By Keith Kaczmarek (pheonix@cats.ucsc.edu)
Copies of The Book have popped up in several cities in the hands of Neonates of several different Clans, even in loose photocopied pages and in four different languages, one of which is modern day English. The Book contains several unique multi-Discipline powers, as well as information on the study of Thaumaturgy, Daimoinon, Serpentis, Mortis, Necromancy, and Protean. Kindred who peruse it's pages may develop these gifts with ease. A strange side effect of these powers is that Elders seem unable to master them. Several bands of Elders and Anarchs hunt for copies of The Book, as these powers give an edge to Neonates in their battle with the elders. The Camarilla and the Sabbat have both declared that all copies of the book are to be destroyed, and any who exhibit it's powers are to be killed on sight. This is not to be an excuse for rampant destruction, as Auspex is used to find the truth of any claims of acting on this imperative.
System: Any vampire may learn these powers unless he has two points or more of the Age Background and/or is over 200 years in age. Merely studying The Book and spending the required Experience points will grant the new powers. Once they are learned, they may be taught to others who are not neonates. Vampires who learn these powers and then advance to elder age will not lose these powers. An unknown aspect of these powers is that Ghouls and Revenants may also learn these powers, as long as they possess the proper Disciplines, but they must pay four times the experience cost.
Required Disciplines: Fortitude 3, Potence 3, Celerity 3
Description: This power smoothes out the user's movement, giving her an unnatural grace, power and fluidity to her motion. Users of this power are able to use moves that no mortal athlete could perform due to supernatural strength, durability, and control.
System: All physical actions in which grace is a factor (such as combat, dance, etc.) gain a -2 to their difficulty.
Disciplines: Animalism 3, Dementation 2
Description: In an emergency, this power allows the vampire to tap into the hope, courage, and inspiration of the Beast to bolster his confidence.
System: Roll Manipulation + Empathy (difficulty 7). Every success on the roll adds one temporary Willpower to his pool for a scene. Any points not spent during the scene vanish when it is over.
Required Disciplines: Dementation 3, Celerity 3 Description: This power adapts the power of The Eyes of Chaos power of Dementation and improves it to act within he confines of combat. By entering a fugue state, he can see the patterns within the patterns of battle, instinctively moving in ways that work to his advantage.
System: By spending two Blood points, the user of this power gains a -2 difficulty in all combat-related rolls for a scene.
Required Disciplines: Auspex 4, Dementation 3
Description: The mind has a pattern to its chaos, and masters of this power can reach inside the minds of others and follow the hidden paths of desire. This incredible insight leaves the victim open to manipulation by the vampire. System: By making successful a Perception +Empathy roll against a subject's Willpower, then all social rolls toward that subject are reduced in difficulty by the number of successes.
Required Disciplines: Protean 5 or Obtenebration 5, Celerity 4, Fortitude 3
Description: With this power, the vampire becomes a streaming mist that flies faster than a storm wind. He may use this power to travel large distances in an almost invulnerable form in a fraction of the time than normal, or fly through the air to places normally inaccessible. For Lasombra, there is a version of this power called The Falling Shadow which uses Obtenbration instead of Protean, which makes the user appear as a flashing shadow arching across the sky.
System: The vampire spends two Blood Points and is transformed into a mist form akin to Protean 5. He may fly as a stream of mist at the rate of 150 miles an hour. One Blood Point must be spent for every hour after the first that is spend as an Ill Wind.
Required Disciplines: Dominate 4, Obfuscate 3
Description: A force radiates from the mind of the master of this power that makes it "slippery" and nearly impossible to lock onto with supernatural mind-affecting powers.
System: All Auspex, Presence, Dominate, Dementation, and similar mind affecting effects are rolled against a difficulty of 10, or are reduced by three successes for those powers that are not rolled against the subject's Traits.
Required Disciplines: Daimoinon 3, Potence 3, Fortitude 3, Auspex 2
Description: With this power, the blood of the vampire gains extraordinary properties. When it is removed from his body, it will look and act as blood. When touched by a living (or unliving) contact, it will flare into unholy flame.
