Sofastry

By LdyOrchyd@aol.com

Author's Notes

I am currently in an online game and have received a CS that had a discipline I had never heard of befor:, Sophistry. In our game, we do not allow made up or obscure Disciplines. But, while reviewing this char with other head members of the game, I thought perhaps he had misspelled the Discipline and he meant "Sofa-stry". You can tell where this led to . . . .

Description

Sofastry was developed by an overzealous 5th Generation Toreador Elder who took decorating and his obsession with fashionable upholstry a bit too far. At its lowest levels, the information garnered from Sofastry is merely informative and only somewhat helpful, but at higher levels, the power of such a discipline is considerable.

* Sense the Sofa

The Kindred with this power can receive vivid and profound insights into how any sofa or other upholstered object feels about its current upholstry.

System: The player rolls Perception + Crafts (difficulty 7). One success indicates a general mood concerning the upholstry, while five successes would indicate not only the sofa's mood concerning its upholstry, but also what sort of upholstry would suit it better.

** Hide in Sofas

Using this power, Kindred with Sofastry may sink invisibly between the cushions of any sofa.

System: The player rolls Wits + Stealth. The difficulty depends on the size of the sofa: a large plush sofa would be difficulty 6 while a small, hard love seat might be as high as 9. Three successes are required to completely sink into the cushions. Less than three means that a bulge in the cushions is still present, while those with more than three successes can remain hidden even if searched for. Removing all cushions from the sofa will, however, reveal the Kindred lurking there.

*** Sofametry

Unlike the Auspex power of Psychometry, which allows information about the last person to touch an object, Sofametry allows a Kindred to learn, by sitting on a sofa, information about the last person to sit in that place.

System: The Kindred must be sitting directly on the couch (not separated by plastic or other coverings) and make a Perception + Occult roll. As with Psychometry, the difficulty depends on the length of time it has been since a creature has sat on the sofa. The more successes achieved on this roll allows more information to be ascertained.

**** Form of the Sofa

Beginning with this level, the powers of Sofastry change from merely informative to terribly dangerous. Form of the Sofa is one such dangerous power. The Kindred may spend one Blood Point to change her form into that of a harmless-looking sofa. The sofa is upholstered in the same basic pattern and material of the Kindred's clothing, but no trace of flesh can be seen. This allows any creature to sit comfortably on the Kindred and achieve a sense of calm. Many Kindred have used such power to lure kine into their clutches merely by shifting shape back into their Kindred form and wrapping their arms around their intended victim.

System: No roll is necessary, but one blood point must be spent. The effect takes three turns to complete. At the Storyteller's discretion, the Kindred may spend three blood points to complete the change in only one turn.

***** Mask of the Sofa

You can create the appearance that any inanimate object looks like a nice comfy sofa. Very useful in convincing other Kindred to have a seat on, say . . . a tanning bed.