Cthonis

By Tyree Quincan Kimber for the Kares bloodline.

* Wiles of the Amazon

Something like an abbreviated form of Auspex. This power grants the character heigtened senses and reflexes to such a degree that she is prepared for anything and can outmaneuver and outhink any opponent, at least for a few seconds.

System: By expending a Willpower point the Kare gains automatic initiatve for one combat round. By making an Athletics+Dexterity roll (Difficulty 7) they may combine this Discipline with Celerity for devastating effect.

** Envy Of Eris

With this power the Kare floods another's mind with feelings of jealousy and victimization. The resulting psychic overload induces the victim to Frenzy even if she is mortal. The enmity between Kares and Gangrel stems from usage of this power.

System: By expending a Willpower point and making a Manipuation+Subterfuge (Difficulty is the target's Willpower,) a Frenzy can be induced. The target may resist as normal. The user must have eye contact with the target in order to activate the power but need not maintain it once the target begins to resist. The Difficulty which the target must resist against is 7 due to the overwhelming range of emotions. If the target successfully resists, he will be immune to further uses of the Envy from that character for the duration of the scene.

*** Tearing Nails of Hecate

This power is essentially the same as Level 2 Protean. However, in addition to causing aggravated damage, the claws also have the nasty feature of being able to drain Blood Pool.

System: Same as Level 2 Protean. To drain blood, the attacker must roll Manipulation+Occult. Note that the attacker may still become Blood Bound in this way.

**** Maw of the Laestrygonian

With this power the Kindred's neck and jaw muscles become huge and powerful and her mouth fills with jagged, shark-like fangs. She can now snap bones and suck out marrow just like the cannibalistic Laestrygonian giants of folklore.

System: This power requires one turn and the expenditure of a Blood Point to activate, plus a Stamina roll at difficulty 5. Failure indicates that the character was unable to tolerate the pain of the changes in her physiognomy. If successful, the character's bite now inflicts aggravated damage equal to the character's Strength+3. A Kare's Appearance drops to zero while this power is activated.

***** Black Wings of Nyx

At this level a character may generate huge, bat-like wings to grow from her back, enabling her to fly.

System: The wings appear after the expenditure of a Blood Point. While in flight the character may carry up to half the maximum wheight allowed by her Strength. The roll required to maneuver in flight should be Dexterity+Stealth,(Difficulty varies, although generally 6) Additionally, the Kare may fold her wings about her to provide 1 point of Armor. The player may do this automatically if attacked, but must inform the Storyteller before the Attacker makes his roll.

****** Sorrow Of Demeter

Similar to the Taint of Corruption Flaw but entirely conrtollable and dangerous to animals as well as plants.

System: By expending a Willpower point and rolling Wits+Occult (Difficulty 5) the character causes all plants in a 10' radius to wither and die. Any living creature or Kindred within the area of effect will suffer the same effects as exposure to Atrophine. (See the Vampire Player's Guide.)

******* Vengence of Deianara

Whether or not Heracles' highly possessive wife was , in fact, a Kare making wicked use of the Cthonis Discipline in order to punish her philandering husband may never be known and is a notion non-Kares tend to dismiss as propaganda for the Clan. Nevertheless, this power bears a frightening resemblance to the method of the demigod's demise and now bears Deianara's name.

System: By expending a Blood Point and rolling Occult+Manipulation, (Difficulty 6) the Kare may cause a visible target's clothing to begin to secrete a caustic poison. The venom inflicts one level of Aggravated damage per round until all clothing is removed, the victim is killed, or the attacker willingly deactivates the power. The number of rounds required to remove acidic cothing is 10 minus the target's Dexterity. If the power is used against another vampire, he must also make a save against Rotschreck at Difficulty 8.

******** Wisdom Of Janus

Although originally referred to as th Cthonic Gateway, Kares living during the time of Rome felt it both appropriate and amusing to rechristen this power after the Roman god of doors.

System: By rolling Manipulation+Perception and expending two Willpower points, the character may walk through a doorway and reappear through any other doorway in the world with which she is familiar. Difficulty is as follows.

A doorway the character has actually walked through - Difficulty 3
A doorway the character has seen but never passed through - Difficulty 7
A doorway the character has never seen but knows the approximate location of - Difficulty 10.

********* Fortress of Dis

A truly monstrous power which makes even the mightiest of Elders shudder in fear.

System: By expending 3 Blood Points and making eye contact with a target, the character can, for a few seconds, wrench her soul from her body and plunge it into Hell. For one round the target's body will stand immobile, unable to take any kind of action. Meanwhile, her soul perceives the seconds as years as it witnesses the indescribable horrors of the Underworld. If this power is used on a mortal she automatically loses both one Willpower and one Humanity and is afflicted with a Derangement. Kindred and other supernaturals may attempt to avoid these results by making a Willpower test (Difficulty 10).

********** Black Shroud Of Erebus

This level grants the most coveted thing a vampire could want: the ability to walk in sunlight without fear. While other Disciplines and Rituals exist that may make this temporarily possible, so far only tenth level Cthonis grants this freedom forever. At this point, the darkness of night has permanently diffused itself through the Kare's being. The sun's effects are permanently negated as she now generates her own night from within. Needless to say, it's a power which Kindred would kill for.

Although even the Kares admit that their founder is truly and irrevocably dead, she is believed to have imparted this coveted ability via ritual to at least two of her 4th Generation progeny. Additionally, rumors persist that the Setites ensured Kare's demise by means of diablerie. Setites hotly deny this allegation. Nevertheless, a handful of cases remain unsolved in the Near-East where certain Kindred -- all known enemies of the Setites -- have been murdered in or near their havens, apparently sometime during the day with the assailant never leaving any trace of its coming or going. Few wish to ponder this, for the possibility of two 3rd Generation Setites is a frightening proposition indeed. Setites claim that none of their own would dare attempt to put themselves on the same level as Set, but then again, since when can Setites be believed?

System: Automatic.