System: Every Blood Point that is removed from the vampire's body will flare into flame as long as it is touched by the living (or unliving in the case of the undead), causing three points of Aggravated damage. The blood will spew towards anyone who damages the vampire in melee combat. Every wound level inflicted on the vampire will emit the equivalent of one Blood Point. To avoid the damage, the victim must make a Dexterity + Dodge roll (difficulty 8, or 9 if the attacker uses hand to hand weapons like claws or teeth), and each success will negate one Blood Point. Vampires who forcibly drain the Vitae from a vampire with this power roll for Rotshreck (difficulty 8) and may only soak the damage with Fortitude (or Stamina+Fortitude, as per house rules) at difficulty 9. This effect makes it impossible to Diablerize the user of this power, for they will be unable to absorb the vampire's burning essence . Draining all the vampire's Health levels by Diablerie will destroy him like Aggravated damage. The master of this power may cool his blood for a scene so that it may be removed without danger (to feed Ghouls, create vampires, etc.) by spending a Willpower point.
Required Disciplines: Daimoinon 3, Potence 5, Fortitude 3
Description: With this power, the hellfire of Daimoinon strikes with a savage fury worthy of Hell.
System: Every Blood point spent will inflict the vampire's level of Potence in aggravated damage. The hellfire will also continue to burn for half damage until extinguished.
Description: This is the ultimate form of Diablerie. With this power, the vampire gains his victim's power, as well as his sins. The Black Amaranth will expand the mind and soul of the Diabolist to the limits of his victim. All that his victim was -- or could ever become -- will be a part of the Diabolist.
System: The vampire Diablerizes his victim, spends a Permanent Willpower, and then begins a battle as described in Dominate 5. If he loses the battle with his victim, he will only gain the full Generation of his victim, if lower than his original. If the vampire wins, The Black Amaranth will destroy the victim's consciousness and personality, and allow the victim's mind and soul to be absorbed so that the vampire will gain the victim's Generation, Mental and Social Attributes except Appearance if they are higher than his original Attributes, Disciplines, Knowledge's, Skills and Talents. The vampire will also permanently lose as much Humanity or Path equal to twelve minus the victim's Humanity or Path, which will also lower the Diabolist's maximum Humanity or Path by this amount. Thus an inhuman victim will be likely send the vampire spiraling into the Wassail.
Required Disciplines: Dominate 5, Animalism 5, Auspex 5, Presence 5, Fortitude 5, Obfuscate 4
Description: The master of this power develops an immunity to powers that would detect, attack or alter his mind or soul. Permutations such as Blood Bonds, True Magick, and Oblivion-based powers will not affect the character. This power is so effective that even the presence of a mind or soul will be undetectable.
System: As above.
Required Disciplines: Animalism 5, Celerity 5, Daimoinon 4 or Presence 7, Sanguinis 3 or Celerity 8, Presence 5, Auspex 4, Obfuscate 3
With this power, the vampire may Feed on the powerful and usually repressed emotions of a victim. This power concentrates on one emotion that is easily evoked in humanity, and can have the vampire as a focus, such as anger, fear, sadness, or lust. The vampire forms a connection to that person's Beast, and minor illusions will occur in the victim's perception, drawn from his own unconscious, which color the vampire in the victim's eyes into exactly the thing necessary to evoke the emotion. The victim becomes trapped in the throes of this passion, and will react accordingly. (i.e. a vampire who focuses on fear will take on the role of a victim's greatest fear, and then act out their greatest terror, inspiring their fear to panic levels strong enough to be fed upon). During this act, a mystical transfer of soul energy occurs that converts to Vitae.
System: The vampire makes a Manipulation + Subterfuge roll (diff. victim's Willpower). Success means that the victim is uncontrollably trapped in a frenzy of emotion, and is unable to do anything other than acting out the demands of the emotion (a lust vampire will sweep the victim up in act of sex, and the victim will be unable and unwilling to resist, regardless of the surroundings and circumstances). The vampire may then harvest soul energy worth ten Vitae to add to his Blood Pool. Soul energy that is drawn slowly at the rate of one Blood Point per hour will cause "phantom" Health levels of damage that will heal at the rate of one per hour of rest, but will still debilitate the victim. Drawing soul energy more quickly will cause actual damage from emotional trauma equal to one Health Level per Blood Point drawn. If more than seven "phantom" Health levels of damage are done to the victims, they will be become unconscious when the vampire releases them from the power of The Demon Hunger, and will not regain consciousness until they have lost enough "phantom" damage to return to Incapacitated. The Demon Hunger may not be satisfied using a particular victim more than once a day, or a Health level of non-soakable damage will be inflicted on the victim for each extra point of Vitae. Supernaturals are as even better sources of this energy. Every point of soul energy drawn from them is equal to 10 Blood Points when it is used, and so it is possible to supercharge the vampire's Blood Pool with this potent energy.
