly would stand guard to the vampire’s haven and even fight for it, it would not do so against obviously superior numbers or something overwhelmingly supernatural. A predatory bird might be convinced to harry a target, but would definitely not hold ground. A docile dog or skittish cat would have no problem with reporting something it had seen, but it wouldn’t enter combat unless given no other option — though it would likely agree to stand and fight and then flee at the first opportunity, if a harsh Kindred demanded it.

[+/-] Beckoning

Beckoning
V20 Core, pg 130

The vampire’s connection to the Beast grows strong enough that he may call out in the voice of a specific type of animal — howling like a wolf, shrilling like a raven, etc. This call mystically summons creatures of the chosen type. Since each type of animal has a different call, Beckoning works for only a single species at a time.

All such animals within earshot are summoned, and some percentage of them will heed the Beckoning if it is successful. While the vampire has no further control over the beasts who answer, the animals who do are favorably disposed toward him and are at least willing to listen to the Kindred’s concerns. (The vampire can then use Feral Whispers on individual animals to command them, which may be at a decreased difficulty at Storyteller discretion.)

System: The player rolls Charisma + Survival (difficulty 6) to determine the response to the character’s call; consult the table below. Only animals that can hear the cry will respond. If the Storyteller decides no animals of that type are within earshot, the summons goes unanswered.

The call can be as specific as the player desires. A character could call for all bats in the area, for only the male bats nearby, or for only the albino bat with the notched ear he saw the other night.

Successes	Result
1 success	A single animal responds.
2 successes	One-quarter of the animals within earshot respond.
3 successes	Half of the animals respond.
4 successes	Most of the animals respond.
5 successes	All of the animals respond.

[+/-] Quell the Beast

Quell the Beast
V20 Core, pg 130

As the supreme predators of the natural world, Kindred are highly attuned to the bestial nature that dwells within every mortal heart. A vampire who develops this power may assert his will over a mortal (animal or human) subject, subduing the Beast within her. This quenches all powerful, strong emotions — hope, fury, love, fear — within the target. The Kindred must either touch his subject or stare into her eyes to channel his will effectively.

Mortals who lack the fire of their inner Beasts are quite tractable, reacting to even stressful situations with indifference. Even the most courageous or maddened mortal becomes apathetic and listless, while an especially sensitive individual may suffer from a phobic derangement while under the power’s influence.

Different Clans evoke this power in different ways, though the effect itself is identical. Tzimisce call it Cowing the Beast, since they force the mortal’s weaker spirit to shrivel in fear before the Kindred’s own inner Beast. Nosferatu refer to it as Song of Serenity, since they soothe the subject’s Beast into a state of utter complacency, thus allowing them to feed freely. Gangrel know the power as Quell the Beast, and force the mortal spirit into a state of fear or apathy as befits the individual vampire’s nature.

System: The player rolls Manipulation + Intimidation if forcing down the Beast through fear, or Manipulation + Empathy if soothing it into complacency. The difficulty of the roll is 7 in either case. This is an extended action requiring as many total successes as the target has Willpower. Failure indicates that the player must start over from the beginning, while a botch indicates that the vampire may not affect that subject’s Beast for the remainder of the scene.

When a mortal’s Beast is cowed or soothed, she can no longer use or regain Willpower. She ceases all struggles, whether mental or physical. She doesn’t even defend herself if assaulted, though the Storyteller may allow a Willpower roll if the mortal believes her life is truly threatened. To recover from this power, the mortal’s player rolls Willpower (difficulty 6) once per day until she accumulates enough successes to equal the vampire’s Willpower. Kindred cannot be affected by this power.

Though a vampire’s Beast cannot be cowed with this ability, the Storyteller may allow characters to use the “soothing” variation of this power to pull a vampire out of frenzy. With three or more successes, the frenzying vampire may roll again to pull herself out of frenzy, using the same difficulty as the stimulus that caused the frenzy originally.

[+/-] Subsume the Spirit

Subsume the Spirit
V20 Core, pg 131

By locking his gaze with that of an animal, the vampire may mentally possess the creature. Some elders believe that since animals don’t have souls but spirits, the vampire can move his own soul into the animal’s body. Many younger vampires think it a matter of transferring one’s consciousness into the animal’s mind. In either case, it’s agreed that the beast’s weaker spirit (or mind) is pushed aside by the Kindred’s own consciousness. The vampire’s body falls into a motionless state akin to torpor while his mind takes control of the animal’s actions, remaining this way until the Kindred’s consciousness returns.

Some haughty Tzimisce eschew this power, considering it debasing to enter the body of a lesser creature. When they do stoop to using it, they possess only predators. Conversely, Gangrel revel in connecting to the natural world in this way. They delight in sampling different animals’ natures.

System: The player rolls Manipulation + Animal Ken (difficulty 8) as the character looks into the animal’s eyes (see sidebar on p. 152). The number of successes allows the character to employ some mental Disciplines while possessing the animal, as noted below.

