Lamnia

By Dan Mills (VdanteV@socket.net)

Author's notes

I drew heavy inspiration from some of the highly convoluted, yet interesting descriptions of the Cenobites, Pinhead and his ilk. It has been sparingly tested, with fair to mixed reviews and results. As you will read, this power is reserved for the most cruel and vicious vampires who don't mind hastening their slide toward destruction. One could easily see a Tzimisce or any sort of violent antitribu vampire possessing this ability. The content is somewhat violent and disturbing, by necessity.

Description

Literally, "the Way of The Knife," this discipline is possessed only by very cruel and jaded Kindred as it focuses upon inflicting pain and suffering upon the victim. By concentrating and expending blood, this discipline causes the victim's flesh to spontaneously tear open into horrible painful wounds. This effect is so horrifying and inhuman that users of Lamnia tend to lose their humanity very quickly. (Lose 1 Humanity immediately upon taking up this Discipline; Lose 1 Humanity every 2 levels you achieve.)

Systems: Expend Blood points, roll Perception + Firearms, Difficulty equal to target's Stamina +2. Targeting specific areas adds an additional +1 to difficulty. Victims can soak the damage as described in the rules.

* Cut

By concentrating and expending a single blood point, the vampire can cause 1 point of regular damage. This sudden eruption of pain is so terrible that the victim cannot act for one turn unless he expends Willpower.

** Slash

By concentrating and expending two blood points, the vampire can cause 2 points of regular damage. This sudden eruption of pain is so terrible that the victim cannot act for two turns unless he expends Willpower.

*** Tear

By concentrating and expending three blood points, the vampire can cause 3 points of regular damage. This sudden eruption of pain is so terrible that the victim cannot act for three turns unless he expends Willpower. Note that this level of injury is sufficient to cripple a small body part such as a hand or a foot.

**** Poenaplaceunque

This level of Lamnia warps the senses of the victim so that pain is experienced as pleasure of equal level. The victim must roll Willpower every time he is wounded (whether by this discipline or normal combat) or else he will begin to develop an acute addiction to the sensation. This condition can easily lead to Derangements and other complications. Users of Lamnia frequently inflict this power upon torture victims to convert them into pain-addicted slaves.

***** Rupture

By concentrating and expending Blood, the user can cause the victim's flesh to "explode," leaving deep, grievous wounds. The user expends Blood points and inflicts 1 point of Aggravated damage per 2 Blood points spent. This pain is so intense and horrifying that the victim cannot act until he begins to heal from the inflicted damage. This level of Lamnia is capable of crippling an arm.

***** * Burst

This horrifying power cause the skin of the victim to contract, pressing against bones until the skin splits apart violently, spraying blood and gore over everyone within close proximity of the victim. This pain is so incredibly potent that the victim cannot act until he begins to heal from this damage. This Power immediately inflicts 2 points of Aggravated damage per blood point invested in it. This level of Lamnia is capable of crippling a leg.