Amulet of Thepsis

By Gus Belanger (gusbelanger@yahoo.com)

3 point Special Gift

Description

Thepsis was an Egyptian Nosferatu who was a very sucessful enchanter in life. Nobles would come from far and wide to purchase one of his good luck charms or fertility trinkets. Upon his deathbed, he was Embraced by the Nosferatu because (as far as they were concerned) they needed all the luck they could get. When he regained his senses the Nosferatu knew they had made a mistake. Thepsis was said to be so traumatised by his Embrace that he sought ways to become invisible to the world. Many keepers of Nosferatu lore credit him with the invention of several clever Obfuscation combinations with other Disciplines. For him however, this wasn't enough. Someone, somewhere could always see him. So one fine night, he set to work. He created a beautiful amulet formed by wrapping gold and silver wiring around the edge of an oblong piece of amber to form a primitive Khartoush. He then crafted an impossibly tiny figure of Anubis out of lapis lazuli, which he carefully attached to the facing side of the amber. He tried everything he could think of to actually power it, but failed time and time again. Near total madness with frustration, he wandered the Saudi desert for days. His Clanmates feared him dead. When he returned, he spoke of having met a strange man in dark robes and of learning the secret of the power in his own blood from him. Soon the amulet was complete, and until Thepsis' Final Death no-one could ever see his face, or so the rumor goes. Thepsis was the target of an Assamite contract, and he was killed 20 years before the birth of Christ. Upon his death, the Legend was that the Amulet actually hid itself from the world. In reality, the Assamites got it. Every now and then, when a contract calls for the most difficult feats of Obfuscate, the Amulet is loaned out. Heaven help those who fail with it, or don't come back with it.

Game Mechanics

The amulet, when worn, doubles any dice pools used for Obfuscate and reduces any difficulties on those rolls by 2 (minimum of 4, regardless). It also forces those with Auspex (regardless of their generation) to score three sucesses in a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty is 6) to spot the Amulet's wearer. The Amulet, however exacts a high price. Every night that it is worn, it must drink the full Blood Pool of a member of the Kine (killing that mortal) or the effects will function in reverse. The wearer's dice pools will be halved (round down); all difficulties with such rolls will be +2 (maximum of 10) and anyone with so much as a single point of Auspex can see you regardless of your Generation, or theirs. In addition, should any Obfuscate roll made with the Amulet botch, the amber develops a large crack and becomes useless.