Successes	Result
1 success	Cannot use Disciplines
2 successes	Can use Auspex and other sensory powers
3 successes	Can also use Presence and other powers of emotional manipulation
4 successes	Can also use Dementation, Dominate, and other powers of mental manipulation
5 successes	Can also use Chimerstry, Necromancy, Thaumaturgy, and other mystical powers

This power entwines the character’s consciousness closely with the animal’s spirit, so much so that the character may continue to think and feel like that animal even after breaking the connection. This effect continues until the character spends a total of seven nights or three Willpower points to resist and finally overcome the animal nature. This should be roleplayed, though the character will be affected to a lesser degree if the player chooses to spend Willpower.

At the end of any particularly exciting incident during possession, the player rolls Wits + Empathy (difficulty 8) for the character to retain his own mind. Failure indicates that the character’s mind returns to his own body, but still thinks in purely animalistic terms. A botch returns the character to his body, and also sends him into frenzy.

The character may travel as far from his own physical body as he chooses while possessing the animal. The character retains no conscious connection with his vampire body during this time, though. The vampire may also venture out during the day, albeit in the animal’s body. However, the character’s own body must be awake to do so, requiring a successful roll to remain awake (see p. 262). If the character leaves the animal’s body (by choice, if his body falls asleep, or after sustaining significant injury), the vampire’s consciousness returns to his physical form instantaneously.

Although the vampire has no conscious link to his body while possessing the animal, he does form a sympathetic bond. Anything the animal feels, the vampire also experiences, from pleasure to pain. In fact, any damage the animal’s body sustains is also applied to the character’s body, though the Kindred body may soak as normal. If the animal dies before the vampire’s soul can flee from the body, the character’s body falls into torpor. Presumably this is in sympathetic response to the massive trauma of death, but some Kindred believe that the vampire’s soul is cast adrift during this time and must find its way back to the body.

[+/-] Drawing Out the Beast

Drawing Out the Beast
V20 Core, pg 132

At this level of Animalism, the Kindred has a keen understanding of the Beast Within, and is able to release his feral urges upon another mortal or vampire. The recipient of the vampire’s Beast is instantly overcome by frenzy. This is an unnatural frenzy, however, as the victim is channeling the Kindred’s own fury. As such, the vampire’s own behavior, expressions, and even speech patterns are evident in the subject’s savage actions.

Gangrel and Tzimisce are especially fond of unleashing their Beasts onto others. Gangrel do so to stir their ghouls into inspired heights of savagery during combat. Tzimisce care less about who receives their Beast than retaining their own composure.

System: The player must announce his preferred target (since it must be someone within sight, Drawing Out the Beast cannot be used if the vampire is alone), then roll Manipulation + Self-Control/Instinct (difficulty 8). Refer to the table below for the results:

Successes	Result
1 success	The character transfers the Beast, but unleashes it upon a random individual.
2 successes	The character is stunned by the effort and may not act next turn, but transfers the Beast successfully. Alternatively, the character may act normally during the turn, but must spend a Willpower point or suffer a single level of lethal damage.
3+ successes	The character transfers the Beast successfully.

If the attempt fails, the character himself immediately enters frenzy. As the character relaxes in expectation of relieving his savage urges, the Beast takes that opportunity to dig deeper. In this case, the frenzy lasts twice as long as normal and is twice as difficult to shrug off; its severity also increases exponentially. Botching this roll is even more catastrophic; the heightened frenzy grows so extreme that not even expending Willpower curbs its duration or effects. The character is a hapless victim to the terrible fury of his Beast, and may well hurl herself into a savage, flesh-rending rampage that leaves the Masquerade (and unfortunate nearby onlookers) in tatters.

If the character leaves the target’s presence before the frenzy expends itself, the vampire loses his Beast, perhaps permanently. While no longer vulnerable to frenzy, the character cannot use or regain Willpower and becomes increasingly lethargic. To recover the Beast, he must find the person who now possesses it (who likely isn’t enjoying herself very much) and coax the Beast into its proper vessel. The most effective way to do so is to behave in ways that make the Beast want to return — however, this isn’t a guarantee that it will wish to do so. Alternatively, the character can simply kill the host (thus causing the Beast to return to the vampire immediately).

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Auspex

V20 Core, pg 134

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 — see the sidebar “Seeing the Unseen” on p. 142 for more.

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.

Seeing the Unseen - Sidebar
V20 Core, pg 142

Auspex enables Kindred to perceive many things beyond the limits of lesser senses. Among its many uses, Auspex can detect the presence of a supernatural being who is hidden from normal sight (a vampire using Obfuscate, for example, or a ghost) or pierce illusions created by the Discipline of Chimerstry. Note: “Normal sight” includes regular, non-Auspex use of the Awareness skill.

Obfuscate: When a vampire tries to use her heightened perceptions to notice a Kindred hidden with Obfuscate, she detects the subject’s presence if her Auspex rating is higher than his Obfuscate, and she succeeds at a Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty equals 7 minus the number of dots by which her Auspex exceeds his Obfuscate). Conversely, if the target’s Obfuscate outranks her Auspex, he remains undiscovered. If the two ratings are equal, both characters make a resisted roll of Perception + Awareness (Auspex user) against Manipulation + Subterfuge (Obfuscate user). The difficulty for both rolls is 7, and the character with the most successes wins.

