By Jeff Miller (cougon@hotmail.com) and Andrew Duncan for the Shadowstalkers bloodline
System: This ability requires no expenditure, and no dice roll; the character simply makes no noise while moving. (Though she can choose to make noise with minimal concentration.) Moving silently gives a -1 difficulty to initiative when trying to surprise someone, and opponents have a +1 difficultly to perception rolls to notice the Shadow Walker. (Alternately the vampire can have a -1 difficulty to her Stealth roll.)
System: Once the character has bonded with her weapons, the difficulty to hit and parry is reduced by one. And if a willpower point is spent it will do aggravated damage to one opponent until the end of the scene. If the weapon is lost, damaged beyond repair, or completely destroyed, the character loses one temporary willpower point, and must rebind with a replacement (same type as was lost or damaged), before any willpower can be regained. Bonding with a weapon is a long ritualistic process taking five consecutive nights. Each night a blood point is spent and fused with the weapon. On the final night a willpower roll (difficulty 6) is made. If the roll botches, the weapon shatters, and a temporary willpower point is lost. If the roll fails, the weapon is not bonded (this would be known to the character). And if it succeeds, the weapon is bounded.
A character can only be bonded with a number of weapons equal to her Melee score.
System: Each shadow minion takes one blood point (part of which must be placed in the caster's shadow) and one temporary willpower point. But if the shadow is recalled before the night ends or its destruction, the willpower is regained. The Shadow has four health levels (no penalty on any, but if destroyed, the creator takes one level of aggravated damage [soakable only with Fortitude]), and four dice for each of the following: initiative, combat, damage, and soak.
Any other statistics are considered to be zero). They take damage normally (no aggravated), though light reduces all dice polls depending on intensity, and sunlight destroys them instantly.
Since the shadows have no conscious; the vampire must roll Wits + Leadership (difficulty of 5 + the number of shadows created [no maximum]) per command. If the role is botched, they will do the opposite of what they were told (Storyteller's discretion) until the roll is made. If the roll fails, the shadows simply take no voluntary action (can still soak) until the role is made. If the vampire gets at least one success, plus one per shadow, she can tell how badly injured each is. Recalling a shadow is simply a voluntary action requiring no roll.
System: No roll needs to be made, but a blood point must be spend to enter and exit. (Those trapped here with no blood are at the mercy of the Storyteller.) If the vampire wishes to take more people in she must spend one blood point per person, for every person, (both times including herself). (Just square the number of people entering. Example: If she is taking one person, four blood must be spent, if two others are taken, then nine blood must be spent.) Only one blood per person needs be spent to exit.
If the shadow disappears due to a change in lighting, all within the shadow will be trapped there, (as their door is now gone). (During this time, a shadow of the group will be visible no matter how much light there is.) However if the caster has Shadow Stalking (level 5 Silent Subterfuge) a link can be established to snap them to the Shadow World, (at a cost of one Willpower point).
System: The same amount of blood must be spent as per Shadow Merge, but the same amount that was used to enter must be used to exit. There are no restrictions as to where or how far the vampire can travel (so long as a shadow is available to exit from). However the Shadow World can be a confusing and is a ever changing place. The Shadow Stalker must roll Intelligence or Wits (at Storyteller's discretion) plus Enigmas (difficulty depending on range and precision of desired location). A botch puts the exit in the worst possible location. A failure usually exits at the same point that was entered. Successful rolls are handled by the Storyteller as appropriate. Storytellers should feel free to restrict this ability further, but are also encouraged to discuss the changes with the player.
System: One blood and one willpower must be spent to make the transformation, but no roll is required. It can not be done in direct light. Once in this form, you can neither take nor deal damage or move things in the material realm. You can move at your normal rate, though you can go anywhere a shadow can. Direct light will cause you extreme pain (-2 to -5 dice depending on intensity), but has no lasting effects. Sunlight will force you into a safe but unrestful days sleep. You will take no damage, but will be at -1 dice (and gain no benefit of sleep) until you sleep again. Also you may choose to spend and additional willpower to shift to the shadow world before you sleep.