Required Disciplines: Dominate 5, Auspex 5, Animalism 5
With this power, a vampire may possess a mortal without endangering his own existence, as well as channeling his non-physical Disciplines through the mortal frame. He shares the mortal's sensations and senses, and controls the body as if it were his own.
System: The vampire has to merely see his victim, and then he is able to enter his body. He first must overcome the mortal's Willpower in a contest equal to Dominate 5. If he has Auspex 4, the vampire may access his victim's memories using the system for that power. The vampire may use this power when in Astral form.
In the event his body is destroyed, he will stay bound to the flesh of the mortal. However, he will be able to use his physical Disciplines in his new body. The Stealing the Mortal Coil power will allow the vampire to rebind himself and recover his ability to Feed, retain or use Vitae by turning the mortal's Blood into Vitae for the vampiric body and redefining the mortal's spiritual limits to allow a Blood Pool of the vampire's Generation. The Endless Cycle power will act as Stealing the Mortal Coil, but the vampire will not be able to escape the flesh of the mortal. Otherwise, he will lose the need and the ability to Feed, and will effectively be a mortal with vampiric Disciplines. In this case, he also loses the ability to grow in the Disciplines, and Disciplines that require Blood Points will substitute Willpower Points. The Embrace of the mortal body is the only way that the ex-vampire will ever regain his full powers as a Child of Caine. Regardless of the Generation of the Embracing vampire, the Generation of the character will be his old Generation.
Required Disciplines: Auspex 5, Animalism 5, Mortis 5 or Necromancy 5
Description: With this power, the vampire may cause the dead to rise by animating the dead flesh with his will. From earth or the Astral, the vampire forces his essence into a dead corpse to wreak his will on earth. His Disciplines will be focused through the dead flesh, but those that require Vitae to fuel will draw from the original vampiric body.
System: The body to be defiled must have at least four Blood Points inside the dead flesh. By spending three Willpower points, the vampire forces the body into a semblance of life. The body has three extra Health Levels, and has no wound penalties. When it reaches Incapacitated, it is destroyed, crumbling to dust. There is no way that the vampire can heal wounds received by the corpse. Unless the corpse is fed vampire blood, or is filled with more than four Blood Points, it will crumble to dust in three days. Every extra Blood point in the corpse at the time of possession -- or that is fed to the corpse -- will extend it's time on earth by a day's time. When the vampire removes his spirit from the corpse, it crumbles to dust. This power may be used when in Astral form. If the vampire's true body is destroyed, he will be trapped in the dead body, unless he escapes it with Auspex 5. If the true vampire body is destroyed, and the dead body is also destroyed while the vampire is still within it, then he dies the final Death unless he has The Endless Cycle power.
Required Disciplines: Auspex 5, Animalism 5, Dominate 5, Daimoinon 5, Vicissitude 5 or Protean 7, Protean 4, Fortitude 4
This formidable power is mastered by so very few as the Disciplines needed to master the required Disciplines usually take hundreds of years of effort, and the Elders are unable to master the Book's powers. These few vampires are able to meld their form with a mortal, in effect becoming a vampire within mortal form. With this mortal body, the vampire may see the sun, have sex, eat, or all of the other things that humans take for granted. The power of mortal emotions make it harder to control the Beast, but the vampire that masters this power is able to unite a vampire and mortal nature and gain the benefits of both. They also gain a perfect camouflage from other vampires, as none would expect a mortal to hold a vampire's essence. An interesting side effect of life within a mortal body is that the hardening of the mind against learning that occurs with age is absent, and so the Coilers have the potential to master the entirety of The Book.