Chimerstry: Likewise, vampires with Auspex may seek to penetrate illusions created with Chimerstry. The Auspex-wielder must actively seek to pierce the illusion (i.e., the player must tell the Storyteller that his character is trying to detect an illusion). The Auspex-user and Chimerstry-wielder then compare relative ratings, per Obfuscate, above. The process is otherwise identical to piercing Obfuscate.

Other Powers: Since the powers of beings like magi and wraiths function differently from vampiric Disciplines, a simple comparison of relative ratings isn’t applicable. To keep things simple, both characters make a resisted roll. The vampire rolls Perception + Awareness, while the subject rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge. Again, the difficulty is 7, and the character with the most successes wins.

[+/-] Heightened Senses

Heightened Senses
V20 Core, pg 134

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 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: 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.

[+/-] Aura Perception

Aura Perception
V20 Core, pg 135

Condition	Aura Colors
Afraid	Orange
Aggressive	Purple
Angry	Red
Bitter	Brown
Calm	Light Blue
Compassionate	Pink
Conservative	Lavender
Depressed	Grey
Desirous or Lustful	Deep Red
Distrustful	Light Green
Envious	Dark Green
Excited	Violet
Generous	Rose
Happy	Vermilion
Hateful	Black
Idealistic	Yellow
Innocent	White
Lovestruck	Blue
Obsessed	Green
Sad	Silver
Spiritual	Gold
Suspicious	Dark Blue
Anxious	Auras appear scrambled like static or white noise
Confused	Mottled, shifting colors
Diablerist	Black veins in aura
Daydreaming	Sharp flickering colors
Frenzied	Rapidly rippling colors
Psychotic	Hypnotic, swirling colors
Vampire	Aura colors are pale
Ghoul	Pale blotches in the aura
Magic Use	Myriad sparkles in aura
Werebeast	Bright, vibrant aura
Ghost	Weak, intermittent aura
Faerie	Rainbow highlights in aura

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 (see the table below). 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," W20 Vampire Core, pg 142, for more information.

[+/-] The Spirit's Touch

The Spirit's Touch
V20 Core, pg 136

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 gift-giving, 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.

[+/-] Telepathy

Telepathy
V20 Core, pg 137

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

Psychic Projection
V20 Core, pg 138

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 ghost-like 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.

---

Celerity

Celerity
V20 Core, pg 142

Not all vampires are slow, meticulous creatures. When needed, some vampires can move fast — really fast. Celerity allows Assamites, Brujah, and Toreadors to move with astonishing swiftness, becoming practically a blur. 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 of Celerity adds one die to every Dexterity-related dice roll. In addition, the player can spend one blood point to take an extra action up to the number of dots he has in Celerity at the beginning of the relevant turn; this expenditure can go beyond her normal Generation maximum. Any dots used for extra actions, however, are no longer available for Dexterity-related rolls during that turn. These additional actions must be physical (e.g., the vampire cannot use a mental Discipline like Dominate multiple times in one turn), and extra actions occur at the end of the turn (the vampire’s regular action still takes place per her initiative roll).

Normally, a character without Celerity must divide their dice if she wants to take multiple actions in a single turn, as per p. 248. A character using Celerity performs his extra actions (including full movement) without penalty, gaining a full dice pool for each separate action. Extra actions gained through Celerity may not in turn be split into multiple actions, however.

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Chimerstry

V20 Vore, pg 144

The Ravnos are known as masters of illusion, although the reason why is lost to history. Rumors abound of Ravnos ghûls, rakshasas, and shapeshifters, but whatever its origins, Chimerstry remains a potent and powerful weapon for the Deceivers. The Discipline is, fundamentally, an art of conjuration that converts the vampire’s will into phantoms that confound the senses and technology alike. Even vampires fall under the sway of the Ravnos’ illusory world, unless they have a strong enough grasp of Auspex (see p. 142). The Ravnos often use this power to swindle and seduce their victims into acts that work out badly for the victim (but great for the Ravnos).

Illusions created by Chimerstry can be seen for what they are by a victim who “proves” the illusion’s falsehood (e.g., a person who walks up to an illusory wall, expresses his disbelief in it, and puts his hand through it effectively banishes the illusion), and explicitly incredible illusions are seen as false immediately (e.g., dragons breathing fire or gravity working in reverse). Sometimes, frequent targets of Chimerstry end up attempting to disbelieve everything around them, leading to derangements (and, quite often, to the amusement of the Ravnos).

[+/-] Ignis Fatuus

Ignis Fatuus
V20 Core, pg 144

The vampire may conjure a minor, static mirage that confounds one sense. For instance, he may evoke a sulfurous stench, the appearance of stigmata, or the shatter of broken glass. Note that though tactile illusions can be felt, they have no real substance; an invisible but tactile wall cannot confine anyone, and invisible razor-wire causes no real damage. Similarly, the vampire must know the characteristics of what he’s creating. While it’s easy enough to estimate what a knife wound might look like, falsifying a person’s voice or a photograph of a childhood home requires knowledge of the details.

