Rauch

By Phos (kitab@hotmail.com) for the Wheezers bloodline

Description

This Discipline centers around smoking and all its related effects. Some of the higher levels can be really nasty -- to other people.

* The Craving

This makes someone want to smoke. With non-smokers, they will experience a sudden desire to try smoking. People who have given up will want to start again, and ordinary smokers will light up and start puffing away. This power even affects vampires, who will promptly try it, and then realise that they can't smoke. Always fun.

System: Roll Manipulation + Subterfuge, and offer them a smoke. The difficulty is Willpower + 2 for non-smokers, +1 for those who used to, and Willpower for those who smoke. If successful, the target will start to smoke.

NB: This doesn't work on Wheezers, and they smoke constantly anyway.

** Sparks

This power lights a cigarette or whatever the Wheezers smokes, but only if he clicks his fingers.

System: Spend one Blood point.

*** Hack

This makes someone have a sudden coughing fit during which he cannot do anything. His eyes will water, and he will bend over double, coughing and wheezing. If the Wheezer is really succesful, she might actually have time to get away before the target realises what is happening.

System: Roll Manipulation against Willpower, both at difficulty 6. If the Wheezer wins, the target is effectively at Incapacitated for a number of turns equal to the net successes the Wheezer achieved, as he attempts to cough his lungs out.

**** Disguise

This crafty power was created in recent years to fool all the health Nazis who seem to have sprung up. Basically, it stops the Wheezer from smelling of smoke, or even tasting like it for kissing purposes. They also will not get 'yellow finger syndrome.' For some odd reason, even if the vampire is about to get caught by someone when he shouldn't be smoking, if this power is in use, he won't be. The person about to catch him will forget something and go back for it, or collapse, or something similarly improbable.

System: Roll Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty 7 for cigarettes, 8 for pipes, and 9 for cigars). It lasts for a number of hours equal to the successes achieved.

***** Disease

This is a particularly nasty level, often used on their opponents by especially evil Wheezers. It inflicts a smoking-related disease on the target, even if she has never smoked in her life. It can affect anyone, if the Wheezer is successful. The diseases on offer include bronchitis, emphysema, and cancer. These illnesses will generally be permanent, unless cured by normal or magical means. They are generally nasty and painful (Remember kids, just say NO! Look what happens if you don't).

System: Roll Dexterity + Medicine (target's Willpower). The number of successes determines which diseases are inflicted (see the table below).

Successes	Disease	Effects	Duration
1	Mild cough	(- 1 dice to all rolls)	2 Weeks
2	Nasty cough	(- 2)	3 Weeks
3	Bronchitis	Cough, fever (Eq. Wounded)	5 Weeks
4	Emphysema	As Bronchitis. (Eq. Crippled)	Permanent
5	Lung Cancer	Nasty. Fatal.	Permanent

***** * Conversion

When a Wheezer attains this power, he automatically converts his Vitæ permanently into smoke. This means that he cannot, effectively, be diabolised, unless by another Wheezer. Ghouls are created by exhaling the smoke into their lungs; that is the only way that the user may now expel blood. At any time when a normal vampire would cut himself or whatever to get some of his blood out, the Wheezer may spend the Blood Point and then breathe out, causing the Vitæ to be expelled. This only happens when he wants it to. Vitæ expelled this way rapidly dissipates, although not as quickly as ordinary smoke. Use of this power is frequent at parties, especially if a Wheezer wishes to create many ghouls very quickly.

System: N/A

***** ** Riddle

With the use of this level, a terrible thing happens to the victim; dhe become absolutely riddled with cancerous tumours which kill her painfully within seconds, or if they do not kill her, doom them to a slow lingering death. Nice.

System: Roll Charisma + Intimidation (victim's Willpower). Each success inflicts two aggravated wounds on the target. These are especially nasty, as they cannot be healed except by magical means. Also, they occur in random pockets in the body. Each week that a still living victim goes without being cured subtract one extra Health Level. When she is on Incapacitated, the cancer stops, for as much time in days as the Wheezer achieved successes. Then it kills the target. This power affects all creatures, supernatural or otherwise, and is extremely painful. Use of it should result in at least one Humanity/Virtue roll.