System: The vampire embraces the victim and his flesh changes into Vitae much like that produced by Vicissitude 5. The vampire spends 5 Blood during the process and then proceeds in the same contest as Dominate 5. If successful, the victim's mind will be sublimated and the vampire now exists as the mortal. The vampire will have access the victim's memories due to the bonds of Auspex. The mortal's body will be a conduit for the vampire's soul, consciousness, and Disciplines and powers as if it was the vampire's own body. The vampire will use his own Manipulation, Charisma, and Mental Attributes, but must use the Physical Attributes and Appearance of the victim. The vampire may Feed through the mortal body. Fangs may be grown by expending one Blood Point (There is a power that will form permanent vampire fangs: Protean 3, Fortitude 2, Experience: 12). All Frenzy difficulties will be at a +2 Difficulty due to the passions of the mortal frame. All rolls to stay awake during the day will at a -2 Difficulty as a vampire. Regardless of the vampire's true age, while in a mortal body the neonate Age category will be used when spending Experience. The vampire will be affected by the mortal's wound penalties.
The Blood Pool that is the vampire's body will be the mortal's Blood Pool, and will transmit Ghoul powers to the mortal body. Extra blood may be stored in the mortal body if it is kept for more than a hundred years as described in the Aging and Elder Ghouls section in Ghoul: Fatal Addiction. The vampiric Blood Pool cannot be drained by a vampire. The mortal body will not be able to metabolize the vampire's Vitae in the fashion of a Ghoul, and normal Feeding will replenish the mortal's Pool before the vampire's Pool. The vampiric Blood Pool is connected to the mortal Blood Pool. The Vitae from the vampire Blood Pool can replenish the mortal Blood Pool if depleted at the rate per the vampire's Generation. If the mortal's Blood Pool (the vampires body in Blood form) is drained by another vampire, he will be Diablerized. Damage to the mortal body that destroys the Blood Pool (like fire) will be able to kill the vampire. If the mortal Blood Pool is destroyed, the vampire is killed. Should the mortal body be killed, the spilled mortal Vitae that is forced out may reform as the vampire. The mortal body cannot be Embraced. The vampire may reform his vampiric body at any time by melding out of the mortal victim, but this will kill the mortal body.
Required Disciplines: Auspex 5, Vicissitude 5 or Protean 7, Animalism 5, Serpentis 5, Mortis 4, Necromancy 4
Description: With this power, the vampire can evade death. When this power is mastered, a profound change overtakes the character. The vampire's body cannot be staked after he masters this power, as the core of his essence is bound to the Astral Plane, his soul and mind fused together. Should the vampire's body be destroyed, his soul will enter the Astral Plane. Once there, he may work to reform his body by entering the physical world by and forming a body out of Vitae. This power will also save him from the evil of Diablerie and magic that destroys the mind or soul. In essence, this power is as close to True Immortality as those born mortal ever achieve. The Disconnection effect will not affect the character with this power, and Disciplines will function normally in the Otherworlds.
System: When the vampire's body is destroyed or a soul rending magic is used that would destroy the vampire, he may spend one permanent or four temporary points of Willpower to bind himself to the location of his body's destruction as his non-physical elements enter the Near Astral. If he doesn't have either to spend, his silver cord snaps and he falls in the Astral Plane. If this process leaves him without temporary Willpower, or he loses all temporary Willpower while in Astral form, he will be lost in the Astral Plane as his silver cord snaps. It may be years before he finds his way back to the Near Astral, and when he returns only the powers The Quick and the Dead, The Rising Dead, or Stealing the Mortal Coil will be able to bind him to the material world again.
If his silver cord is still attached, he will then find himself faintly connected to the location of his death. As an Astral from, he cannot retain Vitae, but he will not Hunger. While in the Astral, he may enter the physical world for a turn by spending a Willpower point. When he enters the physical world, he must find a source of Vitae to rebuild his flesh. He must find a victim to drain of Vitae. As the blood is drained, the vampire will become more solid and real. When he has drained all ten Blood Points -- a process which should take at least four Willpower points -- he must spend another permanent Willpower point to seal his existence. From that point forward, it will be as if he never died. He will be at zero Blood, and so he must feed again unless he wishes enter torpor.