System: The player spends a point of Willpower for the vampire to create this illusion. The volume of smells, ambient lighting, smoke clouds, and the like are limited to roughly 20 cubic feet (half a cubic meter) per dot the vampire has in Chimerstry. The illusion lasts until the vampire leaves its vicinity (such as stepping out of the room) or until another person sees through it somehow. The Cainite may also end the illusion at any time with no effort.

[+/-] Fata Morgana

Fata Morgana
V20 Core, pg 144

The Cainite can now create illusions that appeal to all the senses, though they remain static. For example, the vampire could make a filthy cellar appear as an opulent ballroom, though she could not create a glittering chandelier or a score of graceful dancers. Again, the illusion has no solid presence, though it’s easy enough to fool an enraptured visitor with suggestions of what she might expect. A bucket of brackish water is as cool as chilled champagne, after all.

System: The player spends a Willpower point and a blood point to create the illusion. These static images remain until dispelled, in much the same way that an Ignis Fatuus illusion does.

[+/-] Apparition

Apparition
V20 Core, pg 144

Not really a power unto itself, Apparition allows a vampire to give motion to an illusion created with Ignis Fatuus or Fata Morgana. Thus, the Cainite could create the illusion of a living being, running water, fluttering drapes, or a roaring fire.

System: The creator spends one blood point to make the illusion move in one significant way, or in any number of subtle ways. For example, the vampire could create the illusion of a lurking mugger lurching at her victim, or she could create the illusion of a desolate street, down which a chill wind blows trash while a streetlamp flickers and hums. Taking complicated actions besides maintaining the illusion — that is, anything that would require a dice roll — first requires success on a Willpower roll, resulting in the dissolution of the false construct if the roll fails.

Once the creator stops concentrating on the illusion, it can continue in simple, repetitive motions – roughly speaking, anything that can be described in a simple sentence, such as a guard walking back and forth in front of a steel door. After that, the vampire cannot regain control over the illusion – she can either allow it to continue moving as ordered, or let it fade as described under Ignis Fatuus.

[+/-] Permanency

Permanency
V20 Core, pg 145

This power, also used in conjunction with Ignis Fatuus or Fata Morgana, allows a mirage to persist even when the vampire cannot see it. In this way, Ravnos often cloak their temporary havens in false trappings of luxury, or ward off trespassers with illusory guard dogs.

System: The vampire need only spend a blood point, and the illusion becomes permanent until dissolved (including “programmed” illusions like those created by Apparition).

[+/-] Horrid Reality

Horrid Reality
V20 Core, pg 145

Rather than create simple illusions, the vampire can now project hallucinations directly into a victim’s mind. The target of these illusions believes completely that the images are real; a hallucinatory fire can burn him, an imaginary noose can strangle him, and an illusory wall can block him. This power affects only one person at a time; though others can see the illusion, it doesn’t impact them in the same way. Other people can try to convince the victim that his terrors are not real, but he won’t believe them. Note that targets with enough dots in Auspex can still attempt to roll for Seeing the Unseen (p. 142).

System: A Horrid Realty illusion costs two Willpower points to set in motion and lasts for an entire scene (though its effects may last longer; see below). If the vampire is trying to injure his victim, his player must roll Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty of the victim’s Perception + Self-Control/Instinct). Each success inflicts one health level of lethal damage on the victim that cannot be soaked — the Cainite assaults the victim’s mind and perceptions, not his body. If the player wishes to inflict less damage or change it to bashing, he may announce a maximum amount of damage before rolling the dice. Secondary effects (such as frenzy rolls for illusory fire) may also occur.

The victim heals all his damage instantaneously if he can be convinced that the damage he took was illusory, but convincing him may take some doing, such as with at least two successes on a Charisma + Empathy roll (difficulty equal to the Manipulation + Subterfuge of the Cainite using Horrid Reality). The target must be convinced of the attack’s illusory nature within 24 hours of its taking place, or it becomes too well established in his memory, and he will have to heal the damage using blood (if a vampire) or over time (if mortal).

This power cannot actually kill its victims (though a target with a heart condition may well die from fright). A victim “killed” by an illusory attack loses consciousness or enters torpor.

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Dementation

V20 Core, pg 147

Dementation is the Discipline that allows a vampire to focus and channel madness into the minds of those around him. Though it’s the natural legacy of the Malkavians, practitioners of Dementation need not actually be mad to use the Discipline… but it helps.

Disturbingly, Dementation doesn’t actually make their victims mad, but rather it seems to break down the doors to the hidden darkness of the target’s mind, releasing into the open whatever is found there. The Malkavians claim that this is because insanity is the next logical step in mental evolution, a transhumanist advancement of what modern people consider consciousness. Other Kindred scoff that this reasoning is an outright justification for the chaos that Dementation brings. They don’t scoff too loudly, however, lest the Malkavian advance their consciousness next.

[+/-] Passion

Passion
V20 Core, pg 148

The vampire stirs his victim’s emotions, either heightening them to a fevered pitch or blunting them until the target is completely desensitized. The Cainite may not choose which emotion is affected; she may only amplify or dull emotions already present in the target. In this way, a vampire can inflame mild irritation into quivering rage or atrophy true love into casual interest.

System: The character talks to her victim, and the vampire’s player rolls Charisma + Empathy (difficulty equals the victim’s Humanity or Path rating). The number of successes determines the duration of the altered state of feeling. Effects of this power might include one- or two-point additions or subtractions to difficulties of frenzy rolls, Virtue rolls, rolls to resist Presence powers, etc.

Successes	Result
1 success	One turn
2 successes	One hour
3 successes	One night
4 successes	One week
5 successes	One month
6+ successes	Three months

[+/-] The Haunting

The Haunting
V20 Core, pg 148

The vampire manipulates the sensory centers of his victim’s brain, flooding the victim’s senses with visions, sounds, scents, or feelings that aren’t really there. The images, regardless of the sense to which they appeal, are only fleeting “glimpses,” barely perceptible to the victim. The vampire using Dementation cannot control what the victim perceives, but may choose which sense is affected.

The “haunting” effects occur mainly when the victim is alone, and mostly at night. They may take the form of the subject’s repressed fears, guilty memories, or anything else that the Storyteller finds dramatically appropriate. The effects are never pleasant or unobtrusive, however. The Storyteller should let her imagination run wild when describing these sensory impressions; the victim may well feel as if she is going mad, or as if the world is.

System: After the vampire speaks to the victim, the player spends a blood point and rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty of his victim’s Perception + Self-Control/Instinct). The number of successes determines the length of the sensory “visitations.” The precise effects are up to the Storyteller, though particularly eerie or harrowing apparitions can certainly reduce dice pools for a turn or two after the manifestation.

Successes	Result
1 success	One night
2 successes	Two nights
3 successes	One week
4 successes	One month
5 successes	Three months
6+ successes	One year

[+/-] Eyes of Chaos

Eyes of Chaos
V20 Core, pg 148

This peculiar power allows the vampire to take advantage of the fleeting clarity hidden in insanity. She may scrutinize the “patterns” of a person’s soul, the convolutions of a vampire’s inner nature, or even random events in nature itself. The Kindred with this power can discern the most well-hidden psychoses, or gain insight into a person’s true self. Malkavians with this power often have (or claim to have) knowledge of the moves and countermoves of the great Jyhad, or the patterns of fate.

System: This power allows a vampire to determine a person’s true Nature, among other things. The vampire concentrates for a turn, then her player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the intricacy of the pattern. Discerning the Nature of a stranger would be difficulty 9, a casual acquaintance would be an 8, and an established ally a 6. The vampire could also read the message locked in a coded missive (difficulty 7), or even see the doings of an invisible hand in such events as the pattern of falling leaves (difficulty 6). Almost anything might contain some hidden insight, no matter how trivial or meaningless. The patterns are present in most things, but are often so intricate they can keep a vampire spellbound for hours while she tries to understand their message.

This is a potent power, subject to adjudication. Storytellers, this power is an effective way to introduce plot threads for a chronicle, reveal an overlooked clue, foreshadow important events, or communicate critical information a player seeks. Important to its use, though, is delivering the information properly. Secrets revealed via Eyes of Chaos are never simple facts; they’re tantalizing symbols adrift in a sea of madness. Describe the results of this power in terms of allegory: “The man before you appears as a crude marionette, with garish features painted in bright stage makeup, and strings vanishing up into the night sky.” Avoid stating plainly, “You learn that this ghoul is the minion of a powerful Methuselah.”

[+/-] Voice of Madness

Voice of Madness
V20 Core, pg 149

By merely addressing his victims aloud, the Kindred can drive targets into fits of blind rage or fear, forcing them to abandon reason and higher thought. Victims are plagued by hallucinations of their subconscious demons, and try to flee or destroy their hidden shames. Tragedy almost always follows in the wake of this power’s use, though offending Malkavians often claim that they were merely encouraging people to act “according to their natures.” Unfortunately for the vampire concerned, he runs a very real risk of falling prey to his own voice’s power.

System: The player spends a blood point and makes a Manipulation + Empathy roll (difficulty 7). One target is affected per success, although all potential victims must be listening to the vampire’s voice. Affected victims fly immediately into frenzy or a blind fear like Rötschreck. Kindred or other creatures capable of frenzy, such as Lupines, may make a frenzy check or Rötschreck test (Storyteller’s choice as to how they are affected) at +2 difficulty to resist the power. Mortals are automatically affected and don’t remember their actions while berserk. The frenzy or fear lasts for a scene, though vampires and Lupines may test as usual to snap out of it.

The vampire using Voice of Madness must also test for frenzy or Rötschreck upon invoking this power, though his difficulty to resist is one lower than normal. If the initial roll to invoke this power is a failure, however, the roll to resist the frenzy is one higher than normal. If the roll to invoke this power is a botch, the frenzy or Rötschreck response is automatic.

[+/-] Total Insanity

Total Insanity
V20 Core, pg 149

The vampire coaxes the madness from the deepest recesses of her target’s mind, focusing it into an overwhelming wave of insanity. This power has driven countless victims, vampire and mortal alike, to unfortunate ends.

System: The Kindred must gain her target’s undivided attention for at least one full turn to enact this power. The player spends a blood point and rolls Manipulation + Intimidation (difficulty of her victim’s current Willpower points). If the roll is successful, the victim is afflicted with five derangements of the Storyteller’s choice (see p. 290). The number of successes determines the duration.

Successes	Result
1 success	One turn
2 successes	One night
3 successes	One week
4 successes	One month
5+ successes	One year

On a botch… well, the Storyteller can decide what a vampire inflicts upon herself by attempting to incite the primal hells lurking within the darkest recesses of a victim’s mind.

The victim (or the target of a botch) can spend a number of Willpower points equal to the successes rolled to end the duration prematurely. The Storyteller decides when such Willpower points can be spent (such as after a therapy session or after a friend has managed to prove a particular delusion to be false).

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Dominate

V20 Core, pg 151

Dominate is one of the most dreaded of Disciplines. It is a vampire’s ability to influence another person’s thoughts and actions through her own force of will. Dominate requires that the vampire capture her victim’s gaze (see p. 152); as such, it may be used against only one subject at a time. Further, commands must be issued verbally, although simple orders may be made with signs — for example, a pointed finger and forceful expression to indicate “Go!” However, the subject won’t comply if he can’t understand the vampire, no matter how powerful the Kindred’s will is.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, vampires to which Dominate comes naturally tend to be from willful, domineering Clans. The Giovanni, Lasombra, Tremere, and Ventrue all consider an iron will to be a boon, and are ea- ger to impose that iron will on any who would move against them.

Eye Contact - Sidebar
V20 Core, pg 152

Many myths and stories exist about a vampire’s mystical ability to put people under her spell by looking deeply into her victim’s eyes. The persistence of such stories through the ages isn’t surprising, since a number of Kindred Disciplines powers (most notably Dominate) require eye contact in order to work. Other vampires, learning of this requirement, have attempted everything from wearing mirrored sunglasses to gouging out their own eyes in order to prevent an elder from exerting his will upon them.

But Kindred are not so easily thwarted.

The need for eye contact stems from the aggressor Kindred’s need to see his victim’s soul, and the eyes are the traditionally known as the windows to the soul. While the vampire needs to capture his target’s attention, the target’s eyes need not be present for such a power to work (although the arts of the Tzimisce make this somewhat challenging at times) — they only need to find the soul of his victim laid bare.

A target trying to avoid eye contact can make a Willpower roll against a difficulty equal to Dominate user’s Manipulation + Intimidation (or other appropriate combination for other Disciplines or specific situations, at the Storyteller’s discretion). The difficulty may be reduced for mitigating factors: -1 in the case of the target obscuring his eyes slightly (such as closing her eyes or wearing dark sunglasses) up to a -3 for the eyes being completely unseen (such as with a thick blindfold or having her eyes torn out). Ultimately, however, it is up to the Storyteller to decide whether eye contact is established in a particular case.

[+/-] Command

Command
V20 Core, pg 152

The vampire locks eyes with the subject and speaks a one-word command, which the subject must be obey instantly. The order must be clear and straightforward: run, agree, fall, yawn, jump, laugh, surrender, stop, scream, follow. If the command is at all confusing or ambiguous, the subject may respond slowly or perform the task poorly. The subject cannot be ordered to do something directly harmful to herself, so a command like “die” is ineffective.

The command may be included in a sentence, thereby concealing the power’s use from others. This effort at subtlety still requires the Kindred to make eye contact at the proper moment and stress the key word slightly. An alert bystander — or even the victim — may notice the emphasis. Still, unless she’s conversant with supernatural powers, the individual is likely to attribute the utterance and the subsequent action to bizarre coincidence.

System: The player rolls Manipulation + Intimidation (difficulty equals the target’s current Willpower points). More successes force the subject to act with greater vigor or for a longer duration (continue running for a number of turns, go off on a laughing jag, scream uncontrollably).

Remember, too, that being commanded to against one’s Nature confounds the use of this power. Being told to “sleep!” in a dangerous situation or “attack!” in police custody may not have the desired effect, or indeed, any effect at all.

[+/-] Mesmerize

Mesmerize
V20 Core, pg 152

With this power, a vampire can verbally implant a false thought or hypnotic suggestion in the subject’s subconscious mind. Both Kindred and target must be free from distraction, since Mesmerize requires intense concentration and precise wording to be effective. The vampire may activate the imposed thought immediately or establish a stimulus that will trigger it later. The victim must be able to understand the vampire, though the two need to maintain eye contact only as long as it takes to implant the idea.

Mesmerize allows for anything from simple, precise directives (handing over an item) to complex, highly involved ones (taking notes of someone’s habits and relaying that information at an appointed time). It is not useful for planting illusions or false memories (such as seeing a rabbit or believing yourself to be on fire). A subject can have only one suggestion implanted at any time.

System: The player rolls Manipulation + Leadership (difficulty equal to the target’s current Willpower points). The number of successes determines how well the suggestion takes hold in the victim’s subconscious. If the vampire scores one or two successes, the subject cannot be forced to do anything that seems strange to her (she might walk outside, but is unlikely to steal a car). At three or four successes, the command is effective unless following it endangers the subject. At five successes or greater, the vampire can implant nearly any sort of command.

No matter how strong the Kindred’s will, his command cannot force the subject to harm herself directly or defy her innate Nature. So, while a vampire who scored five successes could make a 98-pound weakling attack a 300-pound bouncer, he could not make the mortal shoot herself in the head. If a vampire tries to Mesmerize a subject before the target fulfills a previously implanted directive, compare the successes rolled to those gained during the implanting of the first suggestion. Whichever roll had the greater number of successes is the command that now governs in the target’s behavior; the other suggestion is wiped clean. If the successes rolled are equal, the newer command supplants the old one.

[+/-] The Forgetful Mind

The Forgetful Mind
V20 Core, pg 153

After capturing the subject’s gaze, the vampire delves into the subject’s memories, stealing or re-creating them at his whim. The Forgetful Mind does not allow for telepathic contact; the Kindred operates much like a hypnotist, asking directed questions and drawing out answers from the subject. The degree of memory alteration depends on what the vampire desires. He may alter the subject’s mind only slightly (quite effective for eliminating memories of the victim meeting or even being fed upon by the vampire) or utterly undo the victim’s memories of her past.

The degree of detail used has a direct bearing on how strongly the new memories take hold, since the victim’s subconscious mind resists the alteration. A simplistic or incomplete false memory (“You went to the movies last night”) crumbles much more quickly than does one with more attention to detail (“You thought about texting your girlfriend while you were in line at the new movie theater, but you knew you’d have to turn your phone off once you got inside. You liked the movie well enough, but the plot seemed weak. You were tired after it ended, so you went home, watched a little late-night television, and went to bed.”).

Even in its simplest applications, The Forgetful Mind requires tremendous skill and finesse. It’s a relatively simple matter to rifle through a victim’s psyche and rip out the memories of the previous night without knowing what the subject did that evening. Doing so leaves a gap in the victim’s mind, however — a hole that can give rise to further problems down the road. The Kindred may describe new memories, but these recollections seldom have the same degree of realism that the subject’s original thoughts held.

As such, this power isn’t always completely effective. The victim may remember being bitten, but believe it to be an animal attack. Greater memories may return in pieces as dreams, or through sensory triggers like a familiar odor or spoken phrase. Even so, months or years may pass before the subject regains enough of her lost memories to make sense of the fragments.

A vampire can also sense when a subject’s memories were altered through use of this power, and even restore them, as a hypnotist draws forth suppressed thoughts.

System: The player states what sorts of alteration he wants to perform, then rolls Wits + Subterfuge (difficulty equal to the target’s current Willpower points). Any success pacifies the victim for the amount of time it takes the vampire to perform the verbal alteration, provided the vampire does not act aggressively toward her. The table below indicates the degree of modification possible to the subject’s memory. If the successes rolled don’t allow for the extent of change the character desired, the Storyteller reduces the resulting impact on the victim’s mind.

Successes	Result
1 success	May remove a single memory; lasts one day.
2 successes	May remove, but not alter, memory permanently.
3 successes	May make slight changes to memory.
4 successes	May alter or remove entire scene from subject’s memory.
5 successes	May reconstruct entire periods of subject’s life.

To restore removed memories or sense false ones in a subject, the character’s Dominate rating must be equal to or higher than that of the vampire who made the alteration. In that situation, the player must make a Wits + Empathy roll (difficulty equal to the original vampire’s permanent Willpower rating) and score more successes than his predecessor did. However, the Kindred cannot use The Forgetful Mind to restore his own memories if they were stolen in such a way.

[+/-] Conditioning

Conditioning
V20 Core, pg 154

Through sustained manipulation, the vampire can make a subject more pliant to the Kindred’s will. Over time, the victim becomes increasingly susceptible to the vampire’s influence while simultaneously growing more resistant to the corrupting efforts of other Kindred. Gaining complete control over a subject’s mind is no small task, taking weeks or even months to accomplish.

Kindred often fill their retainers’ heads with subtle whispers and veiled urges, thereby ensuring these mortals’ loyalty. Yet vampires must pay a high price for the minds they ensnare. Servants Dominated in this way lose much of their passion and individuality. They follow the vampire’s orders quite literally, seldom taking initiative or showing any imagination. In the end, such retainers become like automatons or the walking dead.

System: The player rolls Charisma + Leadership (difficulty equal to the target’s current Willpower points) once per scene. Conditioning is an extended action, for which the Storyteller secretly determines the number of successes required. It typically requires between five and 10 times the subject’s Self-Control/Instinct rating. Targets with more empathic Natures may require a lower number of successes, while those with willful Natures require a higher total. Only through roleplaying may a character discern whether his subject is conditioned successfully.

A target may become more tractable even before becoming fully conditioned. Once the vampire accumulates half the required number of successes, the Storyteller may apply a lower difficulty to the vampire’s subsequent uses of Dominate. After being conditioned, the target falls so far under the vampire’s influence that the Kindred need not make eye contact or even be present to retain absolute control. The subject does exactly as she is told (including taking actions that would injure herself), as long as her master can communicate with her verbally. No command roll is necessary unless the subject is totally isolated from the vampire’s presence (in a different room, over the phone). Even if a command roll fails, the target will still likely carry out part of the orders given, simply because her master wishes it.

After the subject is fully conditioned, other Kindred find her more difficult to Dominate. Such conditioning raises others’ difficulties by two (to a maximum of 10). It is possible, though difficult, to shake Conditioning. The subject must be separated entirely from the vampire to whom she was in thrall. This period of separation varies depending on the individual, but the Storyteller may set it at six months, less a number of weeks equal to the subject’s permanent Willpower rating (so a person with 5 Willpower must stay away from the vampire for just under five months). The subject regains her personality slowly during this time, though she may still lapse into brief spells of listlessness, despair, or even anger. If the vampire encounters the target before that time passes, a single successful Charisma + Leadership roll (difficulty of the target’s current Willpower points) on the part of the vampire completely reasserts the dominance.

If the subject makes it through the time period without intervention by her master, the target regains her former individuality. Even so, the vampire may reestablish conditioning more easily than the first time, since the subject is now predisposed to falling under the Kindred’s mental control. New attempts require half the total number of successes than the last bout of conditioning did (which means the subject reaches the threshold for reduced difficulties sooner, as well).

[+/-] Possession

Possession
V20 Core, pg 155

At this level of Dominate, the force of the Kindred’s psyche is such that it can utterly supplant the mind of a mortal subject. Speaking isn’t required, but the vampire must capture the victim’s gaze. During the psychic struggle, the contestants’ eyes are locked on one another.

Once the Kindred overwhelms the subject’s mind, the vampire moves his consciousness into the victim’s body and controls it as easily as he uses his own. The mortal falls into a mental fugue while under possession. She is aware of events only in a distorted, dreamlike fashion. In turn, the vampire’s mind focuses entirely on controlling his mortal subject. His own body lies in a torpid state, defenseless against any actions made toward it.

Vampires cannot possess one another in this fashion, as even the weakest Kindred’s mind is strong enough to resist such straightforward mental dominance. Only through a blood bond can one vampire control another to this degree. Supernatural creatures also cannot be possessed in this way, although ghouls that have drunk from the vampire using Possession can.

System: The vampire must completely strip away the target’s Willpower prior to possessing her. The player spends a Willpower point, then rolls Charisma + Intimidation, while the subject rolls his Willpower in a resisted action (difficulty 7 for each). For each success the vampire obtains over the victim’s total, the target loses a point of temporary Willpower. Only if the attacker botches can the subject escape her fate, since this makes the target immune to any further Dominate attempts by that vampire for the rest of the story.

Once the target loses all her temporary Willpower, her mind is open. The vampire rolls Manipulation + Intimidation (difficulty 7) to determine how fully he assumes control of the mortal shell. Similar to the Animalism power Subsume the Spirit, multiple successes allow the character to utilize some mental Disciplines, noted on the chart below. (Vampires possessing ghouls can use the physical Disciplines the ghoul possesses, but not the mental ones.)

Successes	Result
1 success	Cannot use Disciplines
2 successes	Can use Auspex and other sensory powers
3 successes	Can also use Presence and other powers of emotional manipulation
4 successes	Can also use Dementation, Dominate, and other powers of mental manipulation
5 successes	Can also use Chimerstry, Necromancy, Thaumaturgy, and other mystical powers

The character may travel as far from his body as he is physically able while possessing the mortal. The vampire may also venture out during the day in the mortal form. However, the vampire’s own body must be awake to do so, requiring a successful roll to remain awake (see p. 262). If the vampire leaves the mortal shell (by choice, if his body falls asleep, through supernatural expulsion, after sustaining significant injury, etc.), his consciousness returns to his physical form in an instant.

Once freed from possession, the mortal regains mental control of herself. This can happen in an instant, or the victim may lie comatose for days while her psyche copes with the violation.

The vampire experiences everything the mortal body feels during possession, from pleasure to pain. In fact, any damage the victim’s body sustains is also applied to the character’s body (though the Kindred may soak as normal). If the mortal dies before the vampire’s soul can flee from the body, the character’s body falls into torpor. Presumably this is in sympathetic response to the massive trauma of death, though some Kindred believe that the vampire’s soul is cast adrift during this time and must find its way back to the body.

The Kindred can remain in the mortal’s body even if his own torpid form is destroyed, though such a pathetic creature is not likely to exist for long. At each sunrise, the vampire must roll Courage (difficulty 8) or be expelled from the body. If forced from the mortal body, the vampire tumbles into the astral plane, his soul permanently lost in the spirit world. A vampire trapped in a mortal body may not be “re-Embraced.” If the Embrace occurs to such a creature, he simply meets